ISSUE 16 (146) • 22 – 28 APRIL 2010 • €3 • WWW.HELSINKITIMES.FI HEALTH & WELLBEING DOMESTIC LIFESTYLE CULTURE EAT & DRINK Special Breaking the Star-studded Visions Tasting health cycle of April Jazz of former the delicious issue bullying festival Helsinki Burgundy pages 12-13 page 5 page 14 page 15 page 16 LEHTIKUVA / JUSSI NUKARI Growing worries over healthcare inequalities STT ALEKSIS TORO – HT ropean average. However, struc- tural problems related to shortages of doctors in the public health sys- THE FINNISH healthcare system is tem, enhancing trends towards pri- founded on the constitutional re- vatisation, and the threats posed by sponsibility of public authorities to cuts to state subsidies in the wake provide medical services and pro- of the recent economic recession mote the health of all residents re- are compounding worries that uni- gardless of place of residence and versal and fair distribution of public ability to pay. In addition to offering health services is no longer feasible. comprehensive, universal coverage The ensuing discussion centres on of health services, Finnish health- worries about growing welfare dis- Finnair flight AY006 from New York landed in Helsinki on April 19. It was the first flight to do so after the closure of air- care policy has also long aimed at fair parities and the ever more thorough space due to the safety risk posed by the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland. distribution of services and costs. social exclusion of the minorities According to the patient safety who are already worst-off and ever and health service quality survey more in need of the dwindling pub- published by the EU Commission lic health and social services. on 16 April Finns are generally con- Air traffic slowly recovers fi dent about the national health Read the related article in our spe- services, and perceive them to be cial issue on health and wellbeing STT “If Katla begins to erupt the con- The air traffi c paralysis is al- of a higher standard than the Eu- on pages 12-13. ALEKSIS TORO – HT sequences could be very similar. The ready hampering the operations of difference is that Katla has more of several Finnish businesses. This is THE ERUPTION of volcano Eyjafl alla- everything: it has a thicker glacier most evident in the travel industry. fruit compote on presentation, ba- jökull may, however, be only a prel- and potential for a large eruption. If On the morning of Wednesday 21 byfood manufacturers regard Fin- ude to the spate of problems caused the eruption begins all the effects will April Finavia announced Finnish air- Homemade land as a world-leading market. But by the area’s volcanoes. Finland’s air probably be one degree greater than space to be open for traffi c for the despite having great confi dence in traffi c restrictions will be gradual- here, says seismologist Heidi Soosalu time being. Finnish airports were ex- their nutritional benefi ts, some at- ly loosened over the weekend. How- from the Geological Survey of Estonia. pected to be running normally by babyfoods titudes among Finns are changing. ever, if Eyjafjallajökull and nearby The volcano of Eyjafjalla-glacier 12:00 noon, but all airports south of The do-it-yourself babyfood volcanoes remain active for an ex- last erupted in 1821, followed by Katla Tampere were to be closed again by movement has grown in popular- tended period the air traffi c of Fin- two year later. According to estimates 15:00 due to another plume of ash ap- make a ity, often on the back of concerns land and the rest of northern Europe the present eruption may continue proaching Finland from the south. Fi- over the nutritional value of man- is in for some tough times. This is be- for months, but on Tuesday 20 April navia advised passengers to monitor comeback ufactured foods. While readymade cause the winds typically blow in Icelandic authorities said the volcano airline websites and its own updates. meals are produced to strict pro- these directions. appeared to be settling down. NICK BARLOW duction criteria, many parents are “Most of the winds in Iceland “At the moment it’s diffi cult to Read more on page 3. HELSINKI TIMES discovering that it is cheaper and blow eastward. This is typical for make a prediction. But if earth- healthier to prepare these same those latitudes,” explains research quakes begin to occur in Katla, we – The eruption of volcano Eyjaf- CONSUMPTION of ready-made baby foods at home. In this issue Helsinki professor Jaakko Kukkonen from have to take it seriously. Researchers foods in Finland is more than double Times speaks to a nutritionist, ba- the Finnish Meteorological Institute. will remain on their toes probably for jallajökull on 14 April has caused that of Norway, 58 per cent higher