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 DOI: 10.1177/1468796813504100

2014 14: 303 originally published online 3 October 2013EthnicitiesFrançois Levrau, Edith Piqueray, Idesbald Goddeeris and Christiane Timmerman

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Article

Polish immigration inBelgium since 2004:New dynamics ofmigration andintegration?

Francois LevrauUniversity of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

Edith PiquerayUniversity of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

Idesbald GoddeerisUniversity of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium

Christiane TimmermanUniversity of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

Abstract

Belgium has been a traditional destination for Polish immigrants since the 19th century.

In the period after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Polish migration to Belgium was largely

characterized by pendulum movements and illegal stays, but following Poland’s accession

to the EU in 2004, the Belgian labour market was gradually opened to Polish citizens. To

date, this new situation has not been the subject of research, and we therefore present

the first analysis of the impact of EU enlargement on Poles in Belgium. By means of semi-

structured interviews with both Polish key informants and Polish families, we illustrate

the extent to which Polish migration and integration patterns have changed. Our results

lead us to conclude that Poles are increasingly opting for longer and more permanent

stays, which means that Polish migration no longer follows the pendulum pattern.

Although this implies increased orientation toward Belgian society, it does not entirely

preclude any attachment to Polish culture and identity. This confirms a widely accepted

insight from migration studies: the desire to integrate in structural societal spheres does

Ethnicities

2014, Vol. 14(2) 303–323

! The Author(s) 2013

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DOI: 10.1177/1468796813504100

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Corresponding author:

Francois Levrau, Centre for Migration and Intercultural Studies (CeMIS), University of Antwerp, Lange

Nieuwstraat 55, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium.

Email: francois.levrau@ua.ac.be

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not reduce the importance that migrants attach to aspects they consider crucial to

staying in touch and identifying with their regions of origin.

Keywords

Polish migration, Polish supplementary schools, migration, integration, Belgium, settle-

ment processes, EU enlargement

Introduction

The enlargement of the EU in recent decades—first with the accession of 10 newcountries in 2004 and 2 further countries (Bulgaria and Romania) in 2007, and thenwith the subsequent opening of the labour market to these ‘new Europeans’—hasattracted much policy attention and growing academic interest. In this article, wefocus on the migration–integration dynamics between Poland and Belgium andespecially on any ‘new’ orientations towards Belgium and Poland that may haveevolved in the aftermath of the EU enlargement. Poland, the largest EasternEuropean country to join the EU in 2004, has a long history of emigration,while Belgium is one of the core countries of Western Europe and has receivedsignificant numbers of Polish immigrants since the 19th century. As the migrationcontext has changed considerably, we examine how Polish immigrants in Belgiumare affected by the new structural opportunities arising from EU citizenship and,subsequently, from their being able to fully enter the Western European labourmarket. How do Poles position themselves within Belgium, and how does thisposition relate to their country of origin? How are Poles, as recently establishedimmigrants from a new EU member state, establishing their niche in Belgium, andto what extent are they taking their Polish legacy into account? Are they redefining,remoulding or merging their orientations vis-a-vis Poland and/or Belgium, andhow does this contribute to their creating a position in Belgian society? Arethere any differences between Polish men and women or between generations?Several studies have already demonstrated the possibility and significance of mul-tiple ‘senses of belonging’ in establishing an identity that fits the purposes andambitions of newly arrived immigrants (Brubaker et al., 2004; Roosens, 1998;Timmerman, 2000a; Timmerman et al., 2003; Wimmer, 2004). Our case studywill feed into the current debate on the relevance of considering multiple orienta-tions towards the home and host countries in order to understand the dynamics ofthe migration and integration processes in immigrant communities. We focus pri-marily on how Poles invest in both Polish and Belgian schools but also reflect onthe socio-cultural landscapes of Polish immigrant communities with a view toanalyzing migration–integration dynamics.

The remainder of this article is divided into seven sections. First, we present anumber of theoretical perspectives that shed light on the issues mentioned above.These perspectives also lead us to two general hypotheses, which further guide ourresearch. We subsequently describe our methodology, which included interviewing

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Polish key informants and Polish families. Then, in four separate sections, weunravel our empirical data in order to determine the extent to which it is possibleto speak of ‘new integration–migration dynamics and orientations’. In the finalsection, we draw conclusions and formulate a number of points for discussion.

Theoretical perspectives, hypotheses and research questions

In Belgium, research on Polish migration remains limited. Most studies focus onthe situations of illegal or commuting Poles in Brussels prior to 2004 (Grzymala-Kazlowska, 2001, 2005; Kuzma, 2004; Kuzma and Rea, 2003; Paspalanova, 2006;Siewiera, 1994) or even earlier (Beyers, 2007; Goddeeris 2005a, 2005b; Venken,2011). Others included the post-2004 era but did not examine the caesura explicitlyor approached the community from a different angle (for instance, Peirs et al.(2008) focused on how the Belgian media portrayed Polish migrants, and Galentet al. (2009) studied the relations between Polish employees and Belgian employ-ers). The work of Vancluysen and Hennau (2011) is an exception, but these authorsaimed to conduct a quantitative survey rather than to scrutinize the deeper settle-ment processes.

