As the sexual abuse cases in Oulu gather more steam and public outrage, one of the lessons we are overlooking is our reaction and racism. What role do the police, media and politicians play in fostering hostility towards migrants in general and Muslims in particular?
Even if Finland claims to have one of the best education systems in the world and is a society based on social equality, don’t let those matters fool you. They are not meant to be taken seriously if you are a migrant or a member of a minority.
Migrants and minorities in Finland not only live in a society that discriminates against them, but reminds them that they live in a hostile environment.
The term “shooter” could be replaced by “sexual assault.”
If we look at the 2017 hate-crime report published by the Police University College and what happened to a 10-year-old Muslim girl recently in northern Espoo, who was allegedly attacked because of her hijab by four of her classmates, they are examples of the growing hostility and that words have consequences.
One of the most worrying matters about the latest hate-crime report, which showed that they had jumped by 7.97% to 1,165 cases compared with 1,079 in the previous year, is the 58% rise in attacks due to religion. Most of those attacks were against Muslims.
Hate crime reported to the police is only the tip of the iceberg.
Should we be surrpsied by the growing hostile environment? If look at the reaction of the police, media and politicians to what happened in Oulu, our reaction should not surprise us.
Below is a timeline of the statements by the police and how it racialized what happened in Oulu:
- December 1: The first statement by the police stating they have in custody seven suspects charged with aggravated sexual assault and abuse of minors;
- December 4: The police states three days later that the suspects are “of foreign origin” and that contacts with “children” were made through social media. This led in some cases to “serious sexual assault” crimes;
- December 5: The sexual abuse case in Oulu grows and now involves three more victims who are minors bringing the total number of suspects in custody to ten. It states that “the suspects have come to the country as asylum seekers and as quota refugees. All of them have lived in Finland for years. Some are naturalized Finns;”
- December 11: The police publish a picture of one of the suspects who is still at large;
- December 11: The suspect who was sought by the police is apprehended in Germany;
- December 12: The police state that they have nothing new to report on the sexual assault cases involving minors;
- December 18: The police state that the number of minors who are victims is five. For the first time, or after 17 days since the first statement, it speaks out against hate speech. It said that “foreigners or foreign-looking people have been the recent targets of hate speech as well as inappropriate and threatening behavior [by white Finns]. One family of foreign origin with their child were victims of the above.” The police state that nobody can take the law in his or her hands;
- January 3: The police publish the name of the suspect in Germany who is detained in that country by the police;
- January 11: The police said that three suspects who are of foreign origin are in police custody for four new cases of sexual abuse of minors. This took place in summer.
If the police have racialized what happened and thereby in the process – willingly or unwillingly – labelled all Muslims in Finland as rapists, Yle is another culprit spreading the same message.
On an A-studio: talk show on December 13, Yle revealed the nationality of the suspects. When I asked Yle why their nationality was important to know, the state broadcaster responded in an email that since the men “came from countries where women are oppressed,” and “from warzones,” where the risk of sexual abuse is higher, reporting their nationality was the right thing to do.
On the same talk show, the reporter quoted the police as saying that young girls should avoid meeting foreigners on social media sites.
The Islamophobic mindset of some Yle reporters can be clearly seen as in the story below.
The woman wearing a niqab does not represent a political party but the reporter, Jyriki Hara, thought it was a good idea to post. The picture was later removed. It was one of last year’s biggest gaffes of Finnish journalism. Source: Yle.
Politicians, even government ministers, are on the rampage.
Interior Minister Kai Mykkänen said that naturalization laws should be changed. If a person commits an act of terrorism or a serious crime like sex offences, his or her citizenship could be revoked, according to him. Speaker of Parliamet Paula Risikko also stated that a person can lose their permanent residence if convicted of a serious crime.
Racializing and labeling Muslims as criminals by the police, media and politicians is flirting with racism or at the worst is racist. What these groups are saying is that while we are against the sexual abuse of minors, it is a more serious matter if a Muslim commits such a crime.
Finnish white privilege #58
If the suspects are found guilty of their crimes, they should pay for what they did. Not only for ruining the lives of the minors they abused and took advantage of, but bringing shame to their community and giving Islamophic parties like the Perussuomalaiset* a trump card in the parliamntary elections of April.
Any sensible person, irrespective of his background and religion, condemns what happend.
But the amount of misinformation that is being spread wth the help of the media is shameful and a blow to their credibility. Below are two charts, one that show foreigners who are suspected of sexual assault crimes involving minors, and another one with the number of resolved sexual abuse cases of minors by the police.
Source Statisics Finland. Thank you @panuraatikainen for the heads-up.
Source: Statistics Finland. Thank you @panuraatikainen for the heads-up.
