Category: Enrique Tessieri

The Finnish media should refer to the Perussuomalaiset as a far-right party

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Helsingin Sanomat goes to some length in a story about the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* being referred to by the chairperson of the Social Democratic Party (PSOE), Pedro Sánchez,  as a “far-right”[1]  party. We could not agree more with Sánchez’ description of the PS as a far-right party. 

Sánchez was quoted as saying in El País: “Look what happened in Finland [on April 14], where an opinion poll predicted as a given fact that the Social Democrats would win by a wide margin and the far right [PS] would come in fifth. They won by 6,000 votes the far right!”

Spain’s Social Democratic leader Pedro Sánchez called the PS a far-right party. Read the full story (in Spanish) here.

Spain holds snap parliamentary elections on Sunday.

Is only Sánchez and El País the only ones who call the PS a far-right party?

It is not the first time. Others that have referred the PS as a far-right party are: the Financial Times of London, The Guardian, Politico, Spiegel Online, EUObserver,The Local SE, and others.

If the PS is seen as a far-right party by the media in Europe, why isn’t it called that in Finland by Helsingin Sanomat and others?

For one, the national media rarely uses in Finland such a term of a party that has members in parliament. Considering that over a half a million Finns vote for the PS, newspapers like Helsingin Sanomat are dependent on subscribers and ads.

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Finnish President Sauli Niinistö’s disinformation bubble about racism and Others

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Is it surprising that whenever President Sauli Niinistö comments on asylum seekers, Muslims, and the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, he sticks his foot in his mouth?

The latest gaffe comes on Wednesday at a new session of parliament, where President Niinistö was quoted as saying about he hasn’t heard similar comments about migrants made by the Islamophobic PS as in 2017.

“At the time in in 2017, the Perussuomalaiset were electing a new chairperson and in the debates on television migrants were not just framed as an aesthetic disadvantage,” he was quoted as saying in Uusi Suomi. “That caught my attention. Now I have not heard any comments of the kind.”

One matter that caught my attention about this story is that it was only reported in Uusi Suomi.

Mr. President, when you make such incredulous claims, aren’t you normalizing racism in this country, which runs contrary to the Finnish values you want migrants to embrace?

Have you heard of the Oulu sexual assault cases and how parties like the PS, and the National Coalition Party with equal gusto, have used it to spread fear and attract voters? Do you remember what you said about these cases in your New Year’s speech?

Does President Niinistö recall a PS campaign video that encourages people to violence against asylum seekers and migrants? Here is the link.

President Niinistö’s prejudices and apparent ignorance about racism is one source that feeds Finland’s hostile environment against migrants and minorities.

Continue reading “Finnish President Sauli Niinistö’s disinformation bubble about racism and Others”

Tapani Brotherus: The present refugee atmosphere in Finland “is part of a phase”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Former ambassador to Chile (1971-76) Tapani Brotherus, 80, is a hero to many. Thanks to his efforts, many enemies of Augusto Pinochet’s military junta would have ended imprisoned, tortured, and dead today. 

Brotherus’ example to help Chileans escape the clutches of a brutal regime inspired the screening of a six-part television series in spring called Invisible heroes.

See original TV interview (in Finnish) here.

Even if 9/11 is a day of mourning for the United States, the original 9/11 happened in Chile in 1973, when General  Pinochet violently overthrew democratically elected President Salvador Allende with the full backing of the United States.

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Actions of the Finnish police and Yle reveal multicultural incompetence in coverage of Oulu sexual assault cases

Posted on by Migrant Tales

It is odd how little Yle takes the blame for being the facilitator of anti-immigration and anti-Muslim sentiment in regards to the sexual assault cases of Oulu. Migrant Tales documented 77 stories published between November 27 and February 13. On January 14, Yle published in one day 13 stories about the topic!  

When compared with a similar sexual abuse case of minors involving white Finns, there was a different reaction. The story about the pedophile ring accused of sexually abusing 6-15-year-old boys lasted only a week in the news with 7 stories published by Yle.

Are attacks against Muslims more common today due to the hostile environment against migrants and minorities? As far as we know, the picture above is of a 10-year-old Muslim girl who was attacked by a classmate. It reads: “What do they teach [children] at Finnish homes? That Muslims are terrorists? The little girl [in the picture above] is spending a normal day at school when four boys [classmates] tried to rip off her hijab from her head and kicked her unconscious. We are not talking now about a migrant but about a victim. @iltalehti [tabloid] I want you to write out loud that racism must stop once for all, this girl is an angel!” Read the full story here.

