"There are about a million Ukrainian refugees in Poland, according to UNHCR statistics from September. Kholkina is not one of them; she is one of nearly half a million Ukrainians in the country who arrived prior to 2022, and has lived in Poland for more than a decade. I'm more Polish than Ukrainian now but I never thought someone would lecture me on how to talk to my own family, she said."
"Since the assault, she has panic attacks, and has told her daughter to never speak Ukrainian in public. Her experience was extreme and the attacker ended up being sentenced to 14 months in prison but the experience of receiving abuse for speaking Ukrainian in public has become widespread. Things feel more tense now, said Aliona, a 39-year-old entrepreneur who lives in a small town in western Poland."
Valeriia Kholkina was assaulted in Szczecin after a stranger told her to teach her daughter Polish when overhearing Ukrainian; both parents were physically attacked and the attacker received a 14‑month prison sentence. There are about one million Ukrainian refugees in Poland per UNHCR (September), while nearly half a million Ukrainians arrived before 2022 and many have lived in Poland for over a decade. The initial large-scale Polish support after Russia's 2022 invasion has declined, and surveys record rising negative perceptions of Ukrainians, fuelled by a rightward shift in migration debates and resurfacing historical grievances. Many Ukrainians now avoid speaking Ukrainian in public.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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