This is Part 2 of Tariq’s* ordeal in Finland. Go here to read Part 1. “This is my case: I have been living in Finland for eleven years. I moved here to be with my wife, and upon arriving, I started to work and study at the same time. After three years in the country,
Read on »Posts Tagged: discrimination
Tariq: Is there justice in Finland? (Part 1)
Tariq* has lived in Finland for over eleven years. If there is a person who has run into complications with the police, Migri (Finnish Immigration Service), and due process, he is one of them. According to Tariq, his citizenship process has been arbitrarily delayed due to a police fine that was canceled. “In March last
Read on »Discrimination in the labor market is a real problem that Finland still doesn’t want to face
Institutional racism is a social ill that Finland has done too little to challenge. One of the areas where it happens mainly uncontested is in the labor market. IYou face many challenges ahead if you are lucky enough to get a job interview with your so-called foreign-sounding name. Once you get through the door, the
Read on »How institutional racism entrenches at a Finnish school
How does institutional racism survive unchallenged at a Finnish school? An anonymous source got in touch with Migrant Tales and pointed out how structural or institutional racism survives at a Finnish school. One of the most crucial factors for its survival aren’t surveys and legal ineffective and false assurances against discrimination and racism but what
Read on »Shadow racism in the happiest country
It is quite true that when people come to a new country like Finland, they have a ”honeymoon” period – everything looks new and interesting. The first few months can feel like an extended holiday, and you experience the seasons, the holidays and the culture. When it came time for me to look for work,
Read on »Getting a job does not scare me, it is what happens after that raises concern
If we look at the many stories of job discrimination that we have published in Migrant Tales, one factor links them: despair and the police, which too often look the other way. Considering the underwhelming effort the police have made in challenging human trafficking, labor discrimination, hate speech, and other social ills, why would a victim trust the
Read on »The police give you permission to pry into a person’s background even if these are inappropriate and offensive
Remember Husein Hamiid when he asked in summer a real estate agent about renting a hotel and restaurant? The real estate agent, who was a Perussuomnalaiset (PS)* municipal candidate for the city of Espoo, started to pry into Hamiid’s life: “What kind of family and relatives do you have? What is your religion? Could you
Read on »Riikka Purra and her PS cronies want to make discrimination and racism legal
We all know about Perussuomalaiset (PS)* new chairperson Riikka Purra’s radical views on cultural diversity and migration in general. Yes, she’s the one warning about how Muslims are taking over Europe and how brown and black Finns will replace white Finns. Her latest Tweet below suggests that white Finns should be the only beneficiaries of
Read on »Twitter (Ara Malikian): Being from one, two, or many cultures simultaneously
Ara Malikian is a musician that awakens the magic from his violin. Isn’t it surprising when we can travel easily from one country to the next, there are still people who don’t accept that we can build many homes during our lifetime in many countries? We can be from one, two, or many places simultaneously. What
Read on »Federation of Real Estate Agency: “Moreover, the guide to good rental practices addresses discrimination”
Remember the real estate agent from Espoo who asked for a client’s personal information by disregarding the non-discrimination act? The person in question was a candidate for the Perussuomalaiset* party in the June municipal election. He did not get elected. Below, it one message that the real estate agent sent Husein Hamiid, who has lived
Read on »A low-income employee from Iraq faces bullying daily; being a victim of Migri
Some foreigners, especially those who came to Finland seeking asylum in 2015 and got a work permit to stay, face a dire situation: either put up with the work or leave Finland. One such case is Majid*, a 24-year-old Iraqi national living in Rovaniemi for the past three years. Apart from the near-constant bullying and
Read on »(Part 1) At the mercy the faculty process: Staff well-being in the University Of Helsinki
By Dr. Gareth Rice* This article has been almost one year in the making. What it reveals will, I hope, move the academic community to stop looking at Finnish higher education through rose tinted glasses, and to raise its brow and express earnest concern about the abuse of power and lack of accountability within one
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 »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 »Part I: Racism causes trauma and mental suffering
Maailman Kuvalehti, a periodical which often takes up issues of xenophobia and racism in Finland more bravely than the mainstream media, cited the article Häpeää, itsesyytöksiä, masennusta – toistuvan rasismin vaikutukset mielenterveyteen voivat olla vakavat (Shame, self-blame, and depression – continuous racism encounter impact on mental wellbeing can be severe). Dated April 24th to a study by Robert T. Carter (University of Columbia), it stated that day-to-day exclusion encounters cause mental depression and symptoms similar to war trauma. Read the article here.
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY Mor Ndiaye: “Walk like a king but don’t care who is the king”
I met Mor Ndaiye at Turin’s Casarcobaleno on Friday. He gave a very interesting talk about his life as a Senegalese living in Italy and studying at the University of Turin. One of his quotes was: “Walk like a king but don’t care who is the king.” Nor Ndiaye at Casarcobaleno.
Read on »MTV Finland: Framing women with niqabs with Islamophobia and dislike
A court of appeal slapped the manager of the Euro Spuer store with a 1,995-euro fine on Tuesday for discrimination after he asked a woman to remove her niqab so her face would be exposed. The incident took place in spring 2016, according to MTV.
