Month: January 2019

Islamophobia and xenophobia on steroids: Jussi Halla-aho’s latest column in MTV

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The Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson, Jussi Halla-aho, convicted of ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion in 2012, is a columnist for television station MTV. Two matters emerge when skimming through his latest column: The media is part of Finland’s racism problem; and the PS is the first modern Finnish party to capitalize exclusively on immigration, especially Islamophobia.  

Another MTV columnist, Ivan Puopol, is in the same anti-immigration league as Halla-aho.

Both of them have one aim in their writing: Immigration is a problem but Muslims are even a worse problem.

When reading their Islamophobic opinions, one asks what is their end game?

If they want to make migrants and minorities feel hated and socially excluded, then that could be an aim of their writing

Will they be able to kick migrants and Muslims out of this country? Will they succeed at keeping Finland white?

In light of their racist worldviews, they will fail because Finland is becoming more culturally diverse, not less.

Our writing should concentrate on how to gain a louder voice and more power in Finland.

Unfortunately, too many Finns, like Puopol and Halla-aho, believe that their privilege and power is eternal.

 

Read the full text here.

* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017 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 never mind Muslims and other visible minorities. One is more open about it while the other says it in a different way.

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.

Esperi Care reveals a wider problem: Lack of effective regulation and political will

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THIS STORY WAS UPDATED.

What does scandal surrounding Esperi Care tell us about problems plaguing private elderly homes in Finland and how regulators don’t their jobs? This, I believe, is not a problem that just faces the nursing home sector, but the whole of Finnish society. 

Matters are in a pretty dire state at Esperi Care as well as at Attendo and Mehiläinen, which also run elderly homes.

Writes Yle News: “According to the Regional State Administrative Agencies for Southern and Western Finland, Esperi Care staff members without medical licenses have administered medicine; the company’s nursing homes have been dirty and in disrepair; and nurses have even abused their elderly customers by arbitrarily commanding them to bed or not letting them visit the outdoors.”

Read the full story here.

The Esperi Care case boils down to insufficient regulation. Regulators, who should regulate, don’t and lack political backing.

Possibly the problem lies in our wrong sense of exceptionalism and in those dumb studies that claim that we are the happiest nation in the world.

Since we are the happiest nation in the world, there is nothing to worry about in our society, right?

Continue reading “Esperi Care reveals a wider problem: Lack of effective regulation and political will”

(Racism Review) Swedish racism: Engineering a false image of democratic solidarity

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When I, Masoud Kamali, arrived to Sweden as a political refugee from Iran in 1987, I had heard a lot about Sweden. While serving time as a political prisoner in Iran, one of my first images of Sweden came from an article that I had read in the Iranian Iran’s major newspaper, Keyhan. when I was in jail in Iran in late 1970s. It was about the Swedish Sweden’s charismatic Prime Minister Olof Palme. The article contained a picture of Palme walking his bicycle on the grounds of Stockholm’s famous Citadel and gathering money for the Sandinista movement in Nicaragua. As a leftist believing in a socialist revolution at that time, my prison-mates and I were very impressed by a country in which the Prime Minister dared openly support a leftist/Marxist movement.

At the time that Palme was assassinated in 1986, I had been arrested and jailed in Turkey for trying to leave the country illegally, since I did not have a valid passport and visa. I remember that I could not control my tears since he had become a symbol of democracy and solidarity for me. Though Palme was remarkable for many reasons, his anti-Vietnam war campaign and strong opposition to Apartheid in South Africa were among his impressive political stances.

 

Read the original story here.

A few years later in 1989, I began studying Sociology at the University of Linköping in Sweden. Initially and for the first time, I felt that I had another identity instead of just being a “refugee.” Given my student status, I envisioned that my peers with Swedish backgrounds and I would be treated as equals. However, I would quickly learn that (GWF) Hegel was wrong; the abstract could not be understandable if it turns into concrete human action. On the contrary, in many cases quite the opposite is true. Abstract declarations of “Human Rights” and “equality of human beings” propagated by the Swedish government become meaningless when actualized as concrete action. I was not welcome to my Swedish classmate’s “after work” gatherings and to other “student activities.” I realized very soon that even questions such as “Do you like Sweden?” or “Are you happy to be in Sweden?,” were not neutral inquiries and should not be answered in accordance with your actual feelings and genuine sentiments. Such questions are master narrative scripts to be answered subserviently with responses like “Absolutely” (as in “Yes, sir boss!”) in order to “fit in” not as part of a Swedish group but rather in the token role of an “immigrant” who is a symbol of Swedish generosity and solidarity.

