For decades, Sweden had what is probably the most liberal immigration policy in Europe. Critical discussions were denied: whoever pointed out the problem was banned and quickly placed in the right corner.
Between 1965 and 1974, one million homes for immigrants were built on the initiative of the Social Democrats. The program was well-intentioned, but the integration failed. The anonymous neighborhoods became ghettos for foreigners with – often Islamic – parallel societies.
In no other European country is the murder rate as high as here. Especially in the suburbs of Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö, gangs and Islamists cause fear and terror. During the holiday season and New Year’s Eve alone, there were shootings in the Stockholm area that left three dead and several injured.
From the Stockholm Police New Year’s Report:
25th of December: Shooting in Rinkeby – one dead
December 28: Assassination attempt in Gubbangen – no injuries
December 31: Shooting in Vällingby – one dead, two wounded
January 4: Shooting in Jordbro – one dead, one wounded
About all days: Multiple bombings, no injuries
Rinkeby with 20,000 and Vällingby with 9,000 inhabitants are considered the most crime-ridden places in the Stockholm region. There are always shootings and other violence in which bystanders – including children – are injured or even killed. Cars are also set on fire en masse.
Somalis dominate the central square
On January 6, a national holiday, Blick visited both hotspots and tried to speak to young immigrants. It’s not easy – it’s even dangerous: stones are repeatedly thrown at journalists or punches are thrown at them.
The looks at the architecturally bland, approximately 100 meter long central square in Rinkeby are suspicious. On Fridays, almost exclusively Muslims from Africa stay here, who go to the mosque to pray in the occasional snow storm and minus five degrees. No one lets them take pictures.
A Middle Eastern immigrant who has lived in Rinkeby for 33 years says: “Then there were Swedes, Turks, Finns and Iranians. Today, about 80 percent are Somalis.”
Shot in front of the mother’s house
Extinguished candles lie in the snow about 200 meters from the main square. Here, on Christmas Day, the rapper Mehdi († 27), known as “Dumme”, was murdered – in front of the apartment building where his mother lives. It cannot be ruled out that he has been lured into a trap. Abdi* (17), a Somali, tells Blick: “Drugs must be legalized in both Sweden and the Netherlands. Then there wouldn’t be so much crime.”
The murder in Vällingby on New Year’s Eve took place in front of McDonald’s. It is the meeting place for young people, some of whom wear bullet and stab-resistant vests under their jackets when they go outside. Here, too, a young man was shot and two young colleagues were injured. Candles burn on the floor and many passers-by pause for a moment.
High youth unemployment
“Fresh” (22), a Swede with African roots, hangs out with his colleagues in the neighborhood. He is unemployed because he has no education and there are no jobs anyway. He is financed by his family. “I would like to work”, he says and criticizes the fact that the youth centers are saving more. “I miss the fact that more activities are not offered because I often don’t know what to do.”
Rami (28) from Afghanistan, whose store Fresh is a regular customer, repeatedly catches dealers: “If I see one, I kick it out and ban it from the store.” And he adds, “Unfortunately, it’s easier to do business these days than it is to get a job.”
Youth unemployment is indeed high. In the autumn of 2022, Sweden was fourth in Europe with a value of almost 23.4 percent – just behind Spain (32.3), Greece (27.3) and Italy (23.9). In Switzerland it was 8.6 percent.
Youth worker hopes for less paperwork
Since the New Year’s Eve murder, the police have greatly increased their presence in Vällingby. Sometimes six patrol cars are parked in front of the post in the small town. Stockholm’s social services have also opened their doors longer at the Tegelhögen leisure centre. Regional supervisor Fredrik Skoglund (46) tells Blick: “Such shootings and explosions are unfortunately part of everyday life.” It is mainly about the actions of two gangs fighting each other.
A possible solution would be to do more social work and work more with children, says Skoglund. He is therefore waiting for the announced revision of the social services law, which will provide more front work and less paperwork.
Hot policewomen
On the top floor of the youth club, several young people are spinning a rap. “Here is a safe place,” says Ahmed* (17) from Tanzania. He recently moved to the island of Gotland because his mother feared for safety.
The two police officers Izabella (33) and Ada (39) also visit the rap studio. Their attitude is remarkably friendly: they hug the young African amateur rappers and even help with a technical problem. Is there enough distance? “We are a member of the regional police and are looking for contact. They must know us not only as officials, but also as people », they justify their cordiality.
More than 60 dead in shootings in 2022
Turn of the year murders make up only a small fraction of Swedish crime statistics. Last year, more than 60 people were killed and more than 100 injured in shootings across the country. During the same period, four people were killed in neighboring Denmark and Norway, and two in Finland.
The police have demarcated about 60 “risk areas” nationwide, in which rescue services can often only work under police protection because they themselves are attacked in an emergency. Rinkeby and Vällingby are among these hotspots.
The new bourgeois government, influenced by the massively empowered right-wing Swedish Democrats, has explained the crime and raised barriers to immigration. The new Conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (59) admitted in his Christmas speech: “Sweden is in a very serious situation.”