We are sorry to hear about what happened to you. Abdirisak Ahmed (@HerraAhmed) Tweets: This is what it looks when you are assaulted at a restaurant because of the color of your skin. Thank you #apolloliveclub bouncers for your quick response. I never thought I’d be in this situation being over 30 years old. This
Read on »Posts By: Migrant Tales
Police and security guards acquitted over hijab removal case in Finland
Three judges of a Kanta-Häme district court unanimously ruled to acquit police and security guards of all charges for removing by force the hijabs of two Muslim women, according to Iltalehti. The women, who were applying for asylum at the time, argued that in Helsinki, they didn’t have to take off their hijabs for a picture. The
Read on »Finland is a country swept once again off its feet by xenophobia
Watching the parliamentary question-and-answer session between the opposition and government revealed two matters: the opposition’s xenophobic politicking and the government’s sometimes infirm responses. The debate between the opposition and the government occasionally appears like a shouting match, where the government caves into the opposition. In a historic government decision on the same day, Finland closed its
Read on »NO HATE FINLAND STATEMENT: The parliamentary election has begun for the Finns Party”
The Finns Party (PS) is actively campaigning for the upcoming parliamentary election in April. The party published Monday its so-called “Finnishness program,” Suomalaisuuden ohjelma 2022. The program attacks two groups: migrants and Finland’s Swedish-speaking minority. The hostility and simplistic arguments against these two groups resemble an angry and spiteful person willing to lie and cheat to get
Read on »How the PS and other European far-right leaders celebrate Brothers of Italy victory
Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy election victory received applause from several far-right European leaders and the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. While the PS chairperson Riikka Purra and the former leader of the party, Jussi Halla-aho, allowed MEP Laura Huhtasaari and Olli Immonen to do the talking. As we saw in Sweden on September 11, Sunday’s election
Read on »European far-right parties are part of a conspiracy to replace our democracies
A paradox: “Liberal” Nordic countries like Finland have large far-right parties that feed off racism. If I were to use the racist rhetoric of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party to solve social problems, I’d be lost. Solutions, like tougher laws, more restrictions, enforcing marginalization, and strengthening institutional racism, would leave me in a bind. Fearmongering and
Read on »How Finland plays down hate crime and miscarriages of justice
If there is something to reinforce from the Southern Ostrobothnia district court ruling of the Fares Al-Abaidi case, it is the following: In some cases, the police and the courts play down racist crime. The sentence was a miscarriage of justice. Al-Abaidi has appealed the ruling. Why is the ruling a travesty? Because racism is
Read on »European Islamophobia Report 2021: Finland
The recent parliamentary election in Sweden is only one of the worrying signs that Islamophobia is not receding in the EU but gaining strength. Muslims, like other minorities, must work together to challenge Europe’s ever-growing anti-Muslim racism. We must do this not only for ourselves but for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The editors of the
Read on »Sweden’s election spells trouble for Muslims, migrants, and minorities
The election in Sweden was of special interest to me since I live next door to the country in Finland. Will the good showing of the far-right Sweden Democrats boost our far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party in the April parliamentary election? While it is fair to predict that the election result in Sweden should not hurt
Read on »The Nordic region’s slippery Islamophobic slope
The Nordic saw a predictable political earthquake on September 11, when the right-wing bloc led by the far-right Sweden Democrats nudged the right-wing bloc to victory. The election brought Sweden in line with its other Nordic neighbors: all four now have or had large far-right anti-immigration parties. Of the four countries, the entrenchment of the
Read on »Fan or hate mail to Migrant Tales
Whenever I get fan or hate mail, I wonder why they never sign them with their names. I normally don’t publish hate mail but this will be an exception. The one below is by KKK Molly, at least it is what’s on her email address. I wonder what “KKK” stand for? Ku Klux Klan, maybe?
Read on »Tariq: Is there justice in Finland? (Part 2)
This is Part 2 of Tariq’s* ordeal in Finland. Go here to read Part 1. “This is my case: I have been living in Finland for eleven years. I moved here to be with my wife, and upon arriving, I started to work and study at the same time. After three years in the country,
Read on »Tariq: Is there justice in Finland? (Part 1)
Tariq* has lived in Finland for over eleven years. If there is a person who has run into complications with the police, Migri (Finnish Immigration Service), and due process, he is one of them. According to Tariq, his citizenship process has been arbitrarily delayed due to a police fine that was canceled. “In March last
Read on »Sweden’s nasty surprise comes home to roost
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Incumbent Social Democratic Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson conceded defeat in Sweden’s nail-biter election to the rightwing parties led by the far-right Sweden Democrats, reports The Guardian. The rightwing parties received 49.6% of the votes, with the left bloc securing 48.9%. If anything, it was a long overdue nasty surprise that permitted
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Onko mahdollista väistää äärioikeiston uhkaa?
Me tiedämme nyt, että Venäjän kansaa ei voi syyttää äärioikeistolaisen, demokratian vastaisen hirmuhallituksensa hyökkäyksestä Ukrainaan. Pelko pitää kansan hiljaisena. Vaikka vastustajia olisikin, niin sanotut vaalit ovat jo vuosikymmeniä olleet sellaiset, että oppositiolla ei ole ollut aitoa mahdollisuutta demokraattiseen vallan vaihtoon. Pelko omasta ja omaisten turvallisuudesta pitää suut supussa ja panee jopa puolustamaan hallituksen toimia. Entäpä
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Francis Fukuyama on Putin and Europe’s far right
In an interview with the Washington Post, political scientist Francis Fukuyama, who authored The End of History and the Last Man (1992), gives his views on the Ukraine War and what it may imply for Russia and Vladimir Putin. He argues that the rise of far-right parties in Europe and Donald Trump in the United States
Read on »Fares Al-Abaidi: “I was very disappointed [with the sentence, and] it was a very, very bad decision.”
Fares Al-Abaidi got a hard lesson on Wednesday from the Southern Ostrobothnia district court on Finnish justice: only one person was convicted after a group of white Finns attacked him in June 2020. That person, PV, was forced to pay Al-Abaidi about 3,900 euros for his suffering. “He got away with only a fine while
Read on »Sweden’s election is now a nail-biter
“The figures show the Moderates, Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals winning 175 seats in the 349-seat parliament against 174 for the center-left,” Reuters reports. The final results are expected by Wednesday.
Read on »Social Democrats’ left-green bloc emerge as victors but so did the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats
Sweden’s center-left bloc led by the Social Democratic party is set for a narrow victory over right-wing opponents in today’s parliamentary election, according to Yle. The biggest upset was the dismal showing of the conservative Moderate party, which slipped into third place after the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats. In light of the boycott against the Sweden
Read on »The election result Sunday will expose nasty things about Sweden and the Nordic region
Sweden will elect 349 MPs of the Riksdag (parliament) today, and the big question is how well the far-right Sweden Democrats will fare. According to various opinion polls, the Sweden Democrats are seen coming second after the Social Democrats. The biggest upset would be the Sweden Democrats doing better than the conservative Moderate party. Just like
Read on »The Musta Barbari and Fares Al-Abaidi cases deal a further blow to police credibility in Finland
Two rulings in two important cases involving ethnic profiling and suspected hate crime are a further stain on the credibility of the Finnish police. One of these took over six years to get a just ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court, and another one just slapped the hand of the suspect lightly. Ethnic profiling, which
Read on »Two stories that reveal a lot about racism in Finland
Two stories that expose injustice and denial in Finland became public this week: First, the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland ruled Thursday that the police ethnically profiled singer Musta Barbari’s mother and sister in July 2016. The other news is about an Iraqi youth who white Finns violently attacked in July 2020. Both cases are not only
Read on »PS MP Juha Mäenpää warned that asylum seekers could spark a civil war in Finland
US President Joe Biden warned in a recent speech that his country’s democracy is in peril. He pointed the finger at former President Donald Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again or Make Attorneys Get Attorneys) followers. We asked in a recent posting if Biden labeled MAGA Republicans “semi-fascists,” why couldn’t we call the far-right Perussuonalaiset
Read on »Should we be surprised that the Finnish police forced Muslim women to remove their hijabs? Not.
The incident of Finnish police brutality, where they physically forced Muslim asylum seekers to remove their hijabs, is not surprising in the least, taking into account the year (2017) and the Häme region of Finland. Seven months after the incident with the Muslim women, Migrant Tales published a story about how the police gave tacit
Read on »Entrevista con Migrantes News: La xenofobia y el racismo en Europa
Tuve el placer de ser entrvistado por José León Toro Mejías, editor de Migrantes News. El está en la Argentina y yo en Finlandia. Aunque la distancia entre nuestros países es enorme, los temas de migración son bastantes parecidas. La xenofobia y el rasismo no reconoce distancias. Muchas gracias León por la entrevista. Primera part
Read on »Finnish police physically forced Muslim asylum seekers to take off their hijabs
A group of Muslim asylum seekers in May 2017 charged seven police and security guards with assault and misconduct in the line of duty when they forced the women to take off their hijabs, according to Yle. Apart from the questionable action of the police, it is interesting to note that the court case is
Read on »If Biden calls MAGA Republicans semi-fascists, why can’t we call the Perussuomalaiset the same?
Like many analysts, US President Joe Biden’s “semi-fascism” remark did not go far enough. He should have just dropped the word semi and called them fascists. Taking into account how much the US democracy is in peril, shouldn’t it be time to call out the enemies by their real names? The MAGA Republicans, who have
Read on »Racism makes my blood boil – why doesn’t yours?
I have often wondered why racism some people in Finland are not moved by racism. Racism is a traumatic experience that remains inside of you. Some don’t react or care because they have never been a victim of such a social ill. When racism jabs or throws a violent punch and your colleague or friend
Read on »European Network Against Racism: Denmark is the “happiest” country in the world
The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) is Europe’s biggest anti-racism NGO. It writes: “Denmark is said to be the ‘happiest’ country in the world. It depends on who you ask. With the elections approaching, religious freedom for minorities seems once again to be at the heart of political debates as Denmark considers whether to ban headscarves
Read on »Discrimination in the labor market is a real problem that Finland still doesn’t want to face
Institutional racism is a social ill that Finland has done too little to challenge. One of the areas where it happens mainly uncontested is in the labor market. IYou face many challenges ahead if you are lucky enough to get a job interview with your so-called foreign-sounding name. Once you get through the door, the
Read on »Denmark takes another shot of steroids for its xenophobia
Denmark, the Nordic region’s most Islamophobic country, plans to tighten (again) its immigration laws by deporting all foreigners who are handed prison sentences, according to DR of Denmark. DR writes that the government wants to introduce changes in the law so that any foreigner slapped with an unconditional prison sentence will be deported. “Today, a
Read on »Case Teuva: Prosecutor to bring charges probably next week – hate crime or not?
The state prosecutor plans to make public the charges against the perpetrators who attacked Fares Al-Obaidi over two-and-a-half years ago in June 2020 in Teuva, a town in Western Finland. The big question is whether the prosecutor sees what happened as a hate crime. The Finnish penal code does not recognize the term “hate crime.” Section
Read on »MT Media Monitoring: HS interview with Riikka Purra and the PS’ pet topic, migration
Helsingin Sanomat published (paywall) Sunday an interview with Riikka Purra, the chairperson of the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. Helsingin Sanomat‘s veteran reporter, Marko Junkkari, did the interview. In general, Junkkari did a good job in handling Purra’s comments with facts and in no place in the interview did the PS chairperson dominate the interview with
Read on »MT Media Monitoring: A government partnership between Kokoomus and the PS would be a hammer blow to us
Politicians and parties expel a lot of blah blah. Ask this question: Will matters improve for Finland’s racialized communities if the PS and Kokoomus partner in a government? There’s your answer with no blah blah. A recent story by MTV, a private television channel with a streak of Fox News, published a story about what
Read on »Helsingin Sanomat editorial and the real reason why the Perussuomalaiset do well in parliamentary elections
A short editorial by Helsingin Sanomat Thursday warns that the 1.3 percentage point rise in the recent opinion poll of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party may force other parties to latch on to Islamophobic rhetoric. The PS’ pet themes today are high electricity and gas prices at the pumps and others, which it did not specify. Even if
Read on »Sweden is the pet topic of the Perussuomalaiset, spreading fake news, too
If you didn’t speak out against racism, who would? Sweden is a pet topic of the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. They constantly and obnoxiously remind us what a horrible place Sweden is because there live Muslims and other migrants. PS chairperson, Riikka Purra, continues to push her ethnonationalist and ethnic replacement theory at almost every
Read on »Twitter (Riikka Purra): Islamofobia ja “sokeus,” perussuomalaiset ja islamofobia
Perussuomalaisten puheenjohtaja Riikka Purra leimaa kaikki muslimit vaarallisiksi. Kaikissa uskonnoissa ja kulttuurissa on mielipuolisia ihmisiä. Miksi Purra ei puhu sanaakaan Ricky Shifferista? Shifferi on yksi Trumpin kannustaja joka hyökkäsi aseella FBIn toimiston Cincinnatissa ja sai surmansa myöhemmin. Annan Purralle yhden kattavasta raportista islamofobiasta Euroopassa, jossa olen maininnut hänet ja hänen puolueensa monia kertoja. Tässä linkki.
