Feb 26, 2017

Who would believe? A reflection from Sweden

To quote Donald Trump: who would believe?

Who would believe Sweden would be thrown into the Trump rhetoric? Who would believe the Swedes would turn into a weapon in his dangerous xenophobia hand? It makes me sick to the stomach to out of nowhere be a part of this.

It was last weekend that Donald Trump twisted an already twisted Fox news story, telling the world something horrible - and very vague - had happened in Sweden the night before. We woke up stunned by these ridiculous news. Which would have been fine if we could only respond by a laugh brushing it off our shoulders with some funny videos as a reply. But we can’t can we? Because this man (and the brains behind him) does anything to create fear, and his populist politician fellows around Europe are going high on the success among his crowd.

Sverigedemokraterna (the Sweden Democrats), the Swedish nationalistic xenophobic party, is growing and on the brink of being the second largest party in Sweden after the Social Democrats. At the Trump gambit they played the card writing an article of opinon in the Wall Street Journal seconding Trump. We have come to a point where Sverigedemokraterna consciously is hurting their own country in international media!

Which forces the Swedish government to take to countermeasures, conveying their view and facts in American media, writing articles and giving as many interviews as possible. So, Swedish politicians are at war with each other in foreign media! Good job Trump!

It is not that Sweden is vaccinated against problems. Of course not. And here, as in any other country they occur the most in neighborhoods where the unemployment numbers are high and people feel like they don’t have a purpose. Which is true whether you are born in Sweden or has come here because the option to stay in your native country or return there really isn’t an option at all.

Monday evening a riot happened in the Stockholm suburb Rinkeby. Due to drug dealing the police has increased their presence which annoyed criminal groups. During an intervention the police was attacked and cars were set on fire. A police officer was cornered and fired off a gun. Nobody was injured from the shot. 

This shouldn’t happen of course. Neither the gun shot nor the riot. Or the drug dealing.  Or criminality. Or being unemployed. Or having to flee your country. Or wars. Whether they are between countries, peoples, religions or beliefs. It shouldn’t but it does. And what we can do is to help each other out. Not throw up hate and fear from tribuns around the world.

Now, I don’t agree with the Swedish government who has closed our borders and are sending people back (among them unaccompanied children) to war zones and in many cases countries where they have no connections since they have spent years in refugee camps elsewhere or are even born there. But I am happy to see former PM Fredrik Reinfeldt and also PM as well ass secretary of state Carl Bildt (who I didn't agree with either as they are right wing) speak up firmly against Donald Trump. And the Washington Post publishing an article with enlightening facts about Sweden, crime, immigration and integration, read it please.



And to end this post from a confused, frightened and outraged Swede spurred by the presumably most dangerous American president of all times, I will quote the official message on Swedish Foreign Policy News by our Minister of Justice and immigration Morgan Johansson:


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