The postal strike is over but not the foul Perussuomaaiset (PS)* stench that lingers from the usual scapegoating and liesabout migrants.
When the postal strike started, MP Riikka Purra and the PS had nothing better to do but to blame migrants for the labor dispute.
Migrant Taleswrote about Purra’s and her party’s victimization of migrants and how they cooked the facts to serve their argument.
This video is in Finnish.
Her first claim was that even if migrants make up about 20% of Posti’s total workforce, this was apparently a bad matter since foreigners worked and paid taxes.
Posti, the postal company, shot down Purra’s claim.
The PS MP was adamant and went even further to scapegoat foreigners by exaggerating a bogus claim: 98% of employees that carry your post in the early morning are so-called “people of foreign origin.”
She cited as her “source” the management of the Finnish Post and Logistics Union’s (PAU).
Migrant Tales got in touch with PAU, but they did not answer my calls and never confirmed Purra’s claim. The only one that confirmed her claim was herself.
On top of this, Purra’s little trolls and PS helpers came to her rescue.
One of these trolls is Tiina Wiik, who claims that Purra is right and Posti wrong about the amount of foreign postal workers. I asked her partner, Moroccan-born Junnes Lokka, if he considers himself to be a Finn or a person of foreign origin. He never answered my tweet.
As with the previous statement, Posti rejected Purra’s second claim by stating that about 30% of early morning postal workers are Finns. There is a big difference between Purra’s 98% claim and Posti’s 70%.
But this leads us to the most salient question of all: Who gives a flying f**k if there are non-white people working for Posti? Aren’t they offering a service and paying taxes?
In light of the latter, we should ask why is this such a big issue for the PS?
Youssef Hemdani, a 32-year-old Moroccan national, received a visit on Friday from the police at the hospital where he’s been interned for about three months due to a heart condition. The police told him that he has 30 days to leave the country.
According to a hospital diagnosis, Hemdani suffers from an enlarged heart (dilatoiva kardiomyopetia) and cardiac insufficiency.
Hemdani’s diagnosis and condition, according to his medical report.He suffers from an enlarged heart and cardiac insufficiency.
The decision to not renew Hemdani’s residence permit, after living four years in Finland, was apparently made after he divorced his wife a year go.
They have no children.
The police gave him the following reason why he had to leave Finland: “The Finnish Immigration Service cancels the residence permit, because the grounds on which your residence permit was granted no longer exist
In protest, Hemdani decided to go on a hunger strike from Wednesday evening but his brother Laghdof Hemdari talked him out it on Thursday.
“Before the cancellation of the residence permit, the hospital said that they would operate,” said his brother, who lives in Spain. “This is what we want to find out [why they now changed their minds about the operation]. This is not humanity. This is not Finland.”
Hamdani has been interned in the hospital for about three months due to a heart condition.The official document from the police states: “The Finnish Immigration Service cancels the residence permit, because the grounds on which your residence permit was granted no longer exist.
Migrant Tales will follow Hemdani’s case and write updates.
Migrant Tales will not remain silent concerning those shameful let-them-drown politicians from Finland and the EU, which are an example of the very worse in us.
In May, four let-them-drown MEPs from Finland were elected: Teuvo Hakkarainen, Laura Huhtasaari, Petri Sarvamaa, and Henna Virkkunen.
This dramatic footage shows the immediate aftermath of a shipwreck off the island of Lampedusa (on November 24) as migrants struggle to stay above water in freezing conditions as rescuers try to save them. pic.twitter.com/Rs1px3ha4x
I encourage MEPs and politicians to watch this video to get a taste of what it is like to rescue survivors in the Mediterranean.
So far this year, over 1,000 lives have been lost while crossing the Mediterranean. Since 1993, UNITED for Intercultural Action has documented “more than 36,570” deaths of people who died in an attempt to enter Fortress Europe.
Mgrant Talesin kommentti: Julkaisemme kolmas kirja epätoivoista suomalaisista äidistä. Hänen miehelle ei myönnetty oleskelulupaa.
