Two hard-hitting editorials by Helsingin Sanomat on the mistreatment of labor migrants could indicate how the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset* will do in the parliamentary election. I make such a claim because I am an optimist. We saw something similar in the US Midterm elections, which showed how voters rebuked Donald Trump and his election deniers. Apart
Read on »Posts Tagged: Finnish Immigration Service
What you are never told and should know about working life in Finland
There are many good tips migrants can get in Finland on how to land a job, write a convincing CV, and give near-perfect answers to a prospective employer at a job interview. Despite the latter, one crucial matter needs to be included: Learning and protecting your rights after you are hired. Because it is difficult
Read on »Petition to reform the Finnish Immigration Service
You can sign the petition spearheaded by Avaaz here.
Read on »Welcome back Dana!
Migrant Tales insight: Dana is a talented poet from Iran and a victim of the Finnish Immigration Service. I met her through this blog in 2012. I wrote back in 2015: “After a year and six months, I got an email from Dana, who has written many beautiful and powerful poems for us. I was
Read on »Iraqi asylum seekers vow to continue demonstration in front of the Finnish Immigration Service building
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED After a setback on Sunday, Iraqi demonstrators in front of the Finnish Immigration Service building have vowed to continue their protest, according to Walid Sahib, one of the organizers of the demonstration. A total of four demonstrators were detained by the police on Sunday and released from custody three hours later.
Read on »Moroccan with a serious heart condition: “Thank you for your support,” says his brother
After Migrant Tales broke the story of Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) asked a divorced Moroccan to leave Finland with a heart condition. Youssef Hemdani’s case has received a lot of support from Morocco and Finland. “Thank you for your support,” said his brother, Laghdof Hemdari. Apart from getting a lot of attention on social media,
Read on »Divorced Moroccan with a heart condition asked to leave Finland within 30 days
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Youssef Hemdani, a 32-year-old Moroccan national, received a visit on Friday from the police at the hospital where he’s been interned for about three months due to a heart condition. The police told him that he has 30 days to leave the country. According to a hospital diagnosis, Hemdani suffers from
Read on »Daniel Malpica: Tottelemattomuus. On the Finnish Immigration Policy
Daniel Malpica* A couple of months ago, as part of the Writers for Peace Committee, the Finnish PEN was commissioned to write a resolution regarding migration on behalf of The Assembly of Delegates of PEN International. That resolution – written in a collaboration between Veera Tyhtilä, Shashank Mane and I – was focused on the problematic suffered by migrants and
Read on »A picture that refuses to die and reveals Finland’s inhumane asylum policy where children are locked up in detention centers
The picture of the girl in Joutseno’s immigration removal center was taken by a detained Iraqi family in 2017. If there is a picture that represents the injustice of Finland’s heartless immigration “service” authorities, it is this picture of the girl gazing at her future from a barred window with barb wire. You can check
Read on »A second deportation attemp from Finland to Mauritania
The desperation and anguish in a woman’s voice are present as she pleads for help for her Mauritanian husband, 45, who was deported on March 27. It was the second time that the police had tried to deport her husband after the first attempt, on March 19, on Turkish Airlines failed.
Read on »A deportees’ round-trip journey to a former hell and back
Ali, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is an asylum seeker, was deported with his wife on Tuesday from Helsinki to Baghdad. In Baghdad, he took a plane back to Finland. He is now staying with his wife at an asylum reception center in Greater Helsinki.
Read on »Harith Mana’thar Badr Alsilmawi: Asylum seeker sent from Finland killed in “safe” Iraq
For how long will the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) with the backing of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government continue to maintain that Iraq is a “safe” country to deport asylum seekers? The latest victim of this flawed policy is 33-year-old Harith Mana’thar Badr Alsilmawi, who sought asylum in 2015 and died on Wednesday in Basra.
