The Early Effects of Finland's Tightened Immigration Policy

Finnish immigration policy has led to an increase in sexual and violent crime. A recent example is 29-year-old Munir Suleyman Weyrah, whose sentence was reduced by the Court of Appeal to two years and ten months in prison after the District Court's ruling.

In addition, he was ordered to pay his victim €8,800 in compensation for emotional suffering. The amount is laughable considering that, after the assault, the victim has no longer been able to live in her own home.

Of course, the rape committed by Munir was only one case among many similar ones. Nor do I believe it will change the views of those Finns who have supported previous immigration policies any more than the large number of similar incidents that came before it.

As a result, Munir will undoubtedly have many who follow his example. And Finnish women will continue to "enjoy" forced sexual acts and the small compensation payments that follow from them.

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This will happen despite the fact that Finland's current government has made many changes to immigration-related legislation. Moreover, previous mistakes in immigration policy have also been acknowledged in many other EU countries.

Unfortunately, those decisions are not yet reflected in the asylum statistics. During the past twelve months, the largest groups receiving positive asylum decisions have been 380 Somalis, 301 Afghans, and 140 Iraqis. These figures can be compared with the corresponding statistics from 2023, when the Orpo government took office: asylum was granted to 258 Afghans, 246 Somalis, and 174 Iraqis.

One positive development is that while Finland deported 120 Iraqis, 29 Somalis, and no Afghans in 2023, over the past 12 months deportation decisions have been issued for 214 Iraqis, 40 Somalis, and 26 Afghans. Admittedly, the numbers of deported Somalis and Afghans remain well below the numbers granted asylum, but in the case of Iraqis, the trend has reversed.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Sensible Immigration or Moral Posturing?
Swedish Ministers Condemn Antisemitic Protest Outside Jewish School
Attempted Homicides in Finland Reach Highest Level of the 2000s

Neanderthals Mated with Denisovans, Exceeded Modern Human Diversity

Neanderthals and Denisovans were prehistoric humans who interbred to some extent also with members of the human lineage that led to modern humans. In this context, an international research team – Diyendo Massilani and colleagues – has now published the entire genome extracted from DNA isolated from a Neanderthal fossil that lived about 110,000 years ago. This is the first male genome determined from this species.

The Neanderthal man in question had died in Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains, the same location where Denisovans also lived at times. According to the research group’s results, the man belonged to a human group that was more closely related to another Neanderthal found in the same cave, who had lived about 10,000 years earlier, than to his counterparts in Europe or to a Neanderthal from another cave in the Altai Mountains who lived about 80,000 years ago.

The genomes of both Neanderthals from Denisova Cave that have now been sequenced contained genes originating from Denisovans, indicating that the species interbred with each other at least in the Altai region more than 100,000 years ago. This was surprising, because later Neanderthals from the Altai region or from Western Europe show no evidence of such interbreeding.

Based on DNA – specifically the extent of homozygous chromosomal regions – it was also possible to conclude that Neanderthals living in the Altai region 120,000–80,000 years ago lived in smaller and more isolated groups than later European Neanderthals (54,000–40,000 years ago). In addition, the researchers observed that the genome sequences of Neanderthals belonging to these populations differed from each other more than the genomes of the most genetically distant modern human populations (the Mbuti of Central Africa and the Highland Papuans of New Guinea).

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The study I have briefly described above is unlikely to be directly applicable for commercial purposes. Instead, it satisfies our curiosity and fulfills our need for knowledge: the opening up of the ancient world is undeniably fascinating.

Perhaps even more important than curiosity and the desire for knowledge, however, is that as science advances, humanity’s awareness of itself and of the world increases. And over time, this influences the way we see ourselves and the world we live in.

It is, of course, true that this perspective does not affect all people in the world equally: there is a significant difference, for example, in how the Taliban in Afghanistan and secularized Europeans perceive the world. Whereas the former are guided by the writings of a prophet and war leader who lived in the 7th century, the latter make their everyday decisions based on modern scientific knowledge—though usually without explicitly realizing it.

