Tag Archives: immigration

in english

Finnishness, an ethnic concept?

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As we know, there is not that many foreigners in Finland, society is very homogeneous, and the country has a history of emigrants, not really immigrants.  Discussing these details with a couple of friends (a Finn by birth and a Finn by naturalisation) over a beer last Thursday, I started thinking that Finnishness is an ethnic, not only a cultural concept. 

This would be behind the perceived fact that an immigrant who comes here, no matter how well he/she (hän) adapts to the place, learns the language and adopts the culture will not be regarded as a Finn, even when holding a Finnish passport as he/she wouldn't "look like us".

If this idea happens to be right, it forecasts trouble for the integration of those immigrants that are already here and those that are coming, since the host society would not be ready for it.  Really wonder if that is the case.  Any opinions?

Not that nationality being a cultural concept is a guarantee of success.  Just ask the French.

in english

Talent Suomi & foreigners

Talent Suomi is the Finnish version of America's Got Talent, an American programme whose Flemish interpretation I had already seen in Belgium in the spring.

The interesting thing, which was highlighted in a TV news report I just saw, is that there is a lot of "people with foreign backgrounds" (ulkomaantaustaiset) as contestants in the show (and a couple of them are crowd favourites), bringing us to living rooms accross Finland when we are normally not so visible, and tend to have a not so great reputation.  Any change for the better is welcome.

I suppose that it might be a natural development after Ourvision, which was not that mainstream.

en español

La vida del inmigrante

Un amigo me mandó este artículo.  Me quedo con el párrafo referenciado abajo:

"Tengo la impresión de que cualquier ser humano que, por necesidad o elección, se va de su tierra en la edad madura para vivir en otro sitio ajeno, perdiendo sus códigos, su acento, sus amigos del alma, su familia y sus libros y discos de adolescencia, se convierte en otra persona a la fuerza. Y esa otra persona no es ya de ninguna parte. Pero tiene un pariente cercano en cualquier inmigrante, tiene historias comunes con todos los que se han ido. Yo tengo más temas en común con un senegalés que llegó a España en patera que con un francés que vive en París. Somos muchísimos los que estamos en otra parte, los que ya no tenemos en el bolsillo la llave de la casa de nuestros padres. Los inmigrantes somos un país sin bandera y sin himno, pero nos reconocemos por la calle y sabemos cuánto nos cuesta cada día no olvidar de dónde vinimos, de dónde somos."

in english

They didn’t know

And were thoroughly indignated when I told my friends the whole story of how difficult it is to get the citizenship of the country where I currently live.  Don't think anything will change, but was definitely nice to have their support.  Without my wife and them, I wouldn't be here, as I wouldn't have understood this culture very much.

in english

Two unrelated stories on immigration in Europe

  1. The European Commission has unveiled a plan to copy the American "green card" scheme to attracked skilled immigrants to Europe.  While it sounds interesting, I would really like to know what it means in practice, since as we know in the end the individual member states decide how to apply the Commission directives.  It would be a good idea, but I'm still sceptic as it could encounter too much opposition from anti-immigration politicians, even if of course business leaders clamour for it.  Question number two is how would a plan like that affect the naturalisation of said foreign citizens.  People worrying from a brain drain should see what happened with India and China: their people left mostly for the U.S. and came back with experience and capital to improve their original communities.
  2. A video was released of a Spanish man attacking an Ecuadorian immigrant in Barcelona because "she was an immigrant".  Thankfully this man is now under prosecution.  I started wondering how many of these attacks go unpunished. (via Alt1040)
in english

Citizenship laws in Finland and France

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I met Ceronne briefly during my last quick trip to Paris.  Unfortunately I couldn't chat with him longer since I was on the move, but as usual it was a pleasure.

He commented that, after finishing his masters, he had a small discussion with a social worker who told him that in two years he would be able to apply for French citizenship.  I congratulated him, and he mentioned that the process works in such a way that his 2 years as a masters student in France are taken into account in the process.  This is beneficial for both parties since the person in question gets an incentive to stay and the country another educated taxpayer.

With this information, I started to think about my own situation, which compares unfavourable with his.  Even though I have lived 6 years in Finland, my three years as a student don't count, and neither do two of my years working as I had a B-class residence and working permit for some reason I don't understand.  Only one year would count, but I moved to Belgium for a year so I would have to start from scratch, which means that I would be eligible in 4 years (or after 10 years altogether of living in Finland).  It would be even longer but I am married to a Finnish citizen now, who has been my companion for the past 7 years.  When I compare my case to that of a certain discus thrower, for example, I further lose hope.