Read on »White Finnish justice is sometimes lopsided
An example of how white Finnish justice works? Two inebriated white Finns start to harass a non-white boy in a racist manner. The boy yells something back at them and speeds away with his bike. A white Finnish couple says something at the men about their behavior toward the boy. They approach the couple, and
Read on »After 16 hours in the darkness, Migrant Tales is up and running again
I was shocked when my provider suspended my account on Friday. The first matter that I thought about was if there was an unpaid bill and that was the cause for my provider to suspend my account. The last time we had a similar scare was in 2012, when we were down for about 13
Read on »How coded language is used in Finland to get around labelling groups and racist words
In Finland, some parties are openly racist, and others are more subtle about it. Both are dangerous to our community. The more we know about them, the better prepared we are to challenge such a menace. Large opposition parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) have one matter in common: they loathe
Read on »MT Media Monitoring: Why doesn’t Helsingin Sanomat tell us the full story about labor market discrimination?
Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest daily, missed another opportunity to expose the elephant in the room about why so few Ukrainian nurses and medics are hired in the face of a chronic labor shortage in the health sector. True, the daily does address issues like language as a factor. But isn’t this a common excuse in
Read on »Twitter (@persut): No Afghan migrants to Finland
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party hates migrants from Muslim countries. It hates these people so much that it rarely utters the word “Muslim” and “African.” PS tweet below states: Do we want to help – or do we want more migrants? The best way to help them in neighboring [countries]. One Afghan to Finland costs as
Read on »Facebook (Leif Hagert): Harassing a minority of a small Finnish town
In the world’s happiest country, the ugly face of racism can show itself. This post by a young woman called Laura Elisabeth of the Romany minority is shameful and should never happen in our country. I hope the perpetrators get caught and feel the full weight of the law fall on them. “I have already
Read on »Why is racism such a difficult matter for Helsingin Sanomat to address?
Helsingin Sanomat raised an important question: There are a record amount of asylum seekers from Ukraine, but nobody is crying murder like when mostly Iraqis and Afghans came to Finland in large numbers in 2015. In a statement Monday, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) said that there are over 37,000 Ukrainians registered in the Finnish
Read on »Third culture: Misconceptions like “traveling opens your mind.” Answer: Not always.
Third culture children are those who grow up in a country other than their parents’. I have traveled since I was a year and a half between continents and boarded airplanes throughout my life like buses and heard many times a given assumption that traveling is supposed to open your mind. True or false? FACT
Read on »KOTOUTUMINEN #17: Cultural sensitivity deniers and silent support for institutional racism
Silence can be very revealing. It’s not what you say but what you do not say. Your inaction and silence in the face of racism, specifically against institutional racism, speaks volumes. This fact is one of the biggest challenges to Finland during this century. The outspoken racist is a danger, but the worst threat is
Read on »The tightening of the Border Guard Act is an example of Finland’s disdain for human rights
EU Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović expressed concern about the human rights of asylum seekers after parliament amended Section 16 of the Border Guard Act. The amendment allows Finland, in emergency cases, to close the border and severely restrict the rights of asylum seekers to seek refuge. I still don’t understand how Finland can close all the border
Read on »Twitter (Jani Mäkelä): Selling Finland down the river to Trump-backing politicians
US Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri announced that he would vote against Finland’s and Sweden’s membership in Nato. Finnish Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Jani Mäkelä pleaded with him to change his mind. Good luck. The January 6 hearing last week made a horse’s ass of Hawley, one of former President Donal Trump’s avid followers who believes
Read on »MT MEDIA MONITORING: How politicians perpetuate urban tales about migrants (Uusi Suomi)
An interview by Uusi Suomi of National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Atte Kaleva, who is part of Finland’s Islamophobic network, demonstrates a common flaw by the Finnish media that perpetuates urban tales and misconceptions spread by politicians about migrants. Kaleva claims that implementing a quota system for “foreign” students at schools in Finland would help
Read on »I fear nationalism and racism as much as Russia
Apart from tightening laws and plans to build a fence on parts of the Finnish-Russian border, politicians in Finland are debating shutting tourism from Russia to Finland. As I have mentioned previously, one of the biggest fears of the war in Ukraine is awakening Finland’s deep distrust and hatred of Russia. The hatred will not
Read on »How the Finnish media looks the other way
Hungary’s strongman denounced in a speech Saturday “mixed race” nations. While there was outrage in Europe about his racist comment, there was silence from some political circles like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, which are Orbán’s admirers. He said in Romania over the weekend that migration had split Europe and that Europeans who mix with non-Europeans “are
Read on »Is there racism in Finland?
Although I have published several posts about racism in Finland, two of them published in 2008 and 2014 are still valid. After living over 40 years in Finland and having a Finnish mother, racism is a problem that not only hinders the country from finding its potential but retards and stunts careers. Some of us
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #88: A Facebook page that asks white people if they look like a Finn?
Thanks to a Facebook page and a story in Helsingin Sanomat, I became on Monday, a member of a group called “Do I look Finnish?” Nothing wrong with that, but if the page attempts to reinforce stereotypes about Finns, then something is rotten in Denmark. Understanding how far-right groups like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, Suomen Sisu,
Read on »Europe is just as stuck as the US in its racism
The rise of hostile populism and white supremacy politics in the US and Europe is no coincidence. But a reminder of how little historical psychoanalysis we have done to overcome our bigotry, racism, and hostility towards people who are different from us. While some may disregard these facts as something minor or untrue, they will
Read on »The Norwegian who went on a murderous rampage against a whole nation and region on 22/7
I mention only two infamous days on Migrant Tales annually: the coup in Argentina on March 24, 1976, and the man who went on a murderous rampage against 77 people on 22/7. Let’s offer a moment of silence to the victims, killed, and those who survived this atrocity. Source: Migrant Tales Further reading: ANALYSIS – Commemorating
Read on »When countries become nationalism addicts and junkies
Xenophobia tends to pile up. Like blacks in the United States, Finland’s “black” problem is Russia, and from the 1990s, Muslims. In the 1980s, when I lived permanently in Finland, and about 12,000 foreign nationals were living in the country, the racist undercurrent that flowed like a mighty river was ever-present. It reminded you whenever
Read on »Police open new investigation of National Coalition Party MP Wille Rydman
After an initial police investigation into alleged sexual harassment by National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Wille Rydman, the National Bureau of Investigation (Keskusrikospoliisi) announced that it had opened a preliminary investigation into the MP’s activities. Rydman is a staunch anti-Muslim who is unofficially Kokoomus’ Jussi Halla-aho. Halla-aho is the former chairperson of the far-right Perussuomalaiset
Read on »The United States gets a taste of its bad karma
With all the noise going on in the United States due to the Jan. 6 Committee hearings, which have shown how former President Donald Trump attempted to stay in power with the help of a coup, one wonders if all that is happening is bad karma. No matter how much exceptionalism people in the United
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Hollywood Blvd 1978
Hollywood Boulevard is a place where you could eat 44 years ago breakfast for 99 cents.
Read on »A fateful June: The future of the environment, millions of refugees and even world peace hung in the balance
Ahti Tolvanen* At last there has been a decision of the world’s nations to put an end to the burning of fossil fuels. It took the world at least 50 years to arrive at this point which happened in Stockholm June 3rd, 2022 in the closing statement of a conference to observe the 50th anniversary
Read on »Highland Park shooter raises far-right Suomen Sisu to international notoriety
After Highland Park shooter Robert E. Crimo III, 22, murdered six people during the July 4th festivities and was apprehended by the police, social media is buzzing with his use of a symbol that is similar to the one used by Suomen Sisu, a far-right neo-Nazi association that used to recommend the works of Nazi
Read on »War in Ukraine forces Finland to lurch to a dark place where human rights must eventually take a backseat
The polarized debate in parliament Monday on renewing the Border Guard Act and Emergency Powers Act is just another example of how Finland has lurched into a dark place where human rights are a nuisance and should not take presedence The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS), with the helping hand of the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), and
Read on »Denmark shooter is allegedly white and has ties with the far-right
It was about 11 years ago on 22/7 when Norwegian Anders Breivik shocked us by murdering 77 victims. His motive? Anti-Muslim racism. Yesterday, there was a hint of déjà-vu when a 22-year-old “ethnic Dane,” a term used to mean white Dane, went on the rampage in the Fields shopping center of Copenhagen killing at least
Read on »Cold war journalism in Finland: Ghostbusting the past (City in English 3/1990)
Migrant Tales will launch stories about how the cold war, or Finlandization, encouraged self-censorship and censorship. My journalism career began in 1986, when I made a living from writing. As a journalist writing for the Finnish and foreign media, the foreign ministry warned me several times about questioning Finland’s foreign policy and human rights violations
Read on »Avoid turning Finland into a United States
In a thousand years, if there’s History, America will be remembered as a nasty little Country. Full of Pricks… Allen Ginsberg, Epilogue from “The Fall of America poems of these states 1965-1971” Following the dysfunctionality and cultural war raging in US politics, any sensible person can conclude that the present situation is due to several
Read on »What does Finland’s far-right Perussuomalaiset think of the overturning of Roe and Wade and attack of a gay bar in Oslo?
Setting aside the US Supreme Court decision to reverse Roe and Wade, which effectively took away women’s rights to have an abortion, we saw the cold-blooded attack at a gay bar by a man in Oslo that left two dead and 21 wounded. Meanwhile, in Finland, Yle reported some MPs’ reaction to the Supreme Court
Read on »Sexual harassment scandal takes a political toll on Kokoomus MP Wille Rydman
The scandal that embroiled National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Wille Rydman, has forced him to resign “indefinitely” from the Kokoomus parliamentary and Helsinki city council groups. A Helsingin Sanomat investigative story exposed MP Rydman’s sexual harassment of underage girls to whom he sometimes offered alcohol. The police, who investigated the case, did not bring any
Read on »What’s all the commotion about Wille Rydman? Why is Kokoomus now shocked?
A big question remains after a Helsingin Sanomat investigative journalism piece exposed how National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Wille Rydman treated women – even underaged ones – inappropriately. Some of these women, who were minors then, claimed that Rydman forced them to drink alcohol. A question remains: Why does Kokoomus appear so shocked today, even after the
Read on »Wille Rydman exposes Kokoomus’ hypocrisy and its racist politicians
I wonder if National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Wille Rydman has ever heard of Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, who is under investigation for sexually abusing minors, among other crimes? Helsingin Sanomat exposed in a story Rydman of inappropriate behavior and abusing sexually minors Sunday. Like Gaetz, Rydman is in hot water and denies all
Read on »Kokoomus’ Jussi Halla-aho is suspected of harassing underaged girls
National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Wille Rydman, whose xenophobic views have earned him the dubious label of being Kokoomus’ Jussi Halla-aho, is suspected by the police of harassing underaged girls. He is the same MP pushing hardline policies against asylum seekers because he is worried about sexual harassment. Former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Jussi Halla-aho was
Read on »Exposing white privilege in Finland #87: Social segregation is not white Finland’s fault
The recent article and editorial in Helsingin Sanomat about social segregation in Finland is a good example of how white privilege deals with growing social segregation. Finland’s largest daily, Helsingin Sanomat, published an editorial Thursday about how social segregation is growing in Finland. That follows a story about how some schools in Espoo have more
Read on »The PS’ crystal ball racism based on selective scenarios
With the parliamentary election about 10 months away in April 2023 and a disastrous county election showing and equally depressing opinion poll results, it’s clear that the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is desperately trying to connect with voters. One example of these underhanded tactics is a proposal by the PS to close the border with
Read on »Ilta-Sanomat’s message hasn’t changed in the past 30 years: Islam and refugees are a threat to Finland
Ever wondered why tabloids like Ilta-Sanomat continue to publish racist stories? When the first Somalis came to Finland in the early 1990s, the tabloid had a field day (see billboards below). Imagine headlines like “Somalis will remain in Finland,” “Somalis tricked (authorities) to get asylum,” and twenty years later, “10,000 illegal refugees will come this
Read on »Why do the Perussuomalaiset speak in code when referring to Muslims?
Throughout the years, far-right parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* have in recent years mainly used code words to refer to Muslims. Some of the most common ones are sexual offenders, overrepresented in crime statistics, asylum seekers, and, now the latest, vieraskieli, or “people who don’t speak Finnish as their mother tongue.” One article published last
Read on »Viaje a la Colonia Finlandesa, Argentina
Empezá tu viaje a la Colonia Finlandesa, Argentina, pinchando aquí.
Read on »Twitter (@johanneskoski): The Perussuomalaiset are racist – what of it?
