Month: November 2011

Migrant integration: Can we learn from European experiences?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Don Flynn*

A new UK government policy on migrant integration is expected to be announced any day now. To date migrant community organisations have had no input into the way this has been developed by the government departments. But may be a new toolkit on migrant integration, just published by the European Network Against Racism, will give us some pointers on how groups working at the local level can regain some control over migrant integration projects.

An announcement on a new UK policy on migrant integration has been expected for some months past. According to press reports this has been working its way around government departments to ensure that whatever form it takes, the strategy will be ‘joined-up’, with civil servants and other stakeholders working to the same agenda.

We are also being warned that the policy will break with the previous government’s preference for integration outcomes which could be demonstrated in concrete terms of community cohesion at the local level.  Instead we should expect to see the issue being tackled infour separate strands, which are likely to be the task of establishing common ground; increasing social mobility; improving participation and countering intolerance and extremism.

Worryingly, it seems that ministers from the various departments working on the issue want to see migrant integration being linked to the drive to push down the numbers of newcomers entering the country with the requirement to speak English to higher standards and participate in wider society being used as devices justifying higher refusal rates in the area of family reunification.

The bitter pill on these points will be coated by plans to campaign against “anti-Muslim hatred” and an online integration forum, aimed at “barrier-busting site” and encourage different community and faith groups to come together.

This mixture of soft and hard approaches to integration will be implemented in what has until now largely been a policy void.  National strategies aimed at assisting newcomers find their way into British society were limited to the experiences of refugees under the last government.  Though important work was brokered in this area it never covered more than a very low percentage of people arriving in the country each year. Plans to adopt a broader approach were flagged up by the department for Communities and Local Government in mid-2008 but never went beyond the discussion stage.

When the Government finally announces it plans groups working to support migrants at local community level are going to need to rush to bring themselves up to speed on the principles which underpin good practice in this area of policy.  If rafts of new initiatives are coming down the line on the terms of the four strands which civil servants appear to be working on then community organizations will need to stake out the ground on which they feel projects can be built and supported and which will properly accommodate the interests of new migrant communities.

Some ideas of what those principles might be are set out in a new publication from the European Network Against Racism (ENAR). The toolkit Working on Integration at a Local Level is the product of a three year long project which was concluded last weekend with its official launch at a conference in Brussels.  The Migrants Rights and Integration Project (MRIP) involved partners in six EU countries and looked at activities which aimed to implement the standards that had been set within the EU under the terms of theCommon Basic Principles on migrant integration adopted in  2004.

The toolkit sets out the case for a values-led approach to integration policies which are intended to keep projects firmly on the track of meeting the needs and interests of the communities immediately concerned with integration.  It is alert to the danger that this is an area of policy which is prone to being diverted by larger stakeholders pushing populist messages which often run counter to the things which need to be achieved at community level.

The opportunities and the risks involved in planning migrant integration projects are illustrated from experiences as varied as a campaign to improve mainstream media coverage of migration in Bulgaria, activities supporting domestic workers in Cyprus, the labour market position of African women in Sweden, and community-based initiatives in Belgium, Italy and the UK.  The message is that a lot of positive outcomes can be achieved by community-led initiatives providing that they clear about the values they want to push in their activity, they have identified the risks involved in working with stakeholders like government, which are invariably larger and better resourced but more likely to be pushing in directions which do not entirely honour the principles of good practice, including those listed in the EU’s Common Basic Principles  which they are nominally signed up to and committed to applying.

The UK government’s approach, which, as far as can be seen, is being developed without any input from groups representing the interests of migrants is likely to carry the maximum risk of overlooking the immediate community context of this work in order to push the goals it is trying to achieve within the frame of national politics.  Experience suggests that this will be a very bad thing and that migrant-led projects will need to develop a full suite of strategies and tactics which can contain and neutralize these risks.

The ENAR/MRIP has been coordinated over the three years of its work by MRN and we are keen to see what use can be made of the toolkit in the work of community-based organizations in the UK.  A copy of the 46-page document can be download by clicking HERE.

We can also provide you with a free copy of the printed copy of the toolkit.  Please send an A4 sized self-addressed envelop stamped for £1.09 for first class post or 92p second class, to:

MRIP Toolkit

MRN

Royal London House

22-25 Finsbury Square

London EC2A 1DX

*This blog entry was originally published on Migrants’ Rights Network, MRN.

Mail Online: Apartheid row at Oslo school as teachers segregate ethnic students so white children don’t feel ‘in a minority’

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Migrant Tales has published a few blog entries on calls by Finnish teachers to place caps on students with immigrant backgrounds. This actually happened at a school in the Norwegian capital of Oslo and sparked, rightfully, an outcry. 