For my Finnish readers out there, even though most of the posts in this blog are in English, I do speak Finnish.  Furthermore, I will be taking the official language examination soon, if only to have a paper that proves it.

The worst part is when my Finnish friends and acquaintances ask me when am I going to become a citizen of the country I live in and my only answer is not anytime soon, if ever…

in english

The kind of immigrants Finland prefers…

Look nothing like me and as over-the-top this article is, I know it has a grain of truth.  Sometimes I feel like giving up, but I really like this place and my life here.

So much so I'm taking the official Finnish language exam that is needed for citizenship, even though it's still at least 4 years before I would be able to apply for it and, frankly, I'm not sure whether it would make any sense.

en español

Leyes de inmigración a la mexicana

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Como he mencionado en algún otro post, las leyes mexicanas de migración son bastante fuertes.  Incluso más que las leyes de otros países como Estados Unidos, de las que tanto se quejan los medios mexicanos. 

 

Este artículo de Sergio Sarmiento pone las cosas en perspectiva.  A mí lo que me decepciona, además de la obvia cuestión de los derechos humanos, es algo más personal. Si esto es cierto entonces veo bastante difícil que me regrese a vivir a México durante mi vida productiva, ya que mi esposa no podría trabajar allá y si ella tiene que ser ama de casa se vuelve loca y me vuelvo loco yo.  No me extrañaría que no fuera el único en esta situación, con lo cual México parece empeñado en perderse la oportunidad de que el know how que adquirimos en el extranjero regrese al país.

 

Via alt1040.

in english

“Foreigners steal our women”

I have heard plenty of times that before the advent of Nokia one of the main exports of Finland were its women, and that still today Finnish women will tend to marry foreigners.  Notwithstanding whether I agree with this sentence or not, it is true that the stereotypical Finnish male has a lot of sisu but lacks in his communication skills. 

Therefore, I suggest that in order to handle the perceived threat to the status quo, instead of complaining, the stereotypical Finnish male demonstrates the same determination to improve his situation.  Some advice to follow could include the following:

  • Listen to what she has to say.  She may not want your help in solving her problems (she's an independent, proud Finnish woman anyway), but a little bit of empathy goes a long way.
  • Leave the bottle.  Really.
  • Use your natural advantages.  The stereotypical Finnish man is handy, so be handy.
  • Telling her "I love you" more than once in a lifetime is acceptable, as long as you mean it.
  • Hug her.  Hugging doesn't need to preclude intercourse.  Other sorts of physical contact like holding hands are fine too.
  • Respect her.  Which doesn't mean leave her alone to do all the housework.
  • Surprise her.  Yes, it might include going to the theatre or some other activity you might not like, but be a man and stick to it.
  • Be there.  Because if she's the right woman she'll be there for you too.

Don't worry, it might sound difficult at first but you might be surprised how low-maintenance the stereotypical Finnish woman is, since she's used to being quite independent too.  You will both learn a lot.  Good luck.

Disclaimer:  I know very few men (and women) who do reflect this stereotype, but if you feel referred to it's not my problem.

in english

The border guard

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As frequent readers of this blog and anyone who has seen my Flickr profile know, I do my fair share of travelling, both for leisure and due to my job. Therefore, I do have my own personal and very subjective "ranking" of border officials, as not all my trips are within the Schengen area. The story I want to share with you happened last Saturday, when we were coming back from our honeymoon.

Since the Czech Republic is outside Schengen, we had to go through normal border procedures when we returned. As I don't have a European passport, I can't go through the fast line, but I'm used to answer a couple of questions from the guards, who after all are just doing their job. The problem this time was, as often is when I come home, that I had another overzealous guard. Even though the conversation was in Finnish (which should be enough indication about what follows), I had to answer plenty of questions about my life in Finland, the length of my stay, my employment, my ties to the country and so on (regardless of the fact that, of course, all my papers are perfectly in order and all my personal information is available to said individual through the government's databases).

The straw that broke the camel's back, as they say, was when said individual said "So, if you have so good Finnish-language skills and you've been living here that long, why don't you have a Finnish passport?".  Which is simply because I don't fulfill the requirements just yet (which is another long, sad story).  I understand that these people are doing their job, but I I usually have less problems entering Germany or even the UK, where they should be much more worried about security threats than in Finland.

I love my wife, I really like my job, and I also deeply appreciate the house we have, so it is ridiculuous that I have so many hurdles every time I'm returning to Finland, which at the moment is where home is.  If this is the way the country wants to attract a highly educated, tax-paying immigrant workforce, it is in trouble.