Month: November 2012

ELTbites: What you can and can’t say in class

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Richard Gresswell

This blog post is kind of a follow on from the previous one inspired by the film ‘Blackboards’. Watching it again brought back memories of the many Kurdish students I’ve had the pleasure of teaching during my time as an ESOL tutor. I want to tell you a story about one of those students.

I was teaching a ‘typical’ ESOL class, a group of people bringing with them their rich cultures, languages and life experiences to the classroom but at the same time a feeling of the weight of the world’s problems resting there, and often on the shoulders of the teacher, or at least it felt that way at times. As always I was attempting to conduct a fine balancing act between allowing students to say what they wanted to, while guarding against causing offence to others.

I found it hard at times, and there were always cracks appearing all over the place with arguments breaking out here and there but nothing too worrying. I recall once saying to the class ‘we shouldn’t speak about politics’ – quite a ridiculous thing to say really, but I was at a loss with how to deal with the on-going political discussions that seemed to cause such division among the learners.

One day in class, the students were having to carry out some exam preparation with a rather banal task of ‘describe a past event in 150 words’ (yawn). No idea where these rubric writers get their ideas from – How about ‘tell me a story’ – the students had plenty of those, and were good at telling them too. Anyway the students started their writing in class and then finished it off for homework. One Kurdish student who we shall call Hamed (not real name of course) handed me his essay by hand at the beginning of the next class. I put the carefully written and presented piece of writing on the desk next to me and started class. But I was intrigued by it, the way Hamed had personally given it to me at the beginning of the lesson. So I waited impatiently for the break so I could read it.

Now this is how the story went (in my words from memory)

I will describe my past event – I remember one day. It was a terrible day. I was ten years old. We were running away. It was terrible, people were crying and dying. We were in the mountains, it was cold, very cold. We were frightened of soldiers all the time. Sometimes we stopped to have a rest. We didn’t have any food or water. Sometimes we stopped to bury people because they were dead and we buried them there. I was very sad but my life is better now. I know I shouldn’t talk about politics, I’m sorry Mr Richard.

Read original blog entry here.

This piece was reprinted by Migrant Tales with permission.

Schuurmudgeon: Sanoma, your ignorance is not sexy

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Jos Schuurmans

“Hello? This is the nineteen-thirties calling. Can we have our nazi family snap shots back, please?”

How is it possible that Sanoma, one of Finland’s largest, most professional and most respected media firms, gets away with publishing a cosy, three-page family portrait of far-right MP Jussi Halla-aho in its November 1, 2012, issue of Me Naiset, the mainstream human interest women’s magazine?

Headlined, Jussi and Hilla Halla-aho: “Intelligence is sexy”, the article (web-version here) runs photos of Halla-aho and his wife at home and at the diner table with their children. On the cover of the magazine they are quoted as saying:

“Home is a place where one doesn’t need to face criticism.”

Well… tell that to the visible immigrants whose homes have fallen prey to arson attacks from anti-immigration extremists in recent years!

Halla-aho is a contender to the leadership of the far-right ‘Perussuomalaiset’ party. Not hindered by political correctness, his blog writings are crudely critical of immigration and multiculturalism. He has been convicted by the country’s Supreme Court of enticing intolerance.

Yet the article doesn’t go into details concerning his political actions or agenda. The closest writer Essi Myllyoja and photographer Milka Alanen come to touching upon his controversial track record is this:

“(…) Jussi is a man who evokes emotions – even fears. His radical opinions and provocative blog articles have taken him even to court. But when Kerttu jumps onto Jussi’s lap and drowns her father in kisses, what springs to mind is that there is surely also a softer side to the man. (…)”

Excuse me, I feel slightly nauseous. Saisinko vatin, kiitos?

In June 2012, following Halla-aho’s appeals after conviction in lower courts, the Supreme Court of Finland found him guilty of both disturbing religious worship and ethnic agitation. He was sentenced to pay fines as well as to remove parts from his blog.

Halla-aho had remarked that the prophet Muhammad was a paedophile, and Islam a religion of paedophilia, because Muhammad had intercourse with his 9-year-old wife and according to Sunnah Mohammed’s life is exemplary in every way.

