Tag: Racism

The State of Islamophobia in Europe report offers a distressing picture of the rise of such a social ill

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The third issue of the annual The State of Islamophobia in Europe was published on Monday, and it paints a very worrying picture of Islamophobia in Europe. 

We have unfortunately seen in countries like Finland how hate speech and toothless measures to contain all forms of racism and discrimination have put in harm’s way other religious minorities like the Jews.

One key recommendation of the report is the recognition and acknowledgment of the specific form of racism targeting Muslims.

The report states: “The denial of the very existence of Islamophobia/anti-Muslim racism/anti-Muslim hate crime in Europe by many demonstrates the need for an appropriate effort and political will to tackle this normalized racism and its manifestations that are deeply entrenched in European societies, institutions, and states.”

And continues: “With the generalized suspicion against Muslims, it is of utmost importance for EU policy makers not to fall into the trap of treating Muslims as potential problems but rather as human beings whose fundamental rights can be violated. Combatting Islamophobia is not about preventing radicalism or terrorism […] it is about politically addressing structural forms of discrimination and racism affecting Muslims or those perceived as such.”

 Read the full report here.

The rise of Islamophobia in countries like Finland are evident in parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) and Blue Reform* have made Finland a less safe place for migrants and especially Muslims.

After these two parties, the National Coalition Party (NCP) is seen by some as the most Islamophobic.

Continue reading “The State of Islamophobia in Europe report offers a distressing picture of the rise of such a social ill”

A poll that that tells us that Finland will continue to be Islamophobic and weary of cultural diversity

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An opinion poll and two results: how do young and older people vote and what does it say about the political future of Muslims and cultural diversity in Finland? For one, it suggests that matters will get worse before they improve. 

YLE published Sunday a poll that shows two different political paths for Finland: Among the older voters (50-79 years), the Social Democrats are the most popular party while the younger group (18-34 years) gives a different picture.

The popularity of the National Coalition Party is pretty stable among both age groups. The Centre Party’s popularity among younger voters takes a hit, but it is not as dramatic as with the Social Democratic Party.

The Greens, which are the most popular party among young voters, reveals that parties like the National Coalition Party, Centre Party and never mind the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* will continue with their subtle and harsh Islamophobic and anti-immigration rhetoric by treating migrants and minorities like second- and third-class members of society.

In Finland, you hear a lot about how young people in Finland are more open to difference. If you look at the young voters (18-34 years), parties (National Coalition Party, Centre Party, PS, and to some respects the Social Democratic Party) that have dragged their feet on recognizing that we are today a culturally diverse society, total 58%.

How many parties are open to difference and cultural diversity? They are the Greens, Left Alliance, and Swedish People’s Party. All three parties in the young-voter group total 36.6% compared with 18.9% in the older group.

The first table shows how 18-34-year-olds would vote. The second one, on the right, shows the 50-79-year-old-age group. Source: YLE.

One of the most surprising findings of the poll is the popularity of the anti-immigration PS among young voters, which indicates that there will always be an appeal among some voters for racist and bigoted politicians and parties.

Continue reading “A poll that that tells us that Finland will continue to be Islamophobic and weary of cultural diversity”

THE LONG INTERVIEW: Rebecka Holm, the adolescent who spoke out against racism, yesterday and today

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Rebecka Holm is the brave adolescent from Helsinki, who in 2012 spoke out against the racist harassment she regularly experienced on the way to school. She got fed up with the situation and wrote a letter to the Swedish daily, HBL, denouncing what she and her friends experienced too often.

“If Finland is now the most secure and stable country [in the world],” she said back then, “why do people of [different] ethnic backgrounds get attacked every day?”

For a while, the young adolescent was in the national spotlight. Apart from media attention, Holm was given an award by the Red Cross on the UN Day Against Racism.

Six years have elapsed since then and the brave young lady today lives and studies law in Uppsala, Sweden. I had to the opportunity to talk to her by phone and ask her about her plans and what she thought about what she did in 2012.

Read original story published in 2012 here.

Migrant Tales (MT): Tell me about your life in Sweden. How does it feel to live in that country?

Rebecka Holm (RH): I live in Uppsala which is a “white” city, and it’s not as diverse like Stockholm. But it is still much more diverse than if I would study in Turku and Finland. I must say that I blend in much better here even if most of the students that major in law are white upper-class students.

MT: What do you mean? 

RH: Racism is more subtle in Sweden. In Finland, you can sometimes get a lot of stares from people That does not happen here. I am an outsider in Sweden but in the same sense as in Finland even if I am a Finn and not accepted as one. In Sweden, I get fewer questions like “where are you from.” It is rude to start a conversation with a person in this country in such a way.

 In a way, people can say what they want in Finland but in Sweden that would not happen. If you say something racist, it would be political suicide. You would get kicked out of the party. That is not the case in Finland.

MT: What motivated you to speak out against racism in 2012? 

RH: When I was young, I was very sure about myself, and I was pretty sure that what I did was right. The letter I wrote to HBL took 30 minutes. I didn’t tell anyone about it. I just wrote it and sent it to the newspaper. The following morning my aunt text messaged me and wrote that they published a letter written by me.  I never thought what I wrote would attract so much attention.

