Month: January 2012

UPDATE 2: Somali young man leaps to his death in Oulu, Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

The Oulu police have now admitted as Migrant Tales did first in Finland that the victim who leaped to his death from a sixth floor was a Somali.  Kaleva, the Oulu daily, quotes Antti Räsänen of the police stating that “nothing points to racism [hate crime] but we haven’t ruled out that possibility.” 

What next?

The interesting matter to watch is how long it take the police to announce the motive of the crime.

We know from a police statement on Tuesday that three people barged into the home of the Somali before he leaped from the sixth floor.

 

UPDATE: Somali young man leaps to his death in Oulu, Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

The cause of the death of a Somali male in Oulu on Tuesday appears to be as Migrant Tales correctly reported a hate crime involving three Finns who entered the man’s home by force and caused him to leap from his sixth-floor apartment balcony.  The young man died the same day after taken to hospital. 

Police have not yet confirmed the nationality of the victim but Migrant Tales understands the person to be Somali.

Here is a statement by police statement stating that they have detained three suspects in the crime.

“We don’t have that much information [about the causes or whether he was assaulted],” the police told Migrant Tales earlier.

A resident of the neighborhood claimed that the Somali was attacked by a group of Finns who forced their way into his home with a chainsaw.

“They [the Finns] entered the [Somali’s] home and fearing for his life he tried escaping by leaping from the balcony,” said a Somali resident of the neighborhood  who knew the victim.

The apartment, located in the neighborhood of Toppila, houses many immigrants.

Somali young man leaps to his death in Oulu, Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

The cause of the death of a Somali male in Oulu on Monday night is still unresolved after he leaped to his death from his sixth-floor apartment balcony.  Police have not confirmed the cause of death but neighbors contacted by Migrant Tales claim that the eighteen-year-old was attacked by a group of Finns who had entered his home by force

“We don’t have that much information [about the causes or whether he was assaulted],” the police told Migrant Tales.

A resident of the neighborhood claimed that the Somali was attacked by a group of Finns who forced their way into his home with a chainsaw.

“They [the Finns] entered the [Somali’s] home and fearing for his life he tried escaping by leaping from the balcony,” said a Somali resident of the neighborhood  who knew the victim.

The apartment, located in the neighborhood of Toppila, houses many immigrants.

Adolescent says visible minorities get attacked "several times a week" in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Rebecka Holm, the fourteen-year-old who rallied enough courage to write a letter to  HBL, asks in an interview on Monday on the Swedish-speaking daily an important question: “If Finland is now the most secure and stable country [in the world], why do people of [different] ethnic backgrounds get attacked every day?”

Holm said that she wrote the letter to the editor because her friends and herself were being harassed too often in public.  When asked how often by HBL, she responds: ” I see it happen several times a week and it happens to me personally.  I am subjected to [those types of] attacks maybe once a week.”

Like many others in Finland, even an adolescent understands that there is too little debated publicly in society about racism.

We have heard it too often from the you-know-whom politicians: Racism isn’t a problem in Finland. It’s a media fabrication.

As long as adolescents, children and adults get harassed openly in public in Finland because of their ethnic background, the further we will venture from those values that make us proud of those noble values that unite us as a society. In those values racism and prejudice have no place.

Even if they are a minority carrying out these attacks, it is the the apathy and silence of the majority that gives them a tap on the back and whispers: Go ahead.

LiveScience: Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Before you jump to any conclusions, the story does not claim that liberals are smart and conservative-minded people lack intelligence. What the findings of the study claim is that low-intelligence adults tend to gravitate towards conservative ideologies. 

Here is a link to another blog entry in February 2011 that showed a correlation between low self-esteem and racism. 

If there is a link between low IQ and prejudice, what would we call a politician, who appears to have a head on his or her shoulder,  but uses racism to get more votes and popularity?  

“Those ideologies, in turn, stress hierarchy and resistance to change, attitudes that can contribute to prejudice,” lead researcher Gordon Hodson wrote in an email to LiveScience. “Prejudice is extremely complex and multifaceted, making it critical that any factors contributing to bias are uncovered and understood.” 

 Here is an important point that should be highlighted from the story: “People with lower cognitive abilities also had less contact with people of other races [in Europe we call them ethnic groups].”

Finding the causes of racism are important because such a social ill is the cause of a lot of hardship and is one of the main culprits behind most if not all wars. Hodson said that many anti-prejudice programs encourage participants to see the world from another group’s view. 

“That mental exercise may be too taxing for people of low IQ,” he said.

__________________

Stephanie Pappas

There’s no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a new study that is bound to stir public controversy. The research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults. 

Read whole story.

