For the last few weeks, every time I happen upon a certain Polish internet portal, I am bombarded with images of despaired white-collar workers with their heads in their hands, and headlines telling me about the end of prosperity, that we’re on the brink of crisis, with thousands lined-up for unemployment allowances, and so on and so forth.
But I live in Ireland. And while I have no doubt that there is a recession – not only do I feel it under my skin, but I see how it concerns my closest friends – nevertheless we’re still getting by somehow. Back in Poland it would be no different.
As for myself? I feel I am still much better off here. At least Dublin winters seem to be less rainy and cloudy than in Poland. Or perhaps it’s because I’ve made this country my second home. Besides, I’m not really that far from Poland. The place I come from, WrocÅ‚aw, is only a two-hour flight away, and getting there takes less time than to travel from Dublin to Tralee.
And there are many other reasons I could list to explain why I’m here – my Irish friends, the Kerry football finals and the ferry to Holyhead being just a few.
Perhaps I could be a journalist in Poland, happy to visit my brothers after work every week, but the fact that I see them three times a year makes those meetings even more joyful. For me, absence does make the heart grow fonder.
But for the rest of the time, I’m happy to be right here, because this is where I am. I am sure I’m not the only one thinking this way. Of the tens of thousands of Polish in Ireland, there must be at least a few hundred who think the same.
– Anna Paluch
