Migration Strategies at the Time of a Crisis: Asylum Applicants in Finland

Abstract

During the 2015-2016 ‘migration crisis’ in Europe, more than 38.000 asylum seekers found their way to Finland by travelling through South and Central Europe and from Russia through the Arctic route. In this chapter, we examine the ‘migration crisis’ as a combination of different forms of crises. We focus on the perspective of the asylum applicants: In which ways do ‘crises’ function as drivers of migration for the people on the move? The analysis is based on two sets of qualitative data collected: 18 official asylum application protocols of Syrian migrants who came to Finland through Northern Russia and so-called the Arctic route and 25 interviews with Iraqi asylum seekers. We argue that the possibilities to settle in, and build a home and sentiments of belonging are dependent on the ability to feel secure in one’s everyday life, trust the system and be able to see a future in that place. The failure of this manifests as two types of crises in the lives of our informants: a crisis of trust, and a personal ontological crisis of existence.