In a country like Finland, where even politicians can make political careers with their bigotry, what impact does the label “immigrant background” have in reinforcing intolerance and prejudices? This question is an important one because, like racism, the label rarely if ever affects white Finns. The tragic rape of a woman this week by a group…
Tag: New Finns
To all the Other Finns like me: Nobody can deny who you are
After spending a brief moment of my childhood in Finland, and growing roots in other lands, I longed to move back to the country I was once from. I was fortunate and able to visit Finland every summer. Those days I spent as a child and adolescent in the company of my grandparents in the…
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…
2012 was another disappointing year for cultural diversity in Finland
Without a doubt, 2012 will be remembered as another bad year for cultural diversity in Finland. Finding the usual culprits isn’t difficult: ignorance and intolerance. It is surprising that a party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS), which grew from relative obscurity to become the third-largest political force in parliament in 2011, can wake up the worst…
Migrant Tales Literary: We’re already here (in Finland)
We are the new minorty already here, if you like it or not ready to build whatever needs building and travel that long difficult path of acceptance. Like it or not we’re your neighbors and don’t forget, that we’re here like chimapnzees swinging on birches, sixes and aspens in this freezing cold with you, albino…