Islamophobia Archives - Page 57 of 72

Finland’s xenophobic Denmark slippery slope

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Migrant Tales

Considering that the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is in government and that the two other ruling partners, the Center Party and National Coalition Party (NCP), need the support of the PS to downsize the welfare state, it’s clear why Finland is tightening its immigration policy.

What is happening in Finland has been happening in Denmark for a number of years and serves as a clear warning to Sweden. This is what your country will become if ever the Sweden Democrats got into government.

Apart from officially scapegoating migrants and polarizing society, Islamophobia and fear-mongering would be king.

The saddest aspect of the latter is that most of the politicians, the media and society would care less since they incorrectly believe that tighter rules that will foster social Darwinism won’t apply to them.

Considering that the Finnish government is doing everything possible to discourage asylum seekers from coming to Finland, it’s clear that they are doing everything possible on this front publicly and behind the scenes.

One of these disgraceful examples, like in Denmark, is checking the asylum seekers’ assets and then determine now much reception allowance the person will get.

Continue reading “Finland’s xenophobic Denmark slippery slope”

The “Denmarkization” of Finnish immigration policy

Posted on December 19, 2015 by Migrant Tales

The Perussuomalaiset (PS) are eager to pass legislation that will not only hurt asylum seekers but all migrants and minorities that live in Finland. After breaking almost all of their campaign promises and after their poll rating have plummeted to single-digit percentages, the PS only have one trump card left in their political bag of tricks: anti-immigration rhetoric and policy.

The PS won’t openly admit except occasionally that they have a semi-secret ideological love affair with the Islamophobic Danish People’s Party (DPP).

Just to give you a small glimpse of what the DPP stands for, the poster below published by Politiken, one of the country’s biggest dailies, offers an eyeful.

Like the rise of the PS, the only issue that has kept the DPP in politics since early 2000 is Islamophobia and anti-immigration rhetoric. They never form part of the government but instead support minority governments, like now.

Continue reading “The “Denmarkization” of Finnish immigration policy”

Olli Sademies finally gets sacked from the PS of Finland for being too racist

Posted on November 28, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Olavi Sademies, a former member of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party and substitute councilman for Helsinki, is a disgrace to the police service, Finns and Finland. His Facebook postings are openly racist and reveal what is wrong with this country and the PS.

Even if became a substitute councilman in 2012, it was only in 2015 that he was sacked from the PS.

Some of the reasons for getting the boot were his racist fear-mongering, Islamophobic comments like suggesting a pig blood spray repellent for Muslims and forced castration of African males who have more than three children.

For the latter posting on Facebook, the PS decided not to take any action against Sademies but in July the deputy state prosecutor office announced that it would be investigating the retired policeman’s post on forced castration of Africans.

Sademies has about 5,000 “friends” on Facebook. Some of his friends are well-known politicians who are outspoken on anti-racism issues. I wonder if any of these “friends” have ever messaged Sademies and told him that his postings are racist and offensive to migrants in Finland?

If they haven’t they should.

I would “unfriend” such a person. Why feed his racist fantasies with your Facebook “friendship?”

Read full story here.

Continue reading “Olli Sademies finally gets sacked from the PS of Finland for being too racist”

Let’s have a frank talk about rape and xenophobia in Finland

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Migrant Tales

All criticism that surrounds immigration policy in this country is easily labelled as hate speech and racism.

James Hirvisaari

I don’t usually begin an opinion piece with a quote by an Islamophobe like Hirvisaari that was sentenced for ethnic agitation. This will be an exception because I’d like to answer the claim that the former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP made in parliament on November 11, 2014: Islamophobes like you usually dress up hate speech and racism with so-called criticism of immigration policy.

We all know that “criticism of immigration policy” is code for the worst kind of bigotry and hate speech in our society.

The other misconception used by Islamophobes is that their free speech is being undermined since they aren’t allowed to spread freely their hate speech and racism, which they are doing right under our noses constantly.

The fact that Islamophobes criticize some sectors of society that openly challenge and condemn their hate speech and racism is a positive matter. We got a shocking taste of anti-Semitism in the 1930s to understand what can happen when we allow a social ill like racism to spread freely like wildfire.

