As the Finnish launches a process to consider the nation’s Nato membership, while the frightening news from the war in Ukraine floods the media, all of us living in the country need to stop and think how we got into this situation and where to turn now. Perhaps we also need to reflect why we…
Month: March 2022
How long will our good will and patience last while millions of Ukrainian seek refuge in the EU?
On Tuesday, 2.011 million refugees have fled Ukraine since February 24, according to the UNHCR. Some sources speculate that up to 4 million refugees may flee the war in Ukraine. In light of Europe’s bleak history and the worst human rights abuses, atrocities, and wars in all of history, one wonders how long our goodwill lasts. The…
Tekophyhä
Kun muutamat opiskelijat kysyivät miksi ukrainalaisia saavat kaikki viisumi oleskella EU maissa ja toiset, mm. Lähi- idästä, eivät saaneet, kerroin heille sana, joka paljastaa hyvin asia:
Exposing white Finnish privilege #83: War doesn’t give a hoot if you are white or black
The war in Ukraine is like a sinister brew boiling over death, destruction, tragedy, hatred, and xenophobia. Apart from the shock and horror, our double standards and jingoism stand out as a stark reminder that we have done little to challenge the very social ills that caused the deaths of tens of millions of people…
Migrant Tales Literary: Fatima
Leo Honka Who is Fatima? Who is the person wishing us from the Joutseno immigration removal center a kind, “Good night. Loved ones.” Fatima is only a name. It houses no human because it is only a name written on paper by a plane dropping bombs, a tank shelling civilians, and a woman hoping for…
The EU’s double standards on the treatment of refugees are out of step with its alleged values
There is mounting evidence about how Polish and Ukrainian border guards openly discriminate against non-Ukrainians and minorities like the Roma fleeing war as well as attacks by Polish nationalists. The commissioner for home affairs and migration, Ylva Johansson, has only words of praise. “We can expect a lot of EU unity and EU solidarity towards…
Länsi-Savo: Kuinka tulla toimeen eri kulttuurien kanssa
Suomessa puhutaan paljon, kuinka ihmisten eri kulttuureista pitäisi tulla toimeen toistensa kanssa. Perustuslakimme antaa siihen hyvät eväät: syrjintä on kielletty, ihmisille on oikeus omaan kulttuurin ja kieleen, on myös uskonnonvapaus. Mielestäni nämä periaatteet ovat oikeita ja tärkeitä, jos haluamme rakentaa ja elää yhteiskunnassa, jossa kaikilla riippumatta taustoista on yhdenvertaisia oikeuksia ja velvollisuuksia. Nykyään enemmistö suomalaisista…
Millions of Ukrainians are coming. How long will it take before our goodwill turns into open hostility?
Remember 2015, when some 1.3 million million asylum seekers came to Europe from countries like Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia? Europe says welcome! Tervetuloa (welcome)! Meillä on tilaa (there is room for you)! After the initial outpouring of support and understanding for these people fleeing wars that we had started, attitudes took an abrupt turn for…
Other casualties of Ukraine are European far-right parties like the Perussuomalaiset of Finland
Since the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s Russia, we are seeing the restructuring of Europe’s security structure and political landscape. The new landscape is bad news for Europe’s far-right and populist parties like Finland’s Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. The new situation may explain why PS chairperson, Riikka Purra, offered a new image with new glasses that…
Ukrainians battle against the Russians but do little with the Poles to fight racism
Shameful and racist treatment. Ukrainian train conductors push back on Africans fleeing the war while Polish border officials don’t permit Africans to enter Poland, reports The Guardian. Just like when Poland fenced out Middle East asylum seekers in November from entering the country, which even led to the death of children from hyperthemia, Africans are facing the same…