A Muslim woman who was four-months pregnant was attacked Sunday by around ten white Finn suspects at the Itäkeskus shopping center located in Eastern Helsinki, reports Helsingin Sanomat.
This story has been updated here.
At the time when the Muslim woman was attacked, a demonstration by far-right Suomi ensin (Finland First) was taking place outdoors at the same shopping center.
The victim, who had her veil and clothes torn when the police came, was able to identify one of the attackers, according to tabloid Iltalehti. Witnesses were able to identify the other ones.
Read the full story (in Finnish) here.
(UPDATE): Christian Thibault, an anti-racism activist, said that the police should be more effective in trying to defuse potential problems at the Itäkeskus shopping center.
“Some people who took part in the Suomi ensin demonstration are accusing the Muslim woman of provoking them,” he said. “That may be a question but isn’t the demonstration a provocation to the peaceful people who visit Itäkeskus?”
It would be disingenuous to claim that there is no connection with the alleged attack against the Muslim woman and the xenophobic climate in Finland that is fueled and maintained by groups like Suomi ensin and other far-right xenophobic groups.
Considering those members of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, which is in government with the Center Party and National Coalition Party, have spread racist and xenophobic rhetoric for years. This has created and emboldened racists to show their true racist colors.
We hope that the police doesn’t drag its feet but offers details of what happened Sunday at the shopping center.
Below are some links to stories that migrants and minorities were targets of PS hostility in July:
- The Finnish Perussuomalaiset and their poker-face-racist remarks (July 27)
- PS MP Kike Elomaa’s response to the party’s racist statements is disingenuous and insulting to Finland (July 26)
- A belated response to racist comments by a member of the PS is half a response (July 25)
- White Finnish privilege #30: Whitewashing and racializing the news (July 23)
- Terrorism och våld (July 22)
- Five years after 22/7 and the Nordic region continues to bleed hatred (July 22)
- Reija Härkönen: Kuulutko vaikenevaan enemmistöön? (July 21)
- Housing discrimination occurs in Finland and is underreported (July 18)
- The Perussuomalaiset is an extremist party that is unfit to rule Finland (July 17)
- Turning Finland into a post-Brexit United Kingdom mess where xenophobia, privilege and disunity are the rules (July 15)
- Ana María Gutiérrez Soranen: La vida en Europa es, a veces, como un sacrificio (July 14)
- Are bigotry and racism something “funny” and “eccentric” PS chairman Timo Soini? (July 14)
- Perussuomalaiset MP Leena Meri hiding coded bigotted statements as jokes (July 12)
- When will the Finnish police service stop denying that ethnic profiling isn’t an issue? (July 11)
* The Finnish name for the Finns Party is the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The English names of the party adopted by the PS, like True Finns or Finns Party, promote in our opinion nativist nationalism and xenophobia. We, therefore, prefer to use the Finnish name of the party on our postings. The direct translation of “Perussuomalaiset” is “basic” or “fundamental Finn.”
Except it didn’t actually happen: http://www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/2016091222299322_uu.shtml
There is a video as a proof and even eye witnesses told what actually happened. Police says there was no assault and even the Muslim woman withdrew her statement.