Days later,representatives of the Somali community come out and state that the tragic deaths of Somali boys should not be politicized. What on earth does the Finnish media, like Yle, wants to frame and message when they state that those who died of drowning were of Somali backgrounds?
It took several days for Yle to publish the Somali community’s concern about the harmful labeling.
Abdirazak Sugulle Mohamed, a representative of the Uusimaa Mosque Association, hopes that decision-makers will take a responsible approach to the issue. He believes that swimming skills should also be discussed in general in Finland, not just for Somalis or so-called people of foreign background.
“We shouldn’t just talk about the swimming skills of immigrants or Somalis,” he said.
But one could take this matter a big further and ask what the purpose of singling out people of color is? Is it to reinforce our racism and show falsely that white Finns are superior swimmers? Probably the most striking matter it reveals is the mainstream media’s racism problem.
Moreover, Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s biggest daily, has not published a word about how the media labels minorities. They did, however, publish an article about how Muslim women go to swimming school. It was like a cultural peep show.
What’s the difference between the attacks against special rapporteurFransesca Albanese, a UN official investigating war crimes and human rights in Gaza and the West Bank, and former Non -Discrimination Ombudsman Kristina Stenman?
True, both are shameful and cowardly abuses of power.
Both Albanese and Stenman are officials who are being attacked by government officials because they are doing their job: The Trump Administration and Israel against Albanese, and Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Justice Minister Leena Meri against Stenman.
Writes MEP Tynkkynen on Facebook:
“Non-Discrimination Ombudswoman Stenman (RKP) in March: ‘The Finns are an openly Islamophobic party.’ Stenman now: no longer non-discrimination ombudswoman. Stenman is now no longer non-discrimination ombudswoman. The Perussuomalaiset Justice Minister Leena Meri kicked Stenman out 🤌 For the next government negotiations, the goal could be to abolish the posts of both the non-discrimination ombudswoman and the ombudsman for equality. It’s all a bunch of green-leftist buffoonery.”
Writes Migrant Tales:
“Thank you for revealing and reinforcing your usual petty side, Tynkkynen. I agree wholeheartedly with Stenman: the PS is an openly Islamophobic party. In 2027, we aim to clobber your party at the polls, and in the next MEP election in 2029, we will remove you.
The misfortunes of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* have been a source of concern from some and happiness for others. After the 2011 general election, when the PS won 39 seats versus five previously, some of us have had to put up with the party’s racism and Finland’s inability and normalization of anti-immigration populism.
The dire situation of the PS was highlighted again in Helsingin Sanomat’sopinion poll, which showed the party tied with the Left Alliance with 10% and just a heartbeat from entering the single-digit league.
In the 2007 general election, the PS received 4.05% of the votes granting it five MPs compared with three (1.57%) in 2003.
Some of the biggest excuses justifying and normalizing the PS’s entry into the political “big leagues” after 2011 are:
The party will implode like the Rural Party did in the 1970s;
Timo Soini is not a racist;
The PS is not an anti-Muslim party but one against the EU;
Jussi Halla-aho is the “bad” PS and Soini the “good” one;
There are many other excuses to justify the PS ideology and toxic politics.
Do you believe that the PS rating will dip into the single-digit leagues soon? Do you believe that the party’s situation will lead to early elections in the fall?
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party congress at Lahti exposed to the tee the far-right and racist beast that has always lurked inside the party. Riikka Purra, who won easy reelection as chairperson, rambled on with typical far-right talking points.
Claiming that white Finnish culture was under attack, she placed the blame on so-called mass immigration from developing countries that places strains on public services and will force the welfare state to collapse.
Purra equating Islam with “cultural intrusion” and how this is destroying the white social fabric of Finland. Oddly, she used the annual World Village Festival in Helsinki as an example of the cultural intrusion, which includes Islamization.
Without mentioning anyone specific, Purra states that “some decision-makers have themselves allowed, themselves demanded, and themselves promoted” the disintegration of Finnish culture.
If there are still any doubts that the PS isn’t a far-right and racist party, Purra’s speech leaves no room for doubt. Not only are her words offensive to migrants and minorities in Finland, but they are also a warning that matters could evolve like in the United States under Donald Trump.
The newly elected leadership of the PS. From left to right: Party secretary Harri Vuorenpää, Simo Grönroos, Teemu Keskisarja, Riikka Purra, and Joakim VIgelius. Source: Suomen Uutiset.
