ISSUE 22 (152) • 3 – 9 JUNE 2010 • €3 • WWW.HELSINKITIMES.FI INTERNATIONAL CULTURE EAT & DRINK Helsinki New crisis Grünstein’s Summer Summer in misplaced dining Guide Gaza women experiences pages 11-13 page 7 page 15 page 16 Study: Forced “time-outs” rare The Finnish League for Human Rights has conducted a study over cases where children from immigrant backgrounds have been sent away from Finland by their own parents. Close to 900 people joined the demonstration against Israel held in Helsinki on Tuesday evening. PETRA NYMAN we would hope to see improved,” she HELSINKI TIMES adds. Records are important in order to THE “sending away” of immigrant prevent cases where a child is about Stubb: Israeli attack shocking children against their will is not to be sent away. “Children’s rights common in Finland. Since 2000, are a delicate issue and it is not an STT Stubb said that Finland would According to a Swedish crime there have been approximately 40 easy task to investigate these cas- HEIDI LEHTONEN – HT summon the Israeli ambassador to writer Henning Mankell, who par- known cases where children un- es. It is also important to remember provide an explanation and added ticipated in the Gaza-bound aid derwent traumatic experiences af- that most parents’ decision to send FOREIGN Minister Alexander that he had also communicated with fl otilla, the Israeli forces attacked ter being sent back to their parents’ their child away rises from a gen- Stubb said that he was deeply the foreign minister of Turkey, from sleeping civilians. Mankell was re- home country against their will. In uine worry and will to provide the shocked at Israel’s attack on a con- where most of those injured or killed leased from the Israeli prison and comparison, the number of children best for their children. The problem voy of aid ships heading for the in Monday’s attack were from. has returned to Sweden together from cross-cultural backgrounds rises mostly from situations where Gaza strip. According to Stubb, Israel’s attack with his countrymen Green Party that are abducted to or away from the children sent away are not cared “All violence directed at civilians on the aid convoy was particularly member Mehmet Kaplan and senior Finland by one parent stands at ap- for in their destination in the way in- must be condemned. This should unfortunate, as it will directly help physician Victoria Strand. proximately 50 children per year. tended,” Kouros states. not happen,” he told the Finnish the extremist Hamas movement, The main concern behind the is- The phenomenon typically in- News Agency. which currently controls Gaza. Read more on page 7. sue of sending children away from volves children aged between 13 Finland is their safety and well-be- and 16 years, and their parents’ mo- ing. “The information concerning tives vary signifi cantly depend- lands and the UK, and also from the this phenomenon is very fragment- ing on the sex of the child. Boys Far East. There have been some in- ed. There are no offi cial records of are usually sent away for a “time- Use of new designer dications that organised crime is these cases so it is extremely hard out” as a result of mixing with a involved in its smuggling and dis- to know how many children exact- bad crowd, experimenting with in- tribution, although small operators ly have been sent away by their par- toxicants or bad behaviour, where- drug surges in Finland are also participating in the lucra- ents and if the children have since as girls are mostly forced to leave tive market. One reason why it is been returned to Finland,” explains the country for moral reasons or to DAVID J. CORD “Very irrational and violent be- so lucrative is that right now MD- Kristiina Kouros of the Finnish be married into their own culture. HELSINKI TIMES haviour is common to users of MD- PV is only classed as a medicine in League for Human Rights. “Getting involved in these issues PV,” says Mika Raatikainen. He is a Finland. Since it is not a controlled “This is exactly where the prob- beforehand is diffi cult, but keeping MDPV IS A NEW “designer drug” that Detective Chief Inspector of the Hel- substance, the penalties for using or lem lies. Often if an immigrant child records and following up on why a is rapidly gaining in popularity. sinki Police Drug Unit, and explains selling it are minor in comparison to stops coming to school, the informa- child has stopped attending school Finnish police seized about 4 kilos his personal views on the drug. substances on the offi cial drug list. tion stays in the school records only; is the key,” Kouros emphasises. The in all of last year, but Customs just “Deaths caused by MDPV have been “Designer drugs are becoming there are no offi cial proceedings to study concentrates on fi nding out foiled plans to bring 21 kilos into the reported. Some of them