Ethnonationalism and “white Finnish replacement” pseudo-theories are being eagerly spread in Finland by politicians like Riikka Purra and Jussi Halla-aho, vice-chairperson and chairperson of the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party.
An important question arises in light of the tragic weekend when a white supremacist killed 22 victims in El Paso, Texas, and another man killed 9 more in Toledo, Ohio: Could the same happen in Finland?
Since the Finnish media is not interested in asking such a question, I wrote an email to Purra on Sunday if what happened in El Paso could happen here since parties like the PS are pushing ethnonationalism and ethnic replacement pseudo-theories.
The email to MP Purra below was short and to the point:
MP Riikka Purra
“Hey, you spoke a while back about how the Finnish population can change with more non-white migrants and Finns. What happened in El Paso must have shocked you. Could the same happen in Finland? Could you please answer this email by Wednesday? Thank you.
Purra did no answer my email.
In June, Purra suggested that Finland’s population, one of the whitest in Europe, is in danger of changing due to non-white migration.
* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. 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.
It was clear that the request to the police by Perussuomalaiseet (PS)* Councilperson Maiju Tapiolinna to investigate whether Helsinki City Councilperson Abdirahim Husu Hussein for ethnic agitation and slander would not make it to first base.
And that is what the police announced today. They said they will not investigate the complaint against Hussein for ethnic agitation and slander, reportsHelsingin Sanomat.
But what could you expect? How could there be ethnic agitation if the PS is not an ethnic group and no person was mentioned in Hussein’s tweet?
What is most ironic about the case is that it appears that Tapiolinna may have herself been guilty of ethnic agitation in a Facebook posting today.
Anti-Hate Crime Oganisation Finland asked today the police to investigate a Facebook posting by Tapiolinna where she allegedly encourages hatred for an ethnic group.
Tapiolinna writes today: “Is anyone surprised why the police will not investigate Hussein’s tweets? Not me, I’m not surprised since this is exactly what I expected to happen. It is now proven that we have double standards [in Finlan] and people who come from racist countries can rage in peace. This means that in the future the Perussuomalaiset [party] should take an even tougher stand on immigration. It’s already been proven that Muslims that come here have difficulties to adapt to their new homeland. I am still of the opinion that if one is not happy with things here, they should think of moving somewhere else. We should surely take note of the [Vietnamese] boat people who came to Finland forty years ago. They are diligent and respect others. We are thus contentedly r..cists since this has happened.[1] The next thing we should do is investigate the enormous aid Somali associations received. It is good to continue from here.”
The police should investigate the matter and determine whether Tapiolinna is guilty.
* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. 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.
[1] This sentence is unclear to translate. I asked Tapiolinna to explain what she meant but she has not responded.
So here is the story… Two years ago I applied to the Migration Office for a residence permit under the base of entrepreneurship (toiminimi). Later on that same 2017, I received a full-time working grant from Koneen Säätiö – Kone Foundation for my literature project Mutanttikieltä. I informed Migri about it arguing that my situation changed because the grant demanded for me a full-time commitment: silence…
Last August, a year ago, I received a letter from Migri (The Finnish Immigration Service) with an appointment at the airport-terminal 2, a rare thing but possible considering that I used to live in Vantaa. ‘Ok, good! I’m going to pick up my residence permit’ I thought. How naive. Once there, the conversation went like this: – Spanish, right? – (Me) Yes, but I can handle it in English. – No, no, we are gonna call an interpreter. So then I got suspicious and decided to record the whole interview (which I used partly on my performance at Kiasma, lol). Once inside the office, they connected a telephone to the speakers with a Spanish-accent translator on the other side of the line. The statements in a nutshell were: 1. You applied as an entrepreneur. 2. But what you really want is to live from the stipend (Kone’s grant). 3. Anyhow, we consider that the country has enough ‘graphic designers’ (the area of my company at that time), therefore we consider it won’t be profitable. 4. So we ask you to leave Finland back to Mexico. It was a surprise for me and for the person informing the decision. When they asked me for my opinion I said that I didn’t agree considering that I’ve been working professionally since 2013, that I had a full-time job here, and that my work had cultural value towards the country (even opening spaces for Finnish and non-Finnish authors, artists and emergent talents from the youth). Anyhow when I asked for their suggestions considering that they are the legal entity who knows about this cases they said: get a lawyer. So I did, and the attorney told me that we were not going to win the case and that this process resets/erases my time living in Finland, he also said – let’s appeal to avoid deportation and meanwhile you can apply to a residence permit that is suitable to your status. (By the way, in situations like this you have to pay first to the lawyer, then to the judge for making the appealing process