An article in tabloid Iltalehti aims to reinforce readers about why “kids with migrant backgrounds” are a problem, but instead reveals the racist attitudes of the tabloid and of some comprehensive school teachers. I suspect that one of the reasons why Iltalehti uses anonymous sources is because no respecting teacher would go on the record with such claims.
Let’s dissect the article’s most outrageous claims:
The article concerned why brown and black children, specifically Muslims, are marginalized and don’t want to be Finns, which affects their Finnish language-learning abilities. One good start would be to stop labeling them “children with migrant backgrounds.” The label alone excludes.
One reason why kids don’t want to identify as Finns is that they are not even accepted as Finns. As mentioned above, why would some of these kids want to identify with white Finns, which the article labels “ethnic” Finns (kantasuomalainen), if their backgrounds are not taken into account?
What about institutional racism and the xenophobic and bigoted comments by politicians in particular, like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, who have made their political message by spreading racism and lies about migrants? Would you want to be part of a society that holds you in contempt?
I have said it before and will say it again: I never want to be a white Finn but a Finn on my terms. The article does not mention how these children could be seen and taught to be Finns on their terms.
The article claims: “Some children with an immigrant background who were born in Finland do not speak Finnish well enough to attend school.” If this is the case, it reveals the failure of the school system and ineffective social policy. Nowhere is it mentioned in the article how we tackle this problem.
Why do three teachers cited in the story speak anonymously? “Paula,” who teaches the Islman religion, claims that some of her students don’t want to be Finns. If “Paula” is a teacher, she should know better the importance of retaining your culture instead of erasing it. Over 1.2 million Finns emigrated from Finland between 1860 and 1999. Even the children of the first generation, still in their fifth generation, continue to see themselves as Finns. Is this strange? No.
“Karla” is another consultant teacher who speaks anonymously in the article. She believes that the best way to solve Finnish-language learning issues is to send such families to the countryside. Apart from being illegal, I’m certain that some teachers feel this is an effective way to teach Finnish.
“Helena” is a Finnish-language teacher who also appears anonymously in the story. She is in favor of limiting the number of non-Finnish-speaking students. There was a big discussion in 2011 about limiting the number of “students with foreign backgrounds” in classes. One of the questions that these polls asked over ten years ago is if public servants like teachers can limit or choose who they’ll teach. Can the police do the same? Is segregating schools by placing caps constitutional?
The Iltalehti article leads: “Kouluissa on suuri kriisi – opettajat puhuvat ääneen: Opettajien mielestä maahanmuuttajataustaiset oppilaat eristäytyvät ryhmiinsä, mikä vaikeuttaa kielen oppimista.”
These types of stories in the Finnish media only serve to reinforce stereotypes and suspicion about migrants.
The worst enemy of the Perussuomalaiset is the Perussuomalaiset.
The recent opinion poll published by Yle is a source of hope that Finland is finally awakening from its 2011 general election nightmare, when the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* saw its MPs in parliament soar to 39 from five previously.
The latest poll shows that the PS’ support plummeted by four percentage points to 11.4% relegating the anti-immigration far-right party to fourth place after the Social Democrats (25.3%), National Coalition Party (20.2%), and Center Party (15.6%).
The PS saw its support dive in April’s municipal and county elections and this is a bad omen for the party in the 2027 general election.
Even if the PS leadership blames their poor election misfortunes on “a red wave” and “poor communication,” the party’s membership in government has exposed its far-right neoliberal policies and agenda.
Many, like myself who have followed the PS closely since the early 2010s, are hoping that the PS will return permanently to the single-digit political leagues characterized by internal fighting.
One of the lessons that I learned from my native Argentina, is that political turmoil caused by autocrats like military rulers have their days counted when they believe they are invincible. Today, we are witnessing it in the United States under the Trump regime.
As he promised, Trump is an autocrat from day one challenging the very institutional fabric of the country.
It would be naive and careless to believe that the US is now under attack from an autocrat. It has been under attack from within ever since it institutionalized slavery, injustice and runaway capitalism.
And what is even greater and offers a ray of hope, is that fact that you do not need an army to defeat the most well-equipped regime. All you need is a few good people at the right historical place and time.
An example of how the mainstream media spreads racism and frames migrants. MTV is supposed to be a “serious” source but last year it invited Interioir Minister Mari Rantanen to talk about the governments anti-immigration policy with a provocative picture on the right. You can read the lastest European Islamophobia Report 2023 here.
Opulence and inustice are a deadly mix that can destroy an autocrat like cyanide and it will end up killing and impoverishing it.
