Enrique Tessieri Archives - Page 239 of 245

Another red herring about gays and Jews by Finnish PS MP Juho Eerola

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Migrant Tales

I’m always amazed by these anti-immigration and especially anti-Islam Perussuomalaiset MPs like Juho Eerola, sent a written question to parliament demanding that Muslims in Finland renounce publicly their anti-gay and anti-Semitic stances, according to Kotka-based Kymen Sanomat.

Here’s a very good opinion piece (in Finnish) by Sakari Timonen that exposes Eerola for what he is: A politician without scruples.

The question that Eerola’s statement raises is why is he offering us this red herring now.

Those that have read Eerola throughout the years, know perfectly well that he’s no friend of gays. We could even put to question his pro-Jewish stance. Is he pro-Jewish because he supports how Israel treats Palestinians, who are Muslims?

The answer why the PS MP expresses concern now for gays and Jews is clear: European MEP elections are coming up in May and there is apparently concern in the PS that the party’s negative stand against same sex-marriages may cost it dearly.

Read full story here.

Eerola’s victimization of Muslims is done the same old way: He groups all Muslims in the same bag.

Reaction to Eerola’s stunt has been widely commented and condemned on social media.

PS MP Eerola is that type of far-right politicians who would care less for gays never mind cultural diversity in Finland and religious freedom.

His most recent outburst and red herring is ample proof of that.

Landmark decision in Finland: Sikh busman said “it was a nice feeling” to wear a turban at work

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Migrant Tales

The long ordeal over whether Sikh bus driver Gill Sukhdarshan Singh could wear a turban to work ended on February 21. “I got a call from the AKT (Transport Workers’ Union) on Friday and they said that it’s been resolved,” he told Migrant Tales. “I have the right to wear a turban at work.”

Read full story here.

“It was a nice feeling to go to work [and wear a turban],” he continued. “Everybody was happy: my coworkers and the passengers. They said it was a good thing that I could use a turban at work.”

Sukhdarshan Singh said that he went to work on that historic Friday at 10am. Even so, he had been struggling with his employer for about a year to have the right to wear a turban at work.

“[The long struggle] wasn’t nice but it’s now over,” he admitted.

The Sikh busman, who has lived in Finland for 28 years, said that it’s a good matter that Finland starts to accept people from other cultures.

“This is a very positive matter,” he said. “Finland is part of a wider world.”

Helsingin Sanomat reported Monday that a decision was reached last week between the Finnish Employers’ Federation of Road Transport (ALT) and Transport Workers’ Union AKT over the interpretation of the bus driver’s employment contract.

According to ALT and AKT, Sukhdarshan Singh has the right to wear a turban at work if he wants.

Sukhdashan Singh’s employer Veolia has promised to abide by ALT’s and AKT’s interpretation as well as Helsingin Bussiliikkene, Helsinki’s municipal bus company.

The right to wear a turban at work is a historical decision that Sikh bus drivers got in England in the 1969.

A must-see video about who we Finns are

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Migrant Tales

If there is one matter where Finland’s ever-growing culturally diverse society must still work on, it’s instilling greater acceptance and respect for those who are different from white Finns. For me, this is central in our struggle to live in a country that is acceptant and respects others irrespective of their backgrounds.

After moving over thirty years to this country, there’s finally a video below that reflects and promotes this important fact.

I dedicate it to all those who still believe that Finnish identity is monolithic, or, as Heikki Waris claimed in the 1960s on page two of “An introduction to Finnish history,” the following (note how he forgets to mention the 10,000-strong Romany minority):

A fourth aspect is the high degree of homogeneity of Finnish society. Racial homogeneity particularly characterizes the Finnish people who have practically no racial minorities, the less than three thousand Lapps in the northernmost arctic communities making up the largest racial minority group. Consequently, racial prejudice and discrimination are nonexistent.

Waris is very selective when he writes about so-called racial homogeneity. He simply forgets that 1.2 million Finns emigrated and mixed with people and cultures in other lands. He denies and plays down who we’ve always been and will be.

To all those Finns who still believe that this country only belongs to them, I have some news for you. This land belongs to all of us.

We won’t wait for generations for acceptance.

Acceptance begins with us.

Landmark decision in Finland: Sikh bus driver may wear turban at work

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Migrant Tales

The long ordeal over whether Sikh bus driver Gill Sukhdarshan Singh could wear a turban to work has been decided in his favor, reports Helsingin Sanomat. A decision was reached last week between the Finnish Employers’ Federation of Road Transport (ALT) and Transport Workers’ Union AKT over the interpretation of the bus driver’s employment contract.

According to ALT and AKT, Sukhdarshan Singh has the right to wear a turban at work if he wants.

Read full story here.

Sukhdashan Singh’s employer Veolia has promised to abide by ALT’s and AKT’s interpretation as well as Helsingin Bussiliikkene, Helsinki’s municipal bus company.

The right to wear a turban at work is a historical decision that Sikh bus drivers got in England in the 1969.

