Our guest speaker was Dr. hab. Joanna Wawrzyniak, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Research on Social Memory at the Faculty of Sociology, University of Warsaw. Prof. Wawrzyniak delivered a lecture on the book “Cięcia – Mówiona Historia Transformacji” (Cuts – An Oral History of Transformation), co-authored with Aleksandra Leyk. The book presents a mosaic-like, multifaceted account of Poland’s systemic transformation from the perspective of workers in enterprises privatized in the 1990s and acquired by international corporations. Prof. Wawrzyniak shared her experiences of working on the book, which employed the oral history method. She emphasized the ethical challenges involved in collecting testimonies, conducting life history interviews, and incorporating these narratives into the publication. The workshop encouraged reflection on how to utilize collected testimonies, focusing on editing them and addressing the broader politics and ethics of working with such materials.
During the meeting, we also discussed collective accommodation centres in Poland and Czechia and their impact on the well-being of Ukrainian Roma families living there. We reviewed recent regulatory changes concerning Ukrainian refugees, particularly regarding family support, children’s education, access to the labour market, housing, healthcare, and their legal stay in EU countries.
Our ethnographic research in collective accommodation centres highlights issues such as segregation, overcrowding, and poor sanitary conditions. These centres, often located in remote areas in both countries, pose significant challenges for accessing administrative services, the labour market, medical care, and cultural institutions. The spatial marginalization of Ukrainian Roma refugees limits their access to public services, education, and economic opportunities, further hindering their social inclusion within the host populations. Many Ukrainian Roma refugees remain in a state of uncertainty about their future. This “limbo” creates anxiety and fear, largely due to a lack of information and understanding of the regulations governing their status and situation.
Finally, we discussed future plans, including fieldwork logistics, public outreach, and publications, with a particular focus on books as the project concludes.
Thank you to everyone who attended, both online and onsite.
