I recieved a phone call on Wednesday: “I have some good news,” I waited with keen anticipation for the next part of her sentence. “We were granted residence permits [by Migri, the Finnish Immigration Service]!”
“That’s great news!” I said.
The date, 25 june 2025, will stand out as one of the most important in the Iraqi family’s lives.
It was only in January that the family had received a deportation order to leave the country.
Their three children are today aged 16, 14 and 7 years.
Read the original posting here.
Should we thank Migri or ask where the family’s cruel ordeal originated? Having arrived in Finland ten years ago, it means that the children were six and four years old when they left Iraq. The youngest was born in Finland.
One of the arguments used by the family against deportation was their children, who had grown up and had a strong bond in Finland, like the languge.
I remember the 16-year-old who speaks Finnish perfectly and is the parents’ interpreter. I apologized to her on behalf of Finland for forcing her to deal with terrible matters like deportation orders.
Even if the family is grateful that they may remain in Finland, it does not erase the beurocratic and political racism that empowers Migri to sometimes care very little for the lives of those it should be serving.
Special thanks go to the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party for their hostile racism and for blessing the suffering of too many asylum seekers in Finland.
