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BBC: Do Denmark’s immigration laws breach human rights?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Denmark has tightened its immigration and integration laws an umpteenth time, according to the BBC.  The Danish case is a cause for concern since it may involve a breach in human rights and EU laws.  The political power balance is held by the far-right Danish People’s Party, who have voted for legislation in return that the government tightens immigration laws.

The question to ask about Denmark is what is the end-game? Will immigrants embrace Danish society when the country’s laws are hostile to this group of people? Does it promote inclusion?  Does it create the groundwork for a new healthy generation of Danes of  different ethnic backgrounds?

If you asked DPP’s Pia Kjaersgaard she’d probably tell you to go fly a kite.

Two important matters are at play with respect to the rise of far-right parties in Europe: the so-called war on terror waged by former President George W. Bush after 9/11 and the financial meltdown of September 2008.

Some see strong anti-immigration sentiment in Denmark as a blow to the country’s image. Can we speak of Denmark being a liberal, enlightened Nordic welfare state?  Probably the correct description would be reactive, far-right and populist at least when it comes to immigration.

Do you agree?

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By Chris Bowlby, BBC Radio 4

Critics of Denmark’s tightening rules on immigration and integration say the country is violating European norms, including human rights legislation. How much has Denmark’s approach to these issues been transformed under pressure from a right-wing populist party?

To keep on reading click here.

 

Suomen Kuvalehti: Totuuspuntari: Onko turvapaikanhakijoiden määrä nelinkertaistunut nykyisen hallituksen aikana?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here is a good example of the political opportunism of the True Finns. They are using every dirty tricks in the book to get attention to their  mono-campaign platform. Jussi Halla-aho alleged that the amount of refugees to the country has (hold your breaths!) risen by four-fold during the present government. He, however, forgets to use the 2010 figure, which falls by 33.8% from the previous year.

Suomen Kuvalehti states in the article below that the figures provided by Halla-aho are  misleading. If we look at asylum seekers given refugee status between 2000 and 2010, we see a 25% rise.

The interesting question to ask about Halla-aho’s claim is a big “so what?” What if the amount of refugees has risen? Even if they have, you can never compare with Sweden or Norway, which take in many more refugees than Finland. Is  Halla-aho trying to make it a crime to take refugees to Finland?

Furthermore, what is the point? Oh yes, I understand. Halla-aho wants to show us at all costs that the Finnish authorities are a bunch of incompetent softies that let in criminals to the country and that immigrants living in Finland are suspect. If he gets elected, he’ll set the refugee and immigrant house in order.

God help us.

Update (10.2): Here is another True Finns Halla-aho follower, Freddy Van Wonterghem, who only conveniently publishes the 2009 figures. These types of tricks by the True Finns’ candidates have one aim: to secure votes and spread fear. You can read his blog by clicking here.

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Jukka Ukkola

Väite:

Turvapaikanhakijoiden määrä on nelinkertaistunut nykyisen hallituksen aikana.

Perussuomalaisten helsinkiläinen kansanedustajaehdokas Jussi Halla-aho on väittänyt blogissaan otsikolla Tiedote eduskuntavaaleihin 2011 liittyen, että turvapaikanhakijoiden määrä on nelinkertaistunut vuodesta 2007, jolloin nykyinen hallitus aloitti toimintansa.

To keep on reading click here.

Aamulehti: Ylänurkka: Maan tapa leviää Euroopassa

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here is a column published in the Tampere-based Aaamulehti that attempts to give credibility to Angela Merkel’s, David Cameron’s and Jutta Urpilainen’s statements that conveniently blame immigrants for not integrating.  Fine, thank you Merkel, Cameron and Urpilainen.  Now tell us what we have to do? Did you have a plan before you pinned the blame on immigrants? Are your statements only a ploy to hide the failures of present and past governments?

Aamulehti has become one of the most reactive dailies in Finland with respect to immigration. I always thought that the structure of a good editorial, and even a column, is the following: statement of problem, background information and solution. We have the first two in the column but there is nothing, absolutely nothing, on how to move forward.

When you read about the anti-immigration rhetoric, keep a close watch for solutions. Why are they missing? Because they have no credible plan to offer.

Here is a rebuttal to Cameron’s statements by Migrants’ Rights Network.

