Migrant tales - Page 64 of 535

MT Media Monitoring: HS interview with Riikka Purra and the PS’ pet topic, migration

Posted on August 21, 2022 by Migrant Tales

Helsingin Sanomat published (paywall) Sunday an interview with Riikka Purra, the chairperson of the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. Helsingin Sanomat‘s veteran reporter, Marko Junkkari, did the interview.

In general, Junkkari did a good job in handling Purra’s comments with facts and in no place in the interview did the PS chairperson dominate the interview with her answers, which did not convince.

The story’s headline, “Always the same topic,” sits well with the story. Like her predecessor Jussi Halla-aho, migration is the PS’ pet topic.

In the story, it becomes clear that Junkkari dominates the topic and is not afraid to ask Purra some uncomfortable questions. However, one matter that bothered me about the story was the use of the term “migrant.” It was used too generally, and Junkkari could have asked the PS chairperson to specify what types of migrants she refers to.

I doubt that Purra refers to white German migrants in Finland when speaking of migrants.

**Read the full story (in Finnish) here.**

It is such an important topic for the party that it grew from a minor to a major party in parliament. The PS is the first party in modern Finnish history to use migration as a rallying cry for voters.

Even if Purra promised the party would expand to other topics, nothing has happened on this front.

MT Media Monitoring: A government partnership between Kokoomus and the PS would be a hammer blow to us

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Migrant Tales

Politicians and parties expel a lot of blah blah. Ask this question: Will matters improve for Finland’s racialized communities if the PS and Kokoomus partner in a government? There’s your answer with no blah blah.

A recent story by MTV, a private television channel with a streak of Fox News, published a story about what some National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) leaders thought about forming a government with the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)*.

Finland will hold parliamentary elections in April, and considering that Kokoomus and the PS are the biggest opposition parties, with the former leading in opinion polls, future cooperation in a Kokoomus-led government is naturally a topic of speculation.

**For some, a government led by Kokoomus and the PS would bring a lot of social hardship, especially to migrants and minorities. Read the full story (in Finnish) here.**

Even so, the MTV story reveals many ugly truths about how the Finnish media treats its ever-growing culturally diverse communities with disregard. It is an example of whitewash journalism that avoids asking essential questions.

Even if MTV did not care to bring up what a partnership between Kokoomus and the PS would have on our racialized communities in Finland, Migrant Tales is obliged to do so. Moreover, the television station did not even attempt to answer what extreme cost-saving measures would affect people’s lives.

While the story only mentions labor migrants twice, it sidelines the topic effectively and brushes it under the rug.

Although without the same obsessive zeal, Kokoomus is also inflicted by racism. In its black-and-white world, there are “undesirable” migrants, asylum seekers, Muslims, people of color, and “desirable” ones like cheap, obedient, easily exploitable labor.

Let’s look at some of Purra’s quotes and ask after reading them why MTV did not even bother to bring them up:

“If it were up to me, the Perussuomalaiset will never form part of a government
that does not successfully [and] significantly tighten Finnish immigration policy;”
Aims to scrap dual citizenship rights and raise citizenship requirements from five to 10 years;
Total rejection of Muslim asylum seekers to Finland even at the cost of ditching international agreements and human rights obligations;
Constant attacks against cultural diversity by labeling Others as incompatible, irreparable, and hopeless problems;
Much whing about “multiculturalism” but little on solutions.

Helsingin Sanomat editorial and the real reason why the Perussuomalaiset do well in parliamentary elections

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Migrant Tales

A short editorial by Helsingin Sanomat Thursday warns that the 1.3 percentage point rise in the recent opinion poll of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party may force other parties to latch on to Islamophobic rhetoric. The PS’ pet themes today are high electricity and gas prices at the pumps and others, which it did not specify.

Even if the daily did not specify the other topic, anyone following the populist party would note that migration is the likely candidate.

While the latter should be clear to the editorial board of Helsingin Sanomat, the daily leaves out another important fact: the national media and public servants like the police spread the PS’ hateful rhetoric.

The 2011 parliamentary election, when the PS won 39 seats from 5 previously, was propelled and helped by uncritical reporting that was more amazed at the new racist kid on the political block. Even parties like the Social Democrats started copying the PS’ anti-immigration rhetoric.

PS rising political “stars” like Jussi Halla-aho, James Hirvisaari, Juho Erola, Timo Soini, and others got their place in the sun. Things were so bad back then that Islamophobes were invited to give their opinions on talk shows.

Sweden is the pet topic of the Perussuomalaiset, spreading fake news, too

Posted on August 15, 2022 by Migrant Tales

If you didn’t speak out against racism, who would?

Sweden is a pet topic of the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. They constantly and obnoxiously remind us what a horrible place Sweden is because there live Muslims and other migrants.

PS chairperson, Riikka Purra, continues to push her ethnonationalist and ethnic replacement theory at almost every opportunity. She constantly attacks people who are vieraskielisiä, people who do not speak Finnish or Swedish as their mother tongue.

Purra tweets below:
In the [September] Swedish [parliamentary] elections, there is a general debate to discuss how many “non-Nordics” can live in each area and what problems too many will cause.
So times are changing, even in Sweden. Unfortunately, it is too late [for them].
If only Finland would understand [to act] before such a matter happens.”

Purra forgets to mention how much migrants have contributed to building Sweden’s economy and well-being. She doesn’t, for obvious reasons, mention how our ever-growing elderly population will impoverish us.

