Month: March 2019

A Kurdish activist in Sweden who faces deportation to Iran fears imprisonment and death

Posted on by Migrant Tales

THE STORY WAS UPDATED

An activist of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) in Sweden is under threat of being deported to Iran, where he believes he could be imprisoned and life would be under threat. Following the footsteps of many of his country, Agrin,* came to Sweden in 2015 and lives in Eskilstuna, located 112 kilomters west of Stockholm.

A representative of the the Summit Foundation for Refugee and Displaced Presons Affairs, expressed “extreme concern” about the plight of the etained Kurdish activist facing deportation to Iran. He wrote that thereatment and punishment of those who oppose the Iranian regime is “well-known.”

“When someone is bing deported from one country to another, the authorities of the country apprehend, handcuff and evn restrain the person if necessary,” the representative wrote in an email. “Then he is escorted by three officials with his files, which will be handed as well to that country’s authorities.”

While the complicated political situation of the Kurds is due to the ongoing conflict in Syria and the region, both Turkey and Iran announced Wednesday that their forces will carry out a joint operation against Kurdish rebels.

Agrin used to live in the Rammadi refugee camp in Iraq but after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, he moved with his family to another city in Iraq.

Agrin taking part in a demonstration against Iran in Sweden.

 

In recent years, a number of EU countries have deported many Iranian political opposition activists resulting in one execution and disappearance of many others. The crackdown of Kurdish activists in Iran has resulted in imprisonment and death, according to Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights.

If you want to help and stop this deportation, please get in touch with [email protected].

* The original name of the person was changed. 

Habiba Ali: Stand up for your rights and don’t remain quiet if you are treated unjustly

Posted on by Migrant Tales

THIS STORY WAS UPDATED

Habiba Ali, a Social Democrat candidate for parliament and city councilor for Espoo, was stopped on Saturday by a security guard at the Entresse Shopping Center’s Lidl and wrongly suspected of shoplifting a can of tuna fish. Ali asked the security guard, who treated her with respect, why she would shoplift a can of tuna if she just purchased a lot of food from the market. 

She emptied her pockets and presto, no can of tuna fish.

Two employees of Lidl did not. According to Ali, they smiled and mocked her in a demeaning way.

Ali said that she has never been humiliated in such a way in public. It was the first time she had ever been stopped by a security guard and suspected of shoplifting.

“You cannot imagine how embarrassing it was for me and stopped by the guard and two Lidl employees,” she said. “I’ll never forget how one of the employees doubted my word and mocked me. She claimed that I had put the can of tuna fish back on the shelf.”

A lot of things have happened since that incident at Lidl. The general manager of the company called Ali and apologized on behalf of the company for what had happened.

“I asked the general manager that I want to discuss what happened and meet him personally together with the employee that treated me in a demeaning way,” she added.

Ali said it was important for People of Color to stand up for their rights and to speak out if they encounter unjust treatment.

 

Watch the video (in Finnish) here.

Continue reading “Habiba Ali: Stand up for your rights and don’t remain quiet if you are treated unjustly”

City of Oulu’s “ban” on asylum seekers visiting day-care centers and schools may be unconstitutional. “Ban” to be lifted on April 14.

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The City of Oulu plans to lift a ban on asylum seekers visiting day care centers and schools on April 14, according to Mika Penttilä, the city’s director of education and culture. “This is not a ban,” said Penttilä, “but a recommendation that asylum seekers are not allowed to visit day-care centers and schools.”

Migrant Tales understands that a complaint was filed to the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman against the City of Oulu for banning asylum seekers from visiting daycare centers and schools.

Visit the website here.

When asked why the ban or recommendation will be lifted in mid-April, Penttilä agreed that such a measure is against Section 6 of the Constitution.

Section 6 of the Constitution guarantees that everyone is equal before the law. It states: “Everyone is equal before the law. No one shall, without an acceptable reason, be treated differently from other persons on the ground of sex, age, origin, language, religion, conviction, opinion, health, disability or other reason that concerns his or her person.”

Thus if there is a “recommendation” that asylum seekers cannot visit day-care centers and schools, the restriction must apply to everyone and not to one group.

Penttilä said that the situation at the beginning of January was very tense in Oulu and something had to be done to calm the situation.

The measure to ban asylum seekers from visits has had a negative impact of all people of color in Oulu.

An elementary school in Oulu was the target of recent attacks on social media due to a false rumor that asylum seekers had visited the school. Kello School principal, Timo Soini, said that the attacks amounted to threats and insults, according to Yle.

One of the problems about the measure to keep asylum seekers from visiting day-care centers and schools is the slow response of the authorities and the media to defend Section 6 of the Constitution.

Instead of remaining cool, the media has poured more fuel on the fire. A Migrant Tales story revealed that from November 27 to February 13, Ylealone had published 77 stories on the topic. On one day (January 14), it had published 13 stories!

The police as well have not made the life of the Muslim community of Oulu any easier since their statements have a heavy dose of racialization. Even if the police has said that nobody should take the law in their hands, Muslims don’t feel safe in Oulu. According to one source, they avoid going to the city center for fear of being attacked.

