Tag: Finland

Thank the immigrants of Finland!

Posted on by Migrant Tales

While some parties like the anti-immigration True Finns boast that they are responsible for bringing the debate on immigration and refugees to the national spotlight, nothing could be further from the truth.

Those that have brought the issue to national attention are none other than immigrants and refugees of this country.

They if any have shown the weaknesses and the strong points about our society. In the process they have also revealed pleasant and unpleasant matters about ourselves like the role of racism.

Would there be such a big debate if only a handful of immigrants lived among our ranks?

Probably not.

The national debate on immigrants is nothing more than reaction to the ever-growing immigrant population and its future role in our aging nation.

Too many of those taking part in the national debate are busy reacting to immigration as opposed to taking proactive stances and asking how do we make it work.

If a country wants to be receptive to immigration it has to see it through many angles. Why would any sensible person want to move to a country that vilifies certain groups and has a schizopohrenic view of the outside world?

Thus some of us want to slam the door on Muslims but promote “good” immigraition to the country; we want Finland to be a springboard to the Russian market even though prejudice against Russians is a serious issue.

Handing Finland’s future immigration policy to groups like the True Finns or succumbing to a policy of fear to the outside world will be like shooting oneself in the leg.

These groups, and those that side with their cause, will be the ones that will end up creating those ghettos and social inequality that they claim to be defending us from.

The tale of two racist spray paintings in an eastern Finnish city

Posted on by Migrant Tales

A new association called Kansavinvälinen Mikkeli (International Mikkeli) was registered on September 23. One of its most important aims is to serve as a forum where Finns and immigrants can openly debate topics that affect each other and create a greater sense of community.

One of the first matters that the association tackled was racist graffiti on the walls of the Kattilansilta School and underpass in Mikkeli.  To our surprise, the disturbing messages of both spray paintings had been there for months. The first one, at the school for children with learning disorders, had been noticed by one of the teachers in spring. The second one had been seen for the first time about seven months ago.

This spray painting was first noticed in spring by a teacher at the school for students with learning disorders. The school states on its website the following: We aim to foster the development of young people by meeting their needs and giving them the confidence and competence to lead independent, purposeful and enjoyable lives.

Even though the work of these spray-paintings is that of a deranged person, the most worrying matter is that some of the teachers didn’t think it was an urgent enough issue to address immediately.

Here is a discussion I had with one of the teachers of the Kattilansilta School in September:

“That sign has been there since spring,” he admitted. “They don’t represent my values.”

After a brief silence, the teacher continues: “Why is it that groups such as the (anti-immigration) True Finns and Muutos 2011 are labelled racist whenever they criticize immigrants for getting more social welfare than Finns?”

I asked him how he knew that some immigrants got more social welfare than Finns. He responded the local media as his main source.

This case at the school and my brief discussion with one of the teachers is,  in my opinion, a case in point why racism is still acceptable among some circles in Finland. It is done through silent approval or disapproval. The reaction could be compared with what happens in countries where human rights violations are the order of the day. Nobody dares to say anything in the erroneous belief or fear that nothing will ever happen to them.

After a call to the principal of Vanamo Special School, the graffiti was pained over the next day. The principal has his office in Vanamo Special School,  which reveals that the teachers of Kattilansilta School never brought the matter to his attention.

Here is one of the walls of the school where two of the three “white power” graffiti was sprayed.

The “Niggers Out” (apologies for the racist content of the photograph below) is still on the wall of an underpass after the association had got in touch in early October with the municipality.

This graffiti was first noticed on a wall of a Mikkeli underpass about seven months ago.These spray paintings appear to be the work of a neo-Nazi sympathizer(s).

Can Finland deal with the challenge of immigration?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Some claim that Finland is at an important juncture concerning immigration and its role in our society. There are already clear signs that the Finns want to deal with this challenge in a civil manner without the usual dose of  fear-mongering and nationalistic bravado.

How can I make such a claim? Because Finns from all walks of life want to make immigration work.

Even if the anti-immigration True Finns win a few percentage points in the next election, it will not be enough to turn them into a major party. Their xenophobic views of the world are only shared by a minority in this country.

One of the most interesting matters worth pointing out  is that for the first time in our history we are debating and challenging  racism openly. By debating this social ill we are also giving the thumbs down to a minority of Finns that want to take the country down the same questionable path like Denmark and the Netherlands.

Those that are not buying the anti-immigration rhetoric are giving the following message: Finland is independent and self-reliant to deal with immigration in positive and effective ways.

The biggest losers in the next elections will be those that use immigration as a scapegoat for all of our woes and opportunistic tool to win over votes. Even if a few get into parliament, there will never be enough of them to have a simple majority never mind two-thirds majority in the Eduskunta (Parliament).

Finns are pretty intelligent and have learned how to survive during trying times before. Spreading hatred and revenge as a justification to attack another country or group never worked, even if some want to take us down that path again.

