Harri Tauriainen, a Perussuomalaiset (PS)* councilman of the northern city of Kemi, is a good example of how racism and fascism have found fertile ground in the PS. Taurianen was elected by the region of Lappi as a PS candidate for the April 2015 parliamentary elections, according to Rovaniemi-based daily Lapin Kansa. Tauriainen, a councilman of Kemi, got…
Month: June 2014
Finnish gay rights hall of fame, shame and extra shame
As the winding history of Finland’s first same-sex marriage law is being written, there’s already a hall of fame and shame from February 2013. As everyone knows, the citizens’ initiative for same-sex marriage was defeated Tuesday in the legal affairs committee of parliament by a vote of 10-6. Even if those 10 who voted against…
Four in five Swedes express concern over xenophobia
Swedes are more worried about the rise of xenophobia in their country than the ever-growing number of immigrants, according to The Local, citing a study by the SOM Institute of Gothenburg University. The survey revealed that while 49% expressed concern over immigration levels, 78% were worried about the rise of xenophobia. Read full story here….
Finnish HJK premier division football coach considers German team “arbeit macht frei”
Right after the USA-Germany game, Helsinki football team HJK coach Mika Lehkosuo sticks his foot in his mouth by quoting a Nazi phrase, arbeit macht frei, when asked how the German team played. The Nazi slogan, which means “work makes you free,” was found at the gates of a number of concentration camps like Auschwitz during…
Defining white Finnish privilege #4: Holding the short end of the stick
In many respects white privilege, or specifically white Finnish privilege, is a good way to understand some of the challenges that migrants and especially non-white Finns face in this country. Migrant Tales invites readers to share their thoughts on the social ill. Please send your comments on the topic to [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you….
Is Finland a good country for migrants and minorities?
Finland gets a lot of international recognition for being one of the most competitive countries in the world, for press freedom, women rights, scores high on the good country index, having one of the best educational systems in the world and the likes. The latter raises a question: How inclusive of a country is Finland to…
Marine Le Pen fails to form the far-right European Alliance for Freedom
There was great news today when we read that far-right Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders failed to form a European Parliamentary group called the European Alliance for Freedom (EAF)., reports the euobserver. After the gains that the far-right made in the Euro elections of May, Migrant Tales welcomes Le Pen’s and Wilders’ failure to form…
Migrants’ Rights Network: Immigration statistics to be debated for 3 hours in the House of Commons
Awale Olad MPs are set to debate the political minefield of migration statistics this Thursday, 26 June. The Lords will also debate the right to work for asylum seekers. Read full blog entry here. The Westminster Hall debate will be led by Bernard Jenkins MP, the Chair of the Public Administration Select…
Interior minister’s plan to close legal “loophole” would increase the number of undocumented migrants in Finland
Christian Democrat Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen has a dubious reputation in Finland for her homophobic and conservative religious views. In her latest attack against refugees, Räsänen writes that when an asylum-seeker gets a negative decision and doesn’t want to leave the country, the Finnish Immigration Service is required to give a residence permit if the person…
The PS of Pori, Finland, wanted to stop funding to Islamic cultural association
Two Perussuomalaiset (PS)* members of the City of Pori board failed to get enough support behind a motion to stop funding to an Islamic cultural association, reports YLE. The association gets 4,000 euros in funding from the city. Migrant Tales not only read this story with some concern. Apart from being Muslims, is there any other…