by food manufacturers, and a pro- The volcano has been settling down at least a few years,” Soosalu says. an unprecedented paralysis of than in Sweden and ten times great- ponent of ready-meal abstinence and the eruption has shallowed, but By Tuesday 20 April Finnair had European air traffic; only about er than in Denmark. With a vast to gain some insight into one of the the institute warned against getting cancelled about 1,300 fl ights, which 4000 flights were able to take range of products available, with world’s biggest food industries. overly excited as the decline in in- affected over 120,000 passengers. off on Sunday 18 April. In nor- everything from beef stroganoff tensity may only be temporary. In- A cancelled Finnair fl ight can be re- mal conditions about 24,000 and chicken with pasta to organic Read more on page 4. termittent lulls and fi erce periods scheduled to a time prior to 30 No- planes are airborne in European are typical for volcanic eruptions. vember by contacting the seller of the airspace in one day. Changes in the quantity of ash will ticket. The reservation can be can- – If volcanic ash gets into the en- also only become noticeable in Fin- celled for a full refund if departure is gine of an airplane it becomes land with a two day delay. scheduled for 25 April or earlier. lodged in preventing the air In the vicinity of the volcano now The effects of the halt in air traf- from circulating as designed. erupting lies volcano Katla, which fi c are not yet visible in the avail- The engine may shut down or ro- KRISTA SIHVONEN were it to erupt would in the ex- ability of products in stores. The tation may be reduced and the pert’s view cause chaos on at least Federation of Finnish Commerce es- plane cannot be flown normally. the same scale. The effects could, timates, however, that if prolonged – A volcanic eruption may also in- however, be considerably greater. the effects of the air traffi c restric- troduce poisonous gases into Historically the eruption of Eyjaf- tions will fi rst be felt in spare part the cabin and cause damage to jallajökull has always been followed and electronics and technological the plane’s other structures. by an eruption of Katla. wholesale trade. 2 22 – 28 APRIL 2010 VIEWPOINT HELSINKI TIMES terror-centric so-called “Is- With the fall of the Sovi- lamism” and do not differ- et Union, also the common entiate that from Islam. The transcontinental enemy dis- second stream focuses on Is- appeared. And in this absence VESA MOILANEN lam as a religion and a sys- of a common enemy, Islam tem of cultural expression, has been taken as a surrogate while conceding that with- for a very weakened conti- in Islam there is also an ex- nental common destiny. tremist fringe. Behind all of this, of A new study presented at course, lurks the diverging Gothenburg University ex- American and European view amined how different world of international institutions religions are depicted in the as well as involvement in the daily press. It found that 60 Middle East. But looming too per cent of articles about Is- is the somewhat paradoxical lam during the period studies view that a growing European Nils Erik Forsgård is a docent in history of science, Direc- were negative. This could be sentiment of anti-American- tor for Magma, the Swedish Think Tank in Finland. He has compared with that of Chris- ism is a direct result of the Is- held a position as guest professor at Humboldt Universität tianity and Judaism, with 20 lamic presence in Europe. zu Berlin, has been professor of history at the University of and 30 per cent respective- Among those who regard Helsinki, and has published several books in Swedish. ly containing negative un- Muslims as a threat against dertones. There is no reason western-European lifestyles to believe that a compara- there exists a particularly tive study in Finland, Norway frequent recurring and well or Germany would reveal a worn argument: that of Euro- conclusion different from pean demography. Sweden. Everything relating to de- Muslim minority enclaves mography is always ammuni- have emerged in several tion in the European debate. Reflections on Islam and Europe western-European countries Thus there are assertions of during the 20th century. a much higher (and there- France gained a signifi - fore threatening) birth rate cant Muslim minority in the among Muslims than among There are now many people across Europe who see immigration by Muslims as a threat 1960s. The majority of all of the European populations. against what one could call “the original European peoples” and against the European Muslims in France come from But in reality, statistics its former colonies in north- show that the declining birth way of life, writes Nils Erik Forsgård.