National Coalition Party MP Pia Kauma has proven with her victimization of migrant mothers and migrants that prejudices have deep roots. No matter how much you expose an outright lie, your evidence will have little impact because some people are set in their prejudices and beliefs. Kauma continues to be adamant: She will not apologize
Search Results for: Pekka Myrskylä
Another study that sheds light in Finland on disadvantaged migrants and their children
A study by Ognjen Obućina and Ilari Ilmakunnas and cited by Sunday’s Helsingin Sanomat concluded the following: poverty and housing overcrowding was more prevalent among immigrant children compared with white Finnish children. The study showed that 60% of migrant children had experienced poverty for at least a year during the first five years of their lives.
The Perussuomalaiset picks on vulnerable single mothers and migrant men
“Since leaving the White House in 1981, Rosalynn and I have strived to advance human rights in countries around the world. In this quest, we have seen that silence can be as deadly as violence.” Jimmy Carter Some sectors of the media and other people like teachers believe that silence is the best response to
Finland and the police should wake up to the menace of hate speech and hate crime
Helsinki city councilperson Abdirahim Husu Hussein received a letter Wednesday with a death threat and a piece of rope tied as a noose. While it is clear why this happens, we should ask why it continues to happen and with such impunity. Having lived in Finland for many years, one matter I learned at an
YLE A-studio talk show’s question and image sum up Finland’s migration and demographic challenges ahead
he gap in unemployment benefits between migrants and Finns is 39% (15,000 euros versus 9,400 euros) and up to 59% for those who are outside the labor force (7,500 euros versus 3,100 euros).
If Finland treats racism and discrimination with kid gloves, a social movement can help
Isn’t it sad to note how the Finnish media now discovers that migrants get paid less and have lower social security benefits than Finns? Some, even union leaders like Sture Fjäder of Akava, go as far to state that unskilled migrants should get paid less. He later apologized for such a statement but won a confidence vote to keep his job.
Finland’s Nobel Prize in economics states that white Finns must not share power and privileges with migrants and their children
Bengt Holmström is a Finnish economist who received the Nobel Prize in economics in 2016. What he may know about economics does not mirror his knowledge of Nordic values such as social equality and especially how migrants and minorities live in Finland.
Tigthening immigration and asylum policy is putting a noose around our Nordic values
After tightening family reunification laws last year, Center Party parliamentary group leader MP Antti Kaikkonen believes that the government has gone too far in tightening immigration policy, according to Lahti-based daily Etelä-Suomen Sanomat. The Center Party believes that the 2,600-euro/month salary requirement to bring your spouse and two children should be changed.
Finland’s politics of discrimination and exclusion are seen in your thin pension
Decades of labor discrimination in Finland adds up to one terrible reality for some migrants: a thin pension and poverty. If in this decade the pay gap between migrants and white Finns was 25% (36,800 euros versus 27,500 euros made by migrants), it’s clear that their pension will not add up to much.
Adaption of migrants in Finland is a one-way (assimilation) process
What do politicians and public officials in Finland mean when they claim that integration is a two-way process? Is it only political correctness that motivates them to make up such claims or is it code that means one-way adaption, or assimilation?
BOX STORY: Key figures on migrants in the Finnish labor market
If there is discrimination in the Finnish labor market, how can we measure it? What do the facts below about migrants in the Finnish labor market tell us? This box story is part of a larger feature on migrant employment called, How systemic racism and discrimination works in the Finnish workplace.
Exploiting asylum seekers in the Finnish labor market reveals our failed asylum and integration policy
Migrant Tales has written a number of stories showing how Finland’s asylum policy and treatment of about 38,000 asylum seekers that came to the country during 2015-16 has been costly and ineffective. The government claims differently for obvious reasons.
Finland tightens family reunification laws and denies migrants the right to a family
The Finnish parliament didn’t vote Friday to tighten even further family reunification guidelines but effectively socially excluded and relegated migrants, especially asylum seekers, to second- and third-class citizens. The news ironically coincides with the death of former Rural Party MP Sulo Aittoniemi (1936-2016), a person who was against refugees and cultural diversity.
Gareth Rice: Finland – welcome to the Ostrich Nation
The political, economic and social situation in Finland remains perplexing. Finns have been told for so long how good they have it, that they now refuse to believe anything to the contrary.
