Tag: Immigrants in Finland

Why integration does not work effectively in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

One of the most important matters for immigrants and their children is to find a place in society. This can be  done through work, equal opportunity and most importantly by acceptance by the host society.  In the same way, some immigrants that move to Finland have to adjust to a new type of society based on cultural diversity.

Reading many of the comments on the Internet by some Finns can be revealing. For me they show that those that write these posts don’t understand the minimal basics of how their own society works never mind what immigration is.

They resemble laymen trying to build a nuclear reactor on their own. All of the pieces that go together are placed based on hearsay, ignorance and prejudice. When the nuclear reactor is built, they close their eyes and leave the rest to chance: Kaboom!

How many of those that work with immigrants in Finland really understand the dynamics never mind have a proper background that orients them effectively to such work? I believe we’d be surprised.

Of all the claims made by laymen on immigration, one of the most incredible is that they believe that all the rights (civil liberties, job opportunities to name a few) are only theirs. This other mass of legal immigrants living in Finland should not and cannot aspire to these rights because the latter group mistakenly believes that all these rights are only theirs.

If that were the case, could they please show us where they have legally more rights than immigrants when it comes to civil liberties and opportunities? If you are going to create a society that systematically excludes certain groups you will end up with the same problems as in other countries.

If one wants to speed up the integration process of immigrants and refugees in Finland, a massive integration program would have to be instigated for a part of the population. Too many are still in the dark about living in a modern, globalized and culturally diverse society.

The first matter they should study is our Constitution and Non-Discrimination Act.

Integration is a two-way street and should involve as well the integration of Finns into the mainstream of our society.

YLE: Tamara Suzin käännytys keskeytettiin

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: This is an interesting story that was published Monday by YLE. As one looks at the ever-intransigent stance of the Finnish Immigration Service (FIS) regarding such cases, the more I see flashbacks from the 1970s, when the then Aliens’ Office was run by the cantankerous Eila Kännö. The more intransigent the FIS becomes concerning its deportation decisions and general policy, the more pulbic opinion will shift against it.  This is why the FIS is its worst enemy.

Do you agree?

——-

Kouvolassa asuvan iäkkään venäläisnaisen Tamara Suzin käännytys on keskeytetty. Euroopan ihmisoikeustuomioistuin antoi tiistaina välipäätöksen, joka estää Suzin käännytyksen Venäjälle toistaiseksi.

Tuomioistuimen mukaan huonokuntoisen Suzin käännyttäminen Venäjälle olisi hengenvaarallista. Suzin ainoa omainen on hänen Kouvolassa asuva tyttärensä.

Suzi anoi turvapaikkaa Suomesta, mutta anomus hylättiin maahanmuuttovirastossa ja Kouvolan hallinto-oikeudessa. Korkein hallinto-oikeus hylkäsi viime vuonna Tamara Suzin valituslupahakemuksen, joka olisi voinut estää hänen käännyttämisen takaisin Venäjälle. Poliisi ei toteuttanut käännytystä päätöksen jälkeen.

Suzi anoi keskeytystä tuomioistuimelta marraskuun puolivälissä. Nyt Euroopan ihmisoikeustuomioistuimen antama välipäätös estää käännytyksen toistaiseksi.

Asian käsittely jatkuu Euroopan ihmisoikeustuomioistuimessa. Suzin asianhoitaja, kotkalaispoliitikko Freddy van Wonterghem arvioi, että käsittely saattaa kestää useita vuosia. Suzin taistelu turvapaikasta on samaten kestänyt jo useita vuosia.

YLE Kymenlaakso

YLE: Närpes Becomes Magnet for Immigrants

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The western town of Närpes in Ostrobothnia has become a model for the successful integration of immigrants, reports YLE. Home to more than 30 nationalities, today one in ten inhabitants of this small town have foreign roots.

Many newcomers to Finland have made Närpes their new hometown. Erdin Majdanac, a metal worker from Bosnia, is one of them. After three years, even the biting cold hasn’t changed his warm views on Finland and his newfound community.

“We want to stay. We like it here and have even bought a house.”

Five of the 18 workers at Majdanac’s job are foreign-born. His employer, Peter Mannfolk, has played a major role in the integration of foreign staff.

