Great improvement!

Today i met my son, after missing him for almost two weeks. It was a great meeting and i felt proud as a father. Few people i know on the island got the opportunity to meet him for the first time. Feels good!I wish it continues like this....

Thumbs up for Benn Haidari

Benn Haidari is unquestionably one of the first well known Africans on the Åland Islands. He currently lives in Mariehamn with his wife and eight year old daughter.

According to news reaching Hej Åland, he recently shipped a container full of hospital items to Zanzibar, his native island in Tanzania. This island enjoys almost a similar status like Åland. They are semi-autonomous and have their own government and national flag.

Some of the items in the container include beds, wheelchairs among other things. An amount of 4,300 Euros have been spent on shipping the container. Benn is still poised to continue assisting his people in any way he can.

In a UN report it was indicated that Zanzibar’s population of nearly one million needs better access to quality health care. Preventable and communicable diseases including malaria are widespread and health facilities suffer from a crippling shortage of nurses, doctors and supplies.

Benn’s container will go a long way in boosting health care delivery in this popular East African island. Thumbs up for this Tanzanian-Finnish national and his eight year old daughter!

Photo credit: Ålandstidningen

Flashback: Mo Hawk live on Åland

This is a video from the Åland Sommar Jam 2009 featuring leading Gambian rapper Mo Hawk. Watch out for more events...it's all about embracing diversity. If you are interested in what we do you can contact us on hej.aland@gmail.com

Disappointed with the Social Service Authority on Åland

A never ending struggle to gain smooth access to my biracial son

When ever I listen to the Kenyan-Swedish rapper Ken Ring’s popular song bryter tystnaden, it reminds me of my struggle to gain access to my son, who was born in the city of Mariehamn on the 25th January 2009.
Her mum is seemingly bent on alienating him from his father. The most annoying part of my struggle is the lack of sufficient commitment from the island’s social service authority in finding an end to all these crises.
When my son was born and her mum decided to keep me out of it, I contacted the social service authority and to my utmost surprise they declined to intervene. According to the United Nations Convention on the Right’s of the Child, which came into effect in Finland in 1991, the interest of the child should always be taken into consideration and prioritized in all official decisions with bearing on children either as individuals or collectively.
The social workers should be very much aware that when a mother tries to prevent an innocent child from not seeing his or her father, that mother is committing a crime of the highest order. In an article I read, when a child is separated from one of his or her parents that child is also unknowingly being separated from the children’s world. This child will have to face massive emotional problems! Children need both parents without which they cannot grow up as normal human beings with their own individuality.
What have I done or what have my child done for us to be separated? I am not a criminal, I am not mentally retarded and I am not a reckless father. I don’t drink alcohol, smoke or take drugs. Since I started seeing my son, I have never failed in my duties as a father. I have provided him with some of his basic needs and have never failed to pay for his maintenance.
Like I told the social workers, my son is very lucky that he has a father who wants to be part of his life. There are thousands of biracial children in Europe (some of them living on the island) who have no clue about their black parents. As a journalist I have met some of them and I know how bitter they are about it and how it continues to affect their personality.
My son is now 7 months old and interestingly the social service authority cannot still come up with a concrete plan to ensure that I have a smooth access to him.
My son, like every other child, as enshrined in all child rights conventions has the right for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality. It’s very important for him to grow up in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding. My previous problems with the mum, is no reason for him to be alienated from me.
I have made it very clear to the social workers that I will never give up in my struggle to be part of my son’s life. I am giving them few more chances to mediate and if nothing good comes out of it, then I have no option than taking the matter to the district court. I am sure with no doubt that the law will not be blind to the rights that every child and parent enjoys as written in the Finnish National Constitution.
I want to use my struggle to inspire immigrants all over the world, to value the importance of being part of their biracial children’s life. My story, to gain access to my son, in an island where not many black people live, would be told!

Unemployment among Finland's foreigners

Oksana Chuvjurova was laid off in early July. She now spends the greater part of her days job hunting from home.

Chuvjurova, 32, eyes the new messages in her inbox carefully. The Employment Office’s job watch service sends her an email every time it finds a potential employment match.

Chuvjurova says she applies for around five jobs daily, sometimes even more. Her days have settled into a rhythm of checking emails and writing applications.

“I know I will find something,” says Chuvjurova, who was furloughed until further notice in July from her job of 3.5 years at a logistics company.

A psychologist by training, Chuvjurova moved to Finland from Russia nine years ago. Today, in the middle of the recession, she says she is willing to take just about any job.

Chuvjurova isn't alone in her plight. At the end of June, the number of unemployed jobseekers totalled 275,800, up 67,500 from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Employment and the Economy. That said, the competition for jobs is becoming stiffer by the day.

Sluggish economy cuts jobs

Chuvjurova’s former employer, which services hauliers between Finland and Russia, was hard-hit by the recession.

“The number of trucks coming through our office plummeted. Traffic drastically declined from just one year ago,” says Chuvjurova.

