Fears of a coronavirus outbreak at Espoo’s Nihtisilta reception center

MTV published today the dire situation of refugees at the Luona-managed Nihtisilta reception center in Espoo. An anonymous Iraqi asylum seeker said there is no soap to wash there hands, and there is a lot of concern about coronavirus spreading.

Migrant Tales got in touch with an asylum reception center resident in Espoo who confirmed the concern and dire situation of some asylum seekers.

“We are Iraqi, Afghans, and Somali refugees [at the Nihtisilta asylum reception center] and have been living there for five years,” said a refugee. “There is not enough hygiene care [by Luona] since we cannot afford to buy sanitizers.”

The asylum seeker said that all the money they receive monthly is 90 euros. The reception center does not provide any soap, detergents, or towels.

On each floor of the reception center, there are two bathrooms, which houses about 100 people.

“On the third floor [of the reception center] there is coronavirus infected asylum seekers,” he continued. “They [asylum reception staff] don’t give us any information about those that were [allegedly] infected.”

The asylum seeker said that he and others are especially concerned about the situation.

“There are no staffers, management, social worker, a nurse at the reception center,” he concluded. “Only security guards and kitchen workers.”

A bit of history

News about the Nihtisilta reception center was published in Suomen Kuvalehti and Migrant Tales about the death of an Afghan asylum seeker, Jayyed Abbas Jaffari (1995-2016).

Luona denied that there was any negligence or inadequate treatment on their behalf surrounding Jaffari’s death.

In January 2016, there were a lot of stories coming out of reception centers that pointed to the ill and deficient treatment especially by Luona, a private company, of asylum seekers.

Here’s what Migrant Tales has heard after Jaffari’s death:

• Employees at Luona have resigned due to the poor and humiliating treatment of asylum seekers as well as to the deficient medical attention they receive by the company;
• Luona’s employees are informed not to call an ambulance without prior permission of the manager, who is difficult to reach and does not answer the phone;
• One of the reasons why some patients, probably Jaffari, didn’t get to the hospital on time was because they had to get permission from the manager, who is speculated to be sleeping on Sunday morning and/or had his mobile phone switched off;
• Jaffari visited the nurse at the Espoo reception center for three consecutive days. He was told to take Paracetamol and drink hot tea;
• The manager who was on duty did not appear at work for two weeks after Jaffari’s death;
• Many other medical treatment issues of asylum seekers are reported daily at Luona’s reception centers;
• Employees and asylum seekers have complained to FIS about the situation;
• FIS and the police have brought up Jaffari’s death and are said to be carrying out some sort of investigation to clear up the matter;
• The Finnish parliament sent a questionnaire to Luona inquiring about how it runs its reception centers.

During 2016, Migrant Tales published score of stories about the poor treatment of asylum seekers at some Finnish asylum reception centers.

Stories published by Migrant Tales’s “Supermen”* on asylum reception centers during 2016.

January

• Does Finland treat asylum seekers with human dignity or as livestock? (January 22, 2016)
• Was the death of an Afghani asylum seeker at Luona’s reception center due to negligence? (January 28, 2016)
• Does Luona treat asylum seekers with dignity or as livestock? (January 29, 2016)
• BOX STORY: Mohammed Saleh Muhsin (January 29, 2016)

February

• How the Finnish Immigration Service’s fast-track scheme will deport thousands of asylum seekers from Finland in 2016 (February 13, 2016)
• Why are so many Iraqi asylum seekers abandoning Finland? (February 13, 2016)
• Iraqi asylum seeker: The first Finnish word I learned was “vittu” (February 14, 2016)
• Luona claims that it has zero tolerance for racism but can you teach a racist dog new tricks? (February 19, 2016)
• Asylum seekers have exposed Europe’s schizophrenia and bigotry (February 21, 2016)
• Our image of Finland to asylum seekers is too rosy and full of myths that expose ethnocentrism and hypocrisy (February 24, 2016)
• How “safe and reliable” is the Finnish police towards asylum seekers? (February 24, 2016)

