Indian slum in Oulu?

The local church magazine has an item in which it says that one of the parishes in Myllyoja, in co-operation with a local school, is going to create, here in Oulu, for a period of two days, 22nd and 23rd of September 2005, an Indian Slum.

The process is, supposedly, to educate Finnish school children about how life is in an Indian Slum.

Without an Indian man, who lazily lounges on the rope cot smoking his beedi and drinking his hutch, while the women and children of the slum work like bees around him, no Indian Slum would be complete.

I am thinking of volunteering for that job so they can have a real life Indian Slum Dweller. :-)

It would also be nice if the Finns, especially this parish and the school rector, would also show the children how a REAL Finnish Oulu Slum also looks like.

We have pictures from a real Oulu Slum (not a fake one) which lies in one of the poshest areas of Oulu, in the shadow of Nokia's High Technology Building, taken at various times between March 2004 and August 2005.

Recently, the Oulu Police had to give permission for a few artists to create and live in a slum type dwelling in Oulu for just a FEW DAYS.

However, in the case of this real OULU SLUM we highlight here, the Oulu Police, the Environmental Authorities, the Health Authorities and Social Workers, the Chief Executive of the City of Oulu, and MANY local and national politicians know of the existence of this slum, and the absolutely unhygenic and horrible conditions in it, but not a single person or organisation has come forward to help or rescue these Oulu slum dwellers.

One Health Worker told us that they had been told not to enter the slum dwelling!

Even the local newspaper journalists whom we informed of this slum have remained ABSOLUTELY SILENT.

These slum dwellers just happen to be poor individuals unable to take care of their personal matters.

Their Public Guardian, who is a senior member of the Oulu City Administration, who is supposed to look after the affairs of these slum dwellers, and the Oulu Magistrate Guardianship Authority, which is supposed to supervise how the Guardians looks after those in their care and custody, have remained silent for over 5 years while these people have been made to suffer and live in these totally degrading conditions.

In fact, in a recent court case the Guardianship Authority vouched for the professionalism of the Public Guardian in whose custody and care these unfortunate slum dwellers are!

Despite our informing the Finnish Parliamentary Ombudsman of this horrific situation as far back as January 2005, absolutely nothing has been done to assist these slum dwellers by the local authorities. Only the Environmental Department and some doctors and nurses from the local medical centre have visited these slum dwellers. They have gone away, some of them seen laughing at the desperate plight of these unfortunate people.

Justice delayed is justice denied.

Another miserable winter awaits these poor people in Oulu.

The garden is a rubbish tip. The inside of the cramped slum dwelling is a disgrace.

Here is a picture of the Toilet Facility in the one-roomed pokey Slum Dwelling - the Blue Bucket:

Toilet Facility in the Slum Dwelling - the Blue Bucket

To see a complete slide presentation of the slum, you can visit the Oulu Slum web page. Click on the first picture ON THAT PAGE you will see a slide show of 84 pictures of the slum.