The death of Nelson Mandela, who was branded a terrorist by countries like the U.S. and Great Britain, is a sad day full of mourning but full of hope as well. His struggle and triumph over apartheid, a toxic offshoot of white European colonialism, proves that no matter how oppressive a government is, change is…
Month: December 2013
Maryan Abdulkarim: “Finland is a very racist country”
Is there racism in Finland? In order to find the answer to that question, we’d have to ask visible migrants and minorities. Maryan Abdulkarim, 31, is a Finn who was born in Somalia, had the opportunity on Friday’s Helsingin Sanomat to answer that question. “Finland is a very racist country,” she said. “It always has been.”…
PS MP blames immigrants for Finland’s disappointing Pisa result
This year’s Program for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results offered a rude disappointment for Finland, when it saw its global ranking slip sharply in reading, science and math, according to Yle in English. Of all the OECD countries, Finland’s Pisa result saw the biggest drop from the previous year. While part of Finland is still in…
Sweden is right, Finland wrong in its strategy against anti-immigration parties
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt reiterated to Helsingin Sanomat the government’s plans to isolate Sweden Democrats despite the latest polls in Sweden, which show the anti-EU and anti-immigration party making gains. Even if the Sweden Democrats have tried break free from their neo-Nazi and racist image, the party led by Jimmie Åkesson has suffered a number…
Immigrants and their associations should speak out more against exploitation
In the struggle that immigrants and members of the visible minority community in Finland, it’s important that we have a voice and speak out against exploitation and attitudes that promote intolerance. Read full story (in Finnish) here. Migrant Tales wrote recently about Abdi Osman, a naturalized Finn who came to this country fifteen years ago…
Migrants’ Rights Network: An atlas of migration that tells the story of globalisation and barriers to freedom
Don Flynn* David Cameron’s intervention during the EU leaders’ summit meeting in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius last week has made it clear enough that the issues of immigration and Europe are going to be heavily intertwined during the political debates of the coming period. Read full story here. Cameron’s claims that the…
Beating intolerance at its own game requires a reaction, leadership and a voice
Beating intolerance at its own game is easier than you think. There are many good examples in Finland, like International Mikkeli Day (IMD), where people from a grass-root level take action and seek solutions. Since intolerance and racism are based on lies and generous quantities of ideological fools gold, truth is the light that exposes…