The newly-arrived Roma panhandlers have already experienced health problems in the bitter winter weather, but they say they would rather deal with Finland’s frigid conditions than return home.
Marjatta Vesalainen of the Helsinki Deaconess Institute says she receives inquiries daily from people wanting to help the Roma in their homeland.
She says she believes Finns could sponsor Roma families in eastern Europe, a concept that has been tried in Austria. Under the plan, Roma families receive direct financial support on the condition that their children attend school.
Vesalainen says Finnish firms should also help the Roma, pointing out that the Finnish textile industry could benefit from the handicraft expertise of Roma women. The men could start their own car repair businesses, says Vesalainen, adding that this has been a means of employment for these men in Bulgaria.
Roma beggars from eastern Europe first arrived in Finland three years ago.