Tag: Islamophobia

The real MP Jani Mäkelä and how the PS also waters the poisonous fruit of anti-Semitism in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

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.

Mäkelä did not like at all Police Chief Inspector Jari Taponen’s tweet: “Even in Islandic politics hate speech has become more common. The rhetoric follows the same European formula, where the targets of this rhetoric are arriving East European migrants and Muslims. Politicians insist on their hate speech banning Sharia Law, banning mosques and banning the Burka, among others.”

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.

Who needs a commissioner for protecting European values? What are “our” European values anyway?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Why does the European Commission need a commissioner for the protection of “our” European values? Protection of what “European” values need protecting?

Are social exclusion and racism European values? What about the over 34,361 migrants who have died to May 2018 while crossing the Mediterranean Sea? What about Islamophobia? Fascism? Our unrepentant colonial past, among other dark spots?

What are our common values? Human rights? Respect for diversity and social equality? Are we hypocrites or do these laws only apply to white Europeans?

Apart from the 25 new commissioners being white, it’s clear that little will change concerning inequality and racism with EU President-elect Ursula von der Leyenwith.

The EU is such a hostile place for some minorities these days that even the mere suggestion of a little diversity causes a hostile knee-jerk reaction.

EU President-elect von der Leyen caves into the threat of fascism and Islamophobia

Posted on by Migrant Tales

EU President-elect Ursula von der Leyen presented Tuesday her team and the new structure of the next European Commission. Apart from having no minorities on the commission, von der Leyen, raised a lot of eyebrows by nominating Margaritis Schinas of Greece as the new Commissioner for Protecting Our European Way of Life.

In a story in The Independent, states that the title suggests that immigration and cultural diversity are threats to Europe.

The fact that at this point EU President-elect von der Leyen seeks a Commission for Protecting our European Way of Life suggests that racism and social exclusion of minorities and people of color will continue to get the short end of the European stick.

Molly Scott Cato, a British Green MEP, was quoted as saying in The Independent: “This looks like the portfolio to fight back against the rise of the fascists, but only by adopting their divisive rhetoric around ‘strong borders.'”

Image result for The new european commission commissioners
The new nominees for commissioner are all white. Even Finland’s commissioner, Jutta Urpilainen, had a difficult time understanding almost ten years ago what cultural diversity means and who are people of color. Her (in)famous avice to immigrants: In Rome do as the Romans do. Urpilainen will be in charge of international partnerships and forging relations relations with Africa.

Dutch liberal MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld added: “The very point about the European way of life, is the freedom for individuals to chose their own way of life. We do not need a Commissioner for that, thank you very much.”

She adds: “The implication that Europeans need to be protected from external cultures is grotesque and this narrative should be rejected.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY (Riikka Purra): “Finnish culture is better than many others”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

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?

PS First Vice-President Riikka Purra writes a lot about immigration, but she can’t get her facts straight. She could not mention in Susanne Päivärinta’s talk show what were the three most prominent national groups in Finland. Since she doesn’t know, Purra likes to make up lies and spread conspiracy theories about migrants, especially people of color.

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.

Finland and the police should wake up to the menace of hate speech and hate crime

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Helsinki city councilperson Abdirahim Husu Hussein received a letter Wednesday with a death threat and a piece of rope tied as a noose. While it is clear why this happens, we should ask why it continues to happen and with such impunity.

Having lived in Finland for many years, one matter I learned at an early stage is that there is a strong racist undercurrent in Finnish society. This ever-toxic murmur of that undercurrent has turned today into a mix of blind rage and a sense of impunity.

Another death threat was sent to Helsinki city councilperson Abdirahim Husu Hussen Wednesday. The note reads: “ “N-word. Don’t mix in what Finnish politicians do. You heard of Martin Luther King. He was an n-word and look what happened to him. Greetings from the Ku Klux Klan.” Source: Facebook.

Do you need more hard proof? The sources of such hatred are more than clear since words have consequences.

The challenge is if we want to open ou eyes to such threats and actually do something about them.

One Finnish party that bases 90% of its political message on catering to the anti-immigration and especially anti-Islam vote bursted into the political scene with a vengeance in the 2011 parliamentary election. In a matter of four years, it saw the number of MPs rise from 5 to 39.

While there are many factors fo the rise of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* in 2011 and during this decade, one matter is for certain: its anti-immigration and especially anti-Islam message has struck voter gold.

Too many of us, not Migrant Tales, played down the PS victory of 2011 and what it meant for the country. “The Perussuomalaiset* will implode soon,” was a common excuse you heard for not doing anything.

Even if it is clear that there is a connection between the rise of the PS and hostility towards migrants and minorities, the police, politicians, the media, and policy-makers share equal responsibility.

Finland has some of the best laws that promote social equality and ensure that everyone, irrespective of his or her background, is equal before the law. The problem, however, is that such laws are not enforced as they should.

If we are all equal before the law, why is it that in 2019 white Finnish women make 0.80 euros compared with a white Finnish male’s euro? Why do migrants make on average 0.50 euros, according to researcher Pekka Myrskylä?

The answer to that question is clear: The police, like society, don’t consider racism and discrimination a high priority. Moreover, convictions for racism and hate speech are too lenient, even a joke in some cases. A perpetrator can be slapped with symbolic fines totalling 60 euros.

Such fines, as PS MP Ano Tutiainen said earlier this year, are “a feather in one’s cap.”

Hussein’s death threat is just another example of how ineffective our society is in combating racism and hatred. If Finland does not wake up to the social ill, matters may speed out of control like they have in the United States and recently in neighboring Norway.

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.

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PS MP Peltokangas wants Finnish-Swedish border shut. Fears crime from Sweden.

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Mauri Pelokangas is a hothead Peurussuomalaiset (PS)* MP who has gained notoriety for his Islamophobic statements. He demanded the police to release the identities of two men at large believed by him and the PS to be foreign terrorists.

Those two “foreign terrorists” turned out to be Swedish nationals who speak Finnish.

Since Peltokangas’ conspiracy theory was trashed and he was made to look like a horse’s ass, the PS MP is now demanding that the Swedish-Finnish border be closed:

“Since Swedish national have come to Finland to shoot at the police, wouldn’t it be time to shut the Swedish and Finnish border? Border checks should be implemented.”

* 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.

“Young white man” opens fire inside mosque near Oslo in Norway

Posted on by Migrant Tales

THE STORY WAS UPDATED

A “young white man” was arrested in Norway after shooting inside a mosque today, according to the BBC. The man injured one person after he opened fire on the Al-Noor Islamic Center near Oslo.

According to a tweet by Tommi Kotonen, “Norwegian newspaper [VG] reports that police is investigating a forum post related to the Oslo Mosque shooting. A post from Endchan shows [the] alleged perpetrator claiming he was a follower of NZ shooter, refers to race war and urges other to follow him.”

The director of the mosque, Irfan Mushtaq, was quoted as saying that the victim injured was a 75-year-old man who was a member of the congregation.

“One of our members has been shot by a white man with a helmet and uniform,” Mushtaq was quoted as saying to he local newspaper Budstikka.

Read the full story here.

In the face of rising Islamophobia in all of the Nordic countries, Norway has seen the greatest bloodshed when Anders Breivik attacked eight years ago on 22/7 killing 77 people.

The PS and its Riikka Purras: Spreading hatred of minorities and migrants is ok

Posted on by Migrant Tales

THE STORY WAS UPDATED

One far-right politician who has eagerly spread white Finnish supremacist ideology is Perussuomalaiset (PS)* vice-chairperson and MP Riikka Purra. In her latest Facebook post, she attempts to defend her views with a chart that is misleading and racist.

One of the problems with Purra’s argument is that she speaks of white Finns as natives but excludes non-white Finns as eternal migrants or “people of migrant background.” In short, they are not “real” Finns and should be treated as a threat.

Purra’s arguments, which are filled with populist hot air and made in one of Europe’s whitest countries, aim to reinforce exclusion and hatred of people of color.

