Month: January 2012

Is full integration and ethnic equality possible in Finland?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

What would happen if different ethnic groups switched their roles in society and promoted their history and justification of the domination of other groups? Below is a satirical video clip about that switched view  of white Australia’s ongoing program of racism and oppression of black indigenous people.

Setting satire aside for a moment, is the fear that those who oppress us driven by ignorance or by a stark fact: If people ever woke up and understood how they’ve been exploited and deprived, would that lead to a revolution?

A 1960s black activist from Harlem, Elder Lewis Michaux, raises some serious questions even about our integration program in Finland. He said about the black man’s and woman’s plight in the United States: “Integration will never happen. You will never, as long as you live, integrate into the white man’s system.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uyEYqb7L48o#!]

Is Finland’s integration program really serious about raising the immigrant, never mind their children and grandchildren, to the same status as white Finns? When can they remove the “immigrant background label” off and be accepted as Finns on their own ethnic and cultural terms?

Here, I believe, we have to look at expectations versus reality. Expectations are noble but the results are so far dismal. The rise of a populist anti-immigration party in April like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) raises a lot of questions not only about where Finland is heading but how passionate we are about ethnic and minority equality in this country.

If you are an optimist you may believe that Finland’s noble social welfare system and the values that give it its reason for being will promote and encourage even ethnic equality. If you are a pessimist, however, you may believe that the social welfare system is only an effective way of brushing the sticky issue of equal rights under the rug.

In order for this society to take that giant first step towards ethnic and social equality, we must have mutual acceptance. How many politicians use the term acceptance in their daily speech?

Is full integration and ethnic equality possible in Finland?

At this point we are pretty far from that ideal.

Colorlines: How to Be a Racial Justice Hero, on MLK Day and All Year Long

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Today is Martin Luther King Day in the United States. Like many who lived in the 1960s, MLK and the Civil Rights Movement he led in the 1950s and 1960s continues to inspire many like me today. 

I still remember the day when in junior high school in Hollywood we were told that Martin Luther King Jr. was killed.  It was in the afternoon in California since King Jr. was killed at 6:01 pm at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.  Of that day I remember two things: a sense of despair since, like the John F. Kennedy assassination, another great man had been killed; a white man on the radio said that he was happy that King Jr. had been killed. 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eD_joYaasM&feature=youtu.be]

What can we learn in Finland about MLK and others that fought for social justice at the time like Malcolm X?

The most important lesson is that we can change and make history. 

_______________

by Hatty Lee, Terry Keleher

As we celebrate a new year and another Martin Luther King holiday, it’s a good time to reflect on how you can be part of some positive change in the year ahead. Rather than the typical resolutions, which can get a bit self-absorbed, why not resolve to step up your game in making social change? The good news is that you already have everything you need, just as you are, to become a powerful force for racial justice. You can be a Racial Transformer. 

What’s that, you ask?

Read whole story.

Immigrant employment: Pessi Ilmari, job hunting & a possible future in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: I got to know about Steverp’s blog thanks to @raitapaita. There is a moving blog entry below that Steve gave us permission to publish on Migrant Tales.

Can anyone offer Steve some advice? He’s looking for a job in Finland from London. His child and wife live in Finland. 

Migrant Tales would be more than happy to publish these types of stories on the blog. If you are interested, inquire at [email protected].

__________________

By Steverp

So, another one. This seems almost therapeutic at the moment, so am going to carry on while I still have the impetus to do so. I was going to do a separate job-hunting & Finland blog, but as they are kind of inter-linked it makes sense to combine them in to one.

As previously mentioned, I’m currently looking at moving to Finland. People that don’t know me are always taken a-back by this, but there’s one very simple reason for wanting this move – my son.

As I alluded to in my previous blog, when things ended The Ex was pregnant & went back to Finland. Things didn’t end that well, so for a long, long time I was in two minds as to what to do in regards to involvement with my boy. Now, I’d never just walk away, but things were very difficult for a while & it was an option that was honestly considered. Every decision tore at my heart & I really didn’t know what to do with myself.

