Karjalainen: Kansa tahtoo muuta kuin perussuomalaiset

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Comment:  Joensuu-based Karjalainen is a daily that has done a lot of good work to promote good relations between Finns and immigrants living their community. This is commendable from a daily which serves a city that became infamous for its racism from the 1990s. Back then, some local inhabitants wouldn’t even accept that their local basketball team, Kataja, had black basketball players on its starting lineup. 

In the opinion-piece below, Karjalainen plays down the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s 19.1% victory in the April election.  It writes that despite the election victory, Timo Soini’s party is a minority when it comes to severing development aid. The majority of the Finns that voted for the traditional parties disagree with the PS line. 

I personally would hope that the Finnish media in the future would write more serious opinion pieces in order to understand what happened on and after April 17. They, if any, played a crucial role in the rise of the PS in Finland. 

Some important questions they should ask is if the April election result is a permanent change in Finnish politics or a sign of the times: financial crisis in Europe mixed with weak leadership? Will parties like the PS deflate when the financial crisis subsides? What would happen if Soini were prime minister? How would matters change? Would one term in government force the PS to implode?

Even if the PS have become the biggest party according to a recent poll, very little has changed.

Probably what has changed are people’s dread that Finland will return to the 1930s in a 2010s context.

Do you agree?

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Ulkoministeriön tuore tutkimus suomalaisten suhtautumisesta kehitysapuun on hyvin linjassa eduskuntavaalien tuloksen kanssa ja osoittaa poliittisessa demagogiassa tällä hetkellä vallitsevan harhan.

Read whole stor.

New World Finn: How many Finnish Canadians and USAmericans?

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Comment: Those who like to insult and ridicule immigrants and refugees in Finland, and who still believe Finns are some lost tribe in this part of Europe who have not mixed with anyone, should pay close attention to the statistics below. If over one million Finns would not have emigrated from this land from 1860, our population would be over 7 million today.

Thanks to immigration, Finland’s cultural diversity is richer than what many of us want to believe. The interesting question to ask is why this hasn’t been acknowledged. Is it because it would force us to ask serious questions about who we are as a nation? Would many of our myths about ourselves be challenged?

Thanks to New World Finn, an English-language quarterly published in the United States for this information.

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During the late-19th century and early 20th century, over 300,000 people from Finland migrated to the United States and, to a lesser extent, Canada. While there had been a sporadic flow of immigration before the mid-19th century, the bulk of the migration did not start until about 1870.

The 2000 United States Census lists 623,573 persons who claimed Finnish ancestry. Finnish-Canadians, who claimed Finnish ancestry, according to the 2001 census, number over 114,000. There are many of Finnish ancestry who do not claim it.

The states with the largest Finnish-American populations are: Michigan – 101,351; Minnesota – 99,388; California – 56,526; Washington – 40,290; Wisconsin – 36,047. The communities of Thunder Bay, Toronto and Sudbury form the main centers of Finnish-Canadian activity. Thunder Bay boasts the largest Finnish population outside of Scandinavia.

How many Finns emigrated abroad?

Table 1. Emigration from Finland in 1860-1999

Destination                   1860-1944                              1945-1999
Sweden                             45,000                                    535,000
Other Europe                  55,000                                    125,000
United States                  300,000                                    18,000
Canada                                 70,000                                    23,000
Latin America                      1,000                                       5,000
Asia                                              500                                       6,000
Africa                                       1,000                                       4,000
Oceania                                   3,500                                    20,000

Total                                      476,000                                 736,000

Source: Jouni Korkiasaari and Ismo Söderling: Finnish emigration and immigration after World War II. Migration Institute 2003.                           http://www.migrationinstitute.fi/articles/011_Korkiasaari_Soderling.pdf

Debating Finland’s cultural diversity is opening up old wounds

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By Enrique Tessieri

Ever wonder why immigrants, multicultural Finns, immigration to Finland and refugees don’t have any history in Finland? If historical importance could be measured like a loaf of bread, the history of older minorities like the Saami, Roma, Tartars, Jews and others would be mere crumbs.   

