Category: Enrique Tessieri

Mistaking your identity

Posted on by Migrant Tales

In a world where migration constantly weaves new identities and is even seen as a threat to national identities, countries in Europe are throwing all their political weight to slow such a natural process. Being from a multicultural and multinational background can be a problem in a world that sees new identities as a threat.

On my life’s journey, I made over four decades ago one of the greatest discoveries and found peace with my multicultural self in my native Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the Finnish Seaman’s Church.  Even if such pleasant landscapes no longer witness my patient silence and stance, they are now memories that have turned into imaginary cities of the mind, where every building stands out eager to tell you a story.

Even though I have visited the Finnish Seaman’s Church on many occasions, the days I spent there as a brief tenant in 1999 brought me back to the beginning of a long journey I began in the 1990s.

The Finnish Seaman’s Church at aт San Juan 234, Buenos Aires. Photo by Enrique Tessieri.

For months, I kept the secret to myself. I didn’t even dare reveal it to my wife. Living a few years later in the northern part of South America, in the twilight quagmire of the violence and strife that has gripped Colombia for decades, I have decided to share the secret with you.

Dante and Jacob

William Blake (1757-1827) once said that improvements make straight roads but the crooked ones without improvement are roads of genius. Was my multicultural background my crooked road?

Both of my great-grandparents had migrant migrant backgrounds. One of them, Dante, was an anarchist sent to a prison on the island of Pantelleria, located between Sicily and Tunisia. Jacob’s great-grandfather, Jacob Weikain, a tinsmith, had emigrated to Finland from Latvia in 1799.

My family has been on the move for generations. A journey may take generations to complete, if ever. Is this the reason why in my deepest thoughts I am always traveling somewhere else, searching elsewhere? Does it reveal why I feel many times like standing alone in a railway station waiting for the last train home, feeling like being in the land of nowhere with a sense of being somewhere else?

At the end of the last century, the Finns were sowing the seeds of their independence from the Russian Empire. Italy comprising several kingdoms, duchies, and city-states, became a unified country in 1861.

Even if Dante and Jacob are talks of the past, and when they were alive I was talk of the future, I can say confidently that the yearning and restlessness that I feel is because of them or possibly it has to do with the fact that I was born in an enormous transit lounge called Argentina. I am like many that were born in that land: my great-grandparents arrived as migrants and after three generations, their great-grandchildren became migrants again.

Due to my multinational background, I used to feel out of place but understand such feelings were nothing more than my prejudices. Thanks to the Finnish Seamen’s Church of Buenos Aires, I don’t feel out of place at all no matter where I am.

The world is becoming a very small place as time races ahead. For this reason, I believe that my children and grandchildren will be luckier than I am. In the millennium we’ll be able to enter and leave cultures and lifestyles and be if I wish – from many places and will not be judged as a result.

As long as we are not overcome by racial hatred, greed, and power, life in the millennium will be like being in a vast city like Buenos Aires, London, or New York, where everyone is from somewhere but where no one is a real or imagined native.

If we all learned to  understand that we are nothing more than temporary beings on Earth searching endlessly for that hill where the grass is greener on the other side where we can be from nowhere to be from everywhere.

The fall of (US)America

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The 5 November US presidential election will be remembered as the alarm that signifies the end of USAmerica and when all of its contradictions caught up with it and destroyed it. Nothing good can come out of a second Trump term except for more global and national chaos.

The US poet Allan Ginsberg (1926-1997) put it in the following words in his book The Fall of America: “In a thousand years, if there is history, America’ll will be remembered as a Nasty little country full of Pricks…”

Only the system is to blame for the downfall of the United States, a history of the unfree. The United States’ predicament has come to fruition thanks to runaway capitalism and the lack of guardrails.

Power blinds, but also destroys.

Whenever a country believes it is invinsible, that is when ita downfall spiral begins.

Right behind the United States is Europe.

Our downfall tells us that we’ll be treated the same way as we treat others from developed countries – with contempt.