With parliamentary elections approaching in April 2022 in a backdrop of depressing opinion polls, the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party is ratcheting its usual attacks against migrants and minorities. The strategy is like a motto used by the Green Berets in the Vietnam War: “Kill ’em all, let God sort them.” The violent saying was used in
Read on »How the Finnish media Others racialized pupils
One of the casualties of the war in Ukraine will be social rights and the recognition of racialized people in Finland. Are we witnessing more aggressive reporting as a result? Helsingin Sanomat published Wednesday a whole spread about how “over half of the students at several schools in Espoo don’t speak Finnish as their mother
Read on »Homogeeninen kansallisvaltio? Ei kiitos!
Olimme yllättyneet Perussuomalaisten (Ps) nuorison kolmannen varapuheenjohtajan Lauri Laitisen kirjoituksesta,* joilla hän puolusti kansallisvaltiota ja sen etnistä ja kielelistä homogeenisuutta. Myös yllätyimme miksi Helsingin Sanomat julkaisi kirjoituksen jossa on niin paljon epäasiallisuus. Voisinko minä julkaista esim. kirjoituksen jossa vaadin naisten paluuta hellan ääreen? Tällaiset ajatukset eivät ole mitään uutta. Natsi-Saksan sotarikollinen Alfred Rosenberg, joka tuomittiin
Read on »Migrant Tales celebrates 15th anniversary
Migrant Tales celebrates its 15 anniversary today. You can read our flipbook here or the PDF file. What have all these years taught me? That not a single day in the struggle for social justice has been in vain. Media inquiries: 040 8400773 Thank you for your support.
Read on »How institutional racism entrenches at a Finnish school
How does institutional racism survive unchallenged at a Finnish school? An anonymous source got in touch with Migrant Tales and pointed out how structural or institutional racism survives at a Finnish school. One of the most crucial factors for its survival aren’t surveys and legal ineffective and false assurances against discrimination and racism but what
Read on »Peddling theories about ethnic replacement in Finland for political profit and blood
I received a call from an old Migrant Tales reader who was distraught about a letter to the editor written by the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Youth of Lappeenranta. The headline? “The nation-state is our best protection.” Is it? The reader continued: “How can Helsingin Sanomat publish something that openly excludes non-white Finns and other minorities in Finland? I’m
Read on »Exposing white privilege in Finland #86: Maryan Abdulkarim and Finland’s amnesia
I can’t remember. It’s not important anyway. Finland’s political amnesia shrowded in denial and hostility comes in the form of knee-jerk reactions. Those knee-jerk reactions may appear by acting dumb to difficult questions or by destroying your credibility in public. I met Maryan Abdulkarim many years ago and commended her bravery in the face of
Read on »Will Nato membership for Finland be good for migrants and minority rights?
If truth Is the first casualty in war, then the second casualty is the loss of your civil rights. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin are due to announce Thursday that Finland should join Nato “without delay,” according to The Guardian. While Finland’s security concerns are valid enough for its giant eastern neighbor
Read on »How the Finnish media frames “good” and “bad” refugees
Länsiväylä is a community newspaper that lives off advertising revenues. One story on Ukrainian refugees raking a park in Kirkonnummi, a city located near Helsinki, is another chapter in framing Ukrainian refugees as “good” refugees. Some who use such stories to feed their racist worldview, use such stories to frame Muslim refugees as “bad” refugees.
Read on »Shadow racism in the happiest country
It is quite true that when people come to a new country like Finland, they have a ”honeymoon” period – everything looks new and interesting. The first few months can feel like an extended holiday, and you experience the seasons, the holidays and the culture. When it came time for me to look for work,
Read on »Not a Muslim “terrorist” but a white Finn belonging to the far-right PS
A 33-year-old driver driving at high speed in the city center ended up hitting several cars and crashing in front of a cafe on Pohjoiesplanadi on May Day Eve, according to Yle News. Three people were injured including the suspect. The suspect, a member of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party and a public servant at the
Read on »Minority voices in the anti-racism debate
Considering that discrimination in the labor market is well-documented in numerous studies, it is surprising how little is still being done to challenge this problem and how migrant and minority voices are excluded from the debate. True, some stories quote migrants, but they are usually the victims and not the experts with solutions. The lack
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: A father who is grand!
By Leo Honka Memories turn to stone when men age inside hats Taking them off for added warmth past days somersaulting, turning themselves upside down atop your unruly gray hair, half-asleep – whispering how you’ve aged! Tossed and navigated through the years of your life How many of those days did you cast overboard? And
Read on »Twitter: Perussuomalainen Nuoriso ja tyhmät saappaat
Näyttää siltä, että Perussuomalainen Nuoriso tykkää kopioida vanhaa retoriikkaa. Teuvo Hakkarainen sanoi samaa yli 10 vuotta sitten. Ilta-Sanomien mukaan Hakkarainen ehdotti, että homot, lesbot ja somalit pitäisi laittaa asumaan yhdessä Ahvenanmaalle. Tähän ryhmään nyt kuuluu kielteisen turvapaikkapäätöksen saaneiden. Väite herättää monessa suhteessa paljon kysymyksiä. Miten vauras pohjoismainen hyvinvointivaltio, joka perustaa arvonsa sosiaaliseen yhdenvertaisuudeen ja oikeudenmukaisuuteen
Read on »The Right to Live citizen’s initiative has over 50,000 signatures – parliament has a moral obligation to grant residence permits to undocumented migrants
The Right to Live (Lupa elää) citizen’s initiative passed through the 50,000 signatures barrier Friday. If passed by parliament, the initiative will grant four-year residence permits to undocumented migrants who came to Finland before January 1, 2017. The ministry of interior published its recommendations on what to do with some 3,000 undocumented migrants who came to Finland
Read on »“On the path of Sweden” and other deceptive claims by the Perussuomalaiset and Finnish media
Ever wonder why the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party gets so excited about so-called failed immigration and riots in Sweden? Is it because there isn’t enough news in Finland to spike and spread their Islamophobic message and perpetuate their deceptive claims? The PS is a case in point to study how fake news about migrants is
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Autumn darkness and the midnight sun
By Leo Honka Deep in the forests of Savo, darkness is not always darkness but a state of mind that has learned to remain an image. In such places, time comes and goes but never leaves; its magic maintains you balanced like a trapeze artist without falling thanks to heart-filled joyous moments of memories once
Read on »Exposing white privilege in Finland #85: We need solutions, not racist provocations
The riots in Sweden sparked by the burning of the Koran by the Danish far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party led by Rasmus Palaudan remind us how urgently we need solutions, not provocations, to heal the wounds gashed by racism and double standards. Provocations do nothing more than expose our hypocrisy and privilege. They never
Read on »Helsingin Sanomat treats Rikka Purra with kid gloves – by and large, stenography journalism
If former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* head Jussi Halla-aho were a women, her name would be Riikka Purra. Helsingin Sanomat published Saturday an interview with PS Chairperson Riikka Purra, where she puts Ukrainian refugees on a pedestal and dehumanizes Muslim and African refugees. Instead of just publishing Purra’s comments like a stenographer, why not fact-check? Here are
Read on »Populist European parties and politicians, like rats, will abandon a sinking ship in 2022
This year has been disastrous for the populist Perussuomalaiset (PS)* for several reasons. The first hiccup came in last year’s municipal election, when the party, guided by promising opinion polls, expected to win but came in fourth place. Then came an even worse wreck: the county election in January, when its support dove to 11%. Despite these
Read on »Our willingness to help “women and children” Ukrainian refugees is code for anti-Muslim racism
Think about it. Finland’s far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has had a total change of heart about refugees, which it has attacked and fed its popularity. Not only the PS, but other parties like the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), Center Party, and a “taxi party” Liike Nyt, according to Yle. A taxi party is one where
Read on »Exposing white privilege in Finland #84: Suomineidot offers refuge to privilege, white power, whitewashing, the far right and racism
Comments about the Yle television series on far-right young women, Suomineidot (Finnish Maidens), went viral, and for a good reason. Apart from revealing how much in the dark Yle is about racism and the far right, it also exposes white privilege in Finland. In a nutshell, the series is about three young women: Meri Kartta
Read on »(Migrant Tales 2015): Nunca más: 24 de marzo de 1976 y Rodolfo Walsh
Este 24 de marzo, conmemorando a esta fecha infame en la historia argentina, dedico este humilde escrito a Rodolfo Walsh quien murió un día después del primer aniversario de la dictadura militar de Jorge Rafael Videla. Aquí publicamos su “Carta abierta a la Junta militar en 1977, al cumplirse un año del golpe de Estado de 1976:”
Read on »Suomineidot is another example of how much Yle is in the dark about racism and the far right
Here is the plot of a new TV series Suomineidot (Finnish Maidens): Meri is a far-right ethnonationalist who hangs out with neo-Nazis. Jasmin is an avid follower of Pentti Linkola, who promoted population decline. Liisa is a member of the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. Apart from the radical political views of the three participants, YLE launched
Read on »Join us! Migrant Tales turns 15 years!
Migrant Tales, the oldest anti-racism blog in Finland, will celebrate its 15th anniversary on May 30. We are planning to publish an online magazine to commemorate the event. Apart from a section with greetings from people and associations, we will publish poetry, pictures, drawings, essays from our activists and readers in Finland and abroad. You
Read on »How will we treat Ukrainian refugees in Finland?
The interior ministry estimates “tens of thousands” Ukrainians moving to Finland as a result of the war in that country, according to Yle News. There are about 7,000 Ukrainians in Finland, but Anna Rundgren, a ministry of interior senior specialist, believes that the actual figure is several times higher. In 2015, the country saw a record
Read on »Twitter (Ndéle Faye): Systematic racism in Finnish early childhood education
Ndéle Faye is a Finnish Senegalese writer and journalist.
Read on »Hitting refugees below the belt
I talked to a group of students from different national backgrounds today. Two things unite them: they are mostly Muslims and present or past asylum seekers in Finland. While Europe is opening its arms to 2.809 million refugees from Ukraine since Sunday, according to the UNHCR, the two sets of rules for refugees reveal how
Read on »A racist explanation by the chair of parliament’s foreign affairs committee of Finland why Ukrainian refugees are better than other ones
Despite all the objections to racism and Islamophobia in Finland, the silence and sub-rosa nods why such social ills continue to take root in the country. The chair of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Jussi Halla-aho of the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, explained why Europe should open its arms to Ukrainians and shut the door on refugees
Read on »How long will our good will and patience last while millions of Ukrainian seek refuge in the EU?
On Tuesday, 2.011 million refugees have fled Ukraine since February 24, according to the UNHCR. Some sources speculate that up to 4 million refugees may flee the war in Ukraine. In light of Europe’s bleak history and the worst human rights abuses, atrocities, and wars in all of history, one wonders how long our goodwill lasts. The
Read on »Tekophyhä
Kun muutamat opiskelijat kysyivät miksi ukrainalaisia saavat kaikki viisumi oleskella EU maissa ja toiset, mm. Lähi- idästä, eivät saaneet, kerroin heille sana, joka paljastaa hyvin asia:
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #83: War doesn’t give a hoot if you are white or black
The war in Ukraine is like a sinister brew boiling over death, destruction, tragedy, hatred, and xenophobia. Apart from the shock and horror, our double standards and jingoism stand out as a stark reminder that we have done little to challenge the very social ills that caused the deaths of tens of millions of people
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Fatima
Leo Honka Who is Fatima? Who is the person wishing us from the Joutseno immigration removal center a kind, “Good night. Loved ones.” Fatima is only a name. It houses no human because it is only a name written on paper by a plane dropping bombs, a tank shelling civilians, and a woman hoping for
Read on »The EU’s double standards on the treatment of refugees are out of step with its alleged values
There is mounting evidence about how Polish and Ukrainian border guards openly discriminate against non-Ukrainians and minorities like the Roma fleeing war as well as attacks by Polish nationalists. The commissioner for home affairs and migration, Ylva Johansson, has only words of praise. “We can expect a lot of EU unity and EU solidarity towards
Read on »Länsi-Savo: Kuinka tulla toimeen eri kulttuurien kanssa
Suomessa puhutaan paljon, kuinka ihmisten eri kulttuureista pitäisi tulla toimeen toistensa kanssa. Perustuslakimme antaa siihen hyvät eväät: syrjintä on kielletty, ihmisille on oikeus omaan kulttuurin ja kieleen, on myös uskonnonvapaus. Mielestäni nämä periaatteet ovat oikeita ja tärkeitä, jos haluamme rakentaa ja elää yhteiskunnassa, jossa kaikilla riippumatta taustoista on yhdenvertaisia oikeuksia ja velvollisuuksia. Nykyään enemmistö suomalaisista
Read on »Millions of Ukrainians are coming. How long will it take before our goodwill turns into open hostility?
