W. Che learned of a Palestinian asylum seeker who was deported recently from Finland to Turkey but ended up in Canada. Her son and her came to Finland in 2015.
Finland locks up children in immigration removal centers like this one in Joutseno. The picture of the girl has no relation to the story. Source: Iltalehti/Migrant Tales.
This is her story:
“I am a Palestinian woman born in Iraq who applied for asylum in Finland in August 2015 and who worked as a pharmacist in Iraq. My Iraqi husband was killed by ISIS in Mosul. I was granted Iraqi citizenship based on marriage.
Five months after applying for asylum [in Finland] in 2015, I had my first interview [with The Finnish Immigration Service, Migri]. I was alone [in Fnland] with my fatherless child. I have no family or anybody to support me in Iraq. After a series of appeals and rejections, the Supreme Administrative Court rejected my appeal.
The police appeared at my home to deport me, I placed my phone and started recording while they held me from my clothes and dragged me inside my home; they were shouting [at me]. This frightened my son as he is just a child who was scared by the savage way they treated me as I cried and as they dragged me [on the floor]. We were both placed in a prison cell for two days.
After two days, they took us to the airport and put us on a flight to [Istanbul’s] Ataturk Airport in Turkey on transit to Iraq. I started screaming at the airport and asked help from the Turkish police when they wanted to put us on another flight to Iraq. It was our luck that the Turkish police officer refused to put me on that plane to Iraq and asked the Finnish police to return to Finland.
I was taken later on by the Turkish police to the United Nations office where I told them what happened to us in Finland and how badly they treated me. I showed them the video I took.
At the UNHCR I was accepted as a refugee to Canada.
Helsinki City Councilperson Abdirahim Husu Hussain tweeted in July: All the Perussuomalaiset* and their voters/supporters are racists. Yes i said it. Do you need proof? Take a look at your [party’s] history and how you became Finland’s second-biggest party [in parliament].”
On July 19, Hussein tweets from India: “Was yesterday’s tweet update too much for you.Let me be more concrete. All of the Perussuomalaiset and their voters/supporters are racists. Yes i said it. Do you need proof? Look at your history and how you were elected as Finland’s second-biggest party [in parliament].”
In addition to Hussein’s tweet: “Name me one Perussuomalaiset MP who was not elected without the help of Islamophobia, racism, and misogyny?
If by some miracle you find one PS MP, try to find another one if you can.
* The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.
The closing of US borders to Latin American asylum seekers, detaining minors, vilifying Latin Americans and Muslims, emboldening white supremacy and relegating and maintaining migrants and minorities as second-class members of society are some of the things that we have seen and read about President Donald Trump’s presidency.
One will find many similarities if we look at Trump’s immigration policy and that of the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party’s. The overriding force that unites both of them is the fear of people of color and that whites will become a minority in their countries.
Donald Trump and Jussi Halla-aho. Source: The Atlantic and Vantaan Sanomat.
If PS chairperson Jussi Halla-aho would be prime minister and could rule like Trump, he too would not hesitate to enforce travel bans on Muslims, tighter naturalization laws, and fuel the hostile environment to new heights.
Halla-aho would water down or scrap Section 6 of the Constitution that guarantees that everyone, irrespective of their background, is equal before the law. If enforcement of non-discrimination laws in Finland are weak, they would not exist under Halla-aho.
Just like Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, wants to change the famous words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty that welcomes immigrants, Halla-aho would be ready to scrap our non-discrimination laws.
Our Nordic welfare social justice values and laws would only apply to white Finns.
Cuccinelli was quoted as saying in NPR that the words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty could be rewritten to state, “Give me your tired and your poor — who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge.”
Just like Trump has declared open warfare against migrants and minorities in the United States, the same is happening with the PS in Finland. The latest attack is by PS vice-president Riikka Purra, who believes that Finland will look like Mexico City in 2100.
“If people come to Finland from faraway lands and cultures,” said Purra recently, “[these] people don’t change and become Finns. Certainly, some changes could occur, and we help migrants to integrate with programs, but it doesn’t work that well.”
* The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.
Racists, xenophobes and populist opportunists from parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* like to be intentionally mean to Muslim and African asylum seekers by labelling them “harmful” immigration.
