Even if Finland reported on Monday a record rise in suspected hate crime cases in 2024, there has been little reaction by the government about the worrying trend. The silence and inaction, despite assurances by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo of the failed anti-racism program, speak volumes about the social ill.
The inaction and the hands-off approach of the government towards racism, despite assurances of the contrary, are at the heart of the problem. The government fuels racism by not doing anything.
Like with the government’s economic policies and promises to end indebtedness and create jobs and growth, it has failed as well in making Finland a less racist country.
While the Finnish government has publicly emphasized the importance of tackling discrimination, civil society groups and anti-racism advocates say that some political decisions and public rhetoric over the past years have normalized racism. They point particularly to immigration reforms, political disputes surrounding equality initiatives, and several controversies involving ministers.
Researchers note that Finland has long struggled with underreported racism, and that rising figures can also reflect increased reporting and awareness. Still, the pace and scale of the latest spike have killed debate over whether current policies are alleviating—or aggravating—the problem.
Government officials have not yet commented directly on the hate-crime report. Still, authorities have previously said that combating hate crime remains a priority, even if the report shows the tip of the iceberg.
Migrant Tales correctly predicted in 2023 that hate crimes would soar to new records the following year. The trend, unfortunately, will continue. 2025 will be another record year for hate crimes in Finland.
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is waging a hostile Islamophobic campaign to boost their low standings in opinion polls. The party is confident that the job will be done by increasing attacks on the migrant and minority community. That is the reason you hear and read PS politicians bashing migrants to divert attention from their disastrous economic policies.
One of these PS politicians is Wille Rydman whose shameful writing exposes the lie behind the story.
He claims in a column in a community paper, which the mainstream media would most likely never publish, that the far-right Great Replacement Theory is a perfect term to describe what is happening in Finland.
“All this is happening completely openly and largely as a result of political decisions. There is no conspiracy, nor is one needed. The end result is a Finland that is becoming less and less Finnish. A country that is rapidly being populated by people who are anything but Finnish,” he claimed.
So what’s wrong with the statement? For one, he is talking about foreigners taking over Finland and that white Finns will become a minority, a typical Great Replacement Theory conspiracy theory that has led in 2019 to the mass killing of Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand.
When you read the writings of people like Rydman, they forget to mention that following matters:
Only one conclusion arises after listening to President Donald Trump’s rant in the United States: culture war. This war aims to not only shift political power globally, but also in Europe from the center to the hard right.
Trump said that if we do not close our borders, forget about the climate crisis, and stop buying Russian oil, “our countries are going to hell.”
Apart from European far-right Trump sympathizers like Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Italy’s Georgia Meloni, there are several other cheerleaders in Finland, mainly from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party.
Vice President J.D. Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference, which many see as a turning point in EU-U.S. relations, was one where he downplayed the threat of Russia, claiming that Europe’s greatest security threat was unregulated migration and the exclusion of far-right political groups. In the face of widespread condemnation, PS Minister of Finance Riikka Purra praised Vance’s words as a great speech. “Freedom, freedom of speech, democracy; threats from within, inability to fight illegal immigration,” Purra posted on X.
If Purra’s comment was made in Spring, the latest one praising Trump came from Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio:
Writes Tavio on Facebook: “I don’t know how the mainstream media will report on this, but I listened to Trump’s speech at the UN today, and he made a lot of valid points about how open border policies are leading Europe to hell. Trump said that so-called asylum seekers are rewarding generosity with crime. European prisons are full of foreigners, who already make up more than half of the prison population in many countries. According to Trump, the migrant problem should be tackled head-on and those who do not belong in the country should be deported, but decision-makers are doing nothing because of political correctness. He also highlighted climate action as a failed scam that is impoverishing Europe and enriching China and others. Trump believed that Europeans are chasing unrealistic carbon targets and end up paying more for electricity and gasoline than others. Trump made these remarks to world leaders at the UN General Assembly, where it is unusual to hear such blunt talk that deviates from the narrative familiar to the mainstream media. What do you think? Will Europe finally take itself in hand, or will it continue to hush things up and bury its head in the sand?”
