Tag: discrimination

HS in English: Prospect of dancing gays keeps MP away from Independence Day reception

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Homophobic comments by Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MP Pentti Oinonen raise an interesting question about Finland’s third-largest party: How many or its MPs AREN’T xenophobic, racist, far right or homophobic? 

Oinonen explained his decision to not attend the president’s annual December 6 independence day reception by quoting a recently-deceased war veteran: “He said that he would not have fought on behalf of Finnish independence if he would have known that homosexuals would be dancing at the Independence Day celebration. That is a shocking experience for a veteran.”

The PS MP’s comment raised a furry on different social media websites. 

One of Finland’s best known gay figures, Touko “Tom of Finland” Laaksonen, was a decorated war veteran. 

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True Finns MP Pentti Oinonen has announced that he will not attend the President’s annual Independence Day reception on December 6th this year. Oinonen said that he would not be comfortable at a party attended only by people who are well off.

Read whole story.

YLE: Yritykset mainostavat työntekijöidensä suomalaisuudella

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment:  Is this how equal opportunities never mind social equality is supposed to work in Finland? The Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) claims in a story below that a number of small cleaning companies in Finland advertise that they only use Finnish employees.

Husein Mohammed of the Ombudsman for Minorities believes that this type of advertising may be illegal since it discourages employers from hiring immigrants.  

At least for an immigrant, such a claim by a company is a clear message to non-Finns: Don’t even waste your time asking for a job here.

The European Union as well as in Finland make it very clear in the laws that this type of discrimination is illegal. In the United States they call it intentional discrimination. 

“If they (cleaning companies) keep their promise (that all of their employees are Finns) then they are guilty of discrimination, which is illegal,” said Muhammed.  

The Ombudsman for Minorities official does not directly blame employers but clients who demand that Finns to do the job as opposed to immigrants. 

Last month in the city of Salo a black odd-job man  was laid off because of his ethnic background.  He was rehired after the case received wide coverage in the Finnish media.

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Useat pienet palvelualan yritykset mainostavat itseään sillä, että heidän kaikki työntekijänsä ovat suomalaisia. Vähemmistövaltuutetun toimistossa suomalaisia työntekijöitä korostavaa mainontaa pidetään arveluttavana. Jos markkinointi vaikuttaa työntekijöiden valitsemiseen, se voi olla myös laitonta.

Read whole story.

What Finland’s immigration policy lacks

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

If we look at the dismal amount of immigrants and refugees as well as high unemployment one can reach only one conclusion: a policy that has failed miserably. Certainly progress has been made: the number of immigrants has risen albeit slowly to  143,256 today from 12,670 in 1981, while unemployment has come down officially from 53% in 1994 to over 20%.

One of the biggest failures of our immigration policy is that it is really not an immigration policy at all but looks like a poorly assembled hall where newcomers are given a bit of schooling in the Finnish langauge and culture and then required to face the brave new world by getting a job.

The crux of the matter is that we are going to have to do a much better job if we want labor immigrants to fill jobs left by our ever-growing number of pensioners. One of the first steps in this direction is to offer more than a wham-bang-thank-you-mam approach to immigration.

Immigration is a powerful social force that can work to a society’s favor if it is done correctly. The basic starting point for a successful immigration policy is in the hands of the host society. If there is rejection, ignorance, bigotry and lack of opportunities such a policy will fail as it has today.

Another important aspect of a successful immigration policy is that it must have something more than the wham-bang in order to succeed. Those same values that unite Finns and make them proud of their society should rub off on immigrants.

What are these values? They are those in our laws and our compassion and suffering that we faced as a nation. It is in solidarity and opportunity – a real sense of community where we live together for the common good. The pathway to incorporation into Finnish society should be much faster than today.

Even though these types of values may sound as if they were from some imaginary place, it is the only way towards a successful immigration policy and sheds light why our integration policy has failed despite its good intentions. Offering no dreams and hopes to newcomers and marginalizing them is sowing the seeds of pesent and future discord.

What kind of a society are we offering newcomers if we jealously guard our dreams to ourselves?

The role of the Finnish social welfare state and newcomers

Posted on by Migrant Tales

It is surprising that one can hear these days in private conversation from some teachers and people working with immigrants and refugees that some national groups should never be  brought to this country because they will never adapt to our way of life. “Why do they continue to bring them here?” some say.

Another affirmation that has surprised me for quite some time is the naive view that we can choose those that we like to move to this country and live happily ever after.

These two comments not only reveal a generous dose of ignorance about the dynamics of immigration and refugees but relfect their setbacks and frustration in teaching and working with immigrants and refugees.

If a person believes that fifty-year-old women from the Middle East should never be brought to this country refugees because “people of her kind will never adapt,” then we should, in all fairness, apply the same standard to Finns that are not adapted to society: the alcoholics, the long-term middle-aged unemployed, people who suffer from chronic depression as well as a long list of  others.

