Finding a job is clearly easier for a Roma in Finland by changing his first and last name Ossi Blomerus, Chairman of the Savonlinna Region Roma Association.
"You need to change your identity in order to participate in society," he says.
Blomerus told Yle that it is still difficult for Roma to find work and internships in Finland. This is, in his view, the most important change needed for equality.
He believes better communication and negotiation between employers and jobseekers would be key.
"Employers need to understand that the Roma are just like everyone else and are doing their job really well. It is worth trying to hire Roma," Blomerus says.
The labor market lags behind
The Roma Association of the Savonlinna region celebrated its 50th anniversary on Tuesday. According to Blomerus, the situation of the Roma has improved considerably over the last half century, although equal access to the labor market has lagged behind.
He pointed out that education and housing were areas in which the Roma had long faced problems but were now in good shape.
"Society has changed for the better, and Roma equality is being achieved. Of course, there is always room for improvement. We are constantly striving to ensure that equality is also achieved in Roma culture," he adds.
“You just have to go through”
Tenho Blomerus found a vocational school internship as soon as he started looking for it, without any problems, and says he did not face discrimination at work.
She believes her extensive circle of acquaintances in the small community where she lives and her father’s networks have also helped.
"It is really difficult to get a job in the metropolitan area [Roma] people are still stigmatized," Glamor Blomerus says.
Some of his fellow students, such as those in social services like him, find that they have experienced discrimination in the metropolitan area when looking for an internship without success.
At the same time, Blomero’s teachers tell students that there is such a high demand for social services professionals that employers can recruit them even before graduation.
"My friends were not accepted because they are Roma. It sounds crazy because we live in 2021, and you would think people would understand and accept others better, but that may not always be the case," Tenho Blomerus points out.
Blomerus says he wants to prove by letting him be a good employee "120 percent".
"All you have to do is push through and show that you are doing the job," this is how he puts it.
Family habits are changing
Roma culture is also changing. According to Ossi Blomerus, it is now fighting for its existence in a majority culture and is no longer as rich as before.
"The new generation does not understand what Roma culture really is, even as we parents try to advise and guide. We strive to preserve our culture. There are really good things in it," he explains.
These include, according to Blomerus, the fact that most young people respect their parents. The elderly are rarely in institutional care, but they are cared for at home for as long as possible.
Still, large family families are disappearing. In the past, large families lived in the same house or traveled in the same horse-drawn carriages. Today, most Roma families usually consist of a father, mother and children.
"It can no longer be said that we have a collective responsibility for each other. The support network is no longer as strong as before," Blomerus says.