Is the PS to blame for racism?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Are the Perssuomalaiset (PS) party to blame for checkmating the status quo in Finland on April 17? Or is it a more general and worrying symptom of how Finnish society is changing and how some believe it is now ok  to be a racist and hostile to other groups?

There is no return to the old Finland we knew before the April election. Even so, one of the most worrying aspects of the change we are witnessing today is that some political parties and politicians believe that racism and exclusion of other groups are perfectly fine.

There is nothing normal about xenophobia and hate speech.

It would be a very sad day in Finland if the majority of the voting population, fuelled and incited by more xenophobic diatribe in the worst populist tradition, would accept to put our nobel values of social justice for all in cold storage and accept as normal the racism and hatred that is openly spreading within our society.

The battle is not against the PS but what it represents generally in our society and how some want to make normal social ills such as racism. Some politicians in the PS like Timo Soini and others are mere opportunists reaping the fruits that fear-mongering, racism and xenophobia awakens in too many of us.

The PS’ lame stance on neo-Nazism

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

The resignation of Perussuomalaiset (PS) party aide, Ulla Pyysalo, didn’t come as a surprise. One of the most incredible matters about the Pyysalo case is the silence of the party and how PS MP Juho Eerola played down the Nazigate affair. Has Eerola and the PS made it clear that they will not tolerate neo-Nazi organizations? One wonders. 

Let’s look at the sequence of events.

At first Eerola, who belongs to far-right associations like Suomen Sisu and who has praised Benito Mussolini’s economic system, plays down the whole affair by claiming that Pyysalo joined the neo-Nazi associaiton, Suomen Kansallinen Vastarinta (SKV), when she was a member of the Center Party.

The PS’ Nazigate scandal takes on a new twist on Thursday when Pyysalo decides to “sacrifice” herself by resigning as Eerola’s aide only if she finds a new job, according to YLE. Irrespective of her apparent neo-Nazi sympathies, she plans to remain a card-carrying PS member.

Does the Pyysalo case draw a clear line between neo-Nazi associations the the PS?

Sadly it does not, even Ossi Mäntylahti asks in his Uusi Suomi column if its ok to be a Nazi and a PS member.

The “big far-right fish” are still members of Timo Soini’s party and in parliament. Even though these PS MPs like Eerola may not directly belong to a neo-Nazi association, they do belong in Nazi-spirited ones.

The whole Pyysalo case reinforces as well that the PS is a wild card ideologically that can transform itself, self-destruct or inspire others to far-right causes.

Eerola’s aide is no stranger to the racist and homophobic world, when she published a “joke” in July on Facebook about Green MP Jani Toivola, who is black and gay.

Otavan Sanomat: Monikulttuurisia suomalaisia*

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Teksti Anna Kornienko 

Mitä tarkoita olla nuori ja niin sanottu maahanmuuttajataustainen Suomessa? Miten, jos olet asunut melkein koko elämäsi Suomessa ja yksi tai molemmat vanhemmistasi ovat siirtolaisia? Kuulutko silloin tähän maan?

Joillekin nuorille nämä kysymykset voivat tuoda ristiriitaisia tunteita. On kiusattu koulussa ja on koettu eriasteista syrjintää.

”Kun olet lapsi haluat ystäviä ja olla samanlainen kun muut,” sanoo tämä artikkelin kirjoittaja. ”Mitä teet jos sinut ei hyväksytäkään koulussa? Se on hyvin kipeä paikka. Tuntuu, että sinussa olisi joku vika, vaikka asiaa ei todellakaan ole niin.”

Bändilinjan opiskelija Ariela Patterson, jonka isä on yhdysvaltalainen ja äiti suomalainen, uskoo yhden syyn ala-asteella kiusaamiseen olleen se, etteivät opettajat eivät puuttuneet asiaan tarpeeksi vakavasti.

”Minun piti puolustaa itseäni, koska kukaan ei välittänyt,” sanoo Ariela. ”Ikävin on, että myös jotkut aikuiset ovat olleet yhtä tyhmiä kadulla. 1990-luvun alussa oli Suomessa hyvin vähään tumma-ihoisia suomalasia.”

Media-kymppi opiskelija Aune Rugojeva muutti Suomeen Venäjältä, kun hän oli vastaa viisi vuotta. Hänellä oli myös joskus vaikeaa koulussa.

