Why do only men come? Why don't they stay to fight? They must be organized and have some hidden agenda. They actually look like a camouflaged army. Migrants. The word itself sounds ominous. Like some military unit. Terrorist. We also have to send the army to the borders. If they settle, chaos will follow. Where are the women and children, why did they leave them alone? This or a similar stream of consciousness has been around many European white heads for the past ten years. But there was one exception. And her name is Ukraine.
After the Russian invasion of that country, millions of refugees decided to leave it. And in that case, the usual concerns of the guardians of European tradition and culture disappeared. Namely, Europeans came, people with whom we share skin color and culture. And, importantly, the majority were women and children. Criticism was directed only at those Ukrainians with expensive cars. Suddenly, the suppressed class instinct was awakened and in every BMW with Ukrainian registrations, the treacherous bourgeoisie was recognized. However, enthusiastic solidarity began to slowly dry up and gradually turn into tension. Like for example in Poland. Because when it comes to refugees, and politics in general, culture is never enough.
The central problem is the import of Ukrainian grains. Namely, their low price calls into question the incomes of farmers in EU countries, and in Poland this problem is even more acute because a significant part of the voting base of Law and Justice (PiS), the party in power, is located in rural areas. But that is not the only economic problem when it comes to the status of Ukraine and Ukrainians in Polish society. Research shows that the most opposed to the continuation of support for Ukrainian refugees in that country is a demographic group that few would expect: women aged 18 to 39. But, as Lily Lynch points out in her precise article, this phenomenon is not difficult to explain. Among the 1,5 million Ukrainians who fled to Poland, women predominate, and they have opened more than a thousand companies and trades in so-called women's professions, such as hairdressing and cosmetics. And that's how they "forced" Polish women into fierce competition and a possible lack of income. So you don't have to be male and non-white to be a migration problem. Because culture is not enough.
A similar conclusion is imposed in the German case. Alarms about the country's "overcrowding" of foreigners and the alleged consequent rise in popularity of the AfD echo within an enviable contradiction: Germany is short of manpower. This contradiction is mainly explained by cultural mismatches: people cannot bear to become strangers in their own country and culture. The problem, as Adam Tooze points out in a column in the Financial Times, is somewhat more banal. AfD's growth in popularity can only be stopped by public investments in the housing, education and care sectors. The German model of growth and competitiveness in the last fifteen years, based on reining in labor costs and cheap gas, has exhausted itself. Among other things, biology has taken its toll, and new workers are needed. Cultural integration itself has its limits, as surveys show. Germany suffers from chronic public underinvestment and changes in that segment are crucial for the successful integration and coexistence of people of different cultures. Because, we repeat, culture alone is not enough.
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