In the May 1981 issue, the Foreign Student continued to mirror the activism of some of the Foreign Students Club’s members against Finland’s arbitrary and unjust treatment of foreigners. The newsletter reported on the Mayday petition, which received over 500 signatures demanding basic human rights for foreigners. “If unity creates strength, don’t whisper anymore,” wrote…
Tag: Censorship
PS MP Mäkelä wants to gag the free press
Finland is a country that enjoys the greatest amount of press freedom, according to Reporters without Borders. I suspect that one way that Finland has attained such a high ranking in the press freedom index is because politicians are not directly manipulating what the media should do and write. A rude example of such abuse,…
Finland’s standing in global press freedom ranking likely to suffer another downgrade
Finland’s standing in global press freedom rankings will take another blow this year after the police carried out without a court order a Helsingin Sanomat reporter Laura Halminen’s personal and company phones, computer and iPad, and a large number of USP memory sticks, reports YLE News. The search was carried out after Finland’s largest daily published leaked classified documents from the secretive Defense Forces’ Intelligence Research Center.
Exceptionalism is our greatest enemy in promoting social equality and press freedom in Finland
I used to comment mock the Swedes before for their exceptionalism. The argument is simple – Sweden is such “a perfect” society that social no-nos like racism don’t exist. The same exceptionalism that we may see in Sweden is alive and kicking in Finland, too. Exceptionalism is everywhere and you know it if you are Other.
The oddly unspoken topic of racism
“Racism is a refuge for the ignorant. It seeks to divide and to destroy. It is the enemy of freedom, and deserves to be met head-on and stamped out.” Pierre Berton (1920-2004) Many visitors have come and gone on Migrant Tales. Those that jump the MT ship the soonest are those who choose to justify a…
Suomenmaa: Lapsellista sensuurihenkeä
Kansanedustaja James Hirvisaaren (ps.) puoliso Merja Hirvisaari on kannellut Julkisen Sanan neuvostoon median suhtautumisesta perussuomalaisiin. Hirvisaaren mielestä tiedotusvälineet yrittivät vaalien alla muokata kansalaisten mielipiteitä perussuomalaisia vastaan. Erityisen törkeänä esimerkkinä hän pitää persu-sanaa, jota hänen mukaansa käytettiin ”halventavana, pilkkaavana ja valheellisena mitätöinnin työkaluna”
The origins of modern Finnish xenophobia and racism
Modern Finnish racism has two sources: nationalism imbedded deep in our history coupled with low self-esteem.