Since September 2017, the mosque in Oulu was vandalized 9 times since September 2017. The latest attack happened on February 26.

Last but not least are the politicians. I am not only talking about those of the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset* party, which are attempting to get the most political mileage from what happened in Oulu. Even so, mainstream ones like the National Coalition Party (NCP) are reaping the advantages as well. NCP Interior Minister Kai Mykkänen is threatening to pass laws that will strip naturalized Finns of their citizenship if convicted for a serious crime like sexual assault.

See also: 

* 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.

Timo Soini to retire from politics

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Foreign Minister Timo Soini, 56, who inspired Islamophobes, racists and conservative nationalists to have a political voice and platform to lash out at migrants and minorities, announced that he will not seek a new term in parliament, according to Helsingin Sanomat. Soini, who calls himself a devout Catholic, will be remembered as a conservative populist politician who led the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* to national prominence by capitalizing on populist anti-immigration sentiment. 

Soini, who hails from Rauma, led the PS as chairman for twenty years (1997-2017), served as MP during 2001-09 and 2011-2019, EuroMP 2009-2011, Espoo city councillor 2001-2009, minister for European affairs (2015-2017), and foreign minister (2015-2019).

Despite Soini’s long list of political merits, some see him as an anti-immigration populist and nationalist who objected women’s and gay rights and anti-abortionist. His fondness for far-right politicians like Morten Messerschmidt of the Danish People’s Party, which the PS has close ideological ties, have not gone unnoticed.

Soini has shown support against EU plans to put Poland under greater scrutiny of nationalist conservative Polish Law and Justice party and shown support as foreign minister for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He also took part in anti-abortion marches and has participated in the prayer breakfast sessions organized by the US Congress and hosted by the US President Donald Trump.

Soini’s political history is a rise-and-fall tale when he rose to prominence after the 2011 parliamentary elections but came down in flames after his chief rival, Jussi Halla-aho, took over the helm of the PS in June 2017.

It is sweet irony that Soini, who used Islamophobes and far-right voices to opportunistically rise to power, became his downfall.

One of the most important signals to emerge from the end of Soini’s political era is that “moderate populism” has given way to “extremist populism.” After the 2011 parliamentary election, Soini and the PS’ anti-immigration wing debated the main reason for the party’s good showing in the election. Soini claimed it was anti-EU sentiment while politicians like Halla-aho said it was anti-immigration.

Timo Soini gets a grilling on BBC Hardtalk.

Continue reading “Timo Soini to retire from politics”

Defence Minister Jussi Niinistö’s far-right past is a fact

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Defence Minister Jussi Niinistö* calls into question professor Martin Scheinin’s motives for criticising the proposed security legislation which will allow the Security Police and military intelligence to troll emails and calls of citizens without informing people they have been spied on.

Niinistö says Scheinin’s views are questionable because of activities in the professor’s youth when he had a job for a year with the Finnish Communist Party indicating that he was a supporter of totalitarianism.

Read the original blog where he criticized experts such as Martin Scheinin here.

Niinistö’s reasoning is hard to follow because Scheinin’s criticisms related to surveillance activities without democratic public oversight. Niinistö is trying to fast track the tightened security legislation through parliament and was annoyed when parliamentary speaker Paula Risikko sent the bill back to committee after the professor’s remarks.

Niinistö is walking on very thin ice when he refers to the youthful radical activities of his critics. in the early 90s, according to Uusi Suomi, he worked very closely with the extreme rightist The National Cultural Front the program of which included purging the country of refugees and other impure non-Finnish elements according to fascist traditions in Europe’s recent past.

Niinistö was an ideologue of the group and a regular contributor to their publication. For half a decade now we have had the Equality Act in place in Finland which prohibits discrimination based on things like race, religions, disability, etc… even political viewpoint. Finland has also ratified international treaties like the UN Treaty on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Yet Niinistö and his party colleagues are constantly calling for tighter laws against immigrants- whatever that means.

Continue reading “Defence Minister Jussi Niinistö’s far-right past is a fact”

A new book on media solidarities authored by Kaarina Nikunen highlights Migrant Tales’ activism

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Thank you Kaarina Nikunen, a University of Tampere professor of media and communication research, for writing about our blog community in “Media Solidarities, Emotions, Power and Justice in the Digital Age” published in February. 

“I consider activist media, such as Migrant Tales, as part of the larger concept of alternative media that includes a variety of media promotions. What unites them is their small size, independence from state and markets, horizontal participatory organization, as well as motives for solidarity, equality and justice – although we can see that not all media that claims to be alternative, assume these values (Bailey et al., 2007b; Downing 2001: Pajnik and Downing, 2008).”

“One of the reasons why Migrant Tales has been able to cover a series of exclusive stories on the conditions of asylum seekers and deportations is related to the networks and close connections with the asylum seekers and immigrants. Since many of the citizen journalists of Migrant Tales are immigrants themselves, they have been able o build trust with the community of asylum seekers and immigrants.”