Continue reading “(Racism Review) Swedish racism: Engineering a false image of democratic solidarity”

Prime Minister Juha Sipilä: Asylum seekers should take exam on Finnish values

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Ratcheting up suspicion and polarization in Finland against asylum seekers and migrants, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä said over the weekend that he favors giving refugees an exam on Finnish values like bodily integrity before getting residence permits, according to Yle. 

With parliamentary elections nearing on April 14 and the sexual assault cases of Oulu fresh in people’s minds, Sipilä’s comments are disingenuous and politically motivated. It is part of the government’s plans to tighten further immigration policy and fuel Finland’s hostile environment against migrants and asylum seekers.

He said that Finland’s integration program “has its problems” and “has faced [budget] cuts.”

Warning: xenophobic content: Watch the full story here.

Here are a couple of questions to Prime Minister Sipilä:

  • Do you believe that one “exam” about Finnish society and bodily integrity will solve the sexual assault problem?
  • If you agree, why not give such an entrance exam at schools to Finns?
  • What happens if a person fails such an exam? Would you deport such a person back to his or her former country after granting asylum?
  • Don’t you think it is wrong, even racist, to paint certain groups with a single brush?
  • How do these exams resolve the issue of Islamophobia and social exclusion?
  • Where have these types of exams worked in the European Union? Aren’t they usually brought up during election time and by politicians who want to make immigration an issue?

Prime Minister Sipilä heads one of the most – if not the most – anti-immigration governments in modern Finland.

Finnish white privilege #59: In this country, you are guilty until proven innocent

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Interior Minister Kai Mykkänen and the government are using the same tactics as the Nazis in World War 2 but in a different context. The government is not rounding up people and killing them in cold blood but punishing them severely for the crimes others did. 

Imagine the migrant community of Finland, especially Muslims and non-EU citizens, sentenced by social media kangaroo courts encouraging social media lynchings while politicians reinforce such anti-social behavior  with their hostile statements and silence.

Social media lynchings are common in Finland these days. Source: Westword.

Such irresponsible behavior will cost society dearly in the way of social exclusion and increased racism.

Due to what a handful of sexual assault suspects did in Oulu, the government now vows to get tough and deport up to 8,000 asylum seekers. The government is also studying how it can revoke Finnish citizenship from dual citizens as well as terminate permanent residence permits if a person is convicted of a serious crime.

The lowliest of their plans is to find loopholes to circumvent human rights and refugee agreements at the cost of the rights of embattled asylum seekers.

Continue reading “Finnish white privilege #59: In this country, you are guilty until proven innocent”

The media of Finland is part of the country’s Islamophobia and racism problem

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When it comes to challenging Islamophobia and racism, the Finnish media is part of the problem.

Remember the power that words have when writing a sory. You don’t need to kill an ant with a bazooka. 

Journalists and newspapers in Finland, especially tabloids like Iltalehti, Ilta-Sanomat and state broadcaster Yle, are prime examples of not only white Finnish privilege but of white Finnish overkill and rage. 

Anu Koivunen, a professor at Tampere University that researches the media and gender topics, appears a lot in the media. In an op-ed piece in Suomen Kuvalehti,  she details the reporting of three publications that covered the sexual assault cases of Oulu.

Read the full op-ed piece (in Finnish)  here.

Here is Koivunen’s tally of the reporting:

  • Both Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti gave in their print editions 20 pages of space for the Oulu sexual assault cases;
  • During a week, Ilta-Sanomat published for five days straight front-page headline stories about Oulu;
  • Iltalehti published a special edition on the sexual assault cases;
  • Ilta-Sanomat published three editorials on the topic and Iltalehti two;

Continue reading “The media of Finland is part of the country’s Islamophobia and racism problem”

Yasmin Yusuf: Kirje Sari Essayahille

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Suomen Kristillisdemokraattinen puolue, kirjoitan teille avoimen kirjeen tunteistani, joita puheenjohtajanne Sari Essayahin  kirjoitus Maaseudun Tulevaisuudessa 18.01.2019 minussa herätti. (Seksuaalirikosten taustalla on ”kulttuurin ja uskonnon värittämä vääristynyt naiskuva, jossa naisen ’kunnia’ on isänsä, veljensä tai puolisonsa kontrollin alla.)  

