Abstract
The Finnish chapter by Aino Saarinen, Heini Puurunen, Airi Markkanen, and Anca Enache presents a “movement within a movement” that works to improve conditions for Eastern European Roma, the “beggars” who arrived in Finland as a result of EU’s free movement directive. The chapter is inspired by debates on acts of citizenship and the typology of political activism modes. It focuses on a few key pro-actors and their joint campaigning and annual forums with transnational links. Finnish Roma are mobilized for human rights and solidarity, but mobile Roma participate only for their economic interests. The political landscape is changing. The populist right-wingers are in the government where the Finns have promoted welfare nationalism/chauvinism. In the summer of 2017, however, the “migration critics” who took over the party ended up in opposition, whereas the new party in the making, to be called the Blue Future, is still in the government.
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Notes
- 1.
Jytky and jatkojytky are Finns’ linguistic innovations referring to particularly great electoral victories.
- 2.
Note: the Finns split right after the party convention in June 2017 into the “immigration-critical” Finns (in opposition) and the Alternative (in government), a party in the making that is to be called the Blue Future.
- 3.
The first book, Huomio! Romaneja tiellä [Attention! Roma on the road], was published in 2012; the next two anthologies will come out in 2018–2019.
- 4.
The Funding Center for Social Welfare and Health (STEA) is currently cooperating with the social ministry and health (www.stea.fi/web/en/).
- 5.
This was emphasized by the organization’s representative in a focus group of the Speak Out! EU project that studied violence against minority women (Saarinen 2013).
- 6.
In 2017, the Helsinki Board of Social and Health Services voted in favor of expanding the rights to “necessary health services” to all undocumented migrants. To come into effect, this has to be accepted by the city board and council (https://www.hel.fi/sote/en).
Rage Sources
Field Notes (FN), Helsinki
Panel Discussion on New Roma’s Housing, 23 May, 2013; Social Forum Finland: European Spring, 27 April, 2014; Humanist Association: On Romani Beggars, 8 May, 2014; Europe Day (Tampere), 9 May, 2014; International Romani Music (HDI/Kaalo), 14 May, 2014; Alm Granny, 15 May, 2014; World Village Festival, 24 May, 2014; 9 Gatherings, 23 May, 2014; Pride Festival, 29 June, 2014; Trampoline House (Copenhagen), 13 June, 2016.
Focus Groups (FG), Helsinki
FG–1: Mobile Roma issue group, 20 May, 2014; FG–2: Multi-issue group, 27 May, 2014; FG-3: Transversal dialogue group, 3 June, 2014
Interview for Rage with a Free Movement activist, 15 April, 2013.
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Saarinen, A., Puurunen, H., Markkanen, A., Enache, A. (2019). Against Romanophobia, for Diversity and Equality: Exploring the Activism Modes of a “Movement Within a Movement” in Finland. In: Siim, B., Krasteva, A., Saarinen, A. (eds) Citizens’ Activism and Solidarity Movements. Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76183-1_3
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