Tag: Finland

Kotoutuminen* #7: How do we deal with our prejudices and exceptionalism?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

One of the reasons why so many integration courses are a failure is because those teaching them to believe that teaching “culture” and “adaption” are simple matters that any person can do.

Wrong.

In 2008, I came up with this adaption guide for Russians who move to the Kymenlaakso region. Have perceptions changed since then?

Those who study culture like sociologists and anthropologists understand that culture is a complex matter.

Even so, it appears that in Finland, anyone who is a teacher no matter how many prejudices – or tools to understand the latter – can teach migrants how to integrate in Finland.

Thus the aim is not to integrate but in most of cases to assimilate (one-way adaption).

Note: Finland has good teachers who understand cultural sensitivity and have come to grips with their white fragility and society’s racism and prejudices.

Here are some of the questions I have about those who teach integration courses to migrants:

  • How many have training in cultural diversity and cultural sensitivity?
  • What is their opinion of Finnish culture? Is it exclusive and exceptionalist?
  • Who regulates their teaching?
  • Are the vast majority of people who teach integration white Finns?
  • What tools do we give teachers to come to grips with their prejudices and racism, which they’ve learned since childhood?
  • What does integration (two-way adaption) mean in practice? How is it supposed to happen in everyday life?

Any answers?

See also:

*Kotoutiminen is the Finnish term for integration.

The arguments used by the PS are deceptively aimed to hide their hostile agenda against migrants and minorities

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Perussuomalaiset (PS)* First Vice-President, MP and ethnonationalist alarmist Riikka Purra is at it again. In her latest tirade, she blames the government of Prime Minister Sanna Marin for looking the other way concerning the exploitation of migrants in the labor market.

This is a total snow job. PS MP Riikka Purra expresses concern about migrant labor market exploitation. She would not care an iota for migrant workers. All she and her party want is to keep migrants from entering the Finnish labor market.

If we want to understand why Purra and other PS politicians want to raise a fuss about this type of exploitation, one matter is for sure: It has nothing to do with helping migrants in the labor market.

The PS believes that migrants come to Finland and work for lower-than-average salaries, thus driving down wages paid to white Finns.

Instead of blaming migrants, why don’t parties like the PS state that the authorities and unions should do everything possible to protect the rights of migrants in the labor markets?

They don’t because it is the same argument they use for Muslim women: We want to prohibit such women from using Muslim attire because we want to “liberate” them.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The last matter that Purra and her ilk want is to “liberate” Muslim women so their whitewashing process can begin. The same goes for migrant labor rights.

Exposing white Finnish privilege #68: The party that injects Finland’s Islamophobia with steroids and other hate-enhancing drugs

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One matter is clear: Opinion polls, which place the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* as the most popular party, have not only encouraged the party’s far-right stance but given it the hubris to spread and implant with its hatred social ills like racism.

Finland is, alas waking up to the threat of the PS.

In his New Year’s speech, President Sauli Niinstö pointed the finger at Halla-aho’s party, which prompted a knee-jerk reaction from the PS’ head. He stated that the president should mind his own business.

“Online shaming and hate speech are new concepts in public debate,” said President Niinistö. “However, our legislator has been far-sighted. For example, incitement to ethnic hatred and offenses against personal reputation, dignity or privacy of the individual are already criminalized by law.”

Halla-aho, who was convicted for ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion in 2012, wants to scrap Finland’s hate-speech laws.

Finnish white privilege #68

One of the least-acknowledged ideological love affairs written in the Finnish media is the relationship between the PS and Danish People’s Party.

That is why it should not come to any surprise that Halla-aho said in Politiken, one of Denmark’s most important dailies, that he’s not interested in becoming a minister or even prime minister. The only reason why he is in politics is to change the “scheme and system” of the way Finland’s immigration policy operates.

The aim is clear: Halla-aho and the PS want to turn Finland into one of the EU’s most restrictive countries concerning Muslim and non-EU immigrants, especially from the Middle East and Africa.

Copenhagen-based daily Politken is one of the biggest newspapers in Denmark.

Reading code is one way of understanding what the PS has up its sleeve.

