Katja Marova, a Russian speaker from the border city of Lappeenranta, spoke to Migrant Tales about how the war in Ukraine had impacted her life as that of other Russian speakers in her home city. Russian speakers are the biggest group in Finland (88,000) followed by Estonian speakers (50,000). The Russian border is only a stone’s throw…
Month: December 2022
President Sauli Niinistö throws weight behind opposition’s election campaign by citing youth gang “problem”
President Sauli Niinistö, who has a track record of speaking disparagingly about Muslims and asylum seekers, was quoted as saying on Yle’s 8:30 news that he fears Finland “apparently” is “moving a bit” on Sweden’s path concerning youth gang violence. “It’s a very, very unfortunate and dangerous phenomenon, we seem to be following a bit…
Twitter (@anuka_9568): “Oma (surullinen) tarinaani” Maahanmuuttovirastosta
Olin hyvin surullinen kun kuulin mongolialaisen Anudari Boldbaatarin vastoinkäymisiä Maahanmuuttotviraston (Migri) kanssa. Maahanmuuttoviraston ylijohtaja Ilkka Haahtela antaa “vilpitön ja syvä anteeksipyyntö” Boldbaatarille. Valitettavasti näitä “vilpitön ja syviä anteeksipyynnöt” kuulostavat samalla kun Yhdysvalloissa on viattomia ihmisiä tapettu aseilla. Poliitikot, jotka eivät tee mitään, lausuvat, “We send our thoughts and prayers,” eli lähetämme ajatuksemme ja rukouksemme. Olemme…
Migrant Tales Media Monitoring: PS’ Riikka Purra “praises” Ykkösaamu. Complacency devours facts.
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Riikka Purra praised Ykkösaamu, claiming that it “has the best news and current affairs format in Finland, led by a professional journalist.” It is further proof of how the host, Seija Vaaherkumpa, didn’t do her job but offered journalistic lipservice to a radical right party with ties to violent groups in the…
Migrant Tales Media Monitoring: An interview with Riikka Purra that reveals why the media is part of the “r”problem
Saturday’s interview with Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Riikka Purra on Ykkösaamu was a good example of how the media avoids asking tough questions, never mind doing fact-checking. Purra was able to spread her urban tales about migrants. Considering that the PS is a radical right party, host Serija Vaaherkumpu did not as one question about the…
Yve Sheperd: 2022 – the year as an alien!
Mid-week on British tv, the lead news story was of the racism, caught in Buckingham Palace. The victim is a black British woman who helps female assault victims. The offender is an elderly white woman who has been many years in an honor position. It was a huge embarrassment for the Royal Family, and the…
Déjà-vu Finland: Same problems persist at reception centers as in 2015
Remember when 32,476 asylum seekers came to Finland in 2015? Remember how Finland patted itself on the back by stating it did a great job housing many people, mainly from Iraq and Afghanistan? There are mixed results about Finland’s “great job” in housing so many asylum seekers in such a short time. Some reception centers did…