Hammersmith & Fulham's Poles ' Not Afraid of Brexit'

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Many members of the local community say they have experienced far worse

Ewa Rakowska-Eggar and right Krystyna Ivell. Pic by Darren Pepe (Reach)

"I'm not worried by Brexit,"says Ewa Rakowska-Eggar. "I'm the daughter of partisans."

The Polish tour guide says the UK's impending break from the EU does not faze her one bit.

She was meeting her friend, Fulham resident Krystyna Ivell at the popular Polish cafe in the Polish Social and Cultural Centre (POSK) in the heart of Hammersmith to discuss a cross country collaboration which dates back to the dark days of World War Two.

Mrs Rakowska-Eggar and Mrs Ivell have been raising the £40,000 needed for a statue in Sopot in Poland to Wojtek the bear, who worked with the Polish and British military during the war.

Wotjek was the partizan codename for Mrs Rakowska-Eggar's father Ferdynand Rakowski, who defied execution for his underground activities, so the project struck a chord with her. Her mother Tadeja was also involved in resistance activities during the war. She came to the UK in 1980 when she was 27, and has a UK and a British passport.

Ewa Rakowska-Eggar and small model of Wojtek the bear designed by Pawel Sasin

 

She said: "I feel first of all human, second a woman, third I am a European. I grew to appreciate everything that the British culture gives us – tolerance and a sense of humour."

Her friend Mrs Ivell came to Britain in 1946 after her mother's wartime work with M15 meant they had to leave Poland. They had endured tough times, including deportation to a two-year stint in a Siberian camp, so Brexit offers few fears for her.

Mrs Ivell, now 83, said: "I'm totally indifferent to Brexit. I don't want a second referendum."

Polish Social & Cultural Association, POSK pic by Reach photographer Darren Pepe

Despite the on-going political uncertainty of Brexit, however, the community in West London is getting ready for the future and debunking fears about people's right to return to the UK after the Easter holidays.

The East European Resource Centre, or EERC in Hammersmith is offering people advice and helping to set people's minds at rest about what lies ahead. Seventy per cent of Hammersmith residents voted to remain in the EU in the referendum and the borough is home to the centre for the Polish community in London. The Polish Social and Cultural Association building in Ravenscourt Park is also the base for EERC and works with communities in London and beyond.

According to official figures, there are one million Polish people and half a million Romanians in the UK.

Staff offer help with housing, welfare benefits, rights at work, debt advice and residence issues as well as Brexit. Outreach co-ordinator Florina Tudose said the prospect of Brexit has created challenges, but has also given the community the chance for people to find their voice 'to members of our community who have never had a voice in the media'.

EERC is getting ready to help people apply for 'settled status'. People will have two years from April, when fees are scrapped, to get the paperwork in order. There are plans for more staff to help people deal with the paperwork.

" We've had people coming to the door asking if they need to apply before they go away at Easter saying ‘I do not know if they will let me back in'. One mum came to see me who was going home with a disabled child and was worried what would happen if she could not come back.

" I've told people I have not applied yet – it's funny, but it's also very tragic."

Ms Tudose said some people do not know what Brexit is and there are vulnerable community members who did not know they need to apply for the settled status scheme which will give them indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

"Everybody is worried because they have not really received enough information about settlement. There have been a lot of rumours going round."

She said the scheme seemed to be more straightforward than applying for permanent residency.

It could take about 20 minutes for people with straightforward history of their time in the UK who are digitally literate and speak English.

However it might need several appointments for more vulnerable people or those who struggle digitally, she said.

"We have helped hundreds of people in the last two months. 'We are working with the Polish and Romanian consulates and we have offered sessions around the country in places like church halls. Hopefully we are going to deliver a countrywide campaign for settled status, " she said.

Hammersmith and Fulham council's leader Stephen Cowan has been a vocal critic of Brexit and pledged to support residents from the rest of Europe who have made their home in the borough.

He believes: "Brexit offers a clear and present danger to our NHS, our long-term prosperity, our ability to pay for public services and to our sense of who we are as a progressive European society."

Mr Cowan said the country was facing a 'dreadful Brexit deal'.

Meanwhile last week, the cafe at POSK was packed with lunchtime visitors, including office workers and people using the Polish embassy passport point.

Many of them were unwilling to talk about the finer points of Brexit.

But Natalia Urban, who was enjoying lunch with her family after visiting the passport point to apply for passports for her children, said: "Lots of people are confused. Some families have gone back to Poland."

She added: "We will stay here, nothing will change for us."

She and her husband Piotr, who moved to the UK 11 years ago, have made a life here

Ms Urban said: "We are not afraid. That's why we are not applying for a British passport."

Julia Gregory – Local Democracy Reporter

April 19, 2019