He also asked if it could be stated that robbing passers-by and living on taxpayers’ expense are cultural and possibly genetic characteristics of Somalis. This was apparently stated in sarcastic response to a Finnish columnist who wrote that drinking excessively and fighting when drunk were cultural and possibly genetic characteristics of Finns.

The Supreme Court considered the blog posts’ descriptions to be defaming and abusive to an ethnic group. It found the writing in itself to evoke intolerance, contempt and possibly even hatred. (Sources via Wikipedia, Wikiquotes, HS.fi, Migrant Tales)

Of course the man’s unattractive political accomplishment is very disturbing and a cause of outrage in itself. We’ve known for a while that Timo Soini’s Perussuomalaiset (which translates into ‘True Finns’, although the party adopted ‘The Finns’ as its official English name in August 2011) harbor dangerously right-wing elements and it’s really objectionable that the party leader doesn’t seem to have made any effort to dis-associate them from his movement.

The far-right thugs in this country are receiving way too much air time already and I wouldn’t want to add to that.

But with this article in Me Naiset, the boundaries of what is considered to be acceptable in mainstream journalism are being pushed to a new level. This should not be allowed to pass without notice.

It’s staggering that Sanoma can publish such politically and historically ignorant fluff without causing a public outrage and without repercussions for its insensitive and irresponsible management.

This piece was reprinted by Migrant Tales with permission.

MP Hirvisaari claims PS anti-immigration message not strong enough

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James (Erkki Kalevi) Hirvisaari claims that his party did poorly in the municipal elections because it wasn’t as outspoken on immigration issues as before the 2011 parliamentary elections, according to YLE. Migrant Tales disagrees. The PS did poorly in the municipal elections because of the crackpot stuff they say and do to gain attention, listeners or votes. 

Contrary to what Hirvisaari claims, the PS and his band of Counterjihadists tried very hard to raise immigration issues during the last municipal elections. See the long list of blog entries below that were published by Migrant Tales that show that Hirvisaari and other PS politicians tried to gain attention and votes by fueling anti-immigration, anti-Islam, anti-Roma and homophobic sentiment.

Moreover, the anti-immigration message of the PS sounds like a broken record at this stage. The more it plays, the more their lies and opportunism are exposed. The public, media and politicians are not eating out of their hands as they did before last year’s parliamentary elections.

Politicians like Hirvisaari in the PS, with his usual witch-hunt comments about Islam and immigrants, is one reason why the party has lost popularity and credibility with voters.

One of the PS MP’s many bizarre comments were made after Anders Brevik went on the rampage killing in cold blood 77 Norwegians on July 22, 2011.

On his Uusi Suomi blog he blamed “immigration policy” and “100% rape cases by foreigners [sic!]” for Norway’s worst tragedy after World War 2. “A sensible immigration policy could have lowered tensions and helped avoid many problems as well as the atrocity [in Norway],” he wrote. “And we still can. In Finland as well.”

Hirvisaari, who was convicted for hate speech in December, has not only lost touch with his party but with his constituents.

Here are some blog entries that Migrant Tales published before the October municipal elections that had a strong anti-immigration, anti-Islam and homophobic message:

 

 

Reports: Greatest threat to immigrants are not far-right groups in Sweden

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Two reports published on November 9 in Sweden show that the greatest threat to immigrants and visible minorities in that country aren’t far-right groups, but everyday intolerance and racism from white Swedes.

What does this report say about Sweden and suggest about how foreigners are treated in Finland? Contrary to our neighbor, Finland’s third-largest party in parliament, the Perussuomalaiset (PS), is staunchly xenophobic and against immigrants.

Relatives of the PS, the Sweden Democrats, are a minor force in parliament.

Cecilia Englung said: “The biggest challenge is to tackle the problem of everyday xenophobia by comments, evil staring and other negative behaviors toward non-ethnic Sweden.”

One of the reports asked 1,490 students about racism. Half of them, who were born elsewhere than Sweden, had experienced racism (28% said there is racism at their school and 24% knew of a racist assault at school).

