Category: Enrique Tessieri

Habiba Ali: Stand up for your rights and don’t remain quiet if you are treated unjustly

Posted on by Migrant Tales

THIS STORY WAS UPDATED

Habiba Ali, a Social Democrat candidate for parliament and city councilor for Espoo, was stopped on Saturday by a security guard at the Entresse Shopping Center’s Lidl and wrongly suspected of shoplifting a can of tuna fish. Ali asked the security guard, who treated her with respect, why she would shoplift a can of tuna if she just purchased a lot of food from the market. 

She emptied her pockets and presto, no can of tuna fish.

Two employees of Lidl did not. According to Ali, they smiled and mocked her in a demeaning way.

Ali said that she has never been humiliated in such a way in public. It was the first time she had ever been stopped by a security guard and suspected of shoplifting.

“You cannot imagine how embarrassing it was for me and stopped by the guard and two Lidl employees,” she said. “I’ll never forget how one of the employees doubted my word and mocked me. She claimed that I had put the can of tuna fish back on the shelf.”

A lot of things have happened since that incident at Lidl. The general manager of the company called Ali and apologized on behalf of the company for what had happened.

“I asked the general manager that I want to discuss what happened and meet him personally together with the employee that treated me in a demeaning way,” she added.

Ali said it was important for People of Color to stand up for their rights and to speak out if they encounter unjust treatment.

 

Watch the video (in Finnish) here.

Continue reading “Habiba Ali: Stand up for your rights and don’t remain quiet if you are treated unjustly”

City of Oulu’s “ban” on asylum seekers visiting day-care centers and schools may be unconstitutional. “Ban” to be lifted on April 14.

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The City of Oulu plans to lift a ban on asylum seekers visiting day care centers and schools on April 14, according to Mika Penttilä, the city’s director of education and culture. “This is not a ban,” said Penttilä, “but a recommendation that asylum seekers are not allowed to visit day-care centers and schools.”

Migrant Tales understands that a complaint was filed to the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman against the City of Oulu for banning asylum seekers from visiting daycare centers and schools.

Visit the website here.

When asked why the ban or recommendation will be lifted in mid-April, Penttilä agreed that such a measure is against Section 6 of the Constitution.

Section 6 of the Constitution guarantees that everyone is equal before the law. It states: “Everyone is equal before the law. No one shall, without an acceptable reason, be treated differently from other persons on the ground of sex, age, origin, language, religion, conviction, opinion, health, disability or other reason that concerns his or her person.”

Thus if there is a “recommendation” that asylum seekers cannot visit day-care centers and schools, the restriction must apply to everyone and not to one group.

Penttilä said that the situation at the beginning of January was very tense in Oulu and something had to be done to calm the situation.

The measure to ban asylum seekers from visits has had a negative impact of all people of color in Oulu.

An elementary school in Oulu was the target of recent attacks on social media due to a false rumor that asylum seekers had visited the school. Kello School principal, Timo Soini, said that the attacks amounted to threats and insults, according to Yle.

One of the problems about the measure to keep asylum seekers from visiting day-care centers and schools is the slow response of the authorities and the media to defend Section 6 of the Constitution.

Instead of remaining cool, the media has poured more fuel on the fire. A Migrant Tales story revealed that from November 27 to February 13, Ylealone had published 77 stories on the topic. On one day (January 14), it had published 13 stories!

The police as well have not made the life of the Muslim community of Oulu any easier since their statements have a heavy dose of racialization. Even if the police has said that nobody should take the law in their hands, Muslims don’t feel safe in Oulu. According to one source, they avoid going to the city center for fear of being attacked.

Since September 2017, the mosque in Oulu was vandalized 9 times since September 2017. The latest attack happened on February 26.

Last but not least are the politicians. I am not only talking about those of the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset* party, which are attempting to get the most political mileage from what happened in Oulu. Even so, mainstream ones like the National Coalition Party (NCP) are reaping the advantages as well. NCP Interior Minister Kai Mykkänen is threatening to pass laws that will strip naturalized Finns of their citizenship if convicted for a serious crime like sexual assault.

