Contemporary migration of Poles to Lebanon and Egypt

Abstract

In 2007, the Polish diaspora was estimated to number around 20 million people (Serwis Stowarzyszenie Wspólnota Polska 2012). Some sources estimate it to range from 14-17 million people while others estimate a range of 12-24 million people (Knopek 2001), a discrepancy that arises from the different criteria used for the calculation by the institutions making the estimate. The most popular indicators of belonging to the diaspora were citizenship, country of origin, native language, the origin of the second or third generation as well as the manifestation and declaration of national identity and the cultivation of Polish traditions. For the purpose of this article, the authors defined the Polish diaspora as "the Poles who left Poland and settled abroad permanently and who retained their national identity in their own as well as subsequent generations" (Knopek 2001). In this context it is important to emphasise that people considered to be members of Polish diaspora should have been born, or be the descendents of those who were born on Polish territory (including within the borders of preWar Poland). It is this definition of the Polish diaspora that formed the main subject of the study. In 2011, students from the Student Research Club of Geographers at the Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies of the University of Warsaw carried out interviews with the Polish diaspora in Lebanon during a research project called 'Migration routes of Poles and emigrant Polish culture in the Middle East based on the example of Lebanon'. The results of this research in Lebanon were then compared to the Polish diaspora in Egypt. The information was obtained from an analysis of source materials available in the literature and on the internet. The authors did not consider as part of the diaspora those Poles who were living in these countries temporarily and had not yet decided whether to settle there. This meant that the clergy, embassy staff, scientists, military and contract staff were generally excluded from the area of study and they were only taken into consideration when they contributed significantly to the research. In terms of gender balance, the Polish diaspora in Lebanon and Egypt is dominated by women. This is a group of settled migrants, meaning that they were not living in Poland at the time the research was carried out and were not members of the same Polish household to which they had belonged before they emigrated (Jaźwińska, Łukowski & Okólski 1997). According to the authors, "social location" played a specific role in shaping the situation of the Polish diaspora in Lebanon and Egypt. Polish women born in Poland but now residing in Lebanon and Egypt had to deal with a whole range of differences in social relations as well as adapt to the roles of women in different aspects of the culture.

The Polish Language in Egypt: Current Status and Speakers’ Preferences

“…-Arabic -most of those surveyed are Muslims. This is also confirmed by research on Polish emigration in Egypt (Kałaska & Suchcicka, 2012). Muslims pray only in Arabic (Classical Arabic), which is why this is the most frequent language of prayer of the subject respondents -Polish -4 respondents (Roman Catholics), participate in Polish-language masses in Cairo -English -3 respondents (Roman Catholics), participate in masses in English -Various -"Polish church online in Polish, international church in Cairo or in Arabic with translation in headphones, a lot also in English".…”

“…After World War II, Poland, as part of the communist bloc, supported left-wing or pro-Soviet Arab countries, including Egypt. Under a Polish-Egyptian agreement signed in 1965, young Egyptians obtained opportunities to study in Poland (Kałaska & Suchcicka, 2012). As a result of this influx of Egyptian students, a group of about 300 Poles who had married Egyptians moved to Egypt, where they settled mainly in Cairo and Alexandria.…”