Author: Migrant Tales

Feeding Somalis and poor immigrants to the loan sharks of Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales wrote in May about the high cost, hassle and red tape some Somalis face to bring their relatives to Finland. Since it appears that the aim of the immigration authorities and politicians is to make family reunification as expensive and difficult as possible, some immigrants are being fed to the loan sharks as a result. 

Migrant Tales wrote that a two-and-half year wait in the Ethiopian capital to bring your family to Finland can cost between $9,000 and $12,000.  That’s a lot of money taking into account that annual income in Somalia is about $600, according to the CIA Factbook.

“I don’t have any work so I was forced to turn to these loan [shark] companies,” said a Somali, whose wife and brother are applying to come to Finland from the Finnish Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. “I went to my bank but they wouldn’t give me a loan because I don’t have a job.”

The young man hasn’t seen his wife for three years. Many immigrants in Finland have lived separated from their children for years.

In order to bring his wife and brother to Finland, the Somali was forced to take three costly loans that amounted to 1,000 euros.  As a result, the man will end up paying 294.63 euros on the loans as interest and expenses! Payback time is two months for a total of 1,294.63 euros.

One of the bills of the three loans. Expenses amount to a hefty 75.47 euros! 

Taking into account Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen makes over 12,000 euros a month, it’s clear that a well-paid minister or politicians would care little about the plight of Somalis and other poor immigrants in Finland struggling to bring their loved ones to the country.

If there is a tragedy to be told in Finland about immigrants, family reunification is certainly one of them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How offensive is “Innocence of Muslims?”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

A few scenes from Innocence of Muslims was enough for me to understand that free speech not only gives you the opportunity to make a horse’s ass out of yourself, but declare war on a religious group that ended costing the lives of USAmerican citizens in Libya.  

The stance of the Finnish Islamic Council (SINE) concerning the fourteen-minute film must be commended. In a common statement, SINE condemned both the film that offends the Prophet Mohammed and the violence that it sparked. ”The sacred values of Muslims are constantly targets of attacks in the West,” the statement declares.

There is little sympathy for “Sam Bacile tirade.

One of these is Salman Rushdie, the author of the Satanic Verses, which caused outrage from conservative Muslims for blasphemy and mocking their faith.

Reporter: Do you feel that that person has done something terribly wrong? 

Salman Rushdie: I think he [Bacile] has done something malicious. That’s a very different thing from writing a serious novel. He’s clearly set out to provoke and he has obviously unleashed a much bigger reaction than he hoped for, and one of the problems of free speech is that you often have to defend people who are outrageous, unpleasant and disgusting. 

Reporter:  So when you saw that man taken in for questioning over the weekend  completely shrouded to mask his appearance any level of sympathy there? 

SR:  Not really. 

Reporter: Why not? 

SR:  He did it on purpose and he set out to create a response and he got it in spades. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9PpAxX6MHI

These types of movies that aim to insult other groups are no different from the Islamophobic hate speech we are seeing in Europe these days.

The last matter that these extremists are interested in is free speech.

Free speech is only a catchword they use to eventually limit such an inalienable right.

Journalistiliitto: Maahanmuutto, media ja monikulttuurisuus -seminaari 12.10.2012

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Aika: 12.10.2012

Paikka: Helsinki

Osoite: Takniskan Salit, Eerikinkatu 2, 6.krs, 00100 Helsinki

Miten uussuomalaiset journalistit työllistyvät suomalaiseen mediaan? Millaisia hankkeita on kehitetty ja mitä uutta on vireillä? Miten toimitusten pomot suhtautuvat monikulttuurisuuteen ja uussuomalaisten journalistien työllistämiseen? Maahanmuuttovirasto – edestä ja takaa!

Näitäkin aiheita pohditaan SJL:n seminaarissa, jonka alustajiksi ovat tähän mennessä lupautuneet Polina Kopylova (Suomen Venäjänkielisten Yhdistysten Liitto), Shakiba Adil ja Anne Hyvönen (Verkkolehti www.baabeli.fi ),Asta Rajala (www.correspondents.fi), Carlos Marroquin (Kotomedia), Shahin Doagu (Keskisuomalaisen verkkolehti), Enrique Tessieri (Otavan opisto ja www.migranttales.net ), Marita Rainbird (Icebreaker Productions) Jussi Förbom (toimittaja) ja Arno Tanner (Maahanmuuttoviraston Maapalvelun johtaja).

