Month: September 2017

Tigthening immigration and asylum policy is putting a noose around our Nordic values

Posted on by Migrant Tales

I spoke this week to a Syrian refugee who got his residence to stay in Finland. He said that his wife and two children are living abroad and cannot come to Finland (because he isn’t working). He stated that he hadn’t been with his wife and children for two years.

After tightening family reunification laws last year, Center Party parliamentary group leader MP Antti Kaikkonen believes that the government has gone too far in tightening immigration policy, according to Lahti-based daily Etelä-Suomen Sanomat. The Center Party believes that the 2,600-euro/month salary requirement to bring your spouse and two children should be changed. 

The suggestion by Kaikkonen has received a flat no from the Blue Reform (“New Perussuomalaiset”*) party that defected in June from the “Old” Perussuomalaiset (PS) party to not lose their ministerial posts since the Center Party and National Coalition Party would not have accepted the PS under Jussi Halla-aho in government.

Halla-aho, who has built his political career on Islamophobia, was convicted In 2012 for ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion.

As we have seen recently, the tightening of Finnish immigration and asylum policy has not only succeeded in killing our empathy for the suffering of others but showed what novices our politicians and decision-makers are when it comes to migration and cultural diversity. We have done great harm to our own values and sense of justice with the tightening of such laws.

The case of the Syrian man who lives in despair because he hasn’t been with his family for two years is not the only case.

When Finns emigrated in mass to North America before World War 2, they not only brought their families but their relatives, neighbors, and friends. The more, the merrier!

Blue Reform MP Simon Elo gives the thumbs down to Kaikkonen’s proposal of loosening family reunification guidelines. Source: Facebook.

Continue reading “Tigthening immigration and asylum policy is putting a noose around our Nordic values”

Defining white Finnish privilege #37: The master of near-everything

Posted on by Migrant Tales

What do independent government agencies like the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman, Ombudsman for Equality, Occupational Safety and Health Administration and National Discrimination and Equality Tribunal have in common?  All of them protect and defend the rights of women and minorities in Finland.

Another matter that these government agencies have in common is that minorities are underrepresented and that too few of us use their services.

One of the reasons could be ignorance and mistrust. Trust and credibility aren’t helped by the fact that few if any visible minorities are staffers in such bodies.

Another factor that doesn’t help is that in Finland women’s and minorities’ rights are defended by different agencies. In Sweden and Norway, women’s and minorities’ rights are protected by one agency.

While there are many dedicated people working for these bodies, one wonders if it is in their interest to splinter such an important issue in our society into four different bodies.

Finnish white privilege #37

One of the most important goals that migrants, minorities, and representatives of our culturally diverse community should strive for is more representation and say in these agencies.

Continue reading “Defining white Finnish privilege #37: The master of near-everything”

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Unspeakable politicians and their own gain

Posted on by Migrant Tales

White Finns rarely consult migrants and minorities on anything important. They may ask them their opinion on x and y but the final decision on policy is made by them because you don’t really count. And then there are people like Jussi Halla-aho, Laura Huhtasaari, Timo Soini, Wille Rydman, and many others who pour gasoline and stoke the fires of ethnic hatred in this country. It is unspeakable that they do so for their own gain. 

Timo Soini telling an Old Perussuomalaiset racist to behave. at the end of the day, Soini got his fingers burned and ejected from the party. If there is a person who gave fascism, racism, homophobia, and sexism a platform in this country, that person is Soini.

* After the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13 into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. Despite the name changes, we believe that it is the same party in different clothing. Both factions are hostile to cultural diversity.  One is more open about it while the other is more diplomatic. Both could be called the “new” and “old” PS. 

A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote 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 after that the acronym PS.

Hallittua pelottelua hallitsemattomalla maahanmuutolla

Posted on by Reija Härkönen

Monen mielestä hallitsematon maahanmuutto alkoi vietnamilaisten venepakolaisten saapuessa 1970 luvun lopussa. Vielä enemmän säikähdettiin, kun ensimmäiset somalipakolaiset tulivat v. 1990.

Hallitsematon maahanmuutto lisääntyi nopeasti 2000-luvulla. Päivittäiseksi ongelmaksi asia nousi Jussi Halla-ahon myötä n. vuodesta 2006 lähtien.

Vuonna 2008 hallitsematon maahanmuutto oli jo täysin sekoittanut Helsingin asuntomarkkinat.

