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New rift emerges as Eastern Europe resists aid for migrants

Originally published September 12, 2015

The discord has further unsettled a union already shaky from struggles over the euro and the Greek financial crisis and now facing a historic influx of people attracted by Europe’s relative peace and prosperity.

By RICK LYMAN
The New York Times

WARSAW, Poland — Even though the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe have been asked to accept just a fraction of the refugees that Germany and other nations are taking, their resistance now stands as the main impediment to a unified European response to the crisis.

Poland’s new president, Andrzej Duda, has complained about “dictates” from the European Union (EU) to accept migrants flowing onto the continent from the Middle East and Africa.


Poland’s new president, Andrzej Duda

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When joining the EU — as the former communist countries have done since 2004 — nations are asked to pledge support to a raft of European values, including open markets, transparent government, respect for an independent media, open borders, cultural diversity, protection of minorities and a rejection of xenophobia.

But the reality is that the former communist states have proved sluggish in absorbing many of these values and practicing them. Oligarchs, cronyism and endemic corruption remain a part of daily life in many of the countries, media freedom is in decline while rising nationalism and populist political movements have stirred anti-immigrant tensions.



“People must remember that Poland has been transitioning from communism for only 25 years,” Lech Walesa, who led that country’s independence movement, said in an interview. “Our salaries and houses are still smaller than those in the West. Many people here don’t believe that they have anything to share with migrants. Especially that they see that migrants are often well-dressed, sometimes better than many Poles.”

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Unlike countries in Western Europe, which have long histories of accepting immigrants from diverse cultures, the former communist states tend to be highly homogeneous. Poland, for instance, is 98 percent white and 94 percent Catholic.



“And the countries that have very little diversity are some of the most virulently against refugees,” said Andrew Stroehlein, European media director for Human Rights Watch.

There is also widespread disappointment with the pace of economic change since communism’s fall, and a sense that the countries are too poor to offer substantial support to immigrants.

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even the most charitable of societies would have a lot of coping to do with this reality on the ground. hypothetically, would muslim countries find it easy to accept hundreds of thousands of catholics who intend to become their citizens? just asking.

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it looks like the problem keeps changing and expanding thus.

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