Read on »THE LONG READ: Dr Jeevana Subasinghe – How inappropriate behavior and discrimination happen at a health center and higher education in Finland
For the past four years, Sri Lankan-Finnish dentist Jeevana Subasinghe has experienced multiple forms of inappropriate behavior and discrimination by his employer at the Porvoo Municipal Health Center. But the treatment and discrimination he allegedly claims bring to light a wider systemic problem that affects some Finnish dentists as well.
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 »How a ban on asylum seekers visiting schools/childcare centers in Oulu, Finland, should work in order for it not to be illegal
One interesting question about the ban on asylum seekers visiting schools and childcare centers is if it is legal. Migrant Tales has heard from sources in Oulu that the ban on asylum seekers also includes public swimming halls of that city.
Read on »Esperi Care reveals a wider problem: Lack of effective regulation and political will
What does scandal surrounding Esperi Care tell us about problems plaguing private elderly homes in Finland and how regulators don’t their jobs? This, I believe, is not a problem that just faces the nursing home sector, but the whole of Finnish society.
Read on »Twitter (Julie Pascoet): Silence is not only a political statement but privilege that contributes to inequality
Read original tweet here. Julie Pascoe is senior advocacy officer at the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), Europe’s largest anti-racism NGO.
Read on »How widespread is discrimination in Finland? The answer: are you unemployed and do you get paid the same as Finns?
Finland’s Nobel Prize in economics, Bengt Holmström, said that white Finns must not share power and privileges with migrants and their children. In other words, they should get lower salaries social security benefits – are you ready for this?! – so that it does not irritate Finns.
Read on »If Finland treats racism and discrimination with kid gloves, a social movement can help
Isn’t it sad to note how the Finnish media now discovers that migrants get paid less and have lower social security benefits than Finns? Some, even union leaders like Sture Fjäder of Akava, go as far to state that unskilled migrants should get paid less. He later apologized for such a statement but won a confidence vote to keep his job.
Read on »Finland’s Nobel Prize in economics states that white Finns must not share power and privileges with migrants and their children
Bengt Holmström is a Finnish economist who received the Nobel Prize in economics in 2016. What he may know about economics does not mirror his knowledge of Nordic values such as social equality and especially how migrants and minorities live in Finland.
Read on »White Finnish privilege #54: Disguising your racism, bigotry, and prejudices effectively
In Finland, there are many ways how white people and their institutions discriminate against people of color, migrants and minorities in general. Since all forms of discrimination are highly adaptive, they can also effectively disguise their racism, bigotry, and prejudices.
Read on »Blue Reform’s Sampo Terho of Finland and his politically ambidextrous misbeliefs
Blue Reform* minister for European affairs, culture and sports, Sampo Terho is politically ambidextrous: He can say one thing and state a totally different thing. It is like coming out of the closet and going back in. The opportunism in such ambidextrous behavior is believing that others don’t notice. And we do. In the statement
Read on »Blue Reform MP Simon Elo: Let’s make discrimination official in Finland
Even if the Blue Reform*, which is an offshoot of the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS), wants to change the constitution so that non-Finnish citizens would get paid less social welfare than Finnish citizens, the suggestion by MP Simon Elo exposes to the tee the racism of his party and hatred of migrants. Blue Reform, like the
Read on »Dutch foreign minister offers excuses for racism and “failures of multiculturalism”
The interview below with Dutch foreign minister, Stef Blok, is another prime example of why racism, bigotry, and discrimination continue to list high on the European shame board. The interview, where Blok tells us how “multiculturalism has failed,” reveals another excuse why racism is deeply ingrained in Europe. .
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Tightening of immigration laws in Finland and the exploitation of migrants
The near-constant negative labelling of visible migrants like Muslims and minorities by too many Finnish politicians and society has not only weakened their civil rights as Amnesty International pointed out, but led to their exploitation by dishonest and greedy employers that promise them a job and a ticket to a residence permit.
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #51: The police are the defenders of white power and privilege
Ask Finland’s Romany minority If you want to understand how the Finnish police service reinforces and defends white power and privilege. I did this recently, and the answers did not surprise me. According to a member of the Roma community, the Finnish police play down discrimination, especially if it involves a member of that minority
Read on »Asylum seeker Ibrahim has applied to hundreds of jobs in Finland without luck
Most of our perceptions of visible migrants and minorities are erroneous and an outright lie. Remember when Perussuomalaiset* party secretary, Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, labelled all refugees in 2015, including countries like Syria, as economic migrants and welfare shoppers?
Read on »Camtu Suhonen: Women in Academic Careers
Discrimination against women who are advancing their career is a breaking down the rule of equality. Men and women are created equal. All the rights, treatment and opportunity that a man has should also be even to women who are pursuing careers of any sort. It will be called unfair, biased and not just when it comes to women.
