One of the most significant political debates going on in Finland now is the fate of about 40 Finnish women and children at the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria. The debate has taken such shameful turns that even ministers have tuned to their followers on social media to ask whether these women and children should be repatriated.
It is clear that prejudices and hardcore racism against Muslims, especially women who ditch their white Finnish majority culture for another religion, is one driving force in the ongoing debate.
The saddest matters about the ongoing debate is the near-constant Islamophobic disinformation and wishy-washy politicians scoring brownie points with voters. The discussion exposes pretty well our racism towards Muslims.
Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s biggest daily and which should know better, is also responsible for spreading stereotypes and racism against Muslims.
Other mainstream media in Finland like Yle commonly spread stereotypes about Muslims like in this story published in 2018.
Since the repatriation debate of the Finnish women and children at al-Hol is an ongoing story, Helsingin Sanomat has an illustration of five women and four children to highlight the topic. Even if the women at al-Hol wear niqabs, the drawing suggests they us burkas (sic).
The difference between the hijab (or veil), niqab, and burka is pretty clear as the picture below shows. Muslims are common in our society, and we should learn to know the difference between the three.
From left to right: the hijab, niqab, and burka. Source: Sunday Times.
If papers like Helsingin Sanomat want to stop spreading stereotypes and disinformation about vulnerable groups like Muslims in Finland, they should get their facts right and take the time to research their stories better.
They should, at the minimum, know the difference between a niqab and burka.
The Center Party of Finland is a liability to the future of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s government. We already saw how they forced former Prime Minister Antti Rinne to resign. And then, we witnessed Finance Minister Katri Kulmuni’s Instagram poll.
Kulmuni’s post not only exposed her total disregard for human lives and the country’s international obligations but was a warning that some politicians, even ministers, are ready to leave the fate of their citizens to public opinion and chance.
She asked in the Instagram poll whether it would be ok repatriating “[Finnish] children only” or “children and [Finnish] mothers” from the al-Hol camp in Syria.
Andrew Stroehlein of Human Rights Watch was one of many who were awestruck what Kulmuni’s post. “Seriously, Finland? This is awful, if true,” he tweeted Thursday.
Finland has always been good at getting the maximum mileage from its international image by hiding its problematic social sore spots.
One of these is women’s rights and equality. Women still make about 20% less than men and a recent survey found Finland to be the second-most violent country for women.
Even if some brag about how Finland became the first to grant women the right to vote in 1906, it was not until 1984 when women were able to grant citizenship to their children through jus sanguinis.
Finland also had draconian laws against foreigners and foreign investment thanks to the Restricting Act of 1939 (Law 219/1939), which was made redundant in 1992.
Moreover, Finland got its first Aliens Act in 1983, or about 66 years after independence in 1917. Finland had total disregard for human rights when in the Cold War it returned Soviet citizens back to the USSR without granting asylum. Finland has serious issues with racism, hate crime and asylum policy.
And here lay the question of questions that reveal how deep our collective heads are stuck in the mud: How can such a perfect society, which is supposed to be the happiest in the world, have an openly racist and misogynist party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* leading in the polls?
Even if our media scores high on the World Press Freedom Index, why is much of the reporting uncritical when it comes to serious social issues like migrant and minority discrimination and rights? The fact far-right populism is breathing down the necks of mainstream parties is a good indication of the failure of the media to challenge such social ills.
Let’s get real. What Finance Minister Kulmuni posted is a symptom of our denial in confronting those sore spots that only help cover and play down our more serious social problems.
The sooner we understand this, the sooner we can begin to start making Finland a good country to live in for all of its inhabitants irrespective of their backgrounds.
It is pretty incredible how some Finnish politicians and even ministers like Katri Kulmini forget that this country abides by international agreements like the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the balance of power.
Finance Minister Kari Kulmuni forgot all this and published on Instagram a poll where she asked if the wives of Isis fighters and/or their children should be allowed to return to Finland.
Kulmuni, like so many Finnish politicians, forgets that the country has three independent branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial.
Shame on Kulmuni and the Center Party, for playing with the lives of Finnish citizen on social media.
Economy Minister Katri Kulmuni removed her Instagram post.
The hostility that Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s government has faced is a good example of the misogyny that still exists in Finland. While Finland has made important strides in gender equality, women still make, on average, 20% less than men.
Even if women in Finland became the first to have the right to vote in 1906, it was not until 1984 when women were able to grant citizenship to their children through jus sanguinis.
Finland also had draconian laws against foreigners and foreign investment thanks to the Restricting Act of 1939 (Law 219/1939), which was made redundant in 1992.
Moreover, Finland got its first Aliens Act in 1983, or about 66 years after independence in 1917. Finland was also the last Nordic country to approve gay marriages in 2014.