Several interesting studies on Polish migration more generally have recentlyappeared (see e.g. Polish Migration Website for a lengthy but far from completelist of recent publications). A special issue of Social Identities (May 2010) exploresthe migration and integration processes of Polish migrants and their children inUK and how their identities are constructed and negotiated. Przegla�d Polonijny hasdedicated some of its more recent issues to current developments, such as integra-tion (2011/2), Polish migration to the United Kingdom (2011/1) and Polish edu-cation (2010/3). In one of the first analysis of post-2004 Polish migration (2010/4),Kaczmarczyk (2010) notes a decline in emigration from Poland from 2007onwards. Anacka (2010), however, finds that the figures are comparable with theprevious years. Other studies have revealed that new EU-related opportunitiesseem to encourage the long-term settlement of Polish nationals in WesternEuropean countries rather than short-term pendulum migration (see, for example,Brinkmeier, 2011; Burrell, 2009; Elrick and Brinkmeier, 2009; Ke�pinska, 2006;White, 2011).

A number of theory-driven and empirically based studies have convincinglydemonstrated that migration affects women differently than men. In a recentstudy on female migration in Belgium (Timmerman et al., 2012), it was foundthat women often perceived migration as an empowering experience: it not onlystrengthened their economic situations but also changed their intra-familial andgender positions for the better. Mothers saw migration primarily as an importantinstrument for improving their children’s well being. In particular, being an EUcitizen—in this case, from Romania—was regarded as an important asset forenhancing one’s socioeconomic situation. In the same line, Pessar and Mahler(2003: 827) demonstrated that a growth in the official employment of immigrantwomen has a significant influence on their settlement patterns. In contrast with

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male migrants, female migrants tend to make personal and domestic plans inaccordance with long term or permanent settlement migration because theyconsider this a better option, especially for their children. Therefore, it is reason-able to assume that the opportunities arising for Polish immigrants in Belgiumsince Poland’s 2004 accession to the EU have affected Polish women differentlythan men.

In addition to gender, leaving children behind in the origin country has alsobeen shown to have a significant impact on the ways in which migration projectsare carried out. In her study, White (2011) identified a growing concern amongparents who had left their children behind to earn money in one of the EU memberstates. They worried about the impact that migration would have on their children(in Galent et al., 2009; Jonczy, 2000). Ryan and Sales (2011) demonstrated thatmigrating parents are convinced of the importance of living together in makingtheir marriage work, as well as in providing their children the stability they need toachieve both at school and in their professional careers. This is in line with severalstudies that have indicated the importance attached by immigrant parents to theirchildren’s education. Education is, in general, perceived as a site of socializationwhere migrant families can meet and engage with the new society (D’Angelo andRyan, 2010). Furthermore, it is also considered one of the key instruments of socialmobility and is often a crucial motivation for migration (Clycq, 2009; Duquet et al.,2006; Hermans, 2002; Timmerman, 1999; Van der Veen, 2001).

On the basis of the insights provided by these studies on migration, our firsthypothesis is that becoming EU citizens and subsequently entering the Belgianlabour market have positively affected Polish immigrants’ (especially women’s)aspirations to settle more permanently in Belgium with their entire nuclearfamily and consequently invest in Belgian schooling for their children.

Several earlier theories on the integration of immigrants assumed that immi-grants who are determined to settle permanently in their new country—and whowish to benefit from the opportunities provided by the new society (i.e. the labourmarket and education) in order to build a better future for themselves and theirchildren—will ultimately assimilate completely into the dominant society. This ideais the kernel of classical assimilation theory as formulated by Gordon (1964).Segmented assimilation models, however, reject the idea of a single straight-lineassimilation path, which eventually leads to equal outcomes for all groups (Portesand Zhou, 1993; Rumbaut, 1997). Since these models equate assimilation primarilywith mobility, they tend to focus instead on the processes of structural adaptation(Stepick and Stepick, 2010). While segmented assimilation theories can also be usedto study cultural adaptation, empirical research on this matter is scarce. Earlierscholars, such as Warner and Srole (1945) and Gordon (1964), predicted that allimmigrants and their offspring would gradually leave their native cultures behindin favour of the host society’s culture or would blend into a melting pot society.However, because some ethnic minority groups appeared not to assimilate fully, anumber of bi-dimensional and multi-dimensional models were developed. Berry’s(1980) bi-dimensional acculturation model is perhaps the best known of these.

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In the same context, many studies have highlighted the importance of ‘culturalmarkers’, references to the language, history and religion of the culture of origin inimmigrants’ ability to establish a niche within the host country (Clycq, 2009; Portesand Kelly-Fernandez, 2006; Roosens, 1998; Timmerman, 2000b).

The insights provided by the above-mentioned studies about assimilation andacculturation lead us to formulate a second general hypothesis, namely that immi-grants’ motivation to invest in their future in Belgium does not affect the relevancethey attach to aspects seen as crucial to staying in touch and identifying with theircountry of origin. This applies equally to EU immigrants who have moved toanother EU country, as in the case of Polish immigrants in Belgium.