Layoff talks began at Chuvjurova’s workplace as 2008 drew to a close, and by the beginning of February her working hours were halved.

“The worst part of the whole process was anticipating the day I would get laid off. It was an immense relief when I was finally let go. Working part-time was tough psychologically and financially stressful,” she says.

“Spending constantly occupies my mind”

Out of work, Chuvjurova has been forced to cut out small luxuries like trips to the movies and eating out. For Chuvjurova, learning to live on less has meant trimming grocery bills by scouting offers at the local supermarket and eating whatever is in season.

“I stopped planning vacations and make a lot more food at home,” says Chuvjurova, whose income now is the daily 25.63 euro unemployment allowance doled out by Kela, Finland’s Social Insurance Institution. “What’s left of the allowance after tax doesn’t even cover the rent.”

Chuvjurova says she and her fiancé are trying to eat healthily despite the financial squeeze. She points to some recent prizes from her parents’ small vegetable patch: a large zucchini, a few potatoes and some spring onions. “We’re not being back-to-basics fashionable. These staples help us get by.”

Chuvjurova says she's trying to remain optimistic, but she does have one regret.

“I wish I would have joined a union earlier,” says Chuvjurova, while cutting into a homemade apple cobbler.

YLE News/Zena Iovino

Living Library –Great Fun

On cultural night, 14th August, I was one of the living books at the Mariehamn Library. More than 10 people from minority groups on the Island were identified and the public was offered the opportunity to borrow them for at least 20mins for a chat.

I was borrowed three times;

- The first to borrow me was an older lady who was interested in visiting Africa and wanted me to suggest a country for her. She was more into wild life and nature and I recommended East Africa.

- The second was a German lady resident on the Island. She moved to Åland two years ago and has a 12 year old son. Our discussion was focused mainly on integration and we both agreed that not much is happening on the island to encourage the effective participation of immigrants in the society. “My son is finding it so difficult to make friends and I don’t know what to do. He is bored being in the house always without playing mates,” disclosed the German lady. I revealed to her that a couple of weeks ago, I was having a counselling session with a young immigrant girl who was also deeply frustrated with her inability to make friends in school. I explained to her that a new project that aims at bridging the gap between immigrants and local people have just been
launched and hopefully we might see some changes soon!

- My last discussion was with three teenage girls from Lemland. It was very interesting and they were very much amazed with some of the cultures in Africa. They felt it is unfair for men to marry up to four wives, when women are denied the same right. BUT they were impressed with the high respect children have for their parents, teachers and elders. I took the opportunity to inform them about an African festival I am planning and would need open minded volunteers. They gave me their contacts and promised to participate if their parents agree.

I enjoyed all the discussions I had and I wish to introduce the “living library” in my country when next I visit.

What is the role of the Åland Discrimation Ombudsman?

On Wednesday I found in my mail box a brochure about the Åland Discrimination Ombudsman. On the brochure it was indicated that the Ombudsman is a new public authority working for equality and against discrimination.

The brochure went further to mention that all people should have the same rights in a democratic society. Equality before the law and protection against discrimination are basic rights.

These are powerful words but you would be very surprised to realise that the Åland Discrimination Ombudsman has no power to interfere in any act of discrimination that occur within a private premise. I came to know about this when I was deliberately refused entry to Indigo Bar and Restaurant, possibly because of my skin colour. The security guard just said to me;

“You are not invited today; you can come back next Friday.” I found it very insulting and insisted that I am not move an inch. The police were called and I was surprisingly asked to stay away.

I wrote a letter to the manager of the restaurant requesting for an apology. I copied the same letter to the Ombudsman and she called me expressing her inability to intervene because of current regulations that govern her office.

According to her they are not mandated to interfere in such cases! I was completely surprised, because records indicated that discrimination mainly takes place in private premises. I would love to know what basically is the role of the Ombudsman on Åland?

Sharp Increase in Illegal Immigrants

The number of illegal immigrants in Finland is on a sharp rise, according to a report in the newspaper Keskisuomalainen.

The paper says that officials are aware of at least 3,800 people who have illegally taken up residence in the country during the first six months of the year. This is three times as many as during the same period of last year.

Police estimate that about 8,000 people will be caught living illegally in Finland this year. Last year 5,400 were apprehended. Two years ago that figure was only about 2,000.

Of the number of illegal immigrants identified by police so far this year, 3,200 have now filed applications for asylum. Police say that the majority of people entering the country illegally are from countries plagued by armed conflict such as Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Most turn themselves into the police in order to seek refugee status.

In the majority of cases, illegal immigrants entered Finland by ship or car via another EU member country.

Culled from YLE

Open Letter to the Speaker of the Åland Parliament on Integration

My name is Alieu Khan. I am one of the few African immigrants living on Åland. I moved to the island in April 2008 and since then I have seen myself as part of the community. I have taken part in lot of community initiatives and have been on the radio twice to talk about integration on Åland.

As you already know, the issue of immigration and integration is not well talked about on the island and there exist not many activities to help immigrants integrate easily within the society. In this open letter I would like to discuss with you, my opinion and findings on integration on Åland.

