(Migrant Tales will start to publish more stories written in other media in Finland on immigration, refugees, integration and policy).
Viime aikoina media on nostanut esiin maahanmuuttajiin liittyviä asioita, kuten kotoutumisen, työhön ja koulutukseen pääsemisen sekä suomen kielen oppimisen. Haluan muistuttaa, että kotoutuminen on paitsi poliittinen ja taloudellinen myös yhteiskunnallinen prosessi.
Uuteen yhteiskuntaan sopeutuminen sekä kielen, kulttuurin, ympäristön ja uuden elämän opetteleminen vie pitkän ajan. Oppimisella on aina kaksi puolta. Yksi puoli on se, mitä oikeuksia ja mahdollisuuksia on, toinen se, onko motivaatiota ja valmiuksia noudattaa velvollisuuksia.
Mielestäni maahanmuuttajan kotoutuminen on täynnä myös taloudellisia esteitä ja ongelmia, koska maahanmuuttajien asema on heikompi kuin valtaväestöllä. Siksi monia palveluja, kuten kursseja, koulutuksia ja kulukorvauksia, on tiivistetty ja vähennetty.
Resurssit suomen kielen oppimiseen ovat todella pienet kurssien ja koulutuksen suhteen. Valitettavasti ongelma ei ole vain siinä, onko näitä kursseja tarjolla, vaan myös siinä ettei työvoimatoimisto enää anna osalle maahanmuuttajista työmarkkinatukea. Jos maahanmuuttaja pääsee jollekin kurssille, hänelle ei makseta yhdeksän euron päivittäistä kulukorvausta. Tämä on ristiriitaista, koska kaikki muut ihmiset, jotka asuvat tässä yhteiskunnassa, saavat tätä korvausta.
Kolme vuotta sitten suuri epäkohta oli B-lupa. Käytännössä B-lupa riistää maahanmuuttajalta työn, ammatin, opiskelun, perusterveydenhuollon ja muut oikeudet. Eli valitettavasti vaihtoehdoksi jää “pimeän työn” tekeminen. Tämä on lakien vastaista, heikentää Suomen ammattiliitojen saavutuksia ja lisää rasismia, mutta järjestelmä ei jätä B-lupalaisille muita vaihtoehtoja. Käytännössä B-lupa estää kotoutumisen.
Kotoutuminen ei ole onnistunut Suomessa kovinkaan hyvin opiskelunkaan suhteen. Opiskelu onnistuu rauhallisessa kodissa. Asunnon saaminen on vaikeaa maahanmuuttajalle, jos hän ei osaa kieltä riittävän hyvin ja on työtön, kuten 40 prosenttia heistä on.
Eräs vammainen mies tuli Suomeen Irakista kolme vuotta sitten, hän on saanut oleskeluluvan. Puoli vuotta sitten perheen yhdistämisen kautta loput perheenjäsenet tulivat Suomeen, vaimo ja kaksi alaikäistä lasta. Perhe asuu 44 neliön asunnossa. Perheen pojat käyvät suomen kielen kurssilla. Isällä on lääkärintodistus, ja he ovat laittaneet hakemukset suurempaa asuntoa varten jo yli puoli vuotta sitten. Opiskeleminen ja asuminen on vaikeata näin pienessä asunnossa.
Jos viranomaiset eivät ole kiinnostuneita vastaamaan näihin asioihin, toivon, että viesti saavuttaa Suomen presidentin, Tarja Halosen. Vuosia sitten hän vahvisti useaan kertaan, että maahanmuuttajilla ovat samat oikeudet kuin muillakin täällä asuvilla ihmisillä. Ovatko mainitsemani asiat todella oikeudenmukaisia, tasa-arvoisia ja Suomen perustuslain mukaisia?
Omar Bahaaldin
puheenjohtaja
Irakilaisten pakolaisten kv. federaatio, Suomen osasto
It never stops amazing me the fact that the so called Muslim leaders only comes public in two cases. First, when a Muslim is victim of a crime, and second, the most common, when a Muslim commit a crime. Otherwise they are quite happy in just – “this is their problem not ours”.
Now that some of Mr. Iraqi leader buddy’s have murdered 3 Finns he comes talking about integration. Very well, Mr. leader how about rather than demand more appeasement from Finland you start to tell your people to stop listen to their fire-breathing imams and start to listen to what Finland expect from them. It does works.
Of course, if they really want some integration course we could send them to Gitmo country club for some training.
