Category: Enrique Tessieri

Wednesday was a good day for racism in Finland: Pia Kauma and Gleb Simanov

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Wednesday was a good day for racism in Finland. National Coalition Party (NCP) substitute MP Pia Kauma, who accused migrant women three years ago of demanding social welfare to buy new baby carriages, took over as MP after Alexander Stubb started his tenure at the vice-president and member of the management committee of the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Kauma’s appointment was overshadowed two days earlier by Gleb Simanov, who videotaped and published on Facebook Somali minors for allegedly attempting to bum a ride on the bus. Simanov got fired as a result but was hired Monday by Onnibus.

While both persons come from different backgrounds, their racist actions are the same: Both targetted Somalis to show without proof how they abuse the system. Both are politicians and their actions and comments helped label and stigmatize migrants by reinforcing stereotypes.

Kauma, who based her claim on hearsay, and even if she apologized for what she said,  is an example of how politicians use the racist card to get attention and votes. First, they make outrageous claims that are later disproven by journalists. By then it’s too late because the fake news is out there.

The scandal ignited by Kauma kicked off with the following statement in Länsiväylä: “Why must migrant families get social welfare  to buy new baby carriages  if [white] Finnish families recycle used  baby carriages?”

When asked Wednesday by Helsingin Sanomat about what she said, Kauma claimed it helped her to understand why politicians are so careful about what they say. “There would be a better debate if we’d express our opinions openly,” she added, suggesting that she can use her power as an MP to label and stigmatize migrants even on the basis of fake news.

Migrant Tales considers Kauma’s statement and her apology in 2014 as disingenuous.

 Kauma is all smiles for white Finns and all scorn for migrants and minorities.   Continue reading “Wednesday was a good day for racism in Finland: Pia Kauma and Gleb Simanov”

Musta Barbaari’s mother and sister charged by the police in “ethnic profiling” case

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Singer Musta Barbaari’s mother and sister are going to be charged for resistance to cooperate with law enforcement officials and insubordination, according to YLE.  In a highly publicized case in social media last year, Musta Barbaari, whose real name is James Nikander, wrote that plainclothes police officials stopped his mother and sister in downtown Helsinki.

According to a then-Helsingin Sanomat story, the singer’s sister refused to show her passport and asked the police why they were arbitrarily stopped and questioned.

“The plainclothes police didn’t answer [my sister’s question] but proceeded to handcuff both of them rudely and forced my mother to lie on the ground,” he wrote. “My sister asked once again why they were being treated in such a way and what they had done but didn’t get an answer from police. My mother feared for her life and thought she was going to be beaten since the behavior of the police was very rude!”

The police were cleared of all wrongdoing in the case and went further by clearing the police of ethnic profiling while monitoring migrants in 2016, according to YLE News.

One of Musta Barbaari’s latest videos called, “Who’s afraid of the dark?”

In the spring of 2016, the police carried out spot checks with the Finnish Border Guard on “foreign-looking” people in the Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa.

The idea that officials are looking for people who “look foreign” should raise some questions. One of these is what is a “foreign-looking” person look?

The University of Turku will publish the findings of Finland’s most comprehensive study about ethnic profiling in 2018.

Up to now, the police service has denied that it ethnically profiles people.

 

Disingenuous Timo Soini should take a long look in the mirror

Posted on by Migrant Tales

If there is a power-hungry politician who will do almost anything to gain power and lose it in an instant, that politician is Timo Soini. Apart from being a disingenuous politician who saw his populist creation inflate and implode, he is a sore loser as well.

In an interview in Tampere-based daily Aamulehti, he claims that the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* “is no longer the party he founded” and that the party he ruled for 20 years is now “an anti-human” party under its new chairperson Jussi Halla-aho.

Read the full story (in Finnish) here.

Soini, the PS, and the new PS, or Siniset, have a long history of lying to the public.

The PS has always been a so-called “anti-human” party because it has victimized migrants and been hostile to cultural diversity and difference.

If you disagree, how come Soini turned to people like Tony Halme and Halla-aho to get more support for the party?

His political creation, the PS, is like from the classic 1931 movie Frankenstein, when the monster kills its master.

The same happened with Soini and the PS.

* After 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

Just call them the New Perussuomalaiset and Old Perussuomalaiset

Posted on by Migrant Tales

As politicians like MP Simon Elo try to assure us of their questionable political credentials after he and nineteen others ditched the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party on June 13,  the new party’s name, which has changed three times in less than two months, is nothing more than a snow job. 

