It’s a good matter that the vice president of the European Commission, Neelie Kroes, speaks out against the death threats that Swedish- and Finnish-language journalists and public figures have received recently. Read Neelie Kroes’ blog here. The Dutch vice president of the European Commission expressed concern about media freedom in Finland and Greece. She writes: ”Death…
Month: June 2013
The NSA and the path to tyranny
A nation may lose its liberties in a day and not miss them in a century. Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) The leak by US National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden has given us a unique opportunity to ask a vitally important question: Do we want unchecked surveillance? If we give up our right to…
Where are you from?
Even if I have lived most of my adult life in Finland and my mother is Finnish, I’m still asked occasionally where I’m from. In a spirit of mutual respect, I ask the person the same question. Some don’t like it. The innocent question, where are you from, reveals a lot about our prejudices and…
My Conscience Your Conscience
By Dana Who has conscience? Who doesn’t have conscience? Finnish law doesn’t because it made a deep wound in me and it could not feel it did anything bad, oh nothing at all. So why is this law so cruel to me and my situation??? Because it isn’t wise…. because wiseness has conscience. What about racist people? Black…
Buenos Aires Herald (February 12, 1987): The old-new frontier*
Comment: It’s sad to point out 25 years after writing this opinion piece that Argentina has become a poorer country. Emigration continues to be the rule, not the exception. The opening up of the economy to foreign investment during the 1990s was a disaster. Too many foreign companies did not invest in Argentina to make…
Burqas, nijabs, the PS and red herrings
A tabloid Iltalehti story wrote about a heated debate in parliament Friday between the anti-immigration populist Perussuomalaiset (PS) party and the Greens over a draft bill spearheaded by PS MP Vesa-Matti Saarakkala, which aims to ban the burqa and nijab in public places. The PS MP considers the law as a “preventive measure” even if the nijab…
“Only Finnish spoken here” versus cultural diversity
What would you do if you saw on an elementary school classroom door the following message: Only Finnish spoken here? Would you ask if speaking Swedish is ok? Would it raise disturbing memories of how minorities like the Saami were persecuted and discouraged at school especially after World War 2 for speaking their own language?…
Broadcasting hatred and racism against Romanis from Bulgaria and Romania
I was surprised to listen on Thursday morning to Anssi Honkanen’s and Renne Korppila’s Aamupoika radio program on NRJ about Bulgarian and Romanian Romanis that come to Finland to beg. If you want to find the sources of Finnish racism and loathing for the Romany minority, tune into their morning program. The program said, and this is not…
Migrant Tales Literary: Voice of My Zeal
By Dana I have no weapon i have no gun but i have pen I have no crowd , I have me alone, but i am brave Am not terrorist, am not dirty one but you are fakes I have no army i have no soldiers but i am bless I have a soul in…
Dissecting Finnish racism and bigotry
“Racism is like a Cadillac, they bring out a new model every year.” Malcolm X (1925-65) The quote by one of the most powerful voices to emerge from the U.S. Civil Rights Movements, reveals how racism survived in the 1960s to see another day. Even though the quote by Malcolm X was made about a…