Tag: xenophobia

The Finnish police service’s deep denial of racism among its ranks is no surprise

Posted on by Migrant Tales

The publishing of the racist comments in a secret Facebook group for the Finnish police by online news site Long Play shouldn’t surprise us, even if Interior Minister Paula Risikko  and National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehminen suggest the contrary. 

A Somali Finn, who spoke on condition of anonymity, wasn’t surprised at all by the news of the secret Facebook group.

“The news doesn’t surprise me at all because the police in Finland are racist,” he said. “They can be racist and nothing happens to them. Who can you trust?”

According to Helsinki Times, some racists comments on the secret group’s wall include ridiculing the asylum seeker who attempted to commit suicide by hanging himself from a tree at Helsinki Station Square in March. The comment claimed that the hapless asylum seeker couldn’t even succeed at hanging himself.

Other comments argued that black people are inferior due to their culture and genetic makeup. The policeman substantiated his claim by stating that blacks hadn’t succeeded in any country.

The Facebook group shared articles from anti-immigration and racist groups like online magazine MV-lehti, far-right groups Suomen Sisu and Britain First.

The Facebook group consisted of over 2,800 members, or about one third of Finland’s police force of 7,000,according to Long Play.

Read the full story here.

Despite the Minister Risikko’s and National Police Commissioner Koleheminen’s constant assurances that the police service has zero tolerance for racism, the exposure of the secret Facebook group reveals much wider problems like denial and disrespect towards our ever-growing culturally diverse community.

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A tragic weekend that encourages us to challenge social ills like racism, bigotry and inequality in Finland, Europe and globally

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Over the weekend a lot of things happened: The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) hosted a seminar in Helsinki on anti-migration racism Saturday that was overshadowed by a closed Finnish police Facebook page with racist comments, a comprehensive story on ethnic profiling in Finland, and another terrorist attack in London that left seven killed and 48 injured.

If so much bad news can happen in one day, it shows once again the crucial importance of anti-racism activism, human rights, the rule of law and exposing those who want to capitalize politically on terrorism and water down our inalienable civil rights.

ENAR’s seminar on Saturday in the Eastern Helsinki neighborhood of Myllypuro discussed a lot of salient issues facing Finland such as equality data collection, ethnic profiling, anti-racism education, hate crime laws and migrants in sports.

If there was one clear message from the panelists and the participants that took part in the seminar, it was that activism, lobbying and intersectionality are just a few vital tools to challenge social ills facing our society.

At the end of the seminar, the participants voted in favor of advancing the cause of equality data collection in Finland as well as hate crime legislation.

The aim of the seminar in Helsinki was to debate, identify and prioritize burning issues in Finland concerning racism.

With ENAR’s resources and expertise, the participants plan to further equality collection data collection and improve hate crime legislation.

A follow-up seminar will be held at the end of October.

Source: Facebook.

Three events that overshadowed ENAR’s seminar over the weekend was a racist Finnish police closed Facebook site that was exposed and made Interior Minister Paula Risikko and National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehminen look awkward after their countless assurances that the police service has zero tolerance for racism.

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Even if politics makes strange bedfellows, Timo Soini’s bed partners are eerie

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Remember the speech below when Timo Soini and the Perussuomalaisiet were riding the crest of a wave after his populist anti-immigration won the parliamentary elections of 2011, when it saw its MPs rise to 39 from 5 in the previous election?

Today as foreign minister of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government, Soini wants to keep as big as distance from the UKIP which he once admired because of that party’s anti-EU stance.

If we look at UKIP today, all we can say is that its leader Nigel Farage made a big impact on the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union and then imploded.

Moreover, Farage, who is a “person of interest” in FBI investigation concerning US President Donald Trump and his relations with Russia, called Vladimir Putin the leader he most admired, in a 2014 interview.

One matter that Farage and Soini have in common is that they don’t know how to judge their political allies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl5PviXNRyk

From the historic victory of the PS in 2011, the party is being eaten alive today by the very racist and ultranationalistic forces that Soini unleashed.

The story of the UKIP is a bit similar.

Continue reading “Even if politics makes strange bedfellows, Timo Soini’s bed partners are eerie”

Sampo Terho’s and Jussi Hallo’s political calling to keep Finland white

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Watching the A-studio debate between Sampo Terho and Jussi Halla-aho, the two candidates vying for the leadership of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, was a good example of how low Finland has stooped as a nation.

These two politicians, which have made good careers with the help of social media by spreading hatred, mistrust and hostility towards certain ethnic and religious groups in Finland, parroted their hardline stances on an even tougher immigration policy for the country.