I had to be there for the lil’ man & once he was born & I saw his face (on Skype at first) I knew I had to do everything I could to be as close as possible to him. The initial plan was to move to London (more money & easier to travel abroad) & go over as often as possible. But after my first visit I knew that this wouldn’t suffice. Logistically it was also going to be a pain. It would be a struggle financially no matter where I was living, so after first holding him in my arms I knew I had to start making a ‘plan’ to be with him.

Our first meeting <3

Pessi Ilmari was born on 25th October 2010. I had originally planned to be there when he was due, but the plans fell through, so I travelled over as soon as I could which was a few weeks in to November. When I first walked in & saw him laying there I had to hold back the tears. He was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen.

It was then that I decided I had to start planning on what to do with myself & my life. I wanted to be as involved as possible, but it would be difficult being in the UK. My plan was pretty basic – three steps.

  • Step 1 – move to London. Moving straight to Finland wasn’t practical at the time, so London would be my first destination. It would hopefully provide me with a bit more money (it hasn’t, by the way!) & would reduce travel time & costs when going to Finland. It also adds massive weight to a CV to have the head-quarters of an internationally recognised organisation on there.
  • Step 2 – Find/secure a job in Finland. The most sensible thing to do in my situation is wait to secure a role before I move. This has its pros & cons, but is the best option under the circumstances.
  • Step 3 – move to Finland. London was my middle point, Finland was my final destination (& still is). I’m now doing everything to find & secure a role over there.

The move to London has been quite stressful at times – trying to find a place to live while living over 100 miles away is not easy & mainly because of work messing up my salary & onboarding once I did secure a role & move up. I’m here now though, but as with Australia, I don’t feel 100% settled as I know there is now a further step to work towards. If you read my Tweets you’ll also see that my current living situation doesn’t help matters either (more to do with who I’m living with than anything else).

So, hunting for a job in Finland …… it’s been difficult & after a year is still ongoing. When based in Poole, applications to Finland were tentative, now I’m on a mission & I spend a large part of the week trawling the internet for roles & applying for pretty much anything & everything.

There are a couple of fundamental problems with trying to find a job in Finland when you’re not Finnish –

  1. The language. I’ve tried self-teaching via CDs, books, online etc, but where I don’t ever get to practice it, a lot of it tends to go in one ear & out the other. I had hoped to enrol in a language course in London, but with my salary only slightly increasing & my basic cost of living rocketing it hasn’t really been an option.
  2. Attitudes towards foreigners. All of the Finns I know & converse with are lovely people, but the country itself & it’s mindset are quite “old school”. Because of this there still seems a reluctance to hire foreigners (perpetuated by the current economic climate). I’ve chatted to quite a few expats over there as well as Finnish agencies & HR people, & the one thing I’ve been told more than any other is that as a Brit I’ll struggle to find a job when so many Finns are also looking. By & large, Finnish companies would rather employ a slightly under-qualified Finnish person (who would take longer to learn the role etc), than employ a qualified/experienced Brit. I can kind of understand this to a certain extent – in a country with a small population you want to do your best for your fellow Finns & see your own people prosper ….. but this isn’t always great business sense. It makes looking for a job, & ultimately securing one, that much harder for myself.  But as we’ve come in to the new year & companies have new financial budgets & are especially looking at international revenue streams, I’ve had a bit more luck & it seems that some companies are wising up to this.

Since mid-December I’ve had a real interest from an agency (have completed a telephone interview, personality test, motivation test, practical problem-solving test, provided two references from colleagues – shout out to Ricky & Phil – & a final 30-odd question sheet). Another consulting company have also been in touch & I recently had an initial interview via Skype. I’m hoping to hear back from both in the next week or two. In the meantime I’ll continue trawling through all the usual sites, applying for pretty much anything that I think I could do a decent job at – be that bar work, an office job, a Business Analyst, or HesBurger – whatever it takes & as long as it pays enough to cover my rent & let me look after & provide for my boy I don’t really care!

