Category: Enrique Tessieri

Straight A students in racism and the rise of xenophobia in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

You may be wondering why xenophobia has raised its head big time in Finland these past years and why candidates from parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* get elected on such a platform.

The Facebook post below that sources a false story about migrants called MV, Mitä v****a! or What the f**k!, offers an answer.

The online publication claims that only immigrants (sic!) were granted 85,000 euros in aid to get their own swimming hours, buy personal mountain bikes and free passes to the fitness gym in the eastern Finnish city of Lieksa, which has been a hotbed of racism in recent years.

In a nutshell MV is a source that incites ethnic agitation and reinforces the racist behavior of some people without abiding to any ethical or journalistic standards. 

MV has even been used by PS MP Mika Niikko to lure voters on election day. The MP  used the online publication as a source to incite voters by claiming that foreigners had gang raped again a woman. In light of the hysteria and public reaction to the Tapanila gang rape case last month, the police had to put out a statement alerting the public that the news published by MV was a hoax.

What does using a racist online publication like MV, which has over 34,000 likes, as a source by some of the Finnish public and politicians say about the state of our country?

It tells us that some of these Finns were and still are straight A students in racism, especially those that suffer from low self-esteem.

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One look at the picture above will tell you that the person in it never heard of the eastern Finnish city of Lieksa.

Continue reading “Straight A students in racism and the rise of xenophobia in Finland”

Treating immigrants in Finland as the problem IS the problem

Posted on by Migrant Tales

What’s wrong with the ongoing debate in Finland concerning immigration, refugees and cultural diversity? The problem is that they are treated as a problem by politicians, the media and public.* 

Instead of treating these three matters as “a problem” we should make an effort to think outside of the current anti-immigration political climate and see them as a solution and opportunity for our country.

By treating immigration, refugees and cultural diversity as problems we begin to despair and give space to the ugly side of ourselves: hatred, intolerance and bigotry that mutate into populism, hate speech, intolerance and xenophobic political parties.

Want to solve the problem? Then repeat after me:  Näyttökuva 2015-4-28 kello 19.50.00

 

* Special thanks go to Markku Ikonen in Australia for sharing this idea with us. 

Helsingin Sanomat, PS MP Laura Huhtasaari, populism and Islamophobia

Posted on by Migrant Tales

There is one picture (see below) from an article on Helsingin Sanomat about Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Laura Huhtasaari that speaks volumes about not only her ethnocentric views when she visits a mosque for the first time in her life but that of Finland’s leading daily as well. 

Huhtasaari, who is convinced that she is on some anti-Islam crusade to rid Finland of Muslims, is not wearing a veil in the picture below and asking a tolerant imam, Mohammed Hussein Omer, some dumb questions like why Muslim women wear veils.

While Huhtasaari attempts to control her Islamophobic views during the visit, she is quoted a day before claiming that refugees that come from Islamic countries have not integrated successfully into our society. “We can see this in violent and rape crimes of those we accept here and who have not adapted,” she said.

Huhtasaari believes that migration from Islamic countries is a security risk for Finland.

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Read full story (in Finnish) here.

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Laura Huhtasaari: The Islamophobic PS MP with the kindergarten teacher smile

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Newly elected Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Laura Huhtasaari, who is trying to make a name for herself with an anti-immigration agenda, believes that migration from Islamic countries is a security risk for Finland, according to Pori-based daily Satakunnan Kansa, which cites Helsingin Sanomat. 

Huhtasaari’s suspicion of Muslims is nothing new. As a councilwoman of Pori she tried unsuccessfully to get the city to stop funding an Islamic cultural foundation.

Her most incredible statements have been recently that there are no-go zones in the southern Swedish city of Mälmö and that migrants and poor immigration policy incite racism.

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Read full story (in Finnish) here.

“There are Muslims who abide by the same Western values [as us],” she said. “But if we think of Sharia law and the women’s role, and if Muslim values and culture are in conflict with Western values, then it is a threat [to our culture].”