It does seem incredible that a nation like Finland, which claims to be a Nordic welfare state built on social equality, has representatives of a government party speaking of asylum seekers, migrants and cultural diversity as if it were political canon fodder to secure their own political careers and that of the party’s.

 
Watch full debate here.

Terho mentioned that the most important issues facing Finland was the “crisis” brought on by asylum seekers and slow economic growth. Halla-aho was no different: He was worried about EU federalism, immigration and entrepreneurship.

The message of both politicians is clear: Let’s keep Finland white.

Both of them went on record saying that all asylum seekers should be put in detention centers like in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, make Finland officially a monolingual country at the cost of Swedish, and close the borders to asylum seekers even if it meant breaching international agreements.

If these two politicians were able to lead Finland, it wouldn’t take long for it to join the same club as Hungary and Poland, where basic civil rights are being challenged.

* The official translation to Finnish of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party is the Finns Party. In our opinion, it is not only a horrible translation, but one that is misguided. A direct translation of Perussuomalaiset in English would be something like “basic” or “fundamental Finn.” Such terms like the Finns Party of True Finns promote as well in our opinion nativist nationalism and racism. We, therefore, at Migrant Tales prefer to use in our postings the Finnish name of the party once and thereafter the acronym PS.

Finland’s blind spot of bigotry and white privilege is the Perussuomalaiset

Posted on by Migrant Tales

If there is one party that has brought out bigotry, racism and populist far-right ideology as of late it is the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. But Finland is so much in denial about its bigotry and white privilege that it sees no harm in the PS. This means that the government will do little, except offer lip service on how to challenge social ills like racism. 

That blind spot is costing Finland a lot of problems as the election for new PS chairman in early June  shows. PS MEP Jussi Halla-aho, who was convicted for ethnic agitation in 2012, is the favorite to win the chairmanship of the party against Minister of Culture, Sport, and European Issues Sampo Terho, according to Helsingin Sanomat.

Finland’s face of racism: MEP Jussi Halla-aho and Minister of Culture, Sport and European Issues Sampo Terho. Source: Helsingin Sanomat.

According to a poll, 40% said they would vote for Halla-aho  and 26% Terho. The poll showed as well that 25% of those polled were undecided.

If I were a bigot and voted for the PS, I would certainly support Halla-aho because he’s the real thing, not a watered down version like Terho, who has become at least in image a more diluted version of the latter’s racist views.

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The old and new Cadillac model of Finnish PS racism

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Racism is like a Cadillac, they bring out a new model every year.

Malcolm X

If you want to see how racism in Finland is like a Cadillac, check out two Perussuomalaiset (PS)* politicians below. One is of a dying breed and another one of a new “Cadillac” model, Minister of Culture, Sport and European Issues Sampo Terho. 

City councilman, Markus Jukarainen, who was sacked Tuesday from the local PS party of Kuopio represents a dying breed. If you look at Jukarainen’s clothing style below nothing could be picture better the old Cadillac PS politicians: black dress, PS and Finnish flag sicker and the Finnish lion chain hanging conspicuously in front of him.

Jukarainen got sacked from the PS for making inappropriate comments on social media after repeated warnings from the anti-immigration party. Considering that the PS bases in large part its message on racism and Islamophobia, it does look pretty bad in your CV that you got sacked from such a party.

The new Cadillac model of racism in Finland is instead of saying things straight out, you have to fine tune your racism and speak in code.

Terho is a good example as is Jussi Halla-aho, who got sentenced for ethnic agitation in 2012 and breaching the sanctity of religion.

Believe it or not, these type of local politicians exist in Finland. Source: YLE.

A dying PS breed above and a new Cadillac model politician below.

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Defining white Finnish privilege #35: Case Sampo Terho and the ministry of (dis)culture

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Why are you so surprised that Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Sampo Terho is Finland’s new minister of culture, sport and European affairs? The Swedish-language HBL expresses dismay and there are many others among us who appear just as awestruck by the appointment. 

Terho, and everything that he represents, are the best example of white Finnish privilege and extreme denial. He is a dangerous example of how official Finland plays down racism and bigotry and its impact on our society.

I’m still amazed by how the Finnish media, politicians and other institutions, who should know better, continue to deny and flirt with fascism, racism, bigotry.

Sampo Terho. Source: perussuomalaiset.fi.

Swedish People’s Party chairwoman Anna-Maja Henriksson of the opposition naturally sees Terho as the wrong person to head the new ministry. Terho has led the charge with other groups as chairman of the Association of Finnish Culture and Identity to undermine the role of the Swedish language in this country.

Swedish is the second official language of Finland.

