I am one of the  five million Finns

It is very special to be a Finn living in Finland, in a northern democracy.

I remember some visits in Sweden in the 1970´s. I looked around on Sergel Square in the neighbourhood of the central railway station of Stockholm. It was almost enough just to stand there wondering all the skin colours, etnic backgrounds and languages passing by. I knew the Swedish government was very liberal and accepted tortured person from Chile, refugees from Greece, Swedes had a very human mind. Already in the 60´s when they needed employees they got persons from the former Yugoslavia, Italy, Turks - and most of all emigrants - from Finland!

I worked one summer at a hospital in St Gothenburg and made good friends with a cleaning lady called Stephania from Yugoslavia. She had worked 12 years as a medical nurse in the mountains but now she had to learn better Swedish and had to do some more studies. She was a happy lady, telling funny stories about her work far away from anything in the mountain area. I felt very international when working three months cleaning the floor in the patients´ rooms, carrying meals to the patients, making coffee for the nurses and doctors. I learned about life and Swedish language. Took my attitude with me back to Finland, told about the foreign cultures I had met in Sweden.  

Today the Finnish students travel a lot, all over the world, but most in Europe. The picture of Helsinki has changed a lot from the time I studied there. When we walk along Aleksanterinkatu or Mannerheiminkatu in the very central Helsinki we can see different skin colours, representants of other cultures, hear different languages, as during my visit in Stockholm in the 1970´s. Or still earlier when working in St Gothenburg.

I find it was a lucky thing for us when Finland became member of EU. Helsinki was the cultural capital of EU 2000. The capital washed it´s face, cleaned the parks and streets, opened up for the visitors.