and later for the new residence permit application. So a well-spent grant-salary I might say, isn’t it?) Then time passed by, it’s 2019, the process has denied me the possibility of traveling outside the country and I have made already (based on different sources of counselling) my new application under the status of ‘Professional Artist’; an abstract and discriminatory kind of visa where being a restaurant musician is not worthy enough to be considered professional. Anyhow, I covered all the criteria: To live professionally of your work (Kone and my own company) and Being a member of an artists’ association (as a board member at Suomen Pen Finnish Pen and Globe Art Point. in my case). Before summer holidays Migri wrote to me asking for more supplementary documents regarding my other sources of income. PEN and GAP made wonderful letters in Finnish on my support which I provided to Migri among all the invoices sent throughout my company (now ‘Manuke. Lit, Media Art & Design’): clicked and sent. Some days ago I received a message from Migri (deadline on August 16th) with another supplementary request which says: [ – According to the documents you have provided, your grant with Koneen Säätiö was finished in June 2019. From what kind of work do you receive your main source of income now? Please note, that if your main source of income comes from the work that you do through your own business, you should apply for entrepreneur’s residence permit. ] An ‘Entrepreneur’s Residence Permit’, the same one that they rejected from me already. On top of that, this time they are politely suggesting me to make the ‘correct’ residence permit application (which they did not when I provided Kone’s grant decision two years ago), furthermore they waited ’til my grant got finish to make this repetitive request, and third… why do the work made within my company is not considered artistic professional work? So, voidaan mennä varjoon! I mean, the ones who know me may have noticed that I am not a person that complains that much. I have found a home in Finland with the support of so many friends, colleagues and beloved ones; I wouldn’t be pushing forward otherwise. I am generally quite positive, grateful and ambitious, but also critical and generally consistent. These two years have been mentally exhausting, it has made me feel demotivated, ashamed, depressed, self-destructive, a bit bitter, more difficult to be contacted affecting all the areas of my work… And it’s just sad, like feeling punished. This is an issue that happens in even worst proportion to other people here, asylum seekers for instance. And a constant subject remains on the lack of proper information, a matter of basic accessibility. So with real respect to all of them, I kindly ask you for advice, because I have uncertainty and the only thing that I have done in this summer has been holding to my literature (poetry/life) and to my work, the ultimate beauty saloon that makes all these narratives enjoyable. Here is my portfolio and, as always, thanks for watching Last August, a year ago, I received a letter from Migri with an appointment at the airport-terminal 2, a rare thing but possible considering that I used to live in Vantaa. ‘Ok, good! I’m going to pick up my residence permit’ I thought. How naive. Once there, the conversation went like this: – Spanish, right? – (Me) Yes, but I can handle it in English. – No, no, we are gonna call an interpreter. So then I got suspicious and decided to record the whole interview (which I used partly on my performance at Kiasma, lol). Once inside the office, they connected a telephone to the speakers with a Spanish-accent translator on the other side of the line. The statements in a nutshell were: 1. You applied as an entrepreneur. 2. But what you really want is to live from the stipend (Kone’s grant). 3. Anyhow, we consider that the country has enough ‘graphic designers’ (the area of my company at that time), therefore we consider it won’t be profitable. 4. So we ask you to leave Finland back to Mexico. It was a surprise for me and for the person informing the decision. When they asked me for my opinion I said that I didn’t agree considering that I’ve been working professionally since 2013, that I had a full-time job here, and that my work had cultural value towards the country (even opening spaces for Finnish and non-Finnish authors, artists and emergent talents from the youth). Anyhow when I asked for their suggestions considering that they are the legal entity who knows about this cases they said: get a lawyer. So I did, and the attorney told me that we were not going to win the case and that this process resets/erases my time living in Finland, he also said – Let’s appeal to avoid deportation and meanwhile you can apply to a residence permit that is suitable to your status. (By the way, in situations like this you have to pay first to the lawyer, then to the judge for making the appealing process and later for the new residence permit application. So a well-spent grant-salary I might say, isn’t it?) Then time passed by, it’s 2019, the process has denied me the possibility of traveling outside the country and I have made already (based on different sources of counselling) my new application under the status of ‘Professional Artist’; an abstract and discriminatory kind of visa where being a restaurant musician is not worthy enough to be considered professional. Anyhow, I covered all the criteria: To live professionally of your work (Kone and my own company) and Being a member of an artists’ association (as a board member at Suomen Pen Finnish Pen and Globe Art Point. in my case). Before summer holidays Migri wrote to me asking for more supplementary documents regarding my other sources of income.
