Finland far-right groups attack refugees (with stones, fireworks, petrol bomb)

[Turborama]

Source: Al Jazeera English



Demonstrators have attacked a bus load of refugees arriving at a reception centre in southern Finland with stones and fireworks.

Between 30 and 40 protesters, one wearing a white robe like those worn by the white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan in the US, waved the Finnish flag and shouted abuse at the bus in the southern town of Lahti late on Thursday.

Some demonstrators also hurled stones and let off fireworks at the vehicle carrying 40 refugees, including several young children, Finnish television YLE said.

=snip=

Meanwhile, a petrol bomb was thrown at another reception centre in Kouvola, also in southern Finland, police said. No one was known to be hurt in the incidents, the Reuters news agency reported.

Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/finland-groups-attack-refugees-150925123046167.html

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Finnish government condemns racist attack on asylum seekers in Lahti

Finland's government condemned a racist protest in which demonstrators - including one dressed in a Ku Klux Klan outfit - attacked a bus transporting asylum seekers in the early hours of Friday.

Public broadcaster Yle showed images of around 40 protesters - some with burning torches - throwing fireworks at a bus transporting asylum seekers, mostly families with children, to a new reception centre in the southern city of Lahti.

One of the protesters could be seen dressed in a white hood, a symbol of the racist American Ku Klux Klan, with a Finnish flag in his hand.

They also threw stones at Red Cross volunteers, although no one was hurt at the incident.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/finland/11890584/Finnish-government-condemns-racist-attack-on-refugees-in-Lahti.html

[shenmue]

1. Ignorant

[EL34x4]

2. From what I've read, feelings were mutual.

Migrants didn't exactly like Finland much either.

[Turborama]

3. False equivalence based on an report sourced from a racist website.

Families in a coach being attacked by stones and fireworks and a reception centre being firebombed are examples of the racism refugees have been victims of and this is probably one of the main reasons they don't want to stay there, and I don't blame them.

[840high]

8. They are migrants.

[Turborama]

10. They are human beings.

[840high]

12. Did I say they weren't?

[Turborama]

13. Your response to me saying "Families in a coach being attacked by stones and fireworks etc"

...is, "They are migrants" as if that's something which makes a difference.

Labeling these people like that is what right wing racists are doing in Europe to try and make it look like they are just greedy people moving, when in fact the vast majority of them are actually refugees seeking sanctuary.


My response to your reply was to remind you they are more than "migrants". Seems to have gone over your head, though.

[Bohemianwriter]

21. In your eyes..they are not refugees

from wars you started with your tax dollars but just fortune migrants looking for a better life and a free ticket to a meal as the "illegals" from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras?

[840high]

7. Yes. I read it, too.

[LeftishBrit]

15. A minority have chosen to go home. That does not equate to throwing petrol bombs.

As a Scandinavia-lover, I should also add that it is of course also a small minority of Finns who do these vile things. It's still vile.

[MADem]

4. This racism shit is everywhere.

Even in not-so-progressive-anymore Europe.

[EL34x4]

5. Curious though...

Are liberals supposed to be supportive of hundreds of thousands of ultra-religious migrants moving in to our neighborhoods?

[MADem]

6. Where are you getting this from?

Just because some people aren't Christians doesn't automatically make them "ultra religious." There are plenty of "Jack Muslims" in the world.

And some of those middle eastern migrants ARE Christians--does that make it "better" somehow?

Are you suggesting that the effects of war, famine, etc., only motivate the "ultra religious" to migrate? That the less devout simply stay put?

smh.

Like I said, this racism shit is everywhere.

[840high]

9. They had good jobs in Turkey - yet migrated.

I see a lot of young men rather than families.

[Turborama]

16. No, refugees in Turkey are not allowed to work. Seems like you have a lot of learning to do

Here, these should help you get an understanding of what's going on:
Five reasons why the majority of refugees reaching Europe are men

The refugee crisis: 9 questions you were too embarrassed to ask

[LeftishBrit]

18. Where do you get the idea that they had good jobs in Turkey?

People who already had good jobs in a relatively stable country are unlikely to seek asylum elsewhere, or be granted it if they do.

There are a lot of Turkish 'guest workers' in Germany and to some extent elsewhere in Europe; but these are not the same as the refugees.

[Jesus Malverde]

11. Really..

They will bring their culture and traditions with them.

Much like the Mexican immigrants bring their conservative Catholic or Pentecostal traditions. To assume they are left wing because they are a minority is as much as stereotype or projection as anything else.

[LeftishBrit]

17. I doubt very much that most are left wing. Just desperate.

Many of them are leaving because they are being VICTIMIZED by religious nuts.

