Tag: Perussuomalaiset

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.

Somali death in Finland: The problem that constantly mocks at us

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Migrant Tales was saddened to be tipped off that apparently another Somali national had died violently now in Espoo after it reported the tragic death of a Somali national in Oulu. The shock and outrage of the Somali community of the death of one of its members reveal their  mistrust for white Finnish society and the authorities. 

A blogger writes:  “Migrant tales, thank you for your releasing this information publicly. The victim was a Somali national and was murdered by his Finn brutal friends (see 17.2 thread by Akaaro).”

Matters are at a very poor state in Finland. So much so, in fact, that politicians like Jussi Halla-aho and the Perussuomalaiset (PS), who spread racism by declaring outright war against Somalis and Muslims, are elected to office and given important roles in parliament with the approval of other political parties.

Should we ask where the root of the problem lies? It lies right under our noses and inside all of us.

While violence is a good measuring stick that reveals how our society has failed some of its members, it is especially tragic when it happens to a group like the Somalis.

According to an April 2009  survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), one in three Somalis in the Greater Helsinki area said that  he or she has been a victim of racially motivated crimes in the past 12 months.

The report states:  “The highest incidence rates for assault or threat was found for Somali respondents in Finland – where 74 incidents of assault or threat for every 100 interviewees were recorded. This very high rate reflects the fact that many Somalis in Finland were victims of assault or threat on several occasions within a 12 month period.”

Some Finns, who argue in a colorblind fashion, will claim that if both violent deaths in Oulu and Espoo aren’t a hate crime we should not even bother to report it.  It has no importance and is an insignificant matter like the shameful situation of Somalis in Finland.

Every time a Somali dies in Finland or any other person in fact due to a violent crime or if he or she is abused racially in public, our failure as a society in addressing these social ills always stares back at us.

"Real" Finns were, are and will be culturally diverse Finns

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

People who think that only white Finns are “real” Finns are, in my opinion, seriously mistaken. Their mistaken view represents a modern segregated view of society we saw in the United States before the 1960s and in worst cases in South Africa before 1994. The “Only Whites” sign isn’t posted on doors these days but in their minds. 

By celebrating our Finnish identity on our cultural and ethnic terms, we mean being included in Finnish society through those magic words, acceptance and respect. In such a Finland, everyone is included. Nobody is left out.

Despite our good intentions towards others and ourselves, there will be some who will not come on board.

Today, Finland’s third-largest party, the Perussuomalaiset (PS), has declared war on immigrants and our cultural diversity. If such a party ever had its way, our society is in deep trouble. Instead of building bridges between us, they will destroy them with their ignorance, chicanery and political opportunism.

“Real” Finns were, are and will be culturally diverse Finns living in a society that encourages inclusion.

Demand your right to be a Finn on your own cultural and ethnic terms

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

One of my biggest problems I had in challenging institutional racism in Finland was that I accepted being a member of such an order of things. Even if I had every right to claim Finnish identity from my mother’s side, I did not do so because I reinforced with my silence the stereotypical and even racist views that some Finns held about people like me.  

Many of us Finns with international backgrounds are a Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s worst nightmare. Everything about us defies their bigoted and even racist view of the outside world and, importantly, who has the right to be accepted as a Finn.

You will find amongst us tens of thousands of people from all walks of life and backgrounds: blacks, whites, Orientals, Amerindians, Southern Europeans, Middle Easterners, young, old, blondes, people with dark hair, bald people, short, tall, thin, obese, gays, lesbians, Jews, Catholics, Lutherans, Muslims and atheists.

Despite our different backgrounds, there is one matter that unites us as a community: Finland.

Even if my journey to discover my Finnishness on my own terms took many decades of searching, I sincerely hope that your journey to discover your Finnish identity will be much shorter than mine. Don’t give in to those who loathe you by excluding you with their spiteful arguments or those who try to rob you of one of your most precious matters: your identity.

Even if it sounds inconceivable, there are people in this country who still believe in 2012 that everything must be done to keep Finland an only white society. We must not allow them to carry out their treachery.

History is another culprit that reinforces institutional racism and reinforces our strong sense of “us” and “them.” It seems that we are constantly praising those who are dead and wars that ended many decades ago. We speak of these heros and wars as if they are the only great accomplishments that this country ever made.

Every time we travel back in time to former wars and glorify late marshals and generals, we end up emphasizing our suspicion of those people and countries that wanted to put us in harm’s way.

Even if I respect the people who fought in those wars, we must learn move on and look to the future.

The sooner we do this the better.

