There's Trouble in Sweden

There’s trouble in Sweden!

There is an old saying that “There’s trouble in Denmark”, but this time, the troubles are in Sweden.

Sweden is a sparsely populated country, characterized by its long coastline, extensive forests,  numerous lakes and one of the world’s northernmost countries. Due to Sweden having arguably the highest standard of living in the world, this Scandinavian country offers residents a good life — from the cradle to the grave.

So, what could be the problem? Sweden has been transformed from a nation of moderate emigration of World War I  survivors to being  flooded later from  people displaced after World War II. In 2009, emigration reached its highest level since records began, with 102,280 people migrating to Sweden.

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Sweden has probably the most generous immigration, asylum and welfare policies in the world. Sweden's healthcare system is socialized and every resident of the country has access to a universal healthcare program  mostly supported through regional and local taxes. It is government funded, and will provide care to anyone who needs it regardless of their ability to pay.  Education is free from six years of age to university age, and most health care and pension benefits are paid for by employer and income taxes.The country had a reputation for generosity and an especially welcoming attitude, but now something is clearly going wrong.

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The difficulty is that Sweden has always been perceived as a high-spending country, with generous provisions for education and social help and that’s where the problems begin! In a country with a reputation for openness, tolerance and a model welfare state,  rioting has exposed a fault-line between a well-off majority and a minority who are often young people with immigrant backgrounds , who are poorly educated, cannot find work and feel pushed to the edge of society.  Swedish youth unemployment stands at 25.1 percent, about triple the level of overall joblessness, and much of that youth unemployment is concentrated around immigrants.

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     Youth unemployment is especially high in immigrant neighborhoods, and unemployed youth are rebelling. A spree of destruction has seen masked youths vandalize schools, libraries and police stations, setting cars alight and hurling stones at police and firefighters. It was sparked by the fatal police shooting earlier this month of a 69-year man, reported by local media to be a Portuguese immigrant  suspected of wielding a large knife in a Stockholm suburb of Husby.

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More than 80% of the 12,000  inhabitants  in Husby are from an immigrant background, and most are from Turkey, the Middle East and Somalia.One recent government study showed up to a third of young people aged 16 to 29 in some of the most deprived areas of Sweden's big cities neither study nor have a job. Police in Stockholm called in
reinforcements  after youths set cars and a school ablaze in a fifth night of rioting, the worst to hit Sweden for years.

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While Thursday was slightly calmer than the four nights before, about 30 cars were torched and eight people, mostly in their early 20s, were detained, police said. Young people who are jobless and lack a good education — those who feel excluded by society, feel that they don’t have a great future ahead of them and  are filled with rage against the established society. They feel they are subject to a wide-spread sense of discrimination.

One form of discrimination often discussed in Sweden is referred to as “customer discrimination”. Many entry-level jobs for young people exist within services. According to these youth “ If you don’t speak Swedish with a perfect Stockholm dialect, because you come from a marginalized immigrant neighborhood, or for that matter from a rural part of Sweden, your ability to sell services or work in retail is lower than that of others, all else being equal. When employers have lots of applicants to choose from, they often eliminate those who don’t have the right dialect”.

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I. Reepalu, a Swedish Social Democrat

Ilmar Reepalu,  the Mayor of Malmo, Sweden’s third largest city, reports..
“Sweden needs lots of immigrants, because, otherwise, we can’t keep up our welfare system. We, as most parts of Europe, have too few people. Within the coming 20 years, we will have a lack of labor force, so we need more people coming to Sweden. We don’t have enough kids from ourselves.”
MP Kent Ekeroth disputing the argument that immigration keeps Sweden’s welfare system afloat, asked
“What kind of immigrants do we take in? It’s people from Somalia who have done nothing but herd sheep their whole life and we expect them to benefit our society? It’s ridiculous.”

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A Swedish convert to Muslim

There has been an "Islamophobic" backlash. Scandinavia’s largest mosque happens to be in Malmo.This photo is of  a Swedish resident who has converted to Islam as she attends  a Royal Swedish wedding.

 Reports of attacks to one helpline have increased greatly since recent atrocities, allegedly carried out by Islamic fanatics.The influx has mostly come from war-torn countries such as Iraq, Somalia, former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Syria.

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At the last report, there are estimated to be 350,000 Muslim Swedes, making it one of Sweden's biggest minorities.

While the general public in Sweden has a  negative attitude toward these foreign new-comers, there are government officials who feel that Sweden needs to accept these new immigrants.
Aje Carlbom, a social anthropologist at Malmo University, said " The government needs to accept that immigrants arriving without an adequate education were likely to remain unemployed".