Onko toivoa jäljellä enää siitä, että voisimme joskus elää normaalia perhe-elämää? Niitä onnellisiakin hetkiä on aina varjostanut alitajuisesti se fakta, ettei miehelleni ole edelleenkään myönnetty oleskelulupaa. Lohdutan itseäni sillä tiedolla, että lapsemme ovat niin pieniä, etteivät ymmärrä tästä tilanteesta mitään. He eivät tiedä sitä, että heidän äitinsä joutuu jatkuvasti pelkäämään, että heidän isänsä viedään taas pois. Kuinka paljon ihmisen täytyy taistella siitä, että saa elää rakastamansa henkilön kanssa? Eikö lapsien oikeus elää isänsä kanssa merkitse enää mitään?
Tällä hetkellä sanaton kuvastaa hyvin tunnetta, joka hallinto-oikeuden päätös aiheuttaa.
When the media turns a blind eye to racism, prejudice, and social exclusion, when politicians suck up to those very policies that reinforce such social ills, it is time to take a long look in the mirror.
What would we see?
A country still in the trenches of World War 2 (not the Continuation War), a country that is by its own making near-sighted, a country that is still obsessed with blood and race.
After the Second World War, and in the 1970s and 1980s, the undercurrent of racism was strong in Finland. The only reason why it hadn’t shown its ogre face as today is because of the then underwhelming size of the country’s foreign population.
In 1970, the number of foreign nationals in Finland totaled a mere 5,483, according to the Migration Institute of Finland.
Despite social policy experts like Heikki Waris of the 1960s, who infamously claimed that “racial prejudice and discrimination are nonexistent” in Finland because there were “no racial minorities,” present-day Finland has proven him wrong. Racism has always been alive and kicking in this country.
As more foreigners started to move to Finland in the 1990s, especially from outside Europe like the Somalis, there was a racist and even violent knee-jerk reaction from white Finns.
The suffering and raw racism that groups like the Somalis continue to endure is well-documented and a permanent stain on our society.
If we do not watch out, the very racism we were spoon-fed at school and by society is the poison that can destroy all our social and democratic gains. The shadow of Hungary hangs deep over Finland as the populist radical right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* lead in opinion polls.
Our social rights and democracy can be forfeited in a day if we aren’t careful.
Fascism and all the racism that characterizes it is knocking at Finland’s door again.
If we let the beast in through the ajar door, we will only have ourselves to blame. Possibly some feel comfortable with their eyes closed. They may naively believe that fascism won’t affect them because they’re white.
Wrong.
What will emerge from it is not disastrous to some parts of the population like minorities, but be a wrecking ball that will destroy our sense of social fairness, democracy, and institutions.
Perussuomalaiset ja erityisesti kansanedustaja Riikka Purra liiottelee ja vääristele kun asia koske heidän lempiaihetta: maahanmuuttajia.
Tällä viikolla Purra kärähti vääristelystä kun Migrant Tales otti selvää seuraavasta väitteistä ja totesi, että suuri osa postinjakaijista pääkaupunkiseudulla ovat suomalaisia, eikä maahanmuuttajia.
Purra on taas levittänyt uutta väitettä, joka ei myöskään pidä paikkansa (katso twiiiti).
Helsingin Sanomat, the country’s biggest daily, celebrated its 130th anniversary on Saturday. Congratulations on your important anniversary but the picture below reinforces what I knew about the daily and Finnish mainstream media in general: It’s too white.
Considering that Helsingin Sanomat is the newspaper of Finland’s capital Helsinki, it is surprising that there are no visible minorities in the picture, considering that 9.4% (59,779 persons) of the city’s total population of 635,181 in 2016/2017 are foreign citizens, according to Helsingin väestö vuodenvaihteessa 2016/2017 ja väestönmuutokset vuonna 2016.
The percentage is even higher if look at people who speak another language other than Finnish or Swedish as their mother tongue (93,214/14.7%) and who were not born in Finland (86,998/13.6%).
Can you spot a minority? Read the full story (in Finnis) here.