IMG_7419

Jytkyvaalit 2011 olivat jo mennä täysin persujen piikkiin. Lupaavat kokoomusnuoret sentään keräilivät osan hallitsemattomasta maahanmuutosta Kokoomukselle. 14.3.2011

Wille Rydman

Timo Soini on yksi taitavimmista hallitsemattoman maahanmuuton käyttäjistä. Jos joltakulta puoluekaverilta siinä sivussa ihan vahingossa lipsahtaa kiihottaminen kansanryhmää vastaan, Timo on aina päässyt pälkähästä lauseella: “Itse en sanoisi noin.” 12.10.2015IMG_7418

Sauli Niinistö on puheissaan jatkuvasti hyödyntänyt hallitsematonta maahanmuuttoa, vaikka ei haluakaan leimautua sen enempää kokoomuslaisiin kuin perussuomalaisiin kannattajiinsa. 3.2.2016

IMG_7425

Mitä isot edellä, sitä pienet perässä. Jokaista Sauli Niinistön hallittua lausahdusta seuraa hallitsematon ryöppy sosiaalisessa mediassa. Se lienee tarkoituskin.

IMG_7424

Hallitus rahoitti, Helsingin Sanomat sai käsiinsä, Ilta-Sanomat sai käsiinsä ja pian ihan oikeasti julkistettiin mullistava hallitsemattoman maahanmuuton tutkimus. Melkein oli jo ihan oikeata hallitsematonta maahanmuuttoa, kunnes totuus paljastui: https://www.mtv.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/artikkeli/poliisiammattikorkeakoulu-puolustautuu-miten-tulevaisuutta-arvioidaan/5755920#gs.twUuwR4 17.2.2016

Continue reading “Hallittua pelottelua hallitsemattomalla maahanmuutolla”

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Lack of empathy

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The lack of empathy by politicians and the government for the suffering of vulnerable groups like asylum seekers came to light again when two refugees stabbed themselves in protest of Finland’s asylum policy. Lack of empathy is the first step or reminder that our society is dysfunctional and in trouble. War now seems a possibility. 

“Old” Perussuomalaiseet* MP Tom Packalén with his shined shoes and is total lack of empathy, a national illness these days. Cartoon by Sira Moksi.

* After the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13 into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. Despite the name changes, we believe that it is the same party in different clothing. Both factions are hostile to cultural diversity.  One is more open about it while the other is more diplomatic. Both could be called the “new” and “old” PS. 

A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote 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 after that the acronym PS.

Twitter (Reija Härkönen): MTV ja Halla-ahon osat 1-7

Posted on by Migrant Tales

MTVn toimituspäällikkö Ilkka Ahtiainen väittää: “Vakaumuksemme on, että kirjoitukset ovat osaltaan edistäneet tosiasioihin pohjaavaa ja moniarvoista yhteiskunnallista keskustelua. Parhaassa tapauksessa tämä hillitsee vastakkainasettelua, johon netin maailmassa on niin kovin helppo sortua.”

Niin Ahtiainen, mediaedustajat kuten MTV on ollut tärkeässä roolissa välittämässä vihaa maahanmuuttajien ja vähemmistöjen kohtaan.

Kuinka Halla-aho vihapuhe meitä vastaan voi hillitä vastakkainasettelua?

Puhutte noin koska edustatte valtaa ja etuoikeuksia.

Tässä ovat Reija Härkösen twiittiä osat 1-7…

 

 

Osa 1

Osa 2

Continue reading “Twitter (Reija Härkönen): MTV ja Halla-ahon osat 1-7”

Double standards by the Finnish police. Who can insult whom?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

These two videos speak volumes about the differential treatment of asylum seekers and white Finns by the police. In the first video, the Finnish police handcuff two Finnish-speaking asylum seekers at the immigration detention center of Joutseno. One of them apparently for saying something inappropriate.

UPDATED One of the many matters that are interesting to watch in the video below is how well two asylum seekers speak Finnish. It is ironic that they are at an immigration detention center showing off their good Finnish-language skills.

Learning Finnish is important but it isn’t a panacea for your integration problems in this country. Migrants are, however, near-constantly fed this simplistic myth.

The video below (see 2:88-3:40 min) the first one, a white Finnish anti-immigration protestor is videotaping the police at a demonstration and openly insulting them by stating in their faces that they are “traitors,” “pigs, shit, and dickheads.”

The Finn continues to insult the police, but nothing happens to him.

What would happen if an asylum seeker did the same?

You wouldn’t hear the sound of silence but the door of a police cell shutting.

 

In this video (in Finnish) taken at the immigration detention center of Joutseno in eastern Finland, the police enter to detain and handcuff two asylum seekers who speak Finnish and who are apparently awaiting deportation. They detain and handcuff a second one who said something that the police didn’t like.

Continue reading “Double standards by the Finnish police. Who can insult whom?”

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Rejoice 100 years of Finland’s treatment of migrants and minorities

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Should we boycott Finland’s centenary celebrations? One hundred years of building a white Finnish-speaking Lutheran society has not only whitewashed my roots and who my family was but on top of that continues to exclude me from being treated as an equal member of society. Do you have the courage to not only see but change how Finland treats migrants and minorities as well as eliminate the foul language it uses to label and perpetuate its power and privilege?

Those groups that don’t have power and privilege are not respected. “Finland is a free country. Here we sew [national] costumes, buy and sell them. Let the Finns rejoice and respect the Saami and their roots.  Source: Suohpanterror.