In September 2015, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä offered his home in Kempele to asylum seekers. Even so, the tone and position of the prime minister and the government changed by December when Sipilä said that he couldn’t offer his home to asylum seekers any longer because his hometown in northern Finland wasn’t safe for refugees.
Yes, you read right: The prime minister admits that his small town in northern Finland isn’t safe for asylum seekers. If Kempele isn’t safe for refugees, it isn’t safe for any visible migrant and minority.
It’s incredible that a prime minister admits that he cannot guarantee the safety of people in this country and, worse, does nothing to address such a problem.
The sequence of events in fall-winter 2015 tell it all: kind words by Sipilä to asylum seekers coming to Finland; a rape takes place in Kempele at the end of November, one suspect, who is an asylum seeker, is detained; Kempele residents come out like a lynching party to protest against the asylum reception center in the town, which moves to an undisclosed location.
Read story and watch video here.
Sipilä’s promise to help asylum seekers has turned into cruel punishment for asylum seekers: over 80% rejection rate for asylum seekers, tough laws that not only make life difficult for refugees but impact all tax-paying migrants and minorities in this country.
Sipilä’s actions remind us of people drowning at sea. First, he promises to help but later on ditches them to their own fate and death.
How can anyone trust a prime minister that says one thing and then another to such a vulnerable group like asylum seekers fleeing war?
You can’t and shouldn’t.
Thank you Beri Jamal for the heads-up!