Svenska för Invandrare (SFI):- Language study program for immigrants exist in almost all countries with high concentration of immigrants. The Åland SFI is one that we all have to be proud of you. The teachers are excellent and the students are provided with all reading materials they need. But offering immigrants the opportunity to learn the Swedish language (the official language of the Island) should not be the end. Some of us have finished the different levels of the course but still unable to fit in the workforce. This was the same mistake committed by Sweden and they ended up creating the Yrkessvenska. The Yrkessvenska aims at coaching immigrants who are interested in using their professional talents. A recent report published by the University of Jyväskylä indicated that some immigrants stay longer on the language course because of their uncertainty to secure jobs when they leave the course.

Sweden is now trying to restructure their SFI program to take a more holistic approach to the integration of immigrants. One of their desperate measures is to use incentives to make immigrants value the language program. By January 2010 students who pass the highest level of SFI are eligible to receive 12,000kr.

The SFI program is becoming increasingly popular on Åland. In September 2008, Medis (The institute overseeing it) was unable to enrol all the prospectus students. Unlike the previous years, in the 2008/9 academic year they enrolled two different groups of Svenska 1. The main reason why most of us went to the course is to be able to secure jobs in our lines of work but unfortunately there seems to be little prospects for that.

I think offering traineeship opportunities for graduated students should be a component of the course. As I am writing you this letter, majority of my former classmates are staying home without jobs. Learning the language is important, but again if there is no opportunity to practise it, getting a grip of it becomes rather impossible.

Recently I was chatting with an immigrant from Lebanon, living in Mariehamn and he argued that there are jobs on Åland. He was referring to unskilled jobs. There is a heated debate all over the European Union that immigrants should be encouraged and offered opportunities to fit in the professional workforce. Countries like the UK and Canada has been highly praised for doing much towards this. Åland being a small place with a limited number of immigrants I think we can do a lot!

AMS: - AMS is doing a wonderful job but I think they should reinforce their efforts if they want immigrants in the job force. It’s not to the benefit of immigrants and the State for immigrants to stay without jobs. It is unquestionably clear that when immigrants become inactive in the labour market, their welfare dependency becomes high.

The Kommuns:- The different kummuns, should be encouraged to offer job opportunities to immigrants who are struggling to have a grip of the Swedish language and also to fit themselves in the island’s work force. Recently I applied for a job to work with children in the Eckerö and Finström Kummuns. When I met the lady responsible for applications in Eckerö, I can see the fear in her that I am not an effective Swedish speaker and besides, are the parents prepared to have an immigrant to take care of their children?

Support service: - From my findings there is no immigrant support society on the island. These I came to realise when my marriage was in crises and when I was struggling to gain access to my son. I also came across two immigrant women who badly needed this service but they couldn’t find it anywhere. Few months ago, I was introduced to a young girl in an immigrant family, who was having trouble both at home and school.

The Åland Multicultural Society could be empowered to feel this gap that exists on the island and function just like the Multicultural Women's Resource Center (MONIKA) in Helsinki.

I would like to share a story with you:-

An immigrant woman with a child who was living in Strändnas was having trouble with her neighbour (a young man in his early 20s). He was playing music late in the night, causing them sleepless nights. She told me and a British friend about it and we wanted to meet the young man and try to resolve the problem BUT she begged us not to;

“I don’t want to be in trouble. He can attack me and my son,” she said.

I have also met immigrants who have lived here for more than 5 years, without having a proper understanding of how to obtain the FPA card, how to apply for the Swedish course etc. My boss at my first workplace taxed my salary but he never forwarded it to the tax office.

It would be wonderful if the local government could set up an office, where immigrants can have access to relevant information and seek advice on different matters. I am sure that this office can be useful in helping immigrants to develop their own capacity and take control of their own lives and participate effectively in the society. This can also promote a decent and cordial relationship between immigrants and the local people.

Integration activities: - As far as I know the only state supported integration activities on Åland are the monthly multicultural café (organised by; Åland Peace Institute, Red Cross, Åland Multicultural Society and Café Bönan) and the Iranian New Year festival. I think lot of other activities can be introduced and this can help a lot in bridging the barrier between the immigrants and the local people.

I have established a self help initiative called Hej Åland and with my limited resources I was able to embark on the following;

1. Published a book about my own struggle on the island. It was launched by the Mayor of Mariehamn.
2. Out reach activities: - A. I have been to Lumparland with the Red Cross to talk about HIV/AIDS with the children
B. Together with Save the Children Åland, I was at Strändnas Skola to talk to the students about Africa and Africans on Åland.
C. I was also at the Yrkesskola for a presentation on “being an African on Åland.”
D. Together with Träffpunkt we organised a concert with a Gambian rapper called Mo Hawk. As published by Nya Åland Pub Bastun was full to capacity on that night.

I have many other programs in the pipeline and I would be more than grateful if the government can offer me their support.


Sincerely,


Alieu Khan
Founder-Hej Åland