From Black February 2012 to the brutal attack of a Pakistani migrant in 2018 – are these hate crimes?

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Is it a coincidence that Black February, which took place in 2012 and involved the violent deaths of three members of the Muslim community of Finland, happened on the same month when a Pakistani was brutally attacked by three white Finns in Vantaa? While the timing may have happened by chance, there are similarities between what happened in February 2012 and on February 23. 

The events that took place six years ago in February involved a Somali in Oulu leaping to his death on January 31 from the fourth floor after three white Finns broke into his home; the violent death of an eighteen-year-old Somali Finn who was killed in the Espoo neighborhood of Leppavaara by his white Finnish schoolmate; and a white Finn called Janne entering a pizzeria in Oulu and killing in cold blood a Moroccan and wounding the owner, who is Algerian, before taking his own life.

Before the three deaths and suicide, a foreigner who delivered newspapers in Oulu was threatened by three men on December 23, 2011, and decided to jump off the stairway balcony on the third floor. An ambulance arrived, but he did not die from the leap.

In all cases, the police appear reluctant to pin racism as a motive.

February 2012 and 2018

Is it a coincidence that the police have arrived at the same conclusion concerning the brutal attack of the Pakistani migrant in February?

The attack happened on Friday and the following day, the police got in touch with the wife of the victim. The first question she asked the police was if what happened was a hate crime. The police denied it was a hate crime because the suspects “were intoxicated,” according to the wife.

While we don’t know all the facts of the crime, “intoxication” does not absolve a person from committing a hate crime.

Moreover, the wife claimed later that the police told her that it could not be a hate crime because it “wasn’t planned.” A hate crime can be planned.

The reaction of the police concerning the wife’s concerns reveals that the police appear reluctant to place “hate” as a factor in the attack of the Pakistani migrant.

 

 

A lot of questions arise. One of these is how did the police arrive so rapidly at the conclusion that it wasn’t a racist crime? How come it took the police until Tuesday to release a statement that did not mention the words hate crime. The police officer that was investigating the crime, Detective Chief Inspector Mikko Minkkinen, was, however, quoted as saying in the media that it was not a hate crime.

He has also denied it to Migrant Tales.

 

For some reason, the police have killed the link about the detention of the people suspected in the Somali’s death after he leaped from the fourth floor.

Here is another broken link that was a story about the police beginning an investigation of Tommi Rautio, the PS councilperson, who suggested that the killer of the Moroccan at the Oulu pizzeria should be given a medal. At first, the police did not want to investigate the incident as a racist crime but then changed their minds a few days later. Read the original story here.

 Hate crime or not

Could the most recent case of the Pakistani migrant make us suspicious that the police may want rule out a racist motive in a crime for political reasons and avoid public anger and panic in the Muslim and migrant community?

Continue reading “From Black February 2012 to the brutal attack of a Pakistani migrant in 2018 – are these hate crimes?”

Adam, the undocumented migrant in Finland from Ingushetia, Russia

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Adam,* an undocumented and homeless migrant from Ingushetia, a troubled region of Russia located near Chechnya, is a Muslim who applied for asylum in Finland in 2012. He got in touch with Migrant Tales a week ago and asked if we could help him. 

“I came to Finland when I was 24 and today I’m 29 years old,” he said, adding that it upsets him that he has lost so much time in Finland.

According to Adam, he left Ingushetia because of the Russian policies, which have tried to quell by force its aspirations to separate from Russia.

Finland’s tightened immigration policy is one culprit that has caused the number of undocumented migrants to soar from a few hundred to thousands.

Adam admits that he suffers from hunger because he eats once a day and depends on help from a variety of places like the Church. “I almost always feel hungry and feel exhausted,” he said.

Adam says he’s been suffering from sleeping disorders for 5-6 years after he left Ingushetia.

One of the darkest periods of his stay in Finland was when he ended up at the Joutseno immigration removal center for a year. Since 2017, after his release, he became undocumented and homeless.

It was Adam’s aunt who advised him to seek asylum either in Finland or Sweden. He chose Finland.

Adam said that he paid 90,000 roubles, which was at the time about 1,500 euros, to help him cross the border to Finland.

In February 2016, he was forced to move out of the asylum reception center after two rejections from the Finnish Immigration Service and the district court.

“The people at the reception center said I was free to do what I wanted,” he said. “But I had no place to go and did not have any money. I went to the Helsinki Railway Station and told the security guard that I was going to steal something. He called the police, and I was able to sleep in a warm cell for one night.”

During that same year, Adam was detained by the police again and sent first to the Metsälä immigration removal center in Helsinki and then to Joutseno, where he was locked up for a year awaiting deportation.

A view of the Joutseno immigration removal center where children are locked up with their parents. According to Adam, this is the same courtyard where the inmates were allowed to walk outside for an hour.