When I asked one of the teachers what should be done, silence answered my question. I asked if we should round up all those we consider “maladapted and/or unadaptable” and deport them back to their war-torn countries? In the case of those Finns we consider marginal from society, should we also lock them up in some asylum or island and throw away the keys so they won’t bother us any longer?

A relative of mine once said that when one moves to a foreign country, one learns new things about oneself. In the same respect, immigrants and refugees are showing the positive and negative side of our society because it is being put to the test, sometimes under extreme condtions.

I believe that one of the major problems of our immigrant and refugee policy is littered with good intention but lacks a coherent policy. Newcomers are showing some positive and unsettling matters about our society such as bigotry and ignorance. It is also showing the most important matter of all: lack of clear leadership from those who should show the way to a successful immigration/refugee policy.

Ghostbusting national identities

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Linda has posed an interesting question: What is Finnish culture? Even though the answer to the question is more complex than one would think, it brings forth some very important points about our identity and who we believe we are.

One of the biggest problems with “national identities” and “cultures” is that they are built with heavy doses of myths. Other national cultures, such as the Germans, British, Brazilians, Japanese also use myths to build the pillars of their national and cultural identity.

One of the biggest myths about Finnish culture is that it is a tribe; Finns are honest; Finns love nature; Finns have Sisu etc… In every country the children are breast fed and taught that their culture and language is the best. We speak of internationalization but, in fact, we are brought up to be very povincial and ethnocentric beings. In order to hide our myopic views of ourselves and others, we allow ourselves to be spoon-fed with a heavy dose of myths about ourselves.

National identities have got the world into a lot of problems. It has been responsible for sparking wars, internal and external, and mass murder as happened recently in the former Yugoslavia and Nazi Germany. It continues to be the fuel that racism runs on.

I am certain that if we do not end up destroying ourselves, humankind will look at this period 50 to 100 years from now and feel sorry for us. They will say in disbelief: Didn’t they understand that cultural differences are human made and maintained with the help of myths.

Does Finland and Europe need a civil rights movement?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

One of the things that has surprised me about this blog are the overtly racist comments. These types of opinions resemble how some whites saw blacks in the United States before the civil rights movement. I do not think it has anything to do with expressing one’s opinions freely nor that some Finns and Europeans are too blunt or sincere.

Even when we deal with people from our same national group, we do not go around insulting them because we know that it is counterproductive and only creates conflict. Would you want to integrate and embrace the values of a society if it is openly hostile to you?

If we want good relations, we have to know how to moderate our thoughts and take the other person into consideration. It is that easy, folks. It does not need political correctness or any magic tricks — only consideration for others.

Some people in Finland and Europe think that it is still “politically correct” to openly insult other national groups with their racist opinions. Here is an example of a comment I picked up recently from another blog:

Certainly there is discrimination in Finland, hatred for the Russians, chauvinism as well as other things – but what of it? Couldn’t we point out that these things are part of Finnish culture? Since they are a part of our official culture, we could make a point that they have to be protected from immigrants. It could certainly work that way – or maybe not?

Taking into account the racial cleansing we saw in the former Yugoslavia and horrors like the Holocaust, Europe can learn a lot from the United States and Canada about how to resolve long blistering race issues. Possibly a civil rights movement in Europe would help wipe out much of the overt racism that exists mostly unscathed.

The day will come when a blacks, Muslims, people from all religions, dark and white people from any nation will be able to walk the streets of Finland and Europe as equals. Certainly the most important step in this direction is accepting and respecting each others diversity.

Being an immigrant in Finland: A letter from Ida

Posted on by Migrant Tales

I do not usually do this. But I thought it was such a candid comment that I had to bring it to all of your attention. It reveals, in my opinion, what some foreigners feel about Finnish society but do not dare to say too loudly in public.

Thank you Ida, I hope others follow your example. The first important step in taking part in any society is debating openly about the issues that affect our lives. It shows that we are active citizens who care about Finland. It is that first important step in integrating.

I am an immigrant. Sometimes I feel so frustrated in Finland that I just wanted to ‘give it back to the society’. Hence the crime. People like me (hypothetically) acting out of frustration. If the mentality here is that no foreigners are good and only a tiny fraction of people like Juha, the social worker, understands and/or appreciates diversity it doesn’t help much because the general society isn’t open=minded. I would even call racist.

If a person like Juha comes to ask me how do I like it in Finland, I wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings. A guy who works so hard for us. What do you expect me to say? that I am so frustrated that I can leave this second to another place where I feel more comfortable?

I would reverse those numbers. 95% prejudiced and 4% nonchalant, 0.5% don’t care, 0.001% welcoming (and the rest 0.499% lost in statistics).

Good welfare system is like a double-edged sword for immigrants. We are taken care of but we are also blamed for using them. And so you have to be ever-thankful that you are here, Finland. Because you are given shelter and food, now you can take this mental abuse in the form of institutionalized racism.

Any CONSTRUCTIVE comments?