Remember 2015, when some 1.3 million million asylum seekers came to Europe from countries like Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia? Europe says welcome! Tervetuloa (welcome)! Meillä on tilaa (there is room for you)! After the initial outpouring of support and understanding for these people fleeing wars that we had started, attitudes took an abrupt turn for
Read on »Other casualties of Ukraine are European far-right parties like the Perussuomalaiset of Finland
Since the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s Russia, we are seeing the restructuring of Europe’s security structure and political landscape. The new landscape is bad news for Europe’s far-right and populist parties like Finland’s Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. The new situation may explain why PS chairperson, Riikka Purra, offered a new image with new glasses that
Read on »Ukrainians battle against the Russians but do little with the Poles to fight racism
Shameful and racist treatment. Ukrainian train conductors push back on Africans fleeing the war while Polish border officials don’t permit Africans to enter Poland, reports The Guardian. Just like when Poland fenced out Middle East asylum seekers in November from entering the country, which even led to the death of children from hyperthemia, Africans are facing the same
Read on »Selling your political soul to the highest bidder and Putin’s collateral damage to Europe’s far-right parties
Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s plans of breathing new life into a second take of the Soviet empire by invading Ukraine have backfired and produced the opposite effect. Far-right parties like the Perussuomnalaiset (PS)* are collateral damage in Putin’s miscalculation. It’s been a wretched start for Putin: – Plans to carry out a rapid invasion and
Read on »PS’ about-turn on Russia is reprehensible
In the backdrop of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, some politicians, especially from the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, have changed their tune. Don’t be fooled by them, and such moves are nothing more than an opportunistic move to prop up their sinking popularity. Their shift in opinions about the Russians is so reprehensible that it
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #82: Good “refugees” are white and Christian, “bad” ones are Muslims
In light of the Russian invasion and bloodshed in Ukraine, Finland has expressed its readiness to take in “tens of thousands” of “refugees” from that country, according to Yle. Remember last year, when Poland closed its border with Belarus over mostly Iraqis seeking asylum in the EU? Remember the calls to keep out such asylum
Read on »Donald Trump called Vladimir Putin’s invasion “genius and savvy.” Why are the Perussuomalaiset hiding their faces in shame?
While the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* are scrambling to prop up their dismal poll numbers, they are also changing their tune on Vladimir Putin and Russia. One of the best ways to understand the PS’ admiration of Putin and the tragedy in Ukraine is through former President Donald Trump. We can cite Jussi Halla-aho’s praise of
Read on »Helsinki court of appeal increases involuntary manslaughter sentence to nine years for stabbing Somali-Finnish youth
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED The Helsinki court of appeal* has increased Miro Pesonen’s involuntary manslaughter conviction to a nine-year prison term from five years previously and pay to the parents 10,000 euros for their suffering, according to Yle. Pesonen is a white Finn who stabbed Keyse Abdifatah Maalesh at Kannelmäki Helsinki railway station in April 2020. The mother
Read on »Russian aggression against Ukraine threatens Finland and exposes hypocrisy
It finally happened. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of a sovereign country like Ukraine. Apart from former President Donald Trump, who admires Vladimir Putin like many of the far-right Republicans, in Europe, we have racists and populists who are rooting for Russian aggression openly and silently. Caught with their hypocrisy and political pants down, populist
Read on »Cultural diversity is still a challenge in the Finnish education system
An article in Yle News brings us back again to one of the biggest challenges for multilingual children at Finnish schools: How the Finnish education system treats cultural diversity. Language and cultural interpreter and early childhood educator Nadezda Kärmeniemi admitted that multilingual children are caught between differing attitudes at schools. She is saying that there
Read on »Ykkösaamu interview highlighted Halla-aho’s contempt for Human Rights
Yle’s Ykkösamu talk show exposed to a tee what the parliament’s new foreign affairs committee chairperson thinks of Human Rights. The first question by the host forced Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Jussi Halla-aho, who was convicted in 2012 for ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion, to reinforce his contempt of Human Rights. The interview was
Read on »The far-right PS 1984 logic: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
Riikka Purra, the chairperson of the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, defended Jussi Halla-aho’s blog writings that are full of racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and anti-democratic worldviews. In one of Halla-aho’s writings, he hopes foreigners rape MPs like Eva Biaudet and Tarja Filatov. The former PS chairperson’s blog writings were under scrutiny again after he was named
Read on »Keep it up, Riikka Purra, don’t stop now. Kick out all the migrants and “let God sort ’em out.”
There are a lot of baffled faces at the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. “Did you see our regional election result?!” one asks while the other states: “A Yle poll saw us nosedive by 3.3 percentage points to 15%. and now Helsingin Sanomat reinforces the latter.” In our opinion, the PS is a far-right party that
Read on »Convicted PS MP of ethnic agitation voted to chair parliament’s foreign affairs committee
THE STORY WAS UPDATED The new chairperson of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Jussi Halla-aho, did not get such a warm reception. In a highly unprecedented move by the committee members, 11 voted in a secret ballot in favor of Halla-aho while six abstained. Halla-aho took over the committee’s chair Mika Niikko, its former chairperson,
Read on »If Finland believes in its laws, it must give residence permits to undocumented migrants
The ministry of interior published on Thursday its recommendations on what to do with some 3,000 undocumented migrants who came to Finland in 2015-2016. Of this group, about 300 are children living in legal limbo thanks to a 2016 law that abolished granting residence permits on humanitarian grounds. The number of undocumented migrants rose from
Read on »Racism, sexism, homophobia, bullying, discrimination, and misogyny are a blow to Finnish police trust
London Mayor Sadiq Khan took a proactive approach to discrimination in the Metropolitan Police. We need the same in Finland to deal with a problematic issue in the Finnish police force. “Last week I made it clear to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner (Cressida Dick) the scale of the change I believe is urgently required to
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Sweden is a great country thanks to immigrants
“It always amazes me to hear Finland’s most xenophobic politicians from the Perussuomalaiset* and National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) pointing the accusing finger at Sweden about how the country has failed because of immigration. Sweden has a more dynamic and competitive economy than Finland’s because of migrants. If there are problems in Sweden, the state is
Read on »Jussi Halla-aho, who wanted the Greek army to crush protestors ten years ago, is expected to replace Mika Niikko
According to Helsingin Sanomat, former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Jussi Halla-ago is expected to replace Mika Nikko, the chairperson of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, according to Helsingin Sanomat. Niikko resigned Tuesday evening after he suggested in a tweet that the West should assure Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine will not join Nato. While Niikko is
Read on »PS chair of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee resigns after “careless” Ukraine tweet
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP and head of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Mika Nikko, resigned today after he tweeted that come Western leader should assure Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine must not join Nato. The tweet, which was in conflict with Finland’s foreign policy, was deleted. Even so, it had created quite a stir and
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Argentinean dirty war odyssey
Leo Honka Cemetery silence emerging from the ashes of death next to gagged cobblestone streets and I should be asleep but I just can’t. The keys of my typewriter glowing red-hot are razor-sharp to the tuouch. The night is at a standstill, now searchlights are combing the state of siege a few high-pitched sirens screaming
Read on »Seinäjoki police wrapping up their suspected hate crime investigation. Charges are expected this month.
The Seinäjoki police, which had taken over a year and eight months to investigate a crime when Fares Al-Obaidi was attacked by over ten people from the Western Finnish town of Teuva, plans to bring charges this month, according to the victim. The incident happened on June 6, 2020 when over ten suspected townspeople from
Read on »Sanna Ukkola, if antiracism is the new racism, it shows that you are part of the racism problem
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Of all the newspapers that write about migrants and cultural diversity, tabloid Iltalehti published Sanna Ukkola’s column on how “antiracism is the new racism.” With a headline like that, we could also put together provocative headlines like how “feminism is modern misogyny,” “anti-fascism is the new fascism,” and “how promoting same-sex
Read on »A-Talk exposed further what a poor leader Riikka Purra is and how little respect she has for other politicians
Did any of you watch A-Talk with two government representatives, Iris Suomela of the Green League, Center Party Finance Minister Annika Saarikko, and two opposition representatives, Perussuomalaiset (PS)* head Riikka Purra, and National Coalition Party MP Antti Häkkänen? One matter stood out: Purra’s aggressive style and talking out of turn when Suomela spoke. Her facial
Read on »The far-right Perussuomalaiset head south in the opinion polls
THE STORY WAS UPDATED There’s good news and bad news. Depending on your perspective, bad news can be good news and vice-versa. In the latest opinion poll published by Yle, the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party saw its support nosedive by three percentage points to 15%. While it would be simplistic only to blame the regional
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Cold Turkey Night
Leo Honka* Outside, near winter’s home I stand Leaning against the night All alone Listening to hallucinations Popping from silence and stance. It’s a cold night of thick gloves and clothes A night no one should stand outside too long For sidewalks and streets Solemn and silent Are asleep and lead nowhere. Only a winter’s
Read on »Getting a job does not scare me, it is what happens after that raises concern
If we look at the many stories of job discrimination that we have published in Migrant Tales, one factor links them: despair and the police, which too often look the other way. Considering the underwhelming effort the police have made in challenging human trafficking, labor discrimination, hate speech, and other social ills, why would a victim trust the
Read on »Do we want an openly Islamophobic prime minister that aims to exclude foreigners? I hope not!
After the disastrous showing of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* in Sunday’s regional election, the far-right party aims to win next year’s parliamentary election and have its chairperson, Riikka Purra, as prime minister. Good luck with that, especially after the big election setback. Even if the regional election will turn out to be a watershed for the
Read on »The National Coalition Party wins Finland’s first regional elections
The National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) won Finland’s first regional elections after capturing 21.6% of the votes, according to Yle. Apart from the low 47.5% voter turnout, there were two big surprises: the good showing of the Center Party and the abysmal result by the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. During the past decade, much of the PS’ success hinges on
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Anti-Perussuomalaiset poetry – an eye for an eye
No room for words today! Said the Finns Party politician that racist fascist hypocrite angry as hell yelling at the top of its voice: Give me a light, scum! Lighting its cigarette soon thumbs, hands, arms and other body parts melt and splash to the ground. In my hidout after that affair the police,
Read on »Mayday! Mayday! The Perussuomalaiset are sinking
The recent poll on the regional elections shows eveals and exposes the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, who suffered a 3.3 percentage point fall, as a one-issue party. The regional elections, which will be held on Sunday, will transfer power from municipalities to regional councils, which will manage health care and emergency services. Sunday’s election appears to
Read on »Remember Jari Sillantie of the Kolari asylum reception center and coming out of the Islamophobic closet
I do, and very vividly. Jari Sillantie was the deputy manager of the northern Finland Kolari asylum reception center that sacked him after some 140 asylum seekers protested his management style. Even if his management style and Facebook “likes” did not reveal his attraction to the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, they did speak volumes about
Read on »The party with the most criminal charges: Perussuomalaiset candidates, who else?
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Guess which party has the highest number of candidates charged with a crime? Correct, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. According to Helsingin Sanomat, 6.3% (8.2% in the 2021 municipal elections) of PS candidates in January’s regional election have been charged for crimes during 2017-2021. That was followed by the Left Alliance (3.0%/4.1%), Christian Democrats (2.2%/2.4%),
Read on »A victory for free speech against the far-right and “racist clowns”
Due process takes a long time in Finland as the landmark Johanna Vehkoo against far-right agitator Junnes Lokka, whom she called in a Facebook “a Nazi clown” and “a racist.” Surprisingly, a Rovaniemi appeal court upheld a prior Oulu district court ruling that Vehkoo had defamed Lokka. Today’s ruling by the supreme court dismissed the
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Finland does not accept asylum seekers any longer
By Leo Honka On ships, On foot, By bus, By plane, By car, By bike, With hope, Everyone conspires to leave where the floodlights comb the state of siege. Whoever writes about pain, in my country, is slain, tortured on the street left starving fed to your racism. Don’t sing me any lullabies! Don’t hand
Read on »How we treat terrorism in our society depends on your ethnic and religious background
After creating a big commotion in December about uncovering Finland’s first far-right terrorist cell, the Stakunta District Court ordered the release of four of the suspects on Wednesday, according to Yle News. One of the suspects was released last month. Even if the police consider the arrest of the suspects as the “first” far-right cell, it all
Read on »Twitter (Veikko Vallin): A racist lesson on types of migrants
Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Veikko Vallin gives us a lesson in racism by definIslamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Veikko Vallin teaches us racism by defining “harmful” and beneficial migration. Vallin, who likes being called the Tampere’s Trump and boasts about how he places his money in Estonia from the Finnish tax person, bases his political program
Read on »The first anniversary of 1/6: A hammer blow to democracy, our democracy as well
As we return to that horrible day of January 6, when former President Donald Trump supporters invaded the Capitol and whacked the foundations of US democracy, we should ask how much of a blow that infamous day was for our democracy in the EU and Finland. The bad news is that matters in the US
Read on »The PS and its enablers are the wrecking balls of Finland’s social welfare democracy
I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you do. James Baldwin If some scholars sound the alarm bells that democracy in the United States could turn into a right-wing dictatorship that has the potential of sparking a civil war. How should Finland prepare for such an eventuality? Writes Thomas Homer-Dixon, a Canadian
Read on »European Islamophobia Report: Finland
The European Islamophobia Report 2020 was published on December 29. Below is the Finland chapter of the report. The editors for the report are Dr. Enes Bayrakli and Dr. Farid Hafez. While the government of Prime Minister Sanna Marin has tried to roll back some of the draconian immigration law measures of the previous government,
Read on »Somali-Finn victim’s mother appeals manslaughter conviction
The mother of eighteen-year-old Keyse Abdifatah Maalesh, stabbed to death at Kannelmäki Helsinki railway station on April 26, 2020, by a white Finn called Miro Pesonen, is appealing the involuntary manslaughter ruling on September 7, 2020, by the Helsinki District Court. The mother who said that she had not found the energy to pursue the
Read on »The European Islamophobia Report 2020 will be published on 29 December
Europe’s most comprehensive report on Islamophobia will be published on 29 December. “Considering the scant political, economic, and social power that Muslims enjoy, it’s clear that Islamophobia will not recede for the time being but will grow in Finland.“ European Islamophobia Report 2020
Read on »A question to the Kankaanpää police: Was a proper investigation carried out on the burning of an asylum reception center in 2015?
