Stepping off the bus, the freezing air bit at my skin with sharpness as snowflakes had gently been touching my face. It was -22°C, and though it was mid-afternoon, the sun hung low on the horizon, casting long, golden rays across the snow—a reminder that I was, for the first time, north of the Arctic Circle.
Last week, I traveled to Finnish Lapland for my fieldwork as part of REBOUND, a six-year project dedicated to fostering a just green transition in northern Finland. While every fieldwork begins with a journey, the true destination is always the human connection found upon arrival. In this short reflection, I will share about such connections I built over my one-week journey.
My fieldwork began in Rovaniemi, at the Arktikum Museum, where we held our first art-based workshop with the support of Vova (Uladzimir) from Startup Refugees. Here, we began to crack open the black box of what it means to be a migrant/refugee laborer in a region undergoing massive industrial change. Forestry and solar energy workers from all walks of life shared their stories of navigating the work life in Finland.
A few days later, a two-hour bus ride brought me further north to Sodankylä, a municipality of 8,000 people that is becoming an unexpected crossroads of the world. My time there, hosted warmly by local organizers Pekka and Annele, revealed a community that defies the stereotype of a uniform North. Over a traditional lunch of poron käristys (sautéed reindeer) and mashed potatoes, Pekka shared that their closest friends and neighbors—including a French geologist—are immigrants working in the local mines. This conversation indeed prepared me for the rest of my stay there: in the heart of the Arctic, global lives are reshaping Finnish society.
The second workshop we held was at the Language Café (Kielikahvila) organized by Järjestökeskus Kitinen, where we, once more, focused on the lived experiences of these workers. The participants represented vast expertise driving the region’s green sectors, including a mining student from Mexico, a mining specialist from Iran, and a meteorology engineer from India. Yet, despite their vital contributions, the sessions revealed that their integration is often navigated through a series of uncertainties and barriers.
During our visual tasks in Rovaniemi and Sodankylä, we addressed how the Finnish immigration framework weighs on these migrants’ everyday lives. The tightening of legal and policy measures has created tangible barriers to feeling secure in their new homes and personal challenges. As I see it, these are not merely bureaucracy; they are felt deeply in the daily realities of those trying to build a future in Lapland.
Although each experience is unique, my own journey as a migrant, along with my professional work with refugees on the Greek islands (2021-2023) and now with migrant and refugee workers in Finnish Lapland, has reinforced a shared truth: migrants want to be heard, seen, and treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their legal status or personal backgrounds. At the end of the Language Café in Sodankylä, when participants thanked me for making their voices heard, I realized once again that creating safe spaces for expression is so vital for recognition and participation, especially in remote geographies where these narratives are often overlooked.
As the low winter sun was illuminating the white landscape behind vast taiga forests on my return trip from Sodankylä, this pristine silence of the scenery was pierced by some industrial hints. As I observed the road signs for mining companies like Eurolabs, I was reminded that the infrastructure of Lapland is being built and shaped by diverse individuals from across the globe. My goal with REBOUND remains to enhance these “silent voices”, making sure that their lived realities—and the legal and social challenges they face—do not remain unheard but are recognized as integral to the future of Finnish Lapland. My work on migrant workers in Lapland’s green sectors is to be continued, so stay tuned!
PORTFOLI(O)SSO 