Read on »Undocumented pensioner and migrant grandmother: “I’m being deported”
https://www.migranttales.net/undocumented-pensioner-and-grandmother-migrant-im-being-deported/
Read on »Hussain Kazemian: A former Shia militia member seeks asylum in Finland
Migrant Tales insight: This story below, written by Hussain Kazemian, an Afghan living in Finland, was of a countryman called Sadr, 27, who spoke on condition of anonymity about his failed request for asylum in Finland. He got his first rejection from the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) in spring 2016. Sadr appealed, but the administrative court overturned
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Of course a child needs a mother and father!
“In today’s Finland, it is nothing uncommon for the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) to reject family reunification by a Finnish spouse on the grounds that the child does not need a father.Doesn’t need a father? Migri should ask Argentina’s Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo if the father, mother, and grandparents are key to a child’s identity and well-being.”
Read on »Finnish Immigration Service: “Your wife’s unborn child can grow up without you; is the child going to be raised a Muslim?” PART II
Migrant Tales will publish the decision to reject Abdul a residence permit on family grounds. His wife, a Finn, is expecting their child that will be born in September. Below is the decision by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) to reject Abul’s residence permit on family grounds. Unofficial translation: “The applicant and family reunification sponsor
Read on »Finnish Immigration Service: “Your wife’s unborn child can grow up without you; is the child going to be raised a Muslim?”
Apparently, there is no guarantee in Finland that marriage or having a child with a Finnish citizen will guarantee asylum and a residence permit. It is the case of Abdul,* who spoke on condition of anonymity, an Iraqi asylum seeker who came to Finland in 2015. Contrary to many like him, Abdul is married to a Finnish woman who is expecting their child in September.
Read on »Asylum seeker in detention cell 406: “I got my second rejection [for asylum]”
Remember the young twenty-one-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker who was detained in Lappeenranta or 32 days from October 27 to November 23? Things aren’t going well for him because he got a second rejection after applying for asylum a second time.
Read on »Finland’s asylum policy is the story of complacent silence and crocodile tears
Iraqi asylum seeker Ali’s death reported by YLE have shocked some while others shed crocodile tears.
Read on »Ali’s death is another sign on the road that Finland’s government would care less for asylum seekers
We heard today that case of a returned Iraqi refugee who died in Baghdad after being refused asylum in Finland. The only explanation that the new interior minister, Kai Mykkänen, can offer is that it was “sad and tragic.”
Read on »Asylum seeker in detention cell 406: Administrative court halts deportation order temporarily
After a nerve-racking week, The Administrative Court has stopped temporarily deportation proceedings of Iraqi asylum seeker in detention cell 406 in Joutseno, Finland.
Read on »Iraqi asylum seeker in detention cell 406: “Migri doesn’t believe I’m a Christian”
Just like the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) proclaims violent countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia to be “safe” for such nationals but not for Finns, they don’t have any problems about deporting you back to such countries if you are a Christian. If what Iraqi asylum seeker in detention cell 406 in Lappeenranta states is correct, his life is in danger if deported as a Christian back to his former home country.
Read on »A Cameroonian’s rendezvous with near-deportation in Finland
After publishing the detention of an Iraqi asylum seeker in Lappeenranta on Tuesday, another asylum seeker contacted us on the same day. The asylum seeker was in police custody in the city of Vaasa. Contrary to the Iraqi asylum seeker, the Cameroonian was married to a Finn who is was expecting a child.
Read on »UPDATE: How Migri and Finland play down the plight and suffering of asylum seekers
I heard on Wednesday that a young Afghan resident who came as an asylum seeker to Finland committed suicide this week. A fellow Afghan who knew him said: “What happened is very sad. He wasn’t very social and liked to be by himself.”
Read on »Migrant Tales insight: Swedish Daily News published an article on legal alternatives for negative asylum decisions in Finland
Anyone who has had a refusal to emigrate from Finland has the problem of not organizing his or her defense at the appeal stage of the Finnish courts. Unfortunately, many are getting their applications for asylum rejected by the court. It is important to obtain support and information on the closure of the asylum case in Finland after all stages of the judicial appeal are exhausted.
