Migrant tales - Page 378 of 535

Migrant Rights’ Network: Campaign for the Right to Family life – next steps

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Migrant Tales

By Ruth Grove-White

Those affected and campaigning against the new rules on family migration will know that we are fast-approaching their 1-year anniversary on 9 July. Over the next couple of months there is plenty that you will be able to do to raise awareness and ask the Government to think again.

See original story here.

During the year since the Government announced its changes to the family migration rules, MRN has heard from hundreds of families who have been kept apart from one another – couples split across continents, young children separated from parents, elderly relatives kept apart from relatives who wish to care for them in the UK.

There has been plenty of coverage of the heartache caused by these changes in the media, highlighted in papers including the Evening Standard (here and here), the Telegraph, and Independent.

So what can be done now?

Here’s a heads-up on some of the opportunities over the coming months to make your voices heard:

Launch of the APPG Family Migration inquiry report on 10th June – the final report of the APPG family migration inquiry will be available for download from the APPG website from 10 June. As an informal inquiry this report will not carry the weight of a Select Committee report. However it will provide an important evidence base to build further scrutiny of the rules.
Parliamentary debates on family migration, June/July – as a result of widespread concerns among parliamentarians about these rules, there are now plans to debate the rules on the floor of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords over the next two months. As soon as we know the dates for those debates, we will let groups and affected families know how to feed in.
Divided Families Day on 9th July – the most important way of supporting parliamentarians who want to debate these rules is to show that there is a groundswell of concern from many corners. MRN, JCWI, BritCits, the Family Immigration Alliance and many others will be working together over the coming weeks to organise a series of activities around Parliament from 4pm on 9th July. All details will be circulated nearer the time, but the date should be put in your diary now! Activities will include:
- Demonstration outside the Home Office – 4pm
- Meet your MP session
- Public parliamentary meeting with high profile speakers – 6pm

Keep a close eye on the MRN website, as well as those of other groups involved in campaigning on this issue, for further information on how you can get involved and show Government that it needs to think again.

EXPLORE MORE

FAMILY MIGRATION

Read original story here.

This piece was reprinted by Migrant Tales with permission.

Landmark decision in Finland: Sikh busman can wear a turban at work

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Migrant Tales

The Southern Finland Regional State Administrative Agency announced that banning a Sikh busman from using a turban at work was discriminatory, reports YLE in English. The decision is an important watershed and a victory for other minorities living in Finland.

The busman, Gill Sukhdarshan Singh of Vantaa, was prohibited from using a turban at work and decided in May to challenge the decision.

The agency said that Singh’s employer, Veolia Transport Vantaa, was guilty of indirect discrimination and ordered the firm to report by the end of September how it plans to redress the problem.

The decision in favor of Singh should be seen as a watershed since it will propel greater cultural diversity and tolerance at the workplace.

Eva Biaudet, Finland’s ombudsman for minorities, applauded the decision. She said it was a significant step forward in making cultural diversity more acceptable at the workplace.

Sing’s victory over his employer is a good example of how far Finland lags behind other European countries concerning cultural diversity. Sikh bus drivers in England won such rights over forty years ago in 1969.

Do we have the resources to keep a check on cyberhate thanks to Prism and Tempora?

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Migrant Tales

Intelligence whistleblowers like Edward Snowden have not only shown the extent of global surveillance by the NSA and GCHQ, but how much governments like the United States flirt with totalitarianism and invest billions of dollars in trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Writes the Anti-Defamation League, which was founded in 1913 to address anti-Semitism and all forms of racism: ”With an estimated 2.4 billion people online around the world and at least 50 billion Web pages, it’s impossible for companies to police cyberspace by themselves. That’s why each of us has to take responsibility for reporting cyberhate when we see it.”

Go here to read the ADL Cyber-Safety Action Guide.

Looking at global surveillance tools like Prism and Tempora, which were recently revealed by Snowden, don’t we now have the resources to report and locate cyberhate?

Something to think about.

Reija Härkönen: Kansanedustajan natsijatsit

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Migrant Tales

Reija Härkönen*

Ensi kuussa on taas Asikkalassa hyvin naamioitu vaalitilaisuus. Vääksyn kanavalla soi jazz. Ihan ilmaiseksi. Kemut järjestää kansanedustaja James Hirvisaari. Hirvisaaren vanhat jatsi- ja gospelkaverit ovat jo vuosia saapuneet tähän aikaan vuodesta juhlistamaan Jameksen syntymäpäiviä. Alkuun yksityisesti, mutta politiikkaan lähdettyään Hirvisaari sai mainion idean pitää juhlat kanavalla, kutsua kyläläiset synttärikansan sekaan ja näin saada juhlille julkista tukea. Kansanedustajan arvovallan myötä tuki kasvaa ja pidot paranevat. Tänä vuonna eliitti purjehtii paikalle yksityisellä siipirataslaivaristeilyllä.

