Thousands of Iraqi Refugees in Finland Cancel Asylum Applications and Return Home

Heh.

They don't feel welcome. And besides, it's cold up there in Finland.

Gives new meaning to a "chilly reception."

At the Telegraph UK, "Iraqi refugees in Finland returning home due to 'chilly weather and hostile locals'":

Thousands of applications for asylum have been cancelled, officials say, with Finland chartering flights to take the refugees back to Baghdad from next week.

Thousands of Iraqis who arrived in Finland last year have decided to cancel their asylum applications and return home, with some saying they dislike the frosty weather and find the locals unfriendly.

More than 4,100 applications for asylum have been cancelled, officials say, with Finland chartering flights to take the refugees back to Baghdad from next week.

Though the majority say they yearn to be reunited with their families, others are simply disillusioned with the Nordic way of life, according to a local travel agent in Helsinki.

Muhiadin Hassan, who is selling up to twenty tickets to Baghdad each day, told Reuters: "Some say they don't like the food here, it's too cold or they don't feel welcome in Finland. There are many reasons."

Finland's intake of asylum seekers rose nearly tenfold last year, after applications increased from 3,600 in 2014 to 32,500 in 2015.

Nearly 80 per cent of the returnees are Iraqis, while just 22 of the 877 Syrians who have sought asylum in Finland have asked to return home...