The reason? “Teachers at the school claim the segregation in one of the three general studies classes was a result of many white Norwegians changing schools after feeling they were in ‘the minority’ in classes,” reports the Mail Online. 

Why is segregating or placing caps wrong at schools? For one, it’s not the teachers who decide who their pupils will be but the school board. Moreover, aren’t the children “Norwegian” if they have lived in the country most of their lives? How do you define “a student with immigrant background?”

One of the most valuable matters that white and students with culturally diverse backgrounds could learn is from themselves.  

But there are different opinions: “…Robert Wright, a Christian Democrat politician and former head of the city’s schools board said authorities had been wrong to block the move claiming other Oslo schools follow Bjerke’s example to stop a situation of ‘white flight.'”

Torge Ødegaard, Oslo education minister, said segregation of classes by ethnicity was unacceptable.

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By Lucy Buckland

A Norwegian school segregated ethnic minority classmates because white children were feeling ‘in the minority.’  The move, at Bjerke Upper Secondary School in Oslo, divided students and parents, sparking an protests across the city.

Read whole story.

Thank you @getgln for the heads up!

Who is Finland’s Uncle Tom?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

What are Uncle Toms called in Finland? @HelsinkiObs helped me out with this question: “It’s Setä Tuomo (older style) or Tuomo-setä if you mean this context.” 

A New York Times opinion-piece gives the meaning of Uncle Tom: “Today, of course, the book has a decidedly different reputation, thanks to the popular image of its titular character, Uncle Tom — whose name has become a byword for a spineless sellout, a black man who betrays his race.”

In Finland the definition would, in my opinion, be a bit different. A Tuomo-setä could be any immigrant who betrays other people like him by becoming and adopting the same values that fuel racism.

The Finnish Uncle Tom is a pretty opportunistic person. He or she believes that the only way to escape discrimination is by accepting those values that promote social exclusion of other groups like immigrants.

There are a lot of Tuomo-setäs out there who are more racist than some Finns.

What do you think would be a good name for an Uncle Tom that lives in Finland?

Mamu-setä, maybe?

MIPEX Blog: European Commission asks, When is a family not a family?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Plans to tighten family reunification laws in Finland even further speak volumes about Conservative Party Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen’s government.  What does it say? Fear of the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, prejudice and lack of leadership to name a few.

It seems surreal but not abnormal during these times in Finland that a pro-family party like the Christian Democrats will spearhead the tightening of family reunification laws. Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen washes her hands of the whole issue by stating that this is not her wish but that of the government’s.  They claim that they want to bring such laws in line with other Nordic countries. 

According to MIPEX, Nordic policy is mixed on family reunification: Denmark has the strictest policy and Sweden is “slightly favorable,” with Norway and Finland being “halfway favorable.” 

MIPEX writes: “The average EU country goes beyond the minimum definition of the family in the Directive. Most adopt slightly inclusive definitions of the family and only basic conditions for acquisition, out of respect for family life. In contrast, countries like Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, and France restrict the eligibility of family members and impose burdensome conditions on sponsors.”

If we look at the chart in the story below on reuniting non-EU family members other than spouses, partners, or children, we’re speaking of small numbers in the Nordic region: Sweden (229), Finland (197) and Denmark (0). Most family reunifications took place in 2010 in Italy (22,355), Portugal (10,038) and Spain (1,666). 

So what is the issue? The issue is fear of the threat of the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, prejudice and lack of leadership iced with lame excuses. 

How can you grant a minor asylum but take away his or her right to be with his immediate family?

Where is our sense of justice and fairness?  

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By Thomas Huddleston

Does the EU Family Reunion Directive reflect how you would define a family? MPG’s analysis of MIPEX and Eurostat statistics reveals that immigrant’s parents, grandparents, and adult children are somehow entitled to reunite in most countries, but few can or do apply.

Read whole story.

Community Village Activist: When Worlds Collide

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: The more we read about how racism and greed have destroyed so much beauty before us, the more we should be concerned about fighting these types of social ills. 

The Community Village Activist publishes an interesting opinion-piece that asks some timely questions: “But I digress. What I wanted to ask is: When worlds collide, who’s interests should win? The group with the bigger guns?”

We know the answer to that question. However, look at the misery and hatred we have sown due to our greed and racism, which is an important fuel of the former. 

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I’m European American and I’ve been trying to unpack what it means to be living on the land of First Nation Peoples / Indigenous Native American land. Every sane individual would agree that people are not supposed to steal, and yet, Non-Native Americans live on stolen land every day. 

Read whole story.

Thank you @getgln for the heads up!

Spiegel Online International: Racism in Germany – A Story of Death Threats and Casual Insults

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here is another story published by Spiegel Online International on the harrowing experiences of a family in Germany perpetrated by a far-right group.