“Joutseno was a tough place to live,” he explained. “Every day when I woke up, I asked where I was, and everything was the same. I used the time to learn Finnish, read books, surfed the Internet, and watched TV. I did sport, but there is no place where you could do sports. They only let you walk in a court for an hour every day.”

Adam said that the year at the Joutseno immigration removal center changed him for the worse. “Every time I think about the year I spent there,” he continued, “why they robbed me of a year, I get upset.”

He doesn’t understand why he was not deported to Russia.

“I think it is because I don’t have any documents or proof of identity,” he explained. “I was detained for a year [at Joutseno] because that is the maximum time they can keep you by law imprisoned if you are an undocumented migrant.”

His mother does not know that he is an undocumented migrant and homeless.

“I cannot tell her the truth about my situation because she is ill and her situation could worsen if she knew,” he said. “She would get upset.”

Adam admits that he does not know who to turn to if he needs medical attention. He has now found temporary shelter.

The police

“I’m afraid of the police because they can send me back to prison [immigration detention center] and deport me,” he said. “Why should I be put again in prison? The police never hit me, but they hit my brain with stress and made me feel very, very tired.”

Adam, who said that his ordeal had made him feel tired, states that he does not drink alcohol or use drugs.

“I’m [mentally] tired since I have constant stress about my situation,” he said. “I have no idea what will happen to me, but one matter is for certain: I cannot return to Ingushetia.”

If Adam could write a letter to Finland, he said he would say: “Don’t be a racist with Rusian citizens.”

“I think some people hate me because I’m from Russia,” he added.”Migri gave me negatives because they said to me that we need proof but how can I show them any proof if I ran away from my country.”

Adam has lost hope about his future.

“I am not confident of getting a residence permit, but I lost hope, everything, and I’m still here because I cannot go back,” he added.

Adam admits that he “wastes his time” in Finland because he cannot go back to Ingushetia is not an option.

He said that the only matter that helped him survive in Finland was because he was born a strong person.

“I still survive because I have no choice, and I cannot go back,” he said. “The only thing I now need most is my place.”

He said that he had suffered from sleeping disorders for 5-6 years when he left Ingushetia.

“I sleep as if I were in a war,” he continued. “I think a lot of my problems and cannot sleep like normal people. I think of my mother, about everything in my life. I’m sometimes nervous, and I get angry. I get very angry sometimes.”

Occasionally, Adam feels that he is only a step away from becoming crazy.

“[Becoming crazy] is like when somebody talks to you and your mind is roaming somewhere else,” he concluded. “Becoming crazy, I think, is when you lose your mind and explode.”

* Adam is a pseudonym to protect his identity.

UPDATE: Prosecutor General Toiviainen will not file ethnic agitation charges against PS MP Juho Eerola

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Prosecutor General Raija Toiviainen announced Friday that she will not file ethnic agitation charges against Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Juho Eerola, according to Helsingin Sanomat. Toivianen said in a statement that no charges will be brought against Eerola due to “a lack of evidence,” according to YLE.

Eerola is also the PS’ third vice president.

UPDATED (April 7 at 13:05): Kyösti Roth, a well-known voice of the Roma community, was surprised by the Prosecutor General Toiviainen’s decision.

“By not charging [PS MP Eerola of ethnic agitation] means in practice that anyone who wants can condemn publicly as drug dealers and criminals the Roma and Roma beggars. Is this what social equality means in Finland?”

Rikhard Blomerus, a member of the Roma minority and a substitute councilperson of Savonlinna for the Blue Reform party, filed charges last year against Eerola for ethnic agitation after he made some denigrating comments on Facebook about Roma beggars from Romania and Bulgaria.

Apart from stating that he would spit at them and take out his bank card as a form of payment, he wrote as well that the Roma are criminals. “[They are] drug dealers and criminals,” he wrote on Facebook. “If you don’t give them money they treat you aggressively; they [then] disappear.”

Sira Moksi published a cartoon (below) of what Eerola wrote.

The fact that a member of the Roma community had filed charges against Eerola caused Blomerus to get hate mail.

 

“A lot of them are angry with me,” Blomerus told Migrant Tales in August. “One was even angry because he considered it an insult that a Roma would bring charges against a white Finn.”

