Search Results for: white fragility

Kotoutuminen* #2: A tool of white fragility to rule you

Migrant Tales launches a new series called kotoutuminen, or integration. Readers are encouraged to send their personal experiences, comments on integration programs, and policies. Send your comments and observations to [email protected] KOTOUTUMINEN #2 Kotoutuminen, or integration, functions in many ways like white fragility. It is a weapon and tool to subjugate newcomers and migrants who

Does Ibrahim’s claim about Hepatitis B expose white fragility?

Migrant Tales published a story about Ibrahim’s* “voluntary” return to Iraq after coming to Finland in October 2015.  While there were many that felt for Ibrahim’s case, some were more preoccupied with what he alleged, or that he contracted Hepatitis B when going to a Finnish dentist.  In journalism, you run up against a lot

Thank you Abdirahim Husu Hussein for exposing white Finnish fragility

Social Democratic Party Helsinki city councilperson Abdirahim Husu Hussein tweeted that all the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and their supporters are racists. If you think of it, he has a point. The PS is not only an Islamophobic party, but it is also a far-right party as well. A PS councilperson from Nurmijärvi, Maiju Tapiolinna, filed charges

An incomplete study on the rise of the PS of Finland shrowded in white denial

Yle published Saturday, a study that tells us something we have known: The fear of losing one’s economic status is fuel for the rise of populist parties like the Perussuomnalaiset (PS). Hanna Wss, the researcher, states that the rise of populism in countries like Sweden, the United Kingdom (Brexit), and the election of President Donald

Exposing white Finnish privilege #53: Why is our tolerance for racism at street level

When US President Donald Trump viciously attacked “The Squad” (Congresspersons Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, and Ilhan Omar), when he told them to leave the country (see tweet below), there was dismay and outrage from politicians and other sectors of society. In Finland, a politician like Maiju Tapiolinna can tell a Helsinki city Councilperson,

White Finnish media story of the day: Sanna Ukkola ja huomiokipeitä kirjoituksia “sanavapaudesta”

En viitsi analysoida yksityiskohtaisesti Sanna Ukkolan viimeistä Yle-kolumnia “sananvapaudesta”, koska hän ampuu tykillä muurahaisia (siis vähemmistöjen edustajia) eikä vaikuta reilulta. Kannattaa muistaa, että Ukkola on perussuomalaisten Matias Turkkilan vaimo. Varmasti Ukkolalla kotona riittääkin puhetta Turkkilan kanssa maahanmuuttajista ja muista vähemmistöistä, onhan Turkkila perussuomalaisten Suomen Uutisten vastaava päätoimittaja. Ukkolan viimeisin kolumni on hyvä esimerkki siitä, kuinka

Maria Rittis Ikola: Imagine a world without white privilege

Maria Rittis Ikola* Imagine that white Finns like me weren’t able to speak over others in every medium available. Imagine a time when white people were not able to express their confusion and dismay over political correctness in prime spaces in Finnish newspapers, because nobody would let them. Imagine that racialised journalists didn’t have to

The worst racists of Finland

Wrong. I am not talking about people who post a lot of racist trash like from the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. I am specifically talking about those who claim to be against racism but are unwilling to challenge institutionalized racism and suffering, in many cases, from white fragility. Our system of institutional racism has so

Warnings and flashing red lights

In English, a snow job means a grand deception. Snow jobs happen year-round in Finland, irrespective of the season. The different excuses, arguments, and counterarguments to justify institutional racism are so common that we do not see them even if they are right under our noses. A good snow-job spotter and when red lights should

“The world’s happiest country” faces a labor and talent crunch

How is it possible that the world’s happiest country is suffering from a severe labor crunch? Here are some facts: the number of over-65-year-olds per 100 working-age people will rise from 39.2% to 47.3% in 2030; to plug its pensions deficit, Finland needs to double the level of migrants to 20,000-30,000 annually.  In Europe’s most

KOTOUTUMINEN #15: Finland only promotes gender equality

An interesting video posted by a CaroxElMundo, who tells us in Spanish about her experiences about Finland, makes a very good observation: Finland promotes gender equality, but all other types of equality take a back seat. She makes a valid point. Finland has made a lot of progress in gender rights. There are still many

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 #12: Integration is as easy as 1 + 1 = 2. NOT!

THE STORY WAS UPDATED Having taught many students about Finnish society for many years, two matters surprise me about this teaching line: Are the people giving these courses qualified and simple, 1 + 1 = 2, explanations to a complex matter as adaption. If the integration model is overly simplistic, treat it with tweezers because

Kotoutuminen #11: The teacher asks the student why Muslims kill people

A sixteen-year-old Muslim teenager was approached by her teacher and asked her why do Muslims kill people as we saw in France? I am certain that the question must have surprised and shocked the teenager. Why did the teacher ask her such a question about such an outlandish incident? Certainly, irrespective of his or her

Kotoutuminen #10: Misleading expectations that will keep you (dis)integrated

Many, if not most migrants who have moved to Finland, have heard the following claim: Learn the language, and presto you are integrated. While learning the language of your new homeland helps, it is only one of many things that will help you adapt to society. Erna Bödström’s dissertation, “Welcome to Fantasy Finland,” points out

Kotoutuminen* #9: Spreading half-truths about integration

If the learn-Finnish-and-you’re-integrated promise is misleading, so are many others spread by people who should know better. “The best way to eliminate racism is to get people to know each other,” goes the affirmation. It is like the claim that traveling opens your eyes to the world. After we do all these things, will we

Kotoutuminen* #8: Let’s do away with “us” and “them”

In many schools where there are people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, they may be asked to participate in “cultural events” where the pupils are obliged to represent their perceived country and or culture. Is this ok? Is the problem too much emphasis on “us” and “them?” One matter that gets lost or forgotten

Kotoutuminen* #7: How do we deal with our prejudices and exceptionalism?

One of the reasons why so many integration courses are a failure is because those teaching them to believe that teaching “culture” and “adaption” are simple matters that any person can do. Wrong. In 2008, I came up with this adaption guide for Russians who move to the Kymenlaakso region. Have perceptions changed since then?

Kotoutuminen #3: To touch or not to touch

Many times I wonder where people who work and assist asylum seekers and migrants get their cultural training. If you are a teacher, is it stated, for example, in the national curriculum, how cultural diversity is supposed to work in the classroom? If you are a social worker, how do you promote two-way adaption? These

Thank you, Hussein and Silvenoinen for exposing who the Perussuomalaiset are

THIS STORY WAS UPDATED It’s been a tough bubble-bursting July and August for Finland’s second-biggest party in parliament, the Perussuomalaiset (PS).* Helsinki city Councilperson Abdirahim Husu Hussein tweeted that the party and supporters were racists, while history researcher Oula Silvenoinen reminded and called the PS a far-right party on television. Silvenoinen isn’t the only researcher

Perussuomalaiset a racist party? You bet!

A racist is an individual, always an individual, who does not like people based on race – must be conscious – and who intentionally seems to be mean to them. Robin DiAngelo, sociologist THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Using DiAngelo’s definition, the Perussuomalaiset (PS),* their politicians, their voters, and followers are racists because through such a party

A danger to democracy

If there is one matter that US President Donald Trump’s self-coup has evidenced, it is the fragility of our democracy. This is also the case in Finland with the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, a pro-Trump radical right party that openly supports Trump. Some factors unite Finland with the United States. Finns have – incorrectly – said in