Read on »Camtu Suhonen: How discrimination destroys academic careers
Discrimination is a disease that plagues many organizations and often causes more damage to the organization such as profit loss, economical issues, and natural disasters. This is because discrimination destroys the people who make up the organization and causes damages irreparable by money or promotion. Career paths and patterns are things most affected by such a plague because they damage people mentally, emotionally, and socially. If a person is mentally and emotionally damaged by discrimination, this person becomes paralyzed and unable to function properly within the organization. Also, socially, victims experience role malfunction and resort to isolation for comfort rather than ask for help from colleagues.
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #40: To whitewash or to disenfranchise
If we wanted to give an extreme picture of how people are “integrated” into society, we could go back to the 1940s when Jews, the Roma and other undesirables of the Nazi regime were transported in boxcars to death camps. Just like those that were separated and sent to go the gas chamber or would
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Transcending labels imposed upon us
“Our lives are about transcending the labels that people impose upon us.” Ibrahim Khan
Read on »Exposing racism in Finland: Expectations versus reality of the practical nurse student
Migrant Tales recently published a story about how racism and discrimination occur at a large Helsinki company that hires practical nurses. One of the biggest challenges to tackle racism and discrimination is to acknowledge it. Denial of such social ills is the best cover that racism and discrimination have to maintain the toxic status quo.
Read on »BOX STORY: Key figures on migrants in the Finnish labor market
If there is discrimination in the Finnish labor market, how can we measure it? What do the facts below about migrants in the Finnish labor market tell us? This box story is part of a larger feature on migrant employment called, How systemic racism and discrimination works in the Finnish workplace.
Read on »Discrimination and racism see another day in Finland because justice moves at snail’s pace
At the end of last year, Rasoul Khorram, a naturalized Finn who has lived in this country for six years, tried without luck to open a bank account at the local Osuuspankki savings bank. Migrant Tales told Khorram to get in touch with the bank regional office and the non-discrimination ombudsman about the case.
Read on »أجنبي، عاطل عن العمل ومستبعد من سوق العمل على الرغم من الطلاقة في اللغة الفنلندية
Foreigner, jobless and excluded from the job market despite fluency in Finnish language
How well must I speak Finnish in order to land a job? That question, even if it hounds many of us, is a very topical question that leads us to other ones that expose the culprit of discrimination. Like most matters in Finland that deal with discrimination and racism, the burden of proof falls on the
Read on »If YLE has exposed discrimination against dual nationals in the defense forces why don’t they call it institutional racism?
Why isn’t the national media or any other NGO in Finland calling out YLE’s scoop about how the defense forces and ministry of defense could be in violation of our constitution and a good example of how institutional racism works in Finland?
Read on »Restrictions by the defense forces on dual nationals is discriminatory and should be forcefully rejected
Should it surprise us that a member of an anti-immigration party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is suspicious of dual citizens? Add to the latter that the person who is suspicious is Defense Minister Jussi Niinistö, who is known for his past far-right sympathies.
Read on »A naturalized Finn and businessman cannot open a bank account at the only bank of Pertunmaa
Pertunmaa is a small town of 1,800 inhabitants 18km off Highway 5 that takes you to Mikkeli. The owner of Pertunmaan Pizzeria, which opened its doors this month, has had trouble opening a bank account for his business in the only bank of the town.
Read on »Finland’s Foreign Minister Timo Soini considers new gender and social equality guidelines as “rampant humbug”
Finland is a great country when it comes to good laws that promote social equality. The latest non-discrimination act, which came into force in 2015, is a case in point. Such laws are important in the face of ever-growing social inequality and polarization of society.
Read on »The manager of the Keuruu asylum reception center prohibits religious and cultural celebrations – is this the Finnish way of welcoming newcomers?
Migrant Tales continues to interview sources who know about the Keuruu asylum reception center, where the Afghan asylum seekers claim to be treated in a disrespectful manner. One of the many gripes that some asylum seekers have against the reception center manager, Rasul Azizan, is that he imposes the rules like “a dictator,” is that no religious or cultural celebrations can be held at the center.
Read on »Abuse of asylum seekers at Luona’s reception centers continues despite assurances that they don’t permit “racist behavior”
Migrant Tales understands that asylum seekers at Luona, a private company that manages eight reception centers, continue to suffer abuse. Luona employees with foreign backgrounds treat asylum seekers in a racist and inhumane manner, according to a source.
Read on »Close to 80% of the police service of Finland sees asylum seekers as the greatest threat to security
A poll showed that close to 80% of the police surveyed consider the asylum seeker crisis as the most serious threat to Finnish security, according to YLE News. Another important matter that the poll revealed was that 25.1% of those polled voted for the National Coalition Party (NCP) and 24.4% for the Perussuomalaiset (PS).*
Read on »How “safe and reliable” is the Finnish police towards asylum seekers?
How are asylum seekers treated in Finland by the police? One would hope that it would be in a humane and respectful manner. Migrant Tales has published two stories about asylum seekers being handcuffed and locked up in a police cell for many hours for what we’d consider minor offenses.
Read on »Swimming hall in Finland bans all asylum seekers until the end of January
A good example of how some Finns label Others and how the media fuels the “us” and “them” mentality is when a teenage asylum seeker on Thursday was caught watching naked women taking showers at a local swimming hall in the Finnish town of Haukipudas, located 640km north of Helsinki.
