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Finnish banker says to donate 10,000 euros to asylum seekers

Xinhua, September 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

The governor of Bank of Finland will donate 10,000 euros (11,171 U.S. dollars) to help asylum seekers in Finland, reported Finnish national broadcaster Yle on Monday.

Chief of Finnish central bank Erkki Liikanen said in his Facebook post late Sunday that he will donate his one month's net salary -- 10,000 euros to refugees via the Finnish Red Cross' fund raising, according to Yle.

He called on major powers in the world to support political solutions for the crises in the Middle East and northern Africa, which are driving influx of refugees to Europe.

He also appealed to Finns to step up and give their hands to asylum seekers arriving in Finland.

Last Saturday, Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila pledged to provide his little-used house to refugees, setting an example for the Finnish society and citizens to shoulder part of the burden in the refugee crisis.

Since the beginning of this year, a large number of refugees have poured into the European Union. Last week, the Finnish Ministry of Interior raised its estimate of number of asylum seekers arriving in Finland in 2015 from 15,000 to 30,000. Endit