The case of two young Iraqis, KM and SH, who were detained by the police on Friday and who will apparently be deported from the country on Monday are a case in point. To KM and SH, there is another Iraqi national, AM, who will be deported together with KM and SH. All three are being held at the Helsinki detention camp of Metsälä.
Read on »Enrique
Migrant Tales (July 21, 2012): Somali-Finn Abdulah -living in no-man’s land (Part 2)
When Abdulah*, 30, talks to you about his twenty-two years in Finland, one of the first questions that arises is how has so much suffering escaped our attention. For Abdulah, acceptance isn’t only virtually impossible from white Finns, but can be just as hard to get from the Somali community. “I have decided to live
Read on »Timo Soini’s silence in the face of PS MP Olli Immonen’s proposal reveals that he has always been the wolf in sheep’s clothing
Timo Soini, the chairman of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, was quoted as saying on YLE in English that PS MP Olli Immonen’s written question to parliament, that Finland should start classifying people according to ethnic background, doesn’t concern him. What do you think such a statement by the head of an an anti-immigration party reveals?
Read on »PS MP wants Finland to classify people according to ethnic background
As the European Parliament elections near in May 2014, the attacks against immigrants and visible minorities in Finland by the Perussuomalaiset (PS) are getting stronger and more relentless. The latest one is by none other then PS MP Olli Immonen, who gave parliament Wednesday a written question that Finland should start registering people according to
Read on »Why do we still hesitate to challenge intolerance in Finland?
I had an interesting chat yesterday with an old friend about racism in Finland. One of the matters we agreed was that Finland hasn’t reached that stage where we accept that racism exists and that concrete steps must be taken to challenge it. This fact leads us to a second important question: Why? The answer
Read on »Sikh bus driver in Finland plans to take employer to court over landmark turban case
Busman Gill Sukhdarshan Singh told Migrant Tales that he plans to take his employer to court if no decision is reached with the Veolia bus company concerning a turban ban at work after the the Southern Finland Regional State Administrative Agency (Avi) makes a new ruling on the matter in about a week and a half.
Read on »The story behind “Finland is a racist country” is in the comments
There were quite strong reactions among some Finns and immigrants to Maryan Abdulkarim’s interview on Helsingin Sanomat. Those who strongly objected to the article, appear to want to deny Abdulkarim’s right to express herself on a touchy subject like racism. It’s ironic, but those who want to deny Abdulkarim her right to speak out are
Read on »Isolationism, petty provincialism and nationalism: social ills with far-reaching consequences
In the backdrop of Finland’s independence day celebrations Friday and as the world mourns Nelson Mandela’s death yesterday, our country is at a major crossroads contesting whether it wants to be a closed or open society. The historic victory of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party in 2011 is one example how this country has taken a perilous
Read on »How does Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) empower us?
The death of Nelson Mandela, who was branded a terrorist by countries like the U.S. and Great Britain, is a sad day full of mourning but full of hope as well. His struggle and triumph over apartheid, a toxic offshoot of white European colonialism, proves that no matter how oppressive a government is, change is
Read on »Maryan Abdulkarim: “Finland is a very racist country”
Is there racism in Finland? In order to find the answer to that question, we’d have to ask visible migrants and minorities. Maryan Abdulkarim, 31, is a Finn who was born in Somalia, had the opportunity on Friday’s Helsingin Sanomat to answer that question. “Finland is a very racist country,” she said. “It always has been.”
Read on »PS MP blames immigrants for Finland’s disappointing Pisa result
This year’s Program for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results offered a rude disappointment for Finland, when it saw its global ranking slip sharply in reading, science and math, according to Yle in English. Of all the OECD countries, Finland’s Pisa result saw the biggest drop from the previous year. While part of Finland is still in
Read on »Sweden is right, Finland wrong in its strategy against anti-immigration parties
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt reiterated to Helsingin Sanomat the government’s plans to isolate Sweden Democrats despite the latest polls in Sweden, which show the anti-EU and anti-immigration party making gains. Even if the Sweden Democrats have tried break free from their neo-Nazi and racist image, the party led by Jimmie Åkesson has suffered a number
Read on »Immigrants and their associations should speak out more against exploitation
In the struggle that immigrants and members of the visible minority community in Finland, it’s important that we have a voice and speak out against exploitation and attitudes that promote intolerance. Read full story (in Finnish) here. Migrant Tales wrote recently about Abdi Osman, a naturalized Finn who came to this country fifteen years ago
Read on »Beating intolerance at its own game requires a reaction, leadership and a voice
Beating intolerance at its own game is easier than you think. There are many good examples in Finland, like International Mikkeli Day (IMD), where people from a grass-root level take action and seek solutions. Since intolerance and racism are based on lies and generous quantities of ideological fools gold, truth is the light that exposes
Read on »Länsi-Savo: Loistava kansainvälinen Mikkeli?
Torstaina 28.11. järjestettiin järjestyksessään toinen International Mikkeli Day Stellan Tähtitorilla. Yhtenä tapahtuman tärkeimmistä tehtävistä on luoda foorumi, jossa pohditaan kansainvälistymisen merkitystä kaupungin tulevaisuudessa. Kehitys ja hyvinvointi ovat pitkälti riippuvaisia siitä, kuinka hyvin sopeudumme ja hyödymme kansainvälisyydestä. Vaikka kansainvälistyminen ei ole ainoa ratkaisu alueemme ongelmiin, se on kuitenkin yksi monista ratkaisuista johon pitäisi tarttua erityisesti Itä-Suomessa.
Read on »The PS are now hoping that Kouvola stops receiving asylum seekers and quota refugees by 2016
If you believe that the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party has toned down its xenophobia and loathing towards refugees, check out what they are doing in the municipality of Kouvola. According to the local daily, Kouvolan Sanomat, the PS wants the city council to stop receiving asylum seekers and quota refugees by 2016. While the PS blame
Read on »Finland and Europe must not forget its culturally diverse history
Why have so many in this land forgotten our culturally diverse history? Why don’t we teach it more at schools? At homes? If over 1.2 million emigrants left this land between 1860 and 1999, certainly that says a lot about the source of our diversity. It’s fortunate that Finland wasn’t a former European colonial powers like
Read on »Is your attitude towards racism determined by your upbringing and where you grew up?
Some immigrants and visible minorities fight against intolerance their own way. Others, however, shy away from such a challenge by preferring to live in denial. Is the way you fight against intolerance dependent on what you learned at home and in your home country? If a white Russian learned to hate blacks and Muslims in his society,
Read on »Finland’s Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen’s blog entry on the Roma reveals why Europe has done so little to help this minority
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read Christian Democrat Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen’s opinion piece on Uusi Suomi about the hardships that the Romany minority face in Europe today. As she expressed concern about their plight, I could not forget her intolerant views of gays, non-Christian refugees and her silence in the face of strict
Read on »Finnish bus company continues to prohibit Sikh employee from wearing a turban
Migrant Tales reported in September a landmark case in which a Sikh busman could wear a turban while at work. Helsingin Sanomat reported Thursday, however, that matters didn’t turn the way that the Vantaa Sikh busman, Gill Sukhdarshan Singh, thought. According to Helsingin Sanomat, the Sikh busman is still not allowed to wear a turban at work. Migrant
Read on »Finland and Europe must not be lured into populism and xenophobia
Denials by party leaders like Timo Soini that the Perussuomalaiset (PS) isn’t a xenophobic party, and the meek response of Finland’s mainstream parties to such a threat, speak volumes of the present state of this country. Who helped the political careers of xenophobes like Jussi Halla-aho, James Hirvisaari and others? Soini and the PS. Why
Read on »Latest drug police scandal sheds light on other issues like ethnic profiling in Finland
The latest police corruption scandal concerning the head of the Helsinki police drug squad, sheds light on two matters: Our naivety as a society about institutional corruption, and the extent of other issues like ethnic profiling by the police. Police corruption is nothing abnormal since it exists everywhere. What is abnormal, however, is believing that our police
Read on »Migrant Tales investigative reporting: Finland’s banks fuel social exclusion of some immigrants
Hostility doesn’t always mean that you get pushed around and attacked physically. Hostility can appear near-invisibly as well without laying a finger on you. Social exclusion is a form of aggression that can be fueled by denying you basic rights like opening a bank account, getting life insurance or a mobile phone line. Nordea is the
Read on »Migrant Tales (March 13, 2012): Stateless persons do not have the right to open a bank account in Finland
Here is a pretty odd case that I encountered Monday (March 12) when I went to Nordea bank in Mikkeli to open an account for a stateless person. After a few questions, the bank employee said that the person needs a valid passport to open an account at that bank. But if on that passport
Read on »Time has shown us that our anti-racism efforts in Finland haven’t been in vain
It was only a few years ago when Migrant Tales was openly challenged by some for speaking out against racism in Finland. According to the more hostile commentators that posted on our site back then, racism didn’t exist in this country. If it existed, it was minor and exceptional. Even after the anti-immigration and anti-EU
Read on »Lieksa, Finland, councilperson who wanted a “Somali-free” meeting room gets sacked as the PS’ town council leader
Esko Saastamoinen, the Perussuomalaiset (PS) councilperson from Lieksa who demanded that a ”Somali-free” meeting room for his delegation, has been sacked as the PS’ town council leader, according to Karjalainen, a Joensuu-based daily. Saastamoinen was, however, able to retain his post as the party’s Lieksa town board first vice president. The PS councilperson faces as
Read on »Lieksa town secretary caves in to PS demands for “Somali-free” meeting room
An earlier story, which claimed that a Perussuomalaiset (PS) Lieksa town council leader doesn’t want to be in the same room where a Somali group meets once a month, has been corrected by Karjalainen, a Joensuu-based daily. It is not the PS town council leader, Esko Saastamoninen, making such a demand but the PS councilpersons
Read on »PS leader of Lieksa, Finland, refuses to be in the same room where Somalis meet
Taking into account all the problems and positive solutions that have been found in the town of Lieksa in the region of South Karelia concerning its over 200-strong Somali community, it is disturbing that a city councilmen like Esko Saastamoinen, Perussuomalaiset (PS) town council leader, states he doesn’t want to be in the same room
Read on »Can Peru shed light on how to identify and tackle intolerance in Finland?
In order to understand how racism works in countries like Finland, it is important to see how it occurs in multi-ethnic countries like Peru. While the documentary below clearly shows the many ugly faces of intolerance in Peru, it gives us some good answers to address the social ill in Finland. One of the interesting
Read on »Is silence an effective response to racism?
One of the questions we should ask ourselves is what should our response be to those that are hostile to migrants, visible minorities and our ever-growing cultural diversity. Should silence be the answer? One of the matters that I have learned through my many years of studying and writing about cultural diversity, is that silence
Read on »Man who attacked a Lutheran Church Tuesday “is sorry for what he did and understands his mistake”
What happened on Tuesday, when a white ethnic Finn dressed like a Muslim that vandalized a Lutheran church in Helsinki, is one of the strangest stories I have written but with a good ending. All of this happened when YLE was airing the A2 Islam debate on television. Vicar Timo Pekka Kaskinen of the Rouhivuoren Congregation spoke to
Read on »Apu 1992: Onko Suomessa rotuvihaa?
MT kommentti: Tämä pakina julkaistiin Apu-lehdessä vuonna 1992. Samat kysymykset joita esitetään tässä kirjoituksessa, voidaan tehdä tänään. Silloin asui noin 37 000 maahanmuuttajia. Tänään niitä on 195 511. _______ Olisiko mahdollista, että Suomessa toistuisivat samankaltaiset rotuvihatapahtumat, jotka koettelevat Saksaa ja Ruotsia? Tämä kysymys, joka ahdistaa monia tai voi vaihtoehtoisesti jopa rohkaista eräitä samaan toimintaan. Suomessa
Read on »Columnist Eric Erfors of Sweden’s Expressen: What do Halla-aho and Räsänen say about the state of Finland today?
Finland needs every now and then a wake-up call from the outside world. Columnist Eric Erfors of the Swedish tabloid Expressen, asks how is it possible that a person like Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Jussi Halla-aho, which he calls a ”pure racist,” was eligible to become a deputy member of Finland’s delegation to the Council of
Read on »Alleged white Finn attacks Helsinki church dressed as a Muslim
What would you say if a white Finn dressed like a Muslim attacked a Lutheran church in Helsinki by breaking its windows, yelling and obstructing window repairmen from repairing the damage he caused? What would you say if this happened on Tuesday night, when YLE aired A2 Islam debate on television? Would you say it was
Read on »Are you a perpetrator or victim of white Finnish privilege?
One matter about intolerance is that it is universal. The social ill can manifest itself in different ways by speaking different languages and historical context but don’t be fooled by these deceptions: Intolerance is the same ogre. White privilege is one of the many faces of racism and means automatic access or exclusion to the
Read on »A2 Islam debate: “We’re a very tolerant society but…”
Two matters bothered me the most about the A2 Islam debate Tuesday night: how the cards were deliberately stacked against cultural diversity, and how Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Olli Immonen and PS Espoo city councilman Simon Elo did their utmost to spread fear-mongering of Muslims. You can watch the full debate here until the end of
Read on »About A2’s debate on Islam tonight…
The A2 islam-ilta television debate Tuesday will reveal once again white Finnish ethnocentrism, how poorly we know our laws and, what’s important, how poorly we accept people who are different from us. Is the Finnish media giving once again racists inflated respectability and importance? Will the A2 debate improve or undermine the situation of Muslims in Finland?
Read on »Finland’s interior minister only likes Christian refugees
Finland’s interior minister, Päivi Räsänen, has raised eyebrows again in Finland with her conservative religious views about the type of refugees she thinks would best adapt to Finland. Read full story here. Räsänen was quoted as saying on Joensuu-based Karjalainen that Finland should take Christian and Vietnamese refugees because their work ethic is closest
Read on »Headlines that raise questions and reveal a lot about our attitudes of other cultures
If one wants to start a humorous blog in Finland, just check out the headlines that dailies use sometimes to write about immigrants and refugees. True, some of them aren’t funny at all because they are hostile and ostracize specific groups. Read full story here. Here’s one headline I read on Monday’s Helsingin
Read on »Take two of Magneettimedia’s anti-Semitic campaign in Finland
After being fined 45,000 euros Monday by a Finnish court for ethnic agitation by publishing the anti-Semitic writings of Ted Pike, David Duke and others on Magneettimedia, a publication that advertises J. Kärkkäinen’s department store products, a new story appeared in the latest issue criticizing Zionism and the court sentence as “juridical murder” and “liquidating
Read on »Red herrings, code words that help sanitize and make more acceptable our intolerance
Even if I have written for years about Finland’s anti-immigration groups like the Perussuomalaiset (PS), you have to learn to detect the red herrings in order to understand their real views on the topic. What you may uncover behind these red herrings is far scarier than ever imagined. A red herring is “something intended to
Read on »The Roma blonde girl in Greece and the shadow of intolerance
When I first read about Maria, the blonde girl that was discovered in Greece belonging to an unrelated Roma couple, a number of disturbing questions arose. One of these was an obvious one: Why so much interest by the media? It would take a while for the red herring to be exposed. It eventually became
Read on »Dana: Why doesn’t President Sauli Niinistö care about immigrants? What’s his stance on racism?
Dana Finland is a small country but a very proud one about its political and legal system. Some Finns believe they are, however, so different from other people on this planet and they can’t explain why. For example…in Finland the law functions like magic; they believe that the law is so comprehensive that no-one in
Read on »Well-groomed politicians and making racism in Finland “normal”
In general terms, there are two types of politicians in Finland that spread intolerance: those that let it all hang out and another type that speaks to you politely and is well-groomed. In the latter group, you’ll find PS MPs like Jussi Halla-aho, Juho Eerola, Teuvo Hakkarainen, Juho Eerola, even Timo Soini; James Hirvisaari is
Read on »Magneettimedia editor and owner fined 45,000 euros by court for anti-Semitic writings
Magneettimedia editor and owner Juha Kärkkäinen has been fined by a Finnish court 45,000 euros for publishing anti-Semitic writings of Ted Pike, David Duke and others as well as cartoons that bear a striking resemblance to the former Nazi tabloid, Der Strümer (1923-45), reports Lahti-based Etelä-Suomen Sanomat. Read full story here. The court ruled that the writings
Read on »Migrants’ life in Finland: Some endure intolerance better than others – some hit back, others don’t
The ocean is a desert, with it’s life underground And a perfect disguise above. Under the cities lies, a heart made of ground, But the human will give no love. A Horse with No name, America Intolerance, bigotry, racism, prejudice and a list of other social ills strike their victims in different ways. Some of
Read on »Cultural diversity is unstoppable – it exposes Finland’s white privilege and intolerance
A Silminnäkijä television program exposed Thursday something we all knew: how you are treated in Finland depends on the color of your skin and ethnic-national background. Should this surprise us? What is more incredible? Is it the indifference of the police, bouncers and near-silence of society as people are openly discriminated right before our very
Read on »The ogre of racism in Finland is learning how to wear a three-piece suit and tie
Matters appear to have changed after the April 2011 election, when the Perussuomalaiset (PS) rose from relative obscurity to become the third-largest party in parliament. The well-known scandals and publicized vicious attacks by the racists of the PS against immigrants and visible minorities appear to have changed their tune. Apart from the row that
Read on »Jussi Halla-aho gets cold feet – another lie exposed
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Jussi Halla-aho announced that he will not take part in a live A2 televised debate on Islam, reports YLE. The MP, who has been convicted for ethnic agitation, said that the debate doesn’t serve the issue. He would, however, be ready to take part in a debate with fewer people. Read full
Read on »Zuzeeko’s blog: Finland’s population registry website excludes visible minorities
Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng* Finland is still very much a racially homogeneous country — predominantly made up of white Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking people. The homogeneous nature of the population is reflected in most walks of life in the country where people of African descent or visible minorities are not represented or are relegated to the background.
Read on »Suspected hate crimes in Finland fall by 20.6% in 2012
Suspected hate crimes in 2012 totaled 732, which is a 20.6% fall from 918 cases in the previous year, according to YLE in English. Of the total hate crimes reported to the police last year, 641 cases were classified as racist. Read full story here. According to YLE in English, the most common offense investigated
Read on »Do “mamu” an “maahanmuuttajataustainen” downgrade people in Finland into “us” and “them?”
There are two words I’d be very careful with in Finland: mamu and maahanmuuttajataustainen especially at schools to single out third-culture children. The first label is the shortened word for maahanmuuttaja, or immigrant, while the second one means person with immigrant background. Migrant Tales has written previously about the use of mamu like this blog entry above. Both
Read on »Pressiklubi exposes MP James Hirvisaari’s fabricated lies and ignorance of immigrants and minorities
MP James Hirvisaari, who got expelled from the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party last week, appeared on Ruben Stiller’s Pressiklubi Friday. Compared with his appearance on Enbuske & Linnanahde Crew’s talk show the previous day, the new Muutos 2011 MP’s fabricated lies and ignorance were exposed in the raw. See full program (in Finnish) here. Just like the
Read on »How the Finnish media flirts with disgraced former PS MP James Hirvisaari
Why would a Finnish talk show like Enbuske & Linnanahde Crew want to interview a disgraced MP like James Hirvisaari, who got kicked out of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party last week for taking a picture of a person making a Nazi salute in parliament? One of the guests of the show, actress Krista Kosonen, wrapped up
Read on »Jussi Halla-aho appointed as vice member of Finland’s delegation to the Council of Europe
The anti-immigration and anti-EU Perussuomalaiset party nominated MP Jussi Halla-aho as vice member of Finland’s delegation to the Council of Europe, reports YLE in English. The controversial nomination of Halla-aho, who was sentenced for ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion, prompted the parliamentary leaders of seven parties to express regret in a joint
Read on »Paljastattu.: Uudet ajat puhaltavat Suomen yllä
Enrique Tessieri Kansanedustaja James Hirvisaaren episodi tällä viikolla nostaa pöydälle yhden mielenkiintoisen kysymyksen: onko se ensimmäinen näkyvä halkeama perussuomalaisten hajoamisesta? Vaikka on liian aikaista sanoo kuinka Hirvisaaren potkut perussuomalaisista tulee horjuttamaan puoluetta, Timo Soini tulee varmasti vakuuttamaan ulospäin ettei puolueelle ole mitään hätää ja oma pesä on nyt kunnossa. Onko niin? Hirvisaaren tapausta huolimatta, ei
Read on »Helsingin Sanomat’s Cold War policy towards immigrants
Immigrants, expats and Finns marched on October 19, 1982 to demand their rights. The march started from Helsinki University’s Porthania building to Parliament. One of the comments that caught my attention on that chilly Tuesday, was that Helsingin Sanomat made a big exception about writing about the march since it did not publish as a rule stories
Read on »Is it ok to be a closet fascist, Nazi and racist in the PS after the Hirvisaari scandal?
In an A-studio talk show Monday, Perussuomalaiset (PS) third vice-president, Juho Eerola, was asked what was the underlying message of MP James Hirvisaari’s expulsion to members of the party. The PS MP said that “playing with issues like National Socialism and misanthropy” are unacceptable in the PS. The person making such a claim, Eerola, wrote
Read on »Why does the Finnish media give so much attention to anti-immigration politicians and parties?
I was invited on Tuesday to speak at a seminar on immigration* for YLE journalists. One of the questions I asked was why do Finnish journalists give so much space and attention to far-right anti-immigration politicians? Why do some give racists inflated respectability and importance? A recent story about Finland accepting 500 refugees from war-torn Syria
Read on »Two important stories this week that may have far-reaching implications for Finland
This week was marked by two important news stories that will could have far-reaching consequences on our country: Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari’s expulsion from the anti-immigration and anti-EU party, and positive words about immigration by Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen. Verkkouutiset is published by the National Coalition Party. See full story here. While the first
Read on »Nazi salutes and the growth of far-right ideology in Finland
In two weeks, two Perussuomalaiset (PS) politicians got their fingers burned badly after one made a Nazi salute with a Hitler mask while another took a picture of another one who made the same salute in parliament. One of the reasons why some Finns can do this in public is because they have a blind
Read on »Analysis: Is sacking MP Hirvisaari the beginning of the end for the PS?
One of the interesting questions that the sacking of MP James Hirvisaari raises is if it is the first visible crack that will force the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party to implode, eventually. Is Timo Soini’s PS a ticking time bomb and Hirvisaari a time counter indicating that we’ve got ten seconds to seek cover before the bomb
Read on »The Perussuomalaiset plan to sack MP Hirvisaari from the party
Inviting Seppo Lehto to parliament, where a picture of him making a Nazi salute, was the last straw for Perussuomalaiset(PS) chairman Timo Soini, who was quoted as saying on MTV3 that PS MP James Hirvisaari will be sacked from the party. Read full story here. The decision to expel Hirvisaari was made by the five-member
Read on »A guest of the Finnish PS gives a Nazi salute in parliament
We all know how a political party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) has declared war against immigrants and other minorities in this country. The latest attack by the PS was against the Finnish parliament by a guest of MP James Hirvisaari, who was pictured giving a Nazi salute. UPDATE: Hirvisaari confirmed Thursday that it was him
Read on »PS MPs like Juho Eerola don’t know how closed Finland used to be to the outside world
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Juho Eerola wrote in 2010 that he was attracted to Benito Mussolini’s fascism. He argues that it is a model that we could learn a lot from. Such a statement not only shows his fascist political credentials, but his ignorance of Finnish history. The Restricting Act of 1939 (law 219/1939), which was
Read on »Abde Hussein shows there is more than one way to put racism on the defensive
There’s more than one way to put intolerance on the defensive. Abde Hussein wrote on Thursday an encounter he had with a young unemployed white Finn, who said in public that he was a “monkey” and “living off welfare.” A discussion ensued but to make a long story short, the young white Finn turned out
Read on »Why doesn’t Timo Soini make a clear split with its PS racists? Answer: political hara-kiri
Columnist Yrjö Rautio of Apu magazine writes that if Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini doesn’t make a clear split with PS MP racists like Jussi Halla-aho and his followers, the party should make official that it supports the following values: “paranoia, hatred and human evil.” Read full story (in Finnish) here. Rautio makes a valid point.
Read on »Saving one life, one refugee from Syria, IS important
Arguing that accepting a few hundred refugees from Syria is not important because it is a drop in the bucket, is an outrageous statement made by Jussi Halla-aho, Vesa-Matti Saarakkala and others. The other point they are trying to drive home, that these people will be a burden on Finland, exposes their loathing and ignorance.