Read on »Finland must get off its whining horse and seek proactive solutions to the asylum seeker situation
Like many anti-immigration politicians, even former National Police Commissioner Mikko Paatero believes that there is some magic number that we shouldn’t cross concerning the number of asylum seekers that arrive to our country. In 2015, a record 32,000 asylum seekers came to Finland. How many arrive this year is an open question.
Read on »UPDATE (December 1): 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. December 1 Two rape stories weighed differently – (Helsingin Sanomat)* What’s wrong with these two stories? Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest daily, published two rape stories Tuesday.
Read on »Finnish fitness center advertises migrants needn’t apply as members
Believe it or not in Finland there are fitness centers that advertise to their Finnish customers that foreigners won’t be allowed to use their facilities, especially those that live in an asylum reception center nearby.
Read on »M. Blanc: My Finnish experience
M. Blanc* I’m a non-muslim Persian student in Finland and this is my story. I was born in Iran but due to the strict islamic rules and the islamic belief I couldn’t fit in from the early ages. I moved to Cyprus as a young teenager and after a while I came to north. I
Read on »Why do migrants have too little say over their matters in Finland?
The Finnish ministry of education allocated 1.3 million euros in 2015 compared with 1.2 million euros the previous year to support migrants in sports, according to YLE. Despite such sums of money migrants and their children still face obstacles like discrimination and racism in sports. Discrimination today in Finnish sports appears as exclusion, name-calling, insults, even violence
Read on »What do Jim Crow, Nuremberg Laws and Finland’s Restricting Act of 1939 have in common?
All forms of intolerance have one factor in common: They are violent ways to disenfranchise and control groups through social exclusion. Jim Crow laws in the United States sought to ensure that blacks remain marginalized in the same way as the Nuremberg Laws of Nazi Germany took away all power from the Jews. In Finland, foreigners
Read on »You can live in Finland as long as you are culturally invisible (and conform to our stereotypes)
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Vesa-Matti Saarakkala’s statement on Seinjäjoki-based daily Ilkka is another clear example of how some politicians, and even the National Board of Education, continue to deny our ever-growing cultural diversity. There is a lot of talk about “multiculturalism” and little action. This leaves us with a hostile message lingering above us: We, white Finns,
Read on »Jallow Momodou: Invisible ‘visible’ minority on the European political agenda
Jallow Momodou* ‘Numbers count’ is a statement we often hear, especially when speaking of democratic weight and power as a means to influence a group’s socio-economic conditions. So far, however, people of African descent and Black European are the most invisible ‘visible’ minority on the European political agenda. This despite the fact that there are
Read on »Institute of Race Relations: Roma – fascism’s first victims, again
Liz Fekete Anti-Roma violence draws strength from fascist ideas that linger on in mainstream European thought. On 15 September, a Roma man from Romania, homeless in Sweden, died of injuries sustained on 31 August, when a fire broke out at a Roma temporary tent camp in Högdalen, southern Stockholm. We will probably never know whether
Read on »Defining white Finnish privilege #14: Losing sight of the real issue
One of the matters that has always surprised me in Finland is that if you speak out against intolerance and racism, you are sometimes seen as the rude one, not the one making the inappropriate comment. Apart from playing down a social ill like intolerance, we too often lose sight of the real issue: the victim. There
Read on »November 6, 1981: Address to the international seminar (on the plight of foreign students in Finland)
Enrique Tessieri Finally the consciousness of the Finnish government and the Finnish public via the press have come to the point where the status of foreigners has been recognized as a problem. The simple fact that this issue has found its way into the public consciousness shows that we’ve come a long way. We’ve made
Read on »Municipal politician’s prison sentence speaks volumes about the PS’ anti-immigration rhetoric
The sentencing by a court on Friday of a Perussuomalaiset (PS)* city councilman and member of the Mikkeli city board to three months in prison speaks volumes about the party’s anti-immigration rhetoric, according to Länsi-Savo. Matti Siitari, who was general manager of M-S Metalli between 2006 and 2010, forced 17 Estonian employees to work 13-hour days
Read on »An effective way of putting racism in context in Finland
There are many ways to understand ethnic hatred and racism in Finland. One of these is by substituting the word ‘migrant’ for your ethnic group and/or ‘woman’ in a text that’s aimed at fueling ‘us’ and ‘them.’ Let’s take the recent claims of two politicians, MPs Tom Packalén and Pia Kauma, to see how passions are
Read on »Finnish NCP youth league gives thumbs down to cultural diversity
Remember the proposals that the Youth League of the National Coalition Party (NCP) made last year concerning the type of society they’d like Finland to be in the future? Some of the many proposals that raised eyebrows and created quite a media storm back then included plans to scrap the Ombudsman for Minorities as well
Read on »Over two thirds of Finnish Roma surveyed said they had experienced discrimination in the past year
A study by the Ombudsman for Minorities of Finland reveals that a bit over two thirds of Finnish Roma that were surveyed said they had experienced discrimination in the past year, according to Turku-based Turun Sanomat.* Two-hundred and forty-nine Roma of different ages took part in the study. Read full story (in Finnish) here.
