Long Queues for Somali Family Reunification Applicants

[The Ripper]

The Finnish Immigration Service is swamped with family reunification applications from Somalis. About 5,600 such applications are being processed, with the oldest dating from the start of 2009.

The authority has not yet had the time to deal with applications submitted in February 2010.

The Finnish Immigration Service says that the handling of Somalis’ applications for a residence permit on the basis of family ties takes longer than average for such applications.

There are two reasons for the hold-ups, according to the authority. Firstly, the numbers of applications from Somalis have rapidly grown. Secondly, it is usually impossible to obtain documents proving a familial relationship from Somalia, which means that the interested parties have to be interviewed in person.

Most frequently, applicants are interviewed at the Finnish mission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Parliament’s Administration Committee observed in February that Finland’s rules regarding family reunification do not adhere to EU directives on the matter. The committee proposed introducing stricter regulations.

YLE

YLE News (http://yle.fi/uutiset/news/2011/03/long_queues_for_somali_family_reunification_applic ants_2438371.html)

[Gamera]

Why is it that Somalis are specifically attracted of immigrating to Finland? When did this trend start? I've always wondered that.

[Wyn]

Why is it that Somalis are specifically attracted of immigrating to Finland?

Why are they specifically attracted to any country? There are between 90,000 and 250,000 in the UK.

[Joe McCarthy]

Why is it that Somalis are specifically attracted of immigrating to Finland? When did this trend start? I've always wondered that.

They've long been attracted to Sweden, which became a refugee magnet under Olof Palme. I imagine they prefer to be close to relatives, so they go to Finland.

[The Lawspeaker]

Why is it that Somalis are specifically attracted of immigrating to Finland? When did this trend start? I've always wondered that.
It's actually rather simple: hyvinvointivaltio.

[Max]

Why is it that Somalis are specifically attracted of immigrating to Finland?

Maybe they want to create a new pirate fleet in the North Atlantic?

I don't understand this myself. :mmmm:

[Eldritch]

Why is it that Somalis are specifically attracted of immigrating to Finland? When did this trend start? I've always wondered that.

I don't think Somalis are specifically attracted to Finland. :confused:

They're attracted to any country with a low crime rate and generous welfare benefits, and few blacks (Somalis don't think of themselves as black). They send out scouts and establish "tuulas" as they call them, anywhere they find such places. It's happened elsewhere in Europe, as well as in the US in the state of Maine (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16954).

The first Somalis in Finland didn't even come directly from Somalia, they were Siad Barre's officers who had been training for who know what in the USSR when it collapsed, so they came here looking for a new provider.

[The Ripper]

They've long been attracted to Sweden, which became a refugee magnet under Olof Palme. I imagine they prefer to be close to relatives, so they go to Finland.

:rolleyes:

Its simple: they come here because Finnish authorities let them come here and Finnish politicians want to provide for them on the expense of the Finnish tax payer.

http://files.myopera.com/Kaminiitto/blog/Kari_somalit1990.gif

http://i40.tinypic.com/2iqy51u.gif

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/25/48612777_3f62096fa7.jpg

[Joe McCarthy]

:rolleyes:

Its simple: they come here because Finnish authorities let them come here and Finnish politicians want to provide for them on the expense of the Finnish tax payer.

http://files.myopera.com/Kaminiitto/blog/Kari_somalit1990.gif

http://i40.tinypic.com/2iqy51u.gif

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/25/48612777_3f62096fa7.jpg

Well, it IS family reunification we're talking about, and Sweden is in close proximity. I'd be surprised if it didn't play some role.

The family reunification process is one way West Germany got flooded with Turks. Probably the main way in fact.

[Guapo]

I don't think Somalis are specifically attracted to Finland. :confused:

generous welfare benefits

Exactly, and you Fins think Russians drink alot. They won't work at all after immigrating there.

[Eldritch]

Exactly, and you Fins think Russians drink alot. They won't work at all after immigrating there.

The correct spelling is "fins". Or so I'm told, by a certain native speaker who insisted on giving me lessons in the language.

[The Ripper]

Well, it IS family reunification we're talking about, and Sweden is in close proximity. I'd be surprised if it didn't play some role.

The family reunification process is one way West Germany got flooded with Turks. Probably the main way in fact.

Uhm.. :scratch:


Family reunification is a recognized reason for immigration in many countries. The presence of one or more family members in a certain country, therefore, enables the rest of the family to immigrate to that country as well.

[Joe McCarthy]

Uhm.. :scratch:

Uh, I'm trying to figure out just what it is you're disagreeing with here. Somalis move in, their family members want to join them. Where is the problem in understanding that so far?

[The Ripper]

Uh, I'm trying to figure out just what it is you're disagreeing with here. Somalis move in, their family members want to join them. Where is the problem in understanding that so far?

The problem, my dear Joe, is that Sweden and Finland are two separate countries.

[Joe McCarthy]

The problem, my dear Joe, is that Sweden and Finland are two separate countries.

Well, gee, thanks for the heads up. That of course means that Somalis moving into Sweden had absolutely nothing to do with them wanting to move to Finland, as Sweden is as far from Finland as Kenya is. :rolleyes:

[The Ripper]

Well, gee, thanks for the heads up. That of course means that Somalis moving into Sweden had absolutely nothing to do with them wanting to move to Finland, as Sweden is as far from Finland as Kenya is. :rolleyes:

Well you can speculate on that all you want but I'm curious as to why they would go to Finland if they want to be in Sweden, considering that the family reunification process is much easier in Sweden, especially in the past.

