My Erasmus+ internship at Barka

During my Erasmus+ internship at Barka, I had the opportunity to engage in a variety of tasks that kept
each day dynamic and exciting. One of the highlights of my experience was attending the
Housing First conference at Dublin Castle, where I had the privilege of meeting fascinating
individuals and expanding my perspective.
What made my internship unique was that I was basically working for two different offices
at the same time. While working in the Dublin office, I managed various administrative
tasks. At the same time, I collaborated daily with Julie from the German office via Zoom,
contributing to Barka’s ongoing project in Berlin. This opportunity provided me with
invaluable insights and experience. I am genuinely inspired by the significant impact Barka
makes every day.
The supportive and friendly environment created by my colleagues made my time at Barka
especially enjoyable. I always felt a sense of belonging, thanks to Aneta’s constant
encouragement—even with concerns unrelated to work. This experience has been
incredibly rewarding, and I look forward to reconnecting with everyone in the future.

 

Jewhenija Kolot

Bonn, Gemany

Polish community in Ireland celebrates 20th anniversary of Poland joining the UE

Aneta Kubas from the arm of of Barka For Mutual Help IE and other representatives of Polish community in Ireland took part in a meeting with Minister of State for Community Development, Integration and Charities Joe O’Brien TD in Leinster House on 1.05.2024 to mark the 20th anniversary of Poland joining the EU and summarise the experiences of the 123,000 Polish migrants who have made Ireland their home. Among others problems the issue of Easter Europeans homelessness was discussed.

“We know that there’s a documented pattern of discrimination against Eastern Europeans, among them Polish workers, who earn 40% less than their Irish counterparts. And we know that migrants are disproportionately falling into homelessness with one in four newly presented homeless being EU migrants. The Dublin-based Polish homeless organisation ‘Barka’ is expanding to Limerick and Cork due to increased demands for services, with Romanians and Poles most often seeking support” Barnaba Dorda, Chair of Forum Polonia said.

We invite you to see the photo relation from this special event. Photo credit to Monika Chmielarz.

 

 

 

Reconnections January-September 2023

From the 1st of January until the 30th of September 2023, there were 120 persons reconnected:

  1. Romania 56
  2. Poland 28
  3. Latvia 8
  4. Ukraine 5
  5. Slovakia 5
  6. Portugal 3
  7. Italy 3
  8. Hungary 3
  9. Croatia 1
  10. Dutch 1
  11. Germany 1
  12. Turkey 1
  13. Iraq 1
  14. Belgium 1
  15. Czech Rep 1
  16. Canada 1
  17. Lithuania 1

Of which:

72 men
29 women
19 youngsters

Including: 9 families

From January to September 2023 we’ve had contacts with 340 individuals. We’ve had regular contact with many of the people whom we’ve met for the first time in previous years. In the meantime, we also met 282 newcomers.

Why is Ireland’s Polish community returning home?

‘Property prices here are much too high…The difference for what they’d get in Poland is mad’

Marta Starosta has lived in Ireland for almost 20 years now, having moved here as part of a large wave of Polish people who emigrated in search of better working opportunities in 2004, when Poland joined the EU.

Ireland was one of the few countries to allow immediate access to its labour market after EU accession of Poland, and Starosta was one of thousands who “moved here initially for work” at that time.

“It was great fun and good money compared to Poland. Then I got into bookselling and found my tribe, as they say,” she says, explaining that she never intended to stay in Ireland as long as she has.

It’s a similar story for many Polish people in Ireland, but now, after the Covid-19 pandemic and due to Ireland’s housing crisis and the rising cost of living, many are leaving Ireland to return home.

The latest census results showed the number of Polish people in Ireland has fallen significantly. While Polish remains the largest non-Irish nationality in the country, the numbers have fallen by almost a quarter (24 per cent) since 2016, from 122,515 to 93,680.

“People who came here just to save money to buy a house at home would’ve saved up enough by now, and property prices here are much too high to stay in Ireland. The difference for what they’d get in Poland is mad,” Starosta says.

Starosta has considered moving home some day, but feels Poland is “still very backwards on some social issues”.

“I’m married to an Irish woman here, and that influences my decision on whether we’d ever go back. We haven’t personally faced any issues when we visit, but the Catholic Church is still very strong. I would say people who value human freedom wouldn’t entirely want to bring up their kids in Poland,” she says.

An ILGA-Europe report released in May ranked Poland as having the worst record on LGBTQ+ rights in the EU for the fourth year in a row, behind Romania and Bulgaria.

