THE STORY WAS UPDATED When you leave out the context in a news story, you leave the door open for bias. One topic in Tuesday’s A-studio talk show was whether it’s ok to burn the Quran in Finland. Contrary to other Nordic countries like Sweden and Denmark, burning the Koran in Finland is illegal. While
Read on »Posts Tagged: Perussuomalaiset
Kokoomus and Perussuomalaiset: Two different views on labor immigration
On Monday, we saw the stances of the radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and National Coalition Party’s (Kokoomus) views on the role of labor immigration outside the EU. On MTV, PS’ Sakari Puisto faced off with Pia Kauma of Kokoomus, while on A-studio, Leena Meri of the PS debated with Elina Valtonen. It is depressing to watch
Read on »Finland’s fictitious search for the ideal foreigner
Contrary to the last three parliamentary elections in 2011, 2015, and 2019, the upcoming parliamentary election on April 2 is different for several reasons: war rages in the Ukeraine, Finland has sought Nato membership, economic growth, and chronic labor shortages are just a few. Apart from labeling people from outside the EU as “harmful” migrants,
Read on »The Perussuomalaiset could face a counter “jytky” in April
Then Perussuomalaiset (PS)* head Timo Soini celebrated the party’s historic 2011 election victory as a “jytky,” or a loud bang. We may witness in April a counter “jytky.” I live in a small city of about 53,000 people 230km north of Helsinki’s capital. It is a good example of the demographic challenges facing Finland. Occasionally,
Read on »Voting down the Perussuomalaiset in April is the best indication that matters have changed for the better
Despite the fake claims by parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, Finland has historically done everything possible to halt foreigners from moving to Finland. It was not until 1983, or 65 years that Finland passed its first aliens act. Restrictions on foreigners and foreign companies were the rule. Did you know that even if women had
Read on »Media Monitoring Group of Finland [1]: The media should fact-check if “Kela money” is a PS fabrication
THE STORY WAS UPDATED On Thursday’s question-and-answer session of parliament, Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Mari Rantanen, who is a former police officer and usually denigrates migrants, claimed that “practically all people from developing countries” that come to Finland pay a threshold fee. According to a story in Iltalehti, “about 400 people” are “marked or suspected” of
Read on »The PS’ extremism is poison for its election prospects
Living inside an Islamophobic bubble is like pissing in your pants during a freezing day. At first, it may offer relief, but then reality sets in. The PS’ tar-and-feather campaign against migrants and minorities is hitting new lows. Since the rise of the PS in the major leagues of Finnish politics after 2011, the present
Read on »Do Finnish voters want a toxic cocktail of masochism and xenophobia in April’s election?
The latest opinion poll published Thursday by Yle shows three important matters: Support for the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) and Perussuomalaiset (PS)* slip while the Social Democrats regain second place. Another takeaway is the Greens, which took over the Center Party to capture fourth place. In my opinion, two reasons for the big drop in
Read on »Finland’s radical-right party’s xenophobic copy and paste of Denmark’s hardline immigration policy
There is nothing new in the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* immigration program announced Monday. A surprise for me was that the PS hardline stance means ALL migrants. Previously, I thought the term “migrant” used by the PS was code for Muslims or persons from outside the EU. If the PS had its way, it would completely overhaul
Read on »Media Monitoring Group of Finland [1]: Finland’s “youth gang problem” is Finland’s denied “racism problem”
The youth gang “problem” in Finland is a knee-jerk racist reaction. On and off, we have read about our youth gang “problem” with sensationalist headlines from newspapers that should know better. Remember back in 2014, when radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Tom Packalén created quite a stir when he claimed that a youth gang in East
Read on »Riikka Purra and the anti-EU PS may be too radical for Finland’s taste
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson, Riikka Purra, stuck her mouth in her foot at a debate with National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) head Petteri Orpo, when she said that it is still the radical-right party’s long-range aim to leave the EU. “Finnish citizens are not in favor of leaving the EU,” she was quoted as saying in Helsingin
Read on »Kokoomus proves it again: racism coupled with nationalism is a good fix before a parliamentary election
Perussouomalaiset (PS)* head Riikka Purra wasn’t the only one overjoyed by the latest Helsingin Sanomat opinion poll, which showed the radical-right party overtaking the Social Democrats to second place after the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus). Behind Purra was Kokoomus chief Petteri Orpo, gleeing. Finns will go to the polls on April 4 to elect 200 MPs. While observers
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #91: The right to generalize and victimize minorities
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Those who are worried about the blow to the credibility of the security guards due to several scandals that even led to the death of a woman in Espoo are quick to point out one should not jump to conclusions and label all security guards and the sector. True, we should
Read on »Sanna Marin: Bravo for stating that the PS is a racist party! Better late than never.
Politicians like Prime Minister Sanna Marin have offered long-overdue leadership when challenging racism in Finnish politics by stating what many know: The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is a racist party. “Looking at the speeches of individual [PS] MPs, these speeches have been racist and genuinely hostile to certain minorities,” said Marin in a debate with Petteri Orpo,
Read on »Riikka Purra: I am a racist and proud of it!
After the leaders of the Social Democrats, Greens, and Left Alliance announced that they would not form part of a future government with the radical-right Perussuomalaiset (PS),* Riikka Purra has lashed out against her party’s critics. The latest racist taking points of the PS is excluding foreigners from getting social welfare and creating a modern
Read on »Finland’s security business sector must be placed under greater scrutiny
THE STORY WAS UPDATED I always ask if the politician or public official will change anything or keep the status quo. The answer you may get offers rapid insight into the problem. The security business scandal grew Thursday when a former Securitas manager is suspected of aggravated fraud in a fictitious case involving protection for
Read on »The PS is “offended” because they are not treated as a “normal” party
Bravo, Social Democratic Prime Minister Sanna Marin! Bravo, Green League Minister of the Environment Maria Ohisalo! Bravo, Left Alliance Minister of Education and Culture Li Anderson! Bravo for stating in plain Finnish that your parties would not form part of a new government with the radical right Perussuomalaiset (PS).* When the PS took 39 seats
Read on »Media Monitoring Group of Finland*: HS can and should do a better job when reporting on Riikka Purra
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party chairperson, Riikka Purra, has actively promoted her racist talking points. Some of these are the far-right great replacement theory and, most recently, her party’s aim to exclude non-Finnish citizens from getting social welfare. While such a suggestion may appear for now a political stunt to lure voters, Purra’s suggestion is outrageous, to
Read on »No comment, silence, not even a squeak from Kokoomus about plans to officially disenfranchise foreigners in Finland
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Being a minority in Finland is being nearly always suspicious of official intentions. Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Riikka Purra reiterated her party’s aim to exclude foreign residents from getting social welfare. According to her, the only ones who qualify for social welfare are Finnish citizens. The radical-right politician added that such plans
Read on »The Perussuomalaiset and Republicans: Two political clown shows in one
The Republicans exposed the clown show in choosing, after six failed attempts, the speaker of the house. It is a mirror image of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* parliamentary group. All there is personal political greed, simplistic 1+1=2 (non)solutions, and utter incompetence. Today, Yle published its latest monthly opinion poll, which showed the PS overtaking the Social
Read on »Surprised that former Kokoomus MP Wille Rydman found his new home in the PS? Not.
Disgraced former National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Wille Rydman announced that he’d join the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. After announcing Monday that he’d leave Kokoomus, the latest announcement did not come as a surprise considering Rydman’s anti-immigration stance. But some questions remain. In Kokoomus, he had built a reputation for being the Jussi Halla-aho of the party.
Read on »Oulu 2019: Is the media going to allow the PS to pull another fast one on it?
What kind of reaction can you expect from a country that continues to see foreigners like Muslims and other people of color as a threat? Remember Oulu and the sexual harassment cases that spun out of control thanks to the fuel that politicians, the media, and the police were feeding? It’s déjà-vu again: politicians, the
Read on »“Youth gang violence” is a political stunt based on lies
I would go as far as to predict that after the election in April, the youth gang issue will disappear. It was the case in Oulu when Finland became hysterical about sexual assaults committed by migrants. We’re in the same situation today. True, we have to address social problems with good social policy. Fortunately, Finland
Read on »A watershed that may impact April’s parliamentary election
Two hard-hitting editorials by Helsingin Sanomat on the mistreatment of labor migrants could indicate how the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset* will do in the parliamentary election. I make such a claim because I am an optimist. We saw something similar in the US Midterm elections, which showed how voters rebuked Donald Trump and his election deniers. Apart
Read on »Migrant Tales Media Monitoring: PS’ Riikka Purra “praises” Ykkösaamu. Complacency devours facts.
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Riikka Purra praised Ykkösaamu, claiming that it “has the best news and current affairs format in Finland, led by a professional journalist.” It is further proof of how the host, Seija Vaaherkumpa, didn’t do her job but offered journalistic lipservice to a radical right party with ties to violent groups in the
Read on »Migrant Tales Media Monitoring: An interview with Riikka Purra that reveals why the media is part of the “r”problem
Saturday’s interview with Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Riikka Purra on Ykkösaamu was a good example of how the media avoids asking tough questions, never mind doing fact-checking. Purra was able to spread her urban tales about migrants. Considering that the PS is a radical right party, host Serija Vaaherkumpu did not as one question about the
Read on »Twitter (Ville Tavio): Welcome back!
The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is the most Trumpian party in Finland’s parliament. Its parliamentary group leader Ville Tavio, who has spoken highly in the past of similar far-right politicians like France’s Marine Le Pen of France, is happy that former President Donald Trump is back on Twitter. Twitter banned Trump after he incited an insurrection
Read on »Migrant Tales Media Monitoring: How #astudio persecutes and labels migrant youths with dubious talking points
#Astudio host Marja Sannikka kicks off the next topic on the talk show on gang violence with the following words that sound like a thriller: “Knives, violence, revenge. Finnish youth gang crime grows at a worrying pace.” In the talk show, does Sannikka gives us any facts about “the worrying [growth] pace” of gang violence
Read on »Migrant Tales Media Monitoring: An example of Yle zzz journalism
Journalism is a tough job that forces one to stay on its toes. On Thursday on A-Talk we heard the opinions of four MPs of the Left Alliance, Social Democrats, National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), and the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* if Finland was heading towards a debt crisis and spending cutbacks. There was nothing new from PS
Read on »Migrant Tales Media Monitoring: An Helsingin Sanomat editorial that boosts xenophobia
There is a lot of talk and unfortunate examples of how the media helps to spread populist parties’ hateful messages about migrants and minorities. An editorial published by Helsingin Sanomat Thursday is a good example of how the media does this. The good showing of the Sweden Democrats in September’s parliamentary election is due to
Read on »The PS and Riikka Purra pile it high and deep
Here is an example of a discriminatory and spiteful message by the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party head, Riikka Purra. With parliamentary elections in April, she and the PS are ratcheting up their xenophobic message. “A foreigner is entitled to social welfare when making 716 euros a month. Such a [benchmark] was given the green light
Read on »Trump, Putin and the Perussuomalaiset
Former President Donald Trump is a threat to USAmerican democracy, and Russian President Vladimir Putin a threat to world peace. While these leaders spread their toxicity and hatred on other people and nations for political gain, our Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has nothing more than praise for them. Well, that was before Trump and Putin became
Read on »The PS’ and Kokoomus’ “concern” about Finland’s minority youth gangs is dishonest and a political stunt
Watching weekly Thursday’s question-and-answer session between the opposition and government can cause nausea. With parliamentary elections six months in April, expect opposition parties like the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) to increase their attacks against ALL migrants. The truth about the PS and Kokoomus, the biggest and second-biggest opposition party, respectively, is
Read on »How the PS and other European far-right leaders celebrate Brothers of Italy victory
Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy election victory received applause from several far-right European leaders and the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. While the PS chairperson Riikka Purra and the former leader of the party, Jussi Halla-aho, allowed MEP Laura Huhtasaari and Olli Immonen to do the talking. As we saw in Sweden on September 11, Sunday’s election
Read on »The Nordic region’s slippery Islamophobic slope
The Nordic saw a predictable political earthquake on September 11, when the right-wing bloc led by the far-right Sweden Democrats nudged the right-wing bloc to victory. The election brought Sweden in line with its other Nordic neighbors: all four now have or had large far-right anti-immigration parties. Of the four countries, the entrenchment of the
Read on »The election result Sunday will expose nasty things about Sweden and the Nordic region
Sweden will elect 349 MPs of the Riksdag (parliament) today, and the big question is how well the far-right Sweden Democrats will fare. According to various opinion polls, the Sweden Democrats are seen coming second after the Social Democrats. The biggest upset would be the Sweden Democrats doing better than the conservative Moderate party. Just like
Read on »PS MP Juha Mäenpää warned that asylum seekers could spark a civil war in Finland
US President Joe Biden warned in a recent speech that his country’s democracy is in peril. He pointed the finger at former President Donald Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again or Make Attorneys Get Attorneys) followers. We asked in a recent posting if Biden labeled MAGA Republicans “semi-fascists,” why couldn’t we call the far-right Perussuonalaiset
Read on »Should we be surprised that the Finnish police forced Muslim women to remove their hijabs? Not.
The incident of Finnish police brutality, where they physically forced Muslim asylum seekers to remove their hijabs, is not surprising in the least, taking into account the year (2017) and the Häme region of Finland. Seven months after the incident with the Muslim women, Migrant Tales published a story about how the police gave tacit
Read on »If Biden calls MAGA Republicans semi-fascists, why can’t we call the Perussuomalaiset the same?
Like many analysts, US President Joe Biden’s “semi-fascism” remark did not go far enough. He should have just dropped the word semi and called them fascists. Taking into account how much the US democracy is in peril, shouldn’t it be time to call out the enemies by their real names? The MAGA Republicans, who have
Read on »Denmark takes another shot of steroids for its xenophobia
Denmark, the Nordic region’s most Islamophobic country, plans to tighten (again) its immigration laws by deporting all foreigners who are handed prison sentences, according to DR of Denmark. DR writes that the government wants to introduce changes in the law so that any foreigner slapped with an unconditional prison sentence will be deported. “Today, a
Read on »MT Media Monitoring: HS interview with Riikka Purra and the PS’ pet topic, migration
Helsingin Sanomat published (paywall) Sunday an interview with Riikka Purra, the chairperson of the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. Helsingin Sanomat‘s veteran reporter, Marko Junkkari, did the interview. In general, Junkkari did a good job in handling Purra’s comments with facts and in no place in the interview did the PS chairperson dominate the interview with
Read on »MT Media Monitoring: A government partnership between Kokoomus and the PS would be a hammer blow to us
Politicians and parties expel a lot of blah blah. Ask this question: Will matters improve for Finland’s racialized communities if the PS and Kokoomus partner in a government? There’s your answer with no blah blah. A recent story by MTV, a private television channel with a streak of Fox News, published a story about what
Read on »Helsingin Sanomat editorial and the real reason why the Perussuomalaiset do well in parliamentary elections
A short editorial by Helsingin Sanomat Thursday warns that the 1.3 percentage point rise in the recent opinion poll of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party may force other parties to latch on to Islamophobic rhetoric. The PS’ pet themes today are high electricity and gas prices at the pumps and others, which it did not specify. Even if
Read on »Sweden is the pet topic of the Perussuomalaiset, spreading fake news, too
If you didn’t speak out against racism, who would? Sweden is a pet topic of the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. They constantly and obnoxiously remind us what a horrible place Sweden is because there live Muslims and other migrants. PS chairperson, Riikka Purra, continues to push her ethnonationalist and ethnic replacement theory at almost every
Read on »Twitter (Riikka Purra): Islamofobia ja “sokeus,” perussuomalaiset ja islamofobia
Perussuomalaisten puheenjohtaja Riikka Purra leimaa kaikki muslimit vaarallisiksi. Kaikissa uskonnoissa ja kulttuurissa on mielipuolisia ihmisiä. Miksi Purra ei puhu sanaakaan Ricky Shifferista? Shifferi on yksi Trumpin kannustaja joka hyökkäsi aseella FBIn toimiston Cincinnatissa ja sai surmansa myöhemmin. Annan Purralle yhden kattavasta raportista islamofobiasta Euroopassa, jossa olen maininnut hänet ja hänen puolueensa monia kertoja. Tässä linkki.
Read on »How coded language is used in Finland to get around labelling groups and racist words
In Finland, some parties are openly racist, and others are more subtle about it. Both are dangerous to our community. The more we know about them, the better prepared we are to challenge such a menace. Large opposition parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) have one matter in common: they loathe
Read on »Twitter (@persut): No Afghan migrants to Finland
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party hates migrants from Muslim countries. It hates these people so much that it rarely utters the word “Muslim” and “African.” PS tweet below states: Do we want to help – or do we want more migrants? The best way to help them is in neighboring [countries]. One Afghan to Finland costs
Read on »Police open new investigation of National Coalition Party MP Wille Rydman
After an initial police investigation into alleged sexual harassment by National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Wille Rydman, the National Bureau of Investigation (Keskusrikospoliisi) announced that it had opened a preliminary investigation into the MP’s activities. Rydman is a staunch anti-Muslim who is unofficially Kokoomus’ Jussi Halla-aho. Halla-aho is the former chairperson of the far-right Perussuomalaiset
Read on »War in Ukraine forces Finland to lurch to a dark place where human rights must eventually take a backseat
The polarized debate in parliament Monday on renewing the Border Guard Act and Emergency Powers Act is just another example of how Finland has lurched into a dark place where human rights are a nuisance and should not take presedence The far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS), with the helping hand of the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), and
Read on »What does Finland’s far-right Perussuomalaiset think of the overturning of Roe and Wade and attack of a gay bar in Oslo?
Setting aside the US Supreme Court decision to reverse Roe and Wade, which effectively took away women’s rights to have an abortion, we saw the cold-blooded attack at a gay bar by a man in Oslo that left two dead and 21 wounded. Meanwhile, in Finland, Yle reported some MPs’ reaction to the Supreme Court
Read on »The PS’ crystal ball racism based on selective scenarios
With the parliamentary election about 10 months away in April 2023 and a disastrous county election showing and equally depressing opinion poll results, it’s clear that the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is desperately trying to connect with voters. One example of these underhanded tactics is a proposal by the PS to close the border with
Read on »Why do the Perussuomalaiset speak in code when referring to Muslims?
Throughout the years, far-right parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* have in recent years mainly used code words to refer to Muslims. Some of the most common ones are sexual offenders, overrepresented in crime statistics, asylum seekers, and, now the latest, vieraskieli, or “people who don’t speak Finnish as their mother tongue.” One article published last
Read on »How the Finnish media Others racialized pupils
One of the casualties of the war in Ukraine will be social rights and the recognition of racialized people in Finland. Are we witnessing more aggressive reporting as a result? Helsingin Sanomat published Wednesday a whole spread about how “over half of the students at several schools in Espoo don’t speak Finnish as their mother
Read on »Peddling theories about ethnic replacement in Finland for political profit and blood
I received a call from an old Migrant Tales reader who was distraught about a letter to the editor written by the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Youth of Lappeenranta. The headline? “The nation-state is our best protection.” Is it? The reader continued: “How can Helsingin Sanomat publish something that openly excludes non-white Finns and other minorities in Finland? I’m
Read on »Exposing white privilege in Finland #86: Maryan Abdulkarim and Finland’s amnesia
I can’t remember. It’s not important anyway. Finland’s political amnesia shrowded in denial and hostility comes in the form of knee-jerk reactions. Those knee-jerk reactions may appear by acting dumb to difficult questions or by destroying your credibility in public. I met Maryan Abdulkarim many years ago and commended her bravery in the face of
Read on »How the Finnish media frames “good” and “bad” refugees
Länsiväylä is a community newspaper that lives off advertising revenues. One story on Ukrainian refugees raking a park in Kirkonnummi, a city near Helsinki, is another chapter in framing Ukrainian refugees as “good” refugees, while similar people from the Middle East are viewed as “bad” refugees. One PS politician states: “These Ukrainians are pretty different
Read on »Not a Muslim “terrorist” but a white Finn belonging to the far-right PS
A 33-year-old driver driving at high speed in the city center ended up hitting several cars and crashing in front of a cafe on Pohjoiesplanadi on May Day Eve, according to Yle News. Three people were injured including the suspect. The suspect, a member of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party and a public servant at the
Read on »“On the path of Sweden” and other deceptive claims by the Perussuomalaiset and Finnish media
Ever wonder why the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party gets so excited about so-called failed immigration and riots in Sweden? Is it because there isn’t enough news in Finland to spike and spread their Islamophobic message and perpetuate their deceptive claims? The PS is a case in point to study how fake news about migrants is
Read on »Helsingin Sanomat treats Rikka Purra with kid gloves – by and large, stenography journalism
If former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* head Jussi Halla-aho were a women, her name would be Riikka Purra. Helsingin Sanomat published Saturday an interview with PS Chairperson Riikka Purra, where she puts Ukrainian refugees on a pedestal and dehumanizes Muslim and African refugees. Instead of just publishing Purra’s comments like a stenographer, why not fact-check? Here are
Read on »Populist European parties and politicians, like rats, will abandon a sinking ship in 2022
This year has been disastrous for the populist Perussuomalaiset (PS)* for several reasons. The first hiccup came in last year’s municipal election, when the party, guided by promising opinion polls, expected to win but came in fourth place. Then came an even worse wreck: the county election in January, when its support dove to 11%. Despite these
Read on »Our willingness to help “women and children” Ukrainian refugees is code for anti-Muslim racism
Think about it. Finland’s far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has had a total change of heart about refugees, which it has attacked and fed its popularity. Not only the PS, but other parties like the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), Center Party, and a “taxi party” Liike Nyt, according to Yle. A taxi party is one where
Read on »Exposing white privilege in Finland #84: Suomineidot offers refuge to privilege, white power, whitewashing, the far right and racism
Comments about the Yle television series on far-right young women, Suomineidot (Finnish Maidens), went viral, and for a good reason. Apart from revealing how much in the dark Yle is about racism and the far right, it also exposes white privilege in Finland. In a nutshell, the series is about three young women: Meri Kartta
Read on »Suomineidot is another example of how much Yle is in the dark about racism and the far right
Here is the plot of a new TV series Suomineidot (Finnish Maidens): Meri is a far-right ethnonationalist who hangs out with neo-Nazis. Jasmin is an avid follower of Pentti Linkola, who promoted population decline. Liisa is a member of the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. Apart from the radical political views of the three participants, YLE launched
Read on »How will we treat Ukrainian refugees in Finland?
