There are three reasons why I want Turku to be an international and multicultural city.
- Feelings. I grew up overseas and went to an international school in Thailand. I spent half my working life in highly international settings. I liked it. Finns are great, and Finland is where I belong, but it is refreshing to deal with people who are completely different.
- Facts. Finland needs its immigrants. We are an aging society, and we cannot maintain our welfare state unless we get young new Finns. Those new Finns might have a different skin color or a different mother tongue. So what?
- Ethics. Finland has been very successful. A lot of it is due to hard work, but some of it is just good luck. We need to do our bit to help those who have been terribly unlucky. That is why it is morally right to accept refugees for humanitarian reasons.
I don’t have any magic tricks to offer. The Turku Greens’ election manifesto (p9-10) describes what needs to be done on a practical level in local politics. Language training, opportunities to mingle with Finns, making it easier to use English in everyday life, and so on. Common-sense things. A lot of work, but worth doing.
At the national level, we will unfortunately need a change in government before we can hope for improvement. The far right’s racism is destroying our whole future.
Until the government falls, all of us need to do what we can at a personal level. There are certainly racist undertones in Finland. All of us native-borns need to firmly reject them, and be antiracist in our own lives. In principle I would call on us to warmly welcome our new new friends, but Finns don’t really do things warmly. Not in Turku anyways (which is one reason why I love Turku). But we need to be polite, and friendly in our own way.
I am a Turku Green candidate in the municipal and district elections of 2025 (numbers 600 and 2496). Olen Turun Vihreiden ehdokas vuoden 2025 kunta- ja aluevaaleissa (numerot 600 ja 2496).
