Tag: Racism

Finnish “culture and personality”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

THIS STORY WAS UPDATED

I just looked over an ”adaption guide to Finland” for Russians that move to the Kymenlaakso region in the southeast of the country.

While these types of publications may have good intentions, they tend to generalize complex matters such as Finnish culture and personality. One of the matters that is surprising in the guide is how few – if any – social psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists were used. The guide states that Finland is a “feminist” country, although women still make about 20% less than men.

Under the part that attempts to show some traits on Finnish personality, I chose a few descriptions that caught my eye:

1. Statement: What is essential for the Finns? The most important matter that characterizes him/her is his/her patriotism. The Finns love their country.

(Mikä on olennaista suomalaisessa ihmisessä? Kaikkein olennaisinta on hänessä patriotismi. Suomalainen rakastaa omaa maataan.)

Comment: Is this something unique? Does it suggest that I should fear Finns and take special care not to offend Finland? Does it suggest that Finns may have difficulties accepting others because patriotism, or nationalism, gets in the way? Why is this attribute the most important for the authors?

How I would change the sentence: Finns, like other people in different nations, love their country. So? Are the authors suggesting that people in some countries are not patriotic?

2. Statement: Finnish culture can be described as individualistic.

(Suomalaista kulttuuria voidaan luonnehtia yksilökulttuuriksi.)

Comment: Is this a unique trait in a modern industrialized nation? How do we measure individualism?

3. Statement (this is one of my favorites): The Finns are bashful and quiet. He is not very social if he is around strangers.

(Suomalainen on ujo ja hiljainen. Hän ei ole seurallinen eikä hän ole kovin aloitteellinen juuri koskaan kanssakäymisissään, jos hän on tuntemattomien ihmisten seurassa.)

Comment: How do Finnish men and women meet at bars? How do they make friends?  What study proves that Finns do not take the initiative when they are around strangers? These types of affirmations, which are not true, only help to reinforce stereotypes about Finns. There are quiet, loud and medium-loud Finns. Some will take the initiative while others will shy away from it. It depends on the person. It is ridiculous to claim that it is “Finnish personality.”

4. Statement: Finns are quite stubborn and in that character he/she is incredibly steadfast.

(Suomalainen on harvinaisen itsepäinen ja siinä piirteessä on hän uskomattoman luja.)

Comment: Like with the above-mentioned statement, are there any studies that prove this? What percentage of Finns are stubborn and which are not? I have never seen a study that measures stubbornness. Isn’t pigheadedness a personality trait as opposed to a national trait – if there ever was one.

5. Statement (this is a “gem”): Finns tend to react slowly…

(Suomalainen on hitaanpuoleinen.…)

Comment: This is the stereotype of the stereotypes mentioned by the guide. Again, I ask, what studies do the authors use to back such a statement? What percentage of the Finns are “slow?” What do they mean by “slow” and compared with whom?

CONCLUSION: These types of statements about Finnish culture are not useful because they only confuse perceptions of Finnish culture since they are not based on any empirical study. If anything, they are subjective perceptions that reveal more the stereotypes and the prejudices of the authors — at the best they show how the authors want foreigners to “see” us.

Discrimination undermines society’s values

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Some of the comments on Muslims in this blog have been outright discriminatory and a cause for concern. They sound like people who have been gripped more by fear than by common sense.

If Finland is not at war with Iraq, what is it that these Finns fear so much?

The Yale social psychologist on the program said that if we fear our interpretation of outsiders becomes rigid.

He sums it up well, when the clerk actor refused to serve a Muslim. He explains why some stood up against the clerk: “They saw an injustice. It is justice that binds us together. It is justice that makes us a society. Any threat to that kind of justice and fairness undermines the entire system.”

There is also another disturbing aspect in the program: 13 stood up for the Muslim woman, 6 sided with the clerk, and 22 said nothing.

What do you think would have been the results if the same program would have been done in Finland?

For those who fear Muslims, I dedicate this video clip.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqbQWxHIn4U&NR=1]

Being an immigrant in Finland: A letter from Ida

Posted on by Migrant Tales

I do not usually do this. But I thought it was such a candid comment that I had to bring it to all of your attention. It reveals, in my opinion, what some foreigners feel about Finnish society but do not dare to say too loudly in public.

Thank you Ida, I hope others follow your example. The first important step in taking part in any society is debating openly about the issues that affect our lives. It shows that we are active citizens who care about Finland. It is that first important step in integrating.