The interior ministry estimates “tens of thousands” Ukrainians moving to Finland as a result of the war in that country, according to Yle News. There are about 7,000 Ukrainians in Finland, but Anna Rundgren, a ministry of interior senior specialist, believes that the actual figure is several times higher. In 2015, the country saw a record
Read on »A racist explanation by the chair of parliament’s foreign affairs committee of Finland why Ukrainian refugees are better than other ones
Despite all the objections to racism and Islamophobia in Finland, the silence and sub-rosa nods why such social ills continue to take root in the country. The chair of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Jussi Halla-aho of the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, explained why Europe should open its arms to Ukrainians and shut the door on refugees
Read on »Other casualties of Ukraine are European far-right parties like the Perussuomalaiset of Finland
Since the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s Russia, we are seeing the restructuring of Europe’s security structure and political landscape. The new landscape is bad news for Europe’s far-right and populist parties like Finland’s Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. The new situation may explain why PS chairperson, Riikka Purra, offered a new image with new glasses that
Read on »PS’ about-turn on Russia is reprehensible
In the backdrop of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, some politicians, especially from the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, have changed their tune. Don’t be fooled by them, and such moves are nothing more than an opportunistic move to prop up their sinking popularity. Their shift in opinions about the Russians is so reprehensible that it
Read on »Donald Trump called Vladimir Putin’s invasion “genius and savvy.” Why are the Perussuomalaiset hiding their faces in shame?
While the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* are scrambling to prop up their dismal poll numbers, they are also changing their tune on Vladimir Putin and Russia. One of the best ways to understand the PS’ admiration of Putin and the tragedy in Ukraine is through former President Donald Trump. We can cite Jussi Halla-aho’s praise of
Read on »Russian aggression against Ukraine threatens Finland and exposes hypocrisy
It finally happened. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of a sovereign country like Ukraine. Apart from former President Donald Trump, who admires Vladimir Putin like many of the far-right Republicans, in Europe, we have racists and populists who are rooting for Russian aggression openly and silently. Caught with their hypocrisy and political pants down, populist
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Jussi Halla-aho viihtyy salarakkaansa helmoissa – onko se Suomen etu?
Vuonna 2019 ihmeteltiin, miksi perussuomalaiset ovat europarlamentissa liittoutumassa Venäjä-mielisten äärioikeistopuolueiden kanssa. Isänmaallisuus, joka persuilla on arkihokema, on Suomessa tavannut tarkoittaa melko nihkeää suhtautumista itäiseen naapuriin. Jopa perussuomalaisten veljespuolue Ruotsissa, Sverige Demokrater, piti persuvalintoja kummallisina. Aihetta käsittelevässä artikkelissaan Ilta-Sanomissa 16.5.2019 toimittaja Arja Paananen kuvasi perussuomalaisten ”joustavaa valmiutta hyväksyä Venäjän tapa selittää omaa toimintaansa – olivatpa nämä toimet länsimaisen
Read on »Ykkösaamu interview highlighted Halla-aho’s contempt for Human Rights
Yle’s Ykkösamu talk show exposed to a tee what the parliament’s new foreign affairs committee chairperson thinks of Human Rights. The first question by the host forced Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Jussi Halla-aho, who was convicted in 2012 for ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion, to reinforce his contempt of Human Rights. The interview was
Read on »The far-right PS 1984 logic: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
Riikka Purra, the chairperson of the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, defended Jussi Halla-aho’s blog writings that are full of racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and anti-democratic worldviews. In one of Halla-aho’s writings, he hopes foreigners rape MPs like Eva Biaudet and Tarja Filatov. The former PS chairperson’s blog writings were under scrutiny again after he was named
Read on »Keep it up, Riikka Purra, don’t stop now. Kick out all the migrants and “let God sort ’em out.”
There are a lot of baffled faces at the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. “Did you see our regional election result?!” one asks while the other states: “A Yle poll saw us nosedive by 3.3 percentage points to 15%. and now Helsingin Sanomat reinforces the latter.” In our opinion, the PS is a far-right party that
Read on »Convicted PS MP of ethnic agitation voted to chair parliament’s foreign affairs committee
THE STORY WAS UPDATED The new chairperson of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Jussi Halla-aho, did not get such a warm reception. In a highly unprecedented move by the committee members, 11 voted in a secret ballot in favor of Halla-aho while six abstained. Halla-aho took over the committee’s chair Mika Niikko, its former chairperson,
Read on »If Finland believes in its laws, it must give residence permits to undocumented migrants
The ministry of interior published on Thursday its recommendations on what to do with some 3,000 undocumented migrants who came to Finland in 2015-2016. Of this group, about 300 are children living in legal limbo thanks to a 2016 law that abolished granting residence permits on humanitarian grounds. The number of undocumented migrants rose from
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Sweden is a great country thanks to immigrants
“It always amazes me to hear Finland’s most xenophobic politicians from the Perussuomalaiset* and National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) pointing the accusing finger at Sweden about how the country has failed because of immigration. Sweden has a more dynamic and competitive economy than Finland’s because of migrants. If there are problems in Sweden, the state is
Read on »Jussi Halla-aho, who wanted the Greek army to crush protestors ten years ago, is expected to replace Mika Niikko
According to Helsingin Sanomat, former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Jussi Halla-ago is expected to replace Mika Nikko, the chairperson of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, according to Helsingin Sanomat. Niikko resigned Tuesday evening after he suggested in a tweet that the West should assure Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine will not join Nato. While Niikko is
Read on »The far-right Perussuomalaiset head south in the opinion polls
THE STORY WAS UPDATED There’s good news and bad news. Depending on your perspective, bad news can be good news and vice-versa. In the latest opinion poll published by Yle, the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party saw its support nosedive by three percentage points to 15%. While it would be simplistic only to blame the regional
Read on »Do we want an openly Islamophobic prime minister that aims to exclude foreigners? I hope not!
After the disastrous showing of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* in Sunday’s regional election, the far-right party aims to win next year’s parliamentary election and have its chairperson, Riikka Purra, as prime minister. Good luck with that, especially after the big election setback. Even if the regional election will turn out to be a watershed for the
Read on »The National Coalition Party wins Finland’s first regional elections
The National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) won Finland’s first regional elections after capturing 21.6% of the votes, according to Yle. Apart from the low 47.5% voter turnout, there were two big surprises: the good showing of the Center Party and the abysmal result by the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. During the past decade, much of the PS’ success hinges on
Read on »Mayday! Mayday! The Perussuomalaiset are sinking
The recent poll on the regional elections shows eveals and exposes the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, who suffered a 3.3 percentage point fall, as a one-issue party. The regional elections, which will be held on Sunday, will transfer power from municipalities to regional councils, which will manage health care and emergency services. Sunday’s election appears to
Read on »The party with the most criminal charges: Perussuomalaiset candidates, who else?
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Guess which party has the highest number of candidates charged with a crime? Correct, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. According to Helsingin Sanomat, 6.3% (8.2% in the 2021 municipal elections) of PS candidates in January’s regional election have been charged for crimes during 2017-2021. That was followed by the Left Alliance (3.0%/4.1%), Christian Democrats (2.2%/2.4%),
Read on »How we treat terrorism in our society depends on your ethnic and religious background
After creating a big commotion in December about uncovering Finland’s first far-right terrorist cell, the Stakunta District Court ordered the release of four of the suspects on Wednesday, according to Yle News. One of the suspects was released last month. Even if the police consider the arrest of the suspects as the “first” far-right cell, it all
Read on »Twitter (Veikko Vallin): A racist lesson on types of migrants
Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Veikko Vallin gives us a lesson in racism by definIslamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Veikko Vallin teaches us racism by defining “harmful” and beneficial migration. Vallin, who likes being called the Tampere’s Trump and boasts about how he places his money in Estonia from the Finnish tax person, bases his political program
Read on »The first anniversary of 1/6: A hammer blow to democracy, our democracy as well
As we return to that horrible day of January 6, when former President Donald Trump supporters invaded the Capitol and whacked the foundations of US democracy, we should ask how much of a blow that infamous day was for our democracy in the EU and Finland. The bad news is that matters in the US
Read on »The PS and its enablers are the wrecking balls of Finland’s social welfare democracy
I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you do. James Baldwin If some scholars sound the alarm bells that democracy in the United States could turn into a right-wing dictatorship that has the potential of sparking a civil war. How should Finland prepare for such an eventuality? Writes Thomas Homer-Dixon, a Canadian
Read on »A question to the Kankaanpää police: Was a proper investigation carried out on the burning of an asylum reception center in 2015?
In 2015, when a record number of asylum seekers came to Finland, a number of attacks were carried out against asylum reception centers. One of these was in Niinisalo, located a stone’s throw from Kankaanpää, where over two weeks ago a group of white Finnish terrorist suspects was detained by the police. While a lot
Read on »The sources of Finland’s far-right problem: downplaying and denial
“The main agents of ideological violence are not isolated ‘lone wolves’ but are usually interconnected with communities, non-violent agents and legal entities, at times even including connections to law enforcement personnel.” Mihai Varga Over two weeks have elapsed since the police announced the detention of five white-Finn terrorist suspects in the Western Finnish city of Kankaanpää.
Read on »Downplaying and whitewashing the far-right threat in Finland
It is disappointing to note that it took Finland’s largest daily, Helsingin Sanomat, five days to write an editorial on the threat posed by the far-right after the detention of five white Finns on Friday. Considering the media attention and general outrage in general that Abderrahman Mechkah knife attack caused in Turku in 2017, a
Read on »The PS was, is, and will be a party with close ties to neo-Nazi and fascist groups
From the days when Timo Soini headed the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party to the present, there’s one denial coming from the party that is an outright lie: The PS is not a far-right party with links to neo-Nazi, fascist and far-right groups. I could list several examples, but let’s look at Kansallismielisten liittouma, a perfect example of the
Read on »A trail of xenophobic and far-right violence in Finland and yet no suspects
The detention of five far-right terrorist suspects in the western Finnish city of Kankaanpää Friday raises many questions. One of these is the collaboration of this group and others in the burning down of an asylum reception center in December 2015. The asylum reception center in Kankaanpää wasn’t the only one that suffered arson attacks.
Read on »Far-right terrorism in Finland has many direct and indirect supporters
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED The main agents of ideological violence are not isolated “lone wolves” but are usually interconnected with communities, non-violent agents and legal entities, at times even including connections to law enforcement personnel. Mihai Varga Five white Finns were detained Tuesday and remanded by a Satakunta District Court Friday, at the request of the
Read on »Five white Finns arrested on suspected terrorism charges
Five white Finns born between 1995 and 1998 were arrested Tuesday by the police on suspected terrorism charges, according to Pori-based daily Satakunnan Kansa. The five suspects are from the Western Finnish region of Kankaanpää. The police did not call the suspects white Finns but stated that they had “ethnic Finnish names.” The police and
Read on »A Finnish Islamophobic party’s recipe for inclusion and ethnic understanding
Since the 2011 parliamentary elections, which saw the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party win 39 starts from 5 seats previously, it has systematically tarred and feathered migrants, especially Muslims, people of color, and specific minorities. Should you be surprised that all PS MPs elected in 2019 based their campaign on an anti-immigration message. The PS demands
Read on »Racists at the Mikkeli bus stop
I hadn’t heard the statement, “I’m a racist,” for a long time. Even so, two middle-aged women were chatting in Mikkeli loudly about how bad migrants were. I intervened because silence is a total cop-out. “Are you a racist,” I asked one of the women. “Yes, I’m a racist,” she snapped. “You should be ashamed
Read on »Shameless Europe does not care if you live or die
We cannot just snuggle here and see who comes to the border. We must promote the values of the EU with greater determination because without these values we are worthless. Minister for European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen We just read about the tragic death of 27 people when attempting to cross the English Channel. One of
Read on »Päivän sitaatti (Sakari Timonen): Ei enää erota
“Jotain on pahasti vialla, kun kokoomusta ei enää erota perussuomalaisista eikä iltapäivälehtia MV:stä. Tärkeintä näyttää olevan saada aikaan nettimölinää.” Lue alunperin sitaatti tästä.
Read on »Finland’s pyramid of hate: Let’s do away with the Human Rights of asylum seekers
Even if opposition politicians from parties like the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), it’s sobering that the government of Prime Minister Sanna Marin is holding the line against their onslaughts. It is surprising that how naive the PS and Kokoomus are. No border, no law, will bring a sense of security unless you
Read on »At times like this, I am ashamed of Finland and the EU
The so-called migrant crisis with Belarus offers Lukashenko and Putin an opportunity and EU politicians tools to fearmonger and score brownie points with voters. Isn’t it odd how one-sided the news is about the refugee crisis at the Belarus border? Most of the opposition politicians, especially from the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), believe that harsh
Read on »Twitter: Disingenuous Veikko Vallin
How to describe Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Veikko Vallin’s tweet below? Vallin, who likes to be called the Trump of Tampere, likes posing with MAGA caps and often makes racist remarks about asylum seekers, who are mostly Muslims. He even brags on social media about how he was able to escape taxes in Finland by moving
Read on »Finland’s dark side begins to wake up
This week we learned about how widespread women in the rescue department are victims of sexual harassment and discrimination, according to Yle. We also learned about the ministry of justice’s plans to tackle discrimination and hate-speech awareness with a 52-point program with the help of training increased support for organizations racism and hate crime. Writes Yle News: “In the future
Read on »What did PS’ Veikko Vallin say at the Tampere city council meeting?
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 »The cracks are beginning to show
Islamophobia and other forms of racism are for some politicians their gateway to power and infamy. Watching part of the firey debate Wednesday in parliament that led to a vote of confidence for the government, one wonders what some politicians, especially with the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, have in their heads. The saddest matter was the
Read on »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 »Oops! Incorrect suspected sexual assault cases for 2020
Sexual assault, especially suspected cases, is heatedly used by anti-immigration parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and public services like the police to demonstrate how some foreigners are. The police admitted today to a mistake in tabulating suspected sexual assault cases during 2020. The mistake originates from a foreigner suspected of sexually assaulting his wife 141
Read on »Finnish government to ease (alas) strict family reunification law
The Finnish government of Prime Minister Sanna Marin plans to overturn the country tightened immigration law and family reunification requirements, which came into force a year later after a record 32,477 asylum seekers came to Finland in 2015. The then government of Center Party Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party was a
Read on »PS MP Sebastian Tynkkynen gets a third ethnic agitation conviction
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party MP Sebastian Tynkkynen was convicted for a third time of ethnic agitation, according to Yle News. The two previous convictions were handed down in 2016 and 2017. The Oulu District Court handed Tynkkynen, who is the PS’ third vice president, 70 day fines amounting to 4,400 euros. The PS
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #81: Racializing crime, perpetuating stereotypes and racism
Treat with tweezers whenever percentage figures are used to depict sexual assault cases by migrants. A government-commissioned study published Thursday concluded that migrants are over-represented in suspected sexual assault crimes, perpetuating a toxic narrative. Such generalizations give ammunition to Islamophobes like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party to maintain and reinforce racist stereotypes. To look at how the Finnish
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #80: Violence against you counts but mine doesn’t
Radical-right Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party MP, Sebastian Tynkkynen, who has two ethnic agitation convictions and a third pending, is trying to get the most political mileage from an incident at an #elokapina demonstration. Some unknown persons at the demonstration allegedly attempted to attack Tynkkynen and shoved him. The police asked if the MP wanted to
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 »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Finland’s hardline and bureaucratic immigration policy is deadly for democracy
“Finland’s hardline and bureaucratic immigration policy based in great part on suspicion and fear of outsiders is partly to blame for the rise of a populist and hostile anti-immigration party in the last decade and even for high migrant unemployment. A systematic policy of exclusion suggests that our plans to bring foreign labor will fail. A
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 »PS’ Riikka Purra feeds Afghans to the dogs
The new chairperson of the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, Riikka Purra, will soon be calling out the knives. In her latest tweet, she reveals her radical cruelty against the vulnerable. In the Tweet below, she feeds the Afghans to the dogs and shows the worst of Finland. No experts, human rights activists, defenders of the
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 »Finland’s Perussuomalaiset party says that the use of the Nazi flag in public should not be criminalized
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Only the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and Ano Turtiainen’s one-man party expressed opposition to criminalizing the use of the Nazi flag in public. The story by Yle was published a day after the Helsinki District Court dismissed ethnic agitation charges agitation against five men of carrying a swastika flag in public on Independence Day 2018. PS parliamentary group
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Ihanaa, nainen pääsi rasistien puheenjohtajaksi!
Jokainen julkinen huomionosoitus lisää rasistipuolueen edustajan uskottavuutta, normalisoi rasistista politiikkaa ja nostaa rasistit muka kunniallisiksi toimijoiksi muiden rinnalle. Siksi muiden eduskuntapuolueiden puheenjohtajien ja yhteiskunnallisten vaikuttajien julkiset, lämpimät Twitter-onnittelut Riikka Purran tultua valituksi rasistipuolueen puheenjohtajaksi ihmetyttävät suuresti.
Read on »Riikka Purra’s call to struggle against her ilk
Silence and complacency are some of the reasons why xenophobia and the rise of an anti-immigration party have been possible in Finland. While there are many common citizens and activists in Finland who have been fighting against parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, chairperson Riikka Purra’s interview on Yle’s Ykkösaamu is a definite reminder that we
Read on »Riikka Purra is the new leader of xenophobic copycats and plagiarizers
The newly elected chairperson of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, Riikka Purra, did not waste any time attacking migrants. Apart from tightening naturalization laws and family reunification, she stated that the PS will not become a member of a new government that doesn’t “significantly” tighten immigration laws. The timing of her hostile and anti-social statements could not have been worse.
Read on »Migrant Tales Literary: Riikka Purra, where is your heart?
THIS POEM WAS UPDATED Where is your heart, Riikka Purra? Did you throw it away in a trash can? Or did you hungrily devour it after you saw your first refugee The bricks that line your political path will turn red hot and melt your shoe soles; even if you can only be tall for
Read on »Riikka Purra and the PS: Grow up! Stop bullying migrants and minorities!
Statements about tightening immigration policy by the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* elected chairperson, Riikka Purra, exposes her cowardice and the complacency of the Finnish media. The cowardice comes from bullying people who are powerless to challenge her hostility. The complacency of the Finnish media comes from seeing no wrong in Purra’s and the PS’ hatred of migrants
Read on »Whoever is elected as the chair of the PS will perpetuate Finland’s lie
The annual of the xenophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* in Seinäjoki will elect Saturday the party’s next chairperson after Jussi Halla-aho announced in June that he would not seek a new term. While it is a foregone conclusion that the PS’ first vice president Riikka Purra will be the party’s new chairperson, it is also clear that
Read on »How Finland’s biggest daily Helsingin Sanomat loses its teeth and watchdog role
For the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, Helsingin Sanomat gives the country’s largest opposition party the kid-glove treatment. Are fear, agreement, or hopeful naivety the driving forces behind Helsingin Sanomat’s recent articles about the PS? Over the weekend, the daily published in its Kuukausiliite a big story about PS MEP Laura Huhtasaari, who is trying to make a
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #79: Spreading lies at our economic peril
What if most of the anti-immigration talking points spread by politicians like Jussi Halla-aho, Riikka Purra, and most of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party are just outright lies and urban legends? What if those false arguments put Finland in economic and social peril because they are untrue? An interesting paper titled, The 14 Most Common Arguments against
Read on »Tanskasta löytyy vastaus miksi Perussuomalaiset vastustavat Kokoomuksen ehdotus
Haluatko tietää miksi Perussuomalaiset vastustavat Kokoomuksen ehdotus tiukentaa maahanmuuttolinjansa? Tanskasta löytyy vastaus. Kirjoittaa Yle 2019 vaaleista: “Tanskan poliittista keskustelua pitkään hallinnut ja muutkin suuret puolueet maahanmuuttopolitiikan rajuihin kiristyksiin yllyttänyt kansanpuolue koki vaaleissa rökäletappion. Kun vielä vuoden 2015 vaaleissa oikeistopopulistista kansanpuoluetta äänesti 21,1 prosenttia tanskalaisista, oli äänisaalis nyt vain 8,7 prosenttia.” Perussuomalaiset pelkäävät sama kohtalo kun
Read on »The blood that the PS forced to boil has turned into acid eating away its support
I am certain that I am not the only one whose blood boils every time a Perussuomalaiset (PS)* politician makes a racist statement about migration, cultural diversity, minorities, and the EU. In light of the June municipal election, the PS’ result was a disappointment for the party even if they improved their result by 5.6
Read on »Kokoomus gives nod to Perussuomalaiset’s plan to tighten immigration policy
The National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) MP Pia Kauma wants to tighten immigration law. It is strange that when most Finns are on holiday in the middle of the summer, Kauma intends to propose such changes. Her party’s proposal should be seen as a green light to the Perussuomalaiset’s plan to tighten immigration policy if they
Read on »PS MP Ville Tavio believes in fairy tales like the great replacement “theory” and takes aim at pre-school children
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* parliamentary group leader Ville Tavio shows once again the party’s toxic far-right colors. This is the same politician who wants the PS to follow Marine Le Pen’s line and expresses love for Hungary and Poland’s governments. Even warnings by the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo) about the so-called great replacement “theory” is
Read on »Education without empathy and moral compass can turn you into a monster
The process to turn Finland’s far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party wants to become “a normal mainstream” party continues. You see, they claim, we’re “normal” because we have physicists and party members, like Riikka Purra, working on their PhDs. Sakari Puisto, who is also vying to be elected chairperson of the PS and Purra, has a Ph.D.
Read on »Tens of far-right vigilantes are marching in Pori – I hope my fascination doesn’t show too much
Wow! Looky here! Tens of far-right vigilantes called the Soldiers of Odin are marching in the western Finnish city of Pori! Quick! Take a picture and publish a story because tens of Soldiers of Odin vigilantes are marching in Pori. The media has a lot of power, but it does not go the extra mile
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: The PS is the party of the nativist racists sprinkled with anti-EU soundbites
“No matter what the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party does, no matter who it elects as its next chairperson, the shadow of racism will follow it. Even if people like Timo Soini said that the party’s anti-immigration wing was only a minor factor in the 2011 parliamentary election, nothing could be further from the truth. Like
Read on »The Finnish Perussuomalaiset who declared their love to Donald Trump and other autocrats
In English, we have an expression, a horse’s ass. A horse’s ass is a person who is stupid and looks like a horse’s ass after their statement. Sometimes, a comment that makes you look like a horse’s ass may appear to be months later. The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is Finland’s party that adores former President Donald Trump.
