Category: Enrique Tessieri

Coronavirus: When will it end?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

We have all heard the case for increased testing for coronavirus (COVID-19). But we need other tests like those that will judge our politicians and how they handle COVID-19.

An article in the Washington Post interviewed a black man in Louisiana who said that “wearing a facemask won’t protect us from our history [of slavery and Jim Crow].”

In the United States alone, coronavirus strikes and kills blacks, Latinos and other minorities disproportionately.

Apart from exposing our wasteful investments on defense and weapons spending, which give us a false sense of security, the pandemic exposes in our faces as well the chronic social inequalities of our societies.

Source: BuzzFeed.com.

Not only are the most vulnerable groups suffering in the United States but minorities in the UK and other countries of the world.

There is mounting evidence – and it should not surprise us – that blacks, Asians and other minority communities in the UK are hit the hardest. According to the BBC, over a third of the patients critically ill in hospitals are minorities.

It would not surprise me either in Europe that members of the Romany minority and Muslims may experience much higher infection and death rates than white Europeans.

The fact that we still do not have any official statistics on the latter is quite revealing. Such information is also important because minority communities must take steps to protect themselves from the deadly virus.

When will COVID-19 end?

I believe that the pandemic will end when we put on the defensive and tackle effectively social inequality, boundless greed, environmental destruction, laissez-faire globalization and capitalism, populists that worship dictators, and the billionaires that are screwing things up big time.

Read the full story (in Spanish) here

In an interview in Córdoba three years ago, Finnish screenwriter Aki Kaurismäki said: “We must exterminate the rich and the politicians who lick their asses.”

While the rich indirectly kill people through their wealth accumulation, “extermination” may mean forcing rich people to pay much higher taxes and severely cut off their money machines, which are the capital markets.

Such wealth should not end up in their greedy pockets of the 1% but used for creating global well-being and improving the lives of everyone on this planet.

Albanian construction worker: Being the father of a child is not a valid reason for Migri to grant you a residence permit

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Separation or divorce from a partner can be an especially trying matter in Finland if you are a foreigner and a man. We have learned of a new case that was brought to our attention.

This is how it usually how events pan out: A foreigner gets married to a Finnish woman, they have a child and then divorce. The man does not get a residence permit. He is forced to leave the country or get deported.

Below is a decision in 2018 by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) to reject Abul’s* residence permit on family grounds.

Source: Migrant Tales.

Ardian* is a 24-year-old Albanian who moved to Finland a bit over three years ago. He came to Finland to find work. He met a Russian woman, got married, had a child, and separated.

“I have been waiting for three years to get my residence permit,” he said. “Even if I have a child in Finland, Migri, has turned down my requests.”

He said that he is appealing Migri’s decision in court and expects a decision soon, probably in April.

Ardian,* who lives in Vantaa, said that he has always worked (today in construction) in Finland, paid taxes and never asked for a cent of social welfare.

He said that he even moved to a construction site in Kittlä in Lapland and works today on top of a 39-meter tower. He said that if he refused to work in such high places, his boss would fire him.

Ardian claims that foreign construction workers do work that Finns would not normally do.

Since he does not have a residence permit, he can work legally but does not have any rights from Kela (Social Insurance Institution of Finland), even if given sick leave.

“I once fractured two fingers at work and the doctor gave me two-month sick leave,” he said. “I had to return back to work and could not stay at home because I wasn’t making any money. Kela refused to pay me any support.”

Apart from working with few rights, his daughter is one of the main reasons he wants to remain in Finland.

“It’s so unjust! If I could, I’d ask the Finnish authorities why I am being treated in this way,” Ardian continued. “I have a daughter, which I love very much but am not allowed to see. Don’t I have a right to stay in this country?”

See also

Ardian cited “differences in lifestyle” for his divorce with his wife.

“My ex-wife wanted us to live off Kela but I refused to,” he said without providing any further explanation.

Ardian said that returning to Albania was not an option for him.