If Prime Minister Marin’s government is made up mostly by women, when will we see ministers who represent minorities? When will Finland have its first black or gay prime minister?
The next important step in social equality in Finland will be having minority ministers. Source: Newsweek.(Top picture) Sanna Marin’s government is an important step in gender equality in Finnish politics and government. (Lower picture) The days when the government was all male and white. Prime Minister Harri Holkeri’s government (1987-91). Source: Facebook.
I am confident that that day will come no matter how much racist, homophobic, and sexist kicking and bitching we see in Finland from the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset,* and mainstream parties like the National Coalition Party, Christian Democrats and other.
These social ills, which have come out into the open, are examples that not only must we do more work in tackling these problems but that we are winning the battle.
In Argentina, we had a saying whenever there was a military coup. We used to say to each other that “there is no evil can last a hundred years.”
The rhetoric of the radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)*party looks like a direct copy-and-paste job from Donald Trump’s Republicans and Fox news. The PS’ leader Jussi Halla-aho labels maliciously Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s government as “socialist” and even PS MP Ville Tavio claims it is “communist,” you know that this is all a copy-and-paste job from the Republicans.
US President Trump and Republican senators such as Lindsay Graham commonly use terms such as socialism and communism to justify dog-eat-dog capitalism and all the racism that goes with it.
The PS are now doing the same thing.
The Fox & friends is US President Donal Trump’s favorite chat show.
The tweet below by Tavio is a good example. He states: “Is [Sanna] Marin’s government the most communist in Finnish history? Marin is more or less just as close to the Communist Party than the SDP [Social Democratic Party]. In power, we see clearly the Feminist Party, which is far-left ideologically.”
In the screenshot below, PS MP Jani Mäkelä claims that Marin’s government is more communist the puppet Terijoki government of the Soviet Union during World War 2 that was supposed to rule Finland.
PS MP Ville Tavio tweets: “Is [Sanna] Marin’s government the most communist in Finnish history? Marin is more or less just as close to the Communist Party than the SDP [Social Democratic Party]. In power we see clearly the Feminist Party, which is far-left ideologically.” Jani Mäkelä tweets: “Terijoki [the puppet Communist government of the Soviet Union that was supposed to rule Finland during World War 2] comes in second place [to Marin’s government]. Source: Twitter.
If you want to find out what new far-right soundbites the PS will spew, check out what Republican politicians are saying in the US.
I, if anyone, wishes Finland’s new prime minister, Sanna Marin, the best of luck and success.
Someone asked me a while back what I thought about former Prime Minister Antti Rinne’s government and if it signalled major improvements and changes in immigration policy and in fighting racism.
My answer was short: It all depends on the deeds.
While there has been a lot of talk by the government about respecting human rights, the rule of law, we still have not moved forward even if suspicion and racism are no longer the narrative as was the case in Juho Sipilä’s government.
We’re still in the same place we were before: The hardline policy of the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) is still the rule; there is a national outcry and lack of leadership about repatriating 10 women and about 30 children from the al-Hol camp in Syria; racism is profitable politically as opinion polls show; there are no new effective steps to tackle racism, job discrimination, hate speech and hate crime in our society.
When Prime Minister Marin speaks of ensuring that Finland remains an inclusive and socially just society, she must mean for migrants and minorities as well.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s government. See any minorities?Source: Facebook.
I might be wrong and I hope I am. If the picture above and the ethnic makeup of Marin’s government is anything to go by, it sill does not show any visible minorities.
We had a great night at the Global Family Awards in Helsinki on Tuesday at the World Human Rights Day 2019.
We heard wonderful music by
Liikkukaa – Sports For All chair Mr. Ike Chime and a warm welcome speech by
Rasmus Ry chair Dr. Faith Mkwesha, as well as inspiring spoken word
performances by Susheela Daniel.
We began the evening in the spirit of the Finnish ‘Pikkujoulu´, organised by Rasmus Ry and with a discussion on Anti-Racist work in past, now and future facilitated by the wonderful Ajak Majok. We discussed representation, responsibilities of government, volunteers and activists, as well as privilege and saviorism, different ways to call out allies and authorities and the need for structures and networks.
As always we awarded individuals and groups for their outstanding work against racism and for social equality and human rights. Member of the Espoo City Council Mrs. Habiba Ali led us through the program.
The awardees were:
Award for civil courage and global responsibility:
Mr. Riku Riski
Riku Riski as a successful football player set an example for Global
Responsibility during 2019. He gave up his place in the national team for
ethical reasons, not travelling to the teams training camp in Qatar. According
to Amnesty International reports the building of the football stadiums in Qatar
involves human rights violations, many immigrant workers have their passports
taken and have found their death in Qatar.