Tässä on linkki.

Päätukijoita ovat vuodesta toiseen olleet Asikkalan kunnan lisäksi pankki, ruokamarketit ja hotelli. Tänä vuonna tukijoihin on liittynyt jo yli kymmenen paikallista yritystä.

Tämähän voisi vielä näyttää ihan lutuselta: kansanedustaja käyttää arvovaltaansa ja järjestää vanhoille kamuille töitä. Samalla saadaan Vääksyn kanavalle leppoisa konsertti ja joku paikallinen yrittäjä pääsee myymään makkaraa ja kanawokkia. Ja kansanedustajan profiili kirkastuu paikallisena hyväntekijänä.

Mutta millaisen kansanedustajan? James Hirvisaari on vuosittain Facebookin kautta kutsunut tilaisuuteen luottoystävänsä. Ilmoittautuneet pyörivät karusellissa Internetissä: kaikkienhan tulee tietää, kuka saapuu kiillottamaan kansanedustajan julkisuuskuvaa. Sulassa sovussa sukulaisten ja paikallisten musiikinystävien joukossa pyörivät myös Hirvisaaren poliittiset kannattajat. Tämä on uusi tapa levittää poliittista agendaa. Samaan aikaan ilmestyvät Hirvisaaren uudet henkilökohtaiset mainokset kaikkien niiden Facebookin käyttäjien sivuille, jotka ovat jollakin lailla olleet tekemisissä hänen kannattajiensa tai sukulaistensa kanssa. Rasistinen sanoma leviää.

Hirvisaaren kutsumista kannattajista useat ilmoittautuvat Hirvisaaren ja perussuomalaisten lisäksi myös Ruotsidemokraattien tai Nationaldemokraterna-puolueen kannattajiksi. Jostain syystä he tahtovat esitellä puolueohjelmaa saksan kielellä:

Begrenzung der Einwanderung;
Bewahrung traditioneller schwedischer Kultur, unter anderem auch durch Verbote von Moscheen;
Kein Verkauf von Medien an ausländische Investoren;
Verteidigung eines konservativen Familienideals und Ablehnung von „pervertierten“ Lebensformen wie z. B. homosexueller Lebensgemeinschaften.

Lienevätkö ottaneet oppia kansanedustaja Hirvisaarelta, joka kannattajille suunnatussa Waffen SS –videon esittelyssä julistaa: ”Deutschland und Finnland sind uber alles. Deutschland hat Finnland frei gemacht. Vielen Dank!” Saksan kieli näyttäisi näille aktiiveille olevan se oikea kieli, kun puhutaan vähemmistöjen syrjinnästä.

Useat jatsivieraat, jotka tukevat Hirvisaarta, suosivat seuraavia Facebook-yhteisöjä:

En ole rasisti vain roturealisti.

Auttakaamme-Maahanmuuttaja-Rikolliset-Takaisin-Kotiin. Sivuston logona on apina, joka ohjaa pientä lentokonetta. Aikaisempi versio, jossa Hirvisaarikin oli jäsenenä, poistettiin rasistisena, nykyinen on jostain syystä vielä olemassa.

Perussuomalaisten Sinivalkoinen Suomi

Sivuston aiheita ovat ulkomaalaisten tekemät raiskaukset, rasistiset vitsit, Jussi Halla-aho ja Olavi Mäenpään blogit. Mäenpää ja Halla-aho on Hirvisaaren tavoin tuomittu rasistisesta kiihottamisesta kansanryhmää vastaan. Sivustolla käytetään kuvia, joiden teksteissä on vaikkapa: ”Neekeri mene pois, olemme kyllästyneet elättämään sinua. Suomi on suomalaisten, ei mutiaisten” ja kuvasarja, jossa verrataan mustaihoisten ihmisten kasvoja nimellä ”Tikkurilan värikartta”.

Suomen Sisu, Suomalaisuuden liitto, Nuiva vaalimanifesti, Finnish Defence League,

”Vaaditaan uutta lakiehdoitusta!
Maahanmuuttajien tuet samaksi kun suomalaisilla,

This-was-Germany. Memories of the Good Old Days. Natsi-Saksan muisteloita.

