Koko Hubara
The trenches are a part of Helsinki's history that was not taught in schools.
Koko Hubara is an author and editor-in-chief of the online community Ruskeat Tytöt (Brown Girls). She has lived all around Helsinki, from Tapanila to Etu-Töölö and from Punavuori to Hermanni. At the moment, she works in Kontula on the eastern side of the city.
Koko Hubara familiarised the public with the term "brown girls" in her popular blog of the same name. In it, she underlined the racism and sexism experienced by racially profiled women. In 2017, Hubara published a collection of essays under the title Ruskeat Tytöt – Tunne-esseitä (Brown Girls – Essays of feeling), which dove into topics of identity, beauty, hip hop, and parenthood through the scope of a crossing point of gender, ethnicity, and class. It was the first Finnish-language book made by a brown girl for brown girls. Brown Girls has become more than an online media. It is supported by a community, and it also organises events.
Although born in neighbouring Vantaa, Koko Hubara considers herself primarily a Helsinkian. In her city everyone gets to be exactly who they are.
I've started again to take over some of the public sporting venues in town. I used to visit commercial chain gyms for quite a while, but found them lifeless. Now I alternate between the Töölö Sports Hall, Liikuntamylly, and the swimming pool in Kallio which are all really precious places for me. I visit the pool in the morning when there are mostly just old ladies there who might have a little chat in the sauna. A subtle type of conversation: saying hello, looking in the eyes, being nice. These places are far more enjoyable than the chains.
I take regular walks and also go for a run every now and then. When I want to think about a work issue or to spend time in nature, I make a two to three hour tour around the Arabianranta shore, Viikki, the allotment gardens of Herttoniemi, and the Kalasatama district. The fields and woods in these areas are where I most like to wander, especially in the Kivinokka area. It's a calming place. I make my way there from the road and just spend time looking at the sea. It's rare to see other people there.
On New Year's Eve, I ended up at the trench found in Pirkkola after a long time. I used to stop by there as a kid with my history buff father. There are trenches from the First World War around the city that were built by Asian workers who were brought over at the time. This is a part of Helsinki and world history that was not taught in school – at least to me – and I went to school right around these trenches. They are a humbling sight. It is too often thought that the history of Finland is only found on the axis formed by the Senate Square and the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress.
I have a fond childhood memory of going to the Ateneum Art Museum with my grandpa several times a year. We would stop by at the café after an exhibition to eat some sweet buns. Now I've started the same tradition with my own child. Helsinki has great cafés in general and an enjoyable café culture. I go to the same places as I did as a kid, like Fazer, Ekberg, Strindberg, and Café Esplanad. I always take a cinnamon bun and a coffee. The only difference to before is that I now have my coffee with oat milk – except if there is a big French style café au lait on the menu.
An Ethiopian restaurant called Addis just opened on Sturenkatu in Vallila. Everyone should visit it. It's very tasty, inexpensive, and feels authentic. My roots are in Yemen, and Ethiopian and Somalian cuisine are as close to the food in Yemen as one can find in Finland if you don't cook at home. The spices and the injera bread are the same. If Ethiopian food is not familiar, Addis is easy on the stranger. There are only two dishes on offer: a meat dish and a vegetarian dish. Visitors don’t need to know anything beforehand about the food or the culture.
I love to visit flea markets. I love to rummage around and find things myself so I avoid the vintage shops where someone has preselected everything. The Fida store in the Sörnäinen district is big enough and has all kinds of things. Usually I find items for the house there, such as lamp shades or serving dishes. About a decade ago, I found a leopard-print fake fur coat there that I have worn ever since. It has no visible wear on it and people always ask me where I got it.
I tend to visit the botanic garden in Kumpula way more often than the one in Kaisaniemi. Last summer I went there with my kid. I was admiring the flowers when I turned around and noticed that my child had undressed and was running through the sprinklers buck naked. It was so lovely that nobody told us off and were just laughing instead.