Migrations, Shifting Borders and New Identities in

Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Institute of Archeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Science

Contextualizing Changes: Migrations, Shifting Borders and New Identities in Eastern Europe

Sofia 2015

Contents Introduction...................................................................................................................... 9 Part I ■ Visualisation, Symbolic Borders and Constructing Identity Visualizing the Balkans: the Balkan Wars, the Great War and Visual Modernity................................................. 13 Karl Kaser Portraits and Borders: Early Photographic Portraiture in Bulgaria (1860-1910) and the Construction of Social and Gender Identities.............................. 28 Anelia Kassabova Going-Beyond to Evoke the Other. The Balkans and the Polish Imagination............... 49 Dagnosław Demski Shifting Symbolic Boundaries: Re-enacting Nazi Troops in Contemporary Poland.... 62 Kamila Baraniecka-Olszewska Staging the Nation: ‘Skopje 2014’ and the Claim for Recognition................................. 72 Robert Pichler Part II ■ Migration and (New) Identities Contextualizing the Migratory Shift: from “Gurbet” toward “Family Migration”: The Case of the Albanians from Macedonia................................................................... 83 Ivaylo Markov Towards a Concept of Migration-Homeland-Culture (Case Study of Post-War Bulgarian Migrations to Australia)........................................ 95 Elya Tzaneva Conceptualisation of Turkish Labour Migration in Western European Studies......... 107 Valentina Sharlanova Contexts and Subtexts: Motivational Models for Emigration towards Central Europe.............................................................................................................. 117 Vladimir Penchev Shifting Borders, Refugees and New Identities: the Case of the Tsvarkovi Family from Golloborda Region, Albania.......................... 125 Veselka Toncheva 5


Migration Strategies and Malleable Identities among Bulgarian Youths in the Odessa District.................................................................................................... 136 Petko Hristov Contemporary Migration of Bulgarians to Northeast England: Representations and Responses.................................................................................... 153 Gergina Pavlova-Hannam Bulgarian Migration to England – the Influential Power of the Imaginary West....... 165 PolinaManolova bulgarian Stories about Immigration and settlement in great britain...................... 176 Mila Maeva Crossing Boundaries and Identities “On the Road”: The Case of the Youth Short-Term Labour Migration in the Framework of the Program for Cultural Exchange “Work and Travel USA”............................................................ 187 Zlatina Bogdanova Part III ■ Religions, cultures, identities Migration and Religious Place-Making in a Changing Europe .................................. 201 John Eade Symbolizing Religious Boundaries and Identities....................................................... 212 Evgenia Troeva ”The Rhodope Mountains Are a Fortress to Be Conquered” .....................................227 Velislav Altanov Local Cult, Migration and Identity: The Veneration of St. Zone on Both Sides of the Bulgarian-Greek Border..................................................................................... 239 Vihra Baeva The Cult of Our Lady of Lourdes – Different Levels of Identity Construction of the Bulgarian Catholics in the Town of Rakovski............................. 253 Violeta Periklieva Celebration of St. St. Cyril and Methodius by the Bulgarian Community in Warsaw, Poland......................................................................................................... 263 Tsvetelina Dimitrova Bulgarian Karakachans and Re-Domestication of Religion: Migration, House and Bread......................................................................................... 275 Gabriela Fatková

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Part IV ■ Communities, Borders and Cultures To the problem of identification, folk traditions and borderland in Southern Ukraine...................................................................................................... 289 Larysa Vakhnina Folklore as a Factor of Ethnic Identity of Bulgarians in Ukraine................................ 300 Iryna Ogiyenko Identity Formation of Young Chechen Refugees in Poland in the Face of Foreign Cultures..................................................................................... 311 Katarzyna Kość-Ryżko Ethnicity in Light of Realism: the 19th and the 20th Centuries..................................... 326 Snizhana Zhygun Identity Dynamics among Bulgarian-Ukrainians Living in Bulgaria in the 21st Century......................................................................................................... 339 Tanya Matanova Formation of the Identity of the New Ukrainian Community in Bulgaria................. 351 Antonina Iakimova Megleno-Romanians in Serbia – Shifting Borders, Shifting Identity.......................... 361 Annemarie Sorescu-Marinković, Mircea Măran Functions and Significance of the Cultural-Educational Organization of the Karakachans in Bulgaria: Between Identity and Mobility................................. 374 Nacho Dimitrov The Historical Roots of the Balkan Fairytale............................................................... 385 Borislava Petkova The “Polish Wild West”: Forced Migration and Cultural Appropriation of the Oder Region after 1945....................................................................................... 396 Beata Halicka Aliens among natives: authenticity, repatriates and the boundaries of cultural citizenship in modern Kazakhstan............................................................. 405 Irina Popravko Civilization paradox: Bulgaria – Europe.Parallel of Identities: Cultural Profile since the Beginning of the 20th Century and Social Processes in the 21st Century in Bulgaria...................................................................................... 417 Miroslava Kortenska