In 2015, when a record number of asylum seekers came to Finland, a number of attacks were carried out against asylum reception centers. One of these was in Niinisalo, located a stone’s throw from Kankaanpää, where over two weeks ago a group of white Finnish terrorist suspects was detained by the police. While a lot
Read on »The sources of Finland’s far-right problem: downplaying and denial
“The main agents of ideological violence are not isolated ‘lone wolves’ but are usually interconnected with communities, non-violent agents and legal entities, at times even including connections to law enforcement personnel.” Mihai Varga Over two weeks have elapsed since the police announced the detention of five white-Finn terrorist suspects in the Western Finnish city of Kankaanpää.
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Yaseen Ghaleb – Stigma
Yaseen Ghaleb, joka on tuttu Migrant Talesin blogissa, on julkaisut ensimmäisen runokokellma Euroopassa. Onnittelut ja paljon mennestysta meidän kaikkien puolesta! Jos kiinnostaa, voit ostaa Ghalebin runokirja tästä.
Read on »Bye-bye Inger Støjberg, something is not always rotten in Denmark
Former Danish immigration and integration minister, Inger Støjberg, was convicted to 60 days in prison for illegally separating asylum-seeking couples if the partner was under 18, reports Euronews. An uncompromising Islamophobic hardliner who served as minister during 2005-2019 was also responsible for passing a law that required asylum seekers to hand over valuables like jewelry
Read on »Some SAMK students of Kankaanpää feel that the school hasn’t given them enough support
After the police had detained five white Finnish terrorist suspects in the town of Kankaanpää, students at the fine arts campus of the Satakunta University of Applied Science (SAMK) were surprised to read from Iltalehti that one of the apparent targets of the terrorist suspects was the school. SAMK’s Kankaanpää campus has about 300 students.
Read on »Downplaying and whitewashing the far-right threat in Finland
It is disappointing to note that it took Finland’s largest daily, Helsingin Sanomat, five days to write an editorial on the threat posed by the far-right after the detention of five white Finns on Friday. Considering the media attention and general outrage in general that Abderrahman Mechkah knife attack caused in Turku in 2017, a
Read on »The PS was, is, and will be a party with close ties to neo-Nazi and fascist groups
From the days when Timo Soini headed the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party to the present, there’s one denial coming from the party that is an outright lie: The PS is not a far-right party with links to neo-Nazi, fascist and far-right groups. I could list several examples, but let’s look at Kansallismielisten liittouma, a perfect example of the
Read on »A trail of xenophobic and far-right violence in Finland and yet no suspects
The detention of five far-right terrorist suspects in the western Finnish city of Kankaanpää Friday raises many questions. One of these is the collaboration of this group and others in the burning down of an asylum reception center in December 2015. The asylum reception center in Kankaanpää wasn’t the only one that suffered arson attacks.
Read on »PM Sanna Marin is a true leader
An interview published today in The Guardian of Prime Minister Sanna Marin reveals that countries like Finland have not caved into populism, xenophobia, and toxic nationalism. Her leadership is a direct snub at those forces in Finland trying to bring down her government. Marin said in the interview that she believed future governments would continue to promote
Read on »Far-right terrorism in Finland has many direct and indirect supporters
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED The main agents of ideological violence are not isolated “lone wolves” but are usually interconnected with communities, non-violent agents and legal entities, at times even including connections to law enforcement personnel. Mihai Varga Five white Finns were detained Tuesday and remanded by a Satakunta District Court Friday, at the request of the
Read on »Five white Finns arrested on suspected terrorism charges
Five white Finns born between 1995 and 1998 were arrested Tuesday by the police on suspected terrorism charges, according to Pori-based daily Satakunnan Kansa. The five suspects are from the Western Finnish region of Kankaanpää. The police did not call the suspects white Finns but stated that they had “ethnic Finnish names.” The police and
Read on »A Finnish Islamophobic party’s recipe for inclusion and ethnic understanding
Since the 2011 parliamentary elections, which saw the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party win 39 starts from 5 seats previously, it has systematically tarred and feathered migrants, especially Muslims, people of color, and specific minorities. Should you be surprised that all PS MPs elected in 2019 based their campaign on an anti-immigration message. The PS demands
Read on »Kirkko ja kaupunki: Security costs at the Helsinki Synagogue soar
It should not surprise us that anti-Semitism is also on the rise in Finland. An article in Kirkko ja kaupunki revealed the cost of security needed at the Helsinki Synagogue has soared between 2017 and 2021. Yaron Nadbornik, president of the 1,100-strong Jewish community of Helsinki, was quoted as saying that the cost of security at
Read on »Racists at the Mikkeli bus stop
I hadn’t heard the statement, “I’m a racist,” for a long time. Even so, two middle-aged women were chatting in Mikkeli loudly about how bad migrants were. I intervened because silence is a total cop-out. “Are you a racist,” I asked one of the women. “Yes, I’m a racist,” she snapped. “You should be ashamed
Read on »Shameless Europe does not care if you live or die
We cannot just snuggle here and see who comes to the border. We must promote the values of the EU with greater determination because without these values we are worthless. Minister for European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen We just read about the tragic death of 27 people when attempting to cross the English Channel. One of
Read on »After using the full n-word on television twice, Esko Valtaoja now calls that host he insulted “white”
Every scar I have makes me who I am. Anonymous It is ok to utter the full n-word on Finnish television, as we saw on Friday on the Marja Sannikka show, which turned out to be a fiasco revealing how little homework the host had done and how polarized and ignorant Finnish society is of
Read on »Marja Sannikka’s talk show on racism is the worst I have ever watched
Last Friday, on the Marja Sannikka show about racism, was a fiasco. It was the worst talk show on racism I have seen in Finland. It was such a flop that the host, Sannikka, allowed one of the guests to say the full n-word twice and did not even object. Before I continue, I would
Read on »The more proof that labor discrimination is king in Finland, the less is done to tackle the problem
Racism is such a big issue in Finland that even white people are discriminated. Another news story. Another example. You will lose out in the Finnish labor market if you don’t have a Finnish name. If there is overwhelming proof that this type of discrimination takes place, why does it continue? Why aren’t there any
Read on »The police give you permission to pry into a person’s background even if these are inappropriate and offensive
Remember Husein Hamiid when he asked in summer a real estate agent about renting a hotel and restaurant? The real estate agent, who was a Perussuomnalaiset (PS)* municipal candidate for the city of Espoo, started to pry into Hamiid’s life: “What kind of family and relatives do you have? What is your religion? Could you
Read on »Päivän sitaatti (Sakari Timonen): Ei enää erota
“Jotain on pahasti vialla, kun kokoomusta ei enää erota perussuomalaisista eikä iltapäivälehtia MV:stä. Tärkeintä näyttää olevan saada aikaan nettimölinää.” Lue alunperin sitaatti tästä.
Read on »Finland’s pyramid of hate: Let’s do away with the Human Rights of asylum seekers
Even if opposition politicians from parties like the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), it’s sobering that the government of Prime Minister Sanna Marin is holding the line against their onslaughts. It is surprising that how naive the PS and Kokoomus are. No border, no law, will bring a sense of security unless you
Read on »At times like this, I am ashamed of Finland and the EU
The so-called migrant crisis with Belarus offers Lukashenko and Putin an opportunity and EU politicians tools to fearmonger and score brownie points with voters. Isn’t it odd how one-sided the news is about the refugee crisis at the Belarus border? Most of the opposition politicians, especially from the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), believe that harsh
Read on »Police University College: Suspected hate crime cases retreat in 2020 by 5.22% to 852 from the previous year
Suspected hate crimes reported to the police in Finland during2020 totaled 852 cases, which is a 5.22% fall from 899 hate crimes in the previous year, according to the Police University College. As in previous years, the lion’s share (88.5%) of all hate crimes were motivated by national-ethnic origin (649/75.8% of all cases) and religion (108/12.7%).
Read on »A depressing documentary on Denmark’s Islamophobia
The scariest matter that Thursday’s documentary revealed about one of Europe’s most Islamophobic countrie was how far racist discourse promoted by politicians could lead a country. In a standard pyramid of hate (see below), where genocide is the final outcome, the apex of Denmark’s pyramid of hate is deportation, and physical elimination of whole groups
Read on »Tasa-arvosta ja yhdenvertaisuudesta
Kaikki, erityisesti poliitikot ja valtion virkailijat pitäisi tietää, että sana “tasa-arvo”* tarkoittaa miesten ja naisten yhdenvertaisuus. Mutta mitä poliitikko saattaa viestittää kun käyttää sana tasa-arvo yhdenvertaisuuden sijasta? Yksi asia hän viestittä on että kiinnosta on vain naisten ja miesten yhdenvertaisuutta. Hänelle ei ole tärkeä yhdenvertaisia oikeuksista kun puhutaan mm. uskonnosta, etninen taustasta, kansalaisuudesta tai kielestä.
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: What must be done to speed up adaption?
There are many things that one can do to retard or facilitate adaption of newcomers to Finland. One of the worst is constant suspicion by politicians who have no qualifications or understanding of migration. Good examples are National Coalition Party MP Pia Kauma who does not have the faintest idea about migrants but is still
Read on »Twitter: Disingenuous Veikko Vallin
How to describe Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Veikko Vallin’s tweet below? Vallin, who likes to be called the Trump of Tampere, likes posing with MAGA caps and often makes racist remarks about asylum seekers, who are mostly Muslims. He even brags on social media about how he was able to escape taxes in Finland by moving
Read on »Finland’s dark side begins to wake up
This week we learned about how widespread women in the rescue department are victims of sexual harassment and discrimination, according to Yle. We also learned about the ministry of justice’s plans to tackle discrimination and hate-speech awareness with a 52-point program with the help of training increased support for organizations racism and hate crime. Writes Yle News: “In the future
Read on »What did PS’ Veikko Vallin say at the Tampere city council meeting?
Do we need to know the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP’s track record and what he has said about asylum seekers, Muslims, people of color, and other minorities in the past? His tirade against asylum seekers was so racist that the Left Alliance bloc threatened to leave the meeting if Vallin didn’t stop talking. Vallin, an avid
Read on »Why do some politicians, who know better, spread and feed us racism?
There is an old saying that goes something like this: I was a liberal in youth so I would not be a fascist in old age. What motivates a politician to twist and exaggerate facts to stigmatize migrants? National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Heikki Vestman’s speech in parliament Wednesday is a prime example of how
Read on »The cracks are beginning to show
Islamophobia and other forms of racism are for some politicians their gateway to power and infamy. Watching part of the firey debate Wednesday in parliament that led to a vote of confidence for the government, one wonders what some politicians, especially with the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, have in their heads. The saddest matter was the
Read on »A bad week for Helsinki University: Another discrimination case, another question mark
It has been a bad week for Helsinki University with Helsingin Sanomat uncovering an alleged discrimination case by the faculty of theology. The incident comes after the university’s department of geography students dressed up like colonizers of a popular board game, Afrikan tähti (Star of Africa). The Helsinki University geography department gave Tuesday a public
Read on »Two Finnish tourists are charged after giving Nazi salute at the Dachau concentration camp
Giving a Nazi salute at the notorious Dachau concentration camp not only shows tremendous ignorance but is a slap in the face to all the victims of Hitler’s racial policies. According to The Nomad Today, a Spanish ex-pat online newsletter, two Finnish tourists who visited the camp gave a Nazi salute. Writes The Nomad Today:
Read on »Instagram: Racism at Helsinki University
Migrant Tales insight: University students should know better. They should know that colonialism is deeply insulting and a painful legacy to many.
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY (James Baldwin): on identity, on who I am
James Baldwin (1924-87) is one of the greatest and most insightful writers, essayists, and activists of black USAmerica. With the help of his words, we are capable of seeing the beast that has oppressed and tormented the black. His Insights offer as well a glimpse at our monster. There has been a lot of debate
Read on »Riikka Purra’s promise of “significantly” tightening immigration policy is nothing more than a snow job
The Perussuomalaiset (PS) are known to make a lot of promises to their voters and many of these are snow jobs. Tightening Finnish immigration policy will be challenging because it is already quite strict. Purra has said that for her to form a government with another party, the main requirement would be tightening “significantly” immigration
Read on »What do police mistakes on sexual assault statistics and reaction to a climate demonstration tell us?