Using the term harmful immigration to describe non-EU migrants by especially politicians of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is as bad as using the n-word.
Ville Manner did not understand in a tweet what was wrong with calling certain migrant groups harmful.
When Helsinki councilperson Abdirahim Husu Hussein tweeted that the PS, its voters, and follower are racist, it’s clear that the party got a generous taste of its own medicine.
PS vice-chairperson Riikka Purra is now on a rampage to prove that Europe’s whitest country will look like Mexico City in 2100. In her far-right conspiracy theories about “The Great Replacement,” she wants to keep out Muslims and Africans from coming to Finland.
A paper by Frank Ndukwe about the experiences of Africans in the Helsinki area states: “When immigrants migrate, especially to such a culturally homogenous country, there is often the tendency of fear from the natives in the mainstream and the political circles, about the ‘cultural disruption’ immigrants could bring to the society.”
Whenever the PS uses the term “harmful immigration” when speaking of Africans and Middle Easterners, we can also ask if there is such a thing like harmful native, or Finn?
Who is a harmful native? A vulnerable member of society who is probably unemployed and living on the fringes of society.
Either way, the term is insulting and should not be tolerated.
The Festival is organized by the group, No Labels No Walls, which consists of over 30 organizations from five different countries and brilliant individuals, whose idea is that separation is never equal, and who want to promote, activate and empower everyone to participate in life and society.
Los Angelesissä toimivan The Strindberg Laboratoryn ja nyt Suomessa Strindberg Laboratory ry:n tehtävänä on käyttää teatterin ainutlaatuista voimaa tukemaan huono-osaisia ja syrjäytyneitä yksilöitä sekä marginalisoituja yhteisöjä. Tavoitteenamme on rakentaa siltoja erilaisten taustoja omaavien ihmisten ryhmien välillä.
It is surprising that in Norway, one of Europe’s wealthiest and whitest countries has suffered some of the worst terrorist attacks in Europe. Eight years ago, on 22/7, Anders Breivik emerged and killed 77 people.
The most recent terrorist attack by an alleged white supremacist in Norway on Saturday attacked with the Al-Noor Islamic Center near Oslo overpowered by a 65-year-old man who suffered minor injuries.
According to Aktuelltfokus, the suspect, Philip Manshaus, 21, was armed with shotguns, pistols and wore a uniform and helmet aiming to kill as many Muslims as possible. Manshaus was overpowered after he shot one person.
The suspected terrorist is Philip Manshaus, 21. Source: Aktuelltfokus.
The Nordic region has seen a spike in Islamophobia in recent years and fuels Finland’s hostile environment against migrants and minorities.
Muslims in Finland don’t feel safe, and the recent terrorist act in Norway will not reassure them. Matters are exacerbated in Finland by the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, where anti-immigration and especially anti-Islam rhetoric is their political bread and butter.
The Mosque in the northern Finnish city of Oulu has suffered nine acts of vandalism since September 2018. After the Christchurch mass killings when a white supremacist killed 51 Muslims in March, the Oulu congregation guards the Mosque during Friday prayers.
“This is very sad what happened in Norway,” said Dr. Abdul Mannan, the imam of the Oulu Mosque. “Norway is supposed to be one of the safest countries [in Europe]. These things should not be happening. We need to forge peace [between people],”
With parties like the PS fear-mongering that white Finns will lose power at the cost of non-white Finns, it is clear that matters will get worse before they improve.
Even so, our society, politicians and the media must wake up to the threat of white supremacist terrorism, which is the biggest threat to our security, democracy, and the rule of law.
Vänsterpartiet MP Malcolm Momodow Jallow of Sweden posted his reaction on Facebook: “The Government, the security service and so-called terrorism experts, can continue to mislead, lie and pretend like others but as long as you are not prepared to realize the seriousness [of the situation], it is a fact and true that these terrorists will continue with their terrorist acts and attacks!!! I hope that the police department is doing everything in their power in Sweden that makes sure that Muslims in Sweden can celebrate in security their [Eid] feast tomorrow.”
* The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.
A “young white man” was arrested in Norway after shooting inside a mosque today, according to the BBC. The man injured one person after he opened fire on the Al-Noor Islamic Center near Oslo.
