Poles Apart

A couple of years ago, Maryla Smolicz's Polish deli in Swindon was besieged with new arrivals seeking the comforts of imported kielbasa and advice on setting up life in the southern English town. They came to Britain because their earnings would far exceed what they made in Poland. "Now, they're all going home," says Smolicz. "This week alone, two couples have stopped by to thank me and say goodbye."

Since the European Union's enlargement in 2004, when Britain opened its job market to Europe's new member states, Poles have provided the British economy with a flood of cheap and plentiful labor. (Sweden and Ireland also opened their doors to East Europeans seeking work, while other E.U. countries delayed their legal arrival.) The immigration wave took Britain by surprise. While the government expected at most 13,000 East Europeans annually, nearly 800,000 applied for work permits between 2004 and the end of 2007. The stereotypical arrival was the Polish plumber, but thousands of professionals arrived too. Today, the community's U.K. directory lists Polish accountants and cardiologists, a hypnotist and a youth theater. Tesco supermarkets import Polish cookies and pâtés, and Britain's best-known tabloid the Sun put out the Polish-language Polski Sun in honor of Euro 2008.
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