Tilaisuus on ilmainen uussuomalaisille journalisteille ja aihepiiristä kiinnostuneille suomalaistoimittajille. Myös alan järjestöjen sekä virkakunnan edustajia tulee mukaan.

Alustava ohjelma tulee liiton nettisivuille syyskuun puolivälissä.

Ilmoittautumiset alla olevalla lomakkeella viimeistään 30.9.2012.

Lisätietoja Jarmo Häkkiseltä [email protected]

Tässä on linkki.

ENAR: Hate crime victims finally recognised with European Parliament vote

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Without a doubt, this is an important piece of legislation by the European Parliament, which will require EU states to systematically collect data on hate crimes.  Even if the Finnish police collects such data, reporting hate crimes to the police may be more complicated for an immigrant than meets the eye. 

The key question that we should therefore ask is how seriously does the police take hate crime. 

In 2010, the Police College of Finland reported that there were 860 hate crimes reported, which is a 15% fall from 1,007 cases in the previous year. 

Does this mean that hate crimes have fallen sharply in Finland or does it show how distrustful some immigrant groups are of the police?

_______________

The European Parliament voted today to protect and grant basic rights to the estimated 75 million victims of crime across the EU without discrimination. The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) especially welcomes the fact that the specific needs of hate crime victims will be taken into account and that victims will be protected regardless of their residence status.

“The European Parliament’s vote is a great step forward in protecting victims of hate crime in the most appropriate way, and in making sure that irregular migrants – the most vulnerable – are not abandoned to their fate if they fall victim to a crime”, said Chibo Onyeji, ENAR Chair. “We now hope the EU Council of Member States will follow the Parliament’s example”.

Ethnic and religious minority groups face racist crime and violence on a daily basis across Europe but this reality is at worst denied, and at best underestimated.

In addition, evidence shows that hate crimes cause greater harm than ordinary crimes because of the ripple effect it has on entire communities. The 2010-11 British Crime Survey indicates that higher proportions of victims of hate crime reported feelings of shock, fear, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, loss of confidence, difficulty sleeping, compared with victims of similar non-hate crimes.

The report adopted by the European Parliament also calls on EU Member States to systematically collect data on reported crimes and on the victims of crime. This is crucial to assess whether hate crime is on the rise and for the EU to take informed action to tackle the problems identified. “This legislation, once adopted, will send a strong signal to perpetrators of hate crimes that they will not be let off the hook. It is therefore crucial that Member States transpose it into their national laws as soon as possible”, added Onyeji.

More information on racist violence can be found in ENAR’s report Racist violence in Europe.

 

Racism, Counterjihadism and neo-Nazism sit well with the PS

Posted on by Migrant Tales

I thought I had heard some lame excuses from the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, but I was wrong. Risto Helin, a PS city council candidate for Vaasa, beat all those before him hands down. On his Facebook page, Helin is wearing a blood-and-honor t-shirt. He claims that it was purchased about ten years ago but didn’t know it had anything to do with Nazism or Skinheads.  

Risto Helin of the PS is running for city council in Vaasa. Would you ever vote for a person who  can’t read?..

Certainly this is a publicity stunt to get media attention. What is worse, but not surprising, is that the PS does not have a problem with a candidate that openly supports Nazis and Skinheads.

The candidate states as well on his Facebook page that he is a member of the Bandidos Motorbike Club, which is an organized crime syndicate with membership worldwide.

If you want to put Helin’s profile picture on Facebook into context, in the United States he’d be a candidate wearing an American Nazi Party or Ku Klux Klan t-shirt. In Spain or Norway, Helin would be wearing a t-shirt with a rude quote by dictator Francisco Franco or Vidkun Quisling, respectively.

…what a coincidence with Helin’s t-shirt! Check out the anti-Semitic website where this ghastly picture was posted.

Does the PS openly support racism, Counterjihadism, neo-Nazism and far-right mumbo jumbo as part of their political message?

PS campaign manager for Vaasa, Harri Leppälä, gives us an answer to that question. He does not see any problems with Helin’s t-shirt, whom he described as an honest entrepreneur who opposes multiculturalism.

“There’s no reason to prevent him from running [on the PS ticket],” Leppälä was quoted as saying on Turun Sanomat. “Somebody is trying to make a storm in a teacup and blackwash the Perussuomalaiset.”

