Finnish PM offers to host refugees at country home
As Europe continues to grapple with an unprecedented refugee crisis, Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila on Saturday offered to host refugees at his country home.
Speaking on state television the centrist premier said the house, which is situated over 500 kilometres north of the capital Helsinki in the Kempele area, was “not being used much at the moment”.
“I hope this becomes some kind of people’s movement that will inspire many others to shoulder part of the burden in this refugee housing crisis,” he said.
Sipila, whose Centre Party is in coalition with the anti-immigrant Finns Party, has repeatedly advocated greater solidarity with those seeking refuge in Europe from wars and hardship in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Refugee centres in the Nordic country of around 5 million inhabitants are being severely strained by an unprecedented flow of arrivals. The sparsely populated northwest region where Sipila’s country house is located is particularly lacking in refugee accommodation.
On Friday, the government said it expected to receive 30,000 asylum applications this year, over seven times the amount it received in 2014.
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2 Comments
By all means treat the result of the mayhem we all caused when we encouraged citizens to rise against their rulers and actiuvely sought to depose these leaders, but the cause will always remain that human beings endelessly make the assumption that a new leadership is always better and would bring beneficial change to the lot of the people. Even now, the UK and her allies are still at it and hurry home after sowing the seeds of conflict, to fortify the fences against those fleeing the result of meddling in others affairs. The short term benefit of lucrative defense contracts and reconstruction honey pot is still fuelling foreign policy in these meddling countries. Sadly, there will be many more victims othe confusion and strife who are too pre-occupied with their immediate safety and the safety of their families that they cannot and are not in a position to ask serious questions about how we got here. How tragic!!!!!
that is a picture of Alexander Stubb, not Sipilä
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