“We’ve stressed the importance of learning Swedish. It’s our work language and people speak Swedish in Närpes. Language is the key to integrating into society,” says Peter Mannfolk, Managing Director of Maxel Oy.

In Närpes, inhabitants welcome work-based immigration. The town has a labour shortage and unemployment is just a few percent. But attitudes are equally positive towards refugees.

Mannfolk says the answer is easy.

“Treat others how you would treat yourself, and you’ll have fewer problems.”

Helsingin Sanomat, mielipide: Omar Bahaaldin: Maahanmuuttajilla ei ole Suomessa kantaväestön oikeuksia

Posted on by Migrant Tales

(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

Racists out of the Finnish closet

Posted on by Migrant Tales

If I had to ask a question about racism in Finland today, I would try to understand its extent and how it manifests itself. Why has racism raised its head today in Finland? Should we thank those that have exposed this murky side of ourselves?

It was easy in the past for some Finns to be racist because they did not have to acknowledge it as a problem. Since it was rarely identified if ever debated for as long and passionately as today it was therefore not seen as an issue.

Those that insult other immigrants with their populist statements commit a grave blunder: They believe racism and exclusion are normal and a part of our heritage (sic!).

What makes their platform even more suspect is that they take such stands for the purpose of getting elected never mind offer any effective solution on how to build good ethnic relations in Finland.

Whom am I speaking of? Those that use funny arguments like “freedom of expression” to justify their far-right nationalistic agendas. Even so, it is a good matter that they have come out of the closet in droves in Finland.

Coming out has given sensible Finns the opportunity to address effectively once and for all this social ill. If it is a small or big problem is not the issue. The most important matter is that it is out in the open for all of us to see.

We can now address this issue more effectively than ever before. Finland has all the resources and good will to do so.

Arsonists attack Buddhist temple in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The attack by arsonists on Friday of a Buddhist temple in Turku’s Moisio’s district is another worrisome sign of how a deranged group of people can undermine Finland’s good name. If there is any finger-pointing for what happened, it should be at some Finnish politicians who, owing to the April 2011 elections, have fuelled such acts by their populist statements and shameful lack of leadership.

Immigrants who live in Finland and those that will come to work here are being singled out by some opportunist politicians as scapegoats for the country’s economic woes. Social Democrat MP Eero Heinäluoma and MP Kari Rajamäki are good examples of how their anti-immigrant statements spill over into racism.

Heinäluoma, for example, made the incredible remark recently that immigrants will fuel racism because they will take jobs away from Finns.  Rajamäki likes to call asylum-seeker to Finland “refugee shoppers.”

Why haven’t Heinäluoma and Rajamäki condemned acts of racism in Finland forcefully? The answer is disturbingly obvious.

These politicians should not forget SDP’s roots and how the party thanks to Väinö Tanner (1881-1966) played a critical role in not permitting Finnish Jews to be deported to Nazi concentration camps during World War 2.

The vice president of the Vietnamese Buddhist Community in Finland, Ari Vuokko, told Finnish Broadcast Company (YLE) that it wasn’t the first time Buddhist families in this country have been the target of attacks by racists.

Swastika signs had been sprayed on traffic signs near the temple.

“This is shocking and worrisome,” he said. “Do worshippers dare use this temple, can people practice their faith in Finland?”

Finland was recently named by Newsweek as the best country in the world in terms of health, economic dynamism, or openness of its economy and the breadth of its corporate sector, education, political environment, and quality of life.

With attacks of the Buddhist temple serving as a rude reminder of what racism can do to a minority community and society, we should ask Newsweek to include in their survey how open a society is to cultural diversity.

The ceiling of the Buddhist temple that was attacked Friday night by Arsonists. Photo: YLE The ceiling of the Buddhist temple after it was attacked by arsonists. Damages are estimated in the tens of thousands of euros. YLE

How exploited are immigrants in Finland?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

I spoke with an SDP MP recently about how Finland had turned into a two-tier market, where small- and medium-sized companies were allegedly exploiting on a grand scale immigrant employees by overworking and grossly underpaying them.

I asked why there haven’t been any big cases in the media about this type of exploitation and why the SDP is so passionate about the matter before  elections? There has been some news in the media about how some fast-food establishments do underpay and overwork immigrants but it does not suggest a national trend.