Read on »PS MP Jussi Halla-aho put on the hot chair after his ridiculous arguments against Syrian refugees are exposed
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Jussi Halla-aho was put on the hot chair on A-Studio, when he was asked about his and PS MP Vesa-Matti Saarakkala’s written question to parliament opposing government plans to give asylum to 500 refugees from Syria. A good question to ask is why accepting 500 refugees from Syria is in the national spotlight? Sweden
Read on »Why did a Finnish court absolve two policemen of apparent racist conduct?
When reporting some stories, denials and what is not said are the spotlights that reveal the real story. A flat denial by the police that ethnic profiling doesn’t occur suggests that it is probably more widespread than we think. A court ruled on Monday that the actions of two Helsinki policemen, who used excessive physical
Read on »Thai berry pickers shed light on a much wider problem in Finland for immigrants
The fifty Thai berry pickers, who are protesting against long hours, poor pay and huge risks they take when working for Ber-Ex, not only shed light on their plight but the poor job security that immigrants generally face in Finland. While berry pickers are seasonal workers that come from Thailand, their issues reveal a much serious
Read on »Thai berry pickers in Finland are between a rock and a hard place
I’ve been watching with concern the plight of Thai berry pickers in Finland. You don’t have to be too smart to understand that what is happening is exploitation at its best. It’s ok to treat these berry pickers and pay them a pittance because they are from Thailand and not organized. We have seen this
Read on »Landmark decision in Finland: On September 29, 2013 Sikh busman can wear turban at work
Busman Gill Sukhdarshan Singh told Migrant Tales that his employer, Veolia Transport of Vantaa, has agreed to allow him to wear a turban at work from Sunday, September 29. The Southern Finland Regional State Administrative Agency, which ruled in June that a turban ban by the employer was discriminatory, gave the bus company until the end
Read on »YLE in English: Finnish Sports Federation apologizes after 75 years to a Finnish-Jewish runner
As Finland races into the depths of the new century and distances itself from the Winter (1939-40) and especially from the Continuation War (1941-44), I’m certain that there will be more proof about our collusion with Nazi Germany. One such story appeared Friday, when YLE in English reported on the Finnish Sports Federation’s (SUL) apology
Read on »Does Finland promote two-way or one-way adaption of immigrants?
Our integration law promotes two-way adaption as opposed to assimilation, which is a one-way process. Section 17 of the Finnish Constitution states that each person living in this country has the right to maintain and develop their own language and culture. What do these two important laws mean in practice and how are they applied? Sensible Finns
Read on »Helsingin Sanomat poll reveals Finns’ opposition to cultural diversity
A poll commissioned by Helsingin Sanomt, Finland’s largest-circulation daily, reveals that 53% of those polled agreed (22%) or partially agreed (31%) that immigrants should aim at becoming as Finnish as possible. That compares with 18% and 30%, respectively, in 2011. If there is something worrying that the poll shows, it’s Finland’s growing opposition to cultural
Read on »How Syrian refugees fleeing war show how the Finnish media gives (again) racists inflated respectability and importance
Migrant Tales published a while back a story about how the media gives racists and radical anti-immigration groups inflated respectability and importance. Why should we care what a Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP like Jussi Halla-aho, who was on top of it convicted for ethnic agitation, thinks about giving asylum to Syrian refugees? Verkkouutiset is run by the
Read on »Turku Islamic Center suffers attack over the weekend
The Turku Islamic Center, which has served the Muslim community of the southwestern city for over twenty years, was attacked over the weekend, according to YLE. Apart form destroying furniture, spreading salt and flour on the ground, a number of Korans were torn. Some 200 Muslims attend the Turku Islamic Center. The police have been
Read on »Government talks in Norway are a preview of what may happen in Finland in 2015 with the PS
Take a close look at Norway if you want to see what may happen in Finland after the 2015 parliamentary elections, when the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS) may be in government.The populist anti-immigration Progress party (FrP) of Norway will form part of a coalition government with the Conservative Party (Høyre), Christian Democrats and Liberals. If the Conservative Party
Read on »Artist Kiba Lumberg: “Don’t box me in!”
In order to understand Kiba Lumberg, 57, you need to know some Finnish history, the plight of minorities like the Roma, and what it is like to live in worlds shaded by different hues of grey. Since this story is about an artist who doesn’t want to conform to set norms imposed on her by
Read on »PALJASTETTU.: Voidaanko “väitellä” suvaitsemattomuuden lisäämisestä?
Enrique Tessieri On ollut mielenkiintoista huomata kuinka Kokoomusten Nuorten Liiton (KNL) puheenjohtaja, Susanna Koski, on saanut paljon julkista huomiota tällä viikolla. Tästä kohusta syntyy kysymys: Onko suomalainen media taas antamassa rasisteille ja radikaali maahanmuuttovastustajille tunnustusta? Miksi on niin, että suomalainen media useasti hurmaantuu suvaitsemattomuudesta, rasismista ja nationalismista? Suomalainen media on ollut niin antelias, että se
Read on »Former Perussuomalaiset councilman convicted for ethnic agitation shows no remorse
Who can forget Black February 2012, when three Muslims lost their lives in a span of about three weeks in January-February? The last one, which was horrific, ended with the cold-blooded killing of a Muslim at a pizzeria in Oulu. A former Perussuomlaiset (PS) councilman wrote on Facebook that a medal should be awarded to
Read on »The Finnish and European media still have a lot to learn about racism and intolerance
One matter that is interesting to note when looking at the media before the historic victory of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party in April 2011, is the present controversy surrounding the Youth League of the National Coalition Party’s program. Is the media giving racists, radical anti-immigration groups and voices inflated respectability and importance? The whole Susanna
Read on »YLE in English: Lifting visa requirements from Russians would create thousands of jobs
This has got to be one of the strangest stories I’ve read on YLE in English. It claims that lifting visa requirements for Russians would create thousands of job in Finland. Is xenophobia so ingrained in some Finns that they still think that foreigners and Russians are such a threat that they don’t grasp that tourism, never
Read on »Susanna Koski: “The Youth League of the National Coalition Party has zero tolerance to racism”
Susanna Koski is quoted as saying on Helsingin Sanomat that the Youth League of the National Coalition Party that she is president of has zero tolerance to racism. “We don’t accept racism in any form or shape,” she said. Read original story (in Finnish) here. Right, Koski, you don’t tolerate racism but want to
Read on »Immigrants and visible minorities will defend Finland’s Nordic welfare society
Putting aside the far right opinions of the Youth League of the National Coalition Party and others that want to change this country for good and for their personal benefit, who’s out there to defend our Nordic welfare state that took so long to build? Two important groups that will certainly fight for our Nordic
Read on »The coup that changed the Americas forty years ago
Today, 9/11, is the fortieth anniversary of the overthrow of President Salvador Allende by General Augusto Pinochet. A democratic era in Chile was abruptly and violently put to an end thanks to the support of the US President Richard Nixon and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger. In many respects, the coup of September 11,
Read on »Susanna Koski and the National Coalition Party’s youth wing: The language of barbarians
The more I think about the proposals put forth by the president of the Youth League of the National Coalition Party, Susanna Koski, the more I wonder where this country is heading. Would her suggestion to scrap the Ombudsman for Minorities and laws that govern ethnic agitation constitute barbarism? Even if barbarians are considered “uncivilized,”
Read on »The shadow of Anders Breivik’s mass killings hang over coalition talks after Norway elections
The landslide victory of Norway’s opposition Conservatives (Høyre) on Monday was short-lived after the country’s next prime minister, Erna Solberg, faced tough coalition talks with the anti-immigration and populist Progress party (Fremskrittspartiet) of which Anders Breivik was a member and whose cold-blooded killings continue to haunt the country, reports Reuters. Visit Wikipedia site here. Outgoing Labor Party
Read on »Youth League of the National Coalition Party sees no evil in hate speech
The president of the Youth League of the National Coalition Party, Susanna Koski, surprised even members of her party Monday by proposing, among a long list of other things, that the Ombudsman for Minorities office should be scrapped together with the quota refugee program and ethnic agitation law. The proposals for 2014 by the National
Read on »Are Finns conservatives by nature?
Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini was interviewed on YLE Saturday morning. Commenting on a recent opinion poll commissioned by YLE, Soini claimed that the good showing of the PS and Center Party proved that Finns are by nature conservatives. The YLE poll, which was published Friday, showed big gains by the opposition Center Party (23.8%)
Read on »Immigrants in Finland feel like safe outsiders
There’s an interesting news story on MTV3 that claims that immigrants in Finland feel physically secure in this country but see themselves as outsiders. This is the first story I’ve read in this country that addresses a big issue in Finland, which is common in other countries as well. One of the reason why some
Read on »Why we call the Finns Party the Perussuomalaiset
Some may wonder why we don’t call on Migrant Tales the Perussuomalaiset (PS) by their official English name, the Finns Party. When I speak to people in English and mention the PS, they answer back by naming it the Perussuomalaiset. There was a lively discussion on Migrant Tales in 2010 on whether the correct translation
Read on »PALJASTETTU.: Miksi maahanmuuttokeskustelu Suomessa ei keskity oleelliseen?
Enrique Tessieri Tässä on tärkeä kysymys, joka on tehtävä kun keskustellaan julkisesti maahanmuutto ilmiönä: Jos pakolaiset koostuvat vain pieni osa kaikista maahanmuuttajista Suomessa, miksi maahanmuuttovastaiset tahot ja lehdistö kiinnittää heihin niin paljon huomiota? Vaikka jotkut meistä uskovat että Suomessa on erityisen paljon pakolaisia, totuus on aivan toinen. Viime vuonna, Suomeen saapui 3 129 turvapaikkahakijaa, Maahanmuuttoviraston
Read on »Internal security secretariat head: Many racist crimes go unreported in Finland
Some migrants may not report a racist crime in Finland because of mistrust of the police, poor Finnish-language skills and ignorance of one’s rights, according to Tarja Mankkinen, director of the ministry of the interior’s internal security secretariat. The Police College of Finland reported 918 suspected hate crimes in 2011, which is a 7% rise from
Read on »Why is the immigration debate in Finland so distorted?
Here’s a question that needs serious debating in Finland: If refugees account for a minority of all immigrants, why do they get so much attention in the media? Why do anti-immigration parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) constantly speak of them and give us the impression that all of Finland’s immigrants are mostly refugees and Muslims
Read on »Supreme Court upholds PS city councilman’s conviction for ethnic agitation
The Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it will not grant Perussuomalaiset (PS) Kotka City Councilman Freddy van Wonterghem the right to appeal a conviction for ethnic agitation in February by the Kouvola appeals court, reports YLE. The ruling is similar to a lower court ruling on PS MP James Hirvisaari’s hate speech conviction in June 2012.
Read on »Migrant Tales (May 26, 2011): Racist propaganda during Finland’s Winter War (1939-40)
Consequently, racial prejudice and discrimination are nonexistent (in Finland).
Read on »Fifty years from Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech
Today marks the 50th anniversary when Martin Luther King Jr.(1929-68) gave his historic “I have a dream” speech. When he gave the speech in Washington on August 28,1963, I was eight years old. Even if I knew nothing about MLK at the time never mind anything about his famous speech, his words would have a
Read on »The Jews of Finland
The Jewish side of our family was never discussed openly when I was young. If it was, the matter appeared as a fleeting question: Is it true that part of our family is Jewish? Read full column here on page 14. Silence always followed that question. In retrospect, our silence and answer revealed a lot about
Read on »Racism in Finland: The media is part of the problem
A party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS), which has capitalized politically on xenophobia and racism, claims that the Finnish media picks on it unfairly. The fact is, however, that the PS could have never achieved what it did in the April 2011 election without the help of the media, which gave its racists inflated respectability and
Read on »Old Finnish national social constructs still fuel intolerance and exclude visible minorities
The Association of Finnish Culture and Identity (Suomalaisuuden liitto) is an association founded in 1906 to “strengthen the sense of national identity, to promote Finnish education and culture.” While this statement may appear innocent at first, the association endorses the intolerance white Finnish speakers have today against Swedish speakers never mind immigrants and visible minorities. In
Read on »Child without residence permit denied medical attention in Finland
Migrant Tales recently wrote about the poor treatment a foreign couple received at an Eastern Helsinki health center that refused to treat their sick child. In a fresh case published by Lääkärilehti (Finnish Medical Journal), a three-week old baby suffering from respiratory problems was denied medial attention because the child didn’t have a residence permit. Read full story
Read on »Why does intolerance get so much attention in the media?
Why does racism, xenophobia and intolerance get so much space in the media and so little condemnation by politicians and society? Is it because racism strikes a chord inside of us or is it because we are taught from a very early age to leave if alone? We can make the following argument as well:
Read on »Mixed reactions to Hakkarainen’s racist blog entry that victimizes immigrants and Muslims
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Teuvo Hakkarainen’s recent blog entry, which attacked immigrants and Muslims, has been condemned by the vice president of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Eero Vainio, and by Muslims like Abdirahim Husu Hussein of the Center Party. Reaction to what Hakkarainen wrote is a positive sign that part of Finland’s political establishment considers
Read on »Let’s play fill in the blanks with far-right Finnish MP Teuvo Hakkarainen
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Teuvo Hakkarainen attacked immigrants and Muslims in a latest blog entry, where he accuses them of living off social welfare and Muslims of taking over Europe. In order to understand how ludicrous and racist the PS MP’s arguments are, Migrant Tales will play “fill in the blanks.” Migrant Tales has “played” fill
Read on »PS MP Hakkarainen of Finland launches new attack against immigrants and Muslims
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Teuvo Hakkarainen, who suggested two years ago that homosexuals, lesbians and Somalians should be relocated to the Åland Islands, has launched a fresh attack against immigrants and Muslims on a blog entry. Sensible people understand that generalizing about different groups, like Hakkarainen does, is not only wrong but racist. Migrant Tales strongly condemns
Read on »Anti-immigration forces in Finland loathe cultural diversity in order to defend white privilege
Paavo Arhinmäki, head of the Left Alliance, was quoted as saying in Joensuu that Finland has never been a “monocultural” country. This is true but how many Finnish politicians understand never mind speak out and defend multiculturalism or cultural diversity? Unfortunately, too few. The fact that too few politicians have the courage to speak
Read on »What language are you supposed to use with the doctor if you don’t speak Finnish or Swedish?
What happens if you don’t speak Finnish or Swedish and need to take your one-year-old baby to the doctor’s? What about if the doctor isn’t a Finn? Migrant Tales got the following email from one of our readers: Hi, I’ve lived in Helsinki for 3 years and would like to share a story that happened
Read on »Lives are put on hold at the Karhula, Finland, refugee center
Have you ever visited a refugee center in Finland? I did on Sunday in Karhula, located 130km east of Helsinki. The refugee center, which comprises of two four-story blocks, revealed some of its inhabitants when you reached a small court in its middle hidden from the outside world. The court, which had bed sheets and
Read on »National Coalition Party of Finland to spearhead ban on begging
Matters are getting tougher in Finland if you are a minority belongs to an affluent group like the Swedish-speaking Finns or a poor one like the Romany minority. What do both initiatives, to demote Swedish to elective status at schools and ban begging, tell about Finland today? One way to answer the latter question is
Read on »Finnish primary school books still depict foreigners stereotypically
It is quite incredible that one of the best school systems in the world still portrays people from different cultures in a stereotypic manner. Eeva Rinna, a doctoral researcher from Tampere University, claims that textbooks in primary school still depict Africans as bongo players, Cubans as happy and sociable and Germans as hard-working, reports YLE
Read on »Direct initiative to demote Swedish language at schools stands slim chance of approval
What are we to think about a direct initiative that got over 50,000 signatures today to demote Finland’s second official language to elective status at schools? While this initiative stands a slim chance of passing in parliament, it shows how intolerance has raised its head in Finland recently. Even if those that are lobbying against
Read on »Switzerland restricts the movement of asylum seekers in the town of Bremgarten
The Swiss town of Bremgarten, located about 16km from Zurich, has banned asylum seekers from swimming pools, sports facilities and other sites, according to Spiegel Online International. The agreement, which has been criticized by human rights groups, was made by the Swiss Office of Migration (BfM) and the town. Read original story here. It’s
Read on »Internal investigation reveals Helsinki Court of Appeal judges use racist and sexist language
What are we to make of a classified internal investigation into the behavior of the Helsinki Court of Appeals, which revealed some judges sexually harassed women at parties, used racist and sexist language during recesses and in meetings outside of the courtroom? If this occurs in our judicial system, how common is it among the
Read on »Victimizing and labeling immigrants for political profit
UK’s David Cameron is one European PM who is using immigration to bolster his Conservative Party’s poll ratings. It’s a recurring and worrisome political story across Europe: let’s get tough on immigration so we can gain a few percentage points in the polls. This type of campaigning is not only cowardly, but racist and disgraceful.
Read on »Why aren’t we outraged enough by intolerance?
Finnish department store J. Kärkkäinen’s Magneettimedia writings are a disturbing sign of how anti-Semitism, like anti-immigration and anti-Islam sentiment, have gained a foothold in Finland. And why shouldn’t it find fertile ground to grow in this country? During the past years, the genie of intolerance has been let out of the bottle and it shows. We’re
Read on »Magneettimedia of Finland will no longer publish anti-Semitic writings of David Duke, Ted Pike and others
Magneettimedia editor and owner, Juha Kärkkäinen, will stop publishing anti-Semitic opinion pieces in the free newspaper, according to Helsingin Sanomat. The publication, which advertises the department store’s products, is published online as well. “A decision has been made with the board and the content [of the publication] must be more market oriented and we must
Read on »Internet policeman Marko Forss mildly reprimanded by deputy ombudsman for tweeting stereotypes of the Roma
Deputy Parliamentary Ombudsman Jussi Pajuoja mildly reprimanded Internet policeman Marko Forss for tweeting a so-called joke about the Roma, reports YLE. The personal tweet, as Migrant Tales reported in November, spread and strengthened stereotypes about the Roma. What did Forss, who was named policeman of the year in 2011, tweet? “Some funny things happen in police
Read on »Magneettimedia spreads anti-Semitism in Finland
Should we be surprised if anti-Semitism raises its head in Finland alongside anti-Islam, anti-immigration and anti-gay sentiment? Using the same argument as those who spread hate speech against minorities in this country, Magneettimedia, a publication owned by J. Kärkkäinen, claims that an article by anti-Semitic Ted Pike was published to promote public debate. J. Kärkkäinen is a
Read on »How tabloids like Ilta-Sanomat reinforce our prejudices against immigrants and refugees
Tabloids like Ilta-Sanomat have a lot to learn about fairness, which is the cornerstone of all good news reporting. But tabloids aren’t interested in fairness but in sensationalism. A story by Ilta-Sanomat is headlined: ”Two Somalis use [fake] Yemeni passports to travel to Finland.” Even if the story suggests that these Somalis are committing a crime
Read on »Will anti-immigration rhetoric boost the PS in the upcoming Finnish elections?
Two important questions arise in light of the upcoming Euro MP and parliamentary elections in Finland in 2014 and 2015, respectively: How many parties will use immigration as an election issue, and will the next two elections reveal the ugly face of intolerance of other political parties in Finland? If we look at the United
Read on »Death threats and the PS threat to our Nordic way of life
Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman, Timo Soini, reveals in a recent blog that he got four death threats recently. Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen’s Christian Democratic party received a bomb threat as well, which was reported by tabloid Iltalehti. The death threats are similar to what Swedish-language journalists received a while back. Migrant Tales has been a victim of
Read on »When will the PS sack MP James Hirvisaari?
Recent tweets and Facebook comments by Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari reveal how racism, fascism and right-wing populism have spread like a cancer in Finnish society. Hirvisaari now praises Seppo Lehto and claims the ultimate far right narcissist, like him, is a nice person. Would you praise a man who gives Nazi salutes, likes swastikas, insults immigrants and
Read on »Migrant Tales (July 22, 2012): What have we learned after Norway’s 22/7
What goes around comes around. Exactly a year ago (2012) Anders Breivik carried out his mass killings, which ended up causing the death of 77 innocent victims. Have we learned anything from that tragic Saturday that shook the Nordic region and changed it permanently? In order to answer that question, we’d have to travel back in
Read on »Migrant Tales (September 30, 2010): Populist chatter and a tale of elk flies
MT comment: This is Migrant Tales’ first story on Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari published on September 30, 2010. The extremist anti-immigration politician was spreading is views back then. Like today, his pet topics were rape and far right nationalism. ____________ There is a True Finns candidate in the April 2011 elections that spreads elk
Read on »PS MP James Hirvisaari claims journalist “masturbated wildly” in phone interview
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari is the best gift that anti-racists could have in this country. If there is a loose cannon in parliament, it’s Hirvisaari. The PS MP has a pretty one-track mind. When he opens his mouth, he usually talks about Muslim rapists, skid marks on toilet bowls and now his latest topic, masturbation. Here’s
Read on »Two Finlands will be celebrating our country’s first centennial in 2017
When Finland celebrates its first centennial on December 6, 2017, what will we be commemorating? Independence? Our Nordic way of life? Social equality? Will there be two Finlands, one that is socially included and another one that is not, celebrating on that special day? Source: Cornerstone News and Information. People who aren’t socially excluded
Read on »Finland’s anti-immigration sentiment surprised a lot of people
Finland is a country that is graying at a rapid pace and needs to bring skilled labor. Some parties, like the Perussuomalaiset (PS), believe that immigration especially from outside the EU should be stopped at all costs. Others don’t mind as long as immigrants bring skills and contribute to society by paying taxes. In the
Read on »Is Finland’s interior minister promoting a country built on equal treatment and equal opportunity?
Päivi Räsänen is in charge of the interior ministry that makes the following mission statement on its website: “Finland will be the safest country in Europe – a country built on equal treatment and equal opportunity.” Fine, agreed. How does Räsänen further the equal treatment of immigrants, gays and visible minorities when she speaks so
Read on »Interior Minister Räsänen disagrees with findings of police report on the Romany minority
Migrant Tales asked Monday what kinds of arguments will politicians now come up with to criminalize begging after a police report didn’t reveal any links between Romany beggars and human trafficking and organized crime. The police report not only exposed shameful urban legends used to victimize poor Romanies from Romania and Bulgaria, who make 10-20 euros a
Read on »Finnish police: Roma beggars are not victims of human trafficking or linked to organized crime
Remember the hostile reception that Romany beggars have got in the past from some Helsinki municipal politicians like mayor Jussi Pajunen, Christian Democrat Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen, Perussuomalaiset (PS) MPs like Olli Immonen and National Coalition Party MP Arto Satonen, who wants to make begging illegal? The Finnish police now claims that Romanian and Bulgarian
Read on »Why we must challenge anti-immigration parties across Europe
A political party that bases its popularity on anti-immigration and populist rhetoric is like playing a risky political game of Russian roulette. The game continues until the only bullet in the revolver goes off in your head. Higher bets are placed each time that the revolver doesn’t fire: more xenophobia, more hate speech, more racist
Read on »What does the PS’ new party secretary mean by “tightening [Finnish] immigration policy?”
Left Alliance MP Risto Kalliorinne asks Perussuomalaiset (PS) new party secretary Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo to elaborate what she means by ”tightening immigration policy?” Apart from labeling herself a chauvinist, Slunga-Poutsalo “demanded” that Finland should tighten immigration policy. Read original story here. While Left Alliance MP Kalliorinne poses an important question, we all know the answer that Slunga-Poutsalo
Read on »Ask Finland’s Romany minority about ethnic profiling by the police
Two talk shows today, one on television and another one on radio, on ethnic profiling follows a report published Tuesday by the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI). Contrary to concerns by the ECRI, the police flatly deny in both shows that ethnic profiling takes place even if a policeman at the Helsinki Railway admitted that
Read on »Finnish Defence League strikes Mikkeli, Finland
I was quite surprised to find this rude sticker of the far right Finnish Defence League (FDL) near my home today. That follows another one placed on a lamppost in front of my house in March 2012 by the neo-Nazi Kansallinen vastarintaliike (SVL). The good news is that the FDL stickers, which erroneously claim the
Read on »Council of Europe concerned about ethnic profiling by police in Finland
Is it a surprise that the Council of Europe’s anti-racism body expressed concern in a report that Finnish police ask people’s ID based on ethnic appearance? No need to get an official answer to find out because ethnic profiling doesn’t happen in Finland. Why not ask immigrants and visible minorities instead if you went a candid
Read on »Former SMP leader links Immonen’s writing to Nazis
The former chairman (1979-89) of the Rural Party (SMP), Pekka Vennamo, linked Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Olli Immonen’s recent column to Nazis, according to tabloid Iltalehti. The far right PS MP wrote in his most recent blog entry about how nationalism should play a central role in Finnish politics. Vennamo, who is the son of Veikko
Read on »Blog “neighbor” Zuzeeko: Keep up the great work!
