Vietnamese people in Poland ( pl, Wietnamczycy w Polsce; vi, Người Việt tại Ba Lan) form one of the

ethnic minorities in Poland Following centuries of relative ethnic diversity, the population of modern Poland has became nearly completely ethnically homogeneous Polish as a result of the radically altered borders as well as both the Nazi German and Soviet Russian or P ...

. The Vietnamese-Polish community is the fourth-largest Vietnamese community in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, after

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and

Czechia The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Cz ...

, although its numbers are difficult to estimate, with common estimates ranging from 40,000 to 50,000 (2022). They are Poland's largest immigrant community whose culture is not European, and are often perceived by the Polish public as being one of the largest minorities in Poland; the factual verification of that claim is difficult due to lack of precise data. While enjoying economic success and, along with other immigrants, perceived as a competition in the workforce, the Vietnamese community is regarded positively in Poland.

Demography

There are no precise data on the number of Vietnamese people in Poland, as many, likely at least 50%, are

illegal immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwa ...

.SPOŁECZNOŚĆ WIETNAMSKA W POLSCE POLITYKA MIGRACYJNA WIETNAMU
Wydział Analiz Migracyjnych, Departament Polityki Migracyjnej Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych i Administracji, Warszawa, czerwiec 2007. P.34 The

Polish census of 2011 Polish census of 2011 ( pl, Narodowy Spis Powszechny 2011) was a census in Poland taken from 1 April to 30 June 2011. Results Population by voivodeships Source: National/ethnic identity The Census included two questions regarding national and ethn ...

had 4,027 respondents indicate Vietnamese as their nationality. The Vietnamese embassy and Vietnamese community leaders in Poland estimate that about 20,000 to 30,000 Vietnamese people may reside in Poland, though the Polish government in 2002 put the upper possible range at about 50,000. A 2008 Polish government report gave the range of 25,000–60,000, a 2012 media report also suggested an upper range of 60,000, while a 2014 academic paper provided an estimate of 35,000, with a note that this number is "hard to estimate".Nowicka, p.215 As they are Poland's largest immigrant community whose culture is not European, they are also one of Poland's most visible immigrant groups. Members of the Polish public commonly hold the mistaken belief that Vietnamese form Poland's largest foreign community, a title which in fact belongs to migrants from the

former USSR The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

. (in Polish) The Vietnamese-Polish population is concentrated in the Polish capital of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, and to a lesser extent in other major cities.

History

Poland–Vietnam relations grew from the 1950s and 1980s student exchange programs, during which time both Poland and Vietnam were communist countries.Nowicka, p.216-217 Following the Polish transition to a capitalist economy in 1990, Poland became a more attractive immigration destination for the Vietnamese people, in particular, small entrepreneurs; this triggered a second, larger wave of Vietnamese immigrants to Poland.Nowicka, p.216-217 Many began as vendors in the open air market bazaar at the

10th-Anniversary Stadium 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length&nb ...

selling clothes or cheap food; , there were between 1,100 and 1,200 Vietnamese-owned stands in the area. in Warsaw there were an estimated 500 Vietnamese restaurants, mostly serving fast food. The 10th-Anniversary Stadium has been called the center of the Vietnamese-Polish community. The Vietnamese community is also served by a number of non-governmental organizations, run by the community itself.

Language

Although English remains the most popular foreign language in Poland, there is an increasing number of students interested in other languages, including Vietnamese. In 2007, the Lac Long Quan School was opened in Warsaw to teach the language to Vietnamese children and provide Vietnamese adults working and living abroad with the opportunity to practice speaking their own language. Aside from learning the Vietnamese language, students are also educated in Vietnamese art, history, geography, culture, and customs. Additionally, the school holds festivals and other important events on special occasions like

Tết Tết (), short for Tết Nguyên Đán ( Chữ Hán: 節元旦), Spring Festival, Lunar New Year, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations in Vietnamese culture. The colloquial term "Tết" is a shortened form of ...

, Vietnamese lunar new year. Later, the school opened new branches in

Raszyn Raszyn is a village in Pruszków County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of an administrative district called Gmina Raszyn. It lies approximately east of Pruszków and south-west of Warsaw. The village has a popula ...

and

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

.School preserves Vietnamese language, culture in Polish capital
November 22, 2013. Tuoi Tre News. Retrieved 2015-11-07.

References

Notes

Sources

* *Ewa Nowicka, ''Young Vietnamese generation in Poland: caught between a rock and a hard place'', Przegląd ZachodniI, 2014, No. I