The contribution of paleogenomics—the field represented by the study described above—may not be decisive in this broader picture, but it is not negligible either. Awareness of the lives of our ancient relatives in small, isolated populations, their interbreeding with each other—and with our ancestors—and the extinction of those lineages provides important context for understanding present-day humanity and its peoples.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
The Surprising Story of Europe’s Hippos
The Historical Merging of Human Groups
American black population more vulnerable to the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2

Perspectives on Immigration Restrictions in Finland and the U.S.

You don’t have to—nor is there any reason to—like Donald Trump or everything he has done. There is, however, one thing for which he must be given credit.

His administration has suspended the processing of immigration applications from citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, Sierra Leone, Togo, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Chad, Sudan, Libya, Eritrea, Somalia, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Myanmar, and Laos. The reason for this is that an Afghan who had gained entry to the country recently committed an act of terrorism by shooting members of the National Guard.

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Over the years, Finland has also learned that people with developing-country backgrounds commit more violent and sexual offenses than others. That is why it is good that Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s (National Coalition Party) government has tightened immigration policy.

As a result, the number of immigration applications on the basis of international protection from citizens of countries with the highest crime risk has been clearly lower last year and this year than at any point since the major migration year of 2015.

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One can only hope that this development continues in the coming years and that the next government of our country does not start dismantling the progress achieved. Instead, one may hope that future policymakers will find a philosopher’s stone for how to get the developing-country immigrants who have already arrived here to adopt Finnish culture and way of life, and thereby take responsibility for their own lives here under the North Star.

One way to advance this goal is to develop criminal law in a direction that reduces the interest of crime-prone newcomers in coming to Finland, while at the same time encouraging those who are already here to live in Rome as the Romans do. In these matters, it is worthwhile to follow practices that have proven effective in other countries—including the immigration policy measures of Donald Trump’s administration—and make use of their experiences in the development of Finnish legislation.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Donald Trump Called a Shooter an Animal
Finally, Honest Reporting on Immigration and Crime
Sensible Immigration or Moral Posturing?

The original blogpost in Finnish:
Väkivalta- ja seksuaalirikollisuuden seuraukset

Donald Trump Called a Shooter an Animal

This morning’s news feed reported that a 29-year-old Afghan who moved to the country in 2021 has shot two members of the United States National Guard. The incident took place in Washington, the capital of the USA – and reportedly very close to the White House.

President Donald Trump has called the event an act of terror and referred to the perpetrator as an animal. In addition, he has vowed that the Afghan will pay a very high price for his actions.

It remains to be seen what the criminal investigation will ultimately conclude regarding the shooting incident. However, it is already generally clear that the case can be linked to the broader issues associated with the migration of Muslim people from developing countries to Western democracies.

It is equally certain that this case will not halt the so-called humanitarian immigration policy, but that it will continue as before. As a result, Western culture will gradually transform into a more polarized society, in which the ethno-cultural character of the population differs significantly from what it was before the turn of the millennium.

It should be noted, though, that this development is ultimately the result of political decisions. Therefore, the development I described above is not a law of nature, but rather the choice of Western people themselves. And as such, it – and its outcome – can be changed, should that be desired.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Just Another Case of Multiculturality in Manchester, UK
The Cost of the East Jerusalem Attack for Palestinians — and Its Echo Worldwide
Understanding of European Terrorism by Left-wing and Value-liberal Politicians

The original blogposti in Finnish:
29-vuotias afgaani ammuskeli

What will post-migration Europe look like in the future?

The German election result was what it was because of the kind of immigration policies that have been pursued in Germany and the EU in general. And these policies have not been beneficial either to the native European population or to immigrants arriving from elsewhere—let alone to their descendants.

Right now, however, it seems that many immigrants want this negative development—especially from the perspective of their own reference group—to continue. As a sign of this, two Afghan men were recently arrested in Germany for planning a terrorist attack on the Swedish parliament.

Fortunately, the plans of these men, who were linked to the ISIS-K organization, were uncovered, and as a result, they received prison sentences of four and a half years. However, one would have to be quite the optimist to believe that this case will improve the behavior of other immigrants who share the convicted men's mindset.

That is why I believe that the shift in support towards genuinely nationalist parties, as seen in the German elections, will continue in future elections across the EU. And this makes the entire European future uncertain because these parties are not really united by much except for their critical stance on immigration policy.

