On one of my nightly walks on Tuukalankatu in Mikkeli, I see a Soldiers of Odin sticker on a lampost. Since these types of groups are toxic and hazardous to society, I scrape off the sticker.
Now you see it, but now you don’t.
The cruel arm of Finland’s asylum policy is not only Migri (The Finnish Immigration Service) but too many politicians who lack the courage to show their humanity and empathy for others.
One of the consequences of one’s journey to Europe is not only many years of waiting and despair, but death.
Finland puts a lot of effort into its integration program. Earlier this year, with the sexual assault cases in Oulu, we saw the then government of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä blame asylum seekers for not integrating and that our integration problem was a failure.
All of these accusations had one matter in mind for then Minister of Interior Kai Mykkänen and the National Coalition Party: the April 2019 parliamentary election. Mykkänen went as far as to suggest giving a test to asylum seekers about Finnish values.
As we all know, the suggestion of giving an integration test is only intended for public consumption. What are Finnish values anyway? Is one of them being a supporter of institutional racism?
What do you think white Finns teach asylum seekers about Finland at integration courses? Some may do a good job but at the end of the day, many teach asylum seekers to accept institutional racism by telling him or her fairy tales about our society. In effect, such teachers are saying that this is the way things are done and you must accept it.
One example is when such courses speak of gender equality. They do not tell women, who are asylum seekers, on how to combat labor discrimination. Moreover, they don’t give the students skimpy information in many cases about changing institutional racism.
If we are serious in turning people into active citizens, we must do away with much of our exceptionalism and superiority complexes we have of other people. Tackling all forms of racism should be a much higher priority.
The next question is why we don’t do that and with greater determination?
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Jussi Halla-aho gave us on Yle Ykkösaamu his usual anti-immigration blah blah and why Finland should relax its hate speech laws.
In the interview, Halla-aho, who was convicted of ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion in 2012, defended the Nazi-spirited Suomen Sisu association and played down PS MP Juha Mäenpää’s description in parliament that asylum seekers are a non-human “invasive species.”
Mäenpää is the same politician who stated in 2015 that “God had answered his prayers” after an asylum reception center was razed by fire.
While these types of counterarguments by Halla-aho, who has steered the party in into the far-right ideological lap of leaders like Lega’s Matteo Salvini and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, have no significance because the PS leader would even find arguments to justify the rise to power of the Nazis and Adolf Hitler in 1933.
Helsinki University criminal law professor Kimmo Nuotio threw some cold water on Halla-aho’s claim that hate speech laws have no place in an open society. Apart from pointing out that the PS’ proposal is political, he did not consider the ongoing debate healthy for democracy.
Moreover, the number of ethnic agitation cases that reach the courts are still modest as the table below shows.
“Personally, I find this type of discussion harmful,” Nuotio said, “it’s an attempt to undercut the basis for these laws.”
One matter that the Ykkösaamu journalist should have asked is why do we have laws against hate speech? The answer is obvious. Without them, it would be open season for racists and parties like the PS openly harass, attack, label and socially exclude vulnerable groups like Muslims for their political gain.
The argument used by Halla-aho to not open Finland’s labor markets to outside the EU is equally deceiving. Adding the usual fear-mongering that outside the EU there are half a billion people who could come to work, he claimed that such workers would drive down salaries.
Possibly valid to some extent, such people in our labor market like now would force our authorities to do a much better job in regulating markets and ensuring that exploitation does not become the norm.
* The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.
Daniel Malpica*
A couple of months ago, as part of the Writers for Peace Committee, the Finnish PEN was commissioned to write a resolution regarding migration on behalf of The Assembly of Delegates of PEN International. That resolution – written in a collaboration between Veera Tyhtilä, Shashank Mane and I – was focused on the problematic suffered by migrants and asylum seekers worldwide in relation to their condition as outsiders in foreign lands. The document made a diagnosis on the neediness for legal aid and locally contextualized the current situation in Finland.
I remembered this document while trying to articulate my nightmare with the Finnish Immigration Office for this article. Something important about the resolution was focused on conceiving the problem as an ethical priority that should be highlighted and tackled for the sake of human dignity and structural change. The final version of the resolution will be presented at the 85th PEN International Congress in Manila, being a document with strong personal significance due to the fact that it resonates with values that symbolically represents me as a Mexican-born professional making a living in Finland.
