Migrant Tales, Author at Migrant tales

PS’ Terhi Kiemunki is charged with ethnic agitation – how many more will be charged of the Perussuomalaiset party?

Posted on October 7, 2016 by Migrant Tales

Perussuomalaiset* chairman of Tampere, Terhi Kiemunki, will be charged for ethnic agitation, according to Tampere-based daily Aamulehti. Kiemunki achieved national notoriety this year when she published on Facebook that it was unfortunate that she didn’t have any condoms to give Muslim children trick-or-treating in April.

Kiemunki has other dubious merits. Anders Breivik emailed her before murdering 77 people on July 22, 2011.

Her son is a member of the Soldiers of Odin vigilante group.

She has organized bus trips to Tornio las autumn to demand the government close the borders to asylum seekers.

Kiemunki only got a light tap on the hand for her Facebook comment.

Even if Kiemunki was forced to resign as first vice president of the PS’ Pirkanmaa regional board, she was able to keep her job as PS MP Lea Mäkipää’s aide. On Saturday, the PS of Tampere gave her support as chairman.

PS MP Mäkipää said she will make a decision whether to sack Kiemunki in a few days after reviewing the latest case.

One of Terhi Kiemenki’s fans is PS MEP Jussi Halla-aho, who was sentenced for ethnic agitation. In the comment by Halla-aho on her Facebook page reads: “So asylum seekers rape, harass and mistreat people…”

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Finland’s asylum reception centers are like a game of Russian roulette without bullets

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Migrant Tales

I got an SMS today from an asylum seeker at the Suosaaren reception center: “Just now I was told that an Afghan guy tried yesterday to commit suicide by slitting his wrist. The ambulance and police arrived at 3:30pm.”

The person, who thought about ending it all, was kind and cordial, according to the source.

According to the Finnish Immigration Service, there have been 15-20 suicide attempts since October by asylum seekers. Only 5 have succeeded.

Even if the victim appears to have survived and is recovering, people at the Suosaaren reception center, which is located 9 km from Mikkeli, some are starting to feel desperate after months and months of waiting for their residence permits.

Yesterday was an especially gloomy day for Afghans in Europe since the EU and the Afghan government signed a repatriation agreement.

This means that Finland will be able to deport Afghans whose asylum application is rejected back to Afghanistan.

The source that broke the sad news to me, left me with a quote that sheds an eerie light on the today’s plight of asylum seekers in this country.

“Being at the asylum reception center has turned into a game of Russian roulette,” he said. “You pull the trigger expecting the bullet to fire. But after a while, you notice that you’ve been fooled. There are no bullets in the revolver to put an end to our suffering. The only thing that remains after making such a discovery is a sense of being nowhere where life doesn’t go forward.”

How long will the wait be? The secret of that answer is fate, according to the asylum seeker.

Two stories, two versions about an incident involving asylum seekers in Finland

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Migrant Tales

Two stories, two versions. One by Migrant Tales where asylum seekers allege that a white Finnish driver in a GMC SUV tried to hit them and another one in Mikkeli-based Länsi Savo where the police suspect a traffic dispute that led to an argument where one asylum seeker got hit in the head.

Here’s what was published in Migrant Tales: Three asylum seekers were returning to the reception center near Mikkeli, located 230km north of Helsinki, on Sunday at 2-2:30am after going fishing. An SUV on the road came so close to hitting them that two had to jump off their bikes. The people in the SUV went after the asylum seekers with an axe and shovel.

Länsi-Savo quotes police officer Johanna Parviainen stating the following: “Apparently, due to the darkness, the driver didn’t notice the bike riders on the road. That turned into a situation where one of the bike riders fell off his bike even if the driver attempted to dodge them.”

The police claim the situation led to a dispute but didn’t allegedly interview the asylum seekers with an interpreter. The police promised to question the asylum seekers on a later date.

Here’s a simple question: What was the SUV doing near the asylum reception center at 2-2:30am and why did they have an axe and shovel in their possession?

There are other questions that the Länsi-Savo story raises. Why did it only take for granted the word of the police? Did the police give the benefit of the doubt to to the driver and passenger(s)? Why wasn’t there anything mentioned in the story about the axe and shovel used to attack the asylum seekers? Why didn’t the police mention this to the reporter who wrote the story?

Traffic violation or hate crime?

Could Länsi-Savo’s version of the story be an example of how the police and the media brush possible hate crimes under the rug?

We don’t know and the police investigation is still pending but its important that we get to the bottom of what happened.