One wonders what can be done in light of this onslaught. For one, we should not give in and always place our arguments on the rule of law. Racism, for example, is against the law.
The last dictatorship (1976-83) we had in Argentina seemed invincible. Their downward spiral began when their mistaken invincibility turned against them, causing them to do foolish and terrible things.
The picture of a shirtless man celebrating shirtless with a Finnish flag, holding a can of beer, is one of the scariest pictures I’ve seen in Finland. It’s scary because we all know the deadly mix: alcohol and nationalism.
The picture below was taken when Finland won an ice hockey world championship match against Sweden in 2011.* Racialized people who turned up to celebrate were met by racist stares, even insults.
Surprisingly, Helsingin Sanomat still uses this picture, but for some, like me, what’s behind the person is scary.
Would you like to cross paths with this person?Source: Ilta-Sanomat
* We incorrectly stated that the picture above was taken after a 2016 match against Russia. The picture was taken in 2011 after Finland beat Sweden in the final world championship match. Thank you Niklas for pointing this out.
PS:n puheenjohtaja Riikka Purra ei näe mitään rasistista PS:n varapuheenjohtajan Teemu Keskisarjan purkauksessa A-studiossa. Miltä tilanne näyttäisi, jos korvaisimme sanan ”maahanmuuttaja” sanalla ”perussuomalainen”? Auttaisiko tämä Purraa ja hänen puoluettaan näkemään ongelman?
Alkuperänen sitaatti: “Väestönvaihto on ruma v-sana, mutta tosi. Yhden sukupolven saatossa yli kuusisataatuhatta ulkolaista Suomeen. Heitä on jo kaksi kertaa enemmän kuin suomenruotsalaisia.”
Päivitetty sitaatti: “Persunvaihto on ruma p-sana, mutta tosi. Yhden sukupolven saatossa yli kuusisataatuhatta perussuomalaisia Suomessa. Heitä on ja kaksi kertaa enemmän kun maahanmuuttajia.
Alkuperänen sitaatti: “Ja väestönvaihtajille yksi tärkeä huomautus. Pidot eivät parane väkeä vaihtamalla, pikemminkin päinvastoin. Siivot, suomalaiset pidot muuttuvat kehitysmaalaiseksi, sikalaksi ja verilöylyksi.”
Päivitetty sitaatti: “Ja persunvaihtajille yksi tärkeä huomautus. Pidot eivät parane väkeä vaihtamalla, pikemminkin päinvastoin. Siivot, pidot muuttuvat kehitysmaalaiseksi, sikalaksi ja verilöylyksi.”
Alkuperänen sitaatti: “Kutsui Suomeen tulevia maahanmuuttajia ‘heikkolaatuisiksi’.”
Alkuperänen sitaatti: “Onko joku meistä neljästä sitä mieltä, että esimerkiksi afrikkalaiset ja lähi-itäläiset ovat koulutuksellisesti, sivistyksellisesti, ammatillisesti samalla tasolla kuin suomalaiset?”
Päivitetty sitaatti: “Onko joku meistä neljästä sitä mieltä, että esimerkiksi perussuomalainen ja supisuomalainen ovat koulutuksellisesti, sivistyksellisesti, ammatillisesti samalla tasolla kuin monikultturisia suomalaisia?”
Alkuperäinen sitaatti: “Väestönvaihto on tilastollinen tosiseikka.” ja viitata “enimmäkseen heikkolaatuisiin tulokkaisiin”
Päivitetty sitaatti:“Persunvaihto on tilastollinen tosiseikka.” ja viitata “enimmäkseen heikkolaatuisiin tulokkaisiin”
Kesällä 2023, kun Petteri Orvon porvarihallitus oli juuri nimitetty, tuli tuoreelle pääministerille täydellisenä yllätyksenä valtiovarainministeriksi nimitetyn perussuomalaisen ”riikan” räikeä rasismi.
Ensin yritettiin homma laittaa Purran nuoruuden piikkiin, mutta kun Orpo sai toimittajilta kuulla tuoreemmistakin rasistisia kirjoituksia, Orpo joutui toteamaan, että eihän tuollaista tekstiä voi ymmärtää tai sallia.
