One of the interesting matters that has been seen in this blog is that debating an issue such as foreigners living in Finland is a polarized black-and-white debate. The more extreme views on the topic, go as far as to claim that it would bring destruction to Finland and its culture. Those on the other…
Author: Migrant Tales
The culture of fear of outsiders in Finland
Can an open and honest debate on multiculturalism take place in Finland when people feel directly threatened by it? Can we ever aspire as a nation to integrate people into our society when some of us are not even ready to give the time of day to foreigners? Racism is a serious problem in Finland…
Finland of Mayberry syndrome
Mayberry used to be an imaginary town in North Carolina where the 1960s sitcom called The Andy Griffith Show took place. In this make-believe town and world, life was simple, traditional values were cherished, and people respected and cared for each other. There were two sitcoms during that decade that portrayed the same world view…
Discrimination undermines society’s values
Some of the comments on Muslims in this blog have been outright discriminatory and a cause for concern. They sound like people who have been gripped more by fear than by common sense. If Finland is not at war with Iraq, what is it that these Finns fear so much? The Yale social psychologist on…
Being an immigrant in Finland: A letter from Ida
I do not usually do this. But I thought it was such a candid comment that I had to bring it to all of your attention. It reveals, in my opinion, what some foreigners feel about Finnish society but do not dare to say too loudly in public. Thank you Ida, I hope others follow…
Who is Sarah Palin – what’s going on in the United States?
With only two months left until the November US presidential elections, one wonders what the world will be like after George W. Bush retires back to Crawford, Texas, after plunging his country and the world into an abyss led by colorful-named crusades such as “the war on terror” – an enemy that is everywhere but…
Myths surrounding immigration to Finland
Reading posts and getting information on immigration in general in dynamic multicultural societies, one can pick out the myths that some Finns still use to claim that immigration is a bad thing. Myths 1) Immigration takes away jobs from Finns. 2) Immigrants come to Finland to take advantage of the welfare system. 3) Immigrants have…
Is the sauna a good integrator?
If a person asked me what is one of the most important cultural institutions enjoyed by a great number of Finns, I’d respond: the sauna. The sauna is more than a room where people bathe and sweat naked in 80-100 Celsius (176-212 Fahrenheit) temperatures. It’s a way of life for some Finns – so much…
The aim of the Migrant Tales blog
Owing to the traffic that this blog has generated, I have decided on the following code of conduct: 1) This is NOT a forum to further the mistaken causes of racism, xenophobia, cultural nationalism and stereotypes of ANY group irrespective of their background, nationality and/or creed. 2) The blog aims to become a forum that…
Placing Finnish immigration policy on an effective path
I never thought that a few posts trying to look at such an issue like discrimination in Finland could inflame debate. If anything, it shows that there is a problem in this area. I have lived long enough in Finland and studied its culture since a child to know the challenges facing this country. If…