Racism tarnishes Finland’s reputation as “the happiest country”
Finland is the happiest country in the world.
Every year the United Nations launches a World Happiness Report, and Finland and its neighboring countries The Nordic countries are constantly listed among the top 10 slot machines. Finland is ranked first for four years in a row.
It seems that the happiest country would have tropical weather, as perhaps many would combine it with enjoyment, joy and joy. But there is nothing tropical in the weather in Finland, the winter is long and dark, albeit a picturesque forest wonderland.
A group of Nordic scientists decided to dig deeper into the concept of happiness a a report reviewing existing research, theories, and data. The most prominent explanations are low corruption and a well-functioning democracy. “In addition, Nordic citizens experience a great sense of autonomy and freedom, as well as a high level of social trust in each other, which plays an important role in determining the satisfaction of their lives,” the report states.
I met one of the authors, Frank Martela, In a café at the end of the Esplanade, in a boulevard park in the center of Helsinki, where people walk and relax. First, I ask him if he is happy. She said yes – the work is rewarding and her three young children are part of her well-being.
“There are many, many things that don’t have to worry too much. Healthcare compared to the US where you have to think about health insurance issues. And if you have kids, it’s going to be pretty expensive. In other words, it is quite easy to live in Finland, ”said Martela.
He said that the secret sauce of happiness in Finland is trust in institutions.
“The research seems to show that it’s not so much about culture, but more about institutions and the quality of institutions,” Martela said.
Martela said the origin of this Nordic mentality is a theory that will return to power as it moves away from the elite. Russia conquered Finland from Sweden in the 19th century, and Finland has only been independent for a little over 100 years. But Russia remained an existential threat.
“The elite was very afraid of Russia. And it made them realize that if they want to be able to defend against Russia, they need the support of the people, Martela said. “So the political system was made meritocratic.”
A welfare state developed that takes care of health and education needs. It is a society with its safety nets, and criminal justice is an extension of this philosophy. So that makes sense open prisons to exist.
On my journey, I wonder if building such a society is easier in a small homogeneous country. The report opposes the idea, saying that these qualities have no positive or negative relationship to happiness, and there is heterogeneity in other Nordic countries.
Reports have shown that people of African descent face at the highest level In the European Union. And scientists are Research on breed profiling in Finland. On my trip, I spent time with Afro-Finns sharing their experiences of living in a social welfare state.
Amin Atabong, a native of Cameroon, is a university professor and works on Finland’s first mobile phone application against racism or racism.
I AM INSIDE: We realized that racial profiling was a huge, huge problem in Finland. And I was one of few – one of the – black men working as a researcher on the project in question. It was hard to get people to talk to me. They did not trust me and thought I was working for the police as a spokesperson. It was very interesting that the police did not actually agree or accept the results of our investigation. They claimed very strongly that our research was not done properly or the results were not correct. And this is due to the fact that there is a research report in Finland according to which about 95% of Finns trust the police. So their focus was always on 95% of people trusting the police, not the 5% who don’t trust the police.
Whenever we talk about Finland being the happiest country in the world – for whom? Because for people who look like me, it’s not the happiest country in the world. Their model is, it is not. It has many very discriminatory policies that exclude people like me. Have you ever been served by a non-white person? The answer is no. You will never go to any restaurant or cafe unless it is a cafe owned by non-white people and served by a non-white person.
Crazy ice is the artist name for this musician who also organizes a party called Afro Sunday. He is from Uganda but has lived in Finland for 15 years.
MAD ICE: Sometimes someone gets angry when you drive a car. Someone asks you the following question, “Where do you get the money? You’re stealing our social money. Why are you dressed so beautifully? How do you spend our state money on your beautiful glasses?” Yes, I have Gucci and Tom Ford glasses. I work and pay taxes. Then they say, “You’re here to take our women. Yes, we’re tired of you. You’re coming here to mess them up.” And I’m like, Oh really? Did I take your wife? I almost fought because of the car I was driving, a 350SL Mercedes convertible. We park and step out, and this guy slams the door. I’m like, what’s bothering you? He said, “How can you afford this car?” I am good at self defense. I told him, dude, just gone. But it continued for half an hour. Then he started calling me a drug dealer.
Maryan Abdulkarim is a feminist writer who wrote this piece.
MARYAN: My family moved here in the 1990s from Somalia. I spent a lot of time growing up here trying to adapt, be part of my peer group and whatever. And there was always something, you always had those microaggressions and things I didn’t understand. And at some point, I found hip-hop music that was like huh, my looking people doing these things. When I was younger, I got the idea and thought I was the first to think about this. So what gives you humility is to read about these historical figures and their struggles and what they have been through. And then you realize, oh my God, all this has been said over and over and over again. Finland is really good on so many levels. We have laws that protect people. But the thing is, the actual lived reality does not always reach the ideal. On paper, we live in a utopia. The reality is not that. The fact is that some are better off than others. We received a grant, researchers were involved, and the idea of the study was to find out whether ethnic profiling takes place in Finland? What kind of experiences do people belonging to political minorities have? So a lot of Roma were interviewed, a lot of black and brown people and so on. The results were later distributed to the police. That was a few years ago, and at least the law hasn’t changed.
Afro-Finns have typically felt invisible. A few years ago the Finnish dictionary added the word “afro-Finnish” to the dictionary. The aesthetics of the Nordic beauty of blonde hair and blue eyes are emphasized.
Saida Mäki-Penttilä is one of the founders Happy hair day, which is a community event uniting Afro – Finns. He grew up in Finland in the 1980s.
SAIDA: You definitely felt like you stood out from the crowd as a kid. And I stood out from the crowd because I had to be the only colorful kid in any hobby or any kindergarten or later in school. And then later, when Good Hair Day was founded about six years ago, it was a stage where many Afro-Finns in Helsinki started to get together and try to create a community for themselves. And I was so excited to see it happen. I was living in the United States at the time. And I was just like I really had to be a part of this. This is something I have always dreamed of being able to provide for generations to come after me. I have studied and lived abroad, gotten into black and brown spaces and know how it strengthened me and how much it gave me inspiration and role models and just a presentation of different career types. I thought this is something we really need to bring to Finland.
Liban Sheikh is the chairman of Finland’s Left Youth and a member of the city council in Tampere, Finland’s third largest city. He is 31 years old and a native of Somalia. He has lived in Finland since he was 2 years old.
LEBANON: The labor market is heavy exclusion based on your name, your ethnic background, and stereotypes about minorities. One is to influence left-wing parties or actors who pursue class-conscious policies to bring anti-racism more strongly. We need strong anti-racism alliances. Another dimension or direction of anti-racist activism is to bring more class awareness to minorities and immigrants in Finland who are in poor conditions. We need to talk about economic justice when we talk about anti-racism. And it’s not very trendy. subject. So often we may have anti-racist NGOs that don’t really discuss material terms, and the same goes for feminist unions or NGOs. We are trying to influence left-wing actors, trade unions, parties. Many people want to see such a change. My position is unique in the sense that there have been no Afro-Finns or blackheads among the Finnish Left Youth. There is a great need for anti-racist class politics, anti-racist leftist policies and anti-racist welfare policies.
Natalie Moore’s reporting on Finland was made possible by a grant from the Richard C. Longworth Media Fellowship program, funded by the Clinton Family Foundation and supported by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and Pulitzer Center.