Rebecka Holm graduated from high school in spring 2016.

MT: How has your perception of a social ill like racism changed from then? 

RH: My perception of racism today is different from when I wrote the letter. I don’t see it as many different incidents of overt racism but as a structural problem [in society]. Continue reading “THE LONG INTERVIEW: Rebecka Holm, the adolescent who spoke out against racism, yesterday and today”

Finland must stop locking up asylum seekers and their children

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The picture of one of the seven minors detained at the Joutseno immigration removal center in April 2017 should shock us all. That picture, the asylum policies of the Finnish Immigration Service, and the government of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä are destroying the very values of our Nordic welfare state. 

The picture below of the young adolescent by the metal bars of the window and barbwire, the overcast day and her hopeless gaze reveal our silence and complicity.

When we see and hear the rants and arguments of Islamophobic politicians and their followers, the most complicit are those who remain silent and “follow orders.”

How can we claim to be a fair society that promotes social equality if our behavior towards others is totally the opposite or in a Mr. Hyde mode?

The family of nine was granted a one-year residence permit. In an interview published Saturday in YLE, the parents of the children state that their children are traumatized by what happened at the immigration detention center. The children never sleep alone but together, according to the parents.

Continue reading “Finland must stop locking up asylum seekers and their children”

Instead of just being against racism why not take on the real culprit: structural racism in the Finnish police

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Thank you for the video but where is the black police officer, the Muslim police wearing hijab like in the UK? Does the Finnish police service reflect the cultural and ethnic mix of the communities they serve? The Finnish police service is big on gender equality but lags far behind in cultural diversity. 

The video below is a step in the right direction but in all truthfulness, it is only a band-aid for a serious problem in the police service and Finnish society.

The police have done little to nothing to ensure non-white Finns and visible migrants that they have changed their ways. There is no mea culpa about how to challenge structural racism as happened in the UK with the Macpherson report.

One of the main recommendations of that report was that it will encompass “any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person.” The overwhelmingly white Finnish police won’t make that call.

A terrible example of the need of the latter is the brutal stabbing and attack of a Pakistani migrant in Vantaa on February 23. The police maintain that it wasn’t a hate crime while the victim disagrees. Without any tests, the police can decide if the attackers are racists or not.

In Finland, the victim of a hate crime has to prove that he was a victim of such a crime. This is wrong, and we should take on board recommendations in the Macpherson report that challenge structural racism in the police service.

Below are a few cases that have been a blow to confidence in the Finnish police when it comes to ethnic relations:

Continue reading “Instead of just being against racism why not take on the real culprit: structural racism in the Finnish police”

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Racism and social umbrellas

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“Racism is like rain. You cannot stop rain but you can protect yourself from it. We need social umbrellas to protect ourselves from racism. This would come in the form of awareness, social policy, and leadership.”

Le racisme existera toujours. Le racisme est comme la pluie. Vous ne pouvez pas arrêter la pluie, mais vous pouvez vous en protéger. Nous avons besoin de parapluies sociaux pour nous protéger du racisme. Cela viendrait sous la forme de sensibilisation, de politique sociale et de leadership. 

Ghyslain Vedeux*

Source: Facebook.
* Ghyslain Vedeux is an anti-racism activist working for Le Cran, France’s biggest black association in France. Vedeux was a professional football player (1998-2006) and played for teams such as Tottenham. He holds a postgraduate degree in psychology and works as a consultant for individuals and companies.   

Continue reading “QUOTE OF THE DAY: Racism and social umbrellas”

Does data harvesting occur in Finland? Is there a connection beween the PS’ 2011 and Donald Trump’s election of 2016?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

In the face of the growing scandal about harvesting our personal data by groups like Cambridge Analytica and others, there is a question that needs investigating and answering: Did the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, particularly Matias Turkkila and his hate-site Hommaforum gang, use the same tactics to give the PS its historic victory in 2011?

The fact that nobody has carried an in-depth investigation if the there was collusion raises a lot of questions.

 

 

Data harvesting in Finnish elections? Russian trolls at work? We need to know. Visit website at the center of the data harvesting scandal here.

The fact we have no answers on how the Internet was used to give the anti-immigration populist and the far-right an ever-louder voice in Finland, reveals a lot about the problem and our state of denial and political naïvety. We need answers.

We don’t appear to care or still have a clue reveal that our Nordic welfare values and sense of fairness – if it ever existed – could fall from grace in the same way as when the Soviet Union ceased to exist in 1991 after 74 years of existence.

Continue reading “Does data harvesting occur in Finland? Is there a connection beween the PS’ 2011 and Donald Trump’s election of 2016?”

Facebook Imran Adan: Whiten your skin, it will help you find work in Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Migrant Tales insight: There is no racism in Finland, right? A black person gets stopped in Tampere by a white 50-year-old who thinks he has so much privilege that he can insult a black man, Imran Adan, in a racist way. 

