Europe is good at hiding its very big dirty secrets. German news magazine Der Spiegel revealed the inhuman treatment of refugees at European borders by publishing a report on Frontex by the European anti-fraud office OLAF. And that’s not all: The Guardianreports that 92 naked refugees were rescued at the Greek-Turkish border.
Writes Der Spiegel: “The OLAF report led to [former Frontex head Fabrice] Leggeri’s resignation in spring 2022. But what the investigators have uncovered goes far beyond questions of individual liability. Even though it wasn’t the main focus of the investigation, the report relentlessly exposes how Greek border guards in the Aegean Sea abandon refugees at sea on inflatable life rafts to prevent them from exercising their right to apply for asylum.”
Tens of thousands of refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea have perished. The silence resembles the mass killings of Jews, Roma, and other state enemies in concentration camps. Even in my country of birth, Argentina, people elected not to see the abduction, torture, and murder of people by the military dictatorship.
“The question in the coming years will be whether taxpayer money will continue to be used to help break the law at the EU’s borders – or whether Frontex will be forced to comply with European law,” writes Der Spiegel.
A young and energetic woman called Anastasiia Diudina aims to fight Russian aggression and sees helping Ukrainian refugees as an important part of it.What is surprising is that some of the problems the asylum seekers faced at asylum reception centers in 2015 and beyond are faced by Ukrainians.
While Diudina stresses that the treatment of Ukrainian refugees depends on the asylum reception center, former culprits like Luona, a private company, and the Red Cross are mentioned as poor examples since “they are big organizations.”
“Just like in 2015 and 2016, when people from Iraq and the Middle East came to Finland, it’s important that asylum reception center staffers understand that people are fleeing war, mass killings, genocide are traumatized,” she said. “Many [Ukrainian] refugees have spent weeks inside a cellar while their city was bombarded.”
“Luona, for one, refugees [allege] that they don’t get any humane treatment from the staffers,” Diuidina continued. “At Luona, some refugees have been told to live elsewhere if they aren’t happy with how they are treated. If you are treated poorly [by a worker], you lose trust in those that are supposed to help you.”
The young activist mentioned cultural and language problems between reception center staffers and refugees. She said that many Ukrainians don’t speak English.
“There are long waiting lines to visit the nurse,” Diudina explained. “How to treat diabetes is a good example of how cultural misunderstanding leads to mistrust. In Ukraine, diet is an important part of diabetes treatment even if it is not used as a diabetes treatment in Finland”.
The diabetic does not understand why the reception center does not give him the right food. This may lead him to falsely believe that nobody cares for him, according to her.
Ylewrote about how poor food at Kyyhkylä near Mikkeli was a common source of friction.
The young activist said that many problems could be avoided if there were enough resources to help refugees at reception centers. According to her, staffers are overwhelmed with work.
“Is this the refugee problem?” she asked. “No, it is Migri’s [Finnish Immigration Service].”
In the face of open warfare, genocide and destruction, Anastasiia Diudina believes it is every Russian’s duty to help Ukrainians.
Present mistakes come from past mistakes
Remember former Center Party Prime Minister Juho Sipilä’s government when they had to deal with a record number of asylum seekers from mainly Iraq and Afghanistan? With the blessings of the National Coalition Party, Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, and the opposition, Finland passed draconian laws in 2016 to do away with pull factors.
If we are honest, those laws supposed to help asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees are at the core of the problem. The same arguments used by understaffed and some unqualified staffers at asylum reception centers are made again: We had to do things in a rush, we don’t have the experience.
Diudina explained that there is a shortage of human resources, forcing some to be inflexible and do the minimum that the law requires.
Migrant Tales understands that a Kanta-Häme district court ruling acquitted the police and security guards for forcibly removing the hijab of two women in 2017 will be appealed.
The present ruling, which allowed the police and security guards to use force, sends a disturbing message. It messages that the police can use force without considering your religion and rights..
Source: Google
Moreover, such forceful action by the police undermines Muslim’s already low confidence in the police.
The women applying for asylum at the time were forced to take off their hijabs for a picture. They argued that apart from religion, they were taken photos with their hijabs in Helsinki.
The September 30 district court ruling received little mention in the media. Helsingin Sanomat published a story on the matter in 2017. Iltalehti, Yle, and Hämeen Sanomat covered the recent court ruling in their publications.
Journalism is a tough job that forces one to stay on its toes. On Thursday on A-Talk we heard the opinions of four MPs of the Left Alliance, Social Democrats, National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), and the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* if Finland was heading towards a debt crisisand spending cutbacks.
