Tag: hate crime

Exposing white Finnish privilege #51: The police are the defenders of white power and privilege

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Ask Finland’s Romany minority If you want to understand how the Finnish police service reinforces and defends white power and privilege. I did this recently, and the answers did not surprise me. 

According to a member of the Roma community, the Finnish police play down discrimination, especially if it involves a member of that minority group.

“They simply don’t care to investigate cases of discrimination against the Roma because some of them are so racist,” the person said, agreeing that institutional racism in the Finnish police service is a problem.

One of the problems with discrimination cases, hate speech and hate crime is that due process is slow and ineffective.

It is not only the Roma but migrants and other visible minorities that have to deal with a police service that takes its time big time with discrimination and racism cases.

Certainly, the question we must ask is why.

The answer: Because that is the way things are meant to be.

White Finnish privilege #51

Do I trust the police service in handling discrimination and racism cases?

Continue reading “Exposing white Finnish privilege #51: The police are the defenders of white power and privilege”

To Finland from a Pakistani family: A second letter about hate crime*

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales (MT) insight: In mid-March, MT published a letter from a Pakistani family. The victim, the father of the family, was brutally attacked on February 23 by three white Finnish youths. The victim and his wife believe that what happened was a hate crime. The police disagree. According to the wife, the police called her the following day after the Pakistani migrant was attacked and stated that it was not a hate crime because “the suspects were intoxicated.” 

I met the family again at the end of last month at noon at the hospital. It was so lovely to see them together: the wife, baby, and their four-year-old daughter in the company of their father, who was recovering and in much better condition since the last time I saw him. 

Since I have two granddaughters, I started a conversation with the eldest daughter about what cartoons she likes to watch.  “PJ Masks and Benny and Holly!” she replied without hesitation.

I asked the wife and her husband, if they wished, to write a letter about how their lives had changed after February 23. 

Below is the letter that also includes their feelings about charging the three white Finnish youths of attempted murder. 

What was surprising in the police statement was that the charges had been changed from manslaughter to attempted murder. 

It will be interesting to see how they pin murder charges on the three youths. The only matter that was apparently stolen from the victim was his cellphone. 

________________

Dear Finland,

It is difficult to put into words how this event had changed my family’s life. Change is a small word to describe what happened.

The terrible incident that caused by husband to almost die after he was attacked by three youths has made us extremely uncertain about life and people. We moved to Finland from Pakistan so we could live in a secure country. We did not find security but the total opposite of it.

My [four-year-old] daughter asked me many times when my husband was in the hospital when her father will come home. She missed her father so much. She asked many times what had happened to her father. My daughter hears about the topic a lot when I speak on the phone. At the hospital she would burst into tears every time the nurses injected her father.

My husband feels better and returned to our new home. We moved out of our old apartment in Vantaa because it brought all of us terrible memories and we did not feel safe there.

The attackers used a knife, ax and pointed object to stab and hit the victim. When stabbing the calf muscle, the suspect did not remove the knife but slashed part of the leg in the process. Without getting into more detail, it took four hours to remove the victim’s stitches. The violence of the crime raises questions. Attempted murder? Hate crime? At least no longer manslaughter. Photo: Enrique Tessieri.

The bloodstains of the victim were on the snow 20 days after the attack. Source: Helsinki Times.

My husband said that if anyone has hate in his heart and consumes drugs and alcohol, “intoxication” should not be an excuse for committing a hate crime.

Continue reading “To Finland from a Pakistani family: A second letter about hate crime*”

Three white Finnish youths who attacked brutally a Pakistani migrant are charged with attempted murder, not a hate crime

Posted on by Migrant Tales

After the brutal attack on a Pakistani migrant in Vantaa on February 23, the police investigating the case has deemed that what happened is not a hate crime but attempted murder, according to a police statement. The victim and his wife were adamant about the motive of the crime, which they considered racially motivated. 

The police raised the charges from suspected manslaughter originally to attempted murder.

If the wife of the victim is to be believed, the fastest conclusion that the police made on the following day after the attack was that what happened was not a racist crime. They claimed that it could not racially motivated because the three white Finnish suspects were intoxicated.

If you ask some members of the nursing staff at the hospital where the Pakistani was treated, they will tell you that they have never seen such a case of brutal violence in their careers.

