I, if anyone, wishes Finland’s new prime minister, Sanna Marin, the best of luck and success.
Someone asked me a while back what I thought about former Prime Minister Antti Rinne’s government and if it signalled major improvements and changes in immigration policy and in fighting racism.
My answer was short: It all depends on the deeds.
While there has been a lot of talk by the government about respecting human rights, the rule of law, we still have not moved forward even if suspicion and racism are no longer the narrative as was the case in Juho Sipilä’s government.
We’re still in the same place we were before: The hardline policy of the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) is still the rule; there is a national outcry and lack of leadership about repatriating 10 women and about 30 children from the al-Hol camp in Syria; racism is profitable politically as opinion polls show; there are no new effective steps to tackle racism, job discrimination, hate speech and hate crime in our society.
When Prime Minister Marin speaks of ensuring that Finland remains an inclusive and socially just society, she must mean for migrants and minorities as well.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s government. See any minorities?Source: Facebook.
I might be wrong and I hope I am. If the picture above and the ethnic makeup of Marin’s government is anything to go by, it sill does not show any visible minorities.
The reaction to what Finland should do about 10 Finnish women who are alleged wives of ISIS fighters and their 30 children at the al-Hola camp in northeast Syria has all the characteristics of social media lynch mob populism and Islamophobia.
The biggest trolls are not anonymous persons but opposition politicians of parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and the National Coalition Party (NCP). They are a worrying sign of the stranglehold that populism has over Finland.
Imagine. A country with one of the best education systems in the world, one of the highest standards of living, a social welfare state that serves as a safety net for those that need it, is acting like an unruly mob ready to lynch its victim.
Part of the blame for the present hysteria is the former government of Prime Minister Antti Rinne, who has shown reluctance and dragged its feet concerning the repatriation of the wives of ISIS fighters.
The sooner Finland repatriates these women and children, the better.
And why shouldn’t they if these women and children are Finnish citizens?
“The people are scared! What does an ISIS child look like?” Source: Ville Ranta, lltalehti.
The best way to cast away the hateful trolling of the social media lynch mobs shadow is to bring back the wives and children stranded at the al-Hol camp.
Let the rule of law and our justice system do the rest.
After a setback on Sunday, Iraqi demonstrators in front of the Finnish Immigration Service building have vowed to continue their protest, according to Walid Sahib, one of the organizers of the demonstration.
A total of four demonstrators were detained by the police on Sunday and released from custody three hours later.
“We will continue [with our protest],” said Sahib. “We are seeking permission from the city [of Helsinki]. We will go somewhere else if they say we cannot demonstrate in front of Migri.”
Iraqi demonstrators protesting in front of the Finnish Immigration Service building on Thursday. Photo: By demonstrators.
The demonstration by Iraqi asylum seekers that began on Thursday in front of the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) building ended at about 1 am Sunday, according to Outi Popp, a Right to Live (Oikeus elää) activistwho brings awareness to deportations to unsafe countries like Afghanistan and Iraq.
According to a video by Popp, several police cars, a dog and even an armored vehicle appeared at the scene. The demonstration was disbanded and four demonstrators detained by the police after they said claimed they had permission to be there.
A first, the police said that a city ordinance prohibited people from camping outdoors after midnight. Popp said that Police Commissioner Johanna Sinivuori had given them permission to demonstrate in front of the building until Monday morning.
But when Commissioner Sinivuori was reached by phone, she said that the permit to demonstrate was canceled after the far-right vigilante group Soldiers of Odin were inquiring about the demonstration.
The police arrive at the scene on Sunday at about 1 am.
Walid Sahib, one of the persons taking part in the demonstration, said on Thursday that the demonstration aimed to raise awareness of the plight of undocumented migrants and others in limbo concerning their asylum applications.
Some asylum seekers in Finland have been waiting for over four years for a decision from Migri concerning their asylum cases
“There are many [thousands] people with no permission in Finland and [others] waiting for four years for their residence permits,” said Sahib. “It is a very difficult situation.”
As European politicians fruitlessly figure out how to resolve the ever-worsening refugee situation, Europe’s inaction has tuned refugees into invisible beings whose muffled sounds of suffering turn some of our hearts into stone.