Immigrants and minorities should never forget to stand up for each other, especially if anyone of us is being harassed in a racist manner. When I worked as bureau chief in Colombia, one of the most violent countries in the world at the time, I always felt that I’d never be abandoned by my employer
Read on »UK study links hate crime with far right EDL
A study in the UK finds that members of the far right English Defense League (EDL) were linked to a third of the abuses against Muslims last year. Almost two in every three cases of anti-Muslim incidents go unreported in the UK, according to Teesside University’s Centre for Fascist, Anti-Fascist and Post-Fascist Studies. Read full report
Read on »Finland never was, is, and will be only “white”
Whenever a far right politician like Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Olli Immonen, Jussi Halla-aho or James Hirvisaari comment on what is or who has the right to be Finnish, they always get it wrong. Their views, that Finland is only white, is not only wrong but a hostile act towards the tens of thousands of Finns
Read on »PS’ Slunga-Poutsalo is “extremely concerned” about Finnish immigration policy
In a short interview on A-Studio Monday, the new party secretary of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) reinforced her anti-immigration stance. “I’m not annoyed by anything concerning immigration,” said PS secretary Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, “but extremely concerned about the immigration policy we pursue in Finland.” Don’t be fooled, the PS’ new party secretary, Riikka SLunga-Poutsalo, is in the
Read on »Edward Snowden would help to put to rest Finland’s Cold War legacy
Wikileaks said in a statement that whistleblower Edward Snowden had asked for political asylum in twenty-one countries, one of which included Finland. Understanding Finland’s history and its historic suspicion of foreigners, granting a high-profile asylum seeker like Snowden asylum in Finland would not only help to put to rest for good our poor record but have
Read on »The PS’ not too public love affair with the Danish People’s Party
The DPP is an anti-migration, ethno-nationalist, anti-Islam,populist anti-elitist and anti-EU party that wants welfare only for native Danes. The PS is the a carbon copy of the latter. If you want to know what kind of a Finland the Perussuomalaiset (PS) want to turn the country into, take a good look at their political mentors
Read on »New PS party secretary Riikka Slunga Poutsalo “demands” tighter immigration policy
As Migrant Tales correctly pointed out, it didn’t take long for the new party secretary of the Perussuomalaiset (PS), Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, to show her far right anti-immigration credentials. Interviewed by YLE’s 8:30 pm news, Slunga-Poutsalo “demands” Finland should tighten immigration policy further. Migrant Tales wrote Saturday that one of the aims of the PS annual congress
Read on »The PS’ new Cadillac model of racism
How does intolerance and racism work in Finnish politics? How does it manifest itself today in anti-immigration parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)? A quote by U.S. civil rights leader Malcolm X (1925-65) provides us with a partial clue to these questions: “Racism is like a Cadillac, they bring out a new model every year.” Is
Read on »Annual congress: The PS aims to become the biggest party in Finland with anti-EU and anti-immigration platform
The first day of Perussuomalaiset (PS) annual congress in Joensuu (July 29-30) did not produce any surprises but reinforced the party’s anti-immigration, and especially its anti-Islam and anti-cultural diversity stand. The party leadership, starting from Timo Soini to its new secretary, Riikka Slunga-Putsalo, confirm this. Soini, who was reelected chairman of the party by a
Read on »Sikh busman confident that employer will lift turban ban
Busman Gill Sukhdarshan Singh is confident that his employer, Veolia Transport of Vantaa, will honor a Southern Finland Regional State Administrative Agency ruling that imposing a turban ban by the employer was discriminatory. Source: Gill Sukhdarshan Singh. ”I have no doubt that that in two months, when I will get written permission from the employer, I will
Read on »Let’s challenge Finland’s disgraceful family reunification obstacles
Migrants’ Rights Network (MRN) of Britain shows how organizations can do valuable work in lobbying for change against unfair family reunification laws (see Migrant Tales 28.6.13). Politicians, who have tightened such laws, are short-sighted and have created a tragedy for those who live separated from their loved ones. The same suffering that separated families suffer in Finland
Read on »Do we have the resources to keep a check on cyberhate thanks to Prism and Tempora?
Intelligence whistleblowers like Edward Snowden have not only shown the extent of global surveillance by the NSA and GCHQ, but how much governments like the United States flirt with totalitarianism and invest billions of dollars in trying to find a needle in a haystack. Writes the Anti-Defamation League, which was founded in 1913 to address anti-Semitism
Read on »Soaring unemployment in Finland hits immigrants and visible minorities especially hard
It was shocking to read how Finland’s jobless rate shot up in May to 10.8% from 9.5% a year ago. Since immigrant unemployment is about three times higher than the national average, it means in theory that the unemployed rate for immigrants is at least 30%. Matters are expected to get worse before they improve.
Read on »PS MP Hirvisaari gets publicly enraged with daily Etelä-Suomen Sanomat
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari has done it again. He didn’t lambast immigrants and Muslims this time, but got publicly enraged with a journalist working for Lahti-based Etelä-Suomen Sanomat (ESS). What happened? Ari Helminen reported that Hirvisaari, together with another PS MP, had the most absences in parliament during spring. Hirvisaari is from Asikkala, a
Read on »About half of the PS MPs want to deny Finland’s cultural diversity
Roughly half of the 39 Perussuomalaiset (PS) MPs have signed a draft law that would in effect deny Finland’s ever-growing cultural diversity in the youth law. If PS MP Olli Immonen had his way together with twenty other PS MPs, Finland would go into denial mode and conveniently brush its immigrants and visible minorities under
Read on »Should Finns trust the police?
“…when the laws have ceased to be executed, as this can only come from the corruption of the republic, the state is already lost.” Montesquieu (1689-1755) A survey by T-Media reveals that Finns trust the most the police, educational and justice system and the least the media, EU and employer’s associations. Of those surveyed, 69%
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Midsummer
By Leo Honka Water, sky and land. on fire a day that refuses to die. Water… …sky… …land. And fire.
Read on »Immigrants and visible minorities would be the biggest losers if Supo gets greater online surveillance powers
Is it a coincidence or just bad timing that the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo) wants greater online surveillance powers? It was only last week when Edward Snowden revealed to the world how the NSA accessed private information of billions of people without their knowledge never mind their permission. Read original story here. Who would
Read on »The media should stop stereotyping immigrants!
Black is beautiful, but I have a question: Why is it that whenever there is a story about immigrants or refugees in the Finnish media, the picture that is published with the story is usually of a black man or Muslim woman? Publishing pictures that feed the public a stereotypical image of immigrants does nothing more
Read on »Center Party politician’s home attacked the third time in Helsinki
Abdirahim “Husu” Hussein, a Center Party politician who hosts the Ali and Husu talk show on YLE, found a rude message at 4 am in the front of his apartment building door: a shattered beer bottle. It’s not the first time his family has been targeted in such a manner at their Helsinki home. The
Read on »Ariela Patterson: The right to be me on my terms
One of the biggest challenges facing Finland in the new century is to come to terms with its ever-growing cultural diversity. While some Finns have no problems with this, others oppose it. Finland’s cultural diversity is, however, something that nobody can stop. There are today tens of thousands of Finns with multicultural backgrounds. Ariela Patterson,
Read on »OECD study states that immigration boosted Finnish economy
An OECD study claims that immigration boosted the Finnish economy by 0.16% in 2011 including pensions. This revelation is a blow to anti-immigration pundits, who commonly claim that immigration drains social welfare resources and offers no economic benefits. As Migrant Tales has shown over and over again the red herrings, urban tales and outright racism
Read on »How the Finnish police and media spread prejudice against Romanians and the Romany minority
Here is a good example of how the police and media treat certain immigrant and ethnic groups publicly. A story on YLE tells us that the overwhelming amount of grand larceny cases committed by foreigners in Finland are by Lithuanians. The majority of suspected grand larceny cases in Finland are committed by Lithuanians. Why
Read on »Terveisiä Scriptablogista 12 syyskuuta 2008
Yksi monista tuhansista Migrant Tales:ia vastaan kohdistetuista viesteistä, jonka muistan hyvin oli hyökkäys Jussi Halla-ahon Scriptablogista. Alla olevaa viestiä en unohda koskaan. Noin neljän tunnin sisällä, Migrant Talesin blogiin hyökättiin. Hyökkäys torjuttiin ja tänään olemme yksi luetuimpia anti-rasistisia blogeja Suomessa. Nimi :Old No. 7Mitä teen :Kommentoin Viesti :Mikäs mies tuo Enriikke Tessieeri on olevinaan?
Read on »How serious is the Future of Migration 2020 Strategy?
The more I think of the government’s published white paper on immigration policy made public on Thursday, the more I have reason to worry. Apart from omitting altogether the term multiculturalism and cultural from diversity in the Future of Migration 2020 Strategy, your suspicions aren’t put to rest by the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK),
Read on »Government announces Future of Migration 2020 Strategy
The government published Thursday its Future of Migration 2020 Strategy. While these types of official strategy reports are important and offer a general view, the big question is if they gives us a bigger picture of the direction our society is heading in this century. Read the white paper (in Finnish) here. An English-language version will be
Read on »European Commission vice president condemns death threats to journalists in Finland
It’s a good matter that the vice president of the European Commission, Neelie Kroes, speaks out against the death threats that Swedish- and Finnish-language journalists and public figures have received recently. Read Neelie Kroes’ blog here. The Dutch vice president of the European Commission expressed concern about media freedom in Finland and Greece. She writes: ”Death
Read on »The NSA and the path to tyranny
A nation may lose its liberties in a day and not miss them in a century. Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) The leak by US National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden has given us a unique opportunity to ask a vitally important question: Do we want unchecked surveillance? If we give up our right to
Read on »Where are you from?
Even if I have lived most of my adult life in Finland and my mother is Finnish, I’m still asked occasionally where I’m from. In a spirit of mutual respect, I ask the person the same question. Some don’t like it. The innocent question, where are you from, reveals a lot about our prejudices and
Read on »Buenos Aires Herald (February 12, 1987): The old-new frontier*
Comment: It’s sad to point out 25 years after writing this opinion piece that Argentina has become a poorer country. Emigration continues to be the rule, not the exception. The opening up of the economy to foreign investment during the 1990s was a disaster. Too many foreign companies did not invest in Argentina to make
Read on »Burqas, nijabs, the PS and red herrings
A tabloid Iltalehti story wrote about a heated debate in parliament Friday between the anti-immigration populist Perussuomalaiset (PS) party and the Greens over a draft bill spearheaded by PS MP Vesa-Matti Saarakkala, which aims to ban the burqa and nijab in public places. The PS MP considers the law as a “preventive measure” even if the nijab
Read on »“Only Finnish spoken here” versus cultural diversity
What would you do if you saw on an elementary school classroom door the following message: Only Finnish spoken here? Would you ask if speaking Swedish is ok? Would it raise disturbing memories of how minorities like the Saami were persecuted and discouraged at school especially after World War 2 for speaking their own language?
Read on »Broadcasting hatred and racism against Romanis from Bulgaria and Romania
I was surprised to listen on Thursday morning to Anssi Honkanen’s and Renne Korppila’s Aamupoika radio program on NRJ about Bulgarian and Romanian Romanis that come to Finland to beg. If you want to find the sources of Finnish racism and loathing for the Romany minority, tune into their morning program. The program said, and this is not
Read on »Dissecting Finnish racism and bigotry
“Racism is like a Cadillac, they bring out a new model every year.” Malcolm X (1925-65) The quote by one of the most powerful voices to emerge from the U.S. Civil Rights Movements, reveals how racism survived in the 1960s to see another day. Even though the quote by Malcolm X was made about a
Read on »When Timo Soini and the PS cross the political point of no return
When do you know when Timo Soini and the Perussuomalaiset (PS) have crossed the line and passed a political point of no return? The 50,000-euro ad on the front page of Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest-circulation daily, blasting the government’s euro bailout policy is one of many examples. While more voters are turning their backs to the
Read on »Ricky Ghansah and the “super racist:” All’s well that ends well
Following the way some social and print media tried to substantiate whether Ricky Ghansah forced a “super racist” to apologize on a bus, reveals how some took the whole incident personally. Racism is a serious social ill and to have a shameful racist apologize to a young black man on a bus maybe too much
Read on »We must go to the source if we want to challenge intolerance in Finland
Even if the Continuation War (1941-44) and our military alliance with Nazi Germany ended 69 years ago, much of the ethnic ideology that sprung from that period is still alive and kicking. If we are serious about confronting intolerance in our society, we must challenge its many sacrosanct sources. When I think of Finland’s short-lived
Read on »Suomalaisuuden liitto: Seeing Finland through blue eyes
Suomalaisuuden liittto, an association taken over by the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party to lobby against Finland’s ever-growing cultural diversity, condemns in a statement death threats to leading figures of the Finnish Swedish-speaking community. While it is a good matter that the association’s chairman Sampo Terho condemns such death threats, it is quite another matter if we
Read on »Migrant Tales turns six years today
Migrant Tales celebrates its sixth year as a blog today. Our blog has grown from a humble voice to one that gets noticed in Finland and abroad. Our aim is a simple: Migrant Tales is a blog community that debates some of the salient issues facing immigrants and minorities in Finland and elsewhere. It aims to be a
Read on »Ombudsman for Minorities responds to Migrant Tales’ queries concerning phone operators and insurance companies
Migrant Tales spoke recently to the office of the Ombudsman for Minorities about two cases by Finland’s mobile phone operators and insurance companies. We asked as well if using the term students with immigrant backgrounds, or maahanmuuttajataustainen, at elementary and middle schools was discriminatory. The term maahanmuuttajataustainen appears to be so common in some Mikkeli schools that
Read on »Finnish Swedish-speaking journalists and public figures receive death threats
Is it a surprise that prominent Finns belonging to the Swedish-speaking minority received anonymous hate mail and death threats this week? If you want to find the roots of such hatred, one place to look is the anti-immigration, anti-Swedish language and anti-EU Perussuomalaiset (PS) party. Members of the Swedish-speaking communities are not the only ones
Read on »Sweden and Woolwich reveal the eager face of intolerance
Be it the riots in Sweden or the tragic murder of a British solider in Woolwich last week, it’s always the eager face of intolerance that is ready to expose itself. The knee-jerk reaction to these events reveals something disturbing about us: our prejudice, intolerance and near-clueless answers on how to move forward in a
Read on »Sweden riots: People cannot live off football, crumbs and destitute pity
In the face of the riots in Huusby, Sweden, which have now spread outside the northern Stockholm suburb, there’s one culprit we should pay close attention to especially here in Finland: The erosion of Sweden’s comprehensive welfare state system. Faced with a seven-billion-euro budget deficit, it isn’t surprising that few if any politicians in this
Read on »Suurin uhka Euroopalle ovat he, jotka haluavat puolustaa meitä toisilta
Minua ei pelota kulttuurinen moninaisuus puhumattakaan terrorismi. Toisten kulttuurien olemisen kieltäminen globalisoituneessa maailmassa on sama kuin yrittäisi kieltää seksin. Kulttuurinen moninaisuus ja seksi ovat osa ihmisyyttä. On turhaa kieltää jotain niinkin luonnollista. Toki on paljon uhkia. Yksi niistä on äärioikeistolaiset, populistiset sekä maahanmuuttovastaiset ideologiat, jotka ovat hyvin yleisiä tämänpäiväsissä Euroopassa. Jos emme haasta näitä ilmiöitä
Read on »The biggest threat to Europe are those who claim to be afraid on our behalf
I’m neither afraid of cultural diversity nor terrorism. Being against different cultures in a globalized world is like being against sex. Cultural diversity, interculturalism and sex are part of the human condition. You cannot make them illegal in any way, shape or form. If we’d embrace far right and mainstream anti-immigration ideologies so common in today’s
Read on »The Stockholm riots reveal in the raw our prejudices and loathing for cultural diversity
Apart from being a wake-up call to ever-growing social exclusion, discrimination and outright intolerance that is alive and kicking in Sweden, the riots in the northern suburb of Stockholm have revealed in Finland our prejudices and loathing for cultural diversity. The Local writes: “Stockholm is not on fire. Let’s get that clear immediately.” Read full
Read on »The riots in Stockholm could happen in Finland sooner rather than later
Center Party municipal politician Abdirahim “Husu” Hussein told the Finnish media that the riots we are seeing in the Stockholm suburb of Husby could well happen in Finland in 10-15 years if we commit the same mistakes. The ugly face of intolerance, which is raising its head in Finland conspicuously, reinforces Hussein’s claim. By “mistakes” I mean
Read on »Fighting racism in Finland the Ricky Ghansah way
Ricky Ghansah is a young African who was being harassed by a “super racist”at a Helsinki bus stop. On entering the bus, Ghansah noticed that the man had forgotten at home his wallet and bus pass. He went to the bus driver and paid the man’s ticket. Read Facebook thread here. The man, who had
Read on »Calling Timo Soini’s bluff
The Perussuomalaiset (PS) is a desperate party and Timo Soini’s claim over the weekend, that the Social Democrats had abandoned working-class men, is another example of how this populist anti-immigration party bluffs at the political poker table. The type of attack by Soini on the Social Democratic Party is in line with how the party
Read on »Dominic-Savior Chukwu: How to avoid migrant exploitation in the Finnish labor market
Dominic-Savior Chukwu’s BA thesis addresses some of the challenges that immigrants face when employed at a Finnish company. Apart from practical problems like understanding the work contract that he or she will sign, some immigrants are apprehensive about demanding their rights. Chukwu’s states that some migrants come from countries where there are inadequate labor laws
Read on »Dear Migrant Tales…when the workplace becomes a hostile place
Dear Migrant Tales, Being the only black person at work can be challenging but what about if the workplace becomes openly hostile to you? By hostile I mean being constantly watched by your coworkers, if you make a mistake it’s always a bigger deal than if a white coworker did it, if you’re speaking on
Read on »Assaulted Helsinki, Finland, black bus driver: Immigrants are treated unfairly by the police and law
Ali Dahir, the black bus driver who was assaulted Tuesday in Helsinki by a white Finn, claims that the police and the law treat foreigners differently from Finns. The bus driver, who is a Finnish citizen and a native of Somalia, was attacked while at work and suffered concussions. While the police and government officials
Read on »UPDATE: Black bus driver assaulted in Helsinki
A black bus driver from Somalia was assaulted Tuesday in Helsinki by a white Finn, who apparently didn’t like a black man honking the horn at him. Ali Dahir, the victim who has been given sick leave from work, was hit by the attacker and suffered concussions. “I had to stop at an intersection and
Read on »Go GO PS MP Hirvisaari! Let all of your intolerance and racism hang out!
We have written so much about the outbursts of far right Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari that it isn’t funny. One of his latest statements on Facebook, where he considers using the Swedish language in parliament as “ridiculous,” is not an attack on this language minority but serves to expose the intolerance and loathing that the
Read on »Councilman Mika Hiltunen gets sentenced for ethnic agitation but gets pat on the back by the PS
After Perussuomalaiset (PS) party Kontiolahti town councilman Mika Hiltunen was sentenced Tuesday by a court for ethnic agitation, we saw once again a familiar balancing by the PS: stating to moderates it doesn’t accept racism but at the same time assuring the extreme right that the party accepts racist outbursts by its members. We have
Read on »Record number of immigrants become Finnish citizens in 2012
A record number of immigrants got Finnish citizen in 2012, rising by 4,530 to 9,090 persons, according to Statistics Finland. The lion’s share of these naturalized Finns were Russians (2,480) followed by Somalis (610), Estonians (520) and Afghanis. While citizenship grants many rights to an immigrant, it does not mean that the person will be
Read on »DNA, Saunalahti, IF, Nordea: “Backward-looking” rules and laws mirror Finland’s anti-foreign sentiment
A comment on Migrant Tales by Chef summed up pretty well how “several backward-looking” rules used arbitrarily by mobile phone and insurance companies continue to discriminate and make life difficult for immigrants. Why does this still happen in Finland, a Nordic welfare state country that promotes and bases its values on social equality (tasa-arvo)? The suspicion that
Read on »DNA and Saunalahti don’t openly advertise that immigrants must live in Finland for two years and pay a deposit
Migrant Tales got in touch today with two telephone operators: DNA and Saunalahti. Both companies said that the minimum residence requirement of two years in Finland for an immigrant to get a mobile phone line or contract. Everything got complicated, however, when I asked them to tell me what they said in writing. When I asked a
Read on »A case for the Ombudsman for Minorites: Finnish mobile phone and insurance companies
Migrant Tales has reported on how difficult it has been for some immigrants to open a bank account in this country never mind get access to online banking services. We learned last week that immigrants are having similar problems with mobile phone operators and obtaining life insurance. Migrant Tales will send Monday to the Ombudsman for
Read on »Migrant Rights’ Network: UKIP has an advantage that is not based on concrete policy proposals
By Awale Olad The aftermath of the UKIP surge in the polls in the local elections has led to a lot of soul searching in mainstream politics. To the detriment of the Conservative Party whilst also hacking away at both the support of the Labour and Liberal Democrats parties, UKIP emerged as the third most
Read on »How ideologically alike is the PS with the UKIP and BNP?
The recent local election victory of the anti-EU and anti-immigration UKIP of Britain is a good example of what Finland experienced with the rise of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) in April 2011. While the United Kingdom and Finland are vastly different countries, the knee-jerk reaction of the ruling parties to right-wing populism and rhetoric is strikingly
Read on »The Finnish media should stop picturing immigrants on social rollators
One of the problems when we challenge intolerance is to find its many hiding places and sources. Intolerance has many ways of surviving. One of these is microaggression that appears innocent on the surface but reinforces your exclusion, inferiority and to walk about in your new homeland with a social rollator as a marked human being. A
Read on »Microaggressions: How “law-abiding” community members discriminate
Microaggressions, the subject of a book by Derald Wing Sue of the Teachers College, Columbia University, highlights perfectly one of the ongoing problems in Finland. Microaggressions occur unconsciously and underline inclusion-exclusion and superiority-inferiority. They are everyday putdowns, insults that aim to undermine the dignity of visible minorities, women, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights
Read on »Do mobile phone companies and insurers discriminate against immigrants living in Finland?
Migrant Tales published Monday a story about how mobile phone operators in Finland require immigrants to make at least a 300-euro deposit and be a resident of this country for two years to get a mobile phone line. The Ombudsman for Minorities is a good place to inquire about your rights. They have a
Read on »Kansanedustaja James Hirvisaari ja hänen mielikuvituksellinen Suomi
Perussuomalainen kansanedustaja James Hirvisaaren Facebook sivun kommentit Itä-Suomen hovioikeus tuomiosta niin sanotussa Lieksan Facebook-rasismijutussa, ovat hyvä esimerkki siitä kuinka suvaitsemattomuus on saanut jalansijan Suomessa. Riippumatta kuinka paljon perussuomalaisten puheenjohtaja Timo Soini haluaa antaa maltillisen kuvan puolueesta, siinä aina nousee samat tekijät ja viha pintaan. Suomessa vihataan paljon tänä päivänä. Vihataan maahanmuuttajat, homot, feministejä, suomen ruotsalaisia,
Read on »Why do immigrants have to wait two years to get a mobile phone line in Finland?
We have read in the past how difficult it is for some immigrants in Finland to open a bank account never mind get access to online banking. All of Finland’s phone operators require immigrants to be residents for two years and a deposit of 300-500 euros in order to get a mobile phone line. A
Read on »Landmark busman turban case will be another watershed in Finland’s acceptance of cultural diversity
Finland is about to cross another watershed in cultural diversity, when busman Gill Sukhdarshan Singh of Vantaa was prohibited from using a turban at work, reports Helsingin Sanomat. Some legal experts see it an open-and-shut legal case. The excuses for a turban ban by bus company Veolia highlight, however, a wider challenge facing our ever-growing
Read on »Migrant Tales story sheds more light on a wider problem at schools in Mikkeli
Who says that writing cannot change matters? Migrant Tales published on Monday a story about a single mother who moved out of Mikkeli with her child because of the racist harassment at school. The story was picked up by Länsi-Savo, Itä-Savo, Peruopetus and commented widely in different national chat forums. Read whole story here. On Friday Länsi-Savo wrote an
Read on »We speak of two-way integration but too many still believe in assimilation
Finland’s integration law is exemplary in many respects because it aims to integrate newcomers as equals in our society. No law is, however, written in stone and is only as good as the institutions and people that enforce it. One of the matters that some have a difficult time grasping is what two-way adaption, or integration,
Read on »Cecile Kyenge: Italy’s first-ever black minister
The appointment of Italy’s first black cabinet minister, Cecile Kyenge, 48, is a good example that we can pull together on a difficult issue like race for too many European countries. Kyenge’s appointment has ushered in a new era in Italy politics. Even so, her appointment has exposed in the raw the nation’s ugly race
Read on »How can we challenge racism if it isn’t a problem?