Read on »Thank you Perussuomalaiset for giving us Ano Turtiainen
Without Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party backing, Finland would have never had to read about MP Ano Turtiainen. From spreading racism, Turtiainen is now a staunch anti-vaxxer who believes that the Coronavirus pandemic is a hoax. From “Pink Floyd” to his accusations to fellow MPs of traitor and committing genocide against the Finns, Turtiainen has come full
Read on »Riikka Purra is a poor copy of Jussi Halla-aho
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Jussi Halla-aho’s heir-apparent appears to be the party’s first vice-president, Riikka Purra. While Halla-aho has swung the party to the far-right and encouraging xenophobia, Purra has parroted the PS leader’s racist soundbites but with questionable results. Like Halla-aho, Purra loathes Muslims and people of color. So much so, in fact, that she warned
Read on »Jussi Halla-aho announces he will step down as PS chair in August
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Chairperson Jussi Halla-aho announced Monday that he will not seek reelection as the party’s head at the annual meeting in August, according to Yle News. While some party members expressed sadness about the news, Halla-aho will not be missed by many. No reason was given for his departure. There is, however, some speculation
Read on »The media must fact-check what xenophobic politicians spread and claim
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED It is a good sign that some Finnish media like Yle are fact-checking what politicians say. However, it is a bit too late because the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* have built their popularity on making false claims about migrants. I’m pretty certain that if we were to do a fact-check on all the
Read on »Falling into Finland’s ever-deepening pit of conflict and hypocrisy
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is the biggest threat to our Nordic welfare state and democracy. Their xenophobic ideology reveals a noticeable conflict. Gunnar Myrdal (1898.1987), a Swedish economist who did a groundbreaking study in the early 1940s about its racism, brought this dilemma to light: “How can they [USAmericans] claim to respect the dignity of
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 »The Perussuomalaiset now call migrants “cheap labor”
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party’s hatred for migrants goes through the same path but the accusations and labeling vary. About ten years ago migrants were rapists, after 2015 when a record number of asylum seekers came to Finland, they were “social welfare surfers.” Today, the PS calls migrants “dumb” who want to work for lower wages.
Read on »Is there a difference between former and present Perussuomalaiset members?
Some of the persons promoting racism, violence, and Hungarian-Orbán-style rule in Finland are former and present Perussuomalaiset (PS)* members. The only difference between these two types of PS supporters is their incitement of violence and racism. James Hirvisaari, who was sacked from the party after he took a picture of a friend giving a Nazi
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 »Turtianen is a threat to the PS and an example of everything that’s wrong with the far-right Islamophobic party
THE POST WAS UPDATED Former Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Ano Turtiainen has become a real thorn in the side of the far-right Islamophobic party. Apart from his racist postings of George Floyd, encouraging violence against asylum reception centers, assaulting a fourteen-year-old, wishing that asylum seekers would drown at sea, inciting civil war, anti-vaxxer buffoonery, and other
Read on »Perussuomalaiset MP Sebastian Tynkkynen’s third ethnic agitation charge
THE STORY WAS UPDATED People who are suspected and later convicted for ethnic agitation defend themselves in the following manner: my free speech rights are being infringed; it is prohibited to debate immigration topics and that “I am innocent…” Oulu Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Sebastian Tynkkynen has made a name for himself as an avid Islamophobe
Read on »Covid-19 is the oxygen that the PS breathes to grow in Finland
How much is the Covid-19 pandemic impacting in a positive manner the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party? This is not a trivial question considering that the party, which has built its voter base and message on racism, leads in the polls. What future does the PS have when the Covid-19 pandemic subsides? Will it be a
Read on »Is Jussi Halla-aho’s deep voice fake?
Elizabeth Holmes built a 9-billion-dollar company called Theranos from scratch that promised to test blood with a single drop. One of the many deceptions she used to trick investors was her deep voice. As a woman, it gave her more authority. Those who have watched Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Jussi Halla-aho for a few years will
Read on »Finland’s PM Sanna Marin is the target of fierce misogynistic attack by online users
A story published Wednesday in Politico exposed the misogyny against Finland’s woman prime minister, Sanna Marin, and the women members of her cabinet. Considering that Finland’s biggest opposition party, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* which is also leading in opinion polls, hate speech has raised its head for many years. Hate speech and the PS are like
Read on »Jussi Halla-aho is a racist, and so is the far-right party he leads
Uusi Suomi, an online publication that played a key role before the 2011 parliamentary elections in giving the racist rhetoric of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party a platform, published today an interview with a cultural researcher, Tuija Saresma, who concluded that Jussi Halla-aho and the PS are racist. While these types of statements are a foregone
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #78: the spread and acceptance of white nationalism
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Events after the storming of the Capitol building in Washington on January 6 exposed white nationalist terrorism as the biggest threat facing the United States. Since the events that took place at the Capitol did not happen spontaneously, are we going to see something similar in Finland’s ever-hostile far-right groups like
Read on »A Migrant Tales style guide to writing about migration: avoid words that hide our racism and denial
After over twenty years in journalism and writing for some of the world’s most prestigious publications and having worked as a foreign correspondent in countries like Finland, Italy, Colombia, and others, I have learned a thing or two about journalistic style and correctness. On top of my journalistic experience, I am a sociologist who has
Read on »What threatens Finland’s Nordic welfare state? Follow the racism, stupid.
There is a sense of déjà vu as the municipal elections in Finland near on April 18. Once again, the media is not questioning or challenging the toxic message of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, but showing its usual tacit approval. The most notable examples of this type of approval demonstrated by the media are silence
Read on »Populism and lack of leadership under Petteri Orpo fuel Kokoomus’ tailspin
The National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) received a political bomb that exposed the party’s internal strife between its liberal and populist-conservative wing. Kokoomus’ candidate for Helsinki mayor, Kirsi Piha, and Helsinki city councilor Hanna Gullichsen, both party’s liberal wing, announced they would step aside. Piha stated in a blog posting her decision to pull out from
Read on »Former PS MP Ano Turtiainen gets sacked from the party
It took a while, but, in the end, it came: MP Ano Turtiainen got sacked Friday from the Perussuomalaiset (PS) party after being expelled in June from the PS parliamentary group. The interesting question that the PS board’s decision offers is what it means for the party and Turtiainen’s political future. An incident between PS
Read on »Perussuomalaisten mukaan, maahanmuuttopolitiikka säädellään valtuustossa
Ovatko nyt menossa kuntavaalit tai eduskuntavaalit? Jos tärkkäillään perussuomalaisten vaalimainoksia, voidaan päätellä, että valtuustossa tehdään maahanmuuttopolitiikka kuten eduskunnassa. Värin. Perusuomalaisten puoluesihteeri, Simo Grönroos (huom. ruotsalainen sukunimi), ruokkii vastakkainasettelua ja valetietoja maahanmuutosta. Hän on äärioikeistolainen etnonationalisti ja fasistisen Suomen Sisun aktiivi. Mitä Grönroos ja perussuomalaiset oikeasti tarkoittavat, kun puhuvat “maahanmuuttajista?” Suurin osa maahanmuuttajat Suomessa ovat valkoisia
Read on »The far right and their rabid show dog in Finland that knows no master
If there is one matter that will bring down the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, it is their racist and nationalistic ideology. We already saw this on 22/7 with Anders Breivik and now with political violence against Pekka Kataja of the same party. On July 17, Kataja was paid a visit by three men who attacked
Read on »Länsi-Savo: Olemme kaikki mikkeliläisiä
Länsi-Savo kirjoittaa Perussuomalaisten kunnalisvaaliehdokas Jorma T. Hartikaisesta: ”Mikkelissä perussuomalaisten kuntavaaliedokkaana oleva Jorma T. Hartikainen hourittelee, homottelee ja muuten vain solvaa Facebookissa poliitikkoja ja maahanmuuttajia.”Hartikainen vastaa: ””Kyse on enemmän siitä, että sanoin asiat selkeästi, ettei jää epäselvyyttä, mitä tarkoittaa.” Valitettavasti Hartikainen ei ole ainut kuntavaaliehdokas, joka syyllistyy epäasiallisista kirjoituksista. Länsi-Savo jatkaa: ”Mikkelin seudun perussuomalaisten puheenjohtaja Raimo
Read on »Don’t give racist charlatans a megaphone
Which Finnish politicians are the country’s biggest charlatans? We all know them by name. Finland’s media has learned to pushback more than before and not give a megaphone to political con artists. It is called media responsibility. Who are these charlatans? They are the ones who always pick on the disadvantaged threatening them with a
Read on »The PS will not succeed at turning Finland into a Hungary or Trumpland
TOPLINE The greatest deterrent in foiling the attempts of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party’s political aims is our fervent opposition to such plans. SOLUTIONS What does the latter imply? It means: voting, getting active in politics, writing, talking, debating, reciting poetry, demonstrating, going on hunger strike, getting constantly informed, busting fake news – living as if
Read on »PS MP Riikka Purra is an opportunist full of white supremacist ideology
MP Riikka Purra is an ethnonationalist with a strong white supremacist ideology of the Perussuoalaiset (PS) party. She is also first vice president of the PS. One of Purra’s biggest message is how Finland is becoming culturally and ethnically diverse. According to her, this is a threat to the power and privileges that white Finns
Read on »Denmark’s PM Mette Frederiksen on zero asylum seekers and other wishes like our head up our…
When I read the news story that Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated that she wants the country to accept zero asylum seekers, I sarcastically thought that one of the EU’s most Islamophobic countries had found a solution to end global inequality and strife. The Perussuomalaiset (PS), Finland’s close ideological ally of the Danish People’s
Read on »Biden inauguration: Words of unity and inclusion that reverberate in Finland
After four years of chaos and division, an illness that even inflicted the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and politicians in other parties that sow division heard long-overdue healing words. Without losing sight of the wars, CIA-inspired coups, and the human destruction brought on by the United States, it took a despot-inspired president like Donald Trump to give
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #77: The PS are Finnish white supremacists
TOPLINE One of the interesting facts about white nationalism is that it is copied from somewhere else. Thus, white supremacist conspiracy views in Finland are nothing more than copy-and-paste jobs from somewhere else. Some may play down the PS as a “light” version of white supremacy. We disagree. The PS under the leadership of Jussi
Read on »Toista minun jälkeeni: persut eivät kannata Trumpia, eivät ole…
Herra jestas! Jos ette usko, toistakaa minun jälkeeni: Perust eivät kannata Trumpia. Persut eivät käyttää MAGA lippiksiä. Persut eivät ole radikaali oikeistolainen puolue. Persut eivät kannata rasismia. Persut eivät te yhteistyötä natsien kanssa. Persut eivät usko, että kristalliyö voisi toistua (A. Schwarzenegger on väärässä). Persut uskovat holokaustiin eivätkä kutsuu sitä “holo-hölina.” Persut eivät ole populisteja.
Read on »A warning to Finland from Washington
TOPLINE One of the big questions to arise from the Capitol storming on Wednesday by hordes of President Donald Trump followers is if the same could happen in Finland and other European capitals. The dust from the Capitol building’s storming by Trump hordes is still settling on a political landscape that appears threatening. Whatever your
Read on »Migrant Tales (24.12.2020): Ask the Perussuomalaiset if they still “love” US President Donald Trump
THE STORY WAS UPDATED TOPLINE Considering the Trump-fueled terrorism in Washington Wednesday, I ask once again the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party the following question: Do you still “love” President Donald Trump? KEY BACKGROUND With the Trump presidency making its rambunctious exit after four years of chaos and moral decay, our attention should shift to Finland. Do
Read on »PS’ Jyrki Åland wishes Corona to kill migrants in Varisuo, Turku
TOPLINE Jyrki Åland, the chairperson of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chapter of Turku, was quoted as saying that it would be a positive matter if Covid-19 deaths would “would do a lot of good” to Varisuo, a neighborhood of Turku where 48% of its inhabitants don’t speak Finnish or Swedish as their mother tongue. The statement
Read on »Piia Kattelus-Kilpeläinen: Put another fascist feather in my PS cap
Piia Kattelus-Kilpeläinen is the latest example of the bedfellows of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. The councilperson from Seinäjoki, where she works as a police officer, offers an odd New Year’s greeting, all with a fascist Lapua Movement, Lapua like, (1928-1932) pullover, an ax, and a chain. A publicity stunt of a media-hungry person craving for
Read on »Hall of Shame: Finland’s 2020 Islamophobic and Afrophobic network
Choosing the key figures in the Islamophobic and Afrophobic Hall of Shame wasn’t difficult even during a year ravaged by Covid-19. The task was to choose the most obvious culprits and other ones in the media that fuel and maintain such a toxic environment. In putting together this year’s Hall of Shame, I was quickly
Read on »The PS appears desperate as their source for alternative news dims with the end of US President Trump’s administration
The Perussuoalaiset (PS)* party’s tactics are in a desperate mode as the days in office of their US political mentor, President Donald Trump, ends on January 20. PS MEP Laura Huhtasaari, a staunch Trump supporter who nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, is one of Finland’s most representative white supremacist politicians. Her aide, Olli
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Rasisteista puhutaan liian ylevin termein
Valtakunnan politiikassa on joukkio, joka esiintyy räyhäkkään rasistisesti, hyökkäävästi ja syrjivästi. Media kohtelee tätä sakkia pehmeästi, jopa hyväksyvästi. Vain harvoin käytetään heitä selkeästi kuvailevia termejä: rasistit, rasistipuolue, uusfasistit, uusnatsit, eduskunnan häiriköt, kansanryhmää vastaan kiihottajat. Termi, jota media usein käyttää, on ”populisti”. Sana on niin mukavan pyöreä ja pumpulinen ja kuulostaa ihan popmusiikilta. Moni persu julistaakin ylpeästi
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Milloin kunnialliset puolueet ryhtyvät toimeen?
Muukalaispelkoa ja siitä kehkeytynyttä vihaa lienee aina ollut ja tulee aina olemaan. Mutta milloin siitä tuli hyväksytty tapa tehdä politiikkaa? Milloin pakolaisesta tuli paholainen? 1990-luvulla vaihtaessani työpaikkaa esimieheni sihteeri kertoi, että uusilta työntekijöiltä kysytään heti, mitä mieltä he ovat pakolaisista. Arvaatte varmastikin, mitä mieltä olisi pitänyt olla. Minulle tuota kysymystä ei ollut esitetty ja olin
Read on »Radical-right populism is Finland’s kiss of death
Watching the assault on democratic institutions in the United States, Hungary, Poland, and other countries, one wonders what Finnish voters see in its own Trump- and Orbán-spirited Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. In Yle’s latest opinion poll published Thursday, the PS took first place by a hair from the Social Democrats (SDP), leading since May. So what
Read on »The PS and its obsession with migrants
If you had the opportunity to listen inside the brain of a Perussuomalaiset (PS)* politician, you’d probably hear the following word: migrants, maahanmuuttajat, migrants, maahanmuuttajat… The head of the PS parliamentary group, Ville Tavio, regurgetates that obsessive word in countless tweets and statements. Tavio tweets: “Finnish human rights are threatened as a result of massive
Read on »“Sheikki”-niminen kansanedustaja kysyy kuka on “aito” suomalainen
Perussuomalainen kansanedustaja, Kristian “Sheikki” Laakso, kysyy kuka on “aito” suomalainen. Onko “Sheikki” ns. aito suoalainen nimi? Sheikki on henkilö, joka on Koraanin asiantuntija. Sheikki on sama kun imaami. Miten voit kutsua itseä “Sheikki”-nimellä jos vihat muslimeja kuten puolueesi, Perussuomalaiset? Sinun selitykset aito suomalaisuudesta ovat sekavia ja naurettavia. Muista yksi asia, Kristian Laakso: Ihmiset päättävät keitä
Read on »From Belle Selene Xia to Helena Puustinen and Joy Aalto and the Perussuomalaiset mindset
We read about Joy Aalto, a Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party member, who gave us 1 + 1 = 2 advice on becoming a Finn. If such a simplistic recipe for integration – learn Finnish and get a job – worked for her, that is fine, although I have my doubts. Before reading on, this post is
Read on »Two PS Youth members convicted of ethnic agitation
Former Perussuomalaiset (PA)* Youth deputy chairperson Toni Jalonen and Johannes Sipola, the former chairperson Johannes Sipola were sentenced by a Pirkanmaa District Court fines for ethnic agitation, according to YLE News. Jalonen, who announced in February that he is “an ethnonationalist, traditionalist, and a fascist,” was slapped with a 50-day fine (300 euros) for ethnic
Read on »Sometimes the media, like HS, waters the poisonous flower of xenophobia
The headline of a Helsingin Sanomat article sparked fear on Tuesday: “Over one hundred dangerous youths wander in downtown Helsinki – according to experts, this is a new phenomenon caused by migration.” When the Helsingin Sanomat story was published, it spread fear and with it xenophobia. Is the newspaper article true? In the first place,
Read on »Kokoomus’ Antti Häkkänen vilifies Islam, claims to uphold human rights
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED In a bid to gain voters, the National Coalition Party’s (Kokoomus) MP Antti Häkkänen and possibly the next chairperson of the conservative party spreads his anti-Islamic rhetoric, again. For those who don’t know Häkkänen, he comes from a small town called Mäntyharju in Eastern Finland and has expressed before his extreme
Read on »Jussi Halla-aho is a fake and his party’s disingenuous and misleading claims
Anyone who has followed Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Jussi Halla-aho’s political career will easily conclude that it was done on the fuel of racism and bigotry, and generous chunks of it. Racism had become such a normal matter for the PS that on the same day when Halla-aho claimed on Marja Sannikka’s talk show that he
Read on »No more PS BS and politicking by French President Emmanuel Macron
“Another underlying message also becomes clear in the meantime: ‘Muslims pose a threat to our society and have to be tamed,’ which is reminiscent of the ‘civilizing’ mission of the French colonial conquerors.“ Farid Hafez* THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Any sensible Muslim or person will condemn what happened in France concerning the beheading of a
Read on »Helsinki Times: A rebuttal to Perussuomalaiset* MPs Veikko Vallin and Veijo Meri
Read the original posting here.
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #74: The anti-Semitic beast inside Jussi Halla-aho
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED In a recent debate with Center Party chairperson Annika Saariko, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party head, Jussi Halla-aho, was put on the hot seat after asked about his anti-Semitic blog writings. He denied being an anti-Semite and said that the claim was a popularity stunt by Lauri Nurmi, who recently published an
Read on »Mitä ajattelevat Perussuomalaiset ja mitä he peittelevät?
Keitä ovat Perussuomalaiset? Elävätkö he rinnakaistodellisuudessa tai peittelevätkö keitä he ovat todellisuudessa, eli vihaamielisia islamofoobisia, etnonastionalistisia ja maahanmuuttovastaisia? Tässä muutamia väitteitä. Totta tai tarua? Keltainen ei ole pelkurein* väri. Se ei ole myöskään lumenväri. Jussi Halla-aho ei ole stand up koomikko. Emme kannusta aparthedia.
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Kansanedustajat, olette suurelta osin vastuussa siitä, saako rasismi edetä Suomessa
Rasismin vastustaminen ja maahanmuuttajavähemmistöjen puolustaminen tuntuu käytännön tasolla jäävän kansalaisten ja järjestöjen tehtäväksi. Perussuomalaisten noustua suurella rasistijoukkiolla eduskuntaan vuonna 2011 kansalaisyhteiskunta heräsi. Lukemattomat netti- ja reaalimaailman yhteisöt nostavat esiin yhteiskuntamme ikävää lieveilmiötä ja yrittävät keksiä, kuinka rasismia vähennetään ja kuinka saadaan ihmiset luopumaan syrjivistä asenteistaan. On vaikea sanoa, olemmeko loppujen lopuksi saaneet paljonkaan aikaisiksi, mutta
Read on »Bedfellows Perussuomalaiset and the far-right: I’m surprised that you are still surprised
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Playing dumb or dead to the threat of far-right groups is a political statement or reveals you are either lazy, naive, or white.. While it is a positive matter that the Finnish media is shedding light on two long-time bedfellows: the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and far-right groups, even so, the question we
Read on »PS MP Petri Huru and his ties with a far-right attempted murder suspect
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Petri Huru states in his Twitter account that his goal is to keep Finns safe. He is a chief fireman and a practical nurse. Noble professions but can trust Huru’s judgement? A question: What are you, MP Huru, doing smiling in a picture below with far-right activist Tero Ala-Tuuhonden? Isn’t he the
Read on »Finland is too white to solve its issues with racism. There must be change.
After the bombshell news that one of the suspects arrested Friday who brutally attacked Pekka Kataja of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) in July, the new chairperson of the Center Party, Annika Saarikko, said on Ykkösaamu Saturday that she could form a government with the PS. In light of the PS’ links with far-right groups, Saarikko’s response
Read on »Case Pekka Kataja of the PS: I’m surprised that you are surprised
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED It is revealing to read comments from the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party about Friday’s bombshell news: the police detained a former PS politician and a far-right Nazi-spirited activist on suspected attempted murder charges against Pakka Kataja. Starting from PS chairperson Jussi Halla-aho, who was convicted in 2012 for ethnic agitation and
Read on »The Perussuomalaiset picks on vulnerable single mothers and migrant men
“Since leaving the White House in 1981, Rosalynn and I have strived to advance human rights in countries around the world. In this quest, we have seen that silence can be as deadly as violence.” Jimmy Carter Some sectors of the media and other people like teachers believe that silence is the best response to
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Pölhöpopulistien puheet
Donald Trumpin vaalipuheesta v. 2020: At no time before have voters faced a clearer choice between two parties, two visions, two philosophies, or two agendas. This election will decide if we save the American dream or whether we allow a socialist agenda to demolish our cherished destiny. It will decide whether we rapidly create millions
Read on »MP Veikko Vallin and the Islamophobic PS pull another “fast one” on the media
Perussuomalaiset MP Veikko Vallin tweeted an apology for the “mistake” of publishing pictures of children and workers at a nursery school. Even if he is sorry, he stated that his “critical opinion” of women using a chador at nursery schools has not changed. Vallin’s action of taking pictures of children and workers at a nursing
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #73: Stoking and exploiting white suspicion
Few of us will forget the 2011 parliamentary election when an Islamophobic and no-holes-barred racist party saw the number of MPs rise to 39 from 5 in 2007. Even if the result was a wake-up call for Finland, the reaction to the rise of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) as a major political force. Some shrugged off
Read on »Return back to Finland’s “good old days?” No thanks!
