Latest news with #Riksdag
Local Sweden
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
'I love this country – that's why I'm speaking up about Sweden's diversity problems'
If Sweden wants to get serious about diversity and inclusion it must tackle some-deep-rooted problems head-on, argue Greg Fernando and Brandon Sekitto, the founders of the 1046 inclusion campaign. Advertisement In an interview for The Local's Sweden in Focus podcast, the pair explain that they started the initiative with the aim of ensuring that all of Sweden's more than ten million inhabitants felt included in the country regardless of their ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age or disability. Brandon Sekitto says it took him a while to figure out that Sweden wasn't as inclusive as it seemed to him growing up. His family moved to Sweden from Uganda when he was just nine years old and he ended up living in Tensta, one of Stockholm's most multicultural neighbourhoods. 'It was different races, people from all over the world. It was like a mosaic of diversity.' Greg Fernando's introduction to the country was very different. Moving to Stockholm from Canada well into his adulthood and living in the affluent Kungsholmen area, he was often acutely aware of being the only person of colour within a given radius. But even though they first saw Sweden through different lenses, they both want to make the country more welcoming and have reached similar conclusions on what needs to be done. 'I'm really proud to say that we recently won a Nordic inclusion prize, we presented at the Riksdag last year in November, and this year we're really excited because we're forming a partnership with Nordiska Museum,' says Fernando. So far, 36 organisations have pledged a commitment to the initiative they founded. READ ALSO: Should Sweden collect stats on ethnicity to combat racism? While they're pleased with some of the projects they have under way, both men believe that if Swedes want diversity to be more than a buzzword people are going to need to engage in difficult conversations – and it won't be comfortable. 'Sweden has to understand that this uncomfortableness is necessary for us to be comfortable enough to make the changes we need. And it is not primarily the job of us as minorities or black people to do. It's the job of Swedes themselves to do,' says Sekitto. "I love Sweden, so don't send me hate mail," he adds. "My kids love this country. I love this country. That's why I'm speaking up." He and his co-founder are committed to facilitating these difficult conversations. As an intercultural communicator Sekittto specialises in bridging cultural differences, while Fernando founded the organisation New to Sweden as a way to help newcomers gain a foothold in a difficult job market. According to Fernando, an unwillingness to fully embrace diversity stems from a form of nationalism tied to Sweden regularly coming topping lists of the best places in the world to live. As a result, he says, a consensus has emerged among many Swedes that newcomers should adapt to the superior Swedish way of life and leave their own cultures and traditions at the door. 'They have such a terrible time adapting to anything new. And I think that's a skill set that they have to pick up, because otherwise we're just going to be doing the same old dance for the next 100 years, where they just don't think people coming from abroad bring any value to them.' READ ALSO: 'Sweden is decades behind on racism and diversity' As for the campaign's name, Fernando jokes that naming it 1046 was not their most clear-sighted moment. 'We started this project so long ago and at that time there were 10.46 million people living in Sweden. So we came up with the bright idea of naming this initiative after the number of people who are living here, not thinking ahead.' 'We would love people to join up,' Sekitto says. "Everybody can do something. We've done what we can and we welcome everybody else to join the conversation.' You can find out more about the 1046 campaign on their website and LinkedIn page. Membership+ subscribers can listen to the interview with Greg Fernando and Brandon Sekitto in the latest episode of Sweden in Focus Extra, out May 21st. Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcasts Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers. Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday. Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+ Read more about Membership+ in our help centre. Already have Membership+ but not receiving all the episodes? Go to the podcast tab on your account page to activate your subscription on a podcast platform. If you prefer to listen on the site, you can find all episodes at the bottom of our podcast page.
Local Sweden
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
OPINION: Swedish media must get better at covering immigrant perspectives
Swedish journalists excel at portraying the victims of immigration crackdowns in other countries – but domestic coverage leaves a lot to be desired, The Local's Paul O'Mahony argues. Advertisement For almost two decades rejected asylum seekers have taken the only legal recourse available to them – thanks to the country's 'track change' programme (spårbyte) they could stay in the country on a work permit as long as they managed to secure employment. On March 12th this pathway to residency disappeared when politicians voted in the Riksdag to abolish the option. This was widely expected, but immigrants who had grasped the opportunity with both hands were horrified to learn that the new rules were to be applied retroactively and that they now risked expulsion from Sweden. Last week we were covering this story intensively at The Local. We interviewed a Migration Agency boss, wrote about a campaign calling for the introduction of transitional rules and published the distraught reactions of those affected. We also planned to discuss the spårbyte repeal in our podcast. One of the things we wanted to talk about was how national media outlets were reacting to a vote that was causing such upheaval among immigrants. And that's when we realised: they weren't reacting at all! There was absolutely zero coverage of a law change that the Migration Agency estimates will affect 4,700 people. And while there's been a trickle of coverage in the past few days, it's astonishing that it took so long. As foreigners in Sweden know all too well, the current government thrives at baking retroactivity into immigration changes. When the salary threshold was raised in 2023, many foreign taxpayers in sectors like healthcare and forestry were shocked to discover that their days in Sweden were numbered. But very little of the coverage focused on those most directly affected. Employer groups had their say, bemoaning the economic impact and finding themselves in the unusual position of criticising a government of the right. Opposition politicians kept their counsel, unwilling to rock the boat on a potential vote loser like immigration. Meanwhile, untold numbers of foreign nurses and machine operators quietly left Sweden under cover of media darkness. Unwanted and already forgotten. Advertisement We're seeing a similar situation now with Northvolt. Thousands of workers who came to Sweden with hopes and dreams will have three months to find new employment or leave the country. Sweden's decision makers are not facing nearly enough questions about the three-month deadline and the strain it puts on all these people, many of whom want nothing more than to stay here and continue contributing to society. We often hear that Sweden is a country built on trust and social cohesion. But the foundations are eroding in front of our very eyes. At least if you ask many immigrants. Never before have I seen so much disillusionment and anger towards Sweden as I'm seeing now. People who moved here in good faith feel betrayed and abandoned when the rules they were told to follow no longer apply. Why is Sweden apparently intent on punishing people for doing exactly what's expected of them? People who got a job, learned the language and worked hard to integrate. And why are work permit holders so invisible in coverage of legislation that upends their entire lives in Sweden? Advertisement Hardly a day goes by without the Swedish media reporting on immigrant hardship in far-flung parts of the world. And that's great, immigrants everywhere need support. But it's easy to be hemmablind, to use an excellent Swedish word describing those who are quick to criticise others while underestimating the problems on their own doorstep. Swedish media, take note. A version of this opinion piece was first published in Swedish in Journalisten, the trade union magazine for journalists in Sweden.