MP Heikki Vestman throws the rule of law and asylum seekers under the bus

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Thanks to National Coalition Party (NCP) MP and chairperson of the constitutional committee, Heikki Vestman, Finland regressed to the days of the cold war, when human rights was seen as a negative matter because it jeopardized our relationship with the former Soviet Union.

Vestman, who has been accused of throwing the rule of law and human rights under the bus and allowing politics to taint the credibility of the constitutional committee, accuses Juha Lavapuro, who will begin his term as a member of the European Court of Human Rights, of undermining the rule of law because he criticized the pushback law passed in July.

Even if the law was passed in the summer, Syrian asylum seekers who crossed the Finnish-Russian border in November claim that Finnish border guards started to pushback asylum seekers in December 2023.

The Finnish Border Guards have not confirmed or denied such a claim because they do not comment on such claims.

Read the full story (in Finnish) here.

Lavapuro criticized Monday the constitutional committee and the pushback law in Helsingin Sanomat: “If you consult independent experts and make fun of their legal views by invoking national security, it is fair to say that the constitutional committee has stepped out of its constitutional role and into the political arena,” he was quoted as saying.

Vestman struck back at Lavapuro in a Helsingin Sanomat interview: “In general, I consider as harmful to the rule of law any speech that disputes the decision of a competent institution on the existing legal situation and the obligation to comply with it – whether it is made by a politician, judge, professor or ordinary citizen,” Vestman wrote on X.

Apart from his role in the constitutional committee and making possible the passage of the pushback law, Vestman has spoken lowly about asylum seekers.

Migrant Tales wrote about Vestman in 2021: “When I heard your speech [in parliament] and rationale Wednesday (20 October), I wondered how a young, apparently intelligent person could house such opinionated and unsubstantiated claims about migrants. If you are honest, would you want to [live and] grow up in a country where this type of discourse is ongoing by politicians seeking power and attention? 
Read some history and check out how the Finns were labeled in Sweden during the 1960s and 1970s. 

Does the phrase “en finne igen” [a Finn again*] ring a bell?”

Apart from throwing human rights and the rule of law under the bus, Vestman also does it with asylum seekers.

*In the 1970s, any crime that was reported in the media was assumed to be done y a Finn. They say when reading about a crime, it was “a Finn again.”

Thank you President Jimmy Carter (1924-2024)

Posted on by Migrant Tales
Enrique Tessieri <[email protected]>May 1, 2017, 4:29 PM
to [email protected]

President Jimmy Carter, you don’t know me but I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me hope during one of my darkest hours when I was in Argentina during the dirty war (1976-83).

At the time when you mentioned that human rights would form a part of US foreign policy, I was arrested in Buenos Aires and thrown in a prison cell for forgetting my ID at home. There was no habeas corpus, no due process and everything appeared to be left to chance as I stared out through the barred opening into the overcast day from the cold cell.

I remember that day so clearly and didn’t feel forsaken because you had spoken about human rights. I was a young man back then and started to study more in detail the thirty sections of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

I write this email to you, Mr. President, because I read that President Donald Trump has asked Argentine President Mauricio Macri to rescind a decision to give you the Order of San Martin, Argentina’s most prestigious medal.

I am ashamed and saddened by the actions of Argentina’s president.

Even so, I want you to know that your foreign policy of human rights during your mandate as US president will never be forgotten by me. It gave me hope during one of the darkest moments of my life, when I was physically detained in a cell on a Saturday afternoon.

I recovered from that incident but haven’t ever forgotten it. I work today as a techer and anti-racism activist during my spare time.

I’m eternally thankful to you.

Enrique Tessieri

Suomen Silta* (6/2013): Finns of all backgrounds, unite!

Posted on by Migrant Tales

When Finns talk about expats, they usually mean those that are Finnish citizens and, most importantly, speak the Finnish or Swedish language. Apart from speaking on of Finland’s two official languages, your ethnic background plays a role as well.