Read on »Death of Colombian in police custody in Finland sheds light on the desperate plight of many undocumented migrants
The tragic death* of a twenty-six-year-old Colombian should awaken us to the many dangers that some undocumented migrants face in Europe. According to the Finnish police, Sergio Camilo Becerra González, committed suicide while his parents suspect he was a victim of xenophobia, according to Caracol. Both outcomes, death by suicide or xenophobia, are harrowing reminders
Read on »Helsingin Sanomat poll reinforces why unfair hiring practices are probably widespread in Finland
A survey commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat reveals what we’ve known all along about the causes of unfair hiring practices, high migrant unemployment and discrimination. The survey revealed that six out of 10 people polled would hire a Finn over a migrant if jobs were scarce. Is scarcity the real factor? Even during good economic times, migrant
Read on »European Commission to take Finland to the EU Court of Justice for not having racial equality body
The European Commission (EC) will take Finland to the EU Court of Justice for not having a racial equality body for employment matters, according to an EC statement. Article 13 of the Racial Equality Directive requires member states to set up a national equality body whose tasks, among other aims, include providing assistance to victims, conducting and
Read on »Defining white Finnish privilege #6: Not having a voice and the media
In many respects white privilege, or specifically white Finnish privilege, is a good way to understand some of the challenges that migrants and especially non-white Finns face in this country. Migrant Tales invites readers to share their thoughts on the social ill. Please send your comments on the topic to [email protected] We’d love to hear from you.
Read on »Defining white Finnish privilege #2: Third culture children versus “pupil with immigrant background”
In many respects white privilege, or specifically white Finnish privilege, is a good way to understand some of the challenges that migrants and especially non-white Finns face in this country. Migrant Tales invites its readers to share their thoughts on the social ill. Please send your comments on the topic to [email protected] We’d love to hear from
Read on »How long will the Finnish police resist ethnic and cultural diversity?
Much of Finland is still living in a world where nothing is supposed to change as our society becomes ever-culturally and ethnically diverse. We read about the Sikh busman Gill Sukhdarshan Singh, who had to wait for a year to get the right to wear a turban at work, a Muslim woman who was fired
Read on »Foreign Student editorial (February 1981): On immigrants living in Finland
The Foreign Student was a short-lived but courageous newsletter of the Foreign Student Club of Helsinki. The humble publication appeared from January 1981 to January 1982 and lasted 11 issues. Much of the things the newsletter wrote about 35 years ago are still valid today. Surprisingly those that opposed what we wrote weren’t officials or Finns, but
Read on »Why do we consider Timo Soini to be “a good cop” if he brought all these “bad cops” to power?
Doesn’t Perussuomalaiset (PS) leader Timo Soini bear responsibility for giving people like Jussi Halla-aho, James Hirvisaari, Teuvo Hakkarainen, Olli Immonen and a very long list of others a platform to spread their hatred and intolerance? Why does the media let Soini get off the hook so easily? Is Soini the culprit for anti-immigration sentiment and
Read on »Sweden’s white paper on the abuses and rights violations against the Roma will have a positive effect on Finland
Sweden published on March 26 a white paper on abuses and rights violations against the Roma during the last century. The white paper is significant since it is the first time that the Swedish government has published and acknowledged Sweden’s long history of discrimination against the Roma minority. Should Finland follow Sweden’s example? If sociologist
Read on »Romany minority discrimination case sparks government outrage in Sweden
The Swedish government has called a crisis meeting due to a discrimination case of a Roma woman at Stockholm’s Sheraton Hotel, reports Helsingin Sanomat. The woman, who was invited by the government to speak at a seminar on discrimination of the Roma in Sweden’s capital, was escorted with her traditional dress out of the hotel’s
Read on »Helsinki District Court fines clothing store managers for firing Muslim woman
The managers of Guess, a Helsinki clothing store, have been fined for firing a Muslim woman for wearing a headscarf to work, reports YLE in English. It is the first case ever decided by the Helsinki District Court, according to YLE. Read full story here. Reports YLE in English: “Helsinki District court has fined managers at
Read on »“Migrants” lag two years behind “ethnic Finns” in Pisa results
Here’s an interesting story on the Finnish News Agency (STT) wires: Migrant students at school lag two years behind so-called ethnic Finns in the Program for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results. Of all the OECD countries, Finland’s Pisa result saw the biggest drop in 2013 from the previous year. Read full story here. Anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS) MPs
Read on »Language plays an important role in migrant adaption but so do acceptance, respect and equal opportunities
With the help of migrants, YLE Uutiset Suoralinja television program Monday at 7.20 pm wants to find out how much do Finnish and Swedish language skills help you integrate and find employment. When teaching migrants one of Finland’s two official languages, what works and what doesn’t? One interesting question that we could ask is why are
Read on »Children of immigrants: “Only Finnish spoken here and you’re a mamu”
We claim that Finland has one of the best educational systems in the world. We claim that we teach our children social equality and that they have equal rights to advance in life. Why then are children of immigrants called at some schools mamus and why do we force them to speak only Finnish? The term mamu
Read on »Landmark turban case in Finland to go to court in February
Gill Sukhdashan Singh, the Sikh bus driver that has been denied the right to wear a turban at work by his employer, told Migrant Tales that transport workers union AKT will take Veolia bus company to court concerning the matter. Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest daily, has been following the story closely. Read full story here.