I'm not saying that the locals don't have some legitimate concerns, about sudden large-scale extra need for housing, jobs for those who stay in the long term (though there are big restrictions on refugees being allowed to work in most countries), etc.; but that doesn't mean that refugees = religious extremists, or that (most) are not in genuine need.

[Turborama]

20. Where did MADem say anything about them being left or right wing? n/t

[MADem]

25. These people who are migrating in a refugee status are simply people, that was my point.

When the fire burns your ass, you pack up and move.

Another poster implied that "these people" were hell-bent on imposing their fundy/wingnutty religious views upon these pale and unspoiled canvases in the north of Europe. I think what they might really like is an opportunity to live by day and sleep at night without fear of violence or injury.

The prejudice....it's a helluva thing.

[Bohemianwriter]

22. Like when your ancestors brought their religion and genocidal culture with them

when they slaughtered Native Americans? Most those "illegals" have more rights to travel all around America than you since they are the original people of the continent. You are still an immigrant claiming to have rights to dictate over others who shall be allowed in "your" country.. A country stolen.

Those religious beliefs are in fact EUROPEAN imports. Stop whining and start taking responsibility for your failed policies.

The refugees from the drug wars and death squads are you doing since the drug war started. The wars and the deaths in the ME is blood on your hand since you paid for it by your tax dollars. Wars fought in your name. Lies conveyed in your name. And that blood will still be on each and every one of your hands until you start looking in the mirror and start holding the entire Bush administration accountable and hand them over to the Hague and then a hot cage in Gitmo.

When will Americana apologists get some introspection?

[Jesus Malverde]

23. Roquefort or vinagrette

I'm not sure...which will go better with your word salad.

Mexico is a very rich country. Maybe richer in resourses and people than California. They are however stuck in a corrupt system of oligarchies.

If the poor stayed there, Mexico would have to become a democratic nation. An oligarchy is unsustainable when you have millions of hungry angry people demanding their due.

However if they have a place to send their surplus population. Which they don't want to care for. Problem solved. No reforms needed. Same with El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, etc.

The one country that doesn't fall into this pattern is Costa Rica due to its long democratic and egalitarian policies absent the rest of the hemisphere.

Did you know one of the richest men in the world is Mexican and he made his fortune in Mexico. Do you think he wants to spend his wealth on campesinos or would he rather they move north and become someone else's problem? Google Carlos Slim and tell me about the poor Mexicans yearning for opportunity. Opportunity for Mexicans are denied by Mexicans. The rich denying opportunity from the poor.

[Bohemianwriter]

28. How about you keep the fuck out of those places and stop acting like your disgusting politics

have imposed on those countries the last 70 years?

How about paying reparations and start honoring the treaties with your own Native Americans you have broken the last 150 years?

In legal terms, you have no entitlement to any land west of the Rockies.

In legal terms, those poor Mexicans have as much right to take your home as you claim that Jews have this right to do in Palestine.-


I am no friend of your pathetic apologetic. To call it word salad in the beginning makes you also a walking ad hominem. And not worthy of wasting more time on.
Your American arrogance shines through.

[Jesus Malverde]

29. Heya you got a lot in your mind.

sorry I can't time travel to fix your issues.

[LeftishBrit]

14. In this particular respect, Europe was never particularly progressive.

[Turborama]

19. True, but despite the Tories' reaction now, Britain has had a long history of helping refugees...

Migrant crisis: A reminder of Britain's long history of welcoming refugees

Cameron's stance on refugees a stain on Britain's historical record

[MADem]

24. Oh, but they always APPEARED to be--they were great at scolding USA for their faults and failures.

It's easy to tell people how it "should be done" when never having to face the challenges personally of diversifying one's population.

Now that they're understanding that the new word of the century is "immigration" they're also starting to understand what we have known for a long time, that you get nowhere without being open to change.

An "American" can look like anyone in the entire world--that's our strength, really. UK, thanks to "sun never set on the British Empire" days, has an understanding of the mix and the swirl as well. But a lot of homogenous nations are having trouble with this, and it's not going to be resolved overnight. And when cries of "They're takin' our JERBS!" start resonating, it can get ugly.

[Turborama]

26. I agree with all you say, apart from the part about the UK having an understanding

The anti-immigration hysteria in the UK has reached fever pitch and sadly is now endemic all across the country. Stopping the freedom of movement is the main reason there's going to be an in-out referendum on the EU either next year or the one after, for example.

[MADem]

27. I see US and UK as similar in that regard...

Both nations are more "immigrant friendly" over the long haul, but they can have shitfits at odd times--like now, for example. UKIP stirring the pot over the pond, screaming about Calais, and those idiots with guns in the desert, to say nothing of Donald Trump talking about wall building...it's all same shit, different day.

There are way more assholes in the world than there are asses, that's for sure!