“A man stopped me that for no reason and started to ask why I am in Finland and what I do here,” he said. “Before I could answer him and in near-shock, he said that if I’m not working and not in school, I must be living off social welfare.”

The man gave him advice and told me to whiten my skin if I wanted to get a job. 

While such a statement would shock anyone, Adan said that a black man who was watching the conversation told him that he should take the white Finns advice because it would help him get a job.

“I’ve been whitening my skin,” said the black person who had been living in Finland for a year. 

For those who don’t know Adan, he works at Tampere University as a coordinator and was a former research assistant. 

“The last thing I will ever do is whiten my skin,” he said. “This skin color has remained with me for generations and there is no reason for me to whiten it. I will never change my identity.”

 

Read the original post here.

 

 

The roots of hate crime and hate speech are in Finnish society, right under our noses

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The media and police are mirrors of our prejudices in our society. Our lame reaction to such social ills not only expose our weaknesses as a society but hide and protect the real culprit: institutional racism. 

How does institutional racism survive in Finland? The answer is easy: We shield such a social ill with our silence, the way the police treats minorities and migrants, in the hateful rhetoric of politicians like Perussuomalaiset*(PS) MP Laura Huhtasaari, to just name a few.

With the rise of Islamophobic and racist politicians assured a political career, should be we surprised that hate crimes have gone up in Finland?

Hate is a powerful force and if you think it just stops with stereotyping, belittling jokes and insensitive remarks, take a look at the pyramid of hate, think twice. Its destination is genocide.

Remember when the police started to profile pizzerias ethically? They asked customers to report establishments that sold pizzas at 6 euros or below. Lidl sells pizza at a euro 1.39. Read what the BBC of London wrote about this failed police campaign here.

The police, who are overwhelmingly white in Finland, have so much power that they even claim to know more than the victims of racism.

An unfortunate example of the latter is the vile attack against a Pakistani on February 23. The police claim that what happened to the Pakistani wasn’t a hate crime even if he suffered over 20 stabbings and other injuries. The statement was made without asking what the victim thought.

Continue reading “The roots of hate crime and hate speech are in Finnish society, right under our noses”

The violent attack against a Pakistani migrant in Vantaa should be treated as a hate crime

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The Pakistani, who was attacked brutally in Vantaa on February 23 by three white Finnish youths carrying a knife, ax, and a pointed object, sees what happened to him was a hate crime.*  

If the incident had occurred in the UK, it would be recorded as a hate crime by the police because the victim perceived it to happen against him because of his ethnic background or faith.

For some unknown reason, the Finnish police investigating the case are still not clear on the motive of the crime. The fact that the victim considers what happened to him a hate crime is a strong sign that the police will have to see it in that way.

The police’s reaction to what happened to the Pakistani in Vantaa shows the daily experiences of ethnic minorities who are confronted by racist violence in Europe and Finland. This, we believe, is a classic example of institutional racism.

In an email to Migrant Tales, the Itä-Uusimaa police state that motive is the primary factor in determining a hate crime. It pointed out in another email: a hate crime is registered as such if “the injured party [victim or other injured party], other parties or police see it as a hate crime.” [1]

This case, which must be one of the worst ever reported against a migrant in Finland irrespective of its classification, should help us to see some of the weaknesses that hate-crime victims face in this country.

One of these that became clear immediately is the police’s reaction. Not only did it take the police until February 27 to come out with a statement, the officer in charge of the case, Detective Chief Inspector Mikko Minkkinen, was quoted as saying in Helsingin Sanomat  and YLE News here is nothing that suggests it was a racist crime.

What is surprising is that the police makes such a claim without asking what the victim thinks. It may believe that since the attackers were intoxicated or that the attack was not planned absolves the attackers of a hate crime. Wrong.

A hate crime can occur when intoxicated and doesn’t have to be planned. Both factors are totally irrelevant.

The OSCE ODIHR Hate Crime Reporting manual establishes motive through a background check of the crime.

Some of these bias indicators that point to an Islamophobic or anti-migrant hate crime are:

  • Difference of ethnicity/background between the perpetrator and victim;
  • Timing
  • Proximity to a mosque as well or another venue associated with Muslims/migrants;
  • What does the victim’s community say?
  • What does the perpetrator say why he did it?
  • The vehemence of the attack – this is a very strong indicator.

Any two of the above would warrant the police investigation Bias/hate as a motive.

So far, and as far as we can gather, there are three points: (1) difference of ethnic background; (2) what does the victim’s community say; (3) and the vehemence of the attack.

The violence of the attack speaks volumes. Without going into gruesome detail, it took four hours to remove the victim’s stitches. A recent operation that the victim underwent took eight hours.

Read the full guide here.

According to another comprehensive guide for hate crime victims and NGOs published by the UK Race and Europe Network (EKREN) and the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), a hate crime sends a terrible message. The police should recognize that by attacking an individual, as in the case of the Pakistani, a warning to a broader group of people who share the same characteristics.

Continue reading “The violent attack against a Pakistani migrant in Vantaa should be treated as a hate crime”