–It never stops amazing me the fact that the so called Muslim leaders only comes public in two cases. First, when a Muslim is victim of a crime, and second, the most common, when a Muslim commit a crime.
Taking into account what you read it does not surprise me. You seem to forget that thanks to the worst president that the US ever had, George W. Bush, we have declared war on this group. You have to include context not take it out to dress up your view.
And look at what happened to the US under the leadership of Bush and his neocons: disaster.
Do you like that suggestion I made that Finland should draft an integration plan for some member of populist parties like the True Finns to teach them the values and laws of this land. I really think that some of these persons need more integration education than some immigrants.
“You seem to forget that thanks to the worst president that the US ever had, George W. Bush, we have declared war on this group.”
Sorry I forgot that 9/11 was a Jew plot. Thanks for remind me, you blog is just a must…
“You have to include context not take it out to dress up your view.”
Should you include context when talking about racism?
“Do you like that suggestion I made…”
I think True Finns are pretty well integrated in Finland, thanks for suggesting though. How about Klay’s suggestion for you to go at a Mosque and say that Muslims, Christians and Jews are all equal?
–Sorry I forgot that 9/11 was a Jew plot. Thanks for remind me, you blog is just a must…
Please enlighten us and point to us where we have alleged this? In your mind, maybe?
–Should you include context when talking about racism?
Tell us how you would report it and put it in context.
Tony is able to speak Finnish again 🙂
LOL @Tony
Tony the Toby obviously hasn’t got a clue what Omar Bahaaldin is talking about in his letter. There is nothing there about religion. Equally obviously Tony the Toby has not bothered to find out the author’s background or the character of the organisation that the author represents.
The problem over labour market subsidy was a drafting error in legislation that has only recently been discovered. The Finnish government has already placed new legislation before Parliament to rectify this error with retroactive effect.
Problems do certainly arise with the type-B residence permit, and these have been acknowledged by the Finnish government. The comprehensive review of integration legislation will address some of these problems. It is a slight exaggeration to argue that this kind of permit forces immigrants into the grey economy, as there is no respectable obstacle to issuing a worker’s residence permit (of type A or B) to an immigrant who already holds a type-B permit on other grounds.
On balance, I would say that Bahaaldin’s assessment is justified, though rather oversimplified.
Pupu, Thanks for such well articulated and thought through critique of my comments. It clearly shows your exceptional analytical and intellectual skills.
Pupu
In truth, your analysis was entirely accurate and fully appropriate.
“Please enlighten us and point to us where we have alleged this?”
You haven’t but after you saying that Bush has declare war on Muslims, I wonder then if you have been taking a nap on 911.
“Tell us how you would report it and put it in context.”
There is no way, that was a rethotic question, there is no context for racism or Muslim violence.
–You haven’t but after you saying that Bush has declare war on Muslims, I wonder then if you have been taking a nap on 911.
Who caused it: All Muslims or Al qaeda? You sound like Bush after the Twin Towers disaster. We are on “a crusade” and “God told me to attack Iraq.” 9/11 was a tragedy but Bush made it worse with his “visions.” If you come to Finland I will introduce you to some Iraqi refugees. Adolescents that saw their fahters dies in front of them. Speak to them and ask how it feels to have lost everything. Oh, right, but you may see them as “welfare shoppers.”
About “taking a nap” on 9/11 I visited with my three children the Twin Towers a month before in August.
Yes they are welfare shoppers as Finland is not the nearest safe country from Iraq, but ofcourse when they hear about infidel social security available to them in Finland it becomes a no brainer where to go. The same applies to the other Nordic countries. Why do you think applications are much higher to Nordic countries than Mediterranean countries even though Nordic countries have much smaller populations? WELFARE.
Klay, I think the assertion that people only come to the Nordic countries because of welfare is wrong. For one, if people travel thousands of kilometers they won’t do so just to live off welfare. If you claim to be an immigrant you have missed the whole point or are in the dark about it. Maybe you are trying too hard to fit in. However, as I have told you, when day an even or a person will take you back to whom you were.
Is social welfare really that much? Instead, the Finns do something even dumber. They educate people (a costly matter) and since they cannot find work, they move elsehwere. This tells me that Finland squanders talent.
I agree with what JusticeDemon said: Start learning Finnish in England and try to land a good job before you come here. Remember, if you don’t succeed it’s all your fault and don’t touch that social security! Show us how it is done.
The higher applications certainly cannot be due to weather and food.