I could/would flip burgers ….. maybe……

So for now, the search continues. I’ll be back on Monster etc tomorrow (in between writing the final two blogs, hopefully – maybe). Again, if anyone reads this & can offer any advice or contacts (whether it’s work, places to live, anything really), please do feel free to get in touch – any info/help is alwaysmuch appreciated. & a BIG ‘thank you‘ to those that have offered advice/help so far!

Just on a final note, & to put a smile on my own face, here’s the lil’ man today – causing trouble, as he seems to be doing more often now…..

No more emails….

Finland and the far-right threat posed by Halla-aho and Niinistö

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Social Democrat Party presidential hopeful, Paavo Lipponen, has been the most outspoken candidate about the threat of the far right in Finland. On a television debate Thursday, he accused Perussuomalaiset (PS) party far-right MPs like Jussi Halla-aho and Jussi Niinistö of hiding behind Timo Soini of boosting the PS leader’s as well as the party’s popularity.  

Setting aside his Islamophobic rhetoric, Halla-aho suggested recently that the Greek military should overthrow the elected government. Contrarily Niinistö  is on another crusade to weaken the role of the Swedish-speaking minority in this country.

Niinstö’s far-right credentials come from his association with Suomalaisuuden liitto (Association of Finnish Culture), where he is a board member. Suomalaisuuden liitto is an association that was founded in 1906 but is today firmly under the control of the PS. One of its board members is Teemu Lahtinen, a PS member who belongs to IKL, a fascist party founded in the early 1930s.

Believe it or not, both Halla-aho and Niinstö chair the all-important administrative and defense committee of parliament.

Below is a joint campaign ad for the April 17 election by Halla-aho and Lahtinen. The Hindi turban used on the potato shows the extent of their ignorance. I apologize for the racist nature of the video clip.

It would be naive, even reckless, to think that the PS in general and some of its members in particular are not flirting and promoting far-right ideology.

Niinstö’s political colors became evident on September 12, when he stated in parliament Nazi playwright Hans Johst’s Schlageter, “Wenn ich Kultur höre … entsichere ich meinen Browning” (“Whenever I hear of culture… I release the safety-catch of my Browning”). 

Niinstö substituted the word “culture” in Johst’s play for parliamentarism.

Certainly Niinstö never mind Soini will never admit they are promoting far-right nationalism at the cost of minorities and our noble Nordic social welfare democracy.  If you ask them, they will tell you with a poker face that they are fighting for your rights. Nothing could be further from the truth.

There is one quote by Adolf Hitler and another one by Hermann Göring that help shed light on the sad state of Finland and Europe today. The first one by Hitler is how far-right groups spread urban myths about immigrants and minorities today: Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.

The second one by Göring shows how the far right lures new followers:  The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.

What should an immigrant do if he cannot find work in Finland?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

What should you do if you live in Finland and cannot find employment? The lucky ones can move to another country but for many it is a crude dead-end street lined with little hope: fragmented work life, lower salary than average, health problems and, worse, discrimination that will discourage you to integrate.  

There is an interesting article in Sunday’s Helsingin Sanomat on page A8 about a U.S. citizen, Ryan Savage, who is married to a Finn.

“USAmerican Ryan Savage is a dream come true for the immigration officials:  university graduate that moved with his spouse to Finland. He speaks the most widely spoken language in the world [English]. The problem is that Savage cannot find any work in Finland.”

Helsingin Sanomat claims that immigrant men make on average 10,000 euros less than Finnish men, while the difference [6,000 euros] is less between immigrant and Finnish women.

Other sad realities about being an immigrant in this country are that you have a greater chance of living in poverty than Finnish families and have twice as greater chance of being attacked by another person than a Finn. One study showed that immigrant men have 50% more ear ailments than Finnish males.

