Here’s a headline from a free newspaper, Uutislehti 100, which made me wonder: “American Family Seeks Refuge”
I’m sorry, what? Are things really THIS bad, politically or otherwise, in the United States? Allow me to translate and paraphrase the newspaper clipping for those of you who don’t speak Finnish:
An American family of five is seeking refuge in Finland. The man and woman with their three underage children arrived at the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport on Tuesday (Sep 18) from Germany. The papers for seeking refuge were filed at the airport and the claim is being processed at the Finnish Directorate of Immigration.
No further details concerning the reasons and ground for seeking refuge were released.
Finland considers the United States a safe country and the claims for refugee status will be processed with that in mind.
Because the family arrived in Finland from Germany, the processing of any claims for refugee status should be dealt with in Germany.
[Source: Uutislehti 100/STT]
Most likely the family will not be granted refugee status as they’re not exactly coming from a war-torn country and they aren’t being persecuted for their religious or political views.
Which brings me to my earlier question: are things really so bad in America that Americans are moving to the Old World in search of a safe haven? Is it really that bad to be under the leadership of Dubya? The next presidential elections in America are getting truly underway in mere months as the preliminaries kick off in February. Change is (possibly) just around the corner. Patience America, patience. Political change is coming. You know that the first thing each incoming President does is attempt to undo everything the previous President achieved or messed up…
I can’t fathom, for the life of me, why any American would seek refuge anywhere, especially in Finland. Sure, Finland is far more liberal than the U.S., especially right now, but hey, we don’t even have Wal-Mart or Taco Bell (we do have universal healthcare, free education, one of the best public transportation systems in the world, the least corruption in the world, etc etc…)!
Can you figure out a possible reason why an American family might file a claim for refugee status in another Western nation?
I’ll update this post if any more news is published about the family and their reasons for seeking refuge in Finland.
Source:
Uutislehti 100, September 21st 2007, Issue #154 (2339)
The only reason I can think of why this American family is applying for refugee status is that one of them must be gravely ill. By applying for refugee status and having the application go through the various levels of bureaucracy they can get free health care the entire time they wait. The application will be denied, but by the time the decision comes through, they will already have been treated. This is truly a testament to the pitiful state of the welfare and health system in the USA.
Look at all the sanctions the U.S.A. has tried to implement on the world, then consider how the Americans are treated. America was founded on the concept to escape persecution, now is a different story. America is no longer a safe place…look at our crime rate and actions taken by our political leaders who hide under the facade of what use to be. If one were to contract a fatal illness that is expensive to treat, unless that person has money or knows the right people, they will die. Also, the gap between poverty and the rich is huge, middle class is virtually being wiped out. There is no more security, our constitution can no longer protect us. IF you are not rich, you are forced to live in a continual state of fear, especially if one is a parent, such as myself. I would love to be able to escape with my family to another country and live a better quality of life, however, because of mixed up world views on America, such as the one expressed in this article, make it impossible.
Because the shit is going to hit the fan in or before Novemeber
“You know that the first thing each incoming President does is attempt to undo everything the previous President achieved or messed up…”
Except that John McCain is campaigning on continuing many of the policies of the Cheney regime (if you think Bush has the mental capacity to have led this country these past eight years, you’re dreaming), America on both sides of the political spectrum are too self-righteous and look far too often for self-validation of their own beliefs to even acknowledge each other, and America has also lost its revolutionary will and ethic, and replaced it with cover-your-ass self-interest and “I got mine!” self-preservation. What you are hoping for is far from a sure or prevalent thing in the America of today.
One percent of the United States is in prison . . .
“…we don’t even have Wal-Mart or Taco Bell…”
All the more reason to go there.
As an American: Admittedly, yes we still have it better off than most of the rest of the world. But those of us not brainwashed by the propaganda-filled mainstream media, or in the high-fructose-corn-syrup induced apathy of a disfunctional body, can see we are headed down a dangerous path that will be exceedingly difficult to remedy. Nowdays everything you do is suspicious, everyone is guilty, and once you end up on some government list, you’re screwed for life. The police terrorize us: no they’re not corrupt, they think they are doing something patriotic. We only have rights if we can afford to pay for them (no different than anywhere else I guess). Asking questions or expressing doubt is unpatriotic and may even get you on a terror watch list. Involvement in an environmental initiative might get you on a terror watch list. Blogging about this stuff may get you on a terror watch list. Every month the government whittles off one more piece of our privacy, our access to information, our self-determination, or our human rights. I am afraid. We will see what happens with our next election, but dangerous precedents have already been set. If I weren’t so damn poor (thanks to our great economy) I myself might get out while the getting is good!
There are people who suspect Bush Jr won’t leave office.
Consider the recent news that many very rich people have donated almost $1B to Bush Jr this year. 10x what they have given to McCain.
Which is very odd considering Bush Jr is not running for office.
I stayed 2 weeks in Paris on business. Last few days couldn’t wait to get back home. I almost kissed the ground when I landed at SeaTac Airport. Cause of the sanitary reason my lipps didn’t touch the ground.
