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 »Posts Tagged: Immigrants in Finland
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 »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 »HS: Ihmisoikeusjärjestö moittii Suomen henkilökorttiuudistusta
Bryssel. Rasismin vastainen eurooppalainen järjestö moittii Suomen henkilökorttiuudistusta, jossa Suomen kansalaisille ja Suomessa asuville ulkomaalaisille annetaan eriväriset henkilökortit.
Read on »YLE: Maahanmuuttajaehdokkaita yhä vain kourallinen
Maahanmuutto on yksi eduskuntavaalien kuumimmista puheenaiheista. Maahanmuuttajaehdokkaita on kuitenkin vaaleissa vain 45. Määrä riippuu myös laskutavasta. Maahanmuuttajaksi on laskettu myös ehdokkaita, joiden isä tai äiti on ulkomaalainen.
Read on »Verkkouutiset: Stubb: Maahanmuuttokeskustelun ilmapiiri ahdistava
Comment: It is not the first time that Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb has taken a strong stand against the xenophobia, racism and ignorance that too often characterizes the ongoing debate on immigrants and immigration to Finland. About a month before the election on April 17, it not only takes leadership but guts to speak out
Read on »Opettaja: Lukijakysely: Maahanmuuttajat ovat kouluille rikkaus ja rasite
Lukijakysely: Maahanmuuttajat ovat kouluille rikkaus ja rasite. Kolmannes riittäisi osuudeksi Väkivalta lisääntyy, kantaväestön ja ja maahanmuuttajien välit kiristyvät ja opettajat siirtyvät muihin kouluihin, kun maahanmuuttajien osuus koulun oppilaista kasvaa suureksi. Lähes joka toisen opettajan mielestä maahanmuuttajien määrä pitäisi koulussa rajata 20–30 prosenttiin.
Read on »Migrant Tales memorable quotes of the week to February 21
Migrant Tales publishes weekly on Monday some interesting quotes on the ongoing immigration debate in Finland. If you have some quotes you would like to contribute, please forward them to [email protected]
Thank you.
Read on »Photography exhibition: “My dreams – So distant, so close” (4.3-20.4)
If you are in Helsinki and near Caisa, go an see my photo exhibition.
Read on »Valokuvanäyttely: “Toiveeni – niin kaukana, niin lähellä” (4.3-20.4)
Jos olet Helsingissä ja lähellä Caisaa, voit tutustua minun valokuvanäyttelyn.
Read on »Etelä-Suomen Sanomat: Ulkomaalaisten rikokset kuohuttavat
Comment: Here is an interesting story about crime and immigrants. Human rights activist and lawyer, Hussein Muhammed, gives his take on the problem. One of the big issues whenever an immigrant commits a crime is that the whole groups is labelled. One way of lowering crime would be a more effective family reunification policy, which
Read on »Finland’s immigration policy must look beyond Europe
One of the biggest challenges facing Finland in the next few decades will be defining what role immigrants will play in our society. Anti-immigration groups like the True Finns would like to place immigrants under a magnifying glass (see Nuiva campaign document) while other parties have taken more lukewarm stances.
Read on »Immigrant success stories in Finland (updated 30.1.11)
Migrant Tales will begin publishing short antecdotes of immigrants’ lives in Finland. Success can mean keeping one’s head above water in a very difficult labor and adverse political claimate that does not favor immigrants.
Please send your stories to [email protected]
Read on »Success stories of immigrants in Finland
Migrant Tales would be interested in publishing cases of immigrants and refugees that have succeeded and adapted well to Finland. There are many cases out there and we’d like to hear your story. Why? Because your example would take steam off anti-immigrant parties like the True Finns and other ones who only see red when you mention the word maahanmuuttaja.
Read on »Aamulehti: Suomessa pian kansalaisuuden saa helpommin kuin oleskeluluvan?
Suomen kansalaisuus voi irrota jatkossa helpommin kuin oleskelulupa. Vakavakaan rikos ei estä kansalaisuuden saamista – toisin kuin monessa muussa EU-maassa.
Read on »Hyvä Homma: Suomalainen Unelma
Comment: The Green Party has started a rival website to Hommaforum called Hyvä Homma. It is supposed to be a forum where immigrants and refugees can give their point of view. This is an excellent idea considering that the overwhelming majority taking part in the ongoing debate are Finns and the True Finns with very
Read on »Are you in favor of “mamu” or “maahanmuuttaja” – or none of the above?
What type of feelings does the term mamu, the shortened form of maahanmuuttaja, or immigrant, awaken in you? Fortunately mamu is less commonly used today than before but you can still see it peppered in the media. A fresh example is the Green Party’s Vihreä Lanka.
Read on »Ten points for journalists when writing on immigrants and refugees
Ten good points to keep for journalists to keep in mind when writing about immigrants and refugees:
1. Study as much as you can the group you are going to write on. Reading up means getting in touch with people from that community and spending time with them. You would be surprised by how many new angles emerge. Being as objective as possible when writing a story on immigrants means throwing away or keeping at bay your suspicions and prejudice. In short it means for you to take that group’s views as well.
Read on »YLE: Erilaisuus pelotti ja puhutti yhä enemmän
Maahanmuuttokriittisyys, uskonnollisten ja seksuaalisten vähemmistöjen asema sekä koulutuspolitiikka olivat vuoden 2010 puheenaiheita. Maahanmuuttajien määrä oli kymmenkertaistunut 20 vuodessa, mutta kuka tai mikä hyväksyttiin suomalaiseksi, ja mitä yritettiin pitkin hampain sietää? Entä mitä koulutuspolitiikan muutokset kertovat käsityksestämme tulevaisuuden Suomesta?
