ROMANI IN FINLAND

MTV3 : Majority want Roma beggars to be deported

Finns are not prepared to accept beggars on the streets even during the summer months. In the view of most, they should be sent back home.

FROM ULE
http://yle.fi/uutiset/mtv3__majority_want_roma_beggars_to_be_deported/6077747

PHOTO A Roma beggar. Image: Yle/ Juha-Pekka Inkinen                                                  

According to a survey commissioned by commercial broadcaster MTVV3, as many as four-fifths of those asked favoured the deportation of Roma beggars currently in Finland.

As many as 85 percent of men questioned said they should be sent home while 81 percent of women thought the same.

In the view of Arto Tanner, a Docent at the University of Helsinki who has examined the plight of East European Roma, the views of Finns are quite surprising.

In his opinion, the tough stance taken by respondents gives officials a strong hand when dealing with beggars in the eyes of the law.

The MTV3 survey was carried out by Think If Laboratories Oy in April. Around 2,000 people were interviewed; the margin of error was three percentage points at most.