”Liperi on pieni kyllä Pohjois-Karjalassa ja siellä ei asunut paljon venäläisiä kun muutimme sinne,” hän jatkaa. ”Yläasteella oli joskus hyvin vaikea olla koulussa, koska luokkakaverit haukkuivat ja eristivät minut porukasta. Se oli kipeä ja yksinäinen paikka.”

Aune sanoo, että Otavan Opistolla on mukavaa opiskella koska täällä saa olla oma itsensä ja erilainen.

”Täällä kunnioitetaan erilaisuutta, koska on paljon kaikenlaisia opiskelijoita,” Aune sanoo.

Aune, Ariela ja minä olemme samaa mieltä yhdestä asiasta: Erilaisuus on voimaanlähde.

*Tämä juttu julkaistiin Otavan Sanomissa (toukokuu 2011).

YLE Kymeenlakso: Juho Eerola ei tue Pyysalon erottamista

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Comment: Is it a surprise that Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Juho Eerola, who has far-right ties to associations like Suomen Sisu, does not want to fire his aide, Ulla Pyysalo, for belonging to a neo-Nazi organization? 

Eerola was quoted as saying on YLE Kymeenlakso that the whole Pyysalo affair has taken “comical proportions.”

The PS board will take up Pyysalo’s case on November 19. It will be interesting to see what the party will decide.

If Eerola’s aide isn’t banned from the PS, what kind of a message does it send to others? The obvious answer is that it is ok to belong to a neo-Nazi organization and be a PS member. 

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Kotkalaisen kansanedustajan Juho Eerolan lappeenrantalainen avustaja Ulla Pyysalo haki 2 vuotta sitten kansallissosialistisen Suomen vastarintaliike -järjestön jäsenyyttä. Juho Eerolan sanojen mukaan olisi mieletöntä erottaa Pyysalo puolueesta vain sen vuoksi, että hän on tullut järkiinsä ja jättänyt liittymättä natseihin.

Read whole story.

Helsingin Sanomat’s mea culpa on immigration issues

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By Enrique Tessieri

Is lack of knowledge about living in a society with a small foreign population an excuse for poor and deficient coverage of Finland’s ever-growing immigrant population? The editor of Finland’s leading daily, Helsingin Sanomat, told Lahti-based Etelä-Suomen Sanomat that it has aimed to raise immigrant, racism and tolerance issues since society and the political atmosphere has changed in the country. 

Editor Riikka Venäläinen states that immigration is a relatively new phenomenon in Finland and therefore offered a sort of mea culpa. “…our job is to give background information, analysis and develop the story from a certain angle,” she said, “When that is done  on a tight schedule, it’s pretty certain that we are guilty of very short-sighted conclusions. I accept the criticism that has to do with reporting on immigration issues.”

I am surprised by Venäläinen’s comment. Don’t Helsingin Sanomat reporters ever travel abroad? Don’t they have foreign spouses? What about foreign correspondents?  Don’t they have any relatives who emigrated to countries like Sweden, Canada and the United States in the past 140-odd years? Haven’t they read our history?

Venäläinen’s admission sounds more like a poor excuse for doing a shoddy job. It reveals as well the lack of reporters with immigrant backgrounds covering such an important issue like cultural diversity in Finnish society. In a way it’s as if 99% men were reporters covering women’s rights issues.

But she does ask a good question at the end of the story whether the children of immigrants, who may speak perfect Finnish, should be called immigrants anymore.

Such a comment exposes, in my opinion, a bold statement by Helsingin Sanomat and how exclusive Finnish society is. How does Venäläinen think Finland could be a more inclusive society? Maybe that would be a good editorial that Helsingin Sanomat could write and show leadership.

Not all dailies in Finland appear to be as much in the dark about immigration and cultural diversity issues as Helsingin Sanomat. Some good examples are Etelä-Suomen Sanomat, Aamulehti, Kansan Uutiset  as well as others.

Writing about immigration is like reporting on any social issue that takes place in our society. The benchmarks are the same: inclusion, social justice, equality, fairness and acceptance.

These are values we should already know at elementary school.

Llegada a Colonia Finlandesa (Misiones, Argentina) en 1977

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Por Enrique Tessieri

Me acuerdo como si fuera ayer la primera vez que viajé a la Colonia Finlandesa, en la provincia de Misiones. Era jueves, un día de sol y primavera del 3 de noviembre de 1977. Aunque el viaje en avión desde Buenos Aires a Posadas dura aproximadmente una hora y media, y después unas horas más en bus hasta Oberá, y luego a la Colonia en taxi o a pie, el viaje en realidad era muchos más largo de lo que parecía muchos años atrás…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i71zCNWFmmA&feature=related]
Esta canción me transporte a esos paisajes de la Colonia Finlandesa de diciembre de 1977.

