Sweden, we need to talk about racism.
Upcoming elections in a heavily migrated country.
Disclaimer: this is an opinion piece of a migrant living in Sweden since 2015. The intention is not to go into detail about the political partys and their agendas for a deep topical discussion, but rather express how Sweden starts to feel as a non-Swede during this year’s election period.
A few days ago it was time again. Since the 14th of August it’s officially allowed to put up campaigning posters for this years elections. Sweden votes on the 11th of September 2022. Similar to most democratic countries, Sweden holds elections at a regular interval. Four years mark a governing period, and, oh boy, have the last four years been eventful. But let’s not look too much into the past, and more into the future.
Sweden has quite the unique election system, as contrary to most countries, it still allows non-citizens to vote in local elections. One must simply be officially registered with residency in Sweden and EU-citizens have voting right straight away, and non-EU citizens have it after three consecutive years. However, the big player, the parliament elections, are still only accessible to Swedish citizens.
So, since Sunday the faces of the most prominent Swedish politicians are hanging around the country with some one-liners that should make you sympathise and then vote for them. Obviously there is much more underneath, but even many of the posters already give me quite an interesting feeling. A feeling of being unwelcome.
Sweden is no different to most European countries in the last decade, as it saw a rise in racism and right-wing party agreement. Foreigners have always been an easy target and excuse why things don’t go the way they are going. However, Sweden still has been rather moderate, at least in openly expressing their disapproval of foreigners. Lately, it seems to have shifted somewhat.
But let’s go briefly back to the history of migration in Sweden.
We can see that Sweden had quite the migration flows in the last 200 years alone, but also a history of being a heavily migrated country before that. We can see peaks during wars, where Sweden has been taking in refugees regularly, but also during times of opportunities and need for the Swedish economy.
Looking into the most common reasons for immigrating to Sweden, we can see a continuous rise in work, but also in studies, which possibly leads to work placements as well. The peak around 2016 is explained by the refugee flow starting from 2015. But all in all this gives us the impression that there is somewhat of a symbiosis effect, as in Sweden needs foreigners for work placements just as well.
Let’s talk a bit about the life of an immigrant in Sweden. Swedish friends of mine might have heard this before from me, but Sweden has a problem with systematic racism. And in all fairness: I truly believe not out of intention, but simply because most of the issues are invisible to them in their daily routines. Among others, the issues are most obvious in:
- the highly inaccessible housing market,
- the labour market,
- extreme waiting times for migration-related bureaucratic processes,
- cultural offerings,
- opportunities to grow.
Anyone who came to Sweden probably knows straight away of the struggles. Sweden works through connections and networks. Housing is a problem and requires a lot of queuing to get a decent apartment, unless you have a friend or a parents friend that wants to rent out their apartment second hand for a fair price. Finding work is an incredible challenge if you are not well established and have a network of people, but also there exists a pay gap for migrants as to compared to natives in a variety of forms. Waiting times for visa processes, such as working residence permits or spouse/family visas can take 18 months or longer. Most cultural offerings are hidden behind some local Swedish websites and tend to be in Swedish only, whereas other opportunities to grow (sports clubs or other clubs) are also limited and inaccessible. Don’t get me wrong, I truly believe learning the language and becoming part of the local culture is an important part of immigration, but it simply is increasingly more difficult if you make it inaccessible from the get-go. Due to this, a lot of migrants, especially highly educated ones, struggle to find work and feel at home, ultimately leaving the country for a better opportunity. The amount of friends that have left the country in the past seven years is quite impressive.
For me personally, I have been a migrant all my life and never been part of the predominating culture. I grew up in a Polish family with Polish citizenship in Germany. Even there I realised rather often how I am systematically discriminated, so I have a rather thick skin in these sorts of things. Coming to Sweden was rather easy for me though, as Poland is an EU-member state and that makes it much easier. Still, after seven years in Sweden, I still don’t have the Swedish citizenship, though an application for it is registered. However, since the bureaucracy towards migration issues is highly ineffective in Sweden, it might take around 39 months or longer for me to have my case handled, meaning: I might still not be able to vote in the next parliament elections in four years. Yeah, makes you feel welcome, huh?
As of today, around 20% of Sweden’s population is foreign born.
Now, I don’t want to go too deep into the issues of being a migrant in Sweden, but I think it is rather relevant for the bigger picture to express some issues migrants face.
It’s August 2022 now, and the past years have been rough on Sweden and the world. Swedish politics are in a need for attention and want to do so with the most prominent topics. Party’s on the centre-right and right side of the political spectrum have been active in doing so already in the beginning of the year, with Moderaternas leader Ulf Kristersson prominently showing his face with some one liners, such as “now we get Sweden in order.”. I am not exactly sure what that even means, but it surely gives me chills and I think that’s the plan.
Generally speaking, this year, Moderaterna really want to push for it. By putting up posters before it was allowed, by using public transportation as platforms for ads and by discrediting the competition in their strategy. While the second part is not forbidden, it is considered foul play.
But, they are not alone in wanting to bring order to Sweden. The far-right, Sverigedemokraterna are prominently using busses to tell us that ‘Gothenburg must be safe’, cleverly maneuvering around what they mean by unsafe, but it is usually connected to foreigners, once one looks closer into their party program. Other material is a bit more to the point, just saying “imprison and deport” or “a strict migration policy”. Alright, I hear ya. But even the less far-right party’s such as the liberals (Liberalerna) have been quite open about their ideas about foreigners. Their posters read something like “Rather homework quiz now, than police interrogation later. Who stays in school will not become a criminal”, while at the same time wanting to implement a Swedish language test for 2 year olds and mandatory pre-school. A clear sign against all families who are non-native Swedish speakers and a clear sign against their culture and roots.
Meanwhile the other side of the political spectrum is not saying much. The left party (V) has been awfully quiet since Sweden’s decision to join NATO, a popular no-position of the Left. Their posters, at least in Gothenburg, just say Nooshi 2022, which is their party leader Nooshi Dadgostar and a Gothenburg local. Yeah, thanks. The green party (MP) is in an identity crisis after the energy crisis from the past years and suffers a loss in popularity due to stiff positions in regards to, for example, nuclear energy. Their posters are purely focusing on the climate, away from the needs of the citizens. And believe me, as a fellow green party member myself, I am rather unhappy of the leadership lately and feel not represented or heard.
The social democrats are focusing on their own image and typical positions instead. Showing our prime minister Magdalena Andersson and some one liners about “working together”.
I get it, it’s elections time and that’s more about populism than constructive discussions. Still, it feels like the atmosphere has become quite openly unpleasant and unwelcoming and party’s on the right side of the political spectrum fight for attention and are clear about who is at fault, while the left is not even bringing up these topics anymore. It feels like the position of a foreigner in Sweden becomes increasingly hostile, and I truly believe we need to start addressing this and the underlying systematic racism in this country.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Sweden, the Swedish values and the people here. It is my chosen home for a reason, and I cannot imagine a better place to raise my future children. I will vouch for Sweden and it’s on times alternative approaches and thinking for itself as a country. I am bringing myself in where I can, and try to promote it’s values.
But, it is because of this, that I am increasingly feeling the need to address these issues more openly. Sweden, we need to talk about racism. I hope you will be ready soon.
Spread some love, people.
P.