Klay
Where did you get the idea that the standard of welfare provision is higher in the Nordic countries than in southern Europe, and how was this comparison made? I recall that Finland was a long way behind Portugal at one stage, but perhaps you have more recent data.
It occurs to me that your interest in Finland equally makes you a welfare shopper unless you can find the right kind of work BEFORE you come here. You should stay where you are until you land a job in Finland that matches your education and experience. This is something that takes most immigrants several years to achieve, so you should spend those years somewhere else if you want to avoid becoming a burden. It’s no solution to be willing to take any kind of work, as in that case you will be taking a job from someone who is already here. You should expect to step straight into a senior position for which nobody else is qualified.
You can spend the time learning Finnish.
The author of this article Omar Bahaaldin complaining that a disabled Iraqi man, his wife and two children are living in a small apartment in Finland therefore making it impossible to integrate. How far will these people continue to make excuses.
Has he ever heard that in order to live a well off and comfortable life you have to work hard for it and not be given it free on the tax payer’s expense. How about he go to the paradise heavens of his fellow Muslim brother’s countries in the Middle East and see how and where they live for free. Then hopefully he will stop complaining and realise how lucky he and his countrymen are.
But I doubt that will happen, because until Helsinki or any other major city in Finland is an exact copy of downtown Beirut they will allows find something to complain about.
Demon your second paragraph makes you sound like a bitter old man who never achieved what he wanted to in Finland and blames his shortcomings on the country instead of within. But going by your opinions and stances on Finns and their society I can’t say I’m suprised.
For the record when the time comes I will try and secure work BEFORE living in Finland even if it’s below my education and experience. Then when in Finland try and secure the appropiate job. I’m already learning the language and have so for 6 months and have been saving up money for years. Under NO circumstances will I ever go on welfare. I would rather leave Finland than accept any welfare so under no occurances am I ever a burden.
–Demon your second paragraph makes you sound like a bitter old man who never achieved what he wanted to in Finland and blames his shortcomings on the country instead of within.
Klay you are being disrespectful. I met JusticeDemon in the 1980s and he does not come off as “a bitter man.” I would describe him as a man with sharp thoughts who understands a lot. You have to remember that we came to live in Finland where there were a handful of foreigners and when the aliens’ office was run by a cantankerous dictator (Eilä Kännö). Another thing: We have survived in a much more adverse labor environment than you will ever see when you move to this country.
Klay
Well, Klay, I was ostensively copying the style and approach of Tiwaz and other contributors to this debate, so your characterisation misfires more than a little.
The immigration strategy that you have outlined is intelligent and more commonly followed than you think. I spent four years learning Finnish before I came to live here, and I also retrained to ensure that I would always have work.
Your remark about welfare is interesting. You intend to pay for full private health care under all circumstances (obviously you have saved millions, as insurance of this kind is incredibly expensive, if you can find it at all), not draw a penny in child benefit, not take maternity or paternity leave, refuse to collect the maternity pack from the post office, not draw sickness benefit and ignore the official immigrant integration system. These are all elements of the Finnish welfare system. You will also not join any unemployment fund, as 95 per cent of benefits paid through such funds are financed by the welfare system.
And while avoiding welfare, you will assimilate into Finnish society! 😉
I look forward to reading the project report! lol
“Klay, I think the assertion that people only come to the Nordic countries because of welfare is wrong.”
Well, what else would bring them if, as you say, they only encounter cold weather and racist attitudes?
Did it ever dawn on you that there aren’t that many coming here? Why would there be? Language, culture, weather etc.
–Well, what else would bring them if, as you say, they only encounter cold weather and racist attitudes?
Here is a bad-case scenario for you to think about: What if growth kicked in and Europe needed labor immigrants? How many would come to Finland and how many would go to countries like Germany and England? You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that we are going to have to do a much better job at attracting people like labor immigrants to this country. Why? Because our economic future depends on it.
The misconception that some people have in Finland is that they can decide what kind of people they want is misleading. True, they can try to lure people from certain countries but this will not guarantee that you will get that model integrated immigrant. A lot has to do with the host society.
Another misconception is having xenophobic laws and trying to attract the “good guy.” If I were an immigrant with skills I would not move to a country that is racist and not sensitive to my cultural needs. So by bashing Muslims and other minorities will have repercussions on immigration in general to Finland. It is a big negative. This is where the True Finns’ immigration policy fails miserably. It wants people to assimilate while those that are preaching this have not assimilated to Finland and its values. Many sound like some people from the US South in the 1950s. Their arguments are basically the same: blacks are lazy, they are poor because they live of welfare. These people, the poor White Southerner, had a problem adapting to modern America.