Migrant Tales will publish more Tuesday on this landmark decision.

Read update here.

Four refugees to move to the Finnish municipality of Kauniainen

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Migrant Tales

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read the headline of this story that reads that a refugee family of four from Congo will move to Kaunianen, Finland’s richest municipality, located 18 kilometers west of Helsinki, according to Metro.

Read full story here.

If you think that such news warrants media attention, the story got 7,000 “likes” and 144 tweets on Monday evening.

Jaana Myhrberg, who works for the municipality social services, says that Kaunianen residents will meet with municipal authorities to learn about the integration program and the plight of refugees in Finland and elsewhere.

Kaunianen, which has about 9,000 inhabitants, accepts ten quota refugees annually.

Myhrberg said that she hoped that the event will not generate anti-refugee sentiment and label the municipality’s new inhabitants.

Violent language

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Migrant Tales

Some Finns don’t grasp how violent anti-immigration groups are and the role of institutional racism, which serves and supports such groups. Every lie, distorted and exaggerated fact concocted against migrants and visible minorities is a bullet.

These anti-immigration groups and their supporters are, however, big cowards. They often threaten, slander and distort facts anonymously. Some may even write to your employer – anonymously of course – and chastise you in the hope that you’ll get fired from your job.

Even though I got my first death threats in Finland in the early 1990s after I wrote about Somali and African asylum seekers in Mikkeli for Finland’s largest magazine, Apu, matters have gotten worse since those days.

That’s why I believe that the Perussuomalaiset, especially their far-right and anti-immigration wing, are a big threat to the security of migrants and visible minorities. The Perussuomalaiset aren’t the only political party in Finland that has racists. You can find them in all parties.

Violence doesn’t always have to be physical and can be found in the form of institutional racism. It lives at elementary schools where children of migrant parents are openly labeled as “them,” or “other.”

Inequality is violence with a capital “V” especially in a noble country like Finland.

It’s high time that we recognize and challenge violent language against migrants and all minorities.

Being “critical of migrants” is only a code word for racism and hostility.

Read posting in Finnish here.

Väkivallan kielellä

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Migrant Tales

Jotkut eivät ymmärrä kuinka väkivaltaisia ovat maahanmuuttovastustajat ja niitä rasismin yhteiskunnallisia rakenteita joita he palvelevat ja joihin saavat tukea. Jokainen valhe, vääristetty ja liioiteltu tieto on kuin luoti.

Nämä maahanmuuttovastaiset ovat kuitenkin suuria pelkureita. He monesti uhkaavat, solvaavat toisia ei omalla nimellä mutta nimettömänä. He kirjoittavat jopa työantajalle – tietysti nimettömänä – ja haukkuvat sinua siinä toivossa, että saisit potkut työpaikkaistasi.

Vaikka sain ensimmäiset tappouhkaukset toimittajana Suomessa 1990-luvun alussa, koska kirjoitin jutun Apu-lehteen somalialaisista ja afrikkalaisista pakolaisista Mikkelissä, sama meno on vain kiihtynyt tänään.

Siksi uskon, että perussuomalaiset ja erityisesti sen äärioikeisto ja maahanmuuttovastainen siipi ovat suuri vaara ja turvallisuusriski meille, eli maahanmuuttajille ja näkyville vähemmistöille. Perussuomalaiset eivät ole ainoa puolue jossa on rasisteja. Niitä on valitettavasti jokaisessa suomalaisissa puolueessa.

Väkivallan ei tarvitse aina olla fyysistä, koska siitä löytyy myös valtion ja yhteiskunnanrakenteissa. Se voi tapahtua ala-asteen koululla kun sinut leimataan avoimesti mamu.

Epätasa-arvoa on väkivalta isolla V:llä erityisesti niin hienossa maassa kuin Suomessa.

Olisi siksi korkea aika tunnistaa ja haasta väkivallan kieli.

Se ei ole mitään “kriittisyyttä,” se on väkivalta.

___________

Nimetön kirje minulle Ylä-Savosta päivitetty 8.11.2010:

Herra Tessieri

Hyvin kylmät terveiset täältä Ylä-Savosta, kirjoittaja on alkuperäinen Suomen kansalainen, joka puolusti tätä maata, jonka sos. turvan varassa ilmeisesti sinäkin nyt nautiskelet. Haavoitun tätä maata puolustaessani talvi ja jatko sodassa itsenäisyytemme puolesta, en teikäläisten muukalaisten puolesta. Emme voi hyväksyä tätä ”luuseri”-laumaa mitä sinäkin edustat ja vielä yrität moittia ja haukkua alkuperäisiä suomalaisia, jotka ovat tämän maan rakentaneet ja verellään lunastaneet. Häpeä hyvä mies tälläistä artikkeliä minkä Savon Sanomat vielä julkaisi.

Sain vihaisen kirjeen tämän mielipidejutun takia.