Without getting into detail, it took four hours to remove the victim’s stitches.

The lack of understanding in the area of ethnic relations to the plight of a visible migrant has overshadowed this case by the police and social workers. Even if the victim’s wife asked such officials repeatedly, the blood stains of her husband were visible on the ground outside of their home for 20 days after the attack.

This is an ongoing story that will be covered during the weekend.

 

Read the original statement here.

From Black February 2012 to the brutal attack of a Pakistani migrant in 2018 – are these hate crimes?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Is it a coincidence that Black February, which took place in 2012 and involved the violent deaths of three members of the Muslim community of Finland, happened on the same month when a Pakistani was brutally attacked by three white Finns in Vantaa? While the timing may have happened by chance, there are similarities between what happened in February 2012 and on February 23. 

The events that took place six years ago in February involved a Somali in Oulu leaping to his death on January 31 from the fourth floor after three white Finns broke into his home; the violent death of an eighteen-year-old Somali Finn who was killed in the Espoo neighborhood of Leppavaara by his white Finnish schoolmate; and a white Finn called Janne entering a pizzeria in Oulu and killing in cold blood a Moroccan and wounding the owner, who is Algerian, before taking his own life.

Before the three deaths and suicide, a foreigner who delivered newspapers in Oulu was threatened by three men on December 23, 2011, and decided to jump off the stairway balcony on the third floor. An ambulance arrived, but he did not die from the leap.

In all cases, the police appear reluctant to pin racism as a motive.

February 2012 and 2018

Is it a coincidence that the police have arrived at the same conclusion concerning the brutal attack of the Pakistani migrant in February?

The attack happened on Friday and the following day, the police got in touch with the wife of the victim. The first question she asked the police was if what happened was a hate crime. The police denied it was a hate crime because the suspects “were intoxicated,” according to the wife.

While we don’t know all the facts of the crime, “intoxication” does not absolve a person from committing a hate crime.

Moreover, the wife claimed later that the police told her that it could not be a hate crime because it “wasn’t planned.” A hate crime can be planned.

The reaction of the police concerning the wife’s concerns reveals that the police appear reluctant to place “hate” as a factor in the attack of the Pakistani migrant.

 

 

A lot of questions arise. One of these is how did the police arrive so rapidly at the conclusion that it wasn’t a racist crime? How come it took the police until Tuesday to release a statement that did not mention the words hate crime. The police officer that was investigating the crime, Detective Chief Inspector Mikko Minkkinen, was, however, quoted as saying in the media that it was not a hate crime.

He has also denied it to Migrant Tales.

 

For some reason, the police have killed the link about the detention of the people suspected in the Somali’s death after he leaped from the fourth floor.

Here is another broken link that was a story about the police beginning an investigation of Tommi Rautio, the PS councilperson, who suggested that the killer of the Moroccan at the Oulu pizzeria should be given a medal. At first, the police did not want to investigate the incident as a racist crime but then changed their minds a few days later. Read the original story here.

 Hate crime or not

Could the most recent case of the Pakistani migrant make us suspicious that the police may want rule out a racist motive in a crime for political reasons and avoid public anger and panic in the Muslim and migrant community?

Continue reading “From Black February 2012 to the brutal attack of a Pakistani migrant in 2018 – are these hate crimes?”

A letter to Finland about hate crime*

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Dear Finland, 

Our family suffered a terrible crime on February 23 in Vantaa when three youths approached my husband from Pakistan at night and asked for a cigarette. My husband is a kind and loving person. If you ask him for a cigarette, he’ll give you two. But there was a problem: The three youths that asked for cigarettes looked like minors.

My husband asked for identification papers. One of them responded that he was 19.

On turning around, and after taking a few steps, my husband was violently attacked with a knife, ax, and a pointed object. Without going into detail, it took four hours to remove my husband’s stitches from over 20 wounds. He also has a double skull fracture and has been on the operating table a number of times.

Read the full story here.

My husband wants to do everything possible so that nobody will fall victim to such a vile crime. He and I are convinced that what happened was a hate crime. We are Muslims and Pakistanis, visible minorities in Finland. Why would anyone go to such an extent to cause such bodily harm if ethnic background did not play a role?