In order to investigate the two hypotheses outlined above, we first examine (1)how the new labour market opportunities that arose in the aftermath of the EUenlargement affected the migration–integration patterns of Polish (ex-)nationals inBelgium. Subsequently, we also look for evidence of their aspiration to participatefully in Belgian society without ignoring the relevance of their identification withtheir regions of origin. More specifically, we examine (2) parents’ attitudes towardstheir children’s schooling in Belgian schools and (3) the relevance of Polish schoolsin Belgium, assessed by parents and children. Finally, we consider (4) how Polishimmigrant communities organize the socio-cultural landscape in Belgium. Beforetackling these issues, however, we first describe our methodological approach ingreater depth.

Methodology, research population and setting

Our research focused mainly on Poles in Antwerp, a Flemish city and province inBelgium. As a province, Antwerp had the largest number of officially registeredPoles (5257) in 2008. Only the Brussels-capital region had more officially registeredPoles (15,697 Poles) in Belgium. Information about Poles in Antwerp is scarce,however. Besides a minor preliminary study (Pauwels et al., 2007) and a survey onPolish migrants in Antwerp (Vancluysen and Hennau, 2011), the situation of Polesin Antwerp had not yet been researched. In order to obtain information for exam-ining our hypotheses, we relied on a multi-method design, which encompassed: (1)a review of the academic literature; (2) statistical information obtained from anumber of governmental agencies and (3) qualitative research on the Polish com-munity in Antwerp, carried out by two of the authors.

Between June 2009 and October 2010, semi-structured individual interviewswere conducted with 26 Polish key informants in Antwerp’s Polish community.These interviews enabled us to obtain detailed information about each key inform-ant. We relied on key informants’ figures because of their level of expertise on themigration, integration and participation patterns of Poles in Belgium. We wereespecially interested in people who had considerable daily contact with Poles,such as the chairs of Polish socio-cultural organizations, journalists at Polishmigrants’ media organizations and those working in Polish schools or in thePolish Catholic Church. The use of key informants has a number of advantages

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(Marshall, 1996), one of which is the relatively easy and fast access it allows todetailed information provided by insiders. The key informants also helped us toestablish contact with other people in the community. Nevertheless, while keyinformants play a specific role and have access to inside information, we wereaware that it may be difficult to generalize their insights to the whole community.It was not always clear whether they were speaking for themselves or for thecommunity. We therefore decided not to limit our qualitative research to interviewswith these key informants and also added to our population 17 Polish families(parents and youngsters) living in Antwerp. Between November 2010 and February2012, we conducted several semi-structured interviews with both the parents andyoungsters on the basis of a topic list.

As we were particularly interested in the educational aspirations and situationsof youngsters (see the introduction and the theoretical perspectives), we selectedyoungsters who were in their third year of secondary education in Antwerp. Takinginto account the specificity of the Flemish educational system, we aimed to workwith pupils following different educational tracks at schools that had differentgoverning bodies. Some of our respondents were enrolled at a Polish complemen-tary school in Antwerp, which organizes lessons on Polish language and culture.Others had quit the Polish school or had never been enrolled. Importantly, weselected children from ethnically homogeneous marriages in order to avoid thequestion of which ethno-cultural group a youngster belongs to when his or herparents are from different cultural backgrounds. All of the families studied hadmigrated after 1989 for economic reasons. In 5 of the 17 families we interviewedone parent, together with the children, had moved from Poland to Belgium to jointhe partner after 2004.

The language of the interviews depended on the respondents’ language know-ledge. The interviews were mainly conducted in Dutch, English or French, supple-mented with a basic knowledge of Polish. We also made occasional use of Polishinterpreters. We are aware of the fact that this might not be the ideal approach tointerviewing, but we felt it was the only manner to also reach those people whowere able to explain themselves only in Polish. Hence, by making use of Polishinterpreters, we were able to augment the representativeness of the sample.

The impact of legislation: New labour market situation ofPolish immigrants in Belgium

Belgium has been a destination for Polish migration in both the 19th and 20thcenturies (Goddeeris 2005a, 2005b), but the influx of migrants following the fall ofthe Iron Curtain far outpaced previous waves. In particular, the exemption ofPolish citizens from visa requirements in 1991 appealed to thousands of Poles,who were allowed to stay for three months but did not have the right to work(Kuzma, 2004). This led to pendulum movements and illegality, which rendered itimpossible to estimate the total number of new Polish immigrants. Most scholarsestimate that between 30,000 and 50,000 Polish workers were living in Belgium by

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the late 1990s (Grzymala-Kazlowska, 2005). Belgium was listed seventh on a list ofthe most popular destinations for Poles (in Galent et al., 2009; Kaczmarczyk andOkolski, 2005), and the highest concentrations of Polish immigrants were found inBrussels and Antwerp (Perrin and Rajabaly, 2005).

Following Polish accession to the EU in May 2004, Belgium did not immediatelyopen its labour market. Like many other countries, it made use of a five-yeartransition period with the aim of controlling the free influx of new employees.New immigrants were only allowed to work legally if they obtained a permit(‘labour cards’). A ‘B-card’ gave them the opportunity to do one particular jobfor one employer for a period of 12 months, which could be extended. After fouryears, they could obtain an ‘A-card’, which gave them the right to work withoutany restrictions. Initially, labour cards were issued to only highly skilled employees,specialized technicians, researchers and those who could work in sectors that wereexperiencing difficulties filling vacancies. As a consequence, many Polish migrants(and others) continued to work illegally.

