Polish Express received a letter from a British man, in which he complains about the way the Polish Consulate in London operates. Alexander Howett claims that Poles are treated by their officials like cattle and that they should learn from the Germans how to handle people's affairs…
Dear Minister of Foreign Affairs of The Republic of Poland,
It is absolutely appalling how Poland, after joining the EU, no matter how hard it tries raise the bar and become as efficient as its Western neighbours, it still falls back into its old Communist era nostalgic antics. Here in London, it is shameful to see Polish citizens lining up like cattle from early morning just to get their documents sorted. What is even more bizarre that we are in 2017 and the appointment system that only enables very few (of the half million Poles in the UK) to be seen each day, is synonymous with a failed operational system in-place. Are you really this carefree as your predecessors during the Communist times who never gave a damn about their own people? Have you ever been to a German Embassy? Perhaps you could learn a few things from their operation. If this is the standard of the Polish Consulate where it cannot deal or meet with the demand of its own citizens abroad then I am sorry to say that it is not fit for purpose. To give you some clue: It takes a Polish citizen 2-3 months just to "try to book" an appointment. Which keeps on extending. Shame on you. I am British and even I notice this "cattle treatment" but then maybe it is probably the only thing you must have learnt from the past.
Thank you.
A letter with such content was sent yeasterday to our editorial email address. Alexander Howett attacked the Polish Consulate in London and the way it has been operating for a long time. The British also advised us to go to the German Embassy in London to see how the Germans handle people's affairs.
"Words matter" – Polish Embassy launches campaign against “Polish camps”
It seems doubtful that by speaking loud about the queues forming in front of the consulate the British really wanted to help Polish people. More likely he just wanted to defame the good name of the Polish state. Alexander Howett seems not to have noticed that ordinary British citizens also have to queue to get their documents sorted from time to time. For example it's hard not to notice the long queues in front of the JobCentrePlus offices. So, according to what Howett said, can these queues also be a sign of the… “communist mentality”?
Exclusively in Polish Express: Theresa May answers the questions asked by Poles living in the UK!
Alexander Howett is wrong about one more thing – there are 3 times more Poles in the United Kingdom than there are the Germans. It's no surprise then that the Polish Consulate in London has to deal with many more cases than its German counterpart.