Helsinki Thai community will not denounce their own

Massage parlours in sex business no surprise to compatriots

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Sex services are offered in Helsinki's Thai massage parlours - at least in the 30 such businesses that members of a Helsingin Sanomat test group visited in August. The results of the investigation were published in the newspaper last Sunday.
      Thai-born Niramon Thanuddhanuslip sees no reason to deny the facts.
      "You have collected the facts and there is no point in trying to refute them."
      Thanuddhanuslip is a Thai woman who moved to Finland five years ago, when she married a Finnish man. Since then, she has, among other things, published a cookbook, and served for two years on the board of the Finnish Thai Association. Now she is a 40-year-old Thai chef.
     
Thanuddhanuslip says that the Thai community in the Helsinki region does not categorise people according to what they do.
      "We respect each other, especially over here. People have so many reasons to do what they do."
      Thanuddhanuslip says that the women who provide Thai massage also do not harm the reputation of the rest of the community, because the activity itself is not illegal.
      "In Thailand, prostitution is illegal, and a source of shame. Here the sale of sex service is legal, and the locals are more positive. That makes people feel more accepted."
      She says that the Thai community convenes around various organisations in the Helsinki region. She says that many with a Thai background work either in restaurants or as masseuses.
      "Language is overwhelmingly the greatest impediment to finding work, but many Thais go into business after studying. Finnish society does not have to change - we need to adapt."
     
Together with her older brother, 24-year-old Warakorn Iamruang runs the restaurant Orchid on Eerikinkatu in Helsinki.
      Iamruang also mentions cleaning and the restaurant business as professions for older women.
      "Some Finns seem to think that they are nothing other than sex service providers, but it is also normal work. A person without professional training can do it for a living. There is nothing wrong with that. Other types of massage are also offered here."
     
Iamruang will not say if the women masseuses are happy. "They probably are, if they like it. But they probably have no choice."
      Iamruang moved to Finland 14 years ago with her mother and her mother's Finnish husband.
      "At first Grandfather did not approve of mother going out with a foreigner. But when he heard that things were going well, there was nothing left to say."
      Iamruang feels that Finland is a good place to live in; even if one does not have a job, there are social welfare benefits to fall back on. Once the language has been mastered, it is possible to make a success out of living here. "However, things are more difficult for my cousin, who only recently came to work as a cook from Thailand. The society is very different."
     


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Sex services offered at all Helsinki Thai massage parlours visited by HS (27.8.2007)

Helsingin Sanomat