In order to reduce semi-illegal work and tackle the shortage of labour in specificsectors, the Belgian government introduced a new system for what was referred toas ‘bottleneck professions’ in June 2006. This facilitated the distribution of workpermits to people working in 112 specific professions, in sectors such as engineer-ing, nursing, transport (truck drivers), baking, construction and horticulture(Loose and Lamberts, 2010). The system was successful in certain sectors, suchas horticulture, where 18,909 B-cards were distributed in the first 11 months of2008 (Loose and Lamberts, 2010). Far lower numbers were seen in the other pro-fessions, however. In the same period, only 5 crane operators and 435 plasterersreceived permits (Loobuyck, 2009). This is largely explained by the fact that othersystems were still in place that allowed migrants to work in a ‘semi-legal’ way.Many construction workers registered as self-employed, for example, but contin-ued to work for Belgian employers as subcontractors (Loobuyck, 2009).

On 1 May 2009, Belgium opened its labour market completely. From that pointon, all EU citizens were allowed to work without labour cards and were alsogranted access to the ‘service vouchers’ system. This system had been introducedin January 2004 and allowed private individuals to hire registered domestic workersat very competitive prices. The system was heavily subsidized so as to render itaffordable and competitive with informal work. Workers were encouraged to jointhe system by the promise of decent working conditions, including social insuranceand holiday pay.

All of these systems have considerably affected Polish migrants in Belgium.In fact, certain measures were applied first and foremost to the Polish commu-nity, certainly prior to Romania and Bulgaria’s accession to the EU in 2007. Forinstance, 78% of the horticulture workers who received a permit in 2008 werePoles (Loose and Lamberts, 2010). The increase in Polish self-employed personswas spectacular: from 775 in 2000 to 7780 in 2008 (RSVZ, 2008). Access toservice vouchers has also had an impact on Polish immigrants, especiallywomen. Considerable numbers of Polish domestic workers joined the system,

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and special service voucher companies have been created for Polish people(Pacolet et al., 2010).

As a result, many Polish immigrants became officially employed. According toofficial Flemish statistics, only 0.6% of ‘non-working jobseekers’ in December 2010were Poles. This was a very low percentage compared to other minority groups,who represented on average 5.5% of ‘non-working jobseekers’ (Arvastat, 2011).

The opening of the labour market also encouraged Poles to register themselvesofficially. In 2008, 30,392 Poles were officially living in Belgium; this numberincreased to 43,085 in 2010 (Federal Public Service Economy, 2011). We mayassume that the vast majority of these Poles had been living in Belgium prior to2010 but had not yet registered legally. This is confirmed in the interviews. Elz_bietaKuzma, who has carried out research on the Polish community herself, told usduring an interview:

. . . all these women were already here, but they have regularized their situation, and

they have begun to work officially in the domestic sector. [. . .] There was almost no

influx of new Polish immigrants. Almost everyone who was already in Belgium and

who worked illegally has changed his or her situation and worked officially with a

boss.

Kuzma’s statement that there was almost no influx may be an exaggeration, andthe reality may have been that it was a combination of new migrants (see GUS,2012) and increased registration of Poles already living in Belgium. Belgian statis-tics suggest, for example, that most newly registered Poles had immigrated muchearlier. While 3096 men and 2771 women registered in 2009, the gender balanceshifted dramatically to 2122 men and 4704 women in the subsequent year. This wasundoubtedly caused by the registration of domestic workers who had already beenliving in the country and were now applying for service vouchers. These numbersalso show that Polish migration to Belgium had hardly been affected by the finan-cial crisis. In contrast to Ireland (Iglicka and Ziolek-Skrypczak, 2010), the declineand uncertainty did not provoke return migration. Conversely, many Poles seem tohave settled.

We may thus conclude that new labour market opportunities arising in theaftermath of the EU enlargement significantly affected Polish immigrants. Theyincreasingly registered themselves and opted for longer, or even permanent, stays.However, this finding reveals little about the ways in which this settlement processaffected their attachment to their home and host countries. Are immigrants stillorientated towards Poland, or do they increasingly focus on Belgian society? Thisquestion is our guide in the next three sections.

The growing significance of Belgian schooling

The observation that Poles are increasingly opting for long-term stays or perman-ent settlement in Belgium is confirmed by the growing presence of Polish children in

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the country. Many Polish migrants have indeed brought their entire nuclearfamilies to Belgium. Five of the 17 families we interviewed actually came togetherin Belgium after 2004. Many Polish pupils follow OKAN courses (ReceptionClasses for Foreign-speaking Newcomers): mandatory one-year courses thatnon-Dutch-speaking newcomers aged 12–18 attend before being admitted to regu-lar secondary education.

Once families start living together in Belgium, there are a number of factors thatmay discourage parents—and certainly their children—from leaving their hostcountry. First, parents may be keen to avoid interrupting their children’s schoolingbecause they believe that a change in educational system and environment willaffect their children’s school performance. Youngsters who wish to return toPoland may also postpone their departure until they have successfully finishedtheir schooling in Belgium. A 15-year-old male respondent told us:

If I had to move to Poland, it would be difficult to adapt to a school with another level

of education, also because I have not got a sufficient knowledge of the Polish language

and especially not of the grammar.

