Finnish lawyer works as immigration liaison in Ethiopia

Berit Kiuru keeps tabs on illegal immigration

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By Irina Vähäsarja
     
      When Berit Kiuru was preparing for her move from Finland to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, she was warned of the chaotic traffic there.
      “I had never driven even in Helsinki. Nevertheless, I decided to rent a car here and to learn”, Kiuru says.
      On her first drive, she nearly crashed into a dead donkey, which was lying in the middle of a dark motorway. Since then she has not been afraid.
      “Ethiopia is one of the safest countries in Africa. I move around here without any worries even at night. In South Africa, that would be completely impossible.”
     
Kiuru’s job as an immigration liaison at the Finnish Embassy in Ethiopia is also breaking new ground. The purpose of the pioneer post is to work with other officials at the Embassy to prevent illegal immigration and human trafficking.
      Half of the three-year project is paid by the EU’s External Borders Fund, and the other half is shared by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Finnish Immigration Service, the Finnish Border guard, and the police. Kiuru is the first liaison abroad that the Immigration Service has ever had.
      About half of her work involves sitting in a room interviewing Somalis of different ages, and assisting in taking DNA samples. There are queues.
     
The reason for the queues is simple: Asylum seekers who have been granted a residence permit in Finland are entitled to apply for residence permits for their family members left behind.
      About a quarter of asylum seekers arriving in Finland nowadays are from Somalia, and the number is growing, owing to the unstable situation there.
      Finland has no diplomatic presence in Somalia, so most of the family members come to Addis Ababa to be interviewed.
      “The concept of family is different from what it is in Western countries: grandparents, cousins, and foster children can be involved. There are no identity papers, so a DNA test is necessary to determine family ties.”
     
In addition to family reunification, Kiuru helps other Finnish embassies elsewhere in Africa. In the summer she spent weeks in Nigeria going through the papers of people wanting to come to Finland to study.
      “There are many forgeries in the insurance papers and bank statements.”
     
Kiuru is a lawyer who has studied foreign trade, and who has always been fascinated by international matters. Before Ethiopia, she worked in Finland at the Immigration Service, dealing with matters of illegal immigration and human trafficking.
      Kiuru feels that it is clear that abuse of immigration needs to be tackled already before a person reaches the borders of the Schengen zone.
      “It is cheaper and more efficient to prevent illegal entry in the country of origin.”
      Kiuru is worried about reports according to which residents at Finnish reception centres have been physically attacked or discriminated against. She believes that well-functioning enforcement of immigration regulations can reduce racism.
      “Abuse needs to be prevented, and only those should be allowed in the country who are entitled to it. Hopefully this will also affect the attitudes of the Finns”, Kiuru says.
     
In her work Kiuru sees the challenges of integrating immigrants: many adult Somalis do not even know how to sign their own name. A fingerprint serves as a signature.
      “Children who go through the Finnish school system will learn the language and get along, but sometimes I wonder if it is not a disservice to the grandmothers and grandfathers to take them to Finland.”


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Foreign Ministry suspects some West African study applicants may have used forged certificates (25.8.2009)

Links:
  Finnish Immigration Service

IRINA VÄHÄSARJA / Helsingin Sanomat
irina.vahasarja@hs.fi