Second-Rate Citizens or Britain Through the Eyes of Polish Immigrants

Second-Rate Citizens or Britain through the Eyes of Polish Immigrants is a true page-turner. The authors have shown tremendous powers of observation while describing a number of work situations and behaviours. Their stories give a considerable insight into the lives of immigrants struggling to survive in the UK, and at the same time break the stereotype, held by many continental Europeans, about the British being warm and friendly towards foreigners. Like many other citizens of the...
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Second-Rate Citizens or Britain through the Eyes of Polish Immigrants is a true page-turner. The authors have shown tremendous powers of observation while describing a number of work situations and behaviours. Their stories give a considerable insight into the lives of immigrants struggling to survive in the UK, and at the same time break the stereotype, held by many continental Europeans, about the British being warm and friendly towards foreigners. Like many other citizens of the former Communist Bloc seeking employment that would earn them a decent living in the UK, the authors believed in the assurances of British head-hunters about the law-abidingness and high culture of the British. Meanwhile, what they encountered was parochial attitudes, xenophobia, sloppiness and cunning which they would never have suspected to experience in Britain. Many an immigrant paid a high price for the so-called better life. By revealing facts, often hidden from family and friends, about the treatment of foreign citizens working in the UK, the book lays bare the true nature of the British and stimulates reflection. The careful reader will think twice whether it really makes sense for anyone to swap their dignity for a flat and a slightly better standard of living. The stories described here could well be turned into a TV serial about foreigners living and working in Britain and also, in a broader context, about different attitudes of the British, and the changes undergone by the immigrants. Let us hope that this book will become the first step in the process of demythologizing the "amazing" British, and that there will be more books which will allow the British to take a more careful look at their behaviours and draw the right conclusions. Do read this book.