Omalla tahollaan ”riikka” sanoi tuolloin heinäkuisena maanantaina, että hän ei omia kirjoituksiaan anteeksi pyydä. Tiistaina hän pyysi kirjoituksiaan anteeksi. Keskiviikkona Orpo ja Purra pitivät Kesärannan pihamaalla tiedotustilaisuuden. Purra sanoi anteeksipyyntönsä olleen aito. Rasismi oli kylläkin vain sisäpiirin huumoria. Petteri sanoi, että Riikan anteeksipyyntö oli vilpitön ja nyt on kaikki kunnossa. Kaikki hallituspuolueet olivat myös allekirjoittaneet rasisminvastaisen julkilausuman.
Tässä välissä olemme v. 2024 nähneet hallituksen isolla rahalla teettämän ”rasisminvastainen kampanjan”, johon juuri kukaan ei lähtenyt mukaan. Eikä tietysti kannattanutkaan lähteä – kuinka kummassa kansalaisia saataisiin pois rasismin tieltä, kun heitä koko ajan hallituksen ministerit siellä taluttavat.
The great replacement [Islamization] spells the end of the welfare society, the end of Finnish society.
Riikka Purra, finance minister and chairperson of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party
Wednesday’s A-studio with PS Vice President Teemu Keskisarja, Pia Kauma of the National Coalition Party, and Sofia Virta of the Green League was an eye-opener, a stark reminder of the racist undercurrents flowing beneath Finnish society and how the media perpetuates the social ill.
Even if Keskisarja has received a dubious reputation for his vocal fear-mongering of Muslims, his hateful ideology is rooted deeply in PS and Finnish ideology.
“The feast will not improve by changing [replacing the ethnicity of] people,” he was quoted as saying in A-studio. “Rather, the opposite is true. Those who enable this replacement will turn [Finland] into a developing country of pig stys and bloodbaths. These are the reasons why the great replacement angers me and the Finns Party.”
And the icing on the cake, he said that migrants have already destoyerd the Finnish welfare state but have partly created a catastrophe.
PS Vice President Teemu Keskisarja.
While some blame the PS’s poor showing in recent elections and opinion polls, the truth is that what Keskisarja said is not only harmful to migrants trying to find work and a place in society, but the toothless pushback from Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government, which is set to take the country down a runious path to weaken labor laws and social security benefits.
I’m always amused and saddened at the same time when political bullies like Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Interior Minister Mari Rantanen talk tough against migrants and other vulnerable minorities. The only way to challenge bullies is by giving them a taste of their own medicine
A tough (but in reality a weak) Rantanen slaps us with an ultimatum:
Studying the possibility of prohibiting Muslim women from wearing veils. Live like the locals or leave.
In my opinion, this is chickenshit populism that we should not underestimate. In the United States, we are seeing how the Trump Administration is targeting brown and black people.
Who is to say that something similar would not happen in Finland if the PS had the chance?
It’s no secret that the PS is a party that quietly supports Trump and his authoritarian tactics.
Even the party’s chairperson and finance minister, Riikka Purra, had warm words of support for US Vice J.D. Vance speech last year at the Munich Security Conference, which many see as a turning point in EU-US relations. Vance downplayed the threat of Russia, claiming that Europe’s greatest security threat was unregulated migration and the exclusion of far-right political groups. Purra praised Vance’s words as a great speech. “Freedom, freedom of speech, democracy; threats from within, inability to fight illegal immigration,” she posted on X.
Migrant Tales will begin to publish a regular weekly posting on the most racist/ xenophobic comments of the week. Why? Because the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* are bleeding in the polls and have therefore ratchet up their attacks against minorities like Muslims.
A new list will be published on Sundays.
Member of the European Parliament Sebastian Tynkkynen Tweets: “A question in the middle of summer: Is there anything good about Islam anywhere?
PerussuomalaisetMEP Sebastian Tynkkynen, 16 August 2025
MT comment:The charlatan hypocrisy of MEP Tynkkynen is striking! Here is a politician who has been convicted three times for ethnic agitation.