Populist chatter and a tale of elk flies

Posted on by Migrant Tales

There is a True Finns candidate in the April 2011 elections that spreads elk flies every time he opens his mouth to bash immigrants. His multicultural name, James Hirvisaari,* gets a lot of free publicity whenever blogs like mine comment on his extremist views.

Hirvisaari has a problem: He is another True Finn that has been charged for incitement of ethnic hatred.

His campaign catchphrase is: Finnish language, Finnish spirit, Finnish nature, Finnish flag. This phrase, in my opinion, shows how low xenophobic groups in Finland have stooped. They now use our sacred icons to drive home their racist views.

Hirvisaari’s first campaign promise, I support a Finnish Finland in a European Europe, is a phrase that looks sound at first glance but after closer study it raises disturbing questions. If he is so Finnish, why is his first name, James?

His second campaign promise, I support Western and Christian values, is another kick in the groin that leaves you with a question mark: What does he mean? Yes, true, James, spreading hatred, strife and insulting other European ethnic groups are part of our Western and Christian heritage.

If you go back to the Nazi Germany era, he may have a point.

Hirvisaari states in his third campaign promise that he is for local democracy and against European federalism.  I am totally confused now: Why doesn’t he speak straight and state that he wants Finland to leave the EU?

I really “love” his fourth promise. He supports a selective immigration policy but would he, seriously, hand on heart, give a residence permit to a person person like himself from another country who shared the same extremist views?

In order to simplify things, why doesn’t Hirvisaari state in plain Finnish that he loathes a certain religious group? That his whole political ideology is based on this and nothing more.

* If you want to read some funny comments about Hirvisaari’s political ideas visit Facebook. His real names is Erkki Kalevi. 

Finland: A taste of one’s medicine

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Can an immigration policy of country take us on the right societal path if it hinges on suspicion of other groups? With the April 2011 elections nearing, some are asking if a big election victory for the anti-immigration True Finns will take us down the same questionable path as Denmark, which has the tightest immigration controls in the European Union.

Does Finland have the potential of turning into a Denmark? Wandering down such a path would be a perilous mistake because basing an immigration policy solely to exclude one group would lay down the foundations for failure.

In many respects the rise of xenophobia in Finland is self-inflicted. While great improvements have been made in teaching and accepting cultural diversity at schools, racist views of other cultures and ethnic groups still prevail because they were/are actively promoted.

This picture (apologies for the racist content) which was used before in books to teach children to  claims: The Negro washes his face but it does not whiten at all.

There are many sad examples of how racist ideas have entered the minds of Finns from the backdoor. Here is an excerpt from a book on “European races”* published in 1929 by Professor Rolf Nordenstreng:

You cannot expect exceptional children from a Gypsy horse thief and a light-minded Negro wife; but I have heard that French fur traders, who were excellent men that took as wives the Indian chiefs’ daughters, bred splendid children…*

Unfortunately, too many in Finland and Europe still see other cultures with the help of antiquated and racist concepts taught not too long ago. If we do not study today directly Nordenstreng or one of the eugenics master minds of Nazi racial policy, Eugen Fischer, their ludicrous claims of “different races” still live deep inside some of us.

Education, therefore, has to and must play a key role in how we model new Finns irrespective of their background to be the defenders of our values.  If we do not face racism and grab it by the horns, our xenophobia will always be self-inflicted and destructive.

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* Rolf Nordenstreng: “Euroopan ihmisrodut ja kansat.” Kustannusosakeyhtiö Kirja. Helsinki 1929. p. 48. The original Finnish text reads: Mustalainen hevosvarkaan ja heikkomielisen neekerivaimon lapsista ei voi odottaa juuri erinomiaisia; mutta olen kuullut sanottavan, että ranskalaiset turkismetsästäjät, jotka olivat oivia poikia ja ottivat vaimoikseen intiaanipäälliköiden tyttäriä, saivat mainioita jälkeläisiä.

The Finland we all want

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By many standards, Finland is an exceptional country. Newsweek magazine recently named it the best country in the world to live according to education, quality of life, economic dynamism as well as other factors.

One of the greatest threats to our well-being and international reputation are xenophobia and racism. If the Newsweek staff would have looked more closely at this social ill, would Finland have been named the best country in the world?

Is it possible that a country that is so innovative and dynamic has immigrant unemployment many fold higher than the national average?

What would the newsmagazine say about the Social Democrats’ maassa maan tavalla policy, which thinks that nothing should or will change and that immigration should be a one-way process? Such catch phrases from a party that fought for social justice and our social welfare system is quite incredible to put it lightly.

What would it say about other political parties that instead of showing leadership against racism are starting to use adjectives like ”hordes” and ”uncontrolled” before immigration and accuse a pretty defenseless group of ”taking away our jobs?”

The best way to defend Finland’s image is to treat everyone who lives here with respect. Our laws and way of life guarantee that this can be achieved.

A lot of work has to be still done to build those vital pathways of incorporation to our society for people who have made Finland their new home.

