The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) is preparing for the arrival of refugees from Afghanistan, but Pekka Nuutinen, the head of the reception unit, does not expect a sudden worsening of the situation.
"It will be interesting to see how much and in what time the situation in Afghanistan affects us here in Finland. Probably to some extent, but the scale is hard to imagine at this stage," he told Yle on Wednesday.
Nuutinen pointed out that due to the coronavirus situation, traveling is not easy at the moment. The first wave of escapes has targeted Afghanistan’s six neighbors, including Pakistan and several Central Asian states.
"Since 2015, traveling across Europe has become more difficult. It is difficult to imagine a situation where large groups could pass through Europe," he said.
Nuutinen said that the reception of Afghan refugees from Afghanistan’s neighboring countries requires a political decision on quotas.
Nuutinen said that Migri is now better able to handle the arrival of refugees than during the last major European refugee crisis.
As many as 170 Afghans are being evacuated
Finland has promised to evacuate Afghans who have recently worked in the Finnish state and offer them residence permits with their families – a total of 170 people.
"Such urgent action begins in reception centers. We assume that these people will not stay in reception centers for very long, but will move to different municipalities as soon as possible after obtaining a residence permit," he said.
Migri refused to say exactly where the 170 evacuees would be accommodated so that they would have the opportunity to settle in peace in Finland.
Tens of thousands could be treated if needed
Due to the coronavirus crisis, exceptionally few asylum seekers and refugees have arrived in Finland recently. In the spring of 2016, there were more than 33,000 beds in the country’s reception centers. Currently, the capacity is 3,500 beds. About 1,000 of these are immediately available.
At present, the reception centers in the Uusimaa region are in Helsinki and Vantaa. Espoo also has a group home for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers. These reception centers have a total of about 600 beds. About 200 of these are now free.
"In a serious situation, it would be possible to expand the reception system and receive up to tens of thousands of people. In the event of an emergency, people must be protected and protected by certain basic services," said Nuutinen.
Source: The Nordic Page