Tag: Finland

El País: El ocaso de la tolerancia nórdica

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here is story published Sunday by El País of Madrid on how the Nordic countries of Denmark, Sweden and Finland have given ground to “far-right and populist” parties. The article, authored by Ana Carbajosa and Adrián Soto, who has lived in Finland for over thirty-five years, shows special concern over the last election in Finland.

Writes El País: “The last big (election) victory and which was probably more surprising was that of the Perussuomalaiset (the article translates the Finnish name of the party to Auténticos Finlandeses, or authentic Finns) who got two weeks ago 19% of the votes, or seven times more than in the last election (of 2007). Some analysts attribute the victory to the charismatic leader of the party, EuroMP Timo Soini.”

Could parties like the Perussuomalaiset, Danish People’s Party and Sweden Democrats mentioned in the El País story be knee-jerk reactions by some sectors of society to the rapid changes taking place in these countries due to globalization?

What is lamentable about these parties is that their responses are angry reactions with the usual round of anti-EU, anti-immigration and anti-Islam sentiment. Their hostility and nationalism only aggravates the problem.

Do you agree?

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Adrián Soto y Ana Carbajosa

La victoria electoral de los Auténticos Finlandeses ha supuesto una pequeña revolución en el país nórdico, pero sobre todo ha hecho saltar todas las alarmas en una región en la que hasta hace bien poco era casi impensable escuchar argumentos tan extremistas como los que ahora circulan por los Parlamentos nacionales de la zona. Los partidos de extrema derecha y populistas nórdicos ya no pueden ser ignorados porque les respalda una parte del electorado nada despreciable. En Finlandia y en Dinamarca han sido la tercera fuerza más votada. En Suecia han aflorado de la semioscuridad y han entrado en la cámara parlamentaria.

Pinche aquí para seguir leyendo.

Thank you PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen of Finland for exposing yourself!

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

If we had to draw the face of racism that has lurked in Finnish society for decades, I would start by drawing Perussuomalaiset MP Teuvo Hakkarainen’s face.  He may look like a nice country boy from Viitasaari in Central Finland, but if you scratch the surface you will find the racism and ignorance that lives in some Finns. If you think that Hakkarainen is the only PS MP who has strong opinions on immigrants and refugees, you better think twice.

Racism and xenophobia come in different flavors in the PS.

It appears that we have for now four types in this dubious league: the Hakkarainens, serious Halla-ahos, serious little gray matter Halla-ahos and the ones that can hide it craftly. In order to be fair, I am certain that some of the 39 PS MPs that were elected are not challenged on this front. Isn’t it high time that they should come out and condemn racism to save theirs and the PS’ face?

Justice Demon sent us a few video clips of the first group, the Hakkarainens. The first one is the original interview by Helsingin Sanomat of MP Hakkarainen with English subtitles. The second and third are parodies of the original interview without English subtitles.

Taking into account Hakkarainen’s whirlwind start in parliament, his official web page leaves us even more perplexed. Apart from promising to “build together a better Finland,” Hakkarainen wrties that he has done consulting work in North and Central America as well as in Israel.

Haka-Wood is a sawmill company owned by Hakkarainen’s family. The company gets half a million euros in subsidies from the EU even though MP Hakkarainen is anti-EU.

Meanwhile, I asked a while back if anyone knew who was the elected MP for the PS that the Financial Times referred to as the  “ice cream salesman.”

His name is Kaj Turunen and he’s from the same electoral district as I (Etelä-Savo)! There is nothing wrong with selling ice cream in summer or being a businessman. The question goes deeper:  How qualified must you be to represent voters in a serious place like parliament?

Turunen writes in his blog that it is only a question of time when Finland leaves the EU.

I wonder what is going to happen to all those juicy farm subsidies and how much it will affect Turunen’s ice cream sales in the Savonlinna market place.

Perussuomalaiset: The end of imaginary Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

The Perussuomalaiset have a long way to go before the majority of Finns, never mind immigrants and minorities, begin to accept them as a “normal” political party. The racist outbursts of PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen and PS MP Jussi Halla-aho’s pledge to tighten even more the screws on immigration policy, have got people rightfully concerned about the kind of Finland we’ll be living in a few years down the road.

Certainly you can look at the rise of the PS as the Soviet Union’s last months of 1991, when a group of Communist hardliners, the infamous Gang of Eight, usurped power to salvage a sinking system. They didn’t salvage the ship but speeded instead its final demise.

The April election could be seen as a final call to salvage a Finland that only existed in between some people’s ears.

Seeing what kind of MPs Finns have elected from the PS, it’s pretty certain that 19% that voted for them will end up so outraged by what they’ll see that the protest vote in the last election will turn against Timo Soini’s party.

Instead of building a nationalistic, xenophobic, racist, conservative and anti-outside world Finland, the PS will, like what happened after the Soviet Union’s fall from grace, give birth to a new country. That new Finland is multicultural and proud of its diversity.