Paulina Kordyl, who is originally from Krakow but has grown up in Ireland from a young age, shares a similar outlook.

“I think the reason people are leaving is the same as why Irish people or anybody else is. Ireland has a housing and cost-of-living crisis, and all these things really add up,” Kordyl says.

However, “the social issues and lack of some infrastructures would have me veto Poland as somewhere to return to raise a family,” she says.

“While the economy may be getting better, it’s still not on par with other parts of Europe,” she says. If Kordyl were to consider moving, it would be to a city like Berlin, she adds.

The people Kordyl knows who have returned to Poland in recent years are “of my parents’ generation, who lived here for a decade or two, then began to miss their childhood and the culture there, but the problem is their memory becomes more positive than reality”.

“Then they go back and are reminded of a huge workaholic culture, and it’s a very Catholic country even still – think Ireland 50 years ago. The church has a huge say in people’s lives.”

Krzysztof Kiedrowski, a representative from the Irish Polish Society, who moved to Ireland 18 years ago, takes the opposite view, saying part of the draw for many Polish people arriving in Ireland at that time was “the similar conservative, Catholic background, and the fact that has changed so much now makes some of us want to leave”.

“I don’t like the geopolitical views of Ireland now. I’m conservative and Catholic. We had different views on issues like abortion or gay marriage and people view us as bigots. You feel like you’re not as welcome because of that,” he says.

But, Kiedrowski says, by far the biggest reason for Polish people leaving is the housing crisis.

“There are many Polish people in homeless hostels in Ireland at the moment. When people came as economic workers they wanted to save some money and send some back home but if they have to spend the majority of their wages for rent then there’s no point to be in another country.”

A spokeswoman in the Dublin office of Polish charity Barka, which works with migrants from central and eastern Europe who have fallen through the cracks and ended up homeless, said the cost of living in Ireland was “a common reason” for Polish people returning home in recent years.

Samanta Stochla lived in Ireland for 13 years but returned home to Sosnowiec in 2021, where the cost of living is much lower. The city is in the top 34 per cent of the least expensive cities in the world on the database Livingcost.

Her decision to return home was “also connected to Covid and my studies being finished”, Stochla says.

The pandemic made people realise “there is more to life than just living abroad for money”, and not being able to visit family during periods of lockdown was difficult.

“My parents were sick and I wanted to help them. I always wanted to go back to Poland and it was just the right moment for me. I miss the atmosphere in Ireland but it was the right time for me to leave,” she explains.

Another reason why the official statistic may be significantly lower in the latest census is because some children born in Ireland to Polish parents “may not be accounted for as Polish”, as many of these children would have only Irish passports, the spokeswoman from Barka said.

This is the case for Paulina Kordyl’s younger sister, for whom “for any Government purposes, we usually put her down as Irish because it’s just easier,” she says.

“Even though you can have dual citizenship, the Polish bureaucracy is a nuisance for getting documents.”

Migrant rights activist Teresa Buczkowska says another issue that influences Polish people to return home is that “nobody really pays attention to the integration needs of Polish people in Ireland because they are white and European”.

“But Eastern Europeans were highly impacted by job losses during Covid, especially women, and we are discriminated against in the labour and housing market. We also have a language barrier and have to learn English. These are issues that are not visible because there isn’t enough research done or investment in services,” Buczkowska says.

“I think we are still experiencing a high number of Polish people coming to Ireland. Migration is always a very dynamic process. But there is also a limitation to the census. it doesn’t fully capture diversity because when some people are naturalising, they might choose to only identify as Irish,” she says.

That’s a question Buczkowska will be considering for herself very soon, as she will be applying for her Irish citizenship after almost 18 years in Ireland.

“I spent half of my life in Ireland already so I consider myself Polish Irish. But if I have to choose only one category, that will be hard,” she says, explaining that she was 22 when she arrived in Ireland, 18 years ago.

“Initially, I only intended to be in Ireland for a couple of months to earn some extra money to get a good start back in Poland. Suddenly, life went on and I’m still here. Ireland right now is home,” she says.

Moving to Poland after so many years would not be “a return home”, Buczkowska says; rather, “it would be another migration”.

“I go to Poland regularly on holidays to visit family but the country changed, and I changed. I don’t have the same networks there. The life I had in Poland doesn’t exist any more.”

Despite the census statistics, the Polish embassy in Dublin continued to observe “a very high level of activity and engagement from Polish organisations”, and the Consular and Polish Diaspora section was visited by more than 30,000 customers in 2022, Anna Sochanska, the Polish ambassador in Ireland, tells The Irish Times.

