Thoughts on an autumn evening

For some time I have been thinking about what a good society is like for a citizen. I personally start from the idea that society must offer free education to every person, guarantee basic social and health services and a decent livelihood.

Today, it is often argued here in Finland that we can no longer afford to maintain the current welfare society with its many benefits. In my opinion, extremely cold and hard values ​​have suddenly entered the political rhetoric. According to some politicians, the unemployed should be squeezed as hard as possible in order to find employment as quickly as possible. Does coercion create a single job? I strongly doubt this.

Finnish society is going through transitional times, when the population is aging and fewer and fewer children are being born. According to some decision-makers, immigration does not solve Finland's demographic or workforce problems. Of course, you can always ask who will do the work here if there are no workers. Fear of foreigners is probably one of the biggest driving forces around the western world. Everything foreign and new scares because ignorance plagues even educated people.

I am not afraid of immigrants myself, because I am an immigrant myself. I know that it is not easy to break through in Finland, not even when you are perfectly integrated into the surrounding culture and society. I can say that personally, the beginning can be difficult for immigrants, but you shouldn't give up at any point. There is always hope, even in the darkest of times.

Finland is therefore an excellent country for anyone to live, study, work and fall in love. We here will need experts from all over the world - we cannot curl up inward. Only with openness and tolerance can we get newcomers to settle in Finland. Yes to internationalism, no to xenophobia!

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." – John F. Kennedy