Comment: Researcher Anna-Maria Soudo of the University of Eastern Finland believes that racist attacks and harassment of second-generation adolescent Finns is more commonplace today than before. She sees the elections of April, where the Perussuomaliset (PS) party won 19.1% of the votes, as an important watershed that has made anti-immigration sentiment more acceptable.
Soudo says that while in Finland we speak a lot about multiculturalism and how people should value different cultures, we see a different reality in the street.
Do you think racism has become more acceptable in Finland after April 17?
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Lasten ja nuorten arjessaan kohtaama rasismi on yhä näkyvämpää. Tutkija arvelee, että viime kevään vaaleissa esille nousseet maahanmuuttokriittiset puheenvuorot ovat tehneet kärjekkäästä ja näkyvästä maahanmuuttokriittisyydestä aiempaa hyväksytympää.
The first time I wrote an entry on this question on Migrant Tales was in May 2008. Back then, a thread by Mikko claimed that racism wasn’t even on the top-five list of problems in Finland. Is racism a serious social problem that needs to be addressed vigorously? Where do we begin?
We can state pretty safely today that racism is not only one of the top five problems in Finland, but an ever-growing one that must be addressed.
Surprisingly, the main source of this problem haven’t been the most extremist anti-immigration wing of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, but that of the mainstream parties such as Kokoomus, Social Democrats and others. Even if there are outspoken politicians in these parties who speak out against racism, they are a minority and too quiet on this front.
If politicians do not condemn hate crimes, speak out for tolerance and acceptance, they will with their silence support this social menace threatening Finland today.
The appointment in April of PS MP Jussi Halla-aho as chair of the administration committee, whose responsibilities also include immigration policy, is a sad example of how Finnish politicians continue to vacillate and confront racism in our society.
Those who defend the appointment of Halla-aho believe that it will help let off steam from the most extremist elements of the PS. I believe it will let off steam, but in the wrong direction.
It was in 2008 when Finland was up in arms about the founding of the Finnish Islamic Party, which awoke some of the worst fears among some Finns. Contrarily, Halla-aho’s appointment tells us that we prize Islamophobia and bigotry but give a big thumbs down to other cultures and religions if they want to take part in our democratic process.
The rise of the PS in the April election and that of Nazi-spirited groups within Timo Soini’s party that are members of Suomen Sisu, increased hate crimes never mind the adverse climate against immigrants and minorities, are clear indications that the strategy against right-wing populism has been a huge failure.
If I had to advise other countries about how to confront the rise of right-wing populist parties that are anti-EU, anti-immigration and anti-Islam, I would show them Finland as a sad example of what not to do.
All of this boils down to one crucial factor: Dear little leadership from mainstream political parties confronting right-wing populism and the social menace of racism.
As long as Finland is cursed by weak leadership, its future as a prosperous nation will be in jeopardy.
Comment: The Finland in our Hearts Festival, which took place in Turku on July 1-4, is a good example of how Finland is slowly accepting its cultural diversity. No other group are a constant reminder of our cultural diversity than expatriate Finns. Some 1.3 million Finnish expatriates live abroad.
Kokoomus Euro MP Villa Itälä, chairman of the Finland Society board and of the Finnish Expatriate Parliament, was quoted as saying on Turun Sanomat that no Finnish government has understood the important of immigration. He described expatriate Finns are “a forgotten people” seen through the stereotypes of the past. The present political atmosphere in Finland doesn’t permit any improvement on this front, according to him.
One group that has erased almost completely these expatriate Finns with their anti-immigration rhetoric is the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party. Their hostility towards immigrants and refugees in Finland by some of their MPs is a deep insult to the over million Finns that live abroad.
Yours truly chaired on Monday the seminar on Latin America at the Finland in Our Hearts Festival. Apart from talking about Finnish immigration to Latin America, which was small when compared with North America, we discussed at the end what lessons we could learn from these Finnish immigrants’ experiences and how they could be applied to our ever-growing immigrant population.
There seemed to be a consensus among the audience that acceptance was crucial for things to move forward for immigrants.