The question why immigrants and minorities don’t have a history in Finland is like investigating the history of the exploited by the exploiters. By not having, or denying a group its history, you forsake them a place in society. Since they don’t exist they have no rights never mind the right to demand them.

In many respects, the social construct of the prototype Finns as the bonafide Finn in the last century was a pretext for steamrolling minorities and denying them their right to be Finns.  It explains why a large part of the population has today difficulty in accepting cultural diversity as natural in Finland.

If we look at the independence of the United States in 1776 or that of other Latin American countries during 1808-1826, there is a big difference with Finland’s independence in 1917. Even though the former loathed the political system that permitted their exploitation under colonialism, a large number of them were former inhabitants or descendants of these European kingdoms. They even spoke their languages as well as practiced their culture and religion.

In Finland, however, it was a different story. History teaches us that we sought independence because we didn’t want to be or were Russians. In order to build a national identity we amalgamated or “fennified” our culture through measures like changing our surnames into Finnish ones. Killing our cultural diversity was acceptable because of our hatred of groups like the Russians.

Does this same hatred affect our good judgement today as a modern twenty-first century nation?

Difficult questions about our history and cultural roots had to be conveniently forgotten by history in order for us to forge a near-monolithic Finnish national identity.

One group that were nearly forgotten were Finnish immigrants and their descendants.

Thanks to the over million immigrants that left this country from the 1860s, Finnish culture has evolved in many lands. Instead of accepting our rich cultural diversity that Finnish immigrants and their descendants gave this nation, we passed strict citizenship laws that disjointed them from us.

Debating what happened to our cultural diversity and why it was nearly erased would be questioning the whole essence of our reason for being as a nation in the twentieth century.

What will come out of such a debate in the future is a question mark. One matter is for certain, however: It should make us stronger at the end of the day because Finnish culture will be more acceptant of its diversity.

Time: Why Speaking More than One Language May Delay Alzheimer’s

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Comment: Migrant Tales doesn’t normally publish health stories but here is one that argues that speaking more than one language may help you escape for a while longer the devastating clutches of Alzheimer’s.

Just like speaking many languages keeps the brain fit, interacting and being a part of many cultures must do the same job. At least it isn’t a disadvantage unless prejudice is the rule in a society. 

In Finland, two associations, the secretive Suomen Sisu and Suomalaisuuden liitto,  believe that cultural diversity is a bad thing that must be opposed at all costs. One of the aims of the latter association is to undermine the role of the Swedish-language minority in Finland.

Both of these associations live in a historical time warp where they fantasize about a Finland that existed in fairy tale books. Both of them have recently gained more political power through parties like the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS).

The chairman of Suomalaisuuden liitto is Sampo Terho, the EuroMP that replaced PS chairman Timo Soini.

Thank you for the heads up Marcela Santafé y Soriano.

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By Meredith Melnick

There are many ways in which speaking another language may contribute to a well-lived life. You can talk to a whole lot more of Earth’s inhabitants, for one thing. You can also enjoy books, music and films in their original language, and throw a few more “skills” onto your résumé. Now add to that list the findings of new studies suggesting that speaking multiple languages may also help protect cognitive health over the long term.

YLE: Lapset ja nuoret törmäävät yhä näkyvämpään rasismiin

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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.

Read whole story.

Is there racism in Finland (Part 2)?

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By Enrique Tessieri

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.

Turun Sanomat: Emämaan unohtama kansanosa

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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.

Read whole story.

Halla-aho and Suomen Sisu get caught in their own game

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By Enrique Tessieri

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.

Europe and Finland must get its immigration policy right

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y Enrique Tessieri

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.

A ticking time bomb called the Perussuomalaiset

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By Enrique Tessieri

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?