New dissertation about migrants sheds light on our ignorance and prejudices
Two news stories published this week highlight in my opinion why intolerance continues to dominate debate in these parts. The latest story published by YLE was about a dissertation by Annukka Muurin, which showed that multicultural, or third-culture Finns, speak Finnish better than their parents’ language. Isn’t this a pretty obvious finding if the child
Finland’s parliamentary elections of April 2015 have begun
Even if parliamentary elections will take place on April 19, 2015, it’s clear that they’ve begun. Rumbles can be already heard from political parties such as the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, Muutos 2011 and the National Coalition Party, which are vying for media attention and voters. Who are they targeting? Who else but migrants and minorities. National Coalition Party
Defining white privilege #10: I can victimize and make up any story I like about migrants because I’m white
National Coalition Party MP Pia Kauma has made headlines recently by exploiting people’s suspicion of migrants in general and migrant women in particular for buying new baby carriages with welfare money. Even if her claim is based on hearsay, the MP continues to make headlines. She doesn’t get noticed for victimizing migrants and basing her claim
Kokoomus MP still points accusing finger at migrant women for buying new baby carriages
Even if parliamentary elections are in April, some politicians, like National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP and Espoo city councilwoman Pia Kauma, are openly attacking migrants. She’s the conservative politician who stated on Friday that migrants shouldn’t buy new baby carriages with welfare money. Kauma got an opportunity on Monday to present her case on YLE’s A-Studio.
Racism, children and football in Finland
If you want to find a short cut into racism in Finland, read the anonymous comments after a news story on the topic. One such story, published Monday by Turku-based daily Turun Sanomat, is a perfect example. The news story is about a group of 10-11-year-old boys who were returning by ship to the mainland
Defining white Finnish privilege #6: Not having a voice and the media
In many respects white privilege, or specifically white Finnish privilege, is a good way to understand some of the challenges that migrants and especially non-white Finns face in this country. Migrant Tales invites readers to share their thoughts on the social ill. Please send your comments on the topic to migranttalesblog@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you.
The anti-immigration menace in Europe and Finland is real and we must do something to challenge it
Migrants were very active in the early 1980s and on October 19, 1982 we marched for the first time since a group of East Pakistanis, today Bangladesh, marched from Helsinki to Turku in the early 1970s demanding work. The march by the East Pakistanis may have been the first by foreigners in Finland. Migrants and
Finland is not a land of opportunity but a land of poverty for most migrants
According to Statistics Finland’s Working Paper series, Finland is no land of opportunity for migrants, writes Pekka Myrskylä. The Statistics Finland’s development manager claims that the employment level of Estonians and Thai citizens matches that of ethnic Finns. The majority of migrants live in poverty in Finland, according to him. If what Myrskyä writes
Immigrant youths have greater chances of being marginalized in Finland
The number of magainalized youths is especially pronounced among immigrant youths aged 15-29, reports YLE in English, citing a study by think tank Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA) . The study claims one out of every third youth with immigrant background is marginalized compared with one out of eight youths nationally.
Systemic racism in Finland
A video clip below by Jay Smooth published by Race Forward gives us simple good examples of how systemic or institutional racism occurs in the United States. Is systemic racism a problem in Finland? If so, how and where does it occur?
The PS of Finland: When a morally bankrupt party crosses the line
The Tom Packalén case is not only a reminder of what Finland can expect if the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* ever get into government, there is the real threat that we are in danger of forfeiting our successful Nordic welfare state for populism, nativist nationalism and xenophobia. In the face of this threat, it is the near-silence
Finnish anti-immigration politicians and parties spread on purpose lies to hide the truth and their culpability
Ever wonder why the Finnish media and politicians continue to spread lies about migrants and minorities like we’re lazy, stupid, criminals, rapists and a burden on society? OK, not all of them lie on purpose but too many remain silent and allow these types of urban tales to slip past them in silent approval. Say
Challenging prejudices against migrants in Finland should be a priority. But who’s doing this?
Dr. Gareth Rice’s claim that foreign academics are being bypassed for permanent tenures in favor of Finnish academics raises a wider issue that migrants and minorities face in Finland. Finding a job is one matter for an immigrant in this country but being hired on a permanent basis is quite another story. One may ask
European Commission to take Finland to the EU Court of Justice for not having racial equality body
The European Commission (EC) will take Finland to the EU Court of Justice for not having a racial equality body for employment matters, according to an EC statement. Article 13 of the Racial Equality Directive requires member states to set up a national equality body whose tasks, among other aims, include providing assistance to victims, conducting and
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