Martin Luther King had a point when he said: “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of social transition was not the striden clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”

MLK had a point but how many of those people he mentions were actually that “good?”

PS’ Halla-aho eyes party leadership

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Perussuomalaiset (PS) party far-right anti-immigration wing leader, MP Jussi Halla-aho, confirmed that he’s not ruling out vying for chairman of the radical populist party, according to MTV3, citing the Subin Enbuske & Linnanahde Crew TV show. 

”I’m in parliament and city council because enough people want me in these places,” he said, ”if they want me in some other place, I could even consider such a request.”

Apart from their racism and far-right ideology, politicians like Halla-aho are chronic narcissists, who score brownie points with voters by bashing weaker and more vulnerable groups in society.

The aim of these politicians is simple: do everything possible to hinder integration, acceptance and make life as difficult as possible for Finland’s newcomers and visible immigrants.

PS chairman Timo Soini has been a key factor in bringing such politicians to roost in Finland. He has given them a political voice through his party.

I pointed out in a recent blog entry that if I had the opportunity to draw a cartoon about Soini’s relationship with these far-right politicians, the setting would be a concentration camp in World War 2 with some infamous commandants like Rudolf Hoess and Franz Ziereis, hiding behind the PS leader.

Soini would state with a poker face: “Anti-Semitism isn’t an issue in our party.”

What Saul Schubak did wrong in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Saul Schubak, the National Coalition Party politician who said that ”inferior people” should not get child allowances, resigned Friday as vice president of the party’s youth wing. If there is a lesson to be learned from the Schubak scandal, it’s which group you insult. 

If Schubak speaks of ”inferior people” and gets dumped by his party for his statement, why doesn’t the same happen when the Perussuomalaiset (PS) and its anti-immigration extremists get showered with votes in elections?

The answer to this very simple question is obvious: Don’t insult the wrong group. Schubak insulted whites while the PS near-constantly insults immigrants and visible minorities.

The moral of the Schubak scandal? If you are going to insult people in Finland,  stay clear from white people especially if you have a Jewish background. Bashing immigrants and even visible minorities is, however, fine. You won’t lose face.

Schubak said in a statement that he ”did not mean to insult anyone” although that is exactly what he did.

The former National Coalition Party youth wing vice president said that politicians don’t take responsibility for what they say and do. Schubak, contrarily, does, which is why he is resigning, according to his words.

Pushing aside the melodramatics and political soap opera, Schubak is resigning because of what he said and to whom,  which made his position in the party untenable.

The National Coalition Party youth wing has been on other occasions a political thorn in the conservative party’s side.

 

 

Migrants’ Rights Network: EU Free Movement Under Threat

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Stewart Jackson’s Ten Minute Rule motion to curb EU free movement rights passed the first hurdle on its way to becoming law. Let’s hope no one in government seriously considers it as official policy.

Conservative MP Stewart Jackson continues his campaign against “barking mad” European Union law which supports the free movement of people across EU borders.

The motion put forward today in parliament states that EU citizens are to be allowed to enter and live in the UK only if they have a prior job offer, no criminal record, are in good health and remain barred from claiming social benefits. While Private Members’ Bills usually don’t get far in parliament, this should be seen as a bellwether for moods in government circles which are determined to place greater impediments in the way of exercising rights available to citizens under EU law.

Read the full article on the Huffington Post.

Read original story here.

This piece was reprinted by Migrant Tales with permission.


Paavo Lipponen does not see far right threatening Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

There are few politicians in Finland who speak out against the far-right threat in Finland. One of these is former Social Democrat Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen, who expressed concern about the issue in a seminar in Helsinki on deportation of Jews to Germany in World War 2, reports Iltalehti. 

Lipponen expressed surprise that some parties use “racial hygiene” as part of their political agenda. The concept was exploited by Nazi Germany from 1933 and led to the mass murder of millions of Europeans, especially Jews.

Lipponen does not, however, consider the far right to be a threat to Finland.

While Lipponen may state that far-right ideology isn’t a big threat to Finland, some would disagree. Determining what is a threat to our society depends a lot on your perspective. If you are middle class, white and employed, the far-right wing of a party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) isn’t a threat.

