It’s clear that the government of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä doesn’t like asylum seekers never mind cultural diversity. In the last few months, we’ve seen a tightening of immigration policy by the government, which sends out a clear message to would-be asylum seekers and migrants: Don’t even think of moving here!
Some may appear surprised by the government’s draconian and heartless measures that have far-reaching consequences for members of our ever-growing culturally diverse society.
When you do away with residence permits under humanitarian grounds, enact laws that make it virtually impossible to bring your family to the country and shorter appeal times for asylum seekers, you tell the world that all those nice things about being a tolerant country that respects human rights is a lie.
The message is clear: We don’t want you here – don’t even think of coming to this country!
Some very big questions that the latest law on shorter appeal periods is the right of asylum seekers to use lawyers when interviewed by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). Migrant Tales has heard that asylum seekers don’t have any longer the right to a paid lawyer at the Migri interview.
Imagine how difficult and complicated has Migri, with the blessings of the government, made life for asylum seekers in this country. Not only have they shortened the appeal periods but made legal help more expensive and complicated.
In Finland, it’s nothing strange that lawyers charge around 200 euros an hour for their services.
Read the full statement here.
There are countries like the United States, Canada, Australia and Argentina that have a rich history of how migrants built the country.
While the history of these countries is dotted by exploitation of migrants and genocide of Native Americans, present and future generations can feel some proudness that their history was at least open to newcomers from other countries.
Even if over 1.2 million Finns emigrated from this land between 1860 and 1999, our history is very different from the latter countries. Instead of being open to immigration we have done everything to stop it from coming here. We have been a nation of emigrants.
But if we’re fair, there was a short stint, between 1995 and 2011, when Finland appeared to be opening up to the outside world after it became an EU member.
That door, now, is closing, and fast.
While some may only blame Finland’s hardline stance on asylum seekers on the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, one of the main culprits is the National Coalition Party (NCP) led by Petteri Orpo.
The NCP, like its partner in the United Kingdom, the Conservative Party, doesn’t like visible migrants. They too are so suspicious of migrants that they are even ready to put the future of Europe in harms way thanks to Brexit.
The message coming out of the United Kingdom and from the mouth of Prime Minister Theresa May is clear: We must save our country by keeping it as immigrant-free as possible!
* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party adopted by the PS, like True Finns or Finns Party, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and xenophobia. We, therefore, prefer to use the Finnish name of the party on our postings. The direct translation of “Perussuomalaiset” is “basic” or “fundamental Finn.”