Harassment and abuse of Somalis in Finland picked up after the election

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

In many respects, the treatment of Somalis in Finland sadly reminds me of how blacks in the United States were excluded from society in the 1960s, when the civil rights movement was in full swing. Like in the United States, racism in Finland not only threatens our values as a society but questions who we are as a nation and people.  

Probably one reason why some Finns still deny that racism is a problem in this country is because it would be a costly matter to admit. For one, it would suck out much of the questionable credibility of some political parties and their politicians, who have made their political careers on spreading fear and suspicion of immigrants and minorities.

Contrary to popular belief, parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS), which have capitalized politically by appealing to that anti-outside world and anti-immigrant streak in some Finns, are weakening not strengthening us as a country.

How can a nation that fought so nobly in the Winter War (1939-40) and created an exemplary social-welfare state that has today one of the best educational systems in the world have discrimination issues with a group like the Somalis? It is not only shameful but disgraces our society.

A story on Kainuun Sanomat claims that racist abuse and attacks on the Somali community in Finland started to rise after the April election, when the anti-immigration PS became the third-largest party in the Eduskunta (parliament).

Refugee of the year (2011), Saido Mohammed, said: “After the parliamentary election [Somalis that live in] Helsinki have said that they are spat at daily.”

Researcher Marja Tiilikainen reinforces Mohammed’s claim, stating that the election gave permission to people to harass Somalis in public.

The real enemies of this country are not immigrants but those who claim, with a poker face, that they aren’t racists.

Debate on racism against the Somali community in Finland resembles a dead battery

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Taking into account the hostility and racism that Finland’s Somali community suffers, the news isn’t about racism that such nationals experience but how little has been done to address the issue. A story on YLE news Monday brings to light (again) what we all know about the country’s fourth-largest immigrant community: racism and exclusion are the rule, not the exception. 

One could ask a simple question concerning the situation. What has been done in Finland after an April 2009 survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) made its disturbing conclusions?  Let’s see…Yes, now I remember! We had an election in April which prized some in the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party with a ticket to parliament for spreading racist myths about groups like the Somalis.

It would be unfair to pin blame only the PS. What is even more shameful is that traditional parties that knew better hopped on the PS bandwagon and began to echo their rhetoric.

Helsingin Sanomat wrote the following after the FRA study was published almost two years ago: “When it comes to treatment at a bank or a shop, Finland’s Somalis emerged among the groups most discriminated against. However, compared with other countries’ minorities the Finnish Somalis were more informed of competent authorities who could give them support or advice. Yet some 69% of the interviewed Finnish Somalis said that they did not know of any organization that could offer them support services to victims of discrimination.”

If Finland is going to deal with racism it will have to address the discrimination that Somalis face in our society.

Showing the problem on national television is a step in the right direction. Even so, the YLE story is nothing more than jumper cables that attempt to kick start a dead battery of a car in -30C temperature.  Even if the car’s engine will start, we still haven’t resolved the problem, which is the existing battery.

Finland needs a new battery when debating and finding proactive solutions to the role of ever-growing racism in our society.

Irish Examiner: Anti-immigrant or racist political rhetoric ‘must not go unchecked’

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Comment: Compared with Finland, Ireland appears like a distant world when it comes to anti-immigration groups and their hate rhetoric.  

Both countries have seen a lot of emigration since the nineteenth century. In Finland over a million people emigrated to other parts of the world during 1860-1999. A study in 1978 showed that since 1820 over 4.723 million people emigrated to the U.S. from Ireland alone. 

Apart from such similarities, there is one big difference: Ireland lacks an anti-immigration party whereas Finland has the Perussuomalaiset (PS), which became the third-biggest party in the April election.  

There may be many reasons why Ireland doesn’t have an anti-immigration party. One of these could be tolerance. In Ireland such anti-social behavior isn’t seen favorably by politicians and the public while in Finland it is. 

How many politicians would be forced to resign in Finland if they followed Ireland’s example? The Irish Examiner writes: “Last November, Mr [Darren]  Scully was forced to resign as mayor of Naas, after saying he would no longer deal with, as he described them, bad-mannered, aggressive, black Africans. The party has not taken any decisive action.” 

If we cited the comments made by many Finns concerning the death of a Somali in Oulu this week, we could conclude that too many think that racism is acceptable.

To show how serious the problem is in Finland, a Finnish-language teacher I spoke with on Saturday from Kouvola said that no politician would ever carry a sign in public stating that we should give more financial support to refugees and immigrants. 

One important lesson that we could learn from Ireland is that racism must be seen as something unacceptable in our society. 

Why? Because it is a direct threat to our society, our values and our common sense of decency. 

Racist political rhetoric must not go unchecked. 

