Defining white Finnish privilege #28: Are you an ethnic Finn? (Part 2)

Posted on by Migrant Tales

In a recent Defining white Finnish privilege post, we asked about how the term ethnic Finn, or kantasuomalainen, is used. While there’s nothing wrong with being an ethnic or white Finn it is a problem if such a term is used to reinforce the exclusive privileges of a group.

When you label yourself ethnic Finn do you exclude migrants and minorities, or so-called people with foreign backgrounds, from being seen and treated as equal members of society?

If there is a problem with the term ethnic Finn, it is how it labels Others. Ethnic Finns can call themselves such a name but Others don’t have such privilege. Being labeled “a person with foreign background” or “immigrant,” even if you were born and raised in this country, indicates a wider more serious problem within our society.

A recent shadow report on Afrophobia by NGO European Network Against Racism (ENAR) cited, at least, four European countries that use a particular classification to label their “foreign” population. The countries mentioned in the shadow report are Finland, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands.

It states how such terms are used in Holland (page 17):

The Dutch government makes an official distinction between “autochtonen”, meaning that both parents are born in the Netherlands and “allochtonen” defined as people who have at least one parent born outside of the Netherlands. Furthermore, a distinction is made between “western allochtonen” (European countries excluding Turkey, North America, Oceania, Indonesia and Japan) and “non-western allochtonen” (includes people with at least one parent born in Africa, Latin America, and Asia excluding Indonesia, Japan and Turkey).

If such labels are so important that the government makes an official distinction, why aren’t players on the Dutch national football team classified  as “autochtonen” and “allochtonen?”

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Listen whole program (in Finnish) here. The talk show gives us a good idea of how white Finnish privilege is the standard narrative when speaking of minorities.

Continue reading “Defining white Finnish privilege #28: Are you an ethnic Finn? (Part 2)”

Populism and nationalism in Finland have made us fear our own shadows

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The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, which bases its popularity on anti-immigration rhetoric, empty nationalism, and promises, appears eager and “overjoyed“ that parliament will “finally” take long-overdue steps to tighten immigration law and undermine the human rights of asylum seekers.

Some of the changes that the new law will make possible if passed are shortened asylum appeals and do away with immigration on humanitarian grounds. Last year, there were only 119 people who got a residence permit in Finland on humanitarian grounds. Even so, the grand xenophobic party believes this to be important to make our country unattractive to asylum seekers.

It doesn’t take much gray matter to understand that the PS is lashing out against asylum seekers and migrants in an attempt to fix its atrocious poll standings, which plummeted in the fall.

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The story of the migrant with the fake Rolex who charges real prices for finding an apartment

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Moustafa M.

An immigrant is wearing shiny shoes, a golden chain and a fake Rolex watch carrying a keychain and a wallet in one hand and a pack of cigarettes and mobile phone in the other. He’s one of the many migrants who’ve become middlemen in the real estate business.

There’s nothing wrong with this on the surface, and everything appears legal except that some are taking advantage of desperate migrants who don’t still read Finnish never mind Helsingin Sanomat, where they can search for the same apartments for the price of a newspaper.

The desperation that some migrants suffer is entirely understandable. Lots of them who got their residence permits want to build a home after their long journey through Europe to Finland and after living for months at reception centers where they’ve suffered humiliating treatment in the worst of cases.

No matter who you are or where you are from, the standard going price to find an apartment is 500 euros up front. The middleman will then offer you three apartments, and you’d better have a good reason for not accepting to live in the flat.

Here’s an example of how the scam works: The migrant who paid 500 euros in advance pays another 500 euros onfind the apartment. Add to that a two-month deposit of say 2,000 euros plus 1,000 euros for the first month of rent and the total cost adds up to 4,000 euros!

Any problem? None at all because the municipality foots the bill!

Thanks to greedy landlords as well, these middlemen will spice the deal by asking them to raise the rent by 20%.

Case Downtown Helsinki: How the police ethnically profile people

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During the weekend, the police service together with the Finnish Border Guard wilfully targetted foreigners for spot identity checks in Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa. Migrant Tales heard of a case in Kamppi where four young men were walking. The police allegedly stopped two young Finns, one who was black- and brown-skinned. 

The police did not stop their two friends, who were white Finns.

Both the black and brown-skinned young men showed their passports and told the police they are Finns. One at the officers turned his attention to the brown-skinned man and suggested that the passport didn’t make him a Finn.

 

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Read full story here.

“What’s your mother tongue?” the police asked.

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Naapuriäidit: I am a refugee, but I also have another story

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Michelle Kaila

 

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Friba Majeed

Friba Majeed was born in Balkh, Afghanistan. She came to Finland in 2014 as a refugee. She is presently doing a work practice at Nicehearts in Vantaa, mainly to practice her Finnish language skills.

These are the kinds of details we, as migrants, might often exchange with others upon meeting.

However, as it is with each of us, there is more to her story.

In Afghanistan, Friba graduated from University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature. She worked as a highschool teacher, and then as Director in the Ministry of Women’s Affairs for 9 years.