Read on »Migrant Tales (March 13, 2012): Stateless persons do not have the right to open a bank account in Finland
Here is a pretty odd case that I encountered Monday (March 12) when I went to Nordea bank in Mikkeli to open an account for a stateless person. After a few questions, the bank employee said that the person needs a valid passport to open an account at that bank. But if on that passport
Read on »Lieksa, Finland, councilperson who wanted a “Somali-free” meeting room gets sacked as the PS’ town council leader
Esko Saastamoinen, the Perussuomalaiset (PS) councilperson from Lieksa who demanded that a ”Somali-free” meeting room for his delegation, has been sacked as the PS’ town council leader, according to Karjalainen, a Joensuu-based daily. Saastamoinen was, however, able to retain his post as the party’s Lieksa town board first vice president. The PS councilperson faces as
Read on »Can Peru shed light on how to identify and tackle intolerance in Finland?
In order to understand how racism works in countries like Finland, it is important to see how it occurs in multi-ethnic countries like Peru. While the documentary below clearly shows the many ugly faces of intolerance in Peru, it gives us some good answers to address the social ill in Finland. One of the interesting
Read on »Migrants’ life in Finland: Some endure intolerance better than others – some hit back, others don’t
The ocean is a desert, with it’s life underground And a perfect disguise above. Under the cities lies, a heart made of ground, But the human will give no love. A Horse with No name, America Intolerance, bigotry, racism, prejudice and a list of other social ills strike their victims in different ways. Some of
Read on »Zuzeeko’s blog: Skin color matters in Finland, Yle hidden camera shows
Dark-skinned people in Finland struggle with discrimination on a daily basis. On week days many struggle in vain to find work related to their studies — or even unpaid internships. Some of those who have given up seeking skilled jobs are sometimes mistreated, disrespected and exploited in odd jobs for which they are overqualified. On
Read on »Finnish Immigration Service terrorizes immigrants (Part II)
By Dana Why are we all so passive if we’re oppressed? What do you fear? What will you fear losing? Money? Benefits? What, then? Where’s your humanity? Who makes up your mind for you? Who controls your thoughts? How do you build and make your morals and values stronger each day? What is your religion?
Read on »Direct initiative to demote Swedish language at schools stands slim chance of approval
What are we to think about a direct initiative that got over 50,000 signatures today to demote Finland’s second official language to elective status at schools? While this initiative stands a slim chance of passing in parliament, it shows how intolerance has raised its head in Finland recently. Even if those that are lobbying against
Read on »ENAR press statement: Anti-Roma statements in France: a race to be the most outrageous?
MT comment: Taking into account the xenophobia gripping Europe these days and how far right, populist and even mainstream parties are vying for the anti-immigration vote, the same is going on in Finland. The victims are the most vulnerable groups like Romany beggars. A story on YLE in English reports that the National Coalition Party is
Read on »OECD study states that immigration boosted Finnish economy
An OECD study claims that immigration boosted the Finnish economy by 0.16% in 2011 including pensions. This revelation is a blow to anti-immigration pundits, who commonly claim that immigration drains social welfare resources and offers no economic benefits. As Migrant Tales has shown over and over again the red herrings, urban tales and outright racism
Read on »How serious is the Future of Migration 2020 Strategy?