…En 1977 ya no vivían muchos finlandeses en la colonia. Aparte de Artturi Heino, estaban Hedvig Niskanen, Svea Gumberg, Aarmas Heikkilä, Fanni Granlund, Reino Putkuri, Aaron Palo, Greta Holmberg de Oberá y unos pocos más. Habían finlandeses de segunda generación como Eero Granlund, que había nacido en la Argentina. A Eero lo había encontrado por casualidad en un camino cuando iba al almacén y con un sombrero de paja, recién había llegado de carpir. Sentí el fuerte olor a alcohol en su aliento cuando me hablaba.

El sol de la tarde acariciaba desde el fondo su cara barbuda y arrugada prematuramente. El rostro de Eero me dio lástima, era como el de un hombre vencido por la vida y el alcohol; era como si hubiera aceptado vivir la pobreza con todos sus defectos y debilidades.

Hablábamos un poco en finlandés, pero más en castellano. Me contó que quería irse de la colonia a la región de Iguazú, donde hay tierras fértiles. También me habló de trabajar en una cantera partiendo piedras. Pagaban bien. Dijo que no podía irse de la Colonia Finlandesa por sus dos hijos, hasta que fueran mayores. “Hice algunos malos negocios y me vino abajo,” dijo cándidamente. “Acá uno no progresa, sólo gana para vivir.”

La humilde choza de Eero una vez formó parte de la chacra de su madre Fanni Lepistö de Granlund, que vivía en una colina a medio kilómetro. Cuentan los lugareños que un día se enojó con ella y arrastró la choza hasta su lugar actual. (Fuente: Enrique Tessier, Lejana tierra mía, 2006)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PlhyuJshdA&NR=1]

Este artículo fue publicado por primera vez en el blog Colonia Finlandesa.

SVT: Arjen rasismi on lisääntynyt Suomessa

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Countries like Sweden, of which about 14% of the population are immigrants compared with Finland’s 3%, asks why anti-immigration and anti-cultural diversity groups are growing in popularity. 

Even if there is no empirical data to link the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party to the ever-worsening atmosphere, we could say that the PS’ victory on April 17 did not help matters for immigrants and minorities.

One of the saddest matters about racism and prejudice is that it does not spare anyone, not even children. Too many schools in the past in Finland with the silent collusion of the teachers have been responsible for allowing racism to take place at such places. 

A Multicultural Finn tells of her ordeal at school in Otavan Sanomat, a student publication: “Lieksa is a small town in the Pohjois-Karjala region and there didn’t live a lot of Russians when we moved there,” she said. “It was tough being in middle school because my classmates made fun and excluded me from the group. It was a hurtful and lonely place (to be).”

The Multicultural Finn says that even to this date as an adult people make fun of her Russian background at Lieksa. 

The student quoted in Otavan Sanomat went to middle school in the late 1990s and early 2000s. 

Even though teachers today try to confront racism at school, some feel that they are fighting a losing battle. “Certain terms and insults cannot be used at (Finnish) school but they are openly used publicly by members of parliament (like PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen)…” said researcher Anne-Mari Souto. 

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Maahanmuuttoa ja monikulttuurisuutta vastustetaan Suomessa yhä avoimemmin. Helsingissä järjestetyssä seminaarissa todettiin, että asenneilmapiiri on koventunut ja maahanmuuttajat kokevat arjessaan suvaitsemattomuutta entistä enemmän. Vihapuheet kohdistuvat myös maahanmuuttajataustaisiin lapsiin ja nuoriin.

Read whole story.

Journalism and Blog Writing for Immigrants and Finns (March 2012)

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When? 22.-23.3.2012 & 29.-30.3.2012                                                                                                                                          Where? Otava Folk High School

Journalism and Blog Writing for Immigrants and Finns is a course designed for those who have an interest in journalism/blog writing and who speak English as a second language. The course offers the participant an opportunity to learn reporting and interviewing techniques as well as writing news stories, editorials, and columns. Another important part of the course is to study the role journalism plays in guaranteeing civil liberties such as freedom of expression and furthering acceptance of minorities such as immigrants.  

