After near-constant hostile labeling of Muslims, Somalis and other people of color in Finland by the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, it is a positive sign that people are speaking out. One of these persons who has been in the news is Helsinki city councilperson Abdirahim Husu Hussein. Watching him deflect the usual rhetoric from people, who…
Month: July 2019
QUOTE OF THE DAY: When the Finnish media is obsessed with a single party and a single person
Here is the Finnish version of Indian novelist, human rights and environmental activist Arundhati Roy’s quote*: “Instead of writing editorials about the threat of populism in Finland, the media prefers to spend a lot of time publishing polls that show the rise of populism or waiting for Halla-aho to be the country’s next prime minister….
Migrant Tales Podcast: What does populism à la Perussuomalaiset say about Finnish society?
The far-right anti-immigration populist party, the Perussuomalaiset, is leading the polls. What does the success of an Islamophobic party reveal about Finnish society and how can we contain it?
“People who are clearly foreign” may have difficulty in getting hired in Finland
One matter that surprises me about labor discrimination is how some employers believe it is ok to exclude people because of ethnic background. The most recent case involves the Nokkakiven amusement park near Jyväskylä that stated on its job openings page that “if your appearance is clearly from another culture, people who look clearly foreign”…
A 13-year-old former asylum seeker’s letter about her family’s new life in Finland
Migrant Tales wrote back in January a moving story about a Turkmen Iraqi family of three who feared deportation. Their brave 13-year-old daughter, Ilayta S., who speaks five languages, got in touch with me this month. She gave me the good news: Her family was granted a residence permit to stay in Finland. One of…
Perussuomalaiset a racist party? You bet!
A racist is an individual, always an individual, who does not like people based on race – must be conscious – and who intentionally seems to be mean to them. Robin DiAngelo, sociologist THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Using DiAngelo’s definition, the Perussuomalaiset (PS),* their politicians, their voters, and followers are racists because through such a party…
A picture that refuses to die and reveals Finland’s inhumane asylum policy where children are locked up in detention centers
The picture of the girl in Joutseno’s immigration removal center was taken by a detained Iraqi family in 2017. If there is a picture that represents the injustice of Finland’s heartless immigration “service” authorities, it is this picture of the girl gazing at her future from a barred window with barb wire. You can check…
Abdirahim Husu Hussein claim about the Perussuomalaiset is a threat to the far-right party
DiAngelo’s definition of racism incriminates the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* with their hand in the racist cookie jar. The whole political message of the PS hinges on consciously being mean to people of color, especially Muslims and Somalis.
Thank you Abdirahim Husu Hussein for exposing white Finnish fragility
Social Democratic Party Helsinki city councilperson Abdirahim Husu Hussein tweeted that all the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and their supporters are racists. If you think of it, he has a point. The PS is not only an Islamophobic party, but it is also a far-right party as well. A PS councilperson from Nurmijärvi, Maiju Tapiolinna, filed charges…
What have we learned after 22/7? That we have a great ability to deny and forget?
Today marks the day when a white Norwegian terrorist called Anders Breivik murdered in cold blood 77 people. Mentally deranged? This is how some want to interpret such a vile act of terrorism. One of the matters that the monstrous attack by Breivik has proven eight years after it happened is that we have a…