Tag: Immigrants

Is Aamulehti’s claim of high rape convictions by foreigners in Finland correct?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Thirty-four percent of  convicted rape crimes committed during 2006-09 in Finland were by foreigners, according to Tampere-based Aamulehti. What is surprising, however, is that Aamulehti chose not to mention 2010 and 2011 suspected rape crimes, which totaled 141 (27.5% of all rape cases) and 109 (26%) in 2010 and 2011, respectively, according to Hannu Niemi of the Justice Ministry.

There are a lot of holes and question marks  about Toni Viljanmaa’s story. One of these is if it is a story at all. Or if the story should be that rape convictions have gone down sharply from 2006-09. There were a total of 261 convictions for rape during this three-year period.

If Viljanmaa claims that there were 34% convicted rapes during the period under review, he forgets to tell us that the actual number is 24% for all types of rapes.  If there were 141 and 109 suspected cases in 2010 and 2011 this suggests that convictions would be far less than the 34% claimed by Aamulehti.

Another big hole in Viljanmaa’s story is what types of “foreigners” is he referring to? The statistics he cites include permanent residents as well as tourists, according to Niemi.

Niemi told Migrant Tales that he had no idea why the Tampere daily published the news, which was picked up by Iltalehti. “You’d have to ask the paper [their motives for publishing these statistics],” he said. “This is public information. If a journalist asks us these types of statistics we are obliged to give it to him.”

While we are not playing down a crime like rape, what we should be asking is what does a story like this do to invite open and honest debate about a serious problem in our society and, most importantly, how to address it?

Apart from labeling and giving ammunition to anti-immigration groups to continue their victimization of certain immigrant groups, we should not forget another important legal point: A person is innocent until proven guilty.

On top of these distortions and editorializing by the reporter, he on top of this interviews an Iraqi resident and asks what he thinks about the situation.

This story is a good example of shoddy and lazy journalism.

The answer to our prejudices and racism in Finland lie in our emigrants

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

It’s clear that as Finland becomes more culturally diverse this century, it will one day make a startling discovery: we are culturally rich and diverse. Some of those historians and social scientists that have kept us in the dark for now should reread their history over and over again until they get it right. 

One of the most interesting questions about why we don’t acknowledge our cultural diversity enough in Finland is the question itself. Why hasn’t it been acknowledged? In which groups’ interest has it been to not stir things too much on this front?

As a person with a culturally diverse background who is a Finn, I have always been amazed by the simplistic and fictitious ethnic and national view we have of ourselves as Finns.

Today there are officially over 50,000 couples in this country that are bicultural, according to the Population Research Institute (Väestöliitto).

But like all far-reaching discoveries you will most likely find the answer under your nose.

All of those Finnish emigrants that left this country in large numbers from the 1880s not only faced a brave new world but a culturally diverse one as well.  What role did their whiteness play in integration and in shaping attitudes of other groups?

What did the Finns think of blacks in the United States and what were their attitudes towards Amerindians? What did they think about marrying outside the group? What did some members of their community say if their spouse was black?

All these questions that were relevant well over a century ago are topical today in Finland. The only problem, however, is that for some reason we have avoided looking into this question.

It’s clear that some immigrant parents not only want their children to retain their customs but marry within the group. This was an important goal for some parents but became less important for the children never mind grandchildren.

One of the discoveries I made while doing fieldwork on a Finnish colony in Argentina from 1977 was their view of other ethnicities like blacks from Brazil and mestizos, a term used to describe people who have mixed European and Amerindian ancestry.  The darker the person, usually implied greater rejection from the community.

The way they rejected such bicultural marriages was with the help of prejudice and racism. Some actually believed that marrying a mestizo would condemn you to a life of poverty.  All the bad qualities of the white Finnish colonizer were the fault of the mestizo spouse.

Some of these racist attitudes and prejudices that some colonizers had of other groups were not only learned in Argentina but came from Europe.

I have a lot of data gathered through long interviews of how some Finns viewed other groups that were ethnically different. If I have such information I am certain that this type of information can be found among Finns that emigrated to North America, Africa and other parts of the world.

If researchers are serious about studying racism in Finland, they should look under their noses. The information is there waiting to be uncovered.

