Polish university orders 162 Ukrainian refugees to leave dorms

The Jagiellonian University (UJ) in the southern Polish city of Krakow has ordered 162 Ukrainian refugees to leave two dormitories by the end of August, a year earlier than they anticipated, say volunteers from the centre where they are staying.

They told local newspaper Gazeta Krakowska that the refugees were informed after their arrival in March that they would be allowed to stay in the dorms for 18 months.

The university, however, states that the period of 18 months concerned the refugees’ stay in Poland, not in the dorms, and cites the end of funding from the provincial authorities as the reason why the refugees need to leave earlier.

“No one from UJ provided information about the provision of housing for 18 months in the buildings at 11 and 11A Kamionka Street, especially as the contract with the provincial office and the extensions were for a period of one month,” university spokesman Adrian Ochalik told Notes from Poland.

According to one volunteer, the refugees were aware that their entire stay would not be funded. But they had been prepared to start paying for their stay in the dorms since many of them have found a job, and the need to move earlier took them by surprise.

“[University representatives] said that the free stay would end after some time and the refugees would have to find funds to pay for housing there,” said Magdalena Górna, quoted by Gazeta Krakowska.

“However, there was no mention that the buildings would have to be vacated,” she added. “We should remember that mainly mothers with children, people with disabilities, and one woman with cancer are staying there.”

In order to help refugees with the unforeseen move, UJ plans meetings “to find out from each family and resident what specific help and support you need in finding a new place to live and a source of income to move out of the home and become independent”, the university said in a letter sent to the refugees.

“We understand that the need to leave is an additional burden on you in this extremely difficult situation,” the letter reads. “The Jagiellonian University will do everything possible to support you in finding a new place to live, planning and organising your move.”

The end of the provincial funding was cited by the university in the letter as the only reason for refugees having to leave their residences. However, Ochalik also told Notes from Poland that the two buildings housing the refugees were sold last autumn.

“The sale procedure has not yet been completed, so we have been able to temporarily accommodate people who have been referred to the sites since the end of February this year,” said Ochalik.

According to the press office of UJ – which is Poland’s oldest university and currently its second best ranked – there are 501 refugees in seven student residences belonging to the university, including the 162 people at the two dorms in Kamionka Street.

Poland has been the primary destination for refugees since the start of the war, with more than one million estimated to currently be staying in the country.

While initially many were provided accommodation by national, provincial and local authorities, as well as by businesses, institutions, religious bodies and individual Poles, finding long-term housing has proved a challenge.

Main photo credit: Mirek Pruchnicki/Flickr (under CC BY 2.0)

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.