Comment: Here are some interesting thoughts published on Suomen Somaali Portaaliksi about the impact of the next election in April and how political parties are not tackling the challenges of immigration. The writer asks if his vote will have any impact in the election. The answer is a clear “no.”
Apart from giving the message to Finnish voters that political parties are ready tighten immigration policy at will, there is very little information they offer in their official programs on how to tackle stereotypes and problems that immigrants face in Finland.
Do you think your vote will count?
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Eduskuntavaaleihin on jäljellä enää neljä kuukautta. Ennakkoäänestämisen ja vaalipäivän lähestyessä puolueet ja heidän ehdokkaansa ovat kiihdyttäneet vaalikampanjoitaan. Pyrkiessään kalastelemaan mahdollisemman suuren äänisaaliin ehdokkaat lupaavat muutoksia potentiaalisille tukijoilleen.
Useat puolueet ovat listanneet ehdokkaiksi maahanmuuttajia. Se on positiivinen askel, ovathan maahanmuuttajat osa suomalaista yhteiskuntaa. Mutta maahanmuuttajien ehdokkuudella ei ole suurta merkitystä, jos heidän tarpeitaan ei oteta huomioon, ja tavoitteena on ainoastaan saada maahanmuuttajien äänet.
Luin hiljattain Keskustan ja Kokoomuksen asiakirjoja puolueiden maahanmuuttolinjoista. Niissä on paljon tilastoja Suomessa asuvista maahanmuuttajista, heidän taustoistaan, demografiasta ja siitä, milloin he ovat Suomeen tulleet. Asiakirjat korostavat puolueiden omaa linjaa ja maahanmuuttopolitiikkaa. Niiden tavoitteena on vakuuttaa äänestäjiä olemaan valmiita kiristämään maahanmuuttokysymysten linjauksia.
Maahanmuuttoasiakirjoissa on aika vähän tietoa maahanmuuttajien kohtaamista ennakkoluuloista ja ongelmista. Pelkät julisteet eivät realisoi maahanmuuttajien integroitumisen esteitä ja niitä toimenpiteitä, jotka edellyttäisivät toimivaa maahanmuuttopolitiikkaa.
Näiden vaalijulisteiden tarkoituksena on antaa äänestäjille pinnallisia lupauksia ja antaa toiveita paremmasta maahanmuuttopolitiikasta.
Kantasuomalaiset ehdokkaat sekä maahanmuuttajaehdokkaat yrittävät kierrellen kertoa maahanmuuttopolitiikan epäonnistumisen tärkeimmän syyn: ihmisten väärät asenteet toisia kulttuureja ja vähemmistöjä kohtaan.
Suomessa ihmisten välinen kanssakäyminen on vähäistä. Koska suomalaisten ja maahanmuuttajien kanssakäyminen on vielä sitäkin vähäisempää, on maahanmuuttajien vaikeaa oppia suomen kieltä ja se edelleen hidastaa heidän kotoutumistaan.
Olen asunut Suomessa niin pitkään, etten tiedä, olenko uussuomalainen vai maahanmuuttaja. Toisinaan minusta kyllä tuntuu, että olen enemmän maahanmuuttaja ja tulen sitä täällä aina olemaankin, puhuuhan kouluni vahtimestarikin minulle aina englantia, vaikka olen käynyt samaa koulua jo kaksi vuotta.
Muistan pari vuotta sitten, kun menimme viikonloppuisin kavereiden kanssa kaupungille. Ihmiset kysyivät meiltä, mistä me tulemme ja milloin me menemme takaisin kotimaahamme? Silloin teki mieli sanoa, että tiedän kyllä mistä tulen ja mihin olen menossa, mutta ei minua aina tarvitsisi muistuttaa menneisyydestäni.
Jos ihmisten asenteet ovat vielä näin kaukana suvaitsevaisuudesta, en odota seuraavissa vaaleissa kovin positiivia yllätyksiä. Olenkin pohtinut kannattaako minun äänestää ollenkaan – toki, onhan minulla vielä vähän aikaa miettiä sitä.
In a nutshell, no, my vote won’t count for much. Not because I have foreign origins, but rather because representative democracy is broken by design, regardless of which country implements it. Sending someone to the Parliament without a binding mandate to accomplish specific tasks promised to the voters is not democracy.
Martin-Éric, voters with immigrant backgrounds will have little say in the next election. The politicians don’t really care because such a groups amonts to a few votes. What is interesting, however, is if we will get out first MP elected to the Eduskunta that are naturalized Finns. Will they make a difference? That awaists to be seen.
You can only sell Asylum if you can sell the moral issue behind it and by the polls and views of Finns this has not happened.