This statement also illustrates that some children consider their knowledge ofPolish too limited to be able to find work in Poland. Conversely, their proficiencyin Dutch is increasing. This not only affects their professional mobility but alsowidens their social networks in the Dutch-speaking community and gives them thefeeling of being ‘at home’ in Belgium. One of the youngsters explains:

Interviewer: Would you like to stay in Belgium?

Youngster (girl, 15 years): Yes.

Interviewer: And why Belgium?

Youngster (girl, 15 years): Because, I am euh. . . growing up here and so, and because I

talk Dutch and more Dutch than Polish.

Another youngster does not want to return to Poland because she has many friendsin Belgium:

Interviewer: Do you think you will live in Poland in the future?

Youngster (girl, 14 years): No, I don’t think so.

Interviewer: Why not?

Youngster (girl, 14 years): I don’t know, I have more friends here than in Poland.

Interviewer: Really?

Youngster (girl, 14 years): And I see them almost every day. No, I don’t want to live in

Poland, but I will definitely return to Poland during the holidays.

The last part of this extract demonstrates that, although the youngster wants tosettle in Belgium, she is still keen to stay in touch with her country of origin. In

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other words, she wants to integrate in her new country without breaking ties withher country of origin.

Ryan and Sales (2011) argued that, once children finish school and becomeindependent, their parents might consider going back to Poland. However, in real-ity, there are other elements that also convince parents to remain in the host coun-try. The fact that their children have grown up and attended school in Belgium hasaffected their expectations of the future: both parents and children believe thatobtaining a Belgian degree and speaking good Dutch will allow them to find ajob suitable for their qualifications. As one mother (age 36) puts it:

For me it is hard because of the [Dutch] language but my children understand it very

well and . . . If they have good certificate they will have good job.

To sum up, these interviews reveal that the growing presence of children con-tributes to an increasing likelihood of settling in Belgium. Language proficiency,social networks, education and career opportunities largely account for this shift.At the same time, however, several youngsters also reported their feelings ofconnection to their parents’ motherland. The next section explores how theynegotiate these Belgian and Polish identities, especially through the Polishschool in Antwerp.

The growing significance of Polish schools

Although Poles attach great importance to their children’s success in regularBelgian education, this does not imply that the popularity of supplementaryPolish education in Belgium has decreased. On the contrary, many parents sendtheir children to Polish schools, which have seen pupil numbers increase dramat-ically. This matter therefore merits closer investigation.

The history of Polish schools in Belgium stretches back to 1926. Over theyears, the system has taken various forms: as full-time education, as a supplementto regular school hours and as additional courses integrated into the Belgianeducational system (Caestecker, 1990, 2003; Goddeeris, 2003). Nowadays,Polish youngsters can study Polish language and culture in supplementaryschools that usually offer classes on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday morn-ings. Two of these schools are managed, controlled and funded by the PolishMinistry of Education. One is located in Antwerp; the other school, which hasthree different locations, is headquartered in Brussels. They belong to ORPEG(Osrodek Rozwoju Polskiej Edukacji za Granica�), the Polish institution for theeducation of children of Polish citizens who live abroad temporarily. ORPEGwas established in 1973 for children of Polish diplomats and currently numbers74 institutions in 37 countries around the world. In addition, there is also aprivate Polish school in Brussels and several organized by the Polish CatholicMission, which are usually limited in scope in comparison to the other Polishschools. The Mission schools are primarily located in the former mining regions

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(Liege, Limburg and Charleroi). For the purposes of this study, we focus on thePolish schools organized by the Polish Ministry of Education, which have thelargest numbers of pupils.

Polish education was established to prevent migrants becoming alienated fromtheir native country. Over the last decade, it has aimed particularly to help (re)inte-grate pupils returning to the Polish educational system in Poland. Ultimately, it hasbecome a comprehensive program geared towards the Polish educational system.During classes, pupils are taught Polish language, history, geography and socio-political sciences. In some schools, religion is included in the curriculum; in others,it is an optional class. All of the courses are taught in Polish. The program consistsof six years of primary education and three to six years of secondary education.Pupils receive a certificate for every year they complete, which allows them, incombination with a certificate from the Belgian educational system, to join thePolish educational system without having to repeat any years.

In recent years, Polish schools have undergone a number of important develop-ments. First, the number of pupils has grown considerably. The Polish school inAntwerp began with approximately 60 pupils in the school year 1996–1997, but by2009–2010, that number had risen to 517 pupils. The pupils themselves have alsochanged. In the early years, all pupils had been born in Poland and were living inBelgium temporarily; nowadays, many pupils have been born and raised inBelgium and intend to stay for a longer period of time or permanently. In general,three different groups can now be identified: (1) newcomers who do not yet knowwhere they will live in the future; (2) youngsters who migrated to Belgium severalyears ago and who live in Belgium with a long-term perspective and (3) childrenwho have been born and raised in Belgium. It is also striking that approximately60% to 70% of pupils in the first years of primary education were born in Belgiumto parents from different cultural backgrounds and/or nationalities (Piqueray,2011).