related di- more common and the problem, of discover what happened to the child. why children are sent away from country. Its effects are similar to am- rectly to the use of the drug, some to course, is that when more are on the The most important issue covered the country and to what kind of phetamines, and some users believe violence caused by it.” market, the easier it is to get them in the study is the very lack of poli- conditions. It was conducted for the it has aphrodisiac properties. More- Raatikainen believes that the and use them,” says Raatikainen. cy and information that exists con- Government Policy Programme for over, it can also cause users to turn drug is entering Finland from plac- cerning these cases and this is what Children, Youth and Families. violent. es in Europe such as the Nether- Read more on page 4. Herttoniemi schools will undergo vast renovations, while smaller-scale Onwards and upwards refurbishments will commence in to- tal of 160 schools in May and June. This summer will also see the for the nation’s pupils normal gush of admission ex- ams, but the government plans STT the matriculation exams were pub- to give the admission procedure TEEMU HENRIKSSON – HT lished on 21 May, which brought a an overhaul. According to Henna new record: Jere Järlström from Virkkunen, the Minister of Educa- +0*/64'03300'501$0$,5"*-4 THE SCHOOL year for primary, sec- Tornion yhteislyseo upper second- tion, more students will be accept- '3* +6/&5) Ř1. "//"/,"56 )&-4*/,* ondary and upper-secondary lev- ary received 11 laudaturs, the high- ed to higher-education institutions els ends on Saturday 5 June, which est mark in matriculation exams, based on their matriculation grades is when most schools hand out re- thus breaking the earlier record of by next year. However, the current ports and have ceremonies to mark nine laudaturs. The names of all of system of entrance examinations the end of semester. The school holi- the graduates are available on the will not be completely abandoned days last until 16 August. website of the Finnish Matricula- in the future. This way the stu- This year 29,000 young people tion Examination Board, at www. dents with poor grades, or those will receive the traditional white ylioppilastutkinto.fi . who decide to apply to universities student cap to commemorate the Many of Helsinki’s schools will or polytechnics later in life, will al- completion of their matriculation undergo extensive remodelling dur- so have the opportunity to be grant- exams, also on 5 June. The results of ing the summer holiday. Käpylä and ed admission. 2 3 – 9 JUNE 2010 VIEWPOINT HELSINKI TIMES Jonathan Hadley is a researcher at the University of Helsinki’s Social Studies Depart- ment (Sociology) with academic interests in policing and racism in Europe. As a former British police officer he was a human-rights policy auditor in the UK. He moved to Hel- sinki in 2002 to study, worked as a researcher at the Police College of Finland until 2008 in the field of drugs policing and witness protection and has been an active advis- er to an EU-wide consortium of police authorities on major-event security research since 2005. His current studies concern the social role of private security guards in Helsinki. Of citizens’ rights, and wrongs of the state ratifi ed and in force for the vided by the Convention A human rights-based consciousness needs to supersede legal technocracy to avoid the last 20 years. Sorry to say it, Rights? At the very least, but it would seem that com- under their highest authori- wrongs of deporting family members, writes Jonathan Hadley. pliance to European Con- ty, they could insist that the vention Rights is not at the court demonstrate how a forefront of legal thinking in controversial order complies IF GRANDMOTHER Eveline thing that no one, not even law’ principle for all public gitimating reasons is eld- Finland. with the Convention Rights Fadayel’s deportation goes the government, wants to actions that would otherwise erly grandmother Eveline it engages – and refuse to ahead as planned, Satur- see happen. It may be legal interfere with a citizen’s Eu- Fadayel? How did the immi- DEPORTATION of an elderly act until satisfi ed it does. day 13 June will be a shame- but it is clearly not right. ropean Convention Rights. gration authorities or the woman to a far away coun- That would be the ‘ingrain- ful day for Finland: shameful courts consider any of these try that is beyond reach of ing of democracy into polic- because Finland will present BUT DOES it need to be the THE POLICE will, of course, be issues as the ‘necessary’ pur- her children, grandchildren ing’ that is often spoken of itself as failing to act on its case? Finland ratifi ed the within the law to carry out pose of making their law- and what has become her on- around Europe’s police.