Comment: Joensuu-based daily Karjalainen is a bold example of how the Finnish media should treat racism and hate crimes. It writes: “Believe me, the one who commits a hate crime is no hero but brings great shame on you, your relatives and to the whole town.”
Migrant Tales reported Sunday about a serious hate crime incident in the town of Lieksa in the northern Pohjois-Karjala region. A group of Finns had attacked three Somalians at dawn. One Somalian received a knife wound and was treated at the local health center.
The daily, which states that a small group of skinheads were responsible for giving Joensuu a racist label in the 1990s, writes that wiping off such a stigma is no easy job. The community suffers because students, skilled immigrants and foreign investment rarely want to locate in a city that has such a questionable label.
Karjalainen writes that people in Lieksa are now of the opinion that immigrants that walk at dawn in town are only looking for trouble and therefore it was ok to attack them. No matter what explanation is given for the attack – according to the daily – one matter is for certain: it was a racist act.
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Markku Liikamaa
Sunnuntaiaamuinen joukkopuukkotappelu Lieksan keskustassa ei liene kenellekään enää yllätys. Rasististen vahingontekojen, uhkailujen ja uhoilujen sekä kuntapäättäjienkin rasistisiin rikoksiin syyllistyneille osoittaman ymmärryksen jälkeen voi vain sanoa, että tätähän tässä on jo odotettukin.
Absolutely disgusting!