Evolution of the political climate and policy debate in the country

• Author: Mehtonen, Susanna
• Pages: 14-17

IPOL | Policy Department for Economic, Scie ntific and Quality of Life Policies

14 PE 638.397

2. EVOLUTION OF THE POLITICAL CLIMATE AND POLICY

DEBATE IN THE COUNTRY

Media has reported more widely on migration, refugee protection and relating issues since 2015. The

discussion is more polarised with a clear distinction of, on the one hand people who loudly oppose

migration, and on the other hand peop le who speak of solidari ty and have a wel com ing attit ude

towards migration.

Duri ng 2015 – 2016 most of the r epor ting focused on coverage of the num bers of applicants an d the

subsequent immediate effects of the increase of asylum seekers – the word “crisis” was often used to

describe the situation32. There were weekly stories about the numbe rs, focusing bot h on all a sylum

applicants and on specific profiles. For exam ple, on the country of origin of the asyl um see kers33, the

increased numb er of asylum seeking unaccompanied children was noted34 and the gender p rofile of

the majority of the asyl um applicants35. News stories noted how different municipalities were

affect ed 36. There was also cover age ab out how di ffere nt government and muni cipal agenc ies, cities,

and communities were dealing with the inflow37. There was also c overage on i ndividuals, group s of

people and civil society helping the asylum se ekers with he alth care and other is sues38. Fo r example,

the small Kyyjärvi municipality with 1,300 i nhabitants was raise d as a good examp le of reception and

integration of asylum seekers. Many asylum seekers had rece ived jobs in a local ce ment factory that

had b een s truggli ng to find wor kers 39. Over time, the r eporting took a mor e nuance d approac h towards

the processing of the asylum seekers, the dec isions, as well as returns and voluntary re turns , in

parti cular of I raqi asyl um see kers40. The difficulties to return failed Iraqi asylum seekers was re po rte d on

widely, as were the costs relating to returns41. Due to a num be r of un usual ly vi ole nt cr im es co mmitted

by former asylum seekers, the re porting in recent years has geared towards t he prob lems wi th cultural

differences, criminality, and failed integration42. Overall, the public discourse is more focused on the

threa ts of m igrat ion and the tone of t he pub li c disc ourse has be come har sher.

Public opinion, or a perception of what public opinion may be regarding refugees and asylum seekers,

is relevant in terms of policy. In recent years, poli ticians and the governme nt have res ponded to the

32 Helsingin Sanomat, 7.9.2015, Suomeen saapui viime viikolla ennätysmäärä turvapaikanhakijoita – käsit tel yaja t uh kaa vat v enyä enti se stään,

availabl e at: ht tps://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/art-200 0002 85 0777.h tm l.

33 Iltalehti, 25.8.2015, Näistä maista tulee eniten turvapaikanhakijoita - ja tällaisista oloista he oikeasti tulevat.

Avail able at : https://www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/a/20150825202381 71.

34 Iltalehti, 22.1.2016, Alaikäisiä turvapaikanhakijoita saapui yksin yli 3 000.

Avail able at : https://www.iltalehti.fi/pakolaiskriisi/a/2016012221000235.

35 YLE, 5.10.2015, Yliv oimai nen enem mistö on mieh iä – Yle kokosi tuoreimmat faktat turvapaikanhakijoista.

Avail able at : https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-835420 7.

36 YLE, 17.1.2016, Näin Suomi muuttui – katso miten turvapaikkakriisi eteni ja näkyi vuonna 2015.

Avail able at : https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-859536 9.

37 Kuntalehti, 25.5.2015, Kunnilta varautumissuunnitelmat isoon pakolaismäärään.

Avail able at : https://kuntalehti.fi/uutiset/sote/kunnilta-varautumissuunnitelmat-isoon-pakolaismaaraan/.

38 MTV, 2.10.2015, Vapaaehtoiset lääkärit turvapaikanhakijoiden apuna: "Meidän harte illa jo li ikaakin ", availabl e at:

https://www.mtvuutiset.fi/artikkeli/vapaaehtoiset-laakarit-turvapai kanhakijoi den-apuna-vapaaeht oisten-harteilla-jo-liikaak in /53 3881 6.

39 Helsingin Sanomat, 8.12.2016, ”Aluksi kaavailtiin kodinturvajoukkoja” – Kyyjär vi mul list i asent eensa turvapai kanhaki joita koht aan, nyt

kunnall e sataa pal kint oja, avail able at: ht tps://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/art-200000 4998 28 3.ht ml.

40 Uusi Suomi, 21.4.2016, Turvapaikanhakijat: Vain 25 % saanut paikan Suomesta – ”Hyvä, että monet tehneet omat johtopäätöksensä ja

lähteneet”, availabl e at : ht tp s:/ /ww w.u usi suo mi .fi /ko tim aa/ 1944 87-tur vapaikanhakij at-vain-25 -saanut-paikan -suomesta-hyva-et ta-

monet-te hneet-omat.

41 Helsingin Sanomat, 30.12.2016, Paperittomien palautus Irakiin voi maksaa Suomelle miljoonia euroja – neuvotteluissa esillä suurlähetystö

Bagdadiin ja opiskelijavaihto, available at: https://www.hs.fi/ulkomaat/art-20000 0502 6879. ht ml .

42 YLE, 7 .5.20 18, Se ksuaalirikok sista epäil tyjen turvapai kanhakijoi den uhreista l ähes puole t oli alaik äisiä, availabl e at:

https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-10193772.