See also: 

* 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.

Timo Soini to retire from politics

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Foreign Minister Timo Soini, 56, who inspired Islamophobes, racists and conservative nationalists to have a political voice and platform to lash out at migrants and minorities, announced that he will not seek a new term in parliament, according to Helsingin Sanomat. Soini, who calls himself a devout Catholic, will be remembered as a conservative populist politician who led the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* to national prominence by capitalizing on populist anti-immigration sentiment. 

Soini, who hails from Rauma, led the PS as chairman for twenty years (1997-2017), served as MP during 2001-09 and 2011-2019, EuroMP 2009-2011, Espoo city councillor 2001-2009, minister for European affairs (2015-2017), and foreign minister (2015-2019).

Despite Soini’s long list of political merits, some see him as an anti-immigration populist and nationalist who objected women’s and gay rights and anti-abortionist. His fondness for far-right politicians like Morten Messerschmidt of the Danish People’s Party, which the PS has close ideological ties, have not gone unnoticed.

Soini has shown support against EU plans to put Poland under greater scrutiny of nationalist conservative Polish Law and Justice party and shown support as foreign minister for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He also took part in anti-abortion marches and has participated in the prayer breakfast sessions organized by the US Congress and hosted by the US President Donald Trump.

Soini’s political history is a rise-and-fall tale when he rose to prominence after the 2011 parliamentary elections but came down in flames after his chief rival, Jussi Halla-aho, took over the helm of the PS in June 2017.

It is sweet irony that Soini, who used Islamophobes and far-right voices to opportunistically rise to power, became his downfall.

One of the most important signals to emerge from the end of Soini’s political era is that “moderate populism” has given way to “extremist populism.” After the 2011 parliamentary election, Soini and the PS’ anti-immigration wing debated the main reason for the party’s good showing in the election. Soini claimed it was anti-EU sentiment while politicians like Halla-aho said it was anti-immigration.

Timo Soini gets a grilling on BBC Hardtalk.

Continue reading “Timo Soini to retire from politics”

A new book on media solidarities authored by Kaarina Nikunen highlights Migrant Tales’ activism

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Thank you Kaarina Nikunen, a University of Tampere professor of media and communication research, for writing about our blog community in “Media Solidarities, Emotions, Power and Justice in the Digital Age” published in February. 

“I consider activist media, such as Migrant Tales, as part of the larger concept of alternative media that includes a variety of media promotions. What unites them is their small size, independence from state and markets, horizontal participatory organization, as well as motives for solidarity, equality and justice – although we can see that not all media that claims to be alternative, assume these values (Bailey et al., 2007b; Downing 2001: Pajnik and Downing, 2008).”

“One of the reasons why Migrant Tales has been able to cover a series of exclusive stories on the conditions of asylum seekers and deportations is related to the networks and close connections with the asylum seekers and immigrants. Since many of the citizen journalists of Migrant Tales are immigrants themselves, they have been able o build trust with the community of asylum seekers and immigrants.”

“The [Migrant Tales] blog operates on a voluntary basis, on an open code WordPress-platform without any external funding. It might even characterized as a hobby. Yet, it is interconnected with professional media by feeding them stories on issues connected with migration. Despite the lack of permanent funding or support, the writers of the blog conduct investigative journalism on topics that can take weeks or even months of their personal time. The editor of Migrant Tales takes pride in the economic independence of the blog. In his view, the fact that it doesn’t accept any sponsors provides freedom from outside pressure.”

“Migrant Tales is an example of a new media economy that makes use of voluntary work in different ways. It is also an example of the shift in media landscape where blogs and social media sites have acquired central space in public debates and challenged the role of mainstream media in society.”

 

Finnish government and City of Oulu officials: Where is the concern and outrage?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Almost two days have elapsed since the Oulu mosque was the target of vandalism. Did you read from any government minister expressed concern about what happened? What about the City of Oulu, which has labelled all asylum seekers as potential sex offenders by banning such people from visiting child care centers and schools?

Where is the leadership and outrage after the Oulu mosque was vandalized Tuesday for the ninth time?