To give a little of context about me, I might say that I am an author and graphic designer residing in Helsinki since late 2013, and also a board member of the Finnish PEN. My work and experience as a writer, multimedia artist and activist on cultural advocacy is relatively known by the community on the field in Finland and Mexico. My literary and artistic practice has been supported by local institutions like the Arts Promotion Center Finland and Kone Foundation, opening spaces for Finnish-born and non Finnish-born professionals in Finland and abroad. I am also an entrepreneur running my own firm (toiminimi) with clients from the cultural, academic and hospitality industries; I have been translator, publisher, producer, curator; and so on and so forth.
On August 2018 I received a negative decision from the Finnish Immigration Office (Migri). The story involved an appointment letter to visit them at the terminal 2 of the Airport, a phone call with an interpreter in Spanish and a negative decision with the request to leave the country back to Mexico. I originally applied with my own firm for an entrepreneurs residence permit and during that time I received a full time working grant by Kone Foundation. I informed Migri about the grant – and its demand for a full commitment – and, instead of suggesting that perhaps it was not the suitable application for my current status, it was easier for them to deny me the residence.
So I got an attorney, we appealed, I applied for a new residence permit under the base of professional artist; before summer this year they asked for my sources of income (which were the grant and my company). Summer passed by, Kone Foundation’s grant came to an end last July, then they asked yet again for my sources of income but this time – ironically – with a suggestion to apply for the entrepreneurs residence permit if my income were mainly generated from my company. So they basically suggested me to go for the same residence permit that was rejected already a year before, including the extra expenses that applying again might bring.
I asked for two more weeks to do the suggested application but then the appealing decision came from the higher judge saying that I never informed about the grant, that I do not have ties with Finland, that I have another residence permit application on process and therefore they do not see a reason why I should not be deported.
According to a Migration Review made by the ministry, several legislative amendments were introduced in the previous government term to make it easier for entrepreneurs and experts to move to Finland in order to promote economic growth and employment, but It does not seem to be the case for professional artistic or cultural based workers financed by an institution in the form of a grant. Yet again, in parallel, it still remains unclear why the work made within a firm is not consider professional artistic work under the eyes of the Migration Office, in direct contradiction with the criterias given by the Ministry of Education and Culture where a grant from the Arts Promotion Centre Finland can be awarded throughout a company. So independently if the grant passes through my firm (Manuke. Lit, Media Art & Design), or not, the point is that the work within it should be considered professional artistic practice according to their criterias in other branches of the government.
One way or the other, the inconsistencies and opacity that Migri has regarding the evaluation processes, with no clear contact person to whom consult with about your own case, ends up making the process very unfortunate and giving a general feeling of estructural harassment, considering also that there are no clear mechanisms that explain what they really look for when they process a residence permit application. This is a delicate issue due to the fact that many people suffer this kind of situation in similar or worse proportion to my case. Spending money in applications, judges and attorneys; and sometimes even with no voices of their own representation to speak their stories, like in the case of asylum seekers for instance. All these elements together seem to depict a clear structural resistance, even when the Government Integration Programme for 2016–2019 and Government Resolution on a Government Integration Programme published by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in 2016 already acknowledged the relevance and urgency of a humane integration policy.
Last May, Support Structures Collective organized a peer group for art and cultural workers dealing with Migri. The peer group, coordinated by artist Martina Miño, took place at the facilities of Globe Art Point (Gap) in Helsinki and it was intended to compile the stories suffered by the field, identify common grounds of needs, and deal with possible solutions collectively. I attended the group both as Gap’s representative and as a professional struggling with the Migration Office myself. Martina told me that there were some attempts to contact Migri asking for them to provide one of their specialists or evaluators who could join the group, it seems to be that after some e-mail exchanges they just stop answering.
