Immigration

Tonight, I read a brief news story about the rape of a 17-year old girl in Helsinki by two unknown assailants – the only information given about the men was that they did not speak Finnish.  I knew that the comments section would be rife with people spouting hatred towards foreigners and immigrants, but I thought I might have a look anyway just to see if anyone had intelligent things to say.  A few comments were quite sensible, but most of them voiced the opinion that Finland has too many immigrants (specifically black and/or muslim immigrants), which results in crimes such as the rape of this girl.  The simplistic solution offered by these people was that we should close our borders, since that would automatically lead to reductions in crime rates and Finland would be a safer place to live.  A few comments included some clearly bogus statistics such as the “fact” that a quarter of all Somalis in the country are currently in jail, and nearly all of them were of the opinion that the act of these two men was enough to condemn any and all foreigners.

I am faced with a conundrum.  Obviously, I don’t approve of rape and I think that these men should be punished, regardless of their nationality. On the other hand, I can’t and won’t understand the outcry that follows cases such as these, where Average Joe calls for the immediate expulsion of all immigrants and the closure of our borders.  I’m also pretty certain that not all crimes committed in Finland are by foreigners, or even that the majority of them are.  I can’t help but see a multicultural society as a richer society, even if some of our “guests” end up committing crimes.  After all, if you feel like an outsider for your whole life, as I’m sure some immigrants do, you may not be as motivated to lead a productive life as someone who has had the best opportunities for success since birth.  I know from experience that some Finns are quite unwelcoming and downright racist – how can you expect a person not to react to behaviour like that?  Insults and catcalls do not justify crime, but can definitely be seen as a contributing factor in the behaviour of immigrants everywhere.

In my humble opinion, reducing numbers of immigrants would only lead to a more closed society, where every foreigner would be made to feel like a worthless outsider – the kind of environment that breeds racists, because people are afraid of the unfamiliar.  In a society like that, there is no way for immigrants to feel at home and respect the country they live in, along with its laws.

People on the internet frustrate me!

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~ by ainothefinn on 6 December 2009.