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Jag har sällan, kanske aldrig skrivit här ur ett politiskt perspektiv, och vill inte göra det idag heller. Men (alltid en MEN) igår läste jag igen att vår stadsminister Vanhanen sa att regeringen ska inom de närmaste dagarna se över lagstiftningen då det gäller utvisningsbeslut och överväga om den borde ändras. Naturligtvis detta uttalande baseras på den tragiska händelsen i Esbo.

Mig irriterar faktum att vår stadsminister inte har intresserat sig för invandrar frågor någonting nämnvärt förre tragedin i Esbo. Alla vi som har jobbat med integreringen och andra invandrar frågor vet det. Stöd från ”högre” ort kom alltid från minister Thors. Och vi alla är medvetna vilka smällar hon har fått.

Sociala media idag lever eget liv. Att kommentera anonymt, och bilda hatgrupper ute i cyberspace har blivit mycket vanligt. Men så länge jag viste att våra ministrar (jag säger våra för då är de folkets, inte partiets ministrar) var sakliga och såg till allas väl,var jag lugn. Om Vanhanen har kommit med det här förslaget förre tragedin, skulle jag förstå den! Jag skulle tänka ÄNTLIGEN har han åtminstone sett att det finns problem och kanske ska han nu också se till att vi får tillräckligt med medel att börja agera och hjälpa! Äntligen skulle migrations minister få lite feedback i sitt jobb!

Men nej, han var tvungen att komma med den här uttalande nu, efter tragedi i Esbo!

 De som är mot invandringen måste veta att invandrarna försvinner inte med hatgrupper som bildas överallt. Problemen med invandringen försvinner inte heller. Barn och kvinnomisshandeln försvinner inte om man bildar en hatgrupp mot en misshandlare.  Lika så försvinner inte politikerna som vi håller inte med, om vi skulle bilda en hatgrupp mot sådana…Problemen är till för att lösas. Enligt det som man läser nu i Vanhanens uttalande, drar man slutsats att problemen kommer att lösas om vi utvisar folk som kan göra skada här i Finland. Att samma människa kan döda i ett annat land bekommer inte oss, det är inte vårt problem, nej! För Finland är inte en del av den globala världen…

 Tänk om Vanhanen har kommit nu med ett förslag att regeringen ska se över vilka stödåtgärder finns för familjen, socialarbetarna, hälsovården och polisen när en människa är våldbenägen? Tänk om han kom med ett förslag om att Finland strävar efter nollan i statistiken när det gäller kvinnomisshandeln här i vårt land? Och tänk om han då, samtidigt kom med förslag att se över invandrar situation i Finland, även lagen om utvisning?

 Men nej, han var tvungen att agera ensidigt och sprida ännu mera missnöje hos de missnöjda, och öppnade dörren till de som alltid har grundat sin politik på främlingsfientlighet!

Jag har sällan, kanske aldrig skrivit här ur ett politiskt perspektiv, och vill inte göra det idag heller. Men (alltid en MEN) igår läste jag igen att vår stadsminister Vanhanen sa att regeringen ska inom de närmaste dagarna se över lagstiftningen då det gäller utvisningsbeslut och överväga om den borde ändras. Naturligtvis detta uttalande baseras på den tragiska händelsen i Esbo.

Mig irriterar faktum att vår stadsminister inte har intresserat sig för invandrar frågor någonting nämnvärt förre tragedin i Esbo. Alla vi som har jobbat med integreringen och andra invandrar frågor vet det. Stöd från ”högre” ort kom alltid från minister Thors. Och vi alla är medvetna vilka smällar hon har fått.

Sociala media idag lever eget liv. Att kommentera anonymt, och bilda hatgrupper ute i cyberspace har blivit mycket vanligt. Men så länge jag viste att våra ministrar (jag säger våra för då är de folkets, inte partiets ministrar) var sakliga och såg till allas väl,var jag lugn. Om Vanhanen har kommit med det här förslaget förre tragedin, skulle jag förstå den! Jag skulle tänka ÄNTLIGEN har han åtminstone sett att det finns problem och kanske ska han nu också se till att vi får tillräckligt med medel att börja agera och hjälpa! Äntligen skulle migrations minister få lite feedback i sitt jobb!