 

 

An interesting blog that follows far-right candidates in Finland’s municipal elections

Posted on by Migrant Tales

I bumped into a blog called Kunnollisvaalit 2012 (in Finnish), which aims to expose far-right candidates running for office in the Finnish municipal elections of October 28.  The blog cites 11 Perussuomalaiset, 2 Center Party and one Muutos 2011 candidates as “far right.”

The blog aims to expose what these candidates are posting on the Internet.

Kunnollisvaalit 2012 considers far right the following groups: Suomen Sisu (Nazi-spirited association), Nuiva Manifesto (PS’ anti-immigration manifesto), Finnish Defense League (Counterjihadist), Suomen Kansalinen Vastarinata (neo-Nazi).

Remember Ulla Pyysalo, PS MP’s Juho Eerola’s aide, who was planning to join the neo-Nazi Suomen Kansalinen Vastarina? Well, she’s running for city council in Taipalsaari.

On a thread on Facebook with TU tennis, Ulla Pyysalo compared immigrants to animals and plants. ”Yes, transplanting animals or plants in a new environment has always ended in failure.”

Risto Helin is a “white power blood & honor” candidate for the PS  in Vaasa. 

Pyysalo continues, now comparing immigrants to racoon dogs.  ”I heard just recently that hunters are encouraged to kill these raccoon dogs,” she writes. ”God dang it how racist and terrible. Eeek help! :DDDDD,”

The Kunnollisvaalit 2012 list below of fascists, Nazis and racists isn’t complete. PS candidates such as James Hirvisaari, Olli Immonen, Freddy Van Wonterghem are missing.

The 11 PS candidates that Kunnollisvaalit 2012 cites are:

Muutos 2011 and Center Party:

 

How much further? A film about the lives of refugees in Greece

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This documentary about refugees in Greece is a stark reminder of how Greek authorities and the European Union have turned their backs on asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants. The answer is not higher border fences or fear-mongering by politicians, but finding proactive solutions that take into account the needs and human rights of these people.

Eighty percent of the refugees that come from war-stricken areas flee to neighboring countries like Pakistan, where there are 1.7 million refugees. In the Dadaab refugee camp alone in Kenya there are a staggering 500,000  Somali refugees.

For the sake of comparison, 27 EU states have a total of 1.3 million refugees.

Traveling under a truck is one way that asylum seekers use to cross borders in Europe.

Says the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) in a statement about the documentary, How much further:

Filmed in Athens between October 2011 and February 2012, in the midst of social, political and economic turmoil, the documentary raises the voices of those who have fled Afghanistan, Somalia or Sudan hoping to find refuge in Europe. After months or even years on the road, they arrive in Greece, a country whose population is facing the full brunt of the economic crisis and where the asylum and reception systems are completely dysfunctional. Most people see no option but to take to the road again in the hope of reaching a country that can receive them and consider their claim for asylum. But, once they have entered Greece, it is extremely difficult if not impossible to leave the country given the European policies that legally bind them to Greece.

This documentary is the fruit of the cooperation between ECRE, the Greek Forum of Refugees and the film maker Matthias Wiessler, and supported by the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM).

Following the simultaneous premières in Brussels and Athens for World Refugee Day (20 June), How much further? has already been shown in two other screenings so far, at theEuropean Policy Institute and to the students of the Odysseus Network Summer School on European Law and Polciy on Immigration & Asylum.

To see documentary, How much further, click here.

 

Somalia turns a new page of hope after its new president was elected

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Roble Bashir

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was elected on Monday to a four-year presidential term. There are plans to hold nationwide elections after his mandate ends in 2016. By then, every citizen will have the opportunity to vote for the candidate he or she supports.  Even so, such a goal is  a challenging task to attain in just over four years.

President Mohamud was an active member of civil society organisations since the collapse of  the government in 1991. He has taken part in several social development projects. The newly elected head of state used to work for UNICEF in Somalia and was dean of one of the local universities of Mogadishu before he became the leader of the Peace and Development Party (PDP).

What makes this government different from previous ones?

President Mohamud’s election is  an important change for all Somalis since it puts to end eight years of transitional rule, which impeded governments to function properly.

It ends as well the interference by neighbouring countries in Somali’s internal affairs. This meddling by foreign powers has been one of the biggest obstacles in getting the country back on its feet after two decades of civil war. In fact, interim governments were formed outside the country. This made Somalis sceptical that the country’s best interests were being served. President Mohamud’s government is the first one ever elected by parliament inside the country since the early 1990s. The is not an interim government but a permanent one approved nationally.  This is very important matter to remember.

