Tag: Finland

Finland, Incubator of Terrorism? What is the real mission of three strangers caught in Karelia?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Editor’s note:  Once again we are happy to have a guest post from reader ‘Pungentpeppers’ (It might spoil me and make me wish I had a whole flock of researchers, writers and interns at my disposal!).  Honestly, the subject is becoming so large that we couldn’t get it all covered with a dozen writers and researchers.

Finland, Incubator of Terrorism? Are these three strangers involved?

Karelia is a long fought-over region between Russia and Finland.

Finland is known for natural wonders. In the northern wintry darkness, amid the reindeer of Lapland’s tundra, visitors can experience the magic of the Aurora Borealis. In the east, along a border shared with Russia, the frozen beauty of Narnia awes winter travelers to Finland’s rustic region of Karelia, frozen solid this time of year.

Finland is also known as a leader in technology innovation and incubation. Perhaps you have a Nokia phone or tablet. Maybe your kids are addicted to Angry Birds. Yes, they were hatched in Finland!

But did you know that Finland ranks first, by percent of population, among nations in sending jihadi fighters to Syria?

It also has a sizable number of Somali Al Shabab supporters. Clearly, Finland is a hatchery for some angry non-bird types.

Late last summer, just as Finland was learning about its ranking on the Syrian jihadi fighter scale, two Finnish MPs from different parties joined together in calling for a change in policy that would give preference to Christian refugees. Finns Party MP Ari Jalonen and Christian Democrat MP Sauli Ahvenjärvi say that Christian refugees would reduce the probability of Finnish residents being recruited to fight in conflicts overseas.

”We have to look at the big picture. As a Christian, it’s easier to come to Finland. It’s easier for those who belong to some other faith [Muslim] to go to some other country where it would be easier for them to settle and live,” Jalonen added.

Both men said that in the case of Syria, they would advocate accepting mainly Christian refugees.

”Christians are one of the most persecuted minorities in Syria. There are good grounds for taking them in,” Ahvenjärvi explained.

[Readers may remember that Canada drew the ire of international ‘humanitarians’ and the UN for proposing that they might only take religious minority refugees from the Middle East—-ed]

Mystery men arrive in Finland

Karelia is especially pretty in winter! Maybe that is what the mystery men were doing crossing into Finland—admiring the scenery. Photo: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2488288/Finland-winter-holidays-A-perfect-Finnish-Karelia.html

Regarding Syria, three mysterious men who claim they are from that country arrived in Finland this week under very strange circumstances. Finnish border guard officials confirmed that the three men illegally crossed Finland’s eastern border in Kangasjärvi, Kitee – in frozen Karelia – late Monday night. They were caught after they stopped at a guest house seeking help for one of them who had frostbite. The men said they started hiking on Sunday and that the temperature was -25° Celsius (-13°F) when they reached Finland.

The men said that they intended to claim asylum once they reached Finland, claiming that they were fleeing the conflict in their native Syria.

North Karelia border guard officials will conduct an initial investigation into the case while eastern Finland police are to look into the asylum request.

The trio are currently being detained at the eastern Finland police facility, after which they will be transferred to a refugee reception centre.

See the story here.

How did these mysterious men arrive in eastern Karelia? Who dropped them off? Russians or some other foreign government? Where are they really from and what is their real mission? Do they intend to target activists who are hiding in Finland – or Finnish technology? Police need to look at this potentially dangerous trio very carefully.

If you are puzzled by how Finland became an incubator of terrorism, it was through immigration.

Historically, Finland had very few Muslims. In the 1990s, however, Muslim refugees from areas of conflict started arriving in large numbers. “By 2006, Finland had a Muslim population of approximately 40-45,000, and in 2011 it was estimated to be 50-60,000, 90% of whom were Somalis, Arabs, Kurds, Albanians, Turks, Persians, and Bosniaks.” (to read more, see Juha Saarinen’s piece in Jihadology)

Asylum seekers from predominantly Islamic countries are continuing to arrive in Finland.  According to the Helsinki Times, in 2013, Iraqis were the largest nationality, with Somalis coming second. However, there may be a shift towards more Syrians: 135 Syrian refugees sought asylum in Finland between January and November of this year. But how many arrived mysteriously after crossing over frozen lakes and rivers on foot?!

This post has been archived in our ‘Invasion of Europe’ series, here.

Soros organization: Somalis happy in Helsinki!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

George Soros Open Society Foundations has produced a report (one of many) from which they conclude for the media that everything is hunky-dory for Somalis in Helsinki.  The Somalis might(?) be happy, but some of the native Finns aren’t!

You know this is how people like Soros operate, they do studies and make conclusions for the media and the media laps it up.  And, by doing such media spin they can shame other cities/countries that aren’t so “welcoming” into doing Soros’ bidding—open their borders   If you go to the study, here, it doesn’t look like everything is copacetic with the growing Somali population of Helsinki.

Helsinki Mayor Jussi Pajunen: Immigrant population growth is key to Helsinki survival (Soros tells us so!).

Here is the happy news from Finnbay (emphasis is mine):

(FINNBAY) – Helsinki, 25 November 2013. According to the latest report published by the Open Society Foundations, Somalis in Helsinki enjoy a good life in Helsinki due to numerous policy initiations from the Helsinki City.

Somalis in Helsinki is part of a seven city research series, Somalis in European Cities, which examines the realities of people from Somali backgrounds in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Malmo, Leicester, London, and Oslo. In Helsinki, the research was conducted by the Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki.

From Buffalo to Helsinki they are all falling for this economic benefit argument that uneducated, unemployable, impoverished third-worlders are going to bring an economic boom to a city.

“Immigrant Population growth is the key to Helsinki and the entire population of the metropolitan area. The City of Helsinki wants to be a model city with its work on anti-discrimination, so we must have zero tolerance for any sorts of discrimination against the Somali community and others, “said Mayor of Helsinki Jussi Pajunen.

The report highlights the experiences of Somalis living in Helsinki, focusing on five areas of local policy and the broader themes of identity, belonging and interaction. Through qualitative research methods, including interviews with key stakeholders at the city and national level and focus group discussions with Somali residents, conducted from the beginning of December 2012 through to the end of February 2013.

“Education and employment are the core of things for Somilis to enjoy living in Helsinki in order for them to participate as an active and equal group of our society. Much good work has already been done in integration, but the report highlights areas where room for improvement,” says Nazia Hussain , the Open Society Foundations, the Foundation Project Manager.

Although Somalis’ absolute numbers have always been small, the arrival of  Somali asylum seekers in the early 1990s was a significant event; it has been referred to as the “Somali shock”, Finland’s first experience accepting large groups of refugees.

The report suggests that Somalis living in Helsinki are satisfied with the city’s housing policies and services to promote the diversification of the structure of the population and to reduce their socio-economic one-sided.

Somali participants in the study felt that they are subjected to strong prejudices from other cities and attitudes that undermine the inclusion of experience in the wider society, even in your own community cohesion, the feeling is strong in some places.

We have several posts in our archives on Somalis in Finland and none involve happy Somalis or happy Finns.