Most every day he is doing the updates on Facebook.
- Marie and Per were here tonight making waffles with our guests. All tasty and engaging.
- Eight hair dressers students visited today giving hair cuts to at least 50 of our guests. Amazing.
Torstein Bratwold is a friend of mine. Together with a former politician, Åsa Ögren and handpicked staff, they two weeks ago welcomed the first 150 refuges to the asylum accommodation in the old nursing home in Umeå.
All matters concerning asylum are, as they should be, strictly handled by the Swedish state and the Swedish Migration Board. It was only weeks before, that the nursing home and Torstein and his colleagues were approved of by the board. And now the first bus was here. Men, women and children who had been on the run for months. The end of a journey. And the beginning of another.
Torstein’s updates on Facebook makes my eyes tear. Because of the stories these people carry. Because realizing what a bad fit my well functioning Swedish society is to people without a social security number (personnummer) and a bank account (even if there is very little in there). Because of what Torstein and his colleagues are doing in this situation. And because of the volunteers who willingly and with great joy are making their contributions.
The goal for Torstein and his friends’ company “Umebygdens etableringscentrum”, is to create the best asylum accommodation i Sweden. Their standards are way above The Swedish Immigration Board’s. The good energy is spreading and people show up at the accommodation to contribute with what they can. Here is a selection from Torstein’s updates:
- Andreas, you are amazing! Today you made an invaluable contribution when you came to our asylum accommodation with a large roll of paper and a lot of pencils. But the most important thing of all was that you gave of your and your kids time. Quickly the children gathered around you and began to draw, some drew animals and the boats they traveled over the Mediterranean Sea.
- Today was the first day that breakfast was cooked in our new and nice kitchen. Our partner the Swedish Church with matron Carolina, delivers organic produce which our guests cook themselves.
- It is not until Thursday we start our regular teaching, but today Nils Seye Larsen, at the request of our guests, spontaneously was teaching Swedish. What a feeling when 40-50 people after an hour are counting to ten and saying "My name is .... and I come from ..." in Swedish, with big smiles. All over the house I hear the vowels ååå. äää, and ööö as the evening is settling. And I am happy I get to experience this along with all the dedicated and talented people.
The last few days the guests at the accommodation received the first Swedish social studies in Arabic and Persian. The knitting circle was a success, God knows everyone will need a warm scarf up here! The goal for the accommodation is to give the guests possibilities to be an active part of the Swedish society as soon as possible. And let’s Torstein end this post with a quote summing up the first ten days of his, his colleagues and their guests new life together. The end of one journey, and the beginning of another.
- Ten days have passed since our first guests stepped off the bus and slowly but surely we have procedures in place. I am impressed and proud of all the good will that we encounter from both the authorities and individuals. The Swedish Migration Board, the City council, the public dental service and the police. Everyone wants well, although we our society do not have the habit to receive people who are without social security numbers, bank account numbers, identification cards, cash and Swedish language. Situations arise daily, but in most cases we solve the problems. I would especially highlight the Immigration office in Umeå, who passed a nearly overwhelming task these past days. Together we will create the best accommodation in Sweden.
No comments:
Post a Comment