Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen of Finland, who considers homosexuality to be a sin and wants to tighten immigration laws, said on YLE that she would like to raise the number of quota refugees next year by 300 to 1,050 from 750. While this is welcome news, especially for the few hundred refugees that will get a new…
Tag: quota refugees
Four refugees to move to the Finnish municipality of Kauniainen
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read the headline of this story that reads that a refugee family of four from Congo will move to Kaunianen, Finland’s richest municipality, located 18 kilometers west of Helsinki, according to Metro. Read full story here. If you think that such news warrants media attention, the story…
Isolationism, petty provincialism and nationalism: social ills with far-reaching consequences
In the backdrop of Finland’s independence day celebrations Friday and as the world mourns Nelson Mandela’s death yesterday, our country is at a major crossroads contesting whether it wants to be a closed or open society. The historic victory of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party in 2011 is one example how this country has taken a perilous…
The PS are now hoping that Kouvola stops receiving asylum seekers and quota refugees by 2016
If you believe that the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party has toned down its xenophobia and loathing towards refugees, check out what they are doing in the municipality of Kouvola. According to the local daily, Kouvolan Sanomat, the PS wants the city council to stop receiving asylum seekers and quota refugees by 2016. While the PS blame…
The PS campaigns for closed-door policy for refugees
I was surprised to read the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s municipal election program on refugees. It states that municipalities should not accept refugees because the best way to help these people is in refugee camps bordering their country. Finland holds municipal elections on October 28. The PS are expected to be one of the clear winners…