Category: Enrique Tessieri

A vital crossroad for Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

In light of the rise of the far right and the anti-migration megaphone getting louder in Finland and Europe, are we at a crossroads? Does it boil down to two factors: inclusion or exclusion?

One of the matters missing today in our ever-growing culturally diverse society is credible pathways to inclusion and citizenship. This may be easier said than done considering how narratives are stacked against migrants and minorities by politicians, the media, and the public.

But how can we speak and advance inclusion and citizenship if our politicians, and institutions are more interested in stressing us versus them?

Historically, Finland has done everything possible to put the breaks on migration. In the 1970s, when Finns were emigrating in droves to Sweden, the government at the time could plug the labor shortage with migrants.

You guessed right: it turned down such an opportunity and today we are paying a high price for such short-sightedness.

And let’s not forget the hostile environment, which like in the UK in 2012, passed laws to make staying in the country as difficult as possible.

Few if any brave voices are coming out from the jungle to challenge institutional racism and exclusion.

Let’s look at Finland’s migration policy, which Interior Minister Mari Rantanen has called a paradigm shift. Such policies are driven by mistrust and suspicion of our ever-growing culturally diverse communities. If we continue on this ruinous path, we will fail at building a well-functioning society.

Here is the sobering news: To alleviate our demographic woes and the negative environment against migrants and minorities, we will have to rewrite our new identity based on inclusion and citizenship.

Who we are and how we ientify depends on us and must be respected. The aim is not to become a carbon copy of Matti or Maija Meikeläinen but to celebrate our identity on our own terms.

If Finland fought heroically in the Winter War (1939-40) against all odds, it can overcome the next challenge that is based on its future survival and wellbeing

The threat against Finland’s democracy

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Far-right populism is an illness inflicting Europe at present and it now has a beachhead in Finland.

Migrant Tales (18.4.2011)

About 20% – if not more – of Finnish voters are racist di**heads.

Few, if any, were alarmed by the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* victory in the 2011 election, which raised the number of MPs to 39 from five previously. Too many believed, incorrectly, that the PS would implode like what happened with the Rural Party in 1972 after winning two years earlier 17 seats from one previously.

The PS did not implode but became the most successful party in general elections and continued its assault and chipping away at Finnish democracy. The PS and others like the National Coalition Party (NCP) disagree with the country’s liberal opening up after it became an EU member in 1995.

Many reforms were made at the end of the 1990s like the new Constitution, citizenship law, and others that encouraged inclusion and non-discrimination.

Apart from making Finland a more inclusive country that guarantees Human Rights and social equality, the present government is taking us in the opposite direction. Apart from trade union and the most vulnerable members of our society, the government is tearing away at the rights of migrants and asylum seekers.

The iliberal reforms even encouraged parliament in July to pass a law that shelves Human Rights, our constitutional rights, and international obligations by denying people asylum at the Finnish-Russian border.

Continue reading “The threat against Finland’s democracy”

Finnish JHL union sees and reacts to the racist government elephant in the room

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Few will deny in the face of racism scandals in the summer of 2023 that the government’s anti-racism plan is a cover-up, according to the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors (JHL).

“We thank warmly all experts who have participated in the planning of this [government anti-racism Action Plan] campaign for their good work,” said JHL’s Chief Executive Officer Mari Keturi. “Unfortunately, the government’s actions blatantly conflict with the objectives of the campaign. We speak with action…”

The aim of the Action Plan for Combating Racism and Promoting Equality was not to tackle racism in Finland, but to save the government’s skin from all the racism scandals it endured in the summer of 2023.

Read the original statement here.

The Finnish Muslim Forum (Suomen Muslimifoorumi ry) released a statement on the government’s action plan and found the following shortcomings:

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Time has flown past the Perussuomalaiset, it is the party of the past like the National Coalition Party

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Racism is like a diehard stain. It’s tough work to rub it off society.

With Finland suffering from an economic downturn and rocketing health sector costs, it is beyond me how parties like the National Coalition Party (NCP) don’t see the elephant in the room, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party.

The PS loathes migrants, especially Muslims and visible minorities, but have never justified the reasoning behind their hatred. Why does the PS and the government tighten dramatically Finland’s migration policy during an economic downturn.

Thanks to the Ukrainians, Finland received a net sum of 58,000 migrants last year. That is expected to plummet in 2024 to 30,000 and in 2025 to 15,000, according to the ministry of economy.

Swedish People’s Party Education Minister Anders Adlecreutz suggested that Finland should aim to get annually net 40,000 migrants in order to plug the labor shortage.

The suggestion was given the thumbs down by PS parliamentary group leader Jani Mäkelä, who said that it was a bad idea to bring more people from abroad than newborns, which amounted to 43,000 in 2023, according to Statistics Finland.

Historically, during the cold war, Finland has done everything possible to limit the amount of migrants to Finland. In the 1970s, when thousands of Finns were emigrating to Sweden, Finland decided not to take in foreign migrants to compensate for the shortfall.

With parties like the PS in government dictating migrant policy with the support of the National Coalition Party, it’s clear that these parties and Finland are way behind the times. The shortsightedness of their policies has already caused damage to the country.

The elephant in the room and Finland’s hostile environment against migrants

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Finland’s xenophobic message has been based for years on lies. Instead of lying, why not ratchet up the hostile environment against migrants and minorities? Be honest with yourself. The government is now spearheading these lies to justify their inhumane and counterproductive policies.

