War of Ukraine The war made the Finns open their homes to the Ukrainians – “Some have said that not everything went as it should”

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, and Finns and Ukrainians living in Finland became very active.

The desire to help was huge.

Donations of money and goods were received.

In addition, many expressed a desire to accommodate those seeking asylum in Finland in their homes or in their vacant apartments. Many Ukrainians applied to their relatives living in Finland. About 7,200 Ukrainians live permanently in Finland.

Now, after more than 60 days of war, a certain amount of fatigue is already in the air, both for the Ukrainians who provide private accommodation and for the Ukrainians who live with them.

“Some have said that not everything has gone as expected,” says Kotimajoitus Tuki ry’s executive director Terhi Aaltonen says.

“There aren’t very many of these cases, but the phenomenon does exist. Accommodations have mostly gone well, but there have been problems, ”he says.

The network receives feedback from both the accommodation providers and the people coordinating the local groups.

There have been problems, for example, in paying the reception fee.

“It may have taken up to weeks to pay the money,” says Aaltonen.

In practice, therefore, some Ukrainians may have stayed in Finland completely without money, and the hosts and other actors have had to support them by providing food aid, for example.

“We understand the authorities have tried to resolve the issue, but there are still problems and payment times may be long.”

Aaltonen thinks that many Finns have thought that individuals and civil society should offer a roof over Ukraine to those who come from Ukraine immediately, without thinking about the consequences.

“It may have been thought that they should be provided with emergency accommodation, although it is up to the authorities to arrange it. There has also been no thought of a time span, even if a certain permanence is absolutely necessary, especially for families with children. ”

“If there is no information about the services to which the person is entitled, it may be left pretty empty. That is why we have encouraged people in home accommodation to apply for home accommodation only after applying for temporary protection and registering with the reception center, ”says Aaltonen.

Contacts has also come from those short-term accommodation providers who have said they can no longer accommodate Ukrainians.

“Often the reason may be, for example, that the squares of the home run out. These contacts, which seek longer-term home accommodation, have come from both Finns and those Ukrainians who have accommodated their loved ones. ”

If the host and the host together find that the home accommodation is not working, Ukrainian refugees can move to the reception center. This, in turn, may cause new problems, as some Ukrainian children have already started school in Finland.

“Then it is understandable that you do not want to go to another place, because the reception center may be located anywhere in Finland,” says Aaltonen.

To Finland arriving Ukrainians currently have access to reception services in the same way as asylum seekers. Asylum seekers are in principle housed in a reception center.

According to Aaltonen, the Home Accommodation Support Association also recommends that those who have fled Ukraine register with the reception centers as private accommodation customers.

“It also helps people not to be completely excluded from society,” says Aaltonen.

Migrin by In just over a month, almost 17,000 people who have fled Ukraine have applied for temporary protection in Finland.

The majority, about 70 percent of those who fled the war in Ukraine, live in private accommodation.

Migri does not organize or act as a mediator in Finland if an individual wants to help by, for example, making an empty room in his or her home available to refugees. The Finnish Refugee Council also does not coordinate home accommodation.

An asylum seeker comes to home accommodation as an equal resident. Accommodation is voluntary and must not be reimbursed by the host for money or extra work.

Read more: Hundreds of Finns want to offer home accommodation for refugees, but it is not quite simple – these five things to consider should be taken into account

Home accommodation network was created from scratch in 2015, when a large number of asylum seekers arrived in Finland. The network support association Kotimajoitus Tuki ry was soon established to support its operations.

The network operates entirely on a voluntary basis. The network hosts asylum and temporary protection applicants, coordinates accommodation, organizes events, trains and communicates.

The situation is now different from seven years ago, not least because the European Union’s interior ministers have decided that refugees from Ukraine do not have to seek asylum in the EU.

“Previously, in 2015, all those who came to Finland had to apply for asylum, and in principle they initially stayed in reception centers. Even then, many asylum seekers who arrived in Finland after 2015 applied for home accommodation as an alternative to reception centers, ”says Aaltonen.

Finland Red Cross Immigration Coordinator Erja Reinikainen states that the SPR keeps records at its reception centers only of whether the person entering the reception center is an asylum seeker or has applied for temporary protection.

“As a result, there are unfortunately no figures for the number of home residents who have recently become residents of reception centers,” says Reinikainen.

However, at Migr’s request, the SPR coordinates assistance to the Ukrainians. SPR: n through websites may, inter alia, indicate its intention to accommodate those who have fled Ukraine or to provide them with accommodation.

Minister of the Interior Krista Mikkonen (green) said on Saturday At the meeting of the Green Party delegation, more than 20,000 Ukrainian war refugees have applied for temporary protection or asylum in Finland. About half of them are children.