There was nothing new from PS MP VIlle Tavio, who suggested the usual cuts in development aid, which is pictured as “money thrown down the drain,” and billions of euros from “migration,” which he labeled as a security threat.
No pushback, never mind an utter from the host Sakari Sirkkinen. The following comment by Tavio was a sad example of zzz or snooze journalism. Yle is supposed to represent migrants and minorities living in Finland, not permit their demonization.
Said Tavio: “Social welfare based on nationality would revolutionize the [existing] and make the system more dynamic and advantageous for us.”
Ville Tavio has expressed support for France’s Marine Le Pen and other autocrats like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. Source: Yle
Again, an eerie silence came from the host, and none of the guests uttered a word.
With parliamentary elections in April, PS Chairperson Riikka Purra reiterated Thursday that social welfare benefits should hinge on nationality.
There is a lot of talk and unfortunate examples of how the media helps to spread populist parties’ hateful messages about migrants and minorities. An editorial published by Helsingin Sanomat Thursday is a good example of how the media does this.
The good showing of the Sweden Democrats in September’s parliamentary election is due to the country’s youth gangs, which received a lot of attention.
In the same way as the Sweden Democrats, the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) is trying to use the same campaign theme in Finland. Even if the editorial does not mention that it is racist for parties like the PS to label whole groups as a menace to society, it correctly points out that Finland’s so-called youth gang problem is different from Sweden’s.
Finland’s political atmosphere has been poisoned so much by xenophobia that such social ills have become normal. Especially parties like the PS and the National Coalition Party are directly responsible.
I had the opportunity to attend on 6 October the European Network on Religion & Belief’s (ENORB)* General Assembly, when writer and columnist Babah Tarawally gave an inspirational talk on hope and Ubuntu, an African philosophy that draws strength communally.
As many migrants and minorities readily learn, hope is the fuel that keeps one from moving forward in one’s new homeland; it also gives you strength to pick yourself up after failing.
Tarawally lives in the Netherlands and writes about Otherness as a writer and columnist. He is a source for migrants and others who want to succeed in their new homeland and be treated equally, not as victims.
“They called me a refugee [in the beginning], and putting [that label] on me all the time is very frustrating for me because it made me feel in a space as someone who is a victim all the time,” he said. “I don’t want to be seen as a victim but as an expert who is equal [to everyone].”
Babah Tarawally’s talk at ENORB’s GA.
Tarawally said that he empowers migrants in the Netherlands by asking them to see themselves in a picture that has a gold frame.
Here is an example of a discriminatory and spiteful message by the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party head, Riikka Purra. With parliamentary elections in April, she and the PS are ratcheting up their xenophobic message.
“A foreigner is entitled to social welfare when making 716 euros a month. Such a [benchmark] was given the green light by the social welfare act passed by the National Coalition Party, Center Party, and Blue Reform. During this period, one can calculate income requirements to see what a good deal this is for Finland and tax payers. Labor migration only works if it is based on nationality, as required by the PS. In this way, a migrant lives off his salary and not on social welfare.”
As the claim by Purra reveals, the only role of the PS is to poison the atmosphere, lie and keep migrants and minorities as second-class members of society. In other words – it is toxic and racist and unsubstantiated blah blah.
Eikö töihin tulevan maahanmuuttajan pitäisi elää palkallaan eikä sosiaaliturvalla? pic.twitter.com/yCOW2j3wXQ
Former President Donald Trump is a threat to USAmerican democracy, and Russian President Vladimir Putin a threat to world peace. While these leaders spread their toxicity and hatred on other people and nations for political gain, our Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has nothing more than praise for them.
Well, that was before Trump and Putin became major embarrassments.
A word of advice: Don’t trust the PS with a 10-mile pole in Finland. They are a threat to our democracy. They are the ones who pose proudly with autocrats like Viktor Orbán of Hungary and pro-Putinists like Matteo Salvini.
It would be unfair, to blame only the PS for all the Islamophobia and hatred in Finland. The National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) is trying to use and flirt with the PS in the hope that they will gain more voters.
It is a dumb and perilous choice. In Sweden, their sister party, the Moderates, opened the door to the far-right Sweden Democrats, leaving them in second place in last month’s election after the far-right party.
A poll published in 2016 showed that only the Perussuomalaiset tested Trump and Putin the most. “Kyllä” means yes, ei no, and Eos, no opinion. Source: Iltalehti
Riikka Purra’s and Jussi Halla-aho’s party will first take away the civil rights of migrants and minorities and destroy our welfare state in the process.
