Do we need to know the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP’s track record and what he has said about asylum seekers, Muslims, people of color, and other minorities in the past? His tirade against asylum seekers was so racist that the Left Alliance bloc threatened to leave the meeting if Vallin didn’t stop talking. Vallin, an avid
Read on »All categories
Reija Härkönen: Persunaiset, nuo siveyden sipulit
Kun Sanna Marin vuosi sitten pääsi Vogueen ja vieläpä kansikuvaan, persunaisten närkästys oli valtaisa. Ei tietenkään siksi, että suomalaispäättäjä, nainen ja pääministeri huomioitiin tunnetussa mediassa. Ei tietenkään, persunaisethan ovat kaikkien naisten puolesta ja haluavat tukea myös naispääministeriä, vaikka hän olisikin kommunisti. Mutta SE PUKEUTUMINEN! Sannalla ei ollut takin alla mitään, EI EDES RINTALIIVEJÄ JA MAHTOIKO
Read on »Instagram: Racism at Helsinki University
Migrant Tales insight: University students should know better. They should know that colonialism is deeply insulting and a painful legacy to many.
Read on »Riikka Purra’s promise of “significantly” tightening immigration policy is nothing more than a snow job
The Perussuomalaiset (PS) are known to make a lot of promises to their voters and many of these are snow jobs. Tightening Finnish immigration policy will be challenging because it is already quite strict. Purra has said that for her to form a government with another party, the main requirement would be tightening “significantly” immigration
Read on »What do police mistakes on sexual assault statistics and reaction to a climate demonstration tell us?
It’s been a week full of mistakes for the police. Firstly, the police admitted a big mistake in their sexual crime statistics by tabulating a single suspect of assaulting his wife 141 times. Each assault was recorded as a single person. The latest bungle came when the Helsinki police admitted it failed to correctly assess the security
Read on »Finnish lawmaker has three ethnic agitation convictions to his name
The Oulu district court found Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Sebastian Tynkkynen guilty of ethnic agitation for his Facebook postings in 2017, according to Yle. While no Finnish media mentioned it, the third conviction for ethnic agitation is a record for a Finnish lawmaker. Hiding behind Islamophobic arguments and that the sentence violated his free speech rights, Tynkkynen said
Read on »Subcontracting social ills to higher pay
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED According to Helsingin Sanomat, Deputy Mayor for Education of Helsinki, Nasima Razmyar, believes that the best way to deal with inequality at Helsinki schools is by paying teachers a bigger salary. Ramyar has a good idea, but it does not even begin to deal with why there is so much inequality
Read on »The worst racists of Finland
Wrong. I am not talking about people who post a lot of racist trash like from the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. I am specifically talking about those who claim to be against racism but are unwilling to challenge institutionalized racism and suffering, in many cases, from white fragility. Our system of institutional racism has so
Read on »Twitter (@PasiPennanen): Rasisti useasti leimaa itsensä
@PasiPennan huomauttaa, että oikeistolaisia kokevat rasisminvastaisen kampanjan kohdistuvan heihin. Tämä ei yllättää. Oletko huomannut, että rasisti useasti leimaa itsea seuraavalla tavalla: “Luuletko, että olen rasisti?” You said it. I didn’t.
Read on »Dismantle institutional racism and myths if you want people to adapt to Finland
The ongoing discussion in Finland about our ever-growing cultural and ethnic diversity is grounded on two misleading assertions that hide the core problem: language is the magic bullet to become a part of society, and white Finnish society is innocent – if you don’t adapt it’s because of you. Heikki Turkka of Children of the
Read on »The magic word for Finland’s future success rests on change and inclusion
Finland is in a bind, and we have heard these for a long time: Finland’s population is aging, and there is an ever-growing need for foreign labor. Our answer to these challenges is not only disappointing but leaving our future to chance. Why is there such a negative and suspicious attitude towards foreigners in Finland?
Read on »Unpublished Finland Bridge column: Hold the Fort (Until Sanity Returns)
Migrant Tales insight: After publishing a regular column for Finland Bridge of Finland Society (Suomi-Seura), the column below written in 2015 was the last one. Apparently, the content of the column was too much for the editor of the magazine, who scolded me for being too critical of the Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party). I had to
Read on »Facebook (Paco Diop): Sana maahanmuuttajataustainen kertoo etuoikeudesta
Migrant Talesin näkemys: Paco Diop on tehnyt hieno kirjoitus ja tuo esille hyviä ajankohtaisia kysymyksiä. Miksi jotkut valkoiset suomalaiset käyttävät sana “maahanmuuttajataustainen?” On korkea aika, että me päätämme keitä olemme. Suomalaisuus on monimuotoinen käsite ja ihmiset saavat olla suomalaisia omalla ehdolla.
Read on »Let’s continue to expose Jussi Halla-aho’s and the PS’ big lie
Just like former US President Donald Trump continues to spread the big lie about election fraud, so do Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Jussi Halla-aho and his party about the threat of immigration and cultural diversity. Last month’s municipal elections were a disappointment for the party after it had invested resources generously in its copied “Take Finland
Read on »Riikka Purra seeks to lead the Perussuomalaiset party on Islamophobic and anti-EU soundbites. Populism and economic ruin?
Should we be surprised that Perussuomalaiset (PS)* first vice president Riikka Purra announced her candidacy for chairperson of the Islamophobic party? Since she is the favorite to win the title, what will change, if anything, after its present chairperson Jussi Halla-aho steps down at next month’s annual meeting? Purra, does not hide her Islamophobic views,
Read on »Warnings and flashing red lights
In English, a snow job means a grand deception. Snow jobs happen year-round in Finland, irrespective of the season. The different excuses, arguments, and counterarguments to justify institutional racism are so common that we do not see them even if they are right under our noses. A good snow-job spotter and when red lights should
Read on »Kokoomus and the PS are ready to go to bed after the municipal election
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is a far-right and racist party that will fail in the end because its core values are based on malarkey. Parties like the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) that want to form bedroom alliances with the PS will fail as well. The chairperson of the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), Petter Orpo, is well-known
Read on »Email*: Racism in the Finnish police is very, very normal
An email* from Dana dated May 11: In short, you do not like the explanation. A few months ago, behind the closed doors of Alppikulma,[1] a wild and drunken Finnish man who had been bullying me for months and giving me ugly obscenities, punched me in the mouth. I was standing right under the camera. He
Read on »Riikka Purra: Maahanmuuttajat, maahanmuuttajat, maahanmuuttajat, maahanmuuttajat, maahanmuuttajat…
Perussuomalaisten ensimmäinen varapuheenjohtaja Riikka Purralle on vastaus kaikkiin ongelmiin: maahanmuuttajat, maahanmuuttajat, maahanmuuttajat…Etkö kuulut vastausta, hän sanoo: “maahanmuuttajat, maahanmuuttajat, maahanmuuttajat.” Purra myös varottaa väestönmuutoksesta. Hän on koulutuksestaan maisteri mutta kenen syy? Maahanmuuttajat, tietysti.
Read on »Facebook (Omar Abdi Nuh): Maahanmuuttaja-termin käyttö suomalaisessa mediassa
Kun maahanmuuttajataustainen henkilö tekee rikoksen, painotetaan hänen taustaansa, ikään kuin se liittyisi rikoksen tekoon. Maahanmuuttajataustaisen henkilön onnistuessa, häntä suomalaistetaan mediassa. Esimerkiksi kun urheilussa menestyy maahanmuuttajataustainen henkilö, ei edes mainita hänen ulkomaalaisia juuriaan. Kuten tämä uutinenkin osoittaa. Mediassa työskentelevien ihmisten tulisi omata hyvät moraalit sekä heidän pitäisi olla vastuullisia. En halua yleistää, mutta tuntuu, että aina
Read on »Länsi-Savo: Rakentavampaa keskustelua moninaisesta Mikkelistä
Perussuomalaisten mikkeliläisen kaupunginvaltuutetun Jussi Marttisen väitteet maahanmuuttajista puolueen vaalisivulla herättävät kysymyksiä. Luottamushenkilöllä pitäisi olla velvollisuus varmistaa, että tiedot, joita hän levittää, ovat oikeita ja luotettavia. Perussuomalaiset puhuvat maahanmuuttajista valtavana ongelmana, vaikka valtaosa tästä ryhmästä on eurooppalaisia. Ihmiset, jotka ovat saaneet turvapaikan Suomessa tai humanitäärisen suojelun, ovat pieni ryhmä. Heitä on noin 10 prosenttia kaikista maahanmuuttajista.
Read on »Miksi persut eivät tee mitään?
”Yksissäkään aiemmissa vaaleissa ei äänestäjällä ole ollut samanlaista mahdollisuutta ottaa kantaa, kuin nyt. Vuosia kestänyt maahanmuuttokriittinen projekti kulminoituu näihin vaaleihin ja se kulminoituu perussuomalaisten maahanmuuttokriittisiin ehdokkaisiin.” Sama kaiku on ollut puheilla myös kunnallisvaalien alla 2012, eduskuntavaaleissa 2015, kunnallisvaaleissa 2017, eduskuntavaaleissa 2019 ja sama maahanmuuttajavastainen loilotus kaikuu myös tämän vuoden kunnallisvaaleissa. Miksi vuodet kuluvat, mutta persut
Read on »Confirmed again: the PS is a far-right party that is a threat to our security
Remember Charlottesville, when the far-right, which Donald Trump called in 2017 “very fine people,” marched yelling, “they will not replace us?” While in the US, this message was an anti-Semitic rant, in Finland, politicians like Jussi Halla-aho, Riikka Purra, and Simo Grönroos of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party are playing the same vile tune. The Finnish
Read on »Oletko vilpitön demokratian puolustaja?
Rasismin vastustaminen ja yhteiskunnan säilyttäminen demokraattisena ja elinkelpoisena onnistuu vasta kun jakamatonta ihmisarvoa ja tasa-arvoa vilpittömästi puolustavat ihmiset lähtevät mukaan. Aika iso osa suomalaisista suhtautuu rasistisesti maassa oleviin ”ulkomaalaisiin”. Kirjoitin sanan lainausmerkkeihin, sillä eiväthän he ole ulkomaalaisia, jos ovat tähän maahan asumaan asettuneet. Enemmistö suomalaisista tunnistaa jo ongelman yhteiskunnassa, mutta vain harvat haluavat tai uskaltavat
Read on »Mitä äänestät, jos äänestät perussuomalaisia?
Mitä olet saanut, kun olet äänestänyt perussuomalaisia? Kuinka paljon perussuomalaiset ovat tuottaneet onnellisuutta ja hyvinvointia tähän maahan? Kuinka moni vaalilupaus on täyttynyt? Tuskin monikaan ja jos joku onkin, sen lisäksi on tullut niin paljon vääryyttä ja pahaa, että sen tuoma hyvä on jo moneen kertaan kumoutunut. Onko perussuomalaisen antama vastine äänellesi vain se, että saat
Read on »Sulkeeko rehti yrittäjä ovet maksavilta asiakkailta?
Romanimiesten pääsy ravintolaan estettiin. Naiset ja 5-vuotias tyttö eivät päässeet kylpylään. Äitiä ja lasta ei päästetty jouluostoksille lelukauppaan. Romaniseurueelle ei ollut sijaa Ruotsin laivalla. Näitä uutisia julkaistaan tasaiseen tahtiin vuodesta toiseen. Ne ujuvat uutisvirrassa ohi ja unohtuvat, jättäen korkeintaan saman opitun muistijäljen: taas niistä romaneista oli harmia. Ja kuitenkin heitä ei oteta asiakkaiksi vain sen
Read on »The wet political dream of the Perussuomalaiset party*
With municipal elections nearing on April 18, it’s interesting to note how the Perussuoalaiset (PS) are sowing division. Like in previous elections, they have always received a boost by some sexual assault crimes caused by asylum seekers and people of color. Their campaign is full of bravado mixed with impossible campaign promises. Their pet topic
Read on »Why are the PS so silent about the US President Joe Biden’s administration?
TOPLINE The silence emerging from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* politicians are highly revealing. Their populist autocratic mentor, former President Donald Trump, is history and no longer in power. KEY FACTS While only PS MEP Laura Huhtasaari and PS MP Veikko Vallin were some of the very few politicians of the party to comment on the transfer
Read on »A new low for the Perussuomaliset: Snitching on your teacher and neighbor
TOPLINE In autocratic countries like the former Nazi Germany, North Korea, and elsewhere, snitching was one way to deal with enemies of the state. The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* are now asking students and people who speak against the party. BACKGROUND PS MP Jani Mäkelä, who sees no wrong with Trump and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, tweets: “Important
Read on »Trump, suomalaispuolueet ja väkivaltapolitiikka
Trumpin edesottamukset USA:ssa hävittyjen vaalien jälkeen ovat yksi osoitus siitä, kuinka käy, kun valtaan pääsevät öykkärit, jotka käyttävät kaiken tarmonsa kyseenalaisen, rasistisen ja syrjivän agendan edistämiseen. Äänestäjät hankitaan käyttäen hyväksi ihmisten alhaisimpia tuntoja. Äänestäjien antama valta suunnataan omien viettien tyydyttämiseen ja oman ja lähipiirin omaisuuden kartuttamiseen. Monet ajattelevat, että meillä ei voisi käydä näin, mutta
Read on »Oletko rasisti?
Rasismilla tarkoitetaan ihmisryhmän pitämistä muita ihmisiä alempiarvoisena esim. etnisen alkuperän, ihonvärin, kielen, kulttuurin tai uskonnon tai perusteella. Jos puhut muista ihmisistä rasistisesti, olet rasisti. Jos käytät rasistista puhetta poliittisiin tarkoituksiin ja hankkiaksesi itsellesi tai viiteryhmällesi kannatusta, olet rasistipoliitikko. Jos äänestät tietoisesti rasistipoliitikkoa, olet rasisti. Jos et ymmärrä, että ehdokkaasi puheet ovat rasistisia, olet ehkä harhautettu
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #76: Two news stories that expose entitlement
If the story about youth crime committed by so-called people of migrant backgrounds had been published in the United States, many would be considered misleading and racist. One in November about youth crime ended up labeling all youths of migrant origin as dangerous or potential criminals. The other one, published this month, was about the
Read on »Finland’s Hall of Shame of its Islamophobic and Afrophobic network will be published on December 30
Migrant Tales will publish on Wednesday, December 30, people, politicians, the media, and political parties that spread Islamophobia and Afrophobia during 2020. If you would like to participate in the making of this list, please send your suggestions to [email protected] We believe that social ills like Islamophobia, Afrophobia, and all forms of racism should be
Read on »Are the police in a secret love affair with the Soldiers of Odin?
The Soldiers of Odin are a white supremacist vigilante group founded in the northern Finnish city of Kemi in 2015. The founder, Mika Ranta, a declared neo-Nazi. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a USAmerican anti-Semitism and anti-bigotry group founded in 1913, wrote about the Soldiers of Odin under the subtitle of “From Finland with Hate.” The
Read on »TIEDOTE: Itsnäisyyspäivän vetoomus
Suomen Eduskunta Eduskuntasihteerin toimisto Huom: Puoluelainmuutoksesta vastaavalle Aihe: Itsenäisyyspäivän vetoomus poliittisten puolueiden uudistamisesta Laki poliittisista puolueista annetun lain muutosehdotuksista on ilmaistu huolestuneisuutta, että ne voivat rohkaista antidemokraattisia elementtejä aktivoimaan poliittista toimintaa. Lain tulisi sisältää erityissäännöksiä, joiden mukaan ryhmät, jotka vastustavat demokraattista hallintotapaa, eivät saisi perustaa puolueita ja henkilöt, jotka ovat käyttäytyneet laittomasti tavalla, joka rikkoo
Read on »Mitä pitäisi tehdä helsinkiläisten valtavalle yliedustukselle koronatartunnoissa?
Suomen viranomaisilla on nyt erityinen huoli siitä, että ulkomaalaistaustaiset ihmiset sairastuvat koronaan suhteellisesti useammin kuin ns. kantasuomalaiset. Ymmärrän huolen siitä, onko tieto välttämättömistä koronatoimista mennyt perille kaikille heillekin, joiden suomen kielen taito ei ole riittävän hyvä tai joilla ei ole mahdollisuutta tai kykyä seurata julkisia tiedotusvälineitä. Sitä on kuitenkin vaikea ymmärtää, miksi tällä asialla revitellään,
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Mikä kumman maahanmuuttokysymys?
Suomen politiikassa on viime vuosina vakiintunut käsitys, että meillä olisi joku erillinen maahanmuuttokysymys, joka olisi ratkaistava. Termi on rasististen oikeistopuolueiden lanseeraama ja media on tarttunut siihen hanakasti. Meillä on tahoja, jotka pelkäävät suomalaisten ”sekoittuvan” muihin ”rotuihin” ja menettävän kansalliset erikoispiirteet. Tämän nojalla halutaan estää maahanmuutto sellaisista maista, joiden väestö eroaa ulkonäöltään ”perinteisistä suomalaisista”. Erottelua perustellaan
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Islamophobia and xenophobia are our pacts with evil
The hate and fear of communism, especially to the end of World War 2, was the smoking gun that led to unimaginable crimes against humanity like the Holocaust. It also led to strange bedfellows alliances. Thus the fear of communism gave you carte blanche to throw away your morals and even align yourself with evil.
Read on »Finland’s Islamophobic party, the PS, is a huge fan of Donald Trump and authoritarianism
THE STORY WAS UPDATED There is one clear message from the tweets and picture below with Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MPs Jussi Halla-aho, Mike Niikko, Vilhelm Junnila and Veikko Vallin: THEY LOVE TRUMP. How could the PS fall for a man like outgoing US President Donald Trump who has no respect for the rule of law (unless
Read on »Miksi paha leviää niin helposti?
Pohjanmaalaiset kauppiaat saavat vuosikausia rauhassa levittää juutalaisvihaa. He saavat kunnan ja kauppakamarin huomionosoituksia ja heitä juhlitaan kunniakansalaisina, koska he tekevät paljon rahaa ja tuovat kuntaan veroeuroja. Natsituotteiden kauppaajat palkitaan vientipalkinnoilla ja kutsutaan itsenäisyyspäivänä linnan juhliin, koska heillä on niin onnistunut konsepti. Pahan levittäminen onnistuu monella tavalla rahan varjossa. Menestyneillä yrittäjillä on paljon tuttavia, jotka mielellään
Read on »Iloinen itsenäisyyspäivä kaikille Suomen kansalaisille
Nyt kun itsenäisyyspäivän juhlaa vietetään vähän eri tavalla ja tasavallan presidentin kanslia on julistanut, että itsenäisyyspäivää viettää koko Suomi yhdessä, voisiko se tarkoittaa myös sitä, että uudet kansalaiset huomioitaisiin jotenkin juuri itsenäisyyspäivänä? Meillä ei Suomessa ole kansalaisuuden saamisen yhteydessä mitään erityisiä juhlallisuuksia. Itsenäisyyspäivä olisi hyvä päivä kerran vuodessa juhlistaa myös uusia suomalaisia. Presidentti Niinistö piti
Read on »Thanks to France, Riikka Purra, like Jussi Halla-aho, is foaming at the mouth and eager to showcase her racism
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED I, for one, am happy that Perussuomalaiset (PS)* politicians like MP Riikka Purra constantly expose their racist and bigoted self. Purra is not only a Finnish white supremacist but a person who would have felt at home in the pseudo race “theories” of the Third Reich. Imagine any person stating with
Read on »Ranska on tehnyt Jussi Halla-ahosta onnelinen
Oletko huomaneet kuinka rasisti puhuu ja mietti asiat? Rasisti yleistä, leimaa ja potki vyön alle. Katso Perussuomalainen puhenjohtaja Jussi Halla-ahon tyytyväisiä kirjoituksia kun hän pääsee todistamaan kuinka rasisti hän on ja kuinka oikeassa hän oli Ranskasta. Kysymys Halla-aholle: Edustako yksi ihminen 1,8 miljardia muslimeja? Puolustavatko kaikki muslimit mitä tapahtui Ranskassa? Tuskin. Edustiko Anders Breivik kaikki
Read on »When the police do not see (or want to see) bias motivation in a hate crime
Last year in Jämsä, an accompanied white Finn threatened an asylum seeker with a knife. Even if the asylum seeker does not speak Finnish well enough, he did make out the following words: vitun pakolainen (f**king asylum seeker) and vitun ulkomaalainen (f**king foreigner). The police did not mention the last two insults to the asylum
Read on »Perussuomalaiset on vaarallinen äärioikeistopuolue
Perussuomalaisten jytkyn jälkeen v. 2011 kerroin blogissani kylmistä väreistä, jotka sain lukiessani Helsingin Sanomien julkaiseman artikkelin Hitlerin varhaisesta kirjeestä. Kolmekymppinen tuleva hirmuhallitsija ilmaisi suhtautumisensa juutalaisiin näin: “Vastenmielisyyden aiheuttajana on enimmäkseen henkilökohtainen kontakti ja vaikutelma, jonka yksittäinen juutalainen aiheuttaa – ja joka on lähes aina epäsuotuisa” Juuri samalla tavalla argumentoi tuolloin vasta valittu kansanedustaja, Jussi Halla-aho,
Read on »Keyse Abdifatah Maalesh’s parents are unhappy with the involuntary manslaughter sentence. Plan to appeal.
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED It’s been close to five months after Keyse Abdifatah Maalesh, 18, lost his life at the Kannelmäki train station of Helsinki on April 26 when he was stabbed by a white Finn. Over two weeks ago on September 7, the suspect was handed a five-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter. Ilhan
Read on »Helsingin Sanomat’s late editorial response to the threat of political violence sowed by the PS
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Helsingin Sanomat finally published an editorial about the Pekka Kataja case and the threat of far-right violence to our political system. While the editorial was long overdue due to the importance of the topic, why did it take Finland’s largest daily a week to form an opinion on its editorial page?
Read on »Pekka Kataja’s attackers are two far-right activists. Have the Finnish authorities awoken to the threat of such groups?
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED In April, I had the opportunity to interview Yaron Nadbornik, the president of the Jewish Community of Helsinki. One of the matters that struck me of the interview was that in 2018-2019 the authorities started to recognize anti-Semitism as a problem. Today the police took into custody two far-right activists charged
Read on »Another study that sheds light in Finland on disadvantaged migrants and their children
A study by Ognjen Obućina and Ilari Ilmakunnas and cited by Sunday’s Helsingin Sanomat concluded the following: poverty and housing overcrowding was more prevalent among immigrant children compared with white Finnish children. The study showed that 60% of migrant children had experienced poverty for at least a year during the first five years of their lives.
Read on »An incomplete study on the rise of the PS of Finland shrowded in white denial
Yle published Saturday, a study that tells us something we have known: The fear of losing one’s economic status is fuel for the rise of populist parties like the Perussuomnalaiset (PS). Hanna Wss, the researcher, states that the rise of populism in countries like Sweden, the United Kingdom (Brexit), and the election of President Donald
Read on »Jääkää hyvästi, paikallislehdet!
Kuulun sukupolveen, jolle paperinen sanomalehti on ollut aamuinen riitti. Paikallislehteäkin on tilattu sen vuoksi, että saamme tietoa oman kylän tapahtumista ja voimme tallettaa pikkumainoksia puiden kaatajista ja halkojen myyjistä. Jos sekin vähä sisältö alkaa olla rasististen ennakkoluulojen kirjomaa ja jauhelihamainosten lisäksi ei oikein muuta asiallista luettavaa ole, alkaa tilausmaksukin tuntua kohtuuttomalta.Viimeinen niitti Aamupostin tilauksen lopettamiseen
Read on »PS’ Turkkila defends anti-semites and xenophobes like Juha Kärkkäinen
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Matias Turkkila, Perussuomalaiset (PS)* newspaper’s editor, is well known for his shenanigans and the way he spins the news. If there is one person who, like Iljas Janitskin, has furthered the spread of racism in Finland, that person is Turkkila. Juha Kärkkäinen is the owner of a company that bears his
Read on »Islamophobe warning: Look out for the “Arab-looking” and “bearded minor!”
THE STORY WAS UPDATED On Friday, we read about an assault against a Perussuomalaiset (PS) politician in Jämsänkoski. Pekka Kataja, who was rushed to the hospital to treat his head wounds, broken ribs, and a concussion. The PS politician, who has made a name thanks to his anti-Muslim opinions, claims that the men who attacked
Read on »Condemn the attack, but don’t blame “Arab-looking” people
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Pekka Kataja, a Perussuomalaiset (PS)* campaign manager from Jämsänkoski, was brutally attacked Friday at his home by what he called two “Arabian-looking” men. He claims that the attack was political because, as an ardent Islamophobe, he was in favor of shutting down the Jämsä asylum reception center. While all forms of
Read on »Helsingin Sanomat editorial on the police service and media raises questions
According to a new survey on the police service, an editorial in Finland’s largest daily Helsingin Sanomat claims today that trust in the police runs high, even if the survey showed that confidence in the police had fallen by four percentage points to 91%. The editorial also puts in a favorable word for the media, which it
Read on »HSL: Systemic racism and systemic denial in Finland
THE STORY WAS UPDATED We have recently read about two cases where security guards use force to handle a passenger that does not have a ticket. In both these cases, there is a link: both are black passengers. Both passengers were also on a transport or at a station operated by the Helsinki Regional Transport
Read on »Facebook (Hotel & Spa Resort Järvisydän): virhe asiakaspalvelussa romaniasiakkaiden kohdalla
Mielestäni, syrjintä Hotel & Spa Resort Järvisydänmessä on hyvä esimerkki siitä kuinka rasismia romaneja vastaan toimi Suomessa. Se on jopa niin yleistä, että työntekijä voi kieltä palvelemassa ihmisiä, koska “he ovat romaneja.” Toinen asia on kuin Hotel & Spa Resort yrittää Facebookin kautta puolustella mitä oli tapahtunut. Mutta sitten kun uutinen savutti valtakunnan median mittoja,
Read on »Pitäisikö rasistien rangaistuksia koventaa?
Suomessa keskustellaan, onko kansanedustajalla eduskunnassa oikeus ilman laissa säädettyä rangaistusta halujensa ja kykyjensä mukaan solvata maahanmuuttajia ja kiihottaa kannattajiaan kansanryhmää vastaan. Yllätys tällainen keskustelu ei ole, onhan rasismille näkyvästi tasoiteltu tietä Suomen eduskuntaan jo yli kymmenen vuoden ajan. Ei yllätys, mutta suuri kauhistus. Ei tämä ole Suomi, pohjoismainen, sivistynyt oikeusvaltio. Enää ei voi ajatella, että
Read on »European Islamophobia Report 2019 (Finland)
Read the full European Islamophobia Report 2019 here.
Read on »Finnish fascism smells like the Perussuomalaiset with dashes of perkele [1] for taste
Some Finnish politicians have a love affair with fascism. One of these is Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Mauri Peltokangas. His campaign manager Jarno Vähäkainu recently showed his fondness for the Nazis in a tweet. He states: “The Nazis did not accept collaboration from anyone, but they did from the Finns…It also says how unique people we
Read on »Migrant Tales little emagazine
Haluatko rakastaa, tehdä työtä ja elää tavallista perhe-elämää?
