Migrant tales - Page 283 of 537

Kenyan insulted by racist Finnish woman: “You’re a f***ing African woman…”

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Migrant Tales

How would you feel if a total stranger approached you in public and started to insult you in public? Has it ever happened to you? When something like that happens you feel that you’ve been violated and torn into little shreds.

Those who still claim that there are only isolated cases of racism in Finland should watch this video recorded by a Kenyan woman and published in tabloid Iltalehti. One should ask why was this only published in a tabloid. Why wasn’t it published in Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest circulation daily?

One of the incredible assumptions that the racist woman makes is that she believes the Kenyan, who is a nurse, lives off welfare. Of all the African groups, Kenyans are probably the best integrated in Finland. Unemployment in this national group is only a few percentage points higher than the national average, or at 12.36%, according to the latest 2013 official figures.

When I watched the video my blood started to boil and I thought about all the opportunist racist politicians and those who turn a blind eye.

Those people have issues with cultural diversity have received a lot of encouragement for years from racist politicians mainly belonging to the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party as well as others that watch silently.

Silence is a political decision.

Continue reading “Kenyan insulted by racist Finnish woman: “You’re a f***ing African woman…””

Why are racists in Finland racists?

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Migrant Tales

It’s clear that racism derives also from low self-esteem apart from being a sinister tool to exclude other groups from gaining access to political, social and economic capital. Ever thought why those who are vocal about their racist views are such an active group?

The answer is simple:

In order to climb up a few miserable notches up the ladder of acceptance, racism is a way of showing your distorted allegiance and a way to get (re)accepted as a member of society. Society is racist to begin with so some of your racist views will connect with society’s.

Being accepted and finding a way out of your social exclusion is one matter you strive for as a racist. The other could be a lucrative political career with power and media attention.

All of these matters were impossible to attain as an outsider, a recluse.

Politicians that come to mind are mostly from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. They are former MPs like James Hirvisaari and present ones like Juho Eerola, Olli Immonen, MEP Jussi Halla-aho and a long list of others.

Racism gives them attention, meaning and importantly a career. They would never renounce their racism because that would mean killing your career.

What is sad is that our society offers racists such opportunities instead of naming and shaming them.

*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.

A note to asylum seekers coming here: Welcome to Finland!

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Dear prospective Asylum Seeker,

We want to welcome you to Finland!

The Finnish foreign ministry and the government have launched a controversial social media campaign to deter refugees. The aim of the campaign is to tighten conditions for refugees in order to stem the influx of people seeking asylum in Finland.

The reason is simple: The Finns Party (PS), which saw it’s support dive in the recnt opinion poll, has broken every campaign promise and those that voted for the party are riling mad.

Continue reading “A note to asylum seekers coming here: Welcome to Finland!”

Finland copies Islamophobic Danish anti-refugee campaign

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Migrant Tales

The Finnish foreign ministry has launched a social media campaign aiming to discourage Iraqi asylum seekers from coming to Finland, according to YLE News.

Writes YLE News: “The thrust of the Ministry’s Facebook campaign is to persuade young men coming from conflict-ridden areas that it’s not work the risk and expense to come to Finland,” Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP, Sampo Terho, was quoted as saying.

Considering that Finland’s foreign minister is none other than the chairman of the PS, Timo Soini, it’s clear that this idea came from Denmark and the Islamophobic Danish People’s Party, which is a close ideological ally of the PS.

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On vain yksi ääripää

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Maarit Snellman

Trollhättanissa käytiin eilen dialogia. Sen aloitti natsien sodanaikaiseen tapaiseen silmät peittävään kypärään ja mustaan asuun pukeutunut miekalla varustautunut nuori mies; Ikää 21 vuotta nimeltään Anton Lundin-Pettersson. Kantaruotsalainen. Olikohan tietoinen Suomen sananvapauden viikosta ja päätti sitten käyttää sitä ilmaisunvapauttaan.