Migrant Tales has published and commented on a number of stories about the worrying rise and crimes of the far right in Germany.  In Finland, we have seen the rise of similar parties as well. If we want to know what kind of a threat they represent to our society, Germany would be a good place to begin. 

Writes Spiegel Online International:  “Four weeks was the amount of time that passed between the two death threats the Krause family (eds. note: not their real name) found in their mailbox. The first letter came in August 2011. The sender had cut letters out of a newspaper to form a message warning that Mr. Krause and his family would be killed if they didn’t leave Germany.

Why? Because Mrs. Krause and the couple’s two children have dark skin. Because Mrs. Krause comes from East Africa.

The second letter came in September, and the sender spent far less time on it. He simply drew four crosses on a sheet of white paper — one for each member of the family. For the son, for the daughter, for Mr. Krause and for Mrs. Krause.”

What is the lesson we can learn from Germany on racism and far-right groups? 

Silence is a poor response to such an ominous threat to our society. 

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Germany was shocked to learn the extent of the crimes committed by a recently uncovered right-wing extremist group. But racism is hardly an anomaly in Germany. One family’s experience shows just how widespread prejudice and hate really is.

Read whole story.

Denial, ignorance and racism are the lamentable side of the same coin

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

When do immigrants and Finns with culturally diverse backgrounds become their worst enemy? Does it happen when we become blind or play down the existence of social ills such as racism and prejudice in our society?

Martin Luther King (1928-68), sheds some light to this question: “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”

In the same manner, we can highlight the “appalling silence” and denial of some immigrants.

It’s misleading — to put it very lightly — to think that just because a person is an immigrant  he or she does not hold any prejudices. There are ample threads on Migrant Tales that reveal how some immigrants  can be more racist and nationalistic than some Finns.

Where do you expect racism in the Americas came from? It did not spring from nowhere.  Some immigrants brought it with them as part of their baggage to the New World from their former home countries.

The need to adapt in a new society may be so strong for some that it may encourage them to become more nationalistic and racist than some Finns. The other lamentable side of the coin is denial of the existence of any problems such as discrimination.

One person that comes to mind is Belgium-born naturalized Finn Freddy Van Wanterghem, a Perussuomalaiset party city councilman from Kotka who has pretty extremist ideas especially about Muslims and Africans.

I recently read an interview about with a black African on Mikkeli-based daily Länsi-Savo. The person denied that he had ever been mistreated in Finland.

“I have never faced racism in Finland,” he was quoted as saying. “There was more of that in Egypt, where people thought we were stealing their jobs…Young people may sometimes comment things (in public). It’s more teasing than racism. Usually they are surprised when I speak back to them in Finnish.”

If we are fair, it must be pretty depressing if you are black to be constantly asked the question “have you suffered racism in this country?” Even if this may be the case, denial isn’t the correct path.

Denial, ignorance and even racism of some immigrants are even greater challenges than the institutional racism we find in society.

Savon Sanomat: Rasismi on uhka kaikille

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Enrique Tessieri Puheenjohtaja Kansainvälinen Mikkely ry ja Alain Minguet Puheenjohtaja Joensuun seudun monikulttuurisuusyhdistys ry

Miksi meidän tulisi olla huolestuneita rasismin noususta Iisalmessa, Lieksassa ja muualla? Mitä se kertoo Suomen yhteiskunnasta ja sen pahoinvoinnista?

Suomessa rasismi on noussut ihmisten tietoisuuteen yhä voimakkaammin erityisesti viimeisten kahden vuoden aikana. Siitä vaikeneminen ei ole oikea tie.

Ilmiötä ei voi selittää syyttämällä maahanmuuttajia. Lausahdus “meidän kotiseudulla ei ollut rasismia, ennen kuin tänne muuttivat maahanmuuttajat”, ei tunnu selittävän perimmäistä syytä.

Miten on mahdollista, että niin pieni joukko, reilu kaksi sataa, maahanmuuttajaa voi saada Lieksassa niin paljon vastustusta, vihaa ja pahaa aikaan?

Yhdysvaltalainen vapaustaistelija Martin Luther King Jr. (1928 – 1968) edesauttoi elämässään merkittävästi mustien oikeuksia 1950- ja 1960-luvuilla. Hänen neuvonsa kantautuvat myös tämän päivän keskusteluun. Hän sanoi: “Vihaa ei voi poistaa vihalla, vain rakkaus pystyy siihen.” Strategiamme rasismia ja vihaa vastaan tulee olla sama kuin Kingin.

Taistelu rasismia vastaan on myös askel meidän lastemme ja lastenlastemme paremman tulevaisuuden puolesta. He voivat elää maassa, jossa rasismi ja viha toisia kohtaan ovat poikkeus ja harvinaisuus.