In the same way that anti-Semitism was allowed to plant its poisonous seeds in society over eighty years ago we get a frightening glimpse of how Islamophobia and xenophobia fuel the worst in us. The media, politicians and society in general are all culprits.

The latest example of this vengeful hatred was seen this week when two suspected asylum seekers, who are minors aged 15 and 17, were lynched by social media and politicians like Prime Minister Juha Sipilä for raping a 14-year-old minor in Kempele.

In one shot the hatred and racism of our society towards Others was shamefully exposed once again.

What did we forget when we pointed the accusing mob finger at these asylum seekers? We forget one of the most important human rights of our country:

We are innocent till proven guilty by an independent and impartial tribunal.

Continue reading “Let’s have a frank talk about rape and xenophobia in Finland”

Terrorism ironically exposes the lies of Islamophobic politicians and parties

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Migrant Tales

The closer terrorist acts hit us like the one that befell Paris on Friday, the fewer the arguments nationalist-populist politicians have to defend their Islamophobia. While this may not apply to all of Europe, especially to Eastern European countries like Hungary and Slovakia, it has come as a political blow to anti-immigration politicians in Finland.

What can you say and how would you interpret what Perussuomalaiset (PS)* head, Timo Soini, said after the Paris attacks?

“There is a danger that innocent people, who are escaping terror and terrorism would be related to [the Paris attacks],” he was quoted as saying in the national media.

President Sauli Niinistö and Minister of the Interior Petteri Orpo confirmed what Soini said.

Certainly one reason why Finland’s head of state and its ministers said what they did is because they are not only concerned about Isis-inspired terrorism in Europe but the homegrown kind that could spring from careless Islamophobic statements that could lead to deaths.

Words have consequences and can be easily turned into bullets and bombs.

But should we take Soini’s warning in earnest or does his statement reveal the power struggle in his party between politicians like MEP Jussi Halla-aho and himself?

We mustn’t forget that it was Soini who gave a political voice to xenophobes in his party.

If there is an apology that should be given to migrants and minorities in Finland, it should come from the PS and Soini.

It is ironic but as terrorism gets closer to us the clearer we some of us are able to distinguish between fact and anti-immigration fiction.

* The Finnish name of the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English-language names adopted by the PS, like True Finns or Finns Party, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and xenophobia. We therefore prefer to use the Finnish name of the party on our postings.

France’s and Isis’ spiral of one-way terror and destruction

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Migrant Tales

The Paris attacks of Friday 13 came as a windfall to hardliners who still believe that the solution in the Middle East is military. We are now seeing the impact of such a mistaken policy in the way of hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers coming to Europe this year and the terror attacks of Friday.

Zoe Samudzi offers us poignant analysis of the terror that struck Paris:

“It is important to honor the individuals who were killed in these acts of violence, and central to honoring their deaths is ensuring that we understand why these attacks may have happened in an effort to prevent further human suffering.”

The big question, and a very effective one, is if we want to honor these individuals by understanding why such attacks took place in the first place.

It would be interesting to find out what percentage of Europeans, who are not driven by fear or feelings of blind revenge, believe what President Barack Obama said about the attacks and that they were against “all of humanity and the universal values we all share.”

Are those “universal values” that President Obama states include invading and sledgehammering other countries?

France, which has been one of the most bellicose countries against Syria, responded with a new wave of bombings shortly after the attacks in Paris. You don’t have to be an expert on the Middle East to understand that those bombings won’t solve anything except increase the number of deaths and amount of destruction.

We need more sustainable solutions in the Middle East. Bombing is not one of them. Thank you Michael McEachrane for the heads-up.

Continue reading “France’s and Isis’ spiral of one-way terror and destruction”

Migrant Tales Literary: Would you buy a used car from PS’ Timo Soini?

Posted on November 7, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Timo Soini is chairman of the nationalist populist Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. After the most recent opinion polls showed that the political future of the PS is bleak to say the least, what will Soini do after his party returns to the minor political leagues? Will he start to sell used cars?

