Daily Discrimination Stories | category

Anonymous

March 11, 2024 / Race, In public, Immigrant, Language, Government agency

When I gave birth (almost 10 years ago), we weren’t given a private room as requested. I had to share a room and my husband (Finnish) was only allowed to stay during visiting hours which was just a few hours per day. I basically had to fend for myself in a hospital where most of the nurses didn’t speak (or refused to speak) English. I wasn’t told that there were snacks available for new moms to help replenish the energy spent from breastfeeding. I was also never told how to check if my child was able to get milk from me.
A starving newborn and half starved new mother should never happen in a hospital.
Fortunately, towards the end of our 2nd day a nurse who spoke English was horrified when she checked in on me and the baby and gave us the nourishment we were badly needing.
Giving birth is already a traumatising experience. Recovery shouldn’t have these extra stress and discrimination.

Anonymous

February 12, 2024 / Language, Government agency

Our son was born in Helsinki’s women’s hospital, during the whole labour and stay, most of the nurses talked only in Finnish to my wife (she’s Finnish, so all fine) and almost didn’t explain anything to me in English so I wasn’t able to follow and be completely aware in one of the most important days (and stressful) of my life.

From an inclusion perspective, it is already quite bad, but also it reaffirms old-school gender roles by not involving men properly.

Anonymous

February 12, 2024 / Immigrant, Language, Government agency

I brought my son to neuvola in Kivenlahti for his one-year-old (or year-and-a-half) check-up, the nurse said that I should avoid using my mother tongue and speak Finnish to my son.

Anonymous

February 9, 2024 / Immigrant, At school/uni, Language, Government agency

I have experienced a lot of racism because I am not from Finland. but more in health matters. they don’t give me permission to have an operation for my weight and they write on the personal page a bunch of lies like that I refuse to have the operation. they have been doing this here for 3 years, mocking me, giving me hope and then nothing. in education I have experienced racism from a teacher from Russia who taught Finnish, she zeroed in on me because I didn’t like her as a person. while I’m talking flirty, not good but I’m trying. she zeroed me out. My daughter also faces the same racism at daycare when a teacher who is in charge does the same or doesn’t deal with the child at all

Anonymous

February 7, 2024 / Language, Government agency

I had my first ever pap smear test scheduled at Kalasatama terveysasema upon turning 25 yo. I had never experienced this test before and had no idea what to expect.

I was met by a nurse who refused to speak English, I had no one to translate and I had no idea what was going on. With the little Finnish I understood, she gestured to take my underwear off and positioned me on the stand with my legs spread open. Obviously in a very vulnerable position and without any context of what was going on, I was very tense and didn’t understand what the procedure will be like.

Without a warning, without any kind of indication that she was going to insert the instrument inside me (so I could relax my body), she proceeded to forcefully insert it, causing me the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life. It was so sudden, I lost my ability to see for a second.

The nurse dismissed me when I screamed in pain and started to cry uncontrollably. Blood on the floor everywhere. She gave me a pad and told me to walk it off (something in the lines of “ei se mitään”) and that this is normal.

I bled for weeks…And never want to experience a pap smear test again.

Anonymous

November 9, 2023 / Gender, Race, At work, Immigrant, At school/uni, Government agency

I work in Finland as a doctor since 2007. I got my right to specialize in Obstetrics & Gynecology from Helsinki University on March 2009. Imagine till now I still did not specialize…while all my Finnish colleagues, even the ones started after me became specialists and some of them became even “ylilääkäri”. I got the Finnish citizenship on 2008 and I do speak Finnish. May be I’m stupid, but is it fair to force me to leave my family and my kids in Finland and go to UK in order to finish my specialization to the end?! I can not even justify what happened to myself, there is no explanation other than DISCRIMINATION. What is shocking, is the fact that it happened in Helsinki University, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology….where people claim to be educated, professional and civilized as well.

Anonymous

November 7, 2023 / Immigrant, Government agency

On my first winter in Finland, I experienced a severe and unpleasant condition caused by sinusitis. I called Viiskulma Terveysasema and explained that I was suffering from sinusitis and would like to seek medical treatment.

The practitioner nurse laughed and said, “This is Finland. What do you expect?” I didn’t respond much, as I was suffering from a major headache from the sinus infection and couldn’t process much information. I asked her again what the next step would be to get medical assistance.

The nurse repeated that getting a headache is normal in Finland, especially with dynamic temperature changes. I explained to her again that this was my first winter in Finland and my respiratory system was not able to adjust accordingly due to my sinus condition. I asked her again if she could help me to get medical attention, keeping in mind that I had called the health station very early in the day, around 8 am.

The nurse then asked if I had been diagnosed with sinusitis, and I confirmed yes. She then scheduled a visit to the health station for three weeks in the future. I asked her if there was any closer schedule available, and she simply responded with a “take it or leave it” attitude. She then read the time, date, and doctor’s room number and hung up the call without waiting for me to confirm that I had written down the information.

What a high quality of bedside manner.

Abul Kashem

October 31, 2023 / Government agency

I failed my driving test for the second time in a row! My concern is how he can judge me wrong when I did everything right only by saying my observation was poor, and also how I can prove to myself that he did not allow me to pass even though all the scores were right. In this case, there is no video recording session or anything that is proven. So whatever the examiner decides, we have to trust that blindly, is it? I do not want to revise the decision, which is going to cost me 50 euros, and you also cannot define my test either, as you do not have any proof of whether I am right or wrong. so it is unfair for foreigners.

anonymous

October 26, 2023 / In business, Immigrant, Language, Government agency

I wrote to HEKA, the City of Helsinki housing company, to express my deep disappointment and concern about an incident during a service visit to my new home, related to a faulty electrical installation. This is a new house.

Two electricians, outsourced by HEKA, came to address the electrical issues at my residence. During breakfast, while my family and I were getting ready for the day, they resolved the problems. However, one of the electricians made unprofessional and discriminatory comments, speculating that the issues might be due to the work of foreigners during the installation of the circuit breaker switchboard. As an immigrant myself, and with enough understanding of spoken Finnish, this was hurtful and unacceptable.

I let them finish their job, which ended up not being fixed at all, as a new intervention had to be made, and confronted them about those comments, simply saying: “Next time you’re fixing something at someone’s home, be professional and leave your political ideologies outside.” Silence was the answer.

When confronting HEKA about this, no formal apology was given, and there was no manifestation of concern—just indifference.

anonymous

October 26, 2023 / In public, Immigrant, Language, Government agency

Last year, we had a child at the children’s hospital in Espoo. Upon the birth of my kid, we were put in a recovery room—my Finnish wife, my little one, and me. As my wife was under recovery due to surgery, the nurse gave the kid to my hands, and I asked in fear what to do. This was my first child; I was exhausted and completely lost.

In Finnish, she answered, “You’re in Finland; we’ll speak in Finnish,” and refused to speak in English. We called a second nurse who did the same. Fortunately, a third nurse came on the next shift, which kindly handled us with the care we deserved.

I’ve made a complaint to the City of Espoo and also to the hospital, but never received a formal response. We got a call from the city saying they’re sorry, and that was it.