If, however, you ask certain immigrant groups and visible minorities, the answer may be much different.

Here’s a Suomen Sisu t-shirt that shows the group’s hostility towards cultural diversity.

Lipponen used Saul Schubak, the vice chairman of the National Coalition Party’s youth wing, as an example of how public opinion has hardened in Finland. Schubak wrote on Facebook that “inferior people” should not get child allowance.

The PS is the party in parliament with the biggest number of anti-immigration fanatics, who base their views on racial hygiene, eugenics and cultural myths like ethnic superiority.

If Migrant Tales had the opportunity to draw a cartoon about PS chairman Timo Soini’s relationship with these far-right politicians, the setting would be a concentration camp in World War 2 with some infamous commandants like Rudolf Hoess and Franz Ziereis, hiding behind Soini.

Soini would state with a poker face: “Anti-Semitism isn’t an issue in our party.”

Barack Obama victory: “The most diverse [and powerful] nation on Earth”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

President Barack Obama’s election victory is the best news embattled United States could hope for. The U.S. president’s leadership on many fronts in the past should be a source of inspiration for European politicians who are being put under the gun by ever-growing populist mainstream intolerance and racism.

Obama has shown leadership on many occasions. He opposed the U.S led invasion of Iraq at a time when it was considered political suicide to be against President George W. Bush’s right to wage preemptive war on anyone Washington pleased. His support for gay marriage is another political milestone of his administration.

While these and many other difficult policy calls are risky, the job of an exemplary politician is to offer leadership and do what is right. Sometimes we need tap our gut instincts to make hard calls. Time will eventually reveal whether those political decision were right or wrong.

One of the many powerful messages in Obama’s victory speech was praising the United States as the most diverse nation on Earth. He said: “As long as we have the courage, to keep reaching, to keep working, keep fighting. Everyone can make it in America. Black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, young, old, rich, poor, able, disabled, gay, straight. You can make it here in America if you are willing to try.”

Too many politicians in Europe and Finland still patronize with populism and racism. Instead of fueling inclusion, they promote social exclusion of certain groups with their silence and  views. This is a ruinous path that we must challenge with leadership.

Obama’s message, that the United States is the most diverse and  powerful nation on Earth, should inspire us to do much more in Europe and Finland to promote diversity.

If we fail in the task and allow our fear and myths to devour our courage, it’s pretty clear that we’ll be the biggest losers.

 

 

Finland must do more to ghostbust its race-and-blood myths

Posted on by Migrant Tales

What do the rise of an anti-immigration party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) and Kokoomus’ Saul Schubak’s statements concerning child allowances have in common?  Setting racism and greed aside, they are the ethnic and social myths that continue to be taught and reinforced at our schools, homes and society. 

One of the biggest myths and social constructs about our national identity is that only one group owns it or, as Schubak claimed, rich people who make money and have conservative views have special rights and privileges in our society.

The mere fact that a person like PS MP Jussi Halla-aho can spew fascist-eugenic ideology from the 1930s and claim that certain groups have less human dignity than others, shows an enormous failure of our educational system that is haunting us today.

One clear characteristic of how racism and discrimination work in Finland is that they tirelessly aim to undermine your rights and place obstacles in front of your path. There are no solutions, only obstacles.

While many racist ideas in Finland have their roots in eugenics and nineteenth-century colonialism, they continue to flourish in some circles like the PS and Schubaks’ National Coalition Party youth wing.

At the best, parties like the PS and Schubak show that Finland is still a predominantly white society that has no intention of relinquishing its privileges to other groups. Values such as social equality (tasa-arvo) are not meant for immigrants and visible minorities. They are for white Finns.

Meanwhile, the Police College of Finland  told Migrant Tales that 2011 hate crime statistics will be probably published by the end of November.

A total of 860 hate crimes reported to the police in 2010, which is a 15% fall from 1,007 cases in the previous year.

While some officials claim that ”hate crimes fell in 2010,” they may reveal a more worrying trend: Reluctance by some immigrants and visible minorities to report such crimes to the police.