Poles in Kazakhstan and the problem of their repatriation

Abstract

The Polish population in Kazakhstan that came there as result of forced displacement from the Ukraine has been staying there for about 65 years. Because of the long-lasting process of denationalising and Russification the descendants of the Polish deportees speak very poor Polish and know little about Polish traditions and culture. The ethnic policies of the Kazakh authorities and the Poles difficult economic situation have a very negative influence on the contemporary Polish population in Kazakhstan, as Poles belong to the poorest groups of Kazakhstan’s population. Despite these difficulties Poles are reviving their Polish identity. They have formed the Polish Association in Kazakhstan and many other Polish organizations. Owing to teachers coming from Poland also the Polish language is being taught there. Also Polish pastorate is being organised. Poland gives financial aid to Poles in Kazakhstan; the same kind of aid is also given by the Polish community in Southern California and especially by the Committee for Aid to Poles in the East that is located in Los Angeles and whose chairman is Franciszek Kosowicz. In 1990-1998 this aid amounted to $9305.

However, Poles in Kazakhstan are interested not so much in financial aid, as in a possibility of returning to Poland. At a congress of representatives of Polish organisations in Kazakhstan that took place in Karaganda in April 1994 a fundamental question to the Polish authorities was formulated: are they going to carry out a mass repatriation? The next years brought struggle for repatriation not only of Polish organisations in Kazakhstan but also of Polish colonies in various countries, especially the colony in America led by F. Kosowicz. The Polish authorities' attitude has also undergone changes – from a strict statement that Poland cannot afford a mass repatriation to the recent decisions that have prepared a legal conception of partial repatriation spread over the period of many years.