Category: Enrique Tessieri

Does data harvesting occur in Finland? Is there a connection beween the PS’ 2011 and Donald Trump’s election of 2016?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

In the face of the growing scandal about harvesting our personal data by groups like Cambridge Analytica and others, there is a question that needs investigating and answering: Did the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, particularly Matias Turkkila and his hate-site Hommaforum gang, use the same tactics to give the PS its historic victory in 2011?

The fact that nobody has carried an in-depth investigation if the there was collusion raises a lot of questions.

 

 

Data harvesting in Finnish elections? Russian trolls at work? We need to know. Visit website at the center of the data harvesting scandal here.

The fact we have no answers on how the Internet was used to give the anti-immigration populist and the far-right an ever-louder voice in Finland, reveals a lot about the problem and our state of denial and political naïvety. We need answers.

We don’t appear to care or still have a clue reveal that our Nordic welfare values and sense of fairness – if it ever existed – could fall from grace in the same way as when the Soviet Union ceased to exist in 1991 after 74 years of existence.

Continue reading “Does data harvesting occur in Finland? Is there a connection beween the PS’ 2011 and Donald Trump’s election of 2016?”

Asylum seeker who is married to a Finn expecting his child is released from Joutseno immigration removal center after 49 days

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales insight: Finland locks up all kinds of people in immigration removal centers in Helsinki’s Metsäaä and Joutseno like women, men, children and whole families, even asylum seekers who have married Finns. 

This asylum seeker was detained by the police on February 2 and released Friday, March 23, or a total of 49 days!

And for what reason was he kept at the notorious Jourseno immigration removal center? For searching for a better life, fleeing war and strife, and marrying a Finn and waiting to become a father?

Migrant Tales published in early March a story about the plight of this man.

This story will be updated.

In Joutseno, located 20km north of the southeastern Finnish city of Lappeenranta, is Finland’s second immigration removal center after Helsinki’s Metsälä. It is a place where Finland even locks up families with children and where suicides happen.

Finland does this because it sees immigration as a threat. This fact is the basis of the country’s oppressive immigration policy, especially towards asylum seekers.

Cases of human tragedy abound at Joutseno irrespective of sex, age, national origin, and marital status.

Below, is a picture of a minor looking out the window at the Joutseno immigration removal center.

Read the full story here.

One of these asylum seekers is an Iraqi who has been locked up since February 2.

Like many of his countrymen, he too came to Finland in 2015. Contrary to other asylum seekers at Joutseno, he is married to a Finnish woman who is expecting a child.

A view of the Joutseno immigration removal center yard from his cell. Photo by the asylum seeker.

The asylum seeker’s problems with the Finnish immigration authorities started in February 2017.* After they detained him in Pori during that month, they sent him to Turku. The police said that even if he was married to a Finn, it wouldn’t be grounds to stop the deportation.

 

After being detained in Turku and the Metsälä immigration removal center for 10 days later, the police detained him again in February and sent to the Joutseno immigration removal center.

“They said they had to lock me up because they suspected I’d to another country,” he said. “I asked them [the polce] where I would go. I should go to my wife who is pregnant.”

According to the asylum seeker, his Finnish wife pleaded with the authorities “crying and begging them,” but it was to no avail.

* Not July 2016 as originally reported.

Continue reading “Asylum seeker who is married to a Finn expecting his child is released from Joutseno immigration removal center after 49 days”

Facebook Imran Adan: Whiten your skin, it will help you find work in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales insight: There is no racism in Finland, right? A black person gets stopped in Tampere by a white 50-year-old who thinks he has so much privilege that he can insult a black man, Imran Adan, in a racist way. 

“A man stopped me that for no reason and started to ask why I am in Finland and what I do here,” he said. “Before I could answer him and in near-shock, he said that if I’m not working and not in school, I must be living off social welfare.”

The man gave him advice and told me to whiten my skin if I wanted to get a job. 

While such a statement would shock anyone, Adan said that a black man who was watching the conversation told him that he should take the white Finns advice because it would help him get a job.

“I’ve been whitening my skin,” said the black person who had been living in Finland for a year. 

For those who don’t know Adan, he works at Tampere University as a coordinator and was a former research assistant. 

