THE STORY WAS UPDATED You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. The saying sits well with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government. Can you teach a party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* to be civil and ditch their racism? For the PS to turn in a new political leaf and abandon their nationalist rants and xenophobia…
Month: September 2024
Yahya Rouissi: When only BURANA* helps to understand the political headache
In my opinion In Finland, the far-right can be understood as an underlying connection of ideological alignment shared between political parties, political groups within parties, individuals. Ideological outlooks that are characterized by extreme nationalist, anti-immigrant, and too often racist views. These groups typically promote the preservation of a perceived “pure” or “authentic” white Finnish identity,…
Finland’s international image suffers another blow
“I do not consider [Prime Minister] Petteri Orpo to be a racist. But the fact is that as Prime Minister he enables, legitimizes, and in a way I think incites that thinking in this coalition in Finland. Is that civilized? In my opinion, it is not.“ Kirsi Piha, a former National Coalition Party (NCP) MP…
Using sociological intervention in an orienteering course for immigrants and Finns at Otava Folk High School
The paper, written by Enrique Tessieri in 2009 for the Social Science Department of Turku University, explains how sociological intervention helped promote and strengthen cultural sensitivity at a folk high school 14 kilometers from the Eastern Finnish city of Mikkeli. From 2010-2011, Otava Folk High School became the first school in Eastern Finland – if…
Ahti Tolvanen*: Finland’s pushback law undermines the rule of law
The problem with this law is that it calls into question the whole idea of the rule of law. It allows the Finnish government to declare that there is a threat at the border of a “hybrid invasion”.This declaration can be made based on secret security information the government may claim to have and no…
Mahad Sheikh Musse*: Miksi en aio äänestää maahanmuuttajataustaisia poliitikkoja!
Siksi en aio enää äänestää maahanmuuttajataustaisia poliitikkoja, koska olen pettynyt heidän toimintaansa. Moni meistä maahanmuuttaja- taustaisista äänestäjistä, odotti heidän edustavan meitä ja puhuvan rasismia ja syrjintää vastaan. Sen sijaan monet heistä näyttävät sopeutuvan valtavirtapolitiikkaan, keskittyen vain oman uransa edistämiseen. Heidän kantansa ovat usein joko mitäänsanomattomia tai jopa edistävät suomalaiseen politiikkaan juurtunutta rasismia. Äänestimme heitä, koska…
A vital crossroad for Finland
In light of the rise of the far right and the anti-migration megaphone getting louder in Finland and Europe, are we at a crossroads? Does it boil down to two factors: inclusion or exclusion? One of the matters missing today in our ever-growing culturally diverse society is credible pathways to inclusion and citizenship. This may…
X (Reija Härkönen): Double standards and political amnesia
Center Party Chairperson Antti Kaikkonen gave a long interview on Saturday’s Ykkösaamu. Apart from all his views about the government’s program to bring growth during extreme austerity, Kaikkonen is asked about labor migration at the end of the interview. He said Finland needs labor migrants. He said, “We don’t need criminals, we don’t want bums.”…
The threat against Finland’s democracy
Far-right populism is an illness inflicting Europe at present and it now has a beachhead in Finland. Migrant Tales (18.4.2011) About 20% – if not more – of Finnish voters are racist di**heads. Few, if any, were alarmed by the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* victory in the 2011 election, which raised the number of MPs to 39…
Sentencing for aggravated defamation of a respected scholar on racism raises a lot of questions
The sentencing of a respected scholar on racism of aggravated defamation by a Turku Court is more of a warning to others who may protest against ethnic profiling by security guards and the police. The verdict raises a lot of answered questions. One of these is why was the seventeen-year-old put in handcuffs for not…