Enrique Tessieri Archives - Page 51 of 245

Getting a job does not scare me, it is what happens after that raises concern

Posted on January 27, 2022 by Migrant Tales

If we look at the many stories of job discrimination that we have published in Migrant Tales, one factor links them: despair and the police, which too often look the other way.

Considering the underwhelming effort the police have made in challenging human trafficking, labor discrimination, hate speech, and other social ills, why would a victim trust the police?

There are too many cases involing the latter social ills and too little done by the authorities. If the situation is dire, and employers can get away relatively easily with exploitation of workers and human trafficking, imagine when more labor migrants come to Finland. Will the police continue to bury its head in the sand and will the media take labor discrimination and exploitation seriously apart from an occasional story?

Migrant Tales has written scores of stories about an ongoing problem: slow due justice.

Do we want an openly Islamophobic prime minister that aims to exclude foreigners? I hope not!

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Migrant Tales

After the disastrous showing of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* in Sunday’s regional election, the far-right party aims to win next year’s parliamentary election and have its chairperson, Riikka Purra, as prime minister.

Good luck with that, especially after the big election setback.

Even if the regional election will turn out to be a watershed for the PS, why would Finland want to have a prime minister from a party that openly promotes and spreads racism?

In one of the debates, Purra went as far as to say that Finland should exclude foreigners from getting social welfare. While most people know this would be unconstitutional, none of the media reported the comment by Purra.

PS Chairperson states in a nutshell: “Shouldn’t we little by little start to believe that mixing people, religions and cultures in the West is SINGULARLY A GOOD MATTER? Mass migration from developing countries and hostile cultures IS A PROBLEM. Beheading is only one expression.”

The regional election result must have sent shivers up the PS’ spine. Near-fool proof campaign Islamohpbic and xenophobic themes did not help the party.

The National Coalition Party wins Finland’s first regional elections

Posted on January 24, 2022 by Migrant Tales

The National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) won Finland’s first regional elections after capturing 21.6% of the votes, according to Yle. Apart from the low 47.5% voter turnout, there were two big surprises: the good showing of the Center Party and the abysmal result by the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*.

During the past decade, much of the PS’ success hinges on Islamophobia and racist soundbites.

Even if the regional election was supposed to be about health care and emergency services, the PS campaigned on high petrol prices at the pumps and anti-Muslim racism.

The party’s poor showing is a big blow to Riikka Purra, her first as chairperson, and raises an important question of whterther the hostile racism of the party has finally lost its appeal among voters.

SDP leader Sanna Marin said that the good result of the Kokoomus, her party, and the Center Party marked a return to the ‘big three’ in Finnish politics after the PS’ good showing during the last decade.

“In my opinion the forecast shows that this election was a return of the big three and the return of traditional politics,” Marin was quoted as saying in Yle News.

Another factor contributing to the PS’s poor showing was Purra’s lack of charisma and racist talking points.

The National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) got 21.6% of the votes with the Social Democrats and Center Party getting 19.3% apiece, respectively. If the good showing of the Center Party was a surprise, so was the poor showing of the Perussuomalaiset, which captured a disappointing 11.1%. The second table is of the seats that each party won. Source: *Yle*

Remember Jari Sillantie of the Kolari asylum reception center and coming out of the Islamophobic closet

Posted on January 20, 2022November 10, 2025 by Migrant Tales

I do, and very vividly. Jari Sillantie was the deputy manager of the northern Finland Kolari asylum reception center that sacked him after some 140 asylum seekers protested his management style.

Even if his management style and Facebook “likes” did not reveal his attraction to the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, they did speak volumes about his anti-immigration views (see picture below).

After all of the asylum seekers at the reception center demonstrated on May 4 and forced the Red Cross, which managed the reception center, to sack Sillantie was deemed “unsuitable for the job.”

We learned more things about Sillantie: His heart is with the Islamophobic PS party, and he was convicted for tax fraud in 2018. He owes 666,000 euros in back taxes to the state.

