Tag: Cultural diversity

Helsinki Times: A rebuttal to Ville Tavio

Posted on by Migrant Tales

An op-ed piece published by the Helsinki Times on April 11 by Finns Party (PS) MP Ville Tavio is a good example of why migrants, minorities and sensible Finns should react and be concerned about the type of country some politicians want to steer Finland towards becoming.

Just as the headline of the op-ed piece is problematic, so are many of the arguments that Tavio sets forth. For example, the PS MP sees the movement of asylum seekers to Europe as an economic factor. He claims that Europe is an “attractive” destination for asylum seekers that “lack the necessary skills for employment and the will to adopt local habits and values.”

Read the full rebuttal here.

For one, somebody should tell Tavio that the vast majority of asylum seekers don’t come to Europe. It is only a minority. Most of them settle in countries like Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and others. Moreover, the underlying reason why a minority of these asylum seekers came to Europe was because of war, as well as our values related to social equality and human rights.

Continue reading “Helsinki Times: A rebuttal to Ville Tavio”

Foreigner, jobless and excluded from the job market despite fluency in Finnish language

Posted on by Migrant Tales

How well must I speak Finnish in order to land a job? That question, even if it hounds many of us, is a very topical question that leads us to other ones that expose the culprit of discrimination. Like most matters in Finland that deal with discrimination and racism, the burden of proof falls on the victim. 

Few will disagree that we need a more radical proactive about-turn by the authorities requiring them to monitor and challenge discrimination and racism in all public spaces.

It’s clear that if we wait for politicians in this country, never mind the government of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä to improve matters on this front, we’ll be waiting for centuries long after we have turned into dust.

www.mol.fi is one site were lots of people search for attainable or unattainable opportunities.

But we don’t have centuries to wait or the patience. We want the government and the public servants of Finland to take a more active role in combating all forms of discrimination and racism in this country.

Migrant Tales receives emails regularly from its readers. The one below tells us about a recurring problem that people with high education face in this country: getting a job and unemployment.

As everyone knows, your chances of landing a job hinges in Finland depends as well on your national and ethnic background.

The person below writes in an email:   “I want to point out the fact that the language barrier and the economy have nothing to do why foreigners are not able to get a job. Foreigners should not ever blame themselves. I am fluent in Finnish. I’m a living example that doesn’t matter how highly skilled you are in Finnish language or educated, the companies don’t give a flying fuck even you have Harvard degree.” 

He continues in another email:

“I’m a 35-years old foreigner and I speak fluent Finnish and who has been living most of his life in Finland. I have BBA degree and still I haven’t got a permanent job in Finland. Last time I sent a CV to a company in Helsinki who was looking to hire a “sales assistant”. I sent the CV at 2 clock on a morning and later on that morning I got response 9 clock stating that they had “already” found a person for the position. Still even today this same company has their application in mol.fi and the expiration date was March 24.

This is just a tip of the iceberg of what I have been dealing with for decades and getting a job in Finland. And it has nothing to do with the “language barrier.” Finnish companies claim that they are not able to hire foreigners because the language barrier or lack of experience. This is not true because companies simply only hire FINNS and foreigners don’t get anything more than the crumbs on the table. I have sent an estimated over 200 CVs and I have never got a single interview in my lifetime. This xenophobia problem isn’t just in Finland but it’s all over Scandinavia and which foreigners just have to “deal” with. If Finland is suppose to be a country that promotes “equality” even for foreigners than why do European and companies from other countries treat Finns better and give them a job while foreigners don’t get anything in Finland?

If language is really the problem why companies don’t hire foreigners then how do they tell me that I don’t have a job because I don’t speak perfect Finnish?”

In twenty years the Finnish Sports Gala still portrays an all-white image that remains stuck in an ethnic time warp

Posted on by Migrant Tales

How many visible minorities do you see in the picture below at the recent award committee of the Finnish Sports Gala? In the picture below lies the clear answer of the failure of integration sports policies in Finland for the last 20 years: All of the people in the picture are white! 