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Part V ■ Shifting Borders and Changing Identity Reassessing Ethnic Identity in the Pre-National Balkans............................................ 429 Raymond Detrez Perceptions of a New European Identity along the E.U. Border Tales from Bulgaria and Macedonia................................................................. 439 Cynthia Lintz Hidden Identities in Southeast Europe Aromanians in Romania............................... 451 Stelu Șerban Towns and Migration – Urban Spaces and Shifting Borders....................................... 473 Meglena Zlatkova Internal Migration and Industrialization during Socialism and Crossing the Border from Regional to National (or Vice Versa?): Relationship between Fellow Countrymen (Zemlyatsi) as a Strategy and Practice in the Metallurgical Plant “Kremikovtsi” ................................................................... 485 Bilyana Raeva Migrations, Shifting Borders and Identities in the Bay of Kotor (Boka Kotorska), Montenegro................................................................................................................... 498 Marijeta Rajković Iveta Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Everyday Life in the Context of the Cross-Border Region: the Thrace Region............................................................................................ 512 Valentina Ganeva-Raycheva Identity and Boundary Setting of the Bulgarian Catholics in the Vicinity of Bucharest........................................................................................... 528 Valentina Vasseva Identity, Shifting Borders and Migration: Everyday Experiences among Bulgarian Muslims in the Shumen and Razgrad Regions . .............................................................................................................538 Ivelina Eftimova Comparative research on calendar rites on both sides of the Macedonian-Bulgarian border........................................................................... 549 Zorancho Malinov, ...................................................................................................................549 Shifting borders, creating new identities - new concepts of history............................ 558 Mina Hristova Regional Identity and the Nation States: Istrian Identity – Between the ‘Centre’ and the ‘Periphery’...................................................................... 570 Karmen Medica 8

Identity Formation of Young Chechen Refugees in Poland in the Face of Foreign Cultures Katarzyna Kość-Ryżko

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland

Abstract: This paper, a study from 2009-2013, explores the way in which young Chechen refugees construct their individual cultural and national affiliation, and the processes mediating this construction. The results show that in the youngest generation of Chechen refugees, there are two different processes competing with each other for cultural adaptation and self-determination in the construction of identity: acculturation and enculturation. Eventually, who they will become depends both on the national community to which they belong and on their host society. In this paper, I try to answer one crucial question: how do young refugees create their self image in response to the needs/tasks of the complicated and not unequivocal cultural reality in which they have found themselves? In other words, to what extent the identity of juvenile refugees’ identity is constructed of elements from the new culture (the host culture), thereby replacing their own culture patterns (“deconstructed identity”), and to what extent do elements of their original culture replicate in the present environment, in a changed social-cultural context (“reconstructed identity”). These problems remain part of the multicultural issue and the integration policy which has become more and more topical with every year, especially in the context of growing intensification of global movement and radicalization of attitudes towards immigrants in Europe. Key words: refugees, asylum seekers, cultural adaptation, identity, ethnic and cultural identification, enculturation, acculturation

Introduction Bringing up children in a foreign country and their enculturation1 is an extremely difficult and complex process. This process causes numerous problems and dilemmas, especially for caretakers in charge of preparing the children to face society. One of the biggest challenges is a generational transmission of cultural heritage (cf. 1 Enculturation is a process in which an individual acquires mental representations (beliefs, knowledge, etc.).