Read on »Finnish Interior Minister Paula Risikko vacationing in a war zone
Sira Moksi has made quite a name for herself by drawing cartoons that newspapers wouldn’t publish. In the one below, we see Interior Minister Paula Risikko vacationing in a “safe” country like Iraq or Afghanistan. Where would Interior Minister Permanent Secretary Päivi Nerg vacation? What about the director general of the Finnish Immigration Service, Jaana Vuori? What about Prime Minister Juha Sipilä? President Sauli Niinistö? Finance Minister Petteri Orpo?
Read on »Zaki Husseini returns to Finland after being deported and staying 47 days in Kabul, Afghanistan
Zaki Husseini, 19, became the first asylum seeker that came in 2015 to return to Finland after being deported. He got in touch with Migrant Tales a day after he was deported to Kabul. Thanks to Hussain Kazemian, we were able to get a glimpse of his ordeal and bad luck. A day after he was forced to return to Afghanistan on July 4 with 11 other asylum seekers, the supreme district court ruled against his deportation.
Read on »After detention for 27 days in Finland, Iraqi asylum seeker gets rejection for work permit after half-a-year wait
Remember an Iraqi asylum seeker called Hayder Al-Hatemi who was detained for 27 days from January 6-February 2 pending a deportation order? He applied for a work permit on February 6 shortly after his release and had learned at the beginning of August that it had been turned down.
Read on »The Finnish Immigration Service’s way of saying “this country isn’t your home”
I got a call Friday from a Migrant Tales longtime reader who came to Finland as a child and is in his mid-30s today. “Could you tell me what this message (by the Finnish Immigration Service or Migri) means?” he asked. “If they send me back to I won’t know what to do. I’ll kill myself.”
Read on »Zaki and Baran are still in a state of shock after they were deported to Afghanistan on Tuesday
Migrant Tales got an unexpected friend request on Facebook late Tuesday evening. It was Zaki, one of the Afghan asylum seekers who was deported to Kabul on Tuesday with eleven other people.
Read on »The Finnish police tells three Afghan asylum seekers “we’ll deport you anyway!”
Three Afghan asylum seekers had an appointment with the police Sunday and were detained. Two of them got the second negative decision earlier.
Read on »Welcome back to “safe” Iraq, let me slash you with a knife
The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) continues to insist that countries like Iraq, where Finnish nationals are discouraged from visiting, is a safe country to deport people. Migri deports everyone they don’t give residence permits. You leave either “voluntarily” or by “force.”
Read on »The Finnish police’s lame excuse for disbanding the #RightToLive demonstration in Helsinki
Let’s go back a day and recall one of the most incredible excuses to shut down the #RighToLive demonstration in downtown Helsinki. Deputy police chief Heikki Kopperaoinen told YLE News that the demonstration after 140 days could no longer be held in the Helsinki Railway Square because of security issues.
Read on »Nour Jamal’s art exhibition at the Asbestos Art Space: A journey to a safer life?
Nour Jamal is one of the thousands of Iraqi asylum seekers who came to Finland in 2015. He came to Finland with his parents and sister in the hope of finding a better life free from war and where human rights are respected.
Read on »Finland’s immigration policy is inhumane, ineffective, it shows our hostility towards asylum seekers from countries like Iraq
It will be soon two years when large numbers of asylum seekers mainly from Iraq and Afghanistan came to Finland in hopes of moving to a country that would not only give them security but offer them human rights and social equality. One asylum seeker explained his ordeal in Finland as an eternal nightmare because he couldn’t wake up.
Read on »“Tolkun ihminen” and Finland’s version of the Okie from Muskogee
President Sauli Niinistö, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and the deputy head of the Finnish Immigration Service, Raimo Pyysalo, have one thing in common: They believe that the ongoing debate about asylum seekers, immigration and our ever-growing culturally diverse society is dominated by two extremes.