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED When some Finns and parties talk about returning to the “good old days,” they are saying that they’d like to return to the days when foreigners had practically no rights and where racism was king. It was also a time of appeasement to the former Soviet Union, media self-censorship, impunity, and
Read on »Perussuomalaiset: The shameful a**hole party of Finland
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED “What are you without racism? Are you any good? Are you still strong? Still smart? Do you still like yourself?” Toni Morrison (1931-2019) Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Mauri Peltokangas, a far-right politician and member of the Nazi-spirited Suomen Sisu association, labeled government ministers “a**holes” for not expressing concern about the attack against
Read on »WTF: Jussi Halla-aho on Pekka Kataja and his blind spot and alternate reality
Perussuomalaiset (PS) chairperson Jussi Halla-aho is the Finnish version of Hungarian strongman Viktor Orbán. If he had his way, Finland would deport Muslims, deny asylum to people dependent on race, encourage dog-eat-dog economics, and scale down the welfare state. Halla-aho’s alternate reality and that of his party sometimes cause a knee-jerk reaction: WTF. We have
Read on »The Pekka Kataja account of his attackers’ identity changes again
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED The Pekka Kataja story, the Perussuomnalaiset (PS) councilor of Jämsänkoski, is constantly changing. First, he claims that “Arab-looking” men assaulted him. That has now morphed into “possibly” it was the far right or far left. Kataja even claimed that he was attacked due to his opinions of an asylum reception center,
Read on »Sorry Seida Sohrabi, not all of us want to adapt to your myopic little world
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Bewilderment emerges whenever Seida Sohrabi, who identifies herself as an expert on Kurdish affairs and elementary school teacher, comments on her narrow views of how migrants should adapt in Finland. Having read her opinion pieces, I feel sorry for her Muslim students at the school she teaches. I hope their parents
Read on »Ano Turtiainen: the PS doesn’t love me, I love the PS – watch me now eat my words
Expelled from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* parliamentary group for mocking George Floyd’s death in a tweet, he now said that he would want to return to his former parliamentary group. A day after he was expelled from the parliamentary group earlier this month, Turtiainen was adamant: “I am not going to request joining [the parliamentary group]
Read on »Two Islamophobes in a pod: Juha Mäenpää and Ano Turtiainen of Finland
MP Ano [1] Turtiainen’s tweet mocking the death of George Floyd sits together with Juha Mäenpää on Facebook. You may ask why? Mäenpää is a member of the Perussuomalaiset party* and Turtiainen was expelled. One called Muslims “an invasive species” in parliament and the other mocked in a tweet George Floyd’s death. Turtianen, like Mäenpää,
Read on »The Mäenpää “invasive species” case is an example of how disenfranchised are Muslims and migrants in Finland
There is one matter that is clear about Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Juha Mäenpää: he hates Muslims so much that last year he compared them to an “an invasive species.” He is also close ideologically with Ano Turtiainen, who mocked George Floyd’s death. According to the National Geographic, “An invasive species is an organism that is
Read on »Finnish MP who mocked George Floyd: You are not suspected of ethnic agitation, you are suspected of ethnic agitation
The news continues to roll in for MP Ano Turtiainen, who was suspended from the Perusuomalaiset (PS)* parliamentary group for a tweet that mocked George Floyd’s death. After the police carried out their investigation last week and decided not to charge Turtiainen for ethnic agitation or defamation, the police changed course Monday after Prosecutor General
Read on »Apologize now Ano Turtiainen, the Finnish MP who mocked George Floyd’s death
Finnish Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Ano Turtiainen’s tweet mocking George Floyd’s death is a disgrace. Still, even a worse shame is that he has not apologized to George Floyd’s family, #BlackLivesMatter movement, and also People of African Descent in Europe and Finland for the tweet. The only matter that appears to have concerned Turtiainen is that
Read on »Some of Ano Turtiainen’s most racist and repugnant posts
Former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party MP Ano Turtiainen suffered some big blows last week: he was expelled from the far-right PS (quite a feat for a person who is multiculturally/interculturally challenged), two powerlifting groups in the United States and Canada terminated their business relationship with his company, Metal Sport & Ger (GoMetal). Let’s not forget all
Read on »Ano Turtiainen and Finland’s #BlackLivesMatter movement
THE STORY WAS UPDATED While what we see in the United States with nationwide protests is remarkable, what happened last week with former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party MP Ano Turtainen was equally significant. Before mocking the death of George Floyd in a racist tweet, Turtiainen should have understood that there is a lot of sensitivity and
Read on »Ano Turtiainen’s career as “a dark comedian” and politician go down in flames
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Perussuomnalaiset (PS)* MP Ano Turtiainen [1], who was expelled from the parliamentary group Thursday, but could rejoin the group after the end of the year if he had changed his racist ways. To this offer, Turtiainen gave a redundant no. “I am not going to request joining [the parliamentary group] again,
Read on »The two peas in a pod: Perussuomalaiset MP Mauri “Perkele” Peltokangas and Benito Mussolini
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Does Perussuomalaiset MP Mauri “Perkele” Peltokangas give you the creeps when he rants on YouTube? In one recent 2:36-minute monologue, Peltokangas used the following swear words every 20 seconds: Shit (paska): 2 times Fucked (perseestä): 2 times What the hell, hell (mitä helevetti, helevetti): 2 The devil (perkele): 2 A Peltokangas
Read on »MP Ano Turtainen gets expelled from the party until the end of the year for his racist tweet against George Floyd
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* parliamentary group unanimously expelled Thursday MP Ano Turtiainen [1] until the end of the year for posting a racist tweet about the death of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. “The suspension is permanent,” PS parliamentary group leader Ville Tavio was quoted as saying in Yle. “We had a discussion that
Read on »The awkward timing of PS’ and Turtiainen’s racist tweet against George Floyd
Poor timing by Ano Turtiainen? Today, people in Helsinki demonstrated in solidarity with George Floyd and #BlackLivesMatter, according to Yle News. At the same time, Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Ano Turtianen mocks at the death of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Today’s demonstration to show support for George Floyd was a great show of
Read on »Finnish PS MP Ano Turtiainen jokes about George Floyd in a racist manner
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED “The inhabitants of Juva are quiet about [MP] Ano Turtianen. [1] It is a sign that there is a lot of shame.” A Juva resident If there is a racist comment and swipe by a politician against a migrant or minority, you can bet that it is from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party. PS
Read on »European Islamophobia Report will publish its 2019 findings in early June
The European Islamophobia Report (EIR) will publish in early June its findings. Should we be surprised that the party that is associated with Islamophobia in Finland is none other than the Perusuomalaiset (PS)*? The forthcoming European Islamophobia Report 2019, which will be published in early June, lists the central figures in Finland’s Islamophobia network. In
Read on »Finnish citizenship test, kansalaisuustesti
There are a lot of fakes out there imitating the Finnish coat of arms and distorting and corrupting what it stands for. If you are going to become a naturalized Finn, you cannot fail this part of the citizenship test. On paljon feikkejä, jotka imitoivat olevansa Suomen vaakuna ja vääristävät ja korruptoivat mitä se edustaa.
Read on »Kuka levittää valeuutisia maahanmuuttajista?
Ylikomisario Jari Taponen sai aikamoinen myrskyn aikaan kun hän twittasi seuraavasti: Tässä on yksi ihmeellisimpiä lehtikirjoituksia jonka olen nähnyt. Tehdään juttu rikoksesta jota ei ole tapahtunut. Kuka levittää valeuutisia maahanmuuttajista ja turvapaikanhakijoista? Olennainen kysymys on miksi he levittävät valetietoa? Jos katsotaan tietyt ryhmät kuten Perussuomalaiset, valetieto ja pelonlietsonta houkuttelevat äänestäjät. Kaikki eduskuntavaaleissa jossa Perussuomalaiset ovat
Read on »How does the Perussuomalaiset party resemble the coronavirus or vice versa?
Here are some symptoms of the coronavirus: fever, dry cough, sore throat, tiredness, headaches, loss of taste, and smell. Here are some symptoms of the PS virus: racism, Islamophobia, bigotry, climate denial, conspiracy theories, mediocracy, pro-Putin, and incompetence. Like Covid-19, which fools and infects healthy cells, the PS virus also enters and infects institutions like
Read on »Perussuomalaiset support heads south
There was good news if you are against us-and-them rhetoric, Islamophobia, and support for US President Donald Trump’s policies and persona. A poll published Thursday by Yle showed that the southward direction of the Perussuomalaiaset (PS)* party continued to head south. Compared with a similar poll on December 9, 2019-January 8, 2020, support for the
Read on »Twitter (Amin A Alem): COVID-19 and the racialization of Others
As xenophobic parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party blame visible minorities for growing coronavirus infections, the same is being spread by people by people who should know better. The rise of a racist party like the PS during the 2010s, which reinforced many Finns’ xenophobic views, suggests that labeling and racializing will continue to pick
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 »Living in the PS Outokumpu bubble – beware of Muslims even if there are hardly any foreigners
There is one matter that bonds all the Perussuomalaiset (PS) MPs in parliament: They use migrants, especially Muslims and asylum seekers, to get votes. Their ads and rhetoric reflect well their racist disposition. Take, for instance, the ad below that promises that she will make “Finnish well being and security” priorities. Some of her pet
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 »Kokoomus’ perilous path, caving into far-right populism and xenophobia
Conservative parties like the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) are on a dangerous path putting in peril human rights and the rule of law. The latest suggestion by Kokoomus parliamentary group leader, Kai Mykkänen, to pass legislation so Finland could suspend asylum applications like Greece is worrying. The Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party clutched political power in
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 »Wake up Finland! Is the PS far-right political agenda who we are?
The Toni Jalonen story of the former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* second vice president who resigned because he said he was a fascist, is an opportunity for Finland to take a long and deep look in the mirror. Above all, it is an opportunity to look at the hypocrisy within the PS and political culture. It also
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 »White ethnonationalism is here, there, everywhere in the Perussuomalaiset
Being white is ok if you are white, but when you use your whiteness to oppress others and promote ideologies like fascism, then we need to have a discussion. On the left is the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Youth logo, which portrays an ideal of whiteness and ethnonationalism with fascist overtones. I have always wondered about the
Read on »The PS’ and Jussi Halla-aho’s “circus” tour continues after fascist Toni Jalonen resigns as PS Youth vice president
THIS POST WAS UPDATED Some may believe that the big news from the weekend is that the former second vice president of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Youth, Toni Jalonen, admitted publicly to being “an ethnonationalist, traditionalist, and a fascist.” Reaction to what Jalonen affirmed came fast and hard after it hit social media. National Coalition Party
Read on »Disingenuous Jussi Halla-aho, disingenuous fascist-spirited Perussuomalaiset
It is justified to consider the Nürnberg trials a farce. Guilt was decided in advance, and the justifications for the sentences were absurd.[1] Perussuomalaiset* (PS) chairperson Jussi Halla-aho (2010) Isn’t it incredible how PS Youth second vice president Toni Jalonen put himself in the eye of a political storm when he admitted over the weekend
Read on »MP Ano Turtiainen: A shovelful of PS violence and rage
I doubt that anyone of us wants to see a [civil] war in our country. PS MP Ano Turtiainen The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP with a curious first name, “Ano,” [1] Turtiainen is another dangerous example of how the Islamophobic party fuels the hostile environment against migrants and minorities like Muslims. Recently we saw a deadly
Read on »MP Mauri Peltokangas is an example of the PS’ far-right rage and hateful narrative
Mauri Peltokangas is an MP for the Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party and a member of the Nazi-spirited Suomen Sisu association. In the hostile video below, the PS MP with close ties to neo-Nazi groups, uses the following terms to cry us a river about bringing to Finland 175 children from the Lesvos refugee camp. If
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 »Helsingin Sanomat’s Saarikoski should seek facts and not rely on his prejudices
The tweet by Saksa Saarikoski of Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s biggest daily, represents to the tee how our society has changed and become ever-suspicious of asylum seekers. Finland’s interior minister, Maria Ohisalo, has correctly criticized the EU for its lame and disastrous asylum policy. The suggestion that Ohisalo wants to bring refugee minors from the island
Read on »Is Matias Turkkila a part of Finland’s Islamophobic network? You bet!
One matter is for certain: You don’t need to prove somebody is a racist because that person does it for you. Racists also think people are stupid and can’t see through them. While I am not suggesting that Turkkila is a racist, he’s had a big role in helping the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and its politicians
Read on »What would Jussi Halla-aho and the PS say if Harvey Weinstein lived in Finland? Would anti-Semitism spiral out of control?
If there is one party that racializes sexual assaults, especially committed by Muslims, that party is without a doubt the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. Its chairperson Jussi Halla-aho, first vice-president Riikka Purra, MP Sebastian Tynkkynen, and the rest of the 36 MPs of their party in parliament. All of them, the 39 PS MPs, used Islamophobia and
Read on »PS MP Ano Turtiainen is the bald face of aging communities losing vitality
“The inhabitants of Juva are quiet about [MP] Ano Turtianen.* It is a sign that there is a lot of shame.” A Juva resident THIS POST WAS UPDATED Juva in the region of Etelä-Savo is a sad example of how a town withers demographically and what types of politicians appear and are supposed to save it from
Read on »Finland’s anti-Semitism and “r” problem: Washing one’s hands with Denial soap
Finland’s reaction: See no evil, hear no evil. Finland has had, for a long time, an “r” problem in the way of Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and other social ills like hatred against the Romany minority. Part of it has to do with the historical acceptance and even closet glorification of our alliance with Nazi Germany. The
Read on »PS MP hides behind his party to absolve him of ethnic agitation charges. Chicken!
“Part of the problem seems to lie with Finnish politicians who truly believe that having a dialogue – any dialogue, regardless of who is on the opposite side of the table – is better than having no dialogue at all. So you can easily end up with the equivalent of a businessman trying to reach
Read on »The only person who is oblivious to Timo Soini the politician is Timo Soini
Former Perussuomnalaiset chairperson Timo Soini reappeared from obscurity on Tuesday with the launching of his book on populism called “Populismi.” My initial reaction was that I had not missed at all and his round-about and apologist soundbites and arguments. He states with his usual poker face: “My opinion about humanity is that every person is
Read on »Rakkaus on vahvempi kun etnonationalismi
Mitä olet ilman rasismia? Kelpaatko? Oletko yhä vahva? Yhä fiksu? Pidätkö yhä itsestä? Toni Morrison (1931-2019) Hienosti kirjoitettu ja sanottu, Merve Caglayan! On se törkeää, että poliitikot kuten Riikka Purra Perussuomalaisista voivat olla epäkunnioittavia toisia kohtaan. Purra on huolestunut siitä, että nyt vain 60% (lähde please?) ruotsalaista on syntynyt kahdelle ruotsalaiselle vanhemmalle, kun 2002 vastaava
Read on »The framing of Muslims and minorities by the Finnish media and other toothless stories
If I had to choose the worst journalism in Finland this year, that would be the media coverage to the sexual assault cases of minors that took place from November 2018 to before the parliamentary elections of April 14. If you speak with some Muslims in Oulu, they will tell you that the hysteria died
Read on »Twitter (Riikka Purra): Salaliitto tuoda kaikki #isis’läise Suomeen. Really?
Perussuomalaiset perustavat oma ideologiansa valheisiin ja pellonletsomiseen. Riikka Purran uudet väitteet ovat hyvä esimerkki siitä. Milloin suomen lehdistö alkaa jakamaan Pinokkiota poliitikoille kuten tekee Washington Post?
Read on »Persu valehtelee eduskunnan edessä – vaatii muilta puolueilta rehellisyyttä
Perussuomalaiset kertovat tänään vastauksessaan hallitustunnustelijalle, että osallistuvat vain hallitukseen, jossa kaikki puolueet sitoutuvat rehellisyyteen ja vaativat ministereiltä totuudessa pysymistä. Vaatimus on sinänsä hyveellinen ja oikea, mutta muuttuu naurettavaksi kun se tulee puolueelta, jonka politiikka kokonaisuudessaan perustuu valehteluun, huijaukseen ja vääristelyyn. Otetaanpa esimerkiksi yksi viimeisistä näytöksistä. Perussuomalaiset keksivät kuukausi sitten alkaa tehtailla rikosilmoituksia vanhoista TV-huumorin pätkistä
Read on »Finland: The high democratic and social price of being too alike
When the media turns a blind eye to racism, prejudice, and social exclusion, when politicians suck up to those very policies that reinforce such social ills, it is time to take a long look in the mirror. What would we see? A country still in the trenches of World War 2 (not the Continuation War),
Read on »Riikka Purra: Oletko ihan varma, että 98% pääkaupunkiseudun varhaisjakajista ovat maahanmuuttajataustaisia?
Liar, liar pants on fire. You know your nose is longer than a telephone wire. The Castaways, Liar, Liar (1965) Perussuomalaiset ja erityisesti kansanedustaja Riikka Purra liiottelee ja vääristele kun asia koske heidän lempiaihetta: maahanmuuttajia. Tällä viikolla Purra kärähti vääristelystä kun Migrant Tales otti selvää seuraavasta väitteistä ja totesi, että suuri osa postinjakaijista pääkaupunkiseudulla ovat
Read on »Perussuomalaiset: Onko suurin osa postinjakajista, etenkin pääkaupunkiseudulla, ulkomaalaisia?
TÄMÄ JUTTU ON PÄIVITETTY Viime aikoina on puhuttu siitä kuinka paljon poliitikot valehtelevat. Suomen lehdistö hyvin laiskasti seuraa näitä valheita ja kuka valheita kertoo. Puolue joka esittää vääristeltyä ja liioiteltua tietoa ja asioita, erityisesti silloin jos asia koskee maahanmuuttajia, niin perussuomalainen puolue kunnostautuu tässä. Yhdysvaltain presidentti Donald Trump valehtele paljon. Washington Post lehdessä fakta-tarkastaa presidentin
Read on »The “migrant problem” shouted in Finland by the PS is a panacea to all of our problems
Every voice raised against racism chips away at its power. Reino Eddo-Lodge Watching last Thursday’s parliamentary question time was a repulsive experience. If the opposition Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is to be believed, all of Finland’s problems hinge on migrants. An article in Verkkouutiset claims that since Prime Minister Antti Rinne’s government began its mandate on
Read on »Huhtasaari, Sarvamaa ja Virkkunen: Saavatko ihmiset hukkua Välimerellä?
TÄMÄ KIRJOITUS ON PÄIVITETTY Kolme suomalaista MEPejä, perussuomalainen Laura Huhtasaari, kokoomuslais Petri Sarvamaa ja Henna Virkkunen äänestivät 24.10. vastaan EU:n pelastus operaation puolesta Välimerelle. Europarlamentin äänestyksessä ehdotus hävisi niukasti, 290 vastaan 288 puolesta. Huhtasaaren, Sarvamaan ja Virkkusen kanta on valitettava ja on osoitus kuinka EU on valinut kuoleman elämän puolesta. Missä on näiden poliiikkojen ihmisyys?
Read on »The Soldiers of Odin threaten to take over and defend by force the northern Finnish border checkpoint of Tornio
The head of the far-right Nazi-spirited vigilante group Soldiers of Odin, Mika Ranta, threatened in a statement to take over the Tornio border checkpoint and defend it by force if the Swedish authorities let in asylum seekers as in 2015. Center Party MP Mikko Kärnä states in the Center Party newspaper Suomenmaa that he has
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 »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 »Halla-aho’s anti-immigration soundbites and why we should not relax hate speech laws
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Jussi Halla-aho gave us on Yle Ykkösaamu his usual anti-immigration blah blah and why Finland should relax its hate speech laws. In the interview, Halla-aho, who was convicted of ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion in 2012, defended the Nazi-spirited Suomen Sisu association and played down PS MP Juha Mäenpää’s
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 »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 »QUOTE OF THE DAY (Riikka Purra): Human scum and racism
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Perussuomalaiset (PS)* First Vice- President Riikka Purra asked in a tweet: “In your opinion, is it racist to call an African rapist human scum?” Indeed, it is racist! It is especially racist if you are a white politician who is a member of an Islamophobic and Afrophobic party. Can a human,
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 »The term “harmful immigration” is just as bad a word as using the n-word
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Racists, xenophobes and populist opportunists from parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* like to be intentionally mean to Muslim and African asylum seekers by labelling them “harmful” immigration. Using the term harmful immigration to describe non-EU migrants by especially politicians of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is as bad as using the n-word.
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 »Abdirahim Husu Hussein gives the PS on Ylen aamu-tv a taste of their own toxic medicine
After near-constant hostile labeling of Muslims, Somalis and other people of color in Finland by the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, it is a positive sign that people are speaking out. One of these persons who has been in the news is Helsinki city councilperson Abdirahim Husu Hussein. Watching him deflect the usual rhetoric from people, who
Read on »Why was former PM Sipilä’s government so xenophobic? Will the new government change matters?
Only MP Ozan Yanar, Jani Toivola and for about two years Nasima Razmyar, or 1.5% of all 200 MPs during the 2015-2019 term, were the only visible minorities in parliament. In the present 2019-2021 term, matters aren’t much better: Bella Forsgrén and Hussein al-Taee, who is on sick leave, are the only MPs who are
Read on »White Finnish media story of the day: Is media coverage of Muslims usually negative?