Korona-aika on osoittanut oppositiopuolueiden kykenemättömyyden ajatella kansan hyvinvointia ja ihmisten oikeuksista tärkeintä, oikeutta elämään. Oppositiopoliitikot eivät siksi nyt keksi mitään avauksia, joilla olisi tarkoitus. Kun hallituksen koronapolitiikka on pääosin onnistunutta, on vaikea asiaperusteilla löytää mitään arvosteltavaakaan. Ainoa, mitä oppositiolta päivästä toiseen eduskunnassa kuulemme on se, että lentokentältä päästettiin ihmiset matkustamaan koteihinsa. Galluppien myötä herää toivoo,
Read on »Facebook (Holokauistin Uhrien Muisto ry): Ilkivaltaa Haminan juutalaisella hautausmaalla
Sanaton.
Read on »Two white Finn suspects held in police custody for Somali Finn youth death
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED UPDATED (3.5): What happened and led to the death of a Somali Finn? Where do we go from here? UPDATED (29.4): Who killed the 18-year-old Somali Finn? Was it a hate crime or not? An 18-year-old youth was killed by two suspects Sunday at 10.30 pm at the Kannelmäki train station
Read on »Un golpe de estado hace 44 años que cambió nuestras vidas para siempre
Hoy, el 24 de marzo, hace 44 años que la Argentina vivió su pesadilla más larga después de un golpe de estado que cambió el país para siempre, pero que nos dió también una promesa: ¡nunca más! Uno de los héroes de la guerra sucia (1976-83) fueron, indudablemente, los padres y familiares que sufrieron la
Read on »Facebook Danilo Canguçu: Racism on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Migrant Tales insight: I got in touch with Danilo Canguçu, whom I thanked for bringing to public attention what had happened after being harassed in a racist manner. He did the right thing, and others should follow his example. Since public authorities too often only offer lip service instead of action in fighting racist abuse,
Read on »Twitter FRA director Michael O’Flaherty: Coronavirus is also a human rights question
Now, as far-right parties aim to capitalize on the coronavirus with the help of fake news, we must stay vigilant to challenge their sinister and selfish aims. We saw this happen in Finland on Yle’s A-talk when Perussuomalaiset* MP Riikka Purra claimed that a hospital was washing and using disposable equipment. “I have received information from a hospital
Read on »NoHateFinland: Rashid and Sobia commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
On this date of March 21, 1960, the police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire on a group of peaceful protestors demonstrating against that country’s apartheid laws. In commemoration of the 69 people that were killed on that day, the United Nations called on in 1966 the international community to intensify its efforts to banish
Read on »PS MP Purra is as phony as the fake news she maliciously spreads
Populists like Perussuomalaiset MP Riikka Purra are desperate for attention in the face of the coronavirus pandemic because fewer are interested in their Islamophobia broken record. MP Purra, who is also the PS’ first vice president, pulled a fast one on Yle’s A-talk by stating that she has doubts about Finland’s health infrastructure. “I have
Read on »Karjalainen: Luottavatko vähemmistöt Suomen mediaan?
Tämä kirjoitus ilmestyi Karjalaisissa 15.3.
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY Yuval Noah Harari: The lack of trust is #coronavirus’ greatest threat
Historian and professor Yuval Noah Harari* talks to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour about the threat of the global coronavirus pandemic. Harari stresses unity. Closing borders and isolating oneself is not the full answer. An outbreak of coronavirus in one country is a threat to everyone. Amanpour: “What as an ordinary citizen worries you the most?” “I
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY (Laura Huhtasaari): “The future belongs to Trump-minded nationalist conservatism”
Finnish MEP Laura Huhtsaari of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is at it again. Huhtasaari, like her PS MEP colleague, Teuvo Hakkarainen, and all of the party’s 39 MPs are calling for disunity during a time when we need to pull together. The world will start to be a better place, and far-right parties that spread
Read on »A step in the right direction: Suomalaisuuden liitto denied funding this year
Suomalaisuuden liitto or the Association of Finnish Culture and Identity (AFCI) will not receive any funding this year from the ministry of education and culture, according to Ilmari Rostila, the chairperson of the association. He is also a member of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party. For some, the news is welcome. One of the main aims of
Read on »Onko perussuomalaisten kansanedustaja Sanna Antikainen sairaanhoitaja tai lähihoitaja?
KIRJOITUS ON PÄIVITETTY Onko perussuomalaisten kansanedustaja Sanna Antikianen sairaanhoitaja tai lähihoitaja? Twitter profiliisa hän on sairaanhoitaja ja toisessa mainoksissa hän on lähihoitaja. Jos olet sairaanhoitaja, kohteletko työssä muslimeja tasavertaisesti? Onko mahdollista olla sairaanhoitaja Suomessa ja vihata eri ihmisryhmiä? Yksi asia on kuitenkin varmaa Antikaisesta: hän ei tykkää muslimeja. Hän on kirjoittanut omalla nettisivulla kuinka vaarallisia
Read on »Ville Ranta on EU’s inhumane refugee policy
The EU’s refugee policy is inhumane and all about sticking one’s head in the sand. Cartoonist Ville Ranta makes a good point showing how the EU is treating the refugee crisis.
Read on »Perussuomalaiset haluavat lopettaa humanitaarisen maahanmuutto ja romuttaa kansainväliset pakolaissopimukset ja ihmisoikeudet
Tänään A-studiossa esiintyivät vihreiden kansanedustaja Emma Kari ja Riikka Purra perussuomalaisista ja keskustelivat miten EU pitäisi tehdä kun vastaisen rajansa tuhannet pakolaiset odottavat päästä Eurooppaan. On selvä mitä on Purran ja hänen puolueen linja, mutta on valitettava ettei toimittaja Annika Damström kysynyt mitä perussuomalaisten kansanedustaja tarkoitti kun sanoi, että humanitaarinen maahanmuutto on lopetettava Suomeen. “Humanitaarinen”
Read on »Jussi Halla-aho and PS press kit is now available
Check out our constantly updated page about Jussi Halla-aho and the Perussuomalaiset. The aim of the page is to keep in the spotlight the racist and far-right matters that Halla-aho and the PS say on a weekly basis. We will also publish anti-immigration quotes from parties like the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), and Christian Democrats.
Read on »PS Youth’s candid racism and fascism forces it to split from the party even if both adhere to the same far-right agenda
Not obtaining the two-thirds majority needed to change the bylaws, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Youth turned down a motion from the party to change its bylaws 56 votes in favor to 45 against. The vote was a definite setback to PS chairperson Jussi Halla-aho. Even if the party will make a decision in early March on
Read on »Let’s have a serious chat about terrorism, National Coalition Party MP Kai Mykkänen
The former interior minister and leader of the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) parliamentary leader, Kai Mykkänen, wants stricter laws to combat terrorism. What re the motives behind the tightening of such laws? Do such laws only to Islam-based terrorism? He writes: “According to the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo), the threat of terrorism in Finland
Read on »Abdisalam Mohamed Abdulah: Returning to Finland’s Black February 2012
Migrant Tales insight: The story below was one that was published in February 2012 about “Black February,” when three Muslims died and a Finn committed suicide after killing one Muslim and wounding another. As with the Pakistani who was viciously attacked in February 2018, there were a lot of question marks about how the police
Read on »A warning from Germany: Far-right and populist rhetoric can turn into bullets
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED An analysis piece in the Guardian looked at the international and local links that lead to the deadly incidents that led to the deaths Tof nine people in Hanau, Germany at the hands of a far-right killer. Patrik Hermansson of Hope Not Hate, a UK-based far-right monitoring group, correctly warns us
Read on »Saako Suomessa ja Silakkaliikkeessä vastustaa rasismia?
Monet vaativat jälleen, että perussuomalaisia ei saisi sanoa rasisteiksi. Nämä sanojat ovat osittain samoja ”tolkun ihmisiä”, jotka ovat viimeiset kymmenen vuotta tolkuttaneet, että perussuomalaistenkin on saatava sanoa sanottavansa. Ovat saaneet. Maahanmuuttajat kärsivät, Suomi on tutkimustenkin mukaan Euroopan Unionin rasistisin maa ja keskusteluilmapiiri jopa eduskunnassa on myrkyttynyt. On vaikea vastustaa rasismia, jos on kiellettyä kertoa, missä
Read on »President Sauli Niinistö is worried about the rise of “anti-Semitism and racism” in Finland
It is a positive sign that President Sauli Niinistö, who has been no friend of cultural diversity in the past, speaks out against the rise of anti-Semitism and racism in Finland on the formal opening of parliament on Wednesday, according to Yle News. He said: There are signs of anti-Semitism and racism being on the
Read on »Mehdi Ghasemi: Towards inclusive and culturally diverse literature in Finland
Migrant Tales insight: A few days ago, I got an email from Mehdi Ghasemi, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tampere and Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura (SKS). He says that he’s working on a project that aims to increase the “visibility, readability, and research on immigrant authors in Finland.” His latest book, Opening Boundaries: “Toward
Read on »Kotoutuminen* #8: Let’s do away with “us” and “them”
In many schools where there are people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, they may be asked to participate in “cultural events” where the pupils are obliged to represent their perceived country and or culture. Is this ok? Is the problem too much emphasis on “us” and “them?” One matter that gets lost or forgotten
Read on »Twitter: Spreading open racism and bigotry
Mehdi Hasan on Trump: Abdirahim Husu Hussein on the Perussuomalaiset.* Enrique Tessieri on the Perussuomalaiset:
Read on »Jussi Halla-aho, tavisten maalittaja
Nyt kun Silakka-liikkeessä kovasti pohditaan, saako politiikkaa vastustaa siten, että mainitaan, kuka sitä vastustettavaa politiikkaa tekee, jäin jälleen miettimään sitä, kuinka helpolla meillä media ja poliitikkokollegat päästävät rasistiset tyhjänpuhujat. Suomen media puhuu kyllä suorin sanoin ruotsalaispuolueista ja niiden johtajista rasistisina, mutta Jussi Halla-aho saa lähinnä vain kunnioittavia kyselyitä siitä, kuinka sitä maasta heittämistä sitten oikein
Read on »Positiivisesti, mutta napakasti!
Positiivisen kautta Yhdessäolon puolesta Oman kielen puolesta Oman kulttuurin harjoittamisen puolesta Ihmisten puolesta Vähemmistöjen puolesta Syrjäytettyjen puolesta Turvallisen lapsuuden puolesta Puolesta Älkää kuitenkaan luulko, että se riittää, että ette sano mitään muita puolueita vastaan. Sanotte te kuitenkin, kun on vaalitaistelu päällä ja keskustellaan taloudesta. Jakautuminen on jo tapahtunut. Ei riitä, että ei ole mitään mieltä.
Read on »Media coverage of the women and children refugees of the al-Hol camp is a low for Finnish journalism
The Finnish media should stop using a bazooka to kill an ant. Is the Finnish media fair when it reports about migrants and minorities like Muslims? Is its reporting biased and unbalanced? The Oulu sexual assault cases and the debate surrounding the al-Hol are the latest examples. Certainly, State Broadcasting Company Yle’s coverage of the
Read on »Päivän sitaatti (Pääministeri Sanna Marin): Mitä kokoomuksen pitäisi hävetä
Tänään Ykkösaamussa haastattelussa kysyttiin uudestaan pääministeri Sanna Marinin mitä kokoomuksen pitäisi hävetä. “Mielestäni kahta asiaa. Ensinnäkin sitä, että kokoomuksen puheenjohtaja Petteri Orpo on sanonut, että näitä (al-Holin suomalaisia) lapsia ei pidä auttaa, jos se tarkoittaa näiden äitien auttamista. Hallituksen linja lähtee siitä, että nämä lapset, joista monet ovat alle viisivuotiaita, taaperoita, päiväkoti-ikäisiä lapsia, heitä pitää auttaa, lapsen
Read on »How Finland’s National Coalition Party spreads wholesale racism of Muslims
The National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) claims to champion liberal Western values and entrepreneurship, right? Is this true if the party succumbs to cheap anti-immigration populism? Kokoomus MP Wille Rydman likes spewing copy-and-paste soundbites of the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. Apart from his staunch Islamophobic views, he also takes up pseudo-scientific eugenicist views as in this
Read on »How Finland’s leading daily spreads prejudices and disinformation about Muslims
One of the most significant political debates going on in Finland now is the fate of about 40 Finnish women and children at the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria. The debate has taken such shameful turns that even ministers have tuned to their followers on social media to ask whether these women and children should
Read on »Mikä Jussia Husussa niin kovin ärsyttää?
Olen usein miettinyt, mikä siinä Abdirahim Husseinissa oikein on niin ärsyttävää, että Jussi Halla-aho on herkiämättä hänen kimpussaan. Tuskin luuska rakkaudesta tässäkään tapauksessa potkii, mutta mistä syystä? Jussi on noussut nopeasti politiikan huipulle. Kyseenalaisin keinoin, mutta kuitenkin. Miksi hänelle on niin kammottava ajatus, että myös Abdirahim nousisi? Abdirahim on tullut Suomeen yksin 15-vuotiaana pakolaisena ja
Read on »Yhteiseen hyvään pyrkivä politiikka on parasta taistelua pahaa vastaan
Donald Tusk, joka valittiin Euroopan suurimman puolueen, keskusta-oikeistolaisen EEP:n puheenjohtajaksi, piti toivoa herättävän avauspuheenvuoron taistelusta äärioikeistolaisia voimia vastaan: ”Me emme uhraa arvojamme, ihmisoikeuksia, oikeusvaltioperiaatteita emmekä sivistystä vastalahjaksi turvallisuudesta ja järjestyksestä. Siihen ei ole tarvetta, koska ne eivät sulje toisiaan pois. Se, joka ei voi tätä hyväksyä, ei voi myöskään kuulua tähän perheeseen.” Toivottavasti EEP löytää
Read on »Kirje sometuomioistuimelle
Kunnioitetut somekeskustelijat, poliitikot ja tavallinen kansa, totuuden ystävät. Jos vaikkapa joku nyt oikeutta käyvistä toimittajista olisi kertonut samanlaisen valkoisen valheen, kuin tuttu taksikuski, ja jäänyt kiinni, olisitteko käyneet samalla tavalla hänen kimppuunsa? Ette ehkä olisi. Olisitte ajatelleet, että tuo toimittaja on hyvän asian puolella ja joutunut jo tähän mennessä kestämään valtavasti häirintää. Suvaitsevainen, hyvä ihminen,
Read on »Jos olet jonkun puolella, puolustat häntä myös vaikeina hetkinä
Matkustimme 2000-luvun alkupuolella Espoon rannoilta bussilla Helsingin keskustaan. Oli kesä, ilta vielä nuori ja bussi puolillaan noin 14 – 15-vuotiaita ”hyvien perheiden tyttäriä”, jotka joivat näyttävästi keskiolutta ja pitivät ilmatilaa hallussa. Muutama matkustaja yritti heitä toppuutella, mutta sai vain röyhkeää sadattelua vastaukseksi. Matkan lopuksi menin kysymään kuljettajalta, miksi hän ei puuttunut tilanteeseen ja poistanut tyttöjä
Read on »Kuka ohjaa suomalaisia rasisteiksi?
Viime aikoina on paljon keskusteltu niin sanotuista mikroaggressioista. Ne ovat vähemmistöryhmien edustajiin kohdistuvia, joskus tahattomia, usein opittuja loukkaavia kommentteja tai tekoja, joista paistavat stereotypiat ja ennakkoluulot. Monella ne ovat aivan tavallinen tapa puhua esimerkiksi muualta muuttaneista ihmisistä. Suomessa tällaiset tyhmät tai tuhmat tavat ovat varsin yleisiä, eikä pelkästään mikroaggressioiden tasolla. Suomi nousi viime vuoden tilastoissa
Read on »The high social and economic cost of xenophobia and doing very little about it
As Finland faces an ever-worsening labor shortage due to the greying of its population, the number of EU nationals that want to work in Finland has taken a nosedive, according to Seura. The number of EU nationals that were granted work permits in 2018 totaled 4,179, which is a 28.1% fall from 5,699 in 2015,
Read on »Dedicated to the “let them drown” MEP candidates of Finland
Islamophobes and other racists believe that those they victimize have short memories. Wrong. We remember and will do everything for our children and grandchildren to remember their viciousness. Migrant Tales published a shameful list of Finnish MEP candidates who answered an Alma Media election compass question: “Is it the obligation of the EU to save
Read on »The MV-lehti case should be made into an important watershed against hate speech
Former Islamophobic and pro-Putin MV-lehti editor Ilja Janitskin, who was sentenced in October to 22 months in prison on 16 criminal convictions, is hoping to reserve charges against him, according to Yle News. Janitskin, who was MV-lehti editor between 2014-2018, denies responsibility for the numerous defamation and ethnic agitation cases brought against him. Writes Yle
Read on »PS MP Ville Tavio is a good example of how hazardous Islamophobia is to one’s perception
I once had the opportunity to write a rebuttal in the Helsinki Times to Perussuomalaiset (PS)* parliamentary group leader Ville Tavio. In his usual far-right fiery language, he suggested outright that Finland must treat migrants as second-class members of society. He suggested in an op-ed piece in Uusi Suomi that the Finnish Constitution should be amended
Read on »Kotoutuminen* #1: A good synonym for kotoutuminen is too many times the reinforcement of structural racism
Migrant Tales launches a new series called kotoutuminen, or integration. Readers are encouraged to send their personal experiences, comments on integration programs, and policies. Send your comments and observations to [email protected] KOTOUTUMINEN #1 A suitable synonym for kotoutuminen is structural racism. In the process of integrating into Finnish society, newcomers are rarely taught the racism
Read on »The Kuopio tragedy and the shameful silence of the Perussuomalaiset party
The Finnish city of Kuopio tragically witnessed the death of a person and 10 others injured at the Savo Vocational College, The Guardian reported, citing the local media and police. Our heartfelt thoughts and condolences go to the victims of the incident. The East Finland Police tweeted earlier today that the suspect is “a native-born
Read on »Itä-Suomen poliisi: #Hermanni n tapahtumista epäilty on miespuolinen, syntyperäinen Suomen kansalainen
Syvimmät osanottoni väkivallanteon uhreille.
Read on »Twitter Puolustusvoimien rekrytointi: Sinisilmäinen mainos sinisilmäisille
Jos olet valkoinen suomalainen (ei kaksoiskansalaisia, please!) ja sinulla on siniset silmät, niin ota yhteyttä.
Read on »An island called n-word that reveals how Finnish racism works and is unchallenged
In the rural region of North Karelia in eastern Finland, there is an island called n-word in Finnish. Yes, you heard right: n-word, according to Journalisti, a publication of the Union of Journalists of Finland. But that’s not all. In Finland, the n-word is inappropriate and racist. The island in North Karelia is not the
Read on »The real MP Jani Mäkelä and how the PS also waters the poisonous fruit of anti-Semitism in Finland
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED A tweet, which alleges Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Jani Mäkelä, stating that “without SS troops, Finlan would have lost the Continuation War (1941-44), is from a fake account. If this is true, we apologize for the mix-up. I wrote a comment to PS MP Mäkelä below after he asked me to “Stop
Read on »European Network Against Racism Shadow Report on Racist Crime and Institutional Racism in Europe
Brussels, 12 September 2019 – Institutional racism prevails in criminal justice systems across the EU and impacts how racist crimes are (not) recorded, investigated and prosecuted, according to a new report published by ENAR today. “Twenty years after the Macpherson Report revealed that the British police was institutionally racist, we now find that criminal justice
Read on »Who needs a commissioner for protecting European values? What are “our” European values anyway?
Why does the European Commission need a commissioner for the protection of “our” European values? Protection of what “European” values need protecting? Are social exclusion and racism European values? What about the over 34,361 migrants who have died to May 2018 while crossing the Mediterranean Sea? What about Islamophobia? Fascism? Our unrepentant colonial past, among
Read on »EU President-elect von der Leyen caves into the threat of fascism and Islamophobia
EU President-elect Ursula von der Leyen presented Tuesday her team and the new structure of the next European Commission. Apart from having no minorities on the commission, von der Leyen, raised a lot of eyebrows by nominating Margaritis Schinas of Greece as the new Commissioner for Protecting Our European Way of Life. In a story
Read on »Council of Europe: Mayday, Mayday, Finland must get a grip on rising hate speech, racism, and implement trans rights
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED In the face of rising hate speech, racism and the lack of trans rights, the Council of Europe Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) called today on Finland to tackle such social issues. ECRI added: “[t]o tackle growing racist and intolerant hate speech, better coordinate integration activities for immigrants and review
Read on »The dark racist side of Finland, the Nordic country with the best education system, home of equal rights and all that blah blah
Helsinki City Councillor Abdirahim Husu Hussein, who is now giving racists and parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* a taste of their own medicine proves a point: There is too much racism in Finland, and too little is done to counter it. Disagree? How many hate speech, hate crime, and cases involving racism ever reach the
Read on »Danger of white terrorist attacks in Norway and Europe. What about Finland?
A report by the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) warns that Norway and Europe may suffer from terrorist attacks in the next few months against Muslims, Jews, and the LGBTQ community, reports Yle, citing the Norwegian Police Security Service. PST cites the Christchurch attack against two mosques in New Zealand in March as a source
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY (Riikka Purra): “Finnish culture is better than many others”
A racist is an individual, always an individual, who does not like people based on race – must be conscious – and who intentionally seems to be mean to them. Robin DiAngelo, sociologist THIS STORY WAS UPDATED In English, we have a lot of words for bullshit: baloney, hogwash, crap, wise tales, poppycock, malarkey, snow job,
Read on »Yle opinion poll: PS support surges, about 20% of Finns suffer from social ills like racism
Migrant Tales does not usually publish opinion polls. However, the latest one published by Yle warrants a quick response. White Finnish newspapers headlined the news as, “Support for the Perussuomalaiset* party surpasses 20%.” I and many of my friends see it differently: “Support for the PS shows that Finland has a serious untreated racism problem.
Read on »(Migrant Tales 18.12.2016): Finland’s ever-growing crisis of undocumented migrants is the government’s and Social Democratic Party’s doing
Migrant Tales insight: Before law 2/2016 was approved by the then government parties (Center Party, National Coalitiion Party, and Perussuomalaiset*), and by opposition parties like the Social Democrats, Christian Democrats, Finland had up to 300 undocumented migrants. After the law was passed, that figure rose to the thousands. The Social Democrats and Center Party must
Read on »No labels, no walls festivaali 23.-24. syyskuuta Helsingissä
Los Angelesissä toimivan The Strindberg Laboratoryn ja nyt Suomessa Strindberg Laboratory ry:n tehtävänä on käyttää teatterin ainutlaatuista voimaa tukemaan huono-osaisia ja syrjäytyneitä yksilöitä sekä marginalisoituja yhteisöjä. Tavoitteenamme on rakentaa siltoja erilaisten taustoja omaavien ihmisten ryhmien välillä.
Read on »A chat with an Afghan asylum seeker who was recently deported back to his country
The text below was edited for clarity. QUESTION (Q): What were the first feelings and impressions you had when you returned to Kabul? AFGHAN ASYLUM SEEKER (AAS): It was a really bad feeling when they return me to Kabul. I felt that my life will be really difficult in the future and I must try
Read on »Daniel Malpica: Problems with the Finnish Immigration Service
So here is the story… Two years ago I applied to the Migration Office for a residence permit under the base of entrepreneurship (toiminimi). Later on that same 2017, I received a full-time working grant from Koneen Säätiö – Kone Foundation for my literature project Mutanttikieltä. I informed Migri about it arguing that my situation
Read on »Two sides of the same coin: El Paso white supremacist terrorist and Perussuomalaiset MP Olli Immonen and others of Finland
The white supremacist terrorist that murdered 20 innocent people and wounded two dozen on Saturday in El Paso, Texas, published a manifesto declaring war on Hispanics. He wrote: “Hispanics will take control of the local and state government of my beloved Texas, changing policy to better suit their needs. They will turn Texas into an
Read on »Ethnonationalism and ethnic replacement pseudotheories are fuel for white supremacist terrorists. Politicians are accountable.
Racism is a rabid dog that racists walk using a short leash to get attention and votes. The dog, which knows no master except for hatred, can bite its master hard. The tragic terrorist attack in a Wal-Mart in El Paso, Texas, by a white supremacist terrorist, tells us loudly why the lethal brew of
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #53: Why is our tolerance for racism at street level
When US President Donald Trump viciously attacked “The Squad” (Congresspersons Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, and Ilhan Omar), when he told them to leave the country (see tweet below), there was dismay and outrage from politicians and other sectors of society. In Finland, a politician like Maiju Tapiolinna can tell a Helsinki city Councilperson,
Read on »Migrant Tales Podcast: An Afro-Nicaraguan in Finland
Shirlene Green Newball is an Afro-Nicaraguan activist who moved to Finland 13 years ago and lives today in the capital Helsinki. Shirlene tells us in the interview about her life in Finland and those of Afro-Nicaraguans and other minorities. Is Finland a good country to live in if you are a black woman from the
Read on »Migrant Tales Podcast: Una afro-nicaragüense en Finlandia
Shirlene Green Newball es una activista afro-nicaragüense que se mudó a Finlandia hace 13 años y actualmente vive en en la capital, Helsinki. Shirlene nos cuenta en la entrevista sobre su vida en Finlandia y de la situación de las afro-nicaragüenses y otras minorías. ¿Es Finlandia un buen país para emigrar si eres negra y
Read on »Jussi Halla-aho and his ilk have made it clear: the only “real Finns” are white and Christian
White Finnish supremacy is not only limited to the Perussuomalaiset (PS).* It is found in other mainstream Finnish parties as well. THIS STORY WAS UPDATED This is how a far-right white supremacist like Jussi Halla-aho attempt, like in a Yle interview in February, argue why people of color and other minorities can never be Finns:
Read on »Ethnonationalism, racist soundbites, and arguments to justify and promote white Finnish supremacy
In Finland, there are parties and groups whose sole aim is to defend Finnish white supremacy, a concocted lie to justify one’s racism and oppress and exclude people of color.
Read on »Migrant Talesin Podcast: Keitä olemme ja mistä olemme tulleet?
Iraqi asylum seeker family in Kemi is told that they will not get anymore help from the city after Monday
An Iraqi family of two children aged 6 and 5, went to the Kemi social welfare office today to seek help since the family was forced to leave the hotel they were staying at today. According to the father of the family, the social worker told him angrily that he will not get any more
Read on »Migrants, minorities, and Others must stand up to Finland’s hostile environment
A poll by Yle shows that the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party enjoys the most support with 19.5%, according to Yle News. Since 2011, when the PS won its historic election victory, we have seen the party come and go in the polls. Of all the Finnish parties in parliament, the PS is the most hostile
Read on »Finland’s National Coalition Party gives the PS a helping hand in normalizing racism
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Former Minister of Justice Antti Häkkänen, 34, is a conservative politician of the National Coalition Party (NCP) who doesn’t like Muslims and refugees. His recent tweet about Peussuomalaiset(PS)* party leader Jussi Halla-aho shows how the NCP has helped to make the PS and racism normal in Finland. One of the matters
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Words are overrated
By Suva Words resonate distinctly affecting the dichotomous semblance that we face in our assumptions, in our perceptions that we get triggered most often by getting the signal that misleads the essence of what is displayed hereon. Someone said earlier that- in the beginning is the word – possibly can be replaced with- in the
Read on »Migrant Literary: Suva – Artist interview on “Public Anatomy”
Otherness and other layers… By Hami Bahadori
Read on »Viekää ruumiitkin, ettei pyhä maa saastu!
