Are They Fellow Countrymen or Not? The Migration of Ethnic Poles from Kazakhstan to Poland 1

Abstract

The article presents the process of migration of Kazakhs of Polish ancestry from Kazakhstan to Poland which has been taking place since the early 1990s. Poles deported in the past to Kazakhstan were mostly inhabitants of territories which did not belong to Poland; neither were they citizens of Poland. Therefore, the process of adaptation and integration was rather painful. The article points to factors that may simplify and those that may impede integration. The other problem, raised in the article, concerns the piecemeal policy towards Kazakhstan Poles, adopted by the Polish government, which seems risky if not dangerous. The author explains why it may cause a huge wave of illegal immigration to Poland.

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