Finland Archives - Page 200 of 359

The violent and hostile language of Finnish populists against Others

Posted on May 24, 2015 by Migrant Tales

For those that sighed with momentary relief and claimed that the new government’s immigration policy won’t be as bad as they expected haven’t seen anything yet. Behind the populist and nationalistic rhetoric coming from people like Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman Timo Soini, there’s nothing but suspicion and hostility against Finland’s migrant and ever-culturally diverse community.

What are we to make out of the new government’s policies as the mist clears? Soini gave us an eyeful Saturday when when he stated that “the blue and white” can be clearly seen in government policy.

Read full story (in Finnish) here.

What are we, Finland’s migrant and culturally diverse community, supposed to make out of such a nationalistic catchphrase?

Are we, the migrant and minority community in this country, who are struggling to survive by working and paying taxes, belong to that group that Soini labels Finnish labor?

What is even more shameful is that mainstream parties like the Center and National Coalition Party (NCP), who should know better, have with their complacent silence gone to bed with such rhetoric. The reason why they have accepted such rhetoric and a party like the PS in government is because they generally agree with the PS leader.

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New book on Somali community of Finland highlights what we’ve known for long: social hostility and blatant discrimination

Posted on May 23, 2015 by Migrant Tales

A new book called Suomen somalit by Yusuf M. Mubarak, Eva Nilsson and Niklas Saxén reinforces what has been already known about some of the challenges that Finland’s Somali community faces: racism and social exclusion.

“I have never felt that I am a Finn,” said Suleqo Yusuf, 23, a Somali Finn, was quoted as saying in the book. “Here you’re always an outsider and different, never a part of society.”

The feeling of being an eternal outsider in Finland is felt by many migrants and minorities as well.

Migrant Tales recently spoke to a Somali Finn who said that she does not identify with a country like Finland because of its hostility towards her.

“I am a citizen of the world,” she said. “Not a Finn. I don’t identify with this country [even if I was born and bred here].”

You don’t have to have a PhD in sociology to understand where some of the problems lie. If the Somali community has been in Finland since the early 1990s. Check the discrimination and hostility that the Romany minority, which has lived in Finland for about 500 years, has suffered at the hands of the white Finnish majority.

While matters are improving, the Roma in Finland continue to face discrimination and racism daily.

Mubarak, one of the three authors of the book, states that its clear that a lot of problems will arise if children are told that they are equal to white Finns but rapidly find out that this isn’t the case.

So what is the value of such a book and what does it reveal?

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Finland’s attitude and experience of cultural diversity lag thirty years behind other European countries

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Watching YLE’s A-studio, which was aired Wednesday, is a prime example why we are still far away in Finland of having an inclusive society that is fair to everyone irrespective of their background. Spotting the red herrings in the debate on such a talk show isn’t easy but not impossible.

If National Coalition Party MP Wille Rydman argues that Finland needs structural changes in its economy and labor market, it really needs a major attitude overhaul on how it sees immigration and cultural diversity. Finland is at least 30 years behind other European countries like Sweden, Germany and the United Kingdom in this respect.

Watch Wednesday’s A-studio (in Finnish) here.

The latter means in practice that we’re debating the same things and using the same false arguments and fears that were proven wrong at least three decades ago in other European countries. Debate is highly inflamed and hostile for those migrants and minorities living in Finland today.

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Migrant Tales (December 9, 2013): Fadumo Dayib – Run, Nigger, Run

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Fadumo Dayib

I came to this country as a refugee in 1990, at the time of recession and when foreigners where a rarity. As a result, we had become a “Somali shock” overnight. It was common at the time to hear racial slurs, to wake up to the sounds of “perkele”, to drink tea to “mutakuono” and to dance to “vitun neekeri”. People would stop to gawk on the streets, kids yelling “look mommy, a nigger”. Grandmothers would ambush me in the swimming hall shower and scrub me down, hoping to wash the color off. Others, after a few pints, would come over to touch my hair and make inappropriate propositions. I went from being an individual, with aspirations, feelings and rights, to a degraded sub-human: a “mud face”, “nigger”, “whore”, and “social loafer”.

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How hate crime goes unreported in Finland

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Migrant Tales

The European Network Against Racism (ENAR), an anti-racism NGO, reported the previous week that there were in 2013 a total of 47,210 racist crimes reported by NGOs throughout Europe. It claimed that those reported cases were only the tip of the iceberg of all recorded hate crimes.

Migrant Tales was informed recently about a case in Helsinki of an African man who was attacked in public by three white Finns. His case is a good example as any of why hate crime goes unreported in this country.

After visiting the hospital to treat his wounds, the victim went to the police to report what had happened to him. According to a source who knows and spoke to the victim, he said that the police didn’t take what he said seriously and decided to drop the whole matter.

The person who was attacked was supposed to speak to Migrant Tales about what happened but didn’t do so possibly due to fear.

Read full ENAR report here.

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While the rest of the world moves forwards towards gay rights, the Christian Democrats of Finland go the Putin way

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Marshall Niles

Päivi Räsänen has a lot to say for herself. As a god fearing, christian woman, Minster of Interior for the Finnish government, and the official representative of the Christian Democrats, Her party managed to hold on to 6 seats, the lowest number amongst any Finnish political party.

