Tag: xenophobia

Migrant Tales: “I hope what I write isn’t true”

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

After about five years of existence, 887 blog entries (including this one) and over 20,140 comments, I would like to make a confession: Deep inside I have always hoped that what I write isn’t true. Finland is a noble country and noble countries stay clear of racism and xenophobia, right? 

Still I do not know what is worse: The xenophobia, which has followed Finland like a shadow throughout its history, or the silence and indifference of too many politicians, academics, media and society in general. True, we are becoming familiar with this dark side of ourselves. Banishing our fears and prejudices will take a national effort and generations of hard work.

A fellow student from Kenya at Turku University in 1979 threw a cold bucket of reality on my face. John K. said that he was commonly harassed in public, complete strangers even threw stones at him. When I asked immigration researchers at the time why Finland had such a draconian attitude towards foreigners, his answer shocked me: “It’s to keep the trash out.”

At the time, there lived under 10,000 immigrants in the country.

The PS councilman Tommi Rautio scandal offered us yet another crude wake up. He, like many before him, forced us to see something unpleasant about us: the xenophobia and racism that has lurked out there in our society for a long time. It survives and continues to grows because of our lack of resolve.

How many Rautios are there in Finland? We could safely state that there are still too many.

I started Migrant Tales in 2007 and it didn’t take long for this blog to find its identity and place among a wide international group of bloggers.

Every day I write a blog entry I hope that what I say isn’t true. I tell myself, however, that that hope speaking back to me is nothing is nothing more than our denial.

Migrant Tales: "I hope what I write isn't true"

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

After about five years of existence, 887 blog entries (including this one) and over 20,140 comments, I would like to make a confession: Deep inside I have always hoped that what I write isn’t true. Finland is a noble country and noble countries stay clear of racism and xenophobia, right? 

Still I do not know what is worse: The xenophobia, which has followed Finland like a shadow throughout its history, or the silence and indifference of too many politicians, academics, media and society in general. True, we are becoming familiar with this dark side of ourselves. Banishing our fears and prejudices will take a national effort and generations of hard work.

A fellow student from Kenya at Turku University in 1979 threw a cold bucket of reality on my face. John K. said that he was commonly harassed in public, complete strangers even threw stones at him. When I asked immigration researchers at the time why Finland had such a draconian attitude towards foreigners, his answer shocked me: “It’s to keep the trash out.”

At the time, there lived under 10,000 immigrants in the country.

The PS councilman Tommi Rautio scandal offered us yet another crude wake up. He, like many before him, forced us to see something unpleasant about us: the xenophobia and racism that has lurked out there in our society for a long time. It survives and continues to grows because of our lack of resolve.

How many Rautios are there in Finland? We could safely state that there are still too many.

I started Migrant Tales in 2007 and it didn’t take long for this blog to find its identity and place among a wide international group of bloggers.

Every day I write a blog entry I hope that what I say isn’t true. I tell myself, however, that that hope speaking back to me is nothing is nothing more than our denial.

Selling xenophobia and racism in Finnish tabloids in the 1990s

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

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. 

Migrant Tales got a hold of some Ilta-Sanomat tabloid ad posters from the 1990s from the Migration Institute of Turku.

A rapid glance of them shows how isolated Finland felt from the world and how that world was supposedly caving in on Finland. Russians were depicted as prostitutes and mafiosi types, while blacks, especially Somalis were seen by Ilta-Sanomat as people who had “swindled” their way to  Finland or were spreading HIV.

Another ad poster below warns readers: “Somalis to remain in Finland.”

Or what about this one from August 13, 1992: “Somalis’ phone bill totals hundreds of thousands [of marks].”

Another odd ad asks readers: “Why do Russians irritate Finns?”

Finnish State Railways (VR) was even cited: “VR will hinder refugees from coming to Finland.”

If one wants to dive into the dark side of Finland’s issues with xenophobia and racism, check out what was written on these tabloid ads in the 1990s.

The fact that neither Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti would think twice today about publishing such racist stuff shows that we are making some progress but we still have a long way to go.

The day when xenophobia is acknowledged as a real social problem in Finland by a wide spectrum of society we will discover another painful truth: It will take generations to cure.

Why are Finland’s politicians still so silent?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Have you heard anything from any government official never mind a politician being outraged by what happened in Oulu after Perussuomalaiset (PS) councilman Tommi Rautio’s  infamous suggestion to decorate a cold-blooded killer? It took thirteen days for Rautio to finally get sacked from the PS. Few appear to be moved by the deaths, at least publicly. 

Taking into account that in a span of about three weeks there were three deaths involving people with immigrant backgrounds, not even Interior Minister Päivi Rässänen offered a word of sympathy for the Somali and immigrant community about the tragedy.

