Hommaforum, a Finnish hate forum where people reveal their xenophobia and racism anonymously, tried to pull a fast one on Migrant Tales by making up a story about an Ethiopian victim called Dawit. The aim of the email and the story that was published and taken down was supposedly to discredit and shame one of Finland’s most…
Month: December 2013
Migrant Tales 2008: Being an immigrant in Finland. A letter from Ida
COMMENT: Migrant Tales has always been interested in publishing the experiences of Finns with multicultural backgrounds. The letter by “Ida” below is one of the first we ever published on this blog in September 2008. There are others ones aboutSomali-Finn Abdulah, Living in no-man’s land, and Micah J. Christian, What being Finnish means to me. While…
Timo Soini’s silence in the face of PS MP Olli Immonen’s proposal reveals that he has always been the wolf in sheep’s clothing
Timo Soini, the chairman of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, was quoted as saying on YLE in English that PS MP Olli Immonen’s written question to parliament, that Finland should start classifying people according to ethnic background, doesn’t concern him. What do you think such a statement by the head of an an anti-immigration party reveals?…
PS MP wants Finland to classify people according to ethnic background
As the European Parliament elections near in May 2014, the attacks against immigrants and visible minorities in Finland by the Perussuomalaiset (PS) are getting stronger and more relentless. The latest one is by none other then PS MP Olli Immonen, who gave parliament Wednesday a written question that Finland should start registering people according to…
Why do we still hesitate to challenge intolerance in Finland?
I had an interesting chat yesterday with an old friend about racism in Finland. One of the matters we agreed was that Finland hasn’t reached that stage where we accept that racism exists and that concrete steps must be taken to challenge it. This fact leads us to a second important question: Why? The answer…
Fadumo Dayib: Run, Nigger, Run
Fadumo Dayib I came to this country as a refugee in 1990, at the time of recession and when foreigners where a rarity. As a result, we had become a “Somali shock” overnight. It was common at the time to hear racial slurs, to wake up to the sounds of “perkele”, to drink tea to…
Fadumo Dayib: Juokse, Nekru, Juokse
Fadumo Dayib Saavuin tähän maahan pakolaisena vuonna 1990, keskelle lamaa, aikana jolloin ulkomaalaiset olivat harvassa. Somalishokki toteutui yli yön. Tavan takaa kuulin rasistisia heittoja, heräsin ”perkele”-sointuihin, join teeni ”mutakuonona” ja tanssin ”vitun neekeri”-biisien tahtiin. Ihmiset pysähtyivät kadulla tuijottamaan, lapset kiljahtelivat ”kato äiti neekeri”. Isoäidit hyökkäsivät kimppuuni uimahallin suihkussa yrittäen pestä pois väriäni. Muutaman tuoppin rohkaisemina toiset tulivat koskettelamaan hiuksiani…
Sikh bus driver in Finland plans to take employer to court over landmark turban case
Busman Gill Sukhdarshan Singh told Migrant Tales that he plans to take his employer to court if no decision is reached with the Veolia bus company concerning a turban ban at work after the the Southern Finland Regional State Administrative Agency (Avi) makes a new ruling on the matter in about a week and a half. …
The story behind “Finland is a racist country” is in the comments
There were quite strong reactions among some Finns and immigrants to Maryan Abdulkarim’s interview on Helsingin Sanomat. Those who strongly objected to the article, appear to want to deny Abdulkarim’s right to express herself on a touchy subject like racism. It’s ironic, but those who want to deny Abdulkarim her right to speak out are…
Isolationism, petty provincialism and nationalism: social ills with far-reaching consequences
In the backdrop of Finland’s independence day celebrations Friday and as the world mourns Nelson Mandela’s death yesterday, our country is at a major crossroads contesting whether it wants to be a closed or open society. The historic victory of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party in 2011 is one example how this country has taken a perilous…