Journalist Alexey Sevrikov went to Malmö and met with its residents, old and new, natives and migrants. This text, published by the portal Sweden.ru, is about what the Swedish family really is, and about how strangers become family in a city somewhat reminiscent of an ordinary regional center.
In 2015, 163,000 people arrived in Sweden (population 9.8 million) to seek asylum. This is the highest rate in Europe per capita. Nevertheless, compared to Germany or Hungary, the Scandinavian country was rarely mentioned by global media in the context of the migration crisis. The Swedish system withstood the pressures and continues to work, like the technology in a Swedish commercial, where everything is designed smartly.
The entry point for about a third of refugees was and remains the city of Malmö. With a population of over 300,000, more than 600 kilometers from the capital (Stockholm), and nearby the border (with Denmark), which due to the influx temporarily ceased to be symbolic. One reaches Malmö via Copenhagen across the Öresund Bridge – 40 minutes by train.
Those who have left their home country for various reasons and managed to reach Sweden face an equally complex and lengthy integration process. It begins with Migrationsverket – the Swedish Migration Agency. Its office in Malmö is full of queues. From morning to evening, single men and women, large and small families, unaccompanied minors arrive – some come on their own, others are assisted by the police.
Syrian Abid cannot hold back tears of joy: he has just reunited with his wife Zarifa and two-year-old Ali. Fleeing the shelling in the city of Aleppo, he did not manage to evacuate the whole family at once and waited for ten days with his eldest son Kadir for the reunion. Zarifa was helped by her brother: he gave her a ride to Turkey and then bought a plane ticket to Copenhagen.
“Why Sweden? Here in Gothenburg, my former colleague has been living for several years. He told me how warmly this country accepts migrants and helps them find work. I would like to get to a big city, but we are not in a position to choose. The main thing is that my children and I are now safe, we have a roof over our heads. We will start a new life and hope that peace returns to Syria, and with it, we will return as well,” says Abid and goes to join the queue.
The queue is electronic, like at a bank. Applicants undergo interviews and present available documents. Specialists from the Swedish Migration Agency, in conjunction with other government agencies, verify the information and issue (or deny) permission to stay in Sweden. Despite the authorities working at maximum capacity, the waiting time for a decision can reach two years.
“It’s a strain on the system,” admits one of the migration agency coordinators in Malmö, Jenny Serman. “And we had to lower living standards to accommodate all those in need. But even when housing people in schools and gyms, we provide each person with a place to sleep, food, personal hygiene items, a locker for belongings, clothing – everything necessary for life. Asylum seekers receive the right to urgent medical care, including dental, as well as treatment that cannot be postponed. Moreover, children under 18 have access to healthcare services to the same extent as ordinary Swedish children.”
The gym is a radical option for the first period. Migration services, together with municipalities, select more comfortable conditions such as family-type hostels and even apartments. However, refugees cannot choose the locality: they may have to travel a thousand kilometers to the north of the country for free housing. Want to stay in Malmö or move to Stockholm? No problem, but then find and pay for your own accommodation. As soon as a refugee receives official status, the Swedish labor market opens to them. The Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) develops a two-year plan individually for each applicant under a special program.
“Syrians generally have a good education; among them there are highly professional teachers, doctors, and engineers that Sweden badly needs. But, for example, refugees from Eritrea (the fourth largest group of refugees in Sweden after Syrians, Iraqis, and Afghans) often do not even have nine years of schooling,” says Fredrik Möller, senior administrative officer at the Employment Service. “So for some we find a suitable vacancy in two or three months, others we send for advanced training, and still others for full-fledged education. We don’t want people with higher education to serve in hotels and restaurants. If you were a university professor in your country – be one in Sweden too!”
The Employment Service program provides a benefit of 308 kronor per day. For Sweden, this is not an exorbitant amount (a business lunch here costs about 100 kronor), but it is enough that the applicant does not live in poverty, given free or partially compensated rent. Employment is facilitated by knowledge of English, which most Swedes speak fluently, but Swedish is a priority (the program includes intensive training in the national language).
According to the Employment Service, 32% of participants find work during the duration of the integration program. Within ten years, 70% of newcomers are employed in Sweden, studies by Professor Peter Bevelander show. Does such a humane policy infringe on the rights of Swedes themselves? The answer to this question goes far beyond the counters of the labor market.
Sweden has long stopped identifying outsiders. The country relatively painlessly survived the migration waves that poured from the Middle East and the Balkans back in the last century, and today you won’t see many stereotypical Scandinavians on the streets. In Malmö, almost half the population (44%) are immigrants or children of immigrants, who without irony can be called native Swedes. Everything has mixed together, and you can’t immediately tell who is a long-time local and who is a newly arrived refugee. The latter do not beg for money from passersby. There are very few beggars, and these are, as a rule, very phlegmatic compared to our Roma.
While forced migrants wait for permission to stay, volunteers help them learn the language, organize football matches, music evenings and other "immersive" get-togethers. Muslims, in a familiar atmosphere (Sweden has everything – mosques, Islamic schools, halal restaurants and supermarkets), learn to embrace new values. For example, equal rights for women to education and work.
Integration does not always follow a fairy-tale scenario. The media reports both clashes between migrants and the local population, and serious conflicts in temporary refugee accommodation sites.
"That happens when mentally different people live in crowded conditions. But if you analyze all such events, you will see that their volume is negligible and comparable to the situation in an ordinary country where there is no refugee problem at all," assures Professor Bevelander.
Contrary to the European trend, anti-immigration parties have not gained great popularity in Sweden. In Stockholm and even more so in Malmö, it is generally not customary to talk about national identity. Anyone who seriously believes that the new influx of refugees threatens "Swedishness" is at best considered a radical, at worst crazy. "What threat could there be? Except there will be fewer blondes," a typical Swede will note ironically.
We can agree or argue, but this is how they see a solidarity society.