Read on »Iraqi asylum seeker: A near-deportation ordeal with the Finnish police
A twenty-two-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker who was detained illegally by the police three days before he had to vacate the asylum reception center in Pori is now a free man again. Thanks to the efforts of the Lex Gaudius law firm, the district court overruled the detention of the asylum seeker at the Metsälä immigrant removal center in Helsinki, where he was held from April 27 to May 9.
Read on »Deportation of Iraqi family of nine from Finland: Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s asylum policy is a shame to all of us
As the Finnish government spends the Easter holidays in the comfort of their homes and family company, an Iraqi family of nine is awaiting deportation from Finland. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to put oneself in their shoes and wonder what is going through their heads at this moment at the Joutseno immigration removal center.
Read on »Does Finland’s Migri asylum policy hinge on the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset party?
This warning posted on Tiia Nohynek’s Facebook wall today is the best example yet of how the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has influenced immigration policy in Finland. The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) warns asylum seekers not to believe rumors and that nobody gets asylum for economic reasons.
Read on »نماینده پارلمانی که بر علیه رای قبلی خود شد.
نفیسه رزمیار در برابر رای گذشته اش ایستاد. کسی میتواند توضیح دهد که، چطور یک سیاستمدار و عضو پارلمانی که خودش در سال گذشته رای مثبت به اخراج اجباری پناهجویان داده است؛ میتواند در مقابل رای خود صحبت کند؟ نفسیه رزمیار، خود مسوول بخشی از اخراج اجباری انجام شده در روز دوشنبه میباشد. همچنین سال
Read on »A dramatic Monday when demonstrators almost halted a deportation to Afghanistan
Today was a dramatic evening when protestors tried to stop a deportation of Afghans from Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. Apart from the protestors, ST1 allegedly refused to tank the plane that was going to deport the asylum seekers back to Afghanistan.
Read on »How interpreters, the police service and Finnish Immigration service mislead asylum seekers
I came up with the following issues when translating some asylum decision cases from the Finnish police service:
Read on »اشتباه مترجمان در اداره مهاجرت و پولیس
زمانی که تعدادی از جواب های منفی که اداره پولیس به پناهجویان میدهد را ترجمه میکردم؛ چند نکته مهم توجه ام را جلب کرد:
Read on »Asylum seekers: Finland is not a country that abides by the rule of law
What does a comment by a police service official say about our country if he obstructs an asylum seekers’ right to justice? Migrant Tales understands that an Iraqi family, made up of a husband, wife, mother-in-law and a child, was told the following by a police official after receiving their first rejection for asylum from the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri).
Read on »Announcement by Lex Gaudius: Immigration Service, police and government petition
IMMIGRATION SERVICE, POLICE AND GOVERNMENT PETITION Dossier Faulty decisions made by the Immigration Service to the asylum seekers and actions of the authorities related on them. Underwrites Representatives of the asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Iraq; In cooperation with International law firm Lex Gaudius I. FAULTY DECISIONS MADE BY THE FIINISH IMMIGRATION SERVICE
Read on »Thank you asylum seekers for exposing Finland for what it is!
Finland got during 2015 and 2016 38,017 asylum seekers mostly from Iraq (21,698), Afghanistan (5,939) and Somalia (2,408), according to the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). Even if these asylum seekers have received the government’s and Migri’s cold shulder, we should thank hem for exposing our deep denial of racism as a society and ineffective immigration-integration policy.
Read on »Finland’s deep denial of racism coupled with exceptionalism make it susceptible to right-wing populism and fascism
If the latter claim above is true, it explains and reveals why Helsinki District Court judges agree with most of the decisions by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). The fact that only a very minor amount of decisions by Migri are rejected by the district courts speaks volumes about our country.
