
There is a sense of tension in the pretty, snow-covered Finnish town - an underlying fear which makes parents hold their children a little closer, and angry resentment towards the group of young men who arrived just a month ago.

Kempele, almost 400 miles north of Helsinki, is usually a place where 17,000 unassuming townfolk while away the hours playing ice hockey.

But that peaceful existence has been ripped apart by the rape of a 14-year-old girl as she walked home on a Monday night a fortnight ago.

The alleged culprit is one of the young men living at a migrant centre, which locals did not want in the first place.

But far from being an anomaly, Kempele - which saw hundreds take to the streets in an anti-immigration march last weekend - has become a snapshot of a country where people patrol the streets in vigilante mobs, block people crossing the border and even dress as the Ku Klux Klan at angry protests against the influx of refugees.

The situation is not so tense in some parts of the country. MailOnline went 10 miles north of Kempele to Oulu where migrants at the Vallinkorva are living quietly and say they have been made to feel welcome in the town after fleeing the war-torn countries of Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.

And the country's Prime Minister Juha Sipilä has offered newcomers a warm welcome - and even said they can use one of his homes in Kempele, where he was born, to use as emergency accommodation.

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Unrest: In the snow covered town of Kempele, 400 miles north of Helsinki, locals are angry after a youth migrant centre opened in the town and two weeks later a schoolgirl aged 14 was raped. The situation is mirrored around other parts of Finland where there have been protests against immigration. In Lahti, migrants arriving at military base were met by protesters, including a man dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member

Resentment: There were angry protests in Kempele last weekend where hundreds of locals turned out onto the streets to protests against the centre, which wasn't wanted in the first place. Just north of Kempele, in Oulu, there were also demos against Kastelli emergency hostel

In Kempele, the rape of the schoolgirl, just a fortnight after the centre for young migrants opened, sent shockwaves through the community.

Rumours quickly spread around the town that two asylum seekers from Afghanistan had been arrested over the assault.

It has since emerged that police have arrested a 17-year-old boy at the centre, who is in custody awaiting trial.

It was the spark needed for those who had opposed the centre in the first place to take to the streets - as hundreds turned out for a protest march demanding it be closed immediately.

'Finland for the Finns! Close down the centre!’ they chanted.

They marched from the town square to the municipal house, and on towards the immigration centre, with many clutching Finnish flags.

‘We decided to sing the Finnish anthem in front of the immigration centre,’ one of the marchers, Janne Halunen, who is also local councillor for the right-wing True Finns party, told MailOnline.

But there was no one there to hear them, as all 30 asylum seekers inside the centre had been temporarily evacuated for their own safety to avoid any further confrontations and inflame the situation.

They are back now - but the calls for the centre to be shut grow louder by the day.

Mr Halunen said: ‘It’s in the interests of the Kempele people that the centre is closed down. People genuinely feel threatened.’

Tension: Locals protested against the immigration centre opening in Kempele (pictured) a month ago and now feeling against it has reached breaking point after a 14-year-old girl just two weeks after the centre opened. An Afghan refugee, 17, has been charged with rape

Journey: The situation is mirrored across Finland as people there are concerned over the number of migrants, 190,000 so far this year, coming across the border from Sweden. In October Fins formed human chains to block refugees at the country's borders

Furious: Anti-migration protesters with banners reading 'This is far from child's play' (left) and 'Close the borders, damn!'. In Kempele, in the north, residents took to the streets in protest at the unpopular hostel, 'Finland for the Finns! Close down the centre!’ they chanted

Dangerous: Tension in Kempele is mirrored around Finland. This week in Kankaanpaa, 165 miles northwest of Helsinki, a building being used to house refugees was burned to the ground

He added: ‘Rape is such a pathetic act. Every rapist’s balls should be cut off and then they should be hanged.’

Mr Halunen's fears and anger are echoed by the residents on the streets of this once sleepy town, awoken with a jolt by the new arrivals.

Inkeri Haapakoski, who was walking her dog at the town square, said: ‘It’s a good thing they had the demonstration. The rape of the little girl was terrible.’

Jari Ukonmaanaho is, like many parents, now worried for the safety of her own daughter.

‘I take my 13-year-old to school every morning now, which I didn’t do before,’ she told MailOnline.

‘I have two dogs that I take on walks in the evenings. I don’t go wandering around neighbourhoods which are unknown to me,’ said Annika Lyly, 25, adding that she has nothing positive to say about the migrants that have come to Kempele.

At the local pub Karhunpesa, meaning the Bear’s Nest, fear and anxiety have transformed into rage, and threats of violence are rife.