Or we could stop pretending and simply see your initial comment for what it was: a jab at an "enemy of America," which did not really have anything to do with the subject matter of this thread

We have already explained in this thread how and why the first Somalis arrived in Finland.

[The Lawspeaker]

http://www.amfirstbooks.com/IntroPages/ToolBarTopics/Articles/Featured_Authors/Holappa,_Henrik/Art/You_can_rape_in_Finland.jpg

[Joe McCarthy]

Well you can speculate on that all you want but I'm curious as to why they would go to Finland if they want to be in Sweden, considering that the family reunification process is much easier in Sweden, especially in the past.

Or we could stop pretending and simply see your initial comment for what it was: a jab at an "enemy of America," which did not really have anything to do with the subject matter of this thread

We have already explained in this thread how and why the first Somalis arrived in Finland.

You have a vivid imagination. My speculation was just that, speculation. But as a point of interest, you will find that the most anti-American politicians are generally also the most pro-immigration. The one major exception to this has been Tony Blair.

[The Ripper]

But as a point of interest, you will find that the most anti-American politicians are generally also the most pro-immigration. The one major exception to this has been Tony Blair.

This thread is not about America. All internationalist politicians are pro-immigration, be they anti (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paavo_Arhinmäki)- or pro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Stubb)-American. Now, if you have nothing to add to the topic, please refrain from making this thread about you, America and her enemies.

[Joe McCarthy]

This thread is not about America. All internationalist politicians are pro-immigration, be they anti (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paavo_Arhinmäki)- or pro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Stubb)-American. Now, if you have nothing to add to the topic, please refrain from making this thread about you, America and her enemies.

Sho nuff dude. Talking to you is like dealing with a rabid dog anyway.

[Gamera]

Why are they specifically attracted to any country? There are between 90,000 and 250,000 in the UK.

Well, they are the largest immigrant group of non-European origin in Finland if I'm not mistaken, that's more what I meant. Anyway thanks for the replies.

[Motörhead Remember Me]

They've long been attracted to Sweden, which became a refugee magnet under Olof Palme.

I'm forced to give a history lesson to Joe here about Palme's Sweden in the 70's:
During the 50’s and 70’s Sweden was a country with an enormous industrial potential and experienced a massive and unprecedented economical high. Sweden attracted workers from Germany, Italy, Finland, Yugoslavia, Norway, Turkey e.t.c. and there was a seemingly endless need for these workers. During the 70’s the Swedish politicians were also caught up with bad self esteem when the country was doing shamelessly well very much because it was one of the few European countries to come out of WWII completely intact. The theater about total neutrality during the world war was being questioned. Sweden had not been so innocent but very much Nazi-Germanys whore and a main supplier for raw material to the Wehrmacht and thus directly responsible for millions of deaths. This plagued the Swedes who wanted to make up forthis by thinking (strawman) “let’s open the doors since everyone will get a job and that’s good for our country at the same time we can smooth out our bad self esteem”. The problem was that soon the industries were not going full speed ahead and that people that came were of the wrong kind. You can blame Palme all you want for this, but the one’s calling for the immigrants were the same who benefitted from the co-operation with Nazi Germany; the industrial leaders. Often political right wingers. And we all know how much you love the right wing who can never do anything wrong.

[Motörhead Remember Me]

Besides, things in Sweden went down the drain only after Palme's death.

[Lurker]

I'm forced to give a history lesson to Joe here about Palme's Sweden in the 70's:
During the 50’s and 70’s Sweden was a country with an enormous industrial potential and experienced a massive and unprecedented economical high. Sweden attracted workers from Germany, Italy, Finland, Yugoslavia, Norway, Turkey e.t.c. and there was a seemingly endless need for these workers. During the 70’s the Swedish politicians were also caught up with bad self esteem when the country was doing shamelessly well very much because it was one of the few European countries to come out of WWII completely intact. The theater about total neutrality during the world war was being questioned. Sweden had not been so innocent but very much Nazi-Germanys whore and a main supplier for raw material to the Wehrmacht and thus directly responsible for millions of deaths. This plagued the Swedes who wanted to make up forthis by thinking (strawman) “let’s open the doors since everyone will get a job and that’s good for our country at the same time we can smooth out our bad self esteem”. The problem was that soon the industries were not going full speed ahead and that people that came were of the wrong kind. You can blame Palme all you want for this, but the one’s calling for the immigrants were the same who benefitted from the co-operation with Nazi Germany; the industrial leaders. Often political right wingers. And we all know how much you love the right wing who can never do anything wrong.

So why did Finland start receiving refugees? Do Finns also feel guilty over allying themselves with Hitler or is it unrelated?

[Motörhead Remember Me]

There was pressure on Finland to admit more refugees and Finnish politicians ended up admitting the worst one's. Why Somalis, I don't know. We could have admitted penguins instead.

[Aino]

There was pressure on Finland to admit more refugees and Finnish politicians ended up admitting the worst one's. Why Somalis, I don't know. We could have admitted penguins instead.

As far as I understand, Somalis come to Finland as asylum seekers. That is, they aren't specifically admitted to Finland. Instead, they arrive to Finland on their own and upon arrival tell the authorities that they wish to seek asylum. Because they cannot be safely returned to Somalia, they are usually granted a residence permit based on humanitarian reasons.

This is different from quota refugees, who are indeed selected and admitted into the country.