When I first arrived in Finland, I was ecstatic. The more days pass by, the more I hear many people refer to Finland as a racist country. Why is that? I wondered. The country is peaceful, the air is clean the environment is safe, and the quality of life is good.

The system works so perfectly and everything is well organized. Life is definitely better here compared to where most of the immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees are coming from. To most Foreigners, Finland is like heaven on earth, a paradise.

To the Finns, it is their own, their land, their home, their people, their heritage. The average Finnish person is Patriotic by nature. Finns do not hesitate to uphold or protect the country whenever the need arises. So yeah, the country is loved by both the Finns and Foreigners alike.

Yet somehow, many foreigners and even some Finns regard Finland as a Racist country. Many new comers wonder why others call Finland a racist country. When you come into the country for the first couple of weeks or months, what you see is different. Racism is not something you will encounter right away.

People show respect for others and words aren’t used at random.  But the fact remains that Racism is not only expressed in words. If that is the type of racism you are looking for, then you may never find it in Finland. No one will throw unsolicited words at you due to the nature of the average Finnish person, well except they are under the influence of alcohol.

Rather, you will find the racism in people’s actions. They call it ‘Piilorasismi’ which literally translates to ‘hiding racism’. Hidden but almost tangible and certainly deadly. You experience it when you apply for jobs, go for interviews (that is if you are lucky enough to get to that stage, maybe because you have a Finnish name), and when you walk into offices, stores, restaurants, and even at the public places.

And also when you try to sell stuff at flea markets especially the ones on Facebook. Okay this is a huge one. I talked more about it in detail in this video. It’s majorly from lack of trust for a seller who is an immigrant. I did a survey on that and many Finns did not show interest in the item until I changed to a Finnish name.  This happened on many occasions. Same item, same platform, same price.

And other foreigners have the same experience too. This happens mostly if you are selling a clothing item or jacket. There is a category of people who see themselves better than most foreigners so they would never buy a used jacket from a foreigner. It gets worse if you are a black person.

Over the years I started noticing the peculiarities of many Finns and how they act or respond to situations where racism may have surfaced. As someone who loves to Research and draw conclusion based on observations and detailed surveys or discussions with others, I started working on this and here are my findings so far;

When it comes to Racism, you will notice four types of people in Finland; the Nationalists, the Traitors, the Rationalists, and the Neutralists. Now let’s break it down below. I also have a video on YouTube where I explained this in detail. You can check it out on THIS LINK.

1. The Nationalists: This is a small group of people in Finland. Small but visible. These are the usual or common ‘racist’ ones who you may encounter. They have groups and associations, and they move together, make lots of noise and they do not hide their hatred for anything ‘different’ or ‘foreign’.

They are against globalization and immigration and they believe that Europe is for Europeans and Africa is for Africans. The bulk of their hatred is targeted towards immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, especially those from Africa and the Middle East.

They rave and rant and threaten to deport these ‘lowlifes’ who have come to steal their jobs, or to rely on welfare and mess up the system. They claim to be true Nationalists who are going to reclaim the land their forefathers had fought so hard to free from the Russians.

They call Finns who do not belong to their group or agree with their ways ‘traitors’. They throw in a few angry words whenever they have the opportunity, with the help of social media and alcohol. The good thing? They are mostly harmless, all bark but hardly any bites.

2. The Traitors: This is the smallest group of people in Finland. Larger than the Nationalists, but very small compared to the Neutralists and Rationalists. Only a very few Finns fall into this category.

Some of them are married to immigrants, some have very close friends who are immigrants, and some have been in situations, home or abroad, where they have associated with people from other cultures so have become more open and receptive of other cultures.

They do not care much that the Nationalists call them Traitors. In here also belong people who just can’t tolerate racism or any form of discrimination. They do not hesitate to participate in public demonstrations and protests against discrimination. They speak up when they see something wrong but their voices hardly make any impact or change because of their very low number.

3. The Rationalists: This is the largest group of people in Finland. Many Finns fall into this category. These are the ones who try to rationalize everything and try to be in every ones’ good books. They are kind of sitting on the fence.

They do not belong to the Nationalists. In fact they think the Nationalists are extreme and so they do not agree with their ways. So they claim to be more modern and open to globalization, immigration and change. Yet they hardly oppose the Nationalists, and if they do so, not openly.

On most occasions they choose not to speak up or intervene in any of the Nationalists’ public demonstrations or even wrong doings. To prove their ‘modernization’, and that they are not bias, they try to associate with immigrants, foreigners, asylum seekers and refugees, but on different levels and different degrees.

In their minds, not every foreigner is an ‘immigrant’. So putting foreigners in classes and standards make it easier for them to relate and get closer. This is the category that many Finns and even employers belong to.

And this is where you will find a lot of ‘Piilorasismi’. In my opinion, this set of people are the most dangerous because they claim not to be racists but in their actions they demarcate and classify people based on religion, economic standing, and race. Unlike the Nationalists and the Traitors who make their intentions and standing on Immigration clear, the Rationalists tend to move with the waves and it makes their standing unclear. This makes it hard to rely on them to speak up when the time comes.

For the employers, they look for sweet words or excuses to tell you off. Some take only a very few handful of foreigners (making sure not to over do it and anger the Nationalists) and for very low job positions. For the associations or small businesses who belong to this category, they associate or work with Foreigners with some boundaries.

They can do some collaboration or hangout with an immigrant but not too much. Some are even ashamed or afraid to associate too much to avoid other Finns especially the Nationalists seeing them as Traitors.

4. The Neutralists: This is the second largest group of people in Finland. These ones are not racists neither do they discriminate intentionally against any group of persons. Most educated and the widely read Finns fall into this category.

They prefer to Ignore Racism and wish that everyone would do so. They would rather that things be buried and that no one speaks about Racism. Some of them hold important positions in the society and even in politics. Some of them are just regular individuals you meet everyday on the streets.

In public settings, the influential and popular ones speak against injustice and openly declare non tolerance for any form of discrimination. Yet in the same speech, they tend to promote division. Just like the Rationalists, the Neutralists want to be in the good books of everyone.

For the regular individuals who belong to this group but hold no official or influential positions, they maintain their educated and ‘modernized’ knowledge about globalization and how it benefits Finland. Yet they do not speak anything about racism or intervene when they see something racist going on.

They do not participate in public demonstrations or protests. In their thinking, ‘it is none of my business’. These are the ones who can be won over to the ‘Traitor’ group with time because they are neutral and more receptive. You get to know them, they get to know you, they open up with time and then you guys become very good friends, or a couple, depending on the type of relationship. 

 Then they become part of the Traitor group because they find themselves speaking up against racism instead of being silent, due to the emotional attachment they currently have with an immigrant or someone of foreign background. Now it is their business.

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