When living in Germany as a child, I would frequently witness my parents being spoken to by locals in Ausländerdeutsch, deliberately grammatically incorrect German that was set to mimic how Foreigners spoke. Foreigners who were called to do the work Germans felt beneath them, once they’d been put back on their feet by certain allied powers after the war. They were never taught proper German, because why should they. The hope was that they’d abide by the rules Germans set out for them, keep their heads down, and never aspire to rise above their station. With German superiority being on the rise, most Germans considered all foreigners to be beneath them, and therefore not worthy of being spoken to properly. Though to be honest, from witnessing the behavior of my peers’ grandparents, who had been children or teens during the war (and some indeed adults), that overblown sense of superiority never went away. I’ve also had a few nicer experiences sprinkled here and there, but it only takes one bad experience to tarnish anything, and any group is only as strong as its weakest link. Despite wanting to project an image of inclusion, Germany still has a long way to go in this respect. That’s if it wants to truly attack the issue from deep within as opposed to making cosmetic changes.
Finland, too, is wrestling with its own demons when it comes to including foreigners. And here, too, cosmetic changes reign supreme. Saving face seems to be everything, so much like in health care where you are advised by medical staff to take painkillers and wait to see if your condition worsens, slapping a band aid on the problem and hoping the problem will go away while keeping your head in the sand is more common than swiftly rising to action (unless you count certain musicians and people behind the scenes who managed to mount a concert with well-known acts in what seemed like a week to counter racism). Integration courses are touted as the go-to, but they are extremely hard to get a place on, and the delivery of the subject can be problematic. Friends who attended told me they were advised to go into elderly care (despite their specializations being in other fields), notably dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. When voicing their opinion that their Language skills were not enough, they were told that it didn’t really matter since “they’re old and don’t know what’s going on half the time.” My friends’ shocked concerns were pooh-poohed away.
Free courses provided by NGOs and various organizations are not much better. They mainly seem to run on retired volunteers, which is great as it gives them something to do, newcomers learn the language and culture, and everyone wins. But these volunteers are not well-equipped to deal with understanding complications that arise from being confronted with a new system of writing letters (put any of us down in Russia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, or even Thailand and see how that works out if we had no prior knowledge of their language or writing system). Matter of fact, the teachers on the government-sponsored courses – who are paid handsomely and educated in that area – are frequently not equipped for the task, and with many students coming from other writing systems for decades now, something really ought to have been done by now. If schools only accept the best of the best to teach, shouldn’t this also apply to teaching Finnish to foreigners?
Part of the reason my Finnish is not where I want it to be is precisely the teaching method and teachers’ attitudes, telling me this wasn’t the homework when I presented something I had created, which had proven a useful language tool in the past. I’ve had more positive reactions and better teaching in Hungarian, where rigidity prevails in both language and culture as neither is known for being overly forgiving, lenient, or even permissive (though one might argue against the latter when considering the use of phrases and words). When I’d presented something similar to my Hebrew teacher in college, she helped me whip it into shape to see if I could get it published (the attempt wasn’t successful, but I never forgot her encouragement and help). Even my English teacher in Germany encouraged my stories, recognizing that since I was far ahead of everyone else (naturally, since English was a foreign language to them), and the principal had categorically refused her request to put me in a higher grade for English, I’d need an outlet to develop. It sucks – to use modern parlance – that one idiot teacher should have so much power over my future, and that I willingly gave that power away, but little things count, because they are what build up over time and leave a mark before they break the proverbial camel’s back.
There’s nothing I’d like to see more than the lauded Finnish teaching applied to Finnish as a Foreign Language. But so far, I’m sad to say, the experience has been anticlimactic at best. I have seen the lauded education at work in a high school, where the teaching was stellar: students were encouraged to think critically, debate, and to go after facts. A middle school I experienced with an English stream taking in mainly Eastern European and non-Caucasian students was the complete opposite, with text books and material ordered from developing countries and the reading list comprised only of authors of color writing on issues pertaining to those same developing nations. Don’t get me wrong, children especially should be exposed to far more writing from all over the world. But they also need to be familiar with the classics of the world they are presently in, and the world they hope to stay in for longer. It is not only the height of utter irresponsibility to deprive them of that education, it is deliberately setting them up to fail. When you miss cultural references pertaining to key literature, when you are unable to understand how key texts have affected the general population, you are in a metaphorical wheel chair trying to make your way up a steep flight of steps. Not only that, but it is deliberate dumbing down, a poorly disguised attempt at setting young people up for the go-to argument white supremacists like to throw around: these nations are just plain dumb and very badly educated.