‘Everybody is angry. The way people talk is ten times worse that what is said in public,’ said bar owner Ilkka Toikkanen.

‘For example, people have said that young men leaving Syria and Iraq are deserters. Then they ask, "What did we do to deserters when Finland was at war with Russia? We shot them".’

Rage: One of the Kempele protestors was municipal right-wing councillor Janne Halunen. He is furious that the government ignored the will of the town's residents and installed the centre and told MailOnline: ‘We decided to sing the Finnish anthem in front of the centre’

Aggression: Ilkka Toikkanen, the owner of the Karhunpesa pub, said 99 per cent of conversations he hears are against the new arrivals. He told MailOnline: ‘Everybody is angry. The way people talk is ten times worse that what is said in public'

Scared: Annika Lyly (pictured), 25, told MailOnline there is a fear not previously seen in the snow covered, picturesque town, and how she she's careful about where she goes walking her dogs since the centre opened. When residents marched on the centre last weekend, 30 asylum seekers living there had been moved for their own safety

Mr Toikkanen said that of the dozens of conversations he has heard about the centre, 99 per cent of the voices are raised against it.

He, too, is concerned. He worries about the safety of his 15-year-old daughter, and his Thai wife who is working behind the bar.

‘We should get them out of here, there is no way they can settle here,’ he said, insisting the conflict would only get worse. ‘We should take a step back and swap those young men for families who really need help.’

It would be easy to write off Kempele as an anomaly in a country known for its warm welcome, but it is far from it.

This is not the only rape case involving a migrant and a young girl in recent months, and this was not the only angry protest against the migrants arriving in their thousands every month.

Offer: The Prime Minister Juha Sipilä has offered migrants arriving in Finland a warm welcome - and even offered his home in Kempele, the town where he was born, for them to use

Sex crime: A number of allegations of rape and sexual assault have been made against asylum-seekers around Finland, which have led to an anti-immigration feeling there. The day after Kempele, another girl, 14, was attacked in the southern town of Raisio, with police arresting a 19-year-old asylum-seeker. Two days later, an Afghan was jailed for raping a Finnish girl, 17, from Pori, and burning her alive

The day after the schoolgirl sex attack in Kempele, another 14-year-old girl was attacked in the southern town of Raisio. This time, the man arrested was a 19-year-old asylum seeker.

Two days later, Afghan Ramin Azimi was jailed for life for raping a 17-year-old Finnish girl from Pori and burning her alive.

The pair had been dating for a month before the girl decided to break up with her. The court heard how the girl had been out jogging when he approached her. She got into car voluntarily, before they got into a fight and she was badly injured as he tried to strangle her.

He then wrapped her in a blanket and took her to a deserted building, where he doused her in petrol and set her on fire. She was still alive.

Azimi, who was 10 years older, first claimed the girl had set herself on fire on purpose to commit suicide, but he was found guilty and jailed.

Across the country, these cases are sparking widespread panic: migrants arriving at the border are being met by human chains, telling them to go back; vigilante groups are patrolling the streets.

Newspapers are full of statistics about how an asylum seeker is eight times more likely to commit rape that a Finnish national, and increasing numbers of the country’s 5.5 million people are starting to feel at threat.

They may not be expecting the 190,000 asylum seekers of neighbouring Sweden, but Finland has said it is prepared to take 30,000 by the end of the year.

Some 2,000 people arrived in one week alone, compared to the 3,600 who applied for asylum in the country in the whole of 2014.

And Finland is now torn about what to do with these new arrivals, with the population split between those who want to welcome them – and those who want to keep them out.

Prime Minister Sipila’s warm words and rallying cry of welcome have, in time, given way to fear.

One MP, Oli Immonen, has caused shock with the animosity he unleashed in a series of recent Facebook posts.

‘I’m dreaming of a strong, brave nation that will defeat this nightmare called multiculturalism,’ he wrote.

‘Our lives are entwined in a very harsh time. These are the days that will forever leave a mark on our nation’s future. I have a strong belief in my fellow fighters.

‘We will fight until the end for our homeland and one true Finnish nation. The victory will be ours.’

Months later, angry words have now given way to violent action.

This week, a building which was supposed to house migrants and refugees was burned to the ground in Kankaanpaa, 165 miles northwest of Helsinki.

Meanwhile, a group arriving at an abandoned military barracks in the southern city of Lahti were confronted by a group of around 40 people, all waving Finnish flags.

The men and women – including student dressed in a Ku Klux Klan outfit – threw fireworks at the bus, filled with people who had fled the war in Iraq.