THIS STORY WAS UPDATED With the rise of Islamophobia in Europe, one culprit culprit is the media. In the United Kingdom, 59% of coverage of Muslims had a negative theme, according to The Guardian, which cites The Muslim Council of Britain. If a national media has an appetite for biased news reporting of Muslims, it
Read on »White Finnish media story of the day: Sanna Ukkola ja huomiokipeitä kirjoituksia “sanavapaudesta”
En viitsi analysoida yksityiskohtaisesti Sanna Ukkolan viimeistä Yle-kolumnia “sananvapaudesta”, koska hän ampuu tykillä muurahaisia (siis vähemmistöjen edustajia) eikä vaikuta reilulta. Kannattaa muistaa, että Ukkola on perussuomalaisten Matias Turkkilan vaimo. Varmasti Ukkolalla kotona riittääkin puhetta Turkkilan kanssa maahanmuuttajista ja muista vähemmistöistä, onhan Turkkila perussuomalaisten Suomen Uutisten vastaava päätoimittaja. Ukkolan viimeisin kolumni on hyvä esimerkki siitä, kuinka
Read on »Migrant Tales Podcast: Perussuomalaiset ovat ohimenevä ilmiö
Migrant Tales Podcast: Ethnonationalism and white supremacy in Finland
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. Who are these groups and how do they operate?
Read on »Päivän sitaatti (Old No. 7/Scripta-blogi 2008): Rasismi on osa suomalaista kulttuuria
Kommenti, joka kirjoitettiin Jussi Halla-ahon Scripta-blogissa syyskuussa 2008, on muistututs kuinka rasismia hysätään Suomessa. Sama sävel valitettavissa jatkaa tänään. Nimimerkki “Old No. 7” kirjoittaa : “Mikäs mies tuo Enriikke Tessieeri on olevinaan? En oikein tykästynyt miehen teksteihin, tuntui vähän siltä että näppäimistöön kajotessaan Enriquella on alkanut pyryttää pahemman kerran. Eipä sillä, varmasti Suomessa on syrjintää,
Read on »Exposing Finnish white privilege #62: On free speech and scared white men
It is amusing to hear how some people, usually white Finnish males, are so concerned about free speech. From rock bands like Eppu Normaali to politicians from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party and others, the message is clear: the state is undermining our free speech. Really? How can people who grow up with privilege and power
Read on »Perussuomalaiset MP dehumanizes asylum seekers as “invasive species”
Perussuomalaist* MP Juha Mäenpää, a member of the far-right Nazi-spirited Suomen Sisu, labelled asylum seekers in a session of parliament as “an invasive species.“ Mäenpää is the same person who in 2015 stated that god had answered his prayers after a reception center that was going to house asylum seekers was razed to the ground.
Read on »PS MP Ano Turtiainen flirting with another feather in his cap
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Ano Turtiainen [1] is a lawmaker that claims that breaking the law is a feather in his cap. His most recent posting on Facebook appears that the PS MP is fliting to get another feather in his cap. The posting is demeaning and straightforward (which is why we prefer not to post
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: When the PS reaches the end of the political line
“No party is immortal and there are clear signs of the Perussuomalaiset* party’s vulnerability. Their success hinges on how much they can scapegoat migrants and play down global warming. The fact that migrants are not a threat to Finland and that global warming is a very serious threat ensure an eventual fall from political grace
Read on »“Anna hukkua”-lista on osoitus meidän yhteiskunnalisesta tilasta
“Harmony makes small things grow. Lack of it makes big things decay.” ― Sallust Migrant Tales julkaisi vähän aikaan sitten listan “anna hukkua” -eurovaaliehdokkaista. Nämä ehdokkaat katsoivat, ettei ole EUn velvollisuus pelastaa siirtolaisia hukkumisvaaralta Välimerellä. Kolme näistä eurovaaliehdokkaista valittiin parlamenttiin 26.5.: Teuvo Hakkarainen ja Laura Huhtasaari perussuomalaisista sekä Henna Virkkunen kokoomuksesta. Alma Media vaalikoneen väitteessä 13 lukee:
Read on »The “let them drown” list of MEP candidates reveals our moral decay as a society
“Harmony makes small things grow. Lack of it makes big things decay.” ― Sallust Migrant Tales published recently a list of “let them drown” European election (MEP) candidates who felt that it wasn’t the EU’s obligation to save the lives of migrants crossing the Mediterranean. Three of these candidates got elected on May 26: Teuvo Hakkarainen and
Read on »Three “let them drown” MEPs were elected from Finland on Sunday
The European elections on Sunday elected 13 MEPs from Finland. Three of them were Migrant Tales “let them drown” Euro candidates.
Read on »Kolme “anna hukkua” -eurokansanedustajaa valittiin Suomesta sunnuntaina
Eurovaalit pidettiin suununtaina ja valittiin 13 eurokansanedustajaa Suomesta. Kolme heistä olivat Migrant Talesin “anna hukkua” eurovaaliehdokkaita.
Read on »Case PS Youth: Another racist ad, another provocation, another attempt to get attention
The racism that originates from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and their youth chapter is no surprise. The latest posting by the PS Youth is just another example of how they get attention.
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Only regret but no apology from PS Youth’s racist tweet
After publishing a tweet on Saturday that people should vote for the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* to keep Finland and Europe white, the far-right party’s youth wing vice chairperson Toni Jalonen offered after six days the following statement but without an apology:
Read on »Case Perussuomalaiset Youth: Crocodile tears from the PS and holding one’s breath
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* leader Jussi Halla-aho is shedding crocodile tears concerning the scandal with the PS Youth’s racist tweet over the weekend.
Read on »Don’t vote for “let them drown” EU candidates, give them the thumbs down
A total of 234 Euro election candidates answered Alma Media’s election compass, a total of 85 (36.3%) stated that they either “strongly disagree,” “disagree” or are “neutral” (have no opinion) about the following claim:
Read on »Twitter Oula Silvennoinen: Perussuomalaiset ovat tyypillinen #äärioikeistolainen puolue
Täässä kaksi perussuomalaisten (ps) varapuheenjohtaja Laura Huhtasaaren sitaattit, jotka vahvistavat että ovat äärioikestolainen puolue:
Read on »Austria’s far-right scandal and Laura Huhtasaari selfies with Matteo Salvini
What a Saturday! Austria’s far-right FPÖ vice chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache resigns after a video published by two German newspapers offered damaging evidence of him allegedly offering government contracts in return for political support from Moscow, reports The Guardian.
Read on »Vote in the European elections but not for the “let them drown” candidates
Forty-one percent of Finnish MEP candidates who answered Alma Media’s election compass stated that they either “strongly disagree,” “disagree” or are “neutral” (have no opinion) concerning the following claim: “Is it the obligation of the EU to save all those migrants who attempt to come to Europe and who are at risk of drowning in the Mediterranean?”
Read on »I am a migrant and I am proud of who I am
With all the demonizing of migrants by xenophobic and Islamophobic parties, one is required to yell louder and more determinedly: I am proud of my roots, I am proud of my migrant background.
Read on »A Perussuomalaiset lawmaker who shows no regrets in breaking the law
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* newly elected MP Ano Turtiainen [1] was quoted as saying in Mikkeli-based Länsi-Savo that he has no regrets about publishing in December 2015 a post where he asks people to commit vandalism against the Red Cross and its asylum reception centers.
Read on »Lähes 40% suomalaisista eurovaaliehdokkaista on sitä mieltä, että maahanmuuttajien pelastaminen Välimerellä on toisarvoinen kysymys
TÄMÄ JUTTU ON PÄIVITETTY. 36,3%* suomalaisista eurovaaliehdokkaista (85/234) vastasi ”täysin erimieltä,” ”erimieltä” tai ”neutraali” Alma Median vaalikoneen väitteeseen: “EU:n velvollisuus on pelastaa kaikki hukkumisriskillä Välimeren ylittävät Eurooppaan pyrkivät siirtolaiset.” Mielestäni väite on selkeä eikä jätä ketään epäilemään mitä poliitikot ajatteleva ihmisarvosta. Lähde. Facebook. Onko EU:n velvollisuus pelastaa kaikki hukkumisriskissä olevat maahanmuuttajat? Ehdottomasti kyllä. Lähde:KansainvälinenMerenkulkujärjestö
Read on »Migrant Tales’ shameful “let them drown” list of Finnish MEP candidates
The Alma Median EU election compass shows that (85/234) MEP candidates of the Perussuomalaiset* and National Coalition Party as the most eager to allow migrants drown in the Mediterranean. Even a neutral, or no opinion answer, is problematic. Does it mean that you are quiet and look the other way when people drown?
Read on »Migrant Talesin Suomen EU vaaliehdokkaiden “anna hukkua” lista
Alma Median EU vaalikone on paljastunut peussuomalaiset ja kokoomuslaiset haluavat innokkaimmin hukuttaa maahanmuuttajia Välimereen. Jopa neutraali vastaus tässä on ihmeelinen. Tarkoitaako, että olet hiljaa ja katsot sormien läpi kun ihmiset hukkuvat?
Read on »The Social Democrats should not form government with far-right parties like the PS
Sweden Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said in Yle said that just because a far-right party like the Sweden Democrats get 17.5% of the votes in an election, it does not mean an automatic ticket to government.
Read on »Presidentti Sauli Niinistön sitaatit maahanmuutosta ja moninaisuudesta paljastavat jotain ikävää hänestä
Joka kerta kun Presidentti Sauli Niinistö kommentoi turvapaikkahakijoista, maahanmuutosta, maahanmuuttajista, kaksoiskansalaisuudesta, rasismista tai perussuomalaisista, hän useisti päästä samakkot suusta.
Read on »The Finnish media should refer to the Perussuomalaiset as a far-right party
Helsingin Sanomat goes to some length in a story about the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* being referred to by the chairperson of the Social Democratic Pary (PSOE), Pedro Sánchez, as a “far-right” party. We could not agree more to Pedro Sánchez’ description of the PS as a far-right party.
Read on »Finnish President Sauli Niinistö’s disinformation bubble about racism and Others
Is it surprising that whenever President Sauli Niinistö comments on asylum seekers, Muslims, and the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, he sticks his foot in his mouth?
Read on »The Perussuomalaiset of Finland’s hubris and arrogance are their political soft spot
The good showing of the Islamophobic and xenophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, reveals a party blinded by hubris and hatred of migrants, especially Muslims. They are now out for blood but the blood they seek may be their own.
Read on »The election result in Finland was what it was. Stop acting surprised.
Sunday’s election results should not come to any surprise. Far-right parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and white supremacist groups like Suomen Sisu have worked tirelessly to promote Finland’s hostile environment against migrants and minorities.
Read on »Social Democrats win elections in Finland but hard times await migrants, minorities and especially Muslims
With 99.3% of the votes counted, it appears that the Social Democrats will win the elections. While the Finnish media has spoken about the Perussuomalaiset’s (PS) good showing, there has not been a word said about what far-right populism will continue to impact and change the country.
Read on »Yle poll: The PS becomes the second-biggest party. Thank mainstream parties like Kokoomus, the Center Party and the media.
Some were surprised to see in a poll published by Yle Thursday that the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* became the second-most popular part in Sunday’s parliamentary elections after the Social Democrats. If we are honest with ourselves, the poll result should not have come as a surprise. The party that the PS knocked to third place
Read on »S-worldview: The Islamophobic snake vampire of Finland
The Islamophobic snake vampire. Can you spot the Islamophobes? Timo Soini, Jussi Halla-aho, Sampo Terho, Teuvo Hakkarainen, Junes Lokka, Tiina Wiik, Laura Huhtasaari, Wille Rydman, Atte Kaleva, Ville Tavio, Simon Elo, Juho Eerola, and Olli Immonen. Should we be surprised that most of them represent the Perussuomalaiset* and Blue Reform parties? * The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party
Read on »The sooner we admit that the Perussuomalaiset is a far-right extremist party the better for our democracy
Why is it so difficult for the national media in Finland to acknowledge that the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is a far-right political fringe group? This was further confirmed on Monday when Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini announced a political alliance to challenge the EU.
Read on »Finland has been regressing into a false hole of provincialism and xenophobia
Should we be surprised by the results of a recent opinion poll, which showed the rise of an Islamophobic populist party to third place after the Social Democrats and National Coalition Party? As Léo Custódio put it: “Racist party 3rd in polls in world’s happiest country.”
Read on »Facebook Léo Custódio: Racist party in Finland and the world’s happiest country
Migrant Tales insight: Remember when Finland was named the happiest country in the world by the UN? I am certain that factors like income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity may contribute to people’s well-being. Even so, Léo Custódio, a researcher, asks an important question in light of the latest opinion polls: A party that openly victimizes and which socially excludes migrants from being equal members of society is today the third-biggest in the “world’s happiest country.”
Read on »One step forward for Islamophobes and two steps back for the Finnish media
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Teuvo Hakkarainen, convicted for ethnic agitation and sexual harassment, is on the roll with the media again. This time, the PS MP has taped on his car anti-immigration slogans like “stop refugee terrorism – out of this country every [asylum seeker] man.”
Read on »The Perussuomalaiset of Finland try to play down New Zealand atrocities but fail
In Finland, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is an extremist far-right party that fear-mongers about Muslims and migrants. For many PS politicians, the Oulu sexual abuse cases came as an election lifesaver until Friday, when an Australian white supremacist murdered in cold blood 49 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Read on »The wrong question by Helsingin Sanomat that feeds anti-immigration sentiment and undermines human rights
Helsingin Sanomat’s election or vote compass questions say a lot about how the Finnish media approaches and writes about asylum and migration issues. Martin Scheinin, international law and human rights professor at the European Institute University, raises an important point about how the newspaper approaches asylum policy.
Read on »Good riddance to Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government!
The downfall of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government on International Women’s Day Friday was not only good news for social equality in Finland. Apart from impoverishing the country’s most vulnerable classes like single mothers, women, the unemployed, migrants, minorities and others, it is an end to right-wing party politics so obvious in the failed health care reform.
Read on »Timo Soini to retire from politics
Foreign Minister Timo Soini, 56, who inspired Islamophobes, racists and conservative nationalists to have a political voice and platform to lash out at migrants and minorities, announced that he will not seek a new term in parliament, according to Helsingin Sanomat. Soini, who calls himself a devout Catholic, will be remembered as a conservative populist politician who led the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* to national prominence by capitalizing on populist anti-immigration sentiment.
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 »Oulu’s knee-jerk reaction to the sexual assault crimes will do a lot of harm to the city’s image. Blame the media, police, politicians.
The question Migrant Tales asked a while back if the City of Oulu’s decision to ban visits by asylum seekers to child care centers and schools is legal. Can you ban a single group, in this case, asylum seekers, from visiting such places? As far as how the law works in Finland, the ban should
Read on »WARNING: RACIST CONTENT – Halla-aho announces that anti-immigration will be the PS’ main campaign theme
With parliamentary elections a heartbeat away on April 14, the populist far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party announced that anti-immigration will be their main campaign theme. Are we surprised? Not in the bit. PS Chairperson Jussi Halla-aho was quoted as saying in Yle that at the present rate, Finland’s immigration policy will destroy present levels of social welfare, undermine
Read on »Ku Klux Klan in the US, Perussuomalaiset in Finland
The editorial below by the Alabama-based Democrat-Reporter, calling on the Ku Klux Klan “to ride again” and lynch Democrats, was not published in the last century but in 2019. This editorial is a good example that the United States is a racist country and has done too little to eradicate this social ill.
Read on »Länsi-Savo: Suomi ei ole yhdeenrtainen maa kaikille
Lue alkuperäinen juttu tästä.
Read on »PS’ Jussi Halla-aho on TV offerng simplistic views on migration and Finnish identity
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Jussi Halla-aho was a guest on Yle’s Ykkösaamu. Convicted for ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion in 2012, the PS chairperson gave his usual simplistic views on immigration and Finnish identity.
Read on »The PS is a far-right, populist party that hopes to strike election gold with the sexual assault cases of Oulu by migrants
Imagine a political party that jumps for joy when migrants are suspected of sexual assault like in the case of Oulu. Imagine a party that taps into voters’ Islamophobia, xenophobia and hatred to get votes. Imagine a party that aims at relegating migrants and minorities to second-class members of society with the help of lies and fake news.
Read on »Länsi-Savo: Ovatko perussuomalaiset kumouksellinen puolue?
Vähän perussuomalaisista Länsi-Savossa (2.2.).
Read on »Islamophobia and xenophobia on steroids: Jussi Halla-aho’s latest column in MTV
The Islamophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson, Jussi Halla-aho, who was convicted of ethnic agitation and breaching the sanctity of religion in 2012, is a columnist for television station MTV. Two matters emerge when skimming through his latest column: The media is part of Finland’s racism problem; and the PS is the first modern Finnish party to capitalize exclusively on immigration, especially Islamophobia.
Read on »What political capital will the Finnish far-right Perussuomalaiset party gain from Oulu?
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is the first modern Finnish party to capitalize politically on Finland’s Islamophobic and anti-immigration sentiment. With parliamentary elections around the corner on April 14, the question is if the PS will get a boost from the sexual assault cases of Oulu?
Read on »The wise tales of Uncle Toms and the unbalanced reporting by the Finnish media
Tabloid Ilta-Sanomat, which was complicit in the early 1990s of spreading racism wholesale in Finland, hasn’t yet apologized for its reporting about groups like the Somalis. In an interview with a Kurdish Islamophobe, Sheida Sohrabi, Ilta-Sanomat signals that it will never apologize for its shoddy and one-sided reporting.
Read on »Oulu has turned Finland into a more hostile place for migrants, especially Muslims
A journalist asked me what I thought about the reaction of the politicians to the sexual assault cases in Oulu. Certainly, any sensible person would condemn such acts. But what could we say about the politicians and the media? My answer: The reaction of the politicians and the media is a clear sign of Finland’s ever-worsening
Read on »WARNING: ISLAMOPHOBIC CONTENT – Laura Huhtasaari (Suomen Uutiset)
Why is this Islamophobic? Perussuomalaiset* Vice President Laura Huhtasaari usually makes Islamophobic comments on steroids and other times without them. In the news story below, Huhtasaari, who is an avid follower of US President Donald Trump’s and Hungarian strongman Viktor Orbán’s anti-immigration policies, says that her party has the right solutions to migration and wants
Read on »White Finnish privilege #56: How Islamophobic is Finland?
Ever thought why political parties like the Perussuomalaiset,* Blue Reform and individual politicians from other parties, especially from the National Coalition Party, are so keen at pointing the finger at Muslims? Do they do so because they are racists? Opportunists? Political gold diggers?
Read on »European Agency of Fundamental Rights: Finland has the most racial harassment cases against PAD of 12 EU countries surveyed
A new study by the European Agency of Fundamental Rights (FRA) reveals that a third of people of African descent (PAD) surveyed have experienced racial harassment in the last five years. That’s not all: Perceived racist harassment was highest in Finland (63%) and least prevalent in Malta 20% (see chart below).
Read on »YLE A-studio talk show’s question and image sum up Finland’s migration and demographic challenges ahead
he gap in unemployment benefits between migrants and Finns is 39% (15,000 euros versus 9,400 euros) and up to 59% for those who are outside the labor force (7,500 euros versus 3,100 euros).
Read on »Pakolaisista tulee Suomessa rikollisia ilman tehtyä rikosta
Kun pakolainen on Suomessa vastaanottokeskuksessa, hän on vielä tavallinen pakolainen muiden pakolaisten joukossa. Häntä pidetään pelossa ja epävarmuudessa, monesti vuosia, mutta hän saa sen verran ruokaa ja avustusta, että pysyy fyysisesti kohtuukunnossa. Kun pakolainen on saanut kielteisen päätöksen turvapaikkahakemukseen, eikä häntä voida jostain syystä poistaa maasta, hänestä tulee laiton. Hänet potkaistaan kadulle kyselemättä, onko hänelle
Read on »Finland knows that it is in demographic hot water but leaves its future woes to chance
A new forecast by Statistics Finland tells us what we’ve known for a long time: We are in demographic hot water and our population will start to shrink and get older, according to YLE News. Net immigration will maintain present population levels at 5.6 million until 2035, but will decline to 5.5 million in the 2050s.
Read on »Suomen Kuvalehti (25.11.2010): Maahanmuuttajia on syytä kiittää
Read on »
The PS and Blue Reform of Finland are an aberration and should be voted out in 2019
I have never believed or trusted the Perussuomalaiset (PS),* even if some were willing to give them the benefit of the doubt after their historic win in the 2011 parliamentary elections. Some claimed that it would only be a matter of time when they imploded. The implosion of the party happened in June 2017, or six
Read on »Laura Huhtasaari: The Perussuomalaiset MP with the sinister kindergarten-teacher smile
With parliamentary elections in April, Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Vice President Laura Huhtasaari is busily fear-mongering us about how Finland is losing its identity and how Islam is on track of taking over Europe.
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Stop debating with fascists and racists
Migrant Tales insight: Aleksander Hemon states in his eloquent article about fascism that we should not waste any time debating but that “it is a set of actions to fight.” In the essay, he admits feeling guilty and ashamed of his cowardice and naivety that just talking to a fascist might bring him back. In
Read on »Racism, Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia: Words can turn into bullets and corpses
Recently we have seen the consequences of hatred towards minorities in the United States: The cold-blooded shooting of an alt-right suspect that attacked a synagogue killing 11 people in Pittsburgh, the killing of two African Americans in Louisville, and mail bombs sent to Democrats and liberals who oppose President Donald Trump.
Read on »Päivän sitaatti Maija Vilkkumaa: “Maahanmuuttopolitiikkaa johtaa umpirasistinen ihminen.” Kuka hän on?
Maija Vilkkumaa viittaa Timo Soiniin. “Mut voisko tässä olla joku tällanen, että mä muistan, kun puhuttiin, kun perussuomalaiset otettiin hallitukseen, ja sitte, että vähän…osaks joo – okei, heillä oli niinku kovahko suosio vaaleissa -, mut sit siin oli myös just semmonen, et meidän pitää nyt sitten antaa heidän tehdä omat virheensä ja sillä seurauksella, että
Read on »S. Ukkola’s colorblind racism, white fragility, expose a wider problem of Finnish society
Sanna Ukkola, a YLE journalist married to Matias Turkkila, the editor of the xenophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party publication Suomen Uutiset, not only exposes in a column colorblind racism* and white fragility, but wider issues about Finnish society on racism, ethnicity, and identity.
