The fact that a group of black researchers headed by Dr Faith Mkwesha are challenging institutional racism at Åbo Akademi reveals a lot about the nature of the beast and how too little is done today to tackle racism. Dr Mkwesha is a researcher at Helsinki University and Åbo Akademi.
A petition, which has already received over 1,100 signatures, requests the rector of Åbo Akademi University, Mikko Hupa, and the Minister of Education Sanni Grahn-Laasonen to put an end to all forms of racism against black, brown and racialized students at Finnish universities.
You can sign the petition here.
According to Dr Mkwesha, a black researcher at Åbo Akademi University found a racist card in the mailbox of her office. When a complaint was filed to the head of the gender studies department, there was nothing done to support and protect the researcher.
Another case involved a pregnant black student, whose husband died at the time when she was racially harassed by another student. The head of the gender studies department knew of the black student’s situation. In this case, both students were separated because the student felt uncomfortable about being in the same room with the black student.
The black student was required to come at night to the office at a time when she was in pain and mourning her husband’s death.
“It appears that there is a fear of the system and this is why some people don’t want to complain,” said Dr Mkwesha. “But its high time that we start to do something to change matters.”
The researcher said that she hopes that the ongoing campaign will fuel long-overdue debate about a very serious issue facing non-white students at institutions of higher learning.
“I hope and I am confident that our campaign will bring the long-overdue debate about racism at Finnish universities,” Dr Mkwesha said. “This is a wake-up call.”
White Finnish privilege #61
The Cold War (1945-91) kept Finland geopolitically semi-isolated from Western Europe. We even saw the country’s small foreign population, which reached a peak in 1928 of 29,685 foreigners but plummeted 41 years later in 1970 to 5,483. Finland’s foreign population started to grow rapidly in the 1990s especially after 1995 when it became an EU member.
In 2017, there were 249,300 foreign nationals living in Finland.
The fact that the country is becoming more culturally and ethnically diverse is a challenge to white Finnish privilege and that Finnish universities must adapt to a new reality.
The #NoRacismInUniversity #WeAreNotSkinColour campaign reveals that even people with PhD degrees and students of higher education face today racism and discrimination. In many respects, there is a pattern as the recent case of Dr Jeevana Subasinghe shows: Challenging racism is dangerous to your career. One of the weapons used by those whom you are complaining against to counter complaints is silence and inaction.
“We must not allow this to happen anymore,” concluded Dr Mkwesha.
See also:
- Defining white Finnish privilege #1: I have it and you don’t
- Defining white Finnish privilege #2: Third culture children versus “pupil with immigrant background”
- Defining white Finnish privilege #3 No history, no doctrine, no heroes and no martyrs
- Defining white Finnish privilege #4 Holding the short end of the stick
- Defining white Finnish privilege #5 It’s ok to be a racist
- Defining white Finnish privilege #6 Not having a voice and the media
- Defining white Finnish privilege #7 A definitive guide
- Defining white Finnish privilege #8 Underrated and less intelligent
- Defining white Finnish privilege #9 Mohammad Ali’s insight
- Defining white Finnish privilege #10 I can victimize and make up any story I like about migrants because I’m white
- Defining white Finnish privilege #11: Case Teuvo Hakkarainen
- Defining white Finnish privilege #12: Case Tom Packalén
- Defining white Finnish privilege #13: Case Matti Putkonen
- Defining white Finnish privilege #14: Losing sight of the real issue
- Defining white Finnish privilege #15: Case Halla-ago on the PS
- Defining white Finnish privilege #16: Rosa Emilia Clay and my history versus yours
- Defining white Finnish privilege #17: The Perussuomalaiset and our civil rights
- Defining white Finnish privilege #18: Labeling others according to your prejudice
- Defining white Finnish privilege #19: My rape statistics about your group
- Defining white Finnish privilege #20: Labeling Others to strengthen “us” and “them.”
- Defining white Finnish privilege #21: Who can be a Finn?
- Defining white Finnish privilege #22: From racist, fascist to a politician without memory
- Defining white Finnish privilege #23: Greater police powers to monitor migrants and minorities
- Defining white Finnish privilege #24: Becoming a heartless accomplice in wars and people’s suffering
- Defining white Finnish privilege #25: This land is my land, this isn’t your land
- Defining white Finnish privilege #26: Are you an ethnic Finn?
- Defining white Finnish privilege #27: White versus Other media
- Defining white Finnish privilege #28: Are you an ethnic Finn (Part 2)?
- Defining white Finnish privilege #29: Your family is worth less than mine
- White Finnish privilege #30: Whitewashing and racializing the news
- White Finnish privilege #31: The Soldiers of Odin and the Finnish media
- White Finnish privilege #32: The white Finnish police and “them”
- White Finnish privilege #33: Appropriating our narrative to maintain the status quo, amass more power and privilege
- White Finnish privilege #34: Building a political career on privilege and nativist nationalism
- White Finnish privilege #35: Case Sampo Terho and the ministry of (dis)culture
- White Finnish privilege #36: Hate speech and censorship
- White Finnish privilege #37: The master of near-everything
- Defining white Finnish privilege #38: Cultural appropriation and racism are quaint discussion topics between white Finns
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #39: The Hollywood ending of racism that will never happen in Finland
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #40: To whitewash or to disenfranchise
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #41: An Islamophobic politician and gender equality
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #42: Labeling and shaming
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #43: White versus dark skin
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #44: Defending Nazis’ rights to march is ok as long we agree on the common enemy
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #45: Do blondes have more fun?
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #46: Teuvo Hakkarainen = white racism and sexism
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #47: President Sauli Niinistö’s “culture inside four walls”
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #48: Allow me to smear your religion so mine can shine
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #49: When white privilege backfires
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #50: Caving in to white narratives
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #51: The police are the defenders of white power and privilege
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #52: Having no privilege is dangerous
- White Finnish privilege #53: Plan Finland’s unplanned pregnancy campaign #ProtectBlackGirlsToo #Whatofme
- White FInnish privilege #54: Disguising your racism, bigotry, and prejudices effectively
- White Finnish privilege #55: It’s that time of the year – Christmas!
- White Finnish privilege #56: How Islamophobic is Finland?
- White Finnish privilege #57: Finland’s “hostile environment” against migrants
- White Finnish privilege #58: How the police, media and politicians fuel Finland’s hostile environment against Muslims and migrants
- White Finnish privilege #59: In this country, you are guilty before proven innocent
- White Finnish privilege #60: Oulu, OULU! Awaken and sniff the racist coffee.