Poles more tolerant of foreigners, survey shows

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The findings reveal that two-thirds of Poles have a somewhat or firmly positive outlook on the inflow of newcomers to the country, totalling 65 percent of society.

Meanwhile, 6 percent were strongly against the trend, coupled with 16 percent of the respondents who were rather negative towards it.

The research also included an assessment of actions taken by the state to ensure the protection of non-Polish nationals. A quarter of the respondents believe foreigners and people of a different denomination cannot feel safe in the country.

Only a little over 50 percent are aware that racial crime is an offence prosecuted by the state.

The fight against hate crimes is one of the priorities of the Interior Ministry and police. To meet that end, the ministry has established a team for the protection of human rights focused on monitoring such offences.

There are also special plenipotentiaries in the Warsaw police headquarters who are experts in the area of xenophobia, racism, and hate crimes. Some 72,000 police officers received training on detecting racial offences and procedures concerning the victims by mid-year.

2014 also saw the launch of the campaign “Racism. Say it to Fight it” run by the Interior Ministry, with the aim of raising awareness about Polish regulations on hate crimes targeting foreigners.

The survey “Immigrants in Poland. The Opinions of Poles on the Phenomenon” was carried out on 27-29 November on a sample of 1,000 adults. (aba/jb)

Source: PAP