The state’s hunt for minorities continues
A hundred years ago, the state persecuted towering men and women. Now the hunt applies to new arrivals and asylum seekers. What will be the verdict this time?
The question of how slim and uniform a Swede must be was put to the fore last Wednesday. Then the final report was delivered in a state investigation which, since 2020, has investigated whether Tornedalings, Kväner and Lantalaise were violated in an inappropriate way during the 19th and 20th centuries.
They all belong to a minority in Sweden but were refused, among other things, to speak their own language at school. Many did not even know Swedish and thus received a hard and probably rather barren basic education. And a start in life when they were labeled as inferior people.
In an interview appendix to the investigation, there are many stories of heartbreaking violations.
The same day, that is, Wednesday Integration Minister Johan Pehrson (L) announced that another long-planned investigation is being added. New arrivals and asylum seekers must go through the so-called “Sweden Course”, a mandatory introductory course to “Swedish society” and “Swedish values”. The course must end with an exam. Anyone who does not pass the test shall not be entitled to grants and other compensation. It is unclear where the poverty line should be drawn. Shack in the woods? 300 calories a day? Tooth loss? Other medical conditions?
Had the tower dals and the women passed the test? Probably not. They wouldn’t even have been able to follow the course if it was held in Swedish.
The intention of depriving them of their language and thus an important part of their culture was to Swedishize northern Sweden. The population would be streamlined, whatever the cost.
The investigation is called a truth and reconciliation commission. The underlying message from the state is thus that it preyed on Tornedalings, women and lantalaiset.
It’s freezing cold wind through Sweden. The mistakes of the past risk being repeated. All must be cast in the same mold. Just as when the areas along the land border with Finland were to be Swedishised.
Those affected, many of whom are still alive, want an apology. Maybe not because they have to learn Swedish. But for the brutal methods.
Even young people testify of how they could not speak to their grandparents beyond the most basic phrases such as hello and thank you. The wounds haven’t healed yet.
What speaks against history repeating itself? Unfortunately not much. As Johan Pehrson outlines the investigation assignment, it is about branding people. Think as the state decides – otherwise you can go to hell.
Don’t get me wrong. Of course, anyone who receives permission to live in Sweden must adhere to society’s basic principles. Do your duty, claim your right. Support yourself as long as you can, get the care you may need if it is no longer possible to support yourself.
But who says that the “Sweden exchange rate” leads to that? Everyone, including myself, has plugged in answers to tests in advance and answered “correctly” even if you think it’s crazy.
Who answers “correctly” to the question of whether it is okay to shoot wild animals? A vegan will probably say no. A sheep owner might say yes. What is the correct Swedish valuation? Who should not be persecuted?
I think the state embarks on a very dangerous path with the new “Swedish Course”. In fifty years, it may be time for a new violation debate with demands for compensation and an apology.
The forcibly sterilized have already received society’s collective apology. The church has said sorry to the Sami. The Torne Valleys want an apology.
In my childhood, a one-of-a-kind Sami fair was held annually in northern Stockholm. It was as much fun as it gets. You had to interpret after a reindeer and thought that Sweden was an exciting country with lots of different people and ways of life.
It still is. If I had to decide, it should stay that way.
But the government seems to be on a different line. Just as it did in the 19th and 20th centuries and now must eat up.
It’s nasty. Differences enrich. Not conformism. Or as we also used to say. Land must be built by law. Not with rapidly changing tastes and preferences.
THREE EXPOSURES
Former Tory leader David Cameron is following in the footsteps of fellow party member Carl Bildt. That is, from prime minister to foreign minister after a break from politics. But as it looks now, Cameron will not sit eight years in the post as Bildt did. At an election next year, the Tories are headed for clear defeat.
During last this weekend’s KD-ting, Nike Örbrink, 26, was elected a regular member of the party board. Among other things, she has been press secretary to Ebba Busch and chairman of the youth association KDU. Now she leads the party in Stockholm City Hall. Keep an eye on her, she can go far.
Jimmie Åkesson (SD) was the only party leader who was absent from the Riksdag’s annual debate on EU policy. It was claimed that he was ill. There are many who are right now. But isn’t it a little strange that the only one who abstained from this particular debate in this particular question was Åkesson? Maybe not.
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