The All Points North podcast has been following the story of Kenyan university students studying in Finland as part of an education export programme. Some face the suspension of their studies — and possible deportation — due to non-payment of their school fees.
As the situation continues to take a toll on them, media in Finland have reported on the tragic death of one of the students, as well as allegations that others had turned to sex work to make ends meet. These developments have prompted Akinyi Mökkönen, an entrepreneur and activist who had been assisting the students, to set up a petition calling for an end to what she calls 'human trafficking in the name of education tourism from Kenya to Finland'.
"It could be prostitution or sleeping with X today, sleeping even with your classmate who might have more money than you, sleeping with somebody, something that you wouldn't have done if you were in a normal position. And this is why I'm calling it human trafficking," Mökkönen told APN.
APN tested Mökkönen's charge of human trafficking by speaking with Terhi Tafari of the National Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking. She outlined the hallmarks of human trafficking that authorities frequently flag.
"Human trafficking is exploitation through control. Usually it's for money—the goal is to get money out of somebody. It can also be some other gain that the exploiter is looking for. It could be sexual pleasure or just to exploit the work of somebody. The element of control is very significant," Tafari explained.
Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena or via Spotify
This week's episode also covers the surprise visit to Helsinki by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to attend a meeting of Nordic prime ministers hosted by President Sauli Niinistö.
During a press conference, a journalist raised the question of Finland donating old fighter jets to Ukraine. Niinistö said the conversation about fighter jets has centred around F-16s, not Hornets, and European countries have a lot fewer of the older aircraft in use.
"We like your aircraft—just so you know," Zelensky quipped.
Zena and Denise also reviewed plenty of listener feedback about Finnish authorities' decision not to introduce recommendations on smartphone usage by school children. The education authorities' reluctance to restrict phone usage is the subject of a citizens' initiative.
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This week's show was presented by Denise Wall and Zena Iovino. The sound engineer was Panu Willman.
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