There are other factors that support the newly elected president of Somalia. Most warlord leaders have been disarmed and some are members of the new parliament. They aren’t a threat to stability as in previous transitional governments, when they had their own separate militia groups and put barriers against the government whenever they saw fit. This government controls harbours and airports, which are vital to the economy and permit foreign aid to enter the country.

The new constitution was approved by the elders.

The new constitution gives more powers to the new president to exercise his authority. This is another factor that could help President Mohamud to tackle the challenges the country faces.

The threat of Al-shabab lessens

There are many reasons that give more confidence and hope that the new government will succeed in its aims. Most areas of the capital  and surrounding towns are now under the control of government troops with the backing of African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) forces.  Al-shabab’s influence has weakened after it lost a number of battles that forced it to give up control of many strategic towns and regions of the country. Al-shabab lost many economic resources as well such as harbours and export tax revenues from charcoal, when the USA banned this year such exports to Middle Eastern states like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. This was a huge setback for Al-shabab and undermined its influence in the country and its ability to finance its war.

The weakening of this powerful group in Somalia will eventually help the new president to restore peace and stability. Of course, re-building Somalia is an ongoing process that can only happen when the country has a powerful enough army.  ”When the national armed forces take control of the whole country, we will no longer need troops from Africa, ” President Mohamud promised during his campaign.

The Netherlands gives Geert Wilders the thumbs down

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Voters in the Netherlands did not back Geert Wilders’ calls for the country to ditch the European Union, reports the BBC. Wilders, who has dominated Dutch politics for years, is known for his tough anti-Islam and now anti-EU stance. Among many of his provocative statements, the Dutch politician has equated the Koran with Hitler’s Mein Kampf. 

The biggest victors of the Dutch elections were pro-EU parties like the center-right VVD (41 seats) and center-left Labor Party (39). Between them they could form a majority in the 150-member lower house.

Contrarily, Wilders’ Freedom Party saw its share of seats plummet from 24 to 13.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdTRPk0L3Zc&feature=related

Geert Wilders getting grilled on BBC’s Hardtalk. 

Just like the Islamophobic Danish People’s Party that supported minority governments for a decade in exchange for tougher immigration laws, the election setback to the Freedom Party comes as a big blow to their influence in national politics.

The interesting question to ask is how the setback for the Freedom Party will impact the Perussuomalaiset (PS) of Finland and other likeminded parties in Europe.

This is a valid question. It’s pretty clear that the PS’ election victory in 2011 had a positive impact on similar anti-immigration parties in the Nordic region and elsewhere in Europe.

Despite Europe’s financial woes and issues with anti-immigration populist parties, it’s clear that a growing number of Europeans are not buying their xenophobic message.

As Migrant Tales has pointed out on a number of occasions, the worst enemies of parties like the PS, Freedom Party, Danish People’s Party, Sweden Democrats and others are none other than themselves.

 

Greece and its bad case of ethnic profiling and scapegoating

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The Greek Police announced that 16,836 foreign nationals were brought for questioning  during the first month that Xenios Zeus was instigated, according to the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE). A staggering 80% of those brought in for questioning were legal residents. Only 2,144 held by the police didn’t have their residence permits in order. 

Xenios Zeus, which was the ancient Greek god of hospitality, is a good example of how ineffective immigration policies and economic problems can force xenophobia to poison a society.

Sensible people understand that scapegoating immigrants for the country’s economic problems is a red herring. Greek politicians and civil servants, with the blessings of the public, are more interested in blaming defenseless immigrants and refugees  for Greece’s problems than themselves.

Whenever a person or a group scapegoats immigrants and minorities, it is a clear sign of cowardice and opportunism.

The Greek public should critically look at the country’s politicians, civil servants and financial sector and launch a “Xenios Zeus” to uproot corruption that festers in that country.

ECRE writes in a statement: ”Greek authorities claim that as a result of Xenios Zeus, the influx of illegal immigration in the area of Evros has been reduced by 84%. However, according to the newspaper ‘To Vima’, the “Xenios Zeus” operation has resulted in a dramatic increase in the smuggling tariffs for entering Greece from Turkey and leaving Greece for Italy. A few months ago, smugglers would request 2,500 to 3,000 Euro for a safe passage, while would-be migrants are now asked to pay up to 5,000 Euros.”

Groups like ECRE, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Greek Council of Refugees have criticized the massive police roundup of immigrants.