From left to right: President Trump and Putin in a 2016 poster in Montenegro. Photo by Stevo Vasilijevic/Reuters. Upper center: PS MPs, Vilhelm Junnila and Veikko Vallin, ging the thumbs up with their MAGA caps. Source: Facebook and Migrant Tales. Lower center: Tweets Halla-aho in November: “Trump is the best thing that happened in a long time to the United States and the west. Tweets MP Mika Niikko: “Trump’s campaign is similar to what the PS does. Trump has spiritual superiority. And then Russian premier Vladimir Putin: “Trump is a very qualified leader. His vitality enables him to do away with viruses.” Source: Mannerheim-projekti.Right: MEP Laura Huhtasaari and Hungarian strongman Viktor Orbán. Source Twitter
Watching weekly Thursday’s question-and-answer session between the opposition and government can cause nausea. With parliamentary elections six months in April, expect opposition parties like the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) to increase their attacks against ALL migrants.
The truth about the PS and Kokoomus, the biggest and second-biggest opposition party, respectively, is that they have declared hostile and open warfare against migrants and minorities in Finland.
Making up fear scenarios and copying the success of the Sweden Democrats in September’s elections in Sweden is what the PS and Kokoomus want to convey to their prospective voters.
The debate about youth gangs in Finland shows the social inequality that migrants and minority youths suffer in Finland. Read the full story here.
Mark my words, after the April parliamentary election, those xenophobic cries will simmer down. The ever-hostile rhetoric of the opposition has nothing to do with solving migration or gang violence. They are deceitful and an election stunt to lure voters.
Kokoomus must look a bit worried about the elections in Sweden. The open support of their sister party, the Moderates, enabled the Sweden Democrats to become the biggest right-wing party.
The lesson we learn repeatedly is that right-wing parties that support far-right ones lose support. Why would you vote for a party that is a lighter version of the real xenophobic thing?
Mahad Sheikh Musse* has worked in Helsinki as a youth worker in various roles and with various communities for the past 15 years. If there is somebody who understands minority youth issues, it is him. Migrant Tales had the opportunity to chat with Mahad during his busy schedule.
We all know how the elections in Sweden went. The far-right Sweden Democrats exploited and made gang violence their campaign message. Their rhetoric paid off, turning the Sweden Democrats into the biggest right-wing party and an opportunity to form part of government for the first time.
Even if in Finland, we are nowhere near Sweden regarding gang violence, politicians from the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), and Christian Democrats are trying to exploit the same issue with parliamentary elections in April.
Expect accusations and finger-pointing by these parties and the media will get louder in the months ahead.
Contrary to what the media and certain politicians are spreading, Mahad does not believe that there are organized youth gangs in Finland like in Sweden. In other words, so-called gang violence is not an issue but spread by politicians with an agenda.
Even if violent crimes suspects under 15 has grown, it has gradually fallen throughout the 2010s for the 15 and 17 age group, according to Yle News.
Even so, Finland is still far ways off Sweden concerning suspected youth crime cases.
“Finland’s biggest daily with the main headlines of the day: Brown youths are dangerous. Source: a hunch.” Source: Twitter and Migrant Tales.
“In my opinion, the worst mistake our officials can make is to group all of our youth minorities into one group,” he said. “You are not interacting with youths as individuals but as a group. Apart from exaggerating the problem, it is a racist way of looking at the issue.”
Mahad said that one of the biggest problems concerning minority youths is that they don’t have access to services that should help them and that we talk about their problems without their presence.
“Some journalists have little idea about about the lives of minority youths,” he added and stressed once again: “If we want to improve the lives of minority youths, we must deal with them individually and not by putting them into one group.”
Mahad said that the problem boils down to how we debate the matter publicly. It is important to remember that the authorities must distinguish between those that commit crimes and those that don’t.
“The message from the #authorities to #youth must be clear: Everyone is an individual and responsible for their crimes,” he said.
“We create two groups when we say that minority youths are a threat: one of these is a threat to society, while the other isn’t. This is wrong,” he said.
The youth worker said that one big challenge is overcoming ignorance of such youths. Moreover, some migrants and minorities like to hide inside their groups and be part of a system that promotes institutional racism and social exclusion.
“You have people [like politicians and the media] talking about minorities without even knowing anything about such people,” he continued. “When it comes to minorities, everyone is automatically an expert.”
“Pretty incredible, no?”
*Mahad Sheikh Musse is a board member of Rasmus ry, an anti-racism association.