The sharp increase in the number of pupils does not contradict the conclusionthat Polish immigrants are settling in Belgium. The majority of children in thefirst years of primary education have a Belgian parent and are even less eager toreturn to Poland. They attend Polish schools because this is their sole opportun-ity to learn more about the parents’ country of origin. Most of the youngstersand parents we interviewed agreed on the importance of learning the culture andlanguage of their country of origin. In the following extract, one mother explainswhy she believes it is important to pass her culture and language on to herchildren.

Interviewer: Why did your son follow the Polish school?

Mother (38 years): For me it was important that he learned the Polish language very

well. Speaking is not a problem, I can teach him and we do it every day, but I want

him also to be able to write in Polish and to know the history of Poland.

Interviewer: And why did you want him to learn this?

Mother (38 years): Okay, he lives here but we are still Polish.

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On the other hand, many parents and pupils no longer consider achieving goodresults at the Polish schools a priority. In broken Dutch, a 15-year-old respondentsaid she felt it was important to do well in the Polish school, but:

if my results are not so good, then it is what it is. I do not feel bad or so. But if it

happens at the Belgian school, then I feel bad, and I try to do my best to have good

school results on the following test and so.

The above-mentioned developments have an inevitable impact on how the Polishschools in Belgium function. Because of the students’ varied background knowledgeand different levels of proficiency in Polish, school staff are convinced that the levelof education is deteriorating. Some staff even complained that these differences causeproblems in the classroom. The new situation has already caused debate among boththe organizers in Poland and the Polish school staff in Belgium, which illustrates howthe Polish schools have begun to take their students’ changing migration and inte-gration strategies into account. Some are calling for the program to be reformedbecause it is too difficult for youngsters who no longer intend to return to Poland.However, no consensus has yet been reached. One suggestion is to limit entry to thePolish schools that are linked to the Polish embassy in Belgium to those youngsterswho intend to return to Poland. Other options could be provided for young peoplewho live in Belgium permanently but wish to stay in touch with Polish language andculture, such as Polish courses in existing or newly established Polish non-profitorganizations. The former Polish ambassador, Slawomir Czarlewski, proposedthat a Polish Department be integrated into some Belgian schools (De Smet,2011). Pupils would attend full-time classes in the Belgian educational system andalso receive approximately five supplementary hours of Polish education a week. Theproposal is modelled on a number of schools in France where this ‘immersionsystem’ already exists, made possible by a 1977 European directive (De Smet,2011). However, the Flemish Minister for Education, Pascal Smet, has alreadyvoiced opposition to this idea (Bourgeois, 2009–2014; Smet, 2009–2014).

It remains to be seen how these Polish schools will develop further. What thissection has made clear, though, is that they seem to have taken on a new role.While Polish schools used to prepare migrants’ children for a return to Poland,they now aim to make and keep them acquainted with (one of) their parents’ nativecountry, without necessarily preparing them for a permanent return. In otherwords, the booming popularity of Polish schools does not contradict our formerconclusions that the EU enlargement has affected Polish migration and stimulatedsettlement and integration.

The socio-cultural landscape of the Polish communityin Belgium

Polish immigrants seem to have decided to stay in Belgium for a longer periodthan they had initially imagined, as increasing numbers now take integration

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courses, join Belgian trade unions and learn Dutch. However, this does not implythat they have become Belgians, completely renouncing their Polish identity. Onthe contrary, Polish immigrant organizations and media continue to thrive.Moreover, Polish migrants remain in touch with family and friends who havestayed in Poland. Given the increasing numbers of Poles who are opting forlonger stays in Belgium, such transnational contacts should not necessarily beinterpreted as indications of a desire to return: instead, they are indications ofconstitutive ties with Poland. In what follows, we consider in more detail someexamples of what could be thought of as new orientations towards Belgium andPoland.

Civic integration courses are organized by the Flemish government and aimed atforeigners who come to live in Flanders or Brussels. These courses consist of a basicDutch course, an introduction to Flemish and Belgian society, coaching in thesearch for employment or studies and personal guidance. These courses are becom-ing more and more popular among Polish immigrants, though they are in no waycompulsory. While 263 Poles received a certificate in 2008, this number rose to 328in 2009 and again to 425 in 2010 (Flemish Government, Civic Integration). One ofthe key informants we interviewed, Marzena Jusza, who teaches courses on socialorientation, described the Polish interest as overwhelming:

Oh . . .Poles are the biggest group in Antwerp. There are only more Arabs. But Arabs

have to follow the courses, Poles not. Actually, we cannot follow the influx of Poles. It

is unbelievable.

According to Jusza, there are several reasons for the success of the courses, includ-ing word-of-mouth publicity in the Polish community, the many questions aboutrights and duties and Poles’ need for a space to vent their frustrations. Our Polishinterviewees also expressed their enthusiasm for the courses, which they consideredwell-organized and informative.