The ministry of education and culture instigated a program for greater cultural diversity in 1997 but twenty years later there is not one single minority or non-white Finn in the event below.

What makes the picture below amazing is that the organizing committee of the Finnish Sports Gala lacks sensitivity in even trying to have at least one visible minority in the picture below.
If there is a picture that shows obstinacy and denial of cultural and ethnic diversity in sports in Finland, it is without a doubt the one below.

Can you find one visible minority in the picture?
 

Defining white Finnish privilege #32: The white Finnish police service and “them”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

If there is an institution that is the epitome of white Finnish privilege that is doing everything possible to hinder cultural and ethnic diversity among its ranks, that institution is the Finnish police service. 

Am I exaggerating?

Just go to the police service’s online pages and you will not find a single person who is a visible minority.

Gathering from the police service’s website, women are well-represented but nothing, absolutely nothing, is said about visible minorities never mind the police’s sensitivity towards our ever-growing culturally diverse community.

Visit the Finnish police service’s web page here.

Definition #32

The fact that there isn’t a single visible minority on the Finnish police websites shows us that they are far behind the times of other European nations like the United Kingdom and Sweden.

There must be a lot of opposition to cultural diversity as well if  a recent poll showed that about half of the police surveyed claimed to have voted for the National Coalition Party and the anti-immigration populists Perussuomalaiset.*

Continue reading “Defining white Finnish privilege #32: The white Finnish police service and “them””

SUPO, the Finnish Immigration Service and the police service reveal that we are today a country that even fears its own shadow

Posted on by Migrant Tales

One of the matters that surprised me a lot when I visited my grandparents in Finland when I lived in Southern California was how he related to black people. The way my grandfather saw black people over forty years ago was so negative and shocking to me that I still remember his reaction.

It must have been in 1968 because my sister and I showed him a picture of starving black children in Biafra, an eastern state of Nigeria that declared independence and plunged the country into a bloody civil war. His reaction was so strong that we made fun of his reaction and taped a picture of a starving black child by his bed, which he immediately took away.

na%cc%88ytto%cc%88kuva-2016-11-4-kello-7-29-50

I don’t remember exactly the picture that I showed my grandfather of starving Biafran children, but it was something like the picture above. Source: Modern Ghana.

The way my grandfather related to blacks in the 1960s reveals a lot about how some Finns continue to see diversity as a threat that must be contained at all costs by denying it oxygen and living space.

You don’t have to be a star journalist to understand that the Finnish Intelligence Security Service (SUPO), the Finnish Immigration Service and the police service spread fear about asylum seekers and our ever-growing culturally diverse society.

Continue reading “SUPO, the Finnish Immigration Service and the police service reveal that we are today a country that even fears its own shadow”

[Finland 100 series: What is “Finnish-ness”?] Interview with Enrique: journalist, sociologist, and editor at Migrant Tales

Posted on by Migrant Tales
The Hieno! is the official partner of the Finland 100 independence programme:What is “Finnish-ness”?  led by the Prime Minister’s Office. Today we have the huge privilege of having Enrique Tessieri as our second interviewee.
You can read the original interview here.
enrique

Enrique Tessieri is a journalist and sociologist who writes and researches immigration topics like Finnish immigration to Argentina. Tessieri has lectured on South American history at Turku University as well as written books and articles on immigration. He was a researcher at the Migration Institute of Turku and had worked as a foreign correspondent in Finland, Spain, Italy, Argentina and Colombia for the Financial Times, Buenos Aires Herald, BBC, Bridge News and others. Presently employed at Otava Folk High School, he is also the editor at Migrant Tales – one of the foremost blogs in Finland on immigration related issues.

Enjoy the interview!

TH: Hi Enrique! Can you tell us more about yourself?

Enrique: I am a sociologist who worked as a journalist for about 20 years as a foreign correspondent for newspapers like BridgeNews and the Financial Times in countries like Finland, Spain, Italy, Argentina and Colombia.

