Finland needs immigrants, and immigrants need Finland. Finland’s demographic structure means that the country will be short-staffed in the years to come. In turn, this means that we must be appealing to skilled workers.Finland also needs to bear its responsibilities towards refugees who are fleeing war and persecution. Residence permit practices need to be streamlined, while making sure that there are deterrents against abuse of the system.
Immigrants have the responsibility to learn Finnish, adhere to Finnish laws and to respect Finnish culture. They must also be given the right and opportunity to receive education in the language, culture and Finnish law. Society must accept several lifestyles, for Finns and immigrants alike, but the law must be the same for everyone – both in practice and in theory.
Christian Finnish traditions, like Easter and Christmas celebrations, should not be cut out merely in the name of multiculturalism, but the celebrations of other cultures and religions can be taken into account as a part of the diversifying Finnish culture.
Husein Muhammed
Lawyer
Helsinki
www.husein.fi