In the wake of recent racial tension between native Finns and Somali refugees in the neighbourhood of Hakunila in the city of Vantaa, Finland’s Ombudsman for Aliens’ Affairs, Antti Seppälä said that the situation needs to be taken seriously and called for quick action.

   

"The situation needs to be brought under control immediately before it gets out of hand. In Joensuu, for instance, things went too far. A blow has to be struck in the Hakunila case that is so strong that the people will know that we are serious here", Seppälä said. He also said that he believes that Vantaa is finally taking the housing problems of the Somalis seriously.

At a meeting of Vantaa City officials

and representatives of the Somali community on Thursday, the participants agreed on the establishment of a cross-administrational advisory council to deal with problems brought to their attention by the Somalis. The group would contain representatives of the City of Vantaa, the police, and the Somalis.

   

The advisory council that is to be established to deal with the city’s racial differences will be the first of its kind in the Helsinki region. A similar group already exists in Joensuu which experienced a surge of racist violence in the late 1990s.

   

Antti Seppälä also wants an investigation into whether or not the police acted correctly when they arrested a 16-year old Somali boy who had been the victim of a beating on Friday night in Hakunila.

The Somali representatives expressed relief

at the meeting with the city officials.

   

"This is a positive sign. We are very satisfied with the meeting, but we are still waiting for practical steps", said Mohammed Yusuf Ismail.

   

Vantaa City Council member Abdulrahman Abdi Rage (Green) said that he is satisfied that the officials and the Somalis found a common tune at the meeting and understand each other.

   

The Secretary General of the Somali community in Finland, Mur Mohammed, was also satisfied with the way that Vantaa is handling the situation. "We feel that we are being listened to", he said.

At the meeting, the Somalis said that their greatest problem

is a feeling of insecurity, and their living arrangements. The Somalis feel that their homes should be more equally distributed in the residential areas, and not concentrated in single buildings.

   

The Somali representatives said that many have experienced harassment on buses, and that drivers and fellow passengers often do not intervene. On the other hand, the Somalis are mostly satisfied with the school arrangements for their children.

"We told the Somalis about the difficult

housing situation in the city, and about how these problems are difficult to resolve quickly", said Hakunila regional manager Ismo Airinen. He also promised that the city would put more emphasis on the responsibility of bus drivers in maintaining order, to get the troublemakers under control.

   

"Security is more than a police matter. It is a much broader question", Airinen said, adding that he hopes that schools would arrange meetings for parents to discuss relations between Finns and Somalis, and encourage families to discuss racism and tolerance at home.

   

On Thursday afternoon, the Somali delegation had a separate meeting with the police concerning the feeling of insecurity among the Somalis and questions about the actions of the police.

   

"The meeting was necessary and to the point. We explained to them some of the basic principles of police action and the arrest procedures. Often the problems are caused by a lack of communication", said deputy police chief Ari Inkilä.

Meanwhile, Helsingin Sanomat arranged a meeting

for two Somali and two native Finnish youths living in Hakunila at a local restaurant on Thursday. Before the dinner, 19-year old Mika Laitinen admitted to being "semi-racist". The other native Finn, 16-year old Jarmo Tiainen does not admit to being a racist, although he does say that he does not particularly like Somalis

   

Nevertheless, both accepted the invitation for a dinner with two Somalis to discuss the emotional situation in Hakunila.

   

The two Somalis, Abdi Ahmed and Sheikh Mohamed Libon agreed to the invitation somewhat more readily than Mika or Jarmo, and after a bit of persuasion, all four were sitting at the same table sharing pizza.

The conversation is somewhat awkward at first;

the boys do not know each other and everyone seems to be avoiding eye contact.

   

Mika says that his prejudices go back to a situation two years ago in which two Somalis attacked him for no reason, accusing him of beating up their younger brother.

   

Abdi said that he understands Mika’s reaction, and that he would probably think the same way if it would have happened to him. He also asks Mika why this made him dislike all Somalis, even though there were only two involved in the incident.

   

Mika does not have a ready answer. Earlier, before Abdi and Sheikh showed up, he had said that he had heard stories of Somalis committing rapes, theft, and threatening to kill people.

Common ground is found on the recent fighting

in Hakunila. All agree that both the native Finns and the Somalis should share the blame.

   

They also agree that having the Somalis move out of Hakunila would not solve anything.

   

As Mika sees it, there has always been fighting everywhere.

While they cannot come up with a final solution

, some proposals get a slightly more positive response than others.

   

The Somalis would welcome a common meeting of the parents to discuss the problem thoroughly. Mika agrees that parents might be able to establish some discipline.

   

"If there were time to really get to know each other, it might make it easier", Jarmo comments.

   

Both Jarmo and Abdi play soccer. The two do not completely reject the idea of some kind of a friendly match among different ethnic communities. Even the idea of a black and white Hakunila team gets some support.

   

Jarmo is concerned about the integrity of the sport: he wants to make sure that everyone who is let on such a team actuallylly know how to play.