Posts Tagged: enrique tessieri

Letter from Dana: This is especially for you Enrique Tessieri

MT Comment: Dana’s letter is humbling to say the least and proves that we have the strength as a community to change matters. The words and opinions we publish can move mountains, or at least those mountains that reside in us. Thank you Dana.  ___________ By Dana I’m standing up for me…for my spirit… for me

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »