Migrant Tales, Author at Migrant tales

July 28, 2015: Finland’s Rosa Parks moment

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Migrant Tales

On December 1, 1955 the late Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a white passenger on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama. That historically important incident was for many the spark that ignited the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

In Finland something similar had happened today, when around 15,000 people demonstrated against racism and Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Olli Immonen’s Facebook post, which encourages Finns to fight against “the nightmare of multiculturalism.”

Well, that battle cry that Immonen made has got him and his party in hot water and didn’t produce the reaction he was hoping for.

Center Party Prime Minister Juha Sipilä condemned what Immonen said.

“I want to develop Finland as an open, linguistically and culturally international country,” he tweeted on Sunday afternoon, according to YLE. “I cannot accept Immonen’s remarks.”

National Coalition Party (NCP) MEP Henna Virkkunen Was quoted on YLE as saying that her party together with the Center Party want to be members of a government with a party that is openly racist and fascist.

Today’s anti-racism rally in Helsinki attracted 15,000 people, according to the organizers.

Continue reading “July 28, 2015: Finland’s Rosa Parks moment”

Olli Immonen and the PS: I dream of a country that is inclusive, not racist and extremist

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Migrant Tales

I’ve been traveling during the last weekend until Monday in northeast Argentina, where the Finns established a colony in 1906. I had limited access to the Internet but when I read what Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Olli Immonen wrote on Facebook a cocktail of sadness mixed with concern overcame me.

What is surprising about what Immonen wrote is not what he wrote per se, since we all know that he is hostile to migrants and all minorities that live in Finland, but the complacent silence of his party to what he wrote.

That eerie silence is something that we’ve experienced many times before from the PS.

What did Immonen write?

Here is my response:

Continue reading “Olli Immonen and the PS: I dream of a country that is inclusive, not racist and extremist”

UPDATE (July 22): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity please go to this link.

July 22

Miksi mamulla on varaa merkkivaatteisiin? (Suomen Kuvalehti)

What’s wrong with this opinion piece? While the intentions of the journalist, Sami Kuusela, are noble he falls into a trap: he agrees 50/50 with what the racist claims.

We’ve written about Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Jari Ronkainen in February, whose only merit to get elected was publishing a racist video about two migrants. In an interview on Lahti-based daily Etelä-Suomen Sanomat, Ronkainen admits that his claim that migrants get more social welfare than “ethnic” Finns is not based on hard fact but what he read on the Internet. National Coalition Party MP Pia Kauma pulled the same stunt last year. Kuusela claims in the opinion piece that one reason why migrants have more money to buy better clothes than so-called ethnic Finns is because many don’t drink. While this may be the case, is there any study that shows that migrants dress better or drink less than Finns? Why does Kuusela believe that migrants dress better than white Finns? Isn’t that reinforcing 50/50 an urban tale that Ronkainen is trying to capitalize on?

Another matter that raises some questions in Kuusela’s opinion piece is using the term mamu when he refers to migrants.

* The Finnish name of the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English-language names adopted by the PS, like True Finns or Finns Party, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and xenophobia. We therefore prefer to use the Finnish name of the party on our postings.

Let´s (not) forget 22/7 and Anders Breivik

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Migrant Tales

No person has the right to rain on your dreams.
Martin Luther King Jr.

As we distance ourselves from the horror of July 22, 2011, when a Anders Breivik killed 77 innocent lives, the more our collective memory begins to fail us. Islamophobia, xenophobia and anti-cultural diversity sentiment have strengthened their grip in the Nordic region after 22/7.

The political landscape is a rude reminder that we have started to forget: the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* of Finland are in government for the first time and the Islamophobic Danish People’s Party won the elections in June.

That´s not all. The Progress Party (FrP) of Norway, in which Breivik was a brief member, is today in government for the first time after its founding in 1973.

Continue reading “Let´s (not) forget 22/7 and Anders Breivik”

UPDATE (July 20): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link.

July 20

HOK-Elanto bouncer under discrimination investigation (YLE)

What else could have been said? While this story is pretty clear and to the point about a discrimination case of a bouncer who claimed there was a quota of how many non-white customers could enter the restaurant, it’s unfortunate there’s no editorial or opinion-piece condemning what happened never mind giving a solution on how to challenge this type of blatant discrimination. Finnish journalism, like YLE, needs more teeth to question the complacent journalism we too often see in this country especially when it comes to writing about our ever-growing cultural diversity. The latter was reinforced by Michael Haltzel, who wrote the following about Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman and foreign minister, Timo Soini, whenever members of his party make racist and outrageous statements. Haltzel wrote: “The domestic press corps seems content to question him once, receive an evasive answer, and leave it at that.”

Finland’s Finance Minister Alexander Stubb is a huge disappointment

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Migrant Tales

What has happened to National Coalition Party (NCP) Minister of Finance Alexander Stubb? In March 2011 he took a strong stand against the xenophobia that was and still is gripping Finland.

He characterized over four years ago, when he was foreign minister, Finland’s ongoing debate on immigration and immigrants as “oppressive,” according to tabloid Iltalehti.

Today, I must admit that Stubb is a huge disappointment. From giving the image of being open-minded to diversity he now seems more like a politician interested in power and personal gain than the interests of everyone living in Finland never mind Europe.