I don’t really think True Finns Asylum agenda will make any shock waves across Finland if passed . Finland has been toughing up its Asylum laws because of other countries have done the same to theirs. I think that the True Finns asylum laws would had happened anyway but it would have been done bit by bit over a period time this way the True Finns want them done sooner than later.
And as the issue of the ageing population is a issue that will take a long time to debate.
Passing tougher Asylum laws and enforcing the EU rules to easily deal with begging in Finland which are both voter concerns will be side issues which we be sorted out very quickly.
This way that the new government can debate the long complicated ageing population issue.
There is no point asking about the immigration issues until a new government is formed and only after if they pass tougher Asylum laws or various other immigration related laws will you have a idea in what way Finland will go. To talk about a issue which is related to an government policy this close to a election where we will see maybe a complete change of power is maybe talking to a brick wall.
But if political parties who you associate with pro immigration like Vas or SKP have not issued there views or polices on this subject who is to blame for this issue not be challenged in the polls . Are they taking the moral high ground to explain their possible defeats at the election
Hi Immigrant workers, pretty interesting discussion but in my opinion a bit lopsided.
It’s always important to study history to find out what is happening today. Finland has had extremely tough asylum laws especially in the cold war. Remember how we used to return Soviet refugees back to the Soviet Union even if we signed the Helsinki Accords in 1975.
JusticeDemon makes an interesting point when he mentions that in today’s Internet age it is difficult to get away with such human rights violations like in the cold war.
One matter that saddens me in this country is that words like immigrant and refugee are seen as something negative. People who use these words in such a negative context don’t know that over a million Finns emigrated from this country. These Finnish immigrants that went to countries like the United States established associations, churches and were politically active especially. Do you know why they had a bad reputation in the United States because they were active in trade unions? Those Finns that speak badly of refugees have no idea what it is like to live in a war zone.
If we raise our hats to the Finns in the United States, why is it when immigrants want to speak out against the system in Finland they are shot down by the likes of Tiwaz with 2 + 1 = 2 arguments? Immigrants, minorities and people who do not fit in the prototype of the Finn have the right to feel safe, enjoy equal opportunity and realize themselves in this country the way they see fit. The debate in Finland is so lopsided at present that immigrants are seen almost as if they were the plague.
One of the groups that are pushing these types of negative and reactive opinions of immigrants and refugees are the True Finns. Others are MP Kari Rajamäki of the Social Democrats and Wille Rydman of Kokoomus.
Because I believe in this country and because I believe in the good will of the Finns, I am confident that matters will improve. In order for that to happen immigrants and minorities must be more outspoken. They must show what the True Finns and other populist politicians are: a shameful example.
I understand that Ben Zyskowicz was Polish by birth, even though he was born in Helsinki. That would make him a naturalised Finnish citizen but not an immigrant. This also applies to Jutta Zilliacus, who was born an Estonian in Helsinki.
Hella Wuolijoki goes one better. She was an immigrant born an Estonian in Estonia, but she served in the Finnish Parliament from 1946 to 1947. This was after she had been sentenced to life imprisonment for harbouring a foreign spy!
If I recall correctly, Maria Guzenina was born Soviet in Finland, as well.
-“Hella Wuolijoki goes one better. She was an immigrant born an Estonian in Estonia, but she served in the Finnish Parliament from 1946 to 1947. This was after she had been sentenced to life imprisonment for harbouring a foreign spy!”
46 to 47… Days of Soviet Comission running the show. Is is surprise that Soviet agitator was elected to parliament during this period? Look at date when she was tossed out… Is it a coincidence that her career ended when mentioned comission left Finland?
“If we raise our hats to the Finns in the United States, why is it when immigrants want to speak out against the system in Finland they are shot down by the likes of Tiwaz with 2 + 1 = 2 arguments?”
Did Finns who went to USA want to change USA to resemble Finland? Answer is, no. They just wanted fair conditions for EVERYONE. They did not demand that Finnish values should replace American ones. Or do you think trade unions are somehow Finnish invention?
That is the problem your multiculturalism has, you immigrants want us Finns to adjust to YOU instead of you adjusting to Finland.
You think it is just fine for few thousand to demand several million to change to fit them.
“Those Finns that speak badly of refugees have no idea what it is like to live in a war zone. ”
Thankfully. However, refugees have to accept that when they are accepted to safety of their country, they hare duties to this country. To learn language, learn culture and adjust to them. Not pretend they never left their wartorn nation and trying to live according to their culture and force Finns to adjust to it.
-“Because I believe in this country and because I believe in the good will of the Finns, I am confident that matters will improve. In order for that to happen immigrants and minorities must be more outspoken. They must show what the True Finns and other populist politicians are: a shameful example.”
Because there is never ANYTHING wrong in immigrant communities. Fault once again is only in Finns.
Why are immigrants way overrepresented in crime statistics? Specifically in rape? Is this fault of Finns too? How do we force immigrants to rape?