“The last thing I will ever do is whiten my skin,” he said. “This skin color has remained with me for generations and there is no reason for me to whiten it. I will never change my identity.”

 

Read the original post here.

 

 

Twitter: UNICEF criticizes Finland over the detention of asylum-seeker children

Posted on by Migrant Tales

UNICEF rebukes Finland over its treatment of asylum-seeking minors, according to YLE News. Human rights activists like Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng have lobbied Finland to stop detaining children in 2013.

He wrote:

“According to Amnesty International, children should be in day care centres, schools or skateparks – not in police detention. Finland detains thousands of people yearly, including people who have fled persecution, war or poverty. They are held in prison-like conditions, although guilty of no crime.”

Kimmo Neihum tweets close to four years later the same problem:

Read the full story here.

Migrant Tales published in April 2017 this harrowing story about an Iraqi family being detained at the Joutseno immigration removal center.

An Iraqi child looking from the window of her cell in April 2017.

Finland, the country that boasts on being a Nordic nation that promotes social equality and has one of the best education systems in the world, has a dark side.

The detention and deportation of children must stop.

 

 

 

 

 

Asylum seeker Ibrahim has found work delivering newspapers for Posti

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales update: Remember Ibrahim? Remember the Iraqi asylum seeker who had applied for hundreds of jobs? Well, Ibrahim’s luck changed. He will start to work next week for Posti to deliver newspapers to homes. 

According to Ibrahim, his hourly wage will be 9 euros/hour, and he will deliver papers from 2 am to 6 am six days a week after which he gets two days off work. 

“That makes about 900 euros a month which is much more than my 90 euros allowance I get monthly,” he said. “By working on Sundays, I can make an extra 150 euros a month.”  

We wish Ibrahim the best of luck in his new job. 

Racism squanders talent, growth, and opportunities.

Migrant Tales

Prejudice is an emotional commitment to ignorance.

Dr. Nathan Rutstein 

Most of our perceptions of visible migrants and minorities are erroneous and an outright lie. Remember when Perussuomalaiset* party secretary, Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, labeled all refugees in 2015, including those from countries like Syria, as economic migrants and welfare shoppers?

This populist and hateful statement by Slunga-Poutsalo was supported by Foreign Minister Timo Soiniand Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government. Remember the prime minister? He’s the one who offered his home to asylum seekers but then broke his promise like so many others during his mandate.

Since they are “welfare shoppers” and “economic migrants” we give into lies that in turn help justify our ignorance and prejudice. It is the fuel and justification for tightening immigration policy and socially excluding such people.

Such lies about asylum seekers and migrants spread by politicians and the media have labeled us as a problem that should be treated with suspicion and makes it ever-difficult to get employed.

Ibrahim [1] is an Iraqi asylum seeker who came to Finland in 2015. He is a computer hardware specialist who regularly applies to 25-35 jobs weekly.

“During my stay in Finland, I have applied to hundreds of jobs,” he admitted. “I’m still unemployed.”

Ibrahim said that the vast majority of job applications he applies to are through Linkedin (70%) followed by different Facebook groups (20%) and the rest in places such as Jobs in Helsinki, fairs and the like (10%).

“Very few companies tell me outright that they cannot hire me because I am an asylum seeker,” he said. “I feel that the main reason why they don’t want to hire me due to fear.”

Ibrahim agrees that those that tell him that they cannot hire him because he is an asylum seeker are guilty of discrimination. Section 6 of the constitution states clearly that everyone irrespective of his or her background is equal before the law.

“What can I do?” he said about discrimination. “Other factors make it hard for me to find a job. Government restrictions and red tape.”

Despite the situation, Ibrahim won’t give up and will continue to search for a job in Finland despite all the obstacles he faces.

* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13 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. One is more open about it while the other is more diplomatic.

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.

[1] The name of the asylum seeker was changed in order to protect his identity.

The roots of hate crime and hate speech are in Finnish society, right under our noses

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The media and police are mirrors of our prejudices in our society. Our lame reaction to such social ills not only expose our weaknesses as a society but hide and protect the real culprit: institutional racism. 