Suomen valtio, siis sitä hallitsevat poliitikot ja virkamiehet sisäministeriössä ja maahanmuuttovirastossa, ovat tänään karkottamassa Suomesta äidin ja sylivauvan. Perheen toinen lapsi on haudattu Suomeen. Äiti ja kuumeinen vauva vangittiin pakkopalautusta varten viime tiistaina. Mikä voi olla sellainen syy, jonka nojalla sairas lapsi viedään vankeuteen? Vainoa paennut äiti kuljetetaan pakolla maahan, missä hänellä ei ole mitään
Read on »ELGS Migration Summer School 2019 22-27 July 2019 in Sounion, Greece
Click here to see the oiginal posting.
Read on »Abdirahim Husu Hussein: It’s time for change
Have you applied for a rental property from your city but have had to wait for years simply because of your foreign name, while witnessing Finnish names get served within max 6 months? Over 100 cases have been recorded so far.
Read on »Defence Minister Jussi Niinistö’s far-right past is a fact
Defence Minister Jussi Niinistö calls into question professor Martin Scheinin’s motives for criticising the proposed security legislation which will allow the Security Police and military intelligence to troll emails and calls of citizens without informing people they have been spied on.
Read on »Onko natsitervehdysten jakelija natsipelle?
Aamulehdessä julkaistiin Tuomas Rimpiläisen asiallinen artikkeli tulossa olevasta farssioikeudenkäynnistä, Oulun syyttäjänviraston nostamasta syytteestä toimittaja Johanna Vehkoota vastaan. Ansioitunut toimittaja Johanna Vehkoo oli sosiaalisen median kirjoituksessa Lokan häirinnästä ärsyyntyneenä kutsunut oululaista Junes Lokkaa natsipelleksi. Lokka kuuluu äärioikeistolaiseen rähinäremmiin, jonka toimintatavoista Rimpiläinen kertoo artikkelissaan. Muutos-puolueen jäsen on saanut tuomion kiihottamisesta kansanryhmää vastaan. Lokka on siis tullut tunnetuksi
Read on »Finland’s integration program discriminates and offers fairy tale views of our society
If there is one matter that the sexual assault cases of Oulu have exposed in the raw is a false expectation about migrants. If we listen to the media, police and politicians, migrants cannot commit crimes because Finns rarely do if ever break the law. White Finns are model humans, asylum seekers are not.
Read on »Suojeleeko Antti Häkkänen lapsia vai ministerin salkkua?
Alaikäisten avioliitot kielletään vihdoin Suomessa. Asia on oikea, mutta tapa, jolla oikeusministeri Häkkänen markkinoi lainvalmistelua itselleen vaaliaseeksi, on vastenmielinen. Kun Häkkänen sopivasti näin vaalien alla kehaisee Twitterissä: ”Aloittaessani oikeusministerinä pöydälleni tuotiin alaikäisten tyttöjen hakemuksia avioliittoon. Pidin tätä maan tapaa vääränä ja käynnistin lainvalmistelun, jolla alaikäisten avioliitot kielletään Suomessa. Lapsia on suojeltava. @kokoomus”, Keskustan Aila Paloniemi
Read on »Ulos Suomesta miesten raiskaustaipumus!
Kokoomuslainen sisäministeri on tänään järjestänyt tiedotustilaisuuden, jossa kerrotaan, kuinka seksuaalirikoksia ja maahanmuuttoa aletaan tomerasti käsitellä, jos Kokoomus on vaalien jälkeen hallituksessa. Maahanmuutto ja seksuaalirikokset kun ovat itse asiassa ihan sama asia. Rajat auki ja seksuaalirikollinen puikahtaa sisään. Kokoomuksen, Keskustan ja muuntopersujen ehdotukset ovat kuitenkin täysin vaillinaisia ja Jussi Halla-ahonkin mielestä vain yritys näin vaalien alla
Read on »بـــيــــــــــــان منظمة مكافحة جرائم الكراهية في فنلندا
Facebook Soldiers of Odin: Before you saw it, now you don’t
It worked! I don’t know if it was because of me, and I am certain that many complained to Facebook about a far-right Soldiers of Odin posting. The video threatened acts of violence about how the pedophile hunting season started.
Read on »ANTI-HATE CRIME ORGANISATION STATEMENT: You should not generalize and label all migrants
STATEMENT 5.2.2019 Suomen viharikosvastainen yhdistys ry Finska Anti-Harbrottsorganisation rf Anti-Hate Crime Organisation Finland The news about the sexual assault cases in the northern Finnish city of Oulu have shocked everyone irrespective of the person’s cultural and religious background. Even so, in racializing the problem and debating whether sexual abuse is linked to a person’s
Read on »Länsi-Savo: Ovatko perussuomalaiset kumouksellinen puolue?
Vähän perussuomalaisista Länsi-Savossa (2.2.).
Read on »Onko normiraiskaaja parempi, kuin mamuraiskaaja?
Maahanmuuttokeskustelussa vähän väliä ja etenkin silloin, kun kuulemme turvapaikanhakijoihin liittyvistä ikävistä uutisista, heidän tekemistään tai heitä kohtaan tehdyistä rikoksista, kansanedustajasedät ja -tädit puolueista riippumatta esittävät ratkaisuksi sen, että tuodaan tänne naisia ja lapsia. Tällä viitataan kiintiöpakolaisiin ja mahdollisuuteen lähettää oikeita suomalaisia leireille valitsemaan sopivan näköisiä lapsia äiteineen Suomeen hoitoon ja poseeraamaan mediassa, jotta suomalaiset hyväntekijät
Read on »Toiminta ilman rasismia ja rasismia vastaan ei ole demonisointia
Olen katsellut vähän kummissani oppositiopuolueiden reaktioita yksinkertaiseen kysymykseen: ”Oletteko valmiita yhteistyöhön perussuomalaisten kanssa.” Ei ole perussuomalaisten demonisointia, jos sanotaan, että puolueen ohjelma sekä esiintyminen eduskunnassa ja mediassa ovat olleet selkeän rasistisia, muukalaispelkoisia, syrjiviä ja kansanryhmää vastaan kiihottavia. On osattava sanoa selvästi, haluaako vai eikö oma puolue tehdä yhteistyötä tällaisen puolueen kanssa. On myös uskallettava sanoa
Read on »Haluan kuulla positiivisia asioita turvapaikanhakijoista!
Suomessa on jo pitkään ollut esillä turvapaikanhakijoiden arveluttava kohtelu. Pakkopalautuksia tehdään maihin, joihin kansainväliset pakolaisjärjestöt eivät suosittele ketään palauttamaan. Turvapaikanhakijoiden hakemusten käsittelyssä on paljastunut suuri määrä epäselvyyksiä, heikkoa käännöstyötä, loukkaavaa ja välinpitämätöntä kohtelua haastattelijoiden ja oikeusavustajien taholta, lastenkin vangitsemista odottamaan palautusta epäinhimillisiin oloihin. Osa virheistä ja huonosta kohtelusta on johtunut poliittisesta tahdosta: on haluttu saada
Read on »Minne entiset Suomen kansalaiset karkotetaan?
Olen miettinyt, mitä tehdään suomalaisille, jotka menettävät kansalaisuutensa. Heitähän tulee olemaan tuhansia, jos hallituksen kaavailut onnistuvat. Siis sellaisia, jotka ovat tehneet törkeitä raiskauksia. Nythän ajatus on sellainen, että kansalaisuuden voisi menettää vain, jos henkilöllä on kaksoiskansalaisuus. Tällä on tietysti pyritty siihen, että päästään kurittamaan kovemmin epäinhimillisiä, tuskin edes täysin ihmisiä, jotka ovat tunkeutuneet maahamme muukalaismaista.
Read on »Finland’s inhumane and uncaring asylum policy is ever-vigorous. We must change it.
Finland’s immigration policy is inhumane If this is the case, what does it say about its integration program? A family of five minors and adults including both parents from Afghanistan left Finland most likely on Thursday after they found out this week that their appeal for asylum was rejected by the supreme administrative court. The family
Read on »Facebook Kansainvälinen Mikkeli: Vastinne Jere Liikaselle (ps)
Tässä on Jere Liikasen (ps) kirjoitus Länsi-Savossa (17.8.) .
Read on »حارث منعثر بدر السليماوي: طالب لجوء أرسل من فنلندا قتل في العراق “الآمن”
See: Two Iraqi asylum seekers who returned to “safe” Iraq and were killed.
Read on »Undocumented pensioner and migrant grandmother: “I’m being deported”
https://www.migranttales.net/undocumented-pensioner-and-grandmother-migrant-im-being-deported/
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: What similarities are there between Finnish immigration policy and the US administration’s zero- tolerance policy?
“In order to deter and discourage migrants and asylum seekers from coming to the country, the Trump administration implemented the controversial zero immigration policy. One of the horrific matters about that policy is locking up and separating children from their parents.
Read on »(Migrant Tales July 22, 2014) Anders Breivik: Three years after the horror of 22/7 in Norway
How many still remember 22/7, when mass-murderer Anders Breivik went on the rampage seven years ago killing 77 innocent victims? Who wants to remember the man that carried out the worst attack on Norway since the Second World War?
Read on »Where is the outcry for the Danish government’s assimilation plans of migrant children?
Denmark’s xenophobic and especially Islamophobic government plans to regulate by law the life in 25 low-income Muslim neighborhoods. The message is clear and should cause outrage but we have not heard a humble finger lifted by the European Union about the government’s forced assimilation plan.
Read on »Ylen poliittinen kehitys
Kirjoitin kansallisen televisioyhtiömme harjoittamasta mielipiteenmuokkauksesta ensimmäisen kerran lokakuussa 2016. Nyt olen entistä huolestuneempi Ylen toimittajien tasapuolisuudesta ja yhtäläisen ihmisarvon kunnioittamisesta. Yle on saanut aktiivisilta kansalaisilta paljon huomautuksia rasististen ja syrjivien termien toistuvasta käytöstä. Oikaisuja on pyydetty, ja saatukin, mutta sama meno tuntuu jatkuvan. Vielä vuonna 2015 Välimereen hukkuneet tai pelastetut ihmiset olivat Ylen mielestä pakolaisia.
Read on »PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen gets convicted for sexual harassment after ethnic agitation. Why is he still a lawmaker?
Disgraced Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Teuvo Hakkarainen was convicted by a Helsinki District Court for sexual harassment after he attempted to kiss MP Veera Ruoho by force, according to YLE News. Hakkarainen was convicted last year for ethnic agitation. The Helsinki District Court ordered Hakkaranen to pay fines amounting to 3,060 euros to the state and 1,400
Read on »Huikea määrä aikaa ja rahaa tuhlattu turhapaikkaprosessissa
Turvapaikkaprosessissa ja sitä sivuavassa politiikassa käytetään aivan liian paljon aikaa ja rahaa vääriin asioihin. Siitä ihan tekemällä tehdään turhapaikkaprosessi. Määritellään lasten ja nuorten ikää lääketieteellisin tutkimuksin, kun voitaisiin sekin aika käyttää heidän terveytensä edistämiseen ja kotouttamiseen. Pidetään inkvisition tutkintaelinten kaltaisia istuntoja ihmisten uskovaisuuden syynäämiseksi, vaikka valtio voisi jättää uskovien paimentamisen seurakunnille. Mennään kommandoasuissa susikoirien kanssa
Read on »Uudet kansalaiset ovat positiivinen asia – onko Kokoomus samaa mieltä?
Viime viikolla uutisoitiin Britannian poliisin pidättäneen Suomen kansalaisen epäiltynä terroriteon valmistelusta. Perussuomalaisten euroedustaja Jussi Halla-aho kiirehti seuraavana päivänä julkaisemaan puolueen nettijulkaisussa ajatuksiaan liian löysästä Suomen kansalaisuuden myöntämisestä. Juttu sidotaan samana päivänä julkaistuihin tilastotietoihin, mutta sisältö ja lopputägäykset osoittavat, mihin rasistinen propaganda on tähdätty. ”Suomen passilla tekemään terroritekoja” ”Suomen passi on matkustusasiakirjana arvokas. Suomalaiset voivat matkustaa
Read on »Migration Summer School 26/7/2018 – 1/8/2018 in Athens, Greece
Migrant Tales received the following mail from Dr. Theodoros Fouskas. Check it out. 2018 MIGRATION SUMMER SCHOOL (MIGSS) on Precarious Labour, Human Trafficking, & Social Exclusion in Europe A unique summer program with on-site visits in Greece 26 July- 1 August 2018 EPLO premises in Sounion Α 7-day program in English will offer a state-of-the-art overview of
Read on »Facebook Mohamed Ginde: Taksinkuljettaja ja seuraamukset
Lähde: Facebook. Kiitoksia Muhammed Shire.
Read on »Ovatko poliitikot, virkamiehet ja media tänä päivänä rasistisempia, kuin sotavuosina?
Me teemme Suomessa yhä edelleen tiliä siitä, mitä meillä tapahtui niinä vuosina, kun natsit tekivät hirmutöitään etelämpänä Euroopassa. Aiemmin muistelimme, vähän huojentuneinakin, että oliko niitä nyt viisi niitä juutalaisia, jotka lähetimme Saksaan tapettaviksi, nyt Wikipedia kertoo, että pakkopalautimme kymmenen juutalaista pakolaista ja joitakin kymmeniä juutalaisia sotavankeja – ja syyksi mainitaan Saksan painostus. Tuolloinkin homma olisi
Read on »Onko verojen välttely hyve, jos sitä tekee ”oikea suomalainen”?
Suomessa on aina ollut todella vaikea löytää kohtuuhintaista putkimiestä tai sähkömiestä. Hyvinkäälle muuttaessamme käytimme sähköliikettä, joka vaihtoi pesukoneen pistotulpan ja veloitti 320 markkaa. Olen joskus kysynyt naapureilta vinkkiä hyvistä sähkömiehistä, ja olen saanutkin, mutta laskutusvaiheeseen päästäessä on aina käynyt ilmi, että he haluavat rahat suoraan käteen. Jonkun putkimiehen olen saanut pitkin hampain kirjoittamaan laskun, mutta
Read on »Guardian: Some are more equal than others in Finland
Read the original story here.
Read on »Facebook Kadar Gelle: Etninen profilointi on kielletty Suomessa
Oliko Puotinharjun ostokeskuksen “ratsia” 3.2.2018 oikea? Kadar Gelle vastaa:
Read on »Police and other authorities carry out identification checks at the Puhos shopping center of Eastern Helsinki
On Saturday about 3 pm, the police, the National Border Guards, Regional State Administrative Agencies (AVI), Customs, Rescue Department, and City of Helsinki health inspectors started to ask foreign-looking people for their identification in Puhos, a shopping center in Eastern Helsinki frequented by migrants. The big question that emerges is if this operation by the police
Read on »Mitä Googlen hakusanat kertovat presidenttiehdokkaasta?
Huomasin, että lähes päivittäin joku kirjoittaa Googleen hakusanat ”laura huhtasaari tissit” ja ohjautuu blogiini lukemaan tätä kirjoitustani: https://reijaharkonen.com/2016/11/09/persun-takana-on-tissivakonainen/, joka kertoo perussuomalaisen naisen arkkityypeistä ja toisaalta naisen asemasta perussuomalaisissa. Pelkkä Huhtasaari-haku saattaa johdattaa muihinkin häntä käsitteleviin kirjoituksiini. https://reijaharkonen.com/tag/laura-huhtasaari/ Tuo hakuteksti sai miettimään, kumpaako se enemmän kuvaa, Laura Huhtasaarta vaiko hänen kannattajiaan. Kuinka moni äänestää Lauraa ulkonäön
Read on »A letter to Prime Minister Juha Sipilä
Dear PM Sipilä,
I have resided in Finland since 2000 and feel this affords me the position to speak on this subject from personal experience.
Read on »Pitäisikö perussuomalaisille ostaa pumpattavat barbarat?
”Tarkoitukseni ei tietenkään ole ollut loukata edustamaani kansanedustuslaitosta”, sanoi Teuvo Hakkarainen anteeksipyynnössään maaliskuussa 2014, kun hän tuli lähettäneeksi helsinkiläisnaiselle lähikuvia sukuelimestään, jota Demokraatti-lehti tuolloin kutsui kannustavasti miehiseksi työvälineeksi. Kun pääministeri Sipilälle ihmeteltiin, miksi Ruotsissa #metoo-kampanja on saanut aivan erilaiset mittasuhteet kuin Suomessa, Sipilä ei ollut huomannut mitään eroa. Ruotsissa on kuitenkin ollut lukuisia poliisitutkintoja, potkuja
Read on »Suomi tarvitsee presidentin, joka luottaa ihmisiin ja yhteiskuntajärjestelmäämme
Itsenäisyyspäivänä Ylen toimittajat haastattelivat presidentti Sauli Niinistöä ja Jenni Haukiota. Maahamuuttoon liittyen esitettiin yksi kysymys, ruotsiksi ehkä siksi, että maahanmuuttajien asema ja Suomen kehittäminen monikulttuurisesti kiinnostaa enemmän ruotsinkielisiä.
Read on »Suomi voisi, jos haluaisi, olla Kanadaa parempi
Tunnen ison joukon ihmisiä, jotka täysin pyyteettömästi, omaa vapaa-aikaansa uhraten tekevät töitä paremman Suomen puolesta. Moderoivat FB-ryhmiä, laativat aloitteita ja tiedotteita, kirjoittavat postia kansanedustajille, virastoihin, mediaan. Olen ihaillen seurannut myös sitä, millainen upea organisaatio on syntynyt virallisten toimijoiden rinnalle pitämään huolta turvapaikanhakijoista. Eikä vain kutomaan villasukkia, vaan kotouttamaan, opettamaan kieltä ja tapoja, kuuntelemaan ja seisomaan rinnalla heidän vaikeassa ja ahdistavassa tilanteessaan.
Read on »Älä tänne yritä, tötterötukka!
Eräs ystäväni toimii vapaaehtoisena turvapaikanhakijoiden avustajana, on monen pakolaisen sijaisäiti, kaveri, opettaja ja ankkuri tässä maassa. Hän seuraa myös tiiviisti pakkopalautettujen kohtaloita ja vaihtaa kännykällä monet hyvät yöt ja huomenet pelokkaiden nuorten kanssa siellä jossakin. Yksi asia, mikä häntä Suomen maassa tänään pahasti häiritsee, on kielenkäyttö. Perustaisi hän bloginkin, jossa kertoisi tunteistaan, mutta työnantaja suhtautuu
Read on »Muhammed Shire: New and old Finland
International Mikkeli Day November 2016. Photo by Muhammed Shire.
Read on »Poliisi noudattakoon lakia
Kun ulkomaalaislaki uudistettiin vuonna 2004, alkuun kirjattiin lain tarkoituksesta tähän tapaan: 1 § Lain tarkoitus Tämän lain tarkoituksena on toteuttaa ja edistää hyvää hallintoa ja oikeusturvaa ulkomaalaisasioissa. Lain tarkoituksena on lisäksi edistää hallittua maahanmuuttoa ja kansainvälisen suojelun antamista ihmisoikeuksia ja perusoikeuksia kunnioittaen sekä ottaen huomioon Suomea velvoittavat kansainväliset sopimukset. Tästä voi saada sen käsityksen, että
Read on »Harvinaista, poikkeuksellista ja aivan turhaa
Iltasanomat 29.11.2015 Ote eduskuntapuoluiden johtajien poikkeuksellisesta vetoomuksesta 29.11.2015 Kaikkien pitää noudattaa Suomen lainsäädäntöä. Laki on sama kaikille. Suomessa järjestyksenpito ja rikosten selvittäminen kuuluu poliisille. Oikeuslaitoksen tehtävä on tuomita rikoksiin syyllistyneet. Joidenkin kantaväestöön kuuluvien vastaanottokeskuksiin kohdistamat väkivaltaiset iskut ovat vakavia rikoksia. Myös joidenkin turvapaikanhakijoiden epäillään syyllistyneen erittäin vakaviin rikoksiin. Rikokset ovat yhtä lailla tuomittavia, ovat ne
Read on »Oi nouse, Suomi, näytit maailmalle
Suomi itsenäisyyden juhlavuonna 2017. Sen piti olla upea, yhteinen vuosi. Jotkut ovat kuitenkin sitä mieltä, että juhlat eivät parane, ellei väki vähene.
Read on »Ihmisellä on oikeus olla ihminen
Vielä tänään minulla on oikeus: olla kaveri sen kanssa, kenen kanssa haluan olla olla ystävällinen myös tuntemattomalle ihmiselle kutsua ihminen kotiin, syöttää ja juottaa ja vaikka antaa jäädä yöksi, nukkua puhtailla lakanoilla, minkä värisillä hyvänsä olla ilmoittamatta poliisille, jos joku syö, juo, laulaa tai nukkuu luonani ottaa luokseni ihminen yöpymään esimerkiksi internetin Flee b&b -järjestelmän
Read on »Pari kysymnystä Yleisradiolle
Poliisi epäilee eduskunnan hallintovaliokunnan puheenjohtajana toimivaa perussuomalaisten kansanedustajaa Juho Eerolaa kiihottamisesta kansanryhmää vastaan. Yleisradion toimittaja haastatteli Jussi Halla-ahoa, joka itse on saanut tuomion uskonrauhan rikkomisesta ja kiihottamisesta kansanryhmää vastaan. Miksi samasta rikoksesta tuomittu on nyt pätevä puolustamaan toista rikosepäiltyä?! Samalla logiikalla nyt voitaisiin haastatella raiskauksesta tuomittu selittämään miksi kaverinsa rikosepäily on väärin! Missä on kunnioitus
Read on »Myös oikeistolaisilla on oikeus vastustaa rasismia ja syrjintää
Rasistisen politiikan vastaisessa työssä on nyt se vika, että sitä tehdään aivan kuin rasisminvastaisuus olisi eri poliittisten tahojen vastakkainen agenda, ei länsimaisen demokratian yhteinen arvo ja perusta. Tämä johtuu osin siitäkin, että oikeistopuolueet eivät kaikki vilpittömästi jaa tuota arvoa eivätkä tunnusta yhtäläistä ihmisarvoa ja halua antaa kaikille samoja ihmisoikeuksia. Toisaalta vasemmistopuolueet eivät ole kovin kiinnostuneita
Read on »A Helsinki bus driver who publishes video tapes of Somali clients he’s insulted
What would you say if a bus driver, who only video tapes Somalis, starts calling them liars and forces them off the bus even after one of them said she was ready to pay for the bus fare? Ethnic profiling? Racist? All of the above?
Read on »Teivo Teivainen: How Finns Party’s Racist Turn Might Shake Government of Finland?
Now it’s real. Finland’s government includes a party that just elected a person convicted for a racist crime (ethnic agitation) as its new leader. The question is obviously not simply about Jussi Halla-aho’s criminal record, but that the party has decided to take a turn away from its agrarian populist roots and toward racism.
Read on »Kun säilön ovi kalahtaa, niin sielu taivaaseen vilahtaa?
Ystäväni mietiskeli tapaamista nuoren, herkän ihmisen kanssa, jota oltiin pakottamassa palaamaan turvattomaan ja pelottavaan entiseen kotimaahansa. Hänen äitinsä oli saanut oleskeluluvan. Mitä voi sanoa lohduttaakseen tätä ihmistä? Entä hänen äitiänsä, joka joutuu lähettämään lapsensa kuolemanvaaraan ja jää itse turvaan? Kuinka lohduttaa viikko- ja kuukausikaupalla syyttöminä vankilassa istuvia, pakkopalautusta odottavia nuoria? Näin hänen kaverinsa vastailivat: ”Vaikea
Read on »(Announcement) 2017 Summer School Migration in Southern Europe: Solidarity, Crisis and Beyond
This seven-day course “Migration in Southern Europe: Solidarity, Crisis and Beyond” will investigate the developments, challenges and the impact of the migration and refugee crisis on southern European societies and on migrant populations. It will also explore the prospects for improving the current management of issues and relevant social policies. In conjunction with the lectures
Read on »Muhammed Shire and Johanna Ennser-Kananen: “Your Finnish is not good enough” and other myths migrants face on the job market
If you are a migrant who has applied for educational programs or jobs, chances are that you have heard some of the following myths. In this article, we debunk them by explaining their racist nature.
Read on »Seiska: Keuruu’s reception center manager Rasul Azizan relieved of duties by Red Cross due to “loss of confidence”
The manager of the Keuruu asylum reception center, Rasul Azizan, has been relieved of his duties by his employer the Red Cross due to “loss of confidence,” according to Seiska. In May last year, Deputy Manager Jari Sillantie of the Kolari asylum reception center was sacked by the Red Cross because “he wasn’t suited for the job.”
Read on »استغلال اللاجئين
جهاد البغدادي, لاجيء من العراق عمل منذ مارس في شركه أ ت للتنظيف في بورفو قامت جريده ام في ومجموعات اخرى في السوشال ميديا باتهامه بالارهاب, جهاد البغدادي كما نعرفه , انسان مثقف , مهذب وجدير بالاحترام والصداقه , منذ فتره قامت مجموعه من جنود اودين بملاحقته في هلسنكي قامت شركه أ ت باستخدامه للعمل
Read on »Emmanuel Macron on Ranskan ja EU:n toivo
Luin nyt espanjalaisesta El Mundo –lehdestä Emmanuel Macronin elämästä. Suomessa tiedotusvälineissä väitetään, että Macron on liberaali keskustalainen. Espanjalainen oikeistolainen El Mundossa sanotaan, että Macronin taloudellinen ohjelma on sosialistinen. Macron on ollut sosialistien Hollanden hallituksen ministeri ja Hollanden ”lempilapsi”. Ranskan presidenttivaaleissa tärkein jako ei ole puoluepoliittisesti. Nyt taistelu on euromyönteisyyden ja eurovastaisuuden välillä, avoimuuden ja sulkeutuneisuuden
Read on »An Iraqi asylum seeker in Finland tells us how he was “exploited” for a month by a Porvoo-based company called A-T Puhdistus
One matter is clear when you live in a society and the country’s institutions see asylum seekers as inferior human beings we leave the door open to all kinds of abuse. A good example of how little power asylum seekers have in Finland is the family of nine that has been locked up at the Joutseno immigration removal center. If an asylum seeker is lucky enough to get work, that too can become an exercise in exploitation.
Read on »Fazerin logo on laitettu Kärkkäisen proagandalehteen ilman lupaa
Eilen julkaisin tänne Migran Tales -julkaisussa seuraava kirjoitus: Moneen kotiin on tullut Juha Kärkkäisen oman kaupan ilmaisjakelumainoslehti KauppaSuomi. Se ei ole ainoastaan tuotteiden mainontaa, vaan mainosten seassa on artikkeleita, joissa vastustetaan monikulttuurisuutta, moninaisuutta, EU:ta, seksuaalivähemmistöä, jne. Yhdessä tekstissä syytetään juutalaista naistohtoria ”ongelmista”. Juha Kärkkäinen on ollut aiemmin otsikoissa. Ylivieska-Raahen käräjäoikeus langetti vuoden 2013 Juha Kärkkäiselle
Read on »Vihapuheen rahoittajat
Moneen kotiin on tullut Juha Kärkkäisen oman kaupan ilmaisjakelumainoslehti KauppaSuomi. Se ei ole ainoastaan tuotteiden mainontaa, vaan mainosten seassa on artikkeleita, joissa vastustetaan monikulttuurisuutta, moninaisuutta, EU:ta, seksuaalivähemmistöä, jne. Yhdessä tekstissä syytetään juutalaista naistohtoria ”ongelmista”. Juha Kärkkäinen on ollut aiemmin otsikoissa. Ylivieska-Raahen käräjäoikeus langetti vuoden 2013 Juha Kärkkäiselle 90 päiväsakkoa kiihottamisesta kansanryhmää vastaan. Magneettimedian kustantava tavarataloyhtiö
Read on »اشتباه مترجمان در اداره مهاجرت و پولیس
زمانی که تعدادی از جواب های منفی که اداره پولیس به پناهجویان میدهد را ترجمه میکردم؛ چند نکته مهم توجه ام را جلب کرد:
Read on »A #righttolife demonstration starts in Oulu from March 11 and the reception has been very favorable
As the #righttolife demonstration grows and becomes stronger at the Helsinki Railway Station, a group of Iraqis organized a similar demonstration in the northern Finnish city of Oulu from March 11, according to Ali Asaad Hasan.