Men nej, han var tvungen att komma med den här uttalande nu, efter tragedi i Esbo!

 De som är mot invandringen måste veta att invandrarna försvinner inte med hatgrupper som bildas överallt. Problemen med invandringen försvinner inte heller. Barn och kvinnomisshandeln försvinner inte om man bildar en hatgrupp mot en misshandlare.  Lika så försvinner inte politikerna som vi håller inte med, om vi skulle bilda en hatgrupp mot sådana…Problemen är till för att lösas. Enligt det som man läser nu i Vanhanens uttalande, drar man slutsats att problemen kommer att lösas om vi utvisar folk som kan göra skada här i Finland. Att samma människa kan döda i ett annat land bekommer inte oss, det är inte vårt problem, nej! För Finland är inte en del av den globala världen…

 Tänk om Vanhanen har kommit nu med ett förslag att regeringen ska se över vilka stödåtgärder finns för familjen, socialarbetarna, hälsovården och polisen när en människa är våldbenägen? Tänk om han kom med ett förslag om att Finland strävar efter nollan i statistiken när det gäller kvinnomisshandeln här i vårt land? Och tänk om han då, samtidigt kom med förslag att se över invandrar situation i Finland, även lagen om utvisning?

 Men nej, han var tvungen att agera ensidigt och sprida ännu mera missnöje hos de missnöjda, och öppnade dörren till de som alltid har grundat sin politik på främlingsfientlighet!

With pleasure permit me to share my experience and interesting moments from a world congress in Copenhagen Denmark.

Lessons learnt

According to the Copenhagen Declaration, the mission of the congress is to analyze and evaluate the possibilities of our profession in the light of a globalised world; no wonder the theme of the congress I attended some months ago was The Social Educator in a Globalised World.

The current economic crisis increases social hardship for many people and makes other people even poorer. The crisis threatens the life possibilities of children and young people and has severe negative influence for people with disabilities and all other impairments.

It never occurred to me that social educators have a direct role to play in order to fight the current crisis. Even if it would have crossed my mind it was hard for me to figure out how. Thanks a lot to this congress because I learnt that as social educators we must specifically point to the consequences of the crisis in the lives of vulnerable children, exposed adult groups (people with functional impairment, abusers of drugs and alcohol, the homeless people and many others). The crisis only worsens the situation.

I also leant that besides specifically pointing to the consequences, social educators must put pressure on national government and international associations and demand that they take care of the ones who are hit most severely by the crisis. We must encourage international relief organizations to devote targeted resources toward children, young people and adults facing exclusion from the society.

Social educators must fight for a globalised world, which benefits all, and contribute to social cohesion. We must create new alliances across national borders; develop new and progressive ways to obtain global justice. We must take advantage of global network and media technology to develop and share knowledge on how to put the professional theories to work. This exchange of knowledge and experience will strengthen the profession and benefit the ones we seek to help.

I was pleased to learn that this kind of work requires ongoing training and continued improvement.

As a matter of fact I hereby welcome invitations to any future training program that would enable me to grow, should the opportunity arise.

I learnt from Jakob von Uexkull, one of the keynote speakers of the congress that the greatest problem we face today is that we have the means but are not using them to solve the pressing problems and challenges in the society. He cited the slave trade (slavery), which was once politically and economically accepted and profitable, but a group of courageous few individuals, out of their conscience decided to abolish it. Social educators can do something to the current challenges in society as well. There are times in history when, to doubt is the highest wisdom.

Dr Karl Elling Elling Ellingsen another keynote speaker inspired me with his lecture on Self-determination for persons with Intellectual Disabilities. The right of self-determination does not exist if the right is disrespected. Violations against legal rights undermine the legal protection and challenge the right to make decision. He also stated that participation without redistribution of power is an empty and frustrating process for the powerless. To make a change, be the change!

Interesting moments

In the congress I found two instances interesting to me. The first was the opening event and the second (to be posted later) was a lecture from Dr Martin Brokenleg, a Canadian.

In the opening event, the President of the International Association of Social Educators, Benny Anderson, welcomed every one by calling the names of the different nations present and their respective flags being displayed on the large digital screen. He started from A to Z. When he approached F, I found myself caught up in this dialogue with a colleague next to me:

Jay:  Hey Peter, guess what?