“It is worth noting that Polish nationals still make up 2 per cent of Irish society and 15 per cent of the non-Irish population in Ireland. The Polish language is still the most commonly-spoken foreign language. Therefore, in the opinion of the embassy, there may be even more Polish people living currently in Ireland,” Sochanska says.

There are currently about 90 Polish organisations in Ireland, among which almost 50 are Polish supplementary schools (language and culture schools which may operate at weekends).

The Polish diaspora is “palpable in every corner of the Irish economy and society”, she says; however, the economic situation in Poland has “greatly improved and the Polish government encourages Poles to return to Poland. These may be factors that make returning to Poland an attractive option.”

While the official statistics on the number of Polish people in Ireland shows a significant decrease in recent years, in contrast, numbers from India, Romania and Brazil have increased significantly since 2016.

The number of Brazilians in Ireland has more than doubled from 15,796 to 39,556 in this period, according to the CSO.

One of the main reasons for this is that Brazilians need only a work permit to migrate to Ireland, while other countries, such as the US, require a visa, which can be a more lengthy process.

Another draw is the ability to work and study at the same time. Ireland allows foreign students to work up to 20 hours a week or 40 hours a week during holidays, allowing Brazilians to learn English at language schools while earning an income, or study other courses.

So-called “Stamp 2″ students may stay in Ireland for an eight-month period if they enrol on a six-month English language course and have access to €3,000, or €500 per month. (These rates are due to rise to €4,200 or €700 per month from July 2023.)

Learners can avail of up to three Stamp 2 immigration permissions – each eight months in duration, or a maximum period of two years.

Brazilians make up the majority of the estimated 100,000-plus adults who study at English-language schools in a sector worth an estimated €2 billion to the economy.

Paula Bastos was one of these students who moved to Ireland from Brazil one year ago “because of how easy it is to get a visa to come here”.

“I had never lived abroad before I moved to Ireland. I first came here as a student because I didn’t know I was able to get a work permit but a few months in I learned that and now I’m a teacher here,” she says.

“Most Brazilians here are doing the same thing – taking a course and working part-time officially. It’s not only easy to get a visa, but it’s also not that hard of a process to get citizenship afterwards in a few years. So it’s the idea of having a European passport that makes many Brazilians stay.”

Bastos says the Brazilian community has grown so large in Ireland in recent years that integration isn’t as much of an issue as in the past, as “Brazilians don’t need to have much of a relationship with others if they don’t want to”.

“Most Brazilian students here work as cleaners or kitchen porters and don’t have a high level of English, so it’s easier to stick to the Brazilian community,” she says.

Bastos doesn’t intend to stay in Ireland for too long, though, due to the housing crisis mostly.

“The housing crisis is just absurd. Brazilian people are paying crazy amounts to share with loads of people or just very small places far from the city centre. I was lucky but that’s because I had contacts here,” she says.

“I do miss the weather in Brazil, too, so I won’t stay here forever,” she laughs.

Alongside the increase in Brazilians in Ireland in Census 2022, the results showed the number of non-Irish citizens usually resident in Ireland has increased and now accounts for 12 per cent of the overall population.

The biggest groups were still Polish and British citizens followed by Indian, Romanian and Lithuanian.

Those with dual nationality have also increased by 63 per cent to 170,597, representing just over 3 per cent of the population.

Source: https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2023/06/03/changing-face-of-ireland-property-prices-here-are-much-too-high-the-difference-for-what-theyd-get-in-poland-is-mad/

 

BARKA IE – Praca na stanowisku Asystenta Administracyjnego w Dublinie

Barka w Dublinie poszukuje pracownika do pomocy w sprawach biurowych i administracyjnych.

Barka Irlandia poszukuje pracownika do pomocy administracyjnej związanej z prowadzeniem biura w ramach programu Powroty bezdomnych obywateli Polski i innych krajów Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej. Od 2007 roku Barka prowadzi programy pomocowe  zagranicami Polski m.in. w Londynie, Dublinie, Hadze, Rotterdamie, Antwerpii i Rejkiawiku. Celem działań jest wsparcie bezdomnych migrantów zarobkowych w wyjściu z bezdomności ulicznej, uzależnień i trudności życiowych poprzez powrót do kraju i rozpoczęcie terapii i programów rehabilitacji społeczno-zawodowej w Polsce.

