More and more Ukrainians are fleeing for their lives to Europe as we mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. It seems the EU and NATO lack the political imagination to do more than worsen the refugee situation in the year ahead. So far 4 million have fled Ukraine and over 40 000 to…
Month: February 2023
Facebook (Petra Laiti): The price of Finnish colonialism
Migrant Tales comment: Today’s news that Parliament’s constitutional committee voted against the Sámi Parliament Act is a big blow to Europe’s only indigenous group. The parties that voted against the act were the Center Party, National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), and the radical-right Perussuomalaiset.* I wrote in the forthcoming European Islamophobia Report 2022 the following: “Another…
Katja Marova: Living next door to Russia
As war rages on in Ukraine and we near the first anniversary of that tragic conflict on February 24, one question we should ask is how Finland’s Russian-speaking community is faring. Katja Marova, who lives in the border city of Lappeenranta, says that matters have not changed much in her home city, even if war rages…
A question for Ilta-Sanomat: Why didn’t you mention the name of the security company and who was in the video?
An example of you-can-eat-your-racist-cake-and-have-it journalism: The chief executive of a private security firm posts a video wearing a uniform about how a member of the Romany minority shoplifts. The security firm’s representative uses his personal TikTok account to publish the racist post. The security guard chief executive took down the video after a representative…
Parliament’s constitutional law committee leaves door open for halal and shechita slaughter in Finland
The Finnish parliament’s constitutional law committee voted 10-5 on Wednesday to allow halal and shechita slaughter practiced by Muslims and Jews, respectively, according to Yle. The Parliament’s agriculture and forestry committee recently approved the amended animal welfare act. Yaron Nadbornik, the head of the Jewish community of Helsinki, said that the law does not ban…
Finland’s youth gang story is a close relative to the USA stolen election lie story
Looking at the number of stories written about the so-called youth gang problem in Finland, it is interesting to note that reporting of the issue by Yle doubled compared with the eight months of the year. Stories about Sweden’s youth gang problem started to pick up in the fall after Sweden’s 11 September parliamentary election….
Länsi-Savo: S2-opetusta Mikkelissä*
Kati Häkkinen, kiitoksia kirjoituksesta Puutteellinen S2-opetus. Olemme samaa mieltä Mikkelissä annettavan S2-opetuksen puutteista, mutta haluamme lisäksi nostaa keskusteluun sen lieveilmiöistä. S2-opetus ei ole vain kielestä kiinni, vaan osa laajempaa kokonaisuutta eli sitä kuinka lapsi rakentaa ja tuntee itsensä osana suomalaista yhteiskuntaa. Kieli on tärkeä osa siitä prosessista, muttei kuitenkaan ainoa osa. Liian usein luulemme, että kieli…
Media Monitoring Group of Finland [1]: How big is the PS’ crocodile tears?
They are pretty big if you look at the latest tweets by Perussuomalaiset (PS)* head Riikka Purra and former party secretary Simo Grönroos. MTV broke a news story Saturday about human trafficking in Finland. . A sensible politician would look at the story, side with the victims, and ask how this could happen in Finland….
A rebuttal by Riikka Purra that exposes the PS’ arrogance and desperation
A rebuttal by Perussuomalaiset (PS)* head Riikka Puura to a recent Helsingin Sanomat editorial reveals arrogance and desperation. If the PS’ favorite talking points about immigrants are challenged forcibly as today, matters do not bode well for the party that has based its election fuel on spreading xenophobia. Helsingin Sanomat rebuked PS’ anti-immigration rhetoric: “When…
A party that is out of touch with the times
A good editorial by Helsingin Sanomat about how the radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is the only party against bringing labor migrants to Finland and the threat such intransigency implies for the country. It writes: “When the PS refuses to accept [hard] facts, it no longer makes sense, even from a purely selfish point of view. And…