Poland remains ‘not affected’ by refugee tide in Europe

Over 5,300 people have applied for refugee status in Poland since the beginning of 2016. No more than 42 individuals received such status. The Office for Foreigners released these figures on World Refugee Day observed on Monday.

Russian nationals of Chechen origin, Tajiks and Ukrainians comprise the largest groups of applicants.

Rafał Kostrzyński, spokesman for the Central European branch of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), says Poland was in no way affected by last year’s mass inflow of refugees from North Africa and the Middle East into Europe.

“The number of Syrians and citizens of other conflict-torn countries [arriving in Poland] is of minor statistical significance,” Kostrzyński said, pointing to a little over 200 Syrians entering Poland since January. Poland has a population of 38 million.

In 2015, over 12,000 foreigners applied for international protection in Poland, 348 of them were granted refugee status.

In a survey released by pollster CBOS in mid-May, 55 percent of Poles were opposed to their country taking in any refugees.

Two weeks earlier, Jarosław Kaczyński, the head of Poland’s ruling, conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party said that the country would not accept refugees because they posed a threat to security.

There are over 65 million displaced people around the world – it marks an all-time high in the world’s recorded history, UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi announced on Monday. (aba)

Source: PAP, IAR