Charity to offer destitute Poles chance to go home

So many Poles are living in squalor and poverty on the streets of Britain that a Polish charity is sending staff to London to persuade them to return home.

The Barka Foundation, a non-governmental organisation based in Poznan, western Poland, was alerted by British charities. They fear that many of the Poles are turning to drugs, prostitution and crime.

	Michao, 26, a Polish migrant, shows a photo of his daughter

The charity for the homeless plans to visit Britain in the next two weeks. It has already approached the Polish government for funds to set up a London office.

"We are talking about young and old, men and women, most of whom have poor qualifications and speak little English," said Tomasz Sadowska, the foundation president. "Ever since Poland joined the European Union, people have left for better lives. They go without any money or contacts, they don't speak the language, yet they think Britain is going to be paradise."

An estimated 400,000 Poles live in Britain, having taken advantage of the government's decision to open its labour markets to workers from the accession countries of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia since they joined the EU in May 2004.

Barka estimates that of these, about 45,000 are living in squalor, although up to 100,000 could be in difficulty.

Tim Nicholls, the director of the Simon Community, a London homelessness charity which approached the Barka Foundation, estimates that up to 35 per cent of the people it encounters on its daily soup runs in the capital are from Poland. He said: "Because of the language barrier, and because they do not have recourse to public funds, it is difficult for us to help them.

"Quite a number have been sold down the river, having met some unscrupulous people who have put them into forms of slave labour.

"Many end up on the streets having fled from awful situations. Nobody seems to want to know about them."

One of the most significant problems for Polish people hoping for a better life in London is the misinformation circulating in Poland.

Many of those who arrive by coach at Victoria, in central London, with little money and no contacts, expect to find work and accommodation immediately. The reverse is often the case.

The success stories of Poles who have found work in catering, child care, construction and farming have encouraged others to follow, often with disastrous consequences.

Moreover, unless they have worked for 16 months in Britain and paid all their national insurance contributions, they cannot claim benefits. Without claiming, they cannot sleep in state-funded hostels.

"The Polish government must take some responsibility," said Mr Nicholls.

"None of the people who come from the accession countries have recourse to public funds, so if they don't find work, they risk ending up as entrenched rough sleepers."

Unemployment is around 20 per cent in Poland with many young graduates out of work.

The Barka Foundation says it hopes to persuade many destitute Poles to return to Poland, where state grants are available to help set up small businesses and where social re-integration centres help people to get back to work.

Source:By Kate Connolly in Berlin and Sally Pook telegraph.co.uk