Read on »Xenophobic and pro-Russia online publication MV-lehti founder Ilja Janitskin slapped with 22-month prison sentence
Migrant Tales applauds the sentencing by the Helsinki District Court on Thursday of Ilja Janitski, the founder of the xenophobic website MV-lehti and Uber Uutiset, on 16 criminal charges. Janitski was handed a twenty-two-month prison sentence and with two others found guilty, was ordered to pay the biggest share of damages amounting to 136,000 euros.
Read on »Laura Huhtasaari and Ville Tavio: How some sectors of the Finnish Lutheran Church promote racist discourse
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* vice-president and MP, Laura Huhtasaari, is keen on building her political career on Islamophobia and polarizing our country in two distinct camps: “us” and “them.”
Read on »Far-right politician Huhtasaari and the PS pull one of the oldest tricks on the media
Anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* vice president, Laura Huhtasaari, hit the jackpot when she attacked a Finnish school project in Tampere for “encouraging hatred.” The poster made by teenage students pitted herself and the PS’ chairperson, Jussi Halla-aho, against President Sauli Niinistö and Green Alliance MP Pekka Haavisto with the following question: towards Finland, or towards death.
Read on »Turku appeal court of Finland upholds earlier decision to ban neo-Nazi PVL group
Migrant Tales was happy to hear that the appeal court in Turku has upheld an earlier decision by the Pirkanmaa district court in Tampere to ban in Finland the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement (PVL) and Pohjoinen Perinne (Nordic Tradition Group), a PVL –linked group, according to YLE News.
Read on »Anti-refugee sentiment in Finland and politicians who capitalize on fear and racism
A new survey by PEW Research Center shows that there is wide support in several EU countries for taking in refugees. The report shows that Spain is the most welcoming while Poland and Hungary are the least responsive.
Read on »Epäluottamusmies: Kysymys Timo Soinille: onko elämä pyhä?
Timo Soini on menettänyt kaikki: hänen populistinen, maahanmuutto- ja naisvihan puolue perussuomalaiset ja siniset. Hän on tehnyt paljon tuhoa suomen hyvä maineen. Samaan ryhmään ovat kokoomus ja keskusta. Soini saa luottamuksen äänin 100-60 vaikka hänen kantaa aborttiin on suomen lain vastaan. Katso alkuperänen piirros tästä.
Read on »(Migrant Tales 12.2.2017): Dear Sweden, don’t play ball with the Sweden Democrats – Finland is the best example of the disaster that awaits you
Dear Sweden, In all of the Nordic region, we have seen far-right populist parties rise in this century with a hostile even vicious anti-immigration and anti-cultural diversity agenda. Of all the Nordic countries, you are the only one in the Nordic region where populist anti-immigration parties have not formed directly or indirectly a part of government.
Read on »Finland’s ministry of the interior will (alas) launch an independent inquiry of Migri
Conservative National Coalition Party Minister of the Interior Kai Mykkänen announced Friday that an independent inquiry of the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) will be launched, according to YLE. The minister said, however, that the independent inquiry should not be seen as a lack of trust in Migri’s work, which has had to process some 45,000
Read on »Why exaggerating about the dangers of “Sweden’s immigration problem” is racist
You hear a lot from anti-immigration politicians like the Perussuomalaiset* and even the police about how we must contain “Sweden’s immigrant problem” from coming to Finland. If you analyze such a claim and weigh its truth you will rapidly arrive at the following conclusions: It is racist and untrue. It is racist because it paints
Read on »The Trumpization of Finnish politics
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* vice president Laura Huhtasaari, a vocal Islamophobic anti-immigration politician, has been since January under scrutiny due to the plagiarism found in her Master’s thesis. If you read the reaction of the Finnish media about the latest ruling by the University of Jyväskylä, one common theme is that the plagiarism scandal will not affect
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 »Neo-Nazis and the Perussuomalaiset: Where do they and we draw the line?
A year has elapsed after a Moroccan went on the rampage on August 18 and started attacking people indiscriminately with a knife in the southwestern city of Turku. Two people were killed and 10 were wounded. On the anniversary of the stabbing, which is seen by the authorities as Finland’s first modern terrorist attack, three far-right
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: How anti-diversity and Islamophobic is Finland?
“One of the big denials that one still hears a lot in Finland is its denial of the rise of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, an Islamophobic party that won 39 seats in the parliamentary elections of 2011 from just 5 MPs in previously. There was an ongoing debate after 2011 within the PS on what caused its historic election victory. Then party leader Timo Soini claimed it was anti-EU sentiment while its present leader, Jussi Halla-aho, claimed it was the PS’ Islamophobic stance.
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 »Länsi-Savo: Muistaako Kaj Turunen, mitä mieltä oli aikaisemmin?
Kaj Turusen kirjoitus (L-S 8.5.) herätti paljon kysymyksiä toisen kauden kansanedustajasta, joka on loikannut kaksi kertaa vuoden sisällä. Ensin perussuomalaisista, jossa hän on ollut jäsen monta vuotta, ja nyt sinisestä tulevaisuudesta kokoomukseen. Turusen mukaan puheenjohtaja Jussi Halla-aho, joka sai vuonna 2012 tuomion kiihottamisesta kansanryhmää vastaan ja uskonrauhan rikkomisesta, on syy hänen lähtöönsä perussuomalaisista. Turunen sanoo,
Read on »New investigation finds Laura Huhtasaari’s plagiarism of master’s thesis more extensive than originally believed
A new investigation of the plagiarism of far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party vice president and MP Laura Huhtasaari’s master’s thesis showed that “major parts” were copied and were more extensive than Jyväskylä’s University’s conclusions, according to YLE News.
Read on »Finland’s hostile environment for migrants, asylum seekers, and all types of minorities
At Migrant Tales, we are hearing more and more stories about the suffering and plight of undocumented migrants and how greedy companies are taking advantage of asylum seekers. Some of these that we have heard are asylum seekers working full time in black for 500 euros a month and a promise that they will be hired as staffers, which would help them to get a residence permit.
Read on »UPDATE: Prosecutor General Toiviainen will not file ethnic agitation charges against PS MP Juho Eerola
Prosecutor General Raija Toiviainen announced Friday that she will not file ethnic agitation charges against Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Juho Eerola, according to Helsingin Sanomat. Toivianen said in a statement that no charges will be brought against Eerola due to “a lack of evidence,” according to YLE. Eerola is also the PS’ third vice president. UPDATED (April
Read on »The State of Islamophobia in Europe report offers a distressing picture of the rise of such a social ill
The third issue of the annual The State of Islamophobia in Europe was published on Monday, and it paints a very worrying picture of Islamophobia in Europe. We have unfortunately seen in countries like Finland how hate speech and toothless measures to contain all forms of racism and discrimination have put in harm’s way other
Read on »A poll that that tells us that Finland will continue to be Islamophobic and weary of cultural diversity
An opinion poll and two results: how do young and older people vote and what does it say about the political future of Muslims and cultural diversity in Finland? For one, it suggests that matters will get worse before they improve.
Read on »Instead of just being against racism why not take on the real culprit: structural racism in the Finnish police
Thank you for the video but where is the black police officer, the Muslim police wearing hijab like in the UK? Does the Finnish police service reflect the cultural and ethnic mix of the communities they serve? The Finnish police service is big on gender equality but lags far behind in cultural diversity.
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: You first have to break society to remold it into your vision
Migrant Tales insight: This quote by Christopher Wylie, a former employee of Cambridge Analytica, gives us a glimpse of how the alt-right uses social media platforms like Facebook to manipulate voters. If I had to choose a part that is in the same league as Steve Banon and the hard right, without question it would be the Perussuomalaiset* and its leader Jussi Halla-aho. They have aimed to polarize and break Finnish society to remold it into their deranged vision.
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 »Exposing white Finnish privilege #49: When white privilege backfires
Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s hardline asylum and immigration policy reminded me of the 1980s when former Aliens Office director Eila Kännö’s tough line turned against her. I see the same thing happening today with the government’s asylum and immigration policy.
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Exposing Finland’s asylum policy for what it is
To blame Finland’s inhumane asylum policy on the Perussuomalaiset and Blue Reform parties would be a mistake because the silence of the National Coalition Party, Center Party, Christian Democrats and others concerning their policies incriminate them as well. It’s a good matter that Finland’s asylum policy is exposed for what it is, and what it has
Read on »Maria Lohela pats far right on the back because she is an Islamophobic populist
Outgoing speaker of parliament and Blue Reform (formerly Perussuomalaiset)* MP, Maria Lohela, finds kind words for a far-right Turku municipal council politician called Olavi Mäenpää who died this week. Olavi Mäenpää. Source: Facebook. Read the original posting here. Why would a politician like Lohela mention a politician who spreads racism and hatred of migrants and
Read on »Ahti Tolvanen: Defense Minister Jussi Niinistö’s announces legislative initiative to cleanse the ministry of foreign dual citizens
This brought me back to the days of my reckless youth when I arrived in Finland in the early 70s to study at university. At that time a foreign citizen was not allowed by law to hold any kind of “virka” i.e. permanent public job. A foreign citizen was also not even allowed to marry a Finn. There were also a host of private sector and community jobs a foreigner could not hold like newspaper editor, city counselor, shop steward and board member in a company or association.
Read on »Laura Huhtasaari show us the way up the pyramid of hate
Staying on the topic of Perussuomalaiset* presidential candidate Laura Huhtasaari, I took the liberty to ask her a question on Messenger. To no-one’s surprise, she didn’t care to answer my question.
Read on »Perussuomalaisten presidenttiehdokas Laura Huhtasaari on itse epäonnistunut kokeilu
Perussuomalaisten presidenttiehdokas Laura Huhtasaari jakaa vihapuhetta, kutsuu kansainvälisyyttä ja kulttuurista moninaisuutta, minä, “kokeiluksi.”
Read on »Perussuomaisten presidenttiehdokas Laura Huhtasaari lietsoo vihaa ja väkivaltaa
Perussuomalaisten presidenttiehdokas Laura Huhtasaari koki ilkivaltaa tammikuussa kun hänen kodinikkuna oli hajotettu. Kun islamofoobinen äärioikestolainen valkoinen nainen kokee ilkivaltaa sitä tehdään iso numero.
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Persu on persu, vaikka siniseksi maalattaisiin
Puolue nimeltä Sininen tulevaisuus on kovasti median huomion kohteena. Siksikö, että se on arvoiltaan ja ohjelmaltaan sellainen, että media kovin sitä kunnioittaa?
Read on »Finland’s Perussuomalaiset party and its disdain for #metoo and our institutions
What do you do if an Islamophobic MP called Teuvo Hakkarainen gets so drunk in parliament that he picks a fight with other MPs from the rival Blue Reform party by throwing bottles at their meeting? What about if that same MP, convicted for hate speech, grabs a fellow woman MP and forces her to kiss him?
Read on »Finland’s lost decade flirting with racism, fascism and the Perussuomalaiset party
Sampo Terho, minister culture, sport and European affairs, was elected on Saturday to chair Blue Reform, a Lilliputian party that split from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* after their plush ministerial jobs were on the line after Jussi Halla-aho was elected PS chairperson in June.
Read on »Great to hear that attitudes towards migrants are improving in Finland. Let’s not, however, generalize and cry victory yet
Why are attitudes becoming more favorable towards migrants in Finland? Helsingin Sanomat turns to Lena Näre, a sociologist, to provide some insight on why attitudes towards migrants have become more desirable.
Read on »Finland finally gets some teeth and bans the neo-Nazi PVL
In a historic decision on Thursday, the Pirkanmaa District Court banned the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement (Pohjoismainen vastarintaliike, PVL) with links to far-right groups in the Nordic region, according to YLE in English. PVL is a racist hate group that aims to do away with Nordic democracy and replace it with national socialism. The district
Read on »We have only to blame ourselves for the rise of vigilante gangs, racism and fascism in Finland
Shortly, we’ll look at this period as the
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Finland’s lost decade
I asked a Finnish MP in the mid-1980s why she didn’t speak out against racism if she knew it was an issue. Just like the hatred of the Soviet Union and Russians made us go to bed with Nazi Germany in World Wr 2 (1941-44), the same hatred permits us to be racists and bigots
Read on »Exposing white Finnish privilege #41: An Islamophobic politician and gender equality
A campaign for gender equality by Naisjäjestöt NJKL is an excellent example of white privilege and denial. In the tweet below, we know that Elisabeth Rehn and former Helsiniki Bishop Irja Askola have spoken out against racism and hate speech. However, on the top right hand of the picture we find Blue Reform* (New Perussuomalaiset) MP Maria Lohela, who made her political career by spreading Islamophobia and hatred towards migrants.
Read on »Saturday was a day of marching neo-Nazis and coded populist anti-immigration rhetoric
Blue Reform (formerly Perussuomalaiset*) MP Sampo Terho was interviewed on Saturday by YLE’s Ykköaamu talk show. Later in the day in Tampere, neo-Nazis and other fascists held demonstrations.
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Defecting from a single-issue party like the PS of Finland
Pekka Sinisalo defects from the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* to the Blue Reform party because, under Jussi Halla-aho, it is a single-issue party. Before the PS imploded in June, it was a supposedly a 1.5-issue party. The Finnish media forgets that the PS is the only party in modern Finnish history that decided to target and capitalize on Islamophobia
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Kun arvot vaihtuvat, poliittinen eläin siivoaa pesänsä ja jättää kaverinsa
”On naiivia kuvitella, että hyvin erilaisesta kulttuurista tuleva henkilö rajan ylitettyään omaksuu suomalaisen yhteiskunnan arvot ja käytöskoodin. Suomalainen maan tapa ei ole kaikkien mielestä maailman paras. Joku toinen pitää irakilaista, venäläistä tai kiinalaista tapaa kaikkein parhaana.”
Read on »Sira Moksi: Soinin perintö Suomelle
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Unspeakable politicians and their own gain
White Finns rarely consult migrants and minorities on anything important. They may ask them their opinion on x and y but the final decision on policy is made by them because you don’t really count. And then there are people like Jussi Halla-aho, Laura Huhtasaari, Timo Soini, Wille Rydman, and many others who pour gasoline
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: Lack of empathy
The lack of empathy by politicians and the government for the suffering of vulnerable groups like asylum seekers came to light again when two refugees stabbed themselves in protest of Finland’s asylum policy. Lack of empathy is the first step or reminder that our society is dysfunctional and in trouble. War now seems a possibility. “Old”
Read on »Twitter (Reija Härkönen): MTV ja Halla-ahon osat 1-7
MTVn toimituspäällikkö Ilkka Ahtiainen väittää: “Vakaumuksemme on, että kirjoitukset ovat osaltaan edistäneet tosiasioihin pohjaavaa ja moniarvoista yhteiskunnallista keskustelua. Parhaassa tapauksessa tämä hillitsee vastakkainasettelua, johon netin maailmassa on niin kovin helppo sortua.”
Read on »Double standards by the Finnish police. Who can insult whom?
These two videos speak volumes about the differential treatment of asylum seekers and white Finns by the police. In the first video, two Finnish-speaking asylum seekers are handcuffed at the immigration detention center of Joutseno. One of them apparently for saying something inappropriate.
Read on »QUOTE OF THE DAY: The most dangerous racists and bigots of Finland
What is more dangerous, an openly racist party like the Perussuomalaiset* or politicians of mainstream parties who tow the line on structural racism, bigotry and do absolutely nothing to change matters. For me, the most dangerous group are the latter, who state with a poker face that they are against racism and don’t do anything
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Hallituksen inhimillisyysvaje
Ihmisten kunnioittava, toisensa hyväksyvä yhdessäolo on parasta. Poliitikot, viimeksi ministeri Risikko tänään Ylellä, toistelevat mantraa polarisaatiosta ja siitä, että ”muut” eivät uskalla osallistua keskusteluun, kun on ne ääripäät. Koska minä uskallan julkisesti vastustaa rasistista ja uusfasistista politiikkaa ja vääryyksiä, kuulunen siis näiden ”tolkun” poliitikkojen määrittämään ääripäähän. Tolkuttajien mielestä minun ja kaltaisteni pitäisi osata olla hiljaa,
Read on »MTV: Normalizing racism and bigotry in Finland with Jussi Halla-aho’s help
After attending a European Network Against Racism in Brussels that ended Saturday, I discovered on my arrival to Finland that Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Chairman Jussi Halla-aho, who was convicted for ethnic agitation in 2012 and who built his political career on Islamophobia, is now a columnist in MTV, Finland’s largest privately owned television station.
Read on »Timo Soini’s fall from grace and the legacy of planting the political seeds of bigotry and racism in Finland
One lesson we could learn from former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman Timo Soini is that the right balance between flattery and speaking in code will get you everywhere, well, almost everywhere. You can win big elections like in 2011 and ride, albeit momentarily, the crest of the popularity wave until you hit the wall in disgrace with your fingers badly burned.
Read on »Finland’s government to tighten again immigration and asylum policy
The desperation New Alternative* or Blue Reform, the faction that split from the Perussuomalaiset (PS) to keep their jobs as ministers, must be huge. Minister for European Affairs, Culture and Sports Sampo Terho announced Thursday that the government plans to tighten immigration and asylum policy laws in the face of the Turku attack, according to YLE News.
Read on »Finland’s Draconian immigration policy today has its roots in the Cold War era
The quote sits well with Finland’s Draconian immigration and asylum policy. The number of undocumented migrants has soared from an estimated 300. Those who are lucky enough to get a residence permit can say goodbye to ever bringing their loved ones to this country because family reunification requirements have been tightened. In sum, the Finnish government and the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) have done everything possible to make their lives as miserable as possible and expel them from here.
Read on »PS’ Third Vice President Juho Eerola is suspected of ethnic agitation in Finland
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* third vice president Juho Eerola is suspected of ethnic agitation, according to YLE News. If convicted, only PS First Vice President Laura Huhtasaari would be the only board member of the party that doesn’t have a conviction for ethnic agitation. Chairman Jussi Halla-aho was convicted in 2012 and MP Teuvo Hakkarainen, the second vice president, convicted in January.
Read on »The words and silence of politicians have dire consequences in Finland for us
After the stabbing of ten people in Turku on Friday, politicians like President Sauli Niinistö, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, Interior Minister Paula Risikko, the national media, which echoes far-right opinions of Jussi Halla-aho, the chairman of the Perussuomalaiset* who was convicted for hate speech, appear to be carried away by their own prejudices and hostility towards asylum seekers, which does impact our culturally diverse community.
Read on »Ilari Kaila & Tuomas Kaila: Finland, we hardly knew
The Finnish welfare state is being eroded, and the far right has gained momentum. As the country turns one hundred, what’s happened to Finland?
Read on »Introducing presidential hopeful Laura Huhtasaari, the Islamophobe with the kindergarten teacher smile
The far-right anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party announced Friday that their first vice president, Laura Huhtasaari, is their candidate for the 2018 presidential elections. The announcement didn’t surprise anyone but it did raise a lot of media and social media interest.
Read on »Disingenuous Timo Soini should take a long look in the mirror
If there is a power-hungry politician who will do almost anything to gain power and lose it in an instant, that politician is Timo Soini. Apart from being a disingenuous politician who saw his populist creation inflate and implode, he is a sore loser as well. In an interview in Tampere-based daily Aamulehti, he claims
Read on »Just call them the New Perussuomalaiset and Old Perussuomalaiset
As politicians like MP Simon Elo try to assure us of their questionable political credentials after he and nineteen others ditched the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party on June 13, the new party’s name, which has changed three times in less than two months, is nothing more than a snow job.
Read on »The fired bus driver who seeks fame with his racist videos will end up forsaken, jobless
Racism is a sickness, and as a disorder, it has consequences for the victim and the perpetrator. We learned about a bus driver and Peurssuomalaiset (PS)* politician called Gleb Simonov, who thought up the “bright” idea to videotape and insult only Somalis in three videos that he posted.
Read on »The Helsinki bus driver that videotaped, insulted his customers was fired Thursday
Today we read about a bus driver of Russian origin and a candidate of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party ethnically profile Somalis, insulted, videotaped and published on YouTube got sacked today. The bus driver was so sure of himself that he even gave the numbers of his company’s managers to complain.
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 »Defining white Finnish privilege #36: Hate speech and censorship
Let’s be honest and expose one of the biggest lies concerning hate speech and censorship that always pops up at interviews like the one Thursday MTV with (the old) Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party secretary Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo and the editor of the party’s magazine, Matias Turkkila.
Read on »The old and new Perussuomalaiset: Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right…
After the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party imploded on June 13 into two factions, there’s been a lot of finger-pointing from members of the old and new PS. This is nothing new coming from a party that has a long track record in scapegoating migrants and minorities.
Read on »“Tolerant” Minister Lindström and his aide planned to slash funding to integration programs in Finland
Blue Reform* (formerly Perussuomalaiset) Minister of Labor Jari Lindström’s special aide Sakari Puisto aimed to slash financial aid to migrant associations by 348,000 euros from 750,000 euros, reports Helsingin Sanomat. A ministry official was “shocked” when he heard such plans by Puisto in January.
Read on »A feature about a PS white supremacist and how the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) normalizes racism and bigotry
Northern Finnish Kemi city councilperson Harri Tauriainen is a white supremacist that is head over heels about US President Donald Trump. In a sloppy human-interest story about Tauriainen, the state-run Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) makes no mention of councilperson’s racist and bigoted political views except him denying that he’s a racist and neo-Nazi sympathizer.
Read on »Is Hanna Mäntylä qualified to advise the European Council on youth radicalization?
Are you ready for the following news? New Reform MP and former Perussuomalaiset* social and health minister, Hanna Mäntylä, is going to be named as a special advisor to the European Council. Her expertise will be used to challenge youth radicalization and marginalization.
Read on »Why Migrant Tales will continue to call the “Finns Party” the Perussuomalaiset
At the end of our stories we have published a short footnote explaining why we don’t call the Perussuomalaiset (PS) its official English-language name. We have changed the footnote to take into account that the PS comprises of two factions. Are these blocs any different from the old PS? If so, how?
Read on »Old or new Perussuomalaiset or new or old Perussuomlaiset – it’s a new Cadillac model!
We saw on Tuesday quite a political show in Finland with 22 MPs ditching the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and forming a new party called for now New Alternative. But don’t hold your breath because nothing has changed it’s just a marketing of the same thing – right-wing populist nationalism and all the toxicity that goes with it.
