Suchergebnisse

The purpose of this paper is to study the mechanisms of online networking and exchange of social support among members of a migrant virtual group of Russian-speaking women in Poland on Facebook. The research was based on content analysis and non-participant observation during two weeks in November and December 2019. I also had two online conversations with the moderator of the group based on a prepared list of questions. It appeared, that members of the group used networking to improve communication on a wide range of issues. Conversations available online provide insight on how migration determines daily issues and social life but also as a source of socially-reproducing precarity. Informality as a social model of inter-group relations prevails among members of the Russian-speaking community. Four main types of social support emerged from communication on the forum – informational, instrumental, emotional and community building. Russian-speaking women use Facebook group to share information, empower each other, boost self-esteem and find companionship. The findings allow to consider the role of the online group as a complementary mechanism for adaptation and improvement of well-being of migrants in Poland.

When an authoritarian country lacks opportunities for free political activity, the diaspora and its leaders often take on the role of the democratic opposition against the authoritarian government and act as a political force for democratization. Although political activity abroad is very challenging and limited per se, the example of the Belarusian diaspora and its leaders demonstrates that they can play the role of an internationally recognized political entity. The pro-democratic activity of the Belarusian diaspora focuses on three main areas: the continuation of resistance against the authoritarian regime, the advancement of political representation, and the development of a credible democratic alternative including a political program for a future democratic Belarus. Yet the Russian aggression against Ukraine has put Belarusian opposition abroad at the front of a dilemma as to whether they should also take on a clear nation-building in the new geopolitical context.