Racist violence reveals Sweden’s xenophobic underbelly

[Tennis]

For thousands of refugees fleeing to Europe there is only one goal — to get to Sweden, a country known for its acceptance and tolerance of those escaping war and persecution.

But Sweden may not be as welcoming as they had hoped. A recent stabbing at a school in the small industrial city of Trollhattan, which killed a 20-year-old teacher and a 17-year-old student from Somalia, was described by police as an attack against “people with immigrant backgrounds.” There have also been 20 fires at refugee asylum centres.

The Scandinavian country has an underbelly of racism and xenophobia that could make life difficult for newcomers, says Daniel Poohl, managing director of Expo Foundation, an organization designed to shed light on racist ideas and organizations in Sweden.

Known for its civility and social cohesion, Sweden has seen an influx of immigrants, from the Balkans in the 1990s and more recently from Iraq and Afghanistan. But the latest wave of Syrian refugees — 190,000 are expected this year alone — has triggered an “agonizing” debate both politically and culturally, says Marie Demker, a professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg.

One outspoken anti-refugee and anti-immigrant group is the Swedish Democrats — a right-wing party that won 13 per cent of the vote in the September 2014 election. Now the third most powerful party in parliament, it is calling for a referendum on whether Sweden should close its borders to refugees and immigrants.

“Sweden is a country that is divided by the idea of us being a multicultural society,” says Poohl. Those who oppose the acceptance of refugees and immigrants are mobilizing and making their voices heard, he says.

Sweden is “very schizophrenic” when it comes to attitudes about racism and xenophobia, he says. “If you look at the majority of Swedes and their attitudes, Sweden stands out as an open and accepting country and people.” But, he adds, it is also clear people with “another skin colour” do not have the same opportunities.

“We’re very good at opening the first door for people, but very good at closing the next doors.”

According to a recent UN report, the rising level of racist violence and “Afrophobic” hate crimes is triggering “an extensive social problem” in Sweden, where 16 per cent of the population is foreign born.

“There continues to be a general Swedish self-perception of being a tolerant and humane society, which makes it difficult to accept that there could be structural and institutional racism faced by people of African descent,” the report says.

The report also called on the Swedish government to “better recognize and combat the recurring patterns and everyday occurrence of racial discrimination, which has deep historical roots and makes Africans and people of African descent in the country particularly vulnerable.” It condemns Sweden for being blind “to the structural racism faced by Afro-Swedes and Africans.”

With a population of about 9.7 million, Sweden is home to about 154,000 people who were born in Africa, the largest group being from Somalia, followed by Eritrea, Ethiopia and Morocco. Some Afro-Swedes can trace their roots in Sweden back to the 17th century and the slave trade. Yet they are treated as second-class citizens, say Poohl and others.

Jallow Momodou, vice-chair of the European Network Against Racism and a city councillor in Malmo, can trace his roots in Sweden back more than four generations. His family was originally from Gambia. He sees himself as a Swede. But many of his countrymen don’t share this view.

Refugees and immigrants who come to Sweden are always said to be refugees and immigrants, even if they have Swedish citizenship, he says. “Even though we’re Swedish citizens we’re not seen as such,” he explains. “People grow up in a country, spend their entire lives here and never feel like they belong.”

Momodou was the target of a racist attack after he spoke out against an incident at Lund University in 2011 where students re-enacted a slave auction.

“Apart from threats against me and my family, a manipulated picture of me as a slave in shackles was made into posters bearing the words, in Swedish: “This is our runaway n----- slave and he answers to the name Jallow Momodou,” he wrote in an opinion piece in The Guardian. “If you should find him please call this number.”

Momodou worries about the future if the Swedish Democrats continue to gain popularity. “This is my home … (but) I worry about that every single day. I wonder what am I going to do about my children. These people would definitely not want me here.”

Poohl confirms “there is structural racism which we don’t discuss because we’re so proud of our tolerance.” And there is also the organized racism of political organizations (like the Swedish Democrats) that want to exclude people of colour, he says.

There is no easy way out for Sweden or other European nations when it comes to dealing with the wave of refugees who are seeking a new home now and the growing phenomenon of worldwide migration in the future, he says. “I think the last years have shown you can build walls very high, but people will still try to climb over them.”

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/20...nderbelly.html

A real shame. Hopefully the authorities get a handle of these scumbag racists and justice is dealt.

[Deleted]

There's already a thread about this.