Continue reading “UPDATE: Prosecutor General Toiviainen will not file ethnic agitation charges against PS MP Juho Eerola”

Four questions about the Finnish chapter of The State of Islamophobia in Europe report

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The State of Islamophobia in Europe report was published on Monday. Linda Hyökki, is the researcher who did the report on Finland. Migrant Tales asked her four questions about the report. 
Linda Hyökki*
Migrant Tales (MT): What surprised you the most about doing the last report on Finland?
Leena Hyökki: “There were no drastically surprising changes when compared to the previous years’ reports. Islamophobia in its nature as a social phenomenon as well as in its manifestations within structural discrimination remains to be throughout the years. Political discourse, grassroot organizations spreading hate speech, demonstrations against alleged “Islamization”, microaggressions, as well as (mostly) Muslim women’s victimization have continued from 2015 (and before) up until now.
MT: In 2017, the PS imploded. Do you see this as a retreat for Islamophobia in Finland?
LH: I do not think so. Islamophobia is not only dependent on one party’s politics. Manifestations of Islamophobia in social life do reflect political discourse – especially when politicians Islamophobic statements are taken as a form of normalization of racism and hostility towards Muslims, kinds of legitimization of the discourse from top down – but civil society in large have their own impact on politics (we live after all in a democratic society!).

The State of Islamophobia in Europe report offers a distressing picture of the rise of such a social ill

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The third issue of the annual The State of Islamophobia in Europe was published on Monday, and it paints a very worrying picture of Islamophobia in Europe. 

We have unfortunately seen in countries like Finland how hate speech and toothless measures to contain all forms of racism and discrimination have put in harm’s way other religious minorities like the Jews.

One key recommendation of the report is the recognition and acknowledgment of the specific form of racism targeting Muslims.

The report states: “The denial of the very existence of Islamophobia/anti-Muslim racism/anti-Muslim hate crime in Europe by many demonstrates the need for an appropriate effort and political will to tackle this normalized racism and its manifestations that are deeply entrenched in European societies, institutions, and states.”

And continues: “With the generalized suspicion against Muslims, it is of utmost importance for EU policy makers not to fall into the trap of treating Muslims as potential problems but rather as human beings whose fundamental rights can be violated. Combatting Islamophobia is not about preventing radicalism or terrorism […] it is about politically addressing structural forms of discrimination and racism affecting Muslims or those perceived as such.”

 Read the full report here.

The rise of Islamophobia in countries like Finland are evident in parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) and Blue Reform* have made Finland a less safe place for migrants and especially Muslims.

After these two parties, the National Coalition Party (NCP) is seen by some as the most Islamophobic.

Continue reading “The State of Islamophobia in Europe report offers a distressing picture of the rise of such a social ill”

Study finds ethnic profiling is a widespread problem in Finland among the police, Finnish Border Guards and security guards

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The Stopped research and journalism project, Finland’s first-ever comprehensive study on ethnic profiling, published its finding Tuesday. While there have been scores of stories published about ethnic profiling on publications like Migrant Tales, there is nothing surprising by the study’s findings. 

If there is something that surprised us it was that ethnic profiling, despite continuous denials by the police, is so widespread that it is a serious problem.

One reason why ethnic profiling is so widespread in Finland is because it is condoned and encouraged politically by politicians, even ministers.

The big question is what will the police, Finnish Border Guards and security guards do to tackle ethnic profiling? Taking into account the anti-immigration atmosphere in Finland, it is clear that such measures will take time and happen slowly.

You can read the full study here.

Here are some headlines of the study:

MTV: Ethnic profiling is so common that some minorities are used to it – security guards are rude but the police are more polite

Helsingin Sanomat: Helsinki police: A lot of work has been done to do away with ethnic profiling – according to a new study (police) stops are common.

YLE NEWS: Study: Ethnic profiling in Finland continues despite legal prohibition. 

YLE: I considered it odd that they stop me a black person at every metro station – ethnic profiling affects people’s daily lives 

Helsinki University: Ethnic profiling is a problem in Finland, according to a research and journalism project 

Iltalehti: Study on ethnic profiling by the police: You are invited to search for “non-Finnish looking” people – language skills are asked later.

Ilta-Sanomat: A Nigerian woman standing in the street was asked “what are you doing here” (by the police) – this is what ethnic profiling looks like in Finland. 

Here are some of the conclusions of the study on ethnic profiling:

  • “The Finnish Alien’s Act (where ethnic profiling is clearly stated that it is illegal) does not give a sufficient criterion for reasonable suspicion, and thus the police are not required to specify the grounds for their checks. The subsequent wide discretionary power leads police to use their intuition or ‘gut feeling,’ discussed as tacit knowledge in the research, to identify targets of control.”

Continue reading “Study finds ethnic profiling is a widespread problem in Finland among the police, Finnish Border Guards and security guards”

Facebook Ahmed IJ: Words of exclusion

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Migrant Tales insight: If finding a job isn’t easy for a foreigner in Finland, it is especially hard for an asylum seeker. Doors close and some are left ajar. Even so, you are not supposed to pass inside if you are an asylum seeker. 

I’m sorry for your frustration, Ahmed. Together and with many others will storm inside those doors so that they will be doors of inclusion and not of exclusion.

 

A poll that that tells us that Finland will continue to be Islamophobic and weary of cultural diversity

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An opinion poll and two results: how do young and older people vote and what does it say about the political future of Muslims and cultural diversity in Finland? For one, it suggests that matters will get worse before they improve. 