No, that is problem of immigrant communities. Most immigrants actually do not ever TRY to approach Finns, because they do not bother to learn how social interaction works in Finnish culture. Instead of learning and adjusting, immigrants band together and try to live as if they were still in Somalia or whatever.
And when their culture clashes with Finnish, specially in cases of rape, you come here to blame Finns for racism.
–Did Finns who went to USA want to change USA to resemble Finland?
Many were involved in the Communist Party and were active in labor unions. That is going and challenging the heart of the economic system. On my behalf I am proud of what they did. If you are going to get exploited fight back!
Even so, I think your view of immigrants is so extreme that we can never agree. You can go and promote your views on other blogs like Hommaforum or maybe at a Muutos 2011 rally. On this blog you will find very little support for your view.
Question of the day:
As a pro immigration person do you think that political parties who would support your views are not raising this issue coming up to the election?
Because I seriously believe that parties like Greens SKP VAS are thinking more about forming an opposition that forming a government
–As a pro immigration person do you think that political parties who would support your views are not raising this issue coming up to the election?
Yes and no. In first place, the discussion level in Finland is too much on pro and con. Immigration is a natural order of things in a globalized world. When you speak if you are in favor or against it is like asking should we drive cars or not. The letter from the Suomen Somaali Portaaliksi was very good and I agree: political parties have not tackled enough the issues surrounding immigrants in Finland. Why? Because immigrants have little political power and because it means extra work for few political benefits.
Tiwaz, you old Nazi
Another long rant attacking a straw man of your own making. In reality, though, this is just another party political broadcast for your fascist agenda. Demonising a population group and polarising public opinion by projecting false stereotypes are standard neo-Nazi tactics.
Ricky made a comment about the first naturalised Finn elected to Parliament, evidently overlooking that this has already happened more than once. This then becomes your cue to go off into a little rant about a Soviet agitator and the postwar Supervisory Commission. This is understandable coming from you, as the Supervisory Commission made a point of closing down the fascist organisations of your brownshirt friends, but Hella Wuolijoki’s party polled 398,600 votes in the 1945 election and there are no grounds for believing that this election was rigged.
If you want to find part of the USA that has been changed to resemble Finland, then the Upper Michigan peninsula is a prime candidate. In terms of cultural values, the Finns in the US labor union movement were certainly promoting ideals of the Finnish trade union movement that Senator Joseph McCarthy would subsequently describe as un-American. Perhaps your fascist leanings have led you to overlook this. What’s the name of the arrowhead symbol on this neo-Nazi flag?
I don’t think that its a question of immigrant the greens a party which supports immigrant issues core voters are not immigrants
But no one expects parties on the left to go to the same level as the true Finns to keep their seats, but for political parties not to to raise an opposition challenge looks like their throwing in the towel already
If there is a change of government to the right many MPs would be climbing over each other to give Astrid thors the boot and the fact that there does not seem any interest in her party to stop this happening is shocking..
You all seem to forget that in 2007 there was elected immigrant from multicultural family, minority and woman… all in same package and you didnt notice 😮
Enrigue you should be ashamed of your ignorance.
You are absolutely right, Hannu.
Kymmennen pistettä, Hannu!
Elisabeth Nauclér. An adult immigrant from Sweden. She served in the Åland Provincial Administration for several years before her election to Parliament in 2007.
Wikipedia incorrectly lists her as the first immigrant MP since Finland became independent in 1917.
Why do you say she is from a multicultural family?
It’s interesting that Elisabeth Nauclér gratuitously references Hella Wuolijoki on her biography page, but does not seem to address the immigrant MP aspect at all.
Perhaps because people coming from other Nordic countries are not considered as immigrants? In fact, their citizenship changes after two years, without requiring them to pass any Finnish language test. Meanwhile, Finns wanting to register to Swedish universities suddenly are required to pass a Swedish test. Double-standard?
“Why do you say she is from a multicultural family?”
Sorry, forgot that white people from different nordic countries wont count. I totally forgot that we dont have cultures like people from richer countries have.
Hannu,
There’s no call for sarcasm. As far as I can make out, Elisabeth Nauclér grew up near the Swedish-Norwegian border. She had a Norwegian mother and a Swedish father (of partly Finnish extraction), but both were from a border zone that has a very distinctive cultural character of its own. She married a book vendor from Åland, which (as you know) is a province of Finland enjoying unique constitutional guarantees for its Swedish character deriving from a special charter of the League of Nations.
I agree that there is a species of multiculturalism hiding in there somewhere, but it’s far from clear how we should understand it. The cultural border between Sweden and Åland is arguably less obvious than the border between Sweden and Norway, and the international border between Finland and Sweden does not really figure in the equation at all as far as I can see.