Apart from tightening laws and plans to build a fence on parts of the Finnish-Russian border, politicians in Finland are debating shutting tourism from Russia to Finland. As I have mentioned previously, one of the biggest fears of the war in Ukraine is awakening Finland’s deep distrust and hatred of Russia. The hatred will not…
Tag: Russians
Record number of immigrants become Finnish citizens in 2012
A record number of immigrants got Finnish citizen in 2012, rising by 4,530 to 9,090 persons, according to Statistics Finland. The lion’s share of these naturalized Finns were Russians (2,480) followed by Somalis (610), Estonians (520) and Afghanis. While citizenship grants many rights to an immigrant, it does not mean that the person will be…
Länsi-Savo and toilet etiquette for Russians
An article on Friday’s Länsi-Savo, a Mikkeli-based daily, is a good example of how old stereotypes are kept alive in this part of Finland. The article, headlined ABC Juva teaches Russians how to use the toilet bowl, reveals more than anything else our stereotypes and prejudices against Russians. Länsi-Savo is the biggest newspaper in Etelä-Savo,…
FRA: Hate crime a daily matter in the European Union
Two recent reports published by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) confirm that hate crime happens daily throughout the European Union (EU). One of the reports reveals that 32% of Somalis interviewed by the agency that live in Finland reported being victims of hate crimes during the past 12 months. Other countries in…
THL study shows high amount of mental health problems suffered by Russians, Somalis and Kurds
The first question that came to mind when I read a disturbing study of Russian, Somali and Kurdish immigrants by the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is why now? If the THL study is the first-ever of its kind in Finland about immigrants’ health and living conditions, why has it taken such a long…
Selling xenophobia and racism in Finnish tabloids in the 1990s
The early 1990s were a gruesome time for Finland for a number of reasons. Apart from suffering one of its worst-ever recessions in a century, the ugly face of racism become ever-public. Fortunately at the time, immigrants accounted for less than 1% of the total population so there weren’t too many around to blame except for Russians, Estonians, Roma, blacks and Somalis in the tabloids.
Forgiving our past enemies and mending relations with new ones in Finland
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.