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Your support makes all the difference.Agnieszka Oskroba, 29, and her partner, Slawomir Abramczyk, 40, are originally from Silesia, southern Poland, but came to Britain in 2006 and 2005 respectively to find work. They were forced to move home in Doncaster earlier this year after experiencing repeated racially motivated abuse, and are currently considering their future in the UK
"The day we moved to Woodlands, Doncaster, was a happy one. But my happiness lasted for 15 minutes. Groups of teenagers started shouting at us from day one. They called us 'fucking Polish', 'fucking wankers', and I learnt later that they were a group of local troublemakers.
The abuse continued, and we had no money to move. They soon started coming back at night-time and began throwing bricks to break windows, especially on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. I could see them during the day not looking for jobs, just hanging around. We were scared about our house being set on fire. We could not fight them because we would get sent back to our home country. I think I should feel safe in this country.
Then, during the day, they began chasing me and my daughter Kamila home from the shops. They called her 'the small fucking bitch' and said she would be dead soon. I always ran, because I had her and had no choice. I didn't like what they were saying and I didn't like my daughter watching. I started using taxis. One night, at around two or three o'clock, everyone was sleeping and, again, a window was broken upstairs. Our daughter woke up in her bed covered in glass. From that point on she was sleeping with us, because she hated her room.
We went to the police and they took my name. They said they would try to do something. But we called them many times and one policeman called me a 'silly woman' because I was shouting because I could not find my case number and I needed help. Eventually, they said they could not do anything because the people attacking us were too young. After a while, I stopped believing the police because nothing was changing.
I can't say life is not better here than in Poland. But there is one reason for that, and that is money. If my country had your money and gave me a job then I would never have come here. There are a lot of plus points here but a lot of minuses. But if my daughter grows up to be like one of the kids that attacked us, then I don't know if I want to stay."
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