Read on »Boiata: Ignorance of a country’s background information does not excuse judges – ignorantia facti non excusat
There is an old legal maxim in latin that confirms the principal, “ignorance of the law does not excuse” (ignorantia iuris non excusat). On the other hand there is a principle that the court or the judge has to know the law, iura novit curia. One is entitled to expect that the judges know what they are doing and what laws they are applying to various cases.
Read on »Day 25 of the Helsinki demonstration by asylum seekers: We are happy that you are a thorn in the government’s and Migri’s side
Twenty-five cold days have elapsed since a group of asylum seekers decided to exercise their democratic rights and protest deportation and the government’s strict asylum policy. The longer these demonstrators protest the deeper the thorn will penetrate the government’s and Finnish Immigration Service’s (Migri) side.
Read on »Day 18 of the Helsinki demonstration by asylum seekers: What about if Finland’s asylum policy is a cover-up?
The fact that the district courts agree in vast majority with the rejections handed by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) speaks volumes of the serious problem and our responsibility as a nation to grant protection to those who need it.
Read on »How racism and suspicion have ruined Finland’s centenary celebrations of 2017
If there is a party pooper in this year’s centenary celebrations it’ll be ourselves: the politicians, the urban tales, prejudices, racism and suspicion that has raised its head with ease in Finland as of late.
Read on »Day 10 of the Helsinki demonstration by Iraqi asylum seekers: “We will demonstrate for as long as necessary”
Here’s a show of respect and admiration for the Iraqi asylum seekers protesting in cold February in Helsinki against the harsh asylum policies of the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri), which is an extension of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government.
Read on »Interior Minister Paula Risikko compares asylum seekers demanding justice to bigots
Green Party Chairman Ville Niinistö correctly criticized Interior Minister Paula Risikko Saturday for stating that Iraqis concerned about being deported to their country as “extremists” that are in the same league as racist bigot groups like Suomi Ensi.
Read on »يجب أن تستمر المظاهرات ضد الترحيل القسري و تشديد سياسات اللجوء
التظاهره التي بدأت يوم الجمعه الماضي , لم تظهر اي علامه على التراجع انتقلت من قرب البرلمان الى إلى ساحة للسكك الحديدية في هلسنكي. وعلى الرغم من جماعة يمينية متطرفة تدعى SuomiEnsin (فنلندا اولا)، الذين حاولوا إهانة وتخريب المظاهرة ،كان كل شيء تم على ما يرام، وفقا لما قالته Tiia Nohynek، التي شاركت في المظاهرة،
Read on »A Finnish asylum policy that is doomed to fail
It’s been well over a year since tens of thousands of asylum seekers came to Finland from countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and others. An important watershed in the history of these asylum seekers took place in May, when an assessment by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) saw parts of countries like Iraq are safe to return asylum seekers.
Read on »سياسة اللجوء التي مصيرها الفشل
A Finnish asylum policy that is doomed to fail
Read on »Ahmad Liath: “I left Iraq because I long for freedom”
Ahmad Liath was twelve years old when he left Iraq in 2005. Two years before that year, the United States invaded Iraq in 2003 and in 2004 his father was killed.
Read on »Iraqi asylum seeker SH was released today after being detained since January 6
SH, the Iraqi asylum seeker who was detained by the police on Janaury 6, was released today from Helsinki’s Metsälä immigration removal center. SH was detained on the same day together with KM, who was released from detention on January 12. “I’m really happy and now I must renew my work permit,” he told Migrant
Read on »UPDATED (7:32 am): Iraqi asylum seeker MS’ deportation from Oulu Airport in Finland postponed due to diorderly behavior
Migrant Tales has access to a video published in the Facebook group called Suomi ja Pakolaiset where MS is awaiting deportation inside a police van at Oulu Airport in northern Finland. MS was detained by the police on Friday.
Read on »What message does Finland want to send to Iraqi asylum seekers by deporting them to a country that it has no repatriation agreement?
The case of two young Iraqis, KM and SH, who were detained by the police on Friday and who will apparently be deported from the country on Monday are a case in point. To KM and SH, there is another Iraqi national, AM, who will be deported together with KM and SH. All three are being held at the Helsinki detention camp of Metsälä.