Eräs Hirvisaaren kannattaja suosittelee kymmeniä islamofobisia Facebook-yhteisöjä. Ne jakelevat kuvaa muslimiäidistä, joka uhkaa verta vuotavaa, pää valkoisessa kääreessä makaavaa vauvaansa suurella verisellä veitsellä. Lapsi sanoo: ”Mommy, I don’t wanna play Islam anymore.” Yhteisöjen kuvottavaa sanomaa vahvistetaan ammattimaisella tavalla toimivien vihasivustojen lavastetuilla kuvilla, jotka ovat hyvin väkivaltaisia ja rasistisia ja aiheuttavat pahoinvointia kenessä tahansa normaalissa ihmisessä.

Hirvisaaren vihanlietsonta ja maaninen muslimeita parjaavien videoiden ja tekstien levittäminen on purrut hyvin ja samanhenkiset ihmiset ovat löytäneet hänessä idolinsa.

Onko Asikkala sitten Suomen rasistisin kunta, kun suuri joukko yrityksiä on yhdessä äänestäjien ja kannattajien kanssa tukemassa rasistikansanedustajan vaalityötä ja imagonkiillotusta ja yhdessä kutsumassa Asikkalaan tällaisen aatesuunnan kannattajia? Vai onko niin, että osa näistä yrityksistä on vain huijattu joukkoon samalla tavalla kuin sukulaiset ja ystävät, jotka pyörivät ilmoittautuneiden ketjussa yhdessä Hirvisaaren ja muiden rasistien, natsimielisten, Ruotsidemokraattien tukijoiden, Finnish Defence Leaguen johtohahmojen ja apinoiden Afrikkaan palauttajien kanssa?

Tässä on kuitenkin kaikille muillekin kansanedustajille malliksi mainio tapa tehdä vaalityötä. Ei muuta kuin kemut pystyyn, paikallisesta musiikkiopistosta raikkaita nuoria muusikoita soittamaan ja omaa agendaa edistämään, jollekulle eläkeläissoittokunnalle voi samalla tarjota keikkaa, tai, kuten Asikkalassa, voi gospelyhtye levittää kansalaisille evankeliumin sanomaa. Sitten vain hakemaan apurahaa säätiöiltä (ainakin Suomen Kulttuurirahasto on sellaisen Hirvisaarelle myöntänyt) ja paikallinen pankki ja kunta maksamaan loput viulut. Kukapa voisi kieltäytyä kansanedustajan pyynnöstä edistää kylän kulttuuritoimintaa.

Koska perussuomalaiset eivät hyvävelitoimintaa harrasta, Hirvisaaren aktiviteetit lienevät tarkkaan harkittuja ja kaikki lait ja asetukset täyttäviä.

Tänä vuonna Hirvisaaren vaalitilaisuudessa on aivan erityinen juhlavuus, sillä nyt jatsiväki pääsee myös juhlimaan Hirvisaarten avioliiton kymmenettä juhlavuotta. Aivan ilmaiseksi. ”Avoin tilaisuus, vapaa pääsy, tule kanssamme tanssimaan”, kajahtaa Hirvisaarten julkinen hääpäiväkutsu.

Tule kansanedustajan kanssa tanssimaan. Natsijatsia.

Alkuperäisen blogikirjoituksen julkaistettiin Uudessa Suomessa.

Uusi Suomi poisti sen jostain syystä välittömästi ilmestymisen jälkeen, vaikka juttu on tehty huolellisesti ja perusteellisen totuudenmukaisesti.

*Härkönen ei tiedä miksi Uusi Suomi poisti hänen kirjoitus. “Jostain syystä välittömästi ilmestymisen jälkeen [juttu poistettiin], vaikka se on tehty huolellisesti ja perusteellisen totuudenmukaisesti,” hän kirjoitti Migrant Talesille.

Soaring unemployment in Finland hits immigrants and visible minorities especially hard

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Migrant Tales

It was shocking to read how Finland’s jobless rate shot up in May to 10.8% from 9.5% a year ago. Since immigrant unemployment is about three times higher than the national average, it means in theory that the unemployed rate for immigrants is at least 30%.

Matters are expected to get worse before they improve.

The Bank of Finland sees Finland’s economy shrinking this year by 0.8% and growing in 2014 by 0.7%, which will cause unemployment to rise to 8.6% next year. The Bank of Finland doesn’t see unemployment retreating significantly in 2015.

Read full story here.

Immigrants, who are usually the last to be hired and the first to get laid-off in a recession, are in an especially vulnerable position. The situation is exacerbated by the lack of political support and prejudice.

Since no media or politician will stand up for the immigrants and young immigrants, Migrant Tales will do so proudly.

If you want to get a depressing view of the situation, take a look at unemployment among young people (15-24 years), which rose by 4.5 percentage points to 35.2% during the month under review. What does it say about the jobless rate of second-generation Finns?