An important question that one should ask is how widespread it is and why the authorities have done so little? If it is widespread, it is further proof of how disenfranchised immigrants are in this country.

I say if because I have not seen many cases published in the media only the concern of the Social Democrats, who point the finger accusingly more at immigrants than employers.

Do you know of any cases of immigrants being exploited by employers in Finland?

The mea culpa of a former Finnish immigrant basher

Posted on by Migrant Tales

There was a very interesting interview of former anti-immigration Muutos 2011 president, Juha Mäki-Ketelä, in Suomen Kuvalehti, who surprisingly resigned from his post in July. Muutos 2011 is close to registering as a political party to take part in the April 2011 election. Its campaign platform is strongly based on the usual anti-immigration rhetoric found in similar xenophobic and ultra-nationalist parties in Europe.

Even though the interview sounds like a mea culpa by Mäki-Ketelä, one gets the impression that his hardline stance against immigrants scared him because of the  people that rallied around Muutos 2011’s cause.

The Suomen Kuvalehti journalist asks Mäki-Ketelä if he was surprsied that ”racist-oriented” people were attracted to his party.

“Yes…  I did not understand how many crazy people gathered (around the party),” he said, adding that he was ignorant of ultra-nationalistic groups like Suomen Sisu and admitted having read a few times Jussi Halla-aho’s blog.

Muutos 2011, which has effectively imploded, is a good example of how the majority of Finns don’t want to join the let’s-bash-immigrants bandwagon.

Muutos 2011 aims to win three seats to Parliament in next year’s election.

(Another) poll on what Finns think of future immigrants

Posted on by Migrant Tales

When will these end and when will these what-Finns-think-of-immigrants polls stop? Name one country where a native believes there are too few immigrants and therefore more foreigners should move to their country? Why are these types of polls important and what do they reveal?

The YLE poll asks a similar question if it polled white members of a community in the United States and asked them if they want minorities to move to their neighborhood.

The recent poll commissioned by YLE and done by Taloustutkimus shows that the majority of Finns (surprise! surprise!) don’t want to encourage more immigrants to Finland.

Here is the full story published Friday by YLE:

Nearly two thirds of Finns say Finland should not encourage more foreigners to move here, according to a YLE survey. Supporters of the right-wing True Finns Party were the most opposed to more immigrants. However, Centre Party and Social Democratic supporters were not far behind.

According to the survey, 63 percent of respondents said Finland should not try to entice foreigners to live here. A whopping 82 percent of True Finns backers were of the same opinion. For Centre Party supporters the number was 70 percent, while 68 percent of Social Democratic backers felt the same way.

Supporters of the Green League were the most receptive to more immigrants. A total of 65 percent of Green respondents said that Finland should work to attract foreigners here.

Meanwhile, 45 percent of backers of the conservative National Coalition Party said they supported more immigration while 53 percent were opposed.

One third of respondents said that immigration would play a significant or very significant role in their voting decisions in the next elections.

A total of 2,399 people responded to the survey carried out by pollster Taloustutkimus.

The poll shows that the majority (63%) are against luring more immigrants to Finland. Source: YLE

The poll shows that the most critical party towards luring future immigrants to Finland was none other than the True Finns (PS), followed by the Center and Social Democratic Party.  Source: YLE

MTV3 poll shows Social Democrats most satisfied with immigration policy

Posted on by Migrant Tales

A poll published by MTV3 on Sunday shows that the Social Democrats are the most satisfied with Finland’s immigration policy, with Kokoomus and the Center Party wanting stricter controls.

The results of the poll are the opposite of what SDP chairperson Jutta Urpilainen and MP Eero Heinäluoma have been signalling about tighter controls on labor immigration and that foreigners should respect Finnish values (maassa maan tavalla).

According to the poll, 36% of Social Democrats believe that Finland’s present immigration policy was not strict enough compared with 66% and 60% of Kokoomus and Center Party respondents, respectively. What is surprising is that 47% of the Social Democrats responded that the present immigration policy was adequate compared with Kokoomus (26%)  and the Center Party (36%).

As one Social Democrat told Migrant Tales, the results of the MTV3 poll are the opposite of what the party leadership has been signalling about tighter controls on immigration. “It is a short-sighted policy because the economic situation can turn for the better and then what are you going to say?” the source said.