Tag: Finland

Making racism shameful in Finland and Europe

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

While the US Civil Rights Movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. did not eradicate racism in the United States, it was singled out as a threat to society and challenged. Landmark laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were not the only matters that changed things. Racism became shameful in many parts of the United States.  

Martin Luther King Jr. was killed by an assassin’s bullet on April 4, 1968.  I still remember that day as vividly as when President John F. Kennedy’s assassination four years earlier.

We heard about the news of King’s death in class on radio as well. One comment by a white male still rings out in my head even after four decades. It was the face of racism speaking to you in its crudest and rudest form:  “It’s a good thing that King was killed,” the man said without any remorse.

Right around when the landmark Civil Rights Act was passed, racism thrived at our elementary school as well as in many other places.  In Hollywood, Mexicans were the natural targets of your racism and rage. At our school we hated anyone who was different, even an obese classmate.

I’ll never forget when our school got its first black student.  The principle gave a talk to the whole school shortly before this historic event at our elementary school.  He told us to treat the new student with respect and like any other student.

I personally felt sorry and ashamed by the hostile behavior of my fellow classmates. I did speak out but there was very little I could do.  What happened, however, left a lasting and disturbing impression that has followed me during my lifetime.

The black student lasted about two weeks at our school.

I only remember his last name. It was Brown. Some kids joked about it making comparisons of his last name to excrement.

How is it possible that children can learn so much hatred and racism?

For one, racism wasn’t shameful back then. It was part of a child’s everyday language. If you were an adult, it was part of your macho identity if you were  a man.

It’s clear that racism thrives in places where it isn’t effectively challenged. Racism is an astute foe because it can poison your mind even without your knowledge. Some racists don’t know that they behave and hold such anti-social attitudes.

The rise of a party like the Perussuomalaiset in April and its leader Timo Soini playing down racism are good examples of how this social ill has grown in a Finnish context. The arguments used are the same that racists in the U.S. and in other parts of the world justified ethnic discrimination.

If Soini were black or part of a minority like the Romany, I doubt that he’d play down the role of racism in the PS never mind Finland.

Just like racism can feed and help a movement like the Nazi Party to grow in the 1930s, it can bring out as well  great leaders like King and the best in our society.

We’ll know that we have won that decisive victory against racism and xenophobia in Finland when the majority of Finns consider them shameful and unacceptable.

How to effectively burn cultural bridges in Finland and elsewhere

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

If you want to build bridges of understanding between different cultures, you have to learn acceptance, respect, have an open mind and good social communication skills.  The total opposite of the above are racism, ignorance, pigheadedness and the inability to learn about other cultures never mind effective communication skills.

Most of us learn to communicate socially in our country. Why? Because it is an effective way to speak to others and make your point.

Thanks to such a valuable skill we’ve been able to build and live today in a society that isn’t yet too polarized.

That has now changed especially after the April 17 election. Even if there may be many socio-economic factors at play,  disrespect stands out as one of the culprits.

If we visit some websites in Finland like Hommaforum and Scripta, it becomes clear that they are forums where some people let their hate and racism hang out freely. How many of these bloggers would speak in such a tone to their own group? Maybe some, but not the majority because they know it is inappropriate and offensive.

For some odd reason, some Finns believe that it is perfectly fine to insult other groups. If they are criticized on this point for spreading urban legends, they point to the First Amendment, or freedom of speech.

There are ways to express opposition and other ways that are totally counterproductive.  Racism and disrespect are ineffective ways to get your point across.

Kokoomus presidential hopeful, Sauli Niinistö, said in a recent interview on STT that disrespect is one of the key issues that has poisoned the debating atmosphere in Finland. “…since that person said it like that, I’ll show him (and hit him harder). Probably the person did not mean to be so offensive,” he said.

Glenn Robinson publishes a lot of interesting material on Community Village Daily Activist. One of the blog entries is on multicultural etiquette.  He gives the following advice:

1. It’s okay to speak the language of another culture.

2. It’s okay to eat the food of another culture.

3. It’s okay to use the technology of another culture.

4. It’s okay for actors to dress in the clothes of another culture.

5. It’s NOT okay for you to dress in the clothes of another culture on Halloween.

6. It’s NOT okay to tell an African American that they sound like a ‘White’ person – even if you’re joking.

Do you think the following points apply to Finland? What would you add or omit from Robinson’s list?