Finland must be itself. It must treat others like it treats its own inhabitants. This means fair treatment, equal opportunity and opportunity in general to make something out of yourself.
Tony the Toby
Perhaps the same things that bring YOU.
Yes Enrique Bush is a disaster isn’t he? Iraq, Afghanistan, Patriotic Act, Enhanced Interrogations, Rendition Flights, CIA secret prisons, Gitmo, etc. All evil against poor Muslims isn’t?
But now this all history, isn’t? The Messiah came and as promised he put an end to all this as soon as his holly arse entered the White House.
The problem with you lefties (we know you’re not on the left) is that you live in an imaginary world, all pink and fluffy, where evil are the white conservatives Christians, Muslims are all nice and lovely. However in the real world, as Mr Hussein had to face 2 years ago, things are quite different.
“Adolescents that saw their fahters dies in front of them. Speak to them and ask how it feels to have lost everything.”
With this background, how ease do you think they can use violence to settle their matters?
lol@Tony
Tabloid Toby too thick to understand that his position is untenable.
I get knocked down
But I get up again
You’re never going to keep me down
Pissing the night away
Pissing the night away
Tony isn’t it amazing that liberals always side with Muslims rather than conservatives. The irony is that if possible Muslims would have Jews on top of their hit list then liberals next before conservatives as their lifestyle and attitude clashes more with Islam.
“Where did you get the idea that the standard of welfare provision is higher in the Nordic countries than in southern Europe, and how was this comparison made? I recall that Finland was a long way behind Portugal at one stage, but perhaps you have more recent data.”
I believe this is something that was claimed in the Yle MOT program that aired last february. You can see a table of comparisons here: (in finnish)
http://ohjelmat.yle.fi/files/ohjelmat/u3219/rheen_sosiaaliavustukset_eri_Euroopan_maissa.jpg
Tuomas
Those figures are very sketchy indeed (there is no social welfare at all in Greece and Italy? Supplementary benefit has been abolished in the UK? There is no unemployment benefit in Sweden?) and they also completely ignore the need for purchasing power and other structural adjustments. For example heating costs are a negligible concern in southern Europe.
Another oddity about that YLE table is that it purports to specify the social welfare benefits of immigrant families in various countries as if these should be different from those of any family in comparable circumstances. This implies discrimination in welfare provision that cannot occur in any of the countries listed. If family X is entitled to certain benefits in specific circumstances, then the fact that family X is an immigrant family (however so defined) makes no difference to the entitlement.
I recall an interesting table from 2004 showing Finland falling slightly behind Turkey in a direct comparison of income tax plus employee contributions minus cash benefits as a proportion of gross earnings.
At this stage it seems that the blithe assumption of higher welfare provision in the Nordic countries than in southern Europe is more a matter of prejudice than reliable research.
Klay, you are talking about Liberals, sorry but you can’t expect much from this bunch.
Don’t forget that for them Marx was a visionary, communism the future, the Soviet Union a model, Carter right to bow to Soviets and Regan would never bring them down.
They shout when US get hard on terrorists in Gitmo to save innocent lives but had no problem when comrades were doing real torture behind the Iron Curtain. They cheered when Israel dismantled peaceful, productive and civilized settlements in the Gaza Strip but have no problem that those areas today are home of kidnapping, beheading, violence and terrorism.
For them Bush was evil but Sadam just minding his own business. They shout about Israel having nukes to protect the only free, democratic and civilized country in the Middle East, but close their eyes on Iran nuclear program.
They shout about the rising of anti-Semitism (as if they really care) blaming on the right knowing that Muslims, not the right, are the ones attaching Jews in Europe.
Those are the people you’re talking about my friend, the same people today tells us that the problem are conservative white Christians, and Muslims are a nice bunch.
Those are the people saying today that we should thrust them and open our borders because they just know immigration. Yah, you bet we will…
“Whenever liberals start to droning on about ‘complex issues’ for which there are no ‘simple solutions,’ hide Grandma and the kids: Rancid policy proposals are coming.” — Ann Coulter
We are liberals. LOL. Since when defending human rights and following the laws of the land one is labelled a liberal. By the same token I can call you a fascist. There are ample links in these threads for you to acquaint yourself with our values and laws. I remember in the 1970s when Argentineans were being systematically tortured and their victims thrown from planes into the waters of the River Plate, some spoke of human rights as authorities. One very ignorant comment was why Amnesty International picked on countries like Argentina and never spoke about human rights violations in the USSR. How sad.