As long as we don’t see racism as a big enough problem in our society, our response to it will be inefficient. Just like any illness, we must first diagnose it and then prescribe a cure. It’s disappointing to read how some people can insult others in a racist manner. Yesterday’s news story published
Read on »Suvaitsemattomuudesta ei löydy ratkaisu, koska sitä ei koeta tarpeeksi isoksi ongelmaksi
Tässä on mielestäni ongelman ydin kun puhumme rasistisesta kiusaamisesta koulussa tai häirinnästä julkisella paikalla: jos kiellämme ettei rasismi ole ongelma, lääkkeet sen vastustamiseen ovat puutteelliset. Tärkeintä on löytää keinot haasta tämä ilmiö koulussa. On surulista lukea kuinka ihmiset voivat nimettömänä loukata toisia rasistisesti. Eilisen kirjoitus yksinhuoltajasta äidistä ja hänen pojastaan, jotka muuttivat Helsinkiin Mikkelistä rasismin takia, kertoo
Read on »Sara kertoo kuinka hänen poikansa joutui rasistisen kiusauksen kohteeksi Mikkeliläisessä koulussa
Mitä ajattelisit, jos kuulisit afrikkalaisesta yksinhuoltaja äidistä, joka joutui muuttamaan Helsinkiin sen vuoksi että hänen poikansa joutui kokemaan koulussa kiusaamista ja rasismia? Ottaisitko tiedon vastaan ja lakaisisit sen maton alle vakuuttamalla itsellesi ettei tätä voi tapahtua kaupungissa missä asun? Migrant Tales blogi otti yhteyttä äitiin Sara (nimi muutettu), joka kertoi että hänen ja pojan elämä
Read on »Sara speaks out against the racist harassment her son endured at a school in Mikkeli, Finland
What would you do if you heard that an African single mother decided to leave Mikkeli for Helsinki because her eight-year-old child was a victim of racist harassment or bullying at school? Would you just register the news and brush it conveniently under the rug and reassure yourself that these types of things don’t happen
Read on »Our lopsided debate on immigration and refugees serves to keep our society white
The most startling fact about a US state department report on human rights for 2012 weren’t the sentences for hate speech handed to Perussuomalaiset (PS) party members such as MP Jussi Halla-aho and Freddy Van Wonterghem, but the discrimination suffered by Finland’s Romany minority, which number about 10,000. Read full US secretary of state human
Read on »Matias Turkkila reveals how Finnish racism became acceptable thanks to Hommaforum and the PS
Matias Turkkila, the editor of the Perussuomalinen newspaper and founding member of Hommaforum, reinforced on Friday’s A-studio: Stream talk show on hate speech what we always knew: some Finns have serious problems in tolerating others who are different from them. The whole debate surrounding hate speech, freedom of expression and what these two matters are becomes clouded
Read on »Intolerance is a wonderful weapon to exploit newcomers and strike a blow to organized labor
There’s little chance to stop Finland from becoming an ever-growing class society or that its suspicion of immigrants and visible minorities will lessen anytime soon. Our greater intolerance of other groups won’t only be fueled by our prejudice and loathing, but by Finland’s “other” that will be more than happy to oblige. Some immigrants and
Read on »Migrant Tales (November 28, 2011): Who is Finland’s Uncle Tom?
Comment: This blog entry was first published on November 28, 2011. For some reason, it’s impossible to access this posting from the old Migrant Tales site. I have reposted it on www.migranttales.net. _____________________ Is there such a concept as Uncle Tom in Finland? @HelsinkiObs helped me out with this question: “It’s Setä Tuomo (older style)
Read on »Blood strawberries from Nea Manolada, Greece
As Europe’s far right raises its head, the more violent things become. Some 30 migrant workers were injured in a shooting on a strawberry farm in Nea Manolada, Greece, after requesting salaries that had not been paid. Thanks to @ritorikaxalikia for the heads-up and the poster below. Writes the BBC: “The Council of Europe – the main
Read on »Does PS MP Olli Immonen have any idea what Finnish culture is?
There’s a three-part story published on Suomen Kuvalehti with Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Olli Immonen, who states why postmodern movies, or those that don’t strengthen Finnish national identity, shouldn’t be funded by the state. Immonen was elected the new president of Suomen Sisu, an extremist association that discourages white Finns from marrying foreigners. Suomen Kuvalehti published
Read on »A rude message on a Center Party politician’s door
Abdirahim Husu Hussein, who is a Helsinki Center Party politician and hosts a popular radio talk show on YLE with Ali Jahangiri, his wife was the first to read a rude message written on their apartment door: “Binladen was here.” If I’d read something similar on my door, I’d be pretty annoyed to say the least. Some
Read on »Does PS MP James Hirvisaari have any idea what racism is?
Migrant Tales aims to publish on the same day news that appears in the media. There was one opinion piece written on March 21 by Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari commemorating the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that should have received our attention. Our intention is not advertise James Hirvisaari, who was
Read on »Abdulah: Healing the wounds inflicted by intolerance and regaining balance
Abdulah, who has appeared in a number of postings on Migrant Tales, hasn’t yet rallied enough courage to speak without the veil of anonymity. Like many who are scorned in Finland because of their ethnic background, regaining one’s balance and healing the wounds inflicted by intolerance can be a long process. “I have learned a
Read on »Migrant Tales (July 22, 2012): What have we learned after Norway’s 22/7 and the Boston bombings?
Comment: As the manhunt for one of the two suspects continues in Boston, what should our reaction be to the two Chechen killers? This blog entry written on the first anniversary of the horrific killings in Norway by Anders Breivik could shed light on that question. ____________________ What goes around comes around. Exactly a year
Read on »Whiteness and white privilege speak European languages
As we hold our collective breaths and await to know the identity of the bombings in Boston Monday, too many don’t see a suspect but a whole ethnicity or religious group. Tim Wise put it very well in an opinion piece where he makes some distributing revelations about the power of whiteness. If we understand
Read on »The Boston bombings reveal a deadlier blowback
I was shocked to hear about the twin bombs in Boston and my heart goes to the victims. Two days after the incident, however, speculation has been rife about the probable ethnicity of the perpetrator. The eerie silence of the killer suggests that this was probably carried out individually. The latest story on the
Read on »How can immigrants and visible minorities clear the minefields of misinformation?
There is an interesting news story on today’s YLE that raises a timely question: Not why there is so much misinformation spead about immigrants, but what does this reveal about us as a society? Does it bring to light ignorance or a subtle conspiracy that permits us to have and eat our racist cake simultaneously?
Read on »Migrant Tales administrator area access disabled temporarily due to widespread brute force attacks
I noticed this message late-morning Sunday when I attempted to access Migrant Tales from another computer. Let’s hope that this matter is resolved soon and that this is a general problem. Roughly a year ago we were deactivated for 13 hours and received hostile emails. Those who speak out for freedom of speech, or the
Read on »Margaret Thatcher’s New Right and Finland’s Perussuomalaiset party
As Perussuomalaiset (PS) leader Timo Soini promises that his party will become the biggest party in next year’s European parliamentary elections, which would give him a spring-board to score a similar election victory as in 2011, it’s still too early for the party to reveal how it would deal with its usual enemies like the
Read on »It’s the cultural diversity, stupid!
Would it be fair to say that the biggest challenge facing Finland during this century is accepting its cultural diversity and deconstructing our white national identity in order to make our society more inclusive? Will this happen easily? The central issue being debated in Finland today about immigrants boils down to one question: How much
Read on »Pastor Ansku Jaakkola says that racism in Jyväskylä is far worse than many think
Difficult times bring forth exceptional people. One of these is Pastor Ansku Jaakkola of the Adventist Church in Jyväskylä, who believes that racism in her Central Finnish city is far worse than many think. ”Our new [foreign] friends have told us that yelling and harassment happens on a daily basis,” she was quoted as saying
Read on »How can Finland tackle intolerance today if it cannot come to terms with its past?
Finland’s present political and social dilemma could be best described in the following manner: On the one side it has a difficult time acknowledging ever-growing intolerance in its society, but on the other slowly understands that one major source of that intolerance are groups like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party. The PS has grown into a
Read on »Migrant Tales takes part in German Broadcasting Company program on hate speech
Those that promote anti-cultural diversity sentiment are not only out to destroy your arguments but your self-esteem. Migrant Tales has proven over again that what we say on this blog has importance and does get noticed in Finland and abroad. The German Broadcasting Company aired on Friday a program on hate speech in which we took
Read on »Finland’s tolerance for cultural diversity is being tested to the limit these days
Finland’s tolerance to Otherness is being tested to the limit these days. If we look at it from a political perspective, the knee-jerk reaction is clear. Denying that there isn’t a connection between the stellar rise of an anti-EU, anti-immigration and anti-Islam party and our ever-growing cultural diversity is understanding a little or erroneously the
Read on »Maaseudun Tulevaisuus: Soini sees himself forming government after the 2015 elections
What are we to think and believe about Timo Soini’s opinion piece on Maaseudun Tulevaisuus, where he claims that the next government formed after the 2015 parliamentary elections will comprise of three major parties? Certainly Soini sees his party emerging as the victor and Finland’s next prime minister. Read Maaseudun Tulevaisuus news story on Timo
Read on »Three news stories that expose the challenges facing Europe: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-Roma and official approval of the latter
Three stories this week spoke volumes about the challenges facing Europe during these times: discrimination against Muslims is widespread in many European countries; a string of anti-Semitic attacks have been reported in Eastern Europe; and Hungary’s top journalism prize is awarded to an anti-Semitic and Roma basher. Despite their geographic differences, all three stories are related shedding light on
Read on »Finland’s response to extremism should be more openess and democracy
An editorial on Thursday’s Helsingin Sanomat comments about Anjem Choudary’s visit to Finland last week. It points out correctly that hate speech should be condemned irrespective who makes it. Living in a culturally diverse society requires more mutual acceptance, not less acceptance and respect. Some of the controversial statements made by the cleric was that
Read on »YLE now ensures that it will be easier to distinguish news from opinion pieces
Migrant Tales has received an email from YLE regional and radio current affairs director, Teijo Valtanen, ensuring that the broadcaster will make sure that the blog entries of MPs published Fridays are clearly separated from news. If we look at the opinion piece by Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Olli Immonen, which was published on Friday, the
Read on »The repackaging and marketing of hate by anti-immigration parties and groups in Finland
Migrant Tales has shown on a number of blogs how neo-fascist groups like Golden Dawn of Greece, Hungary’s Jobbik and our own Finnish version of the latter, the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, are examples of the growing intolerance in Europe. Any sensible immigrant, visible minority and European should be worried by the situation. In Finland, our
Read on »Suomen Sisu and its red herrings: Radical Islamists are now gaining a foothold in Finland
Suomen Sisu, a far right anti-immigration association, said in a statement today that it was concerned about “radical Islamists” gaining a foothold in Finland after Anjem Courdary’s visit to Helsinki on Thursday. Is the extremist association were honest, it would take a good look at itself in the mirror and warn us as well about
Read on »Migrant Tales (March 10, 2011): Is Finland a safe country for non-whites?
Scores of stories have been published recently in the Finnish media on how non-white Finns and people with immigrant backgrounds have been harassed and attacked in broad daylight. Even though it is a positive sign that the media has pointed out this worrying trend there is still a lot of work to be done on this front.
Read on »It’s official: The PS doesn’t mind racists, Nazis and neo-Nazis among its ranks
A Perussuomalaiset (PS) party statement, giving Vaasa councilman Risto Helin a warning about a Hitler clock he gave to a neo-Nazi club in Vaasa, is a good example of political deception. If you read the statement carefully, it says that the party doesn’t mind racists, Nazis and neo-Nazis among its ranks as long as you do
Read on »Risto Helin: The PS says it’s ok to hang around neo-Nazi groups
As Migrant Tales correctly predicted on Thursday, Vaasa Perussuomalaiset (PS) councilman Risto Helin got away with a warning from the party for giving a clock with Hitler to an anti-immigration neo-Nazi group, reports tabloid Ilta-Sanomat. The PS sends a loud and clear message with this decision: It’s ok to hang around neo-Nazi groups and even have the
Read on »Jane Elliott’s blue eyes and brown eyes experiment in racism
After the death of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, an elementary school teacher called Jane Elliott of Riceville, Iowa, carried out an experiment on her third-graders to demonstrate the destructive force that racism and discrimination unleashes. Since the small farming community had no blacks, she divided her students according to the color of their
Read on »What separates our counterjihadists from jihadists?
Anjem Choudary took part in a talk in Helsinki Thursday about freeing Muslim hostages. The Muslim cleric has said a lot of controversial things in the past like Islam will overrun Europe and that Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S. President Barack Obama should be killed. He’s even predicted that a “tsunami” of Muslim immigrants will sweep
Read on »Finland’s and the PS’ three mentors: See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Speak No Evil
The latest scandal in the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party concerning a councilmen who gave a clock with Hitler and swastikas to a neo-Nazi club in Vaasa, is another worrying example of how low we have stooped as a nation since the April 2011 election. Contrary to what some populist anti-immigration politicians may claim, we are not
Read on »The PS shamefully supports neo-Nazism with its silence
Finland is one of the few countries I know in Europe where you can openly support a neo-Nazi group and Nazism and be elected to city council. The only catch is that you belong to the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party and state that your are neither a racist nor a Nazi like Vaasa city councilman Risto
Read on »Council of Europe: No hate speech movement
This campaign, No hate Speech Movement, is long overdue and in great need. It’s a good matter that we are waking up to this menace even if politicians shamelessly play it down. The reason why hate speech exists is because we permit it. In Finland we have politicians who have been sentenced for hate speech.
Read on »The long battle for ethnic equality has begun in Sweden and Finland
One wonders how Sweden’s embattled migration minister, Tobias Billström, could make his “blonde, blue-eyed” comment on asylum seekers and get away with it without losing his job. Here in Finland we give prime television time to representatives of racist association like Suomen Sisu, whose views on cultural diversity don’t vary greatly from the U.S. American Nazi
Read on »Why doesn’t YLE differentiate clearly what is news and opinion?
On Friday we saw Suomen Sisu’s new president and Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP, Olli Immonen, publish an opinion piece on YLE as “news.” YLE saw the problem and changed the heading of Immonen’s column to “opinion” from “news.” Migrant Tales published part of an email from YLE explaining that since a reader of this blog considered it
Read on »PS far right: Hirvisaari publicly supports the Finnish Defense League
Is it a surprise that far right Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MP James Hirvisaari now publicly supports the Finnish Defence League, which is an offshoot of the far right English Defense League (EDL)? Not really. The EDL is the fastest-growing far right street movement in England since the National Front erupted in the 1970s. In a span
Read on »How ideologically similar is Suomen Sisu to the Ku Klux Klan and U.S. American Nazi Party?
While some may claim the headline to be provocative, it’s not too far off the mark. With what we already know about Suomen Sisu, is there a potential that it could evolve into a Finnish version of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and U.S. American Nazi Party? Absolutely. You can read about Suomen Sisu’s (in Finnish)
Read on »YLE ensures that opinion pieces and news will be easily identifiable in the future
YLE emailed a Migrant Tales reader, who expressed concern Friday about an opinion piece written as news by Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Olli Immonen. It was an odd coincidence that Immonen’s opinion piece was published in such a manner, considering that the PS MP is the new chairman of Suomen Sisu, a far right anti-immigration association.
Read on »Case Suomen Sisu: YLE corrects mistake but remains quiet about it
The opinion piece of Suomen Sisu’s new chairman, Olli Immonen, was mistakenly published as “news” on Friday by YLE. That was later corrected by YLE, apparently after the broadcaster got a number of concerned emails from readers. The latest problem? YLE didn’t mention that it had corrected the mistake. Why is this important? Because YLE has
Read on »YLE presents far right Suomen Sisu chairman’s opinion piece as “news”
Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) appears to have published ad verbum an opinion piece by the new Suomen Sisu president, Olli Immonen, as “news.” Nowhere in the story does it tell readers that this is an opinion piece written by the Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP but presents it instead as a news story, which it is not.
Read on »Some Finnish banks require Somalis to be Finnish citizens to have access to online banking
Migrant Tales understands that employees of banks like Nordea, Osuuspankki and Handelsbanken in Kouvola and Mikkeli tell Somalis that they must be Finnish citizens in order to have access to online banking. A blog entry published in March 2012 highlighted the difficulties that stateless persons face in opening a bank account never mind gaining access to
Read on »Länsi-Savo: Osaava ulkomainen työvoima tarpeen
Ei tarvitse mennä kauas todetakseen, että tulevaisuus on jo laskenut Etelä-Savossa: Sulkavan kunnassa 31,1 prosenttia väestöstä on eläkeläisiä ja vastaavat luvut Heinävedellä ja Puumalassa kiipeävät 30 prosenttiin. Mikkelissä asiat ovat hieman paremmin (20,3 prosenttia), mutta huonommat jos vertailemme koko maata (18,1 prosenttia). Alkuperäisen kirjoituksen voi lukea tästä. Etelä-Savo ei ole pelkästään nähnyt sen väestön ikääntymistä nopealla vauhdilla, väestökato
Read on »Tenth anniversary of the Iraq war: Washington’s new-old foreign policy
Comment: This story appeared on Suomen Kuvalehti’s website shortly after the US-led coalition invaded Iraq in March 2003. All you needed back then was common sense to understand that the invasion of Iraq was a huge and costly lie. The column reposted in June 2007, shortly after the birth of Migrant Tales in May of
Read on »Some immigrants adapt so well to Finland that they even parrot the language of the racist
Intolerance doesn’t only originate from the majority group, but is alive and kicking among some immigrants as well. White immigrants may have prejudices against their fellow black ones, gays against heterosexuals, religion x against religion y. In sum, there’s a lot of intolerance promoted out there that reveals itself in the most surprising places. One
Read on »The National Discrimination Tribunal of Finland fines Nordea for discrimination
The National Discrimination Tribunal of Finland (Syrjintälautakunta) has given Nordea Bank Finland a conditional fine of 5,000 euros for not accepting a French identity card as proof of identity, the Tribunal said in a statement. Moreover, the Tribunal considered the bank’s refusal to serve the client and his removal from the premises as an infringement
Read on »What Finland can learn from countries like the U.K. about racism
We can learn a lot from countries like the United Kingdom, where multiculturalism is an official social policy. Few won’t deny that the U.K. as well as other European countries don’t know what racism is if we look at their direct involvement in the slave trade and in the systematic genocide of indigenous peoples outside Europe.
Read on »What will happen to Finland if the PS matches its parliamentary election result in 2015?
Should we be worried by the latest polls, which show the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party vying for second place? What does the rise of the PS say about the present state of Finland? What will happen if the party matches its 2011 election result in 2015? Right after the disappointing municipal election, PS head Timo Soini promised that
Read on »If you loathe cultural diversity you most likely are suspicious of wolves and biodiversity
A news story on Green Party’s Vihreä Lanka asks if the wolf population of Finland has fallen to under 120 from an estimated 120-135 by Game and Fisheries Research. How many and what threat do they pose to people is part of an ongoing debate in Finland that is very similar to how some Finns
Read on »How far to the right will the PS and Suomen Sisu take Finland?
Even if Suomen Sisu president Olli Immonen and Jussi Halla-aho, both MPs of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, tried to assure television viewers Thursday on A-Talk that the association is neither racist nor far right, nothing could be further from the truth. In order to keep immigrants and visible minorities disenfranchised, Suomen Sisu must come up
Read on »Cultural diversity: The key question that should have been asked on YLE’s A-Studio talk show
YLE A-Studio had an interesting debate with Perussuomalaisiet (PS) MPs Olli Immonen, Jussi Halla-aho, Left Alliance Helsinki city councilman Dan Koivulaakso and Swedish-language daily HBL journalist Marianne Lydén. Despite assurances by Immonen, Suomen Sisu’s new president, that the extremist anti-immigration association is against racism, they should their same colors by reinforcing over and over again their
Read on »Timo Soini and Olli Immonen, the foxes in the chicken coop
Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini was asked Tuesday by YLE what he thought about PS MP Olli Immonen being elected as the new chairman of Suomen Sisu, an extremist anti-immigration association. Soini offered his usual cock-and-bull answer by comparing Suomen Sisu to a harmless hunting, farming or youth association. It appears that YLE has learned a
Read on »Who do death threats and hate speech intimidate?
Finland’s largest daily Helsingin Sanomat asked twenty-three racism researchers if they had been harassed and received death threats. Sixteen researchers answered the questionnaire of which 14 responded affirmatively that they had received hate mail. This story by Helsingin Sanomat confirms the concern of other researchers at the University of Eastern Finland. The first time I
Read on »Max Jakobson dies but his legacy and the cold war linger on
This blog entry is dedicated to the late Donald Fields, Helsinki correspondent of the BBC, The Guardian and Politiken to 1988. I read with mixed thoughts about the death of Max Jakobson (1923-2013), a diplomat who shaped Finland’s policy of neutrality during the cold war. While I am certain that he was an able
Read on »Is the far right a threat to Finland?
Pia Growchoski asks an important question on her recent blog entry on Migrant Tales: Why is the national media so interested in far right groups and their resentful rhetoric? Why do we give space to Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini’s blatant incompetence on our Facebook pages? Are we in denial about what these groups represent
Read on »Police apprehend suspected attacker of black VR worker of Kajaani, Finland
The police have apprehended the suspect who violently attacked on Tuesday a black train cleaner working for state railways, VR, reports Kainuun Sanomat. The suspect, who is a foreigner, admitted to the police of attacking the VR worker, who has returned home after being operated twice in hospital. Just because a person is a
Read on »Columbus brought destruction, resentment to America and future wars to Europe
Imagine if the Internet existed when Christopher Columbus landed on Hispaniola in 1492 and we’d read about what ensued. Would our selective memory get the best of us and keep us in the dark for centuries about the systematic extermination of the Amerindians? Even if Bartolemé de las Casas (1484-1566), a historian and Dominican friar,
Read on »Hate crimes in Finland are shameful but reveal our meek response to intolerance
Just like over a year ago, during Black February, when three Muslims died under violent circumstances in a span of about three weeks, Migrant Tales learned of a new tragedy in the city of Kaajani. A black man, who is a train cleaner for the state railways company VR, was violently attacked by two men on
Read on »Foreign train cleaner violently attacked in the Kainuu region of Finland
A black train cleaner working for VR, the state-owned railways company, was violently attacked on Tuesday by two men in the city of Kajaani, located in the region of Kainuu, according to Iltalehti. The wounds the attackers inflicted on the man are so serious that he will be operated. Iltalehti repors that the wife of
Read on »Is Finland in the anti-racism farm leagues?
On a recent Migrant Tales blog entry we wrote about racist harassment and bullying at schools. For some parents, the problem is so serious at some schools that the only solution is to move to another city like Helsinki, where there are more visible minorities and immigrants. Source: The Speak Out project. Why are we still in
Read on »Migrant Tales (October 1, 2011): Multicultural Finns – “Accepting yourself is the first step”
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Martin Luther King, Jr. A guest speaker gave on Friday her recipe on how young adolescents from different countries living in Finland could build a space for themselves in society. Two matters struck me from
Read on »How do Finnish schools treat cultural diversity?
In theory, the answer is straightforward: Finnish schools should respect cultural diversity but a lot depends on the school and the principle. If we compare how elementary and middle schools treated visible minority students in the 1990s, we hope that matters have improved since then. But have they? Cultural diversity in Finland up to the
Read on »Haglund continues to challenge Soini on his broken campaign promises on racism
The rift between Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini and Carl Haglund, head of the Swedish People’s Party, reveals an ongoing David and Goliath duel where Soini is showing his true autocratic colors. Haglund challenged Soini last week to an open debate on racism after the PS leader was grilled on HARDtalk about this festering issue. Soini
Read on »Say no to stereotypes because they are the fuel that myths and prejudice feed on
“Stereotypes have some truth to them” has some truth to it but not in the way people think. That truth is not about the stereotyped but the stereotyper. Julian Abagond The quote by Abagond not only exposes the stereotyper for what he or she is, but how racist myths and views of other groups are
Read on »Holocaust toll was much higher than believed – what will the deniers and Counterjihadists now say?
