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A disfavor to Finland’s future

Posted on by Migrant Tales

With the April 2011 election approaching, parties in Finland are feverishly scrambling on ways to lure voters. One campaign issue that has the ability to move voters and inflame passions is immigration.

One important matter to keep in mind in the ongoing debate on immigration is to understand its parts: immigrants living in Finland, labor immigrants from the EU and elsewhere, and refugees (quota and asylum-seekers). When political parties and their representatives debate immigration, try to find out which of these groups they are talking about.

Which parties are using the immigrant-bashing card to lure votes? Of the one’s that have MPs in parliament, the True Finns are the main culprits. Their party’s position on immigration is pretty clear: xenophobic, ethnocentric and off the wall. Other parties like the Social Democrats aren’t too far off; in all parties you will find people who have anti-immigration stances.

Here are some points that should help you figure out the double-talk and baloney that some parties put out concerning the subject:

(1) We want to do away with multiculturalism (True Finns). Political parties use this term multiculturalism to mean a society with many cultures. When they state that they want to do away with multiculturalism, what do they mean? Kick out all the foreigners in Finland? Kick out the foreigners who are different from us? Close our borders and don’t allow immigrants to move to our country? Ask dark-skinned immigrants to dye their hair and get plastic surgery?

(2) The state should not finance multiculturalism in order to speed integration (Wille Rydman, Kokoomus). This is one of the best examples of double-talk I have seen by a Finnish politician. Rydman is suggesting that we should not allow immigrants to cherish their identity and background since he thinks that this will speed their integration into Finnish society. Rydman should look at studies on the subject that show the total opposite. He should visit Amerindian reservations in the United States that tragically show what consequences ripping a person’s culture and identity have.”

I could go on with a long list of other incredulous affirmations that will knock you on your back.

One important matter to keep in mind: Immigration is a political issue. Some groups, like the True Finns, may place ludicrous expectations of how immigrants are supposed to adapt to our society. The question, however, is if such expectations are realistic.

Having a successful immigration policy requires a long-term perspective so that immigrants may become productive and dynamic members of our society. Being only focused on the 2011 election is doing Finland a disfavor.

If I were an ultra-nationalist immigrant basher in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

If I were an ultra nationalist and enjoyed bashing immigrants for fun and political profit, Finland is the country to be in today.

I could open my mouth and say almost anything I please no matter how offensive and absurd my statements would be to other cultures and groups. Nobody can call me a racist because I am only exercising my right to free speech and being “critical” of immigrants and immigration to this country.

In the process of  “defending free speech” and requiring immigrants to follow new xenophobic  laws, which I would never dare enforce on myself never mind my constituents, my popularity would soar to stellar heights. I could get a lot of votes by spreading distrust and hatred of people who are different from me.

There are so few immigrants in Finland, never mind Muslims and Roma from Romania and Bulgaria, that I can actually name those that I am bashing. The countries biggest dailies allow me to print my xenophobic statements because some of them stand behind, albeit silently, with what I say.

Yes, it is an excellent time to be an ultra-nationalist immigrant basher in Europe!

Don’t let the “critics” hijack the immigration debate in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

We would be in a lot of trouble if the one-sided immigration debate in Finland was left to a certain group of people. Those that I am referring to call themselves “critical of immigration,” maahanmuuttokriittinen. It is a funny term used to describe groups that are in fact hostile to immigration.

More people in Finland are beginning to understand the difference between racism and sensible debate.

One of these is Center Party Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi. She recently labeled SDP MP and anti-immigration hardliner Eero Heinäluoma’s statements as “flirting with racism.” Naturally Heinäluoma does not consider his statements racist at all. One of the many incredulous affirmations he has made is that immigrants will fuel racism because they will take jobs away from Finns.

The argument is a bit like the man who raped a woman and then claims that it was the victim’s fault because she was wearing a mini skirt.

There are countless of other examples of anti-immigration groups like the True Finns who claim not to be racist but in truth some are. You can find, unfortunately, these types of people in all of Finland’s political parties.

Since ignorance is not an excuse for breaking the law, it should not be one for insulting other ethnic groups. Even so, some of the views that some Finnish politicians have of immigrants and immigration dates back to the murky 1930s.