Just like in the UK in 2012, Finland is passing laws to make staying in the country as difficult as possible.

Considering Finland suffers from a labor shortage due to its aging population, what is the motive for tightening further migration laws, or as Perussuomalaiset (PS) Interior Minister Mari Rantanen called a paradigm shift?

Another example of the hostile environment was a government announcement in July to prohibit basic health care for undocumented migrants. Source: Yle News

Thank you Ambrosius @ambrowoll for the heads-up!

Pasi Saukkonen, senior researcher at the Urban Research and Statistics unit of the City of Helsinki, said what has been known for a very long time: “Finland has never been a major destination for international migration. The share of the foreign-born population is among the lowest in Europe. Refugee numbers have been low, with more asylum seekers arriving only in the early 1990s and in 2015.”

Historically, we could call Finland a nation of emigration.

Continue reading “The elephant in the room and Finland’s hostile environment against migrants”

Finnish politicians continue to feed the hostile environment against migrants and minorities

Posted on by Migrant Tales

“Dog whistles win votes but destroy nations.”

Sayeeda Wars, former Conservative Party cochairperson.

To understand the thuggery that happened in the United Kindom, we should set the record straight: They were race riots instigated by mobs of white men. It is not the first time that the United Kingdom has experienced race riots. The first one were the deadly disturbances of 1919 in Liverpool, Cardiff, Glasgow, London, Salford, Newport, Barry, Hull, and South Shields, according to David Olusoga.

In Finland, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has made its political mark by attacking and denigrating migrants and minorities. The National Coalition Party, with MPs like Tere Sammallahti, Martin Paasi, Heikki Vestman, Atte Kaleva, and others, has found common ground with the PS’s xenophobic message.

One of the most toxic of the race riots has been Matias Turkkila, editor of Suomen Uutiset, a PS newspaper.

Considering the shameful and simplistic views by politicians who argued conspiracy thories to expalin the violence in the United Kingdom, shows me that we are also setting the groundwork for white men to take to the streets. The government is taking away services right now, not migrants.

Some Finnish politicians justified the race riots in the UK. From left to right: Finance Minister and Chairperson of the Perussuomalaiset, Riikka Purra, with her infamous statement made in 2008, “If you gave me a weapon, [youth with migrant background] corpses would appear on a commuter train, you see.” PS MP Onni Rostila, National Coalition Party MPs Tere Sammallahti and Matin Paasi.

Why haven’t we seen one editorial denouncing these politicians’ distorted views? Where are the OP-ED pieces? Where is the condemnation by other politicians? How long will the lies and bashing go on?

Continue reading “Finnish politicians continue to feed the hostile environment against migrants and minorities”

Finnish justice ministry plans to slash Council for Mass Media’s aid

Posted on by Migrant Tales

A widely criticized decision by Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Justice Minister Leena Meri to slash the Council for Mass Media’s (JSN) aid next year, should not only be seen as another step by the PS and government to undermine the role of the media.

JSN Chairperson Eero Hytönen said in Journalisti that it was “a political decision by the minister [Meri].”

Read the full story (in Finnish) here.

Hytönen said the original proposal for state aid to JSN by ministry officials was different from Meri’s decision.

Meri has denied Hytönen’s claim.

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Riikka Purra’s dilemma: “Am I Riikka or ‘riikka?'”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The far-right terrorism and riots in the UK are raising a lot of questions about how the government would react in a similar situation. Some, likePerussuomalaiset (PS)* Finance Minister Riikka Purra, expose schizophrenic behavior. Sometimes she is the heartless finance minister slashing the budget and bringing misery to the most vulnerable segments of the population, and other times she goes in her racist rants.

“riikka” Tweets: “…the development of double standards, the collapse of borders, mass immigration, migrant crime and the over-representation of specific groups of migrants in virtually everything negative.”

“On top of it, the white population pays for the whole self-destructive joke with their taxes.”

To top it off, riikka wants us to read a racist piece published in the PS party’s Suomen Uutiset by one of its MPs.

Continue reading “Riikka Purra’s dilemma: “Am I Riikka or ‘riikka?’””

Finland’s and Estonia’s bullying of Russians

Posted on by Migrant Tales

With no solution in sight to the end of the war in Ukraine, part of the collateral damage is the Russian-speaking community of Finland, by far the biggest language group outside of Finnish, Swedish, and Sami.

Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, there was a lot of hatred and suspicion of Russians. Even if Finland signed an armistice with the former USSR in 1944, it appears that too many Finns are still in the trenches.

Some, driven by their xenophobia of Russians, would be ready to take away their dual citizenship rights. One of the most enthusiastic is former President Sauli Niinistö. A December survey showed that 34 MPS, mostly of the hard-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and National Coalition Party, would want to prohibit Russians from having dual citizenship.

So great is the hatred of brown asylum seekers and Russia that in June Finland threw its good name under the bus as a Human Rights defender and upholder by lowering itself to the same level as Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania, which deny people the right to asylum.

A study by Hannes Viimarananta, Ekaterina Protassova, and Arto Mutajoki on Russian speakers in Finland, says that such a community is commonly misunderstood.

“Russian-speakers in Finland are framed, firstly, as an immigrant group, alongside other sizeable immigrant groups. Secondly, Russian speakers in Finland are commonly [and simplistically] perceived as representatives of Russia—a powerful, and at times threatening, neighboring country…” the authors write.

The Estonian-Russian border crossing at Narva. Sources: Helsingin Sanomat and Wikimedia.

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