Category: Enrique

Finnishness is taboo to the Swedes

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By JusticeDemon*

Dr Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki Department of Geography, had the following letter printed in the Opinions column of Finland’s leading national daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat on Sunday 23 August 2009. The sub-editor chose to print this letter under the heading Finnishness is taboo to the Swedes. The following translation is submitted in good faith.

I used to find love-hate relationships between neighbours funny, but a two-year assignment in Stockholm has raised many quite difficult questions.

The Finnish language and Finnishness as a culture seem to be taboo to Stockholmers. I suspect that this phenomenon is particularly evident in the Stockholm region, as many people of Finnish descent live there.

The roots of the taboo are in the subordinate status of Finland, but also especially in Sweden’s rather efficient integration policy. This policy has been adopted so forcefully, however, that all newcomers to the country are nowadays lumped together in the same invandrare [immigrant] category.

One solid example of the persistence of this old way of thinking was our landlord’s question: “presumably you will be flying the Swedish flag on the flagpole?”, even though it was already clear that we would only spend a few years in Sweden.

Attitudes towards Finnish people came to a head in the 1970s when large numbers of Finnish industrial workers moved to Sweden. The broad caricature nowadays is that Stockholmers treat all Finns as second-class citizens, regardless of profession or education.

While I always got a good reception when I spoke English in shops, speaking Swedish with a Fenno-Swedish accent was mainly greeted with contempt.

In other words, the Finnish language and culture are not tolerated in Sweden. There have been numerous examples of workplaces where the employer has forbidden the speaking of Finnish. The same thing arises, for instance, at tourist attractions: the sign on the emergency exit at the city’s Junibacken children’s museum is in Swedish, English and Russian, but not in Finnish, even though a substantial proportion of visitors come from Finland.

Contempt for the Finnish character strongly pervades the whole of Swedish society. The attitudes of the mainstream population have made people of Finnish descent so ashamed of their roots that they no longer want to learn their native language. I also heard Swedes of Finnish descent come out with openly racist remarks about non-European immigrants, which I think is an indication of the socio-ethnic hierarchy in Swedish society. In other words Sweden’s subjugated Finnish population is perpetuating the cycle of abuse.

The attitude of Finns towards our Estonian cousins shares common features with attitudes towards Finnishness in Sweden: You never come across the Estonian language in Helsinki, even though there are plenty of Estonian tourists and workers in the city.

These attitudes are persistent and will not change overnight, but if they remain taboo, then there is no way for them to change.

The third paragraph from the end of this letter is perhaps the most compelling, as it describes the passive-aggressive mindset that arises in individuals and communities whose cultural identity has been crushed. This goes to the core of the difference between assimilation and integration, as the former requires immigrants to abandon their cultural identity, while the latter requires them to engage with society at large to find ways of expressing that identity in a new context.

One of the starkest descriptions of assimilation has passed into popular culture in the programme of the Borg alien collective as encountered in Star Trek: the Next Generation. The narrative runs as follows:

Resistance is futile. We wish to improve ourselves. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service ours.

Resistance is futile. Your life as it has been is over. From this time forward, you will service us.

(Star Trek: The Next Generation, episode: “The Best of Both Worlds”, 1990)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/bOVEqPcG3SI&hl]

There is a delightful scene in the feature film Star Trek: First Contact (1996) in which a 21st century character comments that The Borg “sounds Swedish”, but after encountering the collective then decides “definitely not Swedish”. Perhaps Dr Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen has given us cause to consider this question once again.

*Migrant Tales will begin to publish posts by contributors. If you want to submit a contribution for publication, please send your inquiries/article to [email protected].

What kind of “integration” of immigrants do we want in Finland?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Before answering the question, let’s take a look at how some scholars define the three important modes in which a minority adapts to a new society.  In Finland, there is a lot of confusion about what is meant by integration. When politicians speak of integration of immigrants are they referring to assimilation, which is one-way adaption?

So, in effect, when some accuse me of being disrespectful of Finnish society because I want to debate an issue like immigrants/refugees, they most likely favor the assimilation model. Here is a definition by Tariq Modood:

“This [assimilation]  is where the processes affecting the relationship between newly settled groups are seen as one-way, and where the desired outcome for society as a whole is seen as involving least changes in the way of doing things for the majority of the country and its institutional policies.”