Do you agree?

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Suomen sosiaalidemokraattisen puolueen puheenjohtajalla Jutta Urpilaisella, Saksan kristillisdemokraattisella liittokanslerilla Angela Merkelillä ja Britannian konservatiivisella pääministerillä David Cameronilla on ainakin yksi yhteinen piirre.

Continue reading the column by clicking here.

Ny Tid: Islamofobins idéhistoria

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here a very long story about the origins of Islamophobia in Europe reported in Ny Tid.  The article states that throughout the centuries Europeans have looked for scapegoats to lash out against a common enemy. The Jews, Roma and Islam are recent tragic examples.

The Migrant Tales blog is a mirror of what some people think in Finland and Europe. Some prefer to stress over and over again how “incompatible” some groups are to our culture. That supposedly gives them an automatic carte blanche to hate others.  It is odd that none of these bloggers who have such strong opinions comment with their real names.

Even though people have the right in Western society to make fun of any religious group, Denmark appears to have gone over the brink.  A Somali man was convicted of “terrorism” for breaking into the home of Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who had made fun of the Prophet Muhammad. The man was sentenced to nine years in prison, according to AOLNews.

Probably this is the type of country that the True Finns want for Finland: tough laws founded on hatred of other cultures. In sum, living in denial to the world.

Do you agree?

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Om man alls vill begripa den hets mot muslimer som likt vinterns isvindar för närvarande sveper över Europa bör man läsa Mattias Gardells bok Islamofobi – det slår Lars Sund fast

To keep on reading click here.

Savon Sanomat: Rasismin tutkija: Maahanmuutto on Halla-ahon ainoa vaaliteema

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Researcher Vesa Puronen says in the Kuopio-based daily Savon Sanomat article below that immigration will be a big campaign issue in the April elections.

The attention and the appeal that Jussi Halla-aho’s followers and their Islamophobic statements have got in the media reveal a worrying trend.  Even if their hostile and offensive remarks may be hailed by some, sensible Finns, immigrants and refugees should be outraged by them because they are based on hearsay.

Even though the True Finns may have a good election result in April, it does not mean that their xenophobic rhetoric will be endorsed by Finns.

Do you agree?

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Pasi Ahtiainen

Tutkija Vesa Puuronen uskoo maahanmuuttopolitiikan nousevan teemaksi kevään eduskuntavaaleissa.

– (Jussi) Halla-aholla ja kumppaneilla ei mitään muuta vaaliteemaa ole, joten maahanmuuttopolitiikkaa nousee varmasti esille.  Click here to continue reading the article.

Saying enough is enough to the True Finns

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

It seems incredible that a populist, anti-immigration and anti-EU party can appeal to some Finns. Apart from not having any workable model for the demographic and economic challenges facing Finland, what is unacceptable of the True Finns is the party’s wholesale blacklisting of immigrants to drive home their populist agenda.

A recent example of how some True Finns fuel anti-immigrant sentiment was reported by Helsingin Sanomat. A True Finns’ candidate had placed a sign at a construction site in Helsinki claiming that a mosque would be built.

Even though these types of pranks in Helsinki reveal the opportunism of the candidate to get votes, it is surprising that nobody in the True Finns’ leadership condemns these types of shenanigans.

While the True Finns may think they are in an envious position due to their rising popularity in the polls, the big challenge that it faces is how to turn its popularity into votes and new MPs. This will be easier said than done.

Some have for good reason pictured the True Finns as a volatile bubble ready to burst at any moment. Will its bubble pop after a disappointing election or after it is clear that the party cannot deliver on its empty promises?

Immigrants are not worried about the True Finns per say. What annoys some is the negative message, xenophobic rhetoric and flagrant political opportunism: It’s ok to bash freely hard-working immigrants in Finland since it translates into votes.

The only way to deal with populism and xenophobia is to challenge it head on.  The big three parties in Finland, Kokoomus, Social Democrats and the Center, have learned the hard way that silence is the most ineffectual way of combating the rise of xenophobia and racism in Finland.

True Finns: enough is enough.

