Migrant tales - Page 266 of 535

Is Barona’s fast-track employment scheme “a joke?”

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Migrant Tales

Helsingin Sanomat, Finland largest daily, published a story this month about three Eritreans who had found work at a logistics company in Vantaa thanks to a fast-track employment scheme at Barona, a private employment agency that owns Luona, a subsidiary that manages eight asylum reception centers in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, and Hyvinkää.

Migrant Tales asked in a previous posting a question that Helsingin Sanomat should have asked:

How come a company that has come under media scrutiny for treating asylum seekers “like livestock” is now helping people to become model tax-paying members of society?

Read full story (in Finnish) here.

According to a former asylum seeker at Luona, who got a residence permit to live in Finland, Barona’s fast-track employment scheme isn’t doing that well.

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Our response to racism, bigotry and hate speech in Finland should be first and foremost a reaction

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Migrant Tales

We’ve been overwhelmed as of late by Valtteri Saarinen’s story about how is harassed in a racist manner at school for such a long time that he doesn’t care to react any longer. There was as well Perussuomalaiset (PS) party chairperson for Tampere, Terhi Kiemunki, who wrote on Facebook that it was unfortunate that she didn’t have any condoms to give Muslim children trick-or-treating.

Shame on the teachers at Valtteri’s school! How could they not notice what’s been going on right under their noses?

While it is a positive matter that the boy’s story got noticed by President Sauli Niinistö, is it disingenuous of him to state that he “was shocked” by it?

Valtteri Saarinen told us something we know about racism but which we deny as a society. See the interview here.

Racism has been present in Finnish society for a long time. It’s denial, and how we play down this social ill, enables it to grow and see another day. I disagree with President Niinistö. We should “be shocked” by our denial of racism in this country.

In light of the mixed statements he has given in the past about racism, I disagree with what President Niinistö’s said. We should “be shocked” by our denial of racism in this country.

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An asylum seeker at Villa Meri reception center is on hunger strike protesting poor treatment by the staff

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Migrant Tales

One refugee at the Villa Meri asylum reception center in the western city of Rauma is on hunger strike denouncing the poor treatment by the staff. Hoivapalvelu Metsätähti, a subsidiary owned by Helsinki-based Mehiläinen, a private health care company, operates the reception center

Luona, another private company that runs eight reception centers in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, and Hyvinkää, has been under media scrutiny for the poor treatment of its occupants. The case has raised questions about the role of such companies in the asylum reception “business.”

The Villa Meri asylum reception center is located in Rauma, located 94km north of Turku. Source: Google.

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ENAR: Lehdistötiedote Afrofobiasta Suomessa

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Migrant Tales

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Fact Sheet Briefing – Afrophobia in Finland

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Migrant Tales

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A brave boy that reminds us in Finland to not take our eye off the racist ball

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Migrant Tales

After Valtteri Saarinen went on Finnish national television Monday and said that racist harassment at school was something “normal” even President Sauli Niinstö was shocked. Valtteri said that he’s been named the “n-word,” and called “feces” and “a feces-colored” person for such a long time that he doesn’t react to such racism any longer.

President Niinistö, who has given mixed statements about racism and asylum seekers in Finland, tweeted:

This type of injustice shouldn’t happen in Finland.

Sometimes you’re shocked first thing in the morning. That’s what happened today when an 11-year-old boy told about his experiences on television. He’s discriminated and called names because of his skin color. Even bus drivers don’t pick him up. This type of injustice cannot happen in Finland. Valtteri gave a brave example to the [European] Week Against Racism.

Even if it’s a good matter that President Nninstö speaks out against racism in Finnish society, I am, however, a bit surprised that he’s surprised by what happened.

Racism in Finland is played down and some of the culprits for this are politicians and the media.

Finland does need to do much more to challenge racism and hate speech.

See full video clip here. One of the surprising matters about what the boy said was the TV commentator, who didn’t call Valtteri Saarinen a Finn but stated that “migrants and adopted children” face racism. Finns face racism too!

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The Perussuomalaiset and hate speech, hypocrisy and red herrings

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Migrant Tales

Why wasn’t a member of a high-ranking government party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* sacked after she said on Facebook that she didn’t have condoms to give Muslim children tricker-or-treating?

The PS politician, Terhi Kiemunki, who is the chairperson of the party in Tampere, apologized for what she said.

PS party secretary, Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, didn’t ask for Kiemunki’s resignation even if what the PS politician said was unacceptable.

All of the above is fine but here’s the million-euro question: Why wasn’t Kiemunki sacked?

Read full story here.

The fact that the PS politician didn’t get ejected from the party reveals what is wrong with Finland today concerning racism and hate speech. Too many politicians, the media, and public officials don’t take racism and hate speech seriously enough. That’s why Kiemunki wasn’t ousted from the party.

By not challenging social ills like racism and hate speech not only puts in question our society’s values but destroys their credibility in the eyes of migrants and minorities.

* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party adopted by the PS, like True Finns or Finns Party, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and xenophobia. We, therefore, prefer to use the Finnish name of the party on our postings.

Launch of ENAR’s 2014-15 Shadow Report on Afrophobia in the European Union

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Migrant Tales

This fact sheet for Finland based on ENAR’s Shadow Report questionnaire 2014/2015 was answered by Enrique Tessieri from Migrant Tales.

Go to original link here.

How many former asylum seekers from Luona got jobs thanks to a fast-track employment scheme?

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Migrant Tales

How is it possible that a fast-track hiring scheme for former asylum seekers at Barona, an employment agency that owns Luona, a private subsidiary that manages eight asylum reception centers in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, and Hyvinkää, gets a lot of attention in Helsingin Sanomat?

How come a company that has come under media scrutiny for treating asylum seekers “like livestock” is now helping people to become model tax-paying members of society?

Some important questions that the Helsingin Sanomat article forgets to ask are how many, apart from the three Eritreans, were hired as a result of the fast-track scheme, and how much money will it bring to Barona coffers through language courses, training, renting apartments owned by the company as well as from commission paid by prospective employers. Barona is an employment agency.

From what Migrant Tales understands, the success of the fast-track employment scheme is modest to say the least. Only a minuscule amount of the 3,000 asylum seekers at Luona’s reception centers have found work under this system.

One former asylum seekers stated that he did not know of anyone other than the three Eritreans, who are on a 45-day trial period at a logistic company, to have been hired.

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