I’ve been watching with concern the plight of Thai berry pickers in Finland. You don’t have to be too smart to understand that what is happening is exploitation at its best. It’s ok to treat these berry pickers and pay them a pittance because they are from Thailand and not organized. We have seen this…
Month: September 2013
Zuzeeko’s blog: Minorities in Finland face unequal treatment, even in death
Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng* Family murders are common in Finland and whenever they happen the media mentions the nationality or origin of the perpetrator and the victim. But the origin of the most recent victim of Finland’s string of disturbing family murders was kept under wraps. Some people, including me wonder why. On 1 September 2013,…
Landmark decision in Finland: On September 29, 2013 Sikh busman can wear turban at work
Busman Gill Sukhdarshan Singh told Migrant Tales that his employer, Veolia Transport of Vantaa, has agreed to allow him to wear a turban at work from Sunday, September 29. The Southern Finland Regional State Administrative Agency, which ruled in June that a turban ban by the employer was discriminatory, gave the bus company until the end…
YLE in English: Finnish Sports Federation apologizes after 75 years to a Finnish-Jewish runner
As Finland races into the depths of the new century and distances itself from the Winter (1939-40) and especially from the Continuation War (1941-44), I’m certain that there will be more proof about our collusion with Nazi Germany. One such story appeared Friday, when YLE in English reported on the Finnish Sports Federation’s (SUL) apology…
Does Finland promote two-way or one-way adaption of immigrants?
Our integration law promotes two-way adaption as opposed to assimilation, which is a one-way process. Section 17 of the Finnish Constitution states that each person living in this country has the right to maintain and develop their own language and culture. What do these two important laws mean in practice and how are they applied? Sensible Finns…
Helsingin Sanomat poll reveals Finns’ opposition to cultural diversity
A poll commissioned by Helsingin Sanomt, Finland’s largest-circulation daily, reveals that 53% of those polled agreed (22%) or partially agreed (31%) that immigrants should aim at becoming as Finnish as possible. That compares with 18% and 30%, respectively, in 2011. If there is something worrying that the poll shows, it’s Finland’s growing opposition to cultural…
How Syrian refugees fleeing war show how the Finnish media gives (again) racists inflated respectability and importance
Migrant Tales published a while back a story about how the media gives racists and radical anti-immigration groups inflated respectability and importance. Why should we care what a Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP like Jussi Halla-aho, who was on top of it convicted for ethnic agitation, thinks about giving asylum to Syrian refugees? Verkkouutiset is run by the…
Turku Islamic Center suffers attack over the weekend
The Turku Islamic Center, which has served the Muslim community of the southwestern city for over twenty years, was attacked over the weekend, according to YLE. Apart form destroying furniture, spreading salt and flour on the ground, a number of Korans were torn. Some 200 Muslims attend the Turku Islamic Center. The police have been…
Government talks in Norway are a preview of what may happen in Finland in 2015 with the PS
Take a close look at Norway if you want to see what may happen in Finland after the 2015 parliamentary elections, when the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS) may be in government.The populist anti-immigration Progress party (FrP) of Norway will form part of a coalition government with the Conservative Party (Høyre), Christian Democrats and Liberals. If the Conservative Party…
Artist Kiba Lumberg: “Don’t box me in!”
In order to understand Kiba Lumberg, 57, you need to know some Finnish history, the plight of minorities like the Roma, and what it is like to live in worlds shaded by different hues of grey. Since this story is about an artist who doesn’t want to conform to set norms imposed on her by…