Author: Migrant Tales

US President Donald Trump’s Finnish “tolkun” moment and his mixed response to far-right violence

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Three people died in the wake of a demonstration by white supremacists, neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members clashed Saturday with anti-racism activists when the white nationalists planned a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The rally saw a car being deliberately driven into a crowd of people that killed one person and left at least 19 others injured.  

The other two fatalities were policemen who died in a helicopter crash.

After what happened at the demonstration, we saw US President Donald Trump have his tolkun moment. Instead of challenging the white supremacists in Virginia, Trump went on to “condemn violence from all sides.”

Sounds familiar?

President Sauli Niinistö, who is no friend of cultural diversity, mentioned the term tolkun ihminen in February 2016 and how two extremes dominate the present debate on asylum seekers, migrants, and our ever-growing cultural diversity. Such a simplistic affirmation has not helped to challenge racism but has fueled it and even encouraged politicians like Interior Minister Paula Risikko to visit a far-right Finland First demonstration this year and give them the thumbs up.

While it’s easy to identify who the far-right extremists are, the “tolkun ihminen” analogy, who are the others? Are they those who fight against racism and bigotry? President Niinistö hasn’t given us a clue.

Like the song about a supposed silent majority living in Muskogee, Oklahoma, disgraced and impeached US President Richard Nixon claimed that such a majority backed his embattled presidency.

If we are to challenge racism, bigotry, far-right populism and extremism, we need leadership from politicians and the public instead of mixed messages that pander to such groups.

What about if President Niinistö or Interior Minister Risikko took Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe’s speech to heart after what happened in his state over the weekend?

Continue reading “US President Donald Trump’s Finnish “tolkun” moment and his mixed response to far-right violence”

The Finnish Immigration Service’s way of saying “this country isn’t your home”

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I got a call Friday from a Migrant Tales longtime reader who came to Finland as a child and is in his mid-30s today. “Could you tell me what this message (by the Finnish Immigration Service or Migri) means?!” he asked. “If they send me back to my country I won’t know what to do. I’ll kill myself [before being deported].”

The slip that the longtime reader received from Migri reads:

The bearer of this document can reside lawfully in Finland until a legal decision is made to renew (his residence permit) or deport the person from the country.*

How is it possible that a person who grew up most of his life and lived his adult life in Finland received such a statement by Migri? And then our policy-makers wonder why people are marginalized and excluded from society.

Finland in general and Migri, in particular, should stop their hostile stand on cultural diversity and take a few courses on how customer service.

The first important policy decision that officials should make is to help people feel at home in this country instead of like eternal outsiders. It shouldn’t be code for “this country isn’t your home.”

In the so-called “good old days” of the 1980s, migrants were not only given temporary residence permits but had at one time to apply for a work permit for each employer.  Source: piknu.com.

* Todistuksen haltija voi oleskella laillisesti Suomessa asiankäsittelyn ajan kunnes asia on lainvoimaisesti ratkaistu tai on tehty täytäntöönpanokelpoinen päätös hakijan maasta poistamiseksi.

 

 

Facebook Nuor Dawood: Leaving to a country that doesn’t deport children, pregnant women and asylum seekers

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Migrant Tales insight: Nuor Dawood states perfectly in the Facebook posting below what too many asylum seekers feel in Finland. History will not forget Finland or the European Union for its total lack of empathy. 

In many respects, it’s the same attitude and indifference that permitted the Holocaust to happen in the 1940s. Just put them in box cars or on plans today. The Finnish Immigration Service and the government of Prime Juha Sipilä can do the dirty work in our name. 

#humanityfailedinfinland

 


Read the original posting here.

Tabloids like Ilta-Sanomat should apologize to the migrant and minority community for their racist stories

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When I started my career in journalism in Finland in the mid-1980s, I was warned never to use the term huijaa, which means to cheat, scam or deceive. “Don’t ever use this word unless you want to find yourself in court for defamation,” my former colleague from Apu magazine warned. 

About ten years later, tabloid Ilta-Sanomat, which is probably one of the biggest culprits in spreading racism and bigotry against groups like Somalis, used the term huijaa in its April 27, 1994, billboard below that reads: “Somalis deceived to get asylum.”

Migrant Tales has published a number of these billboards. They are proof of how the Finnish media, in particular, tabloids like Ilta-Sanomat, labeled and victimized groups like Somalis, Russians, Estonians, minorities like the Roma, refugees, and migrants in general.

Even if the years should teach you new things, Ilta-Sanomat continues to publish misleading and racist stories about asylum seekers. The one below is a billboard released in October 2015 that claims that this year Finland will receive 10,000 “illegal refugees.” As everyone knows, there is no such thing as “illegal” refugees.