Olen itse tullut Suomeen Somaliasta perheenyhdistämisen kautta vuonna 1994. Olen perheemme ainoa tyttölapsi; iltatähti, kauan kaivattu ja syvästi rakastettu. Perheeseeni kuuluu lisäksi neljä huomattavasti vanhempaa isoveljeä. Äitimme menehtyi sodassa ollessani taaperoikäinen. Hän oli matkalla meidän lasten luokse, kun luodit bussissa tappoivat hänet. Miksi? Hän sattui kuulumaan väärään klaaniin.

Isäni, nykykeskusteluissa usein demonisoitu turvapaikkaa hakeva mies, joutui tekemään elämänsä vaikeimman ratkaisun — ratkaisun, jota kukaan tätä lukeva ei toivottavasti joudu ikinä tekemään. Hänen piti päättää paetako ja luottaa, että perhe voi myöhemmin tulla perässä vai jäädäkö, ja kuolla kaikki yhdessä? Isäni lähti ja päätyi Suomeen turvapaikanhakijaksi.

Entäs me lapset? Muistatko ne minua reilusti vanhemmat veljet? He  — itsekin lapset vasta — pitivät minut hengissä ja turvassa useamman vuoden sodan runtelemassa maassa. He kannattelivat minua fyysisesti ja henkisesti läpi sisällissodan, pakolaisleirin, ylitse äidin traumaattisen kuoleman.  He suojelivat minua kehoillaan suuremmilta fyysisiltä vammoilta niin hyvin kuin kykenivät (vaikka edelleen kannan arpia kehossani näiltä ajoilta). He kannattelivat henkensä uhalla minua, perheen iltatähteä. Heidän vammojaan ja psyykkisiä traumojaan en pysty edes kuvittelemaan, saati sitten avaamaan tähän. Eikä heitä kuultaisikaan, vaikka he pystyisivät niistä kertomaan, ovathan he pelottavia turvapaikan saaneita miehiä. Puheenjohtajanne kirjoituksessaan vahvasti syyllistämiä, mutta onneksi nykyään Suomalaisen yhteiskunnan tärkeitä jäseniä.

Heistä yksi katosi sodan myllerryksessä, löysimme hänet muutaman vuoden jälkeen.

Ensikohtaamisemme suomalaisella leikkipihalla päättyi armottomaan itkuuni. Itkin, että haluan oikean veljeni takaisin. Sota oli muuttanut hänen ulkonäkönsä minulle tuntemattomaksi, tämän samaisen rakkaan veljeni, joka oli suojellut minua monelta hirveydeltä. Hän oli tuolloin 13- vuotta vanha ja minä vasta 6.

Isäni jätti meidät sukulaisten luokse, turvallisimpaan tietämäänsä kotiin ja uskalsi luottaa siihen, että hän saa ansaitsemaansa suojelua ja sen myötä me seuraamme häntä pian kokonaisena perheenä. Aikaa meni kuitenkin vuosia, neljä tai viisi, turvallisuudesta ei ikävä kyllä ollut tietoakaan. Sota saa huonoimmat puolet esiin suvussakin, tästä meillä veljieni kanssa on kokemusta. Kokonaisena perheenä emme koskaan päässeet suojaan.

Lopulta minua, iltatähteä, ovat suojelleet perheeni miehet. Ilman isääni ja veljiäni en olisi elossa. Joten Sari, en anna sinun demonisoida heitä. Sari, jos olisit kokenut sen, minkä minä, et puhuisi isästäni ja veljistäni näillä sanoin. Jos tietäisit, millaisessa kiitollisuudenvelassa olen  näille mielestäsi ”resursseja väärinkäyttäville miehille”, et varmasti kehtaisi lausua sanojasi.

