Hundreds of predominantly Iraq migrants who have traveled through Europe to reach Finland are turning back, saying they don't want to stay in the sparsely-populated country on Europe's northern frontier because it's too cold and boring, the AFP (Agence France-Presse) website reports today (September 25, 2015).
Migrants have in recent weeks been crossing back into Sweden at the Haparanda-Tomio border just an hour's drive south of the Arctic Circle, and Finnish authorities have seen a rise in the number of canceled asylum applications.
"You can tell the world I hate Finland. It's too cold. there's no tea, no restaurants, no bars, nobody on the streets, only cars," 22-year-old Muhammed told AFP in Tomio, as the mercury struggled to reach 50 degrees on a recent blustery grey day.
He had already traveled from Tomio to Helsinki -- the capital of Finland -- almost 465 miles south, and then back up to the Tomio border again to return to Sweden.
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