YLE published Sunday a poll that shows two different political paths for Finland: Among the older voters (50-79 years), the Social Democrats are the most popular party while the younger group (18-34 years) gives a different picture.

The popularity of the National Coalition Party is pretty stable among both age groups. The Centre Party’s popularity among younger voters takes a hit, but it is not as dramatic as with the Social Democratic Party.

The Greens, which are the most popular party among young voters, reveals that parties like the National Coalition Party, Centre Party and never mind the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* will continue with their subtle and harsh Islamophobic and anti-immigration rhetoric by treating migrants and minorities like second- and third-class members of society.

In Finland, you hear a lot about how young people in Finland are more open to difference. If you look at the young voters (18-34 years), parties (National Coalition Party, Centre Party, PS, and to some respects the Social Democratic Party) that have dragged their feet on recognizing that we are today a culturally diverse society, total 58%.

How many parties are open to difference and cultural diversity? They are the Greens, Left Alliance, and Swedish People’s Party. All three parties in the young-voter group total 36.6% compared with 18.9% in the older group.

The first table shows how 18-34-year-olds would vote. The second one, on the right, shows the 50-79-year-old-age group. Source: YLE.

One of the most surprising findings of the poll is the popularity of the anti-immigration PS among young voters, which indicates that there will always be an appeal among some voters for racist and bigoted politicians and parties.

Continue reading “A poll that that tells us that Finland will continue to be Islamophobic and weary of cultural diversity”

THE LONG INTERVIEW: Rebecka Holm, the adolescent who spoke out against racism, yesterday and today

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Rebecka Holm is the brave adolescent from Helsinki, who in 2012 spoke out against the racist harassment she regularly experienced on the way to school. She got fed up with the situation and wrote a letter to the Swedish daily, HBL, denouncing what she and her friends experienced too often.

“If Finland is now the most secure and stable country [in the world],” she said back then, “why do people of [different] ethnic backgrounds get attacked every day?”

For a while, the young adolescent was in the national spotlight. Apart from media attention, Holm was given an award by the Red Cross on the UN Day Against Racism.

Six years have elapsed since then and the brave young lady today lives and studies law in Uppsala, Sweden. I had to the opportunity to talk to her by phone and ask her about her plans and what she thought about what she did in 2012.

Read original story published in 2012 here.

Migrant Tales (MT): Tell me about your life in Sweden. How does it feel to live in that country?

Rebecka Holm (RH): I live in Uppsala which is a “white” city, and it’s not as diverse like Stockholm. But it is still much more diverse than if I would study in Turku and Finland. I must say that I blend in much better here even if most of the students that major in law are white upper-class students.

MT: What do you mean? 

RH: Racism is more subtle in Sweden. In Finland, you can sometimes get a lot of stares from people That does not happen here. I am an outsider in Sweden but in the same sense as in Finland even if I am a Finn and not accepted as one. In Sweden, I get fewer questions like “where are you from.” It is rude to start a conversation with a person in this country in such a way.

 In a way, people can say what they want in Finland but in Sweden that would not happen. If you say something racist, it would be political suicide. You would get kicked out of the party. That is not the case in Finland.

MT: What motivated you to speak out against racism in 2012? 

RH: When I was young, I was very sure about myself, and I was pretty sure that what I did was right. The letter I wrote to HBL took 30 minutes. I didn’t tell anyone about it. I just wrote it and sent it to the newspaper. The following morning my aunt text messaged me and wrote that they published a letter written by me.  I never thought what I wrote would attract so much attention.

Rebecka Holm graduated from high school in spring 2016.

MT: How has your perception of a social ill like racism changed from then? 

RH: My perception of racism today is different from when I wrote the letter. I don’t see it as many different incidents of overt racism but as a structural problem [in society]. Continue reading “THE LONG INTERVIEW: Rebecka Holm, the adolescent who spoke out against racism, yesterday and today”

Finland must stop locking up asylum seekers and their children

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The picture of one of the seven minors detained at the Joutseno immigration removal center in April 2017 should shock us all. That picture, the asylum policies of the Finnish Immigration Service, and the government of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä are destroying the very values of our Nordic welfare state. 

The picture below of the young adolescent by the metal bars of the window and barbwire, the overcast day and her hopeless gaze reveal our silence and complicity.

When we see and hear the rants and arguments of Islamophobic politicians and their followers, the most complicit are those who remain silent and “follow orders.”

How can we claim to be a fair society that promotes social equality if our behavior towards others is totally the opposite or in a Mr. Hyde mode?

The family of nine was granted a one-year residence permit. In an interview published Saturday in YLE, the parents of the children state that their children are traumatized by what happened at the immigration detention center. The children never sleep alone but together, according to the parents.

Continue reading “Finland must stop locking up asylum seekers and their children”