It’s been a week full of mistakes for the police. Firstly, the police admitted a big mistake in their sexual crime statistics by tabulating a single suspect of assaulting his wife 141 times. Each assault was recorded as a single person. The latest bungle came when the Helsinki police admitted it failed to correctly assess the security
Read on »Amir’s tragic life as an asylum seeker in Finland
I got to know Amir* in 2016 when he was living in the Kolari asylum refugee center. Thanks to his help and those of others, the asylum seekers of the reception center organized a demonstration that ended with the deputy manager, Jari Sillantie, getting sacked. Amir, an Iraqi, came to Finland in 2015 like so
Read on »Oops! Incorrect suspected sexual assault cases for 2020
Sexual assault, especially suspected cases, is heatedly used by anti-immigration parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and public services like the police to demonstrate how some foreigners are. The police admitted today to a mistake in tabulating suspected sexual assault cases during 2020. The mistake originates from a foreigner suspected of sexually assaulting his wife 141
Read on »Finnish government to ease (alas) strict family reunification law
The Finnish government of Prime Minister Sanna Marin plans to overturn the country tightened immigration law and family reunification requirements, which came into force a year later after a record 32,477 asylum seekers came to Finland in 2015. The then government of Center Party Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party was a
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY (Diana Bellesi): Going and returning
Being a migrant for a number of generations is special. Why do some of us are always hoping to go somewhere but we are always returning? My late father, Nemo, put this surreal situation in the following words: Being at a railway station is like being in the land of nowhere with a sense of
Read on »PS MP Sebastian Tynkkynen gets a third ethnic agitation conviction
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party MP Sebastian Tynkkynen was convicted for a third time of ethnic agitation, according to Yle News. The two previous convictions were handed down in 2016 and 2017. The Oulu District Court handed Tynkkynen, who is the PS’ third vice president, 70 day fines amounting to 4,400 euros. The PS
Read on »KOTOUTUMINEN #16: Schools should encourage pupils to be proud of their roots
One of the biggest challenges and shortfalls of Finland’s integration law is that it is one-sided: Here is a list of things you must do to adapt to our society. This aim is very general, and if you start to study it closer, you will find no answers. While language is essential, and Finland places
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #81: Racializing crime, perpetuating stereotypes and racism
Treat with tweezers whenever percentage figures are used to depict sexual assault cases by migrants. A government-commissioned study published Thursday concluded that migrants are over-represented in suspected sexual assault crimes, perpetuating a toxic narrative. Such generalizations give ammunition to Islamophobes like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party to maintain and reinforce racist stereotypes. To look at how the Finnish
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #80: Violence against you counts but mine doesn’t
Radical-right Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party MP, Sebastian Tynkkynen, who has two ethnic agitation convictions and a third pending, is trying to get the most political mileage from an incident at an #elokapina demonstration. Some unknown persons at the demonstration allegedly attempted to attack Tynkkynen and shoved him. The police asked if the MP wanted to
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Modes of travel
It is the same feeling of anticipation you have at an airport, where you are in the land of nowhere with a sense of being somewhere else. You are wrong if you if you believe that there is only one way of traveling. As a migrant who has travelled all of his life, I have
Read on »Finnish lawmaker has three ethnic agitation convictions to his name
The Oulu district court found Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Sebastian Tynkkynen guilty of ethnic agitation for his Facebook postings in 2017, according to Yle. While no Finnish media mentioned it, the third conviction for ethnic agitation is a record for a Finnish lawmaker. Hiding behind Islamophobic arguments and that the sentence violated his free speech rights, Tynkkynen said
Read on »Subcontracting social ills to higher pay
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED According to Helsingin Sanomat, Deputy Mayor for Education of Helsinki, Nasima Razmyar, believes that the best way to deal with inequality at Helsinki schools is by paying teachers a bigger salary. Ramyar has a good idea, but it does not even begin to deal with why there is so much inequality
Read on »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
Read on »Twitter (@PasiPennanen): Rasisti useasti leimaa itsensä
@PasiPennan huomauttaa, että oikeistolaisia kokevat rasisminvastaisen kampanjan kohdistuvan heihin. Tämä ei yllättää. Oletko huomannut, että rasisti useasti leimaa itsea seuraavalla tavalla: “Luuletko, että olen rasisti?” You said it. I didn’t.
Read on »Dismantle institutional racism and myths if you want people to adapt to Finland
The ongoing discussion in Finland about our ever-growing cultural and ethnic diversity is grounded on two misleading assertions that hide the core problem: language is the magic bullet to become a part of society, and white Finnish society is innocent – if you don’t adapt it’s because of you. Heikki Turkka of Children of the
Read on »The magic word for Finland’s future success rests on change and inclusion
Finland is in a bind, and we have heard these for a long time: Finland’s population is aging, and there is an ever-growing need for foreign labor. Our answer to these challenges is not only disappointing but leaving our future to chance. Why is there such a negative and suspicious attitude towards foreigners in Finland?
Read on »Tuttu temppu jota poliitikot käyttävät: sanoo jotain rasistista ja pahoittelee sanavalintaa kun kohu nousee
Seuraava temppu on yksi vanhimmista jota poliitikot käyttävät kun sanovat jotain epäasiallista tai rasistista. Otetaan keskustan kansanedustaja Juha Pylväs, joka kutsui turvapaikanhakijoihin sanoilla jonkin sortin “elintasosurffarit.” Pylväksen temppu: Hän leimaa turvapaikanhakijat rasistisesti. Hän pahoitteli sanavalintaa kun kohu nousi. 3. Hänen rasistinen ulostulo on onnistunut, koska se on levinnyt äänestäjien keskuudessa.
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Where happiness lives
No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings. William Blake (1757-1827) Leo Honka Of all the seasons that pass over Finland, possibly fall is the most magical. But what makes it stand out from the others? Is it the pitch-darkness? Is it the vast universe above and its
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Finland’s hardline and bureaucratic immigration policy is deadly for democracy
“Finland’s hardline and bureaucratic immigration policy based in great part on suspicion and fear of outsiders is partly to blame for the rise of a populist and hostile anti-immigration party in the last decade and even for high migrant unemployment. A systematic policy of exclusion suggests that our plans to bring foreign labor will fail. A
Read on »The Finnish media’s reporting about migrants and minorities is a disappointment
It is surprising, even worrying, that outsiders are the ones that help burst the media’s many bubbles. One such OP-ED published Wednesday in Helsingin Sanomat by Antti Kivijärvi, and Martta Myllyä sheds light on the blind spot created by exceptionalism and ethnocentrism. Should it be a surprise that this state of affairs happens whenever migrants
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: A migrant’s journey never ends and may last generations
“When a migrant embarks on a journey, he may not realize that the journey the migrant is on never ends and that he is part of another journey that a relative began generations ago. Thus a migrant’s journey may begin during our lifetime, but it rarely ends during our lifetime. Your relatives, those who are
Read on »Unpublished Finland Bridge column: Hold the Fort (Until Sanity Returns)
Migrant Tales insight: After publishing a regular column for Finland Bridge of Finland Society (Suomi-Seura), the column below written in 2015 was the last one. Apparently, the content of the column was too much for the editor of the magazine, who scolded me for being too critical of the Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party). I had to
Read on »PS’ Riikka Purra feeds Afghans to the dogs
The new chairperson of the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, Riikka Purra, will soon be calling out the knives. In her latest tweet, she reveals her radical cruelty against the vulnerable. In the Tweet below, she feeds the Afghans to the dogs and shows the worst of Finland. No experts, human rights activists, defenders of the
Read on »Finland’s issues with Nazi flags and a too often biased and insensitive media of minorities
Migrant Tales published on Tuesday comments by Yaron Nadbornik, the president of the 1,100-strong Jewish Community of Helsinki, concerning the Helsinki district court’s ruling that carrying Nazi Germany flags in public was not ethnic agitation. If there is one group of people who have a lot to say about Nazi flags and the Holocaust, they
Read on »Riikka Purra and her PS cronies want to make discrimination and racism legal
We all know about Perussuomalaiset (PS)* new chairperson Riikka Purra’s radical views on cultural diversity and migration in general. Yes, she’s the one warning about how Muslims are taking over Europe and how brown and black Finns will replace white Finns. Her latest Tweet below suggests that white Finns should be the only beneficiaries of
Read on »Finland’s Perussuomalaiset party says that the use of the Nazi flag in public should not be criminalized
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Only the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and Ano Turtiainen’s one-man party expressed opposition to criminalizing the use of the Nazi flag in public. The story by Yle was published a day after the Helsinki District Court dismissed ethnic agitation charges agitation against five men of carrying a swastika flag in public on Independence Day 2018. PS parliamentary group
Read on »Insulting migrants is called “discussion” and a privilege of white Finns
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Remember when Center Party parliamentary group leader Juha Pylväs slammed asylum seekers as “parasites” that wanted to live off social welfare? Pretty sickening and lowly on his part. I hope that Pylväs get charged with ethnic agitation. But what is worse? The silence and support for what he said and the
Read on »Hesburger employee debacle: Wake up Finland!
One of the big questions that the Hesburger employee debacle proves is that Finnish unions, the police, and state regulators don’t take the law seriously enough. Migrant Tales has cited numerous cases where employers exploited foreigners. It’s clear that if their employers exploit some migrants, it happens as well to white Finns. A group of former and present Hesburger
Read on »Center Party MP Juha Pylväs just pulled the oldest racist trick by politicians
Center Party parliamentary group leader Juha Pylväs got his brief moment in the media by insulting migrants and minorities. Today, however, he showed us one of the oldest political tricks in the books: say something outrageous, usually racists, and then apologize. He regretted calling some asylum seekers “welfare surfers” or shoppers. He said his statement
Read on »Center Party’s Pylväs cannot resist and swallows the “sweet” pill of racism
Center Party parliamentary group leader Juha Pylväs went on the rampage Wednesday: “We certainly need in Finland skilled foreigners who can live off their work,” he was quoted as saying in Helsingin Sanomat. “We don’t need surfers and parasites that seek a better standard of living.” While we could consider Pylväs’ statement in foul taste, Center
Read on »The overdose of hypocrisy and crocodile tears from the West on Afghanistan
I don’t know if you feel the same way about helping Afghans after the Taliban took over the country. Listening to politicians and the media, two words reveal the present state of things: hypocrisy and crocodile tears. Such deception is not only coming from Western leaders but from the Taliban as well. Below are some
Read on »Riikka Purra’s call to struggle against her ilk
Silence and complacency are some of the reasons why xenophobia and the rise of an anti-immigration party have been possible in Finland. While there are many common citizens and activists in Finland who have been fighting against parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, chairperson Riikka Purra’s interview on Yle’s Ykkösaamu is a definite reminder that we
Read on »PS’ Mika Niikko: Muslims should be prohibited from having a family
Perussuomalaiset MP and chair of the foreign affairs committee, Mika Niikko, said in Helsingin Sanomat that he’d only want to give asylum to Afghan women and girls. Niikko’s and the PS’ xenophobic views of asylum seekers are exposed. “I am not heartless to not help women and children who seek to come and seek shelter from a
Read on »Riikka Purra is the new leader of xenophobic copycats and plagiarizers
The newly elected chairperson of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, Riikka Purra, did not waste any time attacking migrants. Apart from tightening naturalization laws and family reunification, she stated that the PS will not become a member of a new government that doesn’t “significantly” tighten immigration laws. The timing of her hostile and anti-social statements could not have been worse.
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Riikka Purra, where is your heart?
THIS POEM WAS UPDATED Where is your heart, Riikka Purra? Did you throw it away in a trash can? Or did you hungrily devour it after you saw your first refugee The bricks that line your political path will turn red hot and melt your shoe soles; even if you can only be tall for
Read on »The new PS board is a tinderbox and a liability to their political goals
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED While some reporters are hoping for the downfall of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s government, they are also rooting for the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, whom they see as a shoo-in to lead or be a member of Finland’s next government after the 2023 parliamentary elections. If you look at the reporting of the
Read on »Riikka Purra and the PS: Grow up! Stop bullying migrants and minorities!