And in Kemi, two hours north of Kempele, a group naming themselves ‘Soldiers of Odin’ have started patrolling the streets.

‘We woke up to a situation where a number of different cultures met,’ member Mika X explained. ‘It caused fear and concern in the community.

‘The biggest issue was when we learned from Facebook that new asylum seekers were peering through the gates of primary schools, looking at young girls.’

Although the claims have never been proved to be true, it was enough for the group to mobilise and begin patrolling.

Yet there are places where refugees and migrants are still welcome - and the relief, and gratitude, of those people is etched on their faces.

Escape: Just over 10 miles north of Kempele, in the town of Oulu, is the Vallinkorva immigration centre where the situation is very different. Mahmoud Ahmad Fahd, from Damascus, says life is now peaceful after he fled when his uncle was murdered for being in the free army

Rescued: Asylum seeker Hasanen Faez Guaad is relieved to have arrived at the centre, where they have access to hot food and shelter

Cold feet: A group of asylum seekers living at the refugee centre in Oulu stand together in the snow, some wearing just sandals

Memories: Mahmoud Daikh Hassan (left) left Iraq after his mother's eyes were gouged out and she was murdered. Another refugee Abdul Sameea Tahseen Mohammed (right) sits on his bed at the centre

Just over 10 miles north of Kempele, in the town of Oulu is the Vallinkorva immigration centre, where the atmosphere is very different.

Those living in the centre are relieved to have finally found peace after months of fleeing from war and terror.

One resident, Haitham Al-Zehhawi, revealed that he was kidnapped in Baghdad in 2007 and held for 15 days.

‘After that, the militia had me followed for years,’ he said, explaining that being a Sunni made him a target.

He fled at the end of August, after a friend told him that he had seen a kill list and that his name was on.

‘The next day, I packed my bag, took my passport and left for Turkey.’

Another man, Mahmoud Ahmad Fahd, was living in Damascus in Syria, but was forced to run for his life after his uncle was murdered for being in the free army. There is even a YouTube video in which his dead uncle is pictured.

Mr Fahd was held captive by the militia for two weeks, and after that he decided to flee, leaving behind his wife and four-year-old son, who he hopes to bring to Finland to start a new life.

‘We are looking for peace, nothing more,’ he told MailOnline. ‘We are thinking about the families that we were forced to leave.

‘We want to build something better for them.’

He said that they are grateful that they are finally being treated as human beings, and want to be allowed to prove their worth to Finnish society.

Reflection: Feelings in the small town of Kempele mirror those across Finland, after a series of criminal accusations made against migrants

Frosty reception: Resident Inkeri Haapakoski (pictured) supported the protest at the immigration centre. The keen dog walker said: ‘It’s a good thing they had the demonstration. The rape of the little girl was terrible’

Mahmoud Daikh Hassan had to witness his family members being killed, beaten, and suddenly vanishing. All because, he said, his family are Sunnis.

One of his brothers is missing, and the other was so severely beaten that he can’t walk. His mother’s eyes were gouged out by the militia before they murdered her.

There are 260 people living in the Vallinkorva immigration centre in Oulu, most of whom come from Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.

The centre’s assistant manager, Petri Veijonen, said that most people have travelled incredible distances and some have diseases that desperately need medical care.

But the centre only has one social worker and two nurses.

Other than medical care, the most important thing for the centre to organise is information and education to help the migrants start their new lives in Finland.

One of the most common questions the centre staff get asked by the asylum seekers, said Veijonen, is how and where to get a job. To keep themselves busy, refugees living in the centre usually clean the hallways twice a day.

In other parts of the country, migrants are mobilising to offer their time for free: in Kajaani, 60 volunteers turned up to help clear the snow from the streets.

Iraqi Mahmoud Aleid told broadcaster YLE: 'We are happy to be able to help, and it's fun to work outdoors. Even though it's cold.'

But back in Kempele, precious few residents are still sympathetic to the migrants’ plight.

Haven: Six-year-old Pedram (left) and Pejman, one, (right) live at the Vallinkorva refugee centre, Oulu, after arriving from Afghanistan

Vulnerable: Vanja Nasam lives at the centre in Vallinkorva, Oulu, with her husband Mohammed Firas, after their fled their home country

Family: Children Pedram (middle left) and Pejman (middle right) play at the centre, with their mother Bibizarin and father Firuz Malek

‘What is really sad in this case, is that such a small percentage of the asylum seekers commit a crime, but that labels everybody,’ said Helena Hytinkoski.

Detective Superintendent Antti Luoto also said that by far the majority of refugees and migrants are behaving well.