Myths surrounding immigration to Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Reading posts and getting information on immigration in general in dynamic multicultural societies, one can pick out the myths that some Finns still use to claim that immigration is a bad thing.

Myths

1) Immigration takes away jobs from Finns.
2) Immigrants come to Finland to take advantage of the welfare system.
3) Immigrants have to abandon their culture and become Finns. This is what I would call “integration by perkele.”
4) Multiculturalism fuels ghettos.
5) Finns will disappear when more foreigners come to the country.

Answers

1) Some studies point that immigrants take low- and high-end jobs. Moreover, they become consumers and create services through increased productivity. This argument that jobs will be snatched by foreigners was common in the early 1990s. It is no longer an argument used in official circles.
2) The motives for an immigrant is usually to secure a better life somewhere else. Living off KELA or unemployment benefits just doesn’t cut the grade. The best and fastest way to secure a better standard of living for some immigrants is through work.
3) This form of integration is not possible because people cannot turn their culture “on and off” like a switch. When people move to other countries, they learn new habits and customs. They integrate in order to function effectively in society.
4) What has fueled racial ghettos is discrimination and suspicion. If society is open to diversity and there is respect for each others cultures, it undermines the creation of ghettos and cultural marginalization.
5) Nobody will disappear. Culture changes and takes on new values that help it to survive. The English language, which has received influences from over 300 languages, has not disappeared. It has become stronger. Diversity will strengthen and make Finnish culture more resilient. If multicultural Karelia would be part of Finland today, surely we’d understand the strength that diversity brings.

Foreigners will help Finns see who they are

Posted on by Migrant Tales

My father, who moved to Europe from Argentina at the age of 21in the early 1950s, told me that he never learned so much about himself except when he became a foreigner.

In the same manner, and as more foreigners move to Finland, can they help us see the positive and negative aspects of our society? Undoubtedly, one of the positive matters that they will reinforce is our high standard of living and our social welfare system, which is supposed to be based on social justice and equality for all. These values make a Nordic nation such as Finland a beacon of hope in a very troubled world.

Some of the negative matters that foreigners have exposed with their high 20% unemployment are the structural deficiencies of the economy, according to a report by the Financial Times:

The numbers tell a curious story. Finland has recovered from the recession of the early 1990s and its economy grew 6 per cent in 2006.

The country’s gross domestic product has grown by an average annual rate of 3.4 per cent between 1994 and 2005, well above the 1.8 per cent average for members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and easily outstripping 2.1 per cent growth in the US and 2.5 per cent in the UK.

But despite this performance, employment growth is weak, hovering at 0.4 per cent, just over the OECD average of 0.3 per cent. This is far lower than it should be given the strong economy and reflects deep underlying structural problems that have been masked by growth, according to private sector analysis.

When speaking to refugees in Finland from countries such as Sudan, who are probably suffering from over 90% unemployment, one sees how social assistance from KELA and other institutions, together with our strict labor laws, slow instead of facilitate their integration process into our society. In the same manner, it also permits society, policy makers and politicians to wash their hands from the challenging task of integrating them.

The presence of foreigners will reveal many good and bad things about ourselves. Some of these, like racism, have  come to light. Heikki Waris, one of the foremost Finnish sociologists, claimed in the 1960s that there was no racism in Finland because Finnish society was homogeneous.

How can a society be homogeneous?! It can be near-homogeneous but never homogeneous. What about the Roma of Finland? Certainly there was and still is a lot of racism towards that group. I could list other examples such as the Sami, Skolt Sami and others.

Some questions about immigration to Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Many thanks to all of you that have taken so actively part in the debate on immigration to Finland. There have been a wide spectrum of opinions over the issue. The most positive matter that these comments have shown is that we can debate them in a civil fashion. But there are some questions that I posed that never got answers:

1) Some argued that if foreigners come to Finland, they should be forced to learn about Finnish culture. How do you force people to learn Finnish culture?

2) I asked what is Finnish culture. What aspects of our culture should foreigners be forced to learn?

3) Others thought that the policy of multiculturalism, which has its roots in Canada, is a bad thing because it creates ghettos. While I disagree with the latter claim, I asked what other policies could be more effective to accommodate people from different cultures, creeds and backgrounds?

Could anyone shed light on the above-mentioned questions?

What have the arguments shown?

Some of the comments have revealed that there is still too much ignorance and preconceived ideas on immigration that are simply false. One of these is that immigrants are lazy and that they want to use Finland’s generous welfare system. There are all types of people — native and non-natives — but I tend to believe that it takes guts and ambition to leave a country for another one. The immigrant usually ends up working more than the native and for less money.

Another matter that surprises me is that some people, who claim to have an education and are privileged to live in a society like Finland, show little understanding for outsiders. Certainly part of one’s education should teach us how to think and to be outspoken for those that suffer from economic and political persecution.

Why do some want to impose one set of standards for Finns and another one for immigrants? Certainly these type of double standards already imply that we are favoring a segregated society.