According to a tweet by Tommi Kotonen, “Norwegian newspaper [VG] reports that police is investigating a forum post related to the Oslo Mosque shooting. A post from Endchan shows [the] alleged perpetrator claiming he was a follower of NZ shooter, refers to race war and urges other to follow him.”
The director of the mosque, Irfan Mushtaq, was quoted as saying that the victim injured was a 75-year-old man who was a member of the congregation.
“One of our members has been shot by a white man with a helmet and uniform,” Mushtaq was quoted as saying to he local newspaper Budstikka.
In the face of rising Islamophobia in all of the Nordic countries, Norway has seen the greatest bloodshed when Anders Breivik attacked eight years ago on 22/7 killing 77 people.
Finland has a lot of top-quality journalists. Even so, the coverage of migrants like asylum seekers by the media is in too many cases not only slanted and unfair but deficient, even racist and misleading at times.
Helsingin Sanomat. called last month The Squad, who are four congresswomen of color as “people of migrant origin.” On the left is the first take and on the right the corrected headline.
A recent example of such opinionated and poor journalism was the coverage of migrants suspected of sexual assault in Oulu. Migrant Tales documented 77 stories published between November 27 and February 13. On January 14, Yle published in one day 13 stories about the topic!
In its coverage of the Oulu sexual assault cases, Yle forgot one of its most important rules: fairness. You don’t need a bazooka to kill an ant.
Having been a journalist and foreign correspondent in countries like Spain, Argentina, Italy, Colombia, and Finland for over 20 years have taught me a thing or two about how the media frame migrants and minorities.
Without getting into a more in-depth discussion about the topic, I am always amazed at how a far-right Islamophobic party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* has set the pace and given its anti-immigration rhetoric a lot of weight.
The PS is always bringing up new fear-mongering topics for public consumption. The latest one is a pseudo-theory about how white Finns in the face of migration will end up becoming a minority in their county.
Even if these pseudo-theories are racist and misogynistic, the PS would care less. Making outrageous claims is one of the communication strategies of racist parties like the PS. Below is an example of how it works:
A politician makes an outrageous claim to a journalist, who doesn’t even bother to question its veracity. Eventually, the journalist may do some investigating and find out that he or she was fed malarkey. By then it’s too late because the story is already out there.
Journalists should watch out for the following matters when writing about the PS’ and other parties’ anti-immigration stances:
They rarely say directly that they are targeting Muslims;
-They use code to refer to Muslim asylum seekers/people of color such as “harmful immigration,” “social welfare freeloaders,” “mass immigraion,” “person/people of foreign origin” and others;
-Since they are speaking of these groups, who are mostly Muslims and asylum seekers, they refer to about 10% of all migrants in Finland;
-When a PS politician starts to speak about these groups, the reporter should ask what group they mean and how many people he or she is talking about;
-Since the media allows the PS to speak of migrants in the most general terms, it gives the impression that all or most migrants in Finland are asylum seekers;
-Do some journalists and the media write this way because they too are Islamophobic?
* The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.
Parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) in Finland eagerly talk about how one of Europe’s whitest country’s will be taken over by people of color and become minorities.
Writes Farhad Manjoo: “’The Great Replacement’ is a racist and misogynistic conspiracy theory that holds that white people face existential decline, even extinction, because of rising immigration in the West and falling birthrates among white women (caused, of course, by feminism).'”
Together with PS chairperson Jussi Halla-aho, vice-chairperson Riikka Purra is one of the most eager to spread racist and misogynistic conspiracy theories.
PS MP Jani Mäkelä is infamous for his off the wall comments. Here he tweets: “Replacement theory. Harmful immigration. Yes, I said those words and will say them again.”
Manjoon continues: “The white-extinction theory plays well online. It has found its greatest purchase among a certain type of basement-dwelling inceledgelord, to whom it offers both an explanation for self-pitying personal circumstance and a set of convenient antagonists (roughly, the blame falls on race-betraying, sexually empowered women; immigrants; and the Jews said to control the whole system).”
PS MEP Laura Huhtasaari contradicts herself in two tweets: “Just like that. I don’t consider the Perussuomalaiset racists.” And then tweets again: “The Perussuomalaiset are racists. What of it?”
So what is behind all this nonsense about the Great Replacement and spreading fear about whites becoming a minority? Manjoo puts it well: Racism and misogyny.
* The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.