The more I think of the government’s published white paper on immigration policy made public on Thursday, the more I have reason to worry. Apart from omitting altogether the term multiculturalism and cultural from diversity in the Future of Migration 2020 Strategy, your suspicions aren’t put to rest by the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK),
Read on »Migrant Tales turns six years today
Migrant Tales celebrates its sixth year as a blog today. Our blog has grown from a humble voice to one that gets noticed in Finland and abroad. Our aim is a simple: Migrant Tales is a blog community that debates some of the salient issues facing immigrants and minorities in Finland and elsewhere. It aims to be a
Read on »Ombudsman for Minorities responds to Migrant Tales’ queries concerning phone operators and insurance companies
Migrant Tales spoke recently to the office of the Ombudsman for Minorities about two cases by Finland’s mobile phone operators and insurance companies. We asked as well if using the term students with immigrant backgrounds, or maahanmuuttajataustainen, at elementary and middle schools was discriminatory. The term maahanmuuttajataustainen appears to be so common in some Mikkeli schools that
Read on »ENAR press statement: Riots in Sweden – time for government to finally address ethnic minorities’ exclusion
Comment: As Migrant Tales has written on a number of postings, the riots in Sweden mirror the dire situation of some immigrant groups in that country and how marginalized they are from the rest of society. ______ Brussels, 28 May 2013 – The ongoing riots in Stockholm, Sweden are a strong wake-up call for
Read on »City of Helsinki shouldn’t contract companies exploiting foreign workers
By Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng Foreign workers in the cleaning services sector in Finland face exploitation and abuse from employers and sometimes from customers. The authorities, including city councils that award cleaning contracts to companies that violate employment rules and collective agreements share the blame. Image: The Copenhagen Post According to a Yle report, work safety inspections conducted in
Read on »Dear Migrant Tales…when the workplace becomes a hostile place
Dear Migrant Tales, Being the only black person at work can be challenging but what about if the workplace becomes openly hostile to you? By hostile I mean being constantly watched by your coworkers, if you make a mistake it’s always a bigger deal than if a white coworker did it, if you’re speaking on
Read on »DNA, Saunalahti, IF, Nordea: “Backward-looking” rules and laws mirror Finland’s anti-foreign sentiment
A comment on Migrant Tales by Chef summed up pretty well how “several backward-looking” rules used arbitrarily by mobile phone and insurance companies continue to discriminate and make life difficult for immigrants. Why does this still happen in Finland, a Nordic welfare state country that promotes and bases its values on social equality (tasa-arvo)? The suspicion that
Read on »DNA and Saunalahti don’t openly advertise that immigrants must live in Finland for two years and pay a deposit
Migrant Tales got in touch today with two telephone operators: DNA and Saunalahti. Both companies said that the minimum residence requirement of two years in Finland for an immigrant to get a mobile phone line or contract. Everything got complicated, however, when I asked them to tell me what they said in writing. When I asked a
Read on »A case for the Ombudsman for Minorites: Finnish mobile phone and insurance companies
Migrant Tales has reported on how difficult it has been for some immigrants to open a bank account in this country never mind get access to online banking services. We learned last week that immigrants are having similar problems with mobile phone operators and obtaining life insurance. Migrant Tales will send Monday to the Ombudsman for
Read on »Do mobile phone companies and insurers discriminate against immigrants living in Finland?
Migrant Tales published Monday a story about how mobile phone operators in Finland require immigrants to make at least a 300-euro deposit and be a resident of this country for two years to get a mobile phone line. The Ombudsman for Minorities is a good place to inquire about your rights. They have a
Read on »Our lopsided debate on immigration and refugees serves to keep our society white
The most startling fact about a US state department report on human rights for 2012 weren’t the sentences for hate speech handed to Perussuomalaiset (PS) party members such as MP Jussi Halla-aho and Freddy Van Wonterghem, but the discrimination suffered by Finland’s Romany minority, which number about 10,000. Read full US secretary of state human
Read on »European Network Against Racism statement: Europe is losing out by failing to recognise the talents of migrants and ethnic minorities
March 9, 2013: Migrants and ethnic minorities contribute hugely to Europe’s economic, social, political and cultural life. But failing to recognise and value this contribution –or worse, setting barriers to migrants’ participation in society– results in a waste of these many talents. This has a damaging impact on Europe’s resilience to the economic crisis, its creativity,
Read on »Some Finnish banks require Somalis to be Finnish citizens to have access to online banking
Migrant Tales understands that employees of banks like Nordea, Osuuspankki and Handelsbanken in Kouvola and Mikkeli tell Somalis that they must be Finnish citizens in order to have access to online banking. A blog entry published in March 2012 highlighted the difficulties that stateless persons face in opening a bank account never mind gaining access to
Read on »The National Discrimination Tribunal of Finland fines Nordea for discrimination
The National Discrimination Tribunal of Finland (Syrjintälautakunta) has given Nordea Bank Finland a conditional fine of 5,000 euros for not accepting a French identity card as proof of identity, the Tribunal said in a statement. Moreover, the Tribunal considered the bank’s refusal to serve the client and his removal from the premises as an infringement
Read on »Lip service and inaction water poisonous plants like racism
Instead of debating whether racism and prejudice are serious problems or not in Finland, why not look at the factors that permit their existence in our society? A good starting point could be asking oneself the following question: Is our reaction to such social ills a reaction? Inaction, be it in the form of lip
Read on »Migrant Tales (July 8, 2012): The absurdity of the reverse-racism argument in Finland
Every now and then you’ll hear a visitor on Migrant Tales claim: What about [reverse] racism against [white] Finns!? Racism is a complex problem but one matter singles it out: It is an effective tool to socially exclude, control and exploit other groups in society from vital resources such as jobs and economic wealth.
