Roger Casale* The climate of fear and antipathy towards newcomers to the UK from Europe hurts individuals in their day-to-day lives. We in the UK should take a moment to reflect on what these negative attitudes and behaviours say about us as a national community. Migrants hold a mirror up to the host nation. What…
Tag: Immigrants
Four in five Swedes express concern over xenophobia
Swedes are more worried about the rise of xenophobia in their country than the ever-growing number of immigrants, according to The Local, citing a study by the SOM Institute of Gothenburg University. The survey revealed that while 49% expressed concern over immigration levels, 78% were worried about the rise of xenophobia. Read full story here….
Anonymous: Against all odds human spirt cannot be crushed
Migrant Tales insight: Anonymous is one of the many readers that not only visit our blogs but contribute their stories and poems. I’m not at liberty to disclose her identity but can vouch for her story. We have been in touch countless of times on the phone and she has told me her six-year ordeal in Finland…
Migrant Tales (March 21, 2013): Some immigrants adapt so well to Finland that they even parrot the language of the racist
Intolerance doesn’t only originate from the majority group, but is alive and kicking among some immigrants as well. White immigrants may have prejudices against their fellow black ones, gays against heterosexuals, religion x against religion y. In sum, there’s a lot of intolerance promoted out there that reveals itself in the most surprising places. Read…
Migrant Tales Literary: Zoila Forss – Infinito, Ääretön
Zoila Forss es una poeta peruana que vive en Finlandia pero que se muda con su familia al Perú por un año a principios de enero de 2014. Leer a Zoila es transportarse a los paisajes personales de una persona que vive simultáneamente en dos países. Puede leer su blog, Ojos de ver/Näkevät silmat, aquí….
Does social welfare hinder or encourage migrants to integrate into Finnish society?
Abdi Osman, 44, a naturalized Finn who came to Finland fifteen years ago with 50 dollars in his pocket from his native Somalia via Moscow, is a good example of how refugees and immigrants bring vitality to the economy. His story is that of millions of other immigrants and refugees who made it in their…
Dana: Why doesn’t President Sauli Niinistö care about immigrants? What’s his stance on racism?
Dana Finland is a small country but a very proud one about its political and legal system. Some Finns believe they are, however, so different from other people on this planet and they can’t explain why. For example…in Finland the law functions like magic; they believe that the law is so comprehensive that no-one in…
Migrants’ life in Finland: Some endure intolerance better than others – some hit back, others don’t
The ocean is a desert, with it’s life underground And a perfect disguise above. Under the cities lies, a heart made of ground, But the human will give no love. A Horse with No name, America Intolerance, bigotry, racism, prejudice and a list of other social ills strike their victims in different ways. Some of…
Migrant Tales Literary: Foreigner
By Musimenta Dansila you call me in your eyes a foreigner I am to mother earth are we not all? as a foreigner I stand declare mother earth to be mine as a foreigner you despise me you segregate me you scorn me but isn’t mother earth for all? as a foreigner I refuse to…
Does Finland promote two-way or one-way adaption of immigrants?
Our integration law promotes two-way adaption as opposed to assimilation, which is a one-way process. Section 17 of the Finnish Constitution states that each person living in this country has the right to maintain and develop their own language and culture. What do these two important laws mean in practice and how are they applied? Sensible Finns…