Tämän vallitsevan dialogi ja ymmärrys diskurssin mukaan sitten poliisikin edustaa sitä toista ääripäätä. Poliisi, joka eliminoi tämän koulusurmaajan. Poliisi, joka turvasi sillä muut koulussa olijat ja ehkä ainakin osittain tästä syystä uhriluku jäi kaikeksi onneksi pieneksi.

Tässä rikoksessa oli kyse vihasta. Ei pelosta. Vaan vihasta. Vihasta, joka oli ensin saanut kasvaa ja sitten kuvaan tuli poliittista ideologiaa. Uusnatsismia. Äärioikeistolaisuutta. Sotaa monikulttuurisuutta vastaan. Kolmannen Valtakunnan ihailua.

Tilanne sai kehittyä kaikessa rauhassa pisteeseen, jossa nyt olemme. Taas.

Meillä on jo olleet omat viharikoksemme Myyrmanni, Jokela ja Kauhajoki. Syvää ihmisvihaa näilläkin tekijöillä ja antisosiaalista persoonaa, kuten myös Norjan Breivikillä. Viime vuodet ollaan keskitytty suojautumaan näiltä rikoksilta. USA:ssa on vallalla käsitys, että näitä ei voi estää.

Aivan varmasti voi. Poliittisessa päätöksenteossa vaan on taipumusta vesittää ennaltaehkäisy talousasioihin vetoamalla. On muka vaikeaa osoittaa, miten ennaltaehkäisy on myös taloudellisesti kannattavaa. Anna mun kaikki kestää ja pää takaisin pensaaseen.

On myös aivan outoa ja edesvastuutonta edes julkaista näkemyksiä, joissa teoista syytetään niiden kohdetta – tekijän näkövinkkelistä erilaisia ja vääriä ihmisiä. Tästä näkövinkkelistä keskustelu on pahuutta ja idiotismia.

Tällaisena päivänä kuin tänään eli äärioikeistolaisen iskun jälkeisenä päivänä on kohdattava aidosti tosiasia – meillä on Euroopassa ja USA:ssa äärioikeisto väkivalta ongelma. Islamistit vastaavat marginaalisesta osasta terrori- iskuja – Islamistien tekemät rikokset ovat alle 1 % kaikista Euroopan terroriteoista kertovat Europolin tilastot 2006 -2013 http://www.counterfire.org/news/17599-graphic-islamist-terror-accounts-for-only-0-7-of-attacks-in-europe .

Meillä on vain yksi ääripää. Lopeta Suomen bingbong hallitus tosiasioiden vääristely. Ainoastaan kohtaamalla tilanne sellaisena kuin se on, on sille jotain tehtävissä.

How the PS of Finland would want to create an unequal society

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Migrant Tales

It’s clear that the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has become more hostile to migrants, minorities and our ever-growing cultural diverse community after their poll ratings took a beating recently.

Remember when PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen said that international agreements and our constitution didn’t permit the populist party from carrying out their policies?

We read a while back how Social and Health Minister Hanna Mäntylä, who would do everything possible to water down migrants’ rights in Finland, seeks to change the social welfare system on the basis of nationality and ethnicity.

Certainly with most of the party’s campaign promises broken and poll rating flirting with the single-digit league, the PS has one important trump card left to muster support: suspicion of migrants and refugees.

Mäntylä believes that if we lowered social welfare to migrants and refugees but kept it the same for Finns it would discourage people from coming here. Her logic is based on the idea that people of the Middle East aren’t fleeing war but flocking to Finland to live off social welfare.

The plan, to create a two-tier system for social welfare is unconstitutional because it would make non-Finnish citizens unequal before the law. Section 6 of the constitution clearly states that everyone in Finland is equal before the law.

Continue reading “How the PS of Finland would want to create an unequal society”

The Hieno: Finland is not for the ambitious

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Wan Wei

[Edits: This is a personal blog. A rant post like the following, in all its raw honesty, IS emotionally charged. So here is a non-provocative version. For concrete evidence on why I lack faith in the current Finnish economy for the next 1-5 years, read “Why Finland is not for the ambitious: A Macroeconomic Perspective”.Fundamentally, I am against mediocrity because I know Finns are smart and more of them can become world leaders should the system support and reward ambition–Read My Open Reply: In Praise of Ambition, Slush 2015 and Vision for Finland.