One of the problems of Finland’s ongoing debate on its ever-growing culturally and ethnically diverse society is that the predominantly white media give a lopsided – usually inaccurate – account of our communities.
One good way of challenging the present situation is to encourage more non-white Finns to become journalists and writers and, importantly, encourage them to write courageously about our communities and realities.
The Afro-Finns community gathered in Helsinki for the 2 nd AfroFinns Achievement Awards, which took place at the Forum Theatre last week on Saturday.
The grand open of the AfroFinns Achievement Awards (AAA) 2019 was lead with a video of several remarkable black figures quotes and pictures such as Maya Angelou, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Martin Luther King Jr. Harriet Tubman, Marcus Garvey, and others.
The AfroFinns Achievement Awards was held to acclaim the contribution of the Afro community in Finland by celebrating their achievement, acting as a motivation, and reaffirming that we know and see your work as part of a larger society.
This event was organized by AfroFinns, which is a non-profit association for Finns and everyone with an African heritage living in Finland. It promotes diversity, inclusion, supporting cultural development, education programs, and encouraging civic engagement in the community. “Our mission is to elevate, encourage and support more self-reliance within the community”, said Elvis Fuamba, secretary of the association.
Members of the directive board and Zawde Berhanu Life Time Achievement winner
During the night the performances on stage didn´t stop, it was a mix of music, talk, stories, and others. Artists that sparkle the night were from Berlin, the United States of America, and Finland.
This year AAA 2019 ceremony had over 40 nominees for 13 categories. The selection process has three stages. First, the community members suggest a list of names for various categories. Second, the AfroFinns yield a list of nominations with a maximum of 5 people by category. Third, three parts compose the winning selection: 20 % from the public vote, 40% from an independent judge (this year it was from Think Africa), and the last 40% from the AfroFinns judge committee.
Artists performing at the event.
It was a great night of music, dance, and chat with new people in the heart of Helsinki. Just in case you miss it, here is the complete list of all the winning and the nominated.
Lifetime Achievement
Winner:
Zawde Berhanu
Afro-Inspired Music
Winner:
Sofy Kap
Blaq boy Jnr
Dk Balafu
Kaveri
Special
Sport Person
Winner:
Sara Bejedi
Awar Kuier
Glen Kamara
Sierra Leone Football team Helsinki
Literature
Winner:
Dorina Owindi
Maryan
Abdulkarim
Hope Nwosu
Nimco Noor
Business Project
Winner:
Paco Ndiaye
Harriet
Aryenda
Lincoln
Kayiwa
Ahmed
Hassan
Addis Ethiophian kitchen
Paco Ndiaye won the Award for Business Project.
The Nomad Food & Wine is a restaurant of a food journey where flavors from Africa, Italy, and the Nordic are combined for a new and unique taste. Paco Ndiaye, chef and owner said, “ the feeling of winning as been incredible and unexpected. It was an honor for me because it means that I am doing something good. As immigrant, we always need to try to give a good example, integrate the cultures, set a high standard in everything we are doing, and try to fly high like everyone else, so no excuses”.
Ally of Africa
Winner:
Afrojazz Club
Christian
Tribault
Eerik
Wissenz
Rasmus ry
Academic Achievement
Winner:
Theresa Bilola
Anthony
Okuogume
Eunice
Mgbeahuruike
Elizabeht
Agbor Eta
Creative Artist in Performing Arts
Winner:
Geoffrey Erista
Sonya
Lindfors
Creative Artist in Visual Arts
Winner:
Dennis Owusu
Yeboyah
Marwa Talsi
Mouhamed Ba
Caroline
Suinner
Community Leader
Winner:
Good Hair Day Helsinki
Sabasy
Ndiaye
George
Matovu
Edwin Ndaki
African Fashion Week Helsinki
Another winner of the night was Good Hair Day, which is an anti-racist movement working toward the wellbeing of the Afro-Finnish community. It started in 2016 as an urban day event to expand the perception of beauty, discuss the politics of the Afro, celebrate, and share knowledge of Afro hair. Currently, it has grown because they don’t only organize the annual event, but also support other events, hold workshops and talks for the community about different topics.