Moreover, Purra, like her PS lapdogs and followers, are constantly whining about how bad Sweden is and how immigration is bad for society.

Twitter (Riikka Purra): Islamofobia ja “sokeus,” perussuomalaiset ja islamofobia

Posted on August 14, 2022 by Migrant Tales

Perussuomalaisten puheenjohtaja Riikka Purra leimaa kaikki muslimit vaarallisiksi. Kaikissa uskonnoissa ja kulttuurissa on mielipuolisia ihmisiä. Miksi Purra ei puhu sanaakaan Ricky Shifferista?

Shifferi on yksi Trumpin kannustaja joka hyökkäsi aseella FBIn toimiston Cincinnatissa ja sai surmansa myöhemmin.

Annan Purralle yhden kattavasta raportista islamofobiasta Euroopassa, jossa olen maininnut hänet ja hänen puolueensa monia kertoja. Tässä linkki.

**Lähde: European Islamophobia Report 2020**

White Finnish justice is sometimes lopsided

Posted on August 14, 2022 by Migrant Tales

An example of how white Finnish justice works?

Two inebriated white Finns start to harass a non-white boy in a racist manner. The boy yells something back at them and speeds away with his bike.

A white Finnish couple says something at the men about their behavior toward the boy. They approach the couple, and the thirty-year-old man hits and kicks one of the suspects who yelled at the boy.

The man, claims that he attacked the inebriated men after they got about a meter from him. The man said he attacked them because he feared they might have a knife.

The court did not accept the defendant’s claim and was fined 1,300 euros for assault and threatening a person unlawfully.

A court of appeal had turned down a request to overturn the original ruling.

Up to here, we can sort of understand the case. However, an important piece is missing: racist harassment of a child by two white Finnish adults. Did the police attempt to find the child and bring charges against the two men?

The story reads as if racist harassment is unimportant and has no bearing on the case.

White Finnish justice is lopsided.

After 16 hours in the darkness, Migrant Tales is up and running again

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Migrant Tales

I was shocked when my provider suspended my account on Friday. The first matter that I thought about was if there was an unpaid bill and that was the cause for my provider to suspend my account.

The last time we had a similar scare was in 2012, when we were down for about 13 hours.

My provider gave me the following news: “Hello, It appears that there is an attack coming through on the domain. Specifically a lot of wp-login hits and main page of the site.”

Not being able to post anything because the site was under attack is a horrible feeling, to say the least. That is why it is important to have a good provider who can offer expedient support when needed.

Death threats, threats in general, harassment, and malicious attacks against the site are all part of a blogger’s ecosystem.

After a dip in the darkness, we are up and running again.

This made my Saturday night.

How coded language is used in Finland to get around labelling groups and racist words

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Migrant Tales

In Finland, some parties are openly racist, and others are more subtle about it. Both are dangerous to our community. The more we know about them, the better prepared we are to challenge such a menace.

Large opposition parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) have one matter in common: they loathe asylum seekers from outside the EU but rarely name the ethnic group directly.

In all respects, they are nothing more than cowardly bullies for treating vulnerable people like asylum seekers with such contempt.

Parties that profit politically off asylum seekers are such cowards that they usually speak in code. The term “asylum seeker” is used usually to signify Muslim as well as “person of migrant background,” when he’s not an asylum seeker.

Ever wonder why both these parties usually refuse to use the word “Muslim” or “Arab?” True, the PS no longer does but uses Afghans (and previously Somalis) in some of its postings like the one below, where it claims that keeping such people out of Finland and putting them in refugee camps in a neighboring country helps 50 refugees.

The PS tweet below states:”Do we want to help – or do we want more migrants? The best way to help them in neighboring [countries].
One Afghan to Finland costs as much as [helping] 50 people in bordering countries.”

MT Media Monitoring: Why doesn’t Helsingin Sanomat tell us the full story about labor market discrimination?

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Migrant Tales

Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest daily, missed another opportunity to expose the elephant in the room about why so few Ukrainian nurses and medics are hired in the face of a chronic labor shortage in the health sector.

True, the daily does address issues like language as a factor. But isn’t this a common excuse in the labor market to not hire non-Finns? Another factor cited by the paper is the bureaucracy (Valvira, the national supervisory authority for welfare and health) and rules, which make hiring healthcare professionals challenging.

Numerous studies on Finland’s and EU’s labor markets conclude they are racialized and segregated. So many toxic matters that impact migrant employment spring from structural racism. Why are we treating such a social ill with kid gloves?

Olga Silfver of the Ukrainian association of Finland sheds light on the country’s racialized and segregated markets, which also apply to white and Christian Ukrainians.

Twitter (@persut): No Afghan migrants to Finland

Posted on August 10, 2022 by Migrant Tales

The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party hates migrants from Muslim countries. It hates these people so much that it rarely utters the word “Muslim” and “African.”

PS tweet below states:

Do we want to help – or do we want more migrants?
The best way to help them is in neighboring [countries].
One Afghan to Finland costs as much as [helping] 50 people in bordering countries.

Ask the PS the following questions:
1. How many Afghan refugees are living in refugee camps?
2. Is living in a refugee camp similar to living at a five-star hotel?
3. Why are we taking a fraction of the refugees in Europe compares to countries like Pakistan, Lebanon, Turkey and others?
4. Why are you so spiteful against refugees?