The other mode is called integration:

“This is where processes of social interaction are seen as two-way, and where members of the majority community as well as immigrants and ethnic minorities are required to do something; so the latter cannot alone be blamed for failing (or not trying) to integrate.”

And finally multiculturalism:

“…multiculturalism assumes a two-way process of integration but, additionally, it is taken to work differently for different groups.”

Thus multiculturalism takes into account different templates of integration. There is no “fits-all-sizes” approach.

Even though Finland accepts diversity (ethnic, sexual, financial etc), which mode of integration takes place and is encouraged: assimilation, integration or multiculturalism – or none of the above?

Taking into account high unemployment among immigrants and our general ignorance of diversity, is it fair to even speak of integration and multiculturalism in this country?

The far right strikes at immigrants in Finland and elsewhere

Posted on by Migrant Tales

There is an interesting (long) article in a recent issue of Time that writes about the rise of the far-right in Europe. One of the favorite shooting grounds of these parties are immigrants in general and Muslims in particular.

Parties such as the BNP (British National Party) of Great Britain won two seats in the European Parliament in June as did in the Netherlands Geert Wilders´Partij voor de Vrijheid (Party for Freedom, PVV) grab second place in the Euro poll.

The article continues: “Around Europe a ragbag of extremist parties, as varied as the countries that produced them yet united by a vehement nationalism that singles out minority groups as a growing threat, scored in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Romania and Slovakia. Confronted with sliding economies and disappearing jobs, voters kicked the mainstream parties they held most responsible.”

Even though the article only mentions Finland once, we know that the True Finns (Perussuomalaiset/9.79% of the votes, a +9.25% gain) were the biggest winners of the Euro Parliament elections, with the Center (19.03%/-4.34%) and Social Democrats (17.54%/-3.72%) taking a beating.

One of the interesting points in the article is that these far-right parties have remade themselves. Like in Finland, some do not admit openly that they are in the “extreme right” nor that they are racist as True Finn President Timo Soini has said repeatedly.

The article continues: “Now outfits such as the BNP are learning from past mistakes: they’re slicker, and combine old-fashioned grassroots activism with Internet campaign techniques borrowed from the Obama playbook. They’re also well placed to exploit the disillusionment with traditional politics that has seen voter turnouts in European and national elections plummet, and membership of big parties dwindle.”

Even though it is always easy and sexier to be in the opposition, I wonder what these parties would do if they held a majority in the legislature and government?

How much of our civil lberties would they shelve in order to promote their political agendas?

Would all hell break loose?

Should Finland have a Kalevan kisat for immigrants?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

A story in yesterday’s (July 31) Nelosuutiset about the “worrying amount” of immigrants taking part in the national athletics championships, Kalevan kisat, was a perfect example of the scaremongering journalism practiced by some members of the Finnish media. Here is a link to a story that appeared in YLE.

The message of the story was simple – to point out how black immigrant long-distant runners are becoming a growing threat to Finnish runners because more are taking part in the competition. In order to empahsize the message, a picture of a black runner and naturalized Finn, Lewis Korir, was used passing a Finnish runner with ease.

One of the persons interviewed in the story explained how matters have gotten so much out of hand since runners can today easily get citizenship and get paid money to run for some Middle Eastern countries such as Qatar.

The person who was interviewed suggested that since getting a residence permit in Finland was relatively easy, citizenship should be required of immigrants in order to take part in the competition. Even so, what is all the fuss if Korir is a Finnish citizen?

Even though I do not understand the connection between runners getting Qatari citizenship and immigrants taking part in the Kalevan kisat, the story that was aired on Nelosuutiset is a perfect example shoddy scaremongering journalism.

It was also an odd flashback to the Finlandization days when the country “defended” itself by excluding foreigners with the help of draconian foreign investment and immigration laws.

Why couldn’t the story have the following message: Through immigration Finland will gain many future Olympic-class athletes?

During my visits to Finland in the summer, when I stayed with my grandparents, I took part in an Eastern Finland athletics championship in the 1970s. I won the high jump competition but a controversy arose just before I was going to be awarded the medal.