PEN and GAP made wonderful letters in Finnish on my support which I provided to Migri among all the invoices sent throughout my company (now ‘Manuke. Lit, Media Art & Design’): clicked and sent. Some days ago I received a message from Migri (deadline on August 16th) with another supplementary request which says: [ – According to the documents you have provided, your grant with Koneen Säätiö was finished in June 2019. From what kind of work do you receive your main source of income now? Please note, that if your main source of income comes from the work that you do through your own business, you should apply for entrepreneur’s residence permit. ] An ‘Entrepreneur’s Residence Permit’, the same one that they rejected from me already. On top of that, this time they are politely suggesting me to make the ‘correct’ residence permit application (which they did not when I provided Kone’s grant decision two years ago), furthermore they waited ’til my grant got finish to make this repetitive request, and third… why do the work made within my company is not considered artistic professional work? So, voidaan mennä varjoon! I mean, the ones who know me may have noticed that I am not a person that complains that much. I have found a home in Finland with the support of so many friends, colleagues and beloved ones; I wouldn’t be pushing forward otherwise. I am generally quite positive, grateful and ambitious, but also critical and generally consistent. These two years have been mentally exhausting, it has made me feel demotivated, ashamed, depressed, self-destructive, a bit bitter, more difficult to be contacted affecting all the areas of my work… And it’s just sad, like feeling punished. This is an issue that happens in even worst proportion to other people here, asylum seekers for instance. And a constant subject remains on the lack of proper information, a matter of basic accessibility. So with real respect to all of them, I kindly ask you for advice, because I have uncertainty and the only thing that I have done in this summer has been holding to my literature (poetry/life) and to my work, the ultimate beauty saloon that makes all these narratives enjoyable. Here is my portfolio and, as always, thanks for looking.
… [EXTRA NOTE] Dear friends, if you want to share this story please copy and paste the text (cmd C / cmd V) in your timeline and tag me if you want. I am a public figure in Mexico, so I prefer to keep this message within my contacts and the contacts that you decided to share it with. Kiitos ja paljon!”
The white supremacist terrorist that murdered 20 innocent people and wounded two dozen on Saturday in El Paso, Texas, published a manifesto declaring war on Hispanics.
He wrote: “Hispanics will take control of the local and state government of my beloved Texas, changing policy to better suit their needs. They will turn Texas into an instrument of a political coup which will hasten the destruction of our country.”
In 2015, Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP and far-right Suomen Sisu head, Olli Immonen, declared war on multiculturalism. He did not mention Hispanics but meant Muslims and people of color:
Even if some 15,000 demonstrators repudiated what Immonen stated, the same hatred we saw spewed by Immonen is spread today by PS head Jussi Halla-aho and the party’s first vice president, Riikka Purra.
The Finnish media should ask these politicians some hard questions about the consequences of their hateful rhetoric.
* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. 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.
A local pizzeria’s delivery car was vandalized a week ago in a small town in Eastern Finland located near Kuopio. Is it a coincidence that the owner of the pizzeria isn’t a white Finn.
Just like Donald Trump’s racism has consequences for innocent victims in the most recent white supremacist attack in El Paso over the weekend, parties like the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* are polarizing our society and emboldening racists.
The vandalized car. Source: Facebook.
* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. 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.
Racism is a rabid dog that racists walk using a short leash to get attention and votes. The dog, which knows no master except for hatred, can bite its master hard.
The tragic terrorist attack in a Wal-Mart in El Paso, Texas, by a white supremacist terrorist, tells us loudly why the lethal brew of racism and ultranationalism can rip society in two. What happened on Saturday in El Paso will, unfortunately, happen again.
The terrorist, Patrick Crusius, 21, published a manifesto expressing anxiety about his future in the face of the Hispanic invasion of Texas.
