Anti-immigration protesters gather in Poland ahead of elections

The demonstration comes ahead of the first round of presidential elections on the 18 May, in which immigration is expected to play a key part.

An anti-immigration protest was held in Poland this weekend, with far-right political groups attending the demonstration in Warsaw. The participants of the march oppose the creation of integration and assistance centres for immigrants in Poland, and a petition to restore control over the Polish-German border was handed over to Prime Minister's Office.The protest was organised by Robert Bakiewicz, the leader of the Independence March Association."We are marching to fight for a free, independent, sovereign Poland without a massive immigration, without imposing us here migrants who are culturally alien, without imposing us islam, without sharia zones, without rapes on women, without attacks in public schools on our children," he said.In the early months of 2022, as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, millions of Ukrainians — mostly women and children — fled to Poland, where they were met with an extraordinary outpouring of sympathy. Ukrainian flags appeared in windows. Polish volunteers rushed to the border with food, diapers, SIM cards. Some opened their homes to complete strangers.In the face of calamity, Poland became not just a logistical lifeline for Ukraine, but a paragon of human solidarity.Three years later, Poland remains one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies — a hub for Western arms deliveries and a vocal defender of Kyiv’s interests. But at home, the tone toward Ukrainians has shifted.Nearly a million Ukrainian refugees remain in Poland, with roughly 2 million Ukrainian citizens overall in the nation of 38 million people. Many of them arrived before the war as economic migrants.As Poland heads into a presidential election on 18 May, with a second round expected 1 June, the growing fatigue with helping Ukrainians has become so noticeable that some of the candidates have judged that they can win more votes by vowing less help for Ukrainians.