After Finland comes to terms with itself, it will be ready to make amends with its adverse feelings for the Russians.

The PS is bringing out the fighting spirit in a lot of people who simply will not stand for their type of limited black-and-white view of the world.

YLE: Hundreds Rally for Tolerance

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment:  Here is an example of the crowds that the four-year Perussuomalaiset’s tragic-comic play is attracting as a reaction to the party’s plans to tighten immigration policy.  The rally was organized with the help of Facebook. 

Writes YLE: “The organisers emphasised that the rally was not an attack against any group of people. However, it did aim to oppose the True Finns position on a number of issues, such as immigration, conservation, the status of linguistic minorities and gender equality. “

As the PS  willl see more opposition as it tries to turn Finland’s back on the world. It is a very positive sign that about 1,000 people rallied in front of parliament. It shows that immigrants and minorities in this country aren’t asleep.

Expect to see more types of these types of rallies.

As their election was a part of the democratic process so is the ever-growing outrage to the PS’ policies on immigration, refugees and minorities. 

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About 1200 members of the public gathered in front of the Parliament in Helsinki to rally their countrymen to respect tolerance and multiculturalism.

Read whole story.

HS: Sofi Oksanen rinnastaa perussuomalaiset Hitleriin

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: One of Finland’s best-known writers, Sofi Oksanen, was quoted as saying in Rome-based La Repubblica that the Perussuomalaiset’s ideology has its root in Hilter’s Germany.

Whenever writers and artists start to criticize a party for promoting their world view, you know something has got the break eventually. Art survives but political parties aren’t as reslient.

Whatever the ideology of the PS is, reaction to it by the media, artists and common people depends on who you are and your background.  Racism, xenophobia and exclusion hits a writer like Sofi Oksanen, who has an Estonian mother, harder than  PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen.

Oksanen knows how hard it is to be accepted in Finland even if she is white, speaks Finnish as her mother tongue, and grew up in this country.  For those who are  not as fortunate and cannot hit back never mind defend themselves publicly, their resentment are their unpublished blockbusters.  Each swing by a politician that encourages exclusion is felt like a hammer blow by some.

That is why I consider it wishful thinking for some editors in this country who have never felt exclusion and racism to play down the rise of the PS.  Certainly they are not worried about the election because they’re not minorities.

Mark, who visits our blog, pointed out this problem very well in a comment on Wednesday.

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Mikko Välimaa

Kirjailija Sofi Oksanen arvostelee vaalivoittoon nousseiden perussuomalaisten poliittisia näkemyksiä italialaislehti La Repubblican haastattelussa. Oksanen sanoo lehdessä, että perussuomalaisten puolueohjelmassa on selviä vaikutteita natsijohtaja Adolf Hilter ideologiasta.

Read whole story.

The kiss of death of Finnish right-wing populism

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The election victory by the Perussuomalaiset could be attributed to a number of factors and bears all the signs of the same illness spreading throughout Europe these days: right-wing populism that is anti-EU, anti-immigration and above all anti-Islam. The PS could have never dreamed of such success in the last election without the help of Kokoomus, Social Democratic Party and Center Party.

The PS should offer gratitude to their usual victims: immigrants, refugees and minorities.

But all of this would not have been possible for the PS without the help of the ogre of xenophobia that has lurked relatively hidden in Finnish society. Politicians in this country have known about this social ill for decades but have rarely challenged it.

If you speak to some who have been long-serving MPs, they know about that monster but have preferred to distance themselves from it because they know it could destroy their political careers.

All those parties that were openly pro-EU or faintly outspoken on racism suffered. The Greens are a good example never mind the Center Party, the biggest loser in the election. Could  former Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi’s Center Party have suffered such a heavy defeat if it weren’t for her pro-EU and outspoken stance against racism?

Another factor that spurred the PS to new heights was a watershed statement in March 2010 by Kokoomus chairman Jyrki Katainen, who stated that being critical and debating immigrant issues in this country didn’t make you a racist. After that green light to racism was given, the Social Democratic leadership gave the PS another pat on the back with their infamous saying, maassa maan tavalla.

Like all major parties in Finland, each have their fair share of anti-immigration critics. No party, however, like the PS, has so many.

A good lesson to be learned from the election is that if you vacillate and offer flimsy leadership on an issue like racism you will become its prize.

Another matter that the election showed is that xenophobia is a social ill inflicting Finland.

Now is a better time than ever for concerned politicians and the general public to send that ogre back to where it came from: the gutter.

Perussuomalaiset: True, Basic or Elementary Finns?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

I called the Perussuomalaiset’s headquarters in Helsinki today and asked what their official name was in English: “True Finns is the official adopted name,” a male voice said. Migrant Tales’ oldest blogger, Jonas, has brought up this contradiction between the Finnish and English translation of the word perus a number of times.