Finland's growing image abroad now hinges on racism and intolerance

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

The lead story in Sunday’s Helsingin Sanomat is about how racism and intolerance at home have tarnished Finland’s image abroad, according to a survey of Finnish expats living in different countries. Even if the daily blames the rise of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party for our country’s questionable image, the real culprits are none other than us.

What Helsingin Sanomat forgets to tell its readers is that such a negative international image will cost us dearly, especially during a time when we need more skilled immigrants and foreign investment in our country.

The economic damage caused to Finland by our near-silence and the vacillating stance of our media and too many politicians to racism and populism is a big one. The longer we remain quiet on this front and flirt with our silence with parties like the PS, the more we will continue to destroy our good image abroad.

Before Finland’s entry into the European Union in 1995, the foreign ministry worked hard to improve our negative international image caused by Finlandization. While our refugee policy and draconian treatment of immigrants before 1983, when Finland’s first Aliens’ Act came into force, officials ran the Aliens’ Office like a state within a state.

Issues like racism took backstage in the international media because of Finlandization and due to the size of our underwhelming immigrant population, which totaled about 7,000 in the 1970s. Most of these “foreigners” were native Finns who were naturalized citizens of other countries.

The experiment by 19.1% of the population in the April election to seek the help of a populist, anti-EU, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim party to lead us in this decade is proving to be a mistake.

There are positive signs, however, that voters have had enough of the PS’ political shenanigans as the presidential election showed.

Apart from voters giving the thumbs down to anti-EU presidential hopefuls like Center Party’s Paavo Väyrynen and PS’ Timo Soini, the party has been damaged by numerous scandals in the media that have exposed the racism, homophobia and anti-democratic credentials of some of its MPs.

The Migrant Tales Manifesto (for Finland and Europe)

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Thanks to the growing number of supporters, Migrant Tales has become that “voice for those whose views and situation are understood poorly and heard faintly by the media, politicians and public.” During these past years we have read and debated many points of views and have complied some recommendations on how to move forward. 

The list is far from being a final one. We can add and change parts of it but the overriding message should be mutual acceptance, respect and equal opportunities. All these three terms add up to social equality, or tasa-arvo.

Migrant Tales Manifesto 

  • An effective way to make cultural diversity work is by heralding mutual acceptance, respect and equal opportunities
  • We like the term tolerance, or suvaitsevaisuus in Finnish, but acceptance, hyväksyntä, is an even better term that describes how we build bridges between different ethnic groups and minorities in our society
  • New studies should bring out — not hide — how Finns have been, are and will be a culturally diverse society
  • The first step in that acceptance of our cultural diversity are the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of the 1.2 million Finns that migrated between 1860 and 1999
  • Cultural management/diversity should be mandatory and started at elementary school
  • We must learn to forgive those countries and people that put us in harm’s way
  • When we advance the rights of minorities we advance those of all
  • A member of society can never learn mutual acceptance and respect if he has low self-esteem
  • Empowering all members of society, especially minorities, helps build self-esteem
  • Inclusion means asking people their opinion, empowering and encouraging them to take part especially in the decision-making process that affects their lives and future in the community
  • Racism, prejudice and all type of discrimination that excludes individuals and groups should be strongly discouraged
  • Discrimination should be seen as a threat to our values and community because it hinders  inclusion
  •  The biggest excluder in society is apathy and silence
  • Politicians that do not speak out against racism and prejudice when given the opportunity are just as responsible as those who encourage such a social ill
  • Inclusion does not only mirror one of our most important values of our society like social equality, it costs the tax payer less and is a more effective pathway to integration
  • In order to free up tax resources for more projects that strengthen inclusion in our society, we should strongly discourage building walls of hate in our society
  • Mutual acceptance means people in our society can make lifestyle choices. These are not only ensured in our laws, but are protected on an individual and group level
  • We treat people with the same respect we treat our own group
  • Equal opportunities are a key component to building a successful, dynamic and content society
  • The more opportunities we offer the more pathways we create to our culturally diverse community
  • Everyone should strive to learn the best Finnish and/or Swedish he or she can.  This is as important as speaking other languages, like the one we learned at home
  • Since we are all different, we learn languages at different paces. Language should, however, never be a tool to discriminate
  • We should strive to keep politicians, policy makers and officials focused on our goal during this century as a country: mutual acceptance, respect and equal opportunities
  • The sum total of these terms is social equality
  • Finland is our home because we are a part of a wonderful country that has accepted and empowered us.

guardian.co.uk: Stephen Lawrence's mother says No 10 must do more on race

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment:  Here is a follow up by the guardian.co.uk on the Stephen Lawrence murder in England and how the police fumbled the case and allowed the killers to walk away from the murder with impunity for 18 years. The case has raised serious questions about racism in the London police force. 

Some of the matters that disturbed me most about the story were: 

• “While the police were failing to catch her son’s murderers, they managed to stop his brother 20 times as a criminal suspect.