March

• Close to 80% of the police service of Finland sees asylum seekers as the greatest threat to security (March 7, 2016)
• Abuse of asylum seekers at Luona’s reception centers continues despite assurances that they don’t permit “racist behavior” (March 9, 2016)
• Abuses at Luona’s asylum reception centers continue – two refugees tried to commit suicide (March 12, 2016)
• Two new suicide cases involving asylum seekers in Finland not reported by the media (March 15, 2015)
• Recovering Afghan who attempted suicide wants to leave Finland (March 16, 2016)
• How many former asylum seekers from Luona got jobs thanks to a fast-track employment scheme? (March 19, 2016)
• An asylum seeker at Villa Meri reception center is on hunger strike protesting poor treatment by the staff (March 22, 2016)
• More problems and issues at the Villa Meri asylum reception center of Rauma, Finland (March 24, 2016)
• Is Barona’s fast-track employment scheme “a joke?” (March 24, 2016)
• A formal complaint by five asylum seeker at Luona’s reception center sheds light on alleged “gross abuses” (March 25, 2016)

April

• CORRECTED: 45-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker allegedly attempted to take his life in Pieksämäki (April 1, 2016)
• Pieksämäki reception center fire shows that the Finnish media and police service consider asylum seekers “guilty before proven innocent” (April 2, 2016)
• More alleged abuses of asylum seekers by Barona security guards (April 4, 2016)
• The story of the migrant with the fake Rolex who charges real prices for finding an apartment (April 8, 2016)
• On top of Luona’s poor reputation, the Finnish company is alleged to use informers to spy on asylum seekers (April 17, 2016)
• Security guards at Luona’s Pitäjänmäki reception center continue to treat asylum seekers with disrespect (April 26, 2016)

May 

• The Kolari, Finland, asylum reception center “is a living hell” (May 1, 2016)
• Kolari, Finland, asylum reception center: It costs to “live in hell” (May 2, 2016)
• Pictures from the Kolari asylum reception center in Finland (May 4, 2016)
• About 120 asylum seekers from the Kolari reception center in Finland protested against bad treatment (May 4, 2016)
• What’s going on at the Kolari, Finland, asylum reception center? (May 5, 2016)
• Kirje Suomalaisille Kolarin vastaanottokeskuksesta – A letter to Finns from the Kolari asylum reception center (May 7, 2016)
• Humane treatment of asylum seekers – case Kolari reception center (May 9, 2016)
• Rebuttal to Helsingin Sanomat concerning the Kolari asylum reception center story (May 11, 2016)
• YLE: Red Cross sacks Kolari asylum reception center deputy manager (May 13, 2016)
• What former Kolari asylum reception center deputy manager “likes” on Facebook (and it’s not pretty) (May 15, 2016)
• Kolari asylum seeker: Matters haven’t improved at all at the reception center (May 17, 2016)
• Is the Kolari asylum reception center a copy of PS immigration and regional policy that is unconstitutional? (May 20, 2016)
• Police allegedly threatened asylum seeker with deportation if “he didn’t behave” and stop protesting (May 24, 2016)
• Kolari asylum seekers “very happy” about the closure of the reception center (May 30, 2016)
• Iraqi asylum seekers in Helsinki and the Kemi reception center will take part in peaceful protest Wednesday (May 31, 2016)
• Iraqi asylum seekers to demonstrate in Helsinki and Kemi Wednesday at 1pm (May 31, 2016)