Two stories and two versions about an incident involving asylum seekers and white Finns. The story on the left was first published by Migrant Tales and the one on the right after we tipped off Länsi-Savo.

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The government of Juha Sipilä has failed with flying colors on its strategy to contain the rise of racism in Finland

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Migrant Tales

There has been an interesting debate on hate crime in Finland. If we’d believe the government, hate crime and racism in Finland are a far-right phenomenon and of a few racist hotheads.

Wrong.

The government of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä is so much in dark and in denial about a social ill like racism that it actually believes that having a nationalist populist anti-immigration party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, which bases its popularity on spreading ethnic hatred, in government, its lame stance on racism and tightening immigration laws have no consequences on rising hate crime in the country.

Wrong again.

We can conclude that the present strategy and stance on racism and cultural diversity of the government is an utter failure that promotes violence against migrants and minorities.

When the government’s anti-racism rhetoric is only air and when they tighten immigration policy they send the following message to Finns: These people aren’t worthy of dignity and are a threat to our country.

Måns Enqvist of the Finnish police service states in the YLE News story what we all know but don’t want to admit:

“Yes, it’s [hate crime] clearly on the rise,” Enqvist said. “And there are many reasons. Of course one reason is that the climate for discussion in Finland has changed. We are more likely to say anything at all. And that creates a foundation for moving from speech to action.”

A good example of the hypocrisy of the government concerning racism in Finland was the participation of Finance Minister and NCP Chairman Petteri Orpo and Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s participation at September 24 Stop this game! demonstration against racism and fascism in Finland.

The following Monday it was business as usual. The government was accused of lowering social welfare to migrants by 10% when compared with Finnish citizens.

Read the full story here.

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The Iraqi community of Kemi doesn’t feel secure after Friday’s shooting

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Migrant Tales

The shooting of an Iraqi asylum seeker in the northern Finnish city of Kemi has shocked the 400-500-strong Iraqi community in that city, according to an asylum seeker who spoke to Migrant Tales by phone. “The shooting [of what happened Friday] has made us very afraid,” he said. “Everyone [the Iraqi community] speaks about what happened on Friday.”

The twenty-one-year-old man who got shot at Friday spoke through a friend since he doesn’t speak English.

“My friend [the victim] feels depressed, scared and is in shock,” he said. “He got shot in his country and now he gets shot here.”

And added: “We escape danger[in Iraq] and all we want to do is live in peace.”

The twenty-one-year-old victim confirmed that there was also another asylum seeker, who is 19 years old, that was shot at on Friday as well.

The Finn who shot at the two asylum seekers speaks in an insulting manner to all refugees that pass by his home.

“For about a month or a month and a half this man has been insulting my friend [and other Iraqis] with words like vittu (f-word) and mene kotona (go home),” the victim’s friend said. “One day he just took his rifle and shot at them.”

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Three men assaulted near Mikkeli three Iraqi asylum seekers with an axe and small shovel

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Migrant Tales

Three men in a red GMC SUV attacked with an ax and small shovel three Iraqi asylum seekers from the Suonsaari asylum reception center near Mikkeli on Sunday at 2 – 2:30 am, according to sources close to the case.

“The SUV first tried to run over the men who were returning by bicycle after fishing,” said an asylum seeker living at the refugee center who is familiar with the case. “Two of the asylum seekers had to jump off their bikes in order to not get hit by the vehicle.”

The Suosaaren asylum reception center is located about 9 km from Mikkeli. Photo: Enrique Tessieri

The SUV stopped and the three suspects started to run after the three asylum seekers with an ax and small shovel shouting and forcing others who were sleeping at the reception center to wake up.

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UPDATE: Iraqi asylum seeker files charges against suspect who shot at him

Posted on October 2, 2016 by Migrant Tales

One of the two Iraqi asylum seekers, who was shot at twice with an air rifle by a white Finnish suspect Friday* in the Kemi neighborhood of Syväkangas, will file charges.

Due to language problems, a friend of the victim, who spoke better English than the victim, spoke to Migrant Tales. The victim was in the same room as the man who spoke to Migrant Tales by phone.

“My friend went today [1pm] to the police and they asked if he wanted to press charges,” the victim’s friend said. “He said yes. They asked how much money he’d be demanding from the suspect but he said he did not know and had to speak to a lawyer first.”

Just like on Saturday after the incident, the victim had to be accompanied home because there were three Soldiers of Odin members nearby that cussed at him.

“At the police station there were three Soldiers of Odin members waiting outside,” he said. “I don’t know what they want to do if they want to beat him up or kill him.”

