Migrant Tales’2015 Hall of Fame of poor journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link.
Jan. 24
Suomi ei vedä maahanmuuttajia (Helsingin Sanomat)
What was left out? Today’s editorial on Helsingin Sanomat headlined, “Finland doesn’t attract migrants,” defends the country’s tightening of family reunification laws but surprisingly agrees with the anti-immigration populists, the Perussuomalaiset (PS),* that Finland should invest more in integration and offer more Finnish-language courses to newcomers. Is this only mentioned by the PS? Why does Helsingin Sanomat single out the PS in this respect? Do they want to make up with the anti-immigration party? Even if learning the local language is important, it isn’t a passport to equal membership in society. In Spain, where there are many Latin Americans, racism and social exclusion are common despite the fact that such migrants speak Spanish as their native tongue. Integration is a two-way process (not mentioned in the editorial) and certainly one reason why so few skilled migrants come to Finland is due to a number of factors like how do Finns relate to cultural diversity and Otherness? The cartoon depicts the prevailing attitude in all political parties: See no migrant, hear no migrant, speak no migrant.