A new book called Suomen somalit by Yusuf M. Mubarak, Eva Nilsson and Niklas Saxén reinforces what has been already known about Finland’s Somali community: racism and social exclusion appear to be the norm.
Tag: Somali community in Finland
Migrant Tales (December 9, 2013): Fadumo Dayib – Run, Nigger, Run
I came to this country as a refugee in 1990, at the time of recession and when foreigners where a rarity. As a result, we had become a “Somali shock” overnight. It was common at the time to hear racial slurs, to wake up to the sounds of “perkele”, to drink tea to “mutakuono” and to dance to “vitun neekeri”. People would stop to gawk on the streets, kids yelling “look mommy, a nigger”. Grandmothers would ambush me in the swimming hall shower and scrub me down, hoping to wash the color off. Others, after a few pints, would come over to touch my hair and make inappropriate propositions. I went from being an individual, with aspirations, feelings and rights, to a degraded sub-human: a “mud face”, “nigger”, “whore”, and “social loafer”.
Fadumo Dayib: Run, Nigger, Run
Fadumo Dayib I came to this country as a refugee in 1990, at the time of recession and when foreigners where a rarity. As a result, we had become a “Somali shock” overnight. It was common at the time to hear racial slurs, to wake up to the sounds of “perkele”, to drink tea to…
Lieksa, Finland, councilperson who wanted a “Somali-free” meeting room gets sacked as the PS’ town council leader
Esko Saastamoinen, the Perussuomalaiset (PS) councilperson from Lieksa who demanded that a ”Somali-free” meeting room for his delegation, has been sacked as the PS’ town council leader, according to Karjalainen, a Joensuu-based daily. Saastamoinen was, however, able to retain his post as the party’s Lieksa town board first vice president. The PS councilperson faces as…
PS leader of Lieksa, Finland, refuses to be in the same room where Somalis meet
Taking into account all the problems and positive solutions that have been found in the town of Lieksa in the region of South Karelia concerning its over 200-strong Somali community, it is disturbing that a city councilmen like Esko Saastamoinen, Perussuomalaiset (PS) town council leader, states he doesn’t want to be in the same room…
The social tragedy of the family reunification problem of Somalis in Finland
The Finnish Immigration Service states in a report (see page 4) that at the end of 2011 there were a total of 6,100 family reunification applications by Somalis living in the country. Even so, only 329 family reunifications took place on average annually between 1999 and 2010, according to the Refugee Advice Center. No matter how one…
What do Somali minors sent to Somalia tell us about their treatment in Finland?
A news story on Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest daily, claims that Somali minors living in Finland are being taken against their will to Somalia. The daily speaks of ”a few” cases but suggests that in 2001 the figure may be around 50. Statstics Finland claims that during 2001-11 there were about 200 minors who had…
A letter to Jussi Halla-aho from Bashir Roble
Perussuomalaiset MP Jussi Halla-aho, Have you ever visited Somalia? Do you have any Somali friends? I know that both answers are negative because of the way you speak about my people and my country. MPs like you and others who think the same way, like Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen, belong to the same group. You…
Halla-aho takes another swipe at Finland’s Somali community
It’s pretty easy to note that one of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s dynamic duo, Jussi Halla-aho and James Hirvisaari, are raising the stakes as the municipal elections near on October 28. We recently heard Hirvisaari throwing low punches at homosexuals and today Halla-aho would be ready to stop giving protection to Somalis, who come from a…
Finnish men assault elderly Somali woman (Part 2)
By Roble Bashir and Enrique Tessieri Migrant Tales met on Thursday the elderly Somali woman who was assaulted in April by Finnish men at Helsinki’s Myllypuro metro station. This is part two of the interview with Abdulle Korad Musse, 63. For the elderly Somali woman, who speaks to us with the help of an interpreter, racism is a…