Goodbye Southampton?
Are the Polish migrants leaving the UK and heading home?
On Monday 24th of Nov in the Polish Embassy in London the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with the main Polish organizations in the UK to launch his ‘come back home' project aimed at encouraging Polish migrants to return to their country.
Mr Tusk's government has produced a handbook titled ‘A navigation for those who come back' and a new, well designed website with all information for repatriates' happy returns.
I was representing S.O.S.Polonia. I went there with many questions and came back with even more questions:
What do the Southampton Poles think about Mr Tusk's invitation? What are their plans? Will they stay? If so, why? Will they go? If so, why? And if they go is it going to be good news for our city?
We have got piles of copies of the Prime Minister's handbook in S.O.S. Polonia for those who want to 
say good-bye to Southampton. And today there was a little celebration in our centre - the first ‘navigation guide' was handed to a migrant who is heading back east. Urszula, 24, is going home after 3 and the half years in Southampton. She told us: ‘I know I will miss my job here and people I have worked with. I will miss this city. But I miss my family more than anything. So, many thanks and good-bye Southampton.'
Barbara Storey