One of my favourite topics is cultural diversity and immigration, which I have researched as well.

TH: Why did you initially choose to live in Finland?

Enrique: I chose to live in Finland because of my Finnish roots. Even if I moved to Finland permanently in 1978, every ten years I move abroad to work. I do this because it is a good way to gain experience and new ideas.

TH: What do you see as your “place” in Finland when you were staying here?

Enrique: My “place” in Finland is to work for a successful culturally and ethnically diverse society that abides by Nordic values like social equality.

Finland is a very racialized country. We have to change this. Immigration and cultural diversity are positive, not negative, matters.

Too many Finns, I suspect, see cultural diversity as a threat. This is unfortunate and costly. We lose out on opportunities.

 

TH: What was the most important and meaningful event or experience that happened in Finland?

Enrique: The most important and meaningful event was when I discovered that Finland didn’t consider me to be a Finn despite the fact that my mother is Finnish.

Even if we have Finnish citizenship, we are not considered “real” Finns by some institutions like the police service, which label us as “persons with foreign background.”

What is “a person with foreign background” anyway? Is that a place, a country, or what?

TH: What was the happiest moment in your life in Finland?

Enrique: The happiest moments of my life in Finland were when I visited my grandparents in the country every year.

Rural Mikkeli was very different from hot and smoggy Los Angeles. It was those unforgettable summers that brought me back to live in Finland.

TH: Can you tell us what are the top 3 challenges you or foreigners you know have faced in Finland?

Enrique: The top-three challenges that foreigners face in Finland is to challenge discrimination and prejudice.

We should strive to build a society where difference is seen as a good matter.  We need to teach future generations of Finns that cultural diversity is a good matter and that there is no such thing as a “prototype Finn.”

Finns come in many ethnic and cultural backgrounds these days. The three challenges here are therefore:

(1) Building a society that it true to our Nordic ideals;

(2) Challenging racism; and

(3) Discrimination.

TH: Do you think there are solutions or better alternatives to how we think about these three challenges?

Enrique: Finland is a modern society that has built a successful welfare state that is on the defensive these days.

We have the tools and the knowledge as a society to build a successful culturally diverse society where people are treated equally irrespective of their background.

TH: We know that you started a website for migrants, “Migrant Tales”. What was the story and motivation behind this website?

Enrique: The first story published in Migrant Tales was in May 2007.

The blog has been important in dialoging and meeting people who are also involved in promoting cultural diversity.

Migrant Tales’ reason for being is simple: We are a blog community that debates some of the salient issues facing immigrants and minorities in Finland and elsewhere.

It aims to be a voice for those whose views and situation are understood poorly and heard faintly by the media, politicians, and public.

Continue reading “[Finland 100 series: What is “Finnish-ness”?] Interview with Enrique: journalist, sociologist, and editor at Migrant Tales”

Migrant Tales (April 14, 2015): My identity is mine, not yours, so stop labeling me according to your prejudices

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Don’t let anyone, no one, ever define who you are. That’s your right and never give it away.

Why do some public services like the police even some migrants believe they have the right to define who are? The police do it constantly. Every time they label a person or group as a person with “foreign” or “migrant” background they are effectively relegating that person publicly to second- or third-class status in society. 

Like in neighboring Sweden, where “a person with migrant background” is code for non-European or non-white, in Finland, it is used to remind you that white Finns run this country politically, culturally, economically and socially.

What’s even worse is the usage of the term mamu, which is used by anti-immigration politicians near-constantly in this country whenever they speak disrespectfully of migrants.

A recent example of how the term was used was by Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Maria Tolppanen, who said she wants to see less mamus and more people at Vaasa’s city square.

Some claim that Tolppanen’s usage of the term mamu was code for Somalis.

The term mamu is in the same league as the n-word or if you call a member of the Romany minority mustalainen. These three labels can be used by members of those groups but it is inappropriate for white Finns to use them since it would be disrespectful and offensive.