Statements about tightening immigration policy by the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* elected chairperson, Riikka Purra, exposes her cowardice and the complacency of the Finnish media. The cowardice comes from bullying people who are powerless to challenge her hostility. The complacency of the Finnish media comes from seeing no wrong in Purra’s and the PS’ hatred of migrants
Read on »Whoever is elected as the chair of the PS will perpetuate Finland’s lie
The annual of the xenophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* in Seinäjoki will elect Saturday the party’s next chairperson after Jussi Halla-aho announced in June that he would not seek a new term. While it is a foregone conclusion that the PS’ first vice president Riikka Purra will be the party’s new chairperson, it is also clear that
Read on »A-Studio: Riikka Purra wants to tighten Finnish citizenship law, do away with pull factors
Riikka Purra, the favorite to win the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* leadership at the party’s annual meeting over the weekend, said Wednesday at Yle’s A-Studio was one of the many steps she took wants to tighten citizenship laws. This summer, the first vice president of the PS said that the party would not join any government that would not tighten “significantly” immigration
Read on »How Finland’s biggest daily Helsingin Sanomat loses its teeth and watchdog role
For the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, Helsingin Sanomat gives the country’s largest opposition party the kid-glove treatment. Are fear, agreement, or hopeful naivety the driving forces behind Helsingin Sanomat’s recent articles about the PS? Over the weekend, the daily published in its Kuukausiliite a big story about PS MEP Laura Huhtasaari, who is trying to make a
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #79: Spreading lies at our economic peril
What if most of the anti-immigration talking points spread by politicians like Jussi Halla-aho, Riikka Purra, and most of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party are just outright lies and urban legends? What if those false arguments put Finland in economic and social peril because they are untrue? An interesting paper titled, The 14 Most Common Arguments against
Read on »Twitter (Ara Malikian): Being from one, two, or many cultures simultaneously
Ara Malikian is a musician that awakens the magic from his violin. Isn’t it surprising when we can travel easily from one country to the next, there are still people who don’t accept that we can build many homes during our lifetime in many countries? We can be from one, two, or many places simultaneously. What
Read on »Federation of Real Estate Agency: “Moreover, the guide to good rental practices addresses discrimination”
Remember the real estate agent from Espoo who asked for a client’s personal information by disregarding the non-discrimination act? The person in question was a candidate for the Perussuomalaiset* party in the June municipal election. He did not get elected. Below, it one message that the real estate agent sent Husein Hamiid, who has lived
Read on »Kiinteistönvälitysalan Keskusliitto: “Ohjeen mukaan vuokravälityksessä on otettava huomioon yhdenvertaisuuslainsäädäntö”
Muistatko kun espoolainen kiinteistönvälittäjä pyysi henkilökohtaista tietoa asiakasta piittamatta yhdenvertaisuutta? Hän oli myös perussuomalaisten kuntavaali ehdokas kesäkuussa eikä tullut valituksi. Tässä on viesti joka kiinteistönvälittäjä lähetti Husein Hamiidille, joka on asunut Suomessa yli 20 vuotta. Hamiid on jo tehnyt rikosilmoituksen asiasta ja ottanut yhteyttää Kiinteistönvälitysalan Keskusliittoon, joka lähetti (30.7.2021) hänelle seuraavan sähköpostiviesti: “Hei. Kiinteistönvälitysalan Keskusliitto
Read on »A warning to Tamk international students: If you cheat, “you better go and study in another country”
Some Finns have not received high scores for their subtleness but can be sometimes outright offensive. Taru Owston, a councellor at Tampere University of Applied Sciences (Tamk), gave a stern warning to international students at her talk. It’s not rocket science to understand that cheating is unacceptable in all countries and cultures. It also happens
Read on »Tanskasta löytyy vastaus miksi Perussuomalaiset vastustavat Kokoomuksen ehdotus
Haluatko tietää miksi Perussuomalaiset vastustavat Kokoomuksen ehdotus tiukentaa maahanmuuttolinjansa? Tanskasta löytyy vastaus. Kirjoittaa Yle 2019 vaaleista: “Tanskan poliittista keskustelua pitkään hallinnut ja muutkin suuret puolueet maahanmuuttopolitiikan rajuihin kiristyksiin yllyttänyt kansanpuolue koki vaaleissa rökäletappion. Kun vielä vuoden 2015 vaaleissa oikeistopopulistista kansanpuoluetta äänesti 21,1 prosenttia tanskalaisista, oli äänisaalis nyt vain 8,7 prosenttia.” Perussuomalaiset pelkäävät sama kohtalo kun
Read on »Let’s take our identity back from the likes of Kauma, Kokoomus and the Perussuomalaiset*
It isn’t surprising that the National Coalition Party’s (Kokoomus) proposal to tighten social security guidelines between migrants and “white Finns” (kantasuomalaiset) has caused confusion. The answer is simple and hinges on the fact that ethnicity and race are social constructs. The mix-up over the use of the term kantasuomalainen has not only caught Kokoomus by
Read on »A Finnish real estate agent wants a picture of the client’s family and information on his religious background
What would you do if a real estate agent asked you the following questions and demand: How old are you? What kind of family and relatives do you have? Send me a picture of your family! What is your religious background? What year did you come to Finland? That real estate agent, who was a
Read on »Kiinteistövälittäjä Espoosta halua kuvan perheestä ja tietoa heidän uskonnolisesta taustasta
Espoolainen kiinteistönvälittäjä ja perussuomalaisten kuntavaaliehdokas haluaa henkilökohtaista tietoa asiakkailta. Husein Hamiid on suomen kansalainen ja asunut Suomessa yli 20 vuotta. Hän lähestyi välittäjää, koska kiinnostui ravintolan ja hotellin vuokraamisesta. Hän sai seuraavan sähköpostiviestin kiinteistövälittäjältä: Hei! Minkä ikäinen olet? Millainen perhe ja lähisuku sinulla on? Mikä on uskonnollinen taustasi ? Kuinka paljon voisit maksaa vuokraa ravintolasta
Read on »Sucking up to the Perussuomalaiset and exposing your hypocrisy
The latest unconstitutional proposal by National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Pia Kauma and her party is an example of how right-wing parties in Finland bully vulnerable migrants. What makes the whole proposal a publicity stunt and a further sucking up to the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* by Kokoomus, is MP Kauma. While the political reasons are clear
Read on »The blood that the PS forced to boil has turned into acid eating away its support
I am certain that I am not the only one whose blood boils every time a Perussuomalaiset (PS)* politician makes a racist statement about migration, cultural diversity, minorities, and the EU. In light of the June municipal election, the PS’ result was a disappointment for the party even if they improved their result by 5.6
Read on »Facebook (Paco Diop): Sana maahanmuuttajataustainen kertoo etuoikeudesta
Migrant Talesin näkemys: Paco Diop on tehnyt hieno kirjoitus ja tuo esille hyviä ajankohtaisia kysymyksiä. Miksi jotkut valkoiset suomalaiset käyttävät sana “maahanmuuttajataustainen?” On korkea aika, että me päätämme keitä olemme. Suomalaisuus on monimuotoinen käsite ja ihmiset saavat olla suomalaisia omalla ehdolla.
Read on »Kokoomus gives nod to Perussuomalaiset’s plan to tighten immigration policy
The National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Pia Kauma wants to tighten immigration law. It is strange that when most Finns are on holiday in the middle of the summer, Kauma intends to propose such changes. Her party’s proposal should be seen as a green light to the Perussuomalaiset’s plan to tighten immigration policy if they
Read on »Russian asylum-seeker family’s securty compromised by asylum reception center
A Russian family under serious threat of human rights violations plans to complain to the chancellor of justice against the Imatra asylum reception center, which alleges had endangered the Russian asylum seekers’ security. The family lived in Finland during 2017-2020. They are Ludmila*, her elderly mother, husband, and three other family members, including four cats. A
Read on »10 years after the 22/7 mass killings in Norway and what it reveals about us
Ten years have passed since 22/7, and some Norwegians are still asking, “why?” I remember that day as if it were yesterday. First, a bomb exploded in downtown Oslo, and what followed then were the cold-blooded murders of young people on Utøya island. A total of 77 people lost their lives on that day. Countless
Read on »PS MP Ville Tavio believes in fairy tales like the great replacement “theory” and takes aim at pre-school children
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* parliamentary group leader Ville Tavio shows once again the party’s toxic far-right colors. This is the same politician who wants the PS to follow Marine Le Pen’s line and expresses love for Hungary and Poland’s governments. Even warnings by the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo) about the so-called great replacement “theory” is
Read on »Education without empathy and moral compass can turn you into a monster
The process to turn Finland’s far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party wants to become “a normal mainstream” party continues. You see, they claim, we’re “normal” because we have physicists and party members, like Riikka Purra, working on their PhDs. Sakari Puisto, who is also vying to be elected chairperson of the PS and Purra, has a Ph.D.
Read on »Tens of far-right vigilantes are marching in Pori – I hope my fascination doesn’t show too much
Wow! Looky here! Tens of far-right vigilantes called the Soldiers of Odin are marching in the western Finnish city of Pori! Quick! Take a picture and publish a story because tens of Soldiers of Odin vigilantes are marching in Pori. The media has a lot of power, but it does not go the extra mile
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: The PS is the party of the nativist racists sprinkled with anti-EU soundbites
“No matter what the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party does, no matter who it elects as its next chairperson, the shadow of racism will follow it. Even if people like Timo Soini said that the party’s anti-immigration wing was only a minor factor in the 2011 parliamentary election, nothing could be further from the truth. Like
Read on »The Finnish Perussuomalaiset who declared their love to Donald Trump and other autocrats
In English, we have an expression, a horse’s ass. A horse’s ass is a person who is stupid and looks like a horse’s ass after their statement. Sometimes, a comment that makes you look like a horse’s ass may appear to be months later. The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is Finland’s party that adores former President Donald Trump.
Read on »Thank you Perussuomalaiset for giving us Ano Turtiainen
Without Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party backing, Finland would have never had to read about MP Ano Turtiainen. From spreading racism, Turtiainen is now a staunch anti-vaxxer who believes that the Coronavirus pandemic is a hoax. From “Pink Floyd” to his accusations to fellow MPs of traitor and committing genocide against the Finns, Turtiainen has come full
Read on »Let’s continue to expose Jussi Halla-aho’s and the PS’ big lie
Just like former US President Donald Trump continues to spread the big lie about election fraud, so do Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Jussi Halla-aho and his party about the threat of immigration and cultural diversity. Last month’s municipal elections were a disappointment for the party after it had invested resources generously in its copied “Take Finland
Read on »(Migrant Tales, July 9, 2021): A quote for Riikka Purra – “If you can only be tall because someone is on their knees, then you have a serious problem”
Who is Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party heir-apparent Riikka Purra’s mentor? Is it far-right leader Marine Le Pen of France’s National Rally or UK home secretary hardliner Priti Patel? Purra got her anti-immigration inspiration from Jussi Halla-aho’s racist blog postings. “If it’s up to me, the Perussuomalaiset will never form part of a government that won’t tighten significantly Finnish
Read on »Riikka Purra seeks to lead the Perussuomalaiset party on Islamophobic and anti-EU soundbites. Populism and economic ruin?
Should we be surprised that Perussuomalaiset (PS)* first vice president Riikka Purra announced her candidacy for chairperson of the Islamophobic party? Since she is the favorite to win the title, what will change, if anything, after its present chairperson Jussi Halla-aho steps down at next month’s annual meeting? Purra, does not hide her Islamophobic views,
Read on »Many good studies show racism in Finland, too few give us any solutions on how to tackle the problem
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” James Baldwin (1924-87) In Finland, we read a lot of studies about racism and discrimination. One recent article by Raster gives a comprehensive view of the issues fueling migrant discrimination and unemployment. Who can forget researcher Akhlaq Ahmad’s study in 2019 showed
Read on »500,000+ “DISPOSABLE” LIVES: A performance and installation by Danilo Canguçu and volunteers
Does Finland need critical race theory?
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Aminkeng A. Alemanji, a Cameroonian researcher who defended successfully in October 2016 his doctoral dissertation on anti-racism education, is the closest you will get to critical race theory in Finland. Even if some link critical race theory to movements like BLM, it has been around for about 40 years. Critical race theory, like
Read on »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
Read on »500.000+ “DISPOSABLE” LIVES: A performance and installation by Danilo Canguçu and volunteers
On June 19th of 2021, Brazil reached the absurd number of 500.000 deaths caused by Covid-19. These lives are not disposable. They have given names and surnames. This is a performance and installation in memory of the ones that went away because of the pandemic of the new Coronavirus. The performance and installation will happen
Read on »“The world’s happiest country” and its ever-growing moral conflict
Gunnar Myrdal (1898-1987) published his groundbreaking study on the United States’ racism problem in 1944. While Myrdal was a controversial figure and Sweden was into measuring the skulls of the Saami due to a pseudoscience called eugenics, his study leaves us with food for thought. One of these is denial of a serious social problem
Read on »“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
Read on »Finnish parliament improves asylum rights, but there is still a long way to go
Parliament voted Wednesday to lift some of the restrictions it imposed in 2016 during the government of Juha Sipilä, which, among other matters, lowered the deadline for appeals and legal assistance to asylum seekers., according to the Refugee Advice Council. One of these includes the deadlines for appeals originally reduced to 21 days from 30
Read on »Riikka Purra is a poor copy of Jussi Halla-aho
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Jussi Halla-aho’s heir-apparent appears to be the party’s first vice-president, Riikka Purra. While Halla-aho has swung the party to the far-right and encouraging xenophobia, Purra has parroted the PS leader’s racist soundbites but with questionable results. Like Halla-aho, Purra loathes Muslims and people of color. So much so, in fact, that she warned
Read on »Jussi Halla-aho announces he will step down as PS chair in August
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Chairperson Jussi Halla-aho announced Monday that he will not seek reelection as the party’s head at the annual meeting in August, according to Yle News. While some party members expressed sadness about the news, Halla-aho will not be missed by many. No reason was given for his departure. There is, however, some speculation
Read on »Forcing an elderly Russian asylum seeker in Finland to the hospital
Some Russian asylum seekers expressed outrage of the ill-treatment of a single, 64-year-old woman from the Ukraine who was carried away by force from the Eastern Finnish Imatra asylum reception center. “This is not the way to great a human,” said a Russian asylum seeker who got in touch with Migrant Tales. “We are not
Read on »Facebook (Abdirahim Husu Hussein): Etnistä profilointia uimahallissa
Mitä tule Yhdenvertaisuusvaltuutettu sanomaan tästä tapauksesta?
