Editorial

Multiculturalism has crept under the skin of Finnishness; it is a cultural process that can no longer be wiped off. But what really happens in this process of cultural encounter? And on whose terms is this progress occurring?

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It is no coincidence that a new but already widespread network of multiculturalism researchers has now begun to consider the contemporary state of Finnish society and culture amidst all this change. As we note in this edition, this field of research has steadily gained a widening interest in the research community. Research into attitudes, immigration, immigrant integration and working life has adopted new perspectives, and the latest challenges faced in this area have entered the sphere of human rights research. Certain cases that have recently gained widespread attention, such as the relationship between the rights of children and freedom of religion and the rights of parents to practice their own culture, call for a serious investigation into the relative weight of generally accepted principles and rights. These cases have included circumcision performed for cultural and religious reasons, and recently reported shocking cases of so-called honour killings related to the protection of collective honour.

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NGOs have expressed concern at the follow-up to the 1999 Tampere meeting of the European Council. One of the purposes of the recent Laeken Summit in December 2001 was to assess the progress that had been made in implementing the conclusions of the Tampere meeting in establishing and area of peace, security and justice in the European Union. However, it would appear that immigration controls have assumed a higher priority than the establishment of a common system for processing asylum applications. The Member States have not been willing to compromise their own policies, which has tended to water down the proposals and to delay policymaking. Time is running out if the European Union is to establish a common asylum and immigration policy before the scheduled date for enlargement in 2004. Refugee organisations were most disappointed with the outcome at Laeken. They were hoping for a stronger commitment by the Member States to harmonisation of asylum policies. The delay may lead to a regression with States taking negative steps in their own policies thus trying to barricade Europe against people who come from third countries and conflict regions looking for protection here.

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Greetings from Vuolijoki! This commune has a population of 2800, 3.5 per cent of whom arrived as quota refugees. For the sake of comparison we should note that 4.7 per cent of residents in the City of Helsinki and 5 per cent in the City of Vantaa are foreign immigrants. How has integration of immigrants succeeded in small communes? This is what we asked the people of Vuolijoki, including their new neighbours.

The European Union, the International Organisation for Migration - IOM and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - UNHCR are currently campaigning on behalf of people in need of international protection. The campaign theme is "Before refugees come knocking at our door, someone else has knocked on theirs." Some of those knocking have managed to get in, but how are things going now for these new arrivals? Research findings suggest that despite improved immigrant integration measures life has been rather less than ideal for many newcomers.

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