Category: Enrique Tessieri

Defining white Finnish privilege #34: Building a political career on privilege and nativist nationalism

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Social Democrat MP Satu Taavitsainen found herself in a lot of hot water this week after she published a picture of herself in Instagram wearing a fake Sámi dress. While this is a no-no because minorities like the Sámi may see it as cultural appropriation, an MP like Taavitsainen should know better. 

But she didn’t, and hasn’t.

She claims that the Sámi dress she published a picture of in Instragram was made by a tailor for her mother and wanted to show it off. However, this is not the first time that the MP from Mikkeli has dressed up in Sámi attire. In the 2015 parliamentary elections, she was pictured wearing a four winds Sámi hat, called ?iehgahpir.

That picture above can no longer be found on her website.

While this whole affair raises a lot of question, why did Taavitsainen want to show off to her many Intagram followers her fake, or feikkigáktien, Sámi dress?

What’s wrong with what she did anyway?

If the SDP MP would have taken a little time to study the history of the Sámi and what they think in today’s Finland, she’d understand why it’s advisable not to do what she did. The reaction against what she did is one of many eamples.

Another problem that should be highlighted is not the physical dress per se but the message it sends about a minority like the Sámi.

For one, Taavitsainen, a white Finn, has the privilege and power to be “a Sámi” for a day if she wishes without carrying the burden of history of these people, which they must endure 365 days of the year.

Continue reading “Defining white Finnish privilege #34: Building a political career on privilege and nativist nationalism”

A member of the Solidiers of Odin carried out attack on #cupofteawithme demonstration in Oulu on April 7

Posted on by Migrant Tales

On April 7 at 4:40am the #cupofteawithme demonstration in Oulu was attacked when three unlit petrol bombs were thrown at the tent. One of the suspects, a member of the vigilante group Soldiers of Odin, was detained by the police, according to YLE. The police found as well two sticks of dynamite at the suspect’s home.

The police are investigating the attack on the demonstration as unlawful threat, an act of vandalism, and illegal possession of explosives.

On March 31, the Iraqi demonstrators were forced to move from the Oulu city center to Torinranta, a worse location since there are fewer people and apparently more dangerous and prone to attacks.

The #cupofteawithme demonstration in Oulu started [on March 11] as a show of support to the #righttolife demonstration in Helsinki organized by Afghans, Iraqis and Finns.

Read the full story here.

Helsinki Times: A rebuttal to Ville Tavio

Posted on by Migrant Tales

An op-ed piece published by the Helsinki Times on April 11 by Finns Party (PS) MP Ville Tavio is a good example of why migrants, minorities and sensible Finns should react and be concerned about the type of country some politicians want to steer Finland towards becoming.

Just as the headline of the op-ed piece is problematic, so are many of the arguments that Tavio sets forth. For example, the PS MP sees the movement of asylum seekers to Europe as an economic factor. He claims that Europe is an “attractive” destination for asylum seekers that “lack the necessary skills for employment and the will to adopt local habits and values.”

Read the full rebuttal here.

For one, somebody should tell Tavio that the vast majority of asylum seekers don’t come to Europe. It is only a minority. Most of them settle in countries like Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and others. Moreover, the underlying reason why a minority of these asylum seekers came to Europe was because of war, as well as our values related to social equality and human rights.

Continue reading “Helsinki Times: A rebuttal to Ville Tavio”

The flimsy bridge that bonds MV-lehti and Soldiers of Odin is racist hatred

Posted on by Migrant Tales

THIS STORY WAS UPDATED

MV-lehti is a racist trash “publication” that that steals stories and rewrites them to fit its racist world. Its “editor,” is none other than Ilja Janitskin, a fugitive from the law. One of the crimes that MV commits over again is that it defames people and exposes them to hate-vigilante groups like the Soldiers of Odin. In other words, MV incites racism and ethnic agitation.

An asylum seeker called Jihad Baghdadi is one of many that have been harassed by MV-lehti. His picture has been published without his permission and portrayed as “a terrorist.”

The snapshots below were published on Migrant Tales with Jihad Baghdadi’s permission. He wants to publish them to show that he won’t be pushed around by such a white-trash publication.

There are a lot of variants of the word terrorism. The origin of the word derives from terror and/or to terrorize and instill fear. There’s the regular type of terrorism, state terrorism and racist terrorism, too.

The asylum seeker Jihad Baghdadi, who was singled out by MV-lehti and portrayed as a “terrorist” by the publication is a good example of racist terrorism.

With no respect for people’s privacy, MV attempts to terrorize people with fake news.

Continue reading “The flimsy bridge that bonds MV-lehti and Soldiers of Odin is racist hatred”

Does Finland’s Migri asylum policy hinge on the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset party?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

This warning posted on Tiia Nohynek’s Facebook wall today is the best example yet of how the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has influenced immigration policy in Finland. The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) warns asylum seekers not to believe rumors and that nobody gets asylum for economic reasons. 

For those who know why asylum seekers come to Europe will appreciate that most of them come here because of what they have heard our politicians say publicly: human rights, peace and be treated with dignity.

The problem is that when they came to a country like Finland, they didn’t find such ideals, like human rights and being treated with dignity, didn’t apply to them.