Jari Sillantie, who was sacked as deputy manager of the Kolari asylum reception center in 2016, was not suited for the job. His “likes” on Facebook, which have now been deleted, are an assortment of far-right associations and politicians like Laura Huhtasaari.

Sillanpää is a good example of the hypocrisy of the PS. He states in his campaign message all the racist talking points of the party. Migrants should follow the law but Sillantie and the PS have special privileges.

Sillantie’s message comes in loud and clear in his campaign poster: Vote for Finns first!

Thanks to the asylum seekers of the former Kolari asylum reception center, the media, and our work, we were able to expose Sillantie for what he was: a questionable person who wanted to make the lives of asylum seekers as difficult as possible.

The party with the most criminal charges: Perussuomalaiset candidates, who else?

Posted on January 12, 2022 by Migrant Tales

THE STORY WAS UPDATED

Guess which party has the highest number of candidates charged with a crime? Correct, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. According to Helsingin Sanomat, 6.3% (8.2% in the 2021 municipal elections) of PS candidates in January’s regional election have been charged for crimes during 2017-2021.

That was followed by the Left Alliance (3.0%/4.1%), Christian Democrats (2.2%/2.4%), National Coalition Party (2.1%/3.2%), Center Party (2.0%/2.5%), Social Democrats (1.2%/2.7%), Green League (0.8%/2.0%), and Swedish People’s Party (0.7%/2.1%).

Two one-MP parties, Power Belongs to the People (VKK) and Movement Now, had 6.1% and 7.4%, respectively, of their candidates in the regional election charged with a crime.

Apart from demonizing migrants, especially Muslims, the PS always finds ways to exclude Others.

Their latest prank is “Finns first.”

The Perussuomaliset campaigns for public services for everyone but claims that Finns should come first. When Pentti Karhunen, a candidate in Etelä-Savo was asked what he meant by “Finns,” he said anyone who has a Finnish citizenship. He was against offering services to unemployed foreigners. Source: Facebook

What the PS means by who is a Finn is a question for interpretation. Some PS politicians claim that even if a person becomes a naturalized Finn, he will never be a Finn.

The dehumanization and fear-mongering of people like Muslims explain the PS’ close ideological ties with a Nazi-spirited association called Suomen Sisu. At least five PS MPs are members of Suomen Sisu, which openly campaign for PS candidates.

A victory for free speech against the far-right and “racist clowns”

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Migrant Tales

Due process takes a long time in Finland as the landmark Johanna Vehkoo against far-right agitator Junnes Lokka, whom she called in a Facebook “a Nazi clown” and “a racist.” Surprisingly, a Rovaniemi appeal court upheld a prior Oulu district court ruling that Vehkoo had defamed Lokka.

Today’s ruling by the supreme court dismissed the prior ruling by the appeal and district courts.

“The supreme court ruling is important because members of Finland’s far-right and Islamophobic groups can also be criticized and fall under scrutiny. Moreover, the ruling reveals that some courts are not up to speed on racism and the threat of the far-right.”

Lokka’s case, if the supreme court had upheld the prior rulings, would have made it difficult to criticize politicians who use racism to advance their political aims.

While the Oulu appeal court ruled against Vehkoo because her comments were against Lokka’s person, the supreme court took a different view.

“In view of the derogatory and hostile statements made by Lokka in public, the terms used in the [Facebook post] text are not considered to have gone beyond what could be considered acceptable,” reported Yle News, citing the KKO stated in its judgment.

MORE

How we treat terrorism in our society depends on your ethnic and religious background

Posted on January 8, 2022 by Migrant Tales

After creating a big commotion in December about uncovering Finland’s first far-right terrorist cell, the Stakunta District Court ordered the release of four of the suspects on Wednesday, according to Yle News. One of the suspects was released last month.

Even if the police consider the arrest of the suspects as the “first” far-right cell, it all depends on how you define terrorism. Several arson attacks, even a sitting MP (Ano Turtiainen), were carried out even encouraged against asylum reception centers in 2015.