Let’s go back to see what happened in early June. Former chairperson Timo Soini, who chaired the party for twenty years, backed Sampo Terho to head the PS. Sampo loses against Jussi Halla-aho, and it caused the PS to implode three days later.

PS MPs that give the thumbs down to Halla-aho form a new parliamentary group called New Alternative, Uusi vaihtoehto, which is later called Blue Reform and on Monday it changes the name for a third time to Siniset.

Changing the name so many times is confusing to say the least. The public isn’t buying it as the latest polls show below for the New and Old PS.

Note that the Old PS (Finns) and New Alternative (N. Alt) see their standings in the latest poll by YLE plummet by 1.6 percentage points.

Instead of allowing a new party to make up its mind what it wants to call itself, just call both blocs the “Old” Perussuomalaiset and “New” Perussuomalsiet to avoid confusion.

What differentiates the Old from the New Perussuomalaiset from each other?

Apart from their common bigotry, hostility and Islamophobic views, the New Perussuomalaiset is no different from the Old Perussuomalaiset. The difference, however, is that the former look acceptable from the outside but inside their views of Finnish society is racist and hostile to cultural diversity.

 

Continue reading “Just call them the New Perussuomalaiset and Old Perussuomalaiset”

One of the things I dislike most about what politicians say about racism

Posted on by Migrant Tales

When politicians claim that hard economic times explain why there’s a spike in racism, why people are racist, it is nothing more than an excuse to approve racist behavior. They endorse such behavior because they don’t have any issues about their voters venting their hostility towards migrants and minorities. 

Racism has existed for a long time in our societies. It exists because we approve one way or another this kind of behavior.

Racism is an undercurrent where toxic attitudes flow and gush out whenever the time and place is right.

There is no time when racism is appropriate – it is always unacceptable and inappropriate.

 

Six years after 22/7: What can one person do?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Anders Breivik committed a horrendous act six years ago on July 22. While anti-immigration groups want us to forget what happened, we can never forget. Breivik is the smoking gun that proves that those that preach hatred have the potential to spread fear and death. 

One must ask what the end-game of those that spread racial, ethnic and cultural hatred is? We have many examples but, like what Breivik did six years ago, society and some politicians want to forget. Every time we forget, we edge closer to the peak of the hate pyramid where hatred has the potential of turning into genocide.

What can one person do?

We can do a lot to prevent the likes of Breivik and his fanatical followers from taking us on the same path of our moral demise as a society.

Thank you, Jori Eskolin for the imaginary interview you did with “Haura Luhtasaari,” who must be Perussuomalaiset* Vice President Laura Huhtasaari.

Continue reading “Six years after 22/7: What can one person do?”

Finland’s far right cowardice and bravado. Why do they hide behind fake names and spread fake news?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Gleb Simanov, the fired bus driver who thought it was a good idea to post racist videos of his customers and published them on a far-right website managed by Paavo Tajukangas (a fake name), is a perfect example of cowardice and bravado.

When the chips are down, racists and their followers run and hide. They rarely come to each other’s rescue.

After Simanov got fired Thursday, the former bus driver has appeared on populist and far-right social media platforms. He gives his account of what happened but conveniently forgets to tell us why the bus company sacked him for “inappropriate and racist behavior.” There is no mention of his ill treatment of Somalis on his bus and that he calls them liars, among other things, without a shred of proof.

He gives his account of events but conveniently forgets to tell us why the bus company sacked him for “inappropriate and racist behavior.” He makes no mention of the ill treatment of Somalis on his bus and that he caleds them liars, among other things, without a shred of proof.

One young Somali woman wanted to pay for the fare, but Simanov kicked her off the bus with her friend calling her a liar.

Simanov’s arguments are nothing more than red herrings. He uses Somalis, who allegedly want to bum a ride without offering any proof of his claims, as a pretext to expose his hatred for them.  It is a common far-right strategy.

Who is “Paavo Tajukangas?”

There is another person who is trying to hide for cover by washing his hands of what happened. I wouldn’t be surprised if he and Simanov planned the whole thing that got the bus driver fired. Simanov videotaped and Tajukangas published them – and later took them down – on his blog and YouTube.

The fact that aka “Tajukangas” states that “we” took them down from his blog and YouTube is pretty revealing.

Tajukangas says that he’s not a member of Suomen Sisu, a far right white supremacist association, or belongs to either the political right or left.

Let’s give, if we can, Tajukangas the benefit of the doubt. What do the two pictures and links to a neo-Nazi association below reveal about himself?

You be the judge.

