There are many things that one can do to retard or facilitate adaption of newcomers to Finland. One of the worst is constant suspicion by politicians who have no qualifications or understanding of migration. Good examples are National Coalition Party MP Pia Kauma who does not have the faintest idea about migrants but is still…
Tag: inclusion
KOTOUTUMINEN #14: Disseminate and vanish
Remember back in the 1990s when Finland brought Vietnamese refugees and dispersed them like pepper throughout Finland? It appeared back then that the main goal of the migration authorities was to disseminate newcomers and make them vanish. One matter that this type of coercive assimilation aimed at doing was to ensure that these Vietnamese boat…
KOTOUTUMINEN #13: There is no good Finnish word for inclusion just like with integration before
For decades, Finland has been such a far-flung country that it still does not have any good word for inclusion, never mind any willingness to promote it to newcomers. The same happened to the word “integration,” which became part of the Finnish language in the late-1990s. Those were the good old days when foreigners and…
QUOTE OF THE DAY: How to celebrate Finland’s Independence Day
The best present that we can receive on Finland’s Independence Day is an inclusive society that respects everyone irrespective of their background. Mutual respect is the bridge that unites this society. So set aside your medals, distinctions, and invitations to the President’s Independence Day ball because social equality and respect for diversity is the only…
No Labels No Walls to premiere in Helsinki 23rd-24th September
The Festival is organized by the group, No Labels No Walls, which consists of over 30 organizations from five different countries and brilliant individuals, whose idea is that separation is never equal, and who want to promote, activate and empower everyone to participate in life and society.
Part I: Racism causes trauma and mental suffering
Maailman Kuvalehti, a periodical which often takes up issues of xenophobia and racism in Finland more bravely than the mainstream media, cited the article Häpeää, itsesyytöksiä, masennusta – toistuvan rasismin vaikutukset mielenterveyteen voivat olla vakavat (Shame, self-blame, and depression – continuous racism encounter impact on mental wellbeing can be severe). Dated April 24th to a study by Robert T. Carter (University of Columbia), it stated that day-to-day exclusion encounters cause mental depression and symptoms similar to war trauma. Read the article here.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Finnish identity isn’t a monolithic slab held together by power, privilege, prejudice, and bigotry
The biggest challenge facing our culturally and ethnically (non-white) community this century is the narrow definition of who we are. As long as our definition excludes others, all efforts at “integrating” newcomers and ensuring that they become members of society will fail. The aims of our schools to teach children of foreign parents to become…
Naapuriäidit: I am a refugee, but I also have another story
Michelle Kaila Friba Majeed Friba Majeed was born in Balkh, Afghanistan. She came to Finland in 2014 as a refugee. She is presently doing a work practice at Nicehearts in Vantaa, mainly to practice her Finnish language skills. These are the kinds of details we, as migrants, might often exchange with others upon meeting….
Why are integration programs in Finland doomed to failure?
Here’s the billion-euro question: Why are integration programs in Finland usually doomed to failure? What can Finland and Europe learn from countries like Canada that have a more successful approach to integration?
Included – not integrated
Inclusion is when everyone is along per se. In Finland we are still struggling with integration issues. We need programmes and policies so that developmentally disabled people can live where other people are living. We need special laws to make sure that they can have the services they need. But those does not matter when…