Category: Enrique Tessieri

UPDATE (October 25): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link.

October 25

Ensimmäiset pakolaiset olleet Suomessa jo yli 40 vuotta – vietnamilaiset sopeutuivat, somalit kohtaisivat ennakkoluuloja (Helsingin Sanomat)

What’s wrong with this story? For one the headline suggests that the first refugees that came to Finland was over 40 years. Wrong. The first big group of refugees that came to Finland was about 94 years ago in 1921, when some 6,500 Russians fled the Soviet Union from the island fortification of Kronstadt, located near St Petersburg.  By not investigating enough the reporter, Jukka Harju, reinforces some of the myths about Finland like so few have come here and so recently. What about during World War 2? Where the Ingrians that fled the former Soviet Union to Finland refugees like the 420,000 Karelians that were forced to abandon their homes after their lands were ceded to the USSR?

The Vietnamese, Chileans and Somalis that came here as refugees were just one out of many groups that moved to Finland after independence. They’re not the first. Another careless claim and generalization that the reporter claims is that the Vietnamese “adapted” while the Somalis faced “prejudices.” If the reporter would have done his work more carefully, he’d discover pretty rapidly that it wasn’t only prejudice that the Somalis faced (and still do) hostile endemic racism. Prejudice is, in my opinion, a too light word to describe the Somali experience in Finland. Didn’t the Vietnamese face any “prejudice?” What about the Chileans? A little digging would revealed that these groups faced racism in Finland as well.

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Kenyan insulted by racist Finnish woman: “You’re a f***ing African woman…”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

How would you feel if a total stranger approached you in public and started to insult you in public? Has it ever happened to you? When something like that happens you feel that you’ve been violated and torn into little shreds.  

Those who still claim that there are only isolated cases of racism in Finland should watch this video recorded by a Kenyan woman and published in tabloid Iltalehti. One should ask why was this only published in a tabloid. Why wasn’t it published in Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest circulation daily?

One of the incredible assumptions that the racist woman makes is that she believes the Kenyan, who is a nurse, lives off welfare. Of all the African groups, Kenyans are probably the best integrated in Finland. Unemployment in this national group is only a few percentage points higher than the national average, or at 12.36%, according to the latest 2013 official figures.

When I watched the video my blood started to boil and I thought about all the opportunist racist politicians and those who turn a blind eye.

Those people have issues with cultural diversity have received a lot of encouragement for years from racist politicians mainly belonging to the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party as well as others that watch silently.

Silence is a political decision.

Continue reading “Kenyan insulted by racist Finnish woman: “You’re a f***ing African woman…””

Why are racists in Finland racists?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

It’s clear that racism derives also from low self-esteem apart from being a sinister tool to exclude other groups from gaining access to political, social and economic capital. Ever thought why those who are vocal about their racist views are such an active group?

The answer is simple:

In order to climb up a few miserable notches up the ladder of acceptance, racism is a way of showing your distorted allegiance and a way to get (re)accepted as a member of society. Society is racist to begin with so some of your racist views will connect with society’s.

Being accepted and finding a way out of your social exclusion is one matter you strive for as a racist. The other could be a lucrative political career with power and media attention.

All of these matters were impossible to attain as an outsider, a recluse.

Politicians that come to mind are mostly from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. They are former MPs like James Hirvisaari and present ones like Juho Eerola, Olli Immonen, MEP Jussi Halla-aho and a long list of others.

Racism gives them attention, meaning and importantly a career. They would never renounce their racism because that would mean killing your career.

What is sad is that our society offers racists such opportunities instead of naming and shaming them.

*The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party adopted by the PS, like True Finns or Finns Party, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and xenophobia. We therefore prefer to use the Finnish name of the party on our postings.

Finland copies Islamophobic Danish anti-refugee campaign

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The Finnish foreign ministry has  launched a social media campaign aiming to discourage Iraqi asylum seekers from coming to Finland, according to YLE News.

Writes YLE News: “The thrust of the Ministry’s Facebook campaign is to persuade young men coming from conflict-ridden areas that it’s not work the risk and expense to come to Finland,” Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP, Sampo Terho, was quoted as saying.

