Swedish Conditions, Or, Something is Rotten in the State of Sweden

(with apologies to William Shakespeare who got it wrong in Hamlet; Act I Scene 4)

by Lars Hedegaard, translated by Norman Berdichevsky (March 2012)

A preface by the translator, Dr. Norman Berdichevsky, author of An Introduction to Danish Culture.

Americans generally have an idyllic picture of the Scandinavian countries especially with regard to democratic institutions, human rights and civil liberties. Nevertheless, the debilitating effects of massive Muslim immigration and political correctness in Sweden have become increasingly apparent and raised considerable unease in nearby Denmark. An important consideration to bear in mind is that while Denmark is a member of NATO, Sweden has a long tradition of neutrality (that included close economic cooperation with Nazi Germany during the first few years of World War II). Sweden has distanced itself not only from the sentiments of Scandinavian cooperation, Western civilization, Judeo-Christian tradition respect for women and the fundamental rights of free speech and expression but is openly pandering to Islamist isolