YLE documentary on life as a foreigner- your experiences

SamYLE · Post by **SamYLE** » Thu Aug 15, 2013 10:08 am

Hello,

I'm a journalist making a documentary on multiculturalism in Finland for YLE's Silminnäkijä current affairs series.

I'm trying to find out to what extent foreigners here are treated differently because of background, skin colour, race or language.

An important part of my research is to hear from real people – in strict confidence – about their own experiences of living in Finland as a foreigner.

I'd be very interested to hear from anybody who feels that that the way you look or sound has affected the way people or institutions act towards you. Does it, for instance, impact on your day-to-day or social life here? Has it affected bigger things like trying to rent a home, find a job or deal with the authorities? Have you ever encountered any outright racial abuse or discrimination?

I'm also interested to hear from anyone who feels that their status as a foreigner has actually made life easier here.

All correspondence will be treated with complete confidentiality, and no names, places or identifying details will be made public in any way.

You can contact me via private message on this forum. You do not have to leave contact details but please feel free to do so if you would be happy for me to get in touch and talk further.

Thank you very much. Your help is very valuable for this important project and is very much appreciated. Please also don't hesitate to contact me if you'd like any more information or if you have any questions.

Best wishes,

Sam
http://yle.fi/uutiset/silminnakija

**Sponsor:**

SamYLE · Post by **SamYLE** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 1:59 pm

Thanks so much to everyone who's replied so far. It's been really useful hearing all your experiences, please do keep them coming!

For those of you who've PM'd me asking for a reply, it turns out I can't send PMs yet as I'm a new user so if you'd like me to get back to you, email is better.

Many thanks,
Sam

Alex.Sm · Post by **Alex.Sm** » Sun Sep 01, 2013 11:17 pm

roger_roger wrote:
SamYLE wrote: I'm a journalist making a documentary on multiculturalism in Finland
Well, put my point there, Foreigners are NOT HAPPY with the YLE TAX that funds your documentary. As a documentary maker, I'd expect you to find the producers/sponsors for funding rather then unusual legal steal from someone's pocket.

Well, kinda agree somehow is not fair that you should pay the tax if you don't have TV. On the other hand it's kind impossible to check all homes to see if they have TV or not ... so I think it's fair that is automatically taken from your salary so everybody will pay it! The same with health care and all other state benefits ... Part of your tax might go to hospitals and healthcare centers but you will probably not get sick for the whole year or for the next 5 years or for your whole life ... but somebody else can get sick more often or they are all the time sick ... should you also ask not to pay taxes to healthcare because you don't get sick ?

007 · Post by **007** » Sun Sep 01, 2013 11:43 pm

bit off topic, but healthcares, road infrastructures, education etc. are not directly imposed on people's income. it's invisible unlike yle tax. if healthcare, roads expenses etc. are to be cut from people's income directly.....

Jukka Aho · Post by **Jukka Aho** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 12:05 am

Alex.Sm wrote:Well, kinda agree somehow is not fair that you should pay the tax if you don't have TV.

One can argue there shouldn’t be public service TV or radio, or any media whatsoever. Or that there should be, just as well, for various reasons. It’s all about what kind of service and content you find valuable “for the greater good”. Or whether you think there are some types of shows and content which would never get produced commercially but are still valuable; worth the expense.

Outside of publicly campaigning for or against such things, acquiring citizenship and voting is the only way to change anything, though. (Not too sure about that, either. :>)

But about the quoted bit: whether you own a TV set or not, as a separate media terminal device, is irrelevant. The same content is already available as live streaming video over the Internet, straight to your computer. And modern TVs (of which many actually run Linux under the hood, invisible to the remote-wielding user) also play streams from the popular Internet video services, such as YouTube or Netflix, so the circle has closed. “Convergence”, the buzzword of yesteryear, is already here.

Alex.Sm · Post by **Alex.Sm** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 12:15 am

roger_roger wrote:
Alex.Sm wrote: should you also ask not to pay taxes to healthcare because you don't get sick ?
whenever I get sick, I wait for few hours in queue and pay the bill that they send me. There was no any time I have not been billed after visiting Hospital, so, what was you point about Medical facilities ? When I am paying after using the service, why is tax money in talk here ? I don't know if I pay taxes to healthcare, but I do pay them for the Bill I receive, still healthcare is not stealing from me so openly like YLE.