Just like far-right parties in Europe talk about how white Christian Europe is being taken over by Muslims, Crusius expressed in his manifesto how Hispanics will take control of the local and state government and pass laws to suit their needs.
Far-right parties like the National Rally of France, Germany’s AfD, FPÖ of Austria, Finland’s Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and others express the same concern as the El Paso killer: Being taken over and becoming a minority in their country.
PS politicians like Jussi Halla-aho, Riikka Purra, Laura Huhtasaari, and a long list of others like Olli Immonen of Suomen Sisu, PS Youth are spreading the same fear among Finns about being taken over by Muslims and people of color.
Spreading such lies in one of Europe’s whitest countries is not only irresponsible but reckless. It offers ammo to future terrorists.
The recent killings in El Paso and future ones tell us of the vital importance of building an inclusive society that is serious about tackling social ills like racism. Building a country based on social justice and respect for diversity is our best insurance for peace.
We can build such a society if we pull together.
* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. 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.
When US President Donald Trump viciously attacked “The Squad” (Congresspersons Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, and Ilhan Omar), when he told them to leave the country (see tweet below), there was dismay and outrage from politicians and other sectors of society.
In Finland, a politician like Maiju Tapiolinna can tell a Helsinki city Councilperson, Abdirahim Husu Hussein, who is a Finnish citizen, to go back to Somalia. Telling a person of color to leave the country is the most normal thing from a white Perussuomalaiset* politician.
In such a white society like Finland, the bar for what is racist and inappropriate is a way too low. White privilege and power keep it from rising as well as Malcolm X’s famous quote: “Racism is like a Cadillac, they bring out a new model every year.”
Maiju Tapiolinna’s Facebook post is a good example of the hostility that white Finnish fragility brings out in some people. She states: “Somalis should leave the country if they don’t integrate.” The Nurmijärvi PS politician has asked to police to investigate Hussein’s tweet so that that the police file charges against him. For what? The PS is not an ethnic group. Source Facebook and Sakari Timonen’s blog.
White Finnish privilege #53
One of the consequences of living in an overwhelmingly white society is that racism isn’t taken seriously as Hussein’s case proves even if you are a politician and black. It isn’t taken seriously because it isn’t in white people’s interest. Who cares what it’s like to be a person of color in Finland, right?
The predicament is similar to asking a man if he thinks there is sexism in Finland and how to eradicate it.
Why is it so difficult for the media and politicians in Finland to grasp that racism is a serious offense against our values and especially against the person at the receiving end? We proudly claim that we have one of the best education systems in the world, but still the second-biggest party in parliament is far-right and Islamophobic.
Migrant Tales recently asked the following question in an op-ed piece: “[w]hy aren’t the leaders of other parties saying anything substantial to defend and support Hussein who had the guts to speak out? Where is Prime Minister Antti Rinne, who is a member of the same party [Social Democratic Party] as Hussein? Where is Pekka Haavisto of the Greens, Left Alliance, Swedish People’s Party, and Center Party leaders? What about the National Coalition Party?
If some in the United States like Trump say and do racist things and claim they aren’t racist, in Finland, you usually hear silence from people who are indifferent to racism.
Doesn’t the Constitution guarantee that we are all equal before the law and that no person can be discriminated due to his or her background?
If you hear silence as an answer to that affirmation, you should start to worry.
* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. 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.
It’s been a tough bubble-bursting July and August for Finland’s second-biggest party in parliament, the Perussuomalaiset (PS).* Helsinki city Councilperson Abdirahim Husu Hussein tweeted that the party and supporters were racists, while history researcher Oula Silvenoinen reminded and called the PS a far-right party on television.
Let’s not forget as well the PS’ membership in pro-Putin and far-right Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament led by pundits like Matteo Salvini of the Lega Nord party.
After the PS’ historic election victory in 2011, Migrant Tales has warned about the party’s far-right and xenophobic roots. “Far-right populism is an illness inflicting Europe at present and it now has a beachhead in Finland,” I wrote in April 2011.
Ties with neo-Nazi groups like the outlawed PVL and Soldiers of Odin are too many to be coincidences no matter what Slunga-Poutsalo says.
Two hairstyles of Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo. On the left when she was PS party secretary and on the right as an MP on A-studio. Even so, she’s the same person who called asylum seekers “welfare shoppers” and who signed in 2010 the anti-immigration Nuiva manifesto. Before the manifesto could be accessed on www.nuiva.fi but it no longer exists. No matter how you cut it, she is an Islamophobe trying to appear like a normal politician. Source: Lehtikuva and Yle.