Don’t look for intolerance in complex and distant places because it sits and hides right under our noses. A story on the Huffington Post, reveals that researchers from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum found over 40,000 Nazi death camps and ghettos that existed during Adolf Hitler’s reign of terror between 1933 and 1945. The
Read on »Finnish police find list of hundreds of “enemies” at neo-Nazi’s home
The Finnish police, who are investigating neo-Nazi Kansalinen Vastarinta (KV) activists for storming a book event on the far right in Jyväskylä in late-January, have found over 300 photos and personal information of “enemies” on one of the suspect’s memory stick, according to the police. Writes YLE in English: “The [memory] stick contained details about the religious and
Read on »Swedish People’s Party chairman challenges (without luck) PS head Soini on racism
Migrant Tales raises its hat to Swedish People’s Party chairman, Carl Haglund, for challenging Perussuomalaiset (PS) Timo Soini on Helsingin Sanomat to an open debate about racism. Apart from immigrants and visible minorities, Finland’s Swedish-speaking population, which number about 291,000, has been under near-constant attack by the PS. It is unfortunate but understandable in today’s Finland that only
Read on »Anti-gay vote in Finland was a vote for intolerance
The vote to defeat the draft bill that would have legalized gay marriage by the legal committee of parliament sets not only a dangerous precedent but reveals Finland’s ever-hardened stance not only against gays, but against all minorities. If there were a Hall of Shame for MPs, its members would consist of those who voted against the gay-marriage
Read on »Finnish parliamentary committee votes 9-8 against gay marriage
A draft law to legalize gay marriage in Finland has been defeated by a vote of 9-8 by the legal committee of parliament, reports Uusi Suomi, citing Tweets by Green Party MP Jani Toivola and Aino-Kaisa Pekonen of the Left Alliance. Green MP Jani Toivola tweeted that he was “disappointed” by the gay marriage vote today. The members
Read on »Far right and anti-immigration quotes in English by the PS
There’s a new site that publishes quotes by your favorite Perussuomalaiset (PS) politician in English. Those PS politicians are none other than Jussi Halla-aho, James Hirvisaari and Juho Eerola. You can visit the site at truefinns.tumblr.com The editors state the following: “Quotes by some leading politicians of the True Finns party. Note that we do
Read on »Finland, the PS and far right: How long before the chickens come home to roost?
I’ve lived and worked in countries like Colombia and Argentina during the dirty war (1976-83), where people were and still are killed for what they write. Never would I have imagined that I’d receive my first death threats twenty years ago in this country, Finland. The threats and harassment haven’t stopped. When I read
Read on »PS MP Hirvisaari now says he was “pressured” to resign from Suomen Sisu
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari, who was convicted for ethnic agitation in December, announced Saturday on Twitter that he was “pressured” to resign from the extremist Suomen Sisu association. He announced on Friday that he was resigning from Suomen Sisu because he was too old to belong to “a youth organization.” Hirvisaari tweets, “The truth:
Read on »Finland’s biggest threat is itself
As Finland awakens to the reality that it is a culturally diverse society, one of the biggest threats and challenges we face doesn’t come from abroad but from our backyard. When the Civil Rights Movement ended in the United States in 1968, the first matter that we learned we should stop doing is generalizing about blacks
Read on »Far right PS MP Hirvisaari resigns from Suomen Sisu
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari, who was convicted for ethnic agitation in December, announced on his blog that he has resigned from the extremist Suomen Sisu association. The whole announcement is fishy: Why is Hirvisaari resigning now? Does it make any difference? Who cares. The Supreme Court upheld in June Hirvisaari’s ethnic agitation conviction. Hirvisaari’s
Read on »Ethnic agitation charges will be brought against another PS politician
Charges of ethnic agitation will be brought by deputy state prosecutor Jorma Kalske against Kontiolahti councilman Mika Hiltunen, reports YLE. Hiltunen claimed on his Facebook page in January that refugees and asylum seekers “are social-welfare bums and rapists.” JusticeDemon asks an interesting question about the case: “… this particular statute [Section 10 of chapter 11 of
Read on »Timo Soini’s fast one: “Only one or two [racist] outbursts”
Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman, Timo Soini, claimed on BBC’s HARDtalk that his party doesn’t have a strand of racism because there were only “one or two [racist] outbursts” in the past. Only one or two?! Try a long and disgraceful list of racist outbursts, criminal convictions and shameful denials Mr. Soini. The HARDtalk interview with Stephen
Read on »BBC’s HARDtalk: Soini defends decision to not sack Halla-aho
Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman, Timo Soini, said on BBC’s HARDTalk that the five-year ordeal that lead to a Supreme Court ruling against PS MP Jussi Halla-aho for inciting ethnic hatred was enough punishment, according to YLE. Soini had promised previously to sack any member of the party if they were sentenced by a court for hate speech.
Read on »If you’re anti-gay you’re probably anti-immigration (or don’t understand what is at stake)
It is surprising that a country like Finland, which claims to be a Nordic democracy, we see so much opposition to gays not only from anti-immigration parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS), but from other ones as well like the National Coalition Party. PS MP Mika Niikko, a fierce opponent of gay rights, echoed on Helsingin
Read on »Former undocumented immigrant Edgar Ortega: A true survivor
I read a fascinating story on YLE in English about a former undocumented immigrant in Finland, Edgar Ortega of Mexico. He’s a true survivor. Ortega would clean construction sites, distribute pizza adverts and engage in other work before he got a residence permit. Ortega made 4-5 euros an hour as an undocumented immigrant, according to
Read on »Creating political Frankensteins with the help of social media and prejudice
In Saami mythology there’s a large-but-not-too-bright monster called Staalo, which was made from a log, lichen and a few incantations. If we look at the recent rise of intolerance in Finland and Europe, social media has breathed life back to many Staalo-like political Frankensteins. Staalo is a monster found in Saami mythology. Source: Tajukangas. In
Read on »FIS: Somali family reunifications plummeted to just over 500 in 2012
The number of Somali family reunification applications in 2012 plummeted to just over 500 application compared with 1,900 in the previous year and 3,900 in 2010, reports Helsingin Sanomat, citing the Finnish Immigration Service (FIS). There were a total of 8,600 applications in 2012. The highest number were from were from citizens of the
Read on »University of Eastern Finland concerned over threats to their racism researchers
Unions representing racism and multiculturalism researchers at the University of Eastern Finland, expressed concern Wednesday over the threats they are receiving, reports YLE in English. In a joint statement, the unions said that such threats to its researchers should be a cause for concern, especially in a region where intolerance is on the rise. “Our
Read on »How far has the PS beachhead spread in twenty-two months?
Migrant Tales wrote the following day after the historic April 17, 2011 election had sent shock waves throughout Finland and Europe: “Far-right populism is an illness inflicting Europe at present and it now has a beachhead in Finland.” Back then, our blog got got cited by Time Magazine. The above quote was a response to
Read on »Oulu city councillor and transsexual attacked
Green Party Oulu city councillor, Janne Hakkarainen, was attacked and beaten over the weekend while accompanying a transexual, reports Oulu-based daily Kaleva. Hakkarainen said that three men attacked them in a park after he accompanied his friend home from a bar after 4:30am. Fortunately a person spotted what was happening and forced the
Read on »Helsinki’s and Greater Helsinki’s immigrant population to rise by over 131% in 20 years
A forecast that will be published Monday by Statistics Finland sees the immigrant population of Helsinki and its surroundings rising by over 131% in two decades to around 300,000 from 130,000, reports YLE in English, citing Swedish-language daily Hufvustadsbladet. Writes Yle in English: “Most non-Finnish speakers come to Finland and the Helsinki region from Africa
Read on »City of Joensuu: Challenging and beating intolerance one step at a time
Our reaction to intolerance in Finland has paid off. At least it did for me late-Friday night in downtown Joensuu when I was about to parallel park my car. Thanks to associations like JoMoni working in close cooperation with local authorities like ELY-keskus, Joensuu have challenged intolerance. In many respects, it’s like the success of
Read on »PS MP Hirvisaari goes off the wall as Finnish appeals court upholds Van Wonterghem’s hate speech sentence
The Finnish appeals court announced Wednesday that it has upheld a district court decision to fine Perussuomalaiset (PS) Kotka city councillor Freddy van Wonterghem for inciting ethnic hatred. While Van Wonterghem is a small fry in the anti-immigration party, far-right PS MP James Hirvisaari blew his stack by slamming the appeals court decision
Read on »PS MP James Hirvisaari and his Nazi-SS YouTube video
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari has been caught once again with his hand in the extremist cookie jar. Lahti-based Etelä-Suomen Sanomat reports that Hirvisaari had uploaded a Nazi video years ago that glorifies the SS. Hirvisaari uploaded the video as ”allamarcia” but it was originally published by kingtiger88 in March 2007. The video, which shows
Read on »Sport is one of your best passports to acceptance in a new country
Since sports can be your passport to acceptance in a new country, its role should never be underetimated never mind undermined. It’s clear that we need to do more work in Finland to promote sports in order to include more immigrants and their children in this activity. In the United States I played basketball, track
Read on »Nipping prejudice in the bud with our example
We must find effective ways to nip prejudice in the bud. The worst matter we can do when it happens is our silence, which emboldens and strengthens intolerance to see a new day. How you may ask can we challenge such social ills? The answer is simple: our example and leadership. Racist rants are usually
Read on »Jyväskylä may turn into another blow to Finland’s Counterjihadist -anti-immigration hardliners
If the Counterjihadist-anti-immigration tide turned in Finland and the Nordic region after 22/7, when Anders Breivik went on the rampage killing 77 innocent people, the attack in Jyväskylä on Wednesday by suspected far-right thugs could be a serious blow to anti-immigration and far right groups in Finland. Whenever hatred metamorphoses into violence, like in the case
Read on »Red Herring tales (Part 2): City of Vaasa bans the burkini
As expected, the Vaasa city leisure committee voted unanimously on Wednesday to prohibit the use of burkinis. The committee claims that the swimming outfit, consisting of a head scarf, tunic and trousers designed for Muslim women, is a dangerous to the swimmer and unhygienic. It’s unclear from the rules if Muslims are required to go to the sauna naked.
Read on »Post-Jyväskylä: Where do we go from here?
Considering how the media treated before the April 2011 election racism and far right ideology and how social media sites were teeming with racist online lynch mobs, we are today waking up from the hangover of our state of social inebriation. The aftereffect will not go away in a day, week, or month but will
Read on »PS’ second vice president doesn’t condemn but “gives advice”to Jyväskylä’s neo-Nazi attackers
Perussuomalaiset (PS) second vice president, MP Juho Eerola, did not condemn the attacks in Jyväskylä by suspected neo-Nazi thugs but advised them how to do it more effectively, reports National Coalition Party’s online Verkkouutiset. Writes Eerola: “The next time don’t look like “patriots” when you plan to enter such an event. Don’t go as a group
Read on »Interior minister: Far right isn’t “a big threat” despite what happened in Jyväskylä
Christian Democrat Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen condemned the attack by three suspected neo-Nazi thugs in Jyväskylä as an assault against freedom of speech and the right to assembly, reports YLE. She didn’t consider, however, the far right to be a threat to Finland but said that the authorities aim to do more work to address social
Read on »Jyväskylä is (another) wakeup call to growing far right violence and intimidation
Wednesday’s attack by neo-Nazi thugs at a book presentation in Jyväskylä is a wakeup call to the growing menace of far right violence in Finland. Was what happened in the central Finnish city a surprise? The answer is no if you ask researcher Vesa Puuronen of the University of Eastern Finland. ”When we consider recent
Read on »Suspected neo-Nazis attack book presentation event on the far right in Finland
A group of men with bottles and knives barged in a book presentation in the central Finnish city of Jyväskylä on far-right extremism, according to Yle in English. The men, who called themselves ”patriots,” injured one of the body guards who was taken to hospital. The attackers fled the scene. Members of the neo-Nazi Suomen Kansalinen
Read on »What does Finland’s integration law reveal about our society and expectations?
A good question we can ask about Finland’s integration act is what it reflects about our views and expectations of newcomers. Can any law integrate people effectively? If you want to speak of one- or two-way adaption, one should ask some of Finland’s oldest minorities like the Roma and Saami what memories such a
Read on »Labels that fuel discrimination and racism in Finland
When will Finns drop this discriminatory term: Finns with immigrant backgrounds? Many, I suspect, are and should be proud of their background. I am but what happens if these labels and terms ensure that you will continue to be treated as something less equal? What do you do if being labeled in such a way
Read on »The social tragedy of the family reunification problem of Somalis in Finland
The Finnish Immigration Service states in a report (see page 4) that at the end of 2011 there were a total of 6,100 family reunification applications by Somalis living in the country. Even so, only 329 family reunifications took place on average annually between 1999 and 2010, according to the Refugee Advice Center. No matter how one
Read on »Timo Soini and his pact with the devil
The cracks in the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party are widening as the latest Kai Haavisto-James Hirvisaari scandal proves. The PS has reached a dead end with its present band of politicians. With the complicity of the near-silence of other parties, no other political group in modern Finnish times has created so much resentment and hatred towards
Read on »Red Herring tales (Part I): City of Vaasa plans to prohibit the use of burquinis
Ever heard of the burquini, a swimming outfit consisting of head scarf, tunic and trousers designed for Muslim women? The western Finnish city of Vaasa plans to prohibit the use of these swimming suits at a city committee* meeting next Wednesday. The reason? Because it is a security risk and not hygienic, according to a City
Read on »When can we give the PS and other Finnish parties a racism-free bill of health?
One of the biggest deceptions in the ongoing debate about racism in Finland is that it is only a Perussuomalaliset (PS) party problem. Making such a claim would be simplifying matters to the extreme: Racism is a widespread problem in all Finnish parties (some more, some less) and in our society. Integration must be a
Read on »Was PS MP James Hirvisaari bullied at school and in the army?
The most recent scandal to rock the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party is another sad chapter in the history of the right-wing populist party and for the same reason: racism. The culprits are now MP James Hirvisaari and Kai Haavisto, member of the party’s Uusimaa regional board. What’s wrong with these people? How can anyone who can
Read on »The PS cannot rid itself of its racists because it would commit political hara-kiri
It’s been interesting to read how some Perussuomalaiset (PS) party members suddenly feel overwhelmed by the most recent racism scandal to rock the party. PS MP Tom Packalén asks in tabloid Iltalehti what should be done? Answer: For a start, why not sack them? The other option is to defect from the PS like Kontiolahti councilwoman
Read on »Rule number one about racism: Don’t generalize!
It is amazing that people who should know better have never learned one very important fact: Don’t generalize about ethnic groups. We’d avoid a lot of harm to ourselves (living in the narrow world of hate and racism) and others (labeling and victimizing) if we stopped generalizing about ethnic groups. The suggestion by Kai Haavisto,
Read on »Anti-immigration sound-bite: Rape! Rape! RAPE!
I was surprised to read a blog post on Uusi Suomi by Kai Haavisto, a Perussuomalaiset (PS) politician from Espoo, who suggested that those groups that are prone to commit rape should be castrated chemically before being allowed to live in Finland. Haavisto is well-known for his racist views. One of his blog entries in
Read on »Journalists should question instead of spread racism and prejudice
Journalists are one group that have helped to spread and reinforce our prejudices and racism of other groups. There’s nothing surprising about this considering that journalists, like the media that employs them, mirror in part what the public feels. Ilta-Sanomat is one tabloid resonsible for spreading racism in Finland during the 1990s. This billboard tells
Read on »Why was Finland “tolerant” of Jews when it was an ally of Nazi Germany?
Finns claim proudly – followed by an obvious sigh of relief – that even if we were an ally of Nazi Germany during World War 2, anti-Semitism never reached the same levels as in Hungary, Romania and in other parts of Nazi-dominated Europe. While Finland offers an interesting case with respect to anti-Semitism in war-ravaged
Read on »Slandering immigrants and visible minorities is disgraceful
A politician of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party has come under fire today for claiming on Facebook that all refugees and asylum seekers are social bums and rapists, reports YLE. Migrant Tales published on Sunday a blog entry citing a ministry of justice researcher, who claimed that certain anti-immigration groups in Finland distort crime statistics in
Read on »Migrant Tales literary: Pikavippilaulu
Älä koskee pikavippiin se ei ole turvallista ei sinulle, ei minulle, ei kenellekään. Jos sä kosket pikavippiin älä itke minulle, ei kenellekään, ei kenellekään. Pikavippi ei ole hyvä! Pikavippi on karmea! Pikavippi tuhoaa perheesi. Sanat: Enrique Tessieri ja Sher Hser
Read on »Länsi-Savo and toilet etiquette for Russians
An article on Friday’s Länsi-Savo, a Mikkeli-based daily, is a good example of how old stereotypes are kept alive in this part of Finland. The article, headlined ABC Juva teaches Russians how to use the toilet bowl, reveals more than anything else our stereotypes and prejudices against Russians. Länsi-Savo is the biggest newspaper in Etelä-Savo,
Read on »Rasismin kieltäminen on uusrasismia
Syrjinnän ja rasismin ilmiöt ovat universaaleja, ja Suomessa näkyvät ongelmat esiintyvät myös muualla mutta ehkä eri kontekstissa. Katsokaa seuraava video ja korvatka seuraavat sanat: America = Suomi GOP (Republican Party) = mm. Perussuomalaiset Black crime = maahanmuuttajien rikollisuus Suomessa
Read on »Cultural diversity in Finland: A letter from Ida, Abdulah and Joseph
COMMENT: Migrant Tales has always been interested in publishing the experiences of Finns with multicultural backgrounds. The letter by “Ida” below is one of the first we ever published on this blog in September 2008. There are others ones aboutSomali-Finn Abdulah, Living in no-man’s land, and Joseph, What being Finnish means to me. While all of
Read on »Denying racism is the new racism
The more we debate racism, the more our ignorance is exposed in the raw.* This is a good matter because when we begin to see the light at the end of this debate, we can start wiping off our ignorance and replace it with knowledge. Even so, denial is still rampant. Bill Maher said: “Denying racism is
Read on »Abdirahim’s and Ali’s radio show begins today at 1pm on YLE
Abdirahim Hussein and Ali Jahangiri kick off their weekly hour-long radio program on YLE today at 1pm. I know both persons. I especially like Abdirahim because his sincere no-nonsense about cultural diversity issues. Ali is a talented speaker as well, trying to use humor to address a serious social ill like racism and acceptance. One
Read on »Lip service and inaction water poisonous plants like racism
Instead of debating whether racism and prejudice are serious problems or not in Finland, why not look at the factors that permit their existence in our society? A good starting point could be asking oneself the following question: Is our reaction to such social ills a reaction? Inaction, be it in the form of lip
Read on »Save the Children: Too little attention is given to racist harassment of minors in Finland
The racist harassment that children are exposed to in Finland is either played down or sidelined completely, according to a statement by Save the Children (Pelastakaa Lapset), an association founded in 1922 that aims to improve the lives of children in Finland and abroad. You can read the Save the Children statement (in Finnish) here.
Read on »Enrique Tessieri: Racist harassment was part of my short childhood in Finland
When I lived briefly in Helsinki in 1958-61, I still remember how I got harassed as a child by other children for not looking Finnish enough. If I experienced such violence when I was a child over 50 years ago, why do we still have a difficult time coming to grips with a social ill
Read on »Finland plans to charge tuition fees to foreign students
Over half (119) of Finland’s 200 MPs are in favor of charging tuition fees to foreign students, according to YLE in English. The bill is being spearheaded by three parties known for their anti-immigration stances: National Coalition Party (37 MPs), Perussuomalaiset (39), and Center Party (29). Is the new bill a sign of how Finland is
Read on »A cartoon that reveals a truth about integration and diversity in Europe
Sometimes when I read about how immigrants, their children and grandchildren are treated in some European countries, this cartoon comes to mind. After the first warning and after you understand fully the but after the ” we’re a very tolerant society…” line, many will encounter the wall of institutional racism, the final icing of your integration cake
Read on »Migrant Tales videoblogi: Moninainen Suomi
Mitä haasteita Suomella on kun se muuttuu kulttuurisesti moninaisemmaksi?
Read on »Migrant Tales (July 8, 2012): The absurdity of the reverse-racism argument in Finland
Every now and then you’ll hear a visitor on Migrant Tales claim: What about [reverse] racism against [white] Finns!? Racism is a complex problem but one matter singles it out: It is an effective tool to socially exclude, control and exploit other groups in society from vital resources such as jobs and economic wealth.
Read on »Charging Kunnollisvaalit 2012 blog would be a setback for Finland
A statement by Kunnollisvaalit 2012, a blog that exposes far right writings of Finnish politicians who ran for city council in the October municipal elections, states that it may face charges for inciting ethnic hatred for publishing snapshots of such candidates. Due to the adverse anti-immigration climate in Finland, some so-called anti-racists usually prefer to
Read on »Onko Umayya Abu-Hannan tapaus yksilöllinen tai laajempi ilmiö?
Olin hyvin hämmästynyt kun Adoptioperheet ry:n toiminnanjohtaja Anu Uhtio reagoi nyt Umayya Abu-Hannan kirjoituksen viime sunnuntain Helsingin Sanomissa. Samalla tavalla kun Abu-Hannan ja Ulla Appelsinin sanallinen ottelu, Uhtio yrittää vähätellä rasisminilmiön Suomessa vakuuttamalla, että rasistiset kokemukset ovat yksilöllisiä. Hän sanoi Iltalehdessä: ”Ei minulla ole mitään syytä epäillä, ettei näin ole, mutta se ei edusta mitenkään laajasti perheiden kokemusta,” sanoi
Read on »Racism is alive and well in the PS as well as in other parties
Husein Mohammed raised an important point on a recent blog entry where he reviewed Umayya Abu-Hanna’s latest book, Multikulti. He asks if the Perussuomalaiset (PS) is the only intolerant party in Finland. He writes: “The term racism is used quite a lot in [Abu-Hanna’s] book but there’s no mention of violence, visible or about racism in [other Finnish] political
Read on »Rebecka Holm: The adolescent who spoke out against racism
Rebecka Holm, who was 14 years old last January, rallied enough courage back then to write a letter to HBL* that changed her life. That letter to the editor spoke openly about her multicultural background and racist harassment. In March, she was given the Red Cross Award on the UN Day Against Racism for her courage and example. Rebecka
Read on »Migrant Tales video blog entry: President Sauli Niinistö’s New Year address 2013
Here’s Migrant Tales’ first-ever video blog entry. We plan to publish more of these in 2013 in English, Finnish as well as in other languages. This is a first attempt so I’m certain there’s a lot of room for improvement. We’ll get better at them as we get more practice.
Read on »President Niinistö’s New Year’s Day address sidelined immigrants and New Finns
President Sauli Niinistö’s first New Year’s Day address* brought up some important issues facing Finland. Some of these were the threat of plugging our budget deficit with debt as well as how greed and selfishness undermine our unity as a society. He did not mentioned once the term immigrant never mind New Finn and our
Read on »Happy New Year – Hyvää Uutta Vuotta!