• Police also managed to stop Mrs Lawrence the year after the murder and told her she was suspected of driving a stolen car. She says continuing racist stereotyping by officers explains why African-Caribbeans are more likely to be stopped.

• She was told she should be “ashamed to show our faces” by a police employee, during a visit to Scotland Yard in 2009 to discuss her son’s murder.

• The trust she set up in Stephen’s name to help youngsters from deprived backgrounds to realise their ambitions is in financial trouble.”

One of the questions raised in England naturally reflects on the police all over Europe. Is racism and racial profiling an issue in the Finnish police force? 

The following case reported on MTV3 suggests that there could be some problems.  

Here is a good a case reported by HBL on alleged racial profiling by Finnish customs.  

_________________

By Vikram Dodd

Doreen Lawrence has said David Cameron’s government is not doing enough to tackle racial prejudice, which continues to blight society, and has warned that spending cuts will hit working-class and black Britons the hardest.

Read whole story.

Cultural diversity needs proactive solutions not populist whining

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

The many threads on Migrant Tales mirror what is wrong with the ongoing debate in Finland and our ever-growing cultural diversity. On the one side we have those who cannot do anything else but complain while the other side looks for solutions.

We at Migrant Tales have thanks to the many bloggers who visit our blog aimed to become not only a humble voice of the immigrant community but one that offers solutions.

When we debate such an issue we do little to help those who are victims of racism and exclusion if we don’t offer solutions. If the solutions we offer are rejected, we should come back with better solutions, according to the principle of Rinkeby School in Sweden, Börje Ehrstrand.

Compared with Sweden, the acceptance of Finland’s ever-growing cultural diversity is still in diapers.

One of the reasons why anti-immigration sentiment through parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) got a beachhead in Finland in April is because the voice of those who complain but never give solutions was stronger.  The present situation offers a good opportunity for us to lobby politicians, express our views to the media and general public and offer proactive solutions.

No matter how much parties like the PS kick and bitch about our “multiculturalism,” they cannot do nothing about it except whine and spread fear with the catalyst of ignorance.

Building a society with good relations between all of its parts, based on mutual acceptance and respect, is always more desirable than one that builds walls of hatred.

The matter that politicians and Finns in general should know is that that type of society will cost less money to taxpayers.

A good immigration integration policy for Finland and Europe

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

One of the biggest challenges to Finland’s new integration program is how effectively it promotes what it sets out to do.  How passionate are we Finns about ethnic and minority equality in this country if the most important piece of the puzzle is still missing: the big picture  and place new Finns and their children have in our society. 

Migrant Tales believes that integration programs like the Perussuomalaiset’s (PS) Nuiva Manifesto would do more harm than good: It would create ghettos and punish people socially who are visible minorities. Moreover, the PS’ manifesto is more of a political statement that exposes the ignorance of its supporters.

Reading many of the thousands of comments on Migrant Tales, it is evident that some Finns and Europeans still believe that one-way integration is the only way to promote the integration of immigrants and minorities.

One of the first important steps that an integration program should take is change the anti-immigrant culture and language prevalent in a society. The term tolerance, or suvaitsevainen, is widely used in Finland but even more-effective terms that officials, politicians and the general public could begin using are mutual acceptance and respect.

Like any good government program, it must be one that is effective. But what does Finland’s integration program aim at accomplishing? Is it facilitating and speeding the integration of immigrants into our society or promoting the opposite due to lack of resources?

Jonathan Lawrence writes on the New York Times her views about how Muslims should be integrated in Europe. Her views are very much what Migrant Tales has been promoting on numerous blog entries.

She writes: “Granting Muslims full religious freedom wouldn’t remove obstacles to political participation or create jobs. But it would at least allow tensions over Muslims’ religious practices to fade. This would avoid needless sectarian strife and clear the way for politicians to address the more vexing and urgent challenges of socioeconomic integration.”

Thus one of the biggest obstacles to the integration, or adaption, of groups like Muslims and others in Europe has been our unrealistic and ethnocentric expectations of how other cultures should adapt to us.

Certainly we can promote as much ethnocentrism as we wish in our society, but the big question is what impact will it have: Will it integrate or exclude?

One of the most important matters to keep in mind when speaking about integration policies is that acceptance and respect must be a two-way process. This means that since we live in a culturally diverse society, it is important that everyone accepts and respects each other.

There is nothing new about this type of behavior. It is how we should treat people in our culture.

If we have the right, and have fought for greater acceptance of minorities like gays and women’s rights, why would we want to undermine the rights of other groups? The fact that we can make lifestyle choices in our society is what makes our society so great.

Another fallacy of the anti-immigration groups is that they believe that people don’t change. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Cultures change constantly because they are highly adaptable.  Free will ensures that we can never be ruled like robots.