Category: Enrique

YLE: True Finns Publish Election Manifesto

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: The first thing that struck me about the True Finns’ sixty-nine-page election manifesto was the first sentence. It states that the True Finns are a party  based on “honesty, justice, humanity, equality, respect for work and entrepreneurship as well as spiritual growth.” The terms that especially caught my eye  were “humanity” and “equality.”

When the True Finns speak of  “humanity” and “equality” they mean Finns. It doesn’t include refugees and immigrants never mind other minorities like the Swedish-speaking population. In their manifesto they state that they are ready to lower international aid by 200 million euros, tighten asylum laws, lower Swedish-language subsidies, social benefits to immigrants as well as tax the rich. If the True Finns had their way, Finland should have the right to decide under which circumstances a foreigner can move to this country.

Even though they do not directly demand Finland leave the EU, they are against “Finland’s EU membership” being mentioned in the Constitution.

The manifesto states that immigrants must respect Finnish laws and pay taxes (duh!). Don’t the majority of immigrants do?

They also argue, without giving any details, that immigrants must respect Finnish cultural norms. Does this mean that new immigrants must buy Koskenkorva on weekends and get drunk?

The manifesto, which only uses the term “multiculturalism” five times, says that it isn’t feasible to populate cities with unemployed immigrants because the same apartments could be rented to Finns with work. These jobless people would be moved to remote areas of the country.  Unemployed Finns could remain in the cities. See what Helsingin Sanomat writes (in Finnish) about the matter.

Here is the link to the election manifesto.One of our bloggers, Tuomas, has translated the section on immigration policy.

What do you think?

ET

__________

The populist True Finns Party has unveiled its manifesto for the upcoming parliamentary election. It advocates tax increases for the higher paid, opposes the mention of Finland’s EU membership in the country’s constitution and demands cuts in social benefits for immigrants.

To continue reading click here.

Opettaja: Lukijakysely: Maahanmuuttajat ovat kouluille rikkaus ja rasite

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: This survey that was published in Opettaja shows that 41% of teachers that were polled would like to place caps on children with immigrant backgrounds at their schools.  Contrarily one third of those polled would not place any such limits.  According to every fourth teacher, larger numbers of immigrant children increase commotion and noise in class as well as violence in schools.

For some the results of the survey is no surprise since other ones have shown that teachers’ attitudes of immigrants have been as negative as the police.

The poll brings forth interesting questions. One of these is if public servants like teachers can limit who they will serve.  Can the police do the same? Is segregating schools by placing caps constitutional?

Everyone knows that if such an extraordinary measure were to be taken, it would be by the government – not by teachers.

At best these surveys show how difficult it is for some in Finland to still accept cultural diversity as a normal matter of our society. A lot of work must be still done.

Do you agree?

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Lukijakysely: Maahanmuuttajat ovat kouluille rikkaus ja rasite. Kolmannes riittäisi osuudeksi Väkivalta lisääntyy, kantaväestön ja ja maahanmuuttajien välit kiristyvät ja opettajat siirtyvät muihin kouluihin, kun maahanmuuttajien osuus koulun oppilaista kasvaa suureksi. Lähes joka toisen opettajan mielestä maahanmuuttajien määrä pitäisi koulussa rajata 20–30 prosenttiin.

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Aamulehti: Rajoja sulkemalla ei rauhaa rakenneta

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Below is one of the best editorials I have read in a long time from Tampere-based Aamulehti. It makes reference to Milla Hannula’s book, Maassa maan tavalla, and how she attempts to give legitimacy to anti-immigration groups in Finland.  It is a good matter that dailies like Aamulehti can reveal this group for what it is: a minority attempting to rob our sacred historical icons to justify their xenophobia.

I have written before that Finns are wise and understand that the future of this country does not lie in spreading hatred and populism.

Do you agree?