If you watch closely, the PS normally speak in code when spreading their racist views. When they talk about “harmful” migrants they mean Muslims and asylum seekers who came in 2015. When Purra talks about the “native” population she only means white Finns.

Far-right ideas like Purra’s are the same ones spread by US President Donald Trump and embolden white supremacists. One of its tragic manifestations was seen on Saturday in El Paso, Texas.

No matter the country, the white supremacist message is the same: Groups with power are afraid of minorities because they fear that when they become a majority, they will treat people like Purra in the same way as she talks and treats migrants and minorities today.

Apart from being a bunch of baloney, the chart, which was made by Kyösti Tarvainen, an astrologist, assumes that the Nordic region and Europe have always been white and that non-whites “invaded” the Nordic region. This type of thinking is what some call white supremacy. The chart shows the decline of the so-called “native” population but aren’t people, irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds, “natives?”

Considering that far-right and white-supremacist rhetoric is keenly copied and pasted by politicians in different countries that form part of a global network, it is surprising how our own denial and exceptionalism has made our media reluctant to ask tough questions to politicians spreading far-right ideology.

One of these after the tragedy in El Paso is if the same rhetoric spread by Purra and PS chairperson Jussi Halla-aho inspire people to start killing migrants and minorities in Finland?

Migrant Tales asked Purra this question in an email, but she did not reply.

MP Riikka Purra
“Hey, you spoke a while back about how the Finnish population can change with more non-white migrants and Finns. 
What happened in El Paso must have shocked you. Could the same happen in Finland?
Could you please answer this email by Wednesday? 
Thank you.

It would be wrong to blame Purra, Halla-aho and other PS pundits for the rise in racism in Finland. By blaming a party and its politicians, you lose sight of the root of the problem, which is our society.

The best way of challenging an Islamophobic party and far-right politicians is to take a good look at ourselves and take off the mask of denial.

* 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.

Two sides of the same coin: El Paso white supremacist terrorist and Perussuomalaiset MP Olli Immonen and others of Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The white supremacist terrorist that murdered 20 innocent people and wounded two dozen on Saturday in El Paso, Texas, published a manifesto declaring war on Hispanics.

He wrote: “Hispanics will take control of the local and state government of my beloved Texas, changing policy to better suit their needs. They will turn Texas into an instrument of a political coup which will hasten the destruction of our country.”

In 2015, Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP and far-right Suomen Sisu head, Olli Immonen, declared war on multiculturalism. He did not mention Hispanics but meant Muslims and people of color:

Even if some 15,000 demonstrators repudiated what Immonen stated, the same hatred we saw spewed by Immonen is spread today by PS head Jussi Halla-aho and the party’s first vice president, Riikka Purra.

The Finnish media should ask these politicians some hard questions about the consequences of their hateful rhetoric.

* 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.

No surprise – Hanna Mäntylä gets sacked from the European Council

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Former Blue Reform MP and Perussuomalaiset* social and health minister, Hanna Mäntylä, was fired in June as special advisor to the European Council on challenging youth radicalization and marginalization, according to Demokraatti which cites HBL.

We mentioned back in 2017 when Mäntylä was named as a special advisor that she was unqualified to do the job. How can spreading anti-immigration rhetoric and polarizing Finnish society make you an expert on how to stop youth radicalization?

See also: Thursday’s A-studio: How the Finnish media and politicians paint immigrants with a single brush (Apil 2015)

Two Hanna Mäntylä’s: black and blonde. Source: Yle and Seiska.

Migrant Tales wrote: “If we look at Mäntylä’s past record as minister (2015-2016) and her former statements on cultural diversity, it’s clear that they fuel inequality and radicalization and don’t lessen them.”

Mäntylä as social and health minister attempted to spearhead laws where migrants would get less social welfare than Finns. Such laws did not – fortunately – see the light of day since they were unconstitutional. Plans to give less social welfare was part of former Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s 80-point government pogram to tighten immigration laws.

According to HBL, many wondered about Mäntylä’s appointment since she was unqualified. “It has been unclear to all those who worked with her what her [work] experience was,” HBL said, citing diplomatic sources.

* 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.