A case in point is Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is socially conservative and at least partially pro-Russian, and Finland’s Finns Party, which has clearly understood the threat posed by Putin’s Russia to Europe and advocates right-wing conservative economic policies. Beyond immigration issues, the only real common ground between these parties seems to be value conservatism.

Thus, the question must be asked: What will post-migration Europe look like in the future? Will it be a united continent capable of competing—economically and in terms of security policy—with the world's other power centers, a fragmented collection of quarrelsome states, or even a collapsed and underdeveloped society? Or even a province of Russia?

I do not have an answer to this question, but I am certain that the decisions influencing it will be made within the next ten years. And that is why Europeans should pull themselves together sooner rather than later.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Will Tomorrow’s Elections in Germany Be a Turning Point?
The Complete Demilitarization of Gaza: What Would It Mean for the Palestinians?
Do Belarusians Have the Will and Ability to Preserve Their Independence?

Will European Culture Collapse Under the Weight of Islamic Immigration?

The wave of crime in Central Europe continues, as a 23-year-old Syrian terrorist fatally stabbed a 14-year-old boy and injured five others. The perpetrator's motive was Islamic hatred toward Europeans, as police discovered flags of the terrorist organization ISIS in his apartment.

It hasn’t been long since an Afghan terrorist drove into a crowd in Germany. Nor since Sweden experienced over 30 bombings in January. Or when Finland published statistics showing that Syrians commit sexual crimes up to 15 times more frequently than the country's native population.

The strange thing is why we Europeans tolerate such crimes against us without taking measures to prevent them. Of course, many are willing to act, but just as many seem content with the situation.

One way to analyze this is by comparing the support for immigration-critical parties to that of the Greens or far-left parties. In Finland, recent opinion polls indicate that the country’s only immigration-critical party, the Finns Party, has around 15% voter support, while the strongly pro-immigration Greens and Left Alliance have over 17%.

In Germany, which is heading into elections, the immigration-critical AfD and BSW together hold about 26% support, while the Greens and the extremely pro-immigration SPD are favored by as much as 30% of voters.

Austria held elections last year, where the immigration-critical FPÖ received nearly 29% support. However, other parties refuse to cooperate with it in government, meaning Austria will likely continue its previous policies—policies under which incidents like the stabbing mentioned at the beginning of this text occur.

The question remains: What will happen to European culture and its native population in the coming years and decades? Will a new form of European identity emerge, blending with Islamic traditions, or will the followers of Prophet Muhammad continue on the same path that has historically subordinated countless cultures—from Byzantine empire to Berber mountain tribes—under their system?

However, Europe differs in one crucial way from previous Islamic conquests. Every significant European country is far ahead of Islamic nations in terms of civilization, science, economy, and military strength. Yet at the same time, they are so mentally weak that they ultimately submit to those who are cheekier. Isn't this weird?

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Statistics on Sexual Crimes Committed by Immigrants in Finland
Afghan's Rampage in Germany Signals the End of the Value-Liberal Era in the EU
The Swedish Immigration Catastrophe – A Cautionary Tale

Afghan's Rampage in Germany Signals the End of the Value-Liberal Era in the EU

A 24-year-old Afghan living in Germany decided to boost AfD’s support in becoming elections. As my esteemed reader already knows, he did so by driving a car in an inappropriate manner toward protesting members of trade unions.

It remains to be seen what will come of this—aside from an increase in AfD’s support. However, what we do know about the driver at this stage is that he has previously behaved badly, committing thefts and drug-related crimes. It is likely that his crime spree will now come to an end, at least for a while.

It is also clear that this case will further increase the number of Germans who take a critical stance on immigration. And this will be reflected in the program of the country’s next government.

The incident will undoubtedly have consequences for immigration policy in other European countries as well. And in this way, it reinforces the idea that, as a result of all this, the era of value-liberal politics is coming to an end—not just in Trump’s USA, but also in Germany and other EU countries.

What is less clear, however, is what kind of political climate the EU will shift into in the coming years. And what will become of the international Geneva Conventions, which were originally established in the aftermath of the Holocaust to ensure that people could escape the clutches of bloodthirsty dictators? 

