The Arabic-speaking social media groups of those coming to Finland became lively as the Finnish government’s deadline for border decisions approached.
The government said on Tuesday that the Niirala and Vaalimaa border stations will open on Thursday at midnight.
The discussion was already activated days before the government’s announcement. followed the conversations in large message groups on Facebook, Telegram and Whatsapp. has not been able to get confirmation of the information published in the groups from other sources. All information may not be true.
The conversation is clearly attentive and under the influence of uncertainty. Many follow message threads in groups, even if they do not actively participate in them.
The group members follow the border situation from the Finnish media. On Tuesday, one group shared, for example, Helsingin Sanomat’s news about the government’s upcoming press conference.
“URGENT: The Finnish government will announce today whether the Russian border crossings will be opened or whether the closure will continue,” writes the person who shared the news in the post below.
For example, maps of open border crossings published by and Ilta-Sanomi have also been shared in social media groups.
The groups include both those interested in crossing the border and human smugglers. However, the services offered by smugglers from Russia to Finland have decreased, and those who aspire to the EU are more suspicious of them now than they were in November.
One author advises that the Russian authorities and the smugglers do not have agreements with each other, despite what the smugglers have claimed. Thus, the services of smugglers are not needed to cross the border.
“If the border is open, you can cross it freely. Previously, a thousand people crossed the border into Finland without the help of smugglers.”
For many, Finland is just a transit country
Group members share information about, for example, a Russian bus company that sold bus tickets from St. Petersburg to Finland even before the government announced the opening of border stations.
Members of the group ask if they can buy a bus ticket even if they don’t have the necessary travel documents.
Arabic-speaking people living or staying in Finland also discuss in the groups. Many offer rides from Finland to Sweden or Germany. According to one user, rides would be available every day. You could get from Finland to Germany by car for 1500 euros.
Finland does not seem to be a destination for many people crossing the border. One social media chatter asks about other people’s experiences of taking fingerprints at Finnish border stations. The obvious purpose is not to leave a trace in the official register in Finland, which is a transit country.
“I want to travel from Russia to Germany via Finland. — Is it mandatory to take fingerprints in Finland, or can I leave the fingerprints taken in Finland and continue directly to Germany?”
Fear of the reaction of the Russian authorities
reached a Syrian man in St. Petersburg by phone, who said that two of his acquaintances had left for the border. The intention is to aim for Finland as soon as Thursday.
The man is waiting to see how the acquaintances are doing. Only then will he make his own departure decision. There is a great deal of uncertainty in social groups about whether it will be possible to enter Finland despite the opening of the border crossings.
Trust in the Russian authorities is especially tested. That’s what this thread from Tuesday talks about:
“Russia opens the borders but makes the situation difficult for asylum seekers. I do not know why.”
“I don’t think Russia will allow crossing the border.”
“The Russians do exactly as they please.”
“The Russian police prevent those who do not have the required documents from crossing the border.”
According to rumors circulating on social media, the situation is clearly different from November, when the Russian authorities allowed and even transported people to the border area without the required travel documents.
There are dark rumors about the activities of the Russian authorities, and many people trying to cross the border now fear that they will fall into their hands. According to rumors, the Russians have been searching for asylum seekers staying in the country without a Russian visa and arresting them.
According to some interlocutors, there are several asylum seekers in Russia awaiting deportation.
has found out that Russia is also recruiting refugees left in the country to the front in Ukraine by questionable means.
Striving for the border could therefore mean surrendering into the hands of the Russian authorities who are looking for them, social media chatters fear. In a WhatsApp group, it is said that young men who tried to cross the border were arrested in Vyborg on Wednesday.
The concern of people following the freezing situation has also arisen that they could get stuck between Russia and Finland:
“If a large number of migrants arrive at the border like in previous weeks, Finland can close these two border posts again.”
“Of course. But this time the Russian government won’t let the migrants turn back.”