Your ranting about the problems of Europe are equally absurd. The reason why you say such things is because, apart from being anonymous (imagine if an employer ever find out what you really think), because you do not understand. You have lost the point about our values and democracy. You have failed miserably.
One of the most pitiful statements you make is condoning torture. As JusticeDemon would say, if you don’t care about raping the Amazon Jungle and what’s left of the Atlantic Rainforest (runs/ran through Sao Paulo) you would care less about torture. You will only care when you are at the hands of the torturer and then it will be too late.
If you move to Finland, I highly recommend you get into the integration program and learn about how things work in this country.
lol@tony
You have no answer to the point about torture, so you imagine that your critics are or were somehow in favour of torture elsewhere and that this somehow makes torture OK.
You are a complete Toby.
There are ample links provided in these threads for you to acquaint yourself with the threat of Islam.
“why Amnesty International picked on countries like Argentina and never spoke about human rights violations in the USSR. ”
Because AI is a left wing organization, it criticizes right-wing dictatorship at the same time blessing left-wing dictatorship. The usual left-wing double standards. Today, instead of blessing dictatorships, has started to bless Islamic theocracies.
“apart from being anonymous ”
Throwing the towel already? Back to your little game…
“If you move to Finland, I highly recommend you get into the integration program…”
My friend, I can ensure you that my way of thinking is the very well accepted among the Finnish population, yours though…
–My friend, I can ensure you that my way of thinking is the very well accepted among the Finnish population, yours though…
There are no short cuts: Thirty years residence, a Finnish mother, having grown up in summer in Finland give you a perspective of things in this part of Europe. Moreover, my family in this part of Finland was very international going back to the nineteenth century. My grandmother’s first husband was a Russian Jew called Paul Cherkassky. It must have been a pretty bold move to marry a Russian in the 1920s and live in a small town. Cherkassky was a violinist that promoted Jean Sibelius’ work in the United States and played for the Boston Pops Orchestra. One of my aunts married a US diplamat called Angus Ward, who was ambassador to Afghanistan in the 1950s and was based in countries like the Soviet Union and Kenya. Ward is a famous diplomat who was arrested in the late 1940s by the Chinese communists. One of my great aunts’ husband was the dentist of the first presidents of Finland up to Mannerheim. The fuel that gave me the opportunity to travel extensively in life happened because I did not spend my energy on hating others but trying to understand them. It is the same story with my relatives: Finland is our home (some of my relatives came from rural eastern Finland) and they understood what travelling and being part of the world meant. That is their secret success story and why they lived such enriched lives.
lol@Tony the Toby
It doesn’t matter how thoroughly your views are refuted, provided that you never ever admit that you are wrong. There may always be some idiot out there who is willing to accept that the debate still has legs.
When the climate finally collapses, Tony, the guys with the batteries and jump leads will come after the greedy white Brazilians who burned down the rain forests. Then the American Taliban will preach that you must have done something to deserve what happened to you, no matter how earnestly you pray to St Ann of Coulter for deliverance.
Enrique, Ok, let slow down a bit…
First: Your history and achievements are very impressive and should be taken in consideration by any immigrant, I have said this many times before and you can’t deny it. I remember what you said to me once – “When I moved to Finland I decided to live the Finnish life to the fullest”. That’s what every immigrant should have in mind, not appeasement.
Second: As you know, for me, your cultural background is less relevant than the size of your shoes. You are a legal resident of Finland and that’s the only think that matters. You should have all the privileges and obligation than any Finn, there is where we disagree. For me your cultural background (and religion in particular) is a personal and private matter and it should be kept in that way. NO, the country should not be taking care of your cultural needs, it should take care of your civic needs, security, jobs, education, etc…
Third: I don’t know what all this got to do with my point, I’m just saying that my opinion about Muslims is well shared by majority of Finns. I know that, you know that. That’s all what I’m saying. And after the economy improves, our opinion won’t change.
PS: I notice that you love to talk about the right, but every time I talk about the left you get very sore indeed…
JusticeDemon,
I agree. The person responsible for the claim (Martti Backman) should have provided more information about why he did come to that conclusion. As it stands the table provided doesn’t really look right. Considering the term immigrant families, he should have also been more precise what he meant. However, I am quite interested in the topic and think a proper study of the kind is something that should be conducted.