Read on »Nuiva manifesto – now you see it, now you don’t! We won’t, however, forget
The Nuiva manifesto is a far right proposal on how to tighten immigration policy and make life more difficult for migrants and minorities in Finland. Those who signed the manifesto in 2010, all in all 13 people, cannot be found anymore on the net.
Read on »The PS splits into two factions – chairperson Jussi Halla-aho faces unprecedented mutiny
The former chairperson of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, Timo Soini, has struck back at the newly elected head of the PS, Jussi Halla-aho, by joining 20-MPs to dith the PS and form a new parliamentary bloc called Uusi vaihtoehto, or New Alternative, according to Helsingin Sanomat. The new bloc stated that it wants to remain
Read on »Is there such a thing as a “new” and “old” Perussuomalaiset party?
Is there such a thing as a “new” and “old” Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party? If you ask Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and Minister Petteri Orpo there is. But if you are a migrant, asylum seeker or minority in Finland, it’s doubtful that you would make such a difference.
Read on »Finland’s PM shows Halla-aho and his “new” far right Perussuomalaiset party the door
It became clear in the afternoon that Halla-aho’s first day as the new chairman of the Perussuomalaiset (PS) ended with Center Party Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and National Coalition Party (NCP) chairperson Petteri Orpo showing the new chairperson the door.
Read on »The Finnish media gives a lot of space to Halla-aho and the PS but none to us
It’s clear that the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is a different party after this weekend, when Jussi Halla-aho, Laura Huhtasaari, Teuvo Hakkarainen and Juho Eerola were elected to lead the anti-immigrant and anti-EU party. Halla-aho spoke of in his policy speech of “nationalistic forces,” which is code for anti-immigration, anti-cultural diversity and anti-EU policies.
Read on »The PS steers further right exposing its shameless Islamophobia, racism, bigotry and ultranationalism
Like rubbing salt on Finland’s wound, Perussuomalaiset (PS)* newly elected chairman Jussi Halla-aho’s far-right anti-immigration policy got reinforcement after three Islamophobes were elected to lead the PS: Laura Huuhtasaari, Teuvo Hakkarainen and Juho Eerola were elected first, second and third vice-president, respectively.
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 »Jussi Halla-aho elected PS chairman. What happens next and will the party remain in government?
While it’s no surprise that Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Jussi Halla-aho was the clear winter against Sampo Terho 949 votes against 629, the big question is how the PS’ government coalition partners Center Party and National Coalition Party (NCP) will digest Halla-aho’s victory.
Read on »Timo Soini (2013): “No. I’m a Catholic Christian by definition, I cannot be a racist”
Check this interview dating back to 2013 in BBC’s HARDtalk when outgoing Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman denies the party’s racism problem and defends MEP Jussi Hall-aho, who is going to purge him as foreign minister if elected as PS chairman this weekend.
Read on »The Finnish police service’s deep denial of racism among its ranks is no surprise
The publishing of the racist comments in a secret Facebook group for the Finnish police by online news site Long Play shouldn’t surprise us, even if Interior Minister Paula Risikko and National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehminen suggest the contrary.
Read on »A tragic weekend that encourages us to challenge social ills like racism, bigotry and inequality in Finland, Europe and globally
Over the weekend a lot of things happened: The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) hosted a seminar in Helsinki on anti-migration racism Saturday that was overshadowed by a closed Finnish police Facebook page with racist comments, a comprehensive story on ethnic profiling in Finland, and another terrorist attack in London that left seven killed and 48 injured.
Read on »Even if politics makes strange bedfellows, Timo Soini’s bed partners are eerie
Remember the speech below when Timo Soini and the Perussuomalaisiet were riding the crest of a wave after his populist anti-immigration won the parliamentary elections of 2011, when it saw its MPs rise to 39 from 5 in the previous election?
Read on »Sampo Terho’s and Jussi Hallo’s political calling to keep Finland white
Watching the A-studio debate between Sampo Terho and Jussi Halla-aho, the two candidates vying for the leadership of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, was a good example of how low Finland has stooped as a nation.
Read on »How the Finnish government, institutions and President Sauli Niinistö pander to anti-immigration sentiment and groups
Just the way Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government can give a tacit pat on the back to far-right groups like Suomi Ensin (Finland First), the police give the green light to extremist vigilante groups, or President Sauli Niinistö give the thumbs up to the Finnish version of the Okie from Muskogee, all of them if they wanted could land a big blow to such racist groups by stating that they are unacceptable and out of touch with our Nordic values.
Read on »Finland’s blind spot of bigotry and white privilege is the Perussuomalaiset
If there is one party that has brought out bigotry, racism and populist far-right ideology as of late it is the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. But Finland is so much in denial about its bigotry and white privilege that it sees no harm in the PS. This means that the government will do little, except offer lip service on how to challenge social ills like racism.
Read on »“Tolkun ihminen” and Finland’s version of the Okie from Muskogee
President Sauli Niinistö, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and the deputy head of the Finnish Immigration Service, Raimo Pyysalo, have one thing in common: They believe that the ongoing debate about asylum seekers, immigration and our ever-growing culturally diverse society is dominated by two extremes.
Read on »Finland’s immigration and asylum policy is only a momentary Pyrrhic victory
The picture below isn’t from Gaza or some war-torn region but of the playground of the Konnunsuo immigration removal center in Joutseno, Finland, a country that claims to be proud of its social achievements and respect for human rights. The view is the one that a family with seven children had for over a month
Read on »The old and new Cadillac model of Finnish PS racism
If you want to see how racism in Finland is like a Cadillac, check out two Perussuomalaiset (PS)* politicians below. One is of a dying breed and another one of a new Cadillac model, Sampo Terho.
Read on »Defining white Finnish privilege #35: Case Sampo Terho and the ministry of (dis)culture
Why are you so surprised that Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Sampo Terho will be Finland’s new minister of culture, sport and European issues? The Swedish-language HBL expresses dismay and there are many others among us who appear awestruck by the appointment.
Read on »Nativist nationalist anti-cultural diversity politician Sampo Terho named as Finland’s minister of culture, sport and European affairs
What kind of message does the appointment of Perussuomalaiset (PS)* parliamentary group leader Sampo Terho to minster of culture, sport and European issues send? Does it strengthen our Nordic welfare state values or does it drive a wedge between us? We are naming a person who is hostile to cultural diversity and sees the EU as a threat as minister.
Read on »Helsinki Times: A rebuttal to Ville Tavio
An op-ed piece published by the Helsinki Times on April 11 by Finns Party (PS) MP Ville Taavio is a good example of why migrants, minorities and sensible Finns should react and be concerned about the type of country some politicians want to steer Finland towards becoming.
Read on »Deportation of Iraqi family of nine from Finland: Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s asylum policy is a shame to all of us
As the Finnish government spends the Easter holidays in the comfort of their homes and family company, an Iraqi family of nine is awaiting deportation from Finland. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to put oneself in their shoes and wonder what is going through their heads at this moment at the Joutseno immigration removal center.
Read on »Does Finland’s Migri asylum policy hinge on the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset party?
This warning posted on Tiia Nohynek’s Facebook wall today is the best example yet of how the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has influenced immigration policy in Finland. The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) warns asylum seekers not to believe rumors and that nobody gets asylum for economic reasons.
Read on »PS MP Ville Tavio: An Islamophobe that is bent on keeping white Finnish power and privilege at any cost and lie
When publishing anti-immigration rhetoric by politicians like Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Ville Tavio, it’s very important to lead with the following paragraph: “MP Talk gives members of parliament the opportunity to share their views on Finnish society with an international audience. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Helsinki Times.”
Read on »Finnish municipal elections analysis: Anti-immigration and us-vs-them politics aren’t sustainable
One of the most important lessons of Sunday’s municipal elections is that the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, and especially its conservative anti-immigration message and wing, are the biggest losers.
Read on »Finnish municipal elections: Greens make big gains, Perussuomalaiset are the biggest losers
The result of Sunday’s municipal elections were especially good news especially for migrants and minorities, who have been a target of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party chiefly after the parliamentary elections of 2011, when it won 39 seats (19.05%) from 5 MPs (4.05%) in the previous elections.
Read on »UPDATE: National Coalition Party forecast to win municipal elections, PS the biggest losers
YLE forecasts that the National Coalition Party (NCP) will be the winner of the 2017 municipal elections with 20.4% of the votes followed by the Social Democrats (19.2%) and Center Party (17.6%). The biggest winner will be the Greens (13.6%) and the biggest loser the Perussuomalaiset* (8.2%). The PS saw their support nosedive from the last municipal elections
Read on »Finland’s blind spot of racism will persist for as long as we play dead and tango with it
National Coalition Party (NCP) Interior Minister Paula Risikko is a pretty questionable politician. She is deplorable for a number of reasons: spreads suspicion of asylum seekers and migrants and doesn’t care to distinguish what is a far-right anti-immigration group like Suomi Ensin (Finland First).
Read on »YouTube Perussuomalaiset candidate: We don’t want asylum seekers in Finland – leave
This interview by an Iraqi asylum seeker of Tampere Perussuomalaiset (PS)* municipal election candidate, Elisa Hiltunen, highlights why many migrants see the PS a hostile party against migrants, especially asylum seekers. Hiltunen reveals the extreme egoism and outright ignorance of our laws and international commitments.
Read on »MP Ozan Yanar: The Perussuomalaiset are obsessed by migrants, they don’t have anything better to do
Green League MP Ozan Yanar socks it to the Perussuomalaiset* (PS) city council candidate Erlin Yang and Laura Kolbe of the Center Party. What he said on the talk show in English explains what the PS is to the tee.
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 »Finnish ministry of interior survey about our “polarized debate” on asylum seekers reveals the government’s prejudices and failures
A new study published Tuesday by the interior ministry and carried out by Vaasa University raises some disturbing questions. What does the survey address and what does it reveal?
Read on »MigriLeaks: Mikä on henkilökohtaista?
Maahanmuuttoviraston Migrin linjan mukaan toissijaisen suojelun saaminen Irakissa edellyttää, että turvapaikanhakijalla on henkilökohtaiset perusteet vainolle:
Read on »How Sampo Terho’s essay in 2007 is still the norm but in a different context to fuel fear and racism of migrants and minorities
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* parliamentary group leader Sampo Terho wrote a decade ago in Kanava an essay with the classic far-right populist rhetoric about the threat of migration. His point of view in the essay is not only sinister but was a central argument used by parties like the PS to attract voters and that their racism was “normal.”
Read on »Timo Soini and the denial of Finland’s racism problem
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman Timo Soini announced after being at the helm of the anti-immigration party for twenty years that he’ll step down as chairman in June. The narrative and the way that some newspapers and politicians are picturing Soini is a good example of Finland’s denial of racism.
Read on »Behind Timo Soini of the populist Perussuomalaiset party is a hefty and mini #socialmediafrankenstein called Jussi Halla-aho and Sampo Terho
One of the biggest questions some observers have asked in Finland is what house of horrors will appear after the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* return to the minor political leagues. We got the answer today when PS MEP Jussi Halla-aho announced that he too is vying to chair the xenophobic party.
Read on »Saturday’s demo by far-right groups like the Perussuomalsiset, Suomi Ensi, Rajat kiinni! and neo-Nazi fanatics was a stinging flop
A handful of well-organized Afghan and Iraqi asylum seekers demonstrating against deportations at the Helsinki Railway Square since February scored a victory over a splintered far-right anti-immigration counter-demonstration that was a flop. They were all there: the Perussuomalaiset* (PS), Suomen Sisu, Suomi Ensi, Rajat kiinni!, Suomen vastarintaliike and who knows what.
Read on »Thank you asylum seekers for exposing Finland for what it is!
Finland got during 2015 and 2016 38,017 asylum seekers mostly from Iraq (21,698), Afghanistan (5,939) and Somalia (2,408), according to the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). Even if these asylum seekers have received the government’s and Migri’s cold shulder, we should thank hem for exposing our deep denial of racism as a society and ineffective immigration-integration policy.
Read on »How the Perussuomalaiset party permit racism to see another day in Finland
As almost everyone knows in this country, Finland will hold municipal elections on April 9. The right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS)* are in shock for a number of reasons: their chairman, Timo Soini, who has run the party for 20 years is stepping down in June, and recent polls suggest that they will suffer a stinging defeat in the municipal elections.
Read on »Defining white Finnish privilege #33: Appropriating our narrative to maintain the status quo, amass more power and privilege
One of the most important matters that one learns when reading about our ever-growing culturally diverse society in Finland is that there is fierce opposition from some circles against cultural and ethnic diversity. According to these groups, the only way that a multicultural Finn, migrant and minority can live in Finland is if they control the narrative.
Read on »Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s poor track record on challenging xenophobia and hate speech
The government of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä not only has tightened immigration policy but is complacent and near-silent about the rise of xenophobia and hate speech in Finland. Sure, we’ve heard so many times the familiar “we’re against racism” affirmations, which are only catchphrases that are not supposed to change anything.
Read on »Finland’s deep denial of racism coupled with exceptionalism make it susceptible to right-wing populism and fascism
If the latter claim above is true, it explains and reveals why Helsinki District Court judges agree with most of the decisions by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). The fact that only a very minor amount of decisions by Migri are rejected by the district courts speaks volumes about our country.
Read on »The final countdown of the PS’ return to the political minor leagues begins as Timo Soini bows out as chairman in June
Right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairman, Timo Soini, announced Sunday that he wouldn’t seek a new term as party head at the forthcoming party convention in Jyväskylä in early June. He has head the party since 1997.
Read on »Finland’s interpretation of human rights is to turn you into an “undocumented migrant” and kick you out of the country – HELP!
What do you say about a country that is willing to throw into the street and deport a three-and-a-half old baby born in Finland? Let’s include another one-and-a-half old child, a six-year-old girl, and a boy, who is eight. What about if we add their parents as well?
Read on »Day 25 of the Helsinki demonstration by asylum seekers: We are happy that you are a thorn in the government’s and Migri’s side
Twenty-five cold days have elapsed since a group of asylum seekers decided to exercise their democratic rights and protest deportation and the government’s strict asylum policy. The longer these demonstrators protest the deeper the thorn will penetrate the government’s and Finnish Immigration Service’s (Migri) side.
Read on »The creation and death of the Perussuomalaiset and its #socialmediafrankensteins in Finland
We once wrote about #socialmediafrankensteins and how Timo Soini and the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party had created such demons to victimize, attack and label migrants and minorities in Finland. Soini, a “good-cop” PS party chairman, is in reality no different from people like Jussi Halla-aho and his band of bigoted followers.
Read on »How racism and suspicion have ruined Finland’s centenary celebrations of 2017
If there is a party pooper in this year’s centenary celebrations it’ll be ourselves: the politicians, the urban tales, prejudices, racism and suspicion that has raised its head with ease in Finland as of late.
Read on »Johan Bäckman and Jussi Halla-aho: Two public figures that are hated differently by the Finnish media
Below are two public figures that are treated differently by the Finnish media. On the left is Johan Bäckman, who gets a rough ride from the national media for his pro-Russian stances, while Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MEP Jussi Halla-aho gets a more benign reception even if he has the dubious honor being Finland’s number one racist.
Read on »Farrah and her three-year-old child: Don’t deport us back to Iraq from Finland!
Farrah* is an Iraqi woman who came to Finland in September 2015 with her then one-year-old child. She left Turkey in the hope that she’d get a residence permit and would be able to bring her husband and two children in Turkey, aged 10 and 12.
Read on »(Migrant Tales 12.2.2017) Dear Sweden, don’t play ball with the Sweden Democrats – Finland is the best example of the disaster that awaits you
Dear Sweden,
In all of the Nordic region we have seen far-right populist parties rise in this century with a hostile even vicious anti-immigration and anti-cultural diversity agenda. Of all the Nordic countries, you are the only one in the Nordic region where populist anti-immigration parties have not formed directly or indirectly a part of government.
Read on »Undermining and attacking dual citizenship rights is a hostile provocation against social equality and cultural diversity in Finland
The ongoing debate about the perceived threat of dual nationals in Finland and the proximity of municipal elections should raise some serious questions. Why are we having this discussion now and which party is fueling it?
Read on »Finns have finally woken up to a lie and bully called the Perussuomalaiset party
After bullying, labeling and scapegoating migrants and minorities for a number of years, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* appear to be returning to the minor one-digit political leagues, if a recent poll by Helsingin Sanomat is true. Those groups that the PS spread lies about will have the last laugh.
Read on »Susannah: Kaksien kärryjen politiikkaa taas.
Olen ollut kiireinen, anteeksi, kiitos ja nyt tulee: Katsoin eilen ma 30.1.2017 A-studiota sieltä ykköseltä uutisten jälkeen.
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 »How Finland’s immigration and asylum policy turned from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde
It’s clear that Finland’s immigration policy towards asylum seeker moves from one blunder to the next. Under Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government immigration policy has been inefficient, expensive and, most importantly, inhumane and against our Nordic values.
Read on »Who’s responsible for the spike in hate crimes in Finland?
National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen states that there is an upsurge in hate crimes in Finland, according to YLE News. He states that those hate crimes that are reported to the police service are only the tip of the iceberg. Is Kolehmainen being disingenuous? Why doesn’t mention he state clearly that politicians and political parties are polarizing society and emboldening racists?
Read on »Undocumented migrants in Finland: Päivi Nerg lives in denial, politicians live in denial as do the media and most of the country, too
Finnish immigration policy in general and asylum policy, in particular, is a good example of the decades-long suspicion that Finland’s political establishment has of outsiders. If some words could be used to describe the present state of things, it could be “not my problem” and “denial.”
Read on »PS’ Teuvo Hakkarainen and Olli Sademies: Ethnic agitation charges and racist bravado
What happens when one present and one former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* politician faces charges for ethnic agitation? Answer: They lie through their teeth and act dumb (which isn’t difficult for these politicians). PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen got sentenced today for ethnic agitation and will have to pay a fine of 1,160 euros. Olli Sademies, a substitute councilman who retired from the police force, is in court today facing ethnic agitation charges as well.
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 »Disingenuous Islamophobes like speaker of parliament Maria Lohela want you and I to forget where they came from
Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, who has gone from one scandal to the next, got booed by a large crowd in Helsinki. Perussuomalaiset (PS)* speaker of parliament, Maria Lohela, who has built her political career by spreading Islamophobic rhetoric, claims on her Facebook page that the Finns have lost touch with their good habits by booing the prime minister.
Read on »Will Halla-aho be the PS’ savior or the party’s political grave?
A while back I asked a friend what would happen if the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* implode as we’ve seen in the polls. What will emerge from the ruin of that xenophobic party will be another one that is more sinister and more dangerous. With PS MEP Jussi Halla-aho’s decision to challenge Timo Soini and run for chairman of the party is the birth of a radical anti-immigration party in the same league as the Islamophobic Danish People’s Party.
Read on »Why did Finland allocate so much money on asylum reception centers that treated in too many cases refugees like “livestock?”
In 2015 and 2016 some 38,000 asylum seekers came to Finland and scores of asylum reception centers were established rapidly throughout the country to house so many people. Even if the government’s ever-draconian view of migrants was “not make Finland attractive to asylum seekers” at any cost, asylum seekers helped expose our ineffective immigration and integration policy.
Read on »Finland’s ever-growing crisis of undocumented migrants is the government’s and Social Democratic Party’s doing
Thanks to the 107 MPs listed below that voted on April 13 to approve law 2/2016 that did away with granting residence permits on humanitarian grounds, Finland faces today an unprecedented rise of undocumented migrants.
Read on »Here we go again with the anti-immigration rhetoric – it’s election time in Finland!
Here we go again, folks, it’s election time in April 2017 in Finland. The populist-nationalist Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is picking up its hostile attacks against migrants, minorities and our ever-growing and proud culturally diverse community. Their partners in these attacks are their government partners, the Center Party and National Coalition Party (NCP).
Read on »A small far-right Suomi ensin! demonstration again and the media cherishes a story
Suomi ensin! (Finland first!) is a far-right group that goes to different places in Finland to stir up anti-immigration sentiment and hatred for migrants. Even if their demonstrations attract few people, they get a lot of attention in the national media. On Saturday afternoon their demonstration attracted 300* people to the eastern Helsinki neighborhood of
Read on »The disgraceful stand of the government towards undocumented migrants in Finland
Winter is rapidly approaching and Interior Minister Paula Risikko isn’t too enthused about the idea that the Evangelical Lutheran Church wants to give housing to undocumented migrants, according to YLE.
Read on »Will Donald Trump breathe new life into a doomed party called the Perussuomalaiset?
Donald Trump’s election victory has emboldened our own group of populists, racists, and bigots in Finland who pray what happened in the United States will breathe new life into a political disaster called the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*. There are many reasons why copying and pasting populist rhetoric in the United States won’t work in Finland.
Read on »Do ethnic agitation charges against Teuvo Hakkarainen give us a whiff of the rot spreading in government and our society?
MP Teuvo Hakkarainen, who is facing ethnic agitation charges, and the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party are deplorable examples of how low our society has stooped in the dubious racism and bigotry league.
Read on »SUPO, the Finnish Immigration Service and the police service reveal that we are today a country that even fears its own shadow
One of the matters that surprised me a lot when I visited my grandparents in Finland when I lived in Southern California was how they saw black people. The way my grandfather saw black people was so negative and surprising that I still remember like a diehard stain.
Read on »Finnish PS MP Hakkarainen is charged (alas) for ethnic agitation
Perussuomlaiset (PS)* MP Teuvo Hakkarainen, who has made numerous racist and bigoted statements against Muslims, Somalis and gays finally got charged for ethnic agitation by the state deputy prosecutor. Hakkarainen isn’t the only politician being charged for ethnic agitation. On that shameful list are Mertsu Merivireta, Terhi Kieumunki and Olli Sademies.
Read on »A naturalized Finn who returned to a “safe” country like Afghanistan and was killed last month
The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) announced in May that countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia are “safe” to return refugees who get their asylum applications rejected. Migrant Tales documented two deaths and one shooting of Iraqi asylum seekers that returned recently to Iraq.
