Close Quarters? Finland Houses Muslim Refugees in Former Pig Center

In a controversial move, a new refugee facility for mainly Muslim migrants has reportedly opened at the former swine breeding research center in the Finnish town of Hyvinkää.

The former pig breeding research center in the Finnish town of Hyvinkää currently serves as a new refugee facility for predominantly Muslim migrants, according to the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti; the center's executive director was quoted as saying that the refugees being deployed to the center caused "no problems."

According to Milja Saksi, of Luona oy, the joint stock company providing health and social services, about 100 asylum seekers, mainly Muslims, have already arrived in the center. Saksi added that the center can hold a total of 300 people.

The decision to accommodate refugees in the swine center raised many eyebrows given that Islam bans Muslim people from eating pork products, not least because swine are believed to be a dirty animal, in accordance with religious doctrine.

Commenting on whether Muslims would agree to live there, Saksi said that prior to the migrants' arrival, representatives of Luona oy had a conversation with a Muslim theologian and Imam, who claimed that there would be no problems related to the Muslim refugees' accommodation in the Hyvinkää center.

Saksi assured that the center was closed down more than two years ago, and that there was no pigsty inside the facility.

"I do not know whether the asylum seekers were briefed on the fact that that they will be living in a former swine research center; in any case, we are not going to hide it," Saksi said.

According to the Finnish Interior Ministry's estimates, the total number of refugees expected to arrive in the country this year will reach about 50,000 people.