Integration of migrants in rural communities

Within Europe, the nation-states have failed to agree on a distribution of refugees across the European Union (Schwan & Zobel, 2019a), resulting in a disproportionate economic burden on the southern countries, in particular Greece, Italy and Spain. Although the new Commission is planning reforms (Lehmann, 2019), it has to be noted that, while states have failed to take adequate action, a number of municipalities that have been suffering from declining population numbers have realized the long-term demographic and economic potential of migration. In a

European society that is ageing, rural regions and small municipalities are already competing for people, and the arrival of new persons who are willing to become part of a local society and who want to contribute to that society’s economic development in the long run is an opportunity for rural and remote municipalities. It should not be ignored, however, that these gains for small communities in affluent countries often come at the cost of a brain drain affecting countries that are already suffering from war or disaster, such as Syria or Iraq. The focus on states, rather than municipalities, has not solved the refugee crisis (Schwan & Zobel, 2019a), and austerity policies that had been implemented to counteract the 2008 financial crisis have often hurt local economies (Schwan & Zobel, 2019a), especially in terms of infrastructure (Schwan & Zobel, 2019a). The latter is a process that is accelerated as people move away from villages to cities. But, although inbound migration can help small communities, integration demands resources: taking in refugees requires investments in municipalities by the state (Schwan & Zobel, 2019a) and the participation of different types of stakeholder in decision-making processes at the municipal level (Schwan & Zobel, 2019a). Through formalized participation procedures, such as advisory councils that would have a consultative function and would complement, rather than replace, the democratically elected local representative and executive institutions (Schwan & Zobel, 2019a), municipalities would be enabled to take different perspectives into account (Schwan & Zobel, 2019a). This in turn requires the existence of democratic structures, traditions and experiences at the local level.

In this context, the “local level” refers not only to municipalities, but to every settlement and village, even if a local community only consists of a few inhabitants. Participation has to be practical and realistically possible, which can be a particular challenge in sparsely populated areas in the EHN, where a municipal centre might be impractically far from outer parts of the municipality. From the perspective of public law, such an approach also requires strong guarantees about the ability of municipalities or regions to handle their own affairs based on ideas of subsidiarity and local self-determination. (On the situation in the Nordic countries, see Martinez Soria, 2007: 1018 et seq.) After all, municipalities are the place where many individuals experience the most direct contact with public authorities (Schwan & Zobel, 2019a; Karakurt, no year: 2), and municipalities are the institutions that provide many of the services most relevant for residents (Schwan & Zobel, 2019a). It is also at the local, municipal level that the integration of migrants actually happens (Schwan & Zobel, 2019a). That municipalities also want to be heard in the context of the integration of migrants can also be explained using the concept of subsidiarity (Schwan & Zobel, 2019a). Subsidiarity is a concept that has served the European Union well. In light of the particular geographical situation in the EHN, subsidiarity seems an obvious approach to the relationship between municipalities and states in the North as well. Subsidiarity goes both ways (Schwan & Zobel, 2019a) and requires mutual respect between different levels of public authorities (for an opposing view, favouring the role of the state instead of municipalities in the integration of migrants, see Heisterhagen, 2019).

Therefore, the integration of migrants has to happen on the local level. Whereas political and legal decisions regarding migration often happen in capital cities, the actual work of integration usually happens on the periphery, at the local level, involving local people. This has already been observed in countries outside the region that have had more experience with refugees and migrants than the remote communities of the EHN. For example, in Germany, which has seen the arrival of a large number of refugees and migrants in recent years, municipalities and regions are supported by the public availability of the results of research that has been undertaken by research institutions (see e.g. Deutsches Institut fur Urbanistik, 2016; Aumüller & Bred, 2008: 7 et seq.). Often, they also receive financial support from industry-related institutions (Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2018), non-governmental organizations, associations of municipalities (Deutscher Städtetag, 2016; Kommunale Gemeinschaftsstelle für Verwaltungsmanagement, 2017a, 2017b), governments (Der Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Migration, Flüchtlinge und Integration, 2019; Hessische Staatskanzlei, 2018b) and other actors. Financial support is provided by the state for the support of volunteer work within the municipalities (Hessische Staatskanzlei, 2018a). For example, in the German state of Hesse (German: Hessen), municipalities and districts {Landkreise) receive up to €30,000 per year for projects that are aimed at integrating refugees (Hessische Staatskanzlei, 2018a), but the clear expectation on the part of the state is that the work itself is done by locals on a voluntary basis (Hessische Staatskanzlei, 2018a). The focus of the responsibility, therefore, now rests with the local community rather than with the state. These amounts might be relatively small, given the enormity of the task at hand for many municipalities, but such funding highlights the respect of the state for the necessary work at the local level (for an overview on the integration of refugees in municipalities in Germany, see Aumüller, 2018). Volunteers at the local level are essential for the successful integration of migrants (Hessische Staatskanzlei, 2018b: 70), but they need to receive training (Hessische Staatskanzlei, 2018b: 71) and require adequate support structures (Hessische Staatskanzlei, 2018b: 71). It is noteworthy that the state government had to emphasize that volunteers who are already giving of their time should have their costs reimbursed (Hessische Staatskanzlei, 2018b: 71). The integration of refugees requires a participatory approach (Hessische Staatskanzlei, 2018b: 71) that involves multiple actors (Hessische Staatskanzlei, 2018b: 71), including political decision-makers at the local level (Hessische Staatskanzlei, 2018b: 71). In Germany, which is hosting almost 1.8 million persons seeking protection (Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Baden-Württemberg, 2019) - about 2 per cent of the total population (Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Baden-Württemberg, 2019) - it has been concluded that municipalities have been quick to react (Ohliger et al., no year: 35) and have been able to build on existing structures (Ohliger et al., no year: 35). This infrastructure includes local civil society entities, especially local non-governmental organisations, such as associations (Vereine), but there is a significant lack of resources and competences at the local level (Ohliger et al., no year: 35). Therefore, it can be concluded that the active participation of local civil society groups plays a significant

Migration and sustainable development 183 role in the successful integration of migrants into the host society, and that public authorities can directly strengthen civil society efforts in this regard through targeted funding.