The media was especially active about reporting about the sexual assault cases. A Migrant Tales story revealed that from November 27 to February 13, Ylealone had published 77 stories on the topic. On one day (January 14), it had published 13 stories.

The government in its futility and campaigning for the April parliamentary elections announced an immigration crime prevention plan. One of the aims is to give asylum seekers a test about Finnish values.

With the knee-jerk reaction of the government and City of Oulu to the sexual assault cases, which some would interpret as racist, shouldn’t these officials attend a basic course on cultural diversity and anti-racism?

In December, when the mosque was vandalized for a seventh and eight time, the Lutheran Church did express concern and offered its solidarity.

What do the silence and inaction say about the state of Finland?

Read the full story here.

Oulu mosque vandalized for the ninth time

Posted on by Migrant Tales

THIS STORY WAS UPDATED

The Oulu mosque was vandalized Tuesday for the ninth time since September 2017, according to Dr Abdul Mannan, who heads the Islamic Society of Northern Finland. The police said in a statement the attack took place at 5:10 am when a suspect smashed a window with a bike rack and threw a smoke grenade inside the premises.  The fire department was called as well. 

Dr Mannan said that the attacks against the mosque are becoming too common and he is hopeful that the perpetrator is caught.

In December the mosque was attacked a seventh and eighth time.

The suspect used a bike rack to smash the window at 5.10 am and threw a smoke grenade inside the premises. Source: Dr Abdul Amman.
The prayer matt damaged by the smoke grenade (left) with smashed glass lying over the floor and chair. Photo: Dr Abdul Mannan.

“We installed a new very good surveillance system that should [hopefully] help to identify and capture the culprit,” he said.

Dr Mannan makes no effort to hide his frustration.

“I have said many times that the media is not helping the situation but adding fuel to the fire,” he said. “The most recent attack against our mosque is an example of how hate speech encourages some to acts of violence.”

Dr Mannan said that it was unfair to blame Muslims for what happened in Oulu concerning the sexual assault cases.

“None of the suspects in custody are members of our congregation,” he said. “Muslims of Oulu are law-abiding and should not be the target of people’s anger and hate.”

Oulu’s knee-jerk reaction to the sexual assault crimes will do a lot of harm to the city’s image. Blame the media, police, politicians.

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The question Migrant Tales asked a while back if the City of Oulu’s decision to ban visits by asylum seekers to child care centers and schools is legal. Can you ban a single group, in this case, asylum seekers, from visiting such places? As far as how the law works in Finland, the ban should apply to everyone and not to one specific group.

As we all know, the ban is due to the sexual assault cases where some 16 “persons of migrant background” – code for asylum seeker, Muslim, non-EU nationals – are suspects.

We got in touch with the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman about this and have yet to get a call back from them.

The same goes for the City of Oulu’s Director of Education and Culture Mika Penttilä. He has not called back after repeated phone calls.

Section 6 of the Constitution states the following:  “Everyone is equal before the law. No one shall, without an acceptable reason, be treated differently from other persons on the ground of sex, age, origin, language, religion, conviction, opinion, health, disability or other reason that concerns his or her person.”

How should we interpret Section 6 of the Constitution? If there is a ban, like the one in Oulu, it must apply to everyone.

The ban, which is an overreaction and I believe illegal, is making Oulu trip over itself due to a lack of political leadership and the parliamentary elections in April.

An elementary school in Oulu was the target of recent attacks on social media due to a false rumor that asylum seekers had visited the school. Kello School principal, Timo Soini, said that the attacks amounted to threats and insults, according to Yle.

Read the full story (in Finnish) here.

“Two women and a man visited [the school] last week who were of multicultural origin and Finnish citizens,” said Soini. “They have lived in Finland all their lives and came to give talks to middle school students about discrimination and racism.”

Continue reading “Oulu’s knee-jerk reaction to the sexual assault crimes will do a lot of harm to the city’s image. Blame the media, police, politicians.”

Sampo Terho says clean up the mess his party created thanks to tighter asylum laws

Posted on by Migrant Tales

What is the difference between the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and Blue Reform party? The PS is openly racist while Blue Reform is a racist party with a bow tie. Both are racist parties that aim retarding and undermining migrants, minorities and Others from having a greater voice in Finland. 

