Tuesday 19 May 2015

There's no corruption in Finland.

Finns say there is no corruption in Finland, and while the levels of corruption are definitely much lower than in the rest of the world and Trinidad, today I read proof that there is corruption in Finland.

I came across an article in the Helsinki Times about the former head of the Drug Task Force Jari Aarnio. He has been charged with several drug related crimes and misuse of his position. The article reported that a cell phone used to make drug deals was recently found in his garage. The phone was found some time ago at a site of investigation and later disappeared from the police's evidence room. Sound familiar Trinis? It has now been found in Aarnio's parking garage. In addition to aiding drug dealers in smuggling hashish to Finland from the Netherlands, he also supposedly obstructed justice by tipping off his collaborators to prevent them from being caught, and by threatening a witness. He sent criminal gang members to visit the witness and they threatened to kill the witness's family. He also placed a gang member in the cell next to the witness while he was in jail. The article reported that he even hired a prostitute who said she was taken to his office during work hours. He reportedly had sex with her while working and taking care of his official duties at the same time. Talk about multitasking! This article sounded like something I would read about in a Trinidadian Newspapers! This must be why Finland has slipped from number one in the corruption index to number three.

Finland slips in corruption index

So don't believe the hype, it's not true. There is corruption in Finland. It's just less and well hidden. Trinis are just more brazen with their corruption.

Here are the only two articles I could find about Jari Aarnio in English. They are a year old and don't mention the new evidence and witness statements I read about today.

 Prosecutors demand a 13 year sentence for Aarnio

Cash stash found at home of Jari Aarnio

Monday 18 May 2015

Roti in Helsinki

I've been so busy I haven't blogged in months. So many ideas so little time! However, I thought I should find the time to briefly let you know about a little venture I undertook over the weekend.

On Saturday I hosted a pop-up restaurant on Restaurant Day here in Helsinki. With lots of help from friends, I made fifty bite-size rotis to sell. I kept it simple since I sold them in a park, and made basic plain rotis (dahlpuri roti is too much work!) with curry chicken, potato and chick peas inside. So just a one-pot filling. I am happy to report they all sold out in approximately two and a half hours and everyone said it was fantastic. Even the Trinis said it was good, so that is high praise.

If you don't know what Restaurant Day is, it's a food carnival started in Finland a few years ago where anyone can have a pop-up restaurant and sell food. It is now held four times a year and has spread to many other countries and cities around the world.

For those of you who are wondering what roti is. It is traditionally an Indian dish consisting of a flat bread (called roti). Wrapped inside could be any curried vegetables or meat of your choice. Trinidadian cuisine is heavily influence by our large Indian population and roti is one of our most popular street foods. Indians were brought to Trinidad in 1839 by the English as a cheap labour force to replace the recently freed slaves on their sugar plantations.

Restaurant Day was a very positive experience. We were happy to represent Trinidad and Tobago and we were gratified that the public loved it. I even met a new Trini who said she came all the way from Porvo to taste my roti!