Read on »The cheap journalism of Helsingin Uutiset and its editor’s long roots in the anti-immigration movement of Finland
Two of the worst complimentary publications in the Helsinki and Greater Helsinki area Helsingin Uutiset and Vantaan Sanomat. Since they don’t charge people to read their publications they depend heavily on advertising revenues. The way that they get such revenues and readers is by spreading xenophobia and suspicion of migrants and minorities.
Read on »Haluatko sinä lähettää ihmisen kuolemaan?
Turvapaikanhakijoiden kamppailu on tullut näkyväksi. Mielenosoitus Helsingin Rautatientorilla on tuonut vastaanottokeskuksista keskelle Helsingin arkea ihmiset, jotka ovat epätoivoisia ja anovat mahdollisuutta saada elää. Mielenosoitusta sävyttää jokaöinen häirintä ja viime yönä murhapolttoyritys. Nyt vaaditaan tekoja. Perustuslain noudattaminen ja ihmisten pelastaminen kuolemalta ei ole mikään opposition juttu. Hallituksella ei ole mitään mahdollisuutta pelastaa kasvojaan sillä, että se
Read on »Hyvästi rasismi, tervetuloa arjen moninaisuus
Ihmisrotuja on vain yksi. Sen nimi on ihminen. Siksi rasismi on käsitteenäkin virheellinen. Sen lisäksi se on surullinen ja pöyristyttävä. Niiden ulkoisesti havaittavien seikkojen, jotka tekevät meistä iloisesti erilaisia, kuten sukupuoli, alkuperä, fyysiset ominaisuudet tai äidinkieli, ei tule olla peruste minkäänlaiselle syrjinnälle. Syrjimättömyys on osa inhimillisyyttä ja osa hyvänä ihmisenä olemista. Suomi ei ole koskaan
Read on »Etsitään yhdessä positiivinen ratkaisu pakolaisten tilanteeseen
Kävimme eilen illalla irakilaisten ja afganilaisten turvapaikanhakijoiden pakkopalautuksia vastustavassa mielenosoituksessa Helsingin Rautatientorilla. Väkeä oli paikalla paljon.Toiset seisoivat pienissä ryhmissä keskustellen, jotkut istuivat kylki kyljessä pallogrillin ääressä lämmittelemässä. Hiilet hehkuvat lämpöä, mutta kuinka on suomalaisten sydänten kanssa? Juttelimme sympaattisten, kohteliaiden ja avointen nuorten miesten kanssa. Kerroimme heille olevamme heidän puolellaan ja toivovamme, että Suomen hallitus saa
Read on »Palaaville pakolaisille suomalaista saattohoitoa
Meillä on alettu karkottaa pakolaisia takaisin maihin, joissa heillä on ilmeinen vaara tulla tapetuiksi, kidutetuiksi tai kohdelluiksi ihmisarvoa loukkaavalla tavalla. Tällaista ei saa tapahtua. Suomen perustuslaki on laadittu noudatettavaksi. Ehdotan, jotta viranomaisten ja poliittisten päättäjien toimiin tulisi lisää huolellisuutta ja vilpitöntä halua hoitaa asia lain ja oikeuden mukaan, jokaiseen turvalliseksi luokiteltuun maahan, johon pakolaisia pakkopalautetaan,
Read on »AntroBlogi: Pakolaisia vastassa
Teksti: Tapio Kumpula, VTK. Podcast-lukija: Bruno Gronow Erilaisuus ja muutoksen tila ovat tuttuja ja ”helppoja” keskusteluaiheita antropologeille. AntroBlogiin kysymykset toiseudesta ja diasporista ovat löytyneet vähemmistöjen, muukalaisten ja etenkin turvapakanhakijoiden muodossa. Paljon keskustelua herättäviä turvapaikanhakijoita ja pakolaisia on tarkasteltu monelta näkökannalta, mutta nyt työelämätoimitus haluaa kohdistaa linssinsä aiheen viereen — turvapaikanhakijoiden ja pakolaisten kanssa työskenteleviin ihmisiin. TASSÄ ON
Read on »Eikö Suomessa ole pahaa populismia?
Jyrki Katainen esiintyi eilisen A-studion videohaastattelussa hyvin ja jämäkästi melkein loppuun saakka. Jo matkalla kävi kuitenkin ilmi, että se lopullinen rohkeus puuttuu: pahaa populismia on vain Euroopassa. Kun suomalainen puhuu Euroopasta, se tarkoittaa yhä sitä, että Suomea se ei koske. Puheensa lopuksi Katainen sitten jo tuhrasi kaiken sen ryhdin ja moraalin, jota hän koitti osoittaa.
Read on »President Niinstö and Prime Minister Juha Sipilä believe that dual nationals pose threat to Finland’s national security
The debate on dual citizenship in Finland became headline news again on Thursday when President Sauli Niinistö was quoted as saying on YLE News that dual nationals could pose a security threat to the country. On Friday, YLE published a poll where 66% of the respondents agreed that dual nationals shouldn’t be hired to work for the defense forces and foreign ministry.
Read on »Jussi Niinistön kiihkon ei saa antaa runnella uskoa ihmiseen ja ihmisyyteen
Lapsuuden kirkonkylässä asui ”herrojen Eeva”, vuokrahuoneessa Kuokkasen kauppaa vastapäätä. Koskelan Baari oli ihan vieressä, sieltä oli hyvä rohkaisuryypyn jälkeen pistäytyä päiväkahvilla. Kun Eeva tuli raskaaksi ja sai lapsen, sille etsittiin elättäjää. Ruokkomaksuille joutui kylällä tuttu mies, perheenisä, maanviljelijä ja luotettu kunnallispoliitikko. Skandaali oli tietysti tuohon aikaan 3000 asukkaan kylässä suuri, niin kuin aina näissä sukupuoliasioissa,
Read on »Rehellisyys perus-Suomen perii
Nyt kun ehdokkaita eri tehtäviin perussuomalaisen puolueen organisaatiossa pikkuhiljaa ilmoittautuu, on tarkasteltava vähän tarkemmin porilaista naista, joka on julistanut Jussi Halla-ahon parhaaksi puheenjohtajaehdokkaaksi ja tyrkyttää itseään varapuheenjohtajaksi. Molempien eväissä kun on paljonkin ihmettelemistä. Kansanedustaja Laura Huhtasaari herätti jo kauan sitten huomiotani kirjoitelmillaan Uuden Suomen Puheenvuorossa. Jokainen vähän pidempi teelmä kun koostui oudoista, yhteensopimattomista kappaleista, jotka
Read on »Toimittajat, kuka pelkää Halla-ahoa?
Perussuomalaisissa puuhaillaan innolla puheenjohtajan vaihdosta. Kun ehdolle ollaan asettamassa Jussi Halla-ahoa, joka ei omien sanojensa mukaan ollenkaan ole sovelias johtotehtäviin, mutta on nyt todennäköisesti asettumassa ehdokkaaksi, on tarpeen hiukan ihmetellä, millä eväillä. Rasistien ”Mestarilla” on kova maine. Jotenkin ihmeellisellä tavalla hän on saanut mediankin pelkäämään itseään niin, että hänelle ei koskaan aseteta oikeastaan muita
Read on »Kansanedustajien avustajat uusiksi
Viime vuosina olemme vähän väliä joutuneet seuraamaan näytelmää, jossa kansanedustajan avustaja ei malta pysyä lestissään, vaan tekee eduskunnasta oman narsisminsa näyttämön, käyttää hyväkseen asemaansa oman julkisuuskuvansa kehittämiseen, alkaa kylvää poliittista tai henkilökohtaista närää tai muuten hakeutuu kyseenalaiseen julkisuuteen. Jotta tällaiseen tulisi stoppi ja eduskunnan arvovaltaa ei enää enempää myös avustajien toiminnan seurauksena heikennettäisi, ehdotan selkeää
Read on »The failure of Finnish and European immigration policy towards Iraqis
The Iraqi ambassador to Finland, Matheel Dhayif Al-Sabti, the minister of migration & displaced, and the Iraqi parliament have made it clear to Europe and Finland that they will not accept nationals deported from Europe.
Read on »La instigación al odio contra un grupo de la población, “kiihotus kansanryhmää vastaan” en finés
Un diputado del Parlamento de Finlandia y miembro del partido político Los Verdaderos Finlandeses fue condenado a 20 días de multa por instigación o incitación al odio contra un grupo de la población. Este diputado tendrá que pagar unos 1200 euros de multa por amenazar e insultar a los mulsumanes por pertenecer a esa religión.
Read on »Rehellisyyden ja oikeudenmukaisuuden nimessä
”Perussuomalaisten toiminnan perustana ovat rehellisyys, oikeudenmukaisuus, inhimillisyys, tasa-arvo, työn ja yrittämisen kunnioittaminen sekä henkinen kasvu.” Näin perussuomalaiset kertovat heidän arvomaailmastaan. Tänään on vaikea uskoa, että perussuomalaiset ovat rehellisiä. Teuvo Hakkaraisen avustaja Antti Kauronen kertoi oikeudessa, ettei Hakkarainen halua puhua ja, että hän pyysi, että syyte hylätään. ”Kaurosen mukaan Hakkarainen ei ole menetellyt tahallisesti eikä ole
Read on »Maahanmuutto ja Sipilän hallitus vuonna 2016
Moni suomalainen tulee muistamaan vuoden 2016 politiikan vuotena; sellaisena, jossa Suomen hallituksen tahto törmäsi liian usein perustuslain kanssa. Joidenkin hallituspuolueiden kannattajien mielestä ongelma on perustuslaissa ja jopa jotkut kansanedustajat ovat tahtoneet muuttaa perustuslakia, jotta heidän tahtonsa menisi läpi. Maahanmuuttopolitiikassa Keskusta ja Kokoomus ovat luopuneet tärkeistä periaatteista, kuten yhdenvertaisuudesta ja jopa perustuslain kunnioituksesta, jotta perussuomalaiset pysyisivät
Read on »Terroristien palveluksessa!
Heräsimme taas kauheaan uutiseen Berliinin joulumarkkinoilla tapahtuneesta hirmuteosta. 12 ihmistä kuoli ja 48 loukkaantui. Saksan poliisi antaa muutaman tunnin kuluttua lisää tietoa. Olisi teko terroristin tai terroristien tekemä tai ei, ei sitä pysty mitenkään hyväksymään tai siitä ei mielestäni pitäisi tehdä pilaa tai yrittää kerätä irtopisteitä tulevia vaaleja varten Valitettavasti näin on kuitenkin tehnyt perussuomalainen
Read on »Perustuslain ja oikeusvaltion periaatteiden halveksiva puolue!
Meillä on hallitus ja erityisesti yksi hallituspuolue, jonka jouluinen tehtävä on päästää eroon kolmesta tuhannesta kielteisen turvapaikkapäätöksen saaneista ihmisistä. Tuon päämäärän eteen, noita ihmisiä pitää perustuslainvastaisesti kohdella toisin kuin muita yhteiskunnan jäseniä. Saman puolueen kansanedustaja on sitä mieltä, että perustuslaki on “alkanut nyppiä”. Eikö eduskunnassa opeteta kansanedustajille mitään valtiosääntöoikeuksista? Saman puolueen sihteeri, sen sijaan että
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Persun takana on tissivakonainen
Kun naisen valinta USA:n presidentiksi nyt on tullut estetyksi, ei voi olla miettimättä naisvihaa, joka myös meillä aika voimakkaasti leimaa konservatiivisia, äärioikeistolaisia ja rasistisia piirejä. Perussuomalainen sovinisti, Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, tokaisi joskus Suomen Kuvalehden haastattelussa: “Jos miehillä on munat, meillä on koko sarja” korostaakseen naisten pätevyyttä poliittisessa elämässä. Hän oli kuitenkin sitä mieltä, että Suomen naisissa
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Terhi Kiemunkia ei voi erottaa
Miksi Terhi Kiemunki pitäisi erottaa? On totta, että hän käyttäytyy rasistisesti ja oli jopa niin röyhkeä, että teki itsestään tutkintapyynnön osoittaakseen, että väitteet hänen rasistisuudestaan ovat vain poliittisten vastustajien solvausyritys. Syytteen hän sitten sai, vaikka luotti poliisin tukeen asiassaan. Kuljetusten järjestäminen ääriryhmien Rajat kiinni –mielenosoituksiin on ollut yksi toimi, jolla Kiemunki on osoittanut uskollisuuttaan ”maahanmuuttokriittiselle”
Read on »Two stories, two versions about an incident involving asylum seekers in Finland
Two stories, two versions. One by Migrant Tales where asylum seekers allege that a white Finnish driver in a GMC SUV tried to hit them and another one in Mikkeli-based Länsi Savo where the police suspect a traffic dispute that led to an argument where one asylum seeker got hit in the head.
Read on »The government of Juha Sipilä has failed with flying colors on its strategy to contain the rise of racism in Finland
There has been an interesting debate on hate crime in Finland. If we’d believe the government, hate crime and racism in Finland are a far-right phenomenon and of a few racist hotheads.
Read on »An Iraqi asylum seeker gets shot at twice in Kemi on Friday, police apprehend suspect
Migrant Tales understands that a twenty-one-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker was shot at twice on Saturday at 6pm by a suspected 50-55-year-old white Finn who lives in the neighborhood of Syväkangas in the northern Finnish city of Kemi. The victim wasn’t hurt by the incident and the police have reportedly apprehended the suspect.
Read on »Suomen hallitus ei ole vilpitön rasismin, uusfasismin ja väkivallan vastustamisessaan
Suomen hallitus ei ole tähän mennessä julkisesti ollut kovin rasistinen, vaikka hallituspuolueiden jäsenet ja äänestäjät sitä ovatkin. Vielä viime vuonna sisäministeri Petteri Orpo asettui Helsingin Sanomissa selkein sanoin perussuomalaisten rasismia vastaan: Tänä vuonna, kun Petteri Orpon olisi natsijärjestön jäsenen tekemän kuolemaan johtaneen pahoinpitelyn jälkitunnelmissa pitänyt, valtiovarainministerin arvovallan pönkittämänä, olla sanoissaan vielä selkeämpi, hän veti hyvin
Read on »Police now investigate the death of a young Iraqi asylum seeker in Finland
Migrant Tales reported Monday about the tragic death of a young Iraqi asylum seeker who allegedly took his life after his asylum request was turned down by the Finnish Immigration Service. While it’s been known since Sunday about the death of the asylum seeker, it is surprising how slowly the media and police operate.
Read on »Suomen ilmapiirin parantamiseksi tarvitaan järjestäytyneestä rasismista luopumista
Väkivaltaisten rasististen ja fasististen järjestöjen lakkauttamisesta on vihdoinkin alettu keskustella. SVL:n (Suomen Vastarintaliikkeen) toiminta on selkeästi lainvastaista ja on siis kiellettävä. Mutta on todettava, että se ei pysäytä rasismin ja väkivallan etenemistä Suomessa. Se ei pysähdy ennen kuin meillä on hallitus, joka ei salli tai jopa suosi rasismia ja väkivaltaa. Kaikenlaiselle rasistiselle toiminnalle Suomessa on
Read on »(Racism Review) More hostility to Spanish: An Arizona mayor
José Cobas Fort Huachuca City is a small community in Arizona (pop. 1900) located approximately 20 miles from the Mexican Border. Mayor Ken Taylor was upset when he received an invitation to a meeting of U.S. and Mexican border city mayors because it was written in both English and Spanish, or “Spanish/Mexican,” as he put
Read on »(Racism Review) Our post-truth culture: institutional and individual consequences
This presidential election has become the perfect storm of “post-truth” politics and racism. It is reflected by the fact that an unqualified “know-nothing” like Trump could be nominated as the Republican presidential candidate. Trump’s disregard for ethics, extreme egoism, and racist solutions to complex policy problems, which include banning all Muslims, building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, and bombing our enemies into the stone age, will have institutional and individual consequences if he is elected as the next president.
Read on »A belated response to racist comments by a member of the PS is half a response
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has been (surprise, surprise) in the past two weeks on the racist rampage against migrants and minorities. The first one was lodged on July 15 by PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen, who suggested that Muslims should be kicked out of Finland, followed by comments by Matias Turkkila (17.7), PS Youth leader Sebastian Tynkkynen, who parrots Hakkarainen’s call on July 19.
Read on »Migrants’ Rights Network: Brexit and potential human rights implications
A small majority of UK voters said that the UK should leave the EU in the referendum on 23 June. UKREN’s Alan Anstead looks at some of the main human rights implications of the UK government invoking article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and starting the countdown to leaving the EU.
Read on »Anti-immigration populist foreign ministers like Timo Soini are constantly trying to score brownie points with the voters
Populists like Finland’s Foreign Minister Timo Soini of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party are constantly campaigning. As we’ve seen in the disaster that Brexit inflicted on the United Kingdom, Soini too blows hot air and makes it up as he plays along with the media.
Read on »Oikeus elää – A Right to live الحق للعيش demonstration tomorrow at 4:00 pm in Helsinki (Narikkantori, Kamppi)
The Finnish government of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä has done everything possible to make asylum seekers feel unwelcome in Finland. On Friday, they tightened family reunification guidelines and recently did away with giving residence permits on humanitarian grounds.
Read on »MP Jo Cox’s death revealed and reminded how important our struggle against barbarism is
On Thursday, we heard about the tragic killing of Labor MP Jo Cox, which was a stark reminder of the things she warned us about like hate speech, racism and outright hostility towards migrants and minorities. All we can do when such a heinous act gives us and our democratic institutions a blow is to stand strong.
Read on »Petteri Orpo’s election as the new NCP chairman is a vote in favor of ever-tightening immigration policy and hostility against asylum seekers
National Coalition Party (NCP) Interior Minister Petteri Orpo victory over Alexander Stubb with 441 votes versus the former chairman’s 361 votes was a vote for Finland’s ever-tightening immigration policy and continued hostility against asylum seekers.
Read on »Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government is one of the most hostile ever towards migrants
Since when has a Finnish government tightened immigration policy the way Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government has? There was the last government that tightened family reunification guidelines but that’s all I can remember. Is Siplä’s government one of the most hostile towards migrants and our ever-growing culturally diverse society?
Read on »The story of the migrant with the fake Rolex who charges real prices for finding an apartment
An immigrant is wearing shiny shoes, a golden chain and a fake Rolex watch carrying a keychain and a wallet in one hand and a pack of cigarettes and mobile phone in the other. He’s one of the many migrants who’ve become middlemen in the real estate business.
Read on »Onko meillä käynnissä sota pakolaisia vastaan?
Onko auttaminen mahdollista vain silloin, kun autettavat eivät liikaa häiritse omaa mukavuutta? Miksi pakolaisten motiivit kyseenalaistetaan nyt, kun he ovat liikkeellä suurin joukoin? Eikö olisi silloin ollut tarpeellista kyseenalaistaa, kun paljon suurempi osa jäi kotimaihinsa? Eikö silloin ollut suuremmalla todennäköisyydellä niin, että siellä sittenkin pystyi elämään? Käytän tässä kirjoituksessa sanaa pakolainen kaikista ihmisistä, jotka ovat
Read on »Näkökulma: Tie muslimien suomalaisuuden riistoon
Tulin Suomeen kun olin kolme viikkoa vanha. Puoliksi suomalainen äitini halusi synnyttää minut Yhdysvalloissa, koska perheellämme on vahva intiaanitausta ja äitini päätti suosia perinteistä intiaanikotisynnytystä Länsi-Virginian vuoristossa. Kasvoin ja elin Suomessa, ja vaikka kasvoinkin yksilöksi, joka vahvasti omaksui piirteitä myös muusta kuin supisavolaisesta kulttuurista, koin aina vahvasti olevani myös suomalainen kaiken muun muassa. Monikulttuurisuuteni ei
Read on »Perussuomalaisia mielikuvia
Kun katsoo perussuomalaisten rasistisiiven jäsenen, Laura Huhtasaaren, seinällä tätä kuvaa, jolla häntä siellä nyt kannattajat haluavat mairitella, ei voi kuin hätkähtää selvää yhteyttä Neuvostoliiton aikaiseen propagandaan. Mitä kuva kertoo tavalliselle ihmiselle? Kova nainen, sotilaallinenkin, valmis annettuun tehtävään? Suomen demokratia ei kaipaa sellaisen tehtävän suorittajia, joiksi nämä perussuomalaiset ”roturealistit” ja valkoisen Elovena-tytön säilyttäjät ovat nyt asettuneet.
Read on »Laura Huhtasaaren väkivaltainen ja valheellinen politiikka
Kansanedustaja Laura Huhtasaari lausahti vastikään Helsingin Sanomille, että terroristit voivat käyttää hyväkseen ihmisoikeuksia. Niin hölmöltä kuin se kuulostaakin, niin totuushan on se, että Huhtasaari ja hänen vihatoverinsa tekevät juuri näin. He keräävät suosiota ja ääniä vaaleissa kertomalla meille, että valtaan päästyään ja vallassa pysyessään heillä on vakaa aikomus olla hyväksymättä yhtäläistä ihmisarvoa ja heikentää heille
Read on »Kansalaisten kiihotettuja pelkoja ei pidä ymmärtää
Suomen Kuvalehden haastattelussa kysytään eduskunnan puhemieheltä, mitä poliitikkojen ja erityisesti hallituksen tulisi tehdä tässä tilanteessa, kun vastaanottokeskuksiin tehdään iskuja, hän vastaa: ”Kansalaisten huolia ei saa väheksyä. Maahanmuutosta saa olla jotain mieltä. Turvapaikanhakijoiden osalta kaikki ei ole mukavaa ja auvoista. Tilanteella on muitakin seurauksia kuin satojen miljoonien eurojen kustannukset.” Kun lukuisat polttopulloiskut, pahoinpitelyt ja rakettien ampumiset
Read on »UPDATE: Finnish asylum center in Kempele is intimidated by local residents and moves to an undisclosed location
It is shameful that an asylum reception center in Kempele, where an alleged rape of a minor took place on Monday by a suspected 17-year-old asylum seeker, has caved in to pressure. Kempele is the hometown of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, who offered in September his home to asylum seekers.
Read on »Every suspected rape in Finland brings out the bigot from within
Every suspected rape committed by a foreigner is a threat to the migrant and visible minority community because it gives a boost to bigots and racists in Finland. It is also a perfect example of how a social media lynching takes place in Finland and how it boosts parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, which base their popularity on anti-cultural diversity rhetoric.
Read on »YLE poll: Support for PS of Finland takes another dip to 9.8%
A poll commissioned by the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) revealed more pain for the nationalist populist Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, which saw its support plummet below 10% to 9.8%. The party that gained the most in the poll were the Social Democrats, which saw their support rise by 2.4 percentage points to 20.7%.
Read on »Onko puolueiden allekirjoituksilla merkitystä?
Kun Suomen eduskuntapuolueet 14.10.2015 allekirjoittivat uudelleen edellisen kerran v. 2011 allekirjoitetun eurooppalaisten poliittisten puolueiden yhteisen rasisminvastaisen peruskirjan, eduskunnassa kuultiin kahdenlaista keskustelua. Kuultiin Nasima Razmyarin erinomainen keskustelunavaus sekä Petteri Orvon, Ozan Yanarin ja eräiden muiden kansanedustajien hyvät kannanotot. Mutta kuultiin myös omituisia heittoja siitä, että pitäisi määritellä, mitä se rasismi oikein on. Joku piti perussuomalaisten puoluetoimistoon
Read on »On vain yksi ääripää
Trollhättanissa käytiin eilen dialogia. Sen aloitti natsien sodanaikaiseen tapaiseen silmät peittävään kypärään ja mustaan asuun pukeutunut miekalla varustautunut nuori mies; Ikää 21 vuotta nimeltään Anton Lundin-Pettersson. Kantaruotsalainen. Olikohan tietoinen Suomen sananvapauden viikosta ja päätti sitten käyttää sitä ilmaisunvapauttaan. Tämän vallitsevan dialogi ja ymmärrys diskurssin mukaan sitten poliisikin edustaa sitä toista ääripäätä. Poliisi, joka eliminoi tämän
Read on »Suomalainen rasistinen vihapuhe – syitä ja ratkaisuja
Suomea vaivaa rasistinen viha ja vihapuhe sekä näiden mukana lisääntynyt rasistinen väkivalta. Väkivalta sinänsä ei ole uusi ilmiö Suomessa, joka on Euroopan neljänneksi väkivaltaisin maa ja lähisuhdeväkivallan osalta Euroopan nelonen. Koulukiusaaminen on iäisyysongelma eikä työpaikoillakaan vallitse kiusaamisvapaus. Henkinen väkivalta ei ole pikku juttu – saattaa olla jopa konkreettista pahoinpitelyä haastavampi asia. Sitä on vaikea toisille
Read on »Maa kaipaa asiajohtajia, ei rasistijoukkioiden hyysääjiä
Valtiovarainministeri Alexander Stubb ilmeisesti luuli osoittavansa eilen henkistä johtajuutta sanomalla eduskunnan kyselytunnilla, että hyökätkää te muutosvastarintaa tuntevat ihan rauhassa pakolaisia vastaan, olette hallituksen suojeluksessa. Ovathan he hyökänneet ja kyllähän he hyökkäävät: jo heti seuraavana yönä Lahdessa oli käytössä peräti Ku Klux Klanin asu. Viesti ei jäänyt kenellekään epäselväksi. Samalla lausumalla valtiovarainministeri antoi siunauksensa kaikelle sille
Read on »Tuleeko lehdistö palvelemaan rasismia kun turvapaikkahakijoiden määrää kasvaa Suomessa?
Kun Somalit tulivat Suomeen noin 25 vuotta sitten, erityisesti lehdistö ruokki vastakkain asettelun ilmiötä. Etupäässä olivat Ilta-Sanomat ja Karin pilapiirrokset Helsingin Sanomissa.
Read on »A red herring called Timo Soini and the PS
Do you think that Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman and foreign minister, Timo Soini, never mind his party, would care less about refugees if most of their energy goes into finding arguments on how to stop Finland’s ever-growing cultural diversity?
Read on »Because I am a girl
Sahar asuu Pakistanissa äitinsä ja viiden veljensä kanssa. Sahar on aina halunnut lääkäriksi. Siksi hän on opiskellut ahkerasti, kunnes kaikki muuttui. Saharin äiti ei enää uskalla päästää Saharia kouluun happoiskujen pelossa. Sitä ei enää katsota hyvällä silmällä – Koulunkäyntiä. Koska hän on tyttö. Kiinassa Bik syntyi maalla vähävaraiseen perheeseen. Vanhemmat toivoivat itselleen poikaa tulevaisuuden turvaksi,
Read on »Special! Buy your new Anti-Racism spray, “Olli”. In stores now! Buy one get one free!