Peter:  What?

Jay:  We’re going to run into trouble now

Peter:  How?

Jay: I am originally from Cameroon, West Africa, but I have registered as a student living and studying in Finland, which means I am representing Finland and I am not sure who to stand for when called upon

Peter:  Well…Jay, we live in a globalised world

Before I ended my statement, I heard the President saying ´and now ladies and gentlemen lets welcome our colleague from Finland´ I stood up. The whole hall (over 650 participants from 44 different countries) was cheering and smiling and clapping and the President was laughing and smiling. I am sure that at that moment I was blushing, if I were white.

During coffee break one Danish participant came to me and asked.

Excuse me sir; did you say you are from Finland?

You are right, I confirmed.

And he added, ´but sir, the last time I visited Finland, the Finns didn’t look like you´

`That’s correct` I admitted. And then I continued ´however that was the last time. Due to global warming, the Finns have become darker and nowadays they look like me´

It was an interesting moment. The media immediately rushed for an interview. You can find the interview in a video (Getting Started) from this link

http://www.aieji2009.dk/

Wishing you all a lovely jolly merry Christmas.



You probably noticed I have not been able to write anything for some time now. The reason is that I am kind of sandwiched between family, work, and studies.

As I write, I hear our four-month-old daughter crying in the room. Today is her first day to taste ´food´ completely different from the breast milk she got used to. Introducing her to this new situation may not be as easy as earlier anticipated…oops! Her mom just signaled me on breaking news: the bad news is, baby is refusing to take the bottle. Initially I thought it was hunger strike then I remembered that mom came from dentist a few minutes ago and cant breast feed her. The good news is, baby drank ALL the milk when her mom tried giving her Nestle NAN using a spoon. Immediately I knew this is a get-ready-for-constant-baby-food-purchase message!

After attending a series of seminars, working overnights and straight to school only to return home briefly and back to work, all at the expense of family quality time at home, my wife could not help but air out her view on this roller-coaster-schedule of mine.

Tuesday Nov 10. Alarm rings at 10:50 a.m. Oh no! I exclaimed. What? My better half asked. I have a seminar to attend at 12:00, Multicultural Leadership Seminar. Silence was in the air for a while. I promise I won’t be long, I ´ll be right back. I replied. But you haven’t eaten. She said. Don’t worry, I ´ll grab something on my way to the seminar

Seminar is over. I am back. Did you find a job? She asked. No don’t worry. With time I ll find something, assurance from me.

Saturday Nov 14. Alarm rings at about 8:00 a.m. Its Saturday for goodness sake, where are you going again? You have been away all week. She fumed out steam. Baby I told you within the week that there is Magma seminar and I would like to attend. I responded. Silence again, followed by ´good luck´ with your seminars from her. In fact her luck for me was a good one. In the hall I was a minority in the midst of minorities. After losing track of the whole discussion since I do not understand Swedish, a fellow blogger in this forum volunteered to summarize what was discussed in the seminar for me. Thank you indeed!

Seminar is over. I am back. So did they give you a job? She inquired. No. don’t worry, with time. I replied.

Thursday Nov 26. European Migration Network Seminar. I was there.

Wednesday Dec 2 City of Helsinki Immigration Seminar. Please tell them we need a bigger apartment now that we got a baby. She needs her own room and space. We have applied but no response so far. She insisted. I will do my best. I responded.

Seminar is over. I am back. Did you find any offer, job, apartment? She asked. Not yet Dear. I replied. Mind you. In most of the seminars attended I almost entirely came from a night shift which ends at 8:15 a.m.

Student hood

As I run from nightshifts to catch the next train and bus to school I struggle to send sms to my classmate, requesting him/her to remind the teacher that I sent an email as a notice that I will be late, and I regret any inconvenience caused. Finally I make it to school, half an hour late. I can bet my last euro that some in class are looking at me and grumbling. ´They´ are always late. Yes we are. Yet none knew where I just came from. Neither do you know why I am late. Do you know where the free opintotuki, opintoraha and asumistuki that you get come from? Someone has to work, so how dare you whine that I am late!