When you generalize, you risk walking on thin ice. I’ll take that risk, however, to make a point. If you grew up in countries like the united States, Canada, Australia or any other with a large white English-speaking population, your acceptance in Finland may be easier than if you were black, Native American, and Latino.

Being white doesn’t mean tat you’ll be automatically accepted. Many Russians, who are white struggle for acceptance in this country due to the historical wounds that have not yet healed. Let’s make on matter clear: When I speak of Finns I’m talking about some Finns, not all Finns.

Certainly there are matters that officially define where you’re from. This can be a passport, but what if you feel a close bond to this country, don’t speak any of the two languages and aren’t a Finnish citizen?

In my opinion, the line that separates Finns from “us” versus “them” should be obliterated. If there is one factor that is throwing sand in the gears of building a vibrant culturally diverse society in this century, it’s our narrow definition of who is and who isn’t a Finn.

Look at it this way. Over 1.2 million people emigrated between 1860 and 1999. The fact that so many built their lives abroad suggests that Finnish national culture, language, and identity have changed dramatically. Those Finns that have lived abroad for some generations are decades ahead of us in Finland since they represent the future Finn.

Who are the future Finns? They are those who have multicultural and multiethnic backgrounds but still see Finland a a part of their heritage.

New century, new Finn

The meteoric rise of an anti-EU, anti-immigration and especially anti-Islam part in the 2011 parliamentary elections, is one sin that matter have changed radically in Finland.

The number of MPs of the Finns Party won two years ago soared to 39 from just 5 in 2007. While Finland’s ever-growing culturally diversity played a role in the Finns Party victory, other factors like the euro crisis and massive bailout of countries like Greece Ireland and Portugal helped.

The knee-jerk reaction and te rise of a populist party to our ever-growing culture diversity and EU skepticism shouldn’t surprise us. Even if hundreds of thousands of Finns had emigrated from the country in the last two centuries, Finland immigrant population has been tiny, peaking to 29,685 in 1928 but steadily declining to 5,483 in 1970. EU membership in 1995 changed matters dramatically and today our foreign population total 195,511.

When I had the opportunity to visit the Finnish community of Thunder Bay in Canada in 2006, I learned that Finnish identity was not only restless but constantly changing: It could be Canadian, Finnish Canadian, Finnish or a multitude of other identities.

Even if some of the members of the Finnish community of Thunder Bay ad grown accustomed to speaking Finngligh, what I witnessed was not a distancing from the Finnish spoke n in Finland but the birth of a new branch of our language.

Inclusion and acceptance

Despite my Finnish multicultural background, which I’m proud of, it is still used by some to remind me that I’m not fully “us.” This, fortunately, happens less than before.

Continue reading “Suomen Silta* (6/2013): Finns of all backgrounds, unite!”

An example of Finnish white fragility

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White fragility is a defensive action, whereby white people react violently and defensively whenever racism is brought up. The aim of such hostility is to make the person bringing up the topic so attacked that he or she will not dare bring up the subject ever again.

Finance Minister Riikka Purra and Jussi Halla-aho of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, an anti-immigration party, often write and speak in a demeaning manner about migrants and minorities. Do their postings ever get old? They don’t. They are always there ready to release their toxicity.

THE POSTING WAS UPDATED

White fragility is a kneejerk reaction to instill fear and shut the mouths of racialized people. As an antiracist activit, one must be strong and not be intimidated by such hostility. Even if the concept of white fragility was coined by Robin Diangelo to expose racism in the US, it applies to Finland as well.

In a 2008 poting, Finance Minister and head of the PS Riikka Purra wrote with the pseudonym “riikka,” wrote: “If you gave me a weapon, [youth with migrant background] corpses would appear on a commuter train, you see.”  Source: European Islamophobic Report 2023.

Engaging in conversations about racism may trigger a range of defensive reactions, feelings, and behaviors, such as hostile anger, fear, and silence. Finland is no different.

