In recent years the public discourses on Polish migration in the UK have rapidly turned hostile, especially in the context of economic crisis in 2008, and subsequently after the EU referendum in 2016. While initially Poles have been perceived as a 'desirable' migrant group and labelled as 'invisible' due to their whiteness, this perception shifted to the representation of these migrants as taking jobs from British workers, putting a strain on public services and welfare. While racist and xenophobic violence has been particularly noted following the Brexit vote, Polish migrants experienced various forms of racist abuse before that. This paper draws on narrative interviews with Polish migrant women illustrating their experiences of racism and xenophobia in Greater Manchester before and after the Brexit vote, and how they make sense of anti-Polish discourses and attitudes. This paper illustrates the importance of the interplay between the media and political discourses, class, race and the local context in shaping relations between Polish migrants and the local population.

In the context of post-2004 European migration, Polish migrants encounter super-diverse population (Vertovec 2007) in terms of different ethnicities, nationalities, cultures, religions, languages and social classes. Drawing on narrative interviews and focus groups with Polish migrant women, I explore my research participants' imaginaries about the classed, raced and gendered Other upon their arrival in Manchester and Barcelona. I explore the constructions of the classed English Other different from the imagined upper class and white British society; 'closed' Catalans contrasting the stereotypical perceptions of open and friendly Spaniards and foreigners; and ambivalent perceptions of black and Oriental others.I use the postcolonial critique in de-coding some of these constructions. I stress the importance of the context and space in which these perceptions may have developed and reinforced. I also explore the possibility of changing perceptions and the emergence of conviviality understood as a practical and dynamic process, which emerges from routine interaction between the recent arrivals and established individuals, not necessarily free from tensions. My work contributes to a better understanding of everyday social relations as it introduces a cross-cultural comparative and gendered approach to research on conviviality. Furthermore, instead of focusing on majority-minority relations, it explores encounters between post-2004 migrants not only with the native population but also with settled ethnic minorities and other migrants with attention to whiteness and deeply rooted classed and racialised perceptions of the Other.

No abstract

No abstract

The European Union expansion in 2004 resulted in significant changes in migration in Europe. For Spain, which did not open its labour market to the new accession countries until 2006, the extent of Polish migration has been substantially smaller than in countries like Britain. Hence, little scholarly attention has been paid to the experiences of Polish migrants in the Iberian Peninsula. Compared to other European cities, the case of Barcelona is significant, especially in terms of cultural diversity, Catalan identity and bilingual status, something that the newcomers are often unaware of. By drawing on the conceptual framework of conviviality and on data gathered through participant observation, narrative interviews and a focus group conducted with Polish women in Barcelona, this article concentrates on various forms of encounters with the local population. It argues that race, ethnicity, gender, language and spatiality are important factors influencing convivial relations. It contributes to the existing literature by exploring various forms and degrees of conviviality discussed as situated, not necessarily free from tensions and racialised and gendered perceptions of the Other.