By the end of the lesson, 16:00, the lecturer hands out instructions for a written assignment and deadline for submission. I shuffle the paper in my bag and run home to meet the family as I get ready for the next night shift. Please don’t ask when I do the assignments because I really don’t know. As I try to complete my work practice placement, pressure is mounting that I hand in the report (about 25 pages) as soon as possible. Checking my email only makes matter worse. The teacher from another course just wrote to me that I have done really well in the tasks but my grades will be given only after I complete and extra task that I seem to have forgotten. Time is also running out for me to hand in the plan of my final project (thesis). If I fail to meet the deadline I will have to wait one more semester to hand it again. But guess what, life is not only about seminars, work, and school. There is also a Family!

Father-parenthood

I managed to perform my duty as a worker and as a student. Good and fine. Now am home. I must realize that making a baby is different from being a father which is in turn absolutely different from being a parent. The door opens. I get in, take off my jacket and shoes, wash my hands thoroughly with soap and water, and disinfect them with ANTIBAC to avoid transmitting dog- goat- horse- cat- swine, pig flu virus. As I exit the wc I find two lovely faces staring at me. I almost bumped into them. My wife and daughter smiling and patiently waiting for me. The little one is still learning how to identify and perhaps recognize faces and objects. Hello hello p.y.t (pretty young thing), how u doin´ I gently whispered to baby Veronika Susan Hope. Vera, are u listening, daddy is talking to you, how u doin´. Silence again struck the air. I told her mom that I think I know why she is behaving this way. My speculation is either she is mad at me that I have been away for many hours or she still has not recognized me because ´´daddy is so dark that more light is needed to recognize him´´. I switched on the lights and… Bingo! My daughter smiles as she tries to reach me with hands forward. I must say the smile from these two faces instantly erases the tiredness from work and school. Hey but this is just introduction to responsibilities at home. The sink is full with dishes. Mommy has been busy taking care of the little one and making food for the family. Please why don’t you get rest while Vera and I do the dishes, I told her. No, you are just from work and school, you go get rest. She insisted. Never mind we can manage it, you go get rest. I responded. Mommy goes to catch a nap, Vera and I do the dishes, change the garbage bag, and remove the laundry while Cameroonian jazz music plays from the background. I hear something that sounds like a motorbike. I turn around. Vera smiles with some guilt on her face, as if she knows what she has done. She had soiled her diapers and the new white outfit mommy just wore bigtime! I am confused how to handle this one, a challenge to my changing-diaper skills. I abandon the dishes, run with her to the bathroom clean her up, and change the outfit. I am hungry and must eat before leaving again for work and then to school in the morning. From the East of Helsinki to Espoo it takes about an hour and a half. On a typical day like this I am extremely grateful that I don’t have a car because my lucky moment to ´sleep´ is on my way to work in the bus where I set the alarm before embarking. When I am off work, I am on with school and family, all of which are fulltime!

Be careful, young man

Well wishers and sympathizers advised me to stop this lest I burn out and crash. I am aware of the risks involved with such a schedule yet I keep on with it. Why? Reason is simple: I HAVE to. As an immigrant with no relative to turn to for financial and other help when need really arises, I am responsible for everything about cost of living. The landlord wants to see the bills paid by the end of the month. I must work to get this done. The irony is that after graduating from school, in an environment where the color-before-competence syndrome seem to be order of the day, the potential employer will ask me to show previous work experience. I must show something. Where will I get this work experience if I was only studying? Also if I dream of landing a job with normal working hours, normal salary, I must have the proper education for it, I must be qualified. To get that education, assignments, exams, and final thesis must be completed. Being a father or worker is none of the school´s business. Show us that you have completed your studies and we will graduate and give you the certificate! The fact that I am studying and working is no excuse for not being a good parent or husband. The family needs me. I need the family. And so the dilemma…

Dilemma

The greatest challenge is striking a balance among these three. Yet there is another challenge: convincing my wife that everything will be fine. After hearing the doctrine of the importance of networking she just cannot understand why I haven’t had a job offer, why we have not got an apartment where the baby will have her own room, in spite of all the good network I claim to have established from all the seminars attended, at the expense of quality time at home with family. I console myself with the thought that the history of Finland could be part of this slow process of acceptance. In the past, strangers were seen to be invaders and conquerors. The past still seems to be there unconsciously. But don’t forget that today strangers have come here to study, work, live etc and not to invade the country.