It was twenty years ago when Finland suffered its worst-ever recession in a century in the early 1990s, which caused unemployment to soar to about 20%. People who had expensive mortgages to pay were especially hard-hit.

Those who lived and survived that period, remember the cutthroat atmosphere that existed at the time. Immigrants and non-white Finns were especially vulnerable. If you had a score to settle with an employee or a coworker at work, the recession helped you to stab a knife in his or her back.

That recession of the early 1990s showed how vital it is for immigrants, and workers in general, of having a political voice in the country.

If we don’t have a voice, we are easy pickings and subject to gross abuse.

That’s why fighting racism is so essential.

PS MP Hirvisaari gets publicly enraged with daily Etelä-Suomen Sanomat

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Migrant Tales

Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari has done it again. He didn’t lambast immigrants and Muslims this time, but got publicly enraged with a journalist working for Lahti-based Etelä-Suomen Sanomat (ESS). What happened? Ari Helminen reported that Hirvisaari, together with another PS MP, had the most absences in parliament during spring.

Hirvisaari is from Asikkala, a town located near Lahti.

The news, that Hirvisaari and PS MP Ismo Soukkola had been absent from eight parliamentary sessions without an excuse, was apparently too much for the MP. Hirvisaari tweeted that ESS’ Helminen had “betrayed his trust” and that he will never greet or answer the journalist’s phone calls.

”…I don’t want to have anything to do with liars,” he continued. ”The worst rotten journalism [in Finland] is by TS [Turun Sanomat] and ESS. Extreme abuse of power, unfair and manipulation of people’s [opinion].”

Hirvisaari’s former aide, Helena Eronen, who wrote about sleeve badges in April last year, blamed Turun Sanomat for taking her opinion piece out of context.

Read PS MP James Hirvisaari’s tweets here.

Reading about Hirvisaari’s outbursts is nothing new from this cantankerous politician, but sadly reveals why Finland has become a country where intolerance and hatred have raised their heads big time.

Migrant Tales wrote back in May: ”Every time a PS MP like Hirvisaari opens his mouth, he actually helps the PS lose its appeal among voters and what’s important its chances of being a partner in a future government.”

Hirvisaari was sentnced for ethnic agitation in 2011.

Even so, he has continued to insult gays, immigrants and visible minorities in Finland. His far right Islamophobic credentials were reinforced when he announced that he publicly supports the Finnish Defense League.

women for refugee women: the everyday sexism project

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Migrant Tales

The Everyday Sexism Project exists to catalogue instances of sexism experienced by women on a day to day basis. For women refugees, uprooted in another country, or displaced within their own country, these experiences of sexism are often extreme and can be life threatening. According to the UN, there are approximately 40 million women and children who are refugees, between 78-80% of the total number of refugees.

Refugee women rarely have a voice but now you can share your story and show the world what sexism is like for a refugee woman. Say as much or as little as you like, use your real name or a pseudonym – it’s up to you. By sharing your story you’re showing the world how sexism threatens the lives of the world’s most vulnerable women everydayand why it is a valid problem to discuss.

Women for Refugee Women will be moderating this page, and if you prefer to e-mail us at[email protected] we can upload your story for you instead. Follow us on Twitter (and submit entries by tweet) at @4refugeewomen.

Visit women for refugee women website here.

You can add your story too.

About half of the PS MPs want to deny Finland’s cultural diversity

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Migrant Tales

Roughly half of the 39 Perussuomalaiset (PS) MPs have signed a draft law that would in effect deny Finland’s ever-growing cultural diversity in the youth law. If PS MP Olli Immonen had his way together with twenty other PS MPs, Finland would go into denial mode and conveniently brush its immigrants and visible minorities under the rug.

Social Democratic Party youth wing chairman, Joona Räsänen, criticized Immonen’s draft law. He said that the PS doesn’t want Finland’s youth to think that multiculturalism and diversity in our society are good matters. Read full story (in Finnish) here.

It’s not first that Immonen, who is chairman of the far right Suomen Sisu association, has drafted anti-immigration laws.

PS MP Immonen claims on his Facebook wall that in the present youth law multiculturalism is considered a good matter. “In my opinion, it shouldn’t be the law that should determine whether multiculturalism is a good matter or not. Let everyone determine it for themselves.”

With MPs like these and many others, it’s not difficult to spot the red herrings in their arguments. In simple English, Immonen is saying that Finland should not become culturally diverse and that we should do everything possible to prevent people who are different from us from moving to this country.

How many more of these laws, which have no chance in passing in parliament, will have to be drafted before we understand that Finland’s third largest party in parliament is not only racist but would destroy this country?

