Racism In Finland
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A 2011 poll showed that 66% of Finnish respondents considered
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
to be a
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
country but only 14% admitted to being racist themselves. Minority groups facing the most negative attitudes were
Finnish Kale The Kaale (; ; , ''Suomen romanit;'' also known as Finnish Romani, Finnish Roma, Finnish Kale are a Romani subgroup who live primarily in Finland but also in Sweden. Their main languages are Finnish, Swedish and Kalo. History From t ...
,
Somalis The Somali people (, Wadaad's writing, Wadaad: , Arabic: ) are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to the Somali Peninsula. who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic languages, East ...
, and ethnic groups mostly consisting of
Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
. Many Finnish people believe that Finns played little or no role in
colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...
, a view known as "Finnish exceptionalism". However, Finns did settle the Sámi land in the north and were involved in European colonial projects in Africa and North America. Finns at the time were subjects of
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
and later the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, which has been used to excuse their participation in colonialism. In December 2012, the Finnish Police reported an increase in cases of racism and related physical abuse. In February 2013, researchers of racism and multiculturalism reported an increase in the number of threats and abuse. In January 2013,
Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...
reported that immigrant children were facing an increasing amount of racist abuse. In June 2011, a researcher reported an increase in the amount of racist violence targeting children and teenagers. According to the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
, neither Finland's Non-Discrimination Ombudsman nor its advisory board for Non-Discrimination have the financial and human resources to effectively perform according to their mandates. There is a National Discrimination Tribunal, but it cannot order compensation for victims of racial discrimination. The legal provisions of Finland's Aliens' Act are discriminatory and subject ethnic minorities to
racial profiling Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the offender profiling, selective enforcement or selective prosecution based on race or ethnicity, rather than individual suspicion or evidence. This practice involves discrimination against minority pop ...
by the
police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
. According to ECRI, the majority of people in Finland don't know enough about the
Sámi Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...
people (an Indigenous ethnic minority in Finland) and are not taught enough about Sámi people and culture in school. ECRI has criticized Finland for not having ratified the ILO-convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. The Somali community in Finland as well as the Finnish Roma face discrimination and racism. Russians in Finland are discriminated against in employment.


Notable cases


Helsinki Regional Transport Authority case

According to a report from ''
Iltalehti ''Iltalehti'' (literally "Evening newspaper") is a tabloid newspaper published in Helsinki, Finland. History and profile ''Iltalehti'' was established in 1980 as the afternoon edition of the newspaper '' Uusi Suomi''. The Helsinki-based Alma ...
'', an alleged incident of racism and police brutality occurred on the evening of 4 July 2020 at the Central Railway Station of
Helsinki Metro The Helsinki Metro (, ) is a rapid transit system serving the Helsinki capital region, Finland. It is the world's most northern, the world's northernmost metro system. It was opened to the general public on 2 August 1982 after 27 years of planni ...
. The incident centers on two youths, one white male and one black male, who were apprehended together for not having a valid ticket. According to eyewitness accounts and unverified footage of the incident that was circulating on
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
, the white youth was calmly spoken to by the police before being allowed to leave, however, the black teenager was allegedly thrown down onto the floor by security staff and placed in handcuffs. One security staff member was allegedly seen pressing his knee down on the teenager's neck, at which point the victim could be seen yelling out "I can't breathe" in English, which has clearly evoked images on social media in the case of George Floyd in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.Law enforcement officers pressed a dark-skinned boy to the ground and a storm began, in which celebrities also took part - HSL sees no racism in action: "The young man was completely uncooperative
MTV Uutiset: Järjestyksenvalvojat painoivat tummaihoisen pojan maahan ja alkoi somemyrsky, johon osallistuivat julkkiksetkin – HSL ei näe toiminnassa rasismia: "Nuori oli täysin yhteistyökyvytön"
(in Finnish)
According to security staff and HSL department chief Janne Solala, the white youth was cooperative, provided his ID when asked and didn't try to resist so force wasn't needed. Meanwhile, after getting caught, the black teenager refused to provide his ID or any other information about himself and tried to flee from the scene. Finnish ticket inspectors have a right written in law to prevent a suspect from leaving if caught travelling without a valid ticket, and by the same law a person travelling without a ticket is required to provide their ID to the ticket inspector. According to Solala, this situation had nothing to do with racism, race or gender because security staff will use similar force on anyone who is resisting and uncooperative, ethnic Finns included. Also, written statements and security camera footages indicated that excessive force was not used in this situation by the security staff.