Our dear friend Sademies recently came out with a business idea about creating a spray made of “Pig blood“, to spray on Muslim’s. Now, see…that ran me the wrong way. I’m Indian, and have multicultural friends from across the world. Chinese, Australian, Swiss, Egyptian, Turkish, Syrian, Finnish, Norwegian, Canadian, American and more. A few
Read on »UPDATE (June 10): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism
Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link. June 10 Suurlähetystö joutuu selittelemään Timo Soinia: “Ymmärretään usein väärin täällä Saksassa (Ilta-Sanomat) What’s wrong with this story? The headline offers us an answer to the latter question
Read on »Xenophobia and Islamophobia get to first base in Finland: And now, what?
Living in Finland after the April 19 parliamentary elections is like witnessing a coup where xenophobia and Islamophobia have strengthened their stranglehold on our country with the blessings of the Center Party and National Coalition Party (NCP). With the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* in government and the election of PS MP Maria Lohela as the new speaker of parliament send a disturbing signal to many Finns and especially to our ever-growing culturally diverse community.
Read on »The Third Eye – An avalanche starts with tiny pebbles
Alright, the Hitler comparison is a bit of an exaggeration, however, those little snippets that you see over the shameful blue background? They are true. True to the dot. Some people read horror stories, I read the news on Perussuomalaiset*, daily, and it gives me the jitters. Don’t get me wrong! There are many Nationalistic,
Read on »The Third Eye – Fascism through control
Helsinki substitute councilman Olli Sademies of the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset party stated on Facebook that Finland should carry out forced sterilization of new African refugees that move to the country. I am right now boiling with anger, and the numbers I am counting to calm down have gone over 100. Trying to be diplomatic in
Read on »While the rest of the world moves forwards towards gay rights, the Christian Democrats of Finland go the Putin way
Päivi Räsänen has a lot to say for herself. As a god fearing, christian woman, Minster of Interior for the Finnish government, and the official representative of the Christian Democrats, Her party managed to hold on to 6 seats, the lowest number amongst any Finnish political party. Yet, as we read this, instead of wondering
Read on »Facebook: Islamofobia Kuopiossa
Adam kirjoittaa: “En koskaan uskonut, että elämässä kohtaamani uusnatsien tappoyritykset sekä tiettyjen valittujen naapurien huutelut ja kostotoimet terrorismista jatkuisivat tällaiseen erittäin julkiseen vihantekoon omassa kotikaupungissani, tai kotimaassani Suomessa ylipäätänsä. Olen sanaton.” Kiitoksia Adam, että otit yhteyttä meihin. Enrique Tessieri This Facebook posting was reprinted by Migrant Tales with permission.
Read on »UPDATE (Mar. 30): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism
Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link. Mar. 30 Ilkan kysely: Lukijoista suurin osa ei halua pakolaisperhettä naapuriinsa (Ilkka) What’s wrong with this story and how does it reinforce prejudices about refugees? Ilkka of
Read on »UPDATE (Mar. 19): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism
Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link. Mar. 19 Enbuske & Linnanahde: Miksi “kansalaisryhmä x” raiskaa? (MTV3) What’s wrong with this ad promoting a TV talk show? Racism in Finnish journalism is more common
Read on »Musta taksikuski, joka on asunut 23 vuotta Suomessa joutui viharikoksen uhriksi
Tässä ikävä uutinen…
Read on »UPDATE (Mar. 11): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism
Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link. Mar. 11 Tapanilan raiskaus ja HS:n uutisointi – Mitä kertoa, kun epäillyt ovat jo kiini? (Helsingin Sanomat) Some bad and some good journalism. The police said
Read on »European racism is like a Cadillac but has the ability to appear and vanish
Racism is like a Cadillac, they bring out a new model every year. Malcolm X (1925-65) The story of the three Chelsea fans who are suspected of turning away a black person from entering a train on the Paris subway station of Richelieu-Drovat highlights the many “Cadillacs” and shades of racism in today’s Europe as
Read on »Contemporary Immigration in Greece: A sourcebook
Dr. Theodoros Fouskas, a lecturer at the New York College, Greece, is editor together with Dr. Vassileios Tsevrenis of a comprehensive book on immigration in Greece. As some are already aware, Greece has seen a surge in xenophobia due to the great number of refugees that enter the country from outside Europe. Dr. Tsevrenis is
Read on »UPDATE (Feb. 26): Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism
Migrant Tales’2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link. Feb. 26 Rasismi motiivina somalitaksikuskin pahoinpitelyyn Lieksassa? (Karjalainen) Why such an odd question in the headline? Migrant Tales has published, like the national media, a number of
Read on »Anonymous: Humanity ushers
By Anonymous Humanity humanity we speak of issues of humanity can`t stay tight-lipped against brutality spur reactions toward our predicament deliberate on issues of humanity humanity………………….……. humanity you are a fresh breath against worlds insanity enlightens on pervading concerns against humanity draw boundary between humanity and inhumanity you spell genuine surface of humanity quell
Read on »Racism Review: Islamophobia is a form of Racism
Jessie Daniels On Tuesday, three Muslim Americans were murdered by a white assailant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The victims, Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, were shot in the head by Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, a white man. Read original blog entry here. A “dispute over parking,” was what
Read on »Nuori musta nainen pienessä suomalaisissa kaupungissa
Suomalaiset ovat sitä mieltä, ettei rotusortoa heidän keskuudessa ilmene. Joseph Wandera Owindi* Joidenkin ns. kantasuomalaisten on vaikea tajuta kuinka musta nainen voi tulla kohdelluksi pienessä kaupungissa kuten Mikkelissä. Mustat naiset eivät ole ainoat uhrit, koska samat ennakkoluulot pätevät myös venäläisiä naisia kohtaan. ”Olen asunut Mikkelissä muutamia vuosia ja joka kerta kun lähden kodista usein keski-ikäiset
Read on »Racism as PS immigration policy
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* recently published their party program on immigration, which breaches human rights, is unconstitutional and outright racist. Even if Social Democrat MP Johannes Koskinen was quoted as saying on Oulu-based daily Kaleva that parts of the PS’ party program were in conflict with our constitution, there’s been too little reaction by mainstream political parties and
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Tehdäänpä perussuomalaiseen malliin tilastoista totta
Reijä Härkönen Hyvinkäällä oli vuodenvaihteessa asukkaita 46413, naapurikaupungissa Riihimäellä 29384. Vuosina 2013 – 2014 Riihimäellä sattui suojatieonnettomuuksia 13. Yksi niistä johti jalankulkijan kuolemaan. Samana ajanjaksona Hyvinkäällä sattui suojateillä myös 13 onnettomuutta, kuolonuhreja ei ollut. Mikä niitä hämäläisiä oikein vaivaa? Jos lasketaan suojatieonnettomuuksien määrä 1000 asukasta kohti, niin Riihimäellä autolla suojatietä ylittävien jalankulkijoiden ja pyöräilijöiden päälle
Read on »The motive of a suspected migrant who killed two people in Oulu will always be shrouded in mystery
The northern Finnish city of Oulu has seen its fair share of violence in recent years. Transexuals and city councillors are attacked, activists are pepper sprayed at gay pride events and a Muslim can be killed in cold blood in a pizzeria, while another one leaps to his death trying to escape attackers who forced their way
Read on »Racism Review: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie: A Critical View
To be frank, the magazine Charlie Hebdo deserves criticism, not praise—despite the horrific events that have unfolded. While I am certainly not condoning the murder of its staff members, I do find them guilty of Islam-bashing and inconsiderately expressing religious intolerance, cultural ethnocentrism, and extremely poor human judgment, issues that should be important to antiracists
Read on »Perussuomalaisen kunnallispoliitikon kolmen kuukauden ehdollinen tuomio puhuttaa
Markku Siitarin saama käräjäoikeuden tuomio kiskonnantapaisesta työsyrjinnästä ei ainoastaan valaise ulkomaalaisen työvoiman hyväksikäyttöä Suomessa, vaan lisäksi kuinka hukassa on Perussuomalaisten maahanmuuttovastainen retoriikka. Tuomittu Perussuomalainen kaupunginvaltuutettu sekä Mikkelin kaupunginhallituksen jäsen vastustaa jyrkästi maahanmuuttoa. Eduskunta vaalissa Siitari oli YLE:n vaalikoneessa yksi harvoista kansaedustaja ehdokkaista koko Etelä-Savosta joka oli ’täysin samaa mieltä,’ että maahanmuuttajien vastaanottamista ja tukemista verovaroin
Read on »Nura Farah: A blooming flower with a pen that many aimed to destroy
There is an interesting interview of Nura Farah, Finland’s first Somali-born writer, who speaks openly about growing up as a black person in this country from the 1990s, when even middle-school teachers took part in the racist bullying of non-white Finns. Racist bullying and racism are white privilege weapons used by this society to destroy
Read on »Migrants’ Rights Network: Eurosceptics make all the noise, but the real case for free movement and migration has yet to be made
Don Flynn* David Cameron’s vow last week to have ‘one last go’ at changing EU migration rules have dominated discussion in recent days. Commission president Manuel Jose Barroso’s comments are welcome, but the positive case for free movement needs to be made by principled politicians as well as EU officials. Read full posting here.
Read on »Turning a blind eye to racism is feeding Finland to the dogs
Do you want the secret to tame dog, destroy anti-immigration parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and challenge the deep prejudices in other political parties and society? The answer is to bust wide open the urban tales that are living off the fat of our prejudices. Apart from being illegal, a social ill like racism is destroying
Read on »A present for National Coalition Party MP Pia Kauma
Remember National Coalition Party MP Pia Kauma? Yes, the MP from Espoo, who pointed an accusing finger at migrant mothers claiming that they bought with social aid new baby carriages while Finnish mothers bought used ones. Kauma never backed her statements but at the end her claims were proven false and based on hearsay. Migrant Tales’
Read on »New dissertation about migrants sheds light on our ignorance and prejudices
Two news stories published this week highlight in my opinion why intolerance continues to dominate debate in these parts. The latest story published by YLE was about a dissertation by Annukka Muurin, which showed that multicultural, or third-culture Finns, speak Finnish better than their parents’ language. Isn’t this a pretty obvious finding if the child
Read on »Kokoomus MP still points accusing finger at migrant women for buying new baby carriages
Even if parliamentary elections are in April, some politicians, like National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP and Espoo city councilwoman Pia Kauma, are openly attacking migrants. She’s the conservative politician who stated on Friday that migrants shouldn’t buy new baby carriages with welfare money. Kauma got an opportunity on Monday to present her case on YLE’s A-Studio.
Read on »Racism is dirty and expensive business for any society
A study by the Ombudsman of Minorities in Finland reveals that over two thirds of Finnish Roma that were surveyed said they had experienced discrimination in the past year, according to a Migrant Tales story published Sunday. While these types of studies are needed and are highly important, they continue to remind us of a
Read on »Noticias Capital: Colombian undocumented migrant dies while in custody in Finland
A Migrant Tales visitor got in touch with us from Colombia and shared a sad piece of news about a twenty-six-year-old Colombian who died while detained by the police in a Finnish jail. The police claim that the young man, Sergio Camilo Becerra González, committed suicide but the parents suspect that he was a victim of
Read on »Anonymous, an immigrant woman: Moment in time
What would you say if the only treasure you have in life is what Anonymous calls the Mighty Pen? “The color [of the ink] doesn’t matter because appears on paper has strength,” she said. “It’s a normal pen but it has strength. Give a real picture of my life.” Migrant Tales has been in touch with
Read on »Migrants’ Rights Network: The anti-immigrant message stumbles, but who will come out on top?
By Don Flynn* Only a few days left before the vote in the European and local election poll. The anti-immigrant hardliners are taking flack after an inept radio interview performance by the leading Ukipper. But has the liberal mainstream the gumption to allow it forge past them with an optimistic message about diversity? For
Read on »An opportunist called PS MP Jussi Halla-aho of Finland
If there’s one politician who has successfully made a career by spreading racism and victimizing a group like Somalis in Finland, that politician is Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Jussi Halla-aho, who is running for MEP. Apart from playing on people’s fears about migration and cultural diversity, the PS MP is a very unthankful person. Read full
Read on »Migrant Tales kiittää “internet netsi” ja Scripta blogia
Syyskuu 8 päivä 2008 oli historiallinen Migrant Tales blogille. Silloin olin lähellä lopettaa blogini. Kaikki muuttui syyskuun 8 päivänä kun Migrant Talesia vastaan hyökättiin Scripta blogista. Eräs “internet netsi” ilmoitti meistä Scriptan seinälle: “Tuolta voitte lukea kuinka kamalan rasistinen maa suomi on, uskokaa ny!” Kiitoksia “Internet netsi”* ja Jussi Halla-ahon Scripta blogille, että annoit minulle voimaa jatkaa. Olemme tänään
Read on »Migrant Tales (July 20, 2013): 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 Finland,
Read on »Migrants’ Rights Network: Migrants are undermining working conditions? No – blame 30 years of government deregulation for that
By Don Flynn* There’s a lot more discussion nowadays about the exploitation and rock bottom standards in the way the British labour market operates. But it looks like we’ve needed the presence of migrants to show us all just how bad things have become. Read full blog entry here. The Institute
Read on »Meet the Somalis – the illustrated stories of Somalis in seven cities in Europe
The Open Society Foundations have recently published a fascinating set of seven illustrated stories, called ‘meet the Somalis‘, covering the experiences of Somalis living in cities across Europe. On November 21, this will coincide with the publishing of the Foundations’ research report “Somalis in Helsinki”. To quote the Foundation’s website: “The Somali community in Europe
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Roxana Crisólogo Correa – Hakaniemen tori (Finlandia)
Roxana Crisólogo Correa Me veo escribiendo frente a una ventana que no da a la calle de mi barrio polvoriento en el sur de Lima. Una ventana por la que tampoco se filtra el chillido de los muchachos que juegan fútbol, ni las quejas colorinches de los periódicos hablándonos desde una boca amordazada o desde
Read on »Maryan Abdulkarim: Ihminen ilman historiaa on kuin puu ilman juuria
Maryan Abdulkarim* Yhteiskunnan julkista kuvaa tarkasteltaessa ei heti havaitse, että Suomessa elää ja on pitkään elänyt useampia erilaisia etnisiä ryhmiä. Ennen kuin oli ketään muuta, Suomenmaata asuttivat saamelaiset. Sitten tänne alkoi saapua maahanmuuttajia, valkoihoisia ihmisiä, jotka puhuivat outoa kieltä. Saamelaiset ovat tänä päivänä etninen vähemmistö, joiden äidinkielet ovat uhanalaisia. Mitkä seikat ovat vaikuttaneet siihen? (Kuva:
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Sharp-eyed bird and Yellow Crocodile Kingdom (Part II)
By Dana Have you heard about the crocodile That has a kingdom of hate and lies? Have you heard about its angry eye That can only see in black and white? Have you been in the land of darkness Where soldiers spray sadness and weakness? Have you met a bird with big light wings
Read on »Confessions of a recovering racist
Society has achieved at least one significant victory in the fight against racism – it has succeeded in making open racism a dirty concept. The power of stigma that worked so effectively to reinforce racism has been harnessed to turn the tide against open discrimination – at least in polite society. Today, in most public
Read on »PS party secretary shoots herself in the leg on immigration and chauvinism
It’s pretty clear from an interview that new party secretary of the Perussuomalaiset (PS), Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, gave to newsmagazine Suomen Kuvalehti that she has shot herself so badly in the foot that she’ll never recover. Not only does her murky far right anti-immigration opinions follow her as a shadow, but affirmations like ”I’m a chauvinist”
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Suomi tai Suola, Saltland or Finland (Part II)
By Dana Before a storm everything looks great but it will come and it will break and destroy perfectly Wind will clean all happiness And trees will cry their best When a sun can’t make you happy And when a rain is a curse When a child is singing about death And old men and
Read on »Announcement: Youth and power are the focus of Helsinki African Film Festival this week
(Announcement) The annual Helsinki African Film Festival (HAFF) brings a selection of the best of African cinema to Finland for the fourth time this week. The festival has a broad range of films from all over the continent and this time both fact and fiction will be brought together by the overarching theme of Youth and
Read on »Bachmannstein: or, The Modern Icarus
A Finnish friend recently asked me why I chose to take an American angle with my inaugural post here on Migrant Tales, “Of Birds and Feathers: The PS, the Sweden Democrats, and Their American Bedfellows. What could political trends in America tell us what we don’t already know about the phenomenon of the PS and
Read on »Could Finland and the Nordic region see Golden Dawn-like fanatics in the future?
The news from Greece is getting more distressing as Golden Dawn neo-Nazi thugs continue to terrorize sensible Greeks, immigrants and other minorities with the collusion of the police. An investigative report by The Guardian exposes how bad things are in Greece at present and why matters will get far worse. Could we see something similar happening in
Read on »If I were a cartoonist: Timo Soini, the mad political chemist
If I were a cartoonist is a new series that aims to inspire other readers with artistic talents to depict Finnish politicians as well as other national and international personalities for what they are. Migrant Tales would be more than happy to publish your work. Timo Soini: The mad political chemist. Here’s the idea: On April
Read on »Growing up in Finland as an immigrant – a personal story!
D4R is a regular poster in the comments on Migrant Tales. We are very grateful that he has shared some of his experiences of growing up and dealing with discrimination in Finland. Here is the first part of a long comment he made on one post, which deserves to be read by as many people
Read on »Julian Abagond: What they do not teach you about anti-racism at American high school
The reason why I reposted this blog entry By Julian Abagond is to show how a country can down play the role of racism in its history. History erases history, right? Now consider a country like Finland, which doesn’t have such a terrible legacy. It must be pretty easy then to minimize the existence and
Read on »On human dignity
Do all humans have the same value and are all humans deserving of dignity? These are the questions asked by Jussi Halla-aho (hereafter J-Ha) in an old but now infamous blog post from 2005. J-Ha contended that only instrumental value is measurable and truly meaningful and that it is common sense to see the value of
Read on »PS’ Eerola now claims that Jyväskylä stabbing was probably staged
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Juho Eerola said that Wednesday’s attack by suspected neo-Nazi thugs at a book presentation in Jyväskylä was probably staged in order to sell more books, reports Turun Sanomat citing STT. Two of Äärioikesto Suomessa’s (Far right in Finland) three authors, Li Andersson and Mikael Brunila, were present at the event but
Read on »Pia Grochowski: The other side of ethnic cuisine
By Pia Grochwoski This month Six Degrees magazine ran multiple features on the theme of ethnic food and restaurants, “Dining with an Ethnic Twist: The popularity of ethnic restaurants in Finland continues to grow swiftly”. The proportion of ethnic restaurants in Finland continues to grow, making up 20% of the restaurant sector in Finland. It
Read on »How do you challenge racism?
Challenging a social ill like racism is no easy task. In countries like the United States, slavery was legal in some states for a very long time, between the sixteenth and nineteenth century. Despite the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) and the Thirteenth Amendment (1865), it took a Rosa Parks in December 1955 to ignite the Civil
Read on »Migrant Tales in Greek
Blog entries that are published on Migrant Tales get sometimes mentioned in some major publications like Time, Sveriges Radio, YLE’s Suora linja and others. One of the most recent reposts was by UNHCR in Greece, located in one of Europe’s hotbeds of xenophobia. The work we do on this blog got mentioned (in Finnish) on Re Vera
Read on »Crime statistics are used shamelessly by certain groups in Finland to label immigrants
Hannu Niemi, a Justice Ministry researcher, says that crime rates by immigrants in Finland have been exaggerated by the media, report Länsi Uusimaa and Uusi Suomi. He believes that there is a political aim by some groups to cite national origin in crime statistics in order to label whole groups. Migrant Tales spoke with Niemi in the spring, when
Read on »Police college of Finland: are they perpetuating hate?
What an irony. You would think that the publishing of hate crime statistics would be an annual opportunity to raise the profile of hate crime and also to renew efforts to prevent it. But no, the forums are alive with spurious interpretations of what it all means and even attempts to show that Somalis are
Read on »Hate crimes increase in 2011 in Finland: And now, what?
What do the 918 suspected hate crime cases in 2011 in Finland tell us about ourselves as a society and what should our reaction be to such a social ill? And now, what? Considering that the majority of crimes go unreported, it’s clear that hate crimes reported to the police are only the tip of
Read on »OECD: Progress is being made to integrate immigrants in the EU but more work needs to be done
While OECD countries have made progress over the last decade in helping immigrants to adapt to their new home countries, there’s still much room for improvement most notably in helping children to excel at school and employ more immigrant women, according to an OECD report. The proportion of highly educated immigrants in Finland had plummeted during the last decade by
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 »Two-way integration still has a long way to go in Finland
What is the aim of Finland’s new integration law, which came into force in September 2011? While the law talks about two-way integration, what does it mean and how is it promoted? Finland’s integration program is like an old abandoned Cadillac. It awakens our optimism but discourages us from acting because it is too costly to
Read on »PS’ Halla-aho eyes party leadership
Perussuomalaiset (PS) party far-right anti-immigration wing leader, MP Jussi Halla-aho, confirmed that he’s not ruling out vying for chairman of the radical populist party, according to MTV3, citing the Subin Enbuske & Linnanahde Crew TV show. ”I’m in parliament and city council because enough people want me in these places,” he said, ”if they want
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 »CHEATS!
PS candidate seeks to buy votes in local elections. The Board of Elections for the Tampere Region has reported a campaign advertisement to the local police for investigation on suspicion of electoral bribery. The advertisement was placed in the local newspaper Nokian Uutiset on behalf of Rauno Hautamäki, a candidate for the anti-immigrant Perussuomalaiset party. It promises that
Read on »Joseph: What being Finnish means to me (Part II)
This is part II of Joseph’s blog entry, What being Finnish means to me. Click here to see part I. By Joseph* …Later on I discovered rap music to deal with my feelings. There were just so many things wrong in this society that I saw all the Somalis and other foreigners not integrating well
Read on »Parliament debates practicalities of expulsion from Finland
Following a much-publicised nightclub shooting incident in downtown Helsinki about three weeks ago, the Finnish Parliament informally debated the problems of deportation on 11 October. Further views surfaced in the Finnish media on Sunday evening concerning how expulsion can be enforced in practice. The debate has focused on the problem that arises when no country is
Read on »A response to the Finnish Medical Association’s opposition to circumcision
Having read the Finnish Medical Association’s working group report on circumcision and its subsequent opposition on the grounds of ‘medical ethics’, I wish to present a critical view of their position, and hopefully to broaden this debate a little more. Their statement can be found here. I will group my main criticisms under five separate
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 »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 »PS candidate: Vote for me and I will solve the refugee problem from Africa with rice
“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 Migrant Tales has warned about how anti-immigration parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS) have launched a vicious campaign against immigrants and visible minorities. The attacks are
Read on »Somalia turns a new page of hope after its new president was elected
By Roble Bashir Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was elected on Monday to a four-year presidential term. There are plans to hold nationwide elections after his mandate ends in 2016. By then, every citizen will have the opportunity to vote for the candidate he or she supports. Even so, such a goal is a challenging task to
Read on »How to stand up to the Counterjihadists of Finland
Swedish-language daily HBL writes on Sunday that we must challenge the rhetoric of hatred by Counterjihadists. As everyone knows, the Counterjihadist hardcore in the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party comprises of three MPs: Jussi Halla-aho, James Hirvisaari and Olii Immonen. While many at Migrant Tales have valiantly challenged Counterjihadism in the past, populist radical right-wing rhetoric and hate
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary (Aug. 22, 2007): Pre-fall blues or where happiness lives
No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings. William Blake (1757-1827) Of all the seasons that pass over the Nordic region, possibly fall is the most magical. But what makes it stand out from the rest? Is it the pitch-darkness? Is it the vast universe above and its peppered celestial inhabitants
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 »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 »Are current levels of benefits for asylum seekers inhumane?
The German Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that current levels of benefits for asylum seekers in Germany are inhumane, according to Spiegel Online International. Are benefit levels in Finland, which amount to 290 euros/month, inhumane? For an asylum seeker in Finland who stays at a refugee center, the monthly allowance (lowered from about 400 euros in
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: شروع یا پایان Start or the end
By Dana شروع یا پایان مانده تنها یک قدم تا قصه عشق آه، اما ذره ای جرات نمانده مانده تنها یک قدم تا رمز قسمت آه، اماهستیم بدروده خوانده آن نگاه عاشق د لدار دانا شد جدا، ا ز من جدا، بی من بمانده نیست
Read on »My drunk friend
دوست مست من آخ که چقدر دلم تنگه برات ای خود من یه مردی را میشناسم که معتاده به آبجو؛ تا انجا که جا داره آبجو میخوره ، همیشه مسته ، همیشه گیج مثل دفتر سوشیال. اغلب میاد میشینه رو نیمکت جلوی ساختمان ما. تو سرما و تو گرما حتی وسط دل زمستون تو برف
Read on »Father is ur flower
Father has root in your memories. Father has contact with you, in your genes. He is there as a gift for you, for always, for he loves you and wants to be with you forever. So you are never alone, even when he dies. Family is best, Father is dearest. Father is
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 »Migrants’ Rights Network: Attitudes to immigration, polarisation or convergence?
By Juan Camilo Research published last month shows that attitudes to immigration in Britain are more polarised than in other countries, with older, poorer, and less educated people tending to have much more negative views than younger, well educated, financially secure and ethnically mixed people. Will a generational shift bring about more positive attitudes to
Read on »Onko suomalaisen työn suosiminen syrjintää: kyllä!
Onko perussuomalaiset koskaan kuulleet yhdenvertaisuuslaista? Todennäköisesti ette ole. Säästän teille kallista aikaa: Yhdenvertaisuuslaki 2 § Soveltamisala Tätä lakia sovelletaan sekä julkisessa että yksityisessä toiminnassa, kun kysymys on: 2) työhönottoperusteista, työoloista tai työehdoista, henkilöstökoulutuksesta taikka uralla etenemisestä; Tässä on linkki. Kysymys kansanedustaja Anssi Joutsenlahdelle: Miksi perussuomalaiset haluavat erityskohtelua ja miksi ette kunnioita lakeija vaikka vaaditte samaa
Read on »Who are the PS’ powerbrokers: Suomen Sisu or Timo Soini?
Perussuomalaiset (PS) party chairperson Timo Soini’s silence after the Supreme Court announced that it would fine PS MP Jussi Halla-aho for defaming a religion and inciting ethnic hatred, speaks volumes about the power struggles in the right-wing populist party. Who are the PS’ powerbrokers today: the extremist Suomen Sisu wing led by Halla-aho, or
Read on »Uusi Suomi: Länsimaiset arvot uhattuina
by Husein Muhammed* Kansanedustaja ja Eduskunnan hallintovaliokunnan puheenjohtajan Jussi Halla-ahon (ps) mielestä korkeimman oikeuden antama tuomio uskonrauhan rikkomisesta ja kiihottamisesta kansanryhmää vastaan on väärä ja epäoikeudenmukainen. Hän pitää medialle lähettämässään tiedotteessa Suomen korkeimman oikeuden ratkaisua “muutaman ihmisen henkilökohtaiseena tulkinta”, ei “minään taivaallisena totuutena”. Tähän asti Halla-aho on esiintynyt “maahanmuuttajien rikollisuudesta” huolestuneena kansalaisena ja poliitikkona. Nyt hän itse halveksii Suomen
Read on »Migrant Tales December 30, 2011: Timo Soini and the beast behind the sugar-coated words
Comment: It shouldn’t have come as any surprise that after the Supreme Court ruling to fine Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Jussi Halla-aho for defaming a religion and incitement against an ethnic group, PS chairman Timo Soini would end up eating his words. Soini said in 2009 that if Halla-aho was criminally convicted of racism, he’d be
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 »Maailman Kuvalehti: Kuka tahansa presidentiksi?
