I was married to a Finnish man for 15 years. During those 15 years I would tell other foreigners what do you mean discrimination? I have been welcomed with open arms. I really never saw it. Until the first time I had to go to the bank after my divorce and changing my last name back to my maiden name. Then after being a client in the bank for 10 years as a property owner, they tried to refuse me bank codes. My ID that I had used was no longer valid (this was before the mandatory change of everyone needing Finnish ID and driver licenses no longer being a valid form). I got rather upset and new immediately the issue was my very foreign last name and the fact I was speaking broken Finnish. I told the gentlemen very clearly that these “issues” were not an issue when my last name was Finnish and my Finnish husband was with me. Which he then turned red and gave me my bank codes. This was the first case over another 10 years of being made to feel less then. “You’re a cleaner! Oh how wonderful. Oh wait, you got a marketing job? How did YOU get that? *insert repulsed pull back and snide smile* My sister (Finnish) has been trying for years” I have been spat on, I have been insulted and almost assaulted on a bus by a drunken young 20 year old because he could not understand why I needed to be here in his country. Thankfully there were enough YOUNGER generational people on the bus to get him to back off. The older generation (40+) sat there staring, ignoring or trying to explain his repulsive behaviour. I am trying to be fluent in Finnish. Languages are struggle for me and it will never be good enough. The only thing going for me is I “look” Finnish. Can’t imagine what life would be like if I didn’t. I have more faith in the younger Finnish generation.

I was working for a company in Finland. I only worked for one and half months and they terminated my contract. I was talking to my friend in my native language and they thought that I was leaking company secrets. My friend had an emergency and it was important for me to talk to him. I know it was some of my fault that I was talking in work premises, I should have gone outside the work place but I completely forgot about that because of the nature of emergency. When I was talking to my friend it was around 6 pm and they suspected that I was leaking the company’s work since it was past the normal working hours. As per my contract I have to work for 7:30 hrs per day but since I didn’t worked properly a day before so I was trying to work for the extra hours to make up for the unworked hours. Next day I had a meeting with the hr and my senior and I explained them what happened. They heard my side of the story but they had already signed the contract termination letter. I went into depression for a week, I stayed at home and eat nothing. I quit smoking at that time but I started it again and I was smoking 2 packs of cigs everyday.

After getting COVID, I experienced a heart event and tried to get help from healthcare provider sponsored by my employer. First I was sent to a clinic in Kamppi which insisted they didn’t have the right referral from the doctor and was therefore not allowed to sit in the waiting area. They phoned the doctor while I sat on the stairs outside, then said the doctor promised to make the referral but they could not give the EKG until she did, and I had to wait outside. Then after 20 minutes they came outside to tell me they can’t help me at all. I could not remember how to get to the emergency care at the hospital a few blocks over because I did not have enough oxygen in my brain, so I took the familiar bus home. On the way, the doctor phoned to tell me how stupid the nurses were and it was all their fault. She could not offer me any help. Over the next months, the health system gaslit me and asked me what my Finnish husband thought about me making up my health problems. I was told if I did not take SSRIs I could not be offered any other treatment. One doctor told me I had fainting problems because I was getting older and carrying more weight (I am underweight). When I visited my home country, I was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia, confirmed with EKG that I had a heart attack, and was prescribed medication to manage the continuing symptoms. I could have died because multiple Finnish doctors decided foreign women are liars. When I raised a complaint with my employer about the treatment through their chosen healthcare provider, my Finnish colleagues all insisted they had never had such problems and of course they “believed” me but didn’t think anything needed to be done. This country wants me dead as soon as possible.

I was walking home in Helsinki from a workout class yesterday around 7pm (February 6th 2024) when I crossed another pedestrian on the road when she suddenly turned towards me and spat in an aggressive manner. This is not the first time that someone has spat at me in Finland. It’s disturbing.

I had my first ever pap smear test scheduled at Kalasatama terveysasema upon turning 25 yo. I had never experienced this test before and had no idea what to expect. I was met by a nurse who refused to speak English, I had no one to translate and I had no idea what was going on. With the little Finnish I understood, she gestured to take my underwear off and positioned me on the stand with my legs spread open. Obviously in a very vulnerable position and without any context of what was going on, I was very tense and didn’t understand what the procedure will be like. Without a warning, without any kind of indication that she was going to insert the instrument inside me (so I could relax my body), she proceeded to forcefully insert it, causing me the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life. It was so sudden, I lost my ability to see for a second. The nurse dismissed me when I screamed in pain and started to cry uncontrollably. Blood on the floor everywhere. She gave me a pad and told me to walk it off (something in the lines of “ei se mitään”) and that this is normal. I bled for weeks…And never want to experience a pap smear test again.

I started TikTok and Instagram channels under the name americandreaminfinland, making videos comparing my life living in Finland to my life in the US, telling the story of how I moved to Finland, how I found work in Finland, how I applied for studies in Finland, etc. In the comments sections of those videos, I regularly got comments telling me to “go home,” ” go back where you came from,” “don’t bother speaking Finnish because you suck at,” and on and on. I’ve also received threats in my direct messages such as the following one: “terve vaan saatanan homo. toivottavasti osaat puhua suomea kun paskiainen oot haaskannut verovaroia asuessasi täällà saatanan haaska. oikeesti sut pitäisi puukottaa kuoliaaksi. tollasia saastaisia epäpuhtaita maahanmuttajapaskoja ei suomeen kaivata. joten ota kivääri ja ammu ittesi kuoliaaksi. koko suomen kansa iloitsisi jos tappaisit itsesi, hirttäisit ittesi. kaltaisesi maahanmuuttajapaska ei ansaitse asua tässä kultaisessa maassa. tapa ittesi paskiainen.” In my spare time, I work a side gig at a bar. I’ve had a customer tell me I was a nice person but they are not allowed to like me because I’m a foreigner. Also I have had two customers tell me I’m an embarassment for not speaking Finnish and I should go home. In my past relationship, myself and my ex were spending time in the courtyard of my apartment. One of my neighbors swore at and spit at my ex telling her to go get f’d by her immigrant man.

I encountered racism firsthand in my workplace. Language barriers can be challenging, but they should never be a reason to question someone’s abilities or integrity. However, a family relative of one of our residents made hurtful remarks during a shift, insinuating that I couldn’t be trusted as a nurse because Finnish isn’t my first language. With other witnesses in sight, she even threatened to revoke my license by filing a report against me in Valvira, which to me, is a serious violation and an attempt to intimidate and undermine my professional standing. There was even more intention to intimidate by calling her other relatives to come to our workplace. It’s incredibly disheartening to encounter such prejudice, especially when the only goal is to provide the best care possible to the people we care for. I firmly believe that any language skills, while not perfect, should never overshadow the compassion and commitment to delivering quality healthcare. I wanted to share this experience to shed light on the ongoing challenges many foreigners( or, as the family member said, ”vitun maahanmuuttaja”) face due to their language skills in Finland. Let’s use this opportunity to start a conversation and work towards a more understanding and accepting society.

I work in Finland as a doctor since 2007. I got my right to specialize in Obstetrics & Gynecology from Helsinki University on March 2009. Imagine till now I still did not specialize…while all my Finnish colleagues, even the ones started after me became specialists and some of them became even “ylilääkäri”. I got the Finnish citizenship on 2008 and I do speak Finnish. May be I’m stupid, but is it fair to force me to leave my family and my kids in Finland and go to UK in order to finish my specialization to the end?! I can not even justify what happened to myself, there is no explanation other than DISCRIMINATION. What is shocking, is the fact that it happened in Helsinki University, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology….where people claim to be educated, professional and civilized as well.