An article in The Guardian on an asylum seeker who asks, “‘Why can’t I be legal anywhere?’ Exploited and left stateless by Sweden.” His story is not an anomaly but reveals what is happening to stateless persons, even in countries like Finland.
Helsingin Sanomat and Migrant Tales published a story about the column. The author, Paavo Teittinen, hits the issue right on the nail:
“The source of human trafficking and similar type of exploitation in Finland is not inevitable. It has been allowed to happen. Criminals can run their [businesses] fairly freely due to the lack of information, resources, and [police] interest.”
In The Guardian article, the stateless person Rahman* tells about the exploitation and hopelessness of his case:
“It was a time when no matter what Rahman suffered, the legal right to remain in Europe eluded him. His lack of status enabled appalling crimes to be committed against him, and it left the criminals unpunished. He has been exploited and deported but his dream of Europe endures. He has found his way back to the continent but the future is uncertain.”
Here is the question: If the Finnish authorities turn a near-blind eye to human trafficking, it suggests that the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri), police service, and other state-run regulatory bodies give their tacit approval to this type of exploitation. What role does institutional racism have in the issue?
Who has heard or read in Finland that the present immigration policy and toxic debate surrounding asylum seekers and migrants are the sources of the exploitation in the labor market?
The reason why we are not hearing anything, or hardly anything, is because racism and complicity encourage us into inaction.
*Rahman is an assumed name to protect his identity.