Skin color matters in Finland, Yle hidden camera shows

Dark-skinned people in Finland struggle with discrimination on a daily basis. On week days many struggle in vain to find work related to their studies -- or even unpaid internships. Some of those who have given up seeking skilled jobs are sometimes mistreated, disrespected and exploited in odd jobs for which they are overqualified. On weekends many who go out to nightclubs and bars suffer indignities and rejection in the hands of doormen and security guards.

A Yle TV programme scheduled to air on 17 October 2013 at 8 PM (GMT+2) on Yle TV2 uncovers discrimination in everyday life in Finland. According to the programme, skin color makes a difference in Finland when looking for accommodation, in the job market and in nightclub queues.

Yle sent out three men - a native-born Finn, an immigrant from Russia and one Somali - to find out how discrimination targets immigrants in everyday life in Finland. According to Yle, all three young men have lived in the country for a long time and speak the local language well, all three had the same cover story related to work experience, income and education. All three applied for a job, applied for accommodation and tried to get into a nightclub under the same conditions.

The programme reveals that at a nightclub, the Somali was denied access by the doorman, while one of the white test team members was let in. At another nightclub the Somali and the Russian immigrant were denied access on grounds that their Finnish driving licences presented as identification were insufficient. The Finnish team member was let in with only a driving licence. The three young men sought the same ten jobs. The native-born Finn was invited to two interviews, the Russian was invited to two and the Somalian was invited to none. A search for rental accommodation also left the Somalian discriminated.

According to the journalist behind the programme, the experiment recorded "clear evidence of discrimination". The journalist - described by Yle as a "white-skinned Englishman" - was shocked by the results of the experiment.

Personally, I am not shocked by the findings. As a person of African descent who has lived in Finland for over four years, I have faced my share of discrimination. For instance, a couple of years ago, a group of friends and I were denied entry into a nightclub in Helsinki. Of course we thought it was discriminatory and refused to leave the queue. The doorman said he would call the police if don't leave. Believing that the police won't allow discrimination, we implored the doorman to call. The police came and told us - to our surprise and disappointment - that doormen have the right to deny us entry. They suggested that we should find another club. I've also been denied access to a nightclub on grounds that I didn't have a [winter] jacket.

In another shocking incident which I experienced first-hand, a young man of Somali origin came out of a nightclub for a smoke. The doormen denied him access when he tried to return. When he insisted they restrained him on the ground and called the police. One of the guards had a knee on the Somali's head against concrete. When the police came, the Somali was handcuffed and taken into the police van.

In my view, the TV programme by Yle uncovers the plight of the average dark-skinned person in Finland. While it may shock some viewers, I am convinced that dark-skinned people who have lived in the country long enough will relate to the experience of the Somali in the programme and will not be surprised by the abysmal discrimination.

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Dismissal of MP James Hirvisaari isn't enough for Finns Party

Lawmakers are supposed to be law abiding citizens -- citizens who respect laws enacted by a democratic parliament. But the populist Finns Party (Perussuomalaiset) harbors members of parliament who have been convicted and fined by Finnish courts for inciting hatred, and members who make no secret of their extreme nationalist and Neo-Nazi affiliations. The party decided to kick out only one of its numerous controversial figures.

The opposition Perussuomalaiset that seems to thrive on xenophobic, Islamophobic and euro-skeptic rhetoric finally fired James Hirvisaari, one of the most controversial MPs in Finland's parliament. On 3 October 2013 news broke that the party intends to formally expel the MP for anti-party activities. The party confirmed the expulsion of the controversial MP the next day.

He was stripped of his party membership after it was confirmed that he took a Hitler-salute photo of a friend of his who visited him in parliament. Hirvisaari's visitor - who has a long criminal record - made a Hitler-salute in parliament's gallery and the MP was the man behind the camera -- in an act of apparent endorsement of a distasteful pose. The photo taken by James Hirvisaari was later posted online and precipitated his ouster from the Perussuomalaiset parliamentary group.