Continue reading “A letter to Finland about hate crime*”

The roots of hate crime and hate speech are in Finnish society, right under our noses

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The media and police are mirrors of our prejudices in our society. Our lame reaction to such social ills not only expose our weaknesses as a society but hide and protect the real culprit: institutional racism. 

How does institutional racism survive in Finland? The answer is easy: We shield such a social ill with our silence, the way the police treats minorities and migrants, in the hateful rhetoric of politicians like Perussuomalaiset*(PS) MP Laura Huhtasaari, to just name a few.

With the rise of Islamophobic and racist politicians assured a political career, should be we surprised that hate crimes have gone up in Finland?

Hate is a powerful force and if you think it just stops with stereotyping, belittling jokes and insensitive remarks, take a look at the pyramid of hate, think twice. Its destination is genocide.

Remember when the police started to profile pizzerias ethically? They asked customers to report establishments that sold pizzas at 6 euros or below. Lidl sells pizza at a euro 1.39. Read what the BBC of London wrote about this failed police campaign here.

The police, who are overwhelmingly white in Finland, have so much power that they even claim to know more than the victims of racism.

An unfortunate example of the latter is the vile attack against a Pakistani on February 23. The police claim that what happened to the Pakistani wasn’t a hate crime even if he suffered over 20 stabbings and other injuries. The statement was made without asking what the victim thought.

Continue reading “The roots of hate crime and hate speech are in Finnish society, right under our noses”

The violent attack against a Pakistani migrant in Vantaa should be treated as a hate crime

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The Pakistani, who was attacked brutally in Vantaa on February 23 by three white Finnish youths carrying a knife, ax, and a pointed object, sees what happened to him was a hate crime.*  

If the incident had occurred in the UK, it would be recorded as a hate crime by the police because the victim perceived it to happen against him because of his ethnic background or faith.

For some unknown reason, the Finnish police investigating the case are still not clear on the motive of the crime. The fact that the victim considers what happened to him a hate crime is a strong sign that the police will have to see it in that way.

The police’s reaction to what happened to the Pakistani in Vantaa shows the daily experiences of ethnic minorities who are confronted by racist violence in Europe and Finland. This, we believe, is a classic example of institutional racism.

In an email to Migrant Tales, the Itä-Uusimaa police state that motive is the primary factor in determining a hate crime. It pointed out in another email: a hate crime is registered as such if “the injured party [victim or other injured party], other parties or police see it as a hate crime.” [1]

This case, which must be one of the worst ever reported against a migrant in Finland irrespective of its classification, should help us to see some of the weaknesses that hate-crime victims face in this country.

One of these that became clear immediately is the police’s reaction. Not only did it take the police until February 27 to come out with a statement, the officer in charge of the case, Detective Chief Inspector Mikko Minkkinen, was quoted as saying in Helsingin Sanomat  and YLE News here is nothing that suggests it was a racist crime.

What is surprising is that the police makes such a claim without asking what the victim thinks. It may believe that since the attackers were intoxicated or that the attack was not planned absolves the attackers of a hate crime. Wrong.

A hate crime can occur when intoxicated and doesn’t have to be planned. Both factors are totally irrelevant.

The OSCE ODIHR Hate Crime Reporting manual establishes motive through a background check of the crime.

Some of these bias indicators that point to an Islamophobic or anti-migrant hate crime are:

  • Difference of ethnicity/background between the perpetrator and victim;
  • Timing
  • Proximity to a mosque as well or another venue associated with Muslims/migrants;
  • What does the victim’s community say?
  • What does the perpetrator say why he did it?
  • The vehemence of the attack – this is a very strong indicator.

Any two of the above would warrant the police investigation Bias/hate as a motive.

So far, and as far as we can gather, there are three points: (1) difference of ethnic background; (2) what does the victim’s community say; (3) and the vehemence of the attack.

The violence of the attack speaks volumes. Without going into gruesome detail, it took four hours to remove the victim’s stitches. A recent operation that the victim underwent took eight hours.

Read the full guide here.

According to another comprehensive guide for hate crime victims and NGOs published by the UK Race and Europe Network (EKREN) and the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), a hate crime sends a terrible message. The police should recognize that by attacking an individual, as in the case of the Pakistani, a warning to a broader group of people who share the same characteristics.