The victim’s friend said that the police went to speak to the vigilante gang members.

“My friend says that every time he goes out of his home, the Soldiers of Odin follow him around,” he continued. “The police didn’t offer him any protection [from such gangs]. They just told him to call them if they bother him.”

If the latter is true, why aren’t the police doing anything to protect the victim and why isn’t there an outcry in the Finnish media about the actions of the vigilante gang? Why are they allowed to harass and intimidate the asylum seeker?

On Saturday, a white nearly 70-year-old Finnish man shot at two Iraqi asylum seekers in the northern Finnish city of Kemi. The victims weren’t hurt by the incident and called the police.

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An Iraqi asylum seeker gets shot at twice in Kemi on Friday, police apprehend suspect

Posted on October 2, 2016 by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales understands that a twenty-one-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker* was shot at twice on Friday* at 6pm by a suspected a nearly 70-year-old* white Finn who lives in the neighborhood of Syväkangas in the northern Finnish city of Kemi. The victim wasn’t hurt by the incident and the police have reportedly apprehended the suspect.

Due to language problems, a friend of the victim who spoke English told Migrant Tales what had happened. He was in the same room as the victim.

“At 6pm my friend went out and a man appeared from his home with a rifle and shot twice at him and missed,” he said. “My friend ran and hid behind a tree and called the police, which arrived and arrested the person.”

After the incident, the victim wanted to go home but didn’t dare to since there were three Soldiers of Odin members on the street. The police accompanied him home.

“When he passed the Solidiers of Odin on the street they started to cuss at him [my friend],” he said.

The attack took place Saturday at 6pm in Kemi.

The friend said that the young Iraqi asylum seeker’s left middle finger was broken two months ago by some Soldiers of Odin members at the Kemi harbor.

“My friend went to the police to report what happened but he has not heard from them since then,” he said.

*Migrant Tales had published in an earlier story that the victim was shot at on Saturday and that the suspect was believed to be 50-55 years old. Two Iraqi asylum seekers instead of one reported previously were the victims.

PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen may face prosecution for ethnic agitation

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Migrant Tales

There’s a strong chance that Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Teuvo Hakkarainen may face prosecution for ethnic agitation, according to YLE. The matter will be decided by the general prosecutor’s office after a police investigation.

Hakkarainen wrote on his Facebook wall in mid-July after the Nice killings: “We’ve got to stop pussyfooting. Muslims out of this country! Not all Muslims are terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims. We shouldn’t accept Muslims from the Middle East and Africa to our country.”

Pretty hostile language against Muslims coming from an MP that belongs to a party that sits in government with the Center Party and National Coalition Party.

Hakkarainen, who has made a dubious name for himself for his racist outbursts like deporting all homosexuals, lesbians, and Somalis, to the Åland Islands, will be the third PS MP to be sentenced if charges are brought against him for ethnic agitation.

Read the full story here.

Two other PS MPs that were sentenced for ethnic agitation were MEP Jussi Halla-aho and former James Hirvisaari.

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The number of undocumented migrants in Finland will soar “by the thousands”

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Migrant Tales

In the face of a thousands of new undocumented migrants in Finland, permanent secretary of the interior ministry, Päivi Nerg, was quoted as saying Jyväskylä-based Keskisuomalainen that no emergency accommodation should be offered to these migrants because “it would send the wrong message.”

What kind of a message does Nerg want to send to the world about Finland when thousands of homeless undocumented migrants, which include the elderly and children, are forced to sleep on freezing streets or be victims of exploitation?

Does Finland have a plan?

Some estimates place the number of undocumented migrants in Finland at 300-400. Most of them are Roma from countries like Romania.

The government has estimated that 24% of all asylum seekers will get a positive decision this year.

Last year, 32,476 asylum seekers came to Finland. The government estimates that this year some 10,000 asylum seekers will arrive to the country.

If the permanent secretary wants to signal to the world that Finland is an unfriendly and inhumane country to asylum seeker that has little respect for human rights, Nerg will likely succeeded beyond her expectations.

The permanent secretary leaves these people’s fate to chance.

“Emergency accommodation gives them [asylum seekers] a totally wrong message,” she was quoted as saying. “I hope that our whole society messages to them that it’s much better if they find a way to go back home.”

Read the full story here.

Nerg’s statement has the same sour taste as the one in May by the Finnish Immigration Service, which alleged that countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia are safe to return asylum seekers.

In light of such assessments, the foreign ministry discourages Finns from traveling to such countries because it considers them unsafe.

How do you become an undocumented or irregular migrant in Finland?

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