Enrique Tessieri Archives - Page 197 of 245

Dear little boy washed ashore…

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Migrant Tales

All it takes is a picture or an unexpected spark to action that changes everything instantly. If it isn’t this picture below there will be other other ones that will at the end of the day expose these politicians for what they are.

In May we learned about a Dear little girl at sea who was kind enough to look the other way as she floated lifelessly in Mediterranean waters.

Now there has appeared a Dear little boy washed ashore, lifeless on the beach. He’s also considerate to our indifference. His face is half covered by his arm.

Contrary to the Dear little girl at sea we are going to put him in a warm bed and imagine for a moment that he’s ok.

We wrote back in May:

Mark my words, all it takes is a picture, an action, that will spark the demise of xenophobes and heartless politicians and force their lies to come down in flames.

Whose lies are we speaking of?

Those very politicians and people that German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked you not to follow those that put the dignity of other people in question.

She said explicitly: “Don’t follow their leaders or those who have prejudice, coldness, even hate in their hearts.”

Since I live in Finland I will name a few of them in this post. We have one party in government, the Perussuomalaiset (PS),* that bases its popularity on xenophobia and on getting rid of the Somali and Muslim “problem” in Finland. You can find such politicians in all of Finland’s parties.

Timo Soini, Jussi Halla-aho, Olli Immonen, Juho Eerola, Laura Hauhtasaari, Maria Lohela, Teuvo Hakkarainen, Päivi Räsänen, Tom Pakaclén, Maria Tolppanen, Mika Niikko, Vesa-Matti Saarakkala, Kari Rajamäki, Pia Kauma, Wille Rydman, Simon Elo, Sampo Terho, Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, Hanna Mäntylä and many, many others.

The post below may contain a disturbing image and text to some. Viewer discretion is advised.

Continue reading “Dear little boy washed ashore…”

Our indecision and indifference to the humanitarian crisis facing Europe is the greatest threat

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Migrant Tales

In the face of the humanitarian refugee crisis that we are seeing today in Europe, some leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel are offering leadership while others are frozen with indecision and indifference.

It is disappointing that Finland, which had to relocate over 400,000 of its own refugees after hostilities ended with the former Soviet Union in 1944 is one that is gripped by hesitation and have, like other Eastern European countries, meekly answered Merkel’s call.

What did the German chancellor say?

“There will be zero tolerance for those who put in question the dignity of other people,” she said warning people to stay away from far right and xenophobic rallies. “Don’t follow their leaders or those who have prejudice, coldness, even hate in their hearts.”

Why does she say this? Because Germany hasn’t forgotten those rivers of blood that flowed in World War 2 and the Holocaust.

Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö’s and Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s lack of leadership in the face of the humanitarian crisis isn’t a coincidence. Both of them reveal with their lack of resolve why this country has become in recent years fertile ground for xenophobia and ultranationalism.

Read full story (in Finnish) here.

Continue reading “Our indecision and indifference to the humanitarian crisis facing Europe is the greatest threat”

UPDATE (August 30): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism

Posted on August 30, 2015 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.

August 30

Suomen Sisun jäsenmäärä räjähti – päivittää monitulkintaisena pidetyn periaateohjelmansa – (MTV3)

What’s wrong with this story? Let’s begin with the headline, which claims that membership of Suomen Sisu, a far right white Finnish supremacist association, has “soared.” What do they mean by “soared” anyway? The story claims that the association got 390 new members after Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Olli Immonen, who is chairman of Suomen Sisu, made his declaration of war in Facebook against “the nightmare of multiculturalism.” In my book 390 isn’t much unless you compare it with 100 members. Is that the case? Even so, 390 is a small amount that looks bigger and more sensational thanks to the term “soared.” Another problem with the story is the MTV3 reporter, who interviews Teemu Lahtinen, a former chairman and vice chairman of the association well known for his links with far right and neo-Nazi groups like Kansallinen Vastarintaliike, is that nowhere in the story does the journalist bother to question these facts critically never mind get in touch with other sources that could give some context concerning Suomen Sisu, Lehtinen and Immonen. This story is in my opinion an unfortunate example because it offers Suomen Sisu the opportunity to showcase itself as something “normal” when in fact its agenda is racist, far right and white Finnish supremacist. Lazy and uncritical journalism at its worst.

