Finland's population registry website excludes visible minorities

Finland is still very much a racially homogeneous country -- predominantly made up of white Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking people. The homogeneous nature of the population is reflected in most walks of life in the country where people of African descent or visible minorities are not represented or are relegated to the background. A look at the homepage of the population registry's website supports this assertion.

The website of the Population Register Centre (in Finnish: Väestörekisterikeskus) portrays a complete lack of racial and ethnic diversity in Finland. The last time I checked, photos displayed on the home page (see screenshot) of the website showed diversity in terms on gender, sex and age -- which is good. But ethnic or racial diversity was completely out of the picture despite the fact that Finland has visible minorities registered in the population register.

Finland has a total population of over 5 million people and it is estimated that the population will hit 5.5 million in 2015. As a member of Finnish society, I can attest to the fact that the country's population is racially diverse -- although a first look at the website of the population registry suggests otherwise. Even the website of Kela, the social insurance institute, shows a racially homogeneous Finland.

The population of Finland increased by 13,050 persons between January and July 2013 and the main reason for population growth was immigration. According to Statistics Finland's statistics on population structure, every tenth person aged 25 to 34 living permanently in Finland in 2012 was of foreign origin -- approximately 12 per cent of all persons with foreign origin were of African descent and about one-quarter were of Asian origin.

In my view, Finland's non-whites or so-called people of color have been relegated to the background and are not portrayed as part of the society. Many do not occupy prominent positions in public life as journalists, police officers, lawmakers, ministers or teachers. Visible minorities are not even portrayed as part of the society on national and governmental websites like that of Kela and Väestorekisterikeskus. It might take some time for visible minorities to occupy elevated positions in public life -- but I am convinced that simple changes in graphics and photographs on national and governmental websites will go a long way to show visible minorities that they are welcomed and accepted as part of the society.

In this age of information technology websites send resounding messages. The last time I checked, the website of Finland's population registry sent a disturbing message, in my interpretation, that visible minorities are not part of Finland's population structure. The population registry's home page should be updated to include racial and ethnic diversity that is representative of Finland's population structure.

Share

Tweet

Migrant deaths off Lampedusa point to lack of leadership

Lack of leadership and bad governance resulting in poverty and human rights violations force Africans to embark on high risk journeys in a bid to seek safety and a better life in Europe and elsewhere.

More than a hundred African migrants died (see photo of their coffins inside an airport hangar in Lampedusa) on Thursday 3 October 2013 after a boat carrying them to Europe sank off the coast of Lampedusa in southern Italy. More than 150 passengers of the boat were reportedly rescued and some 200 remained unaccounted for. The search for more bodies continues as of the time of this writing. It is believed that there were about 500 people on board the boat and according to the United Nations most of them were from Eritrea and Somalia. According to Italy's Minister of Interior, the boat came from Misrata, Libya.

The tragic death of African migrants off the coast of Lampedusa and the deafening silence of the African Union and African officials of the affecting countries in the wake of the disaster is a gruesome reminder that African leaders don't care about the plight of their people both at home and abroad.

Numerous boats carrying African migrants to Italy and other countries like Greece, Australia and New Zealand sink, but the tragedy off Lampedusa on Thursday 3 October is said to be one of the worst to occur off the Italian coast in recent years - prompting the Italian government to declare a national day of mourning in Italy for the victims. Thirteen Africans lost their lives in another boat wreck on Monday -- three days earlier.

The incident was described by some officials as a "European tragedy". Others termed it "Europe's failure".

Europe no doubt has a role to play in the tragedy. But the loss of lives, in my opinion, is an African tragedy and Africa's failure -- caused by lack of leadership and bad governance in the African continent. African countries are rich, but bad governance, corruption and repression in countries like Eritrea force Africans to embark on risky journeys across the Red Sea and the Mediterranean in search of safety and a better life.

In my assessment, the silence of the African Union and African leaders reveal that they are out of touch with the plight of their people. It is inconceivable that Italy declared a day of national mourning to mourn the loss of African lives and no African country did same -- not even Eritrea and Somalia from where most of the migrants originated. The silence of the authorities in the affected African countries - including Libya, the transit country - is, in the words of Pope Francis, "a disgrace". It is plausible to conclude that African leaders don't value African lives.

The  solution, in my view, to the numerous migration disasters involving Africans lies in Africa. Western countries should stop exploiting Africa's resources to the detriment of its people and stop propping up repressive puppets who serve western interests in the continent. Issues such as mass unemployment, human rights violations and lack of basic necessities that force people to embark on risky boat trips should be addressed by Africans in positions of power. Prospective migrants in transit countries like Libya should be sensitized about the dangers of embarking on trips that could be aptly described as "death traps". More importantly there should be a serious crackdown on human traffickers who organize such trips.

According to Frontex, more than 31,000 undocumented migrants arrived in the EU through the Mediterranean between January and September 2013.

*Photo: Yahoo

Share

Tweet

Reluctance to exercise voting rights in Cameroon

The right to vote is a fundamental civil and political right. History tells us that many disenfranchised people around the world fought and died for the right to vote. But in Cameroon many people - especially the young - take voting rights for granted and never register to vote in elections, including presidential, municipal or parliamentary elections.

On 30 September 2013 Cameroonians took to the polls for parliamentary and municipal elections. I was able to have a feel of the situation on the ground on election day thanks to social media. A few of my Facebook friends voted and posted photos online while others expressed their lack of enthusiasm to vote.

A report on France 24 stated that 5.4 million voters headed to the polls and 29 parties had candidates in legislative elections. Mindful of the fact that Cameroon has a population of about 20 million, it is clear that many Cameroonians did not participate.

As a Cameroonian, I understand the lack of enthusiasm to vote. Elections in Cameroon have a long history of "irregularities" and [allegations of] fraud and electoral malpractices. Many Cameroonians believe the country's 80-year-old president has been in power since 1982 due to phony elections and a flawed electoral process that favors the ruling party. There are reports of cases where the names of known dead people appeared on voters' rolls. Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), the body responsible for organizing and supervising elections, is believed to be compromised since some of its board members appointed by the Head of State are reportedly affiliated to the ruling party. Some of them, including a former Minister of Social Affairs and a couple of former Vice Ministers are known regime loyalists.

There're compelling reasons for Cameroonians - especially youths who have known only one president in their lifetime - to be reluctant to vote. However, I believe the ruling party thrives on a disorganized and fragmented opposition as well as on boycotts by numerous voting-age Cameroonians. I therefore applaud all those who, despite the odds, headed to the polls on 30 September to cast ballots in delayed legislative and local elections. Their votes might not count but they played their part. I encourage everyone to register and vote in the future. Real change will only come if more young people exercise their civil and political rights, including the right to vote and stand as candidates in legislative, local and presidential elections.

Personally, I didn't vote due to reasons beyond my control. If I were on the ground I would've definitely voted and my vote wouldn't have been in support of the status quo. The current system has failed the majority of people in Cameroon for more than three decades. The country is rich but poverty stricken. More of the same - thirty years later - won't change the sorry-state of affairs shored up by a toxic mix of unemployment, poverty and human rights violations. Change is possible through the ballot box but a truly independent, transparent, impartial and credible electoral board is needed to make it happen.

Share

Tweet