Mene hyvä mies sinne maahan mistä olet tullut, äläkä tule koskaan takaisin. Korjaa sen valtakunnan etuja, jos sinut joku maa haluaa elätäkseen ottaa. Terve menoa vain.

Olen tilannut Savon Sanomia yli 50 vuotta, mutta nyt olen sanonut tilaukseni irti kun häpäisevät tilaajiaan tuommoisilta artikkeleilla sinun ansioistasi. Kirjoitti eräs sotimme veteraani suuren joukon puolesta jotka ovat samaa mieltä tällöisistä luusereista. Emme todella puolustanut tätä maata teikäläisiä varten. Suomi Suomalaisille.!

Passage of gay marriage law will benefit all minorities in Finland

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Migrant Tales

The ongoing passionate debate in parliament on same-sex marriage reveals, in my opinion, something we’ve known all along about Finland: How we accept and respect people who are different from us. Alongside the present debate on gay marriage is another one being contested in public about our ever-growing cultural diversity.

A draft law to legalize gay marriage in Finland was defeated in February 2013 by a vote of 9-8 by the legal committee of parliament.

Finland is still the only Nordic country that doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages.

After that dramatic vote in the legal committee last year, a lot of matters have happened. A citizen’s initiative got over 166,000 signatures. A citizen’s initiative gets 50,000 signatures in six months it must be put to a vote in parliament.

If we look at an A-Studio poll that was published Thursday, it shouldn’t surprise us that the same political parties that oppose gay marriage are against cultural diversity.

Which parties oppose gay marriage? It shouldn’t surprise us that at the head of the list is the anti-EU, anti-immigration and especially anti-Islam Perussuomalaiset (PS) party followed by smaller ones like the Christian Democrats. The Center Party and National Coalition Party, are still split on the new law.

A poll by A-Studio shows that 108 out of 199 MPs support the same-sex marriage initiative. Read full story here.

One could rightfully ask why is legalizing gay marriage important for Finland. The answer to this question is clear because there is a direct relationship with the ongoing debate on our ever-growing cultural diversity and how minorities should be accepted and respected in this country.

Finland has always been culturally diverse, according to Professor Jeremy Gould of Jyväskylä University.

“Culture is always diverse – people everywhere have different tastes, beliefs, habits, and values,” he told Migrant Tales. “This has been true of Finland for centuries. For me the so-called ‘debate about multiculturalism’ is a code word for racism in our society. Finland is already culturally diverse. The issue is that people of color don’t receive the respect and recognition they deserve as human beings.”

In the same way, the debate on granting gays the right to marriage is a code word for homophobia.

The same parties that aren’t ready to give gays the right to marriage are those that are doing everything possible to sabotage and deny our cultural diversity. Spearheading this campaign is none other than the PS.

When the new law is passed, not only will gays benefit from it but other minorities in our society. It will lead and fuel the long-overdue recognition and respect due to all minorities living in Finland.

That is why a lot rides on the passage of the gay marriage law.

Burst the hate bubble of anti-immigration groups

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Migrant Tales

When you listen to anti-immigration politicians and groups, there’s one matter that exposes them to the tee: Constant whining without any solutions. They don’t give you the solution to the problem because they simply have none to offer.

Read full story here.

The Nazis were questionably pro-active on ethnic issues. As we saw from 1933, one matter led to another and a whole nation found itself on a slipper slope that led to places like Auschwitz.

Look at the matter this way. Anti-immigration politicians and groups are tirelessly inflating society with hate. Do they do this for our benefit or their opportunistic political goals? Are they preparing us for those slippery slopes that we’ve seen in Europe too many times before?

Demand an answer from them. By demanding solutions you effectively expose them and burst the hate bubble they live in.

Children of immigrants: “Only Finnish spoken here and you’re a mamu”

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Migrant Tales

We claim that Finland has one of the best educational systems in the world. We claim that we teach our children social equality and that they have equal rights to advance in life. Why then are children of immigrants called at some schools mamus and why do we force them to speak only Finnish?

The term mamu derives from the Finnish word maahanmuuttaja, or immigrant.

Finnish schools basically do the same thing today that they did in the 1970s, when they punished Saami children for speaking their native language at schools.

If we forbid and make clear that children shouldn’t speak their mother or father tongue at school, isn’t this outright discrimination and a lack of respect for the child’s ethnic and cultural background?

We only speak Finnish here reads a sign on the door of a Finnish elementary school.

Certainly if one or both of the child’s parents are migrants, it’s important that the child learns Finnish or Swedish. The better the child learns these languages, the better his or her chances of succeeding in this country. This is a good goal but it shouldn’t be done at the expense of the child’s native language and identity.

You can’t speak any other language but Finnish and on top of that you’re labelled a mamu. Who labels you a mamu? The majority culture.

Why do some schools in Finland continue to call third-culture children, who have lived here most of their lives or were born here, mamus?

Why don’t we call them Finns who have a different cultural and ethnic background from white Finns?

Why is this still so difficult to understand?