Here is another link to seven innocent gestures that can get you killed overseas.

Should Finland adopt a citizenship test?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

What would an anti-immigration hardliner like MP Olli Immonen of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party seek when he believes that Finland should adopt a citizenship test like in countries like the United Kingdom? Immonen offered a written question Thursday on the matter to the speaker of the house.

Before we get to the bottom of what is behind Immonen’s written question, please visit his website and check out who he is. Behind him stands a smiling PS head Timo Soini.

One matter that becomes clear from his official website is that Immonen does not like Muslims: “Just say no to Islamization” together with links to Hommaforum and Scripta, both are multiculturally challenged websites that regurgitate urban legends about immigrants.

Moreover, you’ll find a link as well to the Nuiva manifesto, a far-right assimilation model for immigrants, never mind a “I support free speech” icon.

Migrant Tales defines multiculturalism to mean cultural diversity and the right of people to practice and be proud of their cultural backgrounds.

I personally believe that if we live in a culturally diverse society, mutual acceptance and respect are crucial. A culturally diverse society should work like any society with the difference that it is made up of different cultural groups that accept, respect and treat each other as equals.

Britain is officially a multicultural country, which promotes two-way integration not one-way, or assimilation. The other two officially multicultural countries in the world are Canada and Australia.

Taking into account Immonen’s extremists views on immigration and especially on Muslims, does he want Finland’s citizenship test, if ever adopted, to measure assimilation?

If that is the case, which I believe it is, his proposal should be flatly rejected as a sham.

Who is Finland’s Uncle Tom?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

What are Uncle Toms called in Finland? @HelsinkiObs helped me out with this question: “It’s Setä Tuomo (older style) or Tuomo-setä if you mean this context.” 

A New York Times opinion-piece gives the meaning of Uncle Tom: “Today, of course, the book has a decidedly different reputation, thanks to the popular image of its titular character, Uncle Tom — whose name has become a byword for a spineless sellout, a black man who betrays his race.”

In Finland the definition would, in my opinion, be a bit different. A Tuomo-setä could be any immigrant who betrays other people like him by becoming and adopting the same values that fuel racism.

The Finnish Uncle Tom is a pretty opportunistic person. He or she believes that the only way to escape discrimination is by accepting those values that promote social exclusion of other groups like immigrants.

There are a lot of Tuomo-setäs out there who are more racist than some Finns.

What do you think would be a good name for an Uncle Tom that lives in Finland?

Mamu-setä, maybe?

MIPEX Blog: European Commission asks, When is a family not a family?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Plans to tighten family reunification laws in Finland even further speak volumes about Conservative Party Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen’s government.  What does it say? Fear of the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, prejudice and lack of leadership to name a few.

It seems surreal but not abnormal during these times in Finland that a pro-family party like the Christian Democrats will spearhead the tightening of family reunification laws. Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen washes her hands of the whole issue by stating that this is not her wish but that of the government’s.  They claim that they want to bring such laws in line with other Nordic countries. 

According to MIPEX, Nordic policy is mixed on family reunification: Denmark has the strictest policy and Sweden is “slightly favorable,” with Norway and Finland being “halfway favorable.” 

MIPEX writes: “The average EU country goes beyond the minimum definition of the family in the Directive. Most adopt slightly inclusive definitions of the family and only basic conditions for acquisition, out of respect for family life. In contrast, countries like Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, and France restrict the eligibility of family members and impose burdensome conditions on sponsors.”

If we look at the chart in the story below on reuniting non-EU family members other than spouses, partners, or children, we’re speaking of small numbers in the Nordic region: Sweden (229), Finland (197) and Denmark (0). Most family reunifications took place in 2010 in Italy (22,355), Portugal (10,038) and Spain (1,666). 

So what is the issue? The issue is fear of the threat of the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, prejudice and lack of leadership iced with lame excuses. 

How can you grant a minor asylum but take away his or her right to be with his immediate family?

