Racism in the everyday life of Finnish children with transnational roots

Abstract

In the vast area of studies of racism children’s experiences have been overlooked. Questions of racism are often related to immigrants and their children, but in many European countries increasing numbers of children of mixed parentage, as well as children adopted from other continents, confront racism. My ethnographic study of racism in the everyday lives of Finnish children with “transnational roots” focuses on the experiences of transnational adoptees and those young Finnish citizens who have one Finnish-born parent, but whose Finnishness and right to belong is often questioned by others because of their parental ties to other countries and nations. This article explores the different manifestations of racism in their daily lives and concludes with a discussion of the importance of identifying those social and cultural
factors which make it especially difficult for children to talk about and deal with their experiences of racism.