Their aim is to keep Finland white by denying Others their rightful place in our society. They are not interested in integration but on how to teach and keep migrants and minorities as second- and third-class citizens.

Both the PS and Blue Reform are an aberration that represent the worst of our society. They are the first modern party that uses Islamophobic and xenophobic rhetoric to gain political party.

Sampo Terho, the chairperson and minister for European affairs, culture and sport, has the audacity to state below that we need to “manage immigration.” Manage?! After his former party, the PS, spearheaded tougher immigration laws that tightened family reunification and did away with residence permits on humanitarian grounds?! These types of policies not only told asylum seekers that we don’t want you here but created thousands of undocumented migrants from a few hundred before.   

WARNING: RACIST CONTENT – We need to “manage Immigration” is one of Terho’s favorite catchphrases. What he is saying is that we should clean up the mess his party created in government concerning immigration and asylum policy.

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February 2018-2019: How a Pakistani family in Finland encountered and defied hate

Posted on by Migrant Tales

THIS STORY WAS UPDATED

A year has elapsed since Rashid H., a Pakistani migrant, was brutally attacked by three white Finnish youths in Vantaa on a Friday, February 23. The attack not only changed Rashid’s and his family’s life permanently, what happened also spread fear in the Pakistani community of Finland.

Rashid and his wife Sobia have two daughters aged six and one.

On visiting the couple, one of the matters you notice is not only the past but the future and their will to make the best out of a terrible situation. Rashid is recovering slowly and is on sick leave until the end of 2019.

“Rashid takes two types of painkillers and even Panadol if both don’t do the job,” she said. “On top of that, he also takes medicine for blood pressure and he is a diabetic.”

On the left, a statement by the police about what happened to Rashid. On the right is the profile picture of the new NGO, Anti-Hate Crime Organisation Finland, which founded in September thanks to Rashid and his wife. The picture on the right is of a man who was threatened by the Polish police.He did not want his face to appear in the picture. Source: Police and photo by Enrique Tessieri.

An important part of the recovery and healing process is getting support from psychologists, other health officials, family and friends. “Recovery sessions with the psychologist have helped us a lot but there is still a way to go,” she said.

March 2018

I met Rashid, his wife and daughters the first time at the Meilahti Hospital of Helsinki. With stitches and bruises on his body, Rashid demonstrated a strong will to recover and overcome what had happened.

“When I get out of here and get better,” he said almost a year ago. “I want to help others by telling them what is hate crime and what happened to me so that others could learn.”

The promise he had made at the hospital came true. Rashid and his wife helped found Anti-Hate Crime Organisation Finland (Suomen viharikosvasainen yhdistys ry) in September. On March 21, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Rashid and Sobia will give a talk to students and migrants in Otava near Mikkeli.

The new founding board members of Anti-Hate Crime Organisation Finland. The NGO was founded on September 8 in Helsinki and registered on October 3 by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH). 

It’s difficult to grasp what happened to Rashid and how he survived. His attackers had stabbed him up to thirty times, fractured his skull with an axe and jabbed him several times with another pointed object. His blood stains were left near the apartment building for twenty days after the attack despite repeated calls by his wife to the social office and police to remove them.

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WARNING: RACIST CONTENT – Halla-aho announces that anti-immigration will be the PS’ main campaign theme

Posted on by Migrant Tales

With parliamentary elections a heartbeat away on April 14, the populist far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party announced that anti-immigration will be their main campaign theme. Are we surprised? Not in the bit. 

PS Chairperson Jussi Halla-aho was quoted as saying in Yle that at the present rate, Finland’s immigration policy will destroy present levels of social welfare, undermine good salaries, good schools, gender equality among other problems.

“We want to make it tougher for people to move here,” he said. “We want to raise the requirements to get Finnish citizenship.”

See the short interview here.

Continue reading “WARNING: RACIST CONTENT – Halla-aho announces that anti-immigration will be the PS’ main campaign theme”