Semi Tavi summarized well in a Facebook comment Huhtasaari’s political agenda:

I consider this woman quite scary. With a kindergarten smile she speaks the same rehearsed sentences over and over again. With a pejorative look she speaks about “risk groups” by which she means Muslim immigrants. She also makes clear, the unsuccesful integration is due to the immigrants’ cultural difference, not for example to European xenophobia or racism. It’s typical for a PS member to accuse immigrants of actually *causing* the racist behaviour of people in Europe.

The thing at the moment is, you can’t criticize PS. You’ll be laughed at and labeled “living in a bubble” whereas PS politicians and supporters seem to have a right to say whatever they want about anyone they want. It’s cold politics by cold people, whose bubble is so obvious that people don’t even speak about it anymore.

Well said, Semi!

 

Migrant Tales (June 16, 2012): The crux of European racism – too little inclusion, too much race and blood

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Much of the way Europeans perceive themselves as a group today is still deeply embedded in racism. The fact that we haven’t yet even started to confront the legacy of colonialism, which fuels our ”us” and ”them” view of the world, reveals a disturbing fact: There’s still too little inclusion and acceptance in this part of the world. 

Sadder still is the fact that too few of us openly promote more inclusion and acceptance in our society. How many times have you heard your local politician use terms like “mutual acceptance” and “respect” when speaking of immigrants and visible minorities?

Our race-and- blood view of ourselves and “others” explains why some Europeans still have difficulty overcoming the “us vs. them” mindset.

It would be naive, even foolhardy, to claim that the root of European racism does not date back to the nineteenth century, when we were a colonial power.

Racist views of other groups, especially blacks, is still predominant. The drawing is from the Golden Book Encyclopedia. The 1959 edition sold over 60 million volumes. 

Continue reading “Migrant Tales (June 16, 2012): The crux of European racism – too little inclusion, too much race and blood”

Finland 2015 is a sinking ship: Throw overboard excess weight like migrants, refugees, minorities and our Nordic values

Posted on by Migrant Tales

What destiny can befall a country or a political party that retreats into its own fears and scapegoats migrants for its own blunders and inaction? As one friend pointed out, Finland resembles today a sinking ship that is throwing overboard excess weight like migrants, refugees, minorities and Nordic values. 

The situation is dire, very dire. All you have to do is take a whiff of the political atmosphere in Finland. Today the Perussuomalaiset (PS),* a populist anti-immigration party that still believes the sun revolves around the Earth, are the second-biggest political party in parliament.

responsibility

Finland resembles a sinking vessel in the present anti-immigration and nationalistic political climate coupled with a diehard recession stretching back to 2008.

Continue reading “Finland 2015 is a sinking ship: Throw overboard excess weight like migrants, refugees, minorities and our Nordic values”

Friday’s A-studio: Attack the weak and vulnerable in Finland because they can’t fight back

Posted on by Migrant Tales

In many respects the success of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party in the last two parliamentary elections could be seen as a last cry against our ever-growing cultural diversity, which is a reality and will continue to grow in the future. Newly elected PS MP Laura Huhtasaari was one of the guests on Friday’s A-studio together with Green League MP Ozan Yanar, the new face in parliament of our multicultural society. 

Just like PS MP Hanna Mäntylä’s anti-immigration views on Thursday’s A-studio, Huhtasaari says some pretty incredible things as well the following day.

One of these was that she considers Sweden to be “dangerous example” that we should in not follow in Finland.  The PS MP also claims that the integration of those immigrants that were given a residence permit on humanitarian grounds haven’t succeeded at integrating in any European country.

Her “bad immigration” example is typical of what Islamophobes use by customarily pointing the finger at Saudi Arabia, a close US ally and the most extremist Islamic country in the world, as an example.

Why not show some positive examples? I’m certain there are many of these types of Muslim countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh. Immigration has been vital to Sweden’s economic growth and prosperity as a nation.

