Racial tensions heighten in North Karelian town of Lieksa

Muslim prayers begin on the ground floor of the Lieksa workers’ hall, where a room has been converted into a mosque.

Pieces of tape on the rugs indicate the direction of Mecca.

Perhaps it is the harsh October weather that keeps the turnout low.

There are about 20 people there now; on the busiest days up to 90 people will show up.

The popularity of the mosque, which opened in the summer, has not gone unnoticed in the small North Karelian town.

With its population of just over 12,500, the number of asylum seekers who have been granted residence permits has rapidly risen to about 220.

Most of them are from Somalia.

The proportion of approved asylum seekers is much lower than in Helsinki, for instance, but especially the appearance of Somalis in the community has led to a major heightening of tensions.

The most serious incident between immigrants and local people occurred during the weekend when a Somali was stabbed, and a native local resident suffered cuts.

Two local native Finns have been arrested and one immigrant has been detained.

The Chief of Police of North Karelia, Kai Markkula, is worried.

He compares the situation with similar problems that took place in nearby Joensuu in the mid-1990s, when local skinheads clashed with immigrants.

“Tensions have been evident for just under a year”, he says.

“In discussions the linguistic imagery has become increasingly severe, and attitudes seem to have polarized.”

The rising tensions are apparent at the town hall.

Soile Syrjäläinen, the head of social services in Lieksa, says that threats have been shouted at her in the city, and that the tyres of her car had been slashed one morning.

The prevailing atmosphere reminds local council member Veijo Itkonen (Centre Party) of an incident in 1956 when residents of the industrial community of Pankakoski broke into two houses inhabited by Roma.

Wielding sticks, the local residents chased the Roma into the night and out of the area.

Although many feel that there are too many immigrants in the area, local residents say that actual violence has been caused by a small group of men in their 20s.

“They know how to fight among themselves, too”, says youth worker Terhi Harviala.

“It wasn’t a very long time ago that they stabbed each other in a restaurant.”

Wild rumours about the newcomers have been circulating on the internet, and in coffee-table conversations. Terho Lautanen says at a café at a local supermarket that immigrants have better social benefits than local Finns. “The local people do not have social security because the money is spent on immigrants”, adds Aarno Ikonen.

Officials say that this is not true.

Immigrants are entitled to the same benefits as everyone else.

They also reiterate that the city has not bought cars for the newcomers, their apartments are not fitted out any better than those of others, and there is no evidence to back up rumours of rapes committed by the immigrants.

The main reason for the arrival of immigrants in the area is evident in the district of Mähkö.

Lieksa has long been suffering from severe unemployment, and the population has declined by more than 6,000 in three decades.

A declining population leaves apartments empty and brings prices down.

In Pankakoski, three-room apartments are available for EUR 24,000.

A few years ago the city had 100 empty municipally-owned apartments, especially in the Mähkö area.

Now there are few empty apartments, because immigrants have filled most of them.

Some of the immigrants are frightened by the prevailing situation.

Jama Yusuf Ahmed, who was injured in the clash that took place on Saturday night, looks at cars that crawl past the apartment houses.

“I am very frightened. We are too afraid even to go shopping in the evenings.”

Chairman Muqtar Moalin Nuur of the local Somali Association says that he has not faced racism himself in Lieksa, and he feels that it is a good place to live.

He says that problems are experienced mainly by those who visit bars and drink.

He notes that immigrants have also had knives in the local nightlife.

“We have also made mistakes. We have the same problems as the local people do - family troubles and others”, Muqtar Moalin Nuur acknowledges.

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