Read on »Iraqi asylum seeker gets asylum application turned down as his family members are attacked by the militia
The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) is planning to reassess the security situation in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia after an initial assessment in May deemed these countries to be safe to return asylum seekers.
Read on »Is Somalia a “safe” country and do asylum seekers want to die in vain?
In light of the assessment published by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) in May, where it claims that countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia are “safe” to return asylum seekers we strongly challenge such a claim. I challenge Migri’s assessment because it is political and has little to do with reality.
Read on »SUPO, the Finnish Immigration Service and the police service reveal that we are today a country that even fears its own shadow
One of the matters that surprised me a lot when I visited my grandparents in Finland when I lived in Southern California was how they saw black people. The way my grandfather saw black people was so negative and surprising that I still remember like a diehard stain.
Read on »A naturalized Finn who returned to a “safe” country like Afghanistan and was killed last month
The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) announced in May that countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia are “safe” to return refugees who get their asylum applications rejected. Migrant Tales documented two deaths and one shooting of Iraqi asylum seekers that returned recently to Iraq.
Read on »Two Iraqi asylum seekers who returned to “safe” Iraq and were killed
In May and much to the surprise of many, especially asylum seekers and concerned citizens, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) announced that countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia were safe enough to return asylum seekers.
Read on »The Finnish Immigration Service, with the blessings of the government, aims to separate migrant parents from their children
In August, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) is reported to have given asylum reception center instructions that only the children can stay at the reception center if the parents have their asylum application turned down and refuse to leave the country making then undocumented migrants, according to MTV.
Read on »UPDATE: How can a rape of an adolescent visitor happen at the Villa Meri asylum reception center?
Migrant Tales published Thursday a story about a list of complaints of the Villa Meri asylum reception center in Rauma, located 91 kilometers north of the southwestern city of Turku. The reception the story got was quite a surprise considering that present and former volunteers of Villa Meri accused me of racism, hating all asylum seekers, hating all reception center workers, and of having an agenda.
Read on »Family reunification in Finland can easily cost a migrant thousands of euros
Affluent Nordic countries like Finland are making it legally near-difficult never mind costly to reunite families of migrants thanks to the tightening of family reunification guidelines that came into force in July. How much would it cost for an asylum seeker who got a residence permit before July and applied to get his wife and three children aged 9, 7 and 4 to Finland?
Read on »UPDATED: Iraqi asylum seeker takes his life after getting a negative decision from the Finnish Immigration Service
Migrant Tales has heard that an Iraqi asylum seeker took his life on Sunday after the Finnish Immigration Service turned down his request for asylum. The death of the man, which was posted in Facebook, shows how difficult the situation is for some asylum seekers.
Migrant Tales published in August a story about a young Iraqi asylum seeker who attempted to take his life spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Obviously, there’s a big difference between the situation now and the situation [in Finland] 7 months ago,” he said. “In the past, we heard that applications for asylum were never rejected. But now, out of a hundred people… only two to four get asylum. We are not told why.”
Read on »Single mother Iraqi asylum seeker with two children plead for help to not be deported from Finland
Migrant Tales got a phone call Thursday from an Iraqi woman* who spoke a few words of English. “Do you speak German?” she asked.
Read on »Helsingin Sanomat article on the Finnish Immigration Service sheds light on an institution distanced from human rights and Nordic values
It is surprising that whenever a Finnish government tightens immigration policy, it washes its hands by stating that it’s common practice in the EU or Sweden. Is it? If a landmark decision last month by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is anything to go by, the government’s hardline stance on returning asylum seekers to a “safe” country like Iraq is more than questionable.
Read on »Mohammed Khulbus Idnan’s perilous journey from Finland back to a “safe” country like Iraq
The suffering of tens of thousands of asylum seekers continues in Finland and there are no signs that matters will improve. The Finnish government, which has made it clear that it will deport the majority of asylum seekers who came to Finland, has risen the stakes.