Foreign Student front cover from April 1981

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales publishes on and off stuff from the past like magazine stories and Finnish tabloid ads, or lööppi in Finnish. The Foreign Student was a short-lived but courageous newsletter of the Foreign Student Club of Helsinki. The humble publication existed from January 1981 to January 1982 and lasted 11 issues. It was probably the first-ever publication in Finland that spoke out critically against Finland’s then non-existent and arbitrary immigration policy.

The editorial headlined “Self-Censorship” is critical about the then Aliens’ Office, which operates like a state within a state.

 “Many of us deep inside want to do something constructive for the cause of foreigners here in Finland. We want deep inside to see a law [Finland’s first Aliens Act of 1983] protecting us, a law which will give us security. Also, many of us feel a deep nervousness of the Aliens Office…Is our situation hopeless? Are we doomed to sit in silence for the rest of our days [in Finland]? What to do?”

Sounds like the same argument today.

The editor of the Foreign Student was officially John Arnold.  The editorials were written by Enrique Tessieri.

The front cover of the April 1981 issue represented the “ideal” foreigner, who never said anything bad nor raised a finger against the arbitrary treatment by the then Aliens Office. 

Stateless persons do not have the right to open a bank account in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Here is a pretty odd case that I encountered Monday when I went to Nordea bank in Mikkeli to open an account for a stateless person.  After a few questions, the bank employee said that the person needs a valid passport to open an account at that bank. But if on that passport it reads “his/her identity cannot be confirmed,” the person can never open an account at Nordea.

I asked the Nordea employee what could be done.

“Why don’t you go to OP bank,” she said. “I’ve read in Länsi-Savo [the local paper] that such persons can open accounts at that bank.”

Surprised by what I was hearing, I asked the bank employee if she was serious.

“Why do they [OP bank] have one set of rules and you have another?” I asked. “Don’t you think it is pretty incredible that you are sending a potential client to the competition?”

When I asked JusticeDemon about what happened, he said that there is a clear administrative problem over what counts as proof of identity and over the  implementation of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (Accession by Finland on 10 October 1968).

One point of that Convention is Article 27 (Identity papers), which states, “The Contracting States shall issue identity papers to any stateless person in their territory who does not possess a valid travel document.”

According to the Ombudsman for Minorities, an identity card issued by the police should count as valid identification just like a passport.

Some believe that the decision by the banks to not allow a stateless person to open a bank account as arbitrary.

There is not much a person from a war-torn country can do if he or she is stateless. Who’s to blame? The refugee? The failed state? The bank(s)? Or authorities regulating the bank sector?

Whatever the case, it sure isn’t the fault of the stateless person.

La Prórroga: 500 euros para desmontar mitos racistas

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Spain offers us in Finland a good case in point to study how the role of learning a new language has its limitations in the adaption process of immigrants. Spain has millions of Latin Americans who not only speak Spanish as their mother tongue, but belong to the same religion as well. 

The lesson we can learn from Spain is that racism and discrimination do not magically vanish after you become fluent in a language. There are many other factors at play like acceptance. . 

Are some Finnish policy-makers, politicians and even language teachers making optimistic promises? Are they giving a too rosy picture of our society by stating, “learn the language and everything will be fine?”

The beautifully written blog entry below by Zulma Sierra tells about an urban tale we commonly here in Finland as well from the anti-immigration crowd: Immigrants get better benefits and treatment than the locals. 

A man placed an ad in a Catalan daily, La Garrotxa, and offered to pay 500 euros to anyone who could inconclusively show that immigrants get preferential treatment by the authorities in the region of Catalonia. 

Nobody responded. 

This would be a great idea in Finland. What about if we placed an ad in Helsigin Sanomat and asked the same question? How many would respond? 

__________________

Zulma Sierra

Gracias a la Xarxa Barcelona Antirumors, llegó a mi pantalla esta historia fascinante: un hombre ofreció 500 euros a quien aportara pruebas de que los inmigrantes reciben tratos de favor por parte de la Administración Pública.

El anuncio salió en el diario local La Garrotxa y contaba con el respaldo del abogado Joan Capdevila. Es decir, quien quisiera comprobar que el anuncio iba en serio podía llamar a este despacho en Olot, y si las pruebas aprobadas eran irrefutables, el abogado se encargaría de pagarle su premio. El diario La Garrotxa, a su vez, se comprometía a publicar la historia -con las pruebas conseguidas por el ganador- siempre respetando el anonimato del participante.