  • When the PS mentions it is against humanitarian migration, it is most likely suggesting that Finland should turn back asylum seekers from the Middle East and Africa;
  • Even if the number of asylum seekers, or humanitarian immigration, totals a few thousand, the PS does not see size as a factor. In Nazi Germany, there were half a million Jews before 1933, accounting for a mere 0.75% of the population. As the Holocaust proved, it wasn’t the size of the Jewish community but that hatred spread by the Nazis;
  • The PS rarely identifies its victim, or Muslims. It uses code words like “asylum seeker,” “person of migrant background or origin,” “social welfare loafers,” to mean Muslim or person of color;
  • The PS states that it is “nationalistic” (kansallismielinen), which can mean fascist, ethnonationalist or ultranationalist;
  • In the same way that the PS uses code to avoid getting in trouble with the law and get away with ethnic agitation charges, the media plays along by giving inflated respectability and validity to their racism.

Even if the PS has a long-range plan to adopt the Islamophobic policies and mindset of Denmark, it explains why Halla-aho is hellbent on changing permanently “the thinking and system” of Finland’s present immigration policy.

See also:

Media coverage of the women and children refugees of the al-Hol camp is a low for Finnish journalism

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The Finnish media should stop using a bazooka to kill an ant.

Is the Finnish media fair when it reports about migrants and minorities like Muslims? Is its reporting biased and unbalanced? The Oulu sexual assault cases and the debate surrounding the al-Hol are the latest examples.

Certainly, State Broadcasting Company Yle’s coverage of the Oulu sexual assault cases is a low point and an example of overkill. From November 27 to February 13 is a case in point. Back then, the state-owned broadcaster published a whopping 77 stories on the topic. On January 14, Yle published 13 stories about the issue.

Not only did the media cover the story disproportionately, but politicians and even the police poured fuel on the flames of suspicion and racism. Matters got so bad that Muslims feared to go to the city center and were barred by the city of Oulu from visiting child-care centers and elementary schools.

Even if the media, politicians and the police suggested that the sexual assaults of Oulu pointed to an epidemic, only eight were convicted.

Another example of overkill by the Finnish media is the repatriation of some 30 children, and possibly their mothers to Finland.

Helsingin Sanomat published 36 stories that dealt with the al-Hol camp in Syria. Source: Helsingin Sanomat.

Just like in the stories written about Oulu cases earlier this year, Yle published 71 stories during twenty days (December 2-21), with Helsingin Sanomat publishing 36. The average number of stories that Yle and Helsingin Sanomat published daily was 3.5 and 1.8 stories, respectively.

The most active day for Yle was December 19, when it published 11 stories, and for Helsingin Sanomat it was December 17 and 16, when it published six stories a day apiece.

Considering that Finland does have good journalists like Jessica Aro and the country scores second on the World Press Freedom Index after Norway, I wonder where the Finnish media would stand on its coverage of minorities like Muslims?

The top-six countries on the World Press Freedom Index, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Holland, Denmark, and Switzerland, are inflicted by social ills like Islamophobia. Add to the latter the underwhelming size of minorities working as staffers, and we can decipher why media coverage is biased and unbalanced.

Considering that 16% of Helsinki’s population is not white Finnish, Helsingin Sanomat appears to not have a single journalist who is a minority and a full-time staffer. Source: Helsingin Sanoamt.

How do we get more balanced and less biased reporting of minorities? One important step would be to hire more journalists who don’t have only a white perspective of society.

Exposing Finnish white privilege #67: Pirkka-Pekka Petelius’ apology exposes deep-rooted white Finnish supremacy

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Helsingin Sanomat carried out a survey asking if Pirkka-Pekka Petelius did the right thing to apologize to the Saami for mocking them in a racist manner in the Hymyhuulet show (1987-88). The survey showed that 57% thought that Petelius was wrong to apologize, while only 29% said that he did the right thing; 14% had no opinion.

The most vigorous opposition to the apology came from the 50-69-year age group. Two-thirds of them considered the apology wrong. Those who were under 30 years had higher education and voted for the Left Alliance, and Green League party were the most favorable.

Read the full story (in Finnish) here.