NAZWA STANOWISKA PRACY: Asystent Administracyjny

OPIS STANOWISKA PRACY:

– Wykonywanie zadań administracyjnych biura (obsługa korespondencji e-mail/fax/pocztowej), odbieranie telefonów, wsparcie zespołu BARKI w przygotowaniu KPI i raportów merytorycznych wymaganych przez Urząd Miasta Dublina

– Wsparcie przy składaniu wniosków o finansowanie dotyczących rozszerzenia działalności Barki, by móc pełniej odpowiadać na potrzeby bezdomnych obywateli Europy Środkowej i Wschodniej w Dublinie

-Tłumaczenia ustne i pisemne

– Zakup biletów lotniczych dla beneficjentów

– Rezerwacja noclegów dla beneficjentów przed powrotem do kraju pochodzenia

– Współpraca z Konsulatami Europy Wschodniej z siedzibą w Dublinie dotycząca wydania paszportów tymczasowych paszportów dla beneficjentów

– Rejestrowanie beneficjentów jako osób bezdomnych w Dublin City Council

– Umawianie spotkań dla beneficjentów w bankach/ instytucjach pomocy społecznej w Dublinie itd.

– Telefoniczne/e-mailowe udzielanie porad osobom w potrzebie

– Informowanie irlandzkich instytucji i organizacji o działalności Barki

WYMAGANIA: wykształcenie wyższe, znajomość systemu pomocy społecznej w Irlandii (znajomość instytucji i organizacji pracujących z osobami bezdomnymi). Umiejętność posługiwania się j. angielskim w mowie i piśmie w stopniu bardzo dobrym. Otwartość, serdeczny stosunek do drugiego człowieka, umiejętność pracy w zespole; Gotowość do odbycia kilkudniowego szkolenia w Barce jako etapu rekrutacji.

MIEJSCE PRACY: Biura Barki przy Dominick Street w Dublinie (stacjonarnie)

WYMIAR CZASU PRACY: pół etatu – 3 dni w tygodniu

WYNAGRODZENIE: 15 tys. Euro do 20 tys. Euro per annum

PRZEWIDYWANY CZAS ROZPOCZĘCIA PRACY: czerwiec 2023

Pierwszym etapem rekrutacji będzie rozmowa kwalifikacyjna w Dublinie, która odbędzie się maju br. Drugim etapem rekrutacji będzie kilkudniowe szkolenie w projektach Barki.

Osoby zainteresowane prosimy o przesłanie CV oraz listu motywacyjnego na adres: ewa.sadowska@barkaie.org do 22 maja 2023.

BARKA IRELAND

Interested in working as Administrative Assistant in Dublin?

 

Barka in Dublin will recruit a member of staff to help with office and admin matters.

 

Barka Ireland is looking to recruit an administrative assistant to help with admin work as part of the Reconnection programme supporting homeless citizens of Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. 

 

Since 2007, Barka has been running migrant support programs abroad, in Dublin, London, The Hague, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Reykjavik. The aim of the activities is to support CEE migrants in overcoming street homelessness, addictions and life difficulties by offering advice and assistance and if nessecary helping to return to the country of origin and access therapy and social and vocational integration and rehabilitation programs or to reunite with families.

 

Post: Administrative Assistant

Job description:

– Performing admin office tasks (handling e-mail/fax/postal correspondence),

answering telephones, support to BARKA front line team to prepare KPIs and content related reports required by Dublin City Council 

– Support with submitting project proposals for extending Barka’s activities to better assist    homeless citizens of Central and Eastern Europe 

-Translations 

– Purchasing plane tickets for clients (and staff for assisted reconnections) and producing relevant paperwork

– Arranging for hostel accommodation for clients, if needed, for the night before reconnection

– Requesting Eastern European Consulates based in Dublin to issue temporary passports for clients to be reconnected 

– Registering clients as homeless with Dublin City Council – if needed 

– Arranging office/bank/ welfare appointments for clients 

– Advising/ counselling clients in need via telephone/e-mail

– Advising Irish institutions and organisations on BARKA activities, taking referrals

REQUIREMENTS: higher education, knowledge of the social welfare system in Ireland (knowledge of institutions and charities supporting homeless people). Ability to use English in speech and writing to a very good degree. Openness, cordial attitude to other people, ability to work in a team; Readiness to undergo a few-days training in Barka as a stage of recruitment.