Read on »Our new message to the world: Finland doesn’t like you so don’t even think of moving here!
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!
Read on »In the asylum seekers’ eyes
Muh’ed Today I visited a Finnish-language class of asylum seekers silently worrying day by day. The Finnish-language teacher, a man, asked me to speak to them in the Finnish language, and tell about my life in Finland. I spoke slow Finnish, I told them who I am. How long I have lived in Finland and
Read on »Anti-immigration racism in Finland isn’t more common now
Anti-immigration racism in Finland isn’t more common now, it’s showing its face thanks to the government’s shameful indifference towards asylum seekers and social media. Will you stop squirting us [with blood]? Cartoon by Ville Ranta. Source: Valomerkki.
Read on »How “safe” is Iraq? Who is safe in Iraq?
An Isis suicide attack ripped Baghdad Sunday causing the death toll to rise today to 217 dead., according to Al Iraqya TV.
Read on »Oikeus elää – A Right to live الحق للعيش demonstration tomorrow at 4:00 pm in Helsinki (Narikkantori, Kamppi)
The Finnish government of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä has done everything possible to make asylum seekers feel unwelcome in Finland. On Friday, they tightened family reunification guidelines and recently did away with giving residence permits on humanitarian grounds.
Read on »Iraqi asylum seeker hunger strike: Before and after
Namir al-Azzawi was on hunger strike for nine days. On those two days he fainted and was sent to the hospital on Wednesday and Sunday. Migrant Tales spoke to him on Friday.
Read on »Namir al-Azzawi ends hunger strike after nine days
After nine days Namir al-Azzawi ended today his hunger strike citing “health reasons” and “because nobody cared,” according to a Facebook posting. Al-Azzawi was taken to hospital two times last week after fainting on Wednesday and Sunday.
Read on »Iraqi asylum seeker hunger strike: Namir al-Azzawi taken to hospital for second time
Migrant Tales understands that Namir al-Azzawi, an Iraqi asylum seeker who began a hunger strike a week ago, has fainted and was sent to the hospital on Sunday. Al-Azzawi was taken to intensive care on Wednesday for the same reason.
Migrant Tales understands that Namir al-Azzawi, an Iraqi asylum seeker who began a hunger strike a week ago, has fainted and was sent to the hospital on Sunday. Al-Azzawi was taken to intensive care on Wednesday for the same reason.
Read on »UPDATE: Iraqi asylum seeker hunger strike day 4
Namir al-Azzawin informed Migrant Tales by Facebook that he is out of hospital and will resume his hunger strike near Parliament. Zimema Mhone will upload a video shortly with an interview with al-Azzawin. Al-Azzawin said he needed a tent. Does anyone have a tent to give or could lend? Namir al-Azzawin.
Read on »Iraqi asylum seeker hunger strike: Namir al-Azawin taken to intensive care
We are saddened to inform the following news about Namir al-Azzawin, who has been on a hunger strike for three days. Writes Zimema Mhone: “I just got word that Namir fainted and was taken to intensive care.” Al-Azzawin wrote a letter on Sunday addressed to the people of Finland: Dear People of Finland, I started my
Read on »Zimema Mhone: Iraqi asylum seeker hunger strike day 2
When I woke up this morning, I did not know that I would be spending the afternoon with one of the most courageous people I have ever met in person. I went down to see Namir al-Azzawin, an Iraqi asylum seeker, after reading about his hunger strike last night on Migrant Tales.
Read on »Iraqi asylum seeker hunger strike day 1: “Iraq wasn’t and still isn’t safe”
Dear People of Finland, I started my hunger strike on Sunday in protest of the unfair decision by the Immigration Authorities (Migri), which claim that countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia are safe to return asylum seekers. Many of us Iraqis were disappointed by the decision taking into account that we fled that country because
Read on »Helsinki and Kemi demonstrations by Iraqi asylum seekers considered “successful” by their organizers
Two peaceful demonstrations by Iraqi asylum seekers took place Wednesday in Helsinki and Kemi to protest a Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) assessment that countries like Iraq are safe for asylum seekers, according to the organizers.