They are probably afraid Obama will be the next president and bring sharia law along with him!
The United States is going out of business. Actually, it has been slowly going out of business for about 30 years. Corporations have outsourced American jobs at the same time they have granted admission and citizenship to millions of people mostly from Asia and the middle east to compete for what is left. This has been the plan. As more and more people see that things will only get worse, they are desperately trying to go somewhere where the government is still for the people. Thousands of American refugees are being turned away from Canada, for example because the United States asked Canadian Officials to not let them in. The handwriting is on the wall so to speak. Anyone who can’t get out of here is in for genuine terror. They will uneash their biological and other weapons (probably the diseases like Ebola that they keep in their laboratories) on the people and tell the world that it was just some awful tragedy. I’ve wanted to get out of here for 15 years ever since thousands of people started to become homeless and no one cared. I knew we were doomed.
PLease Update me on this story. I believe there are a lot of Americans looking to find an escape route out of this obamanation.
Truth is Barack Obama has the unenviable task of reversing 8 years of hell by the worst president the country ever had the stupidity to put into office TWICE, no thanx to the Supreme Court and cheating. No wonder people wanted to leave. Greed, war crimes, lying, war profitteering, election fraud, and so many more thanks to a megalomaniacal regime. And poor Barack is getting interference from the damn party that caused the mess. To paraphrase Southwest Airlines-Republicans are now free to leave the country-permanently.
As an american, I pray and hold out great hope that one day I will leave this mess of a country. Our government has turned their back on us, after many many years of republican rule, though I do put some blame on the democrats as well. Repulican motto is less government and always has been, and through the last 40 plus years they have tried quite successfully to turn back all of the social programs that make living good, bush tried to privatize social security, and he also implemented a very costly program to Medicare, causing undue stress to millions of seniors.
And the smart americans see this. although its never stated in the news. we see that in europe, one can have a much higher quality of life, there is a greater social safety net for the average citizen, health is covered based on need not greed, education at all levels is covered, you are not afraid of getting fired if you must take a week off for your sick child, and many more. in the US, you arent allowed sick days, (perhaps 5 out of the year-as if you can predict how long youll be sick), forget about maternity leave with or without pay, its like a few weeks here, college tuition is in tens of thousands (the average kid graduates with $20,000 in debt), you are allowed one week vacation in the year, and of course health costs bankrupt thousands each year. and its getting worse, so much worse.
you would never find any of this in europe. at least not to this level.
In the US, if you arent mega wealthy, you are basically screwed. The rich here (along with corporations) get so many tax cuts, while the middle class gets taxed to the max. and you have to be really dirt poor to qualify for any federal aid, like medicaid. So a system is in place here that rewards the rich, punishes the middle class and poor and keeps the poor, poorer. Its really a dire situation. but like I said, the media doesnt show this, so most americans have no idea whats really going on. the media here is so biased, and they feed you so much propaganda that one is lead to believe that America is so great and everything is just dandy and that if you are struggling it is somehow your fault. and whatever taxes we do pay, most of it goes towards the military effort and the “war on terror” and Iraq. did you know that Bush implemented universal health care for all IRAQUI citizens on taxpayers dime, while americans are dying every day here without adequate health care?? AND, the same republicans who supported this, are now saying that a government run health plan is evil and they are fighting it with every thing theyve got. this is a truly despicable country.
I despise this country so much. and i was born here. and it doesnt help that Americans, as a whole, are generally ignorant, arrogant, and refuse to see the world outside their own perspective. But, Im really not surprised to read about americans fleeing as refugees. and I predict, that if Obama is not able pass the health reform bill, things will get a lot worse, A LOT worse, and more and more people will flee. I wish I could go now, I would go now If i were alone. But I live with my long time partner who wants to stay for the time being, our friends and family are here. so its hard. because I know if and when I do go to France (like I want) it will be for good and I will never step foot in this country again.
as for myself, like millions of other young people, I owe the government (and private companies) almost $100,000 in student loans. I am a slave to my debt here, as so so so many are, whether it is student loan debt, credit card debt or medical debt. We are the new slaves in the US. I can NOT declare bankruptcy on my school loans. so it will take me my whole life to pay that off. I wish i could just leave my debt behind and live somewhere in France and never have to pay the US government or any corporation a penny more.
so yes, to your question, things REALLY ARE THAT BAD HERE, no they are much much worse than you think. feel VERY very lucky that you do NOT live in the US. please dont take what you have for granted. I envy all europeans and their amazing quality of life. your governments may not be perfect but at least they give you the safety nets you need to lead happy fulfilled lives. we have no safety nets here, once we fall, thats it, we are screwed.
Dude, I hear you. I wa sin the same situaiton. It’s rather easy to immigrate to canada. I’ve been here 2 years and SallieMae has no clue. Friend of mine fled to sweden in 1995 and same deal. SLMA isn’t interpol, you’ll be ok. Let me know if you want more info…
redbabesunderground@gmail.com