Senior Polish Official Says Poland Open to Immigrants on Its Terms

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Anna Maria Anders, Poland's Secretary of State for International Dialogue and a Polish Senator laid out her country's immigration policy in a Washington Times op-ed published last week. It is the first time a member of the Polish government has written so directly and emphatically on this controversial topic, states the Polish National Foundation.

In contrast to myths about Poland's position on immigration, Anders wrote, "Poles have opened their doors to refugees nobody else in Europe wants: Ukrainians, displaced by Europe's own war. No other country has even acknowledged them. More than one million Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression have found safety here." Responding to claims that Poland rejects Muslim immigrants on principle, Anders explained that, "Poland has had ethnic minorities, including its own Muslim community since the 16th century."

However, Anders wrote, "Poles believe it is for them to decide whom they invite, and that Europe should protect its borders." She added that, "Poles reject having immigrants imposed on Poland, a sovereign state, against voters' will." 

In explaining Poland's immigration priorities, Anders is deeply passionate about repatriating the families of Polish citizens who were brutally deported in cattle cars to Siberia and other parts of the Soviet Union as a result of the Hitler-Stalin pact of 1939.

Anders is the daughter of Władysław Anders, famous World War II general who in 1941-42 led to freedom some 120,000 survivors -- Poles, Ruthenians, Jews, Belarusians, Ukrainians and others — held in the Soviet Russia. But many were left behind. "There are still Poles waiting to come home," Anders wrote. "For us, they deserve to be first in line."

Read the full op-ed HERE.

SOURCE Polish National Foundation