13.06.08
"Euro orphans": One in ten Polish fathers has left
The children of migrants left behind in Poland by one or both parents are more likely to suffer from learning difficulties or addictions, a Polish study found.
The European Rights Foundation presented the alarming results of its study into the situation of children whose parents left to work abroad at the Civil Forum in Warsaw on Monday.
It found that the so-called “Euro orphans” bear separation poorly. They suffer from stress and are more likely to skive school and become aggressive.
The study conducted among 110,000 families in the Masovian Voivodeship found that one in ten fathers and four percent of mothers had left the capital region to work abroad.
Dr. Maria Kolankiewicz from the Faculty of Education at the University of Warsaw said that family separation had negative effects on child development, but the child’s age made a difference: “A 13-year old can talk to their parents on Skype. But the situation is different when young children are involved.
“Two years of absence are not long for adults, but for young children it is almost their entire life.”
Judge at Olsztyn Family Court Jacek Ignaczewski said the region used to be poor and agricultural and now people had no perspectives, adding: “What’s better for a child: a drunk father or one who is gone because he is working abroad?
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