Some good advice to journalists: When interviewing people like Lahtinen and far right associations like Suomen Sisu, it’s important to be critical. Critical means asking uncomfortable questions and publishing them. It also means using other sources to balance the story. If you rubber stamp what the person says then you become a mouthpiece of these politicians and groups. You help spread their message of hate.

* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The names 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.

Nazi flag hoisted in northern Finnish refugee center

Posted on August 29, 2015 by Migrant Tales

A Nazi flag was hoisted Friday night at a refugee center in the northern Finnish city of Tornio, writes tabloid Iltalehti. The refugee center, which started operating last week and houses 200 refugees, is located at a folk high school.

The Nazi flag was taken down after it was noticed by students at the school.

Iltalehti writes that there are mixed feelings in the city of 22,276 inhabitants after the refugee center began operating.

A cemetery called the Mediterranean

Posted on August 29, 2015 by Migrant Tales

This will be one of the shortest posts ever published in Migrant Tales thanks to a picture published on the front page of El País of Madrid. Those dots on the water are people who got shipwrecked off the coast of Libya.

This is tragically not the first picture showing people shipwrecked, on crowded vessels or floating lifelessly on the Mediterranean.

These are real people that Europe and our politicians have turned their backs on.

Every time we look the other way or deafen our ears to their cries we chip away a piece of our humanity and values.

Shame on Europe. Shame on you and me.

Thousands of people are visiting since Thursday a post on Migrant Tales that was published in May.

CORRECTED: Poll: 15% of white Finns see blacks as “inferior”

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Migrant Tales

A poll commissioned by newsmagazine Suomen Kuvalehti shows that 15%* of those Finns polled believed that blacks don’t have the same abilities as white Europeans. Moreover, about the same amount (13%) who were polled believed that white Europeans should not mix with non-white Europeans due to a fear that the former group is in danger of becoming extinct.

About half of Perussuomalaiset (PS)* supporters believed, however, that blacks are “inferior.”

In an earlier story, Migrant Tales commented on the picture that Suomen Kuvalehti used for the story, which promoted stereotypes about Muslims and migrants.

Over one fifth of those polled believed that there were different races. Over half of those polled in this group housed racist ideas, according to Suomen Kuvalehti.

Two fifths of those polled believed that humans weren’t divided into racial groups.

The party with the most negative attitudes towards cultural diversity and immigration were none other than members of the PS.*

Continue reading “CORRECTED: Poll: 15% of white Finns see blacks as “inferior””

Fadumo Bulhan: Mitä tekee minusta suomalainen?

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Fadumo Bulhan

Olen asunut Suomessa melkein koko elämäni ajan. Minulla on paljon suomalaisia ystäviä. Työskentelen suomalaisten kanssa. Puhun ja kirjoitan täydellistä suomenkieltä. Tiedän ja tunnen Suomen historian ja kulttuurin. Ja olen Suomen kansalainen. Mikään yllämainituista asioista ei tee minusta suomalaista; koen edelleen olevani ulkomaalainen maahanmuuttaja ja kyse ei ole omasta asenteestani Suomeen tai suomalaisuuteen kohtaan.

Tiedostan olevani ei-suomalainen. Näytän ja pukeudun eri tavalla. Olen somalialainen. Sitä ei sovi unohtaa missään olosuhteessa. Varsinkaan Suomessa. Se on toisaalta auttanut minua kasvamaan somaliasemaksi kuin useammat somalialaiset Somaliassa! Tämä ei suinkaan ole yhtään huono asia.