Read on »YLE: Maahanmuuttajanuoret kouluttautuvat huonosti
Maahanmuuttajanuoret kouluttautuvat selvästi huonommin kuin syntyperäiset suomalaiset. Suurin ero näkyy pelkän peruskoulun suorittaneiden määrissä. Maahanmuuttajista yli neljännes jättää koulunkäynnin peruskouluun, syntyperäisistä suomalaisista noin 15 prosenttia.
Read on »Why integration does not work effectively in Finland
One of the most important matters for immigrants and their children is to find a place in society. This can be done through work (opportunity) and most importantly by acceptance. In the same way, some immigrants that move to Finland have to adjust to a whole new type of society based on cultural diversity.
Read on »YLE: Tamara Suzin käännytys keskeytettiin
Kouvolassa asuvan iäkkään venäläisnaisen Tamara Suzin käännytys on keskeytetty. Euroopan ihmisoikeustuomioistuin antoi tiistaina välipäätöksen, joka estää Suzin käännytyksen Venäjälle toistaiseksi.
Read on »YLE: Närpes Becomes Magnet for Immigrants
The western town of Närpes in Ostrobothnia has become a model for the successful integration of immigrants, reports YLE. Home to more than 30 nationalities, today one in ten inhabitants of this small town have foreign roots.
Read on »Helsingin Sanomat, mielipide: Omar Bahaaldin: Maahanmuuttajilla ei ole Suomessa kantaväestön oikeuksia
Viime aikoina media on nostanut esiin maahanmuuttajiin liittyviä asioita, kuten kotoutumisen, työhön ja koulutukseen pääsemisen sekä suomen kielen oppimisen. Haluan muistuttaa, että kotoutuminen on paitsi poliittinen ja taloudellinen myös yhteiskunnallinen prosessi.
Read on »Racists out of the Finnish closet
If I had to ask a question about racism today in Finland, I would try to understand its extent and how it manifests itself. Why has racism raised its head today in Finland? Should we thank those that have exposed this murky side of ourselves?
Read on »Arsonists attack Buddhist temple in Finland
The attack by arsonists of a Buddhist temple in Turku’s Moisio’s district is another worrisome sign of how a deranged group of people can soil Finland’s good name. If there is any finger pointing for what has happened, it should go to some Finnish politicians who, owing to the April 2011 elections, have incited and encouarged such acts in Finland.
Read on »How exploited are immigrants in Finland?
I spoke with an SDP MP recently about how Finland had turned into a two-tier market, where small- and medium-sized companies were exploiting immigrant employees by overworking and grossly underpaying them.
Read on »The mea culpa of a former Finnish immigrant basher
There was a very interesting interview of former anti-immigration Muutos 2011 president, Juha Mäki-Ketelä, in Suomen Kuvalehti, who surprisingly resigned in July. Muutos 2011 is close to registering as a political party to take part in the April 2011 elections. Its campaign platform is strongly based on the usual anti-immigration rhetoric found in similar xenophobic and ultra-nationalist parties in Europe.
Read on »(Another) poll on what Finns think of future immigrants
When will these end and when will these what-Finns-think-of-immigrants polls stop? Name me of a country where a native believes there are too few immigrants and therefore wants more foreigners to come? Why are these types of polls important?
Read on »MTV3 poll shows Social Democrats most satisfied with immigration policy
A poll published by MTV3 on Sunday shows that the Social Democrats are the most satisfied with Finland’s immigration policy, with Kokoomus and the Center Party wanting stricter controls.
Read on »The immigration debate in Finland is far from “normal”
When debating discrimination of immigrants and refugees in Finland, one can scent two matters in the air: hostile suspicion mixed with a dose of patronizing.
Read on »Foreign journalists and Finnish interpretations of history
If one wants to do an interesting study into the role of the state and the media, one could look at the cold war years of Finland.
Read on »MTV3 poll shows Finns do not want more refugees in their municipality
A poll published by MTV3 on December 12 showed that the majority of Finns do not want their municipality to accept refugees. Even though 34% had no opinion on the matter, 46% said they were either against or very much against their municipality accepting refugees. Only 20% were either in favor or very much in favor of accepting refugees.
Read on »How do some Finns discriminate?
In countries such as the United States and Brazil the term “race” is used to find out the ethnic diversity of their societies. While it is unclear why Brazil classifies in its census people from different ethnicities, in the United States it is done when drawing up electoral districts.
Read on »Immigrants in Finland must have a voice
One may ask why unemployment among foreigners was three-fold higher than the national average of 7.6% in the month of August. Certainly those that take a stricter view on the role of immigrants in Finland may claim that it is due to lack of language, culture and job skills.
Read on »Is multiculturalism good for Finland?
One of the surprising matters about the debate on multiculturalism is how little we understand the basic terms. Take for instance the term multicultural. Does it only mean a society comprised physically of many (multi) cultures? Or is it a policy that facilitates the participation of immigrants and ethnic minorities in a society?
Read on »“New” Finns, Finns or which ethnic label fancies you?
The term “New Finn” was recently used by Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen. Is it an appropriate label to use for foreigners living in the country?
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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