October 7, 2007
The above song of the VOICE of blues and jazz, Nina Simone, is perfectly describing how I am feeling right here, right now..
Lyrics are happy;
music is sad.
She’s confused and so am I
She should be happy
but her song is a cry for help..
”Fish in the sea know how I feel”
I feel bad you know it
but I am singing so everyone thinks I am happy
”Freedom in mine”
but i feel lonely
Sun, fish, sky know but they will never reveal my secret. .
Feeling bad. .
October 4, 2007
According to the 2004 report of Statistics Finland, 108.346 foreigners are residing in Finland.
The majority of immigrants are of Russian and Estonian nationality. Besides, a great amount comes as political refugees from Somalia, the former Yugoslavia and Iraq. The long list includes single individuals or families from the following countries: United Kingdom, Germany, China, Iran, Turkey, Thailand, USA, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Afganistan, Vietnam and India.
Having lived in Finland for almost 3 years, I have experienced two basic types of behaviour: a welcoming one and a xenophobic one. Xenophobia is a fear or contempt of foreigners or strangers. It comes from the greek words ξένος (xenos), meaning ‘foreigner’, ‘stranger’, and φόβος (phobos), meaning ‘fear’. For some people, I am an exotic looking and culturally interesting individual. Due to the fact that Greece is a popular summer destination for Finns, many of those are not afraid to approach and communicate with me. But for another category of people, I represent the unknown, which should be left in isolation. These people are everywhere regardless of social status, educational level, age or wealth.
As a real-life example, the fact that I was born elsewhere made it very difficult for me to find a decent flat in Helsinki. After a weeks’ long-lasting queuing for apartment showings, filling information sheets, unhelpful people and lots of stress I started wondering why I am not offered a flat. I started feeling less of myself and my self-esteem just slumped. Was I not welcome in their society? Do I look like a criminal? My need for belonging was definitely not met.
Xenophobia is not a synonymous or interchangeable term with ‘racism’. Racism is being based on genetic ancestry. Xenophobia may be directed against a group, which has been present for centuries. It is a socially located phenomenon; a pathology of any society.
Stereotyping is a natural function of the human mind. Every culture seeks to simplify a complex reality so that it can better determine how best to act in any given circumstance. However, the danger is to stigmatise and label people belonging to a specific group. Stereotypes and subtle biases affect our lives in a negative way and deprive us of valuable cultural experiences.
How to deal with stereotypes:
Ø Focus on the particular individual, rather than on their ethnic or national background. Remember that there are often greater differ differences within a group than between groups.
Ø Think that you may lose a great friend/ neighbour/ tenant if you jump to unfair judgments about individuals and groups.
Ø Everyone has experienced being a foreigner during their course of life. First day at school/ work, or, even, a trip abroad. We all know that uncomfortable feeling. Why to inflict these emotions to others?
Ø Keep in mind that mobility of people is a fact in contemporary societies. In my opinion, every culturally diverse society is privileged to embrace various traditions, foods, languages, and talented people, because they lead to better global understanding and national identification.