In my view, taking a photo of someone making a Nazi-salute in parliament is despicable and irresponsible -- Hirvisaari probably agrees, that's why he sent an apology to the speaker of Finland's parliament. However, it is not the only outrageous thing MP Hirvisaari has done. Previous misdeeds include the following:

• He incited hatred against Muslims and was convicted of hate speech.
• He compared homosexuality to a disability.
• He refused to sack an aid of his who suggested that non-Finns should wear Nazi-style armbands to help police easily identify them.
• He wrote that people from certain cultures are genetically wired to be rapists.
• He argued that Finland is for Finns and that refugees and immigrants are social security hunters.

I welcome the dismissal of James Hirvisaari by the Finns Party. In my opinion the MP should have been fired a long time ago. Failure to do so contributed to the damaged reputation of the Finns Party. Hirvisaari did many things that would have long earned him a one way ticket out of the party - if the party didn't tolerate racism and hate-mongering. Some of his controversial colleagues like Jussi Halla-aho and Teuvo Hakkarainen still enjoy the confidence of the Finns Party.

The expulsion of Hirvisaari is a move in the right direction, but it is not enough to clean up the Perussuomalaiset brand. There are still numerous racist elements in the right-wing party who make no secret of their racist views and extreme nationalist affiliations. Many immigrants -- and some Finns I have spoken with believe the Perussuomalaiset opposition party is "racist". It will take more than the dismissal of one controversial MP to repair a severely damaged reputation.

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African leaders seek impunity while migrants die off Europe's shores

Barely a week after Italy registered its worst disaster involving African migrants off the coast of Lampedusa, the African Union convened in Ethiopia for its fifteenth extraordinary meeting to discuss an unrelated issue -- Africa's relationship with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and a possible pull-out by African countries.

Divers in Italy have recovered more than 300 bodies of African migrants who died when a boat carrying them to Italy capsized off the coast of Lampedusa on 3 October 2013. European and Italian officials responded promptly to the disaster and Italy decided to hold a state funeral for the shipwreck migrants. The world is yet to hear from the African Union and African leaders, including officials from countries where the migrants originated.

Rather than convene a special meeting to discuss the plight of countless Africans fleeing the continent, the African Union convened a special two-day summit to discuss a possible pull-out from the ICC.

In my opinion, the decision by the African Union to discuss a pull-out from the ICC in the wake of the Lampedusa migrant boat disaster is misguided and shows that the African leaders are more interested in protecting themselves from prosecution for the worst crimes, including crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes. Leaders who work in the interest of their people would rather convene a meeting to tackle a problem that claims the lives of thousands of their people, including women and children.

Another boat carrying more than 200 migrants reportedly capsized in the Mediterranean one week after the Lampedusa tragedy. Italian and Maltese ships and helicopters were scrambled to the scene to search and rescue surviving migrants - while African leaders were in Addis Ababa to condemn the ICC for targeting them. This, in my mind, is a disgrace and a clear case of selfishness and misplaced priorities demonstrated by African officials -- especially considering the fact that many of the migrants flee Africa due to bad governance, human rights violations and failed policies implemented by the same officials.

In my view, Africans will continue to embark on life-threatening journeys across the Mediterranean in search of safety and a better life for as long as lack of leadership persists in the African continent. African officials - many of whom are repressive and corrupt puppets of the West - need to stop focusing on themselves and work for the greater good of Africa and common Africans. The ICC at this point should be the least of their concerns -- mindful of extreme poverty, gender inequality, high infant mortality, poor maternal health, HIV/AIDS, malaria, food insecurity, corruption, human rights violations and the fact that according to the International Organization for Migration, 25,000 people fleeing Africa have died in the Mediterranean in the last 20 years, including 1,700 in 2012. [Source] If you ask me - in light of recent African deaths in the Mediterranean, the extraordinary plight of African migrants should have been top on the agenda of the fifteenth extraordinary session of the assembly of the African Union.

*Image: African Union

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