Suomeen mahtuu paljon erilaisia ihmisiä. Voimme olla hyvinkin erilaisia, mutta olemme kaikki tämän maan asukkaita. Pohjana on kunnioitus ja hyväksyntä puolin ja toisin. Tämä ei ole uutta suomalaisille, vaan se on tapa, joka on ollut aina läsnä.

Rasismi on uhka kaikille, myös niille, jotka levittävät sitä tietoisesti tai tiedostamattaan. Jos annamme rasismin ja eriarvoisuuden voittaa, seurauksista tulee kohtalokkaat. Köyhdymme yhteiskunnallisesti, poliittisesti ja ennen kaikkea taloudellisesti.

Mitä tapahtuu kylälle, maakunnalle tai maalle, jos saamme rasistisen leiman? Kuinka monta osaava ihmistä tai maahanmuuttajaa haluaa pysyä täällä ja muuttaa tänne? Kuinka monta yritystä haluaa sijoittaa rahaa ja luoda työpaikkoja? Uskomme, että hyvin harva. Ne, jotka pystyvät, muuttavat muualle etsimään parempaa työtä ja valoisampaa tulevaisuutta.

Voimme olla ylpeitä monista hienoista saavutuksistamme Suomessa, mutta rasismi ei kuulu tähän listaan. Suomessa on paljon valveutuneita esimerkillisiä kansalaisia, jotka eivät hyväksy nyt yhteiskunnassa vellovaa keskustelua. Näiden ihmisten tuleekin puhua ja kuulua entistä äänekkäämmin.

He ovat ymmärtäneet, että toimivaa ja pysyvää yhteiskuntaa ei voi rakentaa vihan perustukselle.

Lue juttu Savon Sanomissa.

How well does Finland’s school system educate children with immigrant backgrounds?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

A story on the Guardian  praises Finland’s educational system for setting a “great example” in educating immigrant children. While I am certain there are many success stories out there, are matters that rosy as the London daily claims?

When I read the article I thought about a  survey published in February, which showed 41% of  teachers would want to limit at schools the amount of pupils with immigrant backgrounds?

Like everything else, perspective is key. What do children with immigrant backgrounds say about our educational system? Do they agree whole-heartedly with what the Guradian writes?

Certainly there is a lot of good will in this country to make immigration work. Even so, do we agree about the big picture, or what is the role of these students will be when they become adults in our ever-culturally diverse society?

Certainly there are big differences between schools in eastern Helsinki and small towns like Liperi.

“Liperi is a small town in the region of Pohjois-Karjala and there weren’t too many Russians when we moved there (in the 1990s),” says Aune Rugoyeva. “It was sometimes pretty tough at  middle-school since my classmates chewed me out (for being Russian) and excluded me (from the rest of the group). It was a very lonely place to be.”

The bullying that Aune suffered at the school was possible thanks to the teachers who turned a blind eye, according to her.

One of the most important questions our world-famous educational system should therefore be asking is how does it encourage cultural diversity?

When schools speak of “multiculturalism,” or diversity, do they overlook the important fact that the pupil is culturally hybrid and can move between two or more cultures ambidextrously?  When students with immigrant backgrounds, especially those who are visible minorities and who have lived most of their lives in Finland, are asked to “tell about their cultures” at school do we fall into the trap of “us” and “them?”

Probably the last person to understand a student’s hybridity is a someone who has never been an immigrant never mind lived in two or more cultures simultaneously.

Does our school system strengthen and reinforce the students cultural hybridity as an integral part of Finnishness? Most importantly, does it teach important values such as acceptance and respect of such diversity?

Another matter that the Guardian article did not write about is that teachers in Finland rank almost as high as the police with respect to their conservative views of society.

MTV3: Kauppalehti: Siivousfirmojen pitää irtisanoa maahanmuuttajia

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: What can you make out of this story below? MTV3 claims, quoting business daily Kauppalehti, that the office that hands out work permits in the Uusimaa region of Southern Finland wants cleaning companies to hire EU nationals.  This may be easier said than done. 

MTV3 reports that the employers of the cleaning companies are pretty irritated by the recommendation since finding such workers among EU nationals are scarce.  Siskon Siivous general manager, Pasi Hämäläinen, said that two thirds of the company’s employees come from outside Europe.

” This latest case does give the lie to claims about alleged welfare shopping by humanitarian migrants,” writes JusticeDemon in a thread.

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Uudellamaalla kiistellään siivousalan työvoimatilanteesta, kertoo Kauppalehti. Uudenmaan työlupayksikkö on evännyt työlupia afrikkalaisilta ja aasialaisilta siivoojilta ja kehottanut yrityksiä palkkaamaan siivoojia Euroopan talousalueelta. Luvatta jääneet siivoojat olivat olleet töissä jo vuosia, turvapaikkahakemuksen käsittelyn kestäessä.

Read whole story.