Where is our sense of justice and fairness?  

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By Thomas Huddleston

Does the EU Family Reunion Directive reflect how you would define a family? MPG’s analysis of MIPEX and Eurostat statistics reveals that immigrant’s parents, grandparents, and adult children are somehow entitled to reunite in most countries, but few can or do apply.

Read whole story.

Spiegel Online International: Racism in Germany – A Story of Death Threats and Casual Insults

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here is another story published by Spiegel Online International on the harrowing experiences of a family in Germany perpetrated by a far-right group.

Migrant Tales has published and commented on a number of stories about the worrying rise and crimes of the far right in Germany.  In Finland, we have seen the rise of similar parties as well. If we want to know what kind of a threat they represent to our society, Germany would be a good place to begin. 

Writes Spiegel Online International:  “Four weeks was the amount of time that passed between the two death threats the Krause family (eds. note: not their real name) found in their mailbox. The first letter came in August 2011. The sender had cut letters out of a newspaper to form a message warning that Mr. Krause and his family would be killed if they didn’t leave Germany.

Why? Because Mrs. Krause and the couple’s two children have dark skin. Because Mrs. Krause comes from East Africa.

The second letter came in September, and the sender spent far less time on it. He simply drew four crosses on a sheet of white paper — one for each member of the family. For the son, for the daughter, for Mr. Krause and for Mrs. Krause.”

What is the lesson we can learn from Germany on racism and far-right groups? 

Silence is a poor response to such an ominous threat to our society. 

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Germany was shocked to learn the extent of the crimes committed by a recently uncovered right-wing extremist group. But racism is hardly an anomaly in Germany. One family’s experience shows just how widespread prejudice and hate really is.

Read whole story.

Denial, ignorance and racism are the lamentable side of the same coin

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

When do immigrants and Finns with culturally diverse backgrounds become their worst enemy? Does it happen when we become blind or play down the existence of social ills such as racism and prejudice in our society?

Martin Luther King (1928-68), sheds some light to this question: “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”

In the same manner, we can highlight the “appalling silence” and denial of some immigrants.

It’s misleading — to put it very lightly — to think that just because a person is an immigrant  he or she does not hold any prejudices. There are ample threads on Migrant Tales that reveal how some immigrants  can be more racist and nationalistic than some Finns.

Where do you expect racism in the Americas came from? It did not spring from nowhere.  Some immigrants brought it with them as part of their baggage to the New World from their former home countries.

The need to adapt in a new society may be so strong for some that it may encourage them to become more nationalistic and racist than some Finns. The other lamentable side of the coin is denial of the existence of any problems such as discrimination.

One person that comes to mind is Belgium-born naturalized Finn Freddy Van Wanterghem, a Perussuomalaiset party city councilman from Kotka who has pretty extremist ideas especially about Muslims and Africans.

I recently read an interview about with a black African on Mikkeli-based daily Länsi-Savo. The person denied that he had ever been mistreated in Finland.

“I have never faced racism in Finland,” he was quoted as saying. “There was more of that in Egypt, where people thought we were stealing their jobs…Young people may sometimes comment things (in public). It’s more teasing than racism. Usually they are surprised when I speak back to them in Finnish.”

If we are fair, it must be pretty depressing if you are black to be constantly asked the question “have you suffered racism in this country?” Even if this may be the case, denial isn’t the correct path.

Denial, ignorance and even racism of some immigrants are even greater challenges than the institutional racism we find in society.

How well does Finland’s school system educate children with immigrant backgrounds?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

A story on the Guardian  praises Finland’s educational system for setting a “great example” in educating immigrant children. While I am certain there are many success stories out there, are matters that rosy as the London daily claims?

When I read the article I thought about a  survey published in February, which showed 41% of  teachers would want to limit at schools the amount of pupils with immigrant backgrounds?

Like everything else, perspective is key. What do children with immigrant backgrounds say about our educational system? Do they agree whole-heartedly with what the Guradian writes?

Certainly there is a lot of good will in this country to make immigration work. Even so, do we agree about the big picture, or what is the role of these students will be when they become adults in our ever-culturally diverse society?