Even though not everything that is debated can be slammed as racist, it shows how much in diapers the immigration debate is in Finland. Some do not even know the difference (or pretend not to know) between what is appropriate and racist.

I have said on numerous occasions that you do not need to pass new laws for immigrants in Finland. The only thing we have to do is apply those we have in force today.

A good rule of thumb when speaking of immigrants in Finland is to ask if you would ever make such a statement about your own group or voters. If not, stay clear from them.

One of the pet topics of the far-right in Finland is speaking about social security fraud. The only problem with the debate is that the  only culprits  are foreigners. Supposedly Finns are honest and therefore do not take advantage of the social security system.

Why aren’t any politicians making a big deal about social security fraud in general, or among Finns in particular? Because it is a hyper-sensitive political issue. They would not touch it with a ten-foot pole especially with elections approaching in April 2011.

Bashing foreigners and over-exaggerating social security fraud among immigrants brings more votes and political mileage.

True Finns’ immigration manifesto is full of holes and question marks

Posted on by Migrant Tales

A group of anti-immigration True Finns members published over the weekend their recipe to correct Finland’s “wayward” immigration policy. As I wrote on June 20, their new immigration policy stance will not surprise anyone since their negative and hard-line stances are well known.

Some of the recommendations in the so-called Nuiva Manifesto are full of contradictions that reveal that the True Finns are very much in the dark about how a successful immigration policy should be managed.

Let’s look at some of the manifesto’s main points:

1. Finland should abandon its multicultural policy copied from Sweden.

I never knew that Sweden was officially a multicultural country. It is a country with many immigrants but it is not officially a multicultural nation. There are only three countries in the world that are officially multicultural: Canada, Australia and England. We do not know whether they refer to multiculturalism as the Canadian social policy or that it is a demographic phenomenon.

2. But they give a quasi-definition of multiculturalism. They state that abandoning multiculturalism means that the state should not finance immigrant groups’ culture, language, identity and religion.

What does this mean in practice? First-, second- and third-generation immigrants do not have any financial support and recognition by the state to maintain their cultural heritage. The manifest does not conveniently mention if the state should end all financial support to the Swedish-speaking minority, Sami and Roma.

This part of the True Finns’ manifest is an excellent example of the double-talk on  how they plans to breach and/or water down the Constitution and Non-Discrimination Act by treating minorities unequally.

They naturally deny this and state, emphatically, that they favor a society based on equality for all.

The manifest is full of these types of contradictory political statements that make no sense and are meant to give you a generous snow job.

3. One of my favorites is the manifest’s prescription on how to keep neighborhoods from becoming ghettos.  If the True Finns had their way, they would prohibit immigrants/refugees from moving to neighborhoods where the state or municipality finances their rent.

They don’t explain if these immigrants/refugees should live in tents or tepees instead.

4. One of the terms that the True Finns love to use is “uncontrolled” immigration and talk about the Winter War. All of these True Finns that signed the manifest haven’t seen a day of war and were brought up thanks to the social welfare state.

They recommend that social aid to new immigrants should last a year maximum on moving to the country.

They don’t mention if their should be social-welfare-benefit limits to Finns. This is another excellent example of the inequality that the True Finns want but do not state aloud.

5. Those immigrants/refuges that break the law constantly will be deported from Finland irrespective of the human rights situation of their country of origin. Immigrants who have been granted a residence permit on humanitarian grounds will have their permit revoked if they go on holiday or fight in their home country.

Don’t people have the human right of freedom of movement if they HAVE a residence permit?

6. The xenophobia of this group shines through when they propose that citizenship should be granted on a conditional basis for ten years. Conditional citizenship would grant all rights to the person but it could be revoked.

Again they do not mention which types of “crimes” a person would have to be sentenced for citizenship to be revoked.

7. The True Finns top it off by stating that Finland wants immigrants that will not be “negative” to society. It supports immigrants whose impact on society will be “neutral or positive.”

What does “negative” mean and which group/institution decides to give the thumbs up or down concerning the latter?