Y aquí entramos en un terreno interesante: el anónimo. Porque el promotor directo de la iniciativa sigue siendo un misterio. Sólo Joan Capdevila lo conoce y, según un artículo suyo, aparecido en la Revista de Girona, el hombre estaba cansado de oír que a las madres extranjeras les regalaban pañales para sus recién nacidos, que los inmigrantes recibían un tiquet de asistencia o que los escolares -hijos de extranjeros- tenían comedor y transporte gratis.

El hombre estaba dispuesto a poner de su bolsillo para desmontar mitos, o para ratificarlos (en caso de que resultasen ciertos), pero no le interesaba ni dar la cara ni unirse a ninguna cruzada antiracismo.

¿Anuncio trampa? se preguntaban algunos políticos y comentaristas en los medios de comunicación locales. ¿Cómo es posible que una sola persona pretenda acabar con los estereotipos? El racismo y la discriminación, insistían en sus análisis, es cosa de las Administraciones Públicas y los profesionales.

Sí y no, digo yo. ¿Acaso la participación individual en la vida pública sólo puede concretarse a través del voto en unas elecciones? Para Capdevila resulta sorprendente que los medios de comunicación fueran perdiendo interés en la historia a medida que pasaba el tiempo porque no estaba respaldada por un colectivo o por una entidad. No se tomaron el trabajo de investigar por su cuenta el origen y la veracidad de las supuestas ayudas extraordinarias que reciben los inmigrantes de Girona, porque la “denuncia” que planteaba este ciudadano era bastante inusual.

Y se queja así don Joan Capdevila en su texto:

Els ciutadans normals i corrents, individualment, s’han d’abstenir, han de ser només espectadors de la realitat i no intervenir-hi, d’altra manera són excèntrics ridículs.

“Los ciudadanos normales y corrientes, individualmente, deben abstenerse, deben ser sólo espectadores de la realidad y no intervenir, de otra manera son excéntricos ridículos”.

Imagen tomada de Taringa.net

Imagen tomada de Taringa.net

Pues qué lamentable que así sea. Qué aburrido es vivir en la resignación, viendo pasar aquello que no te gusta, sin pronunciar ninguna palabra en contra. Qué penoso, además, que quienes deciden en las esferas de poder sólo toquen a mi puerta en época de elecciones porque saben que el resto del tiempo permaneceré inmóvil.

Y no quiero con esto desacreditar a los movimientos ciudadanos valientes y masivos como el 15-M que van dejando huellas importantes cada vez que pisan la calle. Por el contrario, pienso que una manifestación colectiva tiene que ir respaldada por acciones individuales y que, aunque una golondrina no haga verano, vale la pena hacerse sentir, decir lo que se piensa, luchar por lo que se cree.

Desde aquí, gracias a Capdevila y a su cliente por ir en contra del conformismo.

Por cierto… ¿Quieren sabe cómo acabó la historia? Nunca se presentó ningún candidato al premio durante los dos meses de la convocatoria.

The Finnish media and Länsiväylä should follow Migrant Tales

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Migrant Tales was way ahead of the Finnish media when it was the first to reveal the ethnic backgrounds of the violent killing that occurred on Friday February 17 after a naturalized Finn who was born in Somalia went to a high school prom. Länsiväylä claims incorrectly that the police have now confirmed the ethnic backgrounds of the victim  and the suspect, who is a white Finn.   

The police confirmed to Migrant Tales the ethnic background of the victim three days later after the killing.

Migrant Tales was first before the Finnish the media in another tragic death that took place earlier involving a Somali in Oulu.

What was tragic about both deaths was the reaction of some bloggers. Some of these were wild fabrications with one matter in mind: To erase shame by pinning the crime on a suspect, whom some claimed was Somali.  D4R and Migrant Tales were right on the ball all along. We knew the real facts behind the killing.

Our motto is a very simple one:  “To be a voice for those whose views and situation are understood poorly and heard faintly by the media, politicians and public.”

Finnish police confirm ethnic background of second death on Friday

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

The Finnish police have confirmed to Migrant Tales that the second death of a young man to be a naturalized Finn who was born in Somalia.  The young man lost his life on in Espoo on Friday. It is the third killing of an immigrant in just over three weeks.

The first one happened in Oulu, when a Somali fell to his death while attempting to escape from three Finns that barged into his home.

Iltalehti reports the death in a short story the death of a young man on Friday but those not mention his nationality.

In a span of about three weeks, Finland has seen three deaths involving two Somalis and one Moroccan over the weekend.

Forgiving our past enemies and mending relations with new ones in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

 This struggle to banish our hatred of others is a long journey that will take generations to complete.  In it hides as well the seed of racism. What are we waiting for? 

By Enrique Tessieri

I have never understood why some Finns are capable of expressing  so much hatred for religious groups like Muslims, Somalis, blacks, and especially the Romany minority and Russians.  Even if the Continuation War (1941-44) ended 67 years ago, some of us still sound as if we were in those trenches waiting for the enemy to attack.

What good can come out of being in such trenches and glorifying a questionable war that took place a long time ago? Very little, I suspect, especially if those historical events hinder today our ability to make amends with our former enemies and poison our views of our ever-culturally diverse society.

My grandfather fought in the Civil War of 1918, Winter War (1839-40) and Continuation War. I have a lot of respect for him as well as all those who were put in harm’s way.

Are these wars and rivers of blood the best we can do as a nation? Do we have to continue to search in such ghastly places our identity and strength as a nation? Can’t we do better?

Certainly we can.

But in order to understand the issue we must ask why some of us still persist in glorifying past wars and hating those countries that fought against. Groups like the Defense Forces, Finnish Border Guard, the police, far-right politicians, political parties like the Perussuomalaiset and a long list of others benefit economically and politically by instilling such fear.

Those that endured past wars didn’t come out of them unscathed but traumatized and impoverished. My mother, who lived right across Marshall Carl Mannerheim’s headquarters in Mikkeli, told me that she saw an orange the first time in her life when she went to Stockholm in the early 1950s.

That trauma and hurt from those conflicts are still there but too little has been done to overcome them. We are still their captives and because of that some of us have problems in trusting foreigners.

But don’t we have to put to an end one day our suspicions of groups like the Russians? What about if we started today?

Yes, I do think that today would be a good day to forgive and cast aside my deepest fears of others not for my sake but for my children and grandchildren.

Now is a better time than ever to embark on such a journey because it will be a long one but well worth it.

Another Somali youth dies this time in Espoo, Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Only about three weeks after the tragic death of a Somali national in Oulu, when he attempted to escape from three Finns that barged into his home, Migrant Tales has heard yet another death apparently of a Somali youth in Espoo, who died Friday morning. 

Iltalehti reports the death in a short story but those not mention the nationality of the victim.

The police have detained one of the suspects.

The police is quoted as saying on Iltalehti that the fight happened at the victim’s home.

A Somali source who got in touch with Migrant Tales, said that he heard the news about the Somali’s death from a group of youths from the same country.

“I went to Leppävaara to visit my mother and met a bunch of Somali youths on the way who said that victim was a Somali who had been killed at 4-5 in the morning after he was beaten to death [by a group of Finns],” he said.

“The story on Iltalehti doesn’t say much but imagine if a group of Somalis would have jumped a Finn and killed him,” the source added. There would be a national outcry.”

Monitori: Maahanmuuttajista vain viidennes löytää vaaliuurnille

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: In the last municipal elections in Finland in 2008, 19.6% of immigrants voted compared with 60% nationally, according to Monitori. The corresponding figure for Sweden is 40% and for Denmark it is 50%-60%. 

 Niklas Wilhelmsson of the Ministry of Justice states that immigrant is a relatively new phenomenon in Finland. “Normally voter turnout grows the longer immigrants have lived in the country but this does not imply that it will happen automatically,” he said. 

Why do you think so few immigrants vote in Finland?

______________

Maahanmuuttajien äänestysaktiivisuus on pysynyt Suomessa alhaisena siitä asti, kun ulkomaan kansalaiset saivat ensimmäisen kerran äänestää kunnallisvaaleissa vuonna 1992. ”On huolestuttavaa, jos äänestämättä jättäminen ei perustu päätökseen vaan tiedonpuutteeseen tai syrjäytymiseen”, toteaa oikeusministeriön erikoissuunnittelija Niklas Wilhelmsson.

Read whole story.