The flimsy bridge that bonds MV-lehti and Soldiers of Odin is racist hatred

Posted on by Migrant Tales

THIS STORY WAS UPDATED

MV-lehti is a racist trash “publication” that that steals stories and rewrites them to fit its racist world. Its “editor,” is none other than Ilja Janitskin, a fugitive from the law. One of the crimes that MV commits over again is that it defames people and exposes them to hate-vigilante groups like the Soldiers of Odin. In other words, MV incites racism and ethnic agitation.

An asylum seeker called Jihad Baghdadi is one of many that have been harassed by MV-lehti. His picture has been published without his permission and portrayed as “a terrorist.”

The snapshots below were published on Migrant Tales with Jihad Baghdadi’s permission. He wants to publish them to show that he won’t be pushed around by such a white-trash publication.

There are a lot of variants of the word terrorism. The origin of the word derives from terror and/or to terrorize and instill fear. There’s the regular type of terrorism, state terrorism and racist terrorism, too.

The asylum seeker Jihad Baghdadi, who was singled out by MV-lehti and portrayed as a “terrorist” by the publication is a good example of racist terrorism.

With no respect for people’s privacy, MV attempts to terrorize people with fake news.

Continue reading “The flimsy bridge that bonds MV-lehti and Soldiers of Odin is racist hatred”

Deportation of Iraqi family of nine from Finland: Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s asylum policy is a shame to all of us

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As the Finnish government spends the Easter holidays in the comfort of their homes and family company, an Iraqi family of nine is awaiting deportation from Finland. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to put oneself in their shoes and wonder what is going through their heads at this moment at the Joutseno immigration removal center. 

The Finnish government of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, which shares power with the National Coalition Party and anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, is firmly behind these deportations which will start to pick up this year.

“Now is the season for deportations,” said a person who spoke on condition of anonymity and who works with asylum seekers. “It’s going to be a messy job [as the deportation of the Iraqi family shows].”

Deportations don’t work and they are an ineffective way of solving a problem. If being deported can be traumatic process for an adult, it must be even worse for children.

What is the most outrageous matter about the deportation of the Iraqi family and Finland’s asylum policy is that it is political. The PS, which saw their support plummet to the one-digit political league in the municipal elections, are desperately ratcheting up their anti-immigration and deport-them-all all rhetoric to attract voters.

Just like the PS, the NCP and Center Party aren’t any better but accomplices in the deportations.

One of the children of the family of nine looks outside her barred and barb-wired window. Source: Iltalehti.

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Does Finland’s Migri asylum policy hinge on the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset party?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

This warning posted on Tiia Nohynek’s Facebook wall today is the best example yet of how the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has influenced immigration policy in Finland. The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) warns asylum seekers not to believe rumors and that nobody gets asylum for economic reasons. 

For those who know why asylum seekers come to Europe will appreciate that most of them come here because of what they have heard our politicians say publicly: human rights, peace and be treated with dignity.

The problem is that when they came to a country like Finland, they didn’t find such ideals, like human rights and being treated with dignity, didn’t apply to them.

Don’t believe rumours: YOU CANNOT GET ASYLUM in Finland on economic grounds. After receiving a negative asylum decision you must return home. If you try to abuse the system, financial assistance is not given. You may also be prohibited from entering the entire Schengen area for two years.

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The fate of the Iraqi family of nine who may end up deported still hangs in the balance

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The family of nine from Iraq, who are detained at the Joutseno immigration removal center in southeast Finland, sent a letter to Prime Minister Sipilä. It is beyond any person with a minimum sense of justice how children, between the ages of 1.5 and 14, can be detained like common criminals. 

There are many people who are outraged by Finland’s tough asylum policy and specifically with the detention of this Iraqi family, whose only “crime” is to search for a country where they can live free from strife and dignity.

“There is nothing new concerning this case,” said an activist who went to Joutseno today.

The family continues to be detained and deportation proceedings continue.

The source said that an earlier posting on Refugee Hospitality Club claiming that the family would be released soon because they have reapplied for asylum is false.

Two pictures that show the harsh reality of asylum seekers in Finland.

The family of nine sent a letter to Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, which read:

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PS MP Ville Tavio: An Islamophobe that is bent on keeping white Finnish power and privilege at any cost and lie

Posted on by Migrant Tales

When publishing anti-immigration rhetoric by politicians like Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Ville Tavio, it’s very important to lead with the following warning: “MP Talk gives members of parliament the opportunity to share their views on Finnish society with an international audience. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Helsinki Times.“

MP Tavio is a PS MP who has declared war and wants to relegate non-white Finns and migrants to second- and third-class citizens.

Read the full op-ed piece at your peril here. He makes impossible campaign promises that will catch up with him one day like with the PS in the municipal elections of Sunday. The PS are known as a turncoat party because they’ve broken most of their campaign promises.

A recent op-ed piece in Uusi Suomi by the MP from Turku suggested that the Finnish constitution should be changed to give Finns priority over foreigners when it comes to rights.

“The sovereignty that the Finnish state entitles it to decide that its primary task is safeguarding the rights of its own citizens [at the cost of migrants],” he wrote.