Would he sell used Halla-ahos or, maybe, Immonens, Eerolas, Elos, Huhtasaaris and Slunga-Poutsalos at rock-bottom prices?

Would you buy such a used car from him and would you trust his promises?

Why not buy an Immonen? The engineering is as simple as the foul and poisonous arguments it exhales from its behind. So simple, in fact, that the biggest threat to this car and its driver is adding a square root to its 1 + 1 = 2 anti-immigration arguments. Buy it to impress racist simpletons. Source: www.zwischengas.com/de/blog/2012

Here’s a spanking-new Eerola! Impress your friends with this vehicle that comes with a year supply of barf bags. Is it a rocket or a car? Who knows? You’ll respond that even if you are a practical nurse that has worked 12 years at a refugee center you still consider yourself an authority on immigration (sic!). Look at the headlights and rocket “fascist-style Mussolini” look. It’s backlights are intended to be more subdued in order to neutralize the racist demeanor that flashes whenever you signal to switch lanes. Source: www.dominnie.blogspot.com

Continue reading “Migrant Tales Literary: Would you buy a used car from PS’ Timo Soini?”

UPDATE (October 6): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link.

October 6

A2 Pakolais-ilta (YLE)

What was wrong with this television debate? Even if one of the hosts on the program was Wali Hashi, it was white Finns’ perceptions and opinions about asylum seekers coming to Finland and how they should integrate to our society. The term “integration” was mentioned a lot of times but it was code for assimilation, or one-way integration. Every form of prejudice Finland has about asylum seekers and migrants, like they are criminals, rapists, social welfare bums and other labels, were pushed around freely during the one-sided debate. Forcing a refugee family to eat porridge and speaking of these people, who are also medics and university graduates, as helpless children who have to learn that zucchini is kesäkurpitsa in Finnish is beyond me. The program did little to dispel the xenophobic climate in Finland but instead reinforced it by not challenging it. On top of this you had one National Coalition Party MP, Susanna Koski, and a pastor, Marjanna Toivianen, who still don’t know that the correct Finnish term for integration is kotoutuminen, not kotiutuminen, which means “coming home.” In 1998 Finland had to invent a new term for integration because none existed before that. That term is kotoutuminen.

If YLE cannot do a descent TV debate on our ever-growing culturally diverse society it should not do one at all.

Tuomas Enbuske says he doesn’t like the term Islamophobia because he considers himself to be one

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Migrant Tales

Did anyone watch Friday’s Pressiklubi with writer Jari Tervo, Left Alliance MP Silvia Modig and Tuomas Enbuske? Tervo shun with his comments against racism while Enbuske was a flop.

The host, Ruben Stiller, asked all three guests if the’ve ever felt fear or uncomfortable around foreigners.

See full program (in Finnish) here.

Enbuske has hosted twice extremist politicians like former MP James Hirvisaari, who was sentenced for ethnic agitation, and advertised on his television show headlines like “Why do Somalis rape?” Continue reading “Tuomas Enbuske says he doesn’t like the term Islamophobia because he considers himself to be one”

Finland is slowly waking up to the humanitarian refugee crisis in Europe

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Migrant Tales

You know that President Sauli Niinistö said something wrong about the humanitarian refugee crisis in Europe if Perussuomalaiset (PS)* spokesperson Matti Putkonen quotes the head of state to reinforce his party’s xenophobic and anti-cultural diversity policies and stand.

Putkonen quoted Niinistö’s statement on the “Years of Danger,” a period in the late-1940s when Finland was close to having a Communist coup, to describe the ongoing humanitarian refugee crisis in Europe, according to YLE in English.

The PS spokesperson said that those “Years of Danger” that Niinistö mentioned where for him “Months of Danger” to describe the present crisis, according to Helsingin Sanomat.

Finnish President Sauli Niinistö has given in the past ambivalent statements concerning the refugee crisis in Europe and about our ever-growing culturally diverse society.

Continue reading “Finland is slowly waking up to the humanitarian refugee crisis in Europe”