One way of resolving a translation of a name is by asking the official name in that language. The problem with “True” Finn is that it implies that all other people who don’t support the party are imposters, or “False” Finns.

If we look at the translation of the word perus on EUdict,  it can mean in English basic, basal, elementary, fundamental and rudimentary to name a few. Unless you want to fool the English-speaking public, true is a poor and deceptive translation of the word perus.

I think a name like Rudimentary Finn would fit better the character and non-existent political background of some of the newly elected PS MPs like Teuvo Hakkarainen.

For this reason, I personally will start calling the party Perussuomalaiset or PS.

HS: Perussuomalaisten Teuvo Hakkaraiselle kaikki eduskunnassa oli uutta

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Here is a pretty incredible video with English subtitles of newly elected PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen, who appears to have never seen or met a foreigner in his life.  He is one face of the Perussuomalaiset and it’s a pretty crude one at that.

Check out how MP Hakkarainen insults at the end of the video below immigrants and Muslims.

His comments have already angered Perparim Hetemaj, the brother of Fatbardhe, who ran unsuccessfully for MP for Kokoomus. You can read the story on Ilta-Sanomat.

As I mentioned earlier, these are only the first acts of a four-year tragic-comic play.

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“Tuo maahanmuuttohomma pitää saada kuriin”, Hakkarainen sanoo.

To see video (in Finnish) click here.

True Finns: The first and last act of a tragic-comic play

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Even if Finland has changed politically after Sunday’s election, there has been a greater about-turn among some True Finns. One particular group that form part of the anti-immigration Nuiva manifesto group, now attempt to appear like respectable elected MPs conveniently brushing under the rug those terrible things they said about immigrants.

The six who signed the Nuiva election manifesto and whom I am specifically referring to are: Jussi Halla-aho, James Hirvisaari, Vesa-Matti Saarakkala, Juho Erola, Olli Immonen and Maria Lohela.

One of these that I would like to pick out from the group is railway engineer James Hirvisaari. He is a member of the far-right Suomen Sisu association. Hirvisaari believes that  Finns should not marry foreigners.

After bashing and insulting Muslims and immigrants with gusto, he now attempts to portray himself as the most reasonable man in the world. If you have read his blog entries you will notice his obsession with adjectives. He sort of tries to do a Gabriel García Marquez by writing long sentences but ends up stuck in a paper bag.

In one of his recent blog entries, Minkälaisessa Suomessa haluan asua? (What kind of Finland would I want to live in?),  we see him turn into a Dr. Jekyll from a Mr. Hyde.

Hirvisaari writes that he is in favor of maintaining the welfare state (Does he mean Finns can only use these services?), freedom of speech (he can insult other groups and thereby  score political brownie points) and behold: equality, human rights and democracy.

Is the newly elected MP pulling our leg or does he think we have a short memory? If he were fair, he should mention that all people living in Finland enjoy these rights.

So stay tuned and step right up folks! The next four years are going to be the first and hopefully last act of this tragic-comic play.

Finland election: A message that goes much deeper

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

After the election victory of the True Finns on Sunday, sensible Finns are asking Timo Soini’s party to bite the bullet and leave behind the rhetoric and racism that has tainted his party. This may be easier said than done.

Nobody is denying the True Finns their victory but there is great concern that the rise of such a party will fuel hatred, racism, division in society and social inequality.

Such an argument is not out-of-place nor is it alarmist. What kind of Finland do you expect to create if you start attacking the Swedish-speakers, minorities,  immigrants, refugees and all those who do not fit under the “good-fatherland” category?

When a Jussi Halla-aho openly praises the Islamophobic Danish People’s Party and its policies, he is not speaking only about restricting a certain group of immigrants from a country but changing our values as a nation. Such a message poisons the atmosphere stressing differences between people.

What is tragic is that its victims are not the future immigrants and refugees that want to come here but those who have embraced Finland as their home. They are the ones who contribute to this society, work hard and pay taxes.

If you spread the message of hatred and suspicion of other cultures it spills over to the whole immigrant community and, worse, tells their children that Finland is not their home and then claim that people don’t integrate rapidly enough. What kind of society will you build when you instil hostility, racism and exclusion? The answer is obvious.

Such a populist-xenophobic message is also an insult to the over million Finns that live abroad who still have bonds to this nation. The message is a slap in their faces with a rude message: This is our country, not yours.

Is this the type of Finland we want to build in this century? Is it what our grandparents and great grandparents fought for? Didn’t they sacrifice their lives in the Winter War to spare Finland from becoming a totalitarian nation where everyone looks and thinks alike?

The rise of nationalism and racism is like pissing in one pants in the freezing winter. At first the warmth feels fine but then a terrible sensation sets in when the urine cools. You blame others for your shortsightedness and predicament.