Continue reading “Finland’s Finance Minister Alexander Stubb is a huge disappointment”

There is no market for an anti-Muslim repellent in Finland

Posted on July 11, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Helsinki substitute councilman, Olli Sademies, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Helsinki substitute councilman who wrote that African men should be sterilized in Finland after having three children, now states that his so-called Muslim spray repellent is for rapists.

But here’s a question for Sademies, a retired policeman who is under investigation for hate speech, about his so-called business idea:

How do you know if the person attacking you is a Muslim?
What do you do with the spray if the attacker is a white Finn?
Could it be used against Jews?
Is there a market for such a repellent?

All of Sademies’ political shenanigans is not only a signal that his campaign for councilman has begun but a prank by the PS to slowly turn Finland into an Islamphobic country like Denmark today.

Sademies’ comments have been noticed in other European countries thanks to the European Information Human Rights Center. Continue reading “There is no market for an anti-Muslim repellent in Finland”

YouGov poll not only shows how critical Finns are of Greece and Greeks but of the outside world

Posted on July 11, 2015 by Migrant Tales

A YouGov survey shows that 74% of Finns are against debt relief for Greece with the same amount blaming present and past governments for the country’s financial problems, reports the English service of YLE.

Compared with other countries, 73% of Finnish respondents were the most critical blaming the present and past Greek governments for the country’s deep financial problems. That was followed by Denmark (70%), Sweden (65%), Germany (59%), Britain (38%) and France (33%).

Read full story here.

Finnish respondents (74%) also took the hardest line insisting that the terms of the bailout as originally agreed should be respected.

See full YouGov poll result here.

Continue reading “YouGov poll not only shows how critical Finns are of Greece and Greeks but of the outside world”

Eva Biaudet: Finland’s ever-culturally and ethnically diverse society in the new century (Part II)

Posted on July 11, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales insight: In part I Swedish People’s Party (SPP) MP Eva Biaudet gave her views of the challenges and threats facing Finland as it becomes ever-culturally and ethnically diverse. While many will acknowledge such challenges, Biaudet expands in the final part of this two-part series on ways to move forward. What should our society, migrants and minorities do to rise above social ills like racism and make our society more inclusive?

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Swedish People’s Party (SPP) MP Eva Biaudet strongly believes that the blueprint to create a just and equal society for everyone in Finland hinges on Nordic and EU values.

I see Sweden as a good example for Finland to follow,” she explained. “They have a different view of immigration and refugees than us. I read in the headline of a Swedish business daily that [instead of speaking of a problem] it read that the country was blessed with so much incoming competence thanks to the Syrians that got asylum.”

Biaudet stated that in Sweden there is a notion that each person, irrespective of his or her background, is valuable to society.

Why does Finland lag behind Sweden in this respect?

The SPP MP blamed Finland’s lack of diversity for the negative attitude some have of immigration and refugees, which they see as a problem and not as an opportunity.

**Eva Biaudet. Photo by Enrique Tessieri.**

“One factor that makes us Finns different from Swedes is that we have come into less contact with foreigners than they,” she said. “Almost everyone in Sweden knows someone who’s an immigrant or a person with such a background. It’s impossible to tell from a person’s ethnic background if they are a Swede or not.”

Continue reading “Eva Biaudet: Finland’s ever-culturally and ethnically diverse society in the new century (Part II)”

Eva Biaudet: Finland’s ever-culturally and ethnically diverse society in the new century (Part I)

Posted on July 11, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales insight: The interview with Swedish People’s Party (SPP) MP Eva Biaudet is a two-part series. Biaudet was ombudswoman for minorities during 2010-15 and has been active in local and national politics since 1989. She is one of the most outspoken persons in Finland for minority rights.

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Swedish People’s Party (SPP) MP Eva Biaudet has made a name for herself defending those that don’t have a voice in society and those who are most vulnerable to discrimination and exploitation. If there is a person that can give a picture of where Finland is or should be heading in this century as our country becomes ever-culturally and ethnically diverse, that person is Biaudet.

After an intense one-hour interview where every question demanded more time and attention, I asked Biaudet what she considered a favorable and negative scenario of how Finland should evolve as a culturally diverse society in this century.

“As our society becomes more culturally diverse, I see our ties with the Nordic region and Europe strengthening [positive scenario],” she said. “A negative scenario would mean a distancing from the Nordic countries [and its ideals] and identifying more with Eastern Europe and nationalistic ideals with a dominating fear of Russia, which I’m not underestimating.”

“In other words it would mean more EU-skepticism and ending development aid altogether,” she continued. “If we ever got to such a point it would signal the end to our Nordic ideals and values of social equality, gender equality and weaken the ethical foundations of society.”

Biaudet mentioned media researcher and columnist Anu Koivunen, who viewed neo-conservative values as the greatest threat to women and minority rights.

“We have to do everything possible to ensure that everyone can live with dignity in the future and that no one is socially excluded from society,” she said.

Eva Biaudet. Photo by Enrique Tessieri.

Continue reading “Eva Biaudet: Finland’s ever-culturally and ethnically diverse society in the new century (Part I)”