Ike Chime is a published writer, artist and radio presenter. He has promoted
diversity in Finland for over thirty years. As organiser of events and
demonstrations, media persona and member of the Olympic Committees workgroup
against racism. He has also been an active supporter, volunteer and chairman of
many NGOs.
Ozan Yanar, as a former member of parliament, he has
always stood up for a dynamic and diverse society and against racism. As such
he has been a beacon of hope for many minority members.
Afrofinns Ry has now for several years done an amazing job in bringing the African Voice in Finland to the general public, unite the community and support African entrepreneurship in Finland. As part of the Rasmus Ry project to promote diversity they also created this wonderful video
Award for groundbreaking anti-racist research:
“Pysäytätyt Resaarch Project”
The Helsinki University Research Group exposed
the practises of ethnic profiling and the consequences on the communities.
The awards were handed over by Mr. Sampo Villanen, Dr. Faith Mkwesha, Mr. Christian Thibault and Mr. Ike Chime
We like to thank all our participants, volunteers,
supporters and congratulate all the awardees.
You have all done an outstanding job!
Rasmus Ry is the Finnish national network against
racism and Xenophobia, promoting equity and human rights.
LIIKKUKAA – SPORTS FOR ALL is Finlands national
umbrella for more than 70 organisations promoting equitable cultural diversity
in Finnish society through sports, leisure and culture.
As part of this endeavour, the organisations annually
distribute the Member of the Global Family Awards together
The prize aims to recognise individuals and
communities for their contribution to promote an equal, fair, open-minded and
international Finland. The prize has been awarded since 1998.
Former awardees have amongst others been:
Director of the Bank of Finland Mr. Erkki Liikanen
The reaction to what Finland should do about 10 Finnish women who are alleged wives of ISIS fighters and their 30 children at the al-Hola camp in northeast Syria has all the characteristics of social media lynch mob populism and Islamophobia.
The biggest trolls are not anonymous persons but opposition politicians of parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and the National Coalition Party (NCP). They are a worrying sign of the stranglehold that populism has over Finland.
Imagine. A country with one of the best education systems in the world, one of the highest standards of living, a social welfare state that serves as a safety net for those that need it, is acting like an unruly mob ready to lynch its victim.
Part of the blame for the present hysteria is the former government of Prime Minister Antti Rinne, who has shown reluctance and dragged its feet concerning the repatriation of the wives of ISIS fighters.
The sooner Finland repatriates these women and children, the better.
And why shouldn’t they if these women and children are Finnish citizens?
“The people are scared! What does an ISIS child look like?” Source: Ville Ranta, lltalehti.
The best way to cast away the hateful trolling of the social media lynch mobs shadow is to bring back the wives and children stranded at the al-Hol camp.
Let the rule of law and our justice system do the rest.
After a setback on Sunday, Iraqi demonstrators in front of the Finnish Immigration Service building have vowed to continue their protest, according to Walid Sahib, one of the organizers of the demonstration.
A total of four demonstrators were detained by the police on Sunday and released from custody three hours later.
“We will continue [with our protest],” said Sahib. “We are seeking permission from the city [of Helsinki]. We will go somewhere else if they say we cannot demonstrate in front of Migri.”
Iraqi demonstrators protesting in front of the Finnish Immigration Service building on Thursday. Photo: By demonstrators.
The demonstration by Iraqi asylum seekers that began on Thursday in front of the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) building ended at about 1 am Sunday, according to Outi Popp, a Right to Live (Oikeus elää) activistwho brings awareness to deportations to unsafe countries like Afghanistan and Iraq.
According to a video by Popp, several police cars, a dog and even an armored vehicle appeared at the scene. The demonstration was disbanded and four demonstrators detained by the police after they said claimed they had permission to be there.
A first, the police said that a city ordinance prohibited people from camping outdoors after midnight. Popp said that Police Commissioner Johanna Sinivuori had given them permission to demonstrate in front of the building until Monday morning.
But when Commissioner Sinivuori was reached by phone, she said that the permit to demonstrate was canceled after the far-right vigilante group Soldiers of Odin were inquiring about the demonstration.
The police arrive at the scene on Sunday at about 1 am.
Walid Sahib, one of the persons taking part in the demonstration, said on Thursday that the demonstration aimed to raise awareness of the plight of undocumented migrants and others in limbo concerning their asylum applications.
Some asylum seekers in Finland have been waiting for over four years for a decision from Migri concerning their asylum cases
“There are many [thousands] people with no permission in Finland and [others] waiting for four years for their residence permits,” said Sahib. “It is a very difficult situation.”
