Development of Social Capital in the Situation of Migration Intensification

In Poland migration is intensifying, which is a challenge for the society. Such a situation creates various problems, among which the most important one is the state of social capital and social trust. The society is looking for ways to overcome economic, political and psychological barriers to the development of social capital in a situation where immigrants are an important element. That search for a solution enhances the national identity and the basis 105 Development of Social Capital in the Situation of Migration Intensifi cation for creation or revival of the sense of ‘we-community’. The development of inter-cultural communication, communication between representatives of different cultures, holders of diverse national identities, objectively is of complex character. Therefore, it is necessary to pass from the mode of analysing problems at the level of everyday practice to the level of humanistic values; and it is necessary to become aware that the values are common and – consequently – on that basis to start everyday practice organised according to the rule of partnership. Describing the statistical picture of the Ukrainians in Poland we present also the features of that process, which are not reflected in the statistical data commonly available. The analysis covers the process of the development of the practice that regulates the migration both top-down and at the grass roots (bottom-up). The article also depicts social initiatives and citizens’ activities to optimise the functioning of the cultural diversity inside the society, to organise a system of cooperation of ‘new’ and ‘old’ members to finally create a community with social capital at the level of the country, the region and each organisation. ROZWÓJ KAPITAŁU SPOŁECZNEGO W SYTUACJI INTENSYFIKACJI MIGRACJI


Mobility and social trust in Poland
In recent years, the situation related to migration has changed significantly in Poland, resulting in social discussion, polarization of public attitudes, confrontation of citizens' views, and assessment of the current migration situation. Generally -a humanistic, altruistic orientation to help immigrants becomes a subject of criticism as it does not take into account reality. Moreover, there is a negative attitude towards immigrants, the position of non-acceptance, rejection, opposition to "strangers", aversion to their presence in a nearly mono-ethnic country. These elements have a significant impact on the development of social capital in Poland.
However, it should be remembered that the level of development of this capital -determined by the level of social trust -is still low. Therefore, it is worth analysing the possibilities of minimizing the negative impact of the growing migration on Polish society. The studies on public trust which have been conducted since 2002 show that Poles are rather distrustful. The vast majority of them -76%believe that caution and suspicion should be exercised in relation to the others, and 22% that people can be trusted. The aforementioned lack of trust is also illustrated by the synthetic index of trust, defining a generalized attitude in social relations including trust versus distrust. In total, 68% of respondents believe that one must be careful in approaching people, 25% of whom are characterized by an attitude of strong distrust. At the other extreme of the index, those who trust others constitute 25%, whereas only 9% say they are very open towards people. 1 This is also reflected in the attitude towards migrants who come to our country. It is worth noting that it depends on many factors, for example, social, economic, demographic, place of residence, political views, as well as the country of origin of migrants. The last factor is particularly important. Research conducted by the Centre for Public Opinion Research (CBOS) shows that we are definitely more amiable towards the immigrants from Ukraine. In 2016, 57% of respondents declared this attitude, while in 2017 -55%. 2 Poland has long been and still remains a country with a high level of emigration. At the same time, however, the number of immigrants is increasing significantly. According to Brigida Sologa, Polish immigration is still limited, but it may cause tensions in social awareness. 3 This tension reflects a sense of threat to the development of society, its integrity and social capital. The actual obstacle to the development of social capital is not the mere presence of immigrants, but the disagreement of members of civil society over the problem of the dissimilarity (ethnic, cultural, religious, etc.) of immigrants.