Typically, the police are tightlipped about giving statements about sexual abuses against minors, but in the case involving people of migrant backgrounds, there is an exception.

Writes Yle: “Police have faced criticism for quickly publicizing the case and other similar ones in Oulu. Their response is that grooming on social media seemed to be a phenomenon at the time, and it was necessary to inform and warn the public. Authorities stress that online grooming cases have included both Finnish and foreign suspects.”

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Does the Press Freedom Index give us a complete story about freedom of the press?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Freedom of expression is a human right. To express oneself without fear of being persecuted, killed, harassed and/or jailed, is a fundamental right. While the 2019 Press Freedom Index ranks countries according to how journalists can conduct their work safely, the index isn’t comprehensive, even misleading. 

Should there be an index for what the media allows minorities and migrants to write and challenge the national narrative about such groups? Stories about migrants like asylum seekers are commonly one-sided and only give an incomplete picture of their lives.

The media is interested in writing about drowned asylum seekers in the Mediterranean but less so about their rights and exploitation on land.

If there were an index that would measure how much the national media permits minorities and migrants to write about their narrative on their own terms, I would bet that the Press Freedom Index list would be very different.

In Finland, the country where I live, ranks second on the 2019 Press Freedom Index list. Even so, can minorities and migrants write freely about racism and discrimination in society? Why do large dailies like Helsingin Sanomat treat such stories with less interest if it does not fit their news narrative?

Moreover, why are there so few minorities employed as full-time reporters and why aren’t there any working as editors?

I know for a fact that if I were to write about migrants and minorities for the Finnish media like I do in Migrant Tales, there would be a good chance that my writing would be rejected.

Disregarding Other voices in society is a serious matter and should be addressed in the Reporters Without Borders index.

Go here if you want to read about how biased in 2015 the Finnish media was when writing about migrants.

Go to website here.

 

The Finnish media’s ongoing fascination with Islamophobes and racists like Jussi Halla-aho

Posted on by Migrant Tales

What has surprised me about Finland is how the media and others seem fascinated by Islamophobes making racist statements. It gets media attention and helps you win elections. Why does racism and fascism appeal to us? Is it because their racist views resonate with some of us? 

By the way, where are those powerful editorials by dailies like Helsingin Sanomat that speak out against Islamophobia and racism? Where are those editorials encouraging a Finland that is more inclusive and condemning negative narratives about migrants and minorities?

Instead, our media prefers debating  Perussuomalaiset* (PS) chairperson Jussi Halla-aho’s past toxic and racist blog posts in the face of government talks. In these posts, he wishes left-green women get raped by foreigners, he insults and threatens to shoot gays, near-constantly insults Somalis and Islam.

Considering what he wrote, and we should never forget this type of open hostility, should the PS even be considered a candidate in a new government?

An apology or renouncing what he said will not do. Just like a virus, the place of his writings is either put in quarantine or destroyed altogether. 

One of the problems with challenging toxic people like Halla-aho and his extremist ideology is that it is done mostly by white Finns who may have good intentions but don’t have first-hand experience with racism, discrimination and being scapegoated. As long as Finland sits on the fence on racism and fascism and only white people speak for migrants and minorities, the problem will worsen.

Exaggerating?

Remember when Léo Custódio made the following observation below?

See original posting here.

What about adding a new line?

Continue reading “The Finnish media’s ongoing fascination with Islamophobes and racists like Jussi Halla-aho”

The Perussuomalaiset of Finland’s hubris and arrogance are their political soft spot

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The election success of the Islamophobic and xenophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, reveals a party blinded, even more, today by hubris and hatred for migrants, especially Muslims. Their hubris and arrogance are their political vulnerability. 

Some Finns have put off the PS as a fringe phenomenon, something that will disappear in time.

The 2019 elections showed that they haven’t vanished.

Below are some sensible demands we should be asking European MEP candidates now and especially our MP candidates before the May elections.

A comprehensive list of demands by the European Network Against Racism, Europe’s biggest anti-racism NGO.

Yle, for one, searches for explanations why people vote for the PS. Even if they claim that it may have to do with limited education and low socioeconomic status, their conclusions are only excuses and denials of racism in our society.