One group said I had no right to the medal because I lived in the United States. After much talking and explaining that my mother was Finnish, they allowed me to have the medal becauase I had won the competition fair and square.

The small example shows that there are a lot of sensible Finns who believe in the spirit of competition not on ways to limit it through nationalism.

Racial profiling in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Here is an interesting story in the Washington Post on racial profiling, a practice whereby law enforcement uses race or a person background as a grounds for criminal suspicion.

It is only logical that if their is a greater tendency to suspect blacks versus whites in the United States, certainly more people of this group will be arrested and end up in the criminal statistics.

The article in the Washington Post is about the arrest of a prominent black professor and the treatment he received from the police due to racial profiling. The article reads:

Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. has spent much of his life studying the complex history of race and culture in America, but until last week he had never had the experience that has left so many black men questioning the criminal justice system.

We had a few weeks ago a lively debate about crimes committed in Finland by certain national group. While this is no attempt to defend such crimes, a question arises: are certain national and ethnic groups such as the Roma especially harrassed by the Finnish police?

Would you like to share your experiences with us?

A foreigner told me a hilarious story a long time ago about three dark-skinned foreigners driving in a Skoda when then Czechosolovakian President Vaslak Havel visited Finland. The police pulled the car over and asked the occupants where they were from.

One of these foreigners thought that the police had especially pulled them over because they drove in a Czech car when President Havel was visiting the country.

I wonder if professional assassins would act in such a conspicuous manner?

First demonstrations by foreigners in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Until lions have their historians, tales of  the hunt  shall always glorify the hunters.

African Proverb

When was the first time that immigrants demonstrated for greater rights in Finland? Two major demonstrations by non-Finns took place in 1974 and 1982. The first one was by some 50 Pakistanis who marched from Turku to Helsinki because they were going to be deported by the authorities after they came with expectations of finding work in Finland.

Eila Kännö (1921-2009), the cantankerous Aliens’ Office head during 1970-84,  was a state within a state. An interesting matter to investigate would be the relationship her office had with Pakistani honorary consul, Arne Roiha. In order for Pakistanis to get a residence and work permit in Finland, they had to get the green light from Roiha, who ran and employed Pakistanis at three restaurants in Helsinki: Kaisaniemi, Ässäpata and Klippan. Roiha fled to Florida from Finland due to problems with the Finnish tax authorities.

The second demonstration, which took place on October 19, 1982, was the largest march to ever take place in Finland. Some 300 foreigners and Finns marched from Helsinki University Porthania Hall to the Eduskunta (parliament).

The march, which was the top story on the 8:30 news, received wide attention by the Finnish media. A day before the demonstration, former Aliens’ Office head Eila Kännö had vowed to throw in jail the foreigners who had organized the march. The march was organized by the Helsinki Students’ Union (HYY). In Finland, foreigners did not have at the time rights to organize demonstrations.

foreignersmarching

The caption reads: Historic in Finland – foreigners dare to demand greater rights. This march took place on October 19, 1982. Published by Kansan Uutiset Viikolehti.


Racist sign in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

I was pretty surprised when I bumped into this sign at the Pieksämäki Railway Station in eastern Finland.  A sign like this in a country with a large Mexican or Mexican American population would create quite an outcry. Does the owner attract  more customers because they may share the same stereotypic views of foreigners in general and Mexicans in particular?

A racist ad of a "Mexican" at Pieksämäki Railway Station.
A racist ad of a "Mexican" at the Pieksämäki Railway Station.

Here is a commercial that was shown on US TV in the late-1960s that was banned for being racist.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWhjl5NaLq4&feature=related]

If you compare the two, I would conclude that the one at the Pieksämäki Railway Station is far worse.

What would happen if a Mexican company planned to invest in Pieksämäki and saw the sign? If I were a Mexican, I would be outright insulted.

Just like the “Frito Bandito” commercial, the only aim of the sign is to reinforce a belief that certain national groups act in a certain way. Thus, as the sign suggests, Mexicans are poor because they do not have shoes, they lack teeth and appear to have sub-intelligence.

If any of the bloggers have similar ads to share with us, I would be most interested in publishing them.

Happy New Year!

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Here is wishing all of you a wonderful and successful 2009.