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PS MP Ville Tavio: An Islamophobe that is bent on keeping white Finnish power and privilege at any cost and lie

Posted on by Migrant Tales

When publishing anti-immigration rhetoric by politicians like Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Ville Tavio, it’s very important to lead with the following warning: “MP Talk gives members of parliament the opportunity to share their views on Finnish society with an international audience. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Helsinki Times.“

MP Tavio is a PS MP who has declared war and wants to relegate non-white Finns and migrants to second- and third-class citizens.

Read the full op-ed piece at your peril here. He makes impossible campaign promises that will catch up with him one day like with the PS in the municipal elections of Sunday. The PS are known as a turncoat party because they’ve broken most of their campaign promises.

A recent op-ed piece in Uusi Suomi by the MP from Turku suggested that the Finnish constitution should be changed to give Finns priority over foreigners when it comes to rights.

“The sovereignty that the Finnish state entitles it to decide that its primary task is safeguarding the rights of its own citizens [at the cost of migrants],” he wrote.

Tavio is a lawyer so he should know better what the constitution says and guarantees about equality before the law. His issue, like all of the far-right anti-immigration wing of the PS, is to keep white Finnish power and privilege even if it means relegating migrants to second- and third-class citizens.

The op-ed piece in the Helsinki Times is another example of his disdain and hostility towards migrants and minorities in Finland.

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Shamsul Alam is one of the new brave faces of Finland that nobody can make go away

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Racism and hate speech are social ills that have spread like wildfire in Finland. Racists in Finland come from the same place than other racists in other countries. It is unacceptable that in a country like Finland, which prides itself as a modern Nordic welfare state, that racism and hate speech can see another day with near-impunity. 

Finland will hold municipal elections on Sunday and there are a number of minority candidates running for city council. YLE reported that two municipal candidates of Helsinki, Green Party MP Ozan Yanar and Suldaan Said Ahmed of the Left Alliance, have received death threats as well as a constant barrage of racist abuse.

Kerava city council candidate, Shamsul Alam of the Left Alliance, has had to take his share of racist attacks. He has turned to the police to file charges against his attackers but neither has he heard from them nor his attackers been quieted and brought to justice.

The businessman from Bangladesh, who has lived in Finland for seven years, was brought to my attention by a Green Party candidate from the same city, Zoila Forss, who has faced as well her generous share of racist abuse.

The question we should be asking ourselves is why does this type of hate speech persist?  Why aren’t we hearing any strong condemnation from the government and other politicians? Is it because part of this hate speech emanates from the halls of power?

Silence is a political statement as well.

“I’m not too hopeful that justice will be brought against these people,” said Alam. “Apart from racism, why do these people attack me in such a way?”

The Left Alliance candidate has two children under the age of 7 years and he’s worried about their safety.

“I’m really very concerned about the safety of my children and must take steps to protect them,” he continued. “We still have to challenge racism and one of the best ways is to expose it in the media.”

“Even so, the government and politicians must speak out as well,” he added. “The police have yet to act on the racist harassment I have received.”

Apart from the police, what is the responsibility of social media multinational companies like Facebook in spreading such hatred and racism?

We wish Alam the best of luck in the municipal elections and are saddened by all the racist flack he has had to endure.

He’s the brave face of the new Finland, no question about that.

Kerava is a city located about 30km north of Helsinki. In this ad, Alam states that he wants to bring the opinions of migrants to the city council and that more resources should be put in integration schemes. The right to equal education of children and youths should be guaranteed.

 

One of Alam’s harassers. He tells him to f**k off and go back to his own country and teach his own kind.

Fake profiles, sickening comments abound on Facebook against people who exercise their civil rights.

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The cheap journalism of Helsingin Uutiset and its editor’s long roots in the anti-immigration movement of Finland

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Two of the worst complimentary publications in the Helsinki and Greater Helsinki area Helsingin Uutiset and Vantaan Sanomat. Since they don’t charge people to read their publications they depend heavily on advertising revenues. The way that they get such revenues and readers is by spreading xenophobia and suspicion of migrants and minorities. 

The latest example is of a story by Helsingin Uutuset that claims that sexual crimes have soared to dizzying heights.

Read the full story here.

The story has a lot of holes. For one, it takes a jab below the belt and claims that somehow the large number of asylum seekers have something to do with this issue. For example, the story doesn’t clarify – but suggests instead – that it’s the fault of asylum seekers without mentioning how many tourists and non-asylum seekers it’s talking about.

It doesn’t even tell us if the cases that it cites are suspected and convicted rape cases.

We don’t know and we’re not supposed to know. Even so, Helsingin Uutiset’s shoddy reporting is no surprise since this is the way the publication spreads falsehoods and racism about migrants while attracting advertisers.

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