Olen ensimmäisen kerran kokenut identiteettikriisiä ollessaan useita vuosia sitten serkkuni kanssa New Yorkissa. Siellä kävimme stand-up komedia show’ssa. Koomikko jossakin vaiheessa esitystään otti mukaan yleisön kyselemällä ketkä ovat, mistä ovat. Tuli meidän vuoro vastata ketkä olimme ja mistä olimme kotoisin. Serkkuni vastasi ensimmäisenä ja kertoi olevansa britti, sitten olikin minun vuoro. Pitkän hiljaisuuden jälkeen, kun en tiennyt mitä vastata, kysyin serkultani; sanonko olevani somali vai suomalainen. Siihen hän tokaisi, että totta kai olet suomalainen. Hämmentyneenä esittelin olevani Fadumo Suomesta. Ystävämme vastasi viimeisenä kyselyyn ja kertoi olevansa New Jerseystä; sehän se todellinen vitsi olikin. Jäimme esitykseen jälkeen keskustelemaan, että mikä on meidän identiteetti. Hämmennyin täysin serkusta, jolle oli itsestään selvää, että oli ensisijaisesti britti, jonka sukujuuret on Somaliassa. En ollut koskaan aiemmin sanonut olevani suomalainen, olen aina ensisijaisesti ollut Somali, ja sitten olen maininnut asuvani Suomessa. Näin olen oppinut toimimaan Suomessa.

Identiteetti ei ole mielestäni yksiselitteinen. Se on moniulotteinen kokonaisuus, joka muovautuu vuosien saatossa. Elinympäristö sekä yhteiskunta vaikuttavat paljolti siihen, miten ihminen näkee itsensä yhteisön jäsenenä. Se, että me somalit olemme itsetietoisia taustoistamme, mutta erilaisuutemme nostaminen esiin joka käänteessä käy välillä raskaaksi. Se vielä mainittakoon, että valitettavaa on somalialaisuuteen liitetty stigma raiskaajina ja suomalaisten verorahojen hyväksikäyttäjinä on yhteisöämme rasittava tekijä. Kaikenlisäksi edustamme länsimaiden suurinta uhkana koettua Islamia. Me emme kuitenkaan ole pyytämässä anteeksi taustojamme, identiteettiämme emmekä uskontoamme. Suomi on vapaa maa, jossa jokaisella on perustuslaillinen oikeus olla sellainen kun haluaa olla ja on.

Rasismi on jokapäiväistä meille ulkomaalaisille maahanmuuttajille. Sitä on niin arjessa kuin työelämässäkin. Meidän pitää oppia elämään sen kanssa. Se on fakta. Viime aikoina yksi jos toinenkin poliitikko ja yksityiset henkilöt ovat aktiivisesti olleet mukana kommentoimassa rasismia Suomessa. Hyvä. Asioista täytyykin puhua avoimesti ja oikeilla nimillään.
Viimeiseksi haluan sanoa, että kyse ei aina ole maahanmuuttajan haluttomuudesta integroitua. Sitäkin olen nähnyt käytettävän valitettavan usein tekosyynä, kun maahanmuuttaja ei esimerkiksi työllisty. Ja fakta on myös se, että on helppo osoitella sormella ja jättää ongelmien todellisen syy unohduksiin. Mitä maahanmuuttaja voi Suomelle tarjota ja mitä Suomi voi maahanmuuttajalle tarjota. Palataanko asioiden oikeisiin ongelmakohtiin, etsitään niille oikeanlaista ratkaisua ja näkemystä ja yksinkertaisesti sanoudutaan kaikenlaisesta rasismista irti?

UPDATE (August 28): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism

Posted on August 28, 2015 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.