Taking into account the racist nature of the stories that were published and which impacted negatively the lives of migrants and minorities in this country up to today, it’s high time that publications like Ilta-Sanomat apologize for what they wrote over twenty years ago. Many stereotypes continue to exist thanks to what they wrote and keep on writing about migrants and minorities.

Will Ilta-Sanomat hide in its silence and play dead to this request or will it bite the bullet and do what is right?

Hopefully, other migrant and anti-racism associations in Finland will put pressure on the tabloid to do what is right.

Continue reading “Tabloids like Ilta-Sanomat should apologize to the migrant and minority community for their racist stories”

Introducing presidential hopeful Laura Huhtasaari, the Islamophobe with the kindergarten teacher smile

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The far-right anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party announced Friday that their first vice president, Laura Huhtasaari, is their candidate for the 2018 presidential elections. The announcement didn’t surprise anyone but it did raise a lot of media and social media interest. 

There are many things we could say about Huhtasaari. The short description below will give you a taste of what she is:

Huhtasaari is an avid Islamophobe, a Donald Trump supporter, a creationist who wants to see Finland shut its doors to asylum seekers and wants keep the country white and ditch the EU. Her white image and her bigoted comments have earned her the title at Migrant Tales of the Islamophobe with the kindergarten teacher smile.

Even if Huhtasaari is a special needs teacher and she should know better, Reija Härkönen revealed in January how she shamelessly plagiarized other people’s text.

Some believe that if she can copy other people’s text with such ease, the same could have happened in her master’s thesis, which was on multicultural classrooms.

Huhtasaari’s thesis could be accessed on the Internet a few years ago. That is no longer possible.

Helsingin Sanomat writes that experts say that Huhtasaari is a different type of presidential candidate since she is an under-40-year-old woman with no foreign policy experience and a creationist.

What does Huhtasaari represent and what does it say about the far right in Finland?

Even if her candidacy attracted a lot of attention a recent poll gave showed her popularity at 1%. That compares with 62% for President Sauli Niinistö and 11% for Green Party hopeful Pekka Haavisto. Continue reading “Introducing presidential hopeful Laura Huhtasaari, the Islamophobe with the kindergarten teacher smile”

Neo-Nazi activist Tornianen’s presence at a HIFK-HJK football rally and game raises concern

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Neo-Nazi Kansallinen vastarinta (SVL) activist, Eppu Tornianen’s presence at a rival football HIFK and HJK rally and game Monday, raised concern. He was seen carrying an HIFK banner in the front row and then watching the game with other fans.  

In September, Tornianen committed manslaughter when he gave a massive kick in the chest of a young man, who fell head first on the pavement next to the Helsinki Railway Station. The young victim,  Jimi Karttunen, was sent unconscious to the hospital where he died six days later from cerebral hemorrhages.

Torniainen got a two-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter, but the prosecutor is appealing the sentence.

Karin Creutz, a sociologist, admitted that the presence of people like Tornianan at football rallies raise concern.

“Certainly we should be worried about their presence, but there is no indication that they are today actively trying to get new members,” said Creutz.

Tornianen has a history of violence as a member of the SVL. He was recently banned from going to the stadium for a year for violent behavior.

Over the weekend, a football fan was sent to the hospital after he was roughed up on Saturday in Kirkkonumi, a city located 28 kilometers of Helsinki.

Jarkko Fräntilä tweets about Eppu Tornianen’s presence at an HIFK fan rally before the game Monday. HJK beat HIFK 2-0.

Continue reading “Neo-Nazi activist Tornianen’s presence at a HIFK-HJK football rally and game raises concern”

Wednesday was a good day for racism in Finland: Pia Kauma and Gleb Simanov

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Wednesday was a good day for racism in Finland. National Coalition Party (NCP) substitute MP Pia Kauma, who accused migrant women three years ago of demanding social welfare to buy new baby carriages, took over as MP after Alexander Stubb started his tenure at the vice-president and member of the management committee of the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Kauma’s appointment was overshadowed two days earlier by Gleb Simanov, who videotaped and published on Facebook Somali minors for allegedly attempting to bum a ride on the bus. Simanov got fired as a result but was hired Monday by Onnibus.

While both persons come from different backgrounds, their racist actions are the same: Both targetted Somalis to show without proof how they abuse the system. Both are politicians and their actions and comments helped label and stigmatize migrants by reinforcing stereotypes.

Kauma, who based her claim on hearsay, and even if she apologized for what she said,  is an example of how politicians use the racist card to get attention and votes. First, they make outrageous claims that are later disproven by journalists. By then it’s too late because the fake news is out there.