Its non-sense to come up with such stupid things like you don't attend school, you don't walk in Road, etc.

If a country cannot make road WhyTF it is AAA country ? Still it charges Road tax for car owners.

I have internet --- I pay Bill for it
I have Mobile -- I pay separate bill for it
I have Car --- I pay separate Tax for it
I have water/electricity --- I pay bill for it
I go to Hospital ---- I pay bill

So, its all business you see.... this is government business, they invest in hospital at first, when people are ill, people visit Hospital, then they pay bill for usage. I don't see why people in Finland are bragging about government giving healthcare facility and it being facilitated by tax money. Point me to some links where it states the COST and EARNINGS of certain hospital, I bet earnings are more than cost, so, stop fooling yourself saying freaking TAX MONEY is supporting everything.

Everybody is waiting in a queue and the bill you pay is under 20€ and max 3 times a year. So if you get sick 4 times a year you will not pay the 4th time. And you pay under 20€ for no mater what problems you have ... and then Kela pay's for X% from the pills price (not the ones like ibumax). [[And if you work, most of the employers they do offer you private healthcare like Diacor and so forth (which is out of the topic)]].

And yes I also pay bills for internet, phone, water, electricity, TV (tax) and so forth! And you know what? I am Finnish citizen for few months now, and for sure I will not be here if my former home country will be better then Finland! There I was also paying all the taxes like here but I was not getting ANYTHING! So if you are not happy that you pay a tax feel free to move to a better country or your own because I guess is better.

Well tax money do supports a lot of things like allowing foreigners to come and study here (because is "FREE"). Example I know few US students that come to study here because in US education is a business($$$) and here locals pay taxes for them to study for free!

Everything is a business? I agree! Where is not a business? Since you are born you pay taxes and probably we will soon pay on oxygen also but hey this is the system, there was a lot of fraud with TV tax before so they made it compulsory for everybody! Good or bad this is it and I don't know many Finns whom complained about it, it's allways us the foreigners that we are not happy and start nagging that Finland is not a good country ... as I said maybe is better our own country? NOT (for me)!

Alex.Sm · Post by **Alex.Sm** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 12:22 am

Jukka Aho wrote:
Alex.Sm wrote:Well, kinda agree somehow is not fair that you should pay the tax if you don't have TV.
One can argue there shouldn’t be public service TV or radio, or any media whatsoever. Or that there should be, just as well, for various reasons. It’s all about what kind of service and content you find valuable “for the greater good”. Or whether you think there are some types of shows and content which would never get produced commercially but are still valuable; worth the expense.

Outside of publicly campaigning for or against such things, acquiring citizenship and voting is the only way to change anything, though. (Not too sure about that, either. :>)

But about the quoted bit: whether you own a TV set or not, as a separate media terminal device, is irrelevant. The same content is already available as live streaming video over the Internet, straight to your computer. And modern TVs (of which many actually run Linux under the hood, invisible to the remote-wielding user) also play streams from the popular Internet video services, such as YouTube or Netflix, so the circle has closed. “Convergence”, the buzzword of yesteryear, is already here.

Public TV and radio is needed! Why? Well we do live in Helsinki where we have all the possibilities ... but what about some people living in other parts of the country where maybe the only available entertainment channels are the public ones? What about them? They should not get anything because they live in the bushes? And public channels don't have any crappy commercials and showing all kind of retarded-brainless-f**ktards show like "Geordie Shore" or whatever ... So yes I am for YLE and for the tax I'm paying for!

Alex.Sm · Post by **Alex.Sm** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 2:39 pm

roger_roger wrote: So 60 Euros is the max you pay to Hospital in one year ? Get your facts right before ranting.

I have paid medicine prices everytime I bought medicine, and most of them are expensive. The only free medicine I have ever got is Burana. In lots of countries in Africa, Medicines for TB, Leprosy, Malaria are free, even Condoms are free from Public Health. You are in Finland and think yourself blessed to get free Burana because you are paying tax? You still may need to rethink your opinion about the usage of Tax money.

Send me the link of ANY Hospital's Earnings and Expenses, then make your own conclusion. Hospital is business, they don't run on Loss, public Hospitals make enough money to support themselves because the service is cheap and also first priority of many peoples seeking cheap medical services. To say you are supporting medical in Finland from your tax is just irrelevant.

