7 Polish spaces in a divided city
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Marta Kempny
Abstract
Polish people currently form the largest ethnic minority in Northern Ireland. Sectarian divides within Northern Irish society have affected how Poles have felt included and excluded in local communities. The focus of this chapter is on perceptions of inclusion and exclusion among Polish migrants in Belfast. It critically examines migrants’ constructions of space in Belfast, which is a city entrenched with social divisions, along lines of religion, ethnicity and class. The chapter draws on longitudinal interviews with fifteen Poles who have lived in Belfast for a decade in Protestant, Catholic and mixed areas of the city. Particular attention is paid to how the Polish migrants make sense of spaces ‘in between’, which include streets, alleyways, sidewalks, bus stops, parks and open spaces. The chapter sheds light on the everyday experiences of exclusion and inclusion and how the perceptions of Polish settlers have shifted over time. It also addresses the reactions of interviewees to changes in social and political attitudes in the UK in the wake of the Brexit vote.
Abstract
Polish people currently form the largest ethnic minority in Northern Ireland. Sectarian divides within Northern Irish society have affected how Poles have felt included and excluded in local communities. The focus of this chapter is on perceptions of inclusion and exclusion among Polish migrants in Belfast. It critically examines migrants’ constructions of space in Belfast, which is a city entrenched with social divisions, along lines of religion, ethnicity and class. The chapter draws on longitudinal interviews with fifteen Poles who have lived in Belfast for a decade in Protestant, Catholic and mixed areas of the city. Particular attention is paid to how the Polish migrants make sense of spaces ‘in between’, which include streets, alleyways, sidewalks, bus stops, parks and open spaces. The chapter sheds light on the everyday experiences of exclusion and inclusion and how the perceptions of Polish settlers have shifted over time. It also addresses the reactions of interviewees to changes in social and political attitudes in the UK in the wake of the Brexit vote.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures and tables vii
- Notes on contributors viii
- Introduction 1
- 1 Traveller health inequalities as legacies of exclusion 22
- 2 Sectarian legacies and the marginalisation of migrants 33
- 3 Institutional responses to racism in both Irelands 47
- 4 African asylum seekers and refugees in both Irelands 58
- 5 African non-employment and labour market disadvantage 72
- 6 The lives of Filipino-Irish care workers 89
- 7 Polish spaces in a divided city 100
- 8 Experiences of racism in social housing 113
- 9 Roma rights and racism 126
- 10 Normalising racism in the Irish media 140
- 11 Children and young people on the margins 160
- 12 Immigrant-origin children and the education system 173
- 13 Young Muslims as insiders and outsiders 186
- 14 Brexit, borders and belonging 200
- 15 Hyphenated citizens as outsiders 213
- Conclusion 229
- Select bibliography 243
- Index 250
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures and tables vii
- Notes on contributors viii
- Introduction 1
- 1 Traveller health inequalities as legacies of exclusion 22
- 2 Sectarian legacies and the marginalisation of migrants 33
- 3 Institutional responses to racism in both Irelands 47
- 4 African asylum seekers and refugees in both Irelands 58
- 5 African non-employment and labour market disadvantage 72
- 6 The lives of Filipino-Irish care workers 89
- 7 Polish spaces in a divided city 100
- 8 Experiences of racism in social housing 113
- 9 Roma rights and racism 126
- 10 Normalising racism in the Irish media 140
- 11 Children and young people on the margins 160
- 12 Immigrant-origin children and the education system 173
- 13 Young Muslims as insiders and outsiders 186
- 14 Brexit, borders and belonging 200
- 15 Hyphenated citizens as outsiders 213
- Conclusion 229
- Select bibliography 243
- Index 250