I am an immigrant. Sometimes I feel so frustrated in Finland that I just wanted to ‘give it back to the society’. Hence the crime. People like me (hypothetically) acting out of frustration. If the mentality here is that no foreigners are good and only a tiny fraction of people like Juha, the social worker, understands and/or appreciates diversity it doesn’t help much because the general society isn’t open=minded. I would even call racist.

If a person like Juha comes to ask me how do I like it in Finland, I wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings. A guy who works so hard for us. What do you expect me to say? that I am so frustrated that I can leave this second to another place where I feel more comfortable?

I would reverse those numbers. 95% prejudiced and 4% nonchalant, 0.5% don’t care, 0.001% welcoming (and the rest 0.499% lost in statistics).

Good welfare system is like a double-edged sword for immigrants. We are taken care of but we are also blamed for using them. And so you have to be ever-thankful that you are here, Finland. Because you are given shelter and food, now you can take this mental abuse in the form of institutionalized racism.

Any CONSTRUCTIVE comments?

Some good advice about Finnish culture

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Some people who move to Finland for the first time may suffer from a generous dose of culture shock like in any country.

In the thirty years that I have lived in Finland on and off, the best advice I can give you and the Finns is the following: What is normal in your culture may be abnormal in another — and viceversa.

One of the most common observations I hear from some foreigners that live in Finland is that Finns are “cold.” Even though some may greet you with a laconic “hei,” it does not mean that they are “cold.” It only shows that some Finns greet that way because it is normal in their culture.

The matter that surprised me the most about Finland when I moved here was the Finns’ view of the people who lived in different parts of the country. “The Hämäläinens are slow,” one would say as it it were a scientific fact, while another would affirm: The Savolainens are all crooked people. Never trust a Gypsy – they are all thieves!”

Certainly such simplistic definitions of a so-called regional character, which does not exist, also must have rubbed off on how some Finns see foreigners today.

But all those types of so-called fictional behavior “traits” are nothing more than stereotypes and not based on any empirical study. They are only cultural fairy tales.

In memory of Eila Kännö

Posted on by Migrant Tales

For those of you who had the opportunity to move to Finland in the 1970s or early 1980s, will certainly remember Eila Kännö, the head of the then-Aliens’ Office. Has anyone counted how many times the name of the immigration office has changed since the 1970s? I have lost track.

She was the epitome of keeping Finland “clean” of foreigners.  Kari, the late Helsingin Sanomat cartoonist, who was well known for his stance against immigrants in Finland, did a cartoon of Kännö.  She was depicted as a doorwoman standing guard in front of hordes or inhuman-looking foreigners attempting to enter the country. Helsingin Sanomat compared her style of rule with Benito Mussolini’s.

But her hard-line stance was her downfall. Kännö had threatened in an evening paper to throw the foreigners, who had staged the biggest demonstration ever in the early 1980s demanding greater rights, into jail because it was illegal for a non-Finn to organize a demonstration. There was a loophole: The Helsinki University Union student body organized the demonstration.

That demonstration was what probably brought Kännö down. The more hostile and reticent the Aliens’ Office became the more of a liability she became.  It’s incredible that some Finns and well-known journalists like Pekka Karhuvaara approved of her tough autocratic style.

One of the favorite arguments used by police authorities back then why Finland had to keep outsiders from living in Finland was because they were “potential criminals.” Incredulous, no?

We should never forget this bleak period and more should be written about it. Not for revenge but that such policy mistakes never occur again.

Is there racism in Finland?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

One of the most successful posts of this blog is, Are you a target of racism in Finland? In my opinion the reason why so many have read it is because there is a racism problem in Finland. A Niko wrote a recent comment, where he states, “there are some real problems in Finnish society but racism is not in the top 5.”

If unemployment is about 7% among Finns and about 20% among foreigners, certainly that shows that there is a problem. Is this due to racism, discrimination or because Finns are suspicious of outsiders?

Some Finns argue that one reason why foreigners don’t have jobs is because they don’t speak the language nor understand the culture. This sounds like an excuse to justify the present situation, whereby some foreigners continue to be marginalized from Finnish society. It is, however, a good point, but it is not a valid one. In Spain, where there are many Latin Americans who speak Spanish as their mother tongue and even have the same religion as many Spaniards. one would guess that integration into Spanish society would be easy. Wrong. Most of the Latin Americans, especially those from Ecuador, Dominicans, Bolivia and others, who are racially different-looking from Spaniards, suffer racist attacks and are at the lower end of the societal totem pole.

This suggests that that a big part of the problem resides in Spanish attitudes towards outsiders.

Why do Africans from former French colonies, where they speak French, are a target of constant racism in France? Shouldn’t a common language unite them? Or is it racism?

