The attitude of Poland and polish Society toward the 1999 Kosovo refugees

In 1999 the NATO intervention in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia took place. During 78 days NATO bombed Yugoslavia in order to halt Slobodan Milosevic’s policy against Albanians living in Kosovo. By the end of the intervention, more than 850 000 people from Kosovo had become refugees. They predominantly spread across the Balkan states but some of them also were taken outside the region – to Germany, Turkey, Norway, Italy, Canada, the US and to Poland as well. The aim of this paper is to investigate the situation of Kosovo refugees in Poland in 1999. I begin by explaining the situation of people living in Kosovo during the NATO intervention. Next, I will present the issue of refugees in Polish law at the time of the Kosovo crisis. After that, I will also examine the attitude of Poles towards these refugees. What is more, understanding the official narrative about them is crucial in explaining the country’s policy too. Finally, I will summarize my paper with some conclusions regarding the need for further research.