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Matti Mörttinen

Maahanmuuttokriitikot ovat kaikesta päätellen vyöryneet viimeisen vuoden aikana ainakin jonkin hyväksyttävyyskynnyksen yli. Heidän taistelunsa ”poliittista korrektiutta” vastaan on ehkä seuraavaksi johtamassa siihen, että maahanmuuttokriitikoiden arvostelemisesta tulee poliittisesti epäkorrektia.

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Migrant Tales memorable quotes of the week to February 21

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales will begin publishing on Monday some interesting quotes on the ongoing immigration debate in Finland.  If you have some quotes you would like to share with us, please forward them to [email protected].

Thank you.

–In the book (Milla Hannula’s Maassa maan tavalla) it is stressed that (rising) crime in Finland is due to immigration. Finland is without immigration certainly one of the world’s most violent countries if we set aside the Balkans. Even so, this does not mean that we should hide such crimes committed by people of immigrant backgrounds from public debate.  On the other side of the coin there are the visible number of Finns that have been sentenced (for crimes) in Sweden and Norway. Risto Laakkonen, Turun Sanomat.

(Kirjassa (Milla Hannula’s Maassa maan tavalla) korostetaan rikollisuuden tuloa Suomeen maahanmuuton seurauksena. Suomi on ilman maahanmuuttoakin yksi maailman ja ehdottomasti Euroopan väkivaltaisin maa kun Balkan jätetään huomioimatta. Silti maahanmuuttaja -taustaisten henkilöiden rikoksia ei tule peitellä. Vaakakupin toisella puolella on sitten ulkomailla rikoksista tuomittujen suomalaisten paikoin näkyvä osuus erityisesti Ruotsissa ja Norjassa. Risto Laakkonen Turun Sanomat).

–The thoughts of immigration critics have been made by different political currents ranging from Keijo Korhonen to Kari Rajamäki, from Eero Paloheimo to Jussi Halla-aho. The mass media had, however, for some time either stayed clear of the topic or labeled such people (immigration critics). Milla Hannula, Maassa maan tavalla.

(Maahanmuuttokriittisiä ajatuksia ovat Suomessa esittäneet eri poliittisinten suuntien edustajat Keijo Korhosesta Kari Rajamäkeen, Eero Paloheimoon ja Jussi Halla-ahoon. Valtalehdistö kuitenkin pitkään joko vaikeni aiheesta tai leimasi maahanmuuttokriitikot. Milla Hannula, Maassa maan tavalla).

–Yesterday’s (February 16) publishing of Maassa maan tavalla shows that being ”critical of  immigration” is a euphemism for anti-immigration and  xenophobia. Juha Siivola, Helsingin Sanomat.

Eilen julkaistu Maassa maan tavalla osoittaa, että “maahanmuuttokritiikki” on maahanmuuton vastustamisen ja muukalaisvihamielisyyden kaunisteleva nimitys. Juha Siivola, Helsingin Sanomat).

–In US Muslim terrorists seen as representing all Muslims, but white terrorists r portrayed as “crazy fringe individuals. @haloeffekti

–If I spoke about Finns in the same way as far-right parties do of some minorities, I would be the most hated man in Finland. Enrique Tessieri @MigrantTales

–Far-right parties across Europe speak against multiculturalism but do not give us a clue what monoculturalism is. Is monoculturalism an excuse to deny who we are and exclude millions of minorities from feeling at home in Europe?  Enrique Tessieri @MigrantTales


What opinion polls tell us about Finland and anti-immigration

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

A lot of people are scratching their heads at the stellar rise of the True Finns in the polls. Even though we have to wait for the ballot boxes to have their final say in April, certainly the polls and the success of the True Finns tell us something about where Finland is at this moment and where it is heading.

According to a poll published by Helsingin Sanomat on February 17, the popularity of the True Finns now stands at 17.9%, which is the same as the Social Democrats and close behind the Center Party (18.2%) and Kokoomus (20.2%).  A  supporter of the True Finns told me candidly that  everyone in his party is lying low to not say or do anything that would put in jeopardy their popularity.

