“Our lives are about transcending the labels that people impose upon us.”
Ibrahim Khan
Tag: Cultural diversity
The words and silence of politicians have dire consequences in Finland for us
After the stabbing of ten people in Turku on Friday, politicians like President Sauli Niinistö, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, Interior Minister Paula Risikko and the national media appear to be carried away by their prejudices and hostility towards asylum seekers. Even Jussi Halla-aho, the chairman of the Perussuomalaiset* convicted for hate speech, threw his hat in the ring.
These politicians, like many others, are the ones who speak to us about mutual respect and social equality but despite such assurances, they are not meant for migrants and minorities. They loathe our social welfare system and the noble values so much that they intend to destroy them. On their list of suspicious people are not only those who are different from them but the most vulnerable sectors of society like the unemployed, single mothers and others.
They tell us that there is no connection between what happened in Turku and plans to fast-track a new intelligence law and ever-tougher stances against asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, migrants, and minorities.
We know that there is a connection and if we don’t watch out, they will sell out everything great and noble about Finland that took decades to build.
Read the full story (in Swedish) here.
After Friday’s tragic events in Turku, we have seen a spike in hostility against non-white Finns throughout the country. Business establishments were attacked as well as innocent people whose only “crime” is being Other. One of these was a young man told to remove himself from a seat, and another was stabbed in Vantaa after being asked if he was a Muslim.
These cases are, like hate crimes, only the tip of the iceberg.
Continue reading “The words and silence of politicians have dire consequences in Finland for us”
The Finnish Security Intelligence Service’s epic failure in reacting to a terrorist threat in Turku
In a country like Finland, where the police are demigods, the epic failure of the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo) in not reacting soon enough to the terrorist attack in Turku stands out like a sore thumb. Supo had received a tip in early 2017 from the police about the suspect Abderrahman Mechkah’s radicalized and extremist views, according to YLE News.
If President Sauli Niinistö and the government want to speak of the “two extremes,” or tolkun ihmiset, Meckhkah offers us an example of the other extreme. Now we have a terrorist on one end and neo-Nazi Eppu Tornianen, who killed a young man in the fall with a massive kick in the chest, Finland First, MV, Vastarintaliike, Perussuomalaiset*, and others.
If there is one matter that the terrorist attack in Turku did on Friday was smash alas to pieces the tolkun ihmiset nonsense used to silence and control debate on our ever-growing cultural and ethnic diversity. Furthermore, as in Charlottesville and in Turku, empty promises of social equality, tolerance and “pro-inclusive” integration pledges will no longer work because they never have.
Finland needs concrete deeds and a paradigm policy shift that it is serious about being a welcoming society that promotes social equality for everyone who lives here irrespective of their background. Finland is an ever-growing culturally and ethnically diverse society, period.
Read the full story here.
Suggesting and labeling people who speak out against racism and defend our Nordic values as extremists reveal that Finland is still in deep denial about its racism and discrimination issues.
Why do some schools in Finland ask if a pupil is “a person of migrant origin?”
Sari Pöyhönen, who wrote in an op-ed piece in Helsingin Sanomat this week, asked why some schools in Finland ask parents if they are migrants, a person with a migrant origin, refugee, returnee, immigrant, temporarily in the country or asylum seeker. It is a good question considering that placing people into such groups is in general illegal in Finland.
“Asking such questions like what is a parent’s background is conflictive and confusing,” she explained. “What group does a child belong to if he or she was born in Finland and the parents were born abroad? What about if the pupil were adopted from overseas and the parents are Finns?”
Pöyhönen, who is a professor at the University of Jyväskylä with expertise in areas like language education policies, migration policy, identity & belonging, refugee & asylum seeker narratives, among others, said that such questions about a parent’s background are not only done at schools in Central Finland.
“I got contacted by a person from Inkoo [in southern Finland], and this suggests that the practice is widespread and has been going on for some time,” she added.
Read the full story here.
Pöyhönen’s asks in the op-ed: “As a guardian, I wonder why a school needs such information about a pupil’s background. What type of pedagogical and administrative policies are made from such information?”
The questionnaire is confusing for many reasons. What is the different between a refugee and asylum seeker?
Continue reading “Why do some schools in Finland ask if a pupil is “a person of migrant origin?””
Adaption of migrants in Finland is a one-way (assimilation) process
What do politicians and public officials in Finland mean when they claim that integration is a two-way process? Is it only political correctness that motivates them to make up such claims or is it code that means one-way adaption, or assimilation?
The first question that I’d like to ask is what does two-way integration mean? How is it put in practice in Finland?
