During the last couple of days, there has been a quite serious "media war" between Russia and Finland, and I'm very sorry for that. In my opinion, the words are bigger than the actual things in this case. In short, this case has grown too big. :( What is it all about? I'm talking about the case, in which four children were removed from the custody of their Russian mother in Finland. The story sparked outrage and received extensive media coverage in Russia, and I can understand that. But every story has two sides.
What are the real reasons behind the custody of the Russian woman’s children, we cannot know that. The Russian mother has told her side of the story, but the child protection services of Finland cannot tell their version. Why? Because in Finland, it is legally forbidden to provide any children related information for unauthorized parties, such as the press. Anyway, it is not common for authorities to take children away from their parents. There has to be serious reasons for that, way more serious than just "one small slap". (In Finland, it is illegal to even slap your children. Law is very strict, but also valid in this case. Its purpose is just to protect children.)
But of course authorities make mistakes, too. Finland is not a perfect country. Sometimes the bureaucracy gets too heavy, and so on. Yet, it is not fair to think that Finland's custody services take away your children too easily. No, no, it is not common. Finland is a safe country for foreigners. Russians are the biggest immigration group in Finland. Approximately 55 000 Russians live here (the entire population of Finland being 5.4 million). Usually, our relationships are good. No problems at all. Our cultural differences are small. Russians like to live here.
There are no big differences between Russians and Finns. In most of the cases, Finnish-Russian marriages work very well. Spouses are satisfied with each other. There are even university researches about this topic, for example these two: 'Russians and Russian culture in Finland' by Veronica Shenshin (University of Helsinki, 2008), and new dissertation of Finnish-Russian families by Pirjo Pöllänen (University of Eastern Finland, 2012).
Regarding this current clash, I think there is "much ado about nothing" (много шума из ничего). Media have exaggerated the controversy in Russia and Finland, and some people have overreacted. Especially one Finnish "expert" has spread lots of disinformation (false information) regarding this case. His name is Johan Bäckman, a Finnish political author, legal sociologist and criminologist. He is telling unbelievable things to the Russian media. I know many of them are clear lies.
I only wonder why he is doing that, what is his purpose, why is he tarnishing the reputation of his own country? Now this Finnish man urges Russian people to boycott Finnish products. Huh! Actually, many Finns think that Bäckman is the worst kind of a traitor. In fact, his provocative claims are causing a lot of damage to the good relations between our countries.
Regarding a boycott of Finnish products, this video is sad to see:
Really, this "war" has already gone too far. It has a negative impact on the economy and tourism, etc. No good to anyone. I still want to believe, what Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja say: "The ongoing clash between Finland and Russia over a controversial child custody case won't change practical relations between the two countries."
For my part, I love both Russians and Finns. Peace. Мир! :)
Finally, I add here some good and factual articles about this topic in Russian media:
Newsru
Novaya Gazeta
Rossiyskaya Gazeta
P.S. Thanks to Gilmore for proofreading this article.
What are the real reasons behind the custody of the Russian woman’s children, we cannot know that. The Russian mother has told her side of the story, but the child protection services of Finland cannot tell their version. Why? Because in Finland, it is legally forbidden to provide any children related information for unauthorized parties, such as the press. Anyway, it is not common for authorities to take children away from their parents. There has to be serious reasons for that, way more serious than just "one small slap". (In Finland, it is illegal to even slap your children. Law is very strict, but also valid in this case. Its purpose is just to protect children.)
But of course authorities make mistakes, too. Finland is not a perfect country. Sometimes the bureaucracy gets too heavy, and so on. Yet, it is not fair to think that Finland's custody services take away your children too easily. No, no, it is not common. Finland is a safe country for foreigners. Russians are the biggest immigration group in Finland. Approximately 55 000 Russians live here (the entire population of Finland being 5.4 million). Usually, our relationships are good. No problems at all. Our cultural differences are small. Russians like to live here.
There are no big differences between Russians and Finns. In most of the cases, Finnish-Russian marriages work very well. Spouses are satisfied with each other. There are even university researches about this topic, for example these two: 'Russians and Russian culture in Finland' by Veronica Shenshin (University of Helsinki, 2008), and new dissertation of Finnish-Russian families by Pirjo Pöllänen (University of Eastern Finland, 2012).