Continue reading “Migrant Tales (April 14, 2015): My identity is mine, not yours, so stop labeling me according to your prejudices”

The PS claws to racism and bigotry because it has lost its vain hope to keep Finland white

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is fuming attempting to get the maximum political mileage from its recent racist and bigoted outbursts by playing down such social ills and by propping up its poor standings in the polls.

Vice-president of the PS parliamentary group, MP  Kike Elomaa, stated that we shouldn’t get so touchy about racism, while MP Laura Huhtasaari said that criticism of the party’s racist comments by others should stop and equated them to “childish sandbox games.”

On July 25, National Coalition Party (NCP) MP Ben Zyscowickz reacted to a suggestion by PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen that Muslims should be kicked out of Finland.

“The question is for how long the Perussuomalaiset party, which is a member of the government and has agreed to oppose racism [while in government], continuously offers the opportunity to political figures who incite people’s views against Islam and who are guilty of outright racism,” he said.

That was followed by the chairman of the Center Party parliamentary group, MP Antti Kaikkonen, who echoed Zyzkowickz’ concern.

The PS shares power in government with the Center Party and NCP.

As far as I can tell, the racist outbursts of the PS are a clear sign that the party is irreversibly dying. It is also the best indication yet that the anti-immigration party has lost, like Don Quixote chasing windmills, to do away with its demons and keep Finland white.

Na?ytto?kuva 2016-7-28 kello 17.15.03

This painting by Pablo Picasso shows Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. The PS’ lost attempt to keep Finland white is as futile as when Don Quixote attacked windmills. Source: Google.

Continue reading “The PS claws to racism and bigotry because it has lost its vain hope to keep Finland white”

Finland’s ever-growing culturally diverse community must rise up and challenge hostile parties like the Perussuomalaiset

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Some ask me where do I get the energy and strength to write. My answer is simple: When I read and hear comments by politicians and people who hate and want to socially exclude me my blood begins to boil. The only remedy that calms me is writing and organizing my thoughts.

But we must do much more. It’s wishful thinking to believe that parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, with the near-silent approval of most other parties, have declared war on us and our ever-growing culturally diverse community.

Read and listen carefully what parties like the PS have in store for us: They aim to relegate us to second- and third-class citizens, separate our families and continue to whitewash our history and our right to live in Finland.

We have a lot of support from white Finns but the spark that will challenge this threat to us and Finland is in our hands. We must rise up and challenge this cancer spreading throughout Finland and Europe.

I’m confident that we can send back this ogre to where it came from.

* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party adopted by the PS, like True Finns or Finns Party, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and xenophobia. We, therefore, prefer to use the Finnish name of the party on our postings. The direct translation of “Perussuomalaiset” is “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” 

We have the means to challenge and beat xenophobia and fascism in today’s Europe

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Even if we should be concerned about the rise of xenophobia and fascism, which disguises itself with populist anti-immigration rhetoric in Europe, there’s one matter that should worry us the most: silence and apathy.

Tomorrow, the referendum in the United Kingdom on whether to stay in the European Union isn’t only a vote for or against but on how much space Britons will give to anti-immigration rhetoric and demagoguery.

Throughout Europe, we have seen countless examples in Hungary, Denmark, Poland, United Kingdom, Finland and others of how xenophobia and creeping fascism have challenged our values for a culturally diverse, socially equal and just Europe.

When challenging the very forces that aim to take us back to an all-white Europe that only existed in rhetoric and myth, it’s important to keep in mind that size doesn’t matter.

The most powerful weapon that we have as activists is our sense of social justice and our never-ending dedication to challenge the very matters that populists and fascists don’t want the public to know about their ugly truth.

Latin America has seen its fair share of social injustice and violence. In Argentina, where I was born, we lived through one of the bloodiest dictatorships  in our history during the so-called dirty war (1976-83) era. Back then, it was relatively easy for a military dictatorship to shut the country off from the outside world; landline phones didn’t work, censorship and self-censorship were rampant.

Continue reading “We have the means to challenge and beat xenophobia and fascism in today’s Europe”