Husein Muhammed* Toukokuussa Euroopan turvallisuus- ja yhteistyöjärjestön (ETYJ) vaalitarkkailijat luovuttivat vuoden 2011 eduskuntavaaleja koskevan raporttinsa ja suosituksensa oikeusministeriölle. Samalla järjestettiin kuulemistilaisuus, johon osallistui eri puolueiden, ministeriöiden ja kansalaisjärjestöjen edustajia. ETYJ:n edustajat esittivät myös presidentinvaaleja koskevan suosituksen, joka ei kuitenkaan tilaisuudessa juurikaan herättänyt keskustelua. ETYJ piti valitettavana sitä, että Suomen perustuslain mukaan tasavallan presidentiksi voidaan valita
Read on »An email from a woman immigrant: Jungle law in Finland
Some foreigners and immigrants give birth to babies near-constantly and therefore are unemployed. After 15, 10 or 7 years they enroll in a Finnish-language course and complain that they don’t learn a thing. They claim that Finnish is too difficult to learn. Some Finns are more than happy to hear that their langauge is too difficult
Read on »University of Helsinki seeks research participants who are of Finnish descent and migrated to Finland as adults
Do you have Finnish roots and currently live in Finland, but were born and raised abroad? Participants are needed for a research study on people of Finnish descent who migrate to Finland in adulthood. In particular, those who have moved from Canada, the United States, Sweden and Russia are sought. If this sounds like you,
Read on »Family reunification: Interior Ministry calls for comments
The Finnish Ministry of the Interior recently published a working group report on the present state of family reunification of refugees and displaced persons in Finland. This report seeks to clarify the background to family reunification and to examine the prospects for amending the associated regulations. The report was prepared in response to the programme of the
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 »Rasismin määrittäminen
Melkein jokaista ihmistä kohden on eri määritelmä rasismista. Jos Suomessa on suunnilleen viisi miljoonaa ihmistä, joten meillä on suunnilleen viisi miljoonaa eri määritelmää rasismille. Tämä voi olla vahvaa karrikointia, mutta ei ole kaukana todellisuudesta. Jos aiomme taistella rasismia meillä on oltava vähintään, jokin selvä määritelmä sille mikä on rasismi. Rasismin voi ajatella Malcolm X:än
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 »Pointing the finger at racism! But then what?
A commentator recently asked us here at MT whether pointing the finger at racism will ever make it disappear. It’s a fair question and deserves a good answer. Other ideas that came up in the same comment thread discussed people’s reasons or justifications for not liking immigrants. The suggestion was that the reason for racism
Read on »Mitä monikulttuurisuus on?
Kansanedustaja Saarakkala (ps) näyttää kuvittelevan, että monikulttuurisuus olisi joku poliittinen agenda:
http://www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/2012050315527919_uu.shtml?fb_ref=flb&fb_source=home_oneline
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary – Finnish Immigration Service: Biting law نیش قانون
Finnish Immigration Service: Biting law نیش قانون By Dana تو میگریشن پلیس تنها بلایی تو میگریشن پلیس بد نا قلایی U migration police the only pain U migration police r underhanded تو میگریشن پلیس ظالم جفاکار تو میگریشن پلیس زشت و طلبکار U migration police are cruel, bring anguish U migration police are ugly
Read on »Robert Knox: Rotu on kaikista tärkein
Mikä on rotu yksi keskeisimmistä kysymyksistä mitä pitää kysyä. Käsitteenä rotu on hyvin nuori. Termi kehittyi 1600 ja 1700-luvuilla ”uudessa maailmassa”. Jos pitäisi määrittää jokin ideologia, joka olisi täysin eurooppalainen niin se olisi rasismi, nationalismi ja kommunismi. Muut ideologiat ovat enemmän tai vähemmän vain samojen vanhojen uskomuksien uudelleen muotoilua. Mitä muuta kapitalismi on, kuin hieno sana kuvaamaan ahneutta.
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: غریبه Garibeh (stranger, wanderer)
غریبه Garibeh (stranger, wanderer) By Dana کجایی اسمان پر ستارم کجا خورشید خانم شیرین نگارم Where r u my sky full of stars Where r u Ms. Sun, u sweet darling کجا ای مادر زیبای نازم کجا ای مهربانم دلنوازم دلنوازم Where r u my beautiful cute mother Where oh my kind, my hospitable
Read on »Maahanmuuttokriittyys vai pelkkää rasismia uudella kaavulla
Suomalaisia vaivaa värisokea rasismi. Kun haluamme olla rasisteja annamme asialle aivan uuden nimen. Esimerkiksi maahanmuuttokriittisyys. Jos siis olemme maahanmuuttokriittisiä niin eikö meidän sitten kannata sulkea rajat tai pysäyttää kaikki virolaiset. Virolaisethan on se suurin maahanmuuttaja ryhmä joka, tekee pimeitä keikkoja. Virolaiset ovat myös lukumääräiseksi suurin maahanmuuttaja ryhmä, ei somalit. Kuinka moni perussuomalainen olisi valmis tekemään sen. Tuskin kovinkaan moni koska, virolaiset ovat eurooppalaisia. Maahanmuuttokriittiset kohdistavat energiaansa väärään suuntaan jos ajatuksena on sosialipummien ajaminen pois tai työpaikka varkaiden kiinnisaanti. Jos se olisi tavoite niin heidän pitäisi matkustaa kolmanteen maailmaan ja alkaa kovalla äänellä taistella työsopimuksien ja niiden kunnollisen sisällönpuolesta. Mutta sehän nostaisi eurooppalaisten kesto- ja kulutustuotteiden hintoja. Maahanmuuttokriittiset eivät varmastikaan halua heikentää valkoisen rodun taloudellista ylivaltaa, eihän.
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Yearning never waits
I made one of the greatest discoveries of my life in 1998 at the Finnish Seamen’s Church of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Even if such pleasant interior landscapes no longer witness my silence and stance, they are now distant memories that have turned into spacious imaginary cities in the mind where each building has a tale to tell, whispering.
Read on »Don’t give racism a platform!
I’m fed up. I’m fed up of certain commentators visiting us here on Migrant Tales to spread lies and personal insults and to disrespect other cultures. Those that ONLY have terrible things to say about specific peoples (as opposed to cultural criticism) really are practicing extremism. How could it be otherwise? When we condemn totalitarianism,
Read on »In defence of Migrant Tales
Migrant Tales is under attack. The blog’s founder is receiving threats of violence, is being defamed and ridiculed in public forums, is being harassed even to the point of having his workplace invaded by defamatory communications. It is not an easy time for Enrique or his family and I feel compelled to say something about
Read on »Migrant Tales attacked
Migrant Tales was taken down by a terms of service complaint made to WordPress. We will be back and immigrants in Finland WILL find their voice on the internet. This time, we’ll take steps to make sure this cannot happen again. – the Migrant Tales team.
Read on »Cold war winds still chill Finland's ongoing debate on racism and social exclusion
The anger and surprise that Gerry Brownlee has stirred up in this country sheds light why debating an issue like discriminaiton is so diffeicult to accept by some Finns. The New Zealand minister sharply criticised Finland last week in an address in parliament. Is our anger due to our low self-esteem or to the cold war, when censorship and self-censorship were pretty much the rule?
Read on »Immigration – them and us
Them and Us? It could be kids talking about their parents, it could be groups of friends talking about each other, it could be one team talking about another team, one work department about another, workers about managers/owners, citizens about politicians, Leo’s about Virgo’s, the employed about the unemployed, the old about the young, city
Read on »Hommaforum stoops to new depths by "defaming" adolescent
Hommaforum is a forum closely linked to Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MP Jussi Halla-aho’s blog, Scripta, and to Suomen Sisu, a far-right extremist association. Even if Hommaforum and Scripta are only smears of hatred that splash on Finland’s good name, they don’t care whom they tar and feather as long as they have a good time. But to attack and defame publicly a brave adolescent, Rebecca Holm, who spoke out against racism, shows how low they will go to make their point.
Read on »Riittää jo rasismi ja "suvaitsevaisuus" – tarvitsemme dialogia!
Olemme keränneet rasisminvastaisen viikon ajan allekirjoituksia otsikon nimiseen julkilausumaan (www.adressit.com/julkilausuma), sillä mielestämme suomalaiseen kulttuuriin ei kuulu eikä sovi ihmisarvojen hierarkia. Tähän mennessä julkilausuman on kirjoittanut 730 henkilöä.
Read on »Nationalismi, etnosentrisyys ja rasismi
Nationalismi liitetään usein etnosentrisyyteen. Tämä yhdistämien osittain totta. Voimme sanoa nationalismin sikiävän etnosentrisestä maailman katsomuksesta mutta lapsi on kulkenut omaa tietä. Lapsi on ottanut rasismin karkkia ja mutaatioistunut joksikin aivan muuksi. Joksikin joka on erittäin eurooppalainen.
Read on »Finland’s cultural diversity debate: Patronizing a minority into complacency
One of the big issues concerning the ongoing debate on Finland’s ever-growing cultural diversity is that rarely are we asked our opinion. A good example was Friday’s Helsingin Sanomat, which asked only white Finns whether Finland understand the threat that racism poses and if such a threat is taken seriously.
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Poem – Beyond Recognition
BEYOND RECOGNITION Part I Jella played with the sand, spade digging earnestly at the dry earth. Jaref thrust out a hand, grabbing thief-like, as older brothers do. Jella cried. First in despair, but then in the corner of the yard, there under the peeling gable, standing troubled, forlorn, like a totem of the oppressed. Jaref
Read on »Selling malarkey by the pound in Finland's cultural diversity debate
I am always amazed by the malarkey and bravado expressed by anti-immigration, populist and nationalist groups when they speak of war, racism and censorship. They speak of these social illnesses as if they had first-hand experience even though they have never seen or been victims of war, racism and state censorship.
Read on »Finland’s darkest period: 2011-15
In the future, when Finnish historians with 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. A prelude to this sombre period between two parliamentary elections will be the municipal election of 2008 and how it reflected the negative mood of the country.
Read on »Defending religious bigotry – a case study!
This article is the final narrative of an exchange I had recently with a Migrant Tales’ commentator who goes under the handle of Elven the Archer. If you have read his very many comments on the Migrant Tales article “Why are Finland’s politicians still so silent?”, I think you will already be aware of his
Read on »Immigration and integration: What can we honestly expect?
Too many words and not enough understanding. That’s my assessment. And words can surely divide us. “I’m for this and against that…” sprinked with a dash of integration, assimilation, multiculturalism, and discrimination. And where does that leave us? Forget the debate for a moment, where does that leave us as people? Arguing, and ever more
Read on »Migrant Tales: "I hope what I write isn't true"
After about five years of existence, 887 blog entries (including this one) and over 20,140 comments, I would like to make a confession: Deep down inside I have always hoped that what I write isn’t true. Finland is a noble country and noble countries don’t even flirt with racism and xenophobia.
Read on »Why are Finland's politicians still so silent?
Have you heard anything from any government official or even a politician being outraged by what happened in Oulu and Perussuomalaiset (PS) councilman Tommi Rautio’s infamous suggestion that the killer of a cold-blooded death should be decorated? It took thirteen days for Rautio to get sacked from the PS. Silence, everywhere, again.
Read on »Milloin minusta tulee suomalainen?
”Olenko suomalainen?” on niitä kysymyksiä, jotka yhdistävät kaikkia toisen polven maahanmuuttajia. Mutta kaikista kipeimmin se koskettaa värillisiä. Kantasuomalaisten keskuudessa kuuluu välillä lausahdus maassa maan tavalla mutta mitä tämä sanonta oikeasti tarkoittaa.
Read on »Finland's PS executive board sacks one member from the party
After the muffled fanfare died down after the Perussuomalaiset (PS) executive board decided to feed Tommi Rautio to the lions, Timo Soini’s party has lowered the bar even further. It is ok today to be a PS member as long as you don’t condone violence.
Read on »Finland's ever-growing cultural diversity is an opportunity to overcome past fears
One of the matters that Finnish academics, politicians, policy makers never mind the general public missed out completely about our ever-growing cultural diversity is that our history and myths are hindering us to see the big picture. The official and unofficial response to our culturally diverse society appears to be a subtle “no.”
Read on »Multiculturalism is dead – long live multiculturalism
Warning: this article quotes racist profanity by way of illustration. Apologies in advance if you find it offensive. The King is dead – long live the King! So runs the traditional proclamation when the monarch dies, only to be reborn magically through the next heir. The irony of listening to politicians line up to proclaim
Read on »Three anti-immigration PS MPs will pay Hirvisaari's fine for hate speech
Three far-right anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) MPs, Juho Eerola, Jussi Halla-aho and Olli Immonen, announced today in a statement that they will pay PS MP James Hirvisaari’s 1,424-euro fine slapped for hate speech by a Kouvola court in December. The statement, which was signed the three PS MPs, states that the fine was politically motivated.
Read on »Your story – the story of who you are!
Migrant Tales implies just that, stories about migrants. Stories go a long way in defining who we are. We tell the story of our life, our journey, our relationships, our belonging, and our struggles, hopes and triumphs. Through sharing, we can achieve also belonging. By properly hearing a story, we learn of the world and
Read on »Another scandal is brewing thanks to the Perussuomalaiset
Another scandal involving the Perussuomalaisete (PS) party is brewing on the net after councilman Tommi Rautio and MP Teuvo Hakkarainen. At the eye of the political storm is Jani Viinikainen, a PS Pirkamaan region board member, who has now founded an anti-Roma Facebook page called Mannat kuriin (Let’s put Gypsies in line)!
Read on »PS red faces (again) after MP Hakkarainen's latest scandal
The latest scandal caused by none other than Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MP Teuvo Hakkarainen has caused agan a number of red faces in Timo Soini’s party. Hakkarainen was in such a drunken state, according to Nelonen, that he ended up at the premises of a Bandidos motorbike club and gave a prostitute 100 euros out of pity.
Read on »The Finnish media and Länsiväylä should follow Migrant Tales
Migrant Tales was way ahead of the ball of the Finnish media when it scooped the ethnic backgrounds of the violent killing that occurred on Friday February 17 after a naturalized Finn who was born in Somalia went to his high school prom. Länsiväylä claims incorrectly that the police have now confirmed the ethnic backgrounds of the victim and the suspect, who is a white Finn.
Read on »Wikileaks document warns of neo-Nazi (far-right) anti-immigration groups in Finland
A Wikileaks document reveals a disturbing perception that Migrant Tales has expressed concern: the threat of far-right anti-immigration groups in Finland like the Suomen Sisu faction in the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party. In the presidential election, all of the candidates except for PS’ Timo Soini, Sauli Niinstö of Kokoomus and Christian Democrat (KD) hopeful Sari Essayah, stated in an MTV3 poll that the far right does not pose a threat to Finland.
Read on »Timo Soini's little PS fish and big PS fishes
The PS councilman Tommi Rautio scandal, where he stated on Facebook that he’d decorate the Finn who killed a Moroccan native in cold blood at a pizzeria Oulu, is turning into a messy Breivik-type watershed for the Perussuomalaiset (PS). The concern raised by PS chairman Timo Soini, and how the Rautio scandal has already impacted the party’s popularity internally and externally, is clear in its new non-convincing get-tough stance on racism.
Read on »The "us"-and-"them" smoking-gun statement that once justified mass murder in Europe
One of the matters that surprises me about some Finnish politicians is how they continue to flirt with ideologies that led Europe to its destruction in the 1940s. The younger they are, and the further they are in time from fascism, the more some flirt and idolize this ideology. To them I would like to give them a quote by Rudolf Hoess, the notorious commandant of the Aushcwitz concentration camp during 1940-43.
Read on »Migrant Tales blog: Trolls can distort your view of other groups
Migrant Tales has seen a lot of traffic as of late. Every day we see as well more trolls knocking at our door and some of them do get through.
Read on »Thank you Oulu for demonstrating and standing up for your rights!
Migrant Tales would like to thank all those people who marched in Oulu and Helsinki on Friday against the violence that gripped Oulu last weekend and give simultaneously the thumbs down to the chicanery of others, like Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP from Oulu Olli Immonen, who has warned us about a “culture war” between white Europe and Islam. Is this the first chapter of the war that Immonen seeks?
Read on »A new view of our diversity as a society is needed by the Finnish police
The violence we have witnessed recently against immigrants in cities like Oulu and Espoo Leppävaara put into question the claim that hate crimes fell by 15% in 2010, according to the Police College of Finland. Apart from raising worrisome questions about the present direction of our society it looks at the role of the police.
Read on »Soini and the PS to ban "racists" from running for office
In light of the recent scandal that has rocked the Perussuomalaiset (PS), party chairman Timo Soini now promises to banish “racist” candidates from taking part in the municipal election of October 28, according to Helsingin Sanomat, citing Swedish-language daily HBL. Can we and should we believe Soini’s latest promise?
Read on »Migrant Tales gets mentioned on YLE's Suora linja
Migrant Tales was mentioned Wednesday on YLE’s Suora linja, a television program. It picked out one of our bloggers, Depressed 4 Reason. Judging by the traffic we are getting from January, our blog will continue to grow significantly this year.
Read on »MTV3: Poliisi pelkää kostoa Espoon taposta – Tekijä on kiinni
Poliisi pelkää koston kierrettä Espoon Leppävaarassa perjantaina tapahtuneen väkivaltaisen tapon seurauksena. Tutkinnanjohtaja, rikoskomisario Rauli Salonen kertoo Espoon lähipoliisien kautta tulleen tietoa, että nuorten keskuudessa on ilmennyt kostomentaliteettia henkirikoksen vuoksi. Taposta ja sen tekijöistä on liikkunut paljon huhuja, joiden hän sanoo olevan virheellisiä.
Read on »Zuzeeko's blog: Finland – Shooting of Immigrants in Oulu pizzeria must be condemned
In a country where a Member of Parliament for the Perussuomalaiset (PS) political party can openly use racist and derogatory language (video) against Muslims and people of African decent and is not forced to resign as representative of the people, it is easy to conclude that racism is deep-seated. However, any racially motivated shooting or killing must be unequivocally condemned in the strongest terms by all people of goodwill.
Read on »Facebook PS killer "medal" scandal: Shame on Timo Soini and the police
Thanks to exemplary action of some Finns, who are shocked by the tolerance for racism, is what led to the downfall of Perussuomalaiset (PS) city councilman Tommi Rautio. If blogger Ossi Mäntylahti would not have pasted on his Facebook pages what Rautio had said, the PS politician wouldn’t have dug his own political grave.
Read on »Uusi Suomi blog: Aina hyväntuulinen Ismael, joka kuoli
Ismael kuoli lauantaina. Kuolinsyy: luoti päähän. Ismael oli ujo 21-vuotias, aina hymyilevä ravintolatyöntekijä, jonka harrastuksiin kuului pelata perjantaisin jalkapalloa.
Read on »Finnish police confirm ethnic background of second death on Friday
The Finnish police have confirmed to Migrant Tales that the second death of a young man to be a naturalized Finn who was born in Somalia. The young man lost his life on in Espoo on Friday. It is the third killing of an immigrant in just over three weeks.
Read on »Facebook PS "medal" story update: Rautio may be sacked from party
Tommi Rautio’s statement on Facebook that he would give a medal to the Finn who shot two Moroccan workers at a pizzeria in Oulu Saturday night “because we are at war,” has become quite a sensation on the Internet but all for the wrong reasons. The Perussuomalaiset (PS) may sack Rautio for his racist comments that not only condone but encourage violence against immigrants.
Read on »Populist PS of Finland: Living and dying by the political sword
The chairman of the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS), Timo Soini, has stated publicly on numerous occasions how racism and hate speech should have no role in his party. He has said that those who wander down such a questionable path will end up being devoured by their hatred.
Read on »Facebook: ”If Janne is the one [who shot the foreigners at the pizzeria] then we should give Janne a medal”
Here is an excerpt of Tommi Rautio’s Facebook page about the tragic shooting at a pizzeria in Oulu, Finland, which killed one Moroccan worker and a former owner. ”If Janne is the one [who shot the foreigners in the pizzeria] then we should give Janne a medal”
Read on »Facebook: “Jos Janne on ampuja niin kunniamerkki Jannelle”
Tässä Tommi Raution Facebook sivulla hän kirjoittaa Oulun pizzeria Monacossa tapahtuneesta: “Jos Janne on ampuja niin kunniamerkki Jannelle.”
Read on »Another tragic killing of an immigrant in Finland, in Oulu again
This is the third story in a span of over two weeks where an immigrant has died violently. The latest tragic event took place in Oulu, where a Somali national fell off the sixth floor trying to escape three Finns that barged into his home. A Finn entered a pizzeria in Oulu and shot dead an immigrant worker and injured the owner after he took his life.
Read on »guardian.co.uk: Latvians reject Russian as official language
Latvian voters have resoundingly rejected a proposal to give official status to Russian, the mother tongue of their former Soviet occupiers and a large chunk of the population.
Read on »Forgiving our past enemies and mending relations with new ones in Finland
I have never understood why some Finns are capable of expressing so much hatred for religious groups like Muslims, Somalis, blacks, and especially the Romany minority and Russians. Even if the Continuation War (1941-44) ended 67 years ago, some of us still sound as if we were in those trenches waiting for the enemy to attack.
Read on »Somali death in Finland: The problem that constantly mocks at us
Migrant Tales was saddened to be tipped off that apparently another Somali national had died violently now in Espoo after it reported the tragic death of a Somali national in Oulu. The shock and outrage of the Somali community of the death of one of its members reveal their mistrust for white Finnish society and the authorities.
Read on »Another Somali youth dies this time in Espoo, Finland
Only about three weeks after the tragic death of a Somali national in Oulu, when he attempted to escape from three Finns that barged into his home, Migrant Tales has heard yet another death apparently of a Somali youth in Espoo, who died Friday morning.
Read on »Monitori: Maahanmuuttajista vain viidennes löytää vaaliuurnille
Maahanmuuttajien äänestysaktiivisuus on pysynyt Suomessa alhaisena siitä asti, kun ulkomaan kansalaiset saivat ensimmäisen kerran äänestää kunnallisvaaleissa vuonna 1992. ”On huolestuttavaa, jos äänestämättä jättäminen ei perustu päätökseen vaan tiedonpuutteeseen tai syrjäytymiseen”, toteaa oikeusministeriön erikoissuunnittelija Niklas Wilhelmsson.
Read on »"Real" Finns were, are and will be culturally diverse Finns
People who think that only white Finns are “real” Finns are, in my opinion, seriously mistaken. They represent a modern segregated view of society we saw in the United States before the 1960s and in worst cases in South Africa before 1994. The “Only Whites” sign isn’t posted on doors these days but shines constantly in their minds.
Read on »La Prórroga: Los sudacas dan consuelo a los “refugiados del euro”
Al principio me resistí a leerlo. Pensaba que era un reportaje más, de los que circulan por estos días, politizando con el hecho de que los españoles tienen que salir de su país en busca de trabajo. Pero pasados unos días me reencontré con él y le di una oportunidad.
Read on »Finland Bridge*: Living in Finland
Adapting to a country like Finland felt sometimes like sojourning on a long and winding path. Despite the many curves and uncertainties, there was one matter that gave me strength to continue on my journey: My lifelong wish to live in this country. I could have never succeeded by myself and without the friendship and support of so many people.
Read on »Demand your right to be a Finn on your own cultural and ethnic terms
One of my biggest problems in understanding institutional racism in Finland was that I accepted being a member of such a social ill. Even if I had every right to claim Finnish identity from my mother’s side, I did not do so because I reinforced with my silence the stereotypical and even racist views that some Finns held about non-Finns.
Read on »A possible cartoon depicting white privilege in Finland
The cartoon below pictures pretty well how white privilege works in the United States, according to Bicultural Mom. How would the same cartoon look if we’d draw it for Finland?
Read on »UN and ECHR stop Finland from deporting torture victims
The European Court of Human Rights and the UN Committee against Torture have stopped the deportation of a number of asylum seekers in Finland in the last months, reports Helsingin Sanomat. Calls by different NGOs to the end to such deportations appears to have had an impact.
Read on »CEO Whalroos claims the social welfare system marginalizes Finns
Björn Wahlroos, chairman of the board of banks Sampo Group, Nordea and forest group UPM-Kymnmene, was quoted on Sunday’s Helsingin Sanomat as stating that the present social welfare state system is the main culprit for marginalizing Finns. He said that outgoing President Tarja Halonen had put a dent in the credibility of the executive branch by polarizing Finnish society.
Read on »There is hope if racism thrives on ignorance and isolation
If racism thrives on ignorance and isolation, then there is hope but a lot has to be done. Instead of lowering oneself to the diatribe and hatred of anti-immigration groups, we must strive to find solutions. People who spread racism are by no means infallible. Racism is like Dracula. Not only does it live on by infecting the person, it cannot stand the light of day.
Read on »It's hard for some to see racism when you are a white Finn
What does Finnish white privilege mean? Does it mean controlling almost all political, economic and social power in Finland? How do we address the issue?
Read on »Labor immigrants in Finland: Who exploits whom?
Remember when some politicians pointed the finger accusingly at labor immigrants because they would fuel racism? Remember how these politicians claimed that immigrants would work for a pittance and thereby drive wages down? A story published by Kauhajoki-lehti reveals how Swedish construction group Skanska exploited its employees at a construction site by paying them 4-euro hourly wages and a bowl of rice every day.
Read on »Politicians in Finland who "shop" for your anti-immigration vote
The level of debate in Finland concerning immigrants and cultural diversity is still far from Freidman’s quote. Politicians who denigrate and insult immigrants and refugees as “welfare shoppers” hide the real motive behind their ludicrous claim: They are shopping for your vote.
Read on »Multiculturalism: An outlook on life that dare not speak its name…..
Remember the prime minister’s speech in Munich attacking multiculturalism exactly one year ago? We take a look here at the way opponents of his ‘muscular liberalism’ thesis have been considering the issue in the 12 months since..
Read on »Harassment and abuse of Somalis in Finland picked up after the election
In many respects, the treatment of Somalis in Finland sadly reminds me of how blacks in the United States were excluded from society in the 1960s, when the civil rights movement was in full swing. Like in the United States, racism in Finland not only threatens our values as a society but questions who we are as a nation and people.
Read on »Debate on racism against the Somali community in Finland resembles a dead battery
Taking into account the hostility and racism that Finland’s Somali community suffers, the news isn’t about racism that such nationals experience but how little has been done to address the issue. A story on YLE news Monday brings to light (again) what we all know about the country’s fourth-largest immigrant community: racism and exclusion are the rule, not the exception.
Read on »Migrant Tales 2009: Being an immigrant in Finland – a letter from Ida
The Migrant Tales blog gets emails from people who speak with hand on heart about the challenges they face as immigrants or Finnish with international backgrounds in our society. Here is one of these published in November 2009. The real name of the person has been changed. Here is a letter from Ida:
Read on »If you see racist abuse in public, film it and send it to Migrant Tales
It’s pretty clear that silence is an ineffective way to address a serious social ill like racism. We can do a lot more. Filming passengers being attacked verbally in public, like those published on Mail Online, is a good way to drive home the message that we won’t tolerate this type of behavior and abuse from anyone.
