Polish Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Maciej Duszczyk drew attention to the contribution of Ukrainians to the functioning of the Polish economy, speaking on Polsat News.
Polsat News writes that Duszczyk believes that in many cases, the lack of Ukrainian participation is noticeable. "If it were not for citizens of Ukraine, we would be waiting 10 minutes for a bus instead of five. Because they fill gaps in the Polish labor market. Therefore, a certain part of the Polish economy depends on war refugees from Ukraine. In general, these are Ukrainians living in Poland, and we need to repeat this more and more often, because if we had a situation where one day all Ukrainians colluded and didn’t go to work, the Polish economy would come to a standstill," he said.
He also criticized the Law and Justice (PiS) party’s idea regarding the deportation of unemployed men of military age from Ukraine. In this context, the figure of three thousand people appeared in public discussions. "Three thousand is a small brigade. Let me remind you that 900,000 people are mobilized in Ukraine, so this is no help at all. In reality, those who do not work in Poland are those caring for their children with disabilities or those who were wounded at the front and are undergoing rehabilitation in Poland," he said.
When asked whether refugees will start returning to Ukraine after the end of the war, Duszczyk replied that "this is a process that we have observed in other countries, and it is very easy to predict."
"It happens that those who claim ‘I am staying’ leave because something happens. And those who say, ‘I will leave as soon as the war ends’ stay. Of course, these trends change with every month as the roots they put down in the host society, in this case Polish society, become deeper and deeper. If someone has enrolled their children in school, they are learning the Polish language, if a person is working in the labor market, then the probability that they will return to Ukraine without a strong incentive to return is practically very low," he noted.
