Category: Enrique Tessieri

The rise of the far right exposes our failure and our propensity to racism

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The rise of the far-right and their simplistic scapegoating of migrants and minorities reveals a sad reality hitting Europe. The rise of the far-right does not expose the obvious but the fact that we have failed to educate generations after the horrors of World War 2.

If there is one matter that characterizes an autocratic state like Nazi Germany, it is the fact that the system gave people the right to oppress and murder on an industrial scale. It wasn’t the “rotten apples” at the top who made it possible, but with the support of the masses.

Teaching and institutionalizing racism, us versus them, is a sure way of gaining political and finally, autocratic power, as we saw in Germany after 1933.

Populism is like a drug addict who needs a constant. The drug addict gets the fix but it does not resolve his main problem: addiction and destruction of the person’s physical and mental health.

In Finland, the “drug-addict” political parties that capitalize on scapegoating migrants and minorities are the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, National Coalition Party (NCP), and Christian Democrats, and to an ambivalent extent the Swedish People’s Party and Social Democrats.

Only the Greens and Left Alliance have given a flat no to the present political development that normalizes racism and social exclusion.

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Despite assuranced to the contrary, the Finnish government is a far-right homophobic, Islamophobic bad joke

Posted on by Migrant Tales

THE STORY WAS UPDATED

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

The saying sits well with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government. Can you teach a party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* to be civil and ditch their racism? For the PS to turn in a new political leaf and abandon their nationalist rants and xenophobia would be tantamount to political harakiri.

One matter that I have never grasped and accepted is how so-called mainstream parties like the National Coalition Party (NCP), the media, allow politicians of the PS to bash and denegrate migrants and minorities.

The latest scandal to hit the government involves minister of foreign trade and development, Ville Tavio, a PS politician who has made a name for himself as a far-right homophobe, Islamophobe and xenophobe.

The unilateral decision by Tavio not to participate in a gender-equality alliance for the rebuiling of Ukraine which also include sexual minorities, has received a lot of criticsm from President Alexander Stubb.

“I hope that in the future we will not see similar mistakes from the ministry for foreign affairs, that the president will not be informed of matters that belong to the minister for foreign trade and development cooperation, but are related to our foreign and security policy,” Stubb was quoted as saying in Yle News.

Just as the dust was settling, Tavio was quoted in Helsingin Sanomat by stating: “I support the rights of sexual minorities. The Perussuomalaiset will secure a better Finland for sexual minorities in general by opposing Islamzation.”

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio. Source: Kauppalehti.

Even if we can point out the NCP’s political sin of going to bed with the PS, Finland has the government it deserves. If you look at their over first year in government, the question is what type of Finland will we have at the end of their term in 2027?

What will our welfare state look like and how much will social inequality grow and polarize our country? Would you dare to see?
It would be naive to believe that Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government will strengthen our welfare state The only matter it will strengthen is social inequality. As mentioned in a previous posting, about one third of Finnish voters are racist. The rise of the PS is a good example of the latter.

Going back to the original question: Can you teach a dog new tricks?

No, but if its racism is stongly grounded on racism, nationalism and social exclusion, then you can. The dog does not learn new tricks per se but is emboldened to carry out its old tricks.

Using sociological intervention in an orienteering course for immigrants and Finns at Otava Folk High School

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The paper, written by Enrique Tessieri in 2009 for the Social Science Department of Turku University, explains how sociological intervention helped promote and strengthen cultural sensitivity at a folk high school 14 kilometers from the Eastern Finnish city of Mikkeli. From 2010-2011, Otava Folk High School became the first school in Eastern Finland – if not nationally- to offer halal meat regularly to its Muslim students.

One of the positive changes that sociological intervention brought was bringing down the fences between us and them by creating a more inclusive climate. “Otava Folk High School was one of the first in 2010 to serve regularly halal meat in Finland 2-3 times a week to students, which are mostly Muslims. In order to promote inclusiveness, students are no longer called migrant students but multicultural students. Otava Folk High School offers different types of education but the most important for multicultural students include upper secondary school, comprehensive school, predatory comprehensive school, and Finnish language and culture courses for asylum seekers.” (See “The Shifting Global World of Youth and Education,” edited by Mabel Ann Brown, Routledge, 2018, page 105).

While these changes were promoted with the help of sociological intervention and cultural sensitivity, they were short-lived in 2018 by Principal Harri Jokinen, who cited economic factors.

If you are going to promote cultural diversity and sensitivity at a school, it depends a lot on the management, in the case of Otava Folk High School,, on the principal.

Continue reading “Using sociological intervention in an orienteering course for immigrants and Finns at Otava Folk High School”

A vital crossroad for Finland

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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.

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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

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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.

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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?

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