“That whole country is so corrupt and there is a lot of crime there,” he concluded. “I cannot also go back because my daughter is here. She loves me very much.”

* The name of the person was changed to protect his identity.

A post-coronavirus world bonded by mistrust, suspicion, racial hatred and the four horsemen of the apocalypse

Posted on by Migrant Tales

If we look at the raw economic numbers, world trade is expected to plunge in 2020 by between 13% and 32%, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

While the WTO does not mention a word about the Great Depression (1929-1939) or how global economies contracted during that period, a 32% contraction would be on par with the plunge in trade during 1929-1932, according to The Guardian.

Read the full story here.

“The unavoidable declines in trade and output will have painful consequences for households and businesses,” WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said, “on top of the human suffering caused by the disease itself.”

While it is still too early to predict if we will see a second Great Depression (1929-1939) since such an eventuality hinges on what policies governments instigate like protectionism, it’s clear that economic hard times will not treat migrants and minorities nicely.

Even during periods of economic growth like in the European Union during this century, we still have not succeeded at eradicating social ills like Islamophobia and the shameful treatment and persecution of the Romany minority.

The size of the minority does not matter when it comes to ethnic persecution. In 1933, when Hitler took power in Germany, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum estimates there were 505,000 Jews out of a total population of 67 million. Half a million Jews accounted for less than 0.75% of Germany’s population.

The rise of fascism during the worst economic contraction in the history of the industrialized world did not foster ethnic understanding and respect but led to a terrible world war and the wholesale slaughter of an estimated six million Jews during the Holocaust that included half a million Roma.

Even if the historical context of the present coronavirus crisis is different from what happened in Germany and led to Hitler’s rise to power, why wouldn’t a severe economic downturn and draconian protectionist measures bring out again the monster in us?

In an interview with CNN in March, historian and professor Yuval Noah Harari stated that the lack of trust, closing borders and isolating oneself, are the most significant threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic

There is also another reason, in my opinion, why matters are going to get worse in Europe as our economies contract and knee-jerk nationalist reactions: We have failed to slay the same monsters of xenophobia and petty nationalism that gave us World War 2 in our eyes.

If we have failed at ridding racism from our societies during good economic timers, why would we succeed at such a challenging task during poor economic times?

If there is an image that evokes the challenges we face ahead, it is the four horsemen of the apocalypse, a Biblical reference appearing in the New Testament’s final book of Revelation. The four horsemen charging at us represent pestilence, famine, war, and death.

We have two choices today and tomorrow: to unite and rebuild or succumb to the four horsemen.

Moving to Europe was the right decision in 1978 even if my great grandfather is still turning in his grave

Posted on by Migrant Tales

My great grandfather Dante Tessieri and his future wife, Aida Guaimonti, sailed from Italy in the 1890s to Brazil. Dante was a learned man, a physicist, and an anarchist that housed strong political opinions. He was forced to leave Italy, like many millions of his countrymen, because of political reasons.

Of all my great grandparents, Dante is the one that I admire the most. I admire his courage so much that I gave one of my sons his name.

While I cannot confirm it, he was allegedly part of a plot to assassinate King Humbert. After being detained and jailed, he escaped and skipped the country moving to Brazil, where my grandfather, Nemo, was born.

In the late-1800s, about 20% of the Italian population knew how to write. Dante, and his father Serafino Tessieri, were one of the fortunate few who could read and write. This coupon above was found by chance on eBay. Dante is the lighthouse keeper of the island of Pantelleria. Note Dante’s beautiful handwriting.

Millions of Europeans emigrated from Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries. They escaped strife, war, famine, economic hardship and political persecution.

The Finns were no different from the Italians. They too emigrated en mass as the illustration below shows.

It is for that reason

Finland is a country of emigration. Before World War 2, the majority (about 370,000) emigrated to North America and after World War 2 (550,000) to Sweden. Source: Migration Institute.

While moving from the United States was a wise decision forty years ago, I have my doubts today about Europe being a safe haven. Are those same factors that forced Dante and millions of other Europeans to flee these shores arriving to haunt us once again? If not Europe or the United States, where could one flee to safety today?