Perussuomalaiset* Kankaanpää councillor Teuvo Roskala was elated by the release of the four terrorist suspects. He compared it with Finland’s first ice hockey world championship in 1995 and asked on Facebook to celebrate at the marketplace. Roskala took down the post after *Helsingin Sanomat* approached him. Source: *Helsingin Sanomat*

The four terrorist suspects were released on a technicality.

Twitter (Veikko Vallin): A racist lesson on types of migrants

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Migrant Tales

Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Veikko Vallin gives us a lesson in racism by definIslamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Veikko Vallin teaches us racism by defining “harmful” and beneficial migration. Vallin, who likes being called the Tampere’s Trump and boasts about how he places his money in Estonia from the Finnish tax person, bases his political program on hatred for asylum seekers, especially Muslims.

The PS is the only party in parliament that labels migrants as “harmful.”

Vallin is the last person you should listen to concerning ethnic relations.

He Tweets:

“The difference between harmful and beneficial migration? Harmful migration is a drain on the public sector, while beneficial migration generates tax revenues. Among others, beneficial migrants find employment as gardeners.”

What is wrong with this tweet?

It is racist because it generalizes and debates migration as a simple, 1 + 1 = 2 phenomenon.

The first anniversary of 1/6: A hammer blow to democracy, our democracy as well

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Migrant Tales

As we return to that horrible day of January 6, when former President Donald Trump supporters invaded the Capitol and whacked the foundations of US democracy, we should ask how much of a blow that infamous day was for our democracy in the EU and Finland.

The bad news is that matters in the US will get much worse before they improve. As everyone should know, racism, fear, and political greed by autocrats to the US’ growing diversity is at the heart of the January 6 violence.

**Insurrection? Coup attempt? Tour guide? Source: Washington Post**

Apart from racism, capitalism and the smell of money have enticed the country to flirt with a right-wing dictatorship.

Certainly, exceptionalism and the blindspot to enforce adequate checks and balances is one of the main culprits. It comes in the form of denial and burying your head deep in your colon.

Can the same happen in Europe, in Finland?

All we have to do is turn the clock back 89 years to the rise of Adolf Hitler and his vehemently anti-Semitic and racist government that led to a global war that killed tens of millions of people.

Like Hitler, Trump was also considered a joke. Few, during the 2016 presidential primaries, thought he could win the election.

Hitler’s fuel was the unfair Versaille Treaty, anti-Semitism, and racism. Scapegoating the blame on minorities paved the way to Nazi power.

The PS and its enablers are the wrecking balls of Finland’s social welfare democracy

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Migrant Tales

I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you do.

James Baldwin

If some scholars sound the alarm bells that democracy in the United States could turn into a right-wing dictatorship that has the potential of sparking a civil war. How should Finland prepare for such an eventuality?

Writes Thomas Homer-Dixon, a Canadian political scientist, in an Op-Ed: “By 2025, American democracy could collapse, causing extreme domestic political instability, including widespread civil violence. By 2030, if not sooner, the country could be governed by a right-wing dictatorship.”

The European think tank, among others, label the United States as a “backsliding democracy” in a new report.

While former US President Donald Trump has spread the big lie about the 2020 election that has turned the Republican Party into a personality cult, it is a different story in Finland even if the threat is the same.

While it should be clear that a party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, which is eager to strip minorities of their human rights and relegate them to second- or third-class citizens, the party is the best example of Trumpism in Finland.

The PS has not made its admiration for Trump a secret. Former PS leader Jussi Halla-aho – like other PS politicians – do not hold back their admiration for Trump and his racist and autocratic political message.

**Jussi Halla-aho has backtracked on his 2019 claim that he digs Trump and is the best thing that has happened to the United States and to the West in a long time**. **Source: Twitter**

Like the United States, Finland has seen its society become ever-polarized thanks to the politics of the PS and its enablers, which undermine our Nordic political institutions. If Trump’s big lie is the “stolen” election, which Joe Biden won hands down, in Finland, it is immigration and other populist soundbites.