Month: April 2017

PS MP Ville Tavio: An Islamophobe that is bent on keeping white Finnish power and privilege at any cost and lie

Posted on by Migrant Tales

When publishing anti-immigration rhetoric by politicians like Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Ville Tavio, it’s very important to lead with the following warning: “MP Talk gives members of parliament the opportunity to share their views on Finnish society with an international audience. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Helsinki Times.“

MP Tavio is a PS MP who has declared war and wants to relegate non-white Finns and migrants to second- and third-class citizens.

Read the full op-ed piece at your peril here. He makes impossible campaign promises that will catch up with him one day like with the PS in the municipal elections of Sunday. The PS are known as a turncoat party because they’ve broken most of their campaign promises.

A recent op-ed piece in Uusi Suomi by the MP from Turku suggested that the Finnish constitution should be changed to give Finns priority over foreigners when it comes to rights.

“The sovereignty that the Finnish state entitles it to decide that its primary task is safeguarding the rights of its own citizens [at the cost of migrants],” he wrote.

Tavio is a lawyer so he should know better what the constitution says and guarantees about equality before the law. His issue, like all of the far-right anti-immigration wing of the PS, is to keep white Finnish power and privilege even if it means relegating migrants to second- and third-class citizens.

The op-ed piece in the Helsinki Times is another example of his disdain and hostility towards migrants and minorities in Finland.

Continue reading “PS MP Ville Tavio: An Islamophobe that is bent on keeping white Finnish power and privilege at any cost and lie”

Oppression doesn’t turn you into a terrorist, neither does poverty make you a racist

Posted on by Migrant Tales

             War and injustice don’t turn a person into a terrorist.    

In the same way, poverty doesn’t turn you into a racist. 

In life we make choices on how to challenge the injustices we face. Our reaction to them differ greatly. Most people, who suffer injustice, don’t take up arms or carry out a terrorist act. If injustice doesn’t turn you automatically into a terrorist neither does poverty make you a racist. You turned into a racist because you were already one.

 Some politicians tell us that racism is a natural outcome because there is poverty. It isn’t, that’s denial of the social ill. Just because there are injustices doesn’t mean you will plant a bomb and kill people.

How do I know? Because I was once there as a young man trying to figure out what I should do to challenge a military government in Argentina that robbed my civil and human rights. I chose instead to write and fight with all my might today as an activist.

Two pictures, two similar realities 

The two pictures below represent for me the harrowing face of the ongoing deportations from Finland and Europe. One was taken on Tuesday night by a thirteen-year-old adolescent from the Joutseno immigration removal center.

Searchlights, barbwire, and barred windows in a country below greet an adolescent in Finland, a country that claims to respect the rule of law and human rights.

The young person that took the first picture below will apparently be deported from Finland Wednesday together with her 6 brothers and sisters and parents. The youngest of the family is 1.5 years and the eldest, 14.

Below that picture Ali’s, who was deported in January back to Iraq. Barred windows greet him and us as well.

Two pictures, two terrible realities and the last stops of a long journey to freedom that ended in failure.

This picture was taken Tuesday by an adolescent who faces deportation with her family of nine Wednesday. She says “good night” to us. Picture taken by asylum seeker.

Continue reading “Oppression doesn’t turn you into a terrorist, neither does poverty make you a racist”

A message from a 13-year-old asylum seeker girl that will be deported: “Good night”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The ordeal of the Iraqi family of nine that is expects to be deported possibly Wednesday hasn’t ended but there is hope despite everything. One of the children of the family, who is 13, sends a message below from the immigration removal center at Joutseno: “Good night.”

The youngest member of the family is 1.5 years and the eldest 14.

The pictures below are just as terrible as “Ali’s” last selfie when he was inside a squad car at the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and about to be deported.

The person who is in touch with the family responds to the adolescent’s message: “Good night loved ones.”

 

A view from the room where the Iraqi family of nine are detained at the immigration removal center at Joutseno, located next to the Russian border in southeast Finland.

 

 

 

 

Finland to deport a family of nine to Iraq – youngest child 1.5 years and the eldest 14

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Now it has come to this: A family of seven children from Karbala, Iraq, who came to Finland in 2015 with their parents will be most likely deported on Wednesday. The youngest is a year and a half and the eldest 14.

