Three years ago, just as immigration was becoming a major political issue in Poland, he made his way through the deep swamps and forests on the Polish-Belarusian border.
Historically a country of immigration, Poland is a country of many people, from asylum seekers like Saad to millions of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war, and hundreds of thousands from around the world seeking to benefit from the fast. It is starting to attract more and more immigrants, from people to people. A growing economy. This demographic shift in what was until recently one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries in Europe is having political implications.
“Ten years ago there were 100,000 immigrants in Poland, now there are 2.5 million. We need to think about whether we are damaging social cohesion. It seems to me that it is borderline,” Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Duszczyk told Poland’s TVN television last year.
He was speaking as Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government launched a new immigration policy through 2030 titled “Take back control, keep people safe.”
The politics surrounding immigration are only becoming more intense. Poles elected a new president in May, making the issue a top concern.
Mr Tusk followed in the footsteps of his predecessors in the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party and moved to crack down on asylum seekers like Mr Saad.