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Zeidler 2007) and the construction of cultural and ethnic identity of the children growing up in foreign cultural environment. This applies to the Chechen refugees2, among whom I have spent time with in 2009-2014, while conducting my research3. These problems are still present and growing, particularly in the context of the annual increase of global migration (Koryś, Okólski 2004: 9-16), and the more-andmore radical attitudes expressed by opponents of integration and multicultural policy (Okólski 2012: 269-275) in numerous Western European countries4. Living in a new cultural environment influences significantly the cultural identification of an individual, which constitutes the basis for his sense of individuality. This particularly applies to children and juveniles, who are in their dynamic phase of development, which is key for self-identification. Elements of the foreign culture penetrate their own cultural reality through contacts with their school, peers, through mass media and their immediate environment. As a result, their identity is being shaped at the meeting point of two or more cultures (their original culture and the culture of the country of settlement); and the acculturation process5 makes their identity completely different from children brought up in their own ethnic and cultural environment. Many children and juvenile refugees face conflict with their identity and the new culture, as often the new country of settlement is in opposition to the values the refugees prefer. This happens in particular, when the behaviour patterns, lifestyle and norms accepted within their original society are either unacceptable or controversial within their new place. The belittling remarks from this new society can make the refugees feel unwanted and deprived them of their right to cultural autonomy at a time when self-determination is crucial. Some individuals react to this with objection and revolt – not always explicit – against the new culture and its representatives. Many “guests” decide to hide their culture or at least make it inaccessible to the “hosts”, due to feelings of misunderstanding accompanied with 2 His term includes both asylum seekers and people who have regulated legislative status and various forms of international protection. More on the status procedures in Poland see in Czerniejewska, Kość 2013: 207-227. 3 Research within the Project NCN entitled: “Refugee children and juveniles in Poland. Their ethnic and cultural identification within anthropological perspective”, No N 109218136. 4 It is sufficient to mention the social climate after the series of events with immigrants and with unfriendly citizens who express opposition toward refugees in France, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway. 5 According to the adopted assumption, acculturation is a process parallel to enculturation. This term is defined as a wholeness of qualitative and multi-aspectual cultural changes, to which an individual, family or society is subject to, as a result of their reaction to the contact with a different cultural system (Glick 2006: 1).

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mutual unfriendliness, while particular identifications of one’s original culture and religion become strengthened. An over inflated sense of identity from one’s origin may be the instigator of conflict, which remains invisible as long as the status quo continues and the interests of both groups are intact. However, any change in this attitude and mutual respect may cause the escalation into tension, mutual mistrust, and open hostility, including acts of discrimination. In this sense, the construction of the immigrant’s identity reflects, to some extent, their attitude towards their country of settlement, as well as the acculturation attitude they have adopted. It depends on the refugees’ degree of acculturation as to whether he/she will strengthen the symbolic bond with their original nation, religion and culture or will adopt some cultural traits of their new country of settlement. It is of great significance whether they chose to do so because of their own decision or due to pressure from one of two groups (the dominating one or their own). If the pressure is from the host nationalist, then the refugee will be in a submissive power struggle, otherwise the acculturation could be due to, collective interests or institutional weaknesses6. Basically, the process of young refugee’s self-identification takes place at the meeting point of two opposite environments: at home with family (enculturation) (Herskovits 1948; Mead 1963: 184-188) and at school with peers (acculturation and socialization) (Tillman 1996: 56-58). These environments are not always in opposition to each other; sometimes they may be compatible or partially consistent/inconsistent with each other. However, an individual usually has to choose a path of development for his identity: through compromise, confrontation or conformity. The model I present here illustrates the processes which influence the development of identity of young refugees who grow up in a foreign cultural environment or in one which is “different”7 from their own. In the terms “juvenile refugees from Chechnya” and “the youngest generation of refugees”, I include people born in their country of origin (Chechnya) who are now growing up in Poland, and those, who were already born in some Western foreign country (whether it be in Poland or

6 One example is the rejection of traditional clothes characteristic of one’s own ethnic group, often due to liberalization of attitudes or because of fear of being rejected, as well as the need to blend into the crowd. 7 “Different” because for many of these refugees the culture of the country of settlement is less foreign than their original one. Yet, it does not change the fact that they frequently acquire, through enculturation process, the values and attitudes, which prepare them to live better in their original culture than in their new one.

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any other Western European Country). Therefore, sometimes these young refugees differ significantly, for example, in their motivation to leave their original country8.