Read on »Migrant Tales wants to hear your story
Thanks to you, Migrant Tales has achieved one of its most important aims: “To be a voice for those whose views and situation are understood poorly and heard faintly by the media, politicians and public.” In order for our voice to be heard by politicians, civil servants and the general public, we would like to publish more stories about your experiences in Finland.
Read on »Kokoomus' Sauli Niinistö is Finland's next president
Kokoomus presidential hopeful, Sauli Niinistö, won by a wide margin his rival Pekka Haavisto of the Green Party, according to YLE. With 99.9% of the votes tabulated, Niinistö won 62.6% of the vote compared with 37.4% for Haavisto.
Read on »Finns vote today for their next president
While the biggest victor of today’s presidential election in Finland is democracy, I cannot help but look way past the awaiting fanfare of Sunday evening , when we’ll be hearing the victory speech of either Pekka Haavisto of the Green Party or Kokoomus’ Sauli Niinistö.
Read on »Irish Examiner: Anti-immigrant or racist political rhetoric ‘must not go unchecked’
An example needs to be made of politicians who make negative comments about immigrants if Ireland is to avoid going down a route of an “accepted rhetoric or racism”, Integration Ireland has warned.
Read on »JD’s first post
A letter from the brother of the Somali victim of Oulu, Finland
Migrant Tales was surprised Thursday evening to get a message from the brother of the Somali victim who died tragically in Oulu, Finland, this week after trying to flee from three people who barged into his home with a metal pipe. At the most, the three suspects will be charged with manslaughter (kuolemantuottamus).
Read on »Immigrant youths have greater chances of being marginalized in Finland
The number of magainalized youths is especially pronounced among immigrant youths aged 15-29, reports YLE in English, citing a study by think tank Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA) . The study claims one out of every third youth with immigrant background is marginalized compared with one out of eight youths nationally.
Read on »Why write about a Somali immigrant who died in Oulu, Finland?
One of the matters that has surprised me most after Migrant Tales scooped more information about the tragic death of a Somali national in Oulu Monday is total disrespect for the victim. Finland and the Nordic region have not been the same after the April election and when Anders Breivik went on the rampage in Norway in July killing 77 victims.
Read on »OP-Pohjola-Group Kangasniemi only serves customers in Finnish and Swedish
Below is an incident that happened at at the offices of insurance company OP-Pohola-Group in Kangasniemi, a small town located between Mikkeli and Jyväskylä. The letter is a complaint to the company for refusing to offer service to a man because he did not speak Finnish or Swedish.
Read on »Police unlikely to pin hate crime on the death of a Somali in Oulu, Finland
The police announced Wednesday that the eighteen-year-old Somali national who died in hospital Tuesday slipped from the sixth floor while trying to escape after three people had barged into his home, according to tabloid Iltalehti. Migrant Tales spoke with Seppo Leinonen of the Oulu police, who said it was unlikely that the death was the result of a hate crime.
Read on »Somali victim of Oulu, Finland: The tragedy that brings us closer to the problem
The reaction and threads concerning the tragic death of a Somali national in Oulu, Finland, Tuesday after three white Finnish suspects entered his home by force reveals the strong divide between “us” and “them.”We still have a long ways to go as a society to deal with social ills like discrimination. Paradoxically, tragedies like what happened in Oulu bring us ever-closer to the issue.
Read on »UPDATE 2: Somali young man leaps to his death in Oulu, Finland
The Oulu police have now admitted as Migrant Tales did first in Finland that the victim who leaped to his death from a sixth floor was a Somali. Kaleva, the Oulu daily, quotes Antti Räsänen of the police stating that “nothing points to racism [hate crime] but we haven’t ruled out that possibility.”
Read on »UPDATE: Somali young man leaps to his death in Oulu, Finland
The cause of the death of a Somali male in Oulu on Tuesday appears to be as Migrant Tales correctly reported a hate crime involving three Finns who entered the man’s home by force and caused him to leap from his sixth-floor apartment balcony. The young man died the same day later in hospital.
Read on »Somali young man leaps to his death in Oulu, Finland
The cause of the death of a Somali male in Oulu on Monday night is still unresolved after he leaped to his death from his sixth-floor apartment balcony. Police have not confirmed the cause of death but neighbors contacted by Migrant Tales claim that the eighteen-year-old was attacked by a group of Finns who had entered his home by force
Read on »Adolescent says visible minorities get attacked "several times a week" in Finland
Rebecka Holm, the fourteen-year-old who rallied enough courage to write a letter to the editor of HBL, says in an interview on the Swedish-speaking daily asks an important question: “If Finland is now the most secure and stable country [in the world], why do people of [different] ethnic backgrounds are being attacked every day?”
Read on »LiveScience: Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice
There’s no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a new study that is bound to stir public controversy. The research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults.
Read on »Finland's growing image abroad now hinges on racism and intolerance
The lead story in Sunday’s Helsingin Sanomat is about how racism and intolerance have tarnished Finland’s image abroad, according to a survey of Finnish expats living in different countries. Even if the daily blames the rise of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party for our country’s questionable image abroad, the real culprits are none other than us.
Read on »The Migrant Tales Manifesto (for Finland and Europe)
Thanks to the growing number of supporters, Migrant Tales has become that “voice for those whose views and situation are understood poorly and heard faintly by the media, politicians and public.” During these past years we have read and debated many points of views and have complied them on a list below.
Read on »guardian.co.uk: Stephen Lawrence's mother says No 10 must do more on race
Doreen Lawrence has said David Cameron’s government is not doing enough to tackle racial prejudice, which continues to blight society, and has warned that spending cuts will hit working-class and black Britons the hardest.
Read on »Cultural diversity needs proactive solutions not populist whining
The many threads on Migrant Tales mirror what is wrong with the ongoing debate in Finland and our ever-growing cultural diversity. On the one side we have those who cannot do anything else but complain while the other side looks for solutions.
Read on »A good immigration integration policy for Finland and Europe
One of the biggest challenges to Finland’s new integration program is how well it promotes what it set out to do. How passionate are we Finns about ethnic and minority equality in this country if the most important piece of the puzzle is still missing: the big picture and what place new Finns and their children have in our society.
Read on »MTV3: Suomalaiskirjailija: Adoptioprosessi Suomessa oli helvetillinen ja epäreilu
Suomalaiskirjailija- ja toimittaja Umayya Abu-Hanna muistelee kauhulla yli neljä vuotta sitten päättynyttä adoptioprosessia Suomessa. Abu-Hanna onkin muuttanut Hollantiin, jossa hänen mukaansa adoptioperheen on parempi olla kuin Suomessa. – Adoptioprosessi Suomessa oli helvetillinen ja epäreilu. Toiminta ei ole yhtään läpinäkyvää. Adoption perustelut eivät ole ollenkaan tiedossa, Abu-Hanna kertoo MTV3 Uutisille.
Read on »Migrant Tales 2008: Being an immigrant in Finland. A letter from Ida
I am an immigrant. Sometimes I feel so frustrated in Finland that I just wanted to ‘give it back to the society’. Hence the crime. People like me (hypothetically) acting out of frustration. If the mentality here is that no foreigners are good and only a tiny fraction of people like Juha, the social worker, understands and/or appreciates diversity it doesn’t help much because the general society isn’t open=minded. I would even call racist.
Read on »How big of a blow was the presidential election of Finland to Soini and the PS?
Does the defeat of two anti-EU politicians, Center Party’s Paavo Väyrynen and Timo Soini of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, on Sunday suggest a shift from last year’s parliamentary election that was fueled by anti-EU and anti-immigration sentiment? Even if the municipal election in October will offer us a good answer to that question, yesterday’s election result does show a major shift.
Read on »UPDATE: (Almost) no cliffhangers in today's presidential election in Finland except for one
With all of the votes counted, the presidential election went pretty much as the polls had predicted. Kokoomus’ Sauli Niinistö, the front-runner, won with37.0%. Second place was a head-and-head race, a semi-cliffhanger, with Pekka Haavisto of the Greens (18.8%) beating Paavo Väyrynen of the Center Party (17.5%).
Read on »No cliffhangers in today presidential election in Finland
Finns go to the polls today vote elect their next president. Opinion polls reveal that Kokoomus’ Sauli Niinistö is the front-runner followed by a close neck-and-neck race between Pekka Haavisto of the Greens and Paavo Väyrynen of the Center Party.
Read on »Let's keep Finland a good country to live in
When I grew up in Finland during part of my childhood and adolescence one matter became clear: I wanted to move here permanently when I became an adult. How did I succeed at making a living in Finland back in the 1980s and beyond?
Read on »guardian.co.uk: Australia set to recognise Aborigines as first people of continent*
Australia is poised to make historic changes to its constitution, recognising Aborigines as the country’s original inhabitants and removing the last clauses of state-sanctioned racial discrimination.
Read on »We must fight for greater cultural diversity representation in our democracy and society
When I grew up in the United States, most if not all of our most popular television series kept us doped in a fantasy world where the only people that counted were white Europeans who spoke English. We read history as well but there was too little about the “other” USAmerican: immigrants, Hispanics, blacks, Native Americans and a long list of other groups that built the United States.
Read on »The "Winter War" that visible minorities face in Finland
Even if we speak proudly about the heroism of the men and women who fought against a formidable foe in the Winter (1939-40) and questionable Continuation War (1941-44), many Finns with culturally diverse backgrounds are facing today a different yet similar kind of war on a daily basis. One of these “veterans” is fourteen-year-old Rebecka Holm, who published her moving story on Swedish-language daily HBL.
Read on »Who remembers Ulla Pyysalo and her links to the neo-Nazi PVL?
Remember Ulla Pyysalo, Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MP Juho Eerola’s aide? She’s the one who got her fingers burned when her name appeared on a hacked membership list of the neo-Nazi Kansalinen vastarintaliike (SVL). Pyysalo said that she would resign if she found a new job by the end of last year. Well, folks, surprise, surprise… My sources in parliament tell me that Pyysalo is still working for Eerola.
Read on »Is full integration and ethnic equality possible in Finland?
What would happen if different ethnic groups switched their roles in society and promoted their history and justification of the domination of other groups? Below is a satirical video clip about that switched view of white Australia’s ongoing program of racisim and oppression of black indigenous people.
Read on »Colorlines: How to Be a Racial Justice Hero, on MLK Day and All Year Long
As we celebrate a new year and another Martin Luther King holiday, it’s a good time to reflect on how you can be part of some positive change in the year ahead. Rather than the typical resolutions, which can get a bit self-absorbed, why not resolve to step up your game in making social change? The good news is that you already have everything you need, just as you are, to become a powerful force for racial justice. You can be a Racial Transformer.
Read on »Immigrant employment: Pessi Ilmari, job hunting & a possible future in Finland
So, another one. This seems almost therapeutic at the moment, so am going to carry on while I still have the impetus to do so. I was going to do a separate job-hunting & Finland blog, but as they are kind of inter-linked it makes sense to combine them in to one.
Read on »Finland and the far-right threat posed by Halla-aho and Niinistö
Social Democrat Party presidential hopeful, Paavo Lipponen, has been the most outspoken candidate about the threat of the far right in Finland. On a television debate Thursday, he accused Perussuomalaiset (PS) party far-right MPs like Jussi Halla-aho and Jussi Niinistö of hiding behind Timo Soini and swelling him and the party’s popularity.
Read on »What should an immigrant do if he cannot find work in Finland?
What should you do if you live in Finland and cannot find employment? The lucky ones can move to another country but for many it is a crude dead-end street lined with little hope: fragmented work life, lower salary than average, health problems and, worse, discrimination that will discourage you to integrate.
Read on »The question that exposed Timo Soini’s good-cop-bad-cop strategy on racism
The televised presidential debate on Thursday is probably one of the first time when Perussuomalaiset (PS) party chairman Timo Soini’s lie was uncovered to the tee. His usual response, “I don’t support racism and hate speech,” didn’t work because it was unconvincing. We should thank again the high school students of the city of Järvenpää for their question that brought Soini’s political house of cards down.
Read on »Finnish high school students ask tough questions on racism to PS candidate Soini
Thanks to hard questions asked by high school students on Thursday’s Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) televised debate to Perussuomalaiset (PS) Timo Soini, the issue of racism in Finland finally got the scrutiny it deserved in the presidential campaign.
Read on »Green Party hopeful Pekka Haavisto and the Perussuomalaiset
After the Green Party declared war on the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party before the April 17 election, its presidential hopeful Pekka Haavisto has made an about-turn: He has become a “friend” of PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen, who became a household name thanks to his racist gaffes, and now displays a show of support for his candidacy by PS MP Jussi Halla-aho.
Read on »Uncovering the tree of hatred
If we could draw a tree that bares these fruits of hatred how would it look like? Would our surprise be to discover that it’s the same-looking tree that continues to cast its shadow on all of our societies for centuries? It still stands mighty and tall because we continue to feed and protect it.
Read on »Christian Democrat candidate does not see Finland "more racist" than before
Christian Democrat presidential hopeful, Sari Essayah, was quoted as saying on Jyväskylä-based daily Keskisuomalainen that racism hasn’t increased in Finland and that the media is to blame for following what is written on the net on different anti-immigration forums.
Read on »Lip service or action by Finnish municipal authorities?
The role of accepting refugees in remote municipalities as a way of slowing the number of people who move out of the community is a half-way solution to the challenging demographic problem facing many parts of Finland. While there is a lot of good will to accommodate refugees in their municipality, many of these people end up moving to bigger cities like Helsinki after short stay.
Read on »YLE in English: Finland tells gay asylum seekers to get back in the closet
Finland has deported asylum seekers to countries where they could be put to death for their sexual orientation, in violation of international agreements. Some have been told to conceal their sexuality to ensure they remain safe.
Read on »Is Finland's path that of Hungary's?
This is not a far-fetched question taking into account what is happening in Hungary and the rise of populism in Finland. How many in Hungary ten years ago could have envisioned what is happening today in that country?
Read on »We can contain the PS' populist threat to Finland
The more I read about Timo Soini the more I am convinced that the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party is a threat to this country, especially to those who do not fit the PS’ narrow view of the world. I am not contesting the election result, which I respect, but what the cat has brought in from the back door.
Read on »Coming out into an identity: gay, lesbian, pariah…
There is one line of a film review of Pariah on Colorlines that really caught me: “The film hinges on the belief that there’s no one way to be young, or black, or queer. And while it’s a struggle to come into any identity, those fights are always punctuated by moments of resilience and triumph.”
Read on »Community Village Activist: Teaching Children To Respect One Another
Has anyone seen research where the researcher asks children, instead of a closed ended question like “Who is the smart one” but instead “Are all phenotypes equally nice and equally smart?” (Children may not know what a phenotype is but that creates a good opportunity to explain that a phenotype is only skin deep). Children can then be asked to explain their answer and where they learned their knowledge or stereotypes. Maybe they learned it from TV, radio, friends, students, family or even their parents.
Read on »The Council of Ethics in Advertising: A positive step in the right direction against racism and stereotyping in Finland
It’s funny how still some in this country like to tell the rest what is acceptable a when it comes to labeling different ethnic groups. The term ryssä, a derogatory term to place Russians in a negative context in the Finnish language is one of many examples. The Council of Ethics in Advertising ruled that using the term ryssimme as a verb from the noun ryssä on one of its cider beverages was unethical.*
Read on »guardian.co.uk: Stephen Lawrence verdict – Dobson and Norris guilty of racist murder
Two men have finally been convicted of the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, 18 years after a white gang fuelled by hatred stabbed the black teenager to death. Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, were found guilty of murder on Tuesday by a jury at the Old Bailey. The crime had raised searching questions about racism in Britain.
Read on »Toronto Sun: Multiculturalism Trudeau's gift to Canada
TORONTO – Former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was a visionary about the way different cultures in Canada co-exist today,” says the CEO of the Multicultural History Society of Ontario (MHSO), Dora Nipp. As 2011 draws to a close, so does the 40th anniversary of the commencement of Canada’s policy of Multiculturalism, spearheaded by Trudeau and adopted in 1971.
Read on »Racism Review: A Year End Review 2011
As the year 2011 ends, there are several good year-end reviews about racial justice, this video from Colorlines and this post from a David J. Leonard writing at New Black Man, are both excellent. We here at Racism Review offer this as our own brief, and necessarily incomplete, recap of some of the notable events in the struggle for racial justice. Be sure to scroll all the way to the end, there are some victories there, too ~ and a challenge for you at the end.
Read on »Migrant Tales thanks you for your support in 2011 and wishes everyone a Happy New Year!
Thank you for your support in 2011. Migrant Tales wishes everyone one of its supporters lots of success and happiness in the New Year.
Thank you for making Migrant Tales that “voice for those whose views and situation are understood poorly and heard faintly by the media, politicians and public.” Much success in 2012!
Read on »Timo Soini: The beast behind the sugar-coated words
What does Perussuomalaiset (PS) party presidential hopeful, Timo Soini, really think about immigration and cultural diversity? A column he wrote in the latest Suomen Soini Presidentiksi [Soini for Finnish president] publication exposes what the leader of the PS thinks about such important issues.
Read on »Finland & Cultural Diversity 2011
In many respects 2011 was a watershed year for Finland and Europe concerning the rise of anti-immigration parties and xenophobia. The biggest news to hit Finland this year was without a doubt the April 17 election, which saw the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) party win 39 seats compared with only 5 in 2007. On July 22 Anders Breivik gunned down most of his 77 victims in Norway.
Read on »Immigration laws reveal what kind of a society we are
Tell me what your immigration laws are and I will tell you what kind of society you live in. Show me how those laws defend minorities and encourage cultural diversity and I will show you hypocrisy.
Read on »Different cultural diversity strokes for different folks in Finland and Europe
One matter shines through after reading and responding to the thousands of threads on Migrant Tales: multiculturalism, racism and inequality mean different things for different people. One way to make sense of the ongoing debate on Finland’s ever-growing acceptance of its cultural diversity is figuring out what these terms mean for different groups.
Read on »Finland Bridge: Chrismtas and Winter in 2035
What kind of Christmases will we be celebrating in the mid-2030s? Like past generations, will we set aside our worries, demographic and environmental problems and allow the Christmas spirit to overtake us for a moment?
Read on »A matter of perspective and the real issue in the Finnish immigration debate
Perspective is one reason why Migrant Tales has grown especially after the April 17 election and become a home for a large and ever-growing number of bloggers. We have, in my opinion, become for some that sincere critical “voice for those whose views and situation are understood poorly and heard faintly by the media, politicians and public.”
Read on »A bitter taste of the PS’ idea of press freedom
I read with some dismay that 12 Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MPs have filed a complaint to the Council for Mass Media in Finland (JSN) about a cartoon that was published in the Helsinki Lutheran Church’s weekly Kirkko ja Kaupunki, according to Helsingin Sanomat. The cartoon showed PS chairman Timo Soini and a number of MPs wishing those who weren’t white, conservative and heterosexual Finns a shitty Christmas.
Read on »Nationalism, Fascism, Populism and Racism – a family of Kings or Thieves?
So, nationalism, fascism, populism and racism – ‘who’ are they are and do they share anything in common with each other? Here, I’m going to give a brief but hopefully pertinent overview. Are they Kings or Thieves? Maybe my conclusions will surprise you.
Read on »Argentina’s dirty war: A couple I never met but always knew
It’s a long story how I ended up conscripted in the Argentinean army during the dirty war (1976-83). Being part of a country that was at war with itself was like taking a one-way stroll down the ally of hatred with a sack over your head. Even if no sack was placed over your head your eyes couldn’t see nor your ears hear what was happening. Terror has a way of numbing your senses.
Read on »guardian.co.uk: Tory MP Aidan Burley sacked over ‘Nazi’ stag party attendance
A Conservative MP who attended a stag party where guests dressed as Nazis has been sacked as a Commons aide for “offensive” behaviour and placed under investigation by David Cameron.
Read on »A bad week for the PS and Timo Soini
Three cartoons that appeared in the Finnish and Swedish media this week gave the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party a taste of its own medicine. The Helsinki Lutheran Church’s newspaper, Kirkko ja Kaupunki, published on Wednesday a cartoon where Soini and the PS wished all those who weren’t white, conservative and heterosexual Finns a shitty Christmas.
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: The expatriate and the meaning of the four seasons of Finland
Three matters happen to some of us when we move to a foreign country: We learn to live with separation and yearning. Some of us grasp as well that in each farewell we die a little as the French poet, Edmond Haraucourt, once wrote.
Read on »Fairy tale worlds with the help of hate speech in Finland and elsewhere
The recent anti-immigration killings in Norway at the hands of Anders Breivik and this week in Italy by Gianluca Casseri show how xenophobic fairy tales can turn a person into a killer. As populist and far-right parties in Europe continue to throw petrol at the flames of their hate speech, it is only a question of time when new Breiviks and Casseris will appear on the scene.
Read on »Spiegel International Online: Italy Killings Underscore European Extremism Problem
The murders of African street vendors by a right-wing extremist writer in Florence have shocked Italy. Questions are now emerging about whether the gunman acted alone. But one thing seems certain, he was close to a right-wing radical group that has a pop culture appeal admired even by Germany’s neo-Nazis.
Read on »YLE in English: Supo looks into possible Finnish connection to Florence shooter
The Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo) is taking an interest in the racist shooting in Florence. The shooter, who killed two African immigrant street traders, belonged to a far-right organisation that also has Finnish members.
Read on »Finland’s PS Soini plays down racism in his party to “one, two or three” cases
Perussuomalaiset (PS) party presidential hopeful Timo Soini’s excuses about the issue of racism in his party and in Finland are getting more surreal every day. At a presidential debate Wednesday on MTV3, Soini played down racism in his party to “one, two or three” cases compared with a half a million people who voted for the PS in April.
Read on »Rosa Parks’ humble example lives on
Of the many Civil Rights Movement icons that emerged during the 1950s, the late Rosa Parks is one of my biggest heroes. With her humble example on a December 1 afternoon of 1955, Parks changed USAmerican history by refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama.
Read on »Finland’s ignorance of racism and fascism
One of the political dramas that Finland is suffering today is that it does not know what racism and fascism is. The Finnish media up to the April 17 election not only lost its teeth and forgot the important role it plays in defending our civil rights it helped the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS).
Read on »Far-right anti-immigration killing in Italy
A far-right anti-immigration sympathizer of neo-fascist association CasaPound shocked Italy today when he shot dead two Senegalese street vendors in Florence before taking his life, according to the guardian.co.uk.
Read on »Finnish language is no magic bullet to integration
We read almost constantly stories in the Finnish media about how learning the Finnish language is supposed to be a magic bullet to full integration. By effectively accepting the idea that learning Finnish will solve all your integration problems are we sidestepping more serious issues that are hindering adaption?
Read on »PS MP Hirvisaari gets convicted for hate speech
Perussuomaliset (PS) MP James Hirvisaari was convicted Monday by a Kouvola court for incitement against an ethnic group, according to Helsingin Sanomat in English. He got off the hook last year in November when a court in Päijät-Häme acquitted him of the same crime. Hirvisaari says that he will appeal the latest decision in a higher court.
Read on »Is the far right a threat to Finland?
An opinion poll of the presidential candidates by MTV3 revealed that Perussuomalaiset (PS) party hopeful Timo Soini, Sauli Niinistö of Kokoomus and Christian Democrat candidate Sari Essayah did not consider the far right to be a threat to Finland.
Read on »guardian.co.uk: Italian girl’s rape claim sparks arson attack on Gypsy camp
A 16-year-old Italian girl whose claim that she was raped by Gypsies prompted a furious mob to launch an arson attack on a Turin Roma camp has admitted to police that she invented her story.
Read on »The PS is the PS of Finland no matter how you slice it
Perussuomaliaset (PS) party head Timo Soini reitereated plans on MTV3 to establish a new party that would be politically center-right. He said that in five years the PS would be a similar populist party like the Progress Party (FrP) of Norway and Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ). Both of these parties are anti-EU, anti-immigration and especially anti-Muslim.
Read on »Why did you come here? (4/4) “Enrique Tessieri: Am I a foreigner?”
It’s funny that I askedthis important question, “am I a foreigner” in Finland, sixteen years ago. What astounds me is that I am still asking this timely question: Do I belong here? Do you accept me for who I am?
Read on »Urban Faith: Why We Can’t Ignore Racism
As a white man in America, I’ve been guilty of rolling my eyes when someone would raise the subject of racism. “Why can’t everyone just get over it,” I’d think. But ignoring wounds from the past can be as damaging as the initial offense.
Read on »Fueling “harmful stereotypes, discrimination and xenophobia” in Finland and elsewhere
The recently published report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) rightfully warns about how misinformation about migration fuels “harmful stereotypes, discrimination and xenophobia.” A New York Times article states that such perceptions are so distorted that citizens believe that there are three times more immigrants living in some countries than is the case.
Read on »Why did you come here? (3/4) “Omar Hussein: At last peace”
This is the third of four short biographies that were published in an English reader called Why did you come here? The book, which was published in 1994 by WSOY. It was authored by Russell Snyder and myself. Omar Hussein is the first Somali friend I had in Finland. I met him in the early 1990s when Mikkeli opened up its first refugee center.
Read on »Why did you come here? (2/4) “Angel Barrientos: A stranger in my home”
This is the second of a four-part series of a few short biographies that appeared in 1994 in an English reader called Why did you come here? The book was authored by Russell Snyder and myself. Angel Barrientos was at the time of the interview 45 and had moved to Finland as a refugee from Chile.
Read on »Good questions about the PS by the Vallan Vahtikoira blog
Vallan Vahtikoira is an interesting blog that asks all the right questions that some media should be asking the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party. His latest blog entry (in Finnish), Perussuomalista normimenoa, asks about some of the embarrassing revelations that become public about some PS members belonging to neo-Nazi associations like the SKV.
Read on »Why did you come here? (1/4) “JL: Only hostility”
Migrant Tales will begin to publish a few short biographies that appeared in 1994 in an English reader called Why did you come here? The book was authored by Russell Snyder and myself.
Read on »What we should reflect on Finland’s Independence Day
Since I grew up in three countries, I have the opportunity to celebrate three independence days every year. Today is Finland’s turn. What should we be reflecting on this day? Should it be nationalism, patriotism or neither?
Read on »YLE in English: President Halonen – Racism will not remove injustice
President Tarja Halonen says the increased incidence of racist comments in Finland is a symptom of the dark side of worldwide globalisation.
Read on »Five MLK quotes that are relevant to Finland today
U.S. Civil Rights Movement champion, Martin Luther King Jr. (1928-68), is still a source of guiding inspiration for many victims of discrimination and oppression throughout the world. Below are five MLK quotes that are relevant to Finland.
Read on »Argentina’s nuclear industry: Atoms for underdevelopment
Of all the public enterprises in this country, the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), the most unconstrained and least known of these.
Read on »Making racism shameful in Finland and Europe
While the US Civil Rights Movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. did not eradicate racism in the United States, it was singled out as a threat to society and challenged. Landmark laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were not the only matters that changed things. Racism became shameful in many parts of the United States.
Read on »How to effectively burn cultural bridges in Finland and elsewhere
If you want to build bridges of understanding between different cultures, you have to learn acceptance, respect, have an open mind and good social communication skills. The total opposite of the above-mentioned are racism, ignorance, pigheadedness and the inability to learn about other cultures and effective communication skills.
Read on »Denial, ignorance and racism are the lamentable side of the same coin
When do immigrants and Finns with culturally diverse backgrounds become their worst enemy? Does it happen when we become blind or play down the existence of social ills such as racism and prejudice in our society?