If the above is true, we should be especially concerned and critical about those parties that play down the role prejudice and racism in this country. All these social and physical symptoms mentioned above are indirectly or directly related to social ills like exclusion.

But if a politician, political party or society deny that racism is not a big social problem in this country and that everything is fine, it is effectively telling you that they will not do anything to tackle the problems of our ever-growing immigrant community.  Thus you do not exist. Since you don’t exist there is no reason to even worry never mind begin addressing your problems.

There are many ways of confronting the apathy or denial of the majority concerning our community: get involved in a political party, form a social movement, start up a blog like Migrant Tales or Facebook page like My Finland is International, or simply leave Finland for greener pastures.

Everyone isn’t that fortunate that he or she can just move to anther country. Some are forced to face that depressing  music that eats away at your self-esteem and keeps you from realizing your full potential in this society.

A society like ours that claims to be for social justice and equality cannot accept prejudice, exclusion and inequality in any form.

While first-generation immigrants should raise their voices in Finland and demand changes, it is their children  that are our hope.

Some of them have seen enough of how their parents have been excluded from the labor market and are getting the short end of society’s stick.

They, rightfully, have a valid gripe and should demand far better than what their parents got.

It’s time to organize, be and think proactively.

The question that exposed Timo Soini’s good-cop-bad-cop strategy on racism

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The televised presidential debate on Thursday is probably one of the first times when Perussuomalaiset (PS) party chairman Timo Soini’s good-cop-bad-cop strategy was uncovered to the tee. His usual response, “I don’t support racism and hate speech,” didn’t work because it was unconvincing and even had a grotesque quality. 

We should thank again the high school students of the city of Järvenpää for their good question that brought Soini’s political house of cards down.

The question inspired as well other presidential candidates taking part in the debate, namely Paavo Lipponen of the Social Democrats, Swedish People’s Party Eva Biaudet and Paavo Arhimäki of the Left Alliance, to continue to grill Soini and not let him off the hook as easily as in the past.

With young people like the ones we saw on television this week and their good questions, we can rest assured that Finland is in good hands and will not fall victim to nationalistic populism and hatred.

The startling discovery that one will make when studying Soini’s ideology and the PS is that at the end of the day he thinks just like those worst racists in his party.  The big difference between Soini and those “bad cops” is that he is a good talker. Soini does not insult any group directly like some of his more cruder MPs.

But don’t be mistaken, it’s the same beast with the difference being that the message comes in sugar-coated words.

There is a very good column by Pekka Vasala of Kainuun Sanomat that catches Soini in his good-cop-bad-cop role.

How can a politician like Soini be against racism and prejudice when he prizes politically people like Jussi Halla-aho with the chair of the administration committee? How can he lead by example if he attracts Nazi-spirited members that belong to associations like Suomen Sisu and SKV? The PS chairman literally shakes your hand with a smile but then clobbers you with the other.

Once we understand how a political beast like Soini and the PS operate, we can begin to tackle an ever-growing social ill in this country: far-right nationalism, inequality, prejudice and racism.

It’s not complicated. It’s as simple as that.

Finnish high school students ask tough questions on racism to PS candidate Soini

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Thanks to hard questions asked by high school students on Thursday’s Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) televised debate to Perussuomalaiset (PS)  Timo Soini, the issue of racism in Finland finally got the scrutiny it deserved in the presidential campaign.

Taking into account that an anti-immigration party like the PS won its historic election victory in April, a social ill like racism has got dear little attention in the presidential election.

This fact reveals that Finland is either in deep denial or in shock-and-awe concerning the rise of the PS and the xenophobic atmosphere it has helped to fuel in this country.

But the critical and persistent questions by the high school students on YLE’s presidential debate on Thursday to PS leader Soini on racism in his party encouraged other candidates to grill the populist leader on the topic.

Thanks to the example of the students, there is hope that the beachhead the PS has got in Finland is seriously questioned by those that will lead this country in the future.