Certainly there are big differences between schools in eastern Helsinki and small towns like Liperi.

“Liperi is a small town in the region of Pohjois-Karjala and there weren’t too many Russians when we moved there (in the 1990s),” says Aune Rugoyeva. “It was sometimes pretty tough at  middle-school since my classmates chewed me out (for being Russian) and excluded me (from the rest of the group). It was a very lonely place to be.”

The bullying that Aune suffered at the school was possible thanks to the teachers who turned a blind eye, according to her.

One of the most important questions our world-famous educational system should therefore be asking is how does it encourage cultural diversity?

When schools speak of “multiculturalism,” or diversity, do they overlook the important fact that the pupil is culturally hybrid and can move between two or more cultures ambidextrously?  When students with immigrant backgrounds, especially those who are visible minorities and who have lived most of their lives in Finland, are asked to “tell about their cultures” at school do we fall into the trap of “us” and “them?”

Probably the last person to understand a student’s hybridity is a someone who has never been an immigrant never mind lived in two or more cultures simultaneously.

Does our school system strengthen and reinforce the students cultural hybridity as an integral part of Finnishness? Most importantly, does it teach important values such as acceptance and respect of such diversity?

Another matter that the Guardian article did not write about is that teachers in Finland rank almost as high as the police with respect to their conservative views of society.

MTV3: Kauppalehti: Siivousfirmojen pitää irtisanoa maahanmuuttajia

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: What can you make out of this story below? MTV3 claims, quoting business daily Kauppalehti, that the office that hands out work permits in the Uusimaa region of Southern Finland wants cleaning companies to hire EU nationals.  This may be easier said than done. 

MTV3 reports that the employers of the cleaning companies are pretty irritated by the recommendation since finding such workers among EU nationals are scarce.  Siskon Siivous general manager, Pasi Hämäläinen, said that two thirds of the company’s employees come from outside Europe.

” This latest case does give the lie to claims about alleged welfare shopping by humanitarian migrants,” writes JusticeDemon in a thread.

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Uudellamaalla kiistellään siivousalan työvoimatilanteesta, kertoo Kauppalehti. Uudenmaan työlupayksikkö on evännyt työlupia afrikkalaisilta ja aasialaisilta siivoojilta ja kehottanut yrityksiä palkkaamaan siivoojia Euroopan talousalueelta. Luvatta jääneet siivoojat olivat olleet töissä jo vuosia, turvapaikkahakemuksen käsittelyn kestäessä.

Read whole story.

MTV3: Janne Virkkunen: Tulevan presidentin puututtava Suomen ahdistavaan ilmapiiriin

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Former Helsingin Sanomat editor-in-chief, Janne Virkkunen, expresses concern over the anti-immigration atmosphere in Finland. He partly blames its rise on the Perussuomalaiset (PS), whose head, Timo Soini, is well aware of the racism issue of the party. 

Globalization is another factor which has motived some Finns to look for a scapegoat for the country’s problems, according to him.  

The former editor-in-chief said that curbing debate on the Internet will not undermine hate speech. He believed that one matter that could be done now is for the presidential candidates to take a strong stand against such a social ill. 

Migrant Tales agrees totally with Virkkunen’s analysis and medicine for Finland. The only way that racism can be beat is to react and confront it with facts. Too many politicians in Finland have, however, chosen to remain silent on this front. 

Silence is racism’s best ally because it feeds its delusional view of the world. 

If we permit racism to enter our society through the backdoor and allow it to grow unchecked, it will impact Finland politically, socially and economically.  

By racist parties we mean those that encourage and spread urban tales about immigrants for their own opportunistic means. The most notable of these are the PS in general and the anti-immigration wing in particular led by MP Jussi Halla-aho. 

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Helsingin Sanomien entinen päätoimittaja Janne Virkkunen on huolissaan Suomessa leviävästä ulkomaalaisvastaisuudesta ja vihakirjoittelusta. “Minua ahdistaa. Yhteiskuntamme ilmapiiri on tällä hetkellä sellainen, että suvaitsemattomuus vain nousee nousemistaan,” Janne Virkkunen sanoo.

Read whole story.