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Seminar in South Korea, 2008.

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More alleged abuses of asylum seekers by Barona security guards

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Migrant Tales continues hearing disturbing news about the poor treatment by Barona security guards and the Finnish police of asylum seekers. 

Barona is a private employment agency that owns Luona, a subsidiary that manages eight asylum reception centers in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, and Hyvinkää.

Any problem with an asylum seeker at a Luona reception center and the police is called. They are usually taken to a police station where they are locked up is some cases for up to 15 hours.

One asylum seeker who took a picture of himself by a Barona security guard’s car got questioned and got sent to the police station for 1-2 hours. One wonders what “crime” he committed.

Would a white Finn be sent to the police station if he did the same thing? I doubt it. 

Migrant Tales heard that Barona security guards had locked out as well some asylum seekers from their rooms for three days for cooking food inside their room.

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The Finnish police service and its issues with ethnic profiling

Posted on by Migrant Tales

When the Finnish police service speaks to the media, white Finns usually give it the benefit of the doubt. Even if the police service tries its best to assure us that it doesn’t ethnically profile people, belief and credibility are in the eye of the beholder. 

Due to ethnic profiling and the lack of ethnic diversity in the Finnish police service, some migrants and visible minorities like the Roma see the police service with apprehension.

To these people, the police is an extension of white Finnish privilege and power. The fact that some minorities and migrants don’t trust the police should concern this public service.

On Saturday Migrant Tales published a story, citing tabloid Iltalehti, about how the police service together with the Finnish Border Guard wilfully targetted foreigners for spot identity checks in Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa.

Six people on the wanted list were apprehended by the police in the operation.

Despite the commotion and unfair treatment of the police service in targeting “people who stand out from white Finns,” the police claims that there was no ethnic profiling.

“We also apprehended Finns,” Inspector Johanna Sinivuori was quoted as saying in Ilta-Sanomat.  “Estonians for example and other nationals from neighboring countries were stopped and asked for IDs due to the immigration act. Indeed, we try to avoid annoying and inconveniencing the person. People usually understand when we tell them that the immigration act requires us to do this.”

How many visible minorities and migrants did the Ilta-Sanomat reporter approach?

None as usual.

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Suldaan Said Ahmed tweeted: “From tomorrow I have to have to carry my ID papers with me, this only applies to dark(-skinned) people.”

Ethnic profiling and discrimination are serious matters, especially if you’re the victim of such abuse.

Continue reading “The Finnish police service and its issues with ethnic profiling”

The police spot check “foreigners” Friday in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa but it’s not called ethnic profiling

Posted on by Migrant Tales

If there is an institution that discriminates and maintains white Finnish privilege in this country, it is the police service. A story by tabloid Iltalehti reports that the police service together with the Finnish Border Guard wilfully targetted foreigners for spot identity checks in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa. 

Inspector Johanna Sinivuori told Iltalehti that the spot checks, which were done after 11 pm on Friday, were carried out with the help of Finnish Border Guard officials.

“Certainly when we do this with the Finnish Border Guard, who use different uniforms [than us], it may raise some eyebrows,” she said.

Raise some eyebrows? What about raising a question: Is this ethnic profiling or not?

Since this is an unfriendly question to ask a representative of the police service, the inspector is left off the hook by the reporter.

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Read full story here.

When the police service and Finnish Border Guard stop “foreigners” or “foreign-looking people” for their IDs the question we should ask is what does a foreigner look like?

Continue reading “The police spot check “foreigners” Friday in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa but it’s not called ethnic profiling”

Pieksämäki reception center fire shows that the Finnish media and police service consider asylum seekers “guilty before proven innocent”

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It is surprising that the Länsi-Savo story below doesn’t mention once the term “suicide” in the story about an alleged Iraqi 45-year-old asylum seeker who locked himself in Thursday night and attempted to set his room on fire. 

Reports Länsi-Savo: “One asylum seeker at the [Pieksämäki] reception center is suspected of starting a fire in his room,” said Senior Constable Kari Toivonen of the Eastern Finnish police department.

Moreover, the story does state that the asylum seeker had locked himself in a room, and set it on fire because he felt frustrated by the slow pace of his asylum application process and missed his family.

The question we should thus ask is why would a person, who is not considering committing suicide as well as put in harm’s way other people, would lock himself in a room and try to set it on fire?

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These tweets by @onkkoponkko highlight how hard and unkind we have become. If Finns treated their own kind the way they treat asylum seekers today this country would be up in arms.

Instead of just accusing the man of a criminal act, the Länsi-Savo reporter should have asked if reception centers in this country offer adequate psychological help to people suffering from depression and other issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

But the suspect who tried to take his life is an asylum seeker. Asylum seekers have no voice in Finland and are usually guilty before proven innocent. The narrative of the Länsi-Savo story and that of the police reveals how heartless and cold we’ve become as a society to the suffering of others. Finding a human with feelings in Europe these days isn’t easy especially in Finland.

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