Good Hair Day Helsinki, Community Leader Award.
“We as a collective are honored and happy to receive the Award for the Community Leader of the year. It is wonderful to be celebrated in our community, we are looking forward to much more collaboration with other active AfroFinns in Finland”, expressed the group.
Media
Winner:
Obiwest Utchaychukwu
Joes Teka
Entertainment
Winner:
Deejay Nestar
African
Fashion week Helsinki
Afrojazz
Club
Caroline
Leppihalme
Young Achiever
Winner:
Awax Kuier
Glen Kamara
Pyry Soiri
Sara Bejedi
The ending of the event was amazing and inspired by hearing the words of Zawde Berhanu Life Time Achievement 2019 who was the first African to study at a university in Finnish. He is now 95 years old.
You ask me my name. I shall tell you. My name is nobody and nobody is what everyone calls me.
Odyssey, Song IX
If a refugee suffers from fear, loneliness, enforced separation, a sense of despair and is struggling to survive in his new homeland, more salt is thrown on their wounds by the hateful rhetoric of Islamophobic and racist parties.
One of these in Finland is the radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, which labels such people “harmful” to our society while claiming that they don’t “integrate” into Finnish society.
But not only do anti-immigration parties make the lives of asylum seekers and migrants difficult, but government immigration policy is another culprit.
A new report by the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights reports that the integration of young refugees isn’t doing very well. It warns that there is a risk of creating a lost generation.
Do you see the problem? The PS tries to destroy their credibility and tear down that important shred of humanity in us.
Unfortunately, those who help and educate migrants to become members of our society have never heard of the Ulysses syndrome.
Since they have not heard of this disorder, some rely on simplistic answers to integration: learn the language and read the Kaleva.
While I’m facetious, the expectations that some of these educators have on their pupils, especially vulnerable ones fleeing war and failed states in the Middle East and Africa, are ineffective in their jobs.
When you ask such a person to assimilate (one-way integration) into our culture, it is like asking a person to stand upright after he or she broke his or her leg.
Ignorance is not the only matter that causes the integration process of a migrant to fail in Finland but standing on a high horse. The view that some have of the migrant is racist in the same way as colonial powers saw and exploited their subjects.
The Ulysses syndrome should be required reading for any person working with refugees and migrants.
Viime aikoina on puhuttu siitä kuinka paljon poliitikot valehtelevat. Suomen lehdistö hyvin laiskasti seuraa näitä valheita ja kuka valheita kertoo. Puolue joka esittää vääristeltyä ja liioiteltua tietoa ja asioita, erityisesti silloin jos asia koskee maahanmuuttajia, niin perussuomalainen puolue kunnostautuu tässä.
Yhdysvaltain presidentti Donald Trump valehtele paljon. Washington Post lehdessä fakta-tarkastaa presidentin valheet. Valheet luokitellaan yhdellä, kahdella tai kolmella Pinokkiolla.
Virkaastuaisissa, Trump on tehnyt yli 13 430 valheita.
Migrant Tales otti selvää seuraavasta perussuomalaisten väittämästä: “Suuri osa postinjakajista, etenkin pääkaupunkinseudulla, on maahanmuuttajia,” sanoo Riikka Purra Jussi Halla-ahon ja Ville Tavion lehdistöttilaisuudessa.
Posti vastasi: “Suurin osa (80 %) Postin työntekijöistä Suomessa (pl Transval) on suomalaisia” JA “Suuri osa, 70 %, pääkaupunkiseudun postinjakajista on suomalaisia. Poiminnassa mukana alueet: Hki; Espoo Kirkkonummi Kauniainen; Vantaa Tuusula Nurmijärvi.”
Halla-aho, Tavio ja Purra saavat vääristelystä kolme Pinokkiota.
Suuri osa postinjakaijista pääkaupungin seudulla ovat suomalaisia, eikä maahanmuuttajia.
Kuva: Turun Sanomat ja Pinokkio nenät Hamid H. Alsammarraee.
