Panu Höglund

Sna laethanta a bhí, ba ghnách linn, na Fionlannaigh, trua a ghlacadh le bunadh na dtíortha eile a raibh na maolchloignigh nua-Naitsí ag rith damhsa iontu. Shíl muidne nach bhféadfadh a leithéid sin tarlú inár dtír-ne ar aon nós, ós rud é go raibh ár gcuid póilíní go dian daingean ar thaobh an daonlathais agus an rialtais dhlíthúil. D’imigh sin, faraor géar. Tá na lóistíní sealadacha do dhídeanaithe ag dul trí thine ar fud na Fionlainne, agus níl ag éirí leis na póilíní a dhath a dhéanamh leis na ciontóirí a ghabháil. Chomh tiubh is atá na coirloscthaí seo ag teacht sna sálaí ag a chéile, thabharfaí gníomhartha sceimhlitheoireachta orthu dá mbeadh daoine gorma nó Muslamaigh ina mbun. Ach ar ndóigh, is fánach an bang a chuireas na póilíní díobh lena bhfiosrú, ós rud é gur Fionlannaigh ghealchraicneacha dhúchasacha iad na ciontóirí de réir dhealraimh.

Dá mbeadh an toil ag na póilíní, ní bheidís i bhfad ag teacht ar lorg na gcoirloisceoirí. Nó bíonn na meáin shóisialta breac le ráitis bhagracha ó dhaoine a thugas faomhadh oscailte do na coireanna seo, agus iad ag moladh na gciontóirí go hard na spéire as a ‘dtírghrá’. Bíonn ciorcail na gciníoch cúng agus aithne ag na daoine seo ar a chéile, mar sin dá rachadh na póilíní á gcroscheistiú, ní thógfadh sé mórán ama orthu go mbeadh ainm an chiontóra acu.

San am chéanna ní spárálann na póilíní acmhainní leis na nua-Naitsíochas a ‘chosaint’ ar na ‘hAinrialaigh’, mar a thugas lucht leanúna na gciníoch orthu siúd a chuireas go gníomhach in aghaidh ciníochais sa tír s’againn. Is éard a chloisfeá ó na póilíní nach bhfuil sa ghluaiseacht chiníoch ach aisfhreagra nádúrtha ar an ‘antoisceachas’ sa cheann eile den scála pholaitiúil, is é sin an t-ainrialachas. Bhíodh léirsithe ainrialacha sách coitianta thiar sna nóchaidí, ach is léir go ndeachaigh an chuid ba mhó acu siúd le saoldearcadh eile nuair a tháinig siad i mbun a méide, agus jabanna meánaicme acu.

Iad siúd a bhíos ag léirsiú in aghaidh na gciníoch agus na Nua-Naitsithe inniu, is daoine ón meánaicme iad, agus ní féidir a rá go mbeadh mórán dáimhe nó luiteamais acu le haon chineál ‘ainrialachais’. Mar sin féin, tá póilíní na Fionlainne sásta an t-ainm sin a thabhairt orthu, ar dhaoine cosúil leis an sagart Protastúnach Kai Sadinmaa. Ar lá náisiúnta na Fionlainne, an séú lá de Mhí na Nollag, tháinig antoiscigh na heite deise le chéile ag cruinniú faoin aer i Heilsincí; nuair a d’ardaigh an sagart bratach leis na focail ‘Tabhair grá don inimirceach’ in aice leis an gcruinniú, ghabh na póilíní é.

An chuid is mó d’antoiscigh na heite deise – na gnáthshaighdiúirí, mar a déarfá – is mionchoirpigh ón tsráid nó ón tábhairne iad, lucht bruíonachais nach raibh suim ná suiméad acu sa pholaitíocht sular thosaigh na Fíor-Fhionlannaigh ag saighdeadh a leithéidí chun ciníochais. Anois d’athbhrandáil siad iad féin mar ”thírghráthóirí” atá ag ”cosaint ár ndúchais” agus iad ag ionsaí lucht inimirce agus daoine meánaicmeacha. Féach, tá siad ar aon taobh leis na póilíní, mar sin.

Scríbhneoir Gaeilge ón bhFionlainn é Panu Höglund.

In bygone days, we Finns used to look with pity upon countries where neo-Nazi skinheads were running wild. We thought nothing like that could ever happen in our country, because our police was strongly supportive of democracy and the rule of law. Regrettably, those days are over. Homes for provisional accommodation of refugees are going up in flames everywhere, and police seem to be unable to do anything to arrest the culprits. These attacks are now so common that if there was any possibility of the arsonists being black or Muslim, they would be said to constitute a terrorist campaign. But of course, the police is hardly doing anything to inquire into them, because it seems the culprits are white Finns.

If the police did take the trouble, they would soon find the arsonists. The fact is that social media is usually full of threatening statements from people who openly approve of these crimes and praising the ‘patriotism’ of the criminals. Racist circles are small enough in Finland and these people know each other, so if the police questioned them, they would soon have the names.

At the same time, the police spare no resources to ‘protect’ neo-Nazis against ‘anarchists’, which is the racists’ nickname for those who actively oppose racism in our country. Police usually say that the racist movement is just a natural reaction to the ‘extremism’ at the other end, ie anarchism. Anarchist demonstrations did occur frequently back in the nineties, but it is obvious that most of those anarchists adopted a different outlook when they grew up and got middle-class jobs.

Those who are demonstrating against racists and neo-Nazis today are middle class, and you can’t really say they had much sympathy for any kind of anarchism. However, Finnish police are quite happy to call them by that name – people similar to the Protestant priest Kai Sadinmaa. During an open-air propaganda meeting of right-wing extremists in Helsinki on the Finnish national day, 6 December, this priest raised the slogan ‘Love the immigrant’ in the vicinity of the meeting and was promptly arrested by the police.

Most right-wing extremists – the foot soldiers, as you could say – are petty criminals from the street or from the pub, brawlers who never took any interest whatsoever in politics before the True Finns party started to preach racism to them. Now they have rebranded themselves as ‘patriots’ who are ‘defending our identity’ by attacking immigrants and middle-class people. Lo and behold, they find themselves on the same side with the police.

Panu Höglund is a Finnish writer of Irish expression.