Continue reading “The violent attack against a Pakistani migrant in Vantaa should be treated as a hate crime”

Finding help if you are a victim of a hate crime is difficult in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

There was a horrible attack against a Pakistani father of two over on February 23. Just to get an idea of the wounds he sustained on that terrible night, it took last week four hours to remove his stitches. 

What would have happened if the attackers were three Pakistanis who attacked a white Finn in such a vile manner? What would be the public’s and media’s reaction?

We got an example of this in 2015 when Finnish youths of non-white background sexually assaulted a white woman in the Helsinki neighborhood of Tapanila.

Reporting on such a terrible story is difficult. I still remember a plea that the Pakistani victim told the attackers as he laid on the ground: “Please don’t kill me, I have two children.”

A Pakistani was attacked by three white Finns on February 23 and was near death. Pictured published with the permission of the victim. Photo by Enrique Tessieri.

Getting justice in Finland from a suspected hate crime is difficult.

Continue reading “Finding help if you are a victim of a hate crime is difficult in Finland”

Pakistanis, Muslims, feel insecure in Finland after dreadful attack against a migrant

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The brutal attack against a Pakistani on Friday night (February 23) must be one of the worst-ever against a migrant. It took four hours last week to remove his stitches. As a result of what happened, the Pakistani and Muslim communities of Finland don’t feel safe.  

Even if the police made no mention of it in a statement, Detective Chief Inspector Mikko Minkkinen is quoted as saying in Tuesday’s Helsingin Sanomat that what happened less than a week and a half ago it is not a hate crime.

If this is the case, and considering the gravity of the attack against the victim, the police should tell the Pakistani, Muslim, and migrant community of Finland how they arrived at such a conclusion.

Migrant Tales published Thursday a story on how the police in Ireland use bias indicators to decide if an attack is a hate crime or not.

Why isn’t it a hate crime? Were the attackers intoxicated? You can be drunk and commit a hate crime. It doesn’t preclude it or stops a group of people from stabbing an innocent victim over 20 times and hitting him on the head with an ax and cause double skull fractures.

One of the words repeatedly used by the attackers against the victim was vittu, the Finnish term for the f-word.

If the crime was horrendous, it has shaken the Pakistani and Muslim community of Finland.

The wife of the victim said that she’s afraid to go outdoors after what happened to her husband.

“Before it was nothing out of the ordinary to go outdoors,” she continued. “Now I must be careful.”

 

One of the many wounds that the victim endured from his attackers. Picture published with the permission of the victim. Photo: Enrique Tessieri.

Another Pakistani, who visited the victim in the hospital on Sunday, said that there is concern in the Muslim community for their safety.

“When people heard about this thing [the attack],” he said, “they became afraid and feel insecure when they go out at night.”

The Pakistani said that he would never walk through a forest at night again as in the past.

“I have two options: to walk 3-4 kilometers or take a shortcut through the forest,” he continued. “I would rather walk 3-4 kilometers.”

Another Somali Muslim said that he has always felt insecure in places where there are few migrants.

“In East Helsinki [where I used to live], I don’t feel in danger because there are so many people like myself,” he said, adding that the attack against the Pakistani in Vantaa is confirmation that Finland is a dangerous place for Muslims and migrants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Atrocious” would be a light word to describe the violence against a Pakistani immigrant last week in Vantaa, Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The Pakistani who suffered a violent attack on Friday in the Finnish city of Vantaa is recovering in hospital. It is a miracle that he survived such a vile attack, according to a nurse who said that the victim was only minutes away from death if help did not have arrived on time. 

We wish the victim well and are not only shocked by what happened but worried about the safety of other visible migrants and minorities in Finland.

Read the original story here.

The Pakistani victim suffered at the hands of three suspected white Finnish youths the following wounds, according to a source close to the victim.

The vile nature of the attack is so horrible that we cannot publish a list of the wounds that the Pakistani is today recovering from.The media has published that the victim was stabbed over 20 times, and suffered multiple fractures on the skull from blows from an ax. The media hasn’t reported as well that the suspects cut pieces of the victim with a knife.

Continue reading ““Atrocious” would be a light word to describe the violence against a Pakistani immigrant last week in Vantaa, Finland”