To say “just learn Finnish then” as a solution to all the issues is short-sighted

Eliise Tani, Student Union of University of Arts Helsinki Member of the Board, spoke at the General Assembly of the National Union of University Students of Finland 

Here in front of you is an Estonian who speaks administrative Finnish well, who moved to Helsinki in 2018 to study French horn at the University of the Arts Helsinki. I will graduate with a master's degree this Christmas and move back to my hometown, because even I, an Estonian who speaks Finnish and has been active in the student movement for two years, do not feel welcomed in to Finnish society. 

Even though my university doesn’t think I have a disability because I am not blind or in a wheelchair, I still am mildly disabled - but maybe it is a good thing so I cannot be paraded around as a token of diversity – a disabled international degree student – on their social media. I have seven short fingers and have to wear prosthethic feet daily. It means that on a bad day - because not all days are the same - walking more than a few hundred metres causes me uncomfortable pain. The impairments clearly don’t affect my life much - otherwise I would not be here, but they could have - I am grateful to my parents for choosing to raise me themselves, for believing in me every day and providing resources not available to those that end up in state care.  

The most disabling experience of my life however was the start of my studies in Helsinki. This was not because of my physical disability, but because of language accessibility. Not being able to read signs on campus, not being able to access services, not being able to read relevant documents – this was my daily life prior to becoming good enough at Finnish. The social model views disability as a social construct, which arises from the relationship between individuals with impairments and a society that disables them. My impairment and roadblock to student representative positions, internships and summer jobs was not even my disability, it was the lack of speaking fluent Finnish.  

The Finnish society and student union movement are ableist when it comes to inclusion of international degree students as the requirement of fluent Finnish prevents us from being able to build a network that would allow an international degree student to stay in Finland long-term. In most places international students are not able to take on representative positions within universities due to Finnish being required or if they do happen to get on the board of a student union they will be put on international students’ issues so their inclusion is less disruptive – whereas the Finnish students get to negotiate which sectors they would like to work with. Many internships that get catered to students through universities are only marketed and available if you speak fluent Finnish. When applying for summer jobs – – a quintessential part of the Finnish student experience – then even jobs that claim not to require fluent Finnish they are still far more likely to hire a Finn so to make things ‘easier’ on the whole team.  

Monia yliopiston kautta tarjottavia harjoittelupaikkoja markkinoidaan ja tarjotaan vain sinulle, jos puhut sujuvaa suomea. Kun haetaan kesätöitä – mikä on olennainen osa suomalaista opiskelijakokemusta – niin jopa työpaikat, jotka eivät vaadi sujuvaa suomen kieltä, palkkaavat silti paljon todennäköisemmin suomalaisen, jotta koko tiimin asiat olisivat ”helpompia”. On muistettava, että juuri yllä mainitut asiat auttavat sinua todennäköisimmin saamaan ensimmäisen työpaikkasi valmistumisen jälkeen ja että myös suomalaiset vammaiset opiskelijat kohtaavat hakemisessa haasteita. 

To say “just learn Finnish then” as a solution to this problem is short-sighted. Learning the language alone will not combat the assumptions that people make based on your name and appearance. It will not replace the contacts gained through the networks of one’s parents and friends from high school. Additionally, even if you do your best to learn Finnish, your accent and any mistakes you make will be pointed out – or even worse, the reply being in English, rendering your attempt to practice speaking Finnish useless, strengthening the underlying message that you will never learn Finnish. We need more language accessibility, for intermediate language levels to be recognised, support to build networks and allies to vouch for fairer treatment of us in society. 

The first international degree students have fought their way into y-liike. .I know in my heart of hearts that with the help of you all, we can do better in supporting both students with disabilities and international degree students for them to succeed, by providing accessibility to student representative positions in your home universities, to internships and to jobs that currently require fluent Finnish. I call upon you, y-liike to serve as the leading example of an inclusive society. 

Kiitos! Tack! Thank you! 

(Kuva: NooraHakulinen/SYL)