Even though the head of the True Finns, Timo Soini, claims that anti-immigration only accounts for 10% of the party’s supporters, some believe that immigration is one of the key driving forces behind its popularity.

In Sweden, were the far-right Sweden Democrats got 5.7% of the votes, immigrants make up 14.3% of the population.  Contrarily in Finland, our immigrant population totals 2.9%.  Alexis Kouros correctly asks in his column in Magma if these figures are out of proportion when compared with Sweden and the support that  other anti-immigration parties have elsewhere in Europe.

Any historian and person who lived during the 1930s in Finland can tell you that one characteristic of our society back then was  fear of foreigners and the outside world, especially the former Soviet Union.

The True Finns’ rising popularity and anti-immigration sentiment in Finland may reveal that we have not yet begun as a society to deal seriously and effectively with issues such as immigration, racism and exclusion. Even though sensible Finns may give their thumbs down to racism, it does not mean that political parties like Kokoomus and others have an effective strategy to combat such a social ill. We are still novices on this front.

Moreover, our geography and long geopolitical isolation from Western Europe during the cold war never gave us a chance to study deeper what happened during the Continuation War (1941-44) and what it meant to be a cobelligerant (the official term) of Nazi Germany. That question, in my opinion, has never been answered properly by Finnish historians.

Many of the concepts about ethnic groups and nationalities were never openly questioned because our country’s isolation never gave cause to challenge these views after the war.  But how can you debate immigration, racism and stereotypes if there were hardly any foreigners living in Finland at the time?

Today we have that opportunity thanks to the rise of our immigrant population.  We are now facing what other societies have gone or are going through: asking questions about our ever-growing cultural diversity and what it means in larger context. The questions that are being asked may vary from Armageddon-type threats to Finnish culture to sensible ones that look at it with a cool head.

The rise of the True Finns in the polls reveals, in my opinion, that that debate is now going on in earnest.

Kate Lundy: Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Chris Bowen – Multiculturalism in the Australian Context

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: There are officially three countries (Canada, Australia and Britain) in the world that have a multicultural social policy in force.  Multiculturalism as a social policy was officially established in the 1980s in Canada.

One of  the mistakes that critics make about multiculturalism is that it’s the same in every country.  Below is a speech by minister of immigration and citizenship, Chris Bowen, highlighting Australian multiculturalism.

When I read it I felt that I was in another world when compared with Finland and Europe.

One matter that shines through in the speech are two key factors that allow societies to reap benefits from their cultural diversity: inclusion and mutual respect.

Do you agree?

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Speech to the Sydney Institute

Less than a month ago, millions of Australians celebrated our national day.  Among the most enthusiastic participants were our newest Australian citizens.  Thirteen thousand people – from every corner of the globe – passionately and enthusiastically took the pledge of commitment to this nation.

To keep on reading click here.

I found this link thanks to @spectrumvic

Finnish voters deserve better

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

The opportunity to make political capital out of immigrants, refugees and asylum-seeker has proven irresistible to some politicians ranging from the True Finns to Social Democrats. Certainly on this list you will find politicians from all of Finland’s major and minor parties.

It’s pretty clear that the election in April will be dominated by immigration and refugees. The answer is simple: immigrants and refugees are easy targets and they awaken voters’ passions even if 2.9% of the population in Finland are foreigners.

A recent review of Milla Hannula’s book, Maassa maan tavalla, by Helsingin Sanomat blasts her arguments to pieces and with it the central argument of the so-called “immigration critics.” The daily states, correctly, that being an “immigration critic” is only a word hiding anti-immigration sentiment attempting to make xenophobia acceptable.

We at Migrant Tales had spotted the red herring of the “immigration critics” a long time ago.

It is sad but never in the history of Finland have so many politicians jumped on the “immigration critic” bandwagon and appealed to the worst in Finns: blatant racism and hatred of people in need.

When the True Finns’ bubble bursts there will be a lot of angry voters because they will have noted that they have been taken for a ride.

It will be the day when these so-called “immigration critics” will lose face among the voters for good.