UPDATE: After I had mentioned to councilperson Tanja Hartonen that her past writings revealed how she voted to give money to the Crisis Center as opposed to multicultural association Mimosa, she exploded and started yelling at me stating a number of times what I wrote about her was “outrageous.” She said at the time she could have pressed charges for defamation.

Was her reaction appropriate and becoming of a member of a city council committee?

She was so riled up that I couldn’t utter a word, never mind falsely accusing me of of calling her a racist.

Note: I did not mention her problematic blog post on Uusi Suomi, she did, and it would have been a travesty if she could press charges successfully for writing such trash that was taken down by the moderators.

Below, is a post by Tanja Hartonen, today a Mikkeli Center Party councilperson who was originally a member of the Social Democratic Party and then became a member of the PS.

Below is a blog post that Hartonen wrote in 2014 that resurfaced by her in December at a Mikkeli city committee meeting. Hartonen’s posting back then was so toxic that it was taken down by the Uusi Suomi moderators.

Even if she attempted to playdown the posting by stating it was written a long time ago and that she was planning back then to charge me with defamation, does such a post ever get old?

At the time of her posting, Hartonen was eyeing the 2015 general election and certainly wanted more fuel for her campaign by spreading anti-immigration rhetoric. At the time I was also worried for four Muslim teenagers who moved at the time to Mäntyharju as quota refugees.

Below is the original 2014 posting by Hartonen that was picked up by Migrant Tales.

Writes Hartonen: “Soon Finland won’t look like Finland anymore, or Finns at this rate. At this rate, we’ll become a minority in our own country. Cultural enrichment (what a term!) is in some people’s opinion a good thing? Oh in order to make Finns more sociable? What’s wrong with our culture anyway? If somebody doesn’t speak or kiss you, that’s how things are.“

Read Hartonen’s blog post translation here.

Continue reading “An example of Finnish white fragility”

Crossing the Finnish-Russian border during difficult times – had pushbacks started in December 2023?

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From 1 August 2023 to 29 January 2024 a total of 1,271 persons sought asylum at the Finnish-Russian border. Well over 90% of the refugees are from Muslim countries like Syria (491), Somalia (360), Yemen (120), and Iraq (57). The total amount does not include some 200 Russians in legal limbo awaiting an interview by the Finnish Migration Service (Migri). 

On 24 November, all border checkpoints were closed for the first time. Citing classified information, Interior Minister Mari Rantanen claims that people seeking asylum are “a threat to national security.” This is an odd statement because over 6 million Ukrainians who have fled to Europe since the outbreak of the war. None of them are considered “a threat to national security.”

Migrant Tales had the opportunity to interview some of these asylum seekers. While we cannot independently confirm it, pushbacks at the border appear to begun in December, according to the asylum seekers. Some Finnish border guards even used physical force on some and threatened at the border to “kick” some of them back to Russia.

Source: The Contrapuntual

One asylum seeker who entered Finland in November said he did not consider himself to be a threat to national security as the Finnish government claims. “If you think of it, Russia is our enemy because it has bombed cities and killed our people in places like Aleppo,” said Amir who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was applying for asylum. “For us, Russia was only a transit point to enter Finland.”

All of those interviewed by me had a long a difficult road to Finland. Some had gone first to Belarus and tried to cross the border without luck to Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia.

“It was very hard to be in the forest in the autumn cold in Belarus,” continued Amir. “The border guards in Latvia were the worst of the worst. They even used electric prods to turn us back.”

Thanks to social media, some found out that there was an opportunity to cross the border to Finland. Their greatest fear was that they’d be pushed back at the Finnish border to Russia.

“For a Syrian, this would mean almost certain death,” said another asylum seeker called Khaled, who also spoke on condition of anonymity. “It would mean deportation back to Syria, where you would face certain imprisonment and death.”

Amir said he had stayed in Russia at a hotel in Vyborg and was told to leave at 7 am to the border. At noon, he was taken to another checkpoint about 8 km from the Finnish border, where he was interviewed, registered, fingerprinted and passport stamped.

