Helsinki and Vantaa police spot-checking foreigners!!
This is truly scary. I honestly thought this was some sort of April Fool’s joke…
The Helsinki and Vantaa police departments have stepped up the inspections of foreigners’ residence permits. Police officers are making spot checks in places where foreigners typically gather, including shopping malls, railway stations, and harbours. In Vantaa, spot checks have been made in the shopping centres of Myyrmanni and Jumbo, among others.
In Espoo, random inspections are not worthwhile, as the number of targets would be comparatively low, says Chief Inspector Aaro Väätäinen.
Anyone looking or sounding foreign can be chosen as the target of spot checks.
Fucking Outrageous. This is racism at it’s finest. I wonder how many Finns of foreign background have been targeted simply because the color of their skin? “Hey there’s a black guy, let’s get’em!!”
”A foreigner is always obliged to explain why he or she is in Finland. However, they do not have to carry all relevant documents with them all the time, as the facts can be checked through a computer network” reports Chief Inspector Jouko Aromäki from the Vantaa police.
…it sounds like we’re a science fiction movie, or maybe Nazi Germany. “Your papers please…”
”The point of these checks is to maintain order and security in public places, with a view to the wellbeing of all citizens and residents of this country”, stresses Heinilä.
Bull-fucking-shit. This is the EXACT same propaganda George Bush and the neo-conservatives in the U.S. spew out to instill fear in the people.
“The inspections of foreigners may now attract attention, as they are being conducted publicly in places where they have previously been made less conspicuously. The number of such checks will be stepped up, and they will be conducted throughout the year”, Heinilä concludes.
Racist. Finnish. Police.
You want to make Finland a hot bed for real problems like Islamic extremism and terrorism? Keep doing this shit. Get the people angry at the police. Harass the foreigners like this. Force the immigrants to stay clear of public places, and put them in the houses of religious fanatics.
Immigrants and everyone concerned about the rights of immigrants should take action! Who’s with me?!?
Truly scary. For Caucasian-looking immigrants this might not be a problem, but for those of us who stand out already this is quite frightening.
Comment by Chiva Congelado — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 5:05 pm
Good you got to that. My wife called me and was very concerned about this.
Strangely enough, I don’t have any “paperwork” right now. My old and new passports are at the police station getting my residence permit transferred over.
This is called racial profiling, which is also illegal in the USA, but still done nonetheless.
Comment by Tapani Pallomeri — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 5:10 pm
Indeed. Terrifying. I was once asked by a Finnish policeman to blow into a breathylizer because they wanted to make sure there were no drunk drivers on the road. They were stopping everyone and just checking them all for some crazy liberal notion of road safety.
I’ve barely slept since and that was 2002. I feel violated.
Comment by Finnsense — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 5:12 pm
For Caucasian-looking immigrants this might not be a problem
You’re probably right. They’ll hear my foreign accent, realize I’m an American, and ignore me. No doubt they just target the darker skinned ones. Those of the Aryan race are passed by.
Comment by Phil — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 5:13 pm
I don’t really think this makes the police racist. It would be pointless for them to concentrate on checking people with blond hair and blue eyes speaking in Stadin slangi to find out if they are illegal immigrants. It would just be a waste of their time. Clearly, illegal immigrants are more likely not to have a native command of the Finnish language and are far more likely to look foreign than the average legal resident. That’s not a racist statement, it’s just a fact. So, I don’t agree that that is racism. I think sometimes people over-do political correctness so that what would have to be enacted becomes impractical or just stupid. You have to ask yourself, what purpose would it serve if they stopped people who looked Finnish speaking Finnish? The changes of them being an illegal immigrant is as good as zero.
On the other hand, I really don’t see this control spot check policy as having any real purpose. The way to stop illegal immigrants effectively is at the border. Although I suppose that doesn’t stop people who over-stay their visa or permit. I really doubt this policy stops enough illegal immigrants to make it worth while. It would be better to target employers using black labour or some other more systematic approach.
Comment by Jonas G — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 5:18 pm
On the other hand, I really don’t see this control spot check policy as having any real purpose.
Exactly, this is one of the reasons they’re racist. It’s simply harassment of immigrants for very little gain, this will only make matters worse between immigrants and the community.
