Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s hardline asylum and immigration policy reminded me of the 1980s when former Aliens Office director Eila Kännö’s tough line against migrants turned against her. I see the same thing happening today with the government’s asylum and immigration policy.
People react when a system is impractical and unfair. It is precisely what happened in the 1980s and what is happening today when an Iraqi asylum seeker called Ali was killed in Iraq.
Other Iraqis have suffered similar fates as reported in 2016.
How can the Finnish Immigration Service continue to claim that countries like Iraq and Afghanistan are safe when they’re not.
In the 1980s and earlier, migrants, who were called “aliens,” had to get residence and work permit for each job.
We all know that the tightening of present immigration policy has the signature of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and Blue Reform parties. The strategy is ineffective because it hinges on myths and prejudices which end up falling flat on their faces.
In order for immigration to work you need effective and fair policies. The ones we have in Finland now are shameful to put it lightly. One of these is the government’s decision to do away with residence permits on humanitarian grounds, which have forced the number of undocumented migrants to soar manyfold as a result.
Not only are there signs that matters are turning against the government’s asylum and immigration policy, but abroad as well. A French court ruled that it could not send an asylum seeker back to Finland because it returned them to Iraq and put in harm’s way.
Back in the good old racist days of the 1980s, laws such as the Restricting Act of 1939 (law 219/1939), which became redundant in 1992, prohibited foreigners from owning real estate and acquiring a majority stake in Finnish companies—limiting this to 20% normally and 40% under special permission. The Restricting Act stipulated that foreigners could not own shares in sectors like forestry, securities trading, transportation, mining, real estate and shipping. Foreigners weren’t allowed to establish newspapers, never mind organize demonstrations and be politically active.
Were such restrictions effective? What role did they play in keeping Finland a closed country to the outside world? Were they in conflict with our sense of justice and fairness?
White Finnish privilege #49
When a government like Sipilä’s goes too far and treats asylum seekers with disrespect and breaches their human rights, it’s clear that such a policy will eventually backfire in their faces.
It is not only asylum seekers and migrants who are feeling the brunt of the government’s Islamophobic and anti-immigration policies, but ordinary Finns as well.
If you disrespect and loathe one group of people, it’s clear that you will demean other groups like the unemployed, single mothers, and other vulnerable members of our society.
White Finnish privilege can backfire in some cases.
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 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
Juha Sippilä has everything in control, he is on the top of power, every day he make a new decision against humanity, asylum, refugees, poor finnish people and specially against Iraqi and Afghans… Iraq and Afghanistan are not safe ! not at all, but dangerous, very dangerous ! if Juha Sippilä and the rest of enemy and coward ( man and woman, all and all, in parliament ) can not understand this easy matter, then they should start their life from a kindergarten and between 2 and 3 years old children! they all want power and they think life will treat them perfect for always, no, it will not, they are all like a JET OF WATER , it goes up, but quickly BANG and down !
So Sippilä and the rest of coward, they will fall soon, very soon, first Sippilä and immediately all of them, one by one , will fall on Sippilä !
A person Like Juha Sippilä + other cowards and Sauli Niinistö can not feel anything for Finnish people, NEVER, they just have feeling for money and they just focus on own family! thats why every single decision they make is about MONEY ! ! !
Sending young Iraqi boys, Iraqi people to Iraq is a terrorist behaviour . ISIS terrorists are not alone in Iraq, they have supporters in Finland, friends in Finland, Finland is best friend for ISIS, it always been, look, look how Finland put Iraqi young boys in jail and cell, look Finland how follow them here and there by racist police, hit them by racist police, torture them in jail, look look ! look how they sent Ali to Iraq and killed him and then they say, oh every body will die, its not important, he was a refugge, Iraqi, not important at all.
And Ali was not first and last one !
How can you do this to humanity, hey you Finalnd, warning warning ! stop it chase, dont put young kids under pressure, dont keep them in stress, in cell, in run in immigration service , you have kids , families, parents, woman and men, war will happen to you too, yes to you Finland, dont think that you are a star for universe, NO, you are not ! you are a fanatical black star, harsh racist star, with no light , and soon you will fall, badly. everything you done against poor refugees will back to yourself ! soon, its near, very soon !
You had not mercy, so world will not mercy on you !
Truly Finalnd is worse than ISIS ! ISIS kill people quickly, but Finland kill them slowly slowly and with tourture !