Raising and transmitting cultural patterns In analyzing the materials, I paid attention to the resistance of some cultural patterns and attitudes presented by juvenile Chechens. This observation questioned the acculturational influence of the activities, undertaken by non-governmental organizations, which are active in this region, and partake in adaptation programs. In consequence, I arrived at the conclusion that despite their long stay in Poland and attending Polish schools, these refugees have a cultural model where the social function remains relatively stable and resistant to change. This also questioned the effectiveness and necessity of these very expensive programs, financed by the European Union, aimed at integration, social activation, acting to counter exclusion and assisting with cultural adaptation of young refugees in Poland. From these observations, I adopted the following research assumption: the socialization process of foreign children and juveniles takes place at several levels (external adjustment in the sphere of their appearance, behaviours and practices, and internal adjustment in the sphere of their beliefs, declarations, values, quests, etc.); the responsibility for this process lies on various environmental factors (family, school and peers), affecting them through various cultural transmission channels, the messages of which may sometimes be in opposition to one another (Rostowska 1994: 33-37).

Identity and identification In asking questions about identity, the elementary questions are the things which are most important for him – “Who are you?”, “Who do you think you are?”, “Who are you in the opinion of your own and foreign group?”, “How do you differ from other people?” (Elliot 2007: 36). My observations and conversations with young

8 The first group frequently includes people who experienced war and the loss of close family members. These are people, who had to leave for political reasons, as their safety was really threatened. It concerns especially the early waves of refugees from Chechnya during (or just after) 1994-1996 war (First Chechen War) and the 1999-2009 war (Second Chechen War). In the case of the second group, the reasons for leaving Chechnya were bad living conditions, unstable situation in the region, lack of democratic state institutions, human rights violations, and general lack of prospects in the country, which was devastated by these military actions.

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Chechens confirmed that their self-identification is defined through the identifications dominating at a given moment. For this reason, it is really difficult to talk about one’s identity, common for all newcomers from the Caucasus, as it is dynamic and constantly changing. The most typical of its characteristics is its incompleteness or, to use Zygmunt Bauman’s words, fluctuation (Bauman cf. 2005; 2007: 49-70). For this reason, the unique feature of people, who leave their own country and decide to live in constant motion, “out of a suitcase”, separated from their roots, is their “mobile identity”, i.e. the identity, which changes as they change and acquires a new intercultural experience. According to the model elaborated on during my research, refugee identity is the sum of various identifications factors – in this case, the sum of the ethnic, cultural and religious identity – crucial in circumstances of foreign cultural adaptation. Yet, one must keep in mind there is always the potential for individual selfdetermination. Yet, one assumption concerns partial identification, which constitutes a “mature” identity, even with the assumption that it is permanently in statu nascendi. In this sense, identification is a kind of self-definition of subjective “I” by a collective “we”9 (Kłoskowska 1992: 131-141; Sadowski, Czerniawska 1999: 1517). Nevertheless, the identities of the refugees being examined in this case, may be different, because their elements are different, as well as their significance as an individual10. The identification is built not only on specific affiliations but also on “non-affiliations”, which are no less important as far as constructing the picture of oneself is concerned11. In analyzing components of refugees’ identity as crucial from the viewpoint of their function in their new country of settlement, these divisions were a matter of convention, as its components permeate into one another; hence it is sometimes difficult to determine in an unambiguous way whether a given behaviour is more an evidence for one identification or another factor. For example, religion can be connected to culture, which, in turn, is connected with ethnos, and so on. I have 9 In this sense, identifying oneself with something means defining oneself through attributes/ features of a given subject, which determine who one is, e.g. nation, religion, gender, culture, or a member of a particular job. 10 One consequence is in the difficultly to state unambiguously what it means to be a Chechen, because there is no single answer. We may talk about certain collective identification; yet, the content of this self-identification is individualized and depends on the individual who fills the identification according to his preferences. 11 For example, a woman may be Chechen, a practicing Islam, a wife and a mother, but also she may be a non-practicing Muslim, childless, single or a widow; and although each of the two situations is different and hardly comparable, it does outline some frame of community.

