One of the matters that has surprised me after Migrant Tales scooped more information about the tragic death of a Somali national in Oulu on February 1 is the lack of empathy for the victim. Finland and the Nordic region have not been the same after the April election and when Anders Breivik went on the rampage in Norway in July killing 77 victims.
In both cases above, anti-immigration and anti-Muslim rhetoric played a role.
One gets the impression by reading some of the threads on Migrant Tales and My Finland is International that since what happened in Oulu wasn’t considered a hate crime by the police, we should not give it much importance.
Abdisalam Mohamed Abdulahi was one of three young Muslim victims who was killed in Finland’s Black February.
Some have even gone as far as to claim that the tragedy in Oulu had nothing to do with immigration or racism.
I beg your pardon!?
What happened in Oulu had everything to do with immigrants and the social ills that threaten our society today.
We are proud that we can speak out for the victim and share on this blog our sorrow for what happened.
Add to what happened in Oulu the horrific events in Norway in summer 2011 and Finland’s ever-worsening atmosphere for immigrants and minorities, it is only natural that we react to a crime involving an immigrant, especially one where three Finns break into his home by force and perpetrated his death.
Migrant Tales will continue to report crimes against immigrants and hopes it will have the opportunity to do so in the future.