The rise of fascism and populism in Europe during this century clearly shows that we have failed to do away with such ills, which .are still very much alive and kicking, waiting to resuscitate, like today.

Time will tell what happens. Even so, I am a bit apprehension about the future, and if we will end up again on those slippery slopes that led us to war.

I hope I am wrong.

Evey know and then I hear my great grandfather turning in his grave and stating sei pazzo!

Two of the most shameful medics of Europe: Jean-Paul Miera and Camille Locht

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The two French doctors, Jean-Paul Mira and Camille Locht said on television that Africans could be used as guinea pigs to find a COVID-19 vaccine. The suggestion by the two medics unleashed a storm of protests.

African footballers Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba and Demba Ba have some words they would like to share with these two medics.

Many of the problems that the EU faces, for example, its broken asylum policy, are symptomatic to our feelings of ethnic superiority and racism.

Coronavirus exposes our false senses of security, racism, and propensity for genocide

Posted on by Migrant Tales

There is no better example of how the coronavirus (COVID-19) has exposed our misguided senses of security and our mistaken way of life that has given way to endless military spending and wars, tax breaks for the wealthy, disinvestment in our well-being through growing inequality.

Sometimes our fears and lust for power cause us to commit genocide as we saw during the colonial period and in Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.

Is there a connection between COVID-19 and modern genocide? Who are the most vulnerable people and countries facing this pandemic and what will happen to them?

Let’s take Africa, for example, ravaged by postcolonialism and white European domination. Irrespective of such a disgraceful history, two French medics stated that Africans should be guinea pigs for the COVID-19 cure.

Sometimes our fears turn into genocide as we saw during the colonial period and in Nazi Germany with the horrors of the Holocaust.

Is there a connection between COVID-19 and modern genocide? Who are the most vulnerable people and countries facing this pandemic? What fate awaits them?

Read the original story here.

Writes EyeGambia: “In a viral video clip shared on social media on Thursday, the two were filmed on set suggesting that a newly discovered possible COVID-19 vaccine should be tested in Africa the same way experimental treatment for aids was done on prostitutes. According to the journalist interviewing the doctors, the vaccine should be first tested on vulnerable Africans who have no mask, no treatment before using it to treat European citizens.”

If some medics are talking about using Africans as guinea pigs, US President Donald Trump downplayed the coronavirus threat initially and promised a vaccine for COVID-19 would be ready in a few months.

Trump’s promise and statements show the same disregard for human life that white colonists unleashed on Africans and other vulnerable groups.


A documentary below on the Holocaust offers some sobering advice during these trying times. States Noa Mkayton of the International School for Holocaust Studies, Yad Vashem, about the problem with labeling Nazis evil monsters.

“[We wash our hand and conveniently state] they were Nazis, but I am not. And from here, it is only a small step, to conclude, that there is very little to learn from the phenomenon. It is fundamentally essential to recall that the Holocaust is a historical event, carried out by humans and suffered by humans.”

The COVID-19 pandemic, which exposes our false sense of security, racism and our propensity to commit genocide, is also a historical event caused by humans and suffered by humans.

Any person familiar with the Holocaust will ask “How civilized people could support and even carry out genocide?”

How did we end up in this pandemic? How did we end up creating a world where a minority controls almost all the wealth? Why are we fighting wars and investing so much on weapons and building walls and not investing on our well-being? How have we learned to shut our eyes and deafen our ears to so much injustice and barbarity?


The coronavirus offers us a good and serious opportunity to confront these questions and find answers and, subsequently, a plan of action to set the world on a different course.

The European Court of Human Rights accepts new appeals from Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The European Court of Human Rights has accepted two appeals from Finland. One of these is of a Sunni Muslim from Iraq whose asylum application was turned down by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). The second one is of a Somali national living in Finland who was refused a work permit.