From indifference to firmness
This situation could be seen as a turn in the development of the socio-cultural process in the 21st century, if we remember that the 20th century ended with postmodernity, in other words -an era of indifference. As Zygmunt Bauman writes, fluent modernity is a state of reconciliation with the failure of all social projects, deprivation of land-making ambitions, 4 consent to the lack of answers to the ultimate questions. Such an attitude allowed or even created the background of intellectual lack of opposition to the spread of instability, risk, total revisionism, rejection of the hierarchy of cultural content. But already in the first decade of the 21st century, the state of dispersion of social energy, deliberate or spontaneous social "de-capitalization" started to pass away. The increasingly progressive disappearance of trade, consumption and communication borders became the subject of critical analysis. The practices of securing and guarding the boundaries of all kinds are widening, while strengthening of migratory activity plays the role of an important stimulator.
More and more energy is being spent on the development and strengthening of identity. The criticism of fluidity is turning into an appeal for a return to the eternal values. Social capital and the development of social trust are becoming the key topics of reflection in the public and scientific spheres. It was not by coincidence that the debate of the 16th Congress of the Polish Sociological Association was held under the motto "Solidarity in times of distrust".
Social capital is formed through social relations. It supports the credibility of society and its members, creates a reservoir of social trust and various benefits. 5 Among the socio-psychological benefits, the sense of "we-community" present in the public awareness is particularly important. It ensures solidarity between the members of society, indicating the significance of the social contract. The process of building social capital has its specificity in various regions of the world. It has been noticed that in China there is the concept of "guangxi", similar in content to the concept of "social capital", but not identical with it, because it is based on "mutual help of friends and selflessness". 6 But it can be considered rightful for the entire mankind, that a person who lives in a society with a high social capital believes themselves to be the holder of values shared with others, uses common symbols and definitions and a common way of defining social status. And every society openly or implicitly aims to expand, increase social capital.

Two directions in the development of social capital
Many different methods are used to achieve this goal. Generalizing, they can be divided into two directions: 1) integration of the community on the basis of confrontation with someone or something (forced by external circumstances -"involuntary"); 2) internal integration of the community, without opposing its real or imagined "enemies", through creating conditions in which the community experiences heterogeneity. These two ways of strengthening social capital are alternative to each other. The first one is to strengthen homogeneity, while the second -to develop the internal wealth of society based on the parallel development of various behaviour strategies, self-realization based on the diversity of socio-cultural identities.
The first direction can be described as "traditional". However, the orientation on the full homogeneity model has never led to long-term stabilization, and in the age of globalization it is the proof of fundamental short-sightedness, utopianism. And the persistent pursuit of this model inevitably leads to the degeneration of patriotism and its replacement with nationalism (xenophobia, chauvinism), and in culture -to the glorification of banality, simplification of symbolic systems, consequently leading to a blind alley of monolithic unity.
On the other hand, however, the open model may also pose problems with the development of social capital. Nevertheless, just under the influence of the others, thanks to the thoughts of the others, social capital appears. It becomes the subject of analysis and awareness.
In a situation where the globalization process significantly affects social practices and social awareness, the problem of the close presence of the others and the development of a proper attitude towards them becomes more and more important. As Umberto Eco writes: "On the one hand, we can get to know ourselves only in the presence of the Other … But we are more willing to consider the Other unbearable … And thus making the Other become our enemy, we create hell on earth". 7 It can be said that without the Other's presence, the sense of "we-community" exists only potentially, there is no reason for it to manifest. And the appearance of the others makes people focus on self-determination, on revealing the extent of their own civic responsibility, on deciding who and from whom to defend -currently or alternatively.
Contemporary open world sets more and more complicated tasks for nations and people who create them, including the development of such a relation of "ours" and "others", which would not lead to the loss of identity, but also would not increase the tension between people -and groups of people -with different identities.
Of course, in modern society, globalization can not overcome "oursness", or vice versa. The development of social trust as the nucleus of social capital includes formulation of strategies for the transition to the sustainable development of diversity, heterogeneity, and the partnership of entities that are neither similar nor equal.

Searching for the optimal attitude towards immigrants
Stereotypically, a migrant is seen as a person from a less developed society, a carrier of a "lower" culture. This perception generates a "double standard" of humanism. It "justifies" the lack of respect for immigrants, gives rise to fear, phobias, a sense of superiority over "not-ours", causes hatred, indifference, thoughtlessness, irritation. Barriers to the development of social and cultural capital in the situation of intensification of migration can be conditionally divided into: economic, socio-political and psychological.
In fact, the first group of barriers is insurmountable and has an immensely strong impact on the other two. However, culture and education can play a crucial role. There are no and can not be simple solutions in the sphere of co-existence of interests and values of representatives of various ethnic groups and nations. But progress in the development of openness becomes possible on the basis of "reflexive modernization". 8 The necessary condition for such progress is the change of priorities within the social capital itself, when the process of developing the cultural capital of the community becomes not only nominally but realistically, in the perception of people, the main component of the development of social capital as a whole. However, to this day, there is a difference between the reported and subconsciously taken into account criteria for the assessment of "others". Evaluation of the value of newcomers, their morality, ways of behaviour, the specificity of etiquette and customs is largely influenced by the assessment of their economic situation, their material capital. In today's society, developing the principle of humanism, proclaiming the supremacy of human values, a situation is still recreating -and sometimes intensifying -in which an individual is unable to defend his dignity without relying on material capital.
In the social consciousness, classic economic capital still remains the main factor determining the social position. It affects the status of a social entity. But dialogue, partnership -the main form of social capital development -assumes communication from the position of equality. Let this equality be not absolute but relative.
Jurij Łotman writes about how the principle of "equality of the unequal" proclaimed by Socrates can be implemented. His analysis of the mechanism of maintaining diversity, when cultures do not combine, but together create a higher-level reality, is difficult and complicated, but very much needed today as the basis for a logistical organization of socio-cultural and educational practices: "An ideal model becomes a ternary structure, in which each whole is a part of a whole of a higher order, and each part is a whole at a lower level. The development of the phenomenon is achieved not in the way of joining new elements by accumulation, but in the way of inclusion -up -to the unity of higher levels as part of this unity". 9