Helsingin Sanomat: Perussuomalaisehdokkaan vaalimainos huijaa moskeijatyömaalla

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here is an example of how the True Finns fuel xenophobia and resort to hit-below-the-belt tacticts to give their racist views legitimacy.They placed a large sign in front of a construction site stating that mosques will be built, according to Helsingin Sanomat. The daily reports that if you follow the link on the poster it will take you to the True Finns candidate Juhani Mönkkönen’s website.

The poster shows how the True Finns try to blow more hot air into their election bubble. Do you think that if a new poll showed the True Finns’ following fell by two percentage points we’d see a Titanic-type stampede for the lifeboats?

Do you agree?

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Skanskan työmaalle Herttoniemenrantaan on ilmestynyt kyltti, jonka mukaan alueelle tulee moskeija. Oikeasti alueelle rakennetaan asuintaloja.

Helsingissä ohikulkijoiden huomiota ovat kiinnittäneet rakennustyömaakyltit, jotka väittävät, että paikalle rakennetaan moskeija. Todellisuudessa kyse ei ole moskeijatyömaasta.

Esimerkiksi Niittaajankatu 12:ssa Herttoniemenrannassa Skanska rakentaa asuintaloja, vaikka työmaakyltin mukaan tontille nousee Herttoniemen moskeija. Kylttejä on ilmestynyt viikonlopun aikana eri puolille Helsinkiä. HS:n tietojen mukaan vastaavat kyltit on pystytetty ainakin Kamppiin ja Lauttasaareen.

Kylttien pystyttämiselle ei ole pyydetty maanomistajan lupaa.

Kyltit näyttävät aidoilta työmaatauluilta, sillä niissä kerrotaan muun muassa arkkitehtitoimiston nimi ja sähköurakoitsija. Esimerkiksi moskeijan rakennesuunnittelun tekijäksi mainitaan LCC Engineering Ltd. Rakennuttajan kohdalla on arabiankielistä tekstiä.

Urakkakohteesta luvataan lisätietoa verkko-osoitteessa Helsinki2020.fi, joka vie perussuomalaisten eduskuntavaaliehdokkaan, diplomi-insinööri Juhani Mönkkösen, 30, vaalisivulle. Sivulla Mönkkönen muun muassa kertoo, että maahanmuuttoa ei voi perua, siksi seurauksia pitää miettiä etukäteen.

Sivuilla on myös Helsingin metrokartta, jossa pysäkinnimet on kirjoitettu arabiaksi. Samaa tyyliä edustaa kuva kerrostalorapun nimitaulusta, jossa Korhosten ja Johanssonien sijaan on arabialaisia nimiä. Nimitaulusta tehtyjä julisteita on levitetty ainakin Vuosaaressa, muun muassa kerrostalojen ulko-oviin.

Mönkkönen on ehdolla Helsingistä.

Mönkkönen arvioi kylttejä olevan eri puolilla Helsinkiä noin kymmenkunta.

“Tällä ollaan haluttu herättää keskustelua, että jos tehdään päätöksiä maahanmuutosta, se muuttaa yhteiskuntaa pysyvästi. Minulla ei ole mitään islamin uskoa vastaan. Haluan vain herättää keskustelua, mikä suomalaisille on hyväksi”, Mönkkönen kertoo puhelimitse.

Mönkkönen ei suoraan vastaa, kuuluvatko kyltit hänen kampanjaansa, vaikka hän niistä tietoinen onkin.

“Mikä nyt on kampanjaa ja mikä ei. Hyvä kysymys. Sitä voi ostaa virallista kampanjaa tai muilla keinoin herättää huomioita. Kaikki, mikä ohjaa ihmisiä mun vaalisivuille, on hyväksi. Olen rohkaissut tähän.”

Hän ei myöskään kerro, kuka kyltit on pysyttänyt.

Lupaa mainosten pystyttämiselle ei ole. Esimerkiksi Skanska aikoo tänään poistaa Niittaajankadulla olevan kyltin työmaansa kupeesta.

“Se on sinne laitettu ilman asianmukaista lupaa. Ja vaikka olisikin lupaa kysytty, sitä ei olisi tullut”, kertoo johtaja Markus Heino Skanska Kodeista.

Myös perussuomalaisten Helsingin piirin puheenjohtaja Arto Välikangas oudoksuu mainoksia.

