Se oli nopea hetki – kuva nuorten tapahtumasta, jonka piti välittää iloa, kohtaamista ja yhteisöllisyyttä. Mutta tarkemmin katsottuna jokin särähti. Kuvassa näkyi nuorisotyöntekijä, jonka käden ele muistutti symbolia, jota on viime vuosina käytetty rasistisena viestinä – erityisesti äärioikeiston piirissä. Vaikka ele itsessään voi monelle näyttää viattomalta, konteksti, historia ja eleen ajoitus tekevät siitä merkityksellisen. Tämä…
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Riikka Purra and the party’s two-headed monster
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* are a deadly chameleon. It can look “normal” until it lashes out like a venomous snake. The PS’ neo-conservative cloak is only a deception appealing to right-wingers who justify the paradigm shifts and inhumane cuts in public spending. Finance Minister Riikka Purra is a two-headed monster: with one head she looks sort…
Why does the Finnish government want to encourage migration from the Philipines, India, Vietnam and Brazil?
Watching a Yle news broadcast on the arrival of Filipino practical nurses at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, I could not hold back my concern for these migrants and how they could fall prey to greedy employers. It has happened too many times before. The government of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, which continues to implement its racist and…
Finland’s international image suffers another blow
“I do not consider [Prime Minister] Petteri Orpo to be a racist. But the fact is that as Prime Minister he enables, legitimizes, and in a way I think incites that thinking in this coalition in Finland. Is that civilized? In my opinion, it is not.“ Kirsi Piha, a former National Coalition Party (NCP) MP…
Using sociological intervention in an orienteering course for immigrants and Finns at Otava Folk High School
The paper, written by Enrique Tessieri in 2009 for the Social Science Department of Turku University, explains how sociological intervention helped promote and strengthen cultural sensitivity at a folk high school 14 kilometers from the Eastern Finnish city of Mikkeli. From 2010-2011, Otava Folk High School became the first school in Eastern Finland – if…
Ahti Tolvanen*: Finland’s pushback law undermines the rule of law
The problem with this law is that it calls into question the whole idea of the rule of law. It allows the Finnish government to declare that there is a threat at the border of a “hybrid invasion”.This declaration can be made based on secret security information the government may claim to have and no…
Finland’s Interior Minister Mari Rantanen gets hammered on A-studio
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and Interior Minister Mari Rantanen got bitten hard by her own and some of the party’s racist statements on A-studio by host Marja Sannikka. Rantanen’s ignorance and loathing of migrants, especially Muslims and people of color, shines through as usual. The PS is the first modern party in Finland to capitalize on…
Länsi-Savo: Kansainvälistyminen edellyttää osaamista moninaisuudesta
Kansainvälistyminen on mahdollisuus. Näin kuvasi myös Mikkelin kaupunginjohtaja Janne Kinnunen Länsi-Savon haastattelussa 9.6. Etelä-Savon ja Mikkelin väestökehityksen näkökulmasta se on jopa välttämättömyys. Väestön väistämättä ikääntyessä ja vähetessä kohtaamme merkittäviä haasteita erityisesti työvoiman saatavuudessa. Tarvitsemme uusia asukkaita, sekä edellytyksiä yrityksille ottaa vastaan työvoimaa myös Suomen rajojen ulkopuolelta. Suomalainen yhteiskunta on aina ollut monimuotoinen, ja ihmiset edustavat…
European MEP elections: The Finnish far right has an immigration dependency problem
Just like a junkie craving for a shot, the campaign by the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* showed revealed their immigration dependency problem. Like a gas pedal, the PS has stepped on the immigration topic to attract voters. Immigration is a highly politicized topic in Finland as well and directly related to the success of the PS…
Left Alliance MEP candidate Paco Diop strives to be a voice for the voiceless and oppressed
Migrant Tales does not usually publish candidates, but we do make exceptions. MEP candidate Paco Diop of the Left Alliance is that exception. Diop, who hails from Turku and is a preschool teacher, states on YLE’s election compass three core values as an MEP candidate: “Human rights, respect for nature, and animal rights.” The rise…