Minun arvoni ovat elämäni miehet mitanneet rakkaudessa ja teoissa. Yksi näistä rakkaudenteoista oli se, että isäni lähti turvapaikanhakijaksi Suomeen. Sanoistasi huolimatta toivon, ettet koskaan joudu kokemaan sitä, minkä minä veljineni olen kokenut. Samalla toivon, että saat jostain lahjaksi inhimillisyyttä, sydäntä ja solidaarisuutta, ja osaat osoittaa näitä myös miehille sekä niille, joiden uskonto ja kulttuurinen tausta on sinulle vieras. Tarve kansainväliselle suojelulle ei liity sukupuoleen, uskontoon tai etniseen taustaan. Se liittyy vainoon, hengenvaaraan, väkivallan ja vakavien oikeudenloukkausten uhkaan. Niiltä meidän pitää edelleen suojella ihan kaikkia sukupuoleen ja kansallisuuteen katsomatta.

Yasmin Yusuf

Fem-R hallituksen yhdenvertaisuusvastaava

Alkuperäisen blogikirjoituksen voi lukea tästä.

Tämä blogikirjoitus julkaistiin Migrant Talesissä luvalla.

Police officer fined and charged to pay 5,140 euros for making racist statements and slapping a women twice on the face

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A Finnish police officer in Turku was fined by a court to pay 5,140 euros in charges and lawyer’s fees, according to tabloid Ilta-Sanomat. The police officer, who admitted being too drunk to remember what he said and denied being aggressive at a taxi line, called a woman who attempted to him a “refugee-loving whore” and slapped her twice on the face. 

The police officer reacted in an aggressive manner after seven non-white Finns entered a minibus taxi without waiting in line for a normal taxi.

“Thanks to women like you,” he said admitting later that he was a police officer, “blood flows on Turku’s streets and [didn’t you know] that migrants commit 95% of all crimes?”

 

Read the full story (in Finnish) here.

The police officer slapped the woman on the face a second time when she said she would file charges against him.

Continue reading “Police officer fined and charged to pay 5,140 euros for making racist statements and slapping a women twice on the face”

A letter from Rashid H., the Pakistani migrant who was brutally attacked by three white Finnish youths. Where is justice?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales insight: The police has criticized us for insisting that Rashid H’s case was a hate crime. The police claim that what happened to the Pakistani migrant on February 23 was not a hate crime. They said that they have access to information that is not available to the public and can make better judgements about a crime than us. True, but what about the victim? Certainly, Rashid H and his family have first-hand information as victims. Both of them are adamant: What happened was a hate crime.

The police told Rashid’s wife that what happened to her husband was not a hate crime because “it wasn’t planned.” She even claimed that the police had told her that the assailants were intoxicated and therefore could not be a hate crime. 

One matter that surprises me on some occasions is how rapidly the police determine a crime is not a hate crime. This happened in Rashid H’s case. The following day after the attack, his wife got a call from the police and the first thing she asked was if what happened was a hate crime. The police responded that it wasn’t.

How did they arrive at such a conclusion so rapidly?

Moreover, when I spoke to the investigating officer about the matter, he said that he had interrogated the three assailants and he vouched that they “weren’t racists.” Really? Did he give them a test?  Determining if a person is racist is the wrong way to go about the matter. We should ask instead  the following question: Could what happened or what was said be interpreted as racist?

When the police investigate a crime, they look at matters like who, where and when but rarely why. 

We believe that our reporting on Rashid H’s case had a positive impact on the police investigation. Initially, the police had charged the three suspects with attempted manslaughter but on April 19, close to two months later, they changed it to attempted murder. 

The three youths were sentenced on May 25 to 9.5 years in prison for their crime.

 

Dear friend,

Even if the district court and court of appeal did not accept what happened to me was a hate crime, I feel today desperate and abandoned. When I was in the hospital with 30 stab wounds, fractured skull and other life-threatening injuries caused by three white Finnish youths, I felt forsaken. Not one person from the government or any newspaper cared to contact me.

I cannot understand this behavior and why.

Read the full story here.

Even if the police claims that what happened was not a hate crime, I have my doubts. The following doubt will always hound me: Would I have been attacked in such a vicious manner if I were a Finn?

Continue reading “A letter from Rashid H., the Pakistani migrant who was brutally attacked by three white Finnish youths. Where is justice?”