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presented their characteristic attributes as well as to capture the way in which these attributes are used by the refugees, who accept the challenge of self-defining oneself in the new social and cultural reality12. The distinguished characteristics are material and symbolic external indicators13 adopted separately for each identity. Once again, the three characteristics are Ethnic, Cultural and Religious. Ethnic identification is characterized by a strong affiliation with the country of origin, with its symbols and values (in the case of Chechens, these are: freedom, courage, bravery, honour, dignity, hospitability, and respect for the old). Ethnic identification involves recognizing certain costumes (often with special emblems), with national symbols in both private and public places14, and, finally, expressing a specific attitude toward behaviours and choices. Another characteristics of ethnic identification is maintaining a strong bond with the country of origin through personal contacts, cultivating national tradition, history and heritage, worshipping national heroes, celebrating national festivals, and maintaining interest in political events (Adgar-Adajew 2005: 99-147). People with a strong ethnic identity are, very often, conservative and reluctant to change anything, and tend to be ethnocentric. The transmission of behavioural patterns, national (patriotic) values and attitudes, is realized through raising children (enculturation), and through the contacts in the family and home environment. Cultural identification means a strong devotion to the traditions, habits and cultural patterns, associated with the place of origin. It is characterized by the respect to one’s native language, as one of the greatest values of national welfare, as well as by the continuing to engage in cultural heritage (through literature, music, artistic works, etc.) and through various daily routines (cf. Certeau 1984, 2008). Cultural identification is seen both externally and internally when displaying an 12 The distinguished characteristics show the values and priorities in refugees’ lives. They also allow us to foresee their future relations with the representatives of the receiving culture. We may expect different kind of relations from the people, who are strongly affiliated with their religion, and how they choose the clothes to wear, and in their overall behaviour. Those people who confess a strong religion will have completely different relationship than ones that are less faithful. 13 I am omitting a discussion about external characteristics of identity, which are internal (declarative statements), which are not connected with one another, but have been found in my interviews. 14 In the case of refugees from Chechnya, the elements most often observed are flags drawn on the walls, clothes, children’s notebooks, sometimes even on people’s bodies. The flags are made of paper or fabric and displayed during outdoor events and hung in refugees’ homes. Another very popular symbol consists of specific colours used more frequently in their surroundings. The colours - green, white and red - refer directly to the Chechen flag, in which green symbolizes Islam, white is the purity and red is the bloodshed of innocent Chechens.

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affiliation, such as what clothes, behaviours, habits and attitudes, views, beliefs one holds. The transmission of cultural patterns is realized at an early stage of a child’s social development through enculturation. The religious identification is a strong devotion to the religious faith and to the values it conveys. It also involves declaring and showing external religious symbols in support of the affiliation, as well as internally keeping a certain outlook, attitudes, beliefs, etc. This is characterized by living according to the principles and norms of the religion, allegiance to the authorities, observing a specific moral and ethic code, and rigorous observation of religious practices. The religiousness and piety is transmitted through the process of raising children (through their enculturation). The context, in which the adopted indicators occur, decides their role and significance. For this reason, the same “phenomenon” (an object, behaviour, event) may, depending on a specific situation, be related to one of the identification characteristics or to all of them at the same time. The researcher must take into account the circumstances in which the refugees refer to a given “sign” and convey a specific message15. Several of the identification indicators just mentioned are expressed in the public sphere (explicit and accessible to all people), in which the foreigners function, yet, a significant portion of them do not be disclosed outside the private (intimate) sphere, reserved for fellow countrymen. Also, the message, the identification indicators convey, happens to be ambiguous or inconsistent (Kość, Czerniejewska 2013: 120-125).

Two models of shaping self-identification of juvenile refugees The research conducted among newcomers from Chechnya showed that this group is heterogeneous in many respects; any differences are from the different ways Chechens’ function in Polish society. Some people are more open to the acculturation process; they accept change, which take place in their culture. They are willingly to use opportunities provided to them living in the new place of settlement; they combine the two cultures and select from them the things which are most 15 For example, Arabic shawls worn by young Chechen girls in refugee (asylum seeker) centres may express local fashion rather than devotion, and the lovzar dance, known by almost all Chechens, is learnt by children mechanically and not from “their hearts”, which raises questions on how they will maintain their bond with the traditional culture.

