February 2022 - Page 3 of 3

Seinäjoki police wrapping up their suspected hate crime investigation. Charges are expected this month.

Posted on February 6, 2022 by Migrant Tales

The Seinäjoki police, which had taken over a year and eight months to investigate a crime when Fares Al-Obaidi was attacked by over ten people from the Western Finnish town of Teuva, plans to bring charges this month, according to the victim. The incident happened on June 6, 2020 when over ten suspected townspeople from the Western Finnish town of Teuva physically attacked Al-Obaidi. His car was later vandalized.

Al-Obaidi was questioned by the police earlier last month, and one of the surprising matters that turned up was that the suspects, who attacked the young Iraqi, allege that they were provoked and attacked.

“I denied this to the police,” he explained. “I made it clear [to the investigating police officer, Aki Perämäki] that it was the townspeople of Teuva who started the incident [and attacked me].”

Al-Obaidi added that the police are accusing him of petty assault.

“My lawyer said at the questioning that even if they find you guilty of petty assault, it is not serious and you did so because you were defending yourself from the attackers,” he said.

One of the matters to watch closely, in this case, is if the Seinäjoki police will charge the suspects with a hate crime. The police said previously that what happened could well be a hate crime.

**Not only was Fares Al-Obaidiattacked by over 10 people in Teuvaa on June 3, 2020, but his car was also vandalized as well. Source: Facebook**

Sanna Ukkola, if antiracism is the new racism, it shows that you are part of the racism problem

Posted on February 5, 2022 by Migrant Tales

THE STORY WAS UPDATED

Of all the newspapers that write about migrants and cultural diversity, tabloid Iltalehti published Sanna Ukkola’s column on how “antiracism is the new racism.”

With a headline like that, we could also put together provocative headlines like how “feminism is modern misogyny,” “anti-fascism is the new fascism,” and “how promoting same-sex marriage is the new homophobia.”

Nonsensical, right?

Ukkola, who is a white Finn with an alt-right view of things, is married to far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* editor Matias Turkkila, who belongs to Finland’s Islamophobic network, according to the European Islamophobic Report 2020.

She, of all people, is coaching us about the evils of antiracism.

Dr. Leonardo Custódio offered a good tweet concerning Ukkola’s conclusions.

Ukkola goes further in the column and cites four “people with migrant backgrounds” to back her preposterous claim.

Convenience? Just because her sources aren’t white doesn’t mean that they are “experts” on racism.

Of all the four that Ukkola cites, Arman Alizad quotes conservative apologist and critic of the Black Lives Matter movement, Robert Woodson, “antiracism has become the new racism.”

Throughout the years, Alizad has vacillated on racism in Finland. In early 2011, he criticized and made fun of foreigners on Tuomas Enbuske’s show who were social welfare recipients and victims of racism.

**Tweets Outi Länsman: “Finnish journalism. The year is 2017.” Read the full story here.**

Binga Tupamäki is a National Coalition Party city councilor of Helsinki. She claims that “a lot” of people see anti-racism as a bad way of dealing with societal problems. She adds: “One reason, for example, is to bring out the ‘races.’ Personally, I would like to remove the talk of ‘races’ when there are no such things in humanity.”

Tupamäki’s observation is a good example of colorblind racism, which is nothing more than a convenient way to brush the problem of ethnicity or race under the carpet.

Do I have to say anything about Kamal Jafi and Seida Sohrabi?

Both of the above persons make a name for themselves by parroting the most toxic views about migrants that are the foundation for bigotry and racism in this country.

Antiracism is a good concept if any to tackle inequalities in society. NGOs like the European Network Against Racism have done a lot of work on this front.

A-Talk exposed further what a poor leader Riikka Purra is and how little respect she has for other politicians

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Migrant Tales

Did any of you watch A-Talk with two government representatives, Iris Suomela of the Green League, Center Party Finance Minister Annika Saarikko, and two opposition representatives, Perussuomalaiset (PS)* head Riikka Purra, and National Coalition Party MP Antti Häkkänen?

One matter stood out: Purra’s aggressive style and talking out of turn when Suomela spoke. Her facial expressions and body movements reinforced her disdain for the Green League MP.

After her party suffered a big setback in the regional elections and saw its support in a Yle opinion poll plummet by three percentage points to 15%, it is clear that Purra is a bit on edge.

Apart from being a poor leader, which is coming to bite her party, she sounds like a broken record scapegoating migrants, especially asylum seekers, mostly Muslims.

**From left to right: Annika Saarikko, Iris Suomela, Riikka Purra, and Antti Häkkänen. Source: *Yle*.**

Purra is a person who has shown beyond any doubt her Islamophobic colors. In one debate, during the regional elections, she suggested that foreigners living in Finland should not get social welfare. While her suggestion is unconstitutional and her party’s wet dream, not a single reporter asked if she took her comment seriously.

The far-right Perussuomalaiset head south in the opinion polls

Posted on February 3, 2022 by Migrant Tales

THE STORY WAS UPDATED

There’s good news and bad news. Depending on your perspective, bad news can be good news and vice-versa. In the latest opinion poll published by Yle, the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party saw its support nosedive by three percentage points to 15%.

While it would be simplistic only to blame the regional election, other factors like PS chairperson Riikka Purra’s poor leadership, living in large and small populist bubbles, and brainless nationalism are just a few factors that contributed to the fall in popularity.

But above all, I have to thank the PS team that put together the last campaign strategy, namely MP Mauri “Perkele” Peltokangas, party secretary Arto Luukkanen, and Purra, who gave their blessing to such populist malarkey.

Imagine the party raised the issue of petrol prices at the pumps and so-called harmful migration as their main campaign message in the regional election, which will decide on health care and emergency services.

Regional councils cannot decide on petrol prices or immigration policy.

**regional election show the far-right Perussuomalaiset suffering a big setback. Source: Yle**