Some Europeans are indifferent to the plight of such people because they believe that they could never become refugees in their lifetimes.
One family of four, a mother and two teenage daughters and an adult son, arrived two weeks ago to the Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesvos in Greece. For many, Lesvos is the first stop of asylum seekers coming to Europe from Turkey.
The situation at the Moria camp could be characterized by overcrowding, lack of hygiene, and too few services to attend the estimated 12,000 asylum seekers effectively at the camp.
“The toilets are a kilometer from their tent, and the journey there is dangerous because it is downhill and slippery when it rains,” said a relative of the family that now lives on Lesvos. “If you get to the toilet, you’ll find long lines with families with ten children waiting for their turn.”
Lesvos Island is located 124 kilometers from the Turkish port city of Izmir. Many asylum seekers arrive to the island on rubber boats. Source: Google Maps. The tent or “home” of the Afghan family. There is no electricity or any way to heat the tent. Finding clean water is another of the many challenges that asylum seekers face on Lesvos. Source: asylum seeker.The Afghan asylum eating inside their tent. Meals are offered three times a day to the camp residents. Source: asylum seeker.
While we live in such difficult times that refugees and migrants cannot travel freely as they have done since humans left Africa about 40,000 years ago, an uncertain future awaits many today.
Even so, let’s wish this new family the best of luck in Europe and that they will find what so many migrants and refugees have searched before them: a new life.
A group of present and former asylum seekers decided to hold an indefinite demonstration in front of Helsinki’s Finnish Immigration Service’s (Migri) on Thursday for better rights and security in Finland.
Walid Sahib, one of the persons taking part in the demonstration, said that the most important matter is to raise awareness for the plight of undocumented migrants and others in limbo waiting for decisions on their asylum applications.
“There are many [thousands] people with no permission in Finland and [others] waiting for four years for their residence permits,” said Sahib. “It is a very difficult situation.”
Demonstrators outside the Finnish Immigration Service offices in Helsinki. Photo: By demonstrators.Sahib said that there is no time limit to the demonstration. The last demonstration held by Iraqi and Afghan asylum seekers at the Helsinki Railway Square lasted for 140 days.Another shorter hunger-strike demonstration was held in Helsinki in 2017.Photo: By demonstrators.
In 2016, the right-wing government of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä tightened Finland’s immigration law and did away with residence permits on humanitarian grounds. This change in the law forced the number of undocumented migrants to rise from a few hundred to a few thousand.
Then Social Democrat MP Nasima Razmyar, who is today Helsinki deputy mayor for culture and leisure, voted in 2016 to end residence permits on humanitarian grounds.
Razmyar is herself a former asylum seeker from Afghanistan.
Other migrant rights were eroded by Sipilä’s government as Amnesty International points out below.
Read the full Amnesty International Report 2017/18 here.
I would like to extend my support for these brave migrants for demonstrating for their rights. In today’s hostile environment of Finland, it is an effective way of raising your voice and invite public concern to your cause.
The best present that we can receive on Finland’s Independence Day is an inclusive society that respects everyone irrespective of their background. Mutual respect is the bridge that unites this society.
So set aside your medals, distinctions, and invitations to the President’s Independence Day ball because social equality and respect for diversity is the only medal I would pin on my soul.
Celebrating your independence is a celebration for our cultural and ethnic diversity. Rosa Emilia Clay is one example of our rich heritage.
Good news! The management of the Jämsä asylum reception center decided today to throw away all the furniture, some mattresses, and buy new ones deal with a bed bug problem that has persisted since before November 2018.
The reception center, located in central Finland about 4 kilometers from the nearest market, is run by Pihlajalinna, a private company that offers social and healthcare services for the public sector.
Pihlajalinna was in the news earlier this year for the negligent care to the elderly at their rest homes.
The decision to do away with the furniture and some mattresses came a day after Migrant Talespublished an article Sunday with pictures affecting 30-40 asylum seekers at the reception center.
The Jämsä asylum reception center houses about 120 asylum seekers.