Purra's writings case

In July 2023, online comments of Riikka Purra, the
Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...
and the
Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...
of the Orpo Cabinet and the leader of the
Finns Party The Finns Party ( , PS; , Sannf), formerly known as the True Finns, is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The party achieved its electoral breakthro ...
, written in 2008 prior to her political career to
Jussi Halla-aho Jussi Kristian Halla-aho (; born 27 April 1971) is a Finnish politician, currently serving as the Speaker of the Parliament of Finland since 2023. Halla-aho has served as a member of the Parliament of Finland from 2011 to 2014 and again since 201 ...
's ''Scripta'' blog emerged in the media. In the comments, using the username ''riikka'', she frequently used derogatory language about immigrants, and wrote about a confrontation on a suburban train with a group of young immigrants: "If they gave me a gun, there'd be bodies on a commuter train, you see." Purra originally refused to confirm whether she was behind the nickname and also said that she had no intention of resigning or regretting her past actions. However, after the comments were condemned by some representatives from the ruling parties and President
Sauli Niinistö Sauli Väinämö Niinistö (, born 24 August 1948) is a Finnish politician who served as the 12th president of Finland from 2012 to 2024. A lawyer by education, Niinistö was Chairman of the National Coalition Party (NCP) from 1994 to 2001, Mini ...
had called for the government to adopt a clear zero-tolerance stance on racism, Purra apologized for the comments. Soon after, Purra's newer writings from 2019 started to circulate in social media, in which she referred to women in
burqa A burqa or burka (; ) is an enveloping outer garment worn by some Muslim women which fully covers the body and the face. Also known as a chadaree (; ) or chaadar (Dari: چادر) in Afghanistan, or a ''paranja'' (; ; ) in Central Asia, the Ara ...
as "unrecognizable black sacks" in context of criticizing the clothing practice as dehumanizing. Prime Minister
Petteri Orpo Antti Petteri Orpo (; born 3 November 1969) is a Finland, Finnish politician currently serving as the prime minister of Finland since 2023 and as the leader of the National Coalition Party since 2016. He briefly served as speaker of the Parliame ...
called an excerpt from the writings unacceptable, but considered that Purra's earlier apology was enough. Orpo later clarified that he considers the writings to advocate for women's rights. By 13 July 2023, all opposition parties had demanded that Speaker of the Parliament
Jussi Halla-aho Jussi Kristian Halla-aho (; born 27 April 1971) is a Finnish politician, currently serving as the Speaker of the Parliament of Finland since 2023. Halla-aho has served as a member of the Parliament of Finland from 2011 to 2014 and again since 201 ...
would recall parliament from summer break to hold a vote of confidence in Purra. On 15 July, Halla-aho responded by stating that the matter wasn't urgent enough to recall parliament. According to a survey conducted in between 14.–19.7.2023, 47% of Finns thought that Purra should resign, while 40% thought that she shouldn't.


Saint Lucy case

In December 2024, Daniela Owusu, a Finnish woman of Ghanian descent, was elected to serve as
Saint Lucy Lucia of Syracuse ( – 304 AD), also called Saint Lucia () and better known as Saint Lucy, was a Roman people, Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a saint in Catholic Church, Catholic, Angl ...
during Finland's national
Saint Lucy's Day Saint Lucy's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day observed on 13 December. The observance commemorates Lucia of Syracuse, an early-fourth-century virgin martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution. According to l ...
celebrations, which led to racist backlash. Owusu was subjected to racist abuse and hate comments on social media, including over 10,000 hate comments, leading the organizers of the celebration, Folkhälsan, to report the online harassment to the police and consider taking legal action. Members of her family were also targeted. The director of Folkhälsan, Viveca Hagmark, and the CEO, Anna Hellerstedt, both released statements condemning racism and thanking those who voiced support for Owusu. Finland's prime minister, Petteri Orpo, issued a formal apology to Owusu on behalf of the nation. Orpo met Owusu when she and the Saint Lucy Choir performed at the
Finnish Parliament The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The P ...
.


See also

* Ano Turtiainen * Environmental racism in Europe * Finnish Resistance Movement * Kohti Vapautta! *
Nordicism Nordicism is a racialist ideology which views the "Nordic race" (a historical race concept) as an endangered and superior racial group. Some notable and influential Nordicist works include Madison Grant's book '' The Passing of the Great Rac ...


References


Works cited

* {{Europe topic, Racism in
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
Racism in Europe