The
arguments in favor and against
the flood of the refugees
or asylum-seekers are flying back and
forth. Everyone has their
opinions and emotions about what is happening and we have all the rights to
have them. This whole event that has taken place in Middle East and Europe has
caused all the fears jump up onto the surface. It is a process that is forcing
us to face our fears whatever they are.
Hopefully the process will lead into
better humanity and human value never mind where the person is coming from or
who he or she is or what color he or she has.
I
want to call for human dignity or maybe value of god or grace among us.
Different religions are being so heavily on their own view of what
is right and what is false. Religions
differ on so many issues although
most are praying for the same God in different names and ways. The same is with people - we have opinions, our own point of view and
our emotions but who is entitled to decide or define
what is true, who is right and who has got it wrong?
There
is fear
of an increase in raping women and girls.
Perhaps there is a secret fear that our daughters might be more fascinated by
the men from foreign culture than men of our own country. There is fear that the status of women and
girls and the equality between men and women will deteriorate. There is fear
about losing the job opportunities and homes or money to migrants. There is fear that the refugees will bring the
war with them. All these and many other fears are causing
confusion inside and among the people and a lot of hostile
speeches and aggression is taking
place – a war caused by all that negative attitudes and expressions.
Each hostile speech and aggressive
deed is a rape against another’s humanity and feelings.
Is pampering or silencing or ridiculing the fears then
the opposite of rape? No - no way.
There has been raping and violence inside our society before
all these new refugees have arrived. I also have been subjected to it. There were
violent and abusive adults around while I was a child. I have been raped both
physically, emotionally and mentally by just ordinary Finnish family men of our
little village and by domestic helpers of my home and all that while I was less than six
years old. And still the children of those very same rapers were bullying me
and no one was telling me that they did wrong and I simply thought that I
deserved all that violence as those people were saying to me. All that was just silenced and no one raised a hand or voice against it - why would it be different from any other violence? I am not wanting
any of that to continue anymore but stop it.
Why I tell this? Because
I feel very frustrated about these grazy conflicts and hostile speeches which
don’t take us anywhere but into the inner and outer war. It simply is time
to STOP NOW ALL THAT and try to find new solutions.
So what to do or how to solve the conflict? Probably
neutral and thoughtful attitude toward the refugees, asylum-seekers and those
who travel because they have a different dream of life will help.
We have to inform migrants about our culture and way of life
and allow them to participate soon in our society and communities by working
and learning to live here. We need to learn something about their lives and
culture and we all - both sides - need to learn to respect each other and throw away our own hostility
and sick attitudes. We don’t have that strong communities or family ties anymore here in Finland but we
are more or less worshipping individuality. We have had very strong and alive own culture
once yet many of us have forgotten it and most of the migrants are coming from
communities and societies where family ties and culture or religion are much tighter than here.
Naturally there will rise many confusing situations among people but they are
solvable if there is good will.
I don’t want to belong to any community of hatred or
hostility where there is disrespect and hurtful action against other members. I want to be a part of the world wide community
which embraces different cultures, races and ways and where all the people can
live their lives in integrity and peace.
How can we weed the culture of hatred or hostility? What would have
positive impact to the attitude and behaviour among both the newcomers and the citizens?
- I don’t have any other solution but spreaching information about different cultures and ways of life,
communication between each other and getting to know each other. Let’s
demolish the fortresses of our minds and create a new kind of community or
society and raise new humanity in ourself and others. Migration between nations
and people will continue also in the future, this is not the last international
migration so better to learn to respect and get to know each other and we have
to start it from ourselves.