Those candidates that denied on the YLE debate that racism had lifted its head in Finland were the usual ones:  Soini as well as Christian Democrat hopeful Sari Essayah and Paavo Väyrynen of the Center Party.

Soini backed his claim by hiding behind a Police College report  in October that showed that hate crimes had fallen by 15% in 2010 versus the previous year.
Social Democrat Party hopeful Paavo Lipponen, who said he had become a candidate because he was concerned about the rise of racism and the PS in Finland, hit Soini the hardest.
“Even if [your party] had 50% support I would still be against this type of [racist] politics,” Lipponen said on Helsingin Sanomat quoting the YLE debate. “This must come to a stop…”
Lipponen said that the PS’ connections to far-right European parties is shameful.

Green Party hopeful Pekka Haavisto and the Perussuomalaiset

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

After the Green Party declared war on the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party before the April 17 election, its presidential hopeful Pekka Haavisto has made an about-turn: He has become a “friend” of PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen, who became a household name thanks to his racist gaffes, and now displays a show of  support for his candidacy by PS MP Jussi Halla-aho.

Certainly forgiveness is an important but how can you forgive somebody for their hostile racist behavior if they don’t even consider it wrong?

Another sad matter that Haavisto is doing by extending his hand to racists and far-right Islamophobists like Halla-aho is that he gives them legitimacy.

Moreover, his approval of these types of politicians shows that at the end of the day Haavisto is a white Finn.

Do you agree?

Uncovering the tree of hatred

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

If we could draw a tree that bares these fruits of hatred how would it look like? Would our surprise be to discover that it’s the same-looking tree that continues to cast its shadow on all of our societies for centuries? It still stands mighty and tall because we continue to feed and protect it. 

If we strive and aim for social freedom and social equality we must understand the terminology. It’s a bit like being imprisoned but having never heard the word freedom.

The same could apply to an immigrant or minority, who is discriminated by society but cannot place his finger on the words that he needs to know to help him break out of his predicament. How can you demand greater rights from others if you never heard and grasp key social concepts like mutual acceptance, respect and equal rights?

In order then to understand how fear, ignorance and hate promote racism, we’d have to understand the big picture like the one below.

Degrees of Us vs Them / Gloria Yamato’s Degrees of Racism.  Source: Community Village Activist*

Let’s take Finland and use Gloria Yamato’s tree to study how it could work in our context: fear leads to action (Russification, the 1918 Civil War, for example), fear leads to hate (Winter and Continuation War), and fear thoughts (we are such a small country that will be devoured by foreign hordes).

If we understand that fear+ignorance = hate (racism), what would you call a political party like the Perussuomalaiset in Finland that uses fear to attract public attention and votes?

I would call that the worst case of political opportunism and chicanery!

*Thank you Glenn Robinson for the heads-up!   Glenn is a European-American married to a Mexican-American. They have two children. Glenn is interested in progressive immigration reform, and desegregation within schools and communities. He is a life long learner with interests in sociology, anthropology, psychology, history and politics.

Christian Democrat candidate does not see Finland "more racist" than before

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Christian Democrat presidential hopeful, Sari Essayah, was quoted as saying on Jyväskylä-based daily Keskisuomalainen that racism hasn’t increased recently in Finland. She blamed the media for increasing such perceptions for following more closely what is written on different anti-immigration online  forums. 

The socially conservative candidate said, however, that society should have zero tolerance for racism.

What is unclear by Essayah’s statement is how serious of a social problem she believes racism is in Finland and how it should be tackled. Playing down the problem by blaming the media for doing its job will not help racism and prejudice to go away in this country.

Different anti-immigration forums like Hommaforum, Scripta and others gave a big boost to the Perussuomalaiset (PS) election victory in April.

PS leader Timo Soini plays down the  role that the anti-immigration vote in the recent election.

Like Soini and Sauli Niinistö of Kokoomus, Essayah did not see the far-right posing a threat to Finland, according to an MTV3 poll in December.