It isn’t difficult to conclude that many of the stories of how the media frames non-white Finns proves over and over again that they are part of Finland’s racism problem.
The Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) published Thursday its findings of a comprehensive study on native-born Finnish children with one or two foreign-born parents and how well they fared at school compared with white Finnish children.
Am I happy about the findings of the THL study?
THL researcher Lotta Haikkola said: “It’s important to note that the findings [of the study] are not directly related to the parents’ country of birth, but could be a consequence of a number of other factors. In light of the findings of the study, it is especially important to ask if children get enough support [at school] irrespective of their parents’ language and cultural background.”
Despite the findings, Yle labels those children with one of two foreign parents suffer from poor grades, have more mental problems and are more sustpible to child custody.
The study showed as well that if both of the parents are born abroad, the child is less prone to commit a crime.
The pictures used for the story, especiall the Finnish-langauge news, frames the problem as an issue facing Muslims, people of color and other visible minorities.
As the study points out, racism is another factor that impacted those interviewed in the study.