Twenty-one PS MPs have signed the draft bill. Some of these are Jussi Halla-aho, Jussi Niinistö, Juho Eerola, James Hirvisaari, Vesa-Matti Saarakkala, Ritva Elomaa, Reijo Tossavainan, Teuvo Hakkarainen and others.

Zuzeeko’s blog: Finland – Discrimination accounts for high Somali unemployment

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Migrant Tales

Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng

Somalis are among the largest groups of immigrants in Finland. They are also among the largest unemployed group of immigrants in the country. Many people [mistakenly] think that the high rate of unemployment among Somalis is because they are not willing to work. This, in my view, is not the case.

Read original posting here.

Somalians in Finland have been stereotyped as lazy and depend on social welfare, despite numerous news reports that of all immigrants in Finland, Somalis (including those with language skills and a profession) find it most difficult to find work.

During the Midsummer weekend, I had a discussion with a couple of people about the employment situation of Somalis in Finland. The majority of those involved in the discussion promulgated the view that most people of Somali origin are unemployed because of lack of education, “laziness” and dependence on KELA, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland.

In my opinion, the assertion is incorrect, stereotypical and sheds light on widespread prejudice and negative attitudes towards Somalis in Finland.

According to a report by Yle, the highest rates of immigrant unemployment in 2010 were among Somalis, Iraqis and Afghans who arrived Finland as refugees. The rate of unemployment for the three nationalities stood at over 50%.

The Director of Immigration Affairs for the City of Helsinki pointed out in the Yle report that “discrimination is clearly the big reason” for the high rate of unemployment among Somalis. According to the director, “of those who have been here 15 to 20 years, half have completed degrees in Finland”.

The director’s statement debunks the assertion that Somalis in Finland are unemployment because they are uneducated, lazy and enjoy being dependent on KELA.

In my view, employer discrimination and negative attitudes towards Somalis account for the high rate of unemployment among Finland’s largest group of Africans.

According to Helsingin Sanomat, one reason for the high rate of unemployment among immigrants in Finland is the fact that Finnish employers regard Finnish education and Finnish work experience as better than foreign equivalents. But immigrants from Somalia experience difficulties finding work, despite the fact that many of them have Finnish education. According to researcher Tuula Joronen, negative attitudes and impressions account for the phenomenon.

As high as 58% of Somali immigrants in Finland were unemployed at the end of 2003. [Source] The unemployment rate stood at 43.3% in 2008. [Source]

In 2010 and 2011, the risk of unemployment was highest among Somali speakers than among any other language group in Finland – according to Statistics Finland. Followed by high risk among Arabic, Persian and Kurdish speakers.

A poll revealed that Somalis and Muslims are among the groups most affected by racism and intolerance in Finland.

It is plausible to conclude from the aforementioned that prejudice, negative attitudes and employer discrimination against Somalis partly account for the high rate of unemployment in the Somali community. Many Somalis have learnt Finnish language and many have Finnish degrees and training. They should be employed without discrimination.

There was a total of 7,468 Somalians in Finland in 2012.

Read original blog entry here.

This piece was reprinted by Migrant Tales with permission.

Should Finns trust the police?

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Migrant Tales

“…when the laws have ceased to be executed, as this can only come from the corruption of the republic, the state is already lost.”

Montesquieu (1689-1755)

A survey by T-Media reveals that Finns trust the most the police, educational and justice system and the least the media, EU and employer’s associations. Of those surveyed, 69% responded that they didn’t trust the media.

Even if close to two-thirds of Finns trust their police, should we in light of the revelations by Edward Snowden of vast global surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA) and GCHQ?

A good case in point is a request by the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo) for increased surveillance powers.

One matter that should worry us is not the Supo request per se but how little some Finnish politicians, the media and public appear to care for oversight and transparency, which are crucial to the survival of our Nordic welfare state democracy.

Would the police and Supo abuse such power if they got greater surveillance rights?

The proper question we should ask, however, is what guarantees does the public have that the police and Supo will not go as far as theNSA and GCHQ? Do we have any idea how much we are being surveyed in Finland?

The best way to secure trust and an effective checks and balance system through proper oversight is paradoxically mistrust. It would be naive, even reckless, to believe that the police and other agencies that claim to defend and guarantee our security will always do so in our best interest. Power always corrupts.

Just like corporations can get greedy, so can military and public institutions. Securing support and vast funding means putting out a lot of spin and hype in order to instil fear in the public that we are constantly under threat.

Asking the military and national security agencies to make the world a more secure place is like asking a madman to make the world saner.

It will never happen.