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Turku on ollut viime päivinä poikkeuksellisella tavalla kansainvälinen kohtauspaikka. Täällä on kokoontunut tuhansia ulkosuomalaisia, joilla on sitkeät siteet emämaahan, vaikkei heidän arvoaan Suomessa aina muisteta saati tunnusteta.
If the Nazi-spirited Suomen Sisu and Perusuomalaiset (PS) MPs were an onion, what would we find at its center? A twenty-first century version of the solution without the scary adjective “final?” Racism in its most hostile form? A huge factory turning out urban myths about immigrants and minorities?
Helsingin Sanomat exposed on Sunday just how this minority within the PS operate. During April and May, five bus drivers of immigrant background were attacked in the Helsinki region. Since the number of hate crimes reported by the Finnish media grew after the PS election victory in April, PS MP Jussi Halla-aho attempted to play down these reports.
The PS MP claimed that it wasn’t immigrant bus drivers that were being attacked but Finnish ones in greater numbers. What Halla-aho didn’t tell us was that he lumped all bus drivers as Finns, even those that were Finnish citizens with immigrant backgrounds.
In another story published today by tabloid Iltalehti of Mambo group singer Tero Vaara, we are starting to see the real face of the beast. On the popular Finnish singer’s website he let’s it all hang out in the classical Suomen Sisu and Hommaforum anti-immigration style. In the interview, Vaara equates multiculturalism to communism.
The latter catchphrase is one of the many favorites used by the anti-immigration crowd in Finland. I highly doubt many like Vaara know what multiculturalism means.
In the most general terms, a good synonym for multiculturalism is cultural diversity. When people like Vaara claim they oppose multiculturalism are they stating that they want Finland to remain white? What about those that are of other ethnic backgrounds? Don’t they have a right to embrace and cherish Finnish culture on their terms like everyone else?
Like a rising sun behind Vaara, Suomen Sisu appears conspicuously in the following quote on Iltalehti: “I don’t believe that multiculturalism in its present form is a good thing (and) that the result of the complete mixing of cultures and religions would be only positive.”
What is wrong with this statement? For one, does cultural diversity mean that everyone is mixing? Isn’t it, however, normal that cultures mix? With whom and how much depends on the person.
Some may still ask why the Finnish Criminal Police (KRP) and Supo see Suomen Sisu as a Nazi-spirited associaiton. The answer lies in their ideology, which is based on the myth of ethnic and cultural purity. This same view is held by the American Nazi Party, Klu Klux Klan and other associations that are openly hostile to immigrants and minorities.
A Suomen Sisu t-shirt promoting “racial hygiene” in Finland. Source: Vallan vahtikoira.
One of Suomen Sisu’s recommended authors on their reading list is Alfred Rosenberg. This Nazi party pseudo-philosopher promoted ideas that were the antithesis of cultural diversity. The argument was simple: People like the Jews and others who did not or could not share the Nazi ideology were dangerous to Germany and hindered the Aryans from becoming the master race. The fewer Jews that lived in Germany the better.
If we take this latter claim and look at it in a present-day context, we will find striking and scary similarities. Hint: Replace Jew for Muslim.
So what are the Suomen Sisu and anti-immigration crowd telling us? What is their message?
Do away with cultural diversity, water down civil rights, acceptance and recognition of immigrants, Finns and minorities of different backgrounds.
The rise of right-wing populist parties and their ever-growing attacks on immigrants and minorities is an outcome of Europe’s inability to draft and pass a workable immigration, refugee and integration policy. Immigrants and refugees are not the real threat to Europe. It is weak leadership by politicians and standing up to the populist rhetoric that fuel prejudices and urban myths about Europe’s new inhabitants.
A good example why some integration policies are set to fail before they become public policy is that dear little has been done in many countries to promote acceptance and cultural diversity.
We all know that the millions of immigrants and Turks that emigrated to countries like Germany and Austria were not supposed to stay there permanently. After working a for a few years they were expected to return to their home countries.
In Germany, as well as in many European countries, there is no effective plan to integrate immigrants. A successful integration program must go further: It must give immigrants the opportunity to become equal members of society.