Tavio is a lawyer so he should know better what the constitution says and guarantees about equality before the law. His issue, like all of the far-right anti-immigration wing of the PS, is to keep white Finnish power and privilege even if it means relegating migrants to second- and third-class citizens.

The op-ed piece in the Helsinki Times is another example of his disdain and hostility towards migrants and minorities in Finland.

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Oppression doesn’t turn you into a terrorist, neither does poverty make you a racist

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             War and injustice don’t turn a person into a terrorist.    

In the same way, poverty doesn’t turn you into a racist. 

In life we make choices on how to challenge the injustices we face. Our reaction to them differ greatly. Most people, who suffer injustice, don’t take up arms or carry out a terrorist act. If injustice doesn’t turn you automatically into a terrorist neither does poverty make you a racist. You turned into a racist because you were already one.

 Some politicians tell us that racism is a natural outcome because there is poverty. It isn’t, that’s denial of the social ill. Just because there are injustices doesn’t mean you will plant a bomb and kill people.

How do I know? Because I was once there as a young man trying to figure out what I should do to challenge a military government in Argentina that robbed my civil and human rights. I chose instead to write and fight with all my might today as an activist.

Two pictures, two similar realities 

The two pictures below represent for me the harrowing face of the ongoing deportations from Finland and Europe. One was taken on Tuesday night by a thirteen-year-old adolescent from the Joutseno immigration removal center.

Searchlights, barbwire, and barred windows in a country below greet an adolescent in Finland, a country that claims to respect the rule of law and human rights.

The young person that took the first picture below will apparently be deported from Finland Wednesday together with her 6 brothers and sisters and parents. The youngest of the family is 1.5 years and the eldest, 14.

Below that picture Ali’s, who was deported in January back to Iraq. Barred windows greet him and us as well.

Two pictures, two terrible realities and the last stops of a long journey to freedom that ended in failure.

This picture was taken Tuesday by an adolescent who faces deportation with her family of nine Wednesday. She says “good night” to us. Picture taken by asylum seeker.

Continue reading “Oppression doesn’t turn you into a terrorist, neither does poverty make you a racist”

A message from a 13-year-old asylum seeker girl that will be deported: “Good night”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The ordeal of the Iraqi family of nine that is expects to be deported possibly Wednesday hasn’t ended but there is hope despite everything. One of the children of the family, who is 13, sends a message below from the immigration removal center at Joutseno: “Good night.”

The youngest member of the family is 1.5 years and the eldest 14.

The pictures below are just as terrible as “Ali’s” last selfie when he was inside a squad car at the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and about to be deported.

The person who is in touch with the family responds to the adolescent’s message: “Good night loved ones.”

 

A view from the room where the Iraqi family of nine are detained at the immigration removal center at Joutseno, located next to the Russian border in southeast Finland.

 

 

 

 

Finland to deport a family of nine to Iraq – youngest child 1.5 years and the eldest 14

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Now it has come to this: A family of seven children from Karbala, Iraq, who came to Finland in 2015 with their parents will be most likely deported on Wednesday. The youngest is a year and a half and the eldest 14.

According to one source who knows the family, two of the children speak Finnish since they attended school in this country.

A family of seven children, a mother and father will be deported this week back to Iraq.

“I doubt that I’ll get any sleep tonight because I’ve been trying to help this family,” said a woman.  “I was afraid that it would come to this [deportation].”

Cases like these leave one speechless. What are they going to do in Iraq and how will they remember the trauma of those last days in Finland when they are being escorted by force back to their home country?

Iraqi asylum seeker in Finland: I’m building my home here and getting married this week

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Whenever an asylum seeker, irrespective of how many times his or her application for asylum got turned down, there is one matter that must be done: write, write and write. 

Not too many understand it, but it’s very important because at this moment every asylum seeker who is here is shedding roots or writing their history in Finland. I am certain many years from now, when we write about the hardships that the Iraqi community faced in Finland, we’ll search for those anecdotes found in diaries and in oral histories.

Here is a short story about an Iraqi asylum seeker who gave us a glimpse of his life in Finland:

I was with my uncle outside in Baghdad when we both got shot by a gang of militias. I survived, my uncle died instantly. I was rushed to a hospital where I recuperated after a couple of months. I then moved to Syria in 2011 because I wasn’t safe in Iraq. I moved to Syria in 2011 and stayed there for four years but there was a terrible civil war going on there as well. I moved back to Iraq in 2015 for a couple of months and went to Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Austria Germany, Sweden and finally arrived in Finland on September 26, 2015. Crossing 10 countries to reach Finland was dangerous.

A picture of the lucky couple’s hands. Where there is love there is a way, right?

I have had my asylum application rejected twice. I’ve been in a relationship with a Finnish woman for over a year. We live together and love each other. We want to build our lives in Finland. I will be getting married this week. All the red tape to get the permissions from Iraq to the Finnish Embassy in Turkey have been overwhelming and forced us to postpone the date of our wedding. But everything is in order now and we’ll get married through the register office this week.

I don’t want to go back to Iraq because  it isn’t a safe country. People don’t have any right in Iraq. You have two choices, though: to join the militias or face death.

I chose life. That’s why I’m not going back to Iraq.

Please respect my decision.