Petelius, who is a Green League MP, said that he was surprised by the reaction his apology produced.

“I’ve experienced quite heinous accusations, threats, and hate speech for apologizing to an indigenous group [like the Saami],” he was quoted as saying in Helsingin Sanomat. “Incomprehensible. It is my business to convene the Saami and apologize to them for the impact that my sketches have had. ”

Finnish white privilege #67

The Helsingin Sanomat survey is not only an indication of the deep roots of Finnish white privilege but of white fragility as well.

Robin Diangelo describes as white fragility in her best-selling book, “White Fragility.” She states that most white people “are absolutely not receptive to finding out their impact on other people.” She also mentions that the reaction caused by white fragility is nothing fragile but hostile.

If Petelius’ apology can create such a knee-jerk reaction of hate and hostility, ask yourself how many Finns would be ok with living with people of color and treating them as equals.

The reaction to Petelius’ apology also shows the ethnic and racist bubble the country continues to live in and who calls the ethnic-racial shots. Hint: It isn’t the minorities.

See also:

Tampere police highlight in a statement that the suspect isn’t “a person of foreign origin.” WTF?!

Posted on by Migrant Tales

A 10-year-old child in a department store in Tampere was attacked by a man with a knife. The suspect took two swings at the child but his father was able to stop the attack. Even if the suspect was a white Finn, and fearing a social media storm on social media, the police announced that the suspect “does not have a foreign origin.”

“A person with foreign origin” is code for a non-EU citizen or a person of color.

To put it simply, and if this happened in the UK, the police would write in the statement that the suspect isn’t a person of color, Muslim, Jew or any other minority.

These types of statements by the police racialize crime and cave in to the anti-immigration populism of parties like the Perussuomalaiset.*

Read the full police statement (in Finnish) here.

Seriously, #HelsinginSanomat, let it go!

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Finland’s biggest daily Helsingin Sanomat published a story about a Finnish woman who impersonated a Japanese tourist asking dumb questions to Finns. The show was so popular that it even won a Venla award, a Finnish version of the USAmerican Emmy Award.

That was in 2014.

Why would Helsingin Sanomat, a newspaper with vast resources and power, like to commemorate a Finn that impersonates a Japanese tourist? What’s the joke, and isn’t this racist and embarrassing that a daily wouldn’t even ask if this show is offensive to the Asian community in Finland?

Is this racist? Sure it is because it spreads stereotypes of the Japanese. It is also shameful considering that Finland’s most prominent daily still publishes these types of stories in 2019 uncritically.

In the Helsingin Sanomat story, there is no mention if this is racist and if it insults Asian communities of Finland. Read the full story (in Finnish) here.

One may ask why such stories ever get past the copy editors and why no one at the daily asked if these types of stories were ever ok?

Helsingin Sanomat recently celebrated its 130h anniversary. See any people of color or minorities, even if about 16% of Helsinki’s population are not white Finns? Source: Helsingin Sanomat.

The answer to that question could probably be found in the picture above, where there isn’t a single visible minority on the Helsingin Sanomat staff, even if about 16% of Helsinki’s population comprises of migrants and non-white Finns.

Seriously, #Finland, let it go!

Prime Minister Sanna Marin: the government will help repatriate children but no obligation to help their mothers

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced today that Finland would assist in the repatriation of some 30 Finnish children in the al-Hol camp in Syria, according to Yle. She said that Finland had no obligation to help the mothers.

While the announcement was expected after President Sauli Niinistö stated his view on the matter Sunday, it’s clear that the decision by the government is political.

University of Helsinki family law researcher, Sanna Mustasaari, warned about the danger of mixing politics with the al-Hol children’s welfare.

“The mothers weren’t helped because it was [a] political [decision],” she said on Yle’s A-Studio, adding that “under no circumstances” should the child welfare authorities, in searching for legal reasons to help the child, allow politics to influence their decision.

University of Helsinki family law researcher Sanna Mustasaari. Source: Yle.

President Sauli Niinistö’s announcement about the fate of the al-Hol Finns in Syria will most likely be the government’s

Posted on by Migrant Tales

President Sauli Niinistö announced Sunday that Finland must help the Finnish children in the al-Hol camp in Syria but not the mothers.