Read on »Migrant Tales (July 8, 2012): The absurdity of the reverse-racism argument in Finland
Every now and then you’ll hear a visitor on Migrant Tales claim: What about [reverse] racism against [white] Finns!? Racism is a complex problem but one matter singles it out: It is an effective tool to socially exclude, control and exploit other groups in society from vital resources such as jobs and economic wealth. The
Read on »When the state and regulations scheme to make life difficult for immigrants
The lives of stateless persons in Finland isn’t easy by a long shot. On the one hand we want newcomers to adapt to our society but deny them a basic right like opening a bank account. Think for a moment how complicated life would be without a bank account. If you are a stateless person
Read on »Per-Looks: A taste of one’s own medicine for the PS of Finland
I’ve been reading with some interest the ongoing debate on social media about the Per-Looks blog that has outraged some Perussuomalaiset (PS) party members. The blog shows a number of PS candidates running for office in the October 28 municipal elections. Just for the record, I don’t like to make fun of people due to
Read on »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 »The absurdity of the reverse-racism argument in Finland
Every now and then you’ll hear a visitor on Migrant Tales claim: What about [reverse] racism against [white] Finns!? Racism is a complex problem but one matter singles it out: It is an effective tool to socially exclude, control and exploit other groups in society from vital resources such as jobs and economic wealth. The
Read on »Have the PS and MP Tossavainen of Finland ever heard of the Non-Discrimination Act?
If the future of Finland were ever left to the populist Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, it’s quite certain that this country would be doomed. The ones that would suffer the most would be immigrants and visible minorities. Outright discrimination would be the rule. The PS, who should know better, sent a formal request to the council
Read on »Migrant Rights’ Network of the UK: The Elephant in the Workplace – Why it’s time we talked about migration and labour exploitation
Dr Sam Scott* Certainly, it is rare for evidence of worker mistreatment to come to the fore but this does not mean, in our opinion, that it is ipso facto rare. Partly, the challenge is one of identifying workplace exploitation and persuading victims to come forward with evidence. Partly, it is about how
Read on »La Prórroga: 500 euros para desmontar mitos racistas
El anuncio salió en el diario local La Garrotxa y contaba con el respaldo del abogado Joan Capdevila. Es decir, quien quisiera comprobar que el anuncio iba en serio podía llamar a este despacho en Olot, y si las pruebas aprobadas eran irrefutables, el abogado se encargaría de pagarle su premio. El diario La Garrotxa, a su vez, se comprometía a publicar la historia -con las pruebas conseguidas por el ganador- siempre respetando el anonimato del participante.
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 »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 »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 »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 »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 »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 »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 »YLE: Yritykset mainostavat työntekijöidensä suomalaisuudella
Useat pienet palvelualan yritykset mainostavat itseään sillä, että heidän kaikki työntekijänsä ovat suomalaisia. Vähemmistövaltuutetun toimistossa suomalaisia työntekijöitä korostavaa mainontaa pidetään arveluttavana. Jos markkinointi vaikuttaa työntekijöiden valitsemiseen, se voi olla myös laitonta.
Read on »What Finland’s immigration policy lacks
If we look at the dismal amount of immigrants and refugees as well as high unemployment one can reach only one conclusion: a policy that has failed miserably. Certainly progress has been made: the number of immigrants has risen albeit slowly to 143,256 today from 12,670 in 1981 while unemployment has come down officially from 53% in 1994 to over 20%.
Read on »The role of the Finnish social welfare state and newcomers
It is surprising that one can hear these days in private conversation from some teachers and people working with immigrants and refugees that some national groups should never be brought to this country because they will never adapt to our way of life. “Why do they continue to bring them here?” some say.
Read on »Ghostbusting national identities
Linda has posed an interesting question: What is Finnish culture? Even though the answer to the question is more complex than one would think, it brings forth some very important points about our identity and who we believe we are. One of the biggest problems with “national identities” and “cultures” is that they are built
Read on »Does Finland and Europe need a civil rights movement?
One of the things that has surprised me about this blog are the overtly racist comments. These types of opinions resemble how some whites saw blacks in the United States before the civil rights movement. I do not think it has anything to do with expressing one’s opinions freely nor that some Finns and Europeans
Read on »Being an immigrant in Finland: A letter from Ida
I do not usually do this. But I thought it was such a candid comment that I had to bring it to all of your attention. It reveals, in my opinion, what some foreigners feel about Finnish society but do not dare to say too loudly in public. Thank you Ida, I hope others follow
Read on »Myths surrounding immigration to Finland
Reading posts and getting information on immigration in general in dynamic multicultural societies, one can pick out the myths that some Finns still use to claim that immigration is a bad thing. Myths 1) Immigration takes away jobs from Finns. 2) Immigrants come to Finland to take advantage of the welfare system. 3) Immigrants have
Read on »Foreigners will help Finns see who they are
My father, who moved to Europe from Argentina at the age of 21in the early 1950s, told me that he never learned so much about himself except when he became a foreigner. In the same manner, and as more foreigners move to Finland, can they help us see the positive and negative aspects of our
Read on »Some questions about immigration to Finland
Many thanks to all of you that have taken so actively part in the debate on immigration to Finland. There have been a wide spectrum of opinions over the issue. The most positive matter that these comments have shown is that we can debate them in a civil fashion. But there are some questions that
Read on »Is there racism in Finland?
One of the most successful posts of this blog is, Are you a target of racism in Finland? In my opinion the reason why so many have read it is because there is a racism problem in Finland. A Niko wrote a recent comment, where he states, “there are some real problems in Finnish society
Read on »Finland also locks up asylum seeker children
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- A child in the Joutseno Immigration Removal Center.
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