“The [Migrant Tales] blog operates on a voluntary basis, on an open code WordPress-platform without any external funding. It might even characterized as a hobby. Yet, it is interconnected with professional media by feeding them stories on issues connected with migration. Despite the lack of permanent funding or support, the writers of the blog conduct investigative journalism on topics that can take weeks or even months of their personal time. The editor of Migrant Tales takes pride in the economic independence of the blog. In his view, the fact that it doesn’t accept any sponsors provides freedom from outside pressure.”

“Migrant Tales is an example of a new media economy that makes use of voluntary work in different ways. It is also an example of the shift in media landscape where blogs and social media sites have acquired central space in public debates and challenged the role of mainstream media in society.”

 

Onko natsitervehdysten jakelija natsipelle?

Posted on by Reija Härkönen

Aamulehdessä julkaistiin Tuomas Rimpiläisen asiallinen artikkeli tulossa olevasta farssioikeudenkäynnistä, Oulun syyttäjänviraston nostamasta syytteestä toimittaja Johanna Vehkoota vastaan.

Ansioitunut toimittaja Johanna Vehkoo oli sosiaalisen median kirjoituksessa Lokan häirinnästä ärsyyntyneenä kutsunut oululaista Junes Lokkaa natsipelleksi.

Lokka kuuluu äärioikeistolaiseen rähinäremmiin, jonka toimintatavoista Rimpiläinen kertoo artikkelissaan. Muutos-puolueen jäsen on saanut tuomion kiihottamisesta kansanryhmää vastaan.

Lokka on siis tullut tunnetuksi lähinnä rasistisena nettikeskustelijana ja ikävänä häirikkönä useissa rasisminvastaisissa tilaisuuksissa, mutta myös natsimielisyydellä hän on julkisesti flirttaillut. Muistatte varmasti poliittisen kohutapauksen, kun kansanedustaja Hirvisaari kutsui eduskuntaan tamperelaisen ystävänsä ja kuvasi tätä eri puolella eduskuntataloa natsitervehdystä tekemässä. Potkuthan siitä tuli puolueesta, vaikkakin kansanedustaja sai vielä vaalikauden loppuun jatkaa toimiaan eduskunnassa.

Eipä aikaakaan, kun kansanedustajalla oli jälleen samanmielisiä vieraita, oululainen Muutos-puolueen jäsen Junes Lokka kavereineen. Tällä kertaa kuvaussessioissa käytettiin ns. käännettyä natsitervehdystä, Quenelle-tervehdystä, josta on tullut suosittu uusnatsien joukossa. Ja jälleen levisivät sosiaalisessa mediassa kuvat eduskunnan häpäisystä.

Junes Lokka quenelle

Rasisminvastainen yhteisö tarttui asiaan, eduskunnassa otetuista kuvista lähetettiin kopiot kaikkiin päämedioihin ja myös esim. eduskunnan silloiselle puhemiehelle, Eero Heinäluomalle. Kaikki olivat hiirenhiljaa. Eduskunnan arvovallalla ei niin enää ollut väliä, kun tapauksella ei saatu Soinin silloiseen puolueeseen otetta ja Hirvisaari oli jo poliittisesti unohdettu mies. Media ei enää olisi samasta aiheesta saanut klikkauksia, eikä kukaan kai halunnut uhrata omaa aikaansa ja mainettaan tämän viiteryhmän toilailuun ja jonkun kummallisen tervehdyksen tutkimiseen.

Continue reading “Onko natsitervehdysten jakelija natsipelle?”

Finland’s integration program discriminates and offers fairy tale views of our society

Posted on by Migrant Tales

I never have or want to “integrate.” I have, however, learned how to survive in Finland. 

If there is one matter that the sexual assault cases of Oulu have exposed in the raw is a false expectation about migrants. If we listen to the media, police and politicians, migrants cannot commit crimes because Finns rarely do if ever break the law.  White Finns are model humans, asylum seekers are not. 

This erroneous expectation becomes clear when the Oulu police and the media announce a new sexual abuse case by “a person of foreign origin,” which is code for Muslim, asylum seeker, and non-EU citizen.

Unfortunately, more of these types of crimes will come to light because men commit such crimes constantly.

Source: Goodreads. 

Blaming asylum seekers and migrants for not “integrating” enough reveals our false expectations and ignorance of cultural diversity.

Take effective steps to do away with racism and discrimination if you are serious about integrating newcomers.

I have worked in helping new migrants to get an understanding of Finnish society and their rightful places in it.

If a student states that there is no equality in Finland, I agree with him. All this talk about how we respect equality in Finland is a lie. The correct question you must ask is who has the right to demand equality in Finland.

Source: Goodreads. 

But what can you expect with the rise of far-right parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* in this decade and the present government that wants to label and shame Muslims and other groups? What can you expect from a country where mainstream parties like the National Coalition Party and Social Democrats lack the leadership to speak out against racism but instead succumb to it?

Continue reading “Finland’s integration program discriminates and offers fairy tale views of our society”