So why doesn’t the Finnish media call the PS a far-right party?
Calling it a far-right and xenophobic party would be admitting that maybe we aren’t that exceptional as we thought. Considering that over a half a million Finns vote for the PS, newspapers like Helsingin Sanomat are dependent on subscribers and ads.
Without even trying to prove that the PS and its supporters have severe issues with racism, the party has given Hussein the smoking gun.
PS Nurmijärvi Councilperson Maiju Tapiolinna showed us that Finland also suffers from white fragility In a Facebook post she stated: “Somalis should leave the country if they don’t integrate.”
The PS politician made the same comment on a Ylen aamu-tv program.
It’s great that Finland has people like Hussein and Silvenoinen who fearlessly express their views about difficult topics that we should be paying much closer attention like racism and far-right populism.
* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. 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.
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED
Setting aside the racist attacks and harassment that Social Democratic (SDP) Helsinki city Councilperson Abdirahim Husu Hussein received due to a tweet, why are members of his party and other politicians near-silent offering token support if any to defend a politician of color?
We could ask what is worse, the racist attacks Hussein has endured or the indifference of Finland’s political class?
Hussein tweeted last month that all members of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, their voters and supporters are racist. The tweet raised a storm during Finland’s vacation month of July.
On July 19, Hussein tweets from India: “Was yesterday’s tweet update too much for you.Let me be more concrete. All of the Perussuomalaiset and their voters/supporters are racists. Yes i said it. Do you need proof? Look at your history and how you were elected as Finland’s second-biggest party [in parliament].”
While Hussein denies that his tweet aimed at provoking the PS and its followers, it’s clear that Finland does need a long-overdue debate about its racism issues and why politicians and political parties have failed at containing and challenging the rise far-right populism.
How low has Finland stooped? Why is the country’s political class near-silent in the face of a black city councilperson who is being attacked in a racist and hostile manner? In my opinion, it reveals a scared and racist nation unwilling to take leadership and do what is right.
Hussein published on Facebook Thursday an especially vicious attack against him from a person who claims to be a PS supporter:
Racist: “Hi n-word. You will soon be HISTORY N-WORD!!! If I am a racist then you are an n-word: Do you understand???? N-word. N-word.If I support the persut (Peususualaiset party) then you are an n-word. Go back to where you came from.”
So why aren’t the leaders of other parties saying anything substantial to defend and support Hussein who had the guts to speak out? Where is Prime Minister Antti Rinne, who is a member of the same party as Hussein? Where is Pekka Haavisto of the Greens, Left Alliance, Swedish People’s Party, and Center Party leaders? What about the National Coalition Party?
The indifference and near-silence of these parties and their leaders is deafening and reveals why populism has entered Finnish politics big time during this decade. It also shows us that our mainstream parties and society as a whole are at a loss in dealing with such a threat.
* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into
two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue
Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off
the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament
plummet from 18 MPs to none. 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.
Former Blue Reform MP and Perussuomalaiset* social and health minister, Hanna Mäntylä, was fired in June as special advisor to the European Council on challenging youth radicalization and marginalization, according to Demokraatti which cites HBL.
We mentioned back in 2017 when Mäntylä was named as a special advisor that she was unqualified to do the job. How can spreading anti-immigration rhetoric and polarizing Finnish society make you an expert on how to stop youth radicalization?
Two Hanna Mäntylä’s: black and blonde. Source: Yle and Seiska.
Migrant Taleswrote: “If we look at Mäntylä’s past record as minister (2015-2016) and her former statements on cultural diversity, it’s clear that they fuel inequality and radicalization and don’t lessen them.”
Mäntylä as social and health minister attempted to spearhead laws where migrants would get less social welfare than Finns. Such laws did not – fortunately – see the light of day since they were unconstitutional. Plans to give less social welfare was part of former Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s 80-point government pogram to tighten immigration laws.
According to HBL, many wondered about Mäntylä’s appointment since she was unqualified. “It has been unclear to all those who worked with her what her [work] experience was,” HBL said, citing diplomatic sources.
* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017,
into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform.
In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off
the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament
plummet from 18 MPs to none. 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.