___________

By Jennifer Hough

An example needs to be made of politicians who make negative comments about immigrants if Ireland is to avoid going down a route of an “accepted rhetoric or racism”, Integration Ireland has warned.

Read whole story.

Finland's growing image abroad now hinges on racism and intolerance

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

The lead story in Sunday’s Helsingin Sanomat is about how racism and intolerance at home have tarnished Finland’s image abroad, according to a survey of Finnish expats living in different countries. Even if the daily blames the rise of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party for our country’s questionable image, the real culprits are none other than us.

What Helsingin Sanomat forgets to tell its readers is that such a negative international image will cost us dearly, especially during a time when we need more skilled immigrants and foreign investment in our country.

The economic damage caused to Finland by our near-silence and the vacillating stance of our media and too many politicians to racism and populism is a big one. The longer we remain quiet on this front and flirt with our silence with parties like the PS, the more we will continue to destroy our good image abroad.

Before Finland’s entry into the European Union in 1995, the foreign ministry worked hard to improve our negative international image caused by Finlandization. While our refugee policy and draconian treatment of immigrants before 1983, when Finland’s first Aliens’ Act came into force, officials ran the Aliens’ Office like a state within a state.

Issues like racism took backstage in the international media because of Finlandization and due to the size of our underwhelming immigrant population, which totaled about 7,000 in the 1970s. Most of these “foreigners” were native Finns who were naturalized citizens of other countries.

The experiment by 19.1% of the population in the April election to seek the help of a populist, anti-EU, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim party to lead us in this decade is proving to be a mistake.

There are positive signs, however, that voters have had enough of the PS’ political shenanigans as the presidential election showed.

Apart from voters giving the thumbs down to anti-EU presidential hopefuls like Center Party’s Paavo Väyrynen and PS’ Timo Soini, the party has been damaged by numerous scandals in the media that have exposed the racism, homophobia and anti-democratic credentials of some of its MPs.

Cultural diversity needs proactive solutions not populist whining

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

The many threads on Migrant Tales mirror what is wrong with the ongoing debate in Finland and our ever-growing cultural diversity. On the one side we have those who cannot do anything else but complain while the other side looks for solutions.

We at Migrant Tales have thanks to the many bloggers who visit our blog aimed to become not only a humble voice of the immigrant community but one that offers solutions.

When we debate such an issue we do little to help those who are victims of racism and exclusion if we don’t offer solutions. If the solutions we offer are rejected, we should come back with better solutions, according to the principle of Rinkeby School in Sweden, Börje Ehrstrand.

Compared with Sweden, the acceptance of Finland’s ever-growing cultural diversity is still in diapers.

One of the reasons why anti-immigration sentiment through parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) got a beachhead in Finland in April is because the voice of those who complain but never give solutions was stronger.  The present situation offers a good opportunity for us to lobby politicians, express our views to the media and general public and offer proactive solutions.

No matter how much parties like the PS kick and bitch about our “multiculturalism,” they cannot do nothing about it except whine and spread fear with the catalyst of ignorance.

Building a society with good relations between all of its parts, based on mutual acceptance and respect, is always more desirable than one that builds walls of hatred.

The matter that politicians and Finns in general should know is that that type of society will cost less money to taxpayers.

No cliffhangers in today presidential election in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Finns go to the polls today vote elect their next president. Opinion polls reveal that Kokoomus’ Sauli Niinistö is the front-runner followed by a close neck-and-neck race between Pekka Haavisto of the Greens and Paavo Väyrynen of the Center Party.

The second group that are fighting it out for fourth spot according to a YLE poll are Perussuomalaiset (PS) party hopeful Timo Soini, Left Alliances’ Paavo Arhimäki and Paavo Lipponen of the Social Democratic Party.

After the PS historic election victory on April 17, falling behind Arhimäki or Lipponen would be seen as a big loss for Soini. It would reinforce the wear-and-tear that the PS has suffered nine months after the election due to numerous scandals that have exposed the racism, homophobia and anti-democratic credentials of some of its MPs.

There was as well the hacked neo-Nazi Suomen Kansalinen Vastarinta (SKV) membership that revealed two PS  members.  Both are still working for the party as if nothing had happened.

One of the biggest disappointments of the presidential campaign has been tackling and debating the hard challenges that Finland faces: budget cuts and the future of the welfare state, growing income and social inequality, racism and the polarization of Finnish society.

One of the matters that concerned me in particular about the front-runner Niinistö was his view that the far right did not pose a threat to Finland, according to an MTV3 poll of the candidates.

After 8pm local time we’ll be a bit wiser about who are the victors and losers of the presidential election.

One matter is for certain, however: the election will not be a cliffhanger like last year’s parliamentary election.