How does institutional racism survive in Finland? The answer is easy: We shield such a social ill with our silence, the way the police treats minorities and migrants, in the hateful rhetoric of politicians like Perussuomalaiset*(PS) MP Laura Huhtasaari, to just name a few.

With the rise of Islamophobic and racist politicians assured a political career, should be we surprised that hate crimes have gone up in Finland?

Hate is a powerful force and if you think it just stops with stereotyping, belittling jokes and insensitive remarks, take a look at the pyramid of hate, think twice. Its destination is genocide.

Remember when the police started to profile pizzerias ethically? They asked customers to report establishments that sold pizzas at 6 euros or below. Lidl sells pizza at a euro 1.39. Read what the BBC of London wrote about this failed police campaign here.

The police, who are overwhelmingly white in Finland, have so much power that they even claim to know more than the victims of racism.

An unfortunate example of the latter is the vile attack against a Pakistani on February 23. The police claim that what happened to the Pakistani wasn’t a hate crime even if he suffered over 20 stabbings and other injuries. The statement was made without asking what the victim thought.

Continue reading “The roots of hate crime and hate speech are in Finnish society, right under our noses”

QUOTE OF THE DAY: National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehminen needs more funds to avoid no-go zones in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales insight: I heard this short news story on the 6 pm news Saturday. In it, National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen said on YLE (see 4:45 min.) he needs more funds for the police because of the new alcohol law and terrorism. He then goes off and mentioned that such funds would go for avoiding no-go zones from forming. Really?! Where?!

“So that such [no-go zone] neighborhoods would form and which the authority would not dare go …so that living outside of the law wouldn’t take root in Finland and its structures.”*


 

* Poliisijohtaja Seppo Kolehmainen YLE:lle: “Ettei tulisi semmoisia lähiöitä joihin viranomaiset eivät uskalla mennä…sen lain ulkopuolella oleminen ei juurtuisi suomalaisten yhteiskunnan rakenteisiin.”

The violent attack against a Pakistani migrant in Vantaa should be treated as a hate crime

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The Pakistani, who was attacked brutally in Vantaa on February 23 by three white Finnish youths carrying a knife, ax, and a pointed object, sees what happened to him was a hate crime.*  

If the incident had occurred in the UK, it would be recorded as a hate crime by the police because the victim perceived it to happen against him because of his ethnic background or faith.

For some unknown reason, the Finnish police investigating the case are still not clear on the motive of the crime. The fact that the victim considers what happened to him a hate crime is a strong sign that the police will have to see it in that way.

The police’s reaction to what happened to the Pakistani in Vantaa shows the daily experiences of ethnic minorities who are confronted by racist violence in Europe and Finland. This, we believe, is a classic example of institutional racism.

In an email to Migrant Tales, the Itä-Uusimaa police state that motive is the primary factor in determining a hate crime. It pointed out in another email: a hate crime is registered as such if “the injured party [victim or other injured party], other parties or police see it as a hate crime.” [1]

This case, which must be one of the worst ever reported against a migrant in Finland irrespective of its classification, should help us to see some of the weaknesses that hate-crime victims face in this country.

One of these that became clear immediately is the police’s reaction. Not only did it take the police until February 27 to come out with a statement, the officer in charge of the case, Detective Chief Inspector Mikko Minkkinen, was quoted as saying in Helsingin Sanomat  and YLE News here is nothing that suggests it was a racist crime.

What is surprising is that the police makes such a claim without asking what the victim thinks. It may believe that since the attackers were intoxicated or that the attack was not planned absolves the attackers of a hate crime. Wrong.

A hate crime can occur when intoxicated and doesn’t have to be planned. Both factors are totally irrelevant.

The OSCE ODIHR Hate Crime Reporting manual establishes motive through a background check of the crime.

Some of these bias indicators that point to an Islamophobic or anti-migrant hate crime are:

  • Difference of ethnicity/background between the perpetrator and victim;
  • Timing
  • Proximity to a mosque as well or another venue associated with Muslims/migrants;
  • What does the victim’s community say?
  • What does the perpetrator say why he did it?
  • The vehemence of the attack – this is a very strong indicator.

Any two of the above would warrant the police investigation Bias/hate as a motive.