While it is wrong to state that the killings didn’t impact Finns, the media acted rapidly in reporting the event and condemning it on editorials.

The silence of our government and our politicians to such violence offers a good example why racism and prejudice roam freely. Does a Finnish Breivik have to appear and spread terror in our  society before we wake up alas to the threat that racism and xenophobia pose?

Let’s hope not.

Why are Finland's politicians still so silent?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Have you heard anything from any government official never mind a politician being outraged by what happened in Oulu after Perussuomalaiset (PS) councilman Tommi Rautio’s  infamous suggestion to decorate a cold-blooded killer? It took thirteen days for Rautio to finally get sacked from the PS. Few appear to be moved by the deaths, at least publicly. 

Taking into account that in a span of about three weeks there were three deaths involving people with immigrant backgrounds, not even Interior Minister Päivi Rässänen offered a word of sympathy for the Somali and immigrant community about the tragedy.

While it is wrong to state that the killings didn’t impact Finns, the media acted rapidly in reporting the event and condemning it on editorials.

The silence of our government and our politicians to such violence offers a good example why racism and prejudice roam freely. Does a Finnish Breivik have to appear and spread terror in our  society before we wake up alas to the threat that racism and xenophobia pose?

Let’s hope not.

Finland’s PS executive board sacks one member from the party

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

After the decision by the Perussuomalaiset (PS) executive board on Saturday to sacrifice Tommi Rautio, it is pretty clear that Timo Soini’s party has lowered the bar even lower. It is perfectly fine today to be a PS member as long as you don’t condone violence publicly.

You can, however, be a PS member and belong to a neo-Nazi association and even be fined for hate speech and defaming a religion never mind making the usual populist statements. You can be openly homophobic and spread urban tales about the Romany minority on Facebook and still be a PS member.

The violence and hostility that we commonly see coming from the PS is as sinister as the far-right thread on Facebook that condoned a cold-blooded killing. It is upholding a culture of hatred, mistrust and constant war against immigrants, Finns with international backgrounds, minorities, even women.

Let’s admit it, if Soini and the PS national board think that only one person should be sacked from the party after offering us scandal after scandal splashed on Finnish tabloids every month, it proves what we have been saying on Migrant Tales all along: Cut off racism and far-right nationalism from the PS and the party will deflate into insignificance.

In Magrant Tales’ opinion, Soini is no different from the party’s far-right wing led by PS MP Jussi Halla-aho.

The PS leader knows how to sugar-coat  the same anti-immigrant and anti-immigration message.

There is a very good analysis on Savon Sanomat today (in Finnish) that explains why the PS’ popularity has suffered a significant fall in the polls.

Finland's PS executive board sacks one member from the party

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

After the decision by the Perussuomalaiset (PS) executive board on Saturday to sacrifice Tommi Rautio, it is pretty clear that Timo Soini’s party has lowered the bar even lower. It is perfectly fine today to be a PS member as long as you don’t condone violence publicly.

You can, however, be a PS member and belong to a neo-Nazi association and even be fined for hate speech and defaming a religion never mind making the usual populist statements. You can be openly homophobic and spread urban tales about the Romany minority on Facebook and still be a PS member.

The violence and hostility that we commonly see coming from the PS is as sinister as the far-right thread on Facebook that condoned a cold-blooded killing. It is upholding a culture of hatred, mistrust and constant war against immigrants, Finns with international backgrounds, minorities, even women.

Let’s admit it, if Soini and the PS national board think that only one person should be sacked from the party after offering us scandal after scandal splashed on Finnish tabloids every month, it proves what we have been saying on Migrant Tales all along: Cut off racism and far-right nationalism from the PS and the party will deflate into insignificance.

In Magrant Tales’ opinion, Soini is no different from the party’s far-right wing led by PS MP Jussi Halla-aho.

The PS leader knows how to sugar-coat  the same anti-immigrant and anti-immigration message.

There is a very good analysis on Savon Sanomat today (in Finnish) that explains why the PS’ popularity has suffered a significant fall in the polls.

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Finland's ever-growing cultural diversity is an opportunity to overcome past fears

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

One of the matters that Finnish academics, politicians, policy makers never mind the general public missed out completely about our ever-growing cultural diversity is that our history and myths are hindering us to see the big picture.  The official and unofficial response to our culturally diverse society appears to be a subtle “no.”

As there are Finns who don’t get it there are others who do. Those that do  build bridges and pathways to our society with mutual acceptance between ourselves and our newest members of our society.

The debate in Finland concerning the big picture about cultural diversity is muddled by our impaired view from inside those trenches that we have dug. Our violent history and the cold war, which kept us geopolitically near-isolated from the rest of the world during 1945-91, are some shovels we have used to dig ourselves in that hole.

