The Project: Integration or assimilation?
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The Icelandic financial crisis and adaptation strategies by Poles in Iceland
by Małgorzata Budyta-Budzyńska
Adaptation strategies followed during a financial crisis in the host country may be taken as an indicator of how well the immigrant has learned to deal with a foreign social environment and a foreign labor market. The crisis makes things more difficult for everyone, but it has a special impact on immigrants, by increasing the competition for employment, causing reduction of state subsidies, including aid programs for immigrants; the majority, which in earlier times was acceptive of the newcomers, tends to become more unfriendly. How do immigrants deal with such a situation? Do they return to their home country? Or move elsewhere? Try to survive on unemployment or welfare benefits? With some effort, manage to cope with the new situation? Or do they adapt rather well? Are they dealing with the same type of problems as the majority, or are problems faced by immigrants in a time of crisis totally different and particular to their situation? In the following, an attempt is made to answer those questions, with reference to the particular case of Iceland. Before turning to that topic, to allow for a better understanding of the situation of Polish emigrants to Iceland a brief summary of the origins and phases of the Icelandic crisis is given.