The main point is, I am not the one to decide about TAX Money, and I don't care what they do with it, when the Tax % is more, I am obviously sad, but thats how the government works. BUT why pay extra money, extra from the tax to fund the service that I don't use ? i.e. yle tax.

You can check the prices here: http://www.hel.fi/static/terke/asiakasm ... 2013_1.pdf

I'm wondering what is your status in Finland? Do you have Kela card? There are quite many medicines that Kela pay's x% from price and you pay totalprice - x% = your share. I don't know if there are medicines that Kela pay's for 100%. If you don't have Kela card yes you do pay the whole price but that means you are not permanent resident because otherwise you will get Kela card that means the benefits.

And you compare Finland with some African countries? Well just for your knowledge: In Africa, most of the medicines, treatments, condoms and so forth where are coming from? Locally produced? I don't think so ... There are so many health organizations, Red Cross and other like that that brings all the medicines and treatments there from Europe, US or other countries! How do you think that people in Africa will afford to pay few euros for condoms? How do you think they will afford to pay treatment for malaria if they will not be free? And are free because these organizations are bringing them there and most likely are bought with Europeans taxes or US taxes or wherever are coming from taxes! Think again! If you have to pay for a condom in here is because you can afford to buy a condom but in Africa that's not the case and if there are not free imagine the results! Again: don't understand me wrong but why don't you move to Africa if it's better? At least you get condoms for free!

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 3:08 pm

Alex.Sm wrote:[but what about some people living in other parts of the country where maybe the only available entertainment channels are the public ones? What about them? They should not get anything because they live in the bushes? And public channels don't have any crappy commercials and showing all kind of retarded-brainless-f**ktards show like "Geordie Shore" or whatever ... So yes I am for YLE and for the tax I'm paying for!

A) Where in Finland the only free channels available are those by YLE?
B) Where in Finland you could not get additional options if you're ready to pay for them the amount ordinary adult pays YLE tax?

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 3:16 pm

roger_roger wrote: I don't see why people in Finland are bragging about government giving healthcare facility and it being facilitated by tax money. Point me to some links where it states the COST and EARNINGS of certain hospital, I bet earnings are more than cost, so, stop fooling yourself saying freaking TAX MONEY is supporting everything.

Patient fees are about 3,3% of the HYKS budget. You honestly think one can produce in developed world medical care and other hospital services for 32.60€ a day?

Jukka Aho · Post by **Jukka Aho** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 4:26 pm

Healthcare in Finland — Financing

Every municipality in the country makes their healthcare expenses public in their yearly budget. These documents, usually titled Talousarvio (“An estimate of finances”), can be found on their website.

Jukka Aho · Post by **Jukka Aho** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 4:54 pm

This SITRA report features an informative graph about healthcare funding in Finland (p. 40 as per the page numbering in the corner of the pages, p. 41 in technical PDF page numbering):

The Finnish Health Care System: A Value-Based Perspective

According to the illustration, user fees only cover 7% of the expenses of the municipal healthcare services.

A brief explanation of the system can also be found on this page.

onkko · Post by **onkko** » Tue Sep 03, 2013 2:43 pm

SamYLE wrote:multiculturalism..... skin colour, race...

Since when skin colour or race has changed by culture? If i just now decide to be "swagganigga" do i suddenly transform black and got illness what is unheard on white population?
I do know that that those have huge correlation but thats called racism today....
Or do YLE admit that multiculturalism has nothing to do with cultures.

Honest · Post by **Honest** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:44 am

"Everybody is waiting in a queue and the bill you pay is under 20€ and max 3 times a year. So if you get sick 4 times a year you will not pay the 4th time. And you pay under 20€ for no mater what problems you have ... and then Kela pay's for X% from the pills price"

I paid 40 euros twice last year for my dental treatment. Where should I go to get back my extra 20 euros I paid every time?

Isn't omavastuu 600 euros/year?

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 10:16 am

roger_roger wrote:
SamYLE wrote: I'm a journalist making a documentary on multiculturalism in Finland
Well, put my point there, Foreigners are NOT HAPPY with the YLE TAX that funds your documentary.

And you think Finns are happy to pay for some left-wing "multiculturalism" propaganda?

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