Comment by Phil — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 5:25 pm
In Germany, the Nazis used to target people who look “Jewish”. And we know how that ended up.
I have often wondered why the Finnish police doesn’t target seedy looking people or people who are disruptive and drunk in public. Then there is a good reason to target the person. I have seen a little too much of the police walking around “protecting us” while 8 year olds are smoking and drinking just a few paces away.
When we blindly trust the government and that what their doing is automatically right, we are going very wrong. Finns have been blindly and apathetically trusting everything their government does a little too much and for a little too long.
Comment by Tapani Pallomeri — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 5:34 pm
I wonder what the illegal immigration numbers for Finland are? 5, 50, 500 a year?
Compared to countries that are more attractive to immigrants - US, UK, Canada, Germany, France and even Sweden, these numbers are probably tiny.
So all these checks will do is harass legal immigrants and make them uncomfortable going outside in order to avoid embarrassing spot-checks. Great step for a country trying to attract immigrants.
Comment by Nomad — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 5:36 pm
Tapani: I have seen a little too much of the police walking around “protecting us” while 8 year olds are smoking and drinking just a few paces away.
Whoa, careful there, lest Finns on this blog accuse you of trying to change the Finnish way of life.
Comment by Nomad — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 5:39 pm
Exactly, this is one of the reasons they’re racist. It’s simply harassment of immigrants for very little gain, this will only make matters worse between immigrants and the community.
I don’t think it’s racist. That’s a very strong word. Largely pointless would be a way I could describe it. I’m not sure it’s even harassment, but I agree, it probably doesn’t do much for the immigrants view of the police if they see it that way and that’s something that is very important to be sensitive to because we need to help integration. But it is dangerous to jump to the conclusion of labelling the police as a whole as racist for the same reasons - it might stick.
But to be fair, even for us non-immigrants, it just makes me think that they are wasting their time and could be doing something more useful. That said, they are just trying to enforce the law which from their point of view states that you must be a Finnish, Nordic or EU citizen or have a resident permit or visa to be here.
Comment by Jonas G — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 5:39 pm
Just a reminder… Whenever in a foreign country, you must at all times carry your passport. This, at least, is the official stance of countries I’ve visited. However, the only folks who really have seemed to care were the border police in Texas, as we were driving back from near the Mexican border. I got a serious eyeballing and talking-to when I showed up with just my Texas driver’s license…
Comment by Markus — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 5:47 pm
Jonas G.: “It would be better to target employers using black labour”
So you want to discriminate against black people at their places of work? Ha, just kidding
Yeah, I don’t think any of this is a good idea. What about long-haired, dreadlock dudes. Will they be stopped too?—suspicion of being an illegal Jamaican?
Seriously, there’s got to be a more elegant way of going about this. Racial profiling is wrong and embarrassing for all. They do it occasionally in Germany at the the train stations, but at least they always pick some token krauts, just so it doesn’t seem racist.
Herr Schmidt, sind Sie wirklich Deutsch? Ok, maybe he could be Austrian or Swiss, but that’s not illegal.
If they stop me in Finland, I’ll just tell them I’m Phil Schwarzenegger who works at Nokian Renkaat. Just to see what they do.
Comment by Kristian — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 5:48 pm
I was in Italy last week and noticed this kind of police harassment on some train stations. The interesting thing is that I clearly remember mentioning out loud: “thank God it doesn’t happen in Finland!”
Maybe I was wrong
Comment by Tiago Luchini — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 5:52 pm
I think you might be a terrorist? Law binding foreigners shouldn’t have nothing to worry about, it’s done for your own good.
Comment by little brother — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 5:54 pm
I wonder how long till this is country wide. This is not a surprise to me but I wonder will anyone say anything against it publicly.
Comment by Kourtney Williams — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 5:57 pm
Finnish cops are using good street smarts in this case in my opinion. I remember when the American airport security checked Mr. John Glenn in their effort not to look like they were racial profiling. What a joke!
Now, what the hell will they find in Mr. Right Stuff´s ass?
To hell with political correctness. Finnish cops know where the problem is and they work to correct it.
Comment by Jack — Tue, Mar 11th, 2008 @ 6:02 pm