The current wave of migration from Ukraine -a statistical approach
This analysis becomes more important in the context of the enlargement of immigration. The number of Ukrainian citizens has risen sharply on the Polish labour market since 2014. Important factors that caused their inflow are the deteriorating economic situation in Ukraine as well as the armed conflict in the east of this country. The new wave of immigration differs significantly from the previous one, this is the one from before 2014. According to data from the turn of 2015 and 2016, more men migrate to Poland (57.9% compared to 32.9% among former migrants), the majority are young people (the average age is 32.8 years compared to 42.8 in the previous wave of migration), there is a higher percentage of people from Eastern Ukraine (28.4% compared to 6.3%), fewer people with children 10 (46.0% compared to 75.6%) (www.nbp.pl/aktualnosci/) wiadomosci_2016).
The table below presents data on registered declarations and issued work permits for Ukrainian citizens in the years 2010-2017. The table below shows data on the issue of work permits for Ukrainian citizens in 2017 alone. The data presented in the table illustrate the scale of the phenomenon, where within only a few years there were significant changes in the quantitative range of people who found a job on the Polish labour market. Admittedly, other categories of foreigners also have access to the Polish labour market, including citizens of: Belarus, Moldova and Russia, but a fundamental change, the increase was observed in relation to Ukrainians. According to the expertise of the Center for Eastern Studies from October 2017, the number of Ukrainian citizens currently staying in Poland is about half a million people, 11 and according to estimates of the NBP Department of Statistics in 2017, about 900,000 Ukrainian citizens lived on average. 12 However, according to data at the disposal of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, in 2017 more than 1.8 million declarations were filed as well as 234,000 work permits for foreigners. It is worth noting that in this group 82% of permits and 94% of declarations concerned Ukrainian citizens. It is estimated that by the end of 2018, the number of Ukrainians working in Poland is to reach 3 million. 13 Whereas, referring to the data of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, the Minister of Investment and Development, indicated that 1.8 million statements from Ukrainians were registered in 2017. However, assessing the chances in real terms, 1.2 million people were employed in the labour market. 14 According to data from 2016, the vast majority of them were employed as unskilled manual workers (70.7%), in households (37.6%), in construction, in repairs and finishing works (23.6%), agriculture (19.3%). In the first of these sectors mainly women worked, while in the remaining -men. The Ukrainian students are a special, fast-growing group of immigrants. About 40% of this group claims that they see their future in Poland, and over 30% in the future want to be at least partially related to Poland. 15 In general, the majority of Ukrainian workers find employment in the abovementioned sectors of the labour market. It is also worth noting that a small percentage of them found employment in the IT industry, as representatives of medical professions or teachers, as reported by the Central Statistical Office that for this 11 www.udsc.gov.pl/statystyki/raporty-specjalne/biezaca-sytuacja-dotyczaca-ukrainy/ (5.05.2018 type of activity several hundred permits were issued in 2017. A similar phenomenon is also observed in relation to institutions important from the point of view of social capital. In this type of institutions, for example among symphonic musicians or opera singers, there are also more and more Ukrainians. An example of this can be provided by, for example, cultural institutions in Szczecin. These apparent changes, in fact do not affect the professional structure of immigrants. It did not change fundamentally also in 2018.
Below is a chart showing the structure of employment among Ukrainian citizens. In summary, the majority of visitors from behind the Bug river come for a short time to earn some money and later return to their country. Usually, after some time, they appear again on the Vistula. For the vast majority, emigration is profitable, repeatable and fleeting. Over the past five years more than half of Ukraine's citizens have been to Poland several times, and the average stay lasted for 1-6 months. It is also worth noting that some of them want to settle permanently in Poland. In this case, we refer to 11% of Ukrainian citizens coming to our country. 16