So far, and as far as we can gather, there are three points: (1) difference of ethnic background; (2) what does the victim’s community say; (3) and the vehemence of the attack.

The violence of the attack speaks volumes. Without going into gruesome detail, it took four hours to remove the victim’s stitches. A recent operation that the victim underwent took eight hours.

Read the full guide here.

According to another comprehensive guide for hate crime victims and NGOs published by the UK Race and Europe Network (EKREN) and the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), a hate crime sends a terrible message. The police should recognize that by attacking an individual, as in the case of the Pakistani, a warning to a broader group of people who share the same characteristics.

Continue reading “The violent attack against a Pakistani migrant in Vantaa should be treated as a hate crime”

Asylum seeker Ibrahim has applied to hundreds of jobs in Finland without luck

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Racism squanders talent, growth, and opportunities.

Migrant Tales

Prejudice is an emotional commitment to ignorance.

Dr. Nathan Rutstein 

Most of our perceptions of visible migrants and minorities are erroneous and an outright lie. Remember when Perussuomalaiset* party secretary, Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, labeled all refugees in 2015, including those from countries like Syria, as economic migrants and welfare shoppers?

This populist and hateful statement by Slunga-Poutsalo was supported by Foreign Minister Timo Soini and Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government. Remember the prime minister? He’s the one who offered his home to asylum seekers but then broke his promise like so many others during his mandate.

Since they are “welfare shoppers” and “economic migrants” we give into lies that in turn help justify our ignorance and prejudice. It is the fuel and justification for tightening immigration policy and socially excluding such people.

A good video message by the Finnish Refugee Advice Center.

Such lies about asylum seekers and migrants spread by politicians and the media have labeled us as a problem that should be treated with suspicion and makes it ever-difficult to get employed.

Ibrahim [1] is an Iraqi asylum seeker who came to Finland in 2015. He is a computer hardware specialist who regularly applies to 25-35 jobs weekly.

“During my stay in Finland, I have applied to hundreds of jobs,” he admitted. “I’m still unemployed.”

Ibrahim said that the vast majority of job applications he applies to are through Linkedin (70%) followed by different Facebook groups (20%) and the rest in places such as Jobs in Helsinki, fairs and the like (10%).

“Very few companies tell me outright that they cannot hire me because I am an asylum seeker,” he said. “I feel that the main reason why they don’t want to hire me due to fear.”

Ibrahim agrees that those that tell him that they cannot hire him because he is an asylum seeker are guilty of discrimination. Section 6 of the constitution states clearly that everyone irrespective of his or her background is equal before the law.

“What can I do?” he said about discrimination. “Other factors make it hard for me to find a job. Government restrictions and red tape.”

Despite the situation, Ibrahim won’t give up and will continue to search for a job in Finland despite all the obstacles he faces.

* The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13 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. One is more open about it while the other is more diplomatic.

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.

[1] The name of the asylum seeker was changed in order to protect his identity.

Asylum seeker detained at the Joutseno immigration removal center: “I should go to my wife who is pregnant”   

Posted on by Migrant Tales

In Joutseno, located 20km north of the southeastern Finnish city of Lappeenranta, is Finland’s second immigration removal center after Helsinki’s Metsälä. It is a place where Finland even locks up families with children and where suicides happen.

Finland does this because it sees immigration as a threat. This fact is the basis of the country’s oppressive immigration policy, especially towards asylum seekers.

Cases of human tragedy abound at Joutseno irrespective of sex, age, national origin, and marital status.

Below, is a picture of a minor looking out the window at the Joutseno immigration removal center.

Read the full story here.

One of these asylum seekers is an Iraqi who has been locked up since February 2.

Like many of his countrymen, he too came to Finland in 2015. Contrary to other asylum seekers at Joutseno, he is married to a Finnish woman who is expecting a child.

A view of the Joutseno immigration removal center yard from his cell. Photo by the asylum seeker.

The asylum seeker’s problems with the Finnish immigration authorities started in February 2017.* After they detained him in Pori during that month, they sent him to Turku. The police said that even if he was married to a Finn, it wouldn’t be grounds to stop the deportation.

Continue reading “Asylum seeker detained at the Joutseno immigration removal center: “I should go to my wife who is pregnant”   “