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suitable for their needs and objectives. Such people have individual and unique attitudes; they are non-conformists (even with respect to their own ethnic group). This occurs, albeit not common, even in the case of Chechens, who appreciate collective values and group (family) bonds; less so among women. In observing my study group, I was able to differentiate the two categories by describing the way self-identification is constructed. In this case, the first category is the (de)construction of identity. Basically, the process expresses itself through a kind of “jump” into the new culture and through absorbing its content (attitudes, behavioural patterns, etc.) without looking back at one’s place of origin. Sometimes, this adaptation is short-lasting, such as in the case of admiration for something new; but, from time-to-time, this adaptation is a conscious choice, after which there is no return, because it is accompanied by breaking (not maintaining) bonds with the representatives of one’s original culture in the foreign country. Such people become persona non grata in their community, and they cannot rely on any support from their community if they face difficulties. One feature of this self construction is that the individual has a weak ethnic, cultural and religious identification, as these characteristics do not play any important role in individual’s self-identification. More important are one’s personal preferences rather than the group’s role in developing a sense of obligation to one’s own nation16. In the Chechen community, this person is an outcast and holds a negative picture in the eyes of the rest of the community, because this person chooses to (re)constructed their identity, and in their opinion, has betrayed family traditions and habits. Thus, by (de)constructing their identity the person carries the risk that he/she may loose contact with one’s original ethnic group and culture. This person may look for some alternative affiliations in the quest to assimilate17. The second category is the (re)constructed identification. This term, like the previous one, refers to the process of building up one’s self-identification under the influence of another culture from scratch, but is made out of the “old elements”, which are characteristic of the culture of origin. What is significant is that these elements appear separate from their original cultural context (tradition, history, habits, and environment) and they occur in a completely different configuration, combined 16 An alternative example from the ones mentioned above, may be the “refugee identification” and the “identification with the refuge”. It is characterized by one’s conviction about having a mission to realize; this mission involves social activity, e.g. for the people who are in a similar situation. 17 In some refugees’ statements, they say that they do not want to have anything to do with their fellow countrymen in Poland, as they are unable to trust them, because they have many negative encounters, which disqualify them as true Chechens.

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in a kind of random patchwork, which provides them with a new, completely different meaning. The fragments of a foreigners’ culture has been “transplanted” into a strange environment, which quite frequently are a kind of “cultural replicas” or copies, imitation, with various results from the original patterns. This relates both to the patterns of behaviours and lifestyles and to specific rituals, culinary and other traditions18. When comparing the (de)constructed identity with the (re)constructed one, we can simplify the differences by saying that the former is built up through “subtracting” elements of one’s original culture, and through replacing them with the new ones; while the latter is made through “adding” to elements of one’s original culture. The former is much more often observed in the families of women, who bring up children on their own rather than with the support of the full family; this is explained by the fact that in the foreign country women often leave the homeland alone, and they quickly manage to adapt to the new circumstances as an undertaking for the fight for survival. This situation makes them step out of line from the traditional Caucasian cultural roles with respect to gender, and breaks up the image of a helpless woman totally dependent on the men in her clan. Consequently, women have increasingly decided to split from their ethnic group, which cultivates tradition and is reluctant to accept excessive Europeanization. This rejection of one’s society or even being excluded, quite often is preceded by the women breaking a cultural taboo, e.g. through marrying a man of a different nationality, or even a non-Muslim. The lack of daily contact with own ethnic group, and being excluded from it, is not equal to the simultaneous inclusion and acceptance by the new “host” group. Therefore, such people quite often live “in isolation”, between one culture and the other, without a full affiliation to either of them. Their actual situation is frequently more difficult and complicated. Individuals who have great social potential are better organized, are more likely to survive under these circumstances, than the ones who do not have these qualities. The above-mentioned models of constructing identity have been observed among the refugees from the Caucasus living in Poland and are prototypical; however, some intermediate cases have also been observed, i.e. cases that lie between the two models. In these cases, the individual reflects a specific tendency, which may be the predicator of their acculturation preferences in relationship to their “hosts”, 18 The distinct social and cultural circumstances shaping one’s identity contribute to the fact that “A Chechen in Poland will not be the same Chechen, as if he lived in Chechnya or Russia” – my informer’s statement.