“Vaikea vielä sanoa mitään, kun en ole kylttejä nähnyt. Tämä oli minulle uusi asia. Mutta en hyväksy, että mainoksia pystytetään toisen maalle ilman lupaa. Enkä sitä, että mainos väärennetään näyttämään viralliselta kyltiltä”, Välikangas linjaa.

Hän aikoo kysyä asiasta Mönkköseltä.

Mönkkönen itse ei koe luvattomia mainoksia ongelmana.

“Kaikki mikä tukee keskustelua on hyväksi. Ja kieltämättä tämä tukee keskustelua. Tuen kaikkea aktiivisuutta.”

Finland’s immigration policy must look beyond Europe

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

One of the biggest challenges facing Finland in the next few decades will be defining what role immigrants will play in our society. Anti-immigration groups like the True Finns would like to place immigrants under a magnifying glass  (see Nuiva campaign document) while other parties have taken more lukewarm stances.

Setting the True Finns aside, the Social Democrats continue to speak about maassa maan tavalla, while Kokoomus is ready to increase labor immigration to the country.

If we could cut through the rhetoric of the different parties during an election year, we’d most likely end up with the same unanswered question: What do they really think about the ever-growing role of immigrants in Finland and their place in our society?

Are they speaking in favor of cultural diversity and equality on paper as long as things don’t change too much? Do those great Nordic values like equality apply only to us, not them?

A good measuring stick to see what the country thinks is by looking at how immigrants are labelled by the media and society in general. Even if the term maahanmuuttajia, or immigrants, is acceptable we venture into the twilight zone when we start calling people maahanmuuttajataustainen, or a person with an immigrant background.

The above-mentioned labels define the person as an outsider.

These small examples show a serious flaw in our thinking. A strong “us” and “them” divide does not make Finland any different from how other European countries see immigrants; they want foreign labor but expect them to move back to where they came from. A good example was Chancellor Angela Merkel claim in October that Germany’s multicultural society has failed.

Did multiculturalism in Germany fail because immigrants did not want to become part of German society or were they never welcomed in the first place?

Finland has to avoid perilous mistakes that hinder the inclusion process of immigrants into society. We have very good laws and a general disposition to advance the cause of social equality thanks to our Nordic welfare state.

A good model for Finland to follow would be to look across the Atlantic to The Americas. The big difference between immigration policy in countries like Canada or the United States to many European countries is that it takes into account the big picture, which seeks the inclusion of immigrants in society through acceptance and opportunity.

Immigrant success stories in Finland (updated 30.1.11)

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales will begin publishing short antecdotes of immigrants’ lives in Finland. Success can mean keeping one’s head above water in a very difficult labor and adverse political claimate that does not favor immigrants.

Please send your stories to [email protected] or post them directly as a comment.

Keep them coming!

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1.  “I came to Finland from California in 1977. All these year that I lived here, I have worked as an editor-translator. In the 1990s I returned to California and got a law degree and returned to Finland. I have a family with children. I put in long hours from Monday through Sunday.  I have never been unemployed.  I would not even know what to do if I had to go to an employment office.” (29.1.11)

2. “I am from Turkey and I put in easily 14 hours a day of work. I own a pizzeria-kebab. My day begins when I wake up at 6am. Then I go to the market to buy the daily purchases. The restaurant opens at 10 am and closes as 10pm. I get a chance to be with my wife for a while in the evening before I retire.  Are immigrants lazy?” (29.1.11)

3. “I have lived in Finland for over thirty years. Sometimes I wonder if I could have had an easier career if I had moved back to the United States. Even though I have never been unemployed, I have never held a staff job in Finland. When I moved here, the big state-owned company, Neste, said that they do not hire “foreigners” even though my mother is Finnish.  I always got staff jobs abroad never in Finland. People who survive economically in this country are, in my opinion, immigrant success stories.” (29.1.11)