Yet, as we read this, instead of wondering what might have made her party so unpopular that it was scraping the bottom of the election barrel for votes, She has decided to continue with her Anti gay rhetoric, with statements like, “the sanctity of marriage is between a man and a woman only”, and then stating, “Preventing social exclusion is a top priority”.

In todays times, countries like Canada, many states in US of A, Ireland amongst many others, are all progressing forwards, recognizing that homosexuality is a natural evolutionary trait that has nothing to do with social norms, diseases or psychological issues. These countries have carved into their history their willingness to respect human rights. Legalizing gay marriage separates the state form the church, and openly displays that the bond between two people cannot and should never be dictated by anyone else.

However, (I love this word), our dear friend Päivi, has decided to turn a blind eye to progress, and go backwards in league with Russian anti gay policies. Gays are being tortured, abused and prosecuted unfairly in many third world countries, from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran to Russia. Apparently Päivi wants to join them.

Now, Päivi loves using the Christian bible to make her points. Bible this, bible that. OK!! Here is a cease and desist from the bible itself. Read and weep!

Timothy 2:12 does not permit a woman to teach or assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.

Not to mention she should have her head covered all the time, according to the bible. She should also be her husbands servant, amongst many other things. A little double standard, eh Päivi?

Facebook: The “True Finn” versus the Saami woman

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales insight: What is this party that steals and hogs Finnish identity for itself and decides who is or isn’t a “true Finn?” They are called the Perussuomalaiset in Finnish, which means something like “basic” or “fundamental” Finn. After calling themselves True Finns in English they went for it all by calling themselves “the Finns Party.”

Members of the PS say some pretty horrible things about migrants and minorities. One of these is MP Teuvo Hakkarainen in the picture.

So who IS the True Finn?!

_______________________________

Photo credits.
1. Racist man who is ruining Finland’s international reputation – Wikipedia commons (http://upload.wikimedia.org/…/co…/3/3f/Teuvo_Hakkarainen.jpg)
2. Woman dressed in traditional Sami garments – Ellen Ripa (http://www.skandihome.com/ellen-ripa-interiors/)

This Facebook posting was reprinted by Migrant Tales with permission.

Finland, the PS and their racist improvisations

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Migrant Tales

What is wrong with Finland? Just because of 221,900 immigrants, which account for about 4% of the population, and since only about 8% of those live in Finland on humanitarian grounds, a party like the PS is on the warpath poisoning the air and soiling our good names.

Their warpath, like the new government’s immigration policy, is a farce.

Racists who spread urban tales about migrants and minorities act in the way that racists have acted throughout the ages. Their ultimate aim is to destroy you. They do this by relegating us to second- or third-class members of society.

Even some white Finnish seven-year-old children are taught this by their families.

I spoke to a teacher’s aid recently who was telling a seven-year-old pupil that he had to do something. The pupil responded: “I don’t have to follow your orders because you are only a teacher’s aid and a foreigner.”

Where do children learn their racism? One breeding ground is the family.

Adults in parties like the PS spread intolerance with the help of urban tales like gang rape stories, which the police have warned are mostly made up. Why do they make up such stories about people who want to live in peace and get on with their lives?

Because they are sick with hatred like part of the Finnish public that agrees with such politicians because they are just as racist as them.

The police state that many gang rape cases are made up. Read full story (in Finnsh) here.

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UPDATE (May 15): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link.

May 15

Brittilehti: Kreikka, varo “karhumaista” Timo Soinia! (Ilta-Sanomat)

What’s wrong with this story? The Finnish media has been criticized in the past for being toothless when it comes to covering immigration and cultural diversity news. We’ve all seen too many examples of how the national media parrots what politicians want them to publish. This latter situation is partly guaranteed by the fact that politicians require Finnish journalists to show them what is going to be published for example in an interview. Tabloid Ilta-Sanomat like Iltalehti are sad examples of shoddy and racist journalism. They have done a lot to spread urban tales and suspicion about migrants and minorities. If you disagree, check out what they wrote about the first Somali refugees that came to the country in the early 1990s. In the story below, which cites a Daily Telegraph story about Perussuomalaiset* leader Timo Soini, defends the leader of the populist party when the London daily claims that he is “fiercely anti-immigration.” For some strange reason the reporter has to point out that Soini denies that he is “fiercely anti-immigration.” Is it the job of the journalist to tell us his opinion about Soini or is it the reader who decides if the PS leader is or isn’t fiercely anti-immigration?

Continue reading “UPDATE (May 15): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism”

Systemic racism in Finland

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Migrant Tales

A video clip below by Jay Smooth published by Race Forward gives us simple good examples of how systemic or institutional racism occurs in the United States. Is systemic racism a problem in Finland? If so, how and where does it occur?

If we’re really interested in tackling all forms of racism and discrimination in this country, it’s important that we identify the problem and challenge it. We have a lot of good resources in Finland to challenge intolerance.

Just saying you are against racism won’t do. We need to be much more resourceful and determined in dealing with this social ill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rY5ORr0GsI

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