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including any future mutual relationships and/or potential conflict areas. These tendencies may change and oscillate between the various types distinguished here, e.g. with one’s prolonged stay in a new country, by acquiring personal experience, with changing objectives and priorities, and changing political situations (especially the one occurring in Chechnya), and how prestige is perceived within one’s original culture and its position in the country of settlement.

Ethnicity and cultural adaptation In juvenile Chechens, ethnic affiliation is proven by their origin, on the one hand, and on the other hand, by the degree to which they demonstrate this affiliation in their daily lives. I made this assessment based on the “identification indicators” outlined above, as well as statements made during my interviews indicating their respect to their homeland, their vivid interest in its current situation, contact with other members of the diaspora, active and conscious creation of their image as Chechens and, finally, their involvement in the activities aimed at maintaining and strengthening national identity. From these observations, I was able to draw a few conclusions. These conclusions show that, for example, if the enculturation process is focused more on shaping and maintaining the cultural and/or religious identification, the inclination to cultural adaptation is greater. But, if as a result of these activities, ethnic identification is more important and sense of ethnicity is strengthened, cultural adaptation takes longer and is more difficult. Also, more frequently, the acculturation strategy of this group of separation and integration is really rare. The inclination is to maintain strong ethnic affiliation and to demonstrate it in both private and public space; which is more often characteristic of men than women. This is one of the reasons that women adapt to new circumstances better. Women seem to be more determined and motivated to manage new circumstances, especially if they must take care of children. Acculturation potential of women can be less, though. The challenges women have to face when they decide to leave their homes, families, and homeland are often ignored. One consequence posed by these challenges is, frequently, the women reject their national cultural behavioural pattern and specific gender roles, which has been force on them. Strong ethnic affiliation significantly corresponds to the necessity of belonging to the group, of being part of the community. In fully realizing an individual, in this case, he/she is guaranteed to “losing himself/herself ” within the group, which

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at the expense of conformism and unanimity gives the sense of safety, stability and support in difficult situations. The characteristic feature for the refugees, whom I put into this category, maintains a quest to reconstruct their previous world under these new circumstances. It is characteristic for them to approach cultural adaptation in their new environment in a selective way; they usually select from the new culture only the things which they find suitable for their lifestyles and do not require any far-reaching compromises. Additionally, they are distant and critical towards their new place and its citizens, as well as their need to mark their own distinct culture, which follows from their conviction of a uniqueness of their original nation. According to this approach, an individual is regarded in the negative sense when someone says they are “well-acculturated”, in the sense that they are “similar to Poles”; while the description of the individual as “managing well” in their daily lives is a positive thing, only if the ethnic and cultural distinction is preserved. One example that I observed included the unwillingness to learn the Polish language among members of this ethnic group. Some of them explained that they were able to communicate in Russian in their daily lives and, therefore, they did not have many opportunities to come in contact with Poles or to use Polish. It is undoubtedly true, as most Chechens confine themselves to contacts almost exclusively within the members of their own nation. For comparison, I will just mention that this issue is completely different with young refugees with families, whose ethnic identification is not so strong. These people usually realize that if they want to stay in Poland and function well in the Polish society, the knowledge of the Polish language is crucial, so they emphasise the need to learn Polish in the process of raising their children. Among people with weaker ethnic affiliation, many “sink” into the new culture and expose themselves (a bit passively) to the acculturation process. Some of them use the opportunities and willingly engage into the new local social life, e.g. through learning Polish, going through subsequent stages of education, applying for a well-paid job, and pursuing their ambitions (e.g. sport, artistic and other). Many of them plan to organize their life in accordance with the local patterns and cultural norms, while maintaining their Chechen identity at the same time. Some people from this group think, as they stated it in my interviews, that only in this way will they be able to help their relatives in Chechnya and act for their country in both a local and international sense. During my interviews, their dress or appearance rarely captured my attention, but this brings to my mind the associations with a concrete nation or religion. Nevertheless, the interviewees (women especially) often maintained traditional styles