“Paavo Tajukangas” speaking at a Suomen Sisu event. He claims he’s not a member of Suomen Sisu. Note the sunglasses. Source: YouTube.

If the picture and video don’t speak volumes about his far-right ideology, what does the picture below tell us?

Continue reading “Finland’s far right cowardice and bravado. Why do they hide behind fake names and spread fake news?”

The fired bus driver who seeks fame with his racist videos will end up forsaken, jobless

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Racism is a sickness, and as a disorder, it has consequences for the victim and the perpetrator. We learned about a bus driver and Peurssuomalaiset (PS)* politician called Gleb Simanov, who thought up the “bright” idea to videotape and insult Somalis while at work in three videos that he posted.  

On Thursday Simonov’s fortunes changed when he was fired from Nobina, a bus company.

His sacking reminds me of what happened in 2015 to a woman called Martta Petman, who worked at the Tikkurila congregation. She was fired after she wrote on Facebook that she spat in the porridge that she served asylum seekers.

Petman might have raised some attention with her questionable actions, but she was quickly forgotten. Nobody came to her rescue never mind helped her find a new job. Sakari Timonen, one of Finland’s best bloggers, said that racists are the last people to come to another racist’s rescue.

The same is happening to Simonov. He may have caught the attention of the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and other xenophobic groups, but he too like Petman will be forgotten and left without a job.

In the Facebook posting below, Simanov thanks his supporters. He even thanks a person for giving him 10 euros.

For a single father with two children, ten euros isn’t going to take you very far.

One of the interesting questions to arise from what happened is Paavo Tajukangas’ role. Tajukangas is a far-right white supremacist and a member of Suomen Sisu, an association that wants to keep Finland white.  Continue reading “The fired bus driver who seeks fame with his racist videos will end up forsaken, jobless”

The Helsinki bus driver that videotaped, insulted his customers was fired Thursday

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Today we read about a bus driver of Russian origin, and a candidate of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party ethnically profile Somalis, insulted, videotaped and published on YouTube got sacked today. The bus driver was so sure of himself that he even gave the numbers of his company’s managers to complain. 

The bus driver, Gleb Simanov, got fired for “inappropriate and racist” behavior.

Migrant Tales spoke to one of the managers at Nobina, the bus company where he works.

 

“Let me state that it’s not acceptable that a bus driver [of our firm] videotapes clients in our buses,” said Mårten Winqvist of Nobina. “Moreover, it was wrong for the bus driver to ask a woman to leave the bus even after she offered to pay the fare.”

Winqvist said that the actions of the bus driver were in conflict with company policy.

Gleb Simanov posts the following on his Facebook wall: “Nobina Finland has fired me because of inappropriate and racist behavior. “I’m now unemployed and Kela’s [The Social Service Institution] new customer,” he writes. His firing will take effect on September 14.


We won’t publish the videos because we don’t want to bring more suffering to the victims.

Even if Paavo Tajukangas, a far-right white supremacist, and a member of Suomen Sisu, has published Simanov’s videos, nobody will come to his rescue.

* After 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.

Defining white Finnish privilege #36: Hate speech and censorship

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Let’s be honest and expose one of the biggest lies concerning hate speech and censorship that always pops up at interviews like the one Thursday MTV with (the old) Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party secretary Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo and the editor of the party’s magazine, Matias Turkkila. 

Both claim that people aren’t allowed to express themselves freely when it comes to cultural diversity because they don’t want to be named racists. Before I respond to this false claim, let’s see who are Slunga-Poutsalo and Turkkila.

Slunga-Poutsalo is one of the persons who signed the Nuiva manifesto in 2010, an anti-immigration proposal to keep Finland white and how to disenfranchise migrants and minorities. She called asylum seekers in 2015 “economic migrants” and “social welfare shoppers.”

Turkkila is an old ally of Jussi Halla-aho, who was convicted of hate speech in 2012 and caused the PS to implode after he was elected chairman in June.

Turkkila is also one of the founders of Hommaforum, a racist platform where its members, usually anonymously, make racist comments. Hommaforum could be described as a racist peep show where racism is the erotic attraction.

Both Slunga-Poutsalo and Turkkila had the opportunity in MTV to spread once again a lie that “common Finns” cannot say what they think about immigration.

 

Watch the full interview (in Finnish) here.

The affirmation is, as we know, one of the biggest lies spread by anti-immigration politicians. On many occasions, the person making such a claim said right after it something racist and bigoted.

Finnish white privilege #36

Continue reading “Defining white Finnish privilege #36: Hate speech and censorship”