Intentions of immigrants and migration policy
The majority of Ukrainians coming to Poland intend to return to their country after completion of the employment period. A dozen or so percent come with the intention of staying in Poland permanently. The two categories of immigrants mentioned above function differently in society. One may risk the statement that it is the smaller part of immigrants that causes the greatest concern, because it consists of foreigners planning to become part of Polish society, and at the same time they do not intend -and can not -change their ethnicity or become socially and culturally identical.
The main document that determines the shape of migration policy is "Poland's migration policy -current status and postulated actions" adopted by the Polish government in 2012. 17 It focuses, as it did earlier, on the integration of ethnic Poles returning from abroad. Yet the document lacks important solutions regarding the integration offer addressed to migrants arriving in our country, and the steps taken in this field are in the early stages of development. The authors of the document themselves recognize that up to now there have been no comprehensive solutions that would significantly affect the integration process. Given the lack of programs and integration offer, an attempt can be made to determine the future actions and tasks to be carried out in this area over the next few years. Despite the existing gap in integration activities, this does not mean "total absence of certain elements facilitating the process of social integration for migrants in the legal and organizational system". 18 At this point, one should mention foreigners who are privileged in terms of entry and stay, for example, people with Polish origin, entrepreneurs, highly qualified economic migrants, people coming as part of family reunification as well as students and PhD students. In addition, the solutions in the field of social assistance, education, health care or the labour market, which regulate the access of specific groups of foreigners to the above-mentioned areas deserve attention. 19 In this respect, the last of these elements seems particularly important -the labour market as a platform for joint integration and building social capital. Let us therefore pay attention to its specificity. Based on the declaration procedure, access to the labour market has been simplified for some groups of foreigners. Therefore, short-term jobs in Poland are obtainable to citizens of Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and since 2014 -Armenia. 20 The aforementioned procedure consists of issuing an appropriate declaration by the employer who is registered in the poviat employment office. The employer does not have to seek a work permit for foreigners, issued by a territorially competent voivode. It is worth adding that these provisions have undergone further changes. Regulations regarding the employment of foreigners have been different since 1 January 2018. These changes result from the Act of 20 July 2017 on amending the Act on the promotion of employment and labour market institutions 21 and some other acts. For this purpose, to improve the flow of information between potential employers and employees, the Labour Market Department has prepared information leaflets -for employers "How to employ a foreigner? -basic principles since January 1, 2018. -Information for employers" -in Polish and for foreigners "Work in Poland -basic information for foreigners" in Ukrainian, Russian, English and Polish. 22 The specificity of migration to Poland therefore is a consequence of some of the applied legislative solutions. Therefore, steps should be taken to improve integration, not on the basis of absorption, but rather synthesis, where both the receiving and the arriving parties cooperate in a system similar to partnership. In practice, this would be manifested by the foreigners' taking over certain elements of the culture of the society of the state in which they reside while maintaining their own cultural identity. These actions, both in relation to short-term migrants and especially those seeking to reside in Poland permanently, seem not only justified but also needed.