The Jämsä asylum reception center has had a bed bug problem for over a year.
The question that one asylum seeker who has suffered from bed bugs asks is why it has taken such a long time to solve the problem.
“Doing away with the bed bug problem costs [the company],” an asylum seeker who lives at the camp and who spoke on condition of anonymity. “That’s why it has taken such a long time to resolve. The other reason is that the camp management does not care about us.”
Migrant Taleswrote in 2016 about Luona, a private company that ran asylum reception centers and whose aim was to maximize profit.
The Jämsä asylum reception center.
The Jämsä reception center nurse is a good example of how the camp tries to save money.
“An asylum seeker staying at the camp was dying of cancer,” he said. “The nurse told him to drink a lot of water and take Burana, and that would relieve his pain. A while later, he was diagnosed with cancer and died last year in Jyväskylä.”
The actions of the nurse show ignorance and the lack of understanding of the suffering and trauma of refugees.
“I once visited the nurse and told her that I had problems sleeping [seeUlysses syndrome],” said the asylum seeker. “She asked me why I had such a problem and promised to get me medicine in mid-November. I’m still waiting.”
The person who visited the nurse about insomnia also suffers from panic attacks. The nurse told him just to rest and the problem would go away.
“The nurse promises to get medicine for us, but she always late with the medicine or forgets altogether,” he said. “Apart from keeping expenses as low as possible, people at the camp don’t like the nurse because she always forgets or [allegedly] lies outright.”
Budget cuts by Pihlajalinna can be seen as well in fewer staff workers at night. Before on Fridays, there was a worker at the camp until midnight, but now it is until to 9 pm.
On Saturdays and Sundays, there are employees only between noon and 6 pm.
“For the whole camp, there are only three washing machines that are in the office,” the person said. “They have promised to buy two more washing machines. On weekends, we cannot wash clothes at the camp after 6 pm.”
Red lights should start flashing whenever a person teaching integration 101 to newly arrived migrants states: “These students are my children.”
It is important to note, however, that there are many good and inspiring teachers who do wonders for their students and make them feel welcome.
Schools can be violent places for non-white people as this poster alleges. A THL study showed that first-generation migrants face at school bullying, physical and sexual harassment. Shouldn’t integration courses should also teach newcomers how to challenge such violence, prejudices, and discrimination that are too commonplace?
But for those who see their students as “children,” even if their students are grown-up adults, exposes their cultural arrogance, and racism.
If it were up to these types of teachers to “integrate” and turn these migrants into active members of society, the result is preparing them to become second- and third-class members of society.
Another serious problem is that there are few if any bodies that directly actively evaluate the teacher and his or her prejudices. Usually, white people are doing this type of evaluation if any.
I believe that a teacher aims to offer the best education possible to the students. If I were giving a talk to such teachers, the first thing I’d tell them is to stop underestimating and treating them like children.
I would turn to bodies like the European Network Against Racism to offer anti-racism and cultural diversity courses.
In the meantime, let’s stop infantilizing migrants!
After Migrant Tales broke the story of Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) asked a divorced Moroccan to leave Finland with a heart condition. Youssef Hemdani’s case has received a lot of support from Morocco and Finland.
“Thank you for your support,” said his brother, Laghdof Hemdari.
Apart from getting a lot of attention on social media, Hemdani has received visits and concern from the Moroccan ambassador to Finland, Mohamed Achgalou, and from Social Democrat MP Hussein al-Taee as well as from Left Alliance Helsinki city councilor, Suldaan Said Ahmed.
There are plans as well to appeal to the district cout Migri’s decision.
Youssef Hamdani has been hospitalized for three months.
Hemdani’s heart condition is serious. The 32-year-old suffers from an enlarged heart and cardiac insufficiency, according to a medical report.
Youssef Hemdani is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and cardiac insufficiency.
Laghdof Hemdari said that so far, there is no pledge from the hospital that his brother will be operated as promised before Migri decided to revoke his residence permit.
“There is no treatment for my brother’s condition in Morocco,” he said. “He isn’t well. Some days he’s better and other days are worse. Sometimes he cannot eat because he feels the food chokes him.”