Tweets Tynkkynen: “Although this issue was not included in the government program and the RKP still believes that young girls can be veiled, Finland began investigating the ban on veils following a decision by Interior Minister Mari Rantanen.
Now pressure is being exerted on the RKP to introduce a ban on veils in Finland.
This is a matter of girls’ and women’s rights.”
Perussuomslaiset MEP Sebastian Tynkkynen, August 2025
MT comment:Read the above comment about Tynkkynen, who in our book is an opportunist poitician who would care less about the wellbeing of Muslim girls.
Kaisa Garedew is at it again with these two posts on Facebook: “Muslims to Muslim countries,” and “ALL oppresive Islamist headscarves in schools should be banned, including hijabs [veils].“
PS MP Kaisa Garedew, August 2025
MT Comment: It is pathetic that we have politicians like Garedew who believe that their mandate in parliament gives them the divine right to attack Muslims and sexual minorities.
PUBLISHED 12 AUGUST 2025
“Society must first and foremost take care of its own. That is why zero asylum seekers is a good goal. And that is also why, due to unhealthy incentives [to asylumm seekers], it is necessary to reduce state subsidies to a minimum, reduce the refugee-quota scheme to zero, and abolish municipal and regional area compensation for integration.“
Mari Rantanen, Perussuomalaiset (PS)* minister of the interior, 12 August 2025
MT comment:Mari Rantanen is spearheading the PS’ plan to halt asylum seekers to zero even if it means ditching our respect for human rights. Rantanen’s and the PS’ thinking is the following: never trust migrants and pass laws that message your great suspicion of them.
“Why do we have to force these cultures, which are frankly fucked, upon Finland? How is it possible that we have political parties that support the beating of women? Women are not beaten in Western countries! Think about it! Women are beaten on the streets of “liberal” Europe and Finland. I don’t want this kind of Finland.“
Laura Huhtasaari is an MP for PS, August 2025
MT comment:Huhtasaari was a rising star fuelled by her hatred of Muslims. As if rising from the grave after a long lapse of silence, Huhtasaari falsely claims that “women are not beaten in Western countries.” She forgets to mention that Finland is the second most violent place in Europe for women.
“The ban on headscarves is only the first step in saving Finland from Islamization. Islam does not belong in Finland.“
Kaisa Garedew, PS MP, 11 August 2025
MT comment: Kaisa Garedew is one of the most hateful politicians in Finland. Her comments about Islam show that she has unresolved issues.
“I am truly concerned. There are many Islamic groups in Finland, some of which are covert. They operate under the guise of the Palestinian issue and are growing rapidly in Finland. I have informed the security police about them. For my own safety, I cannot name or reveal them here. For example, there is a large network in Oulu…
…I can provide further information about the organizations and their connections.“
Katariina Reponen, Hyvinkää city councilor, Perussuommalaiset, August 2025
MT comment: Reponen is another PS politicians who sees Muslims under her bed and even claims to work with the security police to uncover Islamic groups, which she claims are a danger to society. Paranoia?
Perussuommslaiset (PS)* Finance Minister Riikka Purra’s announcement of 900-billion-euro cuts in next year’s budget is seen by some a political stunt with a strong anti-immigration PS stamp. On the same day as Purrra’s announcment, Matias Turkkila, the editor of the party’s newspaper and the main strategist of the PS’ xenophobic message, became Purra’s special advisor.
A coincidence? Not.
One Yle story described Turkkila as “a master of political provocation.”
And that is what he is. Turkkila is the perfect advisor to Purra because what he does well is to provoke and polarize.
It remains to be seen if Turkkila and breathing sronger life into the PS’ anti-immmigraion message will save it from itself.
Even so, I don’t believe Turkkila is very talented in his racist provocations. He knows, however, to exploit the racist undercurrent that flows in Finland.
Turkkila’s, Purra’s, and the PS’ victimization of minorities like Muslims is not only racist but affects, for example, innocent children at school. The most shameful matter is that the media and many politicians cannot muster up enough courage to denounce such racism, which explains why Turkkila is still kept in some regard by the mainstream media.