In my assessment, the era of strictly adhering to these conventions will also come to an end, and the distribution of humanitarian asylum will become significantly stricter than it is today. At the same time, the residency rights of asylum seekers in EU countries will become temporary—just as is already happening in Finland, which is leading the way in this matter.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Does Germany’s Ban on Arabic-Language Posters Signal a CDU/CSU-AfD Coalition?
Germany Then and Now Resemble Each Other
Strengthening Christmas Market Security: Lessons from Magdeburg

Important Changes Ahead: What You Need to Know About Finland’s Quota Refugee Selection

Yesterday, I blogged about how Finland plans to enhance the use of its development aid funds. Additionally, two weeks ago, I wrote that even in the long term, Finns do not benefit from humanitarian immigration from developing countries.

Today, Finland's largest newspaper reported that the second main party in Finland's government, the Finns Party, plans to reduce the proportion of Muslims among the quota refugees. This would mean, for example, that Venezuelans would be prioritized over Afghans when selecting newcomers.

In practice, Finland will take 500 quota refugees next year. This happens in such a way that the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) presents a group of individuals, from which Finnish authorities ultimately select the quota refugees for Finland, based on the government's defined regional allocation.

The decision-making process in Finland proceeds as follows: under the leadership of the responsible minister from the Finns Party, a draft proposal is prepared and will be discussed by the government's Ministerial Committee on Internal Security and Justice at the end of October. Finally, the parliament will decide on the refugee quota based on the government's proposal toward the very end of the year.

One can hope that the Finns Party's proposal goes through, and that fewer individuals with a poor assimilation outlook will arrive in Finland this year. As a result, the societal burden related to quota refugees will hopefully decrease – or even turn into a positive outcome. 

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Responsible Development Aid and New Priorities: Finland's Development Cooperation Reforms
The attractiveness of Finland to welfare-seeking economic migrants reduces
Humanitarian immigration does not provide a solution to Finland's demographic dependency ratio

The attractiveness of Finland to welfare-seeking economic migrants reduces

A couple of days ago, I mentioned that during this year, a total of 1 897 Bangladeshis, 1 445 Pakistanis, 1 120 Nigerians, 1 048 Turks, and 923 Iranians had submitted their first residence permit application to the Finnish Immigration Service.

These numbers are small compared to the figures from nearly ten years ago. In 2015, for instance, more than 20 000 Iraqis applied for international protection in Finland, and over 5 000 Afghans sought the same.

However, this does not mean that large numbers of people from developing countries are no longer trying to reach the EU. According to Verkkouutiset, the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) recorded a total of 513 000 asylum applications in the first half of this year alone, so the number of migrants in the Union is expected to exceed one million this year — just as it did last year.

This might indicate that the international "grapevine" has worked effectively, and asylum seekers are aware of the Finnish government's actions to more strictly target humanitarian immigration to those in genuine need.

Therefore, it is absolutely crucial that Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s (National Coalition Party) government continues to effectively communicate and broadly publicize its immigration policy program. At the time of writing, two key sections of this program are in preparation and currently under review.

The first concerns family reunification, which is being amended to "tighten the requirements for family reunification by implementing the changes made possible by the family reunification directive". The second section relates to detention and entry bans, stating that "the regulations on detention will be tightened, the regulations concerning entry bans will be reformed, and it will be made possible to impose entry bans on individuals residing outside of Finland".

Just as important as making these changes is communicating them to people outside of Finland. This is the only way to minimize the motivation of  migrants looking for high social services to head to this cold northern country.

It is also essential to highlight that the government program still includes further restrictions related to humanitarian asylum, such as limiting reception services and tightening the requirements for obtaining permanent residence. Additionally, it has already been decided that, starting in October, a longer residence period in Finland will be required to apply for Finnish citizenship.

However, it remains to be seen how, for example, the tightening of Germany's immigration policy will affect the number of migrants from developing countries coming to Finland. Will those from developing countries in search of a provider turn their eyes to Finland under the North Star, or will they head elsewhere? And if so, where?

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Information for Asylum Seekers in Finland
Afghans Had to Go
Sweden's Gang Crime Recruits Children – Is It Time for the EU to Reevaluate Asylum Policies?