 Miro Del Gaudio, attorney-at-law and founder of Lex Gaudius, said that the decision to accept Abdulahi Awad’s appeal against Migri shows that the world still has a sense of justice in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: ELENA Weekly Legal Update

“Awad’s case [which we are representing] exposes the vicious cycles of asylum seekers,” said Del Gaudio. “The Somali was forced to give up his permanent job because he was not granted by Migri a work permit.”

In order for Awad to get a work permit, he would have needed a valid identification to get an alien’s passport. The only identification he had was from Somalia, which is not recognized by the Finnish authorities.

“No valid identification means no alien’s passport, which in turn led to him giving up his permanent job,” concluded Del Gaudio.  

Kotoutuminen* #9: Spreading half-truths about integration

Posted on by Migrant Tales

If the learn-Finnish-and-you’re-integrated promise is misleading, so are many others spread by people who should know better.

“The best way to eliminate racism is to get people to know each other,” goes the affirmation. It is like the claim that traveling opens your eyes to the world.

After we do all these things, will we kiss and make up and live in a post-racial society?

Dead wrong.

What we are doing with the argument is what Robin DiAngelo points in her white fragility argument, or how to keep race off the table.

“All of those narratives function to get race off the table close the exploration [and] exempt the person from any further engagement and protect the racial hierarchy in a white position.”

When we mention things like more contact, traveling, learn the language, we are also taking race, or precisely the solution, off the table.

In order to tackle racism in society, we need to understand how we form part of the racist hierarchy and the role of power and privilege in such a social ill

Like traveling, contact with people can reinforce making you even more racist and hateful of other ethnic groups.

Traveling and living in different lands can have the same toxic impact and blunt our efforts to find credible solutions to winning racism.

See also:

*Kotoutiminen is the Finnish term for integration.

How is coronavirus impacting the Asian community of Finland?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

It’s highly probable that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a racist knock-on effect against Asians and other visible migrants and minorities. While this may be the case, the question is, why is it underreported or hardly ever mentioned by the media?

A story in Helsingin Sanomat, dated February 7, interviews a Chinese national: “People use the virus as an excuse for their racist behavior,” said Qi Hongjia, who has lived in Finland for over ten years.

Read the full story here.

Yle News published on the same day as the Helsingin Sanomat article how the coronavirus targets Asians.

An Asian who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that she receives more looks than usual.

“Using a face mask in a completely normal way is now seen as really bad and suspicious,” the Asian said.

We at Migrant Tales have tried to get in touch with Asians and other migrants and minorities to write about their experiences during these difficult times.

If you have a story to share, please get in touch with us because exposing racism is one effective way of beating the social ill.

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 040 8400773

A $2.2-trillion rescue package to perpetuate social inequality, fat cats, and wars

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Even if we humans are resilient, the coronavirus has exposed the same problems that brought us to this situation in the first place.

Instead of investing trillions of dollars in defense or attack spending and servility to the economy and stock markets, why haven’t we paid enough attention to health care, environmental disasters that brought us global warming, human tragedies that our imposed wars have shoved down people’s throats.

Read the full story here.

In the United States, there is a huge demand for ventilators and other medical equipment to challenge the coronavirus pandemic.

We continue to invest trillions of dollars in war spending and servility to the economy and stock markets. Why haven’t we paid instead enough attention to health care, environmental disasters that brought us global warming, human tragedies that our imposed wars shoved down people’s throats?

In the United States, there is a massive demand for ventilators and other medical equipment to challenge the coronavirus pandemic.

Martin Luther King Jr. said a lot of wise things.

The 2.2 trillion-dollar package to stop the US economy from freefall is only a temporary bandaid. The answers we see today on how to steer through the crisis, which has seen endless investments in social inequality and wars, will not solve the problem but make it worse.

It will be worse since we are not even thinking about changing a very sick paradigm for one that invests and improves people’s lives.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, 69, said on Fox News that it was ok to sacrifice older people to save the economy.

“You know, Tucker, no one reached out to me and said, ‘As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?’” he was quoted as saying in the Guardian. “And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in.”

Dehumanizing groups indicate that we are on a slippery slope.