 

PLACE OF WORK: Barka Office in Dominick Street, Dublin 1 (stationary)

WORKING TIME: Part-time – 3 days a week

SALARY: Between 15.000 and 20.000 Euro per annum

ESTIMATED TIME TO START WORK: June2023

The first stage of recruitment will be an interview, which will take place in May this year. The second stage of recruitment will be a few-day training in Barka’s projects.

If you are interested, please send your CV and cover letter to: ewa.sadowska@barkaie.org by May 22, 2023.

 

Reconnections of vulnerable citizens of EU – Summary for the year 2022

During the year 2022, 113 people were reconnected via BARKA For Mutual Help IE to their home countries:

1) Romania – 61

2) Poland -26

3) Latvia – 6

4) Lithuania – 5

5) Slovakia – 4

6) Ukraina – 3

7) Czech Rep. – 3

8) Germany – 2

9) Hungarian – 1

10) Denmark – 1

11) Italia – 1

of which:

Men – 64

Women – 19

Children – 30

Barka also supported a further 26 people by organising passports for them.

“Supporting Minorities in a Changing Irish Landscape” Conference – call for registration

BARKA for Mutual Help Ireland – 10 years on

Monday, 5th December 2022

10.00 – 10.30 – Registration and refreshments

10.40 – Welcome Remarks and Introductions – Ewa Sadowska-Keogh, Chief Executive, BARKA Ireland

10.45 – Welcome Address by the selected Delegates

11.00 – BARKA Ireland – 10 years’ history: challenges and achievements – BARKA’s Reconnections Team

11.15 – Personal Testimony of Mariusz Zeleznikow

11.25 – 12.10 – Discussion Panel I: ‘Working with BARKA and other non-profit organisations to overcome homelessness’ – (with the participation of representatives of Central and Eastern European Consulates, Local authorities, Garda and prison service representatives, and local Homelessness Charities).

Moderator: Aneta Kubas, BARKA Ireland

12.10 – 12.55 – Discussion Panel II: ‘Finding new ways to cooperate between public, private and voluntary sector entities to create a new generation of partnerships and programs for social and professional integration to support vulnerable adults in a post-pandemic landscape in Ireland’ – (with participation from representatives of Local Authorities, BARKA Foundation-Poland, BARKA Netherlands, local Homelessness Charities).

Moderator: Andrew Keogh, BARKA UK

13.00 – 13.45 – Lunch and Networking

13.45 – 14.30 – Concert

14.30 – Complimentary visit to EPIC- The Irish Emigration Museum

VENUE: EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, Dublin 1

REGISTRATION: PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL WITH YOUR FULL NAME AND PHONE NUMBER TO: ANETA.KUBAS@BARKAIE.ORG

Reconnections of vulnerable citizens of EU – Summary for January-June 2022

From the 1st of January till the 30 of June 2022, 36 people were reconnected via BARKA For Mutual Help IE to their home countries:

29 men

3 women

4 children

NATIONALITY

Country of origin

Number of reconnections

Poland

13

Romania

13

Lithuania

4

Czech Rep

2

Slovakia

2

Italy

1

Latvia

1

Total

36

O Barce w TVP Polonia

Działania Barka for Mutual Help Ireland zaprezentowała w maju polonijna stacja TVP Polonia.

Pracownicy z Dublina opowiedzieli o flagowym programie Powroty, dzięki któremu do swoich krajów powróciło tylko w ubiegłym roku 77 Polaków, Litwinów, Łotyszy, Słowaków, Węgrów, Bułgarów, Brytyjczyków i Rumunów. Przybliżyli także sposoby wspierania osób potrzebujących na miejscu, w stolicy Irlandii.

Program został nagrany przed centrami pomocowymi dla osób bezdomnych, z którymi Barka współpracuje na co dzień: Capuchin Day Centre oraz Merchants Quay Ireland.

Program można obejrzeć pod linkiem: https://polonia.tvp.pl/48045493/polacy-pomagaja-bezdomnym-w-dublinie.

Infolina NFZ w spr. koronawirusa dla dzwoniących zza granicy

Od teraz z infolinią NFZ połączysz się z zagranicy

Polski NFZ uruchomił dodatkowy numer Telefonicznej informacji pacjenta dla osób dzwoniących z zagranicy w sprawie koronawirusa.

Od teraz osoby korzystające z usług zagranicznych operatorów mogą zadzwonić pod całodobowy numer infolinii:

(+48) 22 125 66 00

Więcej informacji: https://www.nfz.gov.pl/aktualnosci/aktualnosci-centrali/od-teraz-z-infolinia-nfz-polaczysz-sie-z-zagranicy,7676.html