In Finland, man allegedly gave child a racist sticker, witness says
In Finland, on the Z commuter train traveling from Lahti to Helsinki, a man, according to witness Juliana Musto, handed an approximately four-year-old girl a sticker of the Sinimusta Liike movement bearing the words “Sukupuutto vai paluumuutto”. The incident, she said, occurred near Mäntsälä. YLE News reports.
Musto said that the girl was traveling with her mother, who has a migrant background. When the man gave the child the sticker, Musto took it, tore it up and told the passenger that it was unacceptable to give such materials to a child. According to her, the man saw no problem with his actions and said that migrants “have no brains”.
According to Musto, the man complained to other people in his group about the torn sticker, while someone from the group filmed the situation. YLE notes that it was unable to independently verify the details of the incident from sources other than Musto’s testimony.
The child’s mother’s reaction
The girl’s mother asked Musto what had happened, as she initially thought the sticker was a lid from a yogurt package. She became upset and thanked Musto for intervening. According to the witness, a young woman with a migrant background who was in the carriage also reacted emotionally to the event and began to cry.
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Musto, who was born in Finland and whose parents are of Kurdish origin, said that the incident made her concerned about children’s safety. She stressed that children have the right to grow up in a safe environment.
Expert advice
Nora Dadi, a family work and equality specialist at the Familia organization, said that reports from families and the organization’s work have shown that cases of racism against children are becoming more frequent. According to her, such cases used to come to light a few times a year, but now they occur almost every month.
Dadi noted that a child may not understand the meaning of a racist message but may sense from adults’ reactions that something serious, wrong or frightening has happened. She advised reporting racist harassment to the police and, on public transport, also to the carrier or transport staff. After an incident, adults should explain to the child in an age-appropriate way that they did nothing wrong and are safe, she said.