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of dress, which, quite unambiguously indicated their Caucasian origin. Yet, we may say that they are well-assimilated, as far as the external layer is concerned. The fact that this applies, most often, to the female part of Chechen community is not unimportant. I assume that this, at least to some extent, follows the restrictive rules which women must obey in their original culture, i.e. the rules concerning honour, code of behaviour, clothing and observing taboo. Some indicated that after coming to another country, they rejected these dress codes with some relief, but also with fear due to the restrictive rules, which they had to obey in their home country. One price they may pay is condemnation and exclusion from their own ethnic group. As I observed in Poland, there are many single Chechen women, who, because of their “excessive” emancipation and cultural adaptation, are rejected by their community. I have to mention that in the group, there are people with weak ethnic identification and those, who have a strong religious identification. This is seen in women that often wear hidżabs, while the men wear tjubitiejka type caps, - both symbols of faith, such as the rosary for prayer, called in Arabic subha or tasbih. From what I have observed, wearing these traditional clothes is not an obstacle to their cultural adaptation or to their functioning within the host society. Of course, it depends to a large extent, on whether the local community accepts foreigners with different appearances. My interviews with the youth indicate, they accept foreigners and by accepting the rules and norms of Poland it is not the problem for them, because they are conscious of their Chechen nationality without any special need to emphasize it. It is essential for them, they say, to have the right to practice their faith and to live according to its canon. They do not think that it is in any opposition to the rules and ethic habits prevailing in Poland. The foreigners, who consciously resign from maintaining strong ethnic bonds and who expose themselves to greater cultural adaptation (or even assimilation), at the same time expose themselves to being accused by their fellow-countrymen of betrayal or even Westernization19. For this reason, they are in the danger of losing contact with the representatives of their own ethnic group and of social isolation, for example, during social occasions and events. This is particularly difficult and unpleasant for people, who have not yet managed to build up a circle of acquain19 Westernization means taking over the cultural, economic and political patterns of Western Europe and the United States. One example is called the “westernized women”, and can involve a threat to life of the woman whose community is more culturally restrictive and sees her adaptation as excessive and threatening their original ethnic group. The tragic consequences of this are, for example, honour murders [www.islamweb.net/emainpage/index.php?page=articles&id=149134; www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571216,00.html, access 17.08.2012].

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tances from outside their ethnic culture. In this respect, it is difficult for the refugees in Poland to meet the expectation - to reject their past and embrace the new culture. Additionally, such expectation is not good for them at all, because, as observations show, it does not facilitate their function in Poland or guarantee adaptation or personal success. Moreover, this exposes them to additional stress, to the sense of rejection, facing many difficulties and problems and with the lack of adequate support and open attitude on the part of the host society. This Westernization is simply dangerous for them.

Conclusions The acculturation of the youngest generations of Chechens in Poland should be approached in an individual way, for example, in a way that takes into account the broad context of impingements that they are subject to and which influence the way they construct their identity (Rumbaut 2004: 1160-1162). The research confirmed what is most important from the viewpoint of their new country of settlement is the ability to function in society, which is realized through the process of cultural education, in their family and ethnic environment, and that it is an implicit process. This means that although the acculturation symptoms are visible in the external sphere, the acculturation does not necessarily take place internally, in the sphere of attitudes, beliefs and values. Although the vast majority of juveniles interviewed resemble their peers from the country of settlement through their appearance, behaviour and education, they, quite often, remain under the strong influence of their culture of origin in the normative and axiological sphere. This applies particularly to the people how show an obvious ethnic identification. For this reason, the attempts to make any generalizations merely on the basis of external appearance are invalid and misleading because of their superficial and reductionist character. These pre-judgements (prejudices) do not take into account the very important formative impingements they face through enculturation, which takes place “behind closed doors”, i.e. inside the families and foreign communities. The inaccessibility of content and values people face through the enculturation process significantly weakens the real influence of host culture, and makes difficult to diagnose and foresee the degree of adaptation and internalization into the new culture. As a result, basing the assessments and opinions just on the descriptions of the way, the juvenile refugees function in the new society is single-sided and does not present all the necessary aspects to the problem. Many important issues connected with attitudes,

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values, and outlook, remain hidden. Without an attempt to reach out to families and ethnic groups, especially of those young refugees and immigrants (in the first and subsequent generations), without seeing and analyzing the system they live within, in terms of a broader social and political context, it is likely that, the host society will mistakenly be excessively optimistic about juvenile refugees’ cultural adaptation (their “becoming settled”), and there may appear the painful disappointment caused by future conflicts and acts of hostility. The long-term consequences of this may be difficult to predict.

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