Thank you for your support in 2012, The Migrant Tales team
Read on »Promoting tolerance now and tomorrow
In Migrant Tales’ Finland & Cultural Diversity 2012 review, it’s clear that a lot more work needs to be done to promote tolerance. Thanks to Umayya Abu-Hanna’s column on Sunday’s Helsingin Sanomat,* our collective complacency was once again shamefully revealed. Racism, or the lack of acceptance of other ethnic groups as equals in our society,
Read on »My naïvity and the Finns
When I moved to Finland in December 1978, I wasn’t naïve about Finland, but super naïve. I was so confiding that I actually believed all Finns were honest. If happiness were a spider, it would spin a web to catch our good thoughts. Apart from a strong admiration for the forests and people who inhabited
Read on »Finland & Cultural Diversity 2012*
If 2011 was a watershed year for Finland with the historic rise of a hostile party against immigrants and visible minorities in last year’s parliamentary elections, 2012 will be seen as a bittersweet turning point for the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The year will be remembered as a very violent one for immigrants as well. During “Black
Read on »2012 was another disappointing year for cultural diversity in Finland
Without a doubt, 2012 will be remembered as another bad year for cultural diversity in Finland. Finding the usual culprits isn’t difficult: ignorance and intolerance. It is surprising that a party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS), which grew from relative obscurity to become the third-largest political force in parliament in 2011, can wake up the worst
Read on »The oddly unspoken topic of racism
“Racism is a refuge for the ignorant. It seeks to divide and to destroy. It is the enemy of freedom, and deserves to be met head-on and stamped out.” Pierre Berton (1920-2004) Many visitors have come and gone on Migrant Tales. Those that jump the MT ship the soonest are those who choose to justify a
Read on »Finland and cultural diversity in 2012 will be published on December 28
Migrant Tales will publish on December 28 its review of the major events that shaped 2012 on the cultural diversity and immigration front in Finland. Contrary to 2011, this year’s review will be called Finland and cultural diversity in 2012. Finns colonized Argentina in 1906. Some, like Eelis Heikkilä, made a meager living by picking
Read on »The same face of intolerance lives amongst us today
When I was growing up in the 1970s, one of the matters that followed me around was the constant news of the mass murder and cemetery silence imposed by ruthless Latin American dictatorships. If you lived in one of those countries where human rights violations were the rule, you were confronted by two options: take
Read on »Migrant Tales (July 8, 2012): The absurdity of the reverse-racism argument in Finland
Every now and then you’ll hear a visitor on Migrant Tales claim: What about [reverse] racism against [white] Finns!? Racism is a complex problem but one matter singles it out: It is an effective tool to socially exclude, control and exploit other groups in society from vital resources such as jobs and economic wealth. The
Read on »Police College of Finland: Hate crimes rise by 7% in 2011
A total of 918 suspected hate crimes were reported in Finland in 2011, which is a 7% rise from 860 cases in the previous year, according to the Police College of Finland. Compared with the previous years, suspected hate crime cases have not risen significantly, according to researcher Iina Sahramäki. “If we look the previous
Read on »Finnish police to have new anti-ethnic profiling guidelines in force in 2013
Rainer Hiltunen, Ombudsman for Minorities head of office, told Migrant Tales that talks have taken place with the Finnish police to draft new guidelines and more effective monitoring to ensure that ethnic profiling doesn’t happen. The new guidelines are expected to be in force in 2013. The Ombudsman for Minorities office expressed concern in spring about higher-than-average complaints from
Read on »What are immigrants supposed to adapt to?
One of the biggest questions when speaking of the integration of immigrants and visible minorities in Europe and Finland is what are they supposed to adapt to. In theory everything sounds perfect in our law books. What happens on the ground, however, is a totally different story. This abandoned Cadillac reveals the crude face of
Read on »Is there such a thing as “age racism?”
Pro union chairman Antti Rinne branded as “age racism” (ikärasismia) a proposal by Juhana Vartianen, director general of the Government Institute for Economic Research (VATT), to lower salaries for workers approaching retirement age, reports YLE. Is there such a thing as age racism? Shouldn’t the correct term be age discrimination (ikäsyrjintä)? Read English-language YLE story here.
Read on »New World Finn: Different modes of travel*
The first thing we see as we travel round the world is our own filth thrown into the face of mankind.
Read on »The Finnish media and their PS darling
Did anyone watch Thursday’s Pressiklubi show with Li Andersson of the Left Wing Alliance, Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini and Helsingin Sanomat politics and business editor, Marko Junkkari? Apart from Soini’s usual political blah-blah (sound colorful but don’t say anything), Junkkari’s comment about how the Finnish media saw the PS as their darling before the
Read on »Taming the beast of right-wing extremism in the EU and Finland
Our reaction to racism should be first and foremost a reaction. A comprehensive report published recently by the Institute for Strategic Studies in Sweden not only exposes far-right or right-wing extremism in ten European Union countries, but its historical roots as well. While these extremist groups may have different names in different countries, they are all
Read on »Institute for Strategic Studies: Preventing and Countering Far-Right Extremism – European Cooperation
Here’s a good country-by-country report on the history and modern growth of right-wing extremism in ten European Union countries (Sweden, UK, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Hungary, and the Slovak Republic). Read full report here. As Migrant Tales has correctly reported time and again, the biggest sources of right-wing extremism in Finland are the
Read on »UPDATE: Former Finnish PS councilman slapped with 120-euro fine for inciting ethnic hatred
Tommi Rautio, the former city councillor of Köyliö in western Finland, who suggested giving a medal to a killer after he shot and killed a Muslim at an Oulu pizzeria in February, was convicted and fined 120 euros Wednesday by a Satakunta regional court for inciting ethnic hatred, reports Uusi Pori. Rautio, who said he was not
Read on »Former Finnish PS councilman to be charged for inciting ethnic hatred
Tommi Rautio, the former city councillor of Köyliö in western Finland, who suggested giving a medal to a killer after he shot and killed a Muslim at an Oulu pizzeria in February, will be charged for inciting ethnic hatred, reports YLE. YLE reported that the Satakunta region prosecutor wants to slap Rautio with “a heavy fine”
Read on »How discrimination works in Finnish basketball
If there is a game that is played by people from diverse backgrounds, that game is basketball. When I moved to the United States as a child, basketball was my door to new friends and acceptance. Basketball was a way of life in Hollywood, California, for many young people like me. In Finland it is
Read on »Social inclusion is never voluntary in a land where racism is king
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Martin Luther King Jr. Even if the late King Jr. was gunned down in 1968, that quote is still valid today. In Finland it would read in the following manner: “Social equality is never voluntarily given by the majority; it must
Read on »FRA: Hate crime a daily matter in the European Union
Two recent reports published by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) confirm that hate crime happens daily throughout the European Union (EU). One of the reports reveals that 32% of Somalis interviewed by the agency that live in Finland reported being victims of hate crimes during the past 12 months. Other countries in
Read on »Mulitucltural Ireland’s vision should be ours as well
Why is it that we don’t hear Finnish politicians speaking in the same manner as Ireland’s President Michael D. Higgins, who said that a major task of the country’s EU presidency should be to remove ignorance and misunderstanding, which lead to “incipient forms of racism,” writes the Irishtimes.com. Speaking at the launch of the Neighborhood
Read on »Police College of Finland: 2011 hate crime statistics will be published before end-year
The Police College of Finland is taking a long time to publish its hate crime statistics for 2011. A spokesperson of the Police College told Migrant Tales Friday that hate crime data will be published “in a few weeks,” or before end-year. Migrant Tales spoke to the Police College in early November. A spokeswoman
Read on »Finland celebrates its 95th independence day
As Finland celebrates today its 95th anniversary as an independent nation, the noble values of acceptance, respect and inclusion should resonate in the Finnish expat community and in this country, from Helsinki all the way north to Ohcejohka (Utsjoki). What is the big picture we should strive for as a society in this century? English
Read on »Salolainen’s comment about USAmerican Jews exposes a wider problem in Finland
National Coalition Party MP Pertti Salolainen got himself in hot water Saturday due to a comment he made on YLE Aamu TV morning talk show about USAmerican Jews, reports Helsingin Sanomat. The vice chairman of the foreign policy committee said that American Jews have vast control over the wealth and media in the United States. As
Read on »When the state and regulations scheme to make life difficult for immigrants
The lives of stateless persons in Finland isn’t easy by a long shot. On the one hand we want newcomers to adapt to our society but deny them a basic right like opening a bank account. Think for a moment how complicated life would be without a bank account. If you are a stateless person
Read on »THL study shows high amount of mental health problems suffered by Russians, Somalis and Kurds
The first question that came to mind when I read a disturbing study of Russian, Somali and Kurdish immigrants by the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is why now? If the THL study is the first-ever of its kind in Finland about immigrants’ health and living conditions, why has it taken such a long
Read on »Another scandal hits far-right Sweden Democrats
Sweden Democrat (SD) MP Lars Isovaara is resigning his seat after he spat at a parliamentary security guard, reports The Local. The latest scandal to the far-right party follows an earlier one this month after Swedish tabloid Expressen published a video of an SD MP who got rowdy in public and hurled racist and sexist
Read on »Turun Sanomat: Is dual citizenship a threat to Finland?
An article on Turun Sanomat quotes Turku School of Economics professor, Kari Liuhto, stating that dual citizenship rights in Finland were a mistake in light of the recent child custody row that erupted in October between Finland and Russia. Liuhto believes that dual citizenship rights granted in 1999 in this country give Russia the opportunity
Read on »Finnish Internet policeman spreads stereotypes on Twitter about the Roma
Finnish Internet policeman, Marko Forss, has been criticized for spreading stereotypes on Twitter about a Roma who tried to steal a frozen chicken from a market, according to tabloid Iltalehti. Shouldn’t Forss, who monitors hate sites and was named policeman of the year in 2011, know better? If it is surprising that Forss can make
Read on »The PS’ anti-immigration message suffers a hard blow
Despite the fact that the debate in Finland on immigrants and immigration has taken a turn for the worse in some respects, it’s not as bad as it used to be before the April 2011 parliamentary elections and when Anders Breivik went on his murderous rampage on July 22, 2011. While anti-immigration politicians still want
Read on »Send kudos to those who speak out against racism
We must change the ever-adverse debate against immigrants and visible minorities in Finland. The way to end it is by giving our silence a voice and by sending kudos to those who have the courage to speak out against racism and prejudice. Source: Lake Harriet Community School. Migrant Tales would like to give kudos Tuija
Read on »Turun Sanomat: Finland Democrats eye PS’ anti-immigration vote
The Finland Democrats, which bases its political agenda on the far-right Sweden Democrats, aims to become a new party and compete for the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s anti-immigration vote, reports Turun Sanomat. The creation of a new anti-immigration party reveals the ever-negative debate in Finland surrounding immigrants and immigration. The PS is the only party that
Read on »Kouvolan Sanomat: Racism on the rise in the Finnish city of Kouvola
A city official that works with immigrants in refugees in the city of Kouvola, located 100km north of Helsinki, claims that racism and social exclusion are on the rise, reports Kourolvan Sanomat. The official, Tuija Värynen, said that complaints by immigrants of more racism and harassment rose clearly in March-April. Victims of racism can be
Read on »Swedish immigrant killer is sentenced to life in prison
Peter Mangs, the Swedish gunman convicted of two murders and five attempted murders, was sentenced Friday by the Mälmö District Court to life in prison, reports ABC News, citing AP. The court found Mangs guilty in July but his sentence was delayed pending a psychiatric evaluation that found him to be sane. The forty-year-old man, who
Read on »Race Council Cymru: “Under-reporting” racism in Wales (and Finland)
The Police College of Finland may soon publish its hate crime statistics for 2011. Considering that hate crimes reported to the police in 2010 fell by 15% to 860 versus 1,007 cases from the previous year, one could ask how reliable such statistics are. Do they reveal hate crime cases in Finland or police attitudes
Read on »Halla-aho wants to ease deportation law
Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MP Jussi Halla-aho and his far-right Suomen Sisu and anti-immigration cronies would like to tighten immigration laws further by making it easier to deport convicted foreigners, reports YLE in English. Presently, foreigners “may” be deported from Finland if they are convicted of a crime. Halla-aho wants the word “may” to be changed
Read on »Visible minorities and immigrant children – be yourselves and proud of it!
A sentence can change your life. I will share with you one of the greatest moments in my life. It happened when I was in elementary school in Los Angeles, California. My fourth-grade teacher, Mr. Dean Arnold, offered me a sentence that changed my life. He said: “You don’t have to be like a [white] American
Read on »Is Timo Soini losing his grip of the PS?
For those who haven’t noticed, Perussuomalaiset (PS) anti-immigration hardliners like MP Jussi Halla-aho and James Hirvisaari have tried to show their human side to the media. Halla-aho was recently interviewed with his wife Hilla on Me Naiset, while Hirvisaari writes on a blog entry hitherto-unheard empathy and understanding for his archenemy, the media. Some of Finland’s
Read on »The true face of the PS is being exposed by its poor election results
There’s an interesting editoral on Saturdary’s Helsingin Sanomat (HS) that shows how close Nordic anti-immigration are when it comes to the support they received in recent elections and poll standings. Migrant Tales wrote six days after Anders Breivik murdered in cold blood 77 people on July 22, 2011 that the tide had turned for far right anti-immigration parties
Read on »The SD (and PS) are far-right anti-immigration parties
There’s an interesting opinion piece on Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter about the Swedish Democrats (SD) and the spread of fascism or neofascism in the Scandinavian country. While classifying a party as “fascist” may be problematic, there are certain ideological characteristics that expose its true political colors. Historian and journalist Henrik Arnstad writes: “Fascism is a deeply
Read on »Racism scandal rips far-right Sweden Democrats
Here’s an interesting story that took place in June 2010 in Sweden involving a far-right Sweden Democrat (SD) MP, Erik Almqvist, who got rowdy and started hurling racist and sexist insults in public, reports Swedish tabloid Expressen. The MP naturally denied everything until Expressen published today a video confirming what others claimed he said. After repeated denials, Almqvist
Read on »MP Hirvisaari claims PS anti-immigration message not strong enough
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James (Erkki Kalevi) Hirvisaari claims that his party did poorly in the municipal elections because it wasn’t as outspoken on immigration issues as before the 2011 parliamentary elections, according to YLE. Migrant Tales disagrees. The PS did poorly in the municipal elections because of the crackpot stuff they say and do to
Read on »Reports: Greatest threat to immigrants are not far-right groups in Sweden
Two reports published on November 9 in Sweden show that the greatest threat to immigrants and visible minorities in that country aren’t far-right groups, but everyday intolerance and racism from white Swedes. What does this report say about Sweden and suggest about how foreigners are treated in Finland? Contrary to our neighbor, Finland’s third-largest party
Read on »What Saul Schubak did wrong in Finland
Saul Schubak, the National Coalition Party politician who said that ”inferior people” should not get child allowances, resigned Friday as vice president of the party’s youth wing. If there is a lesson to be learned from the Schubak scandal, it’s which group you insult. If Schubak speaks of ”inferior people” and gets dumped by his
Read on »Paavo Lipponen does not see far right threatening Finland
There are few politicians in Finland who speak out against the far-right threat in Finland. One of these is former Social Democrat Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen, who expressed concern about the issue in a seminar in Helsinki on deportation of Jews to Germany in World War 2, reports Iltalehti. Lipponen expressed surprise that some parties use
Read on »Barack Obama victory: “The most diverse [and powerful] nation on Earth”
President Barack Obama’s election victory is the best news embattled United States could hope for. The U.S. president’s leadership on many fronts in the past should be a source of inspiration for European politicians who are being put under the gun by ever-growing populist mainstream intolerance and racism. Obama has shown leadership on many occasions. He
Read on »Finland must do more to ghostbust its race-and-blood myths
What do the rise of an anti-immigration party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) and Kokoomus’ Saul Schubak’s statements concerning child allowances have in common? Setting racism and greed aside, they are the ethnic and social myths that continue to be taught and reinforced at our schools, homes and society. One of the biggest myths and social
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: We’re already here (in Finland)
We are the new minorty already here, if you like it or not ready to build whatever needs building and travel that long difficult path of acceptance. Like it or not we’re your neighbors and don’t forget, that we’re here like chimapnzees swinging on birches, sixes and aspens in this freezing cold with you, albino
Read on »Spiegel Online International: A case that successfully challenged ethnic profiling in Germany
This story, which was published by German Spiegel Online International, offers some good points on how to challenge ethnic profiling. It’s pretty clear that this illegal practice goes on in Finland as well and is more widespread than believed. Migrant Tales asked in June blog entry: “How serious is ethnic profiling in Finland? Denials that it
Read on »What some Finnish conservatives think of the poor
Saul Schubak, the vice chairman of the National Coalition Party’s youth wing, has unleashed a storm due to his views on poverty. Schubak wrote on Facebook that people who aren’t fit to parent should not receive child allowances. He writes on his original post: ”Child allowances should be definitely eliminated. It’s absurd that we give
Read on »Finland’s problem that is correcting itself: lack of cultural diversity
Finland hasn’t been the same since the April 2011 elections, when the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party won its historic victory and became Finland’s third-largest party with 39 seats versus 5 seats in 2007. The PS’ latest election flop is another indication that the vast majority of Finns and immigrants are giving the thumbs down to anti-almost-everything populism. The
Read on »Migrant Tales gets mentioned on YLE Areena
Migrant Tales is always happy about the public recognition it has received in the past. The latest is from Mikko Kapanen of YLE Areena. He considers Migrant Tales to be one of the most influential blogs forums on multiculturalism in Finland. Click here to listen to the program. Kapanen published in May a blog entry called, Africa
Read on »The Finnish city of Kemi gives us Harri Taurianen of the PS
Harri Taurianen, the new Perussuomalaiset (PS) city councilor of the northern Finnish city of Kemi, is a good example of how the PS continues to attracts a generous number of people who are multiculturally challenged. Taurianen, who claims it’s good to uphold Finnish values and likes to spread far-right blah blah, imported his campaign slogans
Read on »A “Welcome to Finland” video that is racist and insulting
Thanks to two friends, I was able to watch a “Welcome to Finland” video funded by the Finnish and Swedish film boards as well as the Nordic Children and Youth Committee. Writes Ilona: “You don’t need to speak the [Finnish] language to understand the depth of shameful, racist humiliation being enacted here.” You can watch
Read on »More Mamukriit-Looks candidates of Finland
How long could the ever-growing list of anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) candidates be on Mamukriit-Looks? Too long for a good country like Finland to be overrun by candidates who spread prejudice and hatred. Below are some new Mamukriit-Looks candidates. Jan Igor Hirvimäki of Salo suggests that social welfare to blacks (he uses the n-work on his
Read on »The majority of Mamukriit-Looks candidates got elected to office in Finland
Migrant Tales published earlier this month Mamukriit-Looks: The who’s who of anti-immigration Finland, which was a continuation of Per-Looks, a blog entry than caused outrage among some Perussuomalaiset (PS) candidates running for city council. Even if both blog entries were published with a dose of satire, the election of many PS anti-immigration candidates to city council
Read on »PS anti-immigration candidates did well in the Finnish municipal elections
What do Sunday’s municipal elections tell us about where Finland is heading politically? Even if the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) party won 12.3% of the votes, which was a disappointment for Timo Soini, it reinforces Finland’s anti-EU and anti-immigration stance. The biggest winner of the election was the Center Party (18.7%), which had lost a lot
Read on »Timo Soini on racism: See no evil, hear no evil
It is surprising how a politician like Timo Soini of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party can argue anything he wants on television about immigrants and visible minorities. His objection to positive discrimination on a debate on MTV3 Wednesday is a case in point. Migrant Tales has written in the past about colorblind racism, which is one of the most common
Read on »What do Finland’s political parties think about refugees and immigrants?
There were two interesting stories published this week about what political parties in Finland feel about refugees and immigrants. The findings are based on a questionnaire answered by candidates running for city council. Elections will be held on Sunday, October 28. YLE revealed that 31.5% of all PS candidates fully agreed that their municipality should
Read on »What do Somali minors sent to Somalia tell us about their treatment in Finland?
A news story on Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest daily, claims that Somali minors living in Finland are being taken against their will to Somalia. The daily speaks of ”a few” cases but suggests that in 2001 the figure may be around 50. Statstics Finland claims that during 2001-11 there were about 200 minors who had
Read on »Racism charges dropped against Danish teacher
Charges have been dropped against an Odense, Denmark, head teacher who had reportedly abused a group of Muslim students in class, reports The Copenhagen Post. Far-right anti-Islam Danish People’s Party former head, Pia Kjaersgaard, described the whole affair as ”ridiculous.” “It’s crazy that the police have to get involved in such a case,” Danish People’s
Read on »Immigrants that look down on other immigrants
The eagle never lost so much time, as when he submitted to learn of the crow. William Blake Some immigrants who have lived in Finland for many decades have adapted so well to this country that even their prejudices and stereotypes are just like those of the locals. Some, like Alain Chiaroni or Freddy Van Wonterghem, however, go beyond the call
Read on »Julian Abagond: Of mixed-race identities
COMMENT: Some Finns have resolved the “mixed-ethnicity” question by stating that there is only one kind in Finland. Such an affirmation, that there is only one type of “real” Finn, is as ludicrous as stating that racism doesn’t exist in this country. What does a white Finn say when he asks about your “other mixed”
Read on »Banning circumcision would be the first step in undermining religious freedom in Finland
Why is it that anti-immigration parties and politicians are usually making a case or drafting legislation to outlaw circumcision of boys or ban Muslim women from wearing burkas? Is it because they have a soft spot for Muslim or Jewish children and women? Take a whiff of their arguments and you will find an obvious
Read on »Finland’s present demographic challenges are a threat to its prosperity
Finland will see dramatic changes to its population age structure in the next four decades, when the number of over-64-year-olds will soar by 941,000 to 1.639 million people, according to MTV3, citing Statistics Finland. Likewise, our labor force will shrink by an estimated 600,000 people in about 25 years. It is surprising, if not worrying, that the majority
Read on »The lack of cultural diversity is impoverishing Finland
Jussi Jalonen, a Tampere University history researcher, asked recently why a populist party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) continues to grow in popularity despite the numerous scandals that have riddled the group. There is an answer: Finland’s lack of cultural diversity. How is it possible that a party like the PS can win 39 seats in
Read on »Mamukriit-Looks: The who’s who of anti-immigration Finland
You’ve heard of Per-Looks, the latest fad taking the Finnish social media scene by storm last week. We now give you Mamukriit-Looks, a gallery of Perussuomalaiset (PS) politicians running for office in the October 28 municipal elections who have built their political careers on anti-immigration and anti-Islam sentiment. In the picture gallery below, you will
Read on »Mamukriit-Looks on nyt julkaistu
Tarvitseeko tämä selitystä? MAMUKRIIT-LOOKS
Read on »Per-Looks: A taste of one’s own medicine for the PS of Finland
I’ve been reading with some interest the ongoing debate on social media about the Per-Looks blog that has outraged some Perussuomalaiset (PS) party members. The blog shows a number of PS candidates running for office in the October 28 municipal elections. Just for the record, I don’t like to make fun of people due to
Read on »The PS’ shameful and opportunistic stand on refugees
The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s municipal election program recommends that municipalities should not accept refugees because the best way to help people fleeing strife is in refugee camps bordering these war-ravaged countries. This stand by the PS is so extreme that many PS municipal candidates have not endorsed it except for Counterjihadists like PS MP James Hirvisaari (see question
Read on »Ajankohtainen kakkonen: Four immigrant candidates
There’s an interesting news documentary this week on Ajankohtainen kakkonen about immigrant candidates taking part in the October 28 municipal elections. One matter that bothered me about the program was the use of the word mamu by the reporters when referring to the candidates. Mamu is the shortened word for maahanmuuttajia, or immigrant. There are mixed opinions
Read on »New World Finn: Open the doors
Twenty-five years ago, when I worked briefly for the Buenos Aires Herald as a young reporter, I wrote a column about how Argentina’s past could come to haunt it in the future. The last military regime (1976-83) that ruled the country was one of the most ruthless that Latin America had seen during the last
Read on »Record number of immigrant candidates take part in Finnish municipal elections
A record number of immigrants are candidates in Finland’s municipal elections of October 28, reports YLE. The highest number of immigrant candidates can be found in the Social Democratic Party (118) followed by the National Coalition Party (81), Left Wing Alliance (56), Green Party (55) and Center Party (around 50). Most of the immigrant candidates
Read on »The PS campaigns for closed-door policy for refugees
I was surprised to read the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s municipal election program on refugees. It states that municipalities should not accept refugees because the best way to help these people is in refugee camps bordering their country. Finland holds municipal elections on October 28. The PS are expected to be one of the clear winners
Read on »Enrique Tessieri: Why I write about racism
I write about racism and social exclusion in Finland because it affects me and those I care about. I should know because I used to live marginalized from this society for decades. I didn’t live marginalized because I was maladapted. I was marginalized because I was well-adapted. Too many didn’t consider me a “real” Finn
Read on »We will win the battle against hate speech and intolerance
Much is at stake as Finland and Europe speeds into the depths of the new century. One of the greatest threats to our way of life and society today is hate speech and far-right ideology. Our resolve to identify and challenge these menaces is crucial during these times. Even if the media, politicians and public
Read on »The Rautiainen scandal: The PS’ short and selective memory
The Amon Rautiainen* scandal, the Perussuomalaiset (PS) municipal council candidate in Kotka who suggested on Facebook that Muslims should be boiled alive, reveals the Finnish anti-immigration party’s short and selective memory. Freddy Van Wanterghem, the PS chair of the local association in Kotka, is a good example of the party’s double talk, or first I
Read on »EU Commissioner for Human Rights: Protection against discrimination should be strengthened in Finland
This is a statement by the EU Commissioner for Human Rights: Strasbourg, 25/9/2012 – “The Finnish Government has started a timely reform of the national equal treatment legislation. It is now crucial to ensure accessibility of the protection framework to all victims of discrimination and avoid unnecessary fragmentation of equality bodies” said today Nils
Read on »Perussuomalaiset candidate: Kill the prime minister, finance minister and boil Muslims alive
What is more serious: encouraging people to kill the prime minister and finance minister of your country or suggesting that Muslims should be boiled alive? The police are presently investigating whether to launch an inquiry against Perussuomalaiset (PS) Kotka municipal election candidate Amon Rautiainen, reports YLE in English. Rautiainen has publicly apologized for what he wrote on
Read on »PS of Pori: Nazi motto to kick off the municipal elections of October
The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party of the western Finnish city of Pori have come up with a catch phrase to launch their municipal election campaign: “One city – one leader,” reports Uusi Pori. The motto of the Nazis regime (1933-35) was chillingly similar to what the PS in Pori are using: Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer (One
Read on »YLE in English: Three Afghani asylum seekers continue hunger strike
Three Afghani asylum seekers been on hunger strike since September 10 after their applications for asylum were rejected by the authorities, writes YLE in English. The three asylum seekers have appealed the Finnish Immigration Service decision to the administrative court. One of the asylum seekers, Abdullahi Gulamesdiq, said that he fears for his life in
Read on »Finnish Lutheran Church says family reunification from Africa is costly and dangerous
Archbishop Kari Mäkinen said that family reunification of Africans with their families in Finland is not only costly but dangerous, reports YLE. Since Finland does not have an embassy in war-ravaged Somalia, Somalis are required to apply for residence permits in neighboring Ethiopia or Kenya. The Finnish Immigration Service has a backlog of about 10,000
Read on »An interesting discussion with some PS members about Finnish identity
I had an interesting discussion on Saturday with a Perussuomalaiset (PS) candidate for Mikkeli city council. The woman, who claimed that her mother is Russian, stressed that the PS strives to look after everyone’s interests in Finland, including that of immigrants. Good news. Even if such views are hard to find in the PS, they
Read on »YLE poll: PS seen as big winner of the Finnish municipal elections
YLE’s latest poll published Thursday shows the Perussuomalaiset (PS) Party will be the biggest winner of the October 29 municipal elections. The poll sees the PS getting 17.2% of the votes versus 5.4% in 2008. The poll predicts the Center Party as the biggest loser of the election with 15.9% versus 20.1%. The National Coalition
Read on »Double standards and press freedom in Europe hinge on which group you belong to
What difference is there in banning paparazzi pictures of Prince William’s wife Catherine sunbathing topless in the south of France and cartoons insulting Muhammed? Certainly, some may argue that Catherine will be the next queen of England, right? Wrong. Why the double standards? Is it because Catherine is a white European belonging to the royal family
Read on »Feeding Somalis and poor immigrants to the loan sharks of Finland
Migrant Tales wrote in May about the high cost, hassle and red tape some Somalis face to bring their relatives to Finland. Since it appears that the aim of the immigration authorities and politicians is to make family reunification as expensive and difficult as possible, some immigrants are being fed to the loan sharks as
Read on »How offensive is “Innocence of Muslims?”