August 28

Joka seitsemäs suomalainen on rasisti – tässä tuntomerkit (Suomen Kuvalehti)

What’s wrong with this story? Here’s a question to Suomen Kuvalehti: Why when speaking of immigration, cultural diversity and a poll about racist attitudes in Finland do you put a picture of a Muslim woman to go with the story? It’s odd that almost every time we speak of immigration and cultural diversity in Finland the media often publishes a picture of a black person or Muslim woman. Why do they do this if the majority of immigrants that live in Finland are Europeans? While the poll by Suomen Kuvalehti on Finnish attitudes towards foreigners and racism is interesting, the story fails with the picture and reveals the newsmagazine’s prejudices. These types of pictures that are published with stories on our cultural diversity perpetuate urban tales and racism.

Matti Putkonen takes the Perussuomalaiset to the Twilight Zone

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Here’s what happened Wednesday. Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Olli Immonen, who’s been pictured with neo-Nazis and recently declared war on “the nightmare of multiculturalism,” gave a press conference where he promised to write clearer text so that nobody could interpret them as racist or having neo-Nazi overtones.

Immonen also announced that he’d step down until October from the PS parliamentary group, writes YLE in English.

But that’s not all, PS strongman MattiPutkonen went on to point his finger at a number of politicians, professors and editors who, according to him, were “slandering and taunting the Perussuomalaiset party as well as inciting people and the media to threatening hate speech.”

According to online publication Uusi Suomi, PS member Matti Putkonen announced the following people were guilty of “hate speech” against the PS. These were four Social Democratic Party politicians (Eero Heinäluoma, Annti Rinne, Tytti Tuppurainen and Erkki Tuomioja), Li Andersson of the Left Alliance, Green League chairman Ville Niinistö, National Coalition Party’s Henna Virkkunen, former Rural Party head Pekka Vennamo, two professors and three editors are guilty of hate speech against the PS.

The PS enter the Twilight Zone.

Once again we see how the PS twists words like a magician out of a hat. One of the most incredible ones used by the party recently was “illegal refugees.”

What is an “illegal” refugee anyway? Continue reading “Matti Putkonen takes the Perussuomalaiset to the Twilight Zone”

The Perussuomalaiset is a racist and far right party because…

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Migrant Tales

No matter how much Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party member Matti Purkonen, MP Sampo Terho or Timo Soini assure us that they are against racism and fascism,[1] the more they incriminate their party. Renouncing racism and far right ideology would be tantamount to committing political hara-kiri for the PS.

Should we be surprised on Friday by PS party secretary Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo’s claim that four out of five refugees coming to Europe are only economic migrants? Should we be surprised by PS MP Olli Immonen’s declaration of war against “the nightmare of multiculturalism” and his ties with neo-Nazi groups?

Not at all. What you see is what it is.

There are two matters that the Finnish media doesn’t get with the PS and hasn’t connected the dots:

The PS grew from obscurity thanks to the fact that society saw Somalis as a negative factor and that they would get rid of this “problem;” [2]
Soini is seen for some odd reason as the “good cop” of the PS who is trying to bring in line racists, xenophobes and fascists to whom he gave a political voice in Finland. The media should stop giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Everyone knows that the PS will fail in ridding Finland of what it thinks is the Somali “problem,” which now includes as well Muslims and Middle Easterners.

Continue reading “The Perussuomalaiset is a racist and far right party because…”

Mark my words, all it takes is a picture, an action, that will spark the demise of xenophobes and heartless politicians and force their lies to come down in flames.

“There will be zero tolerance for those who put in question the dignity of other people,” she said warning people to stay away from far right and xenophobic rallies. “Don’t follow their leaders or those who have prejudice, coldness, even hate in their hearts.”

Read full story (in Finnish) here.

August 30

Every time we look the other way or deafen our ears to their cries we chip away a piece of our humanity and values.

The party with the most negative attitudes towards cultural diversity and immigration were none other than members of the PS.*

August 28

The PS enter the Twilight Zone.

The PS grew from obscurity thanks to the fact that society saw Somalis as a negative factor and that they would get rid of this “problem;” [2]

Soini is seen for some odd reason as the “good cop” of the PS who is trying to bring in line racists, xenophobes and fascists to whom he gave a political voice in Finland. The media should stop giving him the benefit of the doubt.