Further evidence supporting the notion of gradual integration is the increasingnumber of Polish immigrants who join a Belgian trade union. According to a keyinformant who works at the ACV (Confederation of Christian Trade Unions), thelargest Flemish trade union, approximately 5000 Eastern Europeans are membersof the ACV, and 80% of those are Polish. Although there is a long tradition oftrade union interest in Polish migration, stretching back to the late 1940s(Goddeeris 2005a, 2005b), this is a significant increase in Poles who became mem-bers of the trade union. Belgian trade unions appear to be taking over the role thatwas previously played by Polish priests. The latter often functioned as a kind ofsocial assistant, aiding illegal Poles and representing the Polish community in offi-cial Belgian institutions (Kuzma, 2004). According to another key informant,Father Kurowski, who works for the Polish Catholic Mission, Polish priests nowsend compatriots with questions to the official Belgian social organizations, includ-ing trade unions. However, trade unions themselves have also begun to recruitPoles proactively and have hired people of Polish descent in Belgian organizations

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and companies to act as advisers and provide information to (potential) Polishmembers (Matthysen, 2009).

A growing number of first-generation Polish immigrants are gaining increasingproficiency in Dutch. According to Vancluysen and Hennau (2011), almost 70% ofthesemigrants have followed a non-compulsory language course andmore than 50%of them are able to read and understand letters in Dutch without a problem. Thisdoes not imply that they speak Dutch fluently. Most of the parents we intervieweddid not speak Dutch or knew only the basics. Nevertheless, the figures show that themajority of Polish immigrants are willing to learn the language, which we can assumeto be related to an increasing interest in staying in Belgium for a longer period.

The popularity of civic integration courses, trade unions and language coursesindicates a growing orientation towards Belgian society. However, this does notimply that Poles are becoming alienated from their Polish backgrounds. Polishmedia in Belgium, for example, have even expanded recently. There are severalmagazines for Polish immigrants living in Belgium, such as Gazetka, Nowinki, Plusand Antwerpia Po Polsku. Initially, these were rather small but they are graduallygaining popularity. Gazetka was printed with only 16 pages in 2001 but now con-tains between 82 and 92 pages. While they clearly have a loyal readership, theseperiodicals also demonstrate that Poles are keen to stay in Belgium. Indeed, mostof the magazines’ articles offer a kaleidoscope of practical information and adviceabout Belgian life, law, history, current affairs and so on. The editor-in-chief ofGazetka, Izabela Fijalkowska-Petelska, confirms that Poles who used to stay for ashort while in Belgium have decided to stay for longer periods or even permanentlyand explains that her magazine aims to help them by providing all of the informa-tion they may need:

Before, even the Polish embassies and the consulates didn’t recognize the real status of

the Poles in Belgium. (. . .) For them, Poles were always Poles who didn’t stay.

However ten years ago, there were already Poles who have installed themselves in

Belgium. I think we have helped them to affirm the fact that they have settled in

Belgium. They were not Belgian, but they lived in Belgium. They did not return to

Poland every three months. They only returned for the holidays.

The same applies to Polish immigrants’ organizations, though these are far lesspopular than Polish media outlets. According to Vancluysen and Hennau (2011),only 14% of the Poles in Antwerp are members of an immigrant organization. Socialcontact is limited to friends and family, and Polish community life in Antwerp isneither developed nor diverse. Nonetheless, these Polish organizations also focus onintegrating Polish immigrants into their host country. Socio-cultural and educa-tional associations, such as Viva-Pol and Club Watra, distribute informational leaf-lets and organize special evenings and Dutch courses. Boz_ena Suchodol, director ofViva-Pol, told us that the organization had been founded inMay 2010 in response tothe need for Dutch courses for Poles. Since the language courses organized by thegovernment were felt to be too difficult, Viva-Pol decided to offer very elementary

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language courses. This project has been very successful, and the organization cur-rently has 200 students plus a waiting list of over 200 more. Viva-Pol is consideringsetting up other educational projects, such as Dutch courses specifically for thosewho work in the construction sector. Eager to stimulate intercultural contactbetween Poles and Belgians, it also organizes ‘language carrousels’, whereBelgians who want to learn Polish and Poles who want to learn Dutch can interactwith each other.

Of course, the majority of Polish immigrants do not participate in these pro-grams. They build spontaneous networks with Belgians, for instance, at work or atschool gates. Meetings with other parents have indeed been noted as an importantway to build networks (Ryan et al., 2007). Nevertheless, most Poles have morecontact with each other than with Belgians. They keep in touch with compatriotsboth in the migrant community and at home, via telephone and the Internet.Vancluysen and Hennau (2011) found that two-thirds of Poles in Belgium callfamily and friends in Poland at least once a week. More than 60% return toPoland several times a year, and many send goods and money to Poland. A trans-national Polish identity is kept alive (Rabikowska and Burrell, 2009), which is alsoillustrated by the fact that many Poles abroad continue to watch Polish television.However, this does not mean that they identify entirely with their compatriots.Many of the Poles we interviewed revealed that their contact has been lessened bythe distance and their length of stay in Belgium. A number of interviewees alsomentioned that some family members or friends have migrated to other countriesor regions in Poland. Moreover, the geographical distance has caused a psycho-logical gap: some parents and youngsters no longer feel ‘at home’ in Poland.Coming from Western Europe, they are now perceived as different or as rich,and compatriots envy their car and clothes. One mother (39 years) told us:

The people in Poland think that as we live in Belgium, a western country—and west-

ern countries are seen as rich—we are also rich. When we go to Poland, people (in

Poland) think we have everything. (. . .) And this causes jealousy. In the past, I had

more friends in Poland than in Belgium, but nowadays not anymore.