A statistical review made by The Finnish National Contact Point of the European Migration Network (EMN) in 2018, which compiles statistics from the Finnish Immigration Service, Police and Finnish Border Guard as well as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), shows that around 60% of the decisions on first residence permits for the category of ‘self-employment’ between 2017-2018 were negative from a total of 293 applications. Furthermore, the review mentions that before applying for the residence permit under the grounds of self-employment / entrepreneur, the applicant needs to get an assessment of the business model from Business Finland, but none of that information is specified in Migri’s official website. Yritys Espoo offers free of charge business advice for everyone, by the way.
For the Residence Permit Application for Work in the field of Culture or Arts, the information is not included into the statistical review, leaving a big question mark on the transparency of a process where I clearly covered all their criteria, despite its discriminatory statement on what is not a professional artist (“You may for example be a circus performer or a performing artist, but not a restaurant musician”).
While writing this article, I am facing a deportation process. But this time I have to request an appeal to the Supreme Court. A request.
True poets happen suddenly: they are born
and unborn in four lines
– Gonzalo Rojas
*Daniel Malpica is a Mexican-born author, graphic designer and board member of Finnish PEN.
See also:
Read the original posting here.
This posting was published with permission.
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED
A tweet, which alleges Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Jani Mäkelä, stating that “without SS troops, Finlan would have lost the Continuation War (1941-44), is from a fake account. If this is true, we apologize for the mix-up.
I wrote a comment to PS MP Mäkelä below after he asked me to “Stop spreading fake news and remove this post and related web article, before I need to take further action!”
Do you believe that PS MP Mäkelä will answer my question?
I’m not holding my breath.
What Mäkelä thinks about the SS and its role in the Continuation War (1941-44) would be of interest, considering that the PS is a far-right radical right party that has links with neo-Nazi and fascist groups like Suomen Sisu.
One of PS MP Mäkelä’s campaign platform was, like all of the candidates who got elected, anti-immigration. The tweet below and his reaction to it show what he thinks about Muslims and cultural diversity in Finland.
If it were for him, minorities like Muslims would be at the total mercy of the PS’ hostile Islamophobia.
Irrespective of the fake tweet, we all know that the PS is an Islamophobic, xenophobic, homophobic, and far-right radical right party. We should not be surprised that their anti-immigration populist rhetoric has fueled the hostile environment most likely fueled hate speech against Finland’s small Jewish community.
Migrant Tales reported in 2017 how the Jewish community of Helsinki felt threatened by rising hate speech.
“I will not say that it is only the extreme right that is directing this [online] hate speech against the Jewish community,” said Yaron Nadbornik, the president of the Jewish Community of Helsinki. ”Let’s just say that they are people from different ideologies that write online thousands of hate comments against Jews.”
All those who defend the SS role in Finland are blind to the atrocities committed and such group’s complicity in the extermination of the Jews.
We have heard of the SS death squads, the Einsatzgruppen, who are responsible for murdering three million Jews.
If there is a good example of why anti-Semitism has flourished in Finland like other forms of racism, it is Mäkelä’s tweet above.
See also:
The City of Ylivieska in Finland awards anti-Semite with distinction (September 24, 2014)
The Jews of Finland (August 27, 2013)
* The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED
In the face of rising hate speech, racism and the lack of trans rights, the Council of Europe Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) called today on Finland to tackle such social issues.
ECRI added: “[t]o tackle growing racist and intolerant hate speech, better coordinate integration activities for immigrants and review the law requiring transgender people to be sterilized before they can have their new gender legally recognized.”
Finland’s hostile environment against migrants and minorities is a Mayday call to do something.
But how can anything effective be done if Finland’s second-largest political party in parliament, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, are spreading ethnic hatred and demanding to do away with hate speech laws?
How much harm and fuel to the fire of racism is spread when politicians like PS First Vice-President Riikka Purra near-constantly attacks people of color by labeling them “human scum.”
Adding to the problem are mainstream parties like the National Coalition Party and Center Party that give mixed messages on accepting the PS as a future partner in government.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that one of the big problems in Finland is enforcement of hate speech laws. For some, the police are seen as part of the problem.
Even so, ECRI said that “it welcomes the adoption of a new anti-discrimination law and the prohibition of ethnic profiling, as well as measures taken to combat hate speech, including the setting-up of Hate Speech Investigation Teams in every Police Department.”