June

• Helsinki and Kemi demonstrations by Iraqi asylum seekers considered “successful” by their organizers (June 1, 2016)
• Two pictures and a video of Wednesday’s peaceful demonstration in Helsinki by Iraqi asylum seekers (June 1, 2016)
• Kolari reception center asylum seeker: Matters have improved because the new manager is very supportive (June 3, 2016)
• Iraqi asylum seeker hunger strike day 1: “Iraq wasn’t and still isn’t safe” (June 5, 2016)
• Irakilaisen syömälakko päivä yksi: “Irak ei ollut silloin eikä tänäänkään turvallista” (June 5, 2016)
• Ana María Gutiérrez Soranen: Vauvan äitiä ja kolmevuotiasta Sämää ei saa käännyttää Suomesta (June 6, 2016)
• Zimema Mhone: Iraqi asylum seeker hunger strike day 2 (June 6, 2016)
• Iraqi asylum seeker hunger strike: Namir al-Azawin taken to intensive care (June 8, 2016)
• UPDATE: Iraqi asylum seeker hunger strike day 4 (June 8, 2016)
• Iraqi asylum seeker hunger strike: Video of Namir al-Azzawi (June 8, 2016)
• Petteri Orpo’s election as the new NCP chairman is a vote in favor of ever-tightening immigration policy and hostility against asylum seekers (June 11, 2016)
• Iraqi asylum seeker hunger strike: Namir al-Azzawi taken to hospital for second time (June 12, 2016)
• Namir al-Azzawi ends hunger strike after nine days (June 13, 2016)
• Thulfiqar Abdulkareem Abdulameer: My story (June 15, 2016)
• Finland tightens family reunification laws and denies migrants the right to a family (June 18, 2016)
• Iraqi asylum seeker hunger strike: Before and after (June 19, 2016)
• Oikeus elää – A Right to live ???? ????? demonstration tomorrow at 4:00 pm in Helsinki (Narikkantori, Kamppi) (June 19, 2016)
• Live coverage of Oikeus elää – A Right to live ???? ????? demonstration (June 20, 2016)
• The Finnish media doesn’t care to write about asylum seekers when they try to take control of their narrative (June 20, 2016)

July

• How “safe” is Iraq? Who is safe in Iraq? (July 4, 2016)
• Beri Jamal: My Thoughts (July 11, 2016)
• Skärpt asylpolitik – Hur behandlas asylansökningarna? (July 13, 2016)
• Vi håller oss vid liv, men hålls vi som människor? (July 13, 2016)
• Terrorism och våld (July 22, 2016)
• Finland’s shameful asylum policy should be changed (July 31, 2016)

August

• Asylum seekers’ rights in Finland to appeal will be severely undermined thanks to a new law that will come into force on September 1  (August 12, 2016)
• Asylum seekers in Finland: New law that will shorten the time of appeal is a “cowardly” act (August 13, 2016)
• Finnish interior ministry report: violence against migrants hasn’t grown significantly in 2015 (August 16, 2016)
• Forssa, Finland: A hotbed of racist behavior where words turn into bullets (August 26, 2016)

September

• Our new message to the world: Finland doesn’t like you so don’t even think of moving here! (September 2, 2016)
• Mohammed Khulbus Idnan’s perilous journey from Finland back to a “safe” country like Iraq (September 3, 2016)
• The refugee business in Finland is booming (September 4, 2016)
• Helsingin Sanomat article on the Finnish Immigration Service sheds light on an institution distanced from human rights and Nordic values (September 5, 2016)
• Iraqi asylum seeker Majid*: The Finnish Immigration Service made me lose all hope, that’s why I wanted to take my life (September 5, 2016)
• Suomen Kuvalehti: The Finnish government’s hardline immigration stance is not the standard in other European countries             (September 8, 2016)
• Single mother Iraqi asylum seeker with two children plead for help to not be deported from Finland (September 15, 2016)
• UPDATED: Iraqi asylum seeker takes his life after getting a negative decision from the Finnish Immigration Service (September 19, 2016)
• Zaker: A refugees journey from Afghanistan to Europe (September 19, 2016)
• Police now investigate the death of a young Iraqi asylum seeker in Finland (September 21, 2016)
• Stop this Game! demonstration exposes the disingenuousness of Juha Sipilä’s government (September 24, 2016)
• Where should we go after Saturday’s Stop this Game! demonstration? (September 25, 2016)
• ¡No pasarán! (September 26, 2016)
• The number of undocumented migrants in Finland will soar “by the thousands” (September 26, 2016)