Journalism and Blog Writing for Immigrants and Finns -kurssi on tarkoitettu englantia toisena kielenä puhuville henkilöille, jotka ovat kiinnostuneita vaikuttamaan kirjoittamisen kautta. Kurssilla tutustutaan journalismin maailmaan ja menestyvän blogin rakentamiseen. Haastattelun rakenne, uutisjuttujen kirjoittaminen, pääkirjoitukset ja kolumnit ovat tärkeä osa kurssia. Kurssilla tarkastellaan eettisiä kysymyksiä ja sananvapauden roolia yhteiskunnassa. Opetuskieli kurssilla on englanti.

For further information click here.

 


Using Finnish “fatherland” patriotism to justify neo-Nazism

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

The Ulla Pyysalo case has turned some Perussuomalaiset (PS) party faces red. Her name came up on a membership list of a neo-Nazi organization Suomen Kansallinen Vastarinta (SKV) after hackers broke into the www.patriootti.com website over the weekend. 

When reading Pyysalo’s explanation on Uusi Suomi for being on the SKV membership list, it’s difficult to say what is more shocking: her membership in the neo-Nazi association or lame excuses.

Attempting to brush her SVL membership conveniently under the rug, Pyysalo asks on Uusi Suomi why she and PS MP Jussi Halla-aho are being punished but nothing ever happens to PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen?

Her membership in SVL will be brought up at a PS board meeting on November 19, according to Nelonen TV.

Her boss, PS MP Juho Eerola’s explanation are just as ludicrous as his aide’s. He told the media that the case has no bearing since Pyysalo became a SVL member two years ago, when she was a Center Party member.

Eerola’s support for Pyysalo is understandable since he belongs to the far-right Suomen Sisu association. The MP from Kotka once wrote how he admired Benito Mussolini’s eonomic system because there was no unemployment.

Pyysalo is no stranger to the racist and homophobic world, when she published a “joke” in July on Facebook about Green MP Jani Toivola, who is black and gay.

Other politicians that have popped up on the SKV list are Tuomas Okkonen, a PS local politician from Oulu, and Nino Nevalainen, a Left Alliance (independent) councilman from the Häme region.

I am certain that sensible Finns are just as outraged as I am about how a far-right group within a right-wing populist party sits in our parliament.

There is nothing “patriotic” about racism and hating different minorities never mind glorifying Nazi Germany. Some 40 million people died in World War 2 due to Nazism.

It’ll be interesting to see how the PS handles the Pyysalo case. Will it slap her hand for being a member of SVL or show her the door?

The PS will never be a credible party as long as it houses extremists of the worst order.

People like Pyysalo have not only hijacked the term “patriotism” but have given it a bad name.

Hackers get far-right Kansallinen Vastarinta membership-request list

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Enrique Tessieri

The growing face of far-right Finland exposed itself Monday when some hackers succeeded at breaking into  www.patriootti.com’s  membership-request list. One of the red faces to appear was Tuomas Okkonen, a Perussuomalaiset (PS) party board vice president in Oulu.

Okkonen states on Facebook that he was “drunk” when he sought membership in the neo-Nazi association.

While the PS’ favorite excuses for their gaffes has been misinterpreted “satire” or “humor,”  Okkonen has taken such excuses to a new level: “I was drunk.”

Okkonen got caught lying: He said on his Facebook he sent his membership application a year ago when if fact it happened in summer.

UPDATE: Ulla Pyysalo, far-right PS MP Juho Eerola’s aide, was on the Suomen vastarintaliike (SVL) membership list as well, according to Ilta-Sanomat. Pyysalo apologized in July after making a racist and homophobic joke about Green MP Jani Toivola.

Eerola, who is vice president of the PS, how shown his far-right colors on a number of occasions. The Suomen Sisu association member has praised Benito Mussolini’s economic model because there was no unemployment.

This is what Okkonen wrote to the far-right association, SVL: “I am a city council member of the Perussuomalaiset party and I understand your ideology. You have my support!!!…After you hear what we (Perussuomalaiset?) have planned, (you’ll see that) we are both fighting for the same thing…I sent you my contact information. Please do not distribute it if you are fighting for the fatherland.”

Even though SKV is seen by some as a marginal extremist group, far-right extremism should never be underestimated.

Ossi Mäntylahti writes an interesting blog about the list that hackers got from www.patriootti.com. He reveals (in Finnish) the messages that these would-be members sent to SVL.

SKV is like many neo-Nazi ogranizations in Europe, who live in a delusional world about racial purity that date back to Germany and Europe of the 1930s.