According to one source who knows the family, two of the children speak Finnish since they attended school in this country.

A family of seven children, a mother and father will be deported this week back to Iraq.

“I doubt that I’ll get any sleep tonight because I’ve been trying to help this family,” said a woman.  “I was afraid that it would come to this [deportation].”

Cases like these leave one speechless. What are they going to do in Iraq and how will they remember the trauma of those last days in Finland when they are being escorted by force back to their home country?

Iraqi asylum seeker in Finland: I’m building my home here and getting married this week

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Whenever an asylum seeker, irrespective of how many times his or her application for asylum got turned down, there is one matter that must be done: write, write and write. 

Not too many understand it, but it’s very important because at this moment every asylum seeker who is here is shedding roots or writing their history in Finland. I am certain many years from now, when we write about the hardships that the Iraqi community faced in Finland, we’ll search for those anecdotes found in diaries and in oral histories.

Here is a short story about an Iraqi asylum seeker who gave us a glimpse of his life in Finland:

I was with my uncle outside in Baghdad when we both got shot by a gang of militias. I survived, my uncle died instantly. I was rushed to a hospital where I recuperated after a couple of months. I then moved to Syria in 2011 because I wasn’t safe in Iraq. I moved to Syria in 2011 and stayed there for four years but there was a terrible civil war going on there as well. I moved back to Iraq in 2015 for a couple of months and went to Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Austria Germany, Sweden and finally arrived in Finland on September 26, 2015. Crossing 10 countries to reach Finland was dangerous.

A picture of the lucky couple’s hands. Where there is love there is a way, right?

I have had my asylum application rejected twice. I’ve been in a relationship with a Finnish woman for over a year. We live together and love each other. We want to build our lives in Finland. I will be getting married this week. All the red tape to get the permissions from Iraq to the Finnish Embassy in Turkey have been overwhelming and forced us to postpone the date of our wedding. But everything is in order now and we’ll get married through the register office this week.

I don’t want to go back to Iraq because  it isn’t a safe country. People don’t have any right in Iraq. You have two choices, though: to join the militias or face death.

I chose life. That’s why I’m not going back to Iraq.

Please respect my decision.

Zalina Amelova: Finding work and career advancement in Finland is a tall order

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales insight:  Zalina Ametova is a pseudonym because she fears her employment prospects could worsen. The writer highlights the challenges of securing a job and advancing one’s career in Finland. This is a follow-up to a recent article written by a thirty-five-year-old foreigner about his experiences in the Finnish job market. Employment and unemployment are some of the hottest topics among migrants and minorities. 

Migrant Tales invites its readers to share their experiences in this area. 

Located in the northern part of the European continent is a country that borders Russia, Norway, and Sweden. It is called Finland, with the capital city of Helsinki. For many years, it has been included in the list of the happiest nations in the world based on various criteria like trust, support, perceived freedom, per capita gross domestic product, health index, and life expectancy, to name a few.

Because of its recognition as one of the happiest places on earth, many people from different countries harbor a desire to someday move to Finland and stay there for good. This might not be the best course of action to take because the reality is that Finland is not the most welcoming country there is, especially when it comes to immigrants.

Work for qualified foreigners is hard to come by. Finland is supposed to be one of the happiest nations in the world but for whom? Photo: Camtu Suhonen.

Locals themselves are finding it difficult to believe that their home is indeed one of the happiest places in the world as they are experiencing particular struggles themselves. For one, the cost of living is extremely high in this part of the world. Everyone under the watchful eye of the government is also obligated to pay large sums of tax.

You would think that only immigrants will have to face some hardships, but no, even the locals are pressured to get gainful employment because even the best degree won’t guarantee them work. This instability is something that the country has yet to overcome, and might not do so anytime soon with the government turning a blind eye towards the issue.

At least, the locals are considerably happier compared to the immigrants who have tried to make a home out of their Finnish residences. If the locals have a challenging time finding decent jobs, the condition of immigrants is much graver. Making ends meet is not simply achieved in this country as local employers tend to discriminate against foreigners.

