"Poland wasn't present in Western minds for over 40 years - it’s high time to change this"

Thursday 18 March 2021

Ahead of his 'virtual' visit to the island today, Express spoke to the Polish Ambassador about direct flights between Jersey and Poland, boosting tourism and trade, integration, and preserving minority languages.

Ambassador Arkady Rzegocki will today be meeting with Ministers and Jersey Finance to discuss business and community relations, and taking a virtual tour of the Museum's 'People Make Jersey' exhibition.

Ahead of his visit, the Ambassador sat down with Express to discuss his thoughts on future relations between his country and the island, and what he wants to see for Polish citizens living in Jersey...

Poland's Ambassador sees the benefits of working together clearly: “[Poland] is of course largest country in Central Eastern Europe, so co-operation with Poland is in fact co-operation with all of central Europe, so a good gate into other countries."

Asked about potential future trade opportunities, he pointed out how Poland was leading the way in a number of export industries in Europe, including furniture and electric buses, as well as becoming more prominent as an innovative financial force within the European Union.

“Poland is the leading, top producer of electric buses in the European Union, and also we have a lot of FinTech companies,” Mr Rzegocki said. 

“Our banking system is one of the most innovative systems in the world - also we have good green finance too, another important issue.”

With these trade and economic opportunities comes the question of employment. While Jersey has a strong Polish community, the Ambassador said that there were also plenty of opportunities for islanders looking for new pastures.

Pictured: The Ambassador said that "not have enough people from Jersey visit Poland and we should change that."

“Poland has the smallest unemployment in the union, and we need people… we accepted the biggest amount of migration last year out of the European Union,” the Ambassador said. “So there is a lot of opportunities, and I’m sure that both Jersey and Poland are very good destinations for people who are looking for a wonderful lifestyle and challenges.”

Last year, a direct repatriation flight was offered during the early stages of the pandemic by Poland’s Airline, LOT, for Polish citizens in Jersey - on the question of whether the airline could offer direct flights as a permanent fixture when borders open, the Ambassador said that it would be something to think about "for sure".

Not only would a direct link enable easier business and family visits between the jurisdictions, but also raises the prospect of increased tourism - something he said he wants to see much more of in future.

“I think we can do much much more, especially as visiting countries is one of the best opportunities to get to know each other better,” he said. 

He added that he “would like to invite all Jersey people to visit Poland. We have reasonable prices, and wonderful nature, but also very interesting cities and towns, and, like Jersey, a lot of history.”

Pictured: Ambassador Arkady Rzegocki has served as the Polish Ambassador to the UK since 2016.

As well as providing a forum to discuss economic opportunities, the Polish Ambassador's visit is also intended to focus on cultural issues such as community, language and to remind Polish citizens of their need to register to the EU-settlement scheme and protect their rights in a Post-Brexit world. 

“For the preservation of their rights, I will ask [Polish citizens] to remember that they have registered if they want to stay and work and live in Jersey,” the Ambassador explained, emphasising the importance of obtaining 'settled status', which residents have up until 30 June to apply for. 

Of the Polish citizens currently living on the island, Mr Rzegocki said he “would like to encourage [them] to be more integrated, to be more active, more political and more cultural."

He continued: “People are more are more active, especially publicly active, when they have self-confidence. So when they can show that they have their own language [and] their own culture, they can organise some common events - Jersey-Polish events - and also with some other minorities. 

“I think this kind of this kind of exchange of experience, it can be very useful.”

Pictured: The Ambassador highlighted the importance that language plays in children understanding their roots.

For Polish students studying locally, he also commented on the importance of understanding their roots through language, saying that it would lead them to "learn more information about Poland and Central Europe" - something he still felt was often left out of British and Jersey education due to Poland's former communist rule, which only ended in 1989.

However, he emphasised that for Polish citizens wanting to keep their roots but integrate with Jersey society, that “the most important thing is to keep their language, but on the other hand to learn English and Jersey languages, and to appreciate both.”

He later highlighted that “in Poland there is a common understanding that a second language - especially English - is so important”, noting that there were many bilingual schools established in the country for this very purpose.

Part of the Ambassador's visit will focus on the preservation of declining languages - an issue he will discuss in a live Zoom session with Jerriais expert Geraint Jennings at 18:00. 

Discussing Poland's own minority languages, the ambassador noted his country’s history had lent itself to a broad range of languages being scattered around its landscape, due to its time as a Union with Lithuania in the late 16th and early 17th centuries making it one of the first truly multi-cultural societies.

“Poland used to be a multinational and multi-religious country, and of course we have some old dialects and there are some people who work hard to preserve these languages,” he explained.

“I think there are some similarities and we will try to exchange this experience in [the discussion].”

As a word to islanders of all nationalities ahead of his visit, the Ambassador offered a message of collaboration and cultural exchange: “Let’s integrate, let’s get to know each other, let’s visit each other, and let’s co-operate.

He added: “Because of the Iron Curtain, Poland was not present in British and Western minds for more than 40 years - so it’s high time to change this situation.”