I understand, too, teaching Finnish nursery rhymes as a way of learning, but interestingly I’ve only seen this method employed on courses geared towards refugees, not in universities catering mainly to Erasmus and research students. It seems that where Hungary was outward-focused in showing only its best face to the world (while inside was indeed a whole other, far more sinister world), Finland is truly an introvert in this respect as well, saving the best for its own, leaving the outside world to feed of morsels and scraps. So far, I’ve had three outstanding Finnish teachers out of about 15-20, and they were all language exchange partners untrained in any teaching methods. One was a girl I met through a tandem program, the other a close friend, and the third is a friend who processes language the same way I do, because like me she is this and that. Which also applies to my close friend.
I can’t attest to broken Finnish being thrown at someone, and switching to another language so the local can practice their second or third language instead of helping the learner is an international reflex in our increasingly egotistical world. I did have a friend who wouldn’t understand anything I said in Finnish, because she just didn’t hear me when I spoke in her language. Others were making me speak and understood me just fine, but she never did. Her mind couldn’t conceive of me being Finnish, so it just didn’t go there. We’re talking about someone well-educated, well-traveled, extremely well-versed socially. She wasn’t doing it to be mean, and she had lived abroad, hung out with people from all over, and was genuinely a good, sweet, kind, caring person. In her mind Finnish and I did not go together, so she couldn’t accept that. To be perfectly fair, I was also on my way out of the country at that point in time, so – again – her inability to associate my presence with the Finnish language was understandable.
My friend is not the exception. Many well-meaning people regardless of nationality will have that defect. But they shouldn’t be in teaching positions, or any position that implies guidance of those deemed vulnerable and seeking (and if you’re learning the language, are younger, or are in a new territory you automatically default to being vulnerable and seeking). People who cannot recognize others as equals should also not be in positions that help integrate foreigners, because their presence and position in those fields skews the narrative to a perspective of we will tell you what to do to make you a worthy member of our society. The few token Somalis and token Muslims aside, if you lined up all the staff connected to integration work, you’d be blinded by the whiteness. And the tokens are clearly tokens, because they are just paying lip service. But the organizations can pat themselves on the back and rest easy at night because look, we gave a foreigner a chance. Yeah, they’re not overly competent, but they’re foreign-looking, so everyone will be happy. The reason this doesn’t work is you’re looking at optics and not qualification. Have an open mind, be willing to hire across the board, and I guarantee you will find the right person for the job, be they Finnish or foreign(-looking).
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It’s not just the job market however, though it’s common knowledge – and proven fact – that a Finnish last name will open more doors than a foreign-sounding one. Many have also stated that while they were recruited and welcome with open arms, their pay was less than that of a Finn by at least half. This is not a new phenomenon. Everyone knows this, even the media started reporting on this more and more frequently in recent years. Yet, unemployment workers still berate you for not finding work, and those meant to help via integration courses or NGOs are still working off a script whereby they push you into any position or program they want filled, just because you’re foreign. Your potential future bosses then look at you as though you’re the idiot, when you’ve been sold on the program because it’s either that or no benefits coming your way. I have no problems setting the record straight, because I’m petty like that, or to call it by its proper name, I want to be treated fairly as I vow to treat those around me in a fair manner (hence my current thing of releasing one blog full of criticism and another full of praise, because while I believe in righting the wrongs, I also am a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due, and by that I mean when something works or is at the very least adequate).
Once you’ve been hired, they tend to put trust in you and let you be, which I really appreciate, so I can see why you’d be careful in the beginning. But why would you pick Kalle with just a few months of experience, when you could have Katie, who is a pro, if you’re not about cutting corners and costs and truly care about doing outstanding work. I’ve seen the Finnish work ethic, and what I’ll say briefly is respect and power to that. Trust goes a long way, and most establishments prove that.
Finland, I’ve been told time and time again by trusted Finns, has only recently begun getting an infusion of color. I had a Danish teacher tell me this in Denmark, and it applies to Finland as well. “The first colored” person was such a sensation, people would stop and stare. But now they’ve gotten used to seeing different people on the streets.” In a capital that attracts music fans from all over the world and which wants to become the startup hub in the Nordics, these things really need to be taken care of. Being able to pick up your own ID would be a good start.
Yes, dear reader, you read that correctly. Apparently, these days, if you want to pick up your Finnish ID card (which also includes the Finnish ID for foreigners), you can’t do so yourself. You have to have a Finn pick it up for you. Years ago, when I applied for one, it came in the mail, through my mail slot in the door. It might not even have had my name on it yet, the door. I haven’t bothered renewing it, because other than it being a convenient size to fit in your wallet, I have no use for it. So I can’t speak to whether this applies to all foreigners, or just the “lower ones,” the ones outside of the EU, who are seen as third and below-that class citizens. But shouldn’t your ID be only for you? Privacy anyone?
Seems that the village mindset still prevails: if it has our name, excellent. If it’s a name we might recognize, OK. But if it sounds alien, forget it. We don’t want it. For someone intent on playing on the global market, this mindset needs to change. Nokia lost (almost) everything because it was too comfortable and too set in its ways. It’s up to the new players and their attitudes towards foreigners whether this is likely to happen again.