Don’t believe rumours: YOU CANNOT GET ASYLUM in Finland on economic grounds. After receiving a negative asylum decision you must return home. If you try to abuse the system, financial assistance is not given. You may also be prohibited from entering the entire Schengen area for two years.

Continue reading “Does Finland’s Migri asylum policy hinge on the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset party?”

The fate of the Iraqi family of nine who may end up deported still hangs in the balance

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The family of nine from Iraq, who are detained at the Joutseno immigration removal center in southeast Finland, sent a letter to Prime Minister Sipilä. It is beyond any person with a minimum sense of justice how children, between the ages of 1.5 and 14, can be detained like common criminals. 

There are many people who are outraged by Finland’s tough asylum policy and specifically with the detention of this Iraqi family, whose only “crime” is to search for a country where they can live free from strife and dignity.

“There is nothing new concerning this case,” said an activist who went to Joutseno today.

The family continues to be detained and deportation proceedings continue.

The source said that an earlier posting on Refugee Hospitality Club claiming that the family would be released soon because they have reapplied for asylum is false.

Two pictures that show the harsh reality of asylum seekers in Finland.

The family of nine sent a letter to Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, which read:

Continue reading “The fate of the Iraqi family of nine who may end up deported still hangs in the balance”

PS MP Ville Tavio: An Islamophobe that is bent on keeping white Finnish power and privilege at any cost and lie

Posted on by Migrant Tales

When publishing anti-immigration rhetoric by politicians like Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Ville Tavio, it’s very important to lead with the following warning: “MP Talk gives members of parliament the opportunity to share their views on Finnish society with an international audience. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Helsinki Times.“

MP Tavio is a PS MP who has declared war and wants to relegate non-white Finns and migrants to second- and third-class citizens.

Read the full op-ed piece at your peril here. He makes impossible campaign promises that will catch up with him one day like with the PS in the municipal elections of Sunday. The PS are known as a turncoat party because they’ve broken most of their campaign promises.

A recent op-ed piece in Uusi Suomi by the MP from Turku suggested that the Finnish constitution should be changed to give Finns priority over foreigners when it comes to rights.

“The sovereignty that the Finnish state entitles it to decide that its primary task is safeguarding the rights of its own citizens [at the cost of migrants],” he wrote.

Tavio is a lawyer so he should know better what the constitution says and guarantees about equality before the law. His issue, like all of the far-right anti-immigration wing of the PS, is to keep white Finnish power and privilege even if it means relegating migrants to second- and third-class citizens.

The op-ed piece in the Helsinki Times is another example of his disdain and hostility towards migrants and minorities in Finland.

Continue reading “PS MP Ville Tavio: An Islamophobe that is bent on keeping white Finnish power and privilege at any cost and lie”

Oppression doesn’t turn you into a terrorist, neither does poverty make you a racist

Posted on by Migrant Tales

             War and injustice don’t turn a person into a terrorist.    

In the same way, poverty doesn’t turn you into a racist. 

In life we make choices on how to challenge the injustices we face. Our reaction to them differ greatly. Most people, who suffer injustice, don’t take up arms or carry out a terrorist act. If injustice doesn’t turn you automatically into a terrorist neither does poverty make you a racist. You turned into a racist because you were already one.

 Some politicians tell us that racism is a natural outcome because there is poverty. It isn’t, that’s denial of the social ill. Just because there are injustices doesn’t mean you will plant a bomb and kill people.

How do I know? Because I was once there as a young man trying to figure out what I should do to challenge a military government in Argentina that robbed my civil and human rights. I chose instead to write and fight with all my might today as an activist.

Two pictures, two similar realities 

The two pictures below represent for me the harrowing face of the ongoing deportations from Finland and Europe. One was taken on Tuesday night by a thirteen-year-old adolescent from the Joutseno immigration removal center.

Searchlights, barbwire, and barred windows in a country below greet an adolescent in Finland, a country that claims to respect the rule of law and human rights.

The young person that took the first picture below will apparently be deported from Finland Wednesday together with her 6 brothers and sisters and parents. The youngest of the family is 1.5 years and the eldest, 14.

Below that picture Ali’s, who was deported in January back to Iraq. Barred windows greet him and us as well.

Two pictures, two terrible realities and the last stops of a long journey to freedom that ended in failure.

This picture was taken Tuesday by an adolescent who faces deportation with her family of nine Wednesday. She says “good night” to us. Picture taken by asylum seeker.

Continue reading “Oppression doesn’t turn you into a terrorist, neither does poverty make you a racist”

Finland to deport a family of nine to Iraq – youngest child 1.5 years and the eldest 14

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Now it has come to this: A family of seven children from Karbala, Iraq, who came to Finland in 2015 with their parents will be most likely deported on Wednesday. The youngest is a year and a half and the eldest 14.

According to one source who knows the family, two of the children speak Finnish since they attended school in this country.

A family of seven children, a mother and father will be deported this week back to Iraq.

“I doubt that I’ll get any sleep tonight because I’ve been trying to help this family,” said a woman.  “I was afraid that it would come to this [deportation].”

Cases like these leave one speechless. What are they going to do in Iraq and how will they remember the trauma of those last days in Finland when they are being escorted by force back to their home country?