Comment | Sometimes I wonder if I’m Finnish enough

Not enough a foreigner, but not Finnish enough either.

Certainly a familiar idea to many children of foreigners. For me too. You can’t even put it into words to someone outside, when the idea itself is so vague. It’s like a stamp on the forehead, which you sometimes realize is there.

I am called a second-generation immigrant. My mother and father have European backgrounds, but I myself was born in Finland.

How many generations do I have to go forward before I’m no longer primarily of immigrant background? When do you know you are Finnish – when your passport is red and says “Finland” on it, or is it enough to know only Finnish culture?

I come from a European background, and I know that I am in a more privileged position than someone who comes from outside our continent. It is easier for a European to internalize Finnish social structures and accepted norms.

When I was younger sometimes I purposely spoke Finnish with my parents to avoid wondering looks.

Today, however, I understand that those looks mean nothing at all. In the next 10 seconds, a passer-by forgets what he just heard. As a child, it was difficult for me to handle the reactions of adults I didn’t know. I saw a surprising amount of them.

If you are ashamed of your background or ethnicity, you may try to detach yourself from your culture. In this way, the immigrant child tries to assimilate into the dominant culture and may forget those who came before him.

How many Frida Kahlo, Kazuo Ishiguro or Michael Jordan Finnish society has lost because of this? Every foreigner brings a page from their own culture and adds it to the work of Finland. I feel that the potential of immigrant children is not being used.

Everyone must have heard the saying “in the country like the country”, but the saying is vague. The countries and their customs are really diverse. If the saying means obeying the laws, it is self-evident. Sometimes I wonder what is really expected of us and if it can ever be fulfilled.

In Finland, representatives of foreign cultures should be approached without prejudice or unnecessary stereotyping.

I am also thought a lot about why I have sometimes been ashamed of my background.

Maybe it’s because every kid wants to belong. It’s easy to feel like you don’t belong.

On the other hand, children are often ashamed of their parents, even if the parent is not an immigrant. But being a foreigner is now just the kind of topic that arouses emotions even in adults.

Finland is a multicultural country and everyone should be proud to say they are Finnish. Even a child with an immigrant background can be proud of being Finnish without ignoring his own roots.

The author is a 15-year-old tet trainee.