A few scenes from Innocence of Muslims was enough for me to understand that free speech not only gives you the opportunity to make a horse’s ass out of yourself, but declare war on a religious group that ended costing the lives of USAmerican citizens in Libya. The stance of the Finnish Islamic Council (SINE) concerning
Read on »Journalistiliitto: Maahanmuutto, media ja monikulttuurisuus -seminaari 12.10.2012
Aika: 12.10.2012 Paikka: Helsinki Osoite: Takniskan Salit, Eerikinkatu 2, 6.krs, 00100 Helsinki Miten uussuomalaiset journalistit työllistyvät suomalaiseen mediaan? Millaisia hankkeita on kehitetty ja mitä uutta on vireillä? Miten toimitusten pomot suhtautuvat monikulttuurisuuteen ja uussuomalaisten journalistien työllistämiseen? Maahanmuuttovirasto – edestä ja takaa! Näitäkin aiheita pohditaan SJL:n seminaarissa, jonka alustajiksi ovat tähän mennessä lupautuneet Polina Kopylova (Suomen
Read on »ENAR: Hate crime victims finally recognised with European Parliament vote
Comment: Without a doubt, this is an important piece of legislation by the European Parliament, which will require EU states to systematically collect data on hate crimes. Even if the Finnish police collects such data, reporting hate crimes to the police may be more complicated for an immigrant than meets the eye. The key question
Read on »Racism, Counterjihadism and neo-Nazism sit well with the PS
I thought I had heard some lame excuses from the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, but I was wrong. Risto Helin, a PS city council candidate for Vaasa, beat all those before him hands down. On his Facebook page, Helin is wearing a blood-and-honor t-shirt. He claims that it was purchased about ten years ago but didn’t
Read on »An interesting blog that follows far-right candidates in Finland’s municipal elections
I bumped into a blog called Kunnollisvaalit 2012 (in Finnish), which aims to expose far-right candidates running for office in the Finnish municipal elections of October 28. The blog cites 11 Perussuomalaiset, 2 Center Party and one Muutos 2011 candidates as “far right.” The blog aims to expose what these candidates are posting on the Internet. Kunnollisvaalit 2012
Read on »How much further? A film about the lives of refugees in Greece
This documentary about refugees in Greece is a stark reminder of how Greek authorities and the European Union have turned their backs on asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants. The answer is not higher border fences or fear-mongering by politicians, but finding proactive solutions that take into account the needs and human rights of these people.
Read on »The Netherlands gives Geert Wilders the thumbs down
Voters in the Netherlands did not back Geert Wilders’ calls for the country to ditch the European Union, reports the BBC. Wilders, who has dominated Dutch politics for years, is known for his tough anti-Islam and now anti-EU stance. Among many of his provocative statements, the Dutch politician has equated the Koran with Hitler’s Mein
Read on »Greece and its bad case of ethnic profiling and scapegoating
The Greek Police announced that 16,836 foreign nationals were brought for questioning during the first month that Xenios Zeus was instigated, according to the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE). A staggering 80% of those brought in for questioning were legal residents. Only 2,144 held by the police didn’t have their residence permits in
Read on »Anti-racism web sites in Finland
Migrant Tales was named as one of seven anti-racist web site in Finland, according to a thread by “Tutkija” on Vaasa Forum. While Counterjihadist and anti-immigration websites have sprung up like mushrooms in Finland, anti-racist forums are one answer to the message of hate of these latter sites. The Perussuomalaiset party openly and indirectly supports a
Read on »What kind of a threat do Finland’s Counterjihadists pose?
It’s pretty clear that what goes up politically must eventually come down. Some groups, which have recently surged in popularity like the Perussuomalaiset (PS), could see their bubble burst quickly. While I wouldn’t count on anything like that happening anytime soon, it could be a totally different story for the hardline Counterjihadists of the party. The
Read on »Teach me that we are more alike than different…
…teach me not to hate. Teach me the lie and shame of racism [because] it hurts all people. Teach me to learn from you and to learn about me… Inspirational words from the Center for the Healing of Racism that should be the guiding light enshrined in our national curriculum for schools (opetussuunnitelma) concerning cultural diversity.
Read on »How sincere is PS MP Immonen about Finnish Karelia?
Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Petsamo were territories ceded to the former Soviet Union after the Continuation War (1941-44). Counterjihadist Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Olli Immonen sent a parliamentary question Friday asking the government to investigate whether Russia offered in 1991 then President Mauno Koivisto (1982-94) the possibility to buy back the ceded region. Koivisto, who was
Read on »“After the immigrants, you’re next”
This chilling phrase that was written on flyers in a gay clubbing district of Athens, Greece, is only the tip of the iceberg concerning the ever-growing violence and intolerance spreading throughout Europe. Writes the Trumpet.com: “Masked men on motorbikes patrol the streets of Greece’s streets, attacking immigrants and driving off. Mobs armed with improvised weapons
Read on »PS Counterjihadists: Live and die politically by the sword
The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party is at a crucial juncture concerning its strange-bedfellow relationship with Counterjihadist and populist radical right members. What kind of links do some members of the PS have with far-right groups like the Finnish Defense League (FDL)? The FDL is nothing more than a mouthpiece of the English Defense League, a violent
Read on »Norwegian armed forces show cultural sensitivity
Since July 1, the Norweaign armed forces have relaxed rules for religious headgear, writes the Local, quoting daily Stavanger Afterbladed. It is now possible for Sikh soldiers to use turbans as well as for Jews to use skull-caps while serving in the Norwegian armed forces. Muslim women are permitted to wear a hijab with their
Read on »YLE poll: The PS is expected to make the biggest gains in the October municipal elections
A poll commissioned and published by YLE on Sunday reveals that the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party will make the biggest gains in the October 28 municipal elections. If the PS gets 15.8% of the votes as the poll suggests, it will be a big leap from 5.4% that the party got in the 2008 municipal elections. The poll sees
Read on »Du Bois and Finland: “Your country”
I read an interesting blog entry on Racism Review about what W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963), sociologist, historian and civil rights activist, wrote* about blacks in the United States. His words still ring out today in light of the hostility we see today towards immigrants and visible minorities in many parts of Europe and the United
Read on »Estonia’s GasTerm Eesti uses Auschwitz photo to promote gas company
Believe it or not, the Estonian gas company, GasTerm Eesti, published on August 23 on their website a photograph of the Auschwitz concentration camp, with the infamous inscription Arbeit macht frei, or work makes you free. The caption of the published photo read: “Gas heating – flexible, convenient, and effective.” GasTerm Eesti has removed the offensive
Read on »When will parties like the PS start banning Islam in Finland?
Pär Norling, a leader of the populist radical right Sweden Democrats of Bolnäs, located about 250km north of Stockholm, demanded the following on Sveriges Teleivision (SVT): ”Ban Islam in Sweden and deport those who persist in believing in the religion.” When will we start to hear similar demands from politicians in Finland? One matter that
Read on »Counterjihad Trojan Horse in Finland
Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik cited five Finnish groups in his manifesto, 2083 – A European Declaration of Independence. These were the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, Suomen Sisu, Suomalaisuuden liitto, Suomen kansan sinivalkoiset and Vapaan Suomen liitto, according to a report by the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (SUPO). Writes YLE in English: “Texts similar to the manifest
Read on »Finland’s demographic landscape is changing (again)
Finland is presently in the midst of one of its biggest demographic changes in its history due to the rapid growth of its immigrant community. Our ever-growing cultural diversity as a nation has brought out the best in many of us but has encouraged some of us to throw in the towel on sanity. Is
Read on »The PS and the roosting chickens of intolerance
The fact that 19.1% of Finnish voters gave their support to an anti-immigration and anti-EU party in April 2011 speaks volumes about who we are as a society. Many things can be said about the Perussuomalaiset (PS) and their election victory, but one matter stands out for me: The chickens of intolerance have come home to
Read on »Poll supports PS’ negative stand on immigration
What value does the following news story offer: Sixty percent of Finns support cutbacks on spending that is linked with international agreements such as development aid, immigration costs, and green-house gas emissions, according to Helsingin Sanomat, the country’s largest daily. Matti Putkonen of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) Party said that the findings of the poll are “to
Read on »Breivik, Europe’s Counter-Jihadist mass killer, gets at least 21 years
Anders Breivik, the Norwegian mass killer who shocked Europe and the world on July 22, 2011, was sentenced to at least 21 years in prison. The sentence by the Oslo district court is not only a relief to the loved ones of the 77 victims, but sends an important political message as well. The court
Read on »Race and intelligence
A BBC documentary, Race and Intelligence, asks if there is a racial* pecking order where white people are more intelligent than blacks. It seems unbelievable that this question continues to be asked in the twenty-first century, according to Rageh Omar of the BBC. One of the matters that has amazed me personally in Finland and
Read on »Halla-aho takes another swipe at Finland’s Somali community
It’s pretty easy to note that one of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s dynamic duo, Jussi Halla-aho and James Hirvisaari, are raising the stakes as the municipal elections near on October 28. We recently heard Hirvisaari throwing low punches at homosexuals and today Halla-aho would be ready to stop giving protection to Somalis, who come from a
Read on »Those who loathe you are your supporters
The biggest supporters of immigrants and visible minorities in Finland aren’t groups lobbying for their rights per se, but their enemies. Instead of tapping ourselves on the back for challenging a social ill like racism, we should thank Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini for exposing in this country bigotry and isolationism in the raw.
Read on »Savon Sanomat: Vain super kelpaa
Aivan kuten Tuhkimo, joka nukkui syvässä unessa ja odotti komean prinssin suudelmaa, Suomen maahanmuuttajavastaiset toivovat samanlaista kohtaloa, kun puhutaan uusista ulkomaalaisista asukkaista. Tavalliset ulkomaalaiset eivät heille kelpaa – ainoastaan supermaahanmuuttajat saisivat tulla maahamme. Voiko joku poliitikko tai poliittinen puolue vastustaa tai kokonaan kieltää maahanmuuttoa globalisoituneessa maailmassa? Onko tämä mahdollista, jos meidän taloudellinen hyvinvointimme on kokonaan
Read on »(Migrant Tales, August 19, 2012): Sleeping Beauty and Prince Charming, the super immigrant
Migrant Tales insight: Even if the op-ed was published about 10 years ago, too many politicians and officials continue to falsely believe that “super immigrants” will save the country from its low birth rates, aging population, and ever-present racism. See also: The world’s happiest country faces a labor and talent crunch THIS OP-ED PIECE WAS
Read on »PS MP James Hirvisaari does it again
Remember when Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari commented on Hommaforum, the unofficial PS website that spreads intolerance against minorities in Finland, that homosexuality is “a disability in sexual development?” The police have brought the case to the state prosecutor, who will decide whether to bring charges against the PS MP, according to Helsingin Sanomat. Criminal
Read on »Suomen Marsalkka / The Marshal of Finland – trailer
Here is the trailer of the Marshal of Finland/Suomen Marsalkka, which has raised a lot of debate in Finland. See the trailer below or read the story on Migrant Tales. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upP-QNtrlqU
Read on »Black and white Marshal Mannerheim
Tabloids such as Iltalehti and blog forums like Uusi Suomi have raised passions to fever pitch due to a new movie about Marshal Carl Mannerheim (1867-1951). The issue that they are heatedly debating and questioning is why Finland’s most famous military figure is being played in a movie by a black man from Kenya? The producer
Read on »Helena Eronen, the one that wrote about sleeve badges, resigns
Helena Eronen announced Monday on Uusi Suomi her resignation as Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari’s aide. Eronen suggested in a controversial blog entry in April that foreigners should start wearing sleeve badges to help police hunt criminals. Even if Eronen claimed that her controversial blog entry was satire and not intended to insult anyone, it did
Read on »Pasta macaroni: a 1-2-euro meal in Finland
Asylum seekers and immigrants are very resourceful people when it comes to stretching their small allowances. Pasta macaroni is a common meal among some immigrants and doesn’t cost very much to make. You can feed yourself for only 1-2 euros. Taking into account the high cost of living and low allowances that asylum seekers and
Read on »Exceptional Finns with immigrant backgrounds
Some Exceptional Finns with so-called immigrant backgrounds are Husein Muhammed, Nasima Razmyar, Arman Alizad, Tino Singh, Abdirahim Husu Hussein and Ali Jahangiri. All of them have one thing in common: They are exceptions to the stereotype but have immigrant backgrounds. But how can you call a person who has lived most of his or her life in
Read on »Will JSN react to the A-Studio program on rape convictions?
I have sent a complaint to the Council for Mass Media in Finland (JSN) concerning the A-Studio program that gave, in my opinion, a one-sided view of a problem that has an impact on all immigrants living in Finland. A-Studio claimed that a quarter of all rape convictions in Finland during the first five months of the year
Read on »How rape statistics reveal a serious problem: racism and prejudice
You know there is something fishy whenever any person starts to use percentages to drive home the point that immigrants are rapists. If anything, rape statistics do reveal a problem: racism and prejudice. One blogger on Uusi Suomi writes: ”In April, Finns were told that men from xxxx are guilty of committing rape alarmingly often.”
Read on »Why isn’t anyone labeling Estonians?
If I belonged to a certain anti-immigration party in Finland, how would I use the following information to score brownie points with the voters: 700 out of 1,200 suspected drunk-driving cases in Finland are by Estonian nationals, according to tabloid Ilta-Sanomat. Even if such a high number of Estonians were caught driving under the influence
Read on »Massive Greek police clampdown on immigrants
Cash-strapped Greece showed its dark side over the weekend when some 2,000 police in Athens and surroundings arrested 1,100 undocumented immigrants and held another 4,900 for questioning, according to Clandestina blog. The action is a disturbing example of how the Greek government is trying to blame immigrants for the country’s financial problems. It is
Read on »Der Spiegel names Timo Soini as one of Europe’s most dangerous politicians
German newsmagazine, Der Spiegel, published the top ten most dangerous politicians in Europe concerning the euro crisis. One of these was Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairman Timo Soini, who is in the ”good” company of Geert Wilders, Viktor Orban, Marine Le Pen, Nigel Farage, Silvio Bertlusconi and four others. Even if Soini is in the opposition, his shadow hangs
Read on »Finnish youths with immigrant backgrounds are the new underclass
A new map published by Statistics Finland shows the percentage of marginalized youths (15-29 yrs) by regions. It not only shows a growing problem in this country, but an especially serious one among youths with immigrant backgrounds, who have a much higher chance of being marginalized than white Finns. A marginalized youth is anyone who
Read on »Using rape statistics to fuel ethnic prejudism and racism
This week’s A-Studio report on the ”high” number of rape convictions of foreigners in Finland, and another one published by Tampere-based daily Aamulehti in April, not only shed light on “a problem” in Finland but expose the prejudice of the media and Finnish society concerning immigrants. The exact arguments that the above-mentioned stories use to
Read on »A-Studio’s immigrant rape report: A prejudiced storm in a tea cup
An A-Studio report on the “high” amount of rape convictions of foreigners in Finland is not only another unfortunate example of arbitrary reporting by the Finnish media, but reinforces the perception of how hate groups in this country use crime statistics against immigrants. Migrant Tales encountered another similar story about foreign rape cases in April
Read on »PS MP shows more ”tolerant” side to Helsingin Sanomat concerning homosexuality
Contrary to what James Hirvisaari commented on the Hommaforum website, the Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP gave a more “tolerant” view on Helsingin Sanomat concerning his statement that homosexuality is “a sexual developmental disability.” Hirvisaari said that even a disabled people like homosexuals need to accept themselves for what they are, he emphasized that homosexuality or
Read on »Finnish anti-immigration party MP claims homosexuality to be a “disability in sexual development”
In light of the municipal elections of October 28 and the Perussuomalaliset (PS) party’s poll standings, it’s no surprise that MPs of the right-wing populist party like James Hirvisaari are leading the charge against different minorities in Finland. In a comment on Hommaforum, the PS MP considered homosexuality to be “a disability in sexual development.”* Hommaforum
Read on »Words have consequences: Deciphering code words of hate in Finland
…hate groups have used conflicts over immigration to advance their White Supremacy, their
Read on »Racist graffiti appears (again) in an eastern Finnish city
It was only in 2010 when Kansainvälinen Mikkeli (International Mikkeli) brought to the city’s attention racist graffiti. To the association’s surprise, the graffiti had been on the walls of the Kattilansilta School and an underpass for over six months. Nobody, never mind the city, appeared to care too much about them. While this type of
Read on »PBS documentary: U.S. Border Patrol, an example we should avoid
When I grew up in Southern California, the object of racist insults weren’t only blacks but especially Mexicans. Even if there were no Mexicans never mind blacks at our elementary school in Hollywood, some students – if not all – had very strong prejudices against them. An investigative documentary by PBS shows that not only
Read on »Suomi on väkivaltainen maa
Onko Suomi väkivaltainen maa? Vastaus riippuu siitä kuka olet: valkoinen suomalainen, mies, nainen, maahanmuuttaja, näkyvään vähemmistöön kuuluva tai vammainen. Ennen kuin perustelen väitteeni, haluan tehdä muutamia selvennyksiä Susanna Kinnusen blogiin. Olen ”pieni vihainen mies.” Uskon, että ne, jotka tuntevat minut henkilökohtaisesti olisivat aika paljon erimieltä. Harrastin paljon mm. koripalloa ja tunnetusti pelaajat ovat hyvinkin kookkaita
Read on »James and Jussi out of control
As the municipal elections of October near, Perussuomalaiset (PS) MPs, James Hirvisaari and Jussi Halla-aho, are doing everything possible to bolster the sagging popularity of the right-wing populist party. It’s unclear, however, if they are attempting to stir up support for the Suomen Sisu wing of the party or for the PS. In their usual style,
Read on »Sweden convicts Peter Mangs for Malmö immigrant murders
A Malmö District Court convicted Peter Mangs, 40, of two counts of murder and four attempted murders, according to the Guardian. The man, who is a Swede of Finnish descent, killed his first victim in 2003 and terrorized Malmö during 2009-10. All of his victims were immigrants. Mangs will undergo psychiatric evaluation before his sentencing
Read on »Espoo-Leppävaara young man sentenced six years for manslaughter
An Espoo District Court sentenced Monday an eighteen-year-old man for six years in jail for the manslaughter of Abdisalam Mohamed Abulah, 18. The father of the victim, Mursal Abdulah, told Migrant Tales that he will appeal the decision. Abdulah is one of three victims who lost his life in a span of about three weeks in January-February.
Read on »What have we learned after Norway’s 22/7?
What goes around comes around. Exactly a year ago Anders Breivik carried out his mass killings, which ended up causing the death of 77 innocent victims. Have we learned anything from that tragic Saturday that shook the Nordic region and changed it permanently? In order to answer that question, we’d have to travel back in time
Read on »Migrant Tales (July 25, 2011): Living in post-22/7 Europe
It is ironic that those right-wing populist and far-right parties that have gone out of their way to warn us about the threat of multiculturalism and religions like Islam have become the threat and Trojan Horses in our societies. In one horrific blow, Anders Behring Breivik did not only strike at Norway’s liberal democracy, but
Read on »Somali-Finn Abdulah: Living in no-man’s land (Part 2)
When Abdulah*, 30, talks to you about his twenty-two years in Finland, one of the first questions that arises is how has so much suffering escaped our attention. For Abdulah, acceptance isn’t only virtually impossible from white Finns, but can be just as hard to get from the Somali community. “I have decided to
Read on »Somali-Finn Abdulah: Living in no-man’s land (Part I)
Even if I have never met Abdulah* in person but only by phone and through his comments on Migrant Tales, it’s as if we’ve known each other for a long time. Abdulah moved to Finland from Somalia in 1990 with his parents and six sisters. He was eight at the time. When Abdulah came to
Read on »Pepper spay attack against gay-pride event in Oulu, Finland
What kind of worlds live inside the heads of people who make political statements by attacking an event like North Pride, a sexual-diversity festival organized through Sunday in the northern Finnish city of Oulu? Writes YLE in English: “A discussion event in Oulu on the situation of gay asylum seekers was the target of
Read on »What happens when you dilute a term like racism?
Ignorance is a crucial factor that still holds Finland back from tackling effectively a social ill like racism. If it’s not seen as an issue, very little will be done to challenge it. Add to the latter the fact that even some of our elected representatives in parliament don’t know the difference between racism and
Read on »Let’s play fill in the blanks with with far-right Finnish MP James Hirvisaari
When reading the thoughts of far-right politicians like Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MP James Hirvisaari, one of the most vocal white-Finnish-power advocates in this country, one should look for the visible or invisible but in his writing. Migrant Tales fished one today from Facebook. The PS MP writes: ”Some ‘humanitarians’ are driven by naive utopian ideology:
Read on »Kysymys vailla vastausta: keitä ovat perussuomalaiset?
Yksi mielenkiintoinen kysymys joka nousi esiin perussuomalaisista viime vuoden historiallisen vaalivoiton jälkeen oli keitä he ovat? Yli vuosi vaaleista ja kysymys on yhä vailla vastausta: keitä he perussuomalaiset ovat? Jos esitämme kysymyksen suoraan perussuomalaisille, vastaus saattaa olla yhtä sekava ja ristiriitainen kuin puolue itse. Riippumatta puolueen jäsenistön monimuotoisesta ideologisesta taustasta, voidaan kysyä kuinka on
Read on »A question begs an answer: Who are the Perussuomalaiset?