Thank you for posting your comments and taking part in this very interesting debate about Finland’s future.

Enrique

Merry Christmas and greater ethnic understanding in 2009

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Here is thanking all of you for taking part in this rich debate about a home we call Finland. Some of you may remember that apart from traveling geographically, we can also travel through cultures. Here is a quick “visit” to a lower-middle class trailer home somewhere in Southwest United States. It was sent by a friend and posted because it shows with humor that Christmas can be celebrated in many ways.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P37xPiRz1sg&feature=related]

Robert Earl Keene’s Merry Christmas from the Family

Mom got drunk and Dad got drunk at our Christmas party
We were drinking champagne punch and homemade eggnog
Little sister brought her new boyfriend
He was a Mexican
We didn’t know what to think of him until he sang
Feliz Navidad, Feliz Navidad

Brother Ken brought his kids with him
The three from his first wife Lynn
And the two identical twins from his second wife Mary Nell
Of course he brought his new wife Kay
Who talks all about AA
Chain smoking while the stereo plays Noel, Noel
The First Noel

Carve the Turkey
Turn the ball game on
Mix margaritas when the eggnog’s gone
Send somebody to the Quickpak Store
We need some ice and an extension chord
A can of bean dip and some Diet Rites
A box of tampons, Marlboro Lights
Hallelujah everybody say Cheese
Merry Christmas from the family

Fred and Rita drove from Harlingen
I can’t remember how I’m kin to them
But when they tried to plug their motor home in
They blew our Christmas lights
Cousin David knew just what went wrong
So we all waited out on our front lawn
He threw a breaker and the lights came on
And we sang Silent Night, Oh Silent Night, Oh Holy Night

Carve the turkey turn the ball game on
Make Bloody Mary’s
Cause We All Want One!
Send somebody to the Stop ‘N Go
We need some celery and a can of fake snow
A bag of lemons and some Diet Sprites
A box of tampons, some Salem Lights
Hallelujah, everybody say cheese
Merry Christmas from the Family

Finnish “mono-” versus “multicultural” debate

Posted on by Migrant Tales

There has been an ongoing ping-pong debate on how good or bad is mono versus multiculturalism. I believe that this type of debate is fruitless because European cultures in general and Finland in particular have always been multicultural.

To quote one of our avid “monoculturalist:”

I have no feeling of inferiority, Enrique, quite the opposite. Looking at how horribly you multiculturalists have failed in your nationbuilding, I feel rather secure and superior considering how my country has managed to become wealthy, stable and well functioning. Which is why I oppose your suggestions of bringing that failure to Finland

One of the biggest fallacies that our education in Finland is committing with our children is that they are still being taught that somehow human growth and creativity in Finland tended to occur within separate and isolated cultures. There is little emphasis placed on how Finnish culture/other cultures mixed and formed constantly changing societal variants.

Claude Lévy-Strauss, the dean of structural anthropology who will turn 100 on November 28, speaks about the role of the incest taboo in different society. Apart from genetic disorders, the incest taboo forces — according to Lévy-Strauss — members of a family to marry outside of the group. This means that through marriage a family group becomes more extended by forging new family ties, which help it to survive more effectively.

In my opinion, cultures and societies work in the same way: cultures have for thousands of years been in constant contact with each other through traders, explorers, pirates, travelers, multicultural marriages and in other ways. They have taken part in a sort of dynamic “cultural market place” were we barter and try on new customs, ideas and ways to solve problems in our society more effectively.

One anthropologist mentioned that defenders of the classic view of separate and isolated cultural development believe, incorrectly, that classical Greece sprung from nowhere. However, their growth was not a pure and isolated event, but through Greek encounters with foreigners (traders etc).

So, in many respects, multiculturalism has always existed because humankind has not believed in isolation but on survival. Cultural exchanges, incorporating and trading different parts of our culture not only offers us the exciting prospect to try something new, but offers us an opportunity to create a more resilient and stronger society.

Thanks to multiculturalism we have been able to build diverse societies in Europe, for example, that are in a still in the process of constant change.

However, whenever a group raises the monocultural flag, that usually sparks strife and mass wars. Nazi Germany and the former Yugoslavia are prime examples of this type of “monocultural bullying” and its utter failure as a model.