What would you say about a party that openly supports former US President Donald Trump, “loves” Poland and Hungary, supports far-right French politician Marine Le Pen among other iliberal and populist malarkey? What about if I told you that that party has one aim: destroy Finland’s Nordic welfare state and democracy?
The filibustering we are seeing in parliament today by the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* on the EU stimulus packagecoupled with recent opinion polls that show the Islamophobic party leading, are indications of our grim future.
Exposed in our lack of leadership as well to confront such anti-democratic forces.
It all boils down to one fact: since Finland is mainly a white society, it trusts nothing will happen to it as our democracy is dismantled and undermined. Dead wrong. After the PS deal with the Muslims and other minorities they hate, the next group they will go after is you.
Chairperson of the PS parliamentary group Vill Tavio showing his “love” for the iliberal political systems of Poland and Hungary. Source: Twitter.
Remember the young Muslim who was violently attacked by a gang of white Finns in June in the Western Finnish town of Teuva? According to Fares Al-Obaidi, the police plan to conclude their investigations into the crime in early June.
What happened to Al-Obaidi last year changed his life. He moved away to Espoo to receive professional help to overcome the trauma of what happened. He takes anti-depressants.
“I was a victim of a [violent] crime and it seems that nobody is interested,” he said complaining about the length of the police investigation.
His ordeal began on a Saturday. Fares was first insulted by a group of residents from the town of Teuva and then chased by two cars on the road. Two other cars blocked the road ahead of him and had no choice but to drive the car into a ditch.
Fares tried to run away from his attackers, but it was to no avail. He was beaten so badly by them that he ended up being taken by an ambulance to a hospital in Seinäjoki.
Canaries O canaries Sing to me because I am in the hands of Finland, I am trapped in a cage This cage is made of fire, has no door and windows but wild and barefoot cops and guards with ugly face
Finland is a country of black holes, a country of torture, famine, pain, disaster and death I was trapped in this country, my wings were broken, my legs were tied to iron bars, i have no rest !
Canaries O canaries, sing about the kingdom and passion for Dana which is dear to GOD king of kings I am the love of God and God is sad, angry and fearless because of his distance from me, Dana is in pains
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party’s hatred for migrants goes through the same path but the accusations and labeling vary. About ten years ago migrants were rapists, after 2015 when a record number of asylum seekers came to Finland, they were “social welfare surfers.” Today, the PS calls migrants “dumb” who want to work for lower wages.
Finland’s integration program is full of contradictions.
As in the previous years, the PS makes up labels constantly. It never has anything positive to say about migrants except to repeat its favorite word: maahanmuuttajat (immigrant), maahanmuuttajat, maahanmuuttajat…
Here is the question: Why would anyone want to get paid lower wages for work? If people are getting paid less, aren’t they possibly being exploited?
Certainly, migrants that move to Finland and enter the labor market must follow the law. Unions have a special role in protecting the rights of these migrants at the workplace.
The problem, however, is that exploitation and crime in Finland pays. Since few are looking after the rights of migrants, never mind the PS, it is a bit similar to throwing these people to their own luck.
In plain English, Finland does too little address the exploitation of migrants in the labor market.
Maybe migrants would learn a thing or two if integration courses would tell them how they are vulnerable to exploitation instead of giving exceptionalist explanations about how Finland is a country of gender equality.
Labeling migrants disrespectfully as “cheap labor” by the PS is placing all the blame on such people and letting underhanded employers off the hook.
GOD suffocates the songs of the heart and smiles? Yes, smiling at demons is suffering,O O O GOD
GOD, I am an eagle, a masterpiece of your hand Oops WaWeila, living like a dead crow is poison. Oh GOD
I became shattered, this spirit and soul became thousands of pieces Yes, every drop of my blood is the sound of war, O GOD
I am brave, I am made of light, my wings are the color of mercy and compassion My gaze is fiery and I am not afraid, I am proud, O GOD
You are fighting next to me, you are the solution of my work, you are the king of the world I have no one but you, but my cry is you, O GOD
Justice is the cure for this soul and heart Judge, judge all the dishonorable, O GOD
Put your whip on Finland and force, FORCE FORCE Take the oppressor under your feet, O GOD
You are the commander, you are the master the owner of the whole world I call you with the smallest particle of my body and soul, have mercy, mercy O GOD
Some of the persons promoting racism, violence, and Hungarian-Orbán-style rule in Finland are former and present Perussuomalaiset (PS)* members. The only difference between these two types of PS supporters is their incitement of violence and racism.
James Hirvisaari, who was sacked from the party after he took a picture of a friend giving a Nazi salute in parliament, is the aide of MP Ano Turtianen, who got the boot from the PS parliamentary group last year and who got ejected in February from the Islamophobic white-nationalist party.
Hirvisaari tweeted a poll about what punishment should be handed to the state prosecutor if found guilty of persecuting white nationalists and Finland’s Christian society.
In my hometown of Mikkeli, the local Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chapter acted against a municipal election candidate that was too offensive even for their taste. It was the usual hateful nonsense against Muslims, visible migrants, and women. The PS sacked the candidate, Jorma T. Hartikainen, for being too racistonly after the local daily, Länsi-Savo, exposed the former candidate’s Facebook postings.
While this was a good move on behalf of the local PS chapter some local candidates of the party boasted that they don’t support racism. “We gave Jorma T. Hartikianen the boot. We are against racism,” a PS candidate said.
In an attempt to score political points with a xenophobic post, Tanja Hartonen wrote about the Islamization of Finland and Mäntyharju, a small town (pop. 6,200 in 2014) in Eastern Finland. The blog was taken down by Uusi Suomi because it was racist and offensive. In her PS campaign page, she does not mention the term “migrant” never mind the great replacement theory. Does Hartonen still stand by what she wrote in 2014?