Voice of America
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Voice of America
Swedish Supreme Court: Activists can't sue over climate action
Sweden's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Greta Thunberg and hundreds of other young activists cannot sue the state in a Swedish court over what they say is insufficient action against climate change. Activists filed a class action lawsuit in 2022 with a district court claiming the state violates their rights as laid out in the European Convention on Human Rights by not doing enough to limit climate change, nor to mitigate its effects. The district court in 2023 asked the Supreme Court to clarify whether a lawsuit of this kind can effectively be tried in a Swedish court, after the state requested the case be dismissed. "A court cannot decide that the Riksdag or the government must take any specific action. The political bodies decide independently on which specific climate measures Sweden should take," the Supreme Court said in a statement on Wednesday. The currently around 300 plaintiffs, which call themselves the Aurora group, wanted the district court to order Sweden to do more to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The Guardian
05-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Örebro school shooting was one-man operation, police say
The gun attack that left 11 people dead in the Swedish city of Örebro was 'a one-man operation', police have said, as they worked to identify the victims of the country's deadliest mass shooting. The suspected gunman was among the dead and six people were hospitalised after a shooter entered Campus Risbergska, a school specialising in adult education, just after 12.30pm on Tuesday. The Örebro police chief, Roberto Eid Forest, said at a press conference on Wednesday morning that police had not finished identifying the victims. He said there was strong evidence to suggest that the gunman shot himself. 'We still believe that it is a one-man operation. We will return to the exact motives,' he said. Police have said there is nothing to suggest the gunman acted on ideological grounds and that the suspect, who has not been named, had no known connection to criminal gangs. The prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said 4 February would 'for ever mark a dark day in Swedish history' as he urged the country to come together. He invited party leaders to a meeting with the justice minister and the police authority, and said the meeting would begin with a minute's silence. 'Today, people have woken up to unimaginable sadness and pain. For those who have lost a loved one, life will never be the same again,' he said. 'We are a country in mourning and we must all come together – as a nation, as fellow human beings and as leaders of the parties in the Riksdag. Together, we must help the injured and their families to bear the grief and weight of this day.' Eid Forest said the reason it took so long to inform the public about the death toll was the size of the school premises. 'It took a very long time to search and ensure that we didn't have any more injuries,' he said. Jonas Claesson, the director of health and medical services for the Örebro region, said five of the six people admitted to hospital had initially life-threatening gunshot wounds and were now stable after undergoing surgery. Two of them were being treated in intensive care. A sixth person had minor injuries. The injured were four women and two men. Police urged anybody who was at the school on Tuesday or had footage of the incident to come forward. They asked the public to share only confirmed information. Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion A meeting was held in central Örebro for relatives, where Eid Forest said they would be informed about 'the continued work on, among other things, identification and how it will be done'. Kristersson, his justice minister, Gunnar Strömmer, and King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia were due to visit Örebro later on Wednesday. Johanna Sollerman, who works in crime strategy in the municipality and is a crisis manager, said: 'We're going to live with this as a mark for a very long time. However, what we are starting to see is civil society together with the municipality and police really rallying around for citizens of Örebro.' She said they were in the process of setting up centres around the city where victims' families and members of the community could speak to social workers, members of the Red Cross and representatives of churches and mosques. They were also in the process of making decisions about memorial places and a silence of remembrance. She said Campus Risbergska mostly ran education courses for adults, including for those learning Swedish, training in professions such as nursing, and studying to go to university. 'The school is a society of different backgrounds,' she said. Schools in the municipality had been training and practising for how to stop such an incident, she said, because it was known to be a potential risk. 'For a few years now we've been training on how schools should act to stop a lone actor. We've been training in that because we know it can happen.' The municipality had taken a proactive approach to mapping criminals and gangs, she said, but 'this kind of situation is very difficult for us to detect'. She added: 'We've been teaching it, practising it, but to actually go through it is unimaginable. We wouldn't believe in a million years that Örebro would be the scene for this tragedy.'