Governmental and non-governmental ways of partnership development
It can therefore be considered that such a link connecting both parties for whom integration activities constitute an important reference point are migrant and non-governmental organizations. Obviously, one cannot ignore institutional solutions implemented at the governmental level by, among others, the Ministry 20 www.mpips.gov.pl/praca/zatrudnienie-cudzoziemcow (1.07.2018). 21 www.prawo.sejm.gov.pl (30.06.2018 of Labour and Social Policy, the Office for Foreigners, and the Ombudsman at whose office the Experts Committee on Migration was appointed. Nevertheless, organizations that are "closer to people", and such are undoubtedly NGOs and migrant associations, are a good example of bottom-up building of social capital. Increasingly, they engage in integration activities, their representatives often take part in public debates related to the analysed subject matter. Admittedly, in Poland the network of this type of organizations is small, except for, well-established in the national realities, Vietnamese, Armenian or Ukrainian communities. 23 It should also be emphasized that the above-mentioned flagship document on migration policy in our country does not include regional integration solutions. Thus, the conclusion arises that the task of developing a reproduction model of socially -cultural practices of interaction including all categories of migrants is becoming more and more needed.
It can be assumed that with regard to migrants arriving for work, it is important to assist them in maintaining their ties with their country, for example, in the form of the development of Ukrainian information portals, where information on the economic situation on the labour market is available. The online newspaper for Ukrainians in Poland "Our Choice" has already been created. The basic mission of this journal is: "Supporting the development of cultural, educational, economic and political contacts between Poland and Ukraine and promoting democratic values and civil society". 24 Whereas for immigrants wishing to stay in Poland, it is important to develop contacts with representatives of the Ukrainian minority, who are able to show economic, social and psychological problems that Ukrainians face as Polish citizens, who can share their experiences and help in solving problems.
It can therefore be noted that an important element of the development of social capital and social cohesion, which reflects the European traditions of civil society development, and which helps in the implementation of the EU strategy implemented by the Social Capital Foundation established in 2002, 25 is to create a network of non-governmental organizations that help acclimatize immigrants in a new country. In the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, such organizations have been created and they operate. It is worth mentioning one of the oldest and most active organizations, namely the Union of Ukrainians in Poland (Związek Ukraińców w Polsce). The union itself is the legal successor of the Ukrainian Social and Cultural Society, which operated in the years . The union cares for the preservation of the cultural identity of the Ukrainian community in Poland and for good-neighborly relations and cooperation between Poland and Ukraine. 26 Besides the most dynamic branches of the Union of Ukrainians in Poland located in Szczecin and Koszalin, there are also numerous clubs in smaller towns such as Ińsk, Stargard, Trzebiatów, Goleniów, Gryfice, Łobez and Złocieniec. Important activities promoting the main assumptions of the organization include cyclical events such as Ukrainian Culture Days, the Festival Meeting of Cultures as well as all kinds of literary, recitation and music competitions. As part of the union, there is also the Open University "At the juncture of cultures", whose aim is to familiarize the audience with, among others, the national culture of minorities living in the region.
Below are pictures promoting the activities of the Union of Ukrainians in Poland.
Photo 1. 10th anniversary of the Ukrainian language point in Szczecin Source: private archive.
The event aims to promote the multicultural Szczecin and the West Pomeranian region. Its aim is also to cultivate tradition and tolerance in relation to other cultures of national minorities and ethnic groups from the entire region. Actions undertaken by the third sector allow to gain the experience of intercultural communication; they enable mutual understanding as the basis for the development of social capital. 27 Here, on the ground of the basic intention to create partner relations, the main causes of failures in communication between representatives of different cultures are revealed and analysed. There is a process of searching for ways to overcome them. The reasons for communication failures include: negative attitudes, stereotypes, and often cultural differences. The key to the success of intercultural communication is the awareness that basic humanistic values -and above all the social life itself, stable sustainable development, preventing or reducing violence and destruction in social life -are common to all cultures. In every culture there are specific forms of dynamics towards realizing these values. The variety of these forms is essential in today's world as a condition for the stability of the socio-cultural process as a whole and the development of social capital in every country, region and organization.
In the present situation, the accumulated experience in the re-adaptation of immigrants -ethnic Poles -to their full acculturation can be used only partially. To build a society development process in which socio-cultural ethnic heterogeneity develops steadily and does not interfere, but helps in the development of social capital, it is necessary to develop a new approach to work with immigrants.

Conclusions
The state of social and political activity devoted to solving problems arising from the activation of immigration to Poland from Ukraine remains unstructured. Political reactions focus on alleviating already visible tensions, economic needs lead to taking steps to facilitate labour migration, but the social effect of this opening up to immigration, its impact on the state of social capital remains unaccounted for and not recognized on the social forum. For systematic actions in the political, economic and cultural spheres, a dialogue on social subjects organized on a broad and lasting basis is needed, both at the national and regional levels. This dialogue would not cause the destruction of social trust in the country or in the regions, but vice versa: it would allow the society to develop and enrich itself through optimal assistance to people migrating to Poland and in need of help. The article does not fully cover issues related to the accumulation of social capital. It is only an attempt to indicate that its building based on diversity is important and valuable for both arriving immigrants and the host country.