Considering that Finland’s foreign minister is none other than the chairman of the PS, Timo Soini, it’s clear that this idea came from Denmark and the Islamophobic Danish People’s Party, which is a close ideological ally of the PS.

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How the PS of Finland would want to create an unequal society

Posted on by Migrant Tales

It’s clear that the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has become more hostile to migrants, minorities and our ever-growing cultural diverse community after their poll ratings took a beating recently. 

Remember when PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen said that international agreements and our constitution didn’t permit the populist party from carrying out their policies?

We read a while back how Social and Health Minister Hanna Mäntylä, who would do everything possible to water down migrants’ rights in Finland, seeks to change the social welfare system on the basis of nationality and ethnicity.

Certainly with most of the party’s campaign promises broken and poll rating flirting with the single-digit league, the PS has one important trump card left to muster support: suspicion of migrants and refugees.

Mäntylä believes that if we lowered social welfare to migrants and refugees but kept it the same for Finns it would discourage people from coming here. Her logic is based on the idea that people of the Middle East aren’t fleeing war but flocking to Finland to live off social welfare.

The plan, to create a two-tier system for social welfare is unconstitutional because it would make non-Finnish citizens unequal before the law. Section 6 of the constitution clearly states that everyone in Finland is equal before the law.

Continue reading “How the PS of Finland would want to create an unequal society”

What President Sauli Niinstö forgets to state when he claims that migrants should “do as the Romans do”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

What does President Sauli Niinitö mean by the controversial phrase, in Rome do as the Romans do, or maassa maan tavalla?

He is quoted as saying in YLE News:

“’When in Rome, do as the Romans do’, to use a rather worn-out and highly criticized phrase. There must be a respect for the principles of democracy, equality and human rights like the kind we share in Finland. Beyond these fundamentals, there remains a great deal of breathing room for multiculturalism to still thrive.”

Good. I’m glad that President Niinistö defines what this means and how it should be applied. There is, however, one very big flaw in the statement. It assumes that migrants that come here don’t understand “the principles of democracy, equality and human rights.”

Is this true?

Does anyone spot a pinch of ethnocentrism in Niinistö’s claim? What about the rise of a populist anti-immigration party, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, suggest about how some Finns apply the “principle of democracy, equality and human rights?”

Bashy Quraishy, a friend and colleague of mine, recently stated in a Facebook post:

All western countries call themselves democracies – even if many would fail a real democracy test, namely provide equal rights for all its citizens and protect ethnic and religious minorities from injustices and discrimination.

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Read full story here.

Continue reading “What President Sauli Niinstö forgets to state when he claims that migrants should “do as the Romans do””

Finnish terms that parties and politicians use to hide their anti-immigration and racist views

Posted on by Migrant Tales

It’s always amazing to watch on television politicians like Sebastian Tynkyynen, third vice president of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and leader of its youth organization. They speak of anti-immigration sentiment nearly always in code and appropriate the term, as if it were a commodity, thanks to their white privilege. 

They speak of asylum seekers fleeing war, migrants and minorities living in this country as if were some kind of political fodder to help prop up their latest poll result.

The PS saw its support nosedive last week by 7 percentage points since the April elections to 10.7%, according to a latest YLE poll.

Bad timing for some, good timing for others. Tynkkynen’s row with the PS leadership comes at a bad or good time for the populist anti-immigration party.

It’s unfortunate how the Finnish media has been taken for a ride by politicians like Tynkkynen. It shows how the likes of him and others who are openly hostile to cultural diversity in Finland continue to dominate the debate, or at least the terms used to debate the matter.

Taking into account that Finland is a welfare state that identifies and considers itself a part of the Nordic community, it would be politically inappropriate to bring to the debate terms and concepts that would undermine values such as social equality.

Section 6 of our Constitution states:

Everyone is equal before the law. No one shall, without an acceptable reason, be treated differently from other persons on the ground of sex, age, origin, language, religion, conviction, opinion, health, disability or other reason that concerns his or her person.

Euphemisms serve a purpose in the ongoing debate because they help you get around sticky Constitutional issues that undermine our present Nordic values and from getting sentenced for ethnic agitation.