October

• An Iraqi asylum seeker gets shot at twice in Kemi on Friday, police apprehend suspect (October 2, 2016)
• UPDATE: Iraqi asylum seeker files charges against suspect who shot at him (October 3, 2016)
• Three men assaulted near Mikkeli three Iraqi asylum seekers with an axe and small shovel (October 3, 2016)
• The Iraqi community of Kemi doesn’t feel secure after Friday’s shooting (October 3, 2016)
• The government of Juha Sipilä has failed with flying colors on its strategy to contain the rise of racism in Finland (October 4, 2016)
• Two stories, two versions about an incident involving asylum seekers in Finland (October 5, 2016)
• Finland’s asylum reception centers are like a game of Russian roulette without bullets (October 5, 2016)
• Is there a breakdown of trust between the manager of the Keuruu reception center and asylum seekers? (October 13, 2016)
• The manager of the Keuruu asylum reception center prohibits religious and cultural celebrations – is this the Finnish way of welcoming newcomers? (October 15, 2016)
• Migrant Tales’ hindsight column: Two stories that are supposed to wither away (October 22, 2016)
• Pitajänuutiset: “Etstimme turvaa Suomesta” (October 22, 2016)
• Family reunification in Finland can easily cost a migrant thousands of euros (October 23, 2016)
• UPDATE: Problems at Rauma’s Villa Meri asylum reception persist and have gotten worse (October 27, 2016)
• UPDATE: How can a rape of an adolescent visitor happen at the Villa Meri asylum reception center? (October 28, 2016)
• Case Villa Meri: Is the job of an asylum reception center to promote the well-being or suffering of those they serve? (October 29, 2016)
• The Finnish Immigration Service, with the blessings of the government, aims to separate migrant parents from their children               (October 30, 2016)
• Two Iraqi asylum seekers who returned to “safe” Iraq and were killed (October 31, 2016)
• A naturalized Finn who returned to a “safe” country like Afghanistan and was killed last month (October 31, 2016)

November 

• Is Somalia a “safe” country and do asylum seekers want to die in vain? (November 5, 2016)
• Police University College of Finland: Hate crimes rise by 52.01% in 2015 (November 11, 2016)
• Ahmed Kahdim Ali Alsultani is a former Iraqi asylum seeker with a death certificate (November 15, 2016)
• Luona, Kolari, Villa Meri, Keuruu, Laajakoski asylum reception centers in Finland that are shameful examples (November 19, 2016)
• Iraqi asylum seeker in Finland: A journey that began in a tormented land (November 20, 2016)
• Finland faces a challenge with the rise of undocumented immigrants (November 20, 2016)
• Iraqi asylum seeker gets asylum application turned down as his family members are attacked by the militia (November 20, 2016)
• How a well-managed asylum reception center should be run (November 22, 2016)
• The disgraceful stand of the government towards undocumented migrants in Finland (November 24, 2016)
• A sick Iraqi asylum seeker asks for mercy in a country that supposed to offer it (November 30, 2016)

December

• Över 850 Irakiska asylsökande demonstrerar emot Immigratioinsverket omännskliga beslut (December 4, 2016)
• UPDATE: Minor asylum seeker at the Villa Meri reception center sent to hospital after getting pepper-sprayed by security guard     (December 5, 2016)
• Police superintendent of Finland: No need for repatriation agreement with Iraq, we can deport asylum seekers if we wish (December 5, 2016)
• Why migrants and minorities in Finland continue to suffer from discrimination and social inequality (December 6, 2016)
• Milisier som bränner ner barnens väskor för att de delats ut av en infidel (December 9, 2016)
• Asylum seekers: The situation at the Laajakoski reception center is “absolutely catastrophic” (December 10, 2016)
• The Finnish Red Cross must take action to correct the alleged abuses at the Laajakoski asylum reception center near Kotka               (December 11, 2016)
• Finland, asylum seekers and the media: Moral cowardice and passing the buck (December 15, 2016)
• Finland’s ever-growing crisis of undocumented migrants is the government’s and Social Democratic Party’s doing (December 18, 2016)
• Finland’s about-turn in immigration and asylum policy reveal populism and suspicion (December 19, 2016)
• Repatriation agreement between Iraqi Ministry of Migration & Displaced and Finland comes to naught (December 23, 2016)
• Remember when PM Juha Sipilä offered his home in Finland to asylum seekers? (December 23, 2016)
• Is Christmas a time of joy and hatred towards Muslims? (December 23, 2016)
• A letter of apology for the disgraceful treatment of asylum seekers in Finland by the government (December 24, 2016)

* “The Supermen” are a group of concerned citizens who helped to expose the abuses and racism at some of Finland’s reception centers. Some of them want to be anonymous because it would impede their priceless work in exposing future injustices and abuses of asylum seekers, migrants, and minorities.