If we look at the ongoing debate in countries like Finland, one gets the view from some Social Democrats that migrant workers must be held in contempt because they work for lower wages and don’t pay taxes.
Certainly an effective integration and public policy would resolve many matters like the above. If employers are exploiting immigrants while the authorities turn a blind eye, is it the foreign laborer or the system that is to blame?
Humans are social animals and their first aim in a new country is to integrate in a group and establish social networks. If they see that integration is impossible to the majority culture and exploitation the rule, this situation will lure some of them to evade taxes and work outside the law.
If a society is exclusive and there is hostility towards immigrants, what are these people supposed to integrate to?
Immigrants and refugees are not the problem of Europe. The problem is public policy and lack of leadership.
The right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS) may be the biggest party in Finland today according to a poll by YLE, but some see it as a ticking time bomb. By staying in the opposition and postponing its inner feuds and differences, Timo Soini has avoided a head-on collision within the party.
Anyone familiar with the PS understands that the party is a volatile and highly inflammable brew. If the former Rural Party wing led by Soini consists of one fifth of the party, one tenth is made up by the Nazi-spirited Suomen Sisu wing. The rest is a big question mark, according to some close to the PS.
The strategy by Soini is pretty simple: Everything will be fine as long as the party remains in the opposition and keeps its internal feuds from bubbling to the surface.
The shadow of the 1970s must hang deeply over the party despite promising poll results. When the Rural Party, which evolved into the PS in the 1990s, won in the 1970 election an impressive 17 seats from one in the previous election, the party imploded due to deep differences.
Even if Soini wants to play down what happened to its predecessor party forty years ago, it must be a scary reminder for him.
The big question we should ask is for how long can Soini keep the party united.
What will the PS be when and after it carries out its purges?
Will it ever be ready and capable of ruling the country?
Would launching a separate “little” literary blog (Migrant Tales “Little”?) be a good idea? It would publish poetry, short stories, short plays, drawings. anecdotes, and pictures of our lives in Finland and elsewhere. Depending on how this lifts off, we could even organize contests.
Everyone, irrespective of his or her background, is warmly welcome to contribute.
“Little” literary magazines are different from consumer magazines. Many don’t carry ads and their circulation is under 1,000.
Look forward to receiving your contributions so we can share them with others!
Enrique Tessieri
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Ireland and the financial crisis 2011. (Picture by ET)
This original Brazilian song could be about a young immigrant who travels to foreign lands. Here’s part of the song translated into English from the original Spanish lyrics below:
“Imagine and you’ll see
The Southern Cross Constellation*
Don’t ever forget it,
Irrespective of the path you take
That star appears
And its light will orient you…
Be curious
To see where the old sun hides
Behind another horizon
For the simple reason that everything depends
On your imagination.
If you try, maybe you’ll discover
A path that nobody has found…
* The Southern Cross Constellation is as important to Brazilians as the North Star to the Finns. The Southern Cross Constellation is visible on the Brazilian flag.
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Spanish lyrics of “Consideración” by Rubén Blades
Imagina y verás
A la Constelación del Crucero del Sur.
No la ovides jamás,
Para que en cualquier rumbo que tomes
Esa estrella asome,
Y su luz te oriente,
Con la simple razón
De que todo merece consideración.
Determina y verás
La posibilidad de encontrar dirección,
Porque todo es posible,
Con tu decisión.
Ten la curiosidad
De ver donde un viejo sol se esconde,
Tras otro horizonte.
Por la simple razón de que todo depende
De tu imaginación.
Si lo intentas, quizás hallarás
Un camino que nadie encontró.
Si te orientas, verás
Que la luz de esa estrella
No te abandonó.
Comment: When we think of pseudo-sciences like eugenics we usually associate them with Germany. However, eugenics was widely accepted in other European countries as well as in the United States.The story below published by the Guardian shows how eugenics led to forced sterilization in the United States and how such practices continue to impact its victims to this date.
