This chilling phrase that was written on flyers in a gay clubbing district of Athens, Greece, is only the tip of the iceberg concerning the ever-growing violence and intolerance spreading throughout Europe. Writes the Trumpet.com: “Masked men on motorbikes patrol the streets of Greece’s streets, attacking immigrants and driving off. Mobs armed with improvised weapons…
Month: September 2012
Is this bus going to Africa?
By Roble Bashir Immigrant bus drivers sometimes feel unsafe during their work in Finland. They face many challenges especially when they work at night. Some white Finnish passengers try to take advantage of bus drivers with immigrant backgrounds. They may, for example, show an expired ticket and argue with the driver that it is valid….
Racism Review: Racism in the Digital Era
Comment: A new term I learned from the video below was cloaked site. The video says at the end that “we have to get smarter about how racism works in the digital age.” ————- By Jessie This is a short video (5:27) I created, explaining how racism operates in the digital era. The danger may…
PS Counterjihadists: Live and die politically by the sword
The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party is at a crucial juncture concerning its strange-bedfellow relationship with Counterjihadist and populist radical right members. What kind of links do some members of the PS have with far-right groups like the Finnish Defense League (FDL)? The FDL is nothing more than a mouthpiece of the English Defense League, a violent…
What makes one language better than the other?
Roble Bashir Two official languages are spoken in Finland: Finnish and Swedish. This means, at least theoretically, that immigrants can choose between two languages and which is best-suited for them. An ever-growing number of immigrants want to study the Swedish language. One important reason is that Swedish is easier for some to learn than…
Norwegian armed forces show cultural sensitivity
Since July 1, the Norweaign armed forces have relaxed rules for religious headgear, writes the Local, quoting daily Stavanger Afterbladed. It is now possible for Sikh soldiers to use turbans as well as for Jews to use skull-caps while serving in the Norwegian armed forces. Muslim women are permitted to wear a hijab with their…
YLE poll: The PS is expected to make the biggest gains in the October municipal elections
A poll commissioned and published by YLE on Sunday reveals that the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party will make the biggest gains in the October 28 municipal elections. If the PS gets 15.8% of the votes as the poll suggests, it will be a big leap from 5.4% that the party got in the 2008 municipal elections. The poll sees…
Du Bois and Finland: “Your country”
I read an interesting blog entry on Racism Review about what W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963), sociologist, historian and civil rights activist, wrote* about blacks in the United States. His words still ring out today in light of the hostility we see today towards immigrants and visible minorities in many parts of Europe and the United…