Regarding this current clash, I think there is "much ado about nothing" (много шума из ничего). Media have exaggerated the controversy in Russia and Finland, and some people have overreacted. Especially one Finnish "expert" has spread lots of disinformation (false information) regarding this case. His name is Johan Bäckman, a Finnish political author, legal sociologist and criminologist. He is telling unbelievable things to the Russian media. I know many of them are clear lies.
I only wonder why he is doing that, what is his purpose, why is he tarnishing the reputation of his own country? Now this Finnish man urges Russian people to boycott Finnish products. Huh! Actually, many Finns think that Bäckman is the worst kind of a traitor. In fact, his provocative claims are causing a lot of damage to the good relations between our countries.
Regarding a boycott of Finnish products, this video is sad to see:
Really, this "war" has already gone too far. It has a negative impact on the economy and tourism, etc. No good to anyone. I still want to believe, what Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja say: "The ongoing clash between Finland and Russia over a controversial child custody case won't change practical relations between the two countries."
For my part, I love both Russians and Finns. Peace. Мир! :)
Finally, I add here some good and factual articles about this topic in Russian media:
Newsru
Novaya Gazeta
Rossiyskaya Gazeta
P.S. Thanks to Gilmore for proofreading this article.
Attachment:
Посольство Финляндии: Что должен знать иммигрант из России о защите детей в Суоми
Посольство Финляндии в России опубликовало на своем сайте информацию о том, что должен знать иммигрант из России о законе о защите детей в Финляндии. В форме вопрос-ответ в материале объясняется, почему к гражданам России в Суоми применяют финское законодательство, как происходит процедура изъятия ребенка, почему власти не комментируют отдельные случаи и т.д. Также подчеркивается, что в Финляндии запрещено телесное наказание.
Вопрос: Я считаю, что легкое телесное наказание со временем пойдет ребенку только на пользу – он научится уважать родителей и правильно себя вести. Пусть посторонние не вмешиваются.
Ответ : В соответствии с законодательством Финляндии, любые виды телесного наказания запрещены.
Полный текст на сайте посольства
Source: http://fontanka.fi/articles/7424/
Usually Finnish-Russian couples are getting along well.
Hi Teisuka,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the news about the media war over a single guardianship case. I agree that the press has gone too far in reporting the incident. It is just an individual case that unfortunately involves two countries and looks like developing into an international conflict. A lot of times, people just amplify an incident by bringing into such factors as national honor, racial issues and whatever makes them emotional, which usually turn out to be unfounded. It happens all the time worldwide. It's unfortunate but is the reality.
In New York City, where I live, from time to time there are also cases where kids of Chinese parents are taken away by the Administration For Children's Services (ACS). Some Chinese parents, mostly new immigrants, just don't know that it's against the law to punish your own children physically such as spanking. And they get in trouble for this. When this happens, some people in the Chinese community would accuse the ACS of being stupid or too harsh, and some of them even say it's racial discrimination. But actually they don't get the whole picture before they make such accusations. Sometimes it's just the language barrier that causes misunderstandings. And you've got to follow the law even it seems to be a personal matter to you.
As to the Finnish "expert," I think he created all that drama just because he wanted attention. A lot of people are just like that. :)
Thank you again for sharing the news story and your viewpoints. I do agree with you that the incident was definitely exaggerated. This may backfire and affect more people in a negative way.
Have a nice day!
Bao
Hi Bao,
DeleteMany thanks for your wise words and understanding. I see that you can see the whole picture. I hope all people could be as fair and even-handed as you. :)
Yes, regardless the race and nationality, we should be fair and respect the laws of the country where we live. For my part, I think that patriotism is good, but nationalism is a dangerous phenomenon: too often it's just the reason to wars.
Regarding the Finnish "expert": yeah, maybe he just love drama and want attention. Or then he has some kind of "program" to ruin the good relations between Russia and Finland, for some reason (this is scary alternative).
I really hope this conflict will be over soon, and people in both countries would calm down. Because this "clash" has really negative impact on the economy and tourism. Finland is a small country, and Russia is its best companion in many way.
Have a nice weekend to you, my friend, and again: thank you for your profound comment here. :)