Continue reading “Zalina Amelova: Finding work and career advancement in Finland is a tall order”

Finnish municipal elections analysis: Anti-immigration and us-vs-them politics aren’t sustainable

Posted on by Migrant Tales

One of the most important lessons of Sunday’s municipal elections is that the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, and especially its conservative anti-immigration message and wing, are the biggest losers. 

Since the party’s historic election victory of 2011, when it gained 39 seats in parliament from 5 previously, migrants, minorities and our ever-growing culturally diverse community has been the target of a hostile campaign by the PS.

Ever since the PS’ election victory of 2011, the right-wing populist party has made migrants and asylum seekers their favorite political target. Of all the Finnish parties, the PS are the only ones that have openly tried to capitalize on anti-immigration sentiment.

While the National Coalition Party won its third-straight municipal elections on Sunday with 20.7% of the vote, it was followed by the Social Democrats (19.4%), Center Party (17.5%), Greens (12.4%) and Left Alliance and the PS, which gained 8.8% apiece.

If the Greens made the biggest gains and the PS was the biggest losers, the Social Democrats were clearly a disappointment. Being in the opposition, their result was near-flat from the previous municipal elections of 2012.

 

 

With 100% of the votes counted, KOK (National Coalition Party) won and was followed by the SDP (Social Democratic Party), KESK (Center Party), VIHR (Green Party), VAS (Left Alliance), PS (Perussuomalaiset), RKP (Swedish People’s Party), KD (Christian Democrats) and MUUT (Others). Source: Helsingin Sanomat.

In many respects, the disastrous election result of the PS has come as sweet and long overdue payback for that party’s hostile and near-constant attacks against us. Outgoing PS chairman, Timo Soini, who has led their party since 1997, has played good cop, bad cop with the media.

Continue reading “Finnish municipal elections analysis: Anti-immigration and us-vs-them politics aren’t sustainable”

Finnish municipal elections: Greens make big gains, Perussuomalaiset are the biggest losers

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The result of Sunday’s municipal elections were especially good news for migrants and minorities, who have been the targets of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* especially after their parliamentary election victory of 2011, when the party won 39 seats (19.05%) from 5 MPs (4.05%) in the previous elections. 

Ever since that historic election win by the PS in 2011, the right-wing populist party has made migrants and asylum seekers their favorite political target. Of all the Finnish parties, the PS are the only ones that have openly tried to capitalize on anti-immigration sentiment.

While the National Coalition Party won its third-straight municipal elections with 20.6% of the vote, it was followed by the Social Democrats (19.4%), Center Party (17.7%), Greens (12.3%) and Left Alliance and the PS, which gained 8.8% apiece.

If the Greens made the biggest gains and the PS the biggest losers, the Social Democrats were a disappointment. Being in the opposition, their result was near-flat from the previous municipal elections of 2012.

With 95.1% of the votes counted, KOK (National Coalition Party) leads followed by SDP (Social Democratic Party), KESK (Center Party), VIHR (Green Party), VAS (Left Alliance), PS (Perussuomalaiset), RKP (Swedish People’s Party), KD (Christian Democrats) and MUUT (Others). Source: YLE.

This is why some analysts believed that the terrorist attack in Stockholm on Friday and news that a bomb was found on Saturday night in the Norwegian capital of Oslo could have helped the PS in today’s election.

Continue reading “Finnish municipal elections: Greens make big gains, Perussuomalaiset are the biggest losers”

UPDATE: National Coalition Party forecast to win municipal elections, PS the biggest losers

Posted on by Migrant Tales

YLE forecasts that the National Coalition Party (NCP) will be the winner of the 2017 municipal elections with 20.4% of the votes followed by the Social Democrats (19.2%) and Center Party (17.6%). The biggest winner will be the Greens (13.6%) and the biggest loser the Perussuomalaiset* (8.2%). 

The PS saw their support nosedive from the last municipal elections (12.3%) and especially from the parliamentary elections, when the got 17.7% of the votes.

For migrants, minorities and sensible Finns, the poor showing of the PS is the best news since the 2011 parliamentary elections, when the populist party won 19.05% of the votes versus 4.05% in 2007.

 

* The official translation to Finnish of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party is the Finns Party. In our opinion, it is not only a horrible translation, but one that is misguided. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Such terms like the Finns Party of True Finns promote as well in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and thereafter the acronym PS.