Like many of the arguments used by anti-immigration politicians like Huhtasaari, we’re usually exaggerating figures and scapegoating certain groups.

It doesn’t take too much intelligence to understand there’s something fishy about her claim that so-called humanitarian immigrants haven’t integrated anywhere in Europe. I could name many who have and adapted beyond expectations in becoming new members of our society.

One of these is Abdirahim Husu Hussein together with a long list of others.

Her argument “haven’t integrated anywhere” has been proven wrong with only a handful of examples.

Moreover, her claim is a common one used by far-right anti-immigration politicians in Europe. The twisted logic she uses is simple: Since you will never adapt to our country you better not come here.

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When PS MP Laura Huhtasaari speaks of these immigrants who “haven’t successfully integrated anywhere” in Europe how many of these types of people is she speaking of in Finland? A few thousands, maybe?  Like PS MP Hanna Mäntylä, Huhtasaari proves to us again that the main message of the PS concerning migrants is scapegoating.

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Thursday’s A-studio: How the Finnish media and politicians paint immigrants with a single brush

Posted on by Migrant Tales

I almost fell off my seat when I watched A-studio Thursday. Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Hanna Mäntylä justified the ongoing victimization and labeling of Finland’s small migrant community. She said this was fine because some white Finns are poor. 

“We have in effect people who live and are on the verge of suffering from hunger because they don’t have enough money to pay for food on a daily basis,” said Mäntylä. “Yes, these kinds of stories come in loud and clear on the campaign trail like why we have this kind of immigration policy in Finland.”

One of the problems with this kind of claim by Mäntylä is that she includes all migrants and paints them with a single brush.  Her point is a clear example of scapegoating but neither the host nor the guests brought this up.

Is it the fault of those refugees fleeing war and hunger that some white Finns are, as Mäntylä points out, on the verge of suffering from hunger?

Of course not but she blames all migrants for this.

If we are fair, Mäntylä’s statement reveals the hostility of the PS towards cultural diversity and how they want to keep migrants as second- or third-class citizens.

Mäntylä’s view of immigration – she doesn’t distinguish between migrants and refugees never mind humanitarian immigration – is one matter but when those present like Ilkka Kanerva of the National Coalition Party, Green League MP Ville Niinistö and Antti Kaikkonen of the Center Party don’t challenge such populist statements that too speaks volumes about why migrants are the favorite punching bag of politicians.

Since the majority of migrants are employed in this country and pay taxes, how many of these migrants that Mäntylä cites are we speaking of? How many thousands compared with the hundreds of thousands of Finns who get social welfare? In English we call this a storm in a tea cup. Another good term is scapegoating.

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PS MP Hanna Mäntylä states that it’s fine to loathe all migrants and demand a change in immigration policy since there are Finns who are on the verge of suffering from hunger in this country. Her statement is a good example of scapegoating.

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Christian Thibault: Don’t let fear intimidate you but watch your back!

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Christian Thibault, chairman of Rasmus, an anti-racism NGO, asks how safe are our streets for migrants and minorities after Sunday’s parliamentary elections? Thibault is concerned but doesn’t want anyone to live in fear.

“Don’t withdraw into safe ghettos,” he continued, “but be careful especially this coming weekend [when people of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* will be celebrating the party’s election victory].”

Just like after an ice-hockey world championship, or after an election victory, fans and followers can get pretty violent when celebrating.

We’ve already seen some violence after Sunday’s elections reported in Facebook. Two of these are are by JT and “Abdulah” (see below). JT wrote about a group of white Finns that attacked this week a migrant on a commuter train.

“The ice is thawing but can we say the same about intolerance and xenophobia in Finland?” Thibault said. “I don’t think so. The elections have emboldened some Finns to act in a hostile manner against migrants and minorities.”

Continue reading “Christian Thibault: Don’t let fear intimidate you but watch your back!”