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In part, because of Sweden's reputation as an equitable society, news of the protests has come as something of a surprise. The reputation, however, seems to be out of date. In recent years, the country's economics and demographics have shifted to be more in line with the rest of Europe.

Immigration is an issue in many countries. However, the focus is currently on Sweden.

Have You Received Your Invitation?

It's been a long, hard winter!

The winter season has finally come to an end. Spring has arrived and the month of May is heating up with activities! I've been watching the mailbox for all the invitations to arrive and I'm ready to go. There are several very interesting social activities that really should not be missed!

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ABBA

First of all, Stockholm Sweden was abuzz with the opening of the ABBA exhibit. Somehow, my invitation didn't arrive in time for the May 9th opening ceremony, but there's still time to see the exhibition.These Swedish members formed a group that became a world-wide  sensation as Singing Superstars of the 1970s. The group had many memorable hits that remained musical favorites long after the group disbanded in 1983. Using the first letter of their first names, they formed the group ABBA. After disbanding, they went their various ways, still keeping their musical talents at work.The Stockholm ABBA museum is expected to  be a popular tourist attraction.
  Swedish politician Kristina Axén Olin said: "As a Stockholmer, this is what you have been missing." Abba's former members issued a statement proclaiming it would be "a fun and swinging museum to visit".

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And wouldn't you know, someone lost my notice to attend another exhibition that opened April 27th!

Queen Sonja of Norway

Norway's Queen came to the  US to open an exhibition. The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) presented MUNCH-WARHOL , an exhibition featuring two of the 20th century’s most prolific and inventive printmakers.The exhibition will be on view April 27 through July 27, 2013 at Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America.

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Edvard Munch

Organized in honor of the 150th anniversary of Munch’s birth in 1863, the exhibition closely examines  graphic motifs produced by Munch at the turn of the century, including The Scream,  and Self-Portrait with Skeleton Arm ,later revisited by Andy Warhol. Everyone is well-aware of Munch's unhappy and despondent life leading him to express his bizarre imagination in various prints.His most famous work entitled The Scream sold in 2012 for over $119 million, setting a new record.

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The American Artist Andy Warhol

In a parallel lifestyle, an American artist shared the style of Munch and is also honored at this exhibition.
Andy Warhol was an American artist who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explored the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertisement that flourished by the 1960s. Born on August 6, 1928, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Andy Warhol was a successful magazine and ad illustrator who became a leading artist of the 1960s Pop Art movements.In third grade, Warhol had Sydenham's Chorea (also known as St. Vitus' Dance), the nervous system disease that causes involuntary movements of the extremities.  He became a hypochondriac, developing a fear of hospitals and doctors. 

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It was during the 1960s that Warhol began to make paintings of well-recognizable American objects such as dollar bills, Campbell's Soup cans, Coca-Cola bottles, famous celebrities  and photographs of police dogs attacking civil rights protesters.Warhol's painting of a can of Campbell's soup cost $1,500 while each autographed can sold for $6. Warhol's aim was to bridge the gap between avant-garde artists and the public. This exhibition notes very similar attitudes between these two artists: A pre-occupation of morality, ideals and alienation in life,both person and general..

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“What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you can know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke too....”
- Andy Warhol

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Over in Sweden, there's a celebration concerning a Crown Princess. An anniversary of a baptism!

Crown Princess Estell

Princess Estelle of Sweden, Duchess of Östergötland (Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary; born 23 February 2012), is the only child of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland. She is the first female in the history of Sweden to be born with a right to inherit the throne that cannot be superseded by the subsequent birth of a male heir. Some very important people are invited to the anniversary party.

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Her godparents are Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Prince Carl-Philip of Sweden, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, and Anna Westling Söderström, her father's sister King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

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                                 And to top it all off for activities in May, Syttende Mai will be the crowning glory for Norway.once again.

    
This is the Constitution Day of Norway. On May 17th, 1814, the Norwegian Constitution was signed at Eidsvoll, Norway. The day is celebrated throughout the country, with mainly children's parades. The children are  the center of celebration on this day in Norway, as they are the nation's future. This is in the spirit of poet Henrik Wergeland, who was the one who took the initiative to celebrate this day. High School grad students who traditionally wear overall outfits in different colors representing the type of education they have finished have their own celebration.

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To commemorate Wergeland's contribution, the "russ"  in Oslo place an oversized hat on his statue near the Norwegian parliament. Norwegian Constitution Day is the National Day of Norway and an official national holiday observed on May 17. A noteworthy aspect of the Norwegian Constitution Day is its very non-military nature. All over Norway, children's parades with an abundance of flags form the central elements of the celebration. Each elementary school district arranges its own parade with marching bands between schools.

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I can't wait for the mailman! Where are my invitations?

 Happy Syttende Mai!