Read on »Tampereen perussuomalaisten puheenjohtaja on islamivastainen
Terhi Kiemunki, jonka vastaan on nostettu syytteet kiihottamisesta kansanryhmää vastaan nousi viikonloppuna Tampereen perussuomalaisten johtoon yksimielisesti. “Syyttäjän mukaan Kiemungin blogikirjoituksessa paneteltiin ja solvattiin islaminuskoisia. “ Nyt tuli selväksi Tampereen perussuomalaisten ajattelu. He antavat tukensa Kiemungin kaltaisille “ajattelijoille”. Samalla kun perussuomalaisten pamput kiemurtelevat tuoleissa kun heiltä kysytään miksi antavat tilaa rasisteille ja rasismille. Toimittajat eivät enää edes kysy, koska
Read on »The Finnish Immigration Service, with the blessings of the government, aims to separate migrant parents from their children
In August, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) is reported to have given asylum reception center instructions that only the children can stay at the reception center if the parents have their asylum application turned down and refuse to leave the country making then undocumented migrants, according to MTV.
Read on »Case Villa Meri: Is the job of an asylum reception center to promote the well-being or suffering of those they serve?
“Silence is beautiful” is a saying that most people in this country will appreciate but if the authorities don’t act and keep the public in suspense, that silence can turn into poison in a country like Finland where there are interest groups that make it their business to spread hatred, victimize and destroy the good name of migrants.
Read on »Council of Europe wants Finland to step up efforts to combat hate speech and xenophobia
The Finnish government needs to take steps to combat hate speech, protect Samí rights and the Swedish language, according to the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
Read on »Finnish government party Perussuomalaiset MEP claims ethnic profiling needed to fight terrorism
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MEP Jussi Halla-aho, who hungers for public attention, tries to surprise us with the following suggestion: The police should be allowed to ethnically profile Middle Easterners, North African and Central Asian people irrespective if it is in infringement of these people’s fundamental rights and human rights.
Read on »YouGov survey reinforces what we’ve been seeing in some EU countries: authoritarian populist sentiment
A recent YouGov survey on authoritarian populist opinions in 12 European countries revealed something that we all knew. Authoritarian populist opinions are defined by the survey as people who have anti-immigration, anti-human rights, anti-EU institutions, and power as well as strong opinions on foreign policy.
Read on »Finland rolls back the clock and flirts with the cold war when every foreigner was seen as a potential threat
In another move to punish former migrants who are naturalized Finns, the government of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, which shares power with the National Coalition Party and anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset,* plans to introduce a new law to parliament within weeks that will prohibit dual citizens from holding certain jobs that involve national security, according to Seijnäjoki-based daily Ilkka, which cites Finnish News Agency (STT).
Read on »Marianne Kiukkunen is no “Amazon” but a sad example of how low the police service has lowered the bar
Finland’s fascination with hardline nationalists and bigots continues unabated. Police official Marianne Kiukkunen was interviewed on the Enbuske, Veitola and Salminen (EVS-ohjelma) talk show and introduced by the host as an “Amazon” superwoman, the very embodiment of white privilege. Her appearance on the show and her comments are examples of how low the police has lowered the bar.
Read on »PS’ Terhi Kiemunki is charged with ethnic agitation – how many more will be charged of the Perussuomalaiset party?
Perussuomalaiset* chairman of Tampere, Terhi Kiemunki, will be charged for ethnic agitation, according to Tampere-based daily Aamulehti. Kiemunki achieved national notoriety this year when she published on Facebook that it was unfortunate that she didn’t have any condoms to give Muslim children trick-or-treating in April.
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 »PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen may face prosecution for ethnic agitation
There’s a strong chance that Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Teuvo Hakkarainen may face prosecution for ethnic agitation, according to YLE. The matter will be decided by the general prosecutor’s office after a police investigation.
Read on »Where should we go after Saturday’s Stop this Game! demonstration?
I really would have wanted to join you in the Stop this Game! demonstration Saturday but I was attending a European Network Against Racism (ENAR) board meeting in Brussels that looked at the very challenges that were raised at yesterday’s event.
Read on »Stop this Game! demonstration exposes the disingenuousness of Juha Sipilä’s government
Today Finland will see one of its biggest-ever demonstrations against racism. The last time this Rosa Parks moment, which could be christened the Jimi Joonas Kartturnen moment, to respect his bravery to stand up against far-right racist ideology, was in July 2015.
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Timo Soinin uusfasistiset kytkennät
Reija Härkönen Timo Soinin ja perussuomalaisen puolueen äärioikeistokytkennät ovat ilmiselviä. Hän on ottanut puolueensa jäseniksi ja kansanedustajaehdokkaiksi äärioikeistolaisia ja julkirasistisella agendalla toimivia henkilöitä. Soini on nostanut perussuomalaisten puoluelehtien päätoimittajaksi äärioikeistolaisen Matias Turkkilan, Jussi Halla-ahon vaalipäällikön ja Hommaforumin perustajan. Soini on joskus jopa puoluekokouksessa kehaissut Hommaforumia malliesimerkkinä hyvästä poliittisesta toiminnasta. Kurkistetaanpa Hommaforumin etusivulle tänään 22.9.2016. Niin
Read on »Connect the dots between the Perussuomalaiset, a government party, and Neo-Nazis and other far-right groups
Taking into account all the debate and pouring of outrage, some fake, some honest, at what happened last week, when a Neo-Nazi Kansallinen Vastarinta (SVL) member provoked the death of Jimi Joonas Karttunen, I am a bit worried about how we are taking our eye off the ball.
Read on »Some thoughts about Jimi Joonas Karttunen’s death and the hostility against our ever-growing culturally diverse society
While we hope that the perpetrators of Jimi Joonas Karttunen’s death will be speedily brought to justice, there is one worrisome question we should ask in light of what took place: What kind of a country have we turned into?
Read on »Finnish Neo-Nazi thugs suspected of assaulting a man in broad daylight
How is it possible that a man is beaten up in broad daylight next to the Helsinki Railway Station next to a gathering of Neo-Nazis? How is it possible that this far-right group, which calls itself Kansallinen vastarintaliike (SVL), allegedly beat up the person, who is sent unconscious to the hospital to die six days later from cerebral hemorrhages?
Read on »White Finns attack a pregnant Muslim woman at the Itäkeskus shopping center
A Muslim woman who was four-months pregnant was attacked Sunday by around ten white Finns at the Itäkeskus shopping center located in Eastern Helsinki, reports Helsingin Sanomat.
Read on »Is this an example of how racism appears in the Finnish media?
I couldn’t believe me eyes when I read the following headline today: “The much-feared rape wave [by asylum seekers] didn’t happen, police confirm.”
Read on »Forssa, Finland: A hotbed of racist behavior where words turn into bullets
The southwestern town of Forssa is located 116km from Helsinki. A mass fight took place there on Tuesday between white Finns and asylum seekers, according to YLE News.
Read on »After targeting migrants and asylum seekers with tougher laws, Sipilä’s government now sets its eyes on Roma panhandlers
Should we be surprised after the government of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä tightened immigration policy it is now targeting the Romany minority? If the government has its way, Finland will criminalize panhandling.
Read on »If we are against racism, bigotry and homophobia why do we continue to be Facebook friends?
Some may rightly ask why it took over a year to charge former PS substitute councilman Olli Sademies for stating that African men should be sterilized, Here’s another question: Why are there so few light-slap-on-the-hand sentences for hate speech in Finland? In 2009-14 there were only 27 people who were sentenced for ethnic agitation, according to MTV, which cites Statistics Finland.
Read on »Former PS deputy councilman of Helsinki to be charged for ethnic agitation
Former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* deputy councilman for Helsinki, Olli Sademies, who suggested last year on Facebook that Africans should be forcibly castrated will be charged for ethnic agitation, according to Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest-circulating daily.
Read on »The Finnish media’s “fascination” of racists is a problem
Here’s a simple question: Why on earth does a newspaper like Etelä-Suomen Sanomat of Lahti even bother to publish a story about a handful of racists who demand that Finland shuts its borders to asylum seekers?
Read on »Migrant Tales (April 14, 2015): My identity is mine, not yours, so stop labeling me according to your prejudices
Why do some public services like the police even some migrants believe they have the right to define who are? The police do it constantly. Every time they label a person or group as a person with “foreign” or “migrant” background they are effectively relegating that person publicly to second- or third-class status in society.
Read on »Asylum seekers’ rights in Finland to appeal will be severely undermined thanks to a new law that will come into force on September 1
President Sauli Niinistö, who has done little to challenge xenophobia in Finland because he is eyeing a second term, will sign Friday a new law that will shorten from 30 days to 21 the rights of asylum seekers to appeal negative residence permit decisions by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri).
Read on »The PS of Finland has lost credibility and should be ejected from government
Here’s the question: What is the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party still doing in government and what credibility does it have after its popularity in the polls continues to plummet? The latest poll published shows the PS with only 7.6%, according to YLE News. That compares with 17.7% of the votes it got in the 2015 parliamentary elections.
Read on »Not even a xenophobic lifesaver can save the Perussuomalaiset from sinking in the polls
Support for the anti-immigration populist Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has hit a new all-time low of 7.6%, according to the latest poll by YLE, according to YLE News. The poor showing of the party reveals that its strategy to target and increase attacks against migrants, asylum seekers and minorities in July has badly backfired.
Read on »Finance Minister Petteri Orpo and his disingenuous statements about racism and bigotry
National Coalition Party (NCP) chairman and Finance Minister Petteri Orpo was quoted as saying on YLE News that he won’t tolerate racist speech. The comment comes after two Perussuomalaiset (PS)* politicians, MP Teuvo Hakkarainen and PS youth leader Sebastian Tynkkynen, are being investigated by the police service for ethnic agitation.
Read on »Finland’s blind spot of racism and the incitement of violence against migrants and minorities
July was a busy month for hate speech with the usual bunch of politicians from a particular party hurling insults at migrants and minorities. If we look at the pyramid of hate below, we can see politicians like Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Teuvo Hakkarainen and PS youth leader Sebastian Tynkkynen venturing with their comments to the bias-motivated-violence phase, which openly incites violence against migrants and minorities.
Read on »Juha Sipilä and Petteri Orpo: The sad Finnish tale of spineless politicians
In the United States, a lot of Republican politicians who should know better still haven’t withdrawn their support for Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump despite his ultranationalistic, racist and misogynistic comments. The latest row involves Trump insulting the parents of Captain Humayun Khan, a Muslim who was killed in Iraq.
Read on »Finland’s shameful asylum policy should be changed
Some Finnish politicians from parties like the Swedish People’s Party, Greens and Left Alliance have expressed concern about the government’s ever-tightening asylum policy and a recent decision by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) to deny an Iraqi asylum.
Read on »The PS claws to racism and bigotry because it has lost its vain hope to keep Finland white
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is fuming attempting to get the maximum political mileage from its recent racist and bigoted outbursts by playing down such social ills and prop up its poor standings in the polls.
Read on »The Finnish Perussuomalaiset and their poker-face-racist remarks
Why would a television station like MTV3 invite a person like Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Youth leader Sebastian Tynkkynen to a talk show about the racist and bigoted statements he’s made about Muslims and migrants? Why would a journalist, who appears to be in the dark about what racism is, treat such a politician with a degree of understanding?
Read on »PS MP Kike Elomaa’s response to the party’s racist statements is disingenuous and insulting to Finland
It’s not only disingenuous but insulting to Finland, migrants, and minorities that an MP and vice chairperson of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party parliamentary group, which has been on the racist rampage in July, states publicly that we shouldn’t be so touchy about comments that don’t intent on being “really racist.”
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Read on »White Finnish privilege #30: Whitewashing and racializing the news
On the fifth anniversary, when Anders Breivik went on the rampage in Oslo on 22/7 by killing 77 victims, we saw another gunman in Munich who followed the Norwegian killer’s example. We now know with pretty much certainty that there was a connection between what the shooter did in Munich and with the fifth anniversary.
Read on »Five years after 22/7 the Nordic region continues to bleed hatred
Is it a coincidence that Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Youth leader Sebastian Tynkkynen wants to make hate speech possible by doing away with laws that prohibit it? Is it a coincidence that he states openly and publicly, like PS MP Teuvo Hakkarainen, that Finland should rid itself of Muslims?
Read on »Reija Härkönen: Kuulutko vaikenevaan enemmistöön
Sanotaan, että juutalaisten joukkomurha Saksassa ei olisi ollut mahdollista, jos vaikeneva enemmistö olisi kunnolla asettunut vastustamaan tapahtumien kulkua. Jälkeenpäin on ollut vaikea saada selville miksi kävi niin, että tavalliset, hyvät ihmiset antoivat sen kaiken tapahtua.
Read on »The Perussuomalaiset is an extremist party that is unfit to rule Finland
There’s overwhelming evidence that the populist anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is an extremist party especially when it comes to its views on immigration and cultural diversity. But here’s a question to the Finnish media: If the PS is an extremist party why aren’t they called that?
Read on »Turning Finland into a post-Brexit United Kingdom mess where xenophobia, privilege and disunity are the rules
It was yesterday when I tweeted with a person who expressed extremist views about immigration as Perussuomalaiset (PS) MP Teuvo Hakkarainen does on a Facebook posting below claiming as the result of the terrorist attack in Nice, France, we should prohibit people from the Middle East and Africa from entering Finland.
Read on »Are bigotry and racism something “funny” and “eccentric” PS chairman Timo Soini?
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson and foreign minister, Timo Soini, brushed aside recent xenophobic and homophobic statements by MPs like Leena Meri, Laura Huhtasaari and Mika Raatikainen.
Read on »How “safe” is Iraq? Who is safe in Iraq?
An Isis suicide attack ripped Baghdad Sunday causing the death toll to rise today to 217 dead., according to Al Iraqya TV.
Read on »Post-Brexit Europe: There is a connection between scapegoating and hate crime
Is there a connection between scapegoating migrants, minorities as well as Others and hate crime? If you look at what has happened after the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom it’s clear that there is a connection.
Read on »Finland’s ever-growing culturally diverse community must rise up and challenge hostile parties like the Perussuomalaiset
Some ask me where do I get the energy and strength to write. My answer is simple: When I read and hear comments by politicians and people who hate and want to socially exclude me my blood begins to boil. The only remedy that calms me is writing and organizing my thoughts.
Read on »PS MP Tolppanen’s defection to the SDP is a good example that racism in Finland is still a debate between white people
A lot of people were surprised Wednesday to hear that former Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Maria Tolppanen, who has made some pretty racist statements in the past, has defected to the Social Democrats (SDP).
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 »Finland tightens family reunification laws and denies migrants the right to a family
The Finnish parliament didn’t vote Friday to tighten even further family reunification guidelines but effectively socially excluded and relegated migrants, especially asylum seekers, to second- and third-class citizens. The news ironically coincides with the death of former Rural Party MP Sulo Aittoniemi (1936-2016), a person who was against refugees and cultural diversity.
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 »Abdirahim “Husu” Hussein resigns from the Center Party of Finland because “he no longer believes in the party’s policies”
Abdirahim Husu Hussein surprised everyone this week when he announced his resignation from the Center Party. In his words, he resigned from the party he joined 13 years ago because “he no longer believes in the party’s policies,” according to Suomenmaa.
Read on »Why the PS of Finland is a hostile party to our ever-growing culturally diverse community
A parliamentary committee, which is deciding on the future of the Finnish Broadcast Company (YLE), on important issues like how much state funding it should get and its role. If Perussuomalaiset (PS)* MP Teuvo Hakkarainen had his way, it cut YLE’s budget and thereby downsize the broadcaster’s Swedish-language service.
Read on »Is the Kolari asylum reception center a copy of PS immigration and regional policy that is unconstitutional?
There is a strong argument that the Kolari reception center, located in the far-flung village of 3,857 inhabitants in the middle of nowhere, is a copy of Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and specifically Social Welfare Minister Hanna Mäntylä’s contempt against asylum seekers and of regional policy that is unconstitutional.
Read on »YLE poll: Support for the PS of Finland nosedives to 8.5%
A poll published by YLE News Wednesday shows and reinforces how support for the anti-immigration populist Perussuomalaiset (PS)* continues to nosedive. Compared with the 17% they got in the April 2015 parliamentary election, support has plummeted to a new low of 8.5%.
Read on »How fair is the Finnish media when it reports about racism and bigotry?
What role has the media played in spreading racism and bigotry in Finland since the 1990s? If it has played a big role, has its reporting improved or got worse? The narrative of the media, and that of politicians concerning our ever-growing culturally diverse society, has changed but it still has a lot of room
Read on »Tightening family reunification requirements is like putting a noose around human rights
Like Europe, Finland too is suffering from a lack of leadership. When we start to fear our own ineptness in solving problems, we slide into our shells with the help of populism, simplistic solutions, and wishful thinking.
Read on »The role of the Finnish media and politicians who spread their racist statements
The Perussuomalaiset (PS)* is a horrible party for migrants and minorities. They have the dubious “honor” of being the first modern party in Finland to capitalize on voters’ racism and bigoted views. Certainly they couldn’t have done it alone. All the major parties have the same type of politicians who state and write the same type of things.
Read on »An official apology for the racist and bigoted things politicians say and write today in Finland
What do politicians like Timo Soini, Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo, James Hirvisaari, Jussi Halla-aho, Juho Eerola, Olli Immonen, Jussi Niinistö, Maria Lohela, Tom Packalén, Olli Sademies, Freddy Van Wonterghem, Pentti Oinonen, Laura Huhtasaari, Terhi Kiemunki and many, many others have in common? They write a lot of racist and bigotted stuff. They are as well all or
Read on »How long will Finland have the questionable luxury of being an island in Europe?
Finland is suffering from a crisis that hinges on isolationism, nationalism, and fear of the outside world. In many respects, Finland is an island in Europe. Every time its status as an island is threatened, it sends jitters up the country’s spine.
Read on »Populism and nationalism in Finland have made us fear our own shadows
The Perussuomalaiset (PS) party, which bases its popularity on anti-immigration rhetoric, empty nationalism and promises, appears eager and “overjoyed” that parliament will “finally” take long-overdue steps to tighten immigration law and undermine the human rights of asylum seekers.
Read on »The foreign minister of an island called Finland
Finnish foreign minister, Timo Soini of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, was on the Embuske, Veitola ja Salminen talkshow on Thursday. On the program he showed his bigotted views with a smile by taking credit for stopping the flow of asylum seekers to Finland.
Read on »Terhi Kiemunki and the PS of Finland are laughing all the way to the bank
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* politician Terhi Kiemunki not only is an example of the illness of racism that inflicts Finland but that of a party and a society that offers fertile ground for bigotry towards and social inequality of migrants and minorities.
Read on »If Donald Trump had a “good cop” that person would be Timo Soini
US Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump, can be in the spotlight thanks to his racist rants. Some journalists in Finland have tried unsuccessfully to ask what Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Foreign Minister Timo Soini, a populist, what he thinks of Trump.
Read on »Finnish PS speaker of parliament blames migrants for high unemployment
Anti-immigration party Perussuomalaiset (PS)* speaker of parliament, Maria Lohela, states in an interview in Helsingin Sanomat that the jobless rate among some migrant groups is many times higher than the national average. True. But the question the reporter should ask Lohela is “why” and “what she’s doing to change the situation” instead of parroting her views.
Read on »Our response to racism, bigotry and hate speech in Finland should be first and foremost a reaction
We’ve been overwhelmed as of late by Valtteri Saarinen’s story about how is harassed in a racist manner at school for such a long time that he doesn’t care to react any longer. There was as well Perussuomalaiset (PS) party chairperson for Tampere, Pirjo Kiemunki, who wrote on Facebook that it was unfortunate that she didn’t have any condoms to give Muslim children trick-or-treating.
Read on »The Perussuomalaiset and hate speech, hypocrisy and red herrings
Why wasn’t a member of a high-ranking government party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* sacked after she said on Facebook that she didn’t have condoms to give Muslim children tricker-or-treating?
Read on »Are we related as a society to vigilante groups, hate forums, xenophobic parties and publications?
Should we be surprised that vigilante groups like the Soldiers of Odin, hate forums like Hommaforum and anti-immigration parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)*, racist online publications like MV-lehti have grown and captured our darkest imagination?
Read on »Statistics that expose how bigotry and prejudice are alive and kicking in Finland
It shouldn’t surprise us that during an economic recession some will expose their racist views. Add to the latter weak politicians, a complacent media, and a party like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* in government, which base their popularity on xenophobia and populist nationalism, and you end up with a perpetuating brew of hate.
Read on »Abuses at Luona’s asylum reception centers continue – two refugees tried to commit suicide
The right-wing Finnish government, and especially the anti-immigration Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, which shares power with the Center Party and National Coalition Party (NCP), have been trying their hardest to find ways to deport some 20,000 of the 32, 476 asylum seekers that came to Finland in 2015.
Read on »Denying the rise of racism and fascism in Finland
Even if Finland denies that it has a serious racism and fascism problem, the country cannot go forward and the situation for migrants and minorities in Finland will get worse until we get a grip of these social issues.
Read on »Human trafficking – get ready for another onslaught of xenophobia and labeling
Should we be surprised that YLE is planning another one-sided “debate” in April concerning human trafficking. The problem with this type of “debate,” like the one before that on March 2 on how asylum seekers have fueled uncertainty in Finland, is that it follows a common narrative that white Finland has of Otherness: You are a threat and a problem.
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 »Does the Trump phenomenon in Europe reflect that white Europe is being challenged?
If Donald Trump stands a good chance at being nominated as the Republican party’s presidential candidate this year, surely it says a lot about the moral state of USAmerica. Noam Chomsky, the renowned scholar, was quoted as saying in the Huffington Post that the Trump phenomenon revealed that white USAmerica is dying.
Read on »Tighter family reunification laws spearheaded by the PS with the government’s blessing are an example of the Denmarkization of Finland
It’s a good matter that government plans to tighten family reunification guidelines have met a stormy reception. We all know that the Perussuomalasiet (PS)*, who base their popularity on anti-immigration rhetoric, are spearheading new tighter guidelines that will make family reunification much harder.
Read on »How the Finnish Immigration Service’s fast-track scheme will deport thousands of asylum seekers from Finland in 2016
What would a country like Finland, which prefers to be an island in Europe and where too many still see cultural diversity with suspicion, do if a record number of asylum seekers from countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia came here like in 2015?
Read on »The face of fascism in Finland: Before and after
There is a fascinating book published by Olli Silvennoinen, Marko Tikka and Aapo Romelius titled Suomalaiset fasistit (Finnish fascists). One of the authors, Silvennoinen, states in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat that the same arguments used in the 1920s to feed fascism are used today.
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