Ghetto groceries

At the end of last year, I was asked to rewrite a cover story that dealt with the rise of ethnic commerce in Finland, particularly Helsinki. The article dealt with the fact that the mainstream Finnish retail sector was ignoring the influx of immigrants and their demands, which has led to a boom in the number of ethnic grocery shops.

My first thought was 'Why should retailers cater to the needs of immigrants? Why can't immigrants integrate into society by shopping at Finnish supermarkets?' Instead of 'give and take', it seemed to be 'take and take some more' on the part of the immigrants.

As an immigrant, albeit a Western EU foreigner, I have never searched out products from my own country or felt that they should even be available to me. Naturally, the stores stock international brands that I recognise from back home, but that is a bonus on my part. I will buy and eat Finnish brands and products without feeling bitter or forced.

I made the choice to move to Finland to live among Finns and not create a small slice of England. Ethnic grocery stores contribute to the problem of ghettos and remove another area that could be used in successful integration. Prejudice and fear stem from the fear from the unknown and if immigrants are buying their own 'special' food from different stores and are avoiding Finnish environments can lead to increased suspicion.

Plenty of immigrants do shop in Finnish supermarkets and many Finns shop in ethnic stores, but it is the idea that an ethnic store can become the heart of a ghetto; the recreation of their homeland in a country that has accepted them. Immigrants have their own cultural centres, own places of worship, own barbers, own funeral directors and many more that allows them to live a full life without ever talking Finnish or interacting with a Finn.

Responsibility for the creation of ghettos does not stop with the relevant authorities because immigrants are also accountable. The immigrants are equally xenophobic as the locals and do not help the situation with their own feelings of distrust, but what did they expect upon moving to a foreign country? Don't they remember being in the majority back home and their thoughts of the immigrants there?

As a Western EU foreigner, I am baffled how certain nationalities will form ghettos, while others don't. As far as I know there is no English, American or Greek ghetto within Helsinki or anywhere in the world, but please correct me if I am wrong. It takes people to move to a ghetto to create a one, so the liability sits with both parties, the Finnish authorities and the immigrants.

The problem is never as simple, since perhaps the reason immigrants stick to their own is the fear of Finn's reactions to being in their environment; Catch-22, otherwise known as life. How many immigrants have never been into a Finnish supermarket? What is their excuse? Fear of Finns or they don't think the shelves will carry anything they want to eat?

While rewriting the article I had all these questions, but since I did not do the research and interviews I did not get any answers. I am curious as to why some immigrants feel that their demands should be met and how they feel shopping at an ethnic store instead of the local supermarket like everybody else.