Migrant Tales insight: I stumbled upon this posting published over twelve years ago. I reposted it because it shows the fuel that I have used to push the blog ahead. Finland is a very different country than it was in 2012. We are slowly but surely awakening to the fact that racism is a dangerous…
Tag: Racism
Opulence and injustice are deadly mixes
Watching political events in the United States and the Donald Trump’s inauguration as the US’ 47th president, brought despair and forced me to dig deep for hope and consolation. One of the matters that I will never forget is the last military dictatorship (1976-83) of Rafael Videla in Argentina. His stranglehold over the country was…
The ever-greying of Finland and our new citizenship
Twenty-eight years ago I wrote in a Finland Bridge column about the greying of Finland. Even if Finland has the third-oldest population in the world after Japan and Italy. Has anything changed since 1997 and what are the solutions to our demographic woes? Some far-fetched solutions I suggested back then was to raise the retirement…
European Islamophobia Report 2023 does not paint a pretty pictures for Muslims
Instead of seeing a reversal in Islamophobia in the European Union, we see the opposite. The European Islamophobia Report 2023 states “how anti-Muslim racism manifests through systemic discrimination, political rhetoric, media narratives, and societal attitudes, exacerbated by geopolitical events such as the Gaza conflict.” One of the key findings of the report are the denial,…
An example of Finnish white fragility
White fragility is a defensive action, whereby white people react violently and defensively whenever racism is brought up. The aim of such hostility is to make the person bringing up the topic so attacked that he or she will not dare bring up the subject ever again. Finance Minister Riikka Purra and Jussi Halla-aho of…
Finland’s different shades of denial and racism
Racism is like a Cadillac, they bring out a new model every year. Malcolm X Few these days deny that Finland has a racism problem against Muslims, people of color and Third Worlders, the Romany and Russian-speaking minority, the third largest after Finnish and Swedish speakers. The serious student of society does not only look…
Linkedin: Finland’s Interior Minister Mari Rantanen: Liar, liar, pants are on fire, your nose is longer than a telephone wire
I’m surprised that the media and politicians are surprised by far-right Finns Party (PS)Interior Minister Mari Rantanen’s double-talk about favoring Christians over Muslims in next year’s quota refugee pick. Rantanen’s fishy denials that next year’s selection of quota refugees had anything to do with preferring Christians over Muslims, prompted the non-discrimination ombudsman to do some…
SomaliFinnPodcast #3: Build bridges instead of walls
In the podcast, Mahad Sheikh Musse, who has been a youth social worker in Helsinki for over 20 years, offers some sound advice on how why looking beyond stereotypes and our biases can help us to look past ethnic labels, which keeps us from treating youths with migrant backgrounds with for what they are: full…
SomaliFinnPodcast#2: Everyone should be heard and respected
In Finland, immigrant-background families are often treated differently than other families when it comes to seeking help for their children. Mahad Sheikh Musse, a multicultural youth work professional with over 20 years of experience, contends that this practice creates inequality and alienates families from support services. He emphasizes that cultural backgrounds should not dictate the…
SomaliFinnPodcast #1: Challenging our prejudices of youth with migrant backgrounds
Mahad Sheikh Musse is a youth social worker with over 20 years experience. Apart from his social work, he is an avid writer who speaks out against discrimintion of youth with migrant backgrounds. In the first podcast, Musse speaks about how to tear down racist structures in society that reinforce discrimination. He said that one…