The recent municipal and county elections in Finland also are a cyaide pill for the xenophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, whch saw its election result plunge to by 6.8% to 7.6% and by 3.3% ti 7.8%, respectively.
Few are shedding a tear about the dismal result of the PS in the election after it has spread in Finland xenophobia and attacked migrants and minorities. It is a party that appeals and spreads racism that are masters at playing the victim. The PS is a constant threat to our democracy and the rule of law.
Parliamentary election in Finland take place in 2027 and we’ll see then whether the PS will be relegated to the minor political leagues and was a brief political nightmare.
The recent resignation of former Chief Nnspector Jari Taponen and others from the police reveals the extent to which populist politics has infiltrated the police. In 2023, and with funding from the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), the EU’s largest anti-racism NGO, we published a report showing how parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* use migrant crime to attract voters.
I have interviewed Taponen a few times about street gangs. What he writes in a column in Sunday’s Helsingin Sanomat confirms our conclusions that the issue has a strong political component.
It is sad how slowly, if not yet, the media has reacted to the populist politicking of parties like PS and the National Coalition Party.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize that the whole street gang news story is a ploy by parties like the PS to further polarize the country and label all racialised youth as potential criminals.
Shame on the PS and the Finnish media.
We wrote in the report: “Moreover, the “youth gang” story has exposed how the media, police, and politicians collaborate to spread a narrative about marginalized groups. Each of the three involved has a vested interest in exploiting stories about minorities: – The media gains viewers and advertising revenues. – The police can secure more funding for fighting crime. – Politicians appeal to voters.”
Media like MTV engage in a lot of shameless hypocrisy. Look at the pictures below and how they have labelled all racialised youth as potential criminals.
Has MTV changed its ways? Below is a picture of an interview with the PS Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen.
This ad was placed on MTV last year to mark an interview with Ivan Puopolo Rantanen. Puopolo is the face of MTV, who frequently interviews and spreads the anti-immigration message of the PS.
In his column, Taponen hits the nail on the head: “This is a worrying trend [in the police], because the functioning of the police and the upholding of security in socleity must be based on respect for inalienable and human rights and the fair and equal treatment of all groups of the population.”
The normalization of racism and government policy that reinforces the social illness are the sad examples that will get worse as long as National Coalition Party Prime Minister Petter Orpo leads the government with the Perussuomalaiset (PS).*
One way of putting some breaks on the adverse climate of polarization and xenophobia is by forcing the government to fall.
Normalization happens when even the opposition can cave into the pushback law that ended Finland’s respect for human rights and the rule of law.
The pushback law says it clearly: asylum seekers are animals who don’t deserve human rights.
Thanks to Petteri Orpo’s toothless anti-racism measures, white power is gaining strength in Finland and emboldens racists. Picture: Enrique Tessieri
The normalization of racism happens through the media as well by portraying migrants and asylum seekers as the guilty suspects when, in fact, they are the victims of our draconian migration policy and our lack of empathy.
The media, which is a big part of Finland’s racism problem, is toothless when it reports on ministers like Mari Rantanen, who is the biggest threat to migrant and minority rights.
If the government could shape your thinking, Rantanen and her cronies want you to believe that migrants and asylum seekers are lowlifes taking advantage of the social welfare system.
The next measure suggested by the likes of Rantanen is to offer social security only to Finns.
Here is the question: Why do foreigners pay taxes in that type of dark world where you are a mere visitor in Finland?
You cannot make this up. National Coalition Party Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government plans to offer an hour-long anti-racism training for the government. The training has been postponed to after the municipal and regional elections of April.
“It will be an intensive training of about an hour, including discussion,” Katriina Nousiainen, project manager and senior expert at the prime minister’s office, was quoted as saying in Helsingin Sanomat.
The course was suggested after the numerous racism scandals last summer that led to the resignation of Perussuomalaiset Minister of Economic Affairs Wilhelm Junnila and the resurfacing of Finance Minister Riikka Purra’s racist writings from 2008.
The scandals of the summer of 2023 almost forced Orpo’s government to fall. In the autumn, it published an anti-racism statement that was nothing more than a ploy to save the government’s skin.
The most recent scanal brought by the non-discrimination ombudsman is another case in point of the toothless and empty efforts to tackle racism when PS Interior Minister Mari Rantanen attempted to favor Christians over Muslims in the quota-refugee scheme.
The government and large sectors of Finland have a serious issue with racism. Not doing enough and playing dumb to the social ill is just as bad as being openly racist.