Want some more challenge? I ask myself this. How many immigrants are board members of the very immigrant projects that are all over the place? How many were part of the decision making process in matters that directly concern them like immigration policies? Is it time to start including immigrants in immigrant projects, if not for obvious reasons, at least for tokenism? After all aren’t we talking about integration?  Can you make decisions about pilots, trade union workers, doctors, without inviting them to the table? Aren’t most of the policies about immigrants more of Finnish perspective? Isnt it a waste of resource when policies are constantly changed because they were not part of the team?

Ok. I have to go now, its bedtime. I promised the family I won’t be long on the computer…will be back. Merry Christmas and a Prosperous Happy New Year!

I Bosnien, eller i fd Jugoslavien har nyårsfirande alltid varit en stor grej! Som barn gick vi omkring i en glädjeyra och med en förväntan som inte riktigt kunde beskrivas med ord! Över natten skulle våra gator översköljas med gatuförsäljare som till höger och vänster bjöd ut pynt, godis och alla de underbart glittrande sakerna! Rostade kastanjer doftade överalt!

Man firade inte jul, inte bajram heller (en muslimsk helg i Bosnien), inte officiellt i alla fall. Men nyåret väntades med pompa och ståt och länge efteråt kunde man höra om festen som blev av det året. Vi har alltid haft en julgran. Fast vi är muslimer. Min mamma var lika intresserad av att pynta den som vi barn var! Vi kallade den inte för julgran, utan bara gran och den pyntade vi strax före nyåret.

 Som muslim har jag just firat kurban bajram (som det kallas på mitt språk) eller Eid al-Adha som det heter på arabiska. I år inträffade den en dag före lillajul. Bajram är en stor helg i vår familj och säkert i många andra muslimska familjer också. Vi besöker våra släktingar, blir bjudna på mat, barnen får presenter av sina föräldrar, småpengar och godis av dem som de önskar glad bajram. Låter det bekant? Visst! Vid varje högtid oavsett religion så är familjen i centrum. Barnen är de som mest väntar på bajram. Julen är barnens helg också! Våra föräldrar, mor- och farföräldrar är då vid vårt middagsbord eller vi hos dem. Det spelar ingen roll vad som firas. En doft av godhet och känsla av hopp kan man känna i luften under juletid. Samma doft som jag känner under ramadan månad och bajram helgerna…

 Jag tänker njuta av den här tiden, av den känslan som infinner sig vid varje bajram eller jul.

 God Jul och ett Gott Nytt År kära vänner!

As we know the debate about immigrants in Finland is not an easy task. It goes from negative to positive and the balance is hard to achieve. A friend of mine, who had moved from Britain a short while before, said tentatively that, of course it is good that immigration and integration is discussed, but sometimes it feels so strange that the whole issue is discussed and thought about in all possible manners over and over again, as it is actually not so strange to have people with different backgrounds living in one place. I myself I believe that it is good to discuss, so does my friend, but sometimes it feels like the issue would be discussed and discussed but the real multicultural society is perhaps when we accept each other as persons and individuals and not as representants of a specific culture. How do we get there? When seminars about integration and immigration dealing with starting point issues are no longer relevant in the same extent? I guess, it all lies in that Finland has so few immigrants that it is still possible to scrutinize the issue as a glasbulb in your hands at a half meters distance and say : hmm, what should we do with this thing then?

I hope these debates and seminars eventually leads to good integration methods. the positive side of it is that perhaps some mistakes can be avoided. However, people need to learn the language and need a job. If these two challenges could be overcome then a big step forward would have been taken. To achieve this it is not only strategies on paper but also a change of attitudes tht is needed. Sometimes solutions are more easy to find than we thought and are found by thinking soundly without always picturing the worst of scenarios.

The only way this matter eventually can be solved is by living in a society where you meet people with different backgrounds and get used to it. It is our incompetence in dealing with difference on homeground that is part of the problem. It is good to discuss and have a discussion in public about integration but at some point we just have to calm down and not make things into bigger issues than they are.