What does this mean in practice? It suggests that Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s government will take the same line as Niinistö.

One of the interesting matters to ask about the whole affair is why it is such a hot issue? What roles do prejudice and anti-Muslim sentiment play in the debate?

Read the full statement (in Finnish) here.

If the president and the government see eye to eye on the matter, what does it imply for the mothers? What about those who don’t want to be separated from their children? Does it mean that both mother and child will remain in Syria in squalid conditions?

The handling of the whole al-Hol matter by the government will weaken its credibility further. A president and a government that is ready to throw its citizens to the dogs cannot command a lot of respect from people who take human rights seriously.

If the government is having such a difficult time agreeing on how to help some 10 women and 30 children, what does it mean to government plans to strengthen human rights and improve the legal situation of asylum seekers?

A while back, President Niinistö suggested that Finland’s policy concerning the women and children in al-Hol should be similar to the other Nordic nations, which only grant assistance to children, not their mothers.

Even if Niinistö turns to the other Nordic nations for policy guidance, he forgets to tell us about the anti-Muslim sentiment in Norway and that the country is ruled by the Conservative Party and Islmophobic Progress Party. Even in Denmark, where the Social Democrats won the elections, Islamophobic sentiment is the highest of all the Nordic countries.

In Sweden, which has always been an example of a welcoming nation to migrants and refugees, is having second thoughts as the shadow of the Sweden Democrats grows.

I am certain that if President Tarja Halonen (2000-2012) were in office, the government’s response to the al-Hol Finns would be different and more in line with these people’s human rights.

President Niinistö’s announcement concerning the Finns in al-Hol should not come to any surprise. His past comments and views about migration and cultural diversity are in line with what he said.

See also:

Finance Minister Katri Kulmuni’s grotesque Internet poll is a symptom of a wider social problem in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The Center Party of Finland is a liability to the future of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s government. We already saw how they forced former Prime Minister Antti Rinne to resign. And then, we witnessed Finance Minister Katri Kulmuni’s Instagram poll.

Kulmuni’s post not only exposed her total disregard for human lives and the country’s international obligations but was a warning that some politicians, even ministers, are ready to leave the fate of their citizens to public opinion and chance.

She asked in the Instagram poll whether it would be ok repatriating “[Finnish] children only” or “children and [Finnish] mothers” from the al-Hol camp in Syria.

Andrew Stroehlein of Human Rights Watch was one of many who were awestruck what Kulmuni’s post. “Seriously, Finland? This is awful, if true,” he tweeted Thursday.

Finland has always been good at getting the maximum mileage from its international image by hiding its problematic social sore spots.

One of these is women’s rights and equality. Women still make about 20% less than men and a recent survey found Finland to be the second-most violent country for women.

Even if some brag about how Finland became the first to grant women the right to vote in 1906, it was not until 1984 when women were able to grant citizenship to their children through jus sanguinis.

Finland also had draconian laws against foreigners and foreign investment thanks to the Restricting Act of 1939 (Law 219/1939), which was made redundant in 1992.

Moreover, Finland got its first Aliens Act in 1983, or about 66 years after independence in 1917. Finland had total disregard for human rights when in the Cold War it returned Soviet citizens back to the USSR without granting asylum. Finland has serious issues with racism, hate crime and asylum policy.

Finland was also the last Nordic country to legalize gay marriages in 2014.

And here lay the question of questions that reveal how deep our collective heads are stuck in the mud: How can such a perfect society, which is supposed to be the happiest in the world, have an openly racist and misogynist party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* leading in the polls?

Even if our media scores high on the World Press Freedom Index, why is much of the reporting uncritical when it comes to serious social issues like migrant and minority discrimination and rights? The fact far-right populism is breathing down the necks of mainstream parties is a good indication of the failure of the media to challenge such social ills.

Let’s get real. What Finance Minister Kulmuni posted is a symptom of our denial in confronting those sore spots that only help cover and play down our more serious social problems.

The sooner we understand this, the sooner we can begin to start making Finland a good country to live in for all of its inhabitants irrespective of their backgrounds.