Emergency accommodations for Eastern European Roma closed in Finland

Today the Finnish metropolis of Helsinki closed an emergency shelter that has been in operation for many years for hundreds of Romani people from Eastern Europe who have been arriving in Finland since the 1990s in search of a better life. The last 30 Romani people were removed from the housing today with the assistance of riot police. The building will be demolished today to make room for new construction, reports Austria Presse Agentur.

The authorities have been gradually moving groups of Romani residents out of the housing. The last 30 people were given one hour to pack during the police raid. They have the option of temporary accommodation at a particular campground or seeking aid from an evangelical charity.

The formerly industrial area on the periphery of the city, which lies to the east of the port, has been inhabited by Romani groups from several dozen countries, but mainly by Roma from Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia. They have been receiving support from various humanitarian organizations and private individuals. The relatively massive influx of these groups during the 1990s sparked a lively debate in Finland over the propriety of social security interventions for the new arrivals and considerations of how to face the onslaught of economic migrants unaccustomed to regular employment.

As problems with the migrants grew, the town of Helsinki repeatedly cleared out several of the temporary dwellings and advocated for legislating a statewide ban on door-to-door sales and street begging. The previous right-wing government drafted such a bill, but it was not adopted prior to the elections. The current government, a broad coalition led by Finnish PM Jyrki Katainen, has indefinitely postponed adopting a ban on begging.