Continue reading “The Perussuomalaiset of Finland’s hubris and arrogance are their political soft spot”

The election result in Finland was what it was. Stop acting surprised.

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Don’t be surprised by what you see. It is real and dangerous. 

Sunday’s election results should not come to any surprise. Far-right parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and white supremacist groups like Suomen Sisu have worked tirelessly to promote Finland’s hostile environment against migrants and minorities.

One clear and irrefutable outcome of Sunday’s parliamentary election is that Finland will become an ever-hostile place for migrants, minorities and especially Muslims.

The election result will encourage greater microaggressions and bullying at the work place and at school. It will embolden many people who have issues with racism. Why? Because words and actions have direct consequences.

Seventeen-and-a-half percent, or 538,731 voters, gave their blessings to the PS and hardline Islamophobes and fascists. These politicians speak of “migrants” near-constantly but forget to tell you that they are only targeting about 10% of them.

The election results also reinforced the need for migrants and minorities to raise their voices against the hostile environment being promoted by parties like the PS.

Continue reading “The election result in Finland was what it was. Stop acting surprised.”

Social Democrats win elections in Finland but hard times await migrants, minorities and especially Muslims

Posted on by Migrant Tales

THE STORY WAS UPDATED

With 99.5% of the votes counted, it appears that the Social Democrats will win the elections. While the Finnish media has spoken about the Perussuomalaiset’s (PS) good showing, there has not been a word said about how far-right populism will continue to impact and change the country.

Considering the dismal leadership that our politicians, starting from President Sauli Niinistö, have shown in tackling xenophobia, none of us should be surprised by the result and the PS’ success at the polls.

Social Democrat chairperson, Antti Rinne, has said that he refuses to form a government with the Islamophobic PS.

If the rise of the PS under Jussi Halla-aho, who was convicted in 2012 for ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion, it is a stark warning that hard times await Finland’s migrants, minorities and especially Muslims.

What does the rise of the PS, which is the only party that had a clear anti-immigration message, mean for the country? How will it influence other parties and will it bring them in line with the PS’ anti-immigration message like the Danish People’s Party has done in Denmark?

The same fact that Sarah Chander, senior advocacy officer of the European Network Against Racism, raises an important question concerning social inequalities in society.

One good piece of news was the dismal result of the Blue Reform party, which did not win a seat in parliament.

If the election result is anything to go by, the good showing of the PS and some of its most Islamophobic voices show that a large segment of voters has a taste for Islamophobia and racism.

Social Democrats (SDP), Perussuomalaiset (PS), National Coalition Party (KOK), Center Party (KESK), Greens (VIHR), Left Alliance (VAS), Swedish People’s Party (RKP), and Christian Democrats (KD). Source: Helsingin Sanomat.

* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, 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 never mind Muslims and other visible minorities. One is more open about it while the other says it in a different way.

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.

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Junes Lokka’s “racist” and “Nazi clown” case: Court sends clear message who has racist immunity in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

When white people decide what is racism and what the boundaries are, they mess up and make matters worse for migrants, minorities and Others.

What are we supposed to make out of this? A well-known anti-immigration activist with ties to neo-Nazi and Islamophobic groups is called in a closed Facebook group by a journalist “a racist” and “Nazi clown.”

A district court of Oulu, where some sexual assault cases by migrants has turned the city on the fringe of hysteria, rules in favor of the Islamophobe and wins the case against the journalist for defamation. Is this another example of how people like Lokka have kidnapped common sense in Oulu?

Johanna Vehkoo’s lawyer Martina Kronström told Yle that “her client was stunned by the outcome and intended to appeal the verdict.”

And so are we at Migrant Tales.

Not only does the ruling show how much out of touch was the district court of Oulu about racism and hate speech, it sends a clear message who has racist immunity in Finland.

If you are a white male in the police service it is ok to make racist remarks. If you are a white woman calling somebody a racist and Nazi, then it is not ok even if that person was convicted for ethnic agitation.

Read the full story here.

Disagree?

Remember a closed Facebook group with 2,800 members who were police that openly insulted non-white Finns and asylum seekers? When Longplay exposed the Facebook page last year, where Vehkoo writes, no charges were eventually brought against the group because the prosecutor stated that the many racist messages were not intended to be publshed outside the group.

What about Johanna Vestola’s comment?