The million-dollar question after the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s historic election victory was what kind of party had entered the Finnish political stage. After over a year in parliament and numerous scandals that have rocked the PS, a question still begs an answer: Who are they? If you seek an answer directly from the party, the response
Read on »Finnish men assault elderly Somali woman (Part 2)
By Roble Bashir and Enrique Tessieri Migrant Tales met on Thursday the elderly Somali woman who was assaulted in April by Finnish men at Helsinki’s Myllypuro metro station. This is part two of the interview with Abdulle Korad Musse, 63. For the elderly Somali woman, who speaks to us with the help of an interpreter, racism is a
Read on »Finnish men assault elderly Somali woman (Part I)
By Roble Bashir and Enrique Tessieri Migrant Tales met on Thursday the elderly Somali woman who was attacked by a group of Finns in April at Helsinki’s Myllypuro metro station. The woman, Abdulle Korad Musse, 63, was taken to hospital by ambulance after she was physically assaulted. Musse, who speaks to us with the help of an interpreter,
Read on »Business Insider: Timo Soini’s “threat” to the world economy
Not only must have Perussuomalaiset (PS) party chairman Timo Soini been swept off his feet with delight for being named by Business Insider as the seventh-most dangerous person to the global economy, but Finland as well for such a dubious recognition. Who ever heard of Business Insider anyway? For starters, somebody could inform the online publication that the official
Read on »Finland’s and Japan’s demographic and economic decline
You don’t have to be an expert to understand that Europe and especially Finland are speeding towards a demographic and economic decline of untold proportions. The calamity we face will not come from outside our borders per se but will have the “Made in Finland” label on it. There’s an interesting story on the
Read on »Monikulttuurisuus ei ole poliittinen ideologia
Monikulttuurisuus on monimuotoinen ja monimutkainen käsite. Maahanmuutonvastustajille se on yksinkertaisesti siirtolaispolitiikka, joka mahdollistaa etupäässä muslimien, afrikkalaisten sekä ei-eurooppalaisten asumisen Suomessa tai Euroopassa. Tavoite on yksinkertainen: pitää Suomi valkoisena ja muuttumattomana. Kansanedustaja James Hirvisaari (ps) viimeisessä bloigissaan antaa tyypillisen maahanmuutonvastustajaan selityksen siitä, mikä on monikulttuurisuus. Hirvisaari väittää, että monikulttuurisuus on poliittinen ideologia. Mutta onko se niin?
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: El gaucho más corajudo de la Pampa durante la dictadura
Siempre me ha fascinado el oponente más débil. Hay muchos ejemplos en la historia: José Artigas, Esteban Echeverría, Sacco y Vanzetti, Resistencia Rosa Blanca, Che Guevara, Antero Rokka, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Alvaro Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, y El gaucho más corajudo de la Pampa, entre muchos otros. Un buen ejemplo es el Maracanazo, cuando
Read on »Marta Gómez: The little boy who wanted to be white
Marta Gómez is a talented singer from Colombia who offers us a song called “Negrito,” or “(cute) little black boy.” In most parts of Latin America, it’s perfectly fine to call a person negrito, the diminutive of the word negro. The song by Gómez is based on a real negrito of her hometown of Cali, who
Read on »The absurdity of the reverse-racism argument in Finland
Every now and then you’ll hear a visitor on Migrant Tales claim: What about [reverse] racism against [white] Finns!? Racism is a complex problem but one matter singles it out: It is an effective tool to socially exclude, control and exploit other groups in society from vital resources such as jobs and economic wealth. The
Read on »Go for the values and weaknesses of a group if you aim to destroy their self-esteem
How would you go about destroying the self-esteem of a group? If you were an anti-immigration politician, certainly you’d target the group’s values (religion) and exploit your racist arguments by pointing the finger at their most vulnerable weaknesses, like high unemployment. Prejudice and racism are diehard social ills because they take generations to wear off.
Read on »Dear Finland, as the heat of summer draws…
Dear Finland, As the heat of summer draws attention to your ever-changing sub-arctic beauty, you may have wondered why Migrant Tales has become a voice of the immigrant and visible minority community in Finland. We are always humbled by your presence on our blog. In truth, we are nothing more than a new confident image
Read on »How many types of racists are there in Finland?
I read an interesting blog entry by Julian Abagond that highlights three types of racists in the United States: white bigots, white implicit racists and whites with integrity. How many types of racists are there in Finland? When studying racism in this country or in other parts of Europe, denial is the most incriminating evidence
Read on »How to challenge a social ill like racism in Finland
The rise of an anti-immigration party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) in last year’s elections is not the most incriminating proof that racism is an issue in this country, but official denials that such a problem exists at all in Finland. What must we do as a society to effectively challenge such a social ill? Denials
Read on »Far-right violence spreads across Europe – what about Finland?
As the euro financial crisis deepens so does the rise of far-right violence across Europe, according to a report by the Institute of Race Relations. Finland stands out as one of the 100 cases documented by the report. It states that academics studying immigration in this country are forced to withdraw from public discussion rather
Read on »Migrant Tales March 15, 2012: Finland’s darkest period 2011-15
In the future, when Finnish historians of different ethnic backgrounds look at the present parliamentary term 2011-15, they will most likely conclude that it was the darkest period for Finland and immigrants in the new century. A prelude to this sombre period were the municipal election of 2008 and how it reflected a shift in
Read on »Have the PS and MP Tossavainen of Finland ever heard of the Non-Discrimination Act?
If the future of Finland were ever left to the populist Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, it’s quite certain that this country would be doomed. The ones that would suffer the most would be immigrants and visible minorities. Outright discrimination would be the rule. The PS, who should know better, sent a formal request to the council
Read on »Suomalaisia ei saa syrjiä (mutta toisia ryhmiä saa?)
Kansanedustaja Reijo Tossavaisen viimeisin blogi kirjoitus, Suomalaisia ei saa syrjiä, on hyvä esimerkki siitä mitä on pahasti vialla perussuomalaisissa ja kuinka suppea ja syrjivä on heidän käsitys suomalaisuudesta. Tossavaisen tieto Suomen historiasta on hyvin valikoiva. Hän puhuu kuinka karjalaiset sijoitettiin Suomeen jatkosodan jälkeen toista kertaa. Ruusuisesta kuvasta huolimatta, karjalaisten vastanotto oli monesti vihamielinen. Samaa suhtautuminen nähdään
Read on »Abagond: Kumbaya anti-racism
I dedicate Abagond’s most recent blog entry to the Finnish media. Comment: I met a journalist from a local paper and we spoke about racism in Finland. He said that the daily had a policy of not reporting too many racism cases in the city because it would be acknowledging the problem. The reasoning behind the
Read on »What is the fine line that separates Anders Breivik and PS MP Olli Immonen?
This week we heard Anders Breivik’s closing statements in his defense for killing 77 innocent victims. In his final tirade of how multiculturalism is responsible for fuelling the Islamization of Europe, the mass killer showed no remorse. “The attacks on July 22 were preventive attacks to defend the indigenous Norwegian people,” he said. “I therefore
Read on »The PS asks if it can openly discriminate against immigrants and visible minorities in Finland
A group of Perussuomalaiset (PS) MPs, including its chairman Timo Soini, have formally asked the council of state whether they can only hire Finnish workers to refurbish its recently acquired 1.7-million-euro headquarters in Helsinki. Why should the PS limit itself to only hiring Finnish workers? Why not make sure that 100% of the materials used
Read on »Office of the Prosecutor General will not take action against Eronen’s blog entry on “armbands”
The Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) will not take any action against Helena Eronen concerning a blog entry she published in April suggesting that immigrants should start wearing armbands to help police track down suspected criminals, according to Helsingin Sanomat. While no charges will be brought against Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari’s aide, it
Read on »Pirkko Mattila is the clear line that now separates Timo Soini and Suomen Sisu
The decision by the Perussuomalaiset (PS) parliamentary group to choose Pirkko Mattila to be the new chairwoman of the administration committee of parliament is welcome news. Considering that her challengers, Juho Eerola and Ismo Soukola, lost by wide margins bolsters PS chairman Timo Soini’s influence in the party. It shows as well that an ever-growing
Read on »Pro-Soini Pirkko Mattila to chair administration committee of parliament
The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party’s parliamentary group chose Tuesday Pirkko Mattila to be the new chairwoman of the administration committee after PS MP Jussi Halla-aho was forced to resign last week. The PS MP from the northern Finnish town of Muhos got 25 votes, clearly beating challengers Juho Eerola and Ismo Soukola, who got 5 votes apiece, according
Read on »Finnish Supreme Court upholds hate speech conviction against Hirvisaari
The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will not grant Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari permission to appeal a conviction for hate speech handed down in December by the Kouvola Court of Appeal, reports Helsingin Sanomat. Last week, the PS suffered another blow when its MP Jussi Halla-aho was forced to resign as chairman of the administration
Read on »The wrong Finnish identity for all the wrong reasons
In many respects, Finland is a fortunate country when it comes to a social construct like national identity. We are still a young nation actively searching for our roots. We have learned many things about ourselves as a society thanks to the rise of an anti-immigration party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS). One of the matters
Read on »The crux of European racism: Too little inclusion, too much race and blood
Much of the way Europeans perceive themselves as a group today is still deeply embedded in racism. The fact that we haven’t yet even started to confront the legacy of colonialism, which fuels our ”us” and ”them” view of the world, reveals a disturbing fact: There’s still too little inclusion and acceptance in this part
Read on »The scars of ethnic profiling
How serious is ethnic profiling in Finland? Denials that it doesn’t occur at all by the police suggest that it may be a much wider problem than believed. The Ombudsman for Minorities has received a number of complaints from immigrants and visible minorities claiming to be victims of ethnic profiling. Statements in April by Christian
Read on »Halla-aho scandal in Finland: Leadership is now needed more than ever
Finland’s political parties, including the Perussuomalaiset (PS), have a golden opportunity to show leadership and make a clear break from Jussi Halla-aho and his Suomen Sisu association followers. We’ll be back, however, to square one if Halla-aho’s heir-apparent, Juho Eerola, becomes the new chairman of the administration committee of parliament. Suomen Sisu is an extremist
Read on »Halla-aho wants Juho Eerola to be his successor
The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party never ceases to surprise us. Former administration committee chairman MP Jussi Halla-aho said he wants Juho Eerola to be his successor. The MP, who is second vice president of the PS, is Halla-aho’s close ideological ally and a member of the far-right Suomen Sisu association. Appointing Eerola as the new chairman
Read on »Jussi Halla-aho resigns as chairman of the administration committee
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Jussi Halla-aho announced that he will resign as chairman of the administration committee, according to Helsingin Sanomat in English. The decision comes after the Supreme Court charged Halla-aho on Friday for defaming a religion and inciting ethnic hatred. A new chairman will be chosen by the committee on Tuesday. Halla-aho published a
Read on »Cultural diversity in Finland: The high price of being too alike
As a writer and person with a multicultural background, I have been seeking to narrate a more inclusive and accurate history of Finland. Taking into account that over 1.2 million people emigrated from this country between 1860 and 1999 and our ever-growing immigrant population, aren’t both of these facts enough proof of our cultural diversity?
Read on »The Halla-aho scandal raises disturbing questions
Disquieting questions emerge in light of the Jussi Halla-aho scandal: Is pressure on the Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP to resign as chairman of the administration committee due to his dismissive reaction to the Supreme Court sentence or because of what he wrote about Muslims and Somalis, which got him in trouble in the first place? When
Read on »PS MP Halla-aho says he will not resign as chairman of the administration committee
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Jussi Halla-aho announced Monday that he had no reason to bow out as chairman of the administration committee of parliament after he was fined by the Supreme Court on Friday for defaming a religion and inciting ethnic hatred. The PS MP said he would not resign because he considered the Supreme Court
Read on »Finnish politicians should smell the coffee of far-right extremism
After over a year of following countless scandals, fines for hate speech, racism and exposures of their far-right ideology, a question begs an answer of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party: Who is Timo Soini? If we asked Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, a social democrat, his answer would be moral weakness and opportunism. Tuomioja writes a day after
Read on »Halla-aho should resign as chairman of the administration committee of parliament
In light of the Finnish Supreme Court (KKO) sentence on Friday fining Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Jussi Halla-aho for defaming a religion and incitement against an ethnic group, the next step that the PS MP should take is to resign as chairman of the administration committee of parliament. PS head Timo Soini was quoted as saying on YLE
Read on »Halla-aho gets convicted for defamation and inciting ethnic hatred
Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MP Jussi Halla-aho was convicted today by the Finnish Supreme Court (KKO) for defaming a religion and inciting ethnic hatred. Halla-aho, who was fined in 2009 for defaming religion, was now criminally charged as well for inciting ethnic hatred. The sentence dates back to Halla-aho’s blog writings of 2008, when he claimed
Read on »Eino Parkkulainen’s home in Argentina becomes a community library
The late Eino Parkkulainen, a Finn who moved to Argentina in 1924 from Kitee, would be proud to see part of his former home in the hamlet of San Martín being used as a library. Built in the mid-1930s, his home is probably the last one in existence built by the Finns that colonized Misiones
Read on »Second-generation Finns: Revealing society’s ignorance and arrogance
If we look at the ongoing one-sided debate on immigration, immigrants and Finland’s ever-growing cultural diversity, one matter is for certain: It does not help dispel prejudices that encourage racism and social exclusion. While I am certain that most Finns are willing to make immigration and cultural diversity work, it is a totally different question
Read on »Finnish anti-immigration party seeks to ban begging
Three Perussuomalaiset (PS) MPs plan to present a bill to Parliament that would ban begging in public places, according to YLE in English. The aim of the bill has nothing to do with helping the Roma, a group that has suffered persecution in Europe for centuries. Its main aim is to reap political points for an
Read on »Prejudice discourages employers from hiring deaf people
I read an interesting news story on YLE in English about how prejudice hinders deaf people from getting jobs. Sounds like a familiar excuse heard commonly by immigrants, right? The jobless rate of deaf workers and immigrants in Finland is about three times greater than the national average. Unemployment in Finland in April stood at
Read on »Greed, narcissism, apathy and fascism are the greatest threats to Finland today
One of the matters I have admired most about Finland is its underdog spirit. When I grew up part of the year as a child and adolescent in Finland with my grandparents, that fighting spirit was ever-present. It was the fuel that led the country forward and turned it into a model society today. Despite our
Read on »Migrant Tales February 1, 2012: Why write about a Somali immigrant who died in Oulu, Finland?
One of the matters that has surprised me after Migrant Tales scooped more information about the tragic death of a Somali national in Oulu on February 1 is the lack of empathy for the victim. Finland and the Nordic region have not been the same after the April election and when Anders Breivik went on the rampage
Read on »Somali taxi driver assaulted in Helsinki
A Somali taxi driver was assaulted by two Finnish men on Thursday at 4:30am at the Helsinki Railway Station, according to a Migrant Tales reporter. The man was taken to hospital by ambulance with injuries to the lower jaw and chin. The two attackers were later apprehended by the police. The victim, who was second
Read on »Which party should I vote for in the Finnish municipal elections of October?
Which political party should I vote for in the upcoming municipal elections of October? If you are an immigrant or a naturalized Finn, probably one criterion is the party’s record on immigration and cultural diversity. The first important decision you should make, however, is to vote on October 28. Very few immigrants vote in municipal
Read on »Blaming undocumented immigrants is sweeping the issue under the rug
The treatment of an ever-growing problem like undocumented immigrants in Finland by the media and politicians resembles a debate where nobody really wants to tackle the issue. Our attention too often shifts to the undocumented immigrant, who is seen as the culprit and root of the problem. The ongoing debate resembles discussing the reasons behind
Read on »Syrjäytyneet Suomessa ja epäonnistumisen merkkiä
Meillä on hyvä yhteiskunta Suomessa mutta tämä väite tarvitsee toisen kysymyksen: kenelle? Kannustetaanko todella eri vähemmistöjen oikeuksia elää Suomessa tasavertaisena jäsenenä ja turvallisessa yhteiskunnassa? Mielestäni kansanedustaja (ps) Reijo Tossavaisen viimeisin blogikirjoitus, Somalien kokemuksia tutkitaan 0,6 milj. eurolla, edustaa sitä Suomea, joka syrjii sanoin toisia. Tossavainen väittää blogikirjoituksessa, että Suomen Akatemian tutkimushanke somaleista on turhaa, koska
Read on »OAJ union: Teachers (and immigrants) should report hate speech and harassment cases to the police
Finland’s Trade Union of Education (OAJ) recommends that teachers should file a complaint to the police if they are victims of hate speech or harassment at school, reports Helsingin Sanomat, citing Finnish News Agency (STT). Should immigrants and visible minorities follow OAJ’s example if they are victims of racist harassment in public? Migrant Tales reported last
Read on »Finland’s mini Breivik: gunman kills two and wounds seven
What motivates a young man to take the law in his own hands and kill indiscriminately defenseless people? While we still don’t know the motives behind the killings in Hyvinkää, the suspect’s “likes” on Facebook may offer us some clues. Writes YLE in English: ”Police in the town of Hyvinkää, some 50km north of Helsinki, say
Read on »Finland’s future recipe for success is based on social equality, mutual acceptance, respect and equal opportunities
Why would any political party seriously care about immigrants and their children if these newcomers form part of a fragmented group that has little political and economic power? Should they be concerned about high unemployment and ever-growing social inequality among such groups in Finland? Our success story as a society was never based on social
Read on »Amnesty International Annual Report 2012 criticizes Finland for accelerated asylum procedures
Amnesty International (AI) has criticized Finland in its Annual Report 2012 for accelerated asylum procedures, which include forced returns to Baghdad, according to YLE. The report noted as well that Finland was unable to provide figures on how many irregular migrants and asylum-seekers it detained during the year. AI reports: “However, there were concerns that
Read on »PS MP Olli Immonen plans to boycott YLE “for a short while”
By Enrique Tessieri Far-right anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP, Olli Immonen, said Monday he will boycott YLE “for a short while” since the state-owned radio and television company reports unfairly about the PS. According to him, there is a systematic propaganda campaign against the PS by YLE I doubt that many will lose sleep over Immonen’s
Read on »Xenoholism is a behavioral disorder caused by foreigners
Have you noticed how some people get violent and turn into Mr. Hydes from Dr. Jekylls whenever they start speaking about other ethnic or religious groups? Could we call those that suffer from such split personality disorders xenoholics? Xeno derives from Latin meaning “foreigner” or “outsider.” Thus a xenoholic is any person who suffers from
Read on »Julkisen sanan neuvoston päätös oli voitto sanavapaudelle
Enrique Tessieri Julkisen sanan neuvoston (JSN) vapauttava päätös Kirkko ja kaupungin lehdelle oli mielestäni voitto sana- sekä lehdistövapaudelle Suomessa. Miten on mahdollista, että yksi maamme suurimmista poliittista puolueesta kehtaa alkaa vaikuttamaan sekä rajoittamaan lehdistövapautta maassamme? Mielestäni tämä on juuri se tärkein kysymys koko JSN:n päätöksessä. Neuvoston mukaan pilapiirroksista on tullut erittäin vähän kanteluita sen olemassaoloaikana
Read on »JSN exonerates Kirkko & Kaupunki cartoon that mocks PS MPs
By Enrique Tessieri The Council for Mass Media in Finland (JSN) has exonerated Kirkko&Kaupunki after a cartoon was published on December 14 mocking a group of Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MPs telling everyone who wasn’t a Finnish heterosexual and white conservative to leave Finland. The JSN said in a statement that Ville Ranta’s cartoon was neither
Read on »Ethnic minorities now make up more than half of all births in the U.S.
By Enrique Tessieri How did some pocket-calculator demographers in Finland and Europe take the news that for the first time in U.S. history minority births surpassed over half of all births? A pocket-calculator demographer is anyone who uses birthrate and calculates it with years to warn us that group x will outnumber us in
Read on »Do we write too little or too much about a social ill like racism?
By Enrique Tessieri A friend of mine recently said that one of the reasons why some don’t like Migrant Tales (MT) is because we write too much about racism. Do we treat a social issue like racism fairly on MT? Do we write too much or too little about it? Certainly I would be happy
Read on »The long and costly ordeal of family reunification from Somalia to Finland
Ever wondered about the hassle and red tape a Somali resident of Finland must face to bring his family here? Apart from the long two-and-a-half year wait on average, the whole process is especially costly for a person from Somalia, where annual income totals about $600 (471 euros), according to the CIA Factbook. There are
Read on »Language is not always your passport to inclusion and acceptance
Some politicians and social workers in this country believe that integration is only possible when an immigrant learns the Finnish or Swedish language. This may be true but there are other factors that play equally important roles in the integration process of an immigrant.
Read on »Lieksa, Finland, continues to be a thorn in Pohjois-Karjala’s side
Lieksa is a troubled city in the eastern Finnish region of Pohjois-Karjala. We have read too many stories on Migrant Tales and the Finnish media about the racism that has struck the city after some 250 immigrants mostly from Somalia moved there. Joensuu-based Karjalainen reported Monday that an immigrant’s car had been vandalized on Sunday
Read on »Migrant Rights’ Network: Voters’ verdict: Immigration not as important as the economy, Europe, or taxes
By Awale Olad Election junkies in the UK and Europe have had a satisfying fix over the last couple of weeks. From the historical win of Francois Hollande in France to the local election gains in the UK mid-term elections for the Labour Party and Greece’s new political turmoil and looming elections – a further
Read on »Ilta-Sanomat billboard (lööppi) from February 5, 1997
Migrant Tales publishes on and off Finnish tabloid ads* (lööppi in Finnish) from the 1990s. Taking into account that Finland’s immigrant population started to grow during that decade, it is easy at least through some of the main stories of tabloids like Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti to see how some of them reflected our xenophobic, prejudiced, racist or anti-Russian views.
Read on »Ryhmä X ja natsismin samankaltaisuus
Sari Karlströmin kirjoitus on hyvä esimerkki siitä kuinka helposti voidaan leimata kokonaisia ryhmiä. Karlströmin tapa on yhtä tyhjänpäistä ja loukkaava jos minä vaihtaisin kuvat ja kysyisin:
Read on »Undermining the anti-immigration ideology of populist parties in the Nordic region
It is a tragedy that 77 people had to die at the hands of Anders Breivik. Ironically the mass killer did more on July 22 than anyone to undermine the ideology of anti-immigration populist parties and hate groups in the Nordic region and Europe.
Read on »YLE’S Spotlight: Finland’s PS links to the Finnish Defense League
How are we supposed to react to the following news: A number of Perussuomalaiset (PS) party membersbelong to the far-right and anti-Islam Finnish Defense League (FDL)? The story, which was scooped by Yle’s Swedish-language program Spotlight adds that these PS members with ties to the FDL belong as well to the extremist Suomen Sisu association.
Read on »Ilta-Sanomat billboard (lööppi) from August 7, 1996
Migrant Tales publishes on and off Finnish tabloid ads* (lööppi in Finnish) from the 1990s. Taking into account that Finland’s immigrant population started to grow during that decade, it is easy at least through some of the main stories of tabloids like Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti to see how some of them reflected our xenophobic, prejudiced, racist or anti-Russian views.
Read on »Social inclusion is vital to a well-functioning society
Why are we so passionate at Migrant Tales about immigrant and minority rights? Because such groups are effective measuring sticks that reveal the state of civil rights and democracy. The more social inclusion you succeed at promoting the healthier your society is.
Read on »Lieksa, Finland, again in the news about the r-problem
Even if the troubled city of Lieksa is taking bold steps forward in its fight against racism, it ends up taking some giant leaps back. A social worker, Soile Syrjäläinen and her department have been the victims of harassment by some townsfolk. On Friday she got a bomb threat as well as being harassed on a daily basis. She even got spat at by a client, according to Joensuu-based daily Karjalainen.
Read on »Abdisalam Mohamed Abdulah: Returning to Finland’s Black February
Remember Dark February? In about three weeks we read about the deaths of three Muslims , a suicide and a Perussuomalaiset (PS) councilman who offered to decorate a white Finn for killing in cold blood one of these victims? Migrant Tales had the opportunity to meet Monday the father and a family friend of one of the victims, Abdisalam Mohamed Abdulahi.