We should make an effort to get out of there because the task will take generations.

Debate about our cultural diversity and that big picture of Finnish society in this century should begin first and foremost among ourselves. In that debate, we must make an effort to banish our historical grudges and, most importantly, our fears as a nation of Russia and the outside world.

Any integration program that does not tackle these issue is doomed to failure. Xenophobia and racism will be the most effective weapon of choice used by Finns to keep that “Other” world in its place.

This route is not only a reckless one but very expensive to tax payers. Politicians should be told that integration, inclusion and opportunities will save Finnish tax payers a lot of money as opposed to jumping on the anti-immigration bandwagon and spreading urban tales.

As long as some of us continue to live inside those deep trenches, our society will always be threatened by populists and the far right as we saw in the April election, which reinforced institutional and colorblind racism in Finland.

Matters are in a very critical state at present. So much so in fact, that some Finns don’t even believe that racism and populism aren’t a threat to our society.

Past wars have traumatized our country but isn’t time ripe to attempt to heal those wounds?

Like it or not, our ever-growing culturally diverse society is offering us that opportunity.

Finland’s ever-growing cultural diversity is an opportunity to overcome past fears

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

One of the matters that Finnish academics, politicians, policy makers never mind the general public missed out completely about our ever-growing cultural diversity is that our history and myths are hindering us to see the big picture.  The official and unofficial response to our culturally diverse society appears to be a subtle “no.”

As there are Finns who don’t get it there are others who do. Those that do  build bridges and pathways to our society with mutual acceptance between ourselves and our newest members of our society.

The debate in Finland concerning the big picture about cultural diversity is muddled by our impaired view from inside those trenches that we have dug. Our violent history and the cold war, which kept us geopolitically near-isolated from the rest of the world during 1945-91, are some shovels we have used to dig ourselves in that hole.

We should make an effort to get out of there because the task will take generations.

Debate about our cultural diversity and that big picture of Finnish society in this century should begin first and foremost among ourselves. In that debate, we must make an effort to banish our historical grudges and, most importantly, our fears as a nation of Russia and the outside world.

Any integration program that does not tackle these issue is doomed to failure. Xenophobia and racism will be the most effective weapon of choice used by Finns to keep that “Other” world in its place.

This route is not only a reckless one but very expensive to tax payers. Politicians should be told that integration, inclusion and opportunities will save Finnish tax payers a lot of money as opposed to jumping on the anti-immigration bandwagon and spreading urban tales.

As long as some of us continue to live inside those deep trenches, our society will always be threatened by populists and the far right as we saw in the April election, which reinforced institutional and colorblind racism in Finland.

Matters are in a very critical state at present. So much so in fact, that some Finns don’t even believe that racism and populism aren’t a threat to our society.

Past wars have traumatized our country but isn’t time ripe to attempt to heal those wounds?

Like it or not, our ever-growing culturally diverse society is offering us that opportunity.

Three anti-immigration PS MPs will pay Hirvisaari's fine for hate speech

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Enrique Tessieri

Three far-right anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) MPs, Juho Eerola, Jussi Halla-aho and Olli Immonen, announced today  in a statement that they will pay PS MP James Hirvisaari’s 1,424-euro fine slapped  for hate speech by a Kouvola court in December. The statement, which was signed the three PS MPs, states that the fine was politically motivated. 

Instead of arguing the absurd defense line of the three PS MPs, let’s see who these three far-right anti-immigration politicians are. Starting with Jussi Halla-aho, he was fined for defaming a religion in 2009. Halla-aho is a Counter-Jihadist who has written on blogs like the Gates of Vienna, warning us about how Muslims are taking over Europe.

Juho Eerola is another anti-immigration politician who praises fascism and Mussolini’s corporatist economic system because it had no unemployment. Certainly he expresses such opinions carefully and in a hush-hush fashion. When his aide, Ulla Pyysalo’s name came up on a neo-Nazi membership list of the Suomen Kansalinen Vastarinta, Eerola did not consider this enough grounds to sack her.

Olli Immonen has warned on a number of occasions about an ensuing war between Christian white Europe and Islam. Immonen has been remarkably quiet after the cold-blooded killings in Oulu that saw a naturalized Finn of Moroccan background gunned down by a white Finn.

The three, including Hirvisaari, are members of the Nazi-spirited Suomen Sisu association, which strongly discourages white Finns marrying non-Finns.

Of all the three, the eeriest has got to be former Finnish Railways (VR) employee MP Hirvisaari. After the tragedy that struck Norway on July 22 when Anders Breivik went on the rampage, Hirvisaari blamed the “100% rapes” committed by immigrants on Norwegians and that country’s loose immigration policy for the killings.