Amid the ongoing hatred and hostile climate against Muslims and migrants in Finland, we will fail to get to the bottom of what happened in Oulu and the address the failure of the police and social workers looking after everyones safety.
Snce white Finnish privilege is the supreme ruler and since it still acts as if it were the only group that lived in this country, we will continue play down racism and the threat it poses to our society.
See also:
- Defining white Finnish privilege #1: I have it and you don’t
- Defining white Finnish privilege #2: Third culture children versus “pupil with immigrant background”
- Defining white Finnish privilege #3 No history, no doctrine, no heroes and no martyrs
- Defining white Finnish privilege #4 Holding the short end of the stick
- Defining white Finnish privilege #5 It’s ok to be a racist
- Defining white Finnish privilege #6 Not having a voice and the media
- Defining white Finnish privilege #7 A definitive guide
- Defining white Finnish privilege #8 Underrated and less intelligent
- Defining white Finnish privilege #9 Mohammad Ali’s insight
- Defining white Finnish privilege #10 I can victimize and make up any story I like about migrants because I’m white
- Defining white Finnish privilege #11: Case Teuvo Hakkarainen
- Defining white Finnish privilege #12: Case Tom Packalén
- Defining white Finnish privilege #13: Case Matti Putkonen
- Defining white Finnish privilege #14: Losing sight of the real issue
- Defining white Finnish privilege #15: Case Halla-ago on the PS
- Defining white Finnish privilege #16: Rosa Emilia Clay and my history versus yours
- Defining white Finnish privilege #17: The Perussuomalaiset and our civil rights
- Defining white Finnish privilege #18: Labeling others according to your prejudice
- Defining white Finnish privilege #19: My rape statistics about your group
- Defining white Finnish privilege #20: Labeling Others to strengthen “us” and “them.”
- Defining white Finnish privilege #21: Who can be a Finn?
- Defining white Finnish privilege #22: From racist, fascist to a politician without memory
- Defining white Finnish privilege #23: Greater police powers to monitor migrants and minorities
- Defining white Finnish privilege #24: Becoming a heartless accomplice in wars and people’s suffering
- Defining white Finnish privilege #25: This land is my land, this isn’t your land
- Defining white Finnish privilege #26: Are you an ethnic Finn?
- Defining white Finnish privilege #27: White versus Other media
- Defining white Finnish privilege #28: Are you an ethnic Finn (Part 2)?
- Defining white Finnish privilege #29: Your family is worth less than mine
- White Finnish privilege #30: Whitewashing and racializing the news
- White Finnish privilege #31: The Soldiers of Odin and the Finnish media
- White Finnish privilege #32: The white Finnish police and “them”
- White Finnish privilege #33: Appropriating our narrative to maintain the status quo, amass more power and privilege
- White Finnish privilege #34: Building a political career on privilege and nativist nationalism
- White Finnish privilege #35: Case Sampo Terho and the ministry of (dis)culture
- White Finnish privilege #36: Hate speech and censorship
- White Finnish privilege #37: The master of near-everything
- Defining white Finnish privilege #38: Cultural appropriation and racism are quaint discussion topics between white Finns
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #39: The Hollywood ending of racism that will never happen in Finland
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #40: To whitewash or to disenfranchise
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #41: An Islamophobic politician and gender equality
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #42: Labeling and shaming
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #43: White versus dark skin
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #44: Defending Nazis’ rights to march is ok as long we agree on the common enemy
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #45: Do blondes have more fun?
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #46: Teuvo Hakkarainen = white racism and sexism
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #47: President Sauli Niinistö’s “culture inside four walls”
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #48: Allow me to smear your religion so mine can shine
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #49: When white privilege backfires
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #50: Caving in to white narratives
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #51: The police are the defenders of white power and privilege
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #52: Having no privilege is dangerous
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #53: Plan Finland’s unplanned pregnancy campaign #ProtectBlackGirlsToo #Whatofme
- Exposing white FInnish privilege #54: Disguising your racism, bigotry, and prejudices effectively
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #55: It’s that time of the year – Christmas!
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #56: How Islamophobic is Finland?
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #57: Finland’s “hostile environment” against migrants
One 14y girl killed herself and others are at least traumatized. You really thing that police should not warn about this?
If Enrique would really would like to discuss honestly about immigration and immigrants, he would also bring up the cri mes immigrants commit and condemn them as well. But he never does that. I on the other hand, have condemned both cri mes committed by immigrants and also cri mes where the victim has been immigrant.
It is not effective way to get sympathy for immigrants if you always just blame native Finns, demand even more from Finns, but never acknowledge that there is also reason to blame immigrants as well. And if we look for example cri me statistics, there is even more reason to blame immigrants than Finns…
14y dead, fuck your moderation.