Read on »Was the death of an Afghani asylum seeker at Luona’s reception center due to negligence?
Migrant Tales published on Friday a story where it asked about the circumstances of the death of an asylum seeker, Jayyed Abbas Jaffari (1995-2016), in early January that was staying at Luona’s reception center in Espoo. Was there negligence or not by the private company that runs reception centers in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa?
Read on »Interior minister’s plan to close legal “loophole” would increase the number of undocumented migrants in Finland
Christian Democrat Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen has a dubious reputation in Finland for her homophobic and conservative religious views. In her latest attack against refugees, Räsänen writes that when an asylum-seeker gets a negative decision and doesn’t want to leave the country, the Finnish Immigration Service is required to give a residence permit if the person
Read on »Finland had 3,238 asylum seekers in 2013
A total of 3,238 people applied for asylum in Finland compared with 3,129 people in the previous year, according to the Finnish Immigration Service. The largest single group of asylum seekers was Iraqis (819) followed by Russians (226) and Somalis (217). The number of asylum seekers coming to Finland oscillated between 1,500 and 6,000 over the
Read on »Finnish Immigration Service terrorizes immigrants (Part II)
By Dana Why are we all so passive if we’re oppressed? What do you fear? What will you fear losing? Money? Benefits? What, then? Where’s your humanity? Who makes up your mind for you? Who controls your thoughts? How do you build and make your morals and values stronger each day? What is your religion?
Read on »Finnish Immigration Service terrorizes immigrants (Part I)
By Dana The Finnish Immigration Service (FIS) strikes terror in immigrants like me. I’ve lived for three years in uncertainty not knowing if I’d ever be reunited with my family. My mother died in May and my father in July. I hadn’t seen my beloved parents for seven years. I never thought that the last time
Read on »YLE in English: Three Afghani asylum seekers continue hunger strike
Three Afghani asylum seekers been on hunger strike since September 10 after their applications for asylum were rejected by the authorities, writes YLE in English. The three asylum seekers have appealed the Finnish Immigration Service decision to the administrative court. One of the asylum seekers, Abdullahi Gulamesdiq, said that he fears for his life in
Read on »Finnish Lutheran Church says family reunification from Africa is costly and dangerous
Archbishop Kari Mäkinen said that family reunification of Africans with their families in Finland is not only costly but dangerous, reports YLE. Since Finland does not have an embassy in war-ravaged Somalia, Somalis are required to apply for residence permits in neighboring Ethiopia or Kenya. The Finnish Immigration Service has a backlog of about 10,000
Read on »Helsinki Times: Eveline Fadayel dies
Eveline Fadayel, 65, an Egyptian woman who was granted a residence permit in Finland after a lengthy appeal process last month, died from a long-term illness early on Tuesday, the Finnish Ecumenical Council said.
Read on »YLE: Tamara Suzin käännytys keskeytettiin
Kouvolassa asuvan iäkkään venäläisnaisen Tamara Suzin käännytys on keskeytetty. Euroopan ihmisoikeustuomioistuin antoi tiistaina välipäätöksen, joka estää Suzin käännytyksen Venäjälle toistaiseksi.
Read on »The sad case of Somalis in Finland
Below is a good example of how a public official’s comments helps strengthen racism and stereotypes of certain ethnic groups living in Finland. One of the biggest flaws in the arguments of anti-immigrant groups is that they incorrectly believe that cultures don’t change and therefore different groups are incompatible. I hope that the same stance as these far-right groups hasn’t overtaken the Finnish Immigration Service when we speak of the Somalians.
Read on »Finland also locks up asylum seeker children
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- A child in the Joutseno Immigration Removal Center.
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