If you look at the list of PS candidates in Mikkeli, you will certainly notice Jussi Marttinen, a taxi driver who goes after all foreigners with fake claims that overflow with xenophobia.
In a letter to the Länsi-Savo editor, we asked Marttinen to substantiate one of his many claims about foreigners on the PS’ online candidate page. According to him, foreigners get “notably” more social welfare than white Finns.
A stabbing that took place on Monday in Helsinki,causing the death of a 24-year-old victim, revealed the police’s power in labeling whole ethnic groups (usually in a negative light) and its gatekeeping role. Even if the stabbing suspect was arrested, the police statement mentioned that “about ten [suspects] mainly people of foreign background” took part in the incident at the Helsinki Railway Station.
Any sensible person should ask how the police frames minorities in Finland. What was the purpose of the police to call the suspect “people of foreign background” if he was in police custody?
Officially, a person with a foreign background is anyone whose both parents aren’t white Finns. Unofficially, the term is code for non-white or non-EU citizens. People of color are often referred to by the police with such ethnic labels.
The story by Yle below confronted the police and the media by asking what their motives were for using such a term. Yle News went even further and did the right thing by not mentioning the demeaning label.
Certainly, if you are white and have had little cultural sensitivity training to challenge your prejudices and racism, it is easy to understand why you don’t have a problem with labeling whole non-white ethnic groups with demeaning terms like “people of foreign background.”
Researcher Erna Bodström tweeted that by mentioning the suspect with such a problematic term in a statement, the police were generalizing and stigmatizing people. Even if the police claim what happened is “a phenomenon,” it is not explained in their statement.
“When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.”
? George R.R. Martin
Finland enjoys an image of grandiosity on the shiny outside. The happiest country in the world, a young and progressive female government, low daily Corona infection rates, free education, and healthcare! Finland is topping numerous statistics like the smart use of a bulky language barrier for any outsider who does not have a sound reason to learn Finnish. Too many immigrants rely on English-language news outlets, never getting deep enough into Finland’s actual reality behind due to the language barrier. Life is good!
YLE News in English has been the only main channel for following current affairs along with some smaller news outlets such as Helsinki Times or Foreigner.fi. Until 2012, Helsingin Sanomat International Edition stopped publishing news in English. Naturally, the selection of news in English is smaller, pre-selected in relevance for immigrants or international audiences, commonly with the same topic having a different news slant in English than Finnish (a recent example: the mental wellbeing of the Finnish youth). International readers or residents with no or poor command of Finnish appreciate the effort.
However, frequent readers have noticed that hot topics in English do not appear on social media, leaving them with a bitter taste of YLE’s intentions to discourage heated discussions.
YLE News‘ announcement was made on April 16th, 2021 on Facebook:
“We have extremely limited resources to moderate comments. This way, we still post all our stories on Facebook, but we don’t have the burden of moderation.”
“Our team does not moderate anything on the Finnish side. We have to use our resources as best we see fit, and on balance, we think it’s better to use the time to produce news rather than moderate comments.”
Incorrect. YLE Uutiset, the Finnish Facebook feed, defines in its code of conduct what kind of comments are banned and confirms that “the discussions are moderated in accordance with Finnish legislation, the journalist’s instructions and YLE’s values.” At least, in theory. Thus, the Finnish- and English-language Facebook feeds do have a code of conduct (see below).
When you are silent, everyone does whatever they want, and you have encouraged them with your silence.
Do not be silent, if someone is oppressed in your presence and you are silent, you have helped the oppressor, you have supported him with your silence.
Do not be silent, speak, you distinguish good from bad, you see, you understand, and you are aware, why are you silent? Your silence gives power to the enemy, your silence gives energy to bad people, your silence confirms them.
Do not be silent when bullies attack the weak.
Do not be silent when a foreign man is made homeless by his Finnish wife. The woman deceived him. They have lived for years, and they have children. But Finnish law calls all men mentally ill and Finnish women worthy mothers. I have talked many times to these men who were foreigners or refugees and even Europeans and Scandinavians. They have all been shocked and very sad, but on the contrary, women have brought another man into their home and taught the children that the real father is bad, and you should forget him ….
Do not be silent when an Iraqi or Afghan refugee is chased by a racist with a gun in the streets or forests and in small cities…
Do not be silent when a racist insult an African because of the color of his or her skin.
Do not be silent when a foreigner or a poor Finnish is under pressure and homeless, hungry, cold and helpless! Do not be silent When you see a Finnish or foreigner homeless person under the roof of an escalator, he is asleep, he/she is in pain, he is tired and he is speechless, they gave up on humanity, and they are hopeless, but YOU do not be silent, you must stand for humanity because yourself is a human too!
Do not be silent when the law votes against your rights.
Do not be silent when the government and ministers, president lie to you, and lie to you again and again!
Do not be silent when racist and savage guards beat a foreigner in front of your eyes
Do not be silent when the racist police on the street ask you for an ID card, when the police lock you in a cell.
Do not be silent when you are attacked in a group
Do not be silent when the law and the newspaper and media lie to you
Do not be silent if you see someone being attacked
Do not be silent, you are human, you must feel for other human beings, you must respect humanity.
Do not be silent, those who oppress, assassinate, kill, beat, humiliate, exploit, violate the rights of others, racist, evil and savage, they have not ruined the world and the planet. Yes, but you have ruined it, you are in it. You have destroyed the world with your silence, yes you are.
O you who are silent and conservative, you and your crime and sin are worse than thousands of times more. you are guilty. Do not be silent when refugees and their children and their parents and young people are trapped in Finnish camps behind iron wires.
Those who remain silent are worse than the oppressors because they feed and nurture them with their silence.
I am never silent, I have never been silent, and I consider those who keep silent as my enemies.