Clearly, this post is about the Finnish SYSTEM, not Finns. Logic: I am a NOBODY in Finland, I can’t change the system, so if I’m in the system I’d just expect the average, logical result, which is unemployment/partial employment for me as a foreigner in the next 1-5 years. Neither can I change the prevailing attitudes towards “ambition”. And guess what–Two days ago, Helsinki Sanomat reports thatAmbitious Finnish academics are choosing to leave the country too! ]

Read full opinion piece here.

—–

Hey guys! Today I am going to blog an opinion piece on why ambitious foreigners/Finns should just leave Finland if they are unhappy. This is as opposed to the alternative of trying to stay on to “fight for change”. You are hearing from a foreigner who heard many, many stories of other ambitious foreigners whofought, fought and fought but failed every single time, due to injustice or otherwise. I fought too, far less battles, but got really tired eventually.

Let’s start with a question: Have you ever seen any ambitious foreigner or Finn who are doing their own thing in Finland, and are wildly successful? Of course there are! But can these people be considered the norm, or the exception? And as exceptions, are these people constantly recycled as poster ambassadors to sell the concept, to both Finns and foreigners, of “Oh look, we are so international as One Finland?”

Continue reading “The Hieno: Finland is not for the ambitious”

What President Sauli Niinstö forgets to state when he claims that migrants should “do as the Romans do”

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Migrant Tales

What does President Sauli Niinitö mean by the controversial phrase, in Rome do as the Romans do, or maassa maan tavalla?

He is quoted as saying in YLE News:

“’When in Rome, do as the Romans do’, to use a rather worn-out and highly criticized phrase. There must be a respect for the principles of democracy, equality and human rights like the kind we share in Finland. Beyond these fundamentals, there remains a great deal of breathing room for multiculturalism to still thrive.”

Good. I’m glad that President Niinistö defines what this means and how it should be applied. There is, however, one very big flaw in the statement. It assumes that migrants that come here don’t understand “the principles of democracy, equality and human rights.”

Is this true?

Does anyone spot a pinch of ethnocentrism in Niinistö’s claim? What about the rise of a populist anti-immigration party, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, suggest about how some Finns apply the “principle of democracy, equality and human rights?”

Bashy Quraishy, a friend and colleague of mine, recently stated in a Facebook post:

All western countries call themselves democracies – even if many would fail a real democracy test, namely provide equal rights for all its citizens and protect ethnic and religious minorities from injustices and discrimination.

Read full story here.

Continue reading “What President Sauli Niinstö forgets to state when he claims that migrants should “do as the Romans do””

Koti, uskonto ja isänmaa

Posted on October 17, 2015 by Maarit Snellman

Omistettu kaikille suomalaisille maahanmuuttokriitikoille Asunnottomien Yönä 17.10.2015.

Olen todella pettynyt teihin. Näin asunnottomien yönä ei yhtään lööppiä asiaan liittyen teidän innoittamanne. Ei yhtään mielenilmausta. Vetoomusta. Kansalaisaloitetta.

Kävin myös katsomassa Perussuomalaisten sivua. Mikään yllätys ei liene, että siellä oli kestosuosikki maahanmuutto etusivulla ja asunnottomien asiasta ei sanakaan.

Sehän on teille kaikille niin tärkeää – oma kansa ensin. Paitsi että nyt samat ihmiset häärää tämänkin päivän ympärillä. Ne kamalat suvakkimädättäjät. Eräs ystäväni on yksi niistä pienituloisista fyysisen sairauden vuoksi eläkkeellä olevista, joilta hallitus leikkaa. Hänellä riittää inhimillisyyttä muitakin heikossa asemassa olevia kohtaan. Samaa en voi sanoa teistä maahanmuuttokriitikot.