Some 900 Finnish police officers have received training on preventing and combating hate crimes.
* The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.
Helsinki City Councillor Abdirahim Husu Hussein, who is now giving racists and parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* a taste of their own medicine proves a point: There is too much racism in Finland, and too little is done to counter it.
Disagree? How many hate speech, hate crime, and cases involving racism ever reach the courts? How long does it take to reach the courts? How many get convictions?
After receiving countless racist insults and recently a letter with a death threat and a piece of rope tied as a noose, the insults, death threats, and racist harassment against Hussein continue.
Hussein’s case is a sad reminder that even if we have good laws against racism and hate speech, too little is done to enforce them.
Racism and hate are like a rabid dog that some politicians walk to impress and lure their voters. They forget, however, that that dog knows no master and can bite back hard, very hard.
* The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.
A racist is an individual, always an individual, who does not like people based on race – must be conscious – and who intentionally seems to be mean to them.
Robin DiAngelo, sociologist
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED
In English, we have a lot of words for bullshit: baloney, hogwash, crap, wise tales, poppycock, malarkey, snow job, lies, deception, rubbish, and many, many more. Some of these words pop up in my head when I hear politicians from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party speak about their pet punching bag: migrants, asylum seekers, and minorities.
If we look at DiAngelo’s definition of a racist, it sits well with many, if not all, members of the PS.
One of these politicians is Frist Vice President Riikka Purra. She had the gall to tweet the following question after appearing on Susanne Päivärinta’s talk show: “In your opinion, is it racist to call an African rapist human scum?”
Do we need to answer her offensive and racist question, or does her question answer the question?
Apart from her fear-mongering, about how white Finns will be taken over by people of color, she uses terms like “harmful immigration” and “mass immigration” to justify her racism and hatred of Muslims, Africans, Middle Easterners and people of color in general.
Considering that Finland is one of the whitest countries in Europe, Purra’s claim that white Finns will become a minority is ludicrous. Considering that Finland is the second-most violent country for women to live in the EU, it is disingenuous of her to state that Finland has one of the best cultures in the world for women.
Purra disagreed that Finland is such a violent place for women. She criticized the methodology of the study.
The PS politician should take a look at the mirror and listen to her anti-immigration rhetoric and ask if this is how people of “one of the best cultures in the world” speak to and treat asylum seekers?
She also mentioned that when a person becomes a naturalized Finn it does not make the person “an ethnic Finn.”
What is an “ethnic Finn?” Is there only one type of Finn?
Certainly not, Purra. There are today, as there were before, many types of Finns. There are Afrofinn, Muslim Finns, Russian Finns, and the subcategories are almost endless.
I will say it once again: Purra is a disingenuous politician whose anti-immigration rhetoric is a sham.
* The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* First Vice- President Riikka Purra asked in a tweet: “In your opinion, is it racist to call an African rapist human scum?”
Indeed, it is racist! It is especially racist if you are a white politician who is a member of an Islamophobic and Afrophobic party.
Can a human, irrespective of the crime, be referred to as subhuman?
Her question is a bit similar to what former UK Prime Minister David Cameron called migrants trying to enter Britain as a “swarm,” which is a term applied for fish and insects.
It is not appropriate for anyone, especially politicians, to refer to people as “scum” or a “swarm.”
In the interview with Susanne Päivärinta on Wednesday, the chair of the parliamentary administration committee, which oversees immigration policy, Purra could not name the three biggest national groups in Finland.
She told Päivärinta that they were the Russians, Estonians, and Somalis. Wrong. The three biggest groups are Estonians, Russians, and Iraqis.
Purra talks big and spreads Islamophobic fear but has problems with her facts like what percentage of foreign nationals live in Finland.
She didn’t even know.
Purra is a disingenuous politician whose anti-immigration rhetoric is a sham.
* The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party imploded on June 13, 2017, into two factions, the PS and New Alternative, which is now called Blue Reform. In the last parliamentary election, Blue Reform has wiped off the Finnish political map when they saw their numbers in parliament plummet from 18 MPs to none. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Official translations of the Finnish name of the party, such as Finns Party or True Finns, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and after that the acronym PS.