This approach appears to be compatible with the political and societal situation in the European Arctic and subarctic regions as well. The EHN, at least the Nordic countries, provides an attractive model for life and work. The description of Norwegian society by Charles Emmerson may stand somewhat pars pro toto for life in the EHN:

Some Norwegians lament that the principles of social and political consensus are too restrictive. Others argue that stability has been bought at the price of excessive taxation. But from the outside there’s something approaching Platonic perfection about it all. There is an elegant, almost classical, equilibrium between freedom and the state, between capitalism and social cohesion, and between national identity and a typically Nordic internationalist vocation. Local affinities - something Plato would have seen as the basis of any true democracy - are still strong, partly because the country’s geography conspires against centralisation and partly because the country’s history saw a constant shift of power between its cities. [...] Society is made up of closely interlocking professional, social and regional networks. Shared values predominate. Even now, the population of the country is barely 5 million.

(Emmerson, 2011: 272 ct seq.)

He followed up with the obvious: “Above all, Norway is rich” (Emmerson, 2011: 273). The latter does not apply in equal measure to Sweden and Finland, but Emmerson’s cultural observations might also have been made of one of the other Nordic countries.

Integrating into Nordic societies, in particular in the sparsely populated EHN, requires a certain mindset, which might be more difficult to acquire than local language skills. Looking at the way schools in the EHN instill values such as sisu - a trait that is considered typically Finnish and might be explained (rather than translated) as “grit”, “strong will in the face of adversity” or “endurance” -in children, it becomes clear that this mindset is not country-specific and that it can be acquired by immigrants, too. Societies in the EHN are about freedom, equality and mutual respect, which is expressed in allowing each other space while remaining an active part of society. The focus on the strong welfare state, which is a predominant feature of the Nordic countries when seen from the outside, should not distract from the role of civil society in the EHN. Although not necessarily as formalized as, for example, in Germany, where the Vereinsleben - active membership of associations - is an important aspect of societal life in towns and villages, civil society plays an important role in the EHN, too. Therefore, also in the EHN, integration of migrants first and foremost happens at the local level, in the workplace and neighbourhoods. Adopting this Nordic understanding of freedom and a willingness to share - the latter being reflected in the wide acceptance of very high tax rates and the resulting level of post-taxation income equality compared withother states - is essential in order to thrive in the EHN. Often, this mindset also facilitates economic and professional success in the Nordic countries, although discrimination and inequalities are very real challenges faced (not only) by immigrants and other minorities. Although imagined ideas of a strong welfare state might dominate the mental picture outsiders might have of the North, practical values, such as sisu (on the “Nordic”, as opposed to merely Finnish, character of sisu, see Pantzar, 2018: 40) and the corresponding work ethic, are success factors for integration that should not be underestimated. For many migrants who have moved to the EHN and who already possessed these values prior to their arrival, the EHN has indeed proven to be a place of many opportunities. From the outside, the Nordic countries are perceived as almost a paradise (see e.g. Booth, 2014, or Stokowski, 2019), an assessment that is often based on personal, local experiences. Local effects can be put into a wider context: not only are municipalities in the Nordic countries relatively independent from the state (Martinez Soria, 2007: 1018 et seq.), it can be said that,

[t]he state exists as a tax collector, but the money is spent in the communes themselves, directed by the communes - for, say, skills training locally determined as deemed necessary by the community themselves, to respond to private demand for workers. The economic elites have more freedom [in the Nordic countries] than in most other democracies - this is far from the statism one can assume from the outside.

(Taleb, 2013: 131)

And this helps local communities build up resilience against economic shocks (ibid.).

In September 2019, it was reported that the municipalities of Kemi, Rovaniemi, Salla, Tervola, Tornio and Ylitornio were set to take in more refugees (Yle, 2019b). This decision came on the back of a rather successfol integration of refugees, especially in smaller, remote municipalities that one might not immediately suspect had the capacity to do so. Approximately half of the refugees taken in by Salla in the years 2017-2019 have remained in the small, remote municipality (Yle, 2019b), which is located on the border with Russia. Another success story can be seen in the integration of refugees on the western border with Finnish Lapland, where, in the municipality of Ylitornio, which borders Sweden, no refugees have moved away from the municipality (Yle, 2019a), thanks to the integration efforts made locally. Among the factors facilitating the integration of migrants, including refugees, in Finnish Lapland has been the involvement of existing migrant communities in the region (Yle, 2018). From the perspective of municipalities, the integration of refugees has already been economically beneficial owing to the financial support provided by the state (Kourilehto, 2019), and it has even been suggested by Schwan and Zobel that funding for municipalities for the integration of refugees should be provided by the European Union itself (Schwan & Zobel, 2019).