Dear people behind Samtak
I have followed your struggle to get the immigration law improved before it was passed. I must say that I do understand very well, that you are sorry, frustrated and angry over parts of the law.
The campaign
However, the campaign you now have started with full page ads in English with the sarcastic subject "Welcome, foreign workers" is completely incorrectly addressed. It has been addressed directly to the foreigners, who have received a job offer in the Faroe Islands, and who are coming here in good faith. In my opinion the ad is repulsive.
In the text, you try to make it sound like you are doing the foreigners a favor by providing some basic information about the labor market.
However, what is blatantly obvious to the reader is that the foreign workers are not welcome. By this, I think that you are crossing the limits of decency. People who come here to work legally are not to blame that our politicians haven' t done their homework properly before the law was passed. The foreign workers arrive here eager to start work, eager to meet new people and to experience a new culture. Just as when we travel abroad, just as when we let our children go to other countries to work, educate themselves, etc. etc.
Igniting racism
I think that the campaign also shows how you are calling for your new colleagues to be frozen out of the Faroese labor market. There is no offer of a membership in any of your unions. I think this is highly inappropriate and embarrassing to witness - as a Faroese citizen.
I feel that with this campaign you are creating a division between the Faroese people and the foreign workers. In fact, you are igniting racism. Maybe you feel the politicians are
to blame and perhaps they are by passing a law that differentiates between Faroese and foreign workers – BUT that is no excuse for a large organization such as yourselves to jump on the racism bandwagon
Address your anger to the politicians
I think that you should put an ad in the newspaper and apologize to the foreign workers and guests of our country. Then, continue your fight addressing those who can actually
do something about the problem - the politicians.
Big disappointment
When I first read the full page newspaper ad - with large flowers in beautiful summer colors - I thought that finally there was an ad here which positively addressed all foreigners. After all, they live and work here and they are also making the life on these small islands so much more vibrant. Even bigger was the disappointment when I read and understood that this was absolutely not a positive ad offering foreigners welcome to our country.
The foreigners who come here have no way of knowing the background for this campaign and they can therefore not see the sarcastic undertone of it. Instead the ad comes across as extremely offensive and xenophobic
Welcome
I am incidentally one of those who enjoy meeting people from around the world in the supermarket, on the streets, etc. It gives me a feeling that even though I live in the Faroe Islands we are a part of the globalized world. In conclusion, I would like to welcome foreigners to the Faroe Islands and I will ask the politicians to solve any issues associated with foreign workers coming here to work. Issues such as Samtak have highlighted.