Read on »Shame on Fortress Europe – 44,746 deaths
The 44,746 deaths of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean and deaths due to Fortress Europe policies are another black spot on Europe. The deaths span from 1993 to June 1. Our indifference and apathy to this humanitarian crisis make the Mediterranean and Europe grow into a grave with unknown and forgotten people. Indifference is
Read on »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
Read on »What’s at stake for persons of foreign origin in Sunday’s Finnish municipal elections?
The Foreign Scholars Forum, a forum for foreign scholars of all disciplines living and working in Finland, convened a Zoom panel discussion June 5th to which members of all the main political parties and groups were invited. The keynote topics for the event were immigration and climate change. Next to the debate, a fascinating and
Read on »Roma activist and Young European of the Year Leif Hagert: Now is the time to challenge discrimination
Finland’s Romany population got a rude reminder of the racism and ethnic profiling women from that group have to endure daily. You’d think that a country like Finland, which claims to uphold Nordic values, knows that ethnic profiling is not only illegal and insulting to the individual and group. Migrant Tales has maintained for a
Read on »USAmerica’s colonial legacy in Latin America is like Africa for Europe
I was shocked but not surprised when US Vice President Kamala Harris warned would-be Guatemalans fleeing corruption, violence, and poverty. What Harris said in Guatemala was shameful and dishonest. “I want to be clear to folks in the region who make that dangerous trek to the Unites States-Mexican border – do not come, do not
Read on »Onko Perussuomalaisten tekopyhyydellä “jotain rajaa?”
Kaksi kuvaa, jotka kertovat paljon siitä keitä ovat Perussuomalaiset. Kuvissa on tuomittuja kuntavaaliehdokkaita törkeästä lapsen seksuaalisesta hyväksikäytöstä parituksesta ja petoksista. Perussuomalaiset vakuuttavat, että heillä kuitenkin on “jotain rajaa.” Missä se raja on? Sitten tekopyhyys saa vauhtia kun Helsingin Perussuomalaiset julkaisivat mainoksen jossa näkyy nainen burkassa. Vaikka burkaan-pukeutuvia naisia voi Suomessa laskea sormilla. Mainos antaa ymmärtää
Read on »The media must fact-check what xenophobic politicians spread and claim
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED It is a good sign that some Finnish media like Yle are fact-checking what politicians say. However, it is a bit too late because the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* have built their popularity on making false claims about migrants. I’m pretty certain that if we were to do a fact-check on all the
Read on »The PS exposed its far-right credentials. After they get rid of the Muslims, are unions the next in line?
Jussi Halla-aho, the chairperson of the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, exposed another spoonful of its ever-visible far-right credentials on Saturday by demanding a 3,000-euro a month salary minimum for migrants to get a residence permit and weakening workers’ rights. The PS leader, who was convicted in 2012 for ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion,
Read on »Wael Cheblak aims to be a strong voice for Helsinki immigrants
Migrant Tales insight: Wael Cheblak, who is running for Helsinki city council, is an old and esteemed activist of Migrant Tales. While we do not endorse candidates in general, we sometimes make exceptions like in the case of Cheblak. If you vote for 1108 you vote for Wael Cheblak. Integration of vulnerable groups and ethnic
Read on »Falling into Finland’s ever-deepening pit of conflict and hypocrisy
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is the biggest threat to our Nordic welfare state and democracy. Their xenophobic ideology reveals a noticeable conflict. Gunnar Myrdal (1898.1987), a Swedish economist who did a groundbreaking study in the early 1940s about its racism, brought this dilemma to light: “How can they [USAmericans] claim to respect the dignity of
Read on »My long journey to Finnish citizenship: Issues and the Supo interview
Ever wondered the source of the strong undercurrent of xenophobia in present-day Finland? The answer is in its history. During independence, Finland has been quite an unfriendly country towards foreigners. The Restricting Act of 1939 speaks volumes. Did you know that Finland passed its first immigration act in 1983 or about 66 years after gaining
Read on »My long journey to Finnish citizenship
Like many children of Finnish parents, I, too, spent summers in the countryside with my grandparents. During all of these years, I thought, incorrectly, that I was a Finnish citizen or had a right to citizenship. I was wrong. Until 1984, children of Finnish men had the right to pass on citizenship to their children.
Read on »Back to square one: To hijab or not to hijab?
Twenty-year-old Fardowsa Mahamoud’s questioning why the hijab, or veil, is not permitted in the Finnish military brought a sense of déjà-vu. About six years ago, Busman Gill Sukhdarshan Singh won after a year-long legal battle to wear a turban at work. In Finland, Sikh bus drivers won the right to use turbans at work, while in
Read on »Al-Hol reveals Finland’s cowardice and paranoia
By Dana Finland is a cowardly and paranoic country that does not believe in humanity. But I respect humanity because GOD is the great Creator of man, and all of God’s creatures are important and valuable to me. Man is a creature of God. I am a disciple of truth, and the truth is my
Read on »Kokoomus and the PS are ready to go to bed after the municipal election
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is a far-right and racist party that will fail in the end because its core values are based on malarkey. Parties like the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) that want to form bedroom alliances with the PS will fail as well. The chairperson of the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), Petter Orpo, is well-known
Read on »Dana’s Alppikulma diary: 10 homeless people and others
MAY 19: Yesterday, in front of the Alppikulma gate, more than 10 homeless people were waiting at 5 o’clock to enter the building. A foreigner from an African country who shaves his head is under so much pressure that he does strange things. But I will only describe his work yesterday. He has to carry
Read on »PM Sanna Marin hits back at the PS’ perverted picture of migrants
Prime Minister Sanna Marin fired back at a session of parliament Thursday at the far-right Perussuomaliset (PS)* party. Making Finland an open and safe country is crucial if it wants to attract newcomers to the country. “Madam Speaker. Violence on streets, violence at homes, violence at schools are all severe matters, severe matters of which
Read on »Dana’s Alppikulma diary (May 18 and 19)
Migrant Tales comment: Our longtime editor, Dana, has promised to update a diary of her life in Alppikulma, a shelter for the homeless. We publish this for others to know what a special woman Dana is but to get an insight into the lives of the homeless. Today, 18. May. 2021 was a rainy day,
Read on »Dana: Finland’s black case
Finland is a country of addiction, alcohol, and drugs, but there are no facts in its newspapers.Finland is a land of garbage and cigarette butts and spit; the streets are full of cigarette butts and spit and feces and piss of dogs. But no one cares. There is no smoking only in front of the Parliament
Read on »The Perussuomalaiset are dismantling our Nordic welfare state for iliberal democracy (Part II)
Kristian Sheikki Laakso, or Sheikki Laakso, is a Finnish MP for the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party who is, as with his 38 PS MP colleagues, is filibustering the EU rescue package. One of the most “interesting” speeches before parliament was by Laakso, who read excerpts of Little Red Riding Hood. Laakso begins his speech: “Once
Read on »The Perussuomalaiset are dismantling our Nordic welfare state for iliberal democracy
What would you say about a party that openly supports former US President Donald Trump, “loves” Poland and Hungary, supports far-right French politician Marine Le Pen among other iliberal and populist malarkey? What about if I told you that that party has one aim: destroy Finland’s Nordic welfare state and democracy? The filibustering we are
Read on »Email*: Racism in the Finnish police is very, very normal
An email* from Dana dated May 11: In short, you do not like the explanation. A few months ago, behind the closed doors of Alppikulma,[1] a wild and drunken Finnish man who had been bullying me for months and giving me ugly obscenities, punched me in the mouth. I was standing right under the camera. He
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Galactic prayer
By Dana دعای کهکشانیای خدایا دستهایم را بگیر، مرا با خود به آسمانها ببر، به زیبایی و شکوه بی نظیرکهکشانها ببرای خدا نامم را صدا کن، کنارم بیا و کلماتم را ادا کن، مرا به سرزمینهایی ببر که تنها باشم، تنهای تنهای تنها• از فنلاند دورم کن که در امنیت و زنده و فرخنده و پا برجا
Read on »The suspects of one of Finland’s worst hate crimes in 2020 may face charges in early June
Remember the young Muslim who was violently attacked by a gang of white Finns in June in the Western Finnish town of Teuva? According to Fares Al-Obaidi, the police plan to conclude their investigations into the crime in early June. What happened to Al-Obaidi last year changed his life. He moved away to Espoo to
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Canary of light
By Dana رقناری آی قناریها برایم آواز بخوانید چون من اسیر دست فنلاندم، گرفتارم در یک قفس در بندماین قفس جنس آتشی دارد، بی نور و پنجره، نگهبان و پلیس های زشت وحشی و پا پتی دارد. فنلاند کشور سیاهچاله هاست، کشور شکنجه و قحطی و درد و مرگ و بلاست.من در این کشور بدام افتادم، بالهایم را شکستند و پاهایم
Read on »Racism is treated lightly by the Finnish police, according to Yle
Racist treatment and ethnic profiling are a stain on the police. Worse yet, denial and playing down such serious problems ensure a bigger stain on the police. If you want to know about racism in the Finnish police, why not ask Finland’s Romany minority and other visible minorities like blacks. The headline by Yle News,
Read on »The Perussuomalaiset now call migrants “cheap labor”
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party’s hatred for migrants goes through the same path but the accusations and labeling vary. About ten years ago migrants were rapists, after 2015 when a record number of asylum seekers came to Finland, they were “social welfare surfers.” Today, the PS calls migrants “dumb” who want to work for lower wages.
Read on »The “Anozation” of Rural Finland: populism, white nationalism, white extremism, iliberal democracy, and anti-science
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED As a person living in the rural South Savo region of Finland, MP Ano Turtiainen of Juva is a warning for Finland. On the one hand, you have big urban centers like Helsinki and surroundings, Turku and Tampere and on the other depopulated and graying rural Finland, where populism, white nationalism,
Read on »Petition to reform the Finnish Immigration Service
You can sign the petition spearheaded by Avaaz here.
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: God, my commander
By Dana Alone, solo and it is hard to fight, O GODYes, in the depths of darkness and dancing is pain O GOD GOD Tearing under the clutches of enemies and slaveryIt is hard to roll in blood and be silent and shut up, O GOD GOD suffocates the songs of the heart and smiles?Yes,
Read on »Is there a difference between former and present Perussuomalaiset members?
Some of the persons promoting racism, violence, and Hungarian-Orbán-style rule in Finland are former and present Perussuomalaiset (PS)* members. The only difference between these two types of PS supporters is their incitement of violence and racism. James Hirvisaari, who was sacked from the party after he took a picture of a friend giving a Nazi
Read on »University of Eastern Finland 14 May: Journalism in times of Covid-19: Representations of Latin America in Finnish Media
Tapahtumapäivämäärä:14.5.2021Aika:13:00–14:30Tapahtumapaikka:OnlineLisätietoja:ZoomAdd to calendar:GoogleOutlookiCal Welcome to a webinar organized by the Research Group Environment, Society and Development in Latin America (ESDLA) at the University of Eastern Finland. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists have the challenging task of gathering and distributing accurate and reliable information. This task becomes more critical and demanding when journalists create international news
Read on »The hypocrisy of the Perussuomalaiset revealed in Eastern Finland: racism, white nationalism, ties to the far-right
In my hometown of Mikkeli, the local Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chapter acted against a municipal election candidate that was too offensive even for their taste. It was the usual hateful nonsense against Muslims, visible migrants, and women. The PS sacked the candidate, Jorma T. Hartikainen, for being too racist only after the local daily, Länsi-Savo, exposed
Read on »The police should stop being a gatekeeper of Finnish identity by stigmatizing whole ethnic groups
A stabbing that took place on Monday in Helsinki, causing the death of a 24-year-old victim, revealed the police’s power in labeling whole ethnic groups (usually in a negative light) and its gatekeeping role. Even if the stabbing suspect was arrested, the police statement mentioned that “about ten [suspects] mainly people of foreign background” took
Read on »