The table above shows the educational background of 15-64-year-old migrants (ulkomaalaistaustainen) and Finns (suomalaistaustainen) who have completed tertiary education (korkea aste), upper secondary school (toinen aste) or comprehensive school (peruskoulu). Source: Survey on work and well-being among people of foreign origin.
In an ideal world, it is supposed to mean – I suspect – when two equal members of society representing different cultures learn from each other and try to find synergies to create a stronger and more dynamic society. For such a thing to happen, however, there must be no institutional racism. And there’s a lot of that in Finland.
Continue reading “Adaption of migrants in Finland is a one-way (assimilation) process”
Helsingin Sanomat survey on migrants reveals expectations that adaption in Finland is and will be a one-way process
Finland’s largest daily, Helsingin Sanomat, published a survey Friday about the minimum requirements that foreigners should adapt to if living here. Seventy-seven percent fully agreed that white Finns should be able to shake hands with both sexes. The survey showed as well that 52% were against women’s-only swimming hours and 37% felt that one should bathe naked in the sauna.
What surprised me the most, however, was that 32% were against men and women bus drivers using turbans and hijabs. That compared with 40% that said that teachers, the police or other public officials should not use any object to cover their hair.
Migrant Tales reported during 2013-2014 about the long struggle of a Sikh bus driver, Gill Sukhdarshan Singh, who won a landmark case to wear a turban at work.
While these are interesting expectations of white Finns in the survey they reinforce what we’ve known all along: Adaption of foreigners is a one-way process. It also reveals that people are reluctant to make room for cultural diversity.
Some findings of the Helsingin Sanomat survey on what Finns expect foreigners to accept about Finland. Read the full story here.
Since racism, bigotry, and exclusion are enforced by the majority’s power and privilege, it’s clear that the survey, the questions, and answers will respond to maintaining the status quo. The survey reveals as well Helsingin Sanomat’s simplistic view of how migrants should adapt to our society.
“Tolerant” Minister Lindström and his aide planned to slash funding to integration programs in Finland
Blue Reform* (formerly Perussuomalaiset) Minister of Labor Jari Lindström’s special aide Sakari Puisto aimed to slash financial aid to migrant associations by 348,000 euros from 750,000 euros, reports Helsingin Sanomat. A ministry official was “shocked” when he heard such plans by Puisto in January.
Some associations that were going to see their financial aid cut included Liikkukaa, Sateenvarjo, Suomen somalilaistenliitto, Suomen Somali verkosto as well as others.
Lindström, who has tried to portray himself as “tolerant” on immigration issues, saw such a facade expose a more sinister face after the scoop by Helsingin Sanomat.
Plans to drastically cut financial aid to associations that work with migrants fall into the anti-immigration policies of the Perussuomalaiset (PS), which have now split into two parties after Jussi Halla-aho, whose hostile views on immigration are known and who was convicted for hate speech in 2012, was elected chair the PS.
One of the reasons why the PS grew in Finland has been a simple message: We’ll take care of the Somali and “migrant problem” in Finland.
“Taking care” of the so-called “problem” has meant hostility towards migrants, the tightening of immigration policy and undermining integration programs to migrants.
Habiba Ali, a Social Democratic Party councilperson of the city of Espoo, said that if the cuts suggested by Puisto would have gone ahead, it would have undermined the work of these organizations to help integrate them into society.
“Sports is important for [some] migrants if they want to integrate into Finnish society,” she said. “Investing in integration policies makes sense since this will mean more effective integration and future taxpayers.”
Read the full story here.
Ali said that integration is a two-way process and that the law should apply to everyone equally.
The Finnish media gives a lot of space to Halla-aho and the PS but none to us
It’s clear that the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is a different party after this weekend, when Jussi Halla-aho, Laura Huhtasaari, Teuvo Hakkarainen and Juho Eerola were elected to lead the anti-immigrant and anti-EU party. Halla-aho spoke of in his policy speech of “nationalistic forces,” which is code for anti-immigration, anti-cultural diversity and anti-EU policies.
Halla-aho said that the PS should align itself with such forces in the Nordic region, which means Islamophobic parties like the Danish People’s Party, Sweden Democrats and the Progress Party of Norway.
Halla-aho will meet at 10am with Center Party Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and National Coalition Party head Petteri Orpo about whether the PS will continue to be in government.
Read the full story here.
Considering that Halla-aho and PS second vice president Hakkarainen have convictions for ethnic agitation, and that Huuhtasaari and Eerola have a dubious reputation because of their acceptance of fascism and hostility towards cultural diversity, it is surprising that no newspaper in Finland asked a single Somali Finn, Muslim or visible minority what they thought about the “new” PS.