One of the greatest threats to Finland in the new century is not immigration but xenophobia and racism.

Islamization and Islamophobia in Europe and Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

There was a letter to the editor in Saturday’s Mikkeli-based Länsi-Savo about the Islamization of Europe, while Time magazine asks in its August front cover if America is Islamophobic? The two headlines, although from vastly different publications, shed light on how some Europeans and USAmericans see Islam: a threat or over-reaction.

As in the letter to the editor, the writer uses one of the favorite arguments of Islamophobists to prove how much under threat Europeans are: high birth rates.

Any sensible person with a limited understanding of the social sciences understands that demography, even though it may have a bearing, is not the most crucial factor that determines the shape of societies. Values and inclusion are.

Moreover, if we could predict the shape of societies of the future with the help of a simple calculator,we would have to be plants without free will or robots guided by culture that never changes.

Demography is not the most crucial factor, excluding groups through suspicion and hatred from our culturally diverse societies is a far greater threat than high birth rates.

The demographic argument has its roots in deep fear and is a slap in the face to those Muslims that want to live among our ranks as citizens and consider this continent their rightful home.

Arsonists attack Buddhist temple in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The attack by arsonists on Friday of a Buddhist temple in Turku’s Moisio’s district is another worrisome sign of how a deranged group of people can undermine Finland’s good name. If there is any finger-pointing for what happened, it should be at some Finnish politicians who, owing to the April 2011 elections, have fuelled such acts by their populist statements and shameful lack of leadership.

Immigrants who live in Finland and those that will come to work here are being singled out by some opportunist politicians as scapegoats for the country’s economic woes. Social Democrat MP Eero Heinäluoma and MP Kari Rajamäki are good examples of how their anti-immigrant statements spill over into racism.

Heinäluoma, for example, made the incredible remark recently that immigrants will fuel racism because they will take jobs away from Finns.  Rajamäki likes to call asylum-seeker to Finland “refugee shoppers.”

Why haven’t Heinäluoma and Rajamäki condemned acts of racism in Finland forcefully? The answer is disturbingly obvious.

These politicians should not forget SDP’s roots and how the party thanks to Väinö Tanner (1881-1966) played a critical role in not permitting Finnish Jews to be deported to Nazi concentration camps during World War 2.

The vice president of the Vietnamese Buddhist Community in Finland, Ari Vuokko, told Finnish Broadcast Company (YLE) that it wasn’t the first time Buddhist families in this country have been the target of attacks by racists.

Swastika signs had been sprayed on traffic signs near the temple.

“This is shocking and worrisome,” he said. “Do worshippers dare use this temple, can people practice their faith in Finland?”

Finland was recently named by Newsweek as the best country in the world in terms of health, economic dynamism, or openness of its economy and the breadth of its corporate sector, education, political environment, and quality of life.

With attacks of the Buddhist temple serving as a rude reminder of what racism can do to a minority community and society, we should ask Newsweek to include in their survey how open a society is to cultural diversity.

The ceiling of the Buddhist temple that was attacked Friday night by Arsonists. Photo: YLE The ceiling of the Buddhist temple after it was attacked by arsonists. Damages are estimated in the tens of thousands of euros. YLE

Immigration reveals what Finnish political parties are made of

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The political field is pretty lopsided in this country these days: left-wing parties that were “progressive” in their approach to society have now become conservative and those that were on the “right” appear to be more open to the outside world.

If one looks at the recent statements on immigration by Social Democratic Party MP Eero Heinäluoma and  Kokoomus’ Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb one can conclude that the ideological tables have turned quite radically.

Even the Center Party, which has tradictionally been nationalistic and conservative in its view of the outside world, has under the leadership of Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi become a more middle-of-the-road party.

Even though the Social Democrats have open-minded people such as Liisa Jaakonsaari and Erkki Tuomioja, the anti-immigrant hardliners like MP Kari Rajamäki spoil the day. Rajamäki’s stance on immigrants and refugees is on the same wave length as the True Finns.

Certainly one cannot conclude that all of the members of Kokoomus want to make immigration work for Finland.  Wille Rydman and Kai Pönttinen are sore examples of how  some politicians want to use the immigration card for political gain.

How exploited are immigrants in Finland?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

I spoke with an SDP MP recently about how Finland had turned into a two-tier market, where small- and medium-sized companies were allegedly exploiting on a grand scale immigrant employees by overworking and grossly underpaying them.

I asked why there haven’t been any big cases in the media about this type of exploitation and why the SDP is so passionate about the matter before  elections? There has been some news in the media about how some fast-food establishments do underpay and overwork immigrants but it does not suggest a national trend.

An important question that one should ask is how widespread it is and why the authorities have done so little? If it is widespread, it is further proof of how disenfranchised immigrants are in this country.

I say if because I have not seen many cases published in the media only the concern of the Social Democrats, who point the finger accusingly more at immigrants than employers.

Do you know of any cases of immigrants being exploited by employers in Finland?