[oxymoronic]

what a liberal title

[Tennis]

There's already a thread about this.

With this article? Where?

[Deleted]

With this article? Where?

Oh well, the thread is closed, since it devolved into a shitfest. Can't see this thread going any different.

[Themius]

No one should be surprised by xenophobia in Europe.

[Spectral]

The only solution that seems practical is for Somalis to not move to such a terrible, racist place. Trying to change an entire culture seems much harder than just picking a better place to go.

[Deleted]

The only solution that seems practical is for Somalis to not move to such a terrible, racist place. Trying to change an entire culture seems much harder than just picking a better place to go.

It's not even racism in many cases... Sweden is conformistic. If they break protocol with the social codes, they're outcasts.

“Cultural self-confidence is essential for integration, since integrating immigrants inevitably involves some willingness to assert majority culture. Furthermore, the gravitational force of a strong and identifiable national identity in fact facilitates integration, since no one can integrate into nothingness. In Sweden today, there is no roadmap to integration for immigrants, no social contract wherein Swedes accept immigrants as one of their own once certain obligations are fulfilled.

It is this contradiction between reality and elite ideology that is tearing Sweden apart. The political and media elites may love or at least pretend to love the new multiculturalist society, but polls show that the Swedish public was never particularly enthusiastic about it. A recent study found that most native Swedes never socialize with immigrants or do so only rarely. Elites can dictate policy, but they cannot force ordinary Swedes to accept immigrants who have not integrated into their culture.

From the point of view of immigrants, therefore, the Swedish state is warm and generous, but Swedish society is cold and distant. The more Sweden spends on “integrationspolitik,” the worse things appear to become. Sweden takes in more immigrants than almost any other country, but immigrants do not feel welcome here. In response to failed integration, the establishment has redoubled its efforts to push multiculturalism down Sweden’s throat, blaming the Swedish people for the failure of integrationist policies.

Keep in mind that Sweden was never an easy country to integrate into culturally. Swedes tend to be reticent, solitary, and reserved. Theirs is a complex culture, full of subtle rules and opaque codes of conduct. Lutheran Sweden is defined by strong behavioral norms enforced through social pressure. Swedes are conformist and quite intolerant of deviation from group norms, whether it’s immigrants or Swedes who break with protocol. Immigrants who do not conform to expected behaviors are looked down upon and often sense low-level hostility in their private encounters with Swedes. Icy Scandinavia was never a particularly well-chosen testing ground for the multiculturalist experiment.”

[Tennis]

The only solution that seems practical is for Somalis to not move to such a terrible, racist place. Trying to change an entire culture seems much harder than just picking a better place to go.

Somalis move to Canada and it works out fine. It's a Swedish problem.

[Deleted]

Somalis move to Canada and it works out fine. It's a Swedish problem.

Canada isn't conformistic.

[namelessone]

Swedish racism isn't news. Most European countries treat immigrants as outsiders and pariahs and then wonder why the immigrants don't integrate.

[Spectral]

Somalis move to Canada and it works out fine. It's a Swedish problem.

That's what I said, isn't it? If Somalis find Sweden to be a terrible, racist place, it doesn't make sense for them to travel to the frigid Nordic climes.

[Puupi]

Somalis move to Canada and it works out fine. It's a Swedish problem.

So all Somalis should go to Canada instead. I'm pretty sure everyone in Sweden agrees with that.

[Grimbold21]

Moving on from feminist garbage i see...

[Radaney]

Wouldn't exactly call Swedens xenophobia an underbelly, it seems to be quite a problem over there.

[Tennis]

So all Somalis should go to Canada instead. I'm pretty sure everyone in Sweden agrees with that.

That's not how immigration works. People immigrate to countries and these countries benefit from immigration. Sweden obviously has some issues with its system that it needs to address.

[Deleted]

I just want to point out that being against immigration, net population rise and showing patriotism does not necessarily equate to racism nor xenophobism.

Choose words carefully. Yes they quite often come hand in hand. No, by definition, they are not the same.

Dont tarnish everybody with the same brush.

Many people dont want population rise in their area, they like their own culture the way it is, they oppose changes to this.

These people are neither racist, nor xenophobic. They just dot want to accomodate changes to their lifestyle, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

[Deleted]

That's not how immigration works. People immigrate to countries and these countries benefit from immigration. Sweden obviously has some issues with its system that it needs to address.

Rofl, just no.

[Darsithis]

This was covered here: http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...-school-attack and closed.