Tag: immigration

(Finland Bridge 1998): Talking to others faraway

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Traveling is almost like talking with those of other centuries.

Rene Descartes (1506-1650)

The statement by the French philosopher and mathematician is true and may provide an answer on why some of us are restless travelers. When we move to a new city of country, do we subconsciously stay in contact with our former hoe, cherished relatives, friends and memories? Does our wish to remain spiritually connected to such matters reveal why – after many generations – some of us in faraway lands stubbornly refuse to severe ties with a country like Finland?

Possibly, some of us are nothing more than antique collectors of culture, which decorate the shelves of our soul. If you had a chance to see my soul, you’d notice shelves extending as far as the eyes can see with ornaments and heirlooms of Finnish and other cultures gathering soul dust.

A book publsihed in 2006 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Colonia Finlandesa, Argentina.

I still can’t place my finer on it, but there’s something bewitching that the streets of bygone times house. Is it a lost dream? A passionate desire? An eternal gut feeling that spiritual and material wealth are around the corner? Or will we find our former relatives on such streets and have the opportunity to ask them the immigrant question of all questions: What did you search so hard for?

What they searched for

Since Argentina has been on the front pages of the world’s major dailies, with your permission, we will momentarily travel to the streets of that country, where my Italian great grandparents migrated to in the end of 1890s.

Like the U.S., Canada and Australia, millions of Europeans moved to Argentina in the 19th and early 20th century. Most of these migrants were Italians and Spaniards. A tiny group of Finns founded in 1906 a colony in the subtropical jungles of north-eastern Argentina.

In the 1914 census, 30% of Argentina’s population comprised o foreigners and its capital city, Buenos Aires, the figure stood at 49%! Add to these percentages the children of these migrants and the foreign-to-native ratio becomes even more impressive.

If you visit a residential neighborhood of Buenos Aires like Flores, where my grandparents once lived, you’ll still find early-20th-century Parisian-style houses adorning sleepy oak-lined cobblestone streets.

Many of the older residents of Flores despise time because they say it distances them from those they love and who where from distant European lands. The residents of the neighborhood have ingenious methods of stopping time: They park vintage cars like Fords from the 1930s in front of their homes. Some have portraits of ancient heads of state like King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Spain’s Francisco Franco and Czar Nicholas II hanging on the walls of their homes.

The inhabitants understand that if time is allowed to wander freely, it turns into the worst ogre devouring everything in its path.

Continue reading “(Finland Bridge 1998): Talking to others faraway”

Suomen Silta* (6/2013): Finns of all backgrounds, unite!

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When Finns talk about expats, they usually mean those that are Finnish citizens and, most importantly, speak the Finnish or Swedish language. Apart from speaking on of Finland’s two official languages, your ethnic background plays a role as well.

When you generalize, you risk walking on thin ice. I’ll take that risk, however, to make a point. If you grew up in countries like the united States, Canada, Australia or any other with a large white English-speaking population, your acceptance in Finland may be easier than if you were black, Native American, and Latino.

Being white doesn’t mean tat you’ll be automatically accepted. Many Russians, who are white struggle for acceptance in this country due to the historical wounds that have not yet healed. Let’s make on matter clear: When I speak of Finns I’m talking about some Finns, not all Finns.

Certainly there are matters that officially define where you’re from. This can be a passport, but what if you feel a close bond to this country, don’t speak any of the two languages and aren’t a Finnish citizen?

In my opinion, the line that separates Finns from “us” versus “them” should be obliterated. If there is one factor that is throwing sand in the gears of building a vibrant culturally diverse society in this century, it’s our narrow definition of who is and who isn’t a Finn.

Look at it this way. Over 1.2 million people emigrated between 1860 and 1999. The fact that so many built their lives abroad suggests that Finnish national culture, language, and identity have changed dramatically. Those Finns that have lived abroad for some generations are decades ahead of us in Finland since they represent the future Finn.

Who are the future Finns? They are those who have multicultural and multiethnic backgrounds but still see Finland a a part of their heritage.

New century, new Finn

The meteoric rise of an anti-EU, anti-immigration and especially anti-Islam part in the 2011 parliamentary elections, is one sin that matter have changed radically in Finland.

The number of MPs of the Finns Party won two years ago soared to 39 from just 5 in 2007. While Finland’s ever-growing culturally diversity played a role in the Finns Party victory, other factors like the euro crisis and massive bailout of countries like Greece Ireland and Portugal helped.

The knee-jerk reaction and te rise of a populist party to our ever-growing culture diversity and EU skepticism shouldn’t surprise us. Even if hundreds of thousands of Finns had emigrated from the country in the last two centuries, Finland immigrant population has been tiny, peaking to 29,685 in 1928 but steadily declining to 5,483 in 1970. EU membership in 1995 changed matters dramatically and today our foreign population total 195,511.

When I had the opportunity to visit the Finnish community of Thunder Bay in Canada in 2006, I learned that Finnish identity was not only restless but constantly changing: It could be Canadian, Finnish Canadian, Finnish or a multitude of other identities.

