Refugees and Sweden: My perspective PART FIVE Conclusion

From FSAOF blogg

As the son of immigrants, I think I have some experience in this area. My siblings and I grew up with the Swedish language and traditions, even if we lived in Chicago. My nieces and nephew knew of their Swedish heritage and are proud of their heritage. My parent’s great grandchildren have less of a feeling of pride in their heritage, than my nieces and nephew. I suspect this is what will happen with all the refugees seeking a residence permit, and being granted one, and their children. 

The descendants of immigrants integrated into the new society. They accept the norms and tradition of the country in which they live, including the laws. She writes: “…the central train station in Sweden’s third largest city, Malmö, has been overrun with migrants; the volunteers that for the first few days showed up with food, water and clothes now seem to have lost interest.” This statement is incorrect. I have daily contact with a group of salvationists that are at the central train station in Malmö, almost every evening. Where she draws the conclusion that the volunteers in Malmö have lost interest in continuing to help the arriving refugees is – in my view – blowing in the wind. She has not factual basis on which to assert this, much less to present it as a fact.

The Future

The Swedish government, as well as the governments of other countries where refugees have landed, is going to have to build up quickly structures that will be capable of handling all of the refugees arriving on our door-step. As an example – Malmö during the crisis that happened during the collapse of the former Yugoslavia – had an (Invandrarförvaltning) Immigrant Department, which it no longer has. 

“Migrationsverket” started toward the end of the crisis to start a program called “Kontaktnätet” Contact Network. The idea was to pair an immigrant with a Swede, in the hope they would become friends. As friends do, they would help one another. The Swede would be a good resource for the immigrant, as to which agency of government helps with a particular problem. This program no longer exists. I think these foreshadow the likely course of action in Sweden, at least something like this, once again. 

There is going to, once again, be a need for para-legal counselling services directed to these refugees. All refugees in Sweden are entitled to have a barrister or solicitor that will represent them with their applications for asylum. I assume, things will be as they were in the 90s, that these barristers and solicitors do not invest in doing a lot of research to obtain documentation necessary to prove that they are refugees. During the 90s I built a contact network with attorneys and government ministers and agencies in the country of origin. I supplied attorneys throughout Sweden with new information. The new information resulted in new briefs being filed on behalf of their clients. It is only through volunteer para-legal to dig up.

These are some of the changes that I foresee happening in the near future.

Let me close by once again citing the words of the fourth General of The Salvation Army, General Evangeline Booth: “There is no reward equal to that of doing the most good to the most people in the most need”.

Leonard Johnson
FSAOF Sweden