The following documentary, The Occult History of the Reich, gives a grotesque view of how eugenics got wide support from medical establishments and how it served fanatics like Adolf Hitler to set his country on a ruinous crusade.
Even if sensible people know that eugenics is baloney with a capital B, associations like Suomen Sisu continue to flirt with such ideas through their views of “racial purity.” This is odd because Nazis like Eugene Fischer considered Finns of Mongolian stock.
Apart from not having any scientific foundation, the legacy that eugenics left us is war and mass-murder in the name of racial purity.
Thanks to JusticeDemon for alerting me about this story.
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By Edwin Black
North Carolina’s compensation to victims of forced sterilisation is a chance to illuminate a gruesome US tradition of racial ‘science.’
Twenty-seven American states joined a decades-long pseudo-scientific crusade to create a white, blond, blue-eyed, biologically superior “master race”. Their misguided utopian quest was called eugenics. But only one state, North Carolina, is now readying a massive plan of financial repatriations to its surviving victims. Just how much North Carolina should pay is now the subject of a historically wrenching debate.
Any student of society can see that Finland is at an important juncture concerning its future national identity. At this turning point the country appears to be looking in two directions: To our past and to the future.
Those who are looking to the past are not ready (at least yet) to expand their definition of Finnish national identity to include Finns of other ethnic backgrounds.
Their views of Finnish identity is deeply entrenched in the late-nineteenth century, when we forged a national identity that was modelled for the birth of a new independent nation called Finland. While its limitations were never tested before because there were so few immigrants living in Finland, it is on the defensive today.
An indication that it is embattled was the rise of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party in the April election as well as the ever-growing menace of ultra-nationalistic associations like Suomen Sisu and Suomalaisuuden liitto.
Thus the big question we should be asking today is if our former way of looking at our identity applies today? Is it too exclusive? How can we make it more inclusive?
Much of our perceptions of ourselves as a group have been possible through nationalism, which has helped us overlook some important points of our history to accommodate the myth of our ethnic and cultural homogeneity.
Ethnic homogeneity was reinforced in the past century through eugenics and racial hygiene “theories” that were shamefully put in cold storage after the horrors of World War 2.
Even in the 1960s, Finnish social policy experts like Heikki Waris fed the myth. He wrote in a booklet on Finland: “Racial homogeneity particularly characterizes the Finnish people who have practically no racial minorities…Conseuqnetly, racial prejudice and discrimination are nonexistent (sic!).”
The affirmation by Waris is odd taking into account the over million people emigrated From Finland in the last two centuries. Are these Finns and their descendants a separate or integral part of Finnish culture? Not according to Waris.
These types of myths about ourselves were reinforced in our citizenship laws as well. Up to 1984, children born to Finnish mothers did not have the right to citizenship only if the father was a Finn.
The view that Finnishness is ethnic is still evident in our laws. A child born in Finland becomes the citizen of her parents’ countries.
Challenging myths that have been built during most of our independence and reinforced by wars is not an easy task but essential if we want to create a more inclusive society in this century. This will become more critical as Finland becomes more culturally diverse through immigration.
Presently, the number of immigrants in Finland is small at 2.9% of the total population, but it is expected to rise to 7%-8%, according to some experts.
Comment: Ever wonder what the Christian Democrats are doing in government and why its chairwoman, Päivi Räsänen, was appointed interior minister in charge of immigration affairs? The answer is simple: She is a conservative who can eat away at some of the anti-immigration thunder of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party.
Contrary to the former minister of migration and European affairs, Astrid Thors, Räsänen will not be an easy target to shoot at for the PS.
Am I hopeful that matters for immigrants and refugees will improve under Räsänen and this government? I doubt it.
I was, however, a bit worried about the following quote by her in the story: “Immigration policy will respect basic human rights, but the other thread running through policy will be security and sustainability in society. How many immigrants we can integrate into society.”
Those who know Räsänen’s views on refugees cannot forget when she said earlier this year that Finland should take Christian quota refugees as opposed to non-Christians.
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Immigration policy is to shift emphasis towards safeguarding security in society, says new Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen. She told YLE radio that immigration policy would now shift to officials in charge of policing.
