From: jafitv@termo.unit.no (Jan Arne Fagertun)
Subject: Finns in Norway (Was Re: Swedofobia in Jarmo Ryyti)
Reply-To: jafitv@termo.unit.no (Jan Arne Fagertun)
Organization: SINTEF, Norwegian Institute of Technology
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 08:27:25 GMT

In article <1992Nov16.145703.6102@jyu.fi>, ryyti@jyu.fi (Jarmo Ryyti) writes:
|> 
|> Yesterday driving home from Karelia I listened to a radio programme of the
|> Finns of Northern Norway who had a congress in Saariselk{, Northern Finland.
|> One representant of the congress, I think from Alattio explained how
|> so called Nordic cooperation is mostly just speeches. She mentioned
|> as an example how they have tried the norwegian authorities to accept the idea
|> having an own antenna receiving Finnish speaking radio-programmes from Finland,
|>  because there is nothing for them in Norwegian radio, she told that
|>  as a result of decades demanding aid for such a project 
|> the norwegian authorities
|> are against over there. The reason, she said, is that the norwegian
|> authorities are afraid that the Finns sthrengthen their culture and 
|> start demanding more and more (like education in finnish)
|> (You know there are places where is since 1600th century finnish people just
|> as a background information.)
|> 
|> Terveisi{,
|> Jarmo
--


I risk to continue an end- and meaning-less discussion - maybe I should
keep my big mouth shut, but somehow I haven't lost the hope of at last
having a deasent discussion.... (maybe I'm naiv... :-)

I think that if you look around in Norway, maybe in Sweden and Finland
too, you will find many small places/villages in which they don't even
get the official radio and TV broadcasts. In Norway the new TV station
(NRK TV2, financed by commercials) can be seen by less than 60 % of the
population (I'm uncertain of the 60 %..).

This is, of course, because the norwegian authorities are afraid that
the population sthrengthen their culture and start demanding more and
more .-)

To be a bit more serious: Do not believe in all you hear, and do not
take whatever as evidence of racism. The politicians have to decide how
to use the (more and more limited amount of) money most efficiently,
this means that a lot of good projects have to wait. We can agree or
disagree in how they do it, but no matter how it is done, some will
have to wait. And a lot of projects wait today, not only the antenna to
receive finnish broadcastings.

I think that the finns in northern Norway have been opressed earlier,
just like the sami population. But I can ensure you that this is not
the case today - at least not officially - and I am sure that the finns
in Norway are regarded as just as good norwegians as others - not by
all people, of course (weird people are found always and wherever), but
by the majority.

And I am sad to say that I don't think the finns are the ones who have
been treated worst. I think the sami population were treated worse in
the earlier days, and I think that the immigrants from Asia, Africa and
South-America are treated worse today by the racists.


+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Jan Arne Fagertun, Research Engineer, SINTEF Division Thermodynamics|
| E-mail: Jan.A.Fagertun@termo.unit.no                                |
| Phone : +47 7 596890                            Fax  : +47 7 944513 |
| Mail  : SINTEF/Varmeteknikk, 7034 Trondheim, Norway                 |
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