The scandal ignited by Kauma kicked off with the following statement in Länsiväylä: “Why must migrant families get social welfare  to buy new baby carriages  if [white] Finnish families recycle used  baby carriages?”

When asked Wednesday by Helsingin Sanomat about what she said, Kauma claimed it helped her to understand why politicians are so careful about what they say. “There would be a better debate if we’d express our opinions openly,” she added, suggesting that she can use her power as an MP to label and stigmatize migrants even on the basis of fake news.

Migrant Tales considers Kauma’s statement and her apology in 2014 as disingenuous.

 Kauma is all smiles for white Finns and all scorn for migrants and minorities.   Continue reading “Wednesday was a good day for racism in Finland: Pia Kauma and Gleb Simanov”

Musta Barbaari’s mother and sister charged by the police in “ethnic profiling” case

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Singer Musta Barbaari’s mother and sister are going to be charged for resistance to cooperate with law enforcement officials and insubordination, according to YLE.  In a highly publicized case in social media last year, Musta Barbaari, whose real name is James Nikander, wrote that plainclothes police officials stopped his mother and sister in downtown Helsinki.

According to a then-Helsingin Sanomat story, the singer’s sister refused to show her passport and asked the police why they were arbitrarily stopped and questioned.

“The plainclothes police didn’t answer [my sister’s question] but proceeded to handcuff both of them rudely and forced my mother to lie on the ground,” he wrote. “My sister asked once again why they were being treated in such a way and what they had done but didn’t get an answer from police. My mother feared for her life and thought she was going to be beaten since the behavior of the police was very rude!”

The police were cleared of all wrongdoing in the case and went further by clearing the police of ethnic profiling while monitoring migrants in 2016, according to YLE News.

One of Musta Barbaari’s latest videos called, “Who’s afraid of the dark?”

In the spring of 2016, the police carried out spot checks with the Finnish Border Guard on “foreign-looking” people in the Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa.

The idea that officials are looking for people who “look foreign” should raise some questions. One of these is what is a “foreign-looking” person look?

The University of Turku will publish the findings of Finland’s most comprehensive study about ethnic profiling in 2018.

Up to now, the police service has denied that it ethnically profiles people.

 

Disingenuous Timo Soini should take a long look in the mirror

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If there is a power-hungry politician who will do almost anything to gain power and lose it in an instant, that politician is Timo Soini. Apart from being a disingenuous politician who saw his populist creation inflate and implode, he is a sore loser as well.

In an interview in Tampere-based daily Aamulehti, he claims that the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* “is no longer the party he founded” and that the party he ruled for 20 years is now “an anti-human” party under its new chairperson Jussi Halla-aho.

Read the full story (in Finnish) here.

Soini, the PS, and the new PS, or Siniset, have a long history of lying to the public.

The PS has always been a so-called “anti-human” party because it has victimized migrants and been hostile to cultural diversity and difference.

If you disagree, how come Soini turned to people like Tony Halme and Halla-aho to get more support for the party?

His political creation, the PS, is like from the classic 1931 movie Frankenstein, when the monster kills its master.

The same happened with Soini and the PS.

* After the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13 into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. Despite the name changes, we believe that it is the same party in different clothing. Both factions are hostile to cultural diversity.  One is more open about it while the other is more diplomatic. 

A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS

Just call them the New Perussuomalaiset and Old Perussuomalaiset

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As politicians like MP Simon Elo try to assure us of their questionable political credentials after he and nineteen others ditched the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party on June 13,  the new party’s name, which has changed three times in less than two months, is nothing more than a snow job. 

Let’s go back to see what happened in early June. Former chairperson Timo Soini, who chaired the party for twenty years, backed Sampo Terho to head the PS. Sampo loses against Jussi Halla-aho, and it caused the PS to implode three days later.

PS MPs that give the thumbs down to Halla-aho form a new parliamentary group called New Alternative, Uusi vaihtoehto, which is later called Blue Reform and on Monday it changes the name for a third time to Siniset.

Changing the name so many times is confusing to say the least. The public isn’t buying it as the latest polls show below for the New and Old PS.

Note that the Old PS (Finns) and New Alternative (N. Alt) see their standings in the latest poll by YLE plummet by 1.6 percentage points.

Instead of allowing a new party to make up its mind what it wants to call itself, just call both blocs the “Old” Perussuomalaiset and “New” Perussuomalsiet to avoid confusion.

What differentiates the Old from the New Perussuomalaiset from each other?

Apart from their common bigotry, hostility and Islamophobic views, the New Perussuomalaiset is no different from the Old Perussuomalaiset. The difference, however, is that the former look acceptable from the outside but inside their views of Finnish society is racist and hostile to cultural diversity.

 

Continue reading “Just call them the New Perussuomalaiset and Old Perussuomalaiset”