Anti-Immigrant: calling a spade a spade in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The use of the term maahanmuuttokriittinen, or immigration critic, reveals what some journalists think about immigration to or in Finland. It can very well reveal that the journalist may hold the same opinions of anti-immigration groups.

The odd term immigration critic, which has been used to refer to groups such as Muutos 2011, True Finns and Hommaforum, has a basic message: keep Finland white. We don’t want people who are different from us.

Can we call a political group that openly insults immigrants through their ignorance and political opportunism “critical” of something? I don’t think so.

Better names for such groups could be populist, anti-immigration/xenophobic group,  or ultra-nationalistic. Since in Finland we haven’t seen many far-right wing groups until the early 1930s like the Lapua Movement, it will be interesting to see what their real colors are.

What would you call a party or movement that has the following agenda:

(1) Change the Constitution and shelve the Non-Discrimination Act;
(2) Treat different groups in society unequally;
(3) Ethnocentric and racist;
(4) Pass policy on minorities that would never be accepted by their group;
(5) Fear everyone that is different and make a big deal about it;
(6) Bow-tie racism (smiling cordially and denying that they taking away your civil rights).

Would you call such a group that has such aims simply  “immigrant critical?”

No way!

I would call it populist, anti-immigration/xenophobic group,  or ultra-nationalistic.

Note:  You can check out the Finnish-langauge verison of this post on Uusi Suomi.

True Finns to announce official stance on immigration policy

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The anti-immigration True Finns will make public their official stand on immigration on Saturday, July 24. Should we now hold our collective breaths?

According to Verkkouutiset, the True Finns’ immigration policy has been drafted by Jussi Halla-aho, who enjoys bashing Muslims for fun and political profit, Vesa-Matti Saarakkala, the True Finn’s youth leader and Vantaa city council member, Johannes Nieminen.

I had the opportunity to sit next to Saarakkala at a panel in October on immigration. The first matter he mentioned about immigrants  in Finland was that Muslims were “demanding” that mosques be built without paying any taxes.

I asked Saarakkala if he Finns were protected by one set of laws  and that these did not apply to immigrants? I asked him if he wanted to change the Constitution and the Non-Discrimination Act. He never answered my questions.

Nieminen said that the aim of the document is to “speak out on the problems of immigration” because present  policy will prove “fatal for Finland.”

One of the biggest flaws of parties like the True Finns is that they see immigration as a threat. Leaving immigration policy to these people would be like allowing a child to play with nuclear weapons.

Taking into account Saarakkala’s and Halla-aho’s past statements on immigration tell me that nothing constructive will come out of the announcement on Saturday.

It will be nothing more than an opportunistic statement to lure votes with the April 2011 elections in mind.

True Finns will embolden immigrants in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

A recent poll commissioned by YLE shows that the anti-immigration True Finns Party would gain 10.1% of the votes if an election were held today. It is the first time that 10% of respondents have given their voting preference to the True Finns.

The poll showed that the conservative National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) topped all other parties at 23%,  followed by the Social Democrats (20.5%) and the Center Party (19.7%).

Should we be worried about the poll results? Not at all.

If the True Finns get a landslide victory in the April 2011 parliamentary elections, it would give Finns the opportunity to see once and for all how irrational and reckless their political platform is.

A victory by the True Finns would also do wonders to our foreign policy and be a real lure for labor immigrants since it would be based on xenophobia. Such a narrow-minded view of the world would, however, embolden immigrants in this country to take ever-stronger stands against the populist rhetoric and usual political baloney put out by the True Finns and other political parties.

The one-sided debate and insults hurled against immigrants by some representatives of Finnish political parties explains why immigrants are planning to establish their parliament in the fall.

One of the problems in Finland is that some lack the ability to call a spade a spade.  For example, Juho Rahkonen of Taloustutkimus interpreted the better showing of the True Finns in the  YLE poll on “stronger conservative principles.”

I would interpret it as a more xenophopbic-populist reaction to the outside world. Since we are in a recession, it is easy to blame Greece and/or immigrants for our problems.

Scapegoats are always convenient to bring out.

