As the #righttolife demonstration grows and becomes stronger at the Helsinki Railway Station, a group of Iraqis organized a similar demonstration in the northern Finnish city of Oulu on March 11, according to Ali Asaad Hasan.
“To show our support for the people in Helsinki, we decided to start our own demonstration in Oulu,” said Hasan. “The people, especially the Lutheran church, have supported us and been so good to us.”
The demonstrators in Oulu, which are mostly Iraqis with some Afghan, Somali and asylum seekers from other countries, hand out flyers and chat with people. They are also doing a video that they will soon publish.
“This demonstration means a lot to all of us and to me especially because we can tell people about the deportations and try to find ways to stop them by letting Finns know what is happening,” he said.
The support demonstration for the #righttolife demonstration in Helsinki began on March 11.
Hasan said that the Finns who have demonstrated with them have been a great help. If there are problems they usually step in and help calm the situation, according to him.
“We got a visit from the Soldiers of Odin on Friday,” he continued. “There were about 20 of them and they came with a big dog and stood a meter away from us with some covering their faces. The police came and nothing happened.”
The demonstrators in Oulu have received two visits from the Soldiers of Odin vigilante group. Twenty vigilante members appeared on Friday with a big dog to intimidate the group. The police arrived and the Finns taking part in the demonstration kept everything under control.
A Soldiers of Odin member masking his face next to the demonstration.