One euphemism that’s being used a lot these days is another invention by the PS, “immigration policy,” maahanmuuttopolitiikka.

By criticizing “immigration policy” you don’t have to label migrants and minorities directly living in Finland but that’s what you end up doing. The term is code for anti-immigration and that you are against Africans, Muslims and other non-Europeans moving here.

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Sebastian Tynkkynen would be in favor of the PS leaving government for supporting a bailout package to Greece and closing the border with Sweden. What is disgraceful about the interview is how Tynkkynen speaks of asylum seekers, migrants and minorities in Finland in anti-immigration code and opportunistically boost the party’s declining popularity in the polls at the same time boost his own political career. Watch full interview here.

Continue reading “Finnish terms that parties and politicians use to hide their anti-immigration and racist views”

Finnish politicians: Leave your “we’re against racism comfort zone” catchphrases and take action!

Posted on by Migrant Tales

I read National Coalition Party (NCP) Interior Minister Petteri Orpo’s speech in parliament Wednesday about racism. While we’re moving in some direction on this front there is one factor that takes us off the path: denial. 

Making a claim that the opinions of “a far right minority get too much attention” in the debate is a good example of how Orpo and other politicians play down the problem.  How many far right politicians are there in parliament? Does the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party promote racism, hate speech and enable this “far right minority” to get attention?

Taking into account the latest #pizzagate scandal, which could be a good example of ethnic profiling, structural racism and outright discrimination and prejudice, Wednesday’s debate in parliament on racism and hate speech didn’t mention once this latest scandal by the police.

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Read full story here.

As usual, the debate on racism and hate speech in our society normally vacillates with a positive statement against such a social ill but that is almost immediately followed by another affirmation that neutralizes the latter.

Continue reading “Finnish politicians: Leave your “we’re against racism comfort zone” catchphrases and take action!”

UPDATE (October 14): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link.

October 14

Tänä vuonna Suomeen 10 000 laitonta pakolaista (Ilta-Sanomat)

What is wrong with this tabloid billboard? Ilta-Sanomat, which was responsible for spreading racism against Somalis in the early 1990s, is at it again. This billboard by the tabloid claims that this year “10,000 illegal refugees” will arrive in Finland. What is an illegal refugee anyway and can a refugee ever be “illegal” or undocumented? This kind of twisted logic, which was first heard from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* a while back, is being parroted by the tabloid. Has anything changed in about 20 years if we look at the two billboards below when it comes to spreading racism and lies about refugees?

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Ilta-Sanomt today…

 

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This advertisement from 1994 reads: Somalis get asylum by cheating the authorities. Source Migration Institute.

Watch out for the Finnish police “pizza squad!”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Two policewomen who are looking for tax evaders have their eyes set on pizzerias, which are, surprise, surprise, mostly owned by migrants. If this isn’t an example of ethnic profiling then what is? 

But where do you complain?

Thanks to this post on Facebook by the policewomen, the whole suggestion that cheap pizza automatically means tax evasion has become a sad joke on social media, especially for the pizzeria owners who work 12-16 hours a day.

Not only is this a clear example of how ignorant the police service is of migrant entrepreneur but once again shows the ugly side of ethnic profiling.

Imagine the police service asks customers to report to them if they can buy pizza for less than 6 euros!

I wonder if these policewoman have ever gone to the market and asked why frozen pizza costs less than two euros? What about multinational companies like McDonalds that find tax loopholes to stash their money in offshore accounts?

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If Lidl sells pizza at 1.39 euros are they evading taxes? Thank you Ossi Mäntyniemi for the heads-up.

Why not write about these companies? Or why not ask what law gives the police the right to determine at what price should pizzas be sold in Finland, according to Taloussanomat.

“It’s not the first time this has happened,” a pizzeria owner, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Migrant Tales. “The police like health authorities too often target restaurants owned by foreigners.”

Now here’s the million-euro question: To whom are you going to complain if you believe that your restaurant has been ethnically profiled?

Continue reading “Watch out for the Finnish police “pizza squad!””