A so-called “civilized” country like Finland is measured by its ability to accept – not reject and exclude – and facilitate the integration of “outsiders” into society. Up to now, it has done a pretty poor job at this.

When unemployment of foreigners and Finns is at about the same level, then that will be one indication that we have slain, or at least contained, the ogre of racism that is still alive and kicking in Finland.

Spain’s Valencia shameful example to its immigrants

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The regional government of Valencia, which is ruled by the right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP) , is planning to force immigrants to sign a contract obliging them to respect local “customs and traditions.” Apart from being illegal and a slap in the face to respect for other cultures, the PP-led initiative is racist as well.

But what does respecting “local customs and traditions” mean? Who is to say what is Valencian never mind Spanish culture unless you want to dwell in generalities and stereotypes.

Unfortunately the measures, which will put the PP on a collision course with the Socialist government of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, it exposes the myopic world of some Spaniards in the PP. It also exposes their cultural uncertainty. Such politicians continue to live in the “good old days” when Spain conquered and pillaged other cultures.

In an attempt to win over voters, PP leader Mariano Rajoy launched the idea of a immigrant contract on the campaign trail. The PP lost the March 9 election to the Socialists.

Possibly this would be a good case to take such a racist measure to a European Union court. It would be a good matter to tell these politicians as well that there are many examples were multicultural societies have benefited from cultural synergy.

Has the English language been undermined by the fact that it has been influenced by over 300 languages? Certainly not. Such a matter has strengthened – not weakened it.

Are you a target of racism in Finland?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

This blog entry broke on June 25, 2019, the 12,000-visits barrier. Since it was first published in June 2007, it has got 1,557 comments. Even though it is a simple test that aims to shed light on a social ill in this country, it asks, like the one by Alcoholic Anonymous, some hard and unpleasant questions.

Thanks to your support, the Are You a Target of Racism in Finland post has turned into a very big thumbs down against racism in this country.

Are you a target of racism can be now read in Spanish.

Racism manifests itself in various ways. Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, Ku Klux Clan are some of its most terrible manifestations. Today, in Europe, some political parties are capitalizing on xenophobia in order to lure votes for their opportunistic and undemocratic political aims. Racism may happen in different ways in different cultures but one matter is for certain: its primary aim is to exclude, destroy lives and become underachievers.

In a country like Finland, racism happens through exclusion. Unemployment among foreigners in Finland is a good example. Immigrant unemployment is three times higher than the national average. The unemployment figure for foreigners in Finland is one of the highest in the EU.

When you are a victim of racism in Finland it’s clear that social exclusion is your temporary home. How long you stay in such a place depends on you. If you stay in such a place and marginalize yourself you’ll do exactly what the racists want you to do: be a nonperson.

The fact that you have to spend time figuring our your new home and learning your way around means that everything may take longer to attain like job opportunities and a career. Racism slows your progress because that’s what its aim is.

In order to challenge such dangers, it’s important that you adapt to your new homeland as soon as possible. Learn the language, the culture and society – educate yourself if you need to get a profession. Do these things because that’s what the racists don’t want you to do. Mingle with people and society.

A reader made an insightful comment about racism in Finland:

Finnish society, as I am sure you know, gives perhaps a rather misleading ‘public’ image at times. You probably know that Finns aren’t so great at being confrontational or saying what they think openly, thus I think sometimes things like racism are actually more prevalent than you would imagine – but fortunately mainly behind closed doors. People know it is wrong and don’t say it in public, but they still think it in private. The problem is, that in recent years the internet has let the ‘cat out of the bag.’ People can write often what they like without being traced. It’s definitely being used especially by the extremists.

Here is a short Migrant Tales “racism meter” for foreigners and minorities that can help you know if you are a target of discrimination in Finland:

1) I am self-employed (for some it is the only way of getting work)
2) I’m unemployed (generally jobless claims among foreigners totals about 26%)
3) Finns often give me strange looks
4) Public officials, like the police, drag their heels with me
5) The police consider me guilty before proving my innocence
6) A Finn treats me too nicely. (I don’t want special treatment, I want to be treated equally)
7) Finns distrust me
8 Finns are usually watching over me at work (I have to be twice as good as a Finn)
9) If I make a mistake, it’s a bigger deal than normal
10) In a debate, I always know less than a Finn

Here is a new one, number 11: I get attacked by comments on my blog for speaking out against racism.

If you answered YES to any two, the chances are that you are a target of racism in Finland. If you answered YES to three or more, you are definitely a target of racism in Finland.

Note: This was based on an Alcoholics Anonymous questionnaire.