Continue reading “The Finnish media gives a lot of space to Halla-aho and the PS but none to us”
Muhammed Shire and Johanna Ennser-Kananen: “Your Finnish is not good enough” and other myths migrants face on the job market
Migrant Tales insight: I would like to personally thank Muhammed Shire and Johanna Ennser-Kananen for shedding light on some age-old myths surrounding migrants and minorities in Finland. As sensible people interested in the best proactive solutions that are in line with our Nordic welfare state values, we should not only look at ways of challenging such myths but replacing them with effective solutions.
Like most problems facing our ever-growing culturally diverse community, myths and blame are placed on us for not “trying hard enough” or “for not knowing enough” to land that job. Even our integration act, which came into force in 2011, makes no mention about racism and discrimination as obstacles to adaption because it plays down the impact of such social ills. Thus the burden of proof continues to be unfairly dumped on migrants and members of the minority community.
We must change the order of things not only because discrimination and racism ruins lives and are costly, but because we must live up to our Nordic values concerning fair and equal treatment. Not doing so or leaving such matters to chance is synonymous to shooting oneself in the leg.
If you are a migrant who has applied for educational programs or jobs, chances are that you have heard some of the following myths. In this article, we debunk them by explaining their racist nature.
Finland has one of the highest disparities between EU and non-EU citizens. For more information go to Eurostat
Myth #1: “Your Finnish is not good enough for alternative options.”
Of course we can’t and don’t want to deny the important role language can play in integration and participation processes. However, the common belief that high proficiency in the socially dominant (in our case Finnish) language will automatically open doors to professional or educational success is overly simplistic and ample research exists that debunks this myth (see, for example, Ennser-Kananen & Pettitt, under review; Krumm & Plutzar, 2008). When migrants apply for jobs, language oftentimes becomes a substitute for race, ethnicity, or other social factors like gender and religion. This happens, for instance, when employers argue (and even convince themselves) that qualified applicants with migration backgrounds “do not meet their language demands” without adequately assessing their (often multilingual) language skills and without considering or supporting their language development on the job. Arguments based on “insufficient Finnish proficiency” are easy to make because they appear to be more politically correct than those based on race, religion, or gender. In addition, they are difficult to assess for the average person without training in language acquisition, so that applicants are often left with arguments that are not valid or not convincingly supported by linguistic evidence.
If you are faced with such an argument (“your Finnish is not good enough”), ask for exact explanations of the linguistic demands for the job or program you are applying and, importantly, ask for evidence of your failure to meet them. In other words, someone needs to explain to you what the Finnish language requirements are and why they are sure that you don’t meet them. Your (former) language teachers can be excellent allies in this process. They understand language assessment, especially of multilingual language learners, and usually have experience in assessing and advocating for you. Most importantly, they understand language proficiency in the context of your overall experience at school and in Finland. In addition to your teachers, the co-author of this article, Johanna Ennser-Kananen ([email protected]), is also happy to advise you in such situations. When you request explanations and evidence from an employer, you might also want to inquire about the possibility to develop your language skills on the job. Employers who are genuinely interested in you will sometimes find ways for you to to develop your Finnish as part of your workload. (Yes, it happens! And it should happen more.) In case you do not receive all the information you ask for, consider contacting Migrant Tales ([email protected]) for advice on this matter and potentially filing a report on discrimination.
Nativist nationalist anti-cultural diversity politician Sampo Terho named as Finland’s minister of culture, sport and European affairs
What kind of message does the appointment of Perussuomalaiset (PS)* parliamentary group leader Sampo Terho to minster of culture, sport and European affairs send? Does it strengthen our Nordic welfare state values or does it drive a wedge between us? Does it expose our denial of racism and bigotry in this country?
If there is a government that has done great harm to our welfare state and our Nordic values it is without any doubt Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government. Apart from targeting the most vulnerable sectors of our society like single mothers, the unemployed and marginalized, the government’s inhuman and obsessive policies have targeted asylum seekers, migrants and minorities.
Read the full story (in Finnish) here.
This isn’t a government that has only tightened laws like family reunification and caused the number of undocumented migrants to soar, but has declared war on our ever-growing culturally diverse society as well.
Spearheading this hostility is the PS party, which has built its political campaign on anti-migration and especially anti-Islam rhetoric.
The new minister of culture, Terho, is no common politician but one that has built his political career and worldview on racist ideology that will end up undermining our Nordic welfare state and values.
Apart from being minister of culture, Terho is the chairman of the Association of Finnish Culture and Identity, an association whose main task is to exclude non-white Finns and minorities from being treated as equal members of society.
In 2007, the new minister of culture published a eugenics-spirited essay dividing humans into three racial groups (Negroid, Mongoloid and Caucasian) on the different races of the world and how the white Europeans were going to become a minority in the face of non-European migrants.