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By Jasmina Shreck
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Thursday, 11 December 2008 |
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65 Degrees North asks expats in Oulu, "What is your biggest fear?"
Stefanie, Student: “Actually I don’t have any big fears as I’m too optimistic. Maybe my biggest fear is that an economic crisis could come and I’d not be able to work.”
Pieter, Teacher: “That a bear appears in front of me while I’m cross-country skiing somewhere. That’s maybe my biggest fear here.”
Anonymous: “My biggest fear is that Finnish health care, especially in an emergency, might not be sufficient, quick or good enough.”
Anonymous: “I’ve a queasy feeling about the health care here. Especially about the detection of diseases, preventive examinations and the shortage of available doctors in summer. Also it scares me that you can be left without any insurance at all after your employment contract has expired.”
Female, about 30: “I can only agree on the queasy feeling about the health care. I’m afraid that I won’t get medical treatment immediately when I need it but that it could take ages till there’s a doctor available. There are just too few doctors and too many patients. However, so far I haven’t made bad experiences. Another thing is the employment sector. The unemployment rate is high in my field, and not only there. So far I’ve always gotten a job, and at the moment I have different temporary jobs. What’s missing, though, is some kind of certainty about it all – I never know how it will go on after a few months.”
Anonymous: “My biggest fear now is to fail to have a next position (my current one ends near May) and be abandoned by my boss. I cannot tell if I am just another random student for him or a valuable colleague.”
Alfred, end of his 50s: “I’m optimistic and positive by nature, thus fears are kept within limits. In general there are some fears I have about the climate change and then also a fear of overpopulation. Maybe that’s a vague reason why I ended up in Finland, there’s still some room here, and people don’t have to live so close to each other as in Germany for example.”
Female, end of her 20s: “I’m worried about the health care system. So far I haven’t made good experiences but no bad ones, either. Sometimes I’m also worried about the pension plan, taxes etc. Maybe I have understood something wrong somewhere? Missed something? Would it have been correct to write this or something else? I need ages to fill in official documents because I want to ask five people for their opinion first.”
Julia, student: “Well, that’s hard to say. I don’t really know what I fear, probably nothing. Maybe to get a depression as it’s that dark here and too much to do at school. Also seriously getting ill and that my parents don’t manage to get here in this situation as well as that something bad happened at home and I can’t get there in time. I’m also worried about not being able to maintain my friendships with my friends in Germany because I see them not more than once a year.”
Gerhard, Teacher: “That the xenophobia in the form of the True Finns increases that much that financial and material resources are cut down in a way that it affects my daughter, who is a Thai and disabled. That’s where they are going to save first.”
Lothar, Teacher: “I don’t have big fears and haven’t yet thought about this question. Of course you’re afraid of not being able to meet the requirements anymore when getting older. Ailments start to occur with the age of 50.”
Erwn, chemist: “If I’m able to find a job. I moved to Finland in 1984 and Finland was still very ‘homogenous’. But not ‘Fear eats the soul’-like, saying that I was ‘worried’ is maybe already a bit too strong. I was just thinking about it then.
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