Racist discourse of anti-immigration groups

Posted on by Migrant Tales

One of the most startling finds of ultra-nationalistic, anti-immigration groups is how they cover up their discourse of outright contempt for other cultures. Here are some of my favorites:

1) Immigrants are social welfare bums or come to Finland to use our generous social welfare system. Isn’t it incredible that in this debate on social welfare abuse and fraud, it is always immigrants or a certain group of immigrants/refugees that are abusing the system.

Are there any studies or specific cases of wide-spread social-welfare fraud among immigrants, or of Finns for a matter of fact? The reason why this hot issue has not been debated openly in the media of Finns who abuse the social welfare system is because it is a hot political issue. Politicians don’t want to do this because it would seem like a witch hunt and would make them extremely unpopular among voters. It is easier to blame everything bad and evil on immigrants because they are a disenfranchised group.

2) We are “critical of immigration” as opposed to saying, “I am proud of being a racist. Keep Finland white.” One matter that some Finnish journalists have not learned is to call a spade a spade when it comes to racism. This is nothing strange considering that some of them  never raised any objections never mind criticism of our special relationship with the former Soviet Union.

Since racism awakens a lot of passions, this causes a lot of confusion as to how we should react to this social ill in our society.  The Muutos 2011 party is a good example. They want to keep Finland white by claiming, ludicrously, that they want direct democracy.  Their lopsided argument is that since “the people,” whom they claim to be speaking for, cannot practice direct democracy Finland is being overrun by social-bum immigrants and by a lost immigration policy. Who are these “critical-of-immigration” groups? They are ultra nationalists that despise cultural diversity and enjoy living in cultural myths that give birth to stereotypic and simplistic views of other cultures.

Handing over immigration and integration policy to these types of groups would be like allowing a child to build a nuclear reactor.

3) A scratched record: We don’t want blahblahblah because they are incompatible blahblahblah. If you look at the argument by some ultra-nationalist groups, they are always griping about how certain immigrants are blahblahblah and therefore incompatible blahblahblah. What is their solution? Kick them out of Finland! Fostering good ethnic relations and attaining a society that treats all of its inhabitants equally is something these groups don’t want. If they were in power, it would be like awakening a social Frankenstein with nostalgia for the Germany of the 1930s.

4) There are many more absurd arguments I could point out by opportunistic mainstream politicians, who forget that the second-biggest ethnic minority group living in Finland are immigrants or naturalized Finns. Take all of their arguments with a large pinch of salt. If you feel confused or do not understand their logic, the fact is that they were conveyed to confuse and be hollow.

BLAST FROM THE PAST 1984 (Part 2): Strange days, the experience of foreign students in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Even though Strange days, the experience of foreign students in Finland was published in 1984, many of the excerpts in the book could apply to Finland today.

Here are some passages that may interest you. Remember that the book was published 26 years ago.

How many time I have listened as my dark-skinned friend tell of the Finns’ awkward, insulting and violent behavior towards them. Almost every time I walk through the streets with one of my more “foreign” looking companions, some Finns figures out a way, more or less grossly, to emphasize our otherness, our foreignness. Therefore, the fact that I have white skin has definitely helped me survive here; however, my disillusion has definitely grown since I became aware of this. Steve Huxley, p. 9

Many Finns hold some of the same stereotypes that were prevalent in urban United States in the 20’s and 30s concerning different races. It is not surprising that Finland is a closed society for foreigners, a “dead-end society” if you will, where there is dear little chance of competing equally for choice jobs with Finns after having taken a degree in this country. Enrique Tessieri, p. 14

You are given a partial or non-admission before arriving here, the next thing to do is to get yourself i any Finnish language courses and prepare yourself for the police harassment via telephone calls or letters. Obi Marizu, p. 18

Its position today as a small neutral sate between two competing superpowers should also make Finland very sensitive to issues involving minority rights. In discussing injustices in Finland, Finnish history also provides foreigners with an understanding of why the country’s laws frequently deal with them rather brusquely. Ahti Tolvanen, p 35

The usual kind of ad for a subtenant room you will find in the newspaper is something like, “Gentle old lady rents room to sober non-smoking female student of religious background.” Now you have been brought up in a convent in Tanzania and came here to study theology – so you go there with great expectations. The first thing you find out is that the old lady is not that gentle at all, the next thing that there are a few additional conditions: absolutely white skin of the same shade as hers, accent-free Finnish and a blue (Finnish) passport. Alexander Sannemann, p. 41