Interestingly, Polish immigrants also feel different from their compatriots inPoland. Both parents and youngsters said that Poles who have lived in a ‘new’country for a long time tend to be better-mannered and more tolerant towardsother immigrants. In broken Dutch, a 15-year-old respondent described her view ofthe differences between the two groups in the Polish community:

The ones who live in Belgium for a long time have less difficulties because they have

been here for a long time. Probably they have a house or an apartment or so. And the

newcomers, they have to work hard. I think also that they are more rude concerning

the language, so they still act as Poles. So, although they live in Belgium, they still

have the character of a real Pole. So, I mean they curse (. . .) and the other persons are

more quiet.

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We can conclude from this section that the socio-cultural landscape of the Polishcommunity in Belgium demonstrates how Poles in Belgium nurture their Polishidentity even when they have decided to stay in Belgium for a longer period. Thesocio-cultural landscape also appears to facilitate the integration of Poles intoBelgian society.

Discussion

An important constraint of integration and migration theories is that they largelyoriginate from studies of minority groups that are ‘visibly different’ from themajority group, whether in terms of skin colour, religion or socio-cultural praxis.Debate on multiculturalism since 2001 has largely been limited to what Parekh(2008) terms the ‘Muslim Question’. In this sense, focusing on an EU immigrantcommunity that is establishing itself in another EU country offers an opportunityto investigate whether theories on migration and integration also apply to immi-grant communities that have few formal elements to distinguish themselves fromtheir new society. In this article, we have discussed the post-2004 migration–inte-gration dynamics of Poles in Belgium, a minority group that closely resembles themajority in terms of skin colour, culture, religion, socio-cultural praxis and EUmembership.

Our data confirmed two theory-driven hypotheses, the first of which was thatbecoming EU citizens and entering the Belgian labour market have led Poles (espe-cially women) to settle more permanently in Belgium with their entire nuclearfamilies. This means that the Polish pendulum migration, which was typical forthe period before Poland’s accession to the EU in 2004, has shifted towards a morepermanent settlement pattern in Belgium. One of the key illustrations of thischange is the fact that Poles want their children to invest more in their Belgianeducation. As outlined in our second hypothesis, however, this does not necessarilyimply that they relinquish all connections with their country of origin. In fact, whilePoles want their children to be successful in Belgian schools, they also want them tofollow Polish supplementary education. Despite choosing to stay in Belgium forlong periods or even permanently, then, Poles do not want their children to losetheir Polish values and identity. This mixed orientation also comes to the fore in thesocio-cultural landscape of the Polish community in Belgium. Poles not only investvoluntarily in (Dutch) language and civic integration courses, but also rely on localPolish media outlets and immigrant organizations.

Thus, increased orientation towards Belgium does not preclude continuingorientation towards Poland. We believe that Belgian integration policy shouldcentre around the Polish community’s dual orientation for at least two reasons.First, minority groups whose ‘own’ language and culture receive sufficient recog-nition feel better appreciated as participants in society and will consequently formstronger ties with the society in which they are living. Social psychologists havealready demonstrated that accommodation of diversity in the ‘new’ country canhave a positive effect on adaptation because it reduces ‘acculturative stress’

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(Berry, 1997; Verkuyten and Nekuee, 1999). Furthermore, on the basis of theMigration and Integration Index, Geddes and Niessen (2005) concluded thatpolicies that grant immediate access to rights—provided the applicant has noserious criminal convictions—are most favourable to immigrant inclusion. Inthe same vein, political philosophers argue that accommodation of diversitycan stimulate participation in the institutions of the host society and create asense of belonging (e.g. Kymlicka, 1995; Modood, 2007; Parekh, 2000). A follow-up study could examine this ‘integration–recognition paradox’ (Levrau andLoobuyck, 2013). For example, do pupils who are allowed to take courses atPolish schools in Belgium feel more accepted by Belgian society? Does thisacceptance lead to increased participation in Belgian society? In other words,does being able to exteriorize one’s Polish identity increase one’s sense of belong-ing in Belgium (Piqueray, forthcoming)? The second reason why Belgian integra-tion policy should account for the Polish community’s dual orientation is thatintegration can be enhanced by means of a strong Polish network. Integration isnot an individual matter. Our data illustrated that some Poles experienced a lackof suitable government language courses: they needed a Polish teacher who couldexplain the Dutch language in Polish. Since this is not something that is currentlyoffered by the government, Poles have to rely on courses run by Polish organ-izations such as Viva-Pol. This kind of ‘withdrawal’ to the community should notbe seen as an indication that these immigrants are resisting integration. On thecontrary, it is, in fact, a well-functioning Polish network and organizationalsystem that can enable Poles to integrate better in Belgian society, for it is thissystem that can provide tailored resources. This is confirmed by the popularity oflocal Polish media, which provide information about Belgian society. Poles main-tain their Polish identity, but simultaneously use their Polish embeddings to inte-grate better in Belgian society.

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