Mutta teillä maahanmuuttokriitikoilla on niin kiire, ette varmaan ehdi. On tänään Turussakin Pansion vastaanottokeskuksen mielenilmaus. Se pitää mielestänne saada kokonaan kines.

Koti. Uskonto. Isänmaa. Nämä ovat teidän esittämänne mukaan se , jonka puolesta toimitte. Hmmm.

Olette kodin puolesta, mutta ilmeisesti vain niiden, joilla se jo on. Turvaatte sitä väkivallalla ja sen uhalla joka päivä. Sen sijaan jää sivuun jokaisen oikeus kotiin. Niin meillä seisoo Perustuslailla. Lienee jäänyt lukematta tai epäselväksi sekin kohta.

Asunnottomat ovat meillä olleet jo ennen maailman konfliktien kärjistymistä ja siitä syntyvää pakolaisuutta. Syynä mm. erilaiset toimeentulon ongelmat sekä asumiskulujen karkaaminen. Asunnottomuus koskettaa Suomessa enenevässä määrin perheitä ja se koskee kaikkia Suomessa etniseen taustaan katsomatta.

Uskonto. Minusta viha ei ole uskonto. Te edustatte vihaa. Erilaisuuden vihaaminen ei kuulu kristinuskoon eikä muihinkaan uskontoihin. Islam, juutalaisuus ja kristinusko polveutuvat samasta alkukirkosta, joten perusperiaatteet ovat samat. Mitä uskontoa te puolustatte maahanmuuttokriitikot?

Kristinuskon keskeinen oppi on kultainen sääntö – Mitä tahdotte ihmisten teille tekevän tehkää te myös samoin heille. Miten tämä nyt sitten menee noin niin kuin omasta mielestänne.

Continue reading “Koti, uskonto ja isänmaa”

Finnish terms that parties and politicians use to hide their anti-immigration and racist views

Posted on October 17, 2015 by Migrant Tales

It’s always amazing to watch on television politicians like Sebastian Tynkyynen, third vice president of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and leader of its youth organization. They speak of anti-immigration sentiment nearly always in code and appropriate the term, as if it were a commodity, thanks to their white privilege.

They speak of asylum seekers fleeing war, migrants and minorities living in this country as if were some kind of political fodder to help prop up their latest poll result.

The PS saw its support nosedive last week by 7 percentage points since the April elections to 10.7%, according to a latest YLE poll.

Bad timing for some, good timing for others. Tynkkynen’s row with the PS leadership comes at a bad or good time for the populist anti-immigration party.

It’s unfortunate how the Finnish media has been taken for a ride by politicians like Tynkkynen. It shows how the likes of him and others who are openly hostile to cultural diversity in Finland continue to dominate the debate, or at least the terms used to debate the matter.

Taking into account that Finland is a welfare state that identifies and considers itself a part of the Nordic community, it would be politically inappropriate to bring to the debate terms and concepts that would undermine values such as social equality.

Section 6 of our Constitution states:

Everyone is equal before the law. No one shall, without an acceptable reason, be treated differently from other persons on the ground of sex, age, origin, language, religion, conviction, opinion, health, disability or other reason that concerns his or her person.

Euphemisms serve a purpose in the ongoing debate because they help you get around sticky Constitutional issues that undermine our present Nordic values and from getting sentenced for ethnic agitation.

One euphemism that’s being used a lot these days is another invention by the PS, “immigration policy,” maahanmuuttopolitiikka.

By criticizing “immigration policy” you don’t have to label migrants and minorities directly living in Finland but that’s what you end up doing. The term is code for anti-immigration and that you are against Africans, Muslims and other non-Europeans moving here.

Sebastian Tynkkynen would be in favor of the PS leaving government for supporting a bailout package to Greece and closing the border with Sweden. What is disgraceful about the interview is how Tynkkynen speaks of asylum seekers, migrants and minorities in Finland in anti-immigration code and opportunistically boost the party’s declining popularity in the polls at the same time boost his own political career. Watch full interview here.

Continue reading “Finnish terms that parties and politicians use to hide their anti-immigration and racist views”