I have been thinking about these things (Finnish consensus, cold war foreign policy) long before writing them down, just not to fall into the vicious circle of self-censorship. Adrián Soto, p. 44

There are two kinds of girls who look for contacts with foreign men. First, there are the Hunters and Gatherers. For them the foreigners are above all foreigners: exotic, dark, reputedly good in bed, possess a high prestige value when shown in the street, and are useful for language practice. The girls are looking for a short adventure or a longer affair, but many think a Finn, in the end, is the only plausible mate. For them, and there are quite a lot of them, you will always be an object, a foreigner, not a human being. Maaria Seppänen, p. 49

Aliens' Office head Eilä Kännö (1970-84) inspecting a foreigner applying for a residence permit. Among foreigners, she was cursed by many for being an inflexible, cantankerous hardliner.By Rabah Boussuira, p. 23
Foreigners have no civil civil right nor chances of getting housing in Finland.By Rabah Boussuira, p. 39
Foreigners are no longer a rare sight in Finland as in 1984. By Rabah Boussuira, p. 45

BLAST FROM THE PAST 1984 (Part I): Strange days, the experience of foreign students in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Twenty-six years ago in 1984 Strange days, the experience of foreign students in Finland, was published by Gaudeamus. The book was the second published by foreigners in Finland over the arbitrary treatment they received by the then Alien’s Office, the police and by the country in general.  The first one was in the 1970s by a Nigerian called Katso, katso nekru. See part two as well.

Here are some timely excerpts from Strange Days that could still apply to immigrants in Finland:

If anything, the tales contained in this book could be described as those of a disappointed lover who still has some hope left. The editors (Gregory Moore and Adrián Soto, p. 7)

There are foreigners who have survived many years in Finland by maintaining ignorance, by remaining content with the “peace” which comes through not being able to participate in political life, the peace which comes when one has only a minimum of rights. I realized that I had, for a time, been one of these people. Steve Huxley, p. 9

Those of us who plan to make our homes in Finland after finishing our studies discover that there is no work for us in our chosen field. Many foreign students have given up their studies because they know that their university degree in Finland will only be a paper which they can hang on their wall. Because jobs are so scarce in Finland for degree holders, the standard hiring practice you’ll be faced with is first Finns and then, maybe, you. Enrique Tessieri, p. 15

I have used this philosophical statment of (Elizabeth) Browning (A great mind, A great courage, A great energy. And a great persistent patience) because this is what it entails to live and survive as a foreigner in Finland. Obi Marizu, p. 18

As a foreigner residing in Finland it is more than likely that you will have dealings with the police from time to time. That is because the official body for carrying out most government policies related to foreigners is the Aliens Affairs Office (today Finnish Immigration Service) in the Police Bureau of the Interior Ministry. The main function of the Aliens’ Office is surveillance. It was set up during the last war to keep track of all foreigners in the country and counteract possible espionage activity. Ahti Tolvanen, p. 25

I have a question mark concerning the following: Of course there are positive sides to sleeping under bridges. Judging from the amount of frozen drunkards collected by the police every winter, you won’t get lonely there. And as for staying with friendly people– you’ll usually have to pay your rent with sex, especially if you are a male foreign student. After she’s handed you on to her seventh girlfriend, you might start dreaming about getting your own place to stay. Alexander Sannemann, p. 37

This is, of course, a democratic society. But Finnish democracy is structured in such a way that all ideas and decisions come from above, very little is ever taken from the ground level. Adrián Soto, p. 44

…it is the attitude Finnish men have about foreigners. This will cause you many problems. You may be assaulted by a drunkard when walking with a Finnish girl, you may be told you have only come to steal our girls, or at least you and the girl will be objects of intense, hostile staring. This goes to the extent that foreigners married to Finnish girls tend to find the Finnish public more racist than do unmarried foreigners. Maaria Seppänen, p. 49

Even though Finland's immigrant population has grown by ten times since 1984, when Strange Days was published, the ongoing one-sided debate on immigrants and immigrantion to Finland makes this drawing by Rabbah Boussuira still valid.