Read on »Savon Sanomat: Rasismi on uhka kaikille
Miksi meidän tulisi olla huolestuneita rasismin noususta Iisalmessa, Lieksassa ja muualla? Mitä se kertoo Suomen yhteiskunnasta ja sen pahoinvoinnista?
Read on »How well does Finland’s school system educate children with immigrant backgrounds?
A story on the Guardian praises Finland’s educational system for setting a “great example” in educating immigrant children. While I am certain there are many success stories out there, are matters that rosy as the London daily claims?
Read on »MTV3: Kauppalehti: Siivousfirmojen pitää irtisanoa maahanmuuttajia
Uudellamaalla kiistellään siivousalan työvoimatilanteesta, kertoo Kauppalehti. Uudenmaan työlupayksikkö on evännyt työlupia afrikkalaisilta ja aasialaisilta siivoojilta ja kehottanut yrityksiä palkkaamaan siivoojia Euroopan talousalueelta. Luvatta jääneet siivoojat olivat olleet töissä jo vuosia, turvapaikkahakemuksen käsittelyn kestäessä.
Read on »MTV3: Janne Virkkunen: Tulevan presidentin puututtava Suomen ahdistavaan ilmapiiriin
Helsingin Sanomien entinen päätoimittaja Janne Virkkunen on huolissaan Suomessa leviävästä ulkomaalaisvastaisuudesta ja vihakirjoittelusta. “Minua ahdistaa. Yhteiskuntamme ilmapiiri on tällä hetkellä sellainen, että suvaitsemattomuus vain nousee nousemistaan,” Janne Virkkunen sanoo.
Read on »The snow job of the far right in Finland
The shocking revelations in Germany, whereby 140 people have died since 1990 as a result of far-right violence, is a wake-up call for us in Finland as well. How is it possible that so many people are killed by a far-right terror cell without anyone raising a question?
Read on »Further momentum against racism in Finland
Here is a story published Sunday on Savon Sanomat of Kuopio that shows members in the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS) party giving the thumbs down to racism. Jukka Kotimäki, PS organization secretary of Siilimäki near Kuopio, states that he does not want openly racist people to be a part of his party.
Read on »Most Finnish parties are giving the thumbs down to racism
Left Alliance presidential hopeful, Paavo Arhimäki, said Sunday that his party has taken the strongest stand against racism when compared with the Swedish People’s Party and Greens, reports Tampere-based daily Aaamulehti. It is a very positive sign that Finland’s political parties are now competing to be the most outspoken on racism.
Read on »Teaching Tolerance: White Anti-Racism: Living the Legacy
What does “white anti-racist” mean? How can guilt get in the way? And what’s all this talk about being “colorblind”? Teaching Tolerance asked community activists to share their thoughts on these questions, and others. Their answers shine light on the concepts of comfort, power, privilege and identity.
Read on »HS in English: Poll: long road ahead to universal acceptance of minorities
Modu Sidibeh, a 46-year-old Gambian-born youth worker who works in Kauniainen, is shocked, but not really surprised, to read the results of a poll commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat.
Read on »When racism attacks its eager keeper in Finland
Racism is a serious social ill that festers in all societies. Some parties, like the Persussuomalaiset (PS), appear to be dazzled by the political opportunities it offers in the way of votes and public attention. What they forget, however, is that racism has no master and can attack its supposed keepers.
Read on »The ugly face of racism in Finland is alive and kicking on Facebook (Lieksa)
If you want to see the face of racism in the raw in Finland, visit the following Facebook website called “Mamu keskustelu ilman sensuuria (lieksa),” or “Immigrant debate without censorship (Lieksa).” After reading a few threads you will see the face of racism in Finland stare back at you fully exposed and unrestrained.
Read on »Spiegel Online International: Neo-Nazi Killings Expose Broad German Xenophobia
The discovery of a neo-Nazi terror cell in Germany has many concerned about the country’s reputation. With good reason. Racism and xenophobia have deep roots in German society — and the vocabulary used to describe the right-wing extremist crime spree is telling.
Read on »HS in English: Prospect of dancing gays keeps MP away from Independence Day reception
True Finns MP Pentti Oinonen has announced that he will not attend the President’s annual Independence Day reception on December 6th this year. Oinonen said that he would not be comfortable at a party attended only by people who are well off.
Read on »Exemplary Finns and exemplary immigrants
You don’t need the acceptance of over 5 million people to feel welcome in Finland. Only a few exemplary people will do, even one or two persons. Even though I am a Finn with a multicultural background, these exemplary people have given me strength and belief in this society.
Read on »KU Verkkolehti: Rasistinen äärioikeisto hivuttautuu valtavirtaan
Euroopassa on pitkään suhtauduttu aivan liian huolettomasti äärioikeistosta tulevaan uhkaan, sanoo aiheesta kirjan kirjoittanut ruotsalainen toimittaja Lisa Bjurwald.
Read on »HS.fi: Rasistikin suvaitsee itseään
Keskustelu suomalaisten rasismista ja sen heijastumisesta politiikkaan on lukkiintunut toistuvaan kaavaan. Muiden puheenvuoroissa arvioidaan, että rasismi ja muukalaispelko ovat lisänneet perussuomalaisen puolueen kannatusta.
Read on »Racism in Finland: She loves me, she loves me not…
The region of Pohjois-Karjala in eastern Finland has gained a dubious reputation for being one of Finland’s hotspots of racism. A poll published by Joensuu-based Karjalainen shows that while people from this region are not against labor immigrants they don’t want refugees moving there.
Read on »Pohjalainen.fi: Perhe-elämä kuuluu ihmisoikeuksiin
Nykyisessä hallituksessa maahanmuuttokysymykset ovat sisäasianinministerin pöydällä. Kristillisdemokraattien puheenjohtaja Päivi Räsänen on lyhyenä ministerikautenaan antanut muutamia lausuntoja maahanmuuttopolitiikkaan liittyen. Viimeksi hän esitti perheyhdistämisen sääntöjen kiristämistä, vaikka ministeri Astrid Thors korjasi todettuja ongelmia jo edellisellä hallituskaudella.
Read on »Knowledge about the threat of racism is nothing new in Finland
Funny excuses like “we haven’t had too many immigrants in Finland” to justify some of our knee-jerk reactions towards others is a lame excuse. A talk about racism over 40 years ago on YLE shows us that there were people in Finland who understood what racism is.
Read on »guardian.co.uk: Far-right Finnish politician Timo Soini bids for presidency
Timo Soini is excited about Italian bond yields. “I just heard that the interest on Italian 10-year loans is now over 7.3%,” he whispers as a cast-iron lift hoists us from the ground floor of the monumental Finnish parliament to his office above. “This is a horrendous situation.” But it’s clear that, from his political standpoint, it’s actually quite good news.
Read on »Our reaction to racism in Finland should be a reaction
The lead story in Sunday’s Helsingin Sanomat has President Tarja Halonen’s reaction and concern about Saturday’s opinion poll published in Finland’s largest daily, which showed Finns’ attitudes and perceptions of racism.
Read on »The ever-embattled Soini of the PS of Finland
Perussuomalaiset (PS) party chairman, Timo Soini, appears more embattled every day as he watches with weary eyes polls. The latest one published by Helsingin Sanomat Saturdayshows racism to be more acceptable among PS supporters.
Read on »HS-gallup: Enemmistö pitää Suomea rasistisena
Suomi on vähintäänkin melko rasistinen maa, ajattelee enemmistö suomalaisista. Kaksi kolmasosaa kansasta ajattelee, että Suomessa ilmenee rasismia paljon tai melko paljon. Siitä huolimatta omassa itsessään rasismia tunnistaa tai tunnustaa paljon vain kaksi prosenttia ja melko paljon kaksitoista prosenttia.
Read on »The day will come when cultural diversity will be accepted in Finland
Native American Louie Gone asks an interesting question: Why isn’t a person’s “mixed” heritage acknowledged of all places in a country like the United States? How does Finland support identity development and what kind of exclusion or inclusion does it promote?
Read on »PS of Finland: Giving racism a new respectable face
A number of far right anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) party MPs have seen an image facelift after they were elected. PS MP Juho Eerola has seen the biggest transformation.
Read on »eWeek Europe: Anonymous Implicated In Finnish Web Hacks
Neo-Nazi politicians were exposed in Finland – but was Anonymous really responsible? In the largest ever breach of its kind, Finnish websites were hacked last week and personal data leaked onto a file sharing website, it has been reported.
Read on »HS in English: Europe’s true populists
The True Finns’ victory in Finland’s general elections gives Sweden and the entire European Union a lot to digest, says journalist Lisa Bjurwald from Stockholm, who watches the populist far-right parties.
Read on »How to confront anti-immigration parties in the Nordic region
The societies of the Nordic countries are still models for the rest of Europe and the world when it comes to social justice, equality, and inclusion. Slower economic growth is not the only threat that they face today, but an ever-growing minority that believes that exclusion of certain groups is acceptable.
Read on »Supo: Suomen Sisu is an extremist group
Kari Harju, Finnish secret police Supo regional security chief, classified Suomen Sisu as an extremist organization. He made the statement Monday in Ylen A-studio.
Read on »A-studio 7.11.2011 TV1 klo 21:00: Onko perussuomalaisilla yhteyksiä äärijärjestöihin?
It would be interesting to have a debate on Migrant Tales after the A-studio report today at 9pm that asks if the PS has connections to far right groups.
Read on »guardian.co.uk: Far right on rise in Europe, says report
The far right is on the rise across Europe as a new generation of young, web-based supporters embrace hardline nationalist and anti-immigrant groups, a study has revealed ahead of a meeting of politicians and academics in Brussels to examine the phenomenon.
Read on »Multilingual Mania: Dehumanizing Immigrants-Lies and More Distorted Lies
It’s a classic trick of the racists to paint a portrait of a people so horrible that it makes anything that is done to them to be justifiable. It’s quite a brilliant idea, really, to be able to paint such a nasty picture of someone in the mind of the public without many people hardly even catching on to the trick. This strategy serves to dehumanize people, stripping them of their humanity and making them into objects that deserve to be tamed, oppressed, and controlled.
Read on »Kansan Uutiset: Ihmisoikeudet ohjaamaan maahanmuuttojournalismi
Medialla näyttäisi olevan paljon korjattavaa maahanmuuttoaiheisessa journalismissaan.
Read on »Is the PS to blame for racism?
Are the Perssuomalaiset (PS) party to blame for checkmating the status quo in Finland on April 17? Or is it a more general and worrying symptom of how Finnish society is changing and how some believe it is now ok to be racist and hostile to other groups?
Read on »The PS’ lame stance on neo-Nazism
The resignation of Perussuomalaiset (PS) party aide, Ulla Pyysalo, didn’t come as a surprise. One of the most incredible characteristic of the Pyysalo case is how PS MP Juho Eerola has played down the whole affair. Has Eerola and the PS made it clear that the party does not want anything to do with a neo-Nazi organization.
Read on »Otavan Sanomat: Monikulttuurisia suomalaisia*
Mitä tarkoita olla nuori ja niin sanottu maahanmuuttajataustainen Suomessa? Miten, jos olet asunut melkein koko elämäsi Suomessa ja yksi tai molemmat vanhemmistasi ovat siirtolaisia? Kuulutko silloin tähän maan?
Read on »YLE Kymeenlakso: Juho Eerola ei tue Pyysalon erottamista
Kotkalaisen kansanedustajan Juho Eerolan lappeenrantalainen avustaja Ulla Pyysalo haki 2 vuotta sitten kansallissosialistisen Suomen vastarintaliike -järjestön jäsenyyttä. Juho Eerolan sanojen mukaan olisi mieletöntä erottaa Pyysalo puolueesta vain sen vuoksi, että hän on tullut järkiinsä ja jättänyt liittymättä natseihin.
Read on »Helsingin Sanomat’s mea culpa on immigration issues
Is lack of knowledge about living in a society with a small foreign population an excuse for poor and deficient coverage of Finland’s ever-growing immigrant population? The editor of Finland’s leading daily, Helsingin Sanomat, told Lahti-based Etelä-Suomen Sanomat that it has aimed to raise immigrant issues, racism and tolerance issues since society is changing and because of the political atmosphere has changed.
Read on »Llegada a Colonia Finlandesa (Misiones, Argentina) en 1977
Me acuerdo como si fuera ayer la primera vez que viajé a la Colonia Finlandesa, en la provincia de Misiones. Era jueves, un día de sol y primavera del 3 de noviembre de 1977. Aunque el viaje en avión desde Buenos Aires a Posadas dura aproximadmente una hora y media, y después unas horas más en bus hasta Oberá, y luego a la Colonia en taxi o a pie, el viaje en realidad era muchos más largo de lo que parecía muchos años atrás…
Read on »SVT: Arjen rasismi on lisääntynyt Suomessa
Maahanmuuttoa ja monikulttuurisuutta vastustetaan Suomessa yhä avoimemmin. Helsingissä järjestetyssä seminaarissa todettiin, että asenneilmapiiri on koventunut ja maahanmuuttajat kokevat arjessaan suvaitsemattomuutta entistä enemmän. Vihapuheet kohdistuvat myös maahanmuuttajataustaisiin lapsiin ja nuoriin.
Read on »Journalism and Blog Writing for Immigrants and Finns (March 2012)
Journalism and Blog Writing for Immigrants and Finns is a course designed for those who have an interest in journalism/blog writing and who speak English as a second language. The course offers the participant an opportunity to learn reporting and interviewing techniques as well as writing news stories, editorials, and columns. Another important part of the course is to study the role journalism plays in guaranteeing civil liberties such as freedom of expression and furthering acceptance of minorities such as immigrants.
Read on »Using Finnish “fatherland” patriotism to justify neo-Nazism
The Ulla Pyysalo case has turned some Perussuomalaiset (PS) party faces red. Her name came up on a membership list of a neo-Nazi organization Suomen Kansallinen Vastarinta (SVL) after hackers broke into the www.patriootti.com website over the weekend.
Read on »Hackers get far-right Kansallinen Vastarinta membership-request list
The growing face of far-right Finland exposed itself Monday when some hackers succeeded at breaking into patriootti.com’s membership-request list. One of the red faces to appear was Tuomas Uokkonen, a Perussuomalaiset (PS) party board vice president in Oulu. He states that when he sought membership in the far-right group said on his Facebook page that he did not know what he was doing because he was drunk.
Read on »Labor discrimination is openly advertised in Finland
I visited Tampere over the weekend and visited a popular beer tavern called Ravintola Plevna. One of the first matters that caught my eye was a sign on the upper-left-hand side of the entrance that read: “Finnish work.”* If you visit Plevna’s website you will, however, find links of the establishment in English, German and Russian.
Read on »New York Times: A Son Returns to the Agony of Somalia
One has to be careful about stories. Especially true ones. When a story is told the first time, it can find a place in the listener’s heart. If the same story is told over and over, it becomes less like a presence in that chest and more like an X-ray of it.
Read on »Itä-Savo: Tilastot eivät kerro todellisuutta rasismista
Viime viikolla julkaistun tutkimuksen mukaan viharikosten määrä olisi laskenut maassamme 15 prosenttia viime vuonna. Laskua voisi pitää huomattavana ja jopa ilahduttavana kehityksenä, jos siihen voisi uskoa aukottomasti.
Read on »If Finland is serious about stamping out racism…
If our society is a model of social justice for other countries to emulate, why would we tolerate discrimination and all types of racism? Which group are the biggest threat to our society: immigrants or anti-immigration groups?
Read on »Finland sees a 15% fall in hate crimes in 2010
Suspected hate crimes in Finland in 2010 totaled 860 cases, which is a 15% fall from 1,007 in the previous year, according to the Police College of Finland.
Read on »What to do if you are harassed in public in Finland?
Migrant Tales wrote back in May about how policemen in Pieksämäki and Mikkeli recommended against reporting racist harassment to the authorities. The Ombudsman for Minorities was in the dark as well about what to do but called the next day and said that harassment cases should be reported to the police.
Read on »Turun Sanomat: Osa turvapaikanhakijoista maksaa salakuljetuksensa sosiaalituella
Osa Suomeen salakuljetetuista turvapaikanhakijoista maksaa matkansa sosiaalituellaan. Viranomaisilla on runsaasti viitteitä salakuljetuksen ostamisesta velaksi. – Tutkimuksissa on selvinnyt, että rahamaksuja välitetään lähtömaihin. Heti kun turvapaikanhakija saa toimeentulotukea, hän lähettää säännöllisesti rahaa Western Unionin tai Forexin kautta kotimaahansa, Länsi-Suomen merivartioston rikostorjuntayksikön tutkinnanjohtaja Matti Hägerström kertoo.
Read on »Separating urban myths from facts in the Finnish immigration debate (Part 2)
Staying on the topic of urban myths, other ones that we could mention are: immigrants do not want to integrate, immigrants live off social welfare and are lazy. Politicians such as Angela Merkel and David Cameron reinforce these types of urban myths by pinning their failures on the integration front on immigrants.
Read on »PS will not take any disciplinary action against MP Teuvo Hakkarainen
What kind of a message does the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS) party send to their supporters and Finland when they decide that it’s OK to turn a blind eye to one of their many controversial MPs, Teuvo Hakkarainen, who publicly insults homosexuals, lesbians and Somalians? Hakkarainen was quoted as saying on tabloid Ilta-Sanomat that these types of minorities should be relocated to the Åland Islands.
Read on »YLE in English: Immigration rules to be tightened
Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen has told the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that she considers Finland’s practice in the reunification of the families of immigrants to be less strict than that of other countries. She added that while a review of immigration has only started, Finland will be imposing tougher criteria.
Read on »HS.fi: CITY LIMITS: Pillars of salt at McDonald’s in Helsinki
A father of immigrant origin and his two little sons were eating at McDonald’s in Helsinki’s district of Hakaniemi two weeks ago, early on a Friday evening. The boys were excited about their new Happy Meal Smurf toys. They were being a little noisy, as one- and four-year-old children are often wont to be. A woman sitting at the next table did not like to hear the family speaking a strange tongue. She began to shout at them, using abusive language.
Read on »Separating urban myths from facts in the Finnish immigration debate
To confirm whether anti-immigrant politicians are spreading urban myths or not, I recommend taking a look at the 2010 Finnish Immigration Service (FIS) annual report. What you may find may startle, even anger you.
Read on »Digital Journal: Swiss Government Bans Video On Execution-Style Deportation
A documentary by humanitarian organisation Augenauf was banned shortly after it was broadcast on Swiss television. It depicts a reconstruction of the execution-style deportation practiced by Swiss Government.
Read on »Ilta-Sanomat: Homot ja somalit Ahvenanmaalle asumaan
Kansanedustajan Teuvo Hakkaraisen (ps.) Ilta-Sanomille antamat lausunnot herättivät tuoreeltaan vilkasta kommentointia lauantaina muun muassa netin keskustelupalstoilla. Ilta-Sanomien mukaan Hakkarainen ehdotti, että homot, lesbot ja somalit pitäisi laittaa Ahvenanmaalle keskenään asumaan.
Read on »HBL: Lipponen tar ställning mot svenskfientlighet och slutenhet
– Jag stämplar inte Sannfinländarna som parti, men det finns högerextremister i partiet och Timo Soini måste vara tydlig mot dem, sade Lipponen på FSD-kongressen i går.
Read on »Immigration and world without borders
When looking at a problem, the answer can be normally found under your nose. There are many factors that impair our ability to see under our noses. Take a challenges like building a world without borders and tackling effectively once and for all the problem of poverty, hunger, strife and chronic inequality.
Read on »ESS: Ylen romaniohjelma sai palkinnon
Ylen A-studion juttu Romanien paluu on saanut Euroopan parlamentin tämän vuoden journalismipalkinnon. Toimittaja Tero Koskisen ohjelma kertoo romaniaikuisten ja -lasten oloista karavaanialueella Helsingissä. Palkintoraati katsoi, että aihe on mielenkiintoinen tämän päivän Euroopassa. Se myös kiitteli siitä, että ohjelmassa annettiin puheenvuoro romaneille itselleen ja valotettiin paikallista näkökulmaa. Palkinto jaettiin neljässä eri sarjassa: lehdistö, internet, televisio ja radio. Romanien paluu esitettiin A-studiossa 21. huhtikuuta 2010.
Read on »HS.fi: Valtaosa pääkaupunkiseudun vanhemmista haluaisi kiintiöt maahanmuuttajaoppilaille
Enemmistö pääkaupunkiseudun peruskouluikäisten lasten vanhemmista haluaisi koulujen rajoittavan maahanmuuttajataustaisten oppilaiden osuutta luokissa. Vanhempien kanta ilmenee Helsingin Sanomien TNS Gallupilla teettämästä mielipidemittauksesta.
Read on »Myths help cover up an injustice or crime
Just like the light from distant suns allow us to peek deep into time many billions years before present, history has the same function. Our problems today are the result of convulsions and events that took place a long time ago in history.
Read on »YLE: Yhä useampi rasistinen rikos tutkitaan
Rasistisen rikoksen uhriksi joutunut tekee liian harvoin rikosilmoituksen. Yksi syy tähän on pelko siitä, että ei saa oikeutta. Tilanne on kuitenkin parantunut. Poliiseilla on edellytyksiä, haluja ja koulutusta toimia tasavertaisesti myös maahanmuuttajien puolesta.
Read on »Timo Soini: “The PS do not hate anybody – not anybody”
Do you agree and can Perussuomalaiset (PS) party head Timo Soini claim that his party does not “hate” anyone? I wonder if Soini, who made such a claim on Saturday when he was chosen to be the PS’ presidential candidate, ever heard of Freddy van Wonterghem, James Hirvisaari, Olli Immonen, Teuvo Harkkarainen, Juho Eerola, Reijo Tossavainen never mind Jussi Halla-aho and others.
Read on »Kymen Sanomat: Muslimivastaisuus toi syytteen van Wonterghemille
Valtakunnansyyttäjänvirasto on määrännyt nostettavaksi syytteen kotkalaista kaupunginvaltuutettua Freddy van Wonterghemia vastaan. Syyte tulee kiihottamisesta kansanryhmää vastaan.
Read on »Denial is a time-tested method to make a social issue go away
What do people really mean when they claim that racism is a minor problem in Finland and elsewhere? Are they stating that since racism is a small problem, politicians and public opinion should not concern themselves too much with the issue? If a white Finn claims that racism is not a problem, is he or she stating that immigrants hardly exist in this country?
Read on »Bilingualism will supercharge your brain or is it that easy?
My blood pressure rises every time I hear people state nonchalantly that travelling enriches. If this were the case, why are some societies hostile to some people like immigrants who are growing up in two or more cultures? I was brought up in three national cultures and spoke three languages as a child.
Read on »Why the PS are a threat to immigrants and Finland
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Olli Immonen, a member of Suomen Sisu and well-known for his anti-immigration views, wants to do away with the Ombudsman for Minorities office, according to Oulu-based daily Kaleva. Apart from slashing the budget by 50%, Immonen plans to draft a law that will make the Ombudsman for Minorities redundant.
Read on »Brain drain from Finland set to get worse as anti-immigration sentiment grows
Think tank Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA) states in a report that Finland already suffers from brain drain “to some extent.” With the backdrop of the April 17 election and a more negative atmosphere towards immigrants, coupled with the cooling of the economy, suggest that brain drain will continue to get worse.
Read on »YLE Pohjois-Karjala: Lieksa haluaa sanoutua irti rasisimista
Rasisminvastainen keskusteluilta herätti paljon mielipiteitä Lieksassa. Keskustelijat pohtivat muun muassa maahanmuuttajavastaisuuden syitä. Paikalla olleet myös korostivat, että on tärkeää tutustua maahanmuuttajiin.
Read on »An about-turn by the PS on racism?
Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Tom Packalén expresses concern on an Uusi Suomi blog about recent hate crimes in Lieksa that have hit the national news. The former policeman appears to be exited by an article he read in Helsingin Sanomat quoting Muqtar Moalin Nuurin, head of the Somalian association of Lieksa, who said that Somalians are also to blame for the situation in Lieksa.
Read on »Aviisi: Lopullinen totuus: Turvapaikanhakijoista pitäisi järjestää kansanäänestys
Turvapaikanhakijat tulevat vaikeista oloista. Monet ovat menettäneet kotinsa, perheensä, kokeneet kidutusta ja kohdanneet kuolemaa, sekä mahdollisesti tulleet raiskatuksi. Heidän ongelmansa ovat erityislaatuisia.
Read on »HS.fi: Jopa puolet Pohjois-Karjalan rasismirikoksista tehdään Lieksassa
Rasismi on keskittynyt Pohjois-Karjalassa tilastojen mukaan vahvasti Lieksaan. Kaupungissa asuu alle kymmenesosa maakunnan asukkaista, mutta rasistiseksi epäillyistä rikoksista siellä tehdään peräti puolet. Poliisin mukaan maakunnan rikoksista 62:ssa oli viime vuonna rasistinen motiivi. Niistä 29 tehtiin Lieksassa.
Read on »An “honest police debate” about rape with the help of an Islamophobist PS MP
What would you say about a policeman who wants to begin an open debate on Facebook about rape crimes committed by immigrants? He uses as one of his sources Islamophoibist Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Olli Immonen, who believes that it is only a question of time when there will be a “war of cultures” in Europe.
Read on »Phantoms that haunt us from history in Finland
When I moved to Finland over thirty years ago I left behind a troubled world: the scars of the Vietnam War, Watergate, dog-eat-dog capitalism, and the dirty war in Argentina (1976-83) that destroyed the country spiritually beyond recognition.
Read on »YLE: Ruotsalaisen maahanmuuttajalähiön pahiskoulusta tuli palkittu eliittikoulu
Ruotsin monikulttuurisimman lähiön koulua johtava Börje Ehrstrand kertoo Aamu-tv:n haastattelussa, kuinka ongelmakoulusta tuli palkittu opinahjo. Rehtorin mukaan menestyksen salaisuus on sama kuin ongelmakin oli: monikultturisuus.
Read on »YLE in English: Falling interest in party politics
Interest in political party membership seems to be in decline once again. While the Green League and the Left Alliance have had success in boosting membership figures, other parties are seeing stagnation in both membership and appeal.
Read on »Karjalainen: Lieksassa raju puukkotappelu – somalimiehelle pahimmat vammat
Ainakin kaksi miestä sai vammoja teräaseesta viime yönä kello 4:n aikaan Lieksan keskustassa Siltakadulla. Kahakan osapuolina oli joukko lieksalaisia miehiä ja kolme somalimiestä.
Read on »MTV3: Maahanmuuttajat sopeutuneet Suomeen Britanniaa paremmin: “Vihaa vähemmän”
Jouni Sipilä
Britanniassa hallitus on huolestunut muslimimaista tulevien maahanmuuttajien radikalisoitumisesta. Toisen ja kolmannen polven maahanmuuttajat ovat omaksuneet vanhempiaan konservatiivisempia uskonnollisia näkemyksiä. Britanniassa radikalisoituminen on eräiden tutkimusten mukaan ollut nopeinta Euroopassa. Meillä Suomessa tämäntyyppistä kehitystä ei ole havaittu. Asiantuntijoiden mielestä maahanmuuttajat ovat sopeutuneet meille huomattavasti Britanniaa paremmin.
Read on »The language of “keeping Finland white”
The ongoing debate on the role of immigrants in Finnish society boils down to one big issue for the right-wing populists: How to kee