“The guards asked us if there was anyone smuggling people and who was going to seek asylum but everyone remained silent,” said Khalid. “We all bought bikes. Mine cost 300 euros.”

The money for the bike included a ride to the border. “When we got out of the car, the Russian guards told us to ride ahead and not look back. We did what they said.”

Khalid does not remember the name of the border crossing, possibly Vaalimaa, but he does remember the Finnish border guard who first told him to go back to Russia. “He said that he’d kick me back to Russia,” he continued. “I insisted and he finally accepted my plea for asylum.”

Continue reading “Crossing the Finnish-Russian border during difficult times – had pushbacks started in December 2023?”

Finland’s different shades of denial and racism

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Racism is like a Cadillac, they bring out a new model every year.

Malcolm X

Few these days deny that Finland has a racism problem against Muslims, people of color and Third Worlders, the Romany and Russian-speaking minority, the third largest after Finnish and Swedish speakers. The serious student of society does not only look at the surface of news but what is behind it.

The denial of racism by some sectors of Finnish society are one salient issue we can look behind the news. If racism and prejudice are ever-present, how does the media, politicians and society play down and deny the social ill?

When speaking of Muslims in Finland, the media rarely speaks up or defends the group since stereotypes about their “primitive culture” and our exceptiionalism permit us to look the other way.

Even if the above examples of racist journalism happened over thirty years ago, it still continues today.

MTV is the biggest private television company in Finland. It’s portrail of brown migrants had the same hateful narrative: migrant youths and non-white migrants are a threat to society because they are violent. The picture on the right was used to give a heads up that MTV was going to interview the Interior Minister Mari Rantanen about the government’s tightened migration policy. Why is there a threatenig picture of a person with a knife?

Finland’s Russian-speaking community, the third largest after Finnish and Swedish speakers. They are a category of their own how they are treated by the media and politicians.

Continue reading “Finland’s different shades of denial and racism”

Linkedin: The Russians are coming!

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The Finnish media, including Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, have attacked in mob fashion Kimmo Kiljunen, member of the Social Democratic Party and chairperson of the foreign affairs committee, for speaking candidly to representatives of the Alexander Union, a Finnish-Russian association, about the Finnish-Russian border as well as other matters.

Today, an editorial by Helsingin Sanomat highlighted “the unusual problems” of Kiljunen’s comments to Alexander Union. It wrote: “In the video, Kiljunen expressed some unusual opinions on Finland’s policy towards Russia. Among other things, he said that he considers the closure of the eastern border a violation of human rights and the ban on Russian real estate transactions to be racist. Kiljunen claimed that the Finnish tabloids were playing into the hands of Russian trolls with their critical articles.”

Are the above comments “unusual” and did they warrant such outrage? Or are Kiljunen’s views similar to what human rights experts and academicians pointed out about the dangers of the pushback law, which was approved by parliament in July?

Again, we must ask what did Kiljunen say wrong? Was he too candid in his views that the closing of the Finnish-Russian border is a slap in the face of human rights, and that National Coalition Party politicians like Antti Häkkänen can reinforce prejudices that Russians are a threat and that they should be barred from buying land? Did Kiljunen step on the government’s feet?

Even if the above restrictions do not prevent Finnish-Russian residents from buying land, they do send a clear message: Russians are a threat, and they should not be trusted. The war in Ukraine and the terrible invasion by Russia have made a bad situation worse by reinforcing people’s xenophobia toward Russians.

Some politicians, including President Aleksander Stubb, have even questioned the right of Russian speakers to hold dual citizenship.

Making such a suggestion, as did happen during a presidential campaign debate earlier this year, brings memories but in a different context of the Nuremberg Laws, which stripped the Jews of their rights in Nazi Germany.

The attacks and Kiljunen’s character assassination even by his party reveal a lot about Finland’s issues with xenophobia and suspicion of its Russian-speaking community, the third largest after Finnish and Swedish speakers.

Not understanding the racism in the debate is comprehending very little about the whole issue of how Finland’s Russian community is treated.

*Read the original posting on Linkedin here.