4. Tino Singh is another fairly prominent example. (s. 4. heinäkuuta 1971 Khambhat, Intia) on intialaissyntyinen, sittemmin suomalaistunut juontaja, tanssija ja muusikko. Hän toimi televisio-ohjelman Passi ja hammasharja (1996–1998) juontajana. Singh on myös näytellyt Tähtitehdas-saippuasarjassa (1998) Tuukka Valon roolissa. Singh on showtanssin maailmanmestari vuodelta 1993. Hän on esiintynyt myös muun muassa Hype- ja Spin-musikaaleissa. Singh on julkaissut kokkikirjan Tinos Delhi 1998 (Gummerus) ja nykyisin hän vaikuttaa mainostoimistomaailmassa sekä yhtyeessä Tino Singh and the Pimpdaddies. Singh on myös ollut europarlamenttiehdokkaana. Source: http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tino_Singh

5. Naseem Ahmed: Naseem on selkeästi pitkän linjan Squash-ihminen East-Squashin riveistä. Helsingissä asuva 65-vuotias Squash-halliyrittäjä on pelannut vuodesta 1975 lähtien, mutta jättää aktiivipelaamisen jo nuoremmilleen. Perheessä on vaimo ja 2 aikuista lasta, joista nuorempi Suomen squashpiirissä tuttu Hameed Ahmed. Hän opiskelee nyt USA:ssa ja on tällä hetkellä Amerikan opiskelijoiden CSA-rankingissa nro 8.

Naseem on aktiivinen monissa järjestötoimissa, kuten Helsinki International Rotary Clubin Presidentti, KANY ry:n (Maahanmuuttajien urheiluharrastusten edistämisyhdistys) puheenjohtaja ja 09Helsinki Human Rights säätiön hallituksen jäsen. Hän haluaa toiminnallaan edistää liittoa avoimena lajin edistämisjärjestönä, joka antaa mahdollisuuden kaikille kehittää toteuttamiskelpoisia ideoita. Toiminnan ei tule olla kuppikuntakulttuuria, jossa asiat hoidetaan pienessä piirissä. Naseem toivoo, että resurssit käytettäisiin mahdollisimman tehokkaasti ainoastaan ja vain lajin hyväksi.

Ensimmäisen Squash-seuran Naseem perusti yli 30 v. sitten keskusosuusliike OTK:n ATK-osastolle. Seurassa oli yli 70 aktiivista harrastajaa. Sittemmin hän on toiminut East Squash ry:n puheenjohtajana 6 vuotta ja saanut Suomen Squash-liiton kultaisen kunniamerkin sekä myös Lauri Tarastin merkin. Naseem on myös toiminut sekä miesten maajoukkueiden johtajana MM-kisamatkoilla että junioreiden EM-kisamatkojen johtajana. Hänellä onkin sekä kotimaisessa että kansainvälisissä squashpiireissä laaja tuttava- ja ystäväverkosto.(30.1.11)

6. Jeremy Gould: Jeremy is a Californian that moved to Finland in the end of the 1960s from Long Beach. After a long career in academia he was named professor of development and international cooperation at Jyväskylä University. (30.1.11)

Protests in Egypt grow as Mubarak feels the heat to leave

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

As I write these words the situation in Egypt may have led to the downfall of embattled President Hosni Mubarak from power after 30 years. As a Latin American watching events in Tunisia in January and now in Egypt, I can only rejoice with the Egyptian people who have finally risen and demanded their long-overdue rights to democracy and self-determination.

It should not come to any surprise that the biggest loser if Mubarak flees the country will be the United States, which has financed and supported corrupt and authoritarian regimes in the region. Politics does sometimes makes strange bedfellows.

US President Barack Obama has spoken with Mubarak asking him to open a dialogue with his people. ” My administration is closely monitoring the situation. Our first concern is preventing injury and loss of life,” he said. “I want to be clear in calling on Egyptian authorities to refrain from any violence against peaceful protesters.”

The implication of Mubarak leaving are huge not only for Egypt but for the whole region because it will most likely spread to Syria, Jordan, Yemen and other countries in the region.

Outspoken as ever, the right-wing US radio talk show host Glenn Beck tweets: “Egypt may be a tipping point. Yemen and Jordan also have smaller uprisings. Iran is smiling, the Saudis and Israelis are not. Pray4peace.”

The man to watch is Mohamed ElBaradei, the man slated to replace Mubarak and placed under house arrest by the regime after his returned to Egypt. He said that the West should practice what it preaches. “Is (to) defend the rights of Egiptian’s universal rights: freedom, dignity, social justice.”

What do you think the implications of greater democracy and people’s power in the Middle East will have on Europe?