FINLAND RECORD 502 CITIZENS DIED IN 2014 IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES AND - TopicsExpress



          

FINLAND RECORD 502 CITIZENS DIED IN 2014 IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES AND MISSIONS ABROAD PROVIDED ASSISTANCE TO ITS 44000 CITIZENS Finns faced more hardships abroad last year than ever before. The number of consular services provided to Finns in need of assistance by diplomatic missions increased from 40,000 in 2013 to 44,000 in 2014, according to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Typically, the problems encountered by Finns were related to missing travel documents. In addition, a record number of Finns, 502, died abroad last year, signalling an increase even from the levels of 2005 when the deaths of Finns who died in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami were entered in the statistics. The vast majority of those who lost their lives last year were brought back to Finland. The number of deaths has increased by 47 per cent over the past three years. The number of consular incidents, in turn, has doubled over the past ten years, reveals Teemu Turunen, the director of consular services at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. “Finns travel, live and work abroad more than before,” he points out. Finns made roughly six million trips abroad ten years ago and as many as ten million last year. Moreover, Finns are more inclined to travel independently and can thus no longer rely on assistance provided by travel agencies. “In addition, people are more aware of their own rights and more inclined to contact [the authorities],” Turunen adds. Last year, 909 Finns who were ill or involved in an accident abroad received assistance from a Finnish embassy or consulate. An additional 728 Finns required assistance after becoming the victim of a crime while abroad. The Consular Services Act stipulates that embassies and consulates are required to provide assistance to both Finnish citizens and foreigners living permanently in Finland.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 04:45:29 +0000

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