Even if some of the members of the Finnish community of Thunder Bay ad grown accustomed to speaking Finngligh, what I witnessed was not a distancing from the Finnish spoke n in Finland but the birth of a new branch of our language.

Inclusion and acceptance

Despite my Finnish multicultural background, which I’m proud of, it is still used by some to remind me that I’m not fully “us.” This, fortunately, happens less than before.

Continue reading “Suomen Silta* (6/2013): Finns of all backgrounds, unite!”

Immigration is good, not as bad as the Finnish government claims

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Since the 2011 parliamentary election, when the Perussuomalaiset(PS)* won 39 seats from five in the previous election, the PS has consolidated its power – with the help of other mainstream parties like the National Coalition Party (NCP) – by spreading fear and lies about migrants.

Any sensible person understands that migration is a very powerful force that can offer a lot of benefits to the host country. In Finland, it has been the opposite: migration is not good unless you are a “super migrant.”

The Foreign Student started to write about Finland’s unfair immigration policy in 1981-82. Back then, some saw the ideal foreigner as the front cover of a soap commercial.

Wrote Migrant Tales in 2012: “These [xenophobic] politicians sound like they are reading to you the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale when Prince Charming wakes the beautiful princess with a kiss from her deep sleep. Anti-immigration politicians and parties don’t speak of Sleeping Beauty per se, but about super immigrants.”

It is incredible how much harm the PS has done to Finland by spreading fake news about migrants. Probably the most incredulous thing is how little has been written about the PS lie.

Continue reading “Immigration is good, not as bad as the Finnish government claims”

Foreign Student: February 1981

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The February 1981 issue was the second of eleven newsletters that came out. The Foreign Student played an important role in giving migrants a voice during a period when foreigners were supposed to remain quiet about their civil rights.

Published in 1981, I wouldn’t have used today words like “Gypsy” and “Lapp” to refer to the Roma and Saami, respectively.

The second issue tried to speak about immigration and question Finland’s very restrictive policy towards foreigners.

Read all the Foreign Students here:

Foreign Student: January 1981

Foreign Student: February 1981

Foreign Student: March 1981

Foreign Student: April 1981

Foreign Student: May 1981

Foreign Student: Summer 1981

Foreign Student: September 1981

Foreign Student: October 1981

Foreign Student: November 1981

Foreign Student: December 1981

Foreign Student: January 1982

Finland’s fictitious search for the ideal foreigner

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Contrary to the last three parliamentary elections in  2011, 2015, and  2019, the upcoming parliamentary election on April 2 is different for several reasons: war rages in the Ukeraine, Finland has sought Nato membership, economic growth, and chronic labor shortages are just a few.

Apart from labeling people from outside the EU as “harmful” migrants, the radical right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* attempts to argue with several CEOs of Finnish companies that rely on foreign workers that the party has nothing against qualified immigrants but is against what it labels “social welfare” immigrants.

“Finland is not very successful in attracting immigration that is economically beneficial, but it receives a lot of immigration that is economically detrimental,” Riikka Purra, the head of the PS, was quoted as saying in Kauppalehti, adding that she is against what she calls “social welfare” migrants.

Purra’s argument reminds me of a story I published in Savon Sanomat in 2012.

Back then, I wrote in the English version of the story that anti-immigration groups were using the same arguments. It’s like eating and having your cake at the same time while you put a picture of Sleeping Beauty and Prince Charming.

Source: Migrant Tales

The PS has viciously labeled some migrants in Finland as “harmful” and “social welfare” recipients. They will tell you with a poker face that as long as the newcomer is a “super” migrant, things are ok.

Who are the so-called super migrants that some wish for in Finland?

Continue reading “Finland’s fictitious search for the ideal foreigner”

Voting down the Perussuomalaiset in April is the best indication that matters have changed for the better

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Despite the fake claims by parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, Finland has historically done everything possible to halt foreigners from moving to Finland. It was not until 1983, or 65 years that Finland passed its first aliens act.

Restrictions on foreigners and foreign companies were the rule. Did you know that even if women had the right to vote in 1906, they didn’t have the right to pass citizenship to their children until 1984? Only children of Finnish men had such a right.

This intransigence against foreigners can be best seen today through the rise of the radical right PS and the tacit approval of all Finnish parties, especially the National Coalition Party, Center Party, Liike Nyt, and Christian Democratic Party.

Continue reading “Voting down the Perussuomalaiset in April is the best indication that matters have changed for the better”

QUOTE OF THE DAY: A migrant’s journey never ends and may last generations

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“When a migrant embarks on a journey, he may not realize that the journey the migrant is on never ends and that he is part of another journey that a relative began generations ago. Thus a migrant’s journey may begin during our lifetime, but it rarely ends during our lifetime. Your relatives, those who are now talk of the future, may remember and admire your journey and courage long after you died.”

My paternal (right) and maternal relatives in Argentina. On the right are Dante Tessieri and his wife Aida on the left with Angelo Lullo and his wife Augustina on the left. All three except for Augstina were from Italy. Even if the pictures were taken over a hundred years ago, I still remember them, even share their pictures with you. Source: Tessieri family album.

A Migrant Tales style guide to writing about migration: avoid words that hide our racism and denial

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After over twenty years in journalism and writing for some of the world’s most prestigious publications and having worked as a foreign correspondent in countries like Finland, Italy, Colombia, and others, I have learned a thing or two about journalistic style and correctness.

On top of my journalistic experience, I am a sociologist who has researched immigration topics like Finnish immigration to Argentina.

I have written about immigration and minority topics for almost 14 years in Migrant Tales. In those years, Migrant Tales has published 4,990 posts, which is an average of one posting per day.

Below is a list of terms and observations together with recommendations for journalists and others that write about this topic, which I plan to update in the future:

  • Maahanmuuttajat is the term in Finnish for migrants. By using the term, we perpetuate stereotypes about this vastly diverse group. We generalize and, with it, fall into the trap of perpetuating stereotypes.
  • When a reporter interviews an Islamophobic politician and uses the term maahanmuuttajat liberally, he gives such a politician a free pass. If we dig deeper and try to decipher what the term means, it is a code word for non-EU nationals who are Muslims and come from Africa.
  • If you disagree, ask yourself if Swedes and other EU nationals are called maahanmuuttajat.
  • Using such a term to speak about “foreigners” is the same as grouping all Europeans into one category, which would be absurd. This is misleading and wrong.
  • The use of terms such as maahanmuuttajat is not only enabling an anti-immigration party to continue labeling and victimizing non-EU citizens, it also helps us to cover up and deny the racism in our society.
  • Maahanmuuttajataustainen, a person of foreign origin, is a sinister word used by anti-immigration politicians and public officials to intentionally or non-intentionally exclude first-generation Finns.
  • Here is a question: What would happen if we would drop the concept label “person of foreign origin” from our vocabulary? In my opinion, it would fast-forward inclusion.
  • One of the biggest question marks that first-generation Finns and minorities have is their exclusion and how their background does not make them “a real” Finn.
  • Using such terms encourages exclusion and a sense of outsiderness of such people who are equal members of this society on their own terms.
  • By using “person of foreign origin” on children born here and who speak Finnish as their main language, we strengthen white Finnish privilege. We tell such brown and black Finns that they are outsiders and that white people are the only cultural standard.
Continue reading “A Migrant Tales style guide to writing about migration: avoid words that hide our racism and denial”

I am a migrant and I am proud of who I am

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With all the demonizing of migrants by xenophobic and Islamophobic parties, one is required to yell louder and more determinedly: I am proud of my roots, I am proud of my migrant background.

Why is there so much hatred of migrants in today’s Europe?

It’s because Europe is in big denial. Finland is in big denial. How can you hate migrants if millions migrated from these shores to the Americas? How can Finland have xenophobic governments and politicians if over 1.2 million people emigrated from this country between 1860 and 1999?

Incomprehensible, no?

James Baldwin gave us an answer to our question. Substitute the word “Negro” in the quote with “visible migrants,” “Muslims” or “visible minorities”: “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.”

Being a migrant is in some cases not a one-generation affair but goes on for generations.

Image may contain: 10 people, people smiling, people sitting and child

Immigrant children in Buenos Aires 1911. Souce: Archivo General de la Nación.

Image may contain: 7 people

Finns at Colonia Finlandesa in the 1930s. From left to right: Saimi Putkuri de Makkonen, Jussi Makkonen, Tauno Pitkänen, Heikki Karppinen, Federico Andersen, Aarmas Heikkilä and his wife, Maria Palo de Heikkilä.

My great grandfather left Italy because he was an anarchist and migrated to Brazil. From Brazil, he moved with my grandfather and great grandmother to Argentina. My father migrated back to Europe and then to the United States and finally Finland. I migrated to Finland and have lived in several countries (Argentina, Colombia, Italy, and Spain).

The journey that my great grandfather Dante began over a hundred years ago is still in progress.

A warning to all those politicians who are are profiting on the backs of migrants: Don’t underestimate us. We know who you are and history will expose you shamefully to your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

* The 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.

Some asylum seekers in Finland live in crowded rooms and in dreadful conditions

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Below are two picture and a short note from an asylum seeker called Adam who came to Finland in 2012. During his long and painful sojourn in this country, being locked up for a year at the Joutseno immigration removal center to being an undocumented migrant, Adam is now staying at an asylum reception center in the Greater Helsinki area.  

The pictures below speak for themselves: seven people crowded in a single room and living in questionable conditions. How many of us would be willing to live in such circumstances?

This is not the first time that Migrant Tales has written about the terrible conditions of migrants in Finland.

Read the full story about how some asylum seekers were treated at Finnish asylum reception centers here.

The life of many asylum seekers means crowded rooms and long waits for asylum.

Adam writes:

We live 7 person in room now. They do sanctions against me. The workers have try to put more people in my room. I spoke to the social worker here many times that I don’t like when a lot of people. They specifically do what I don’t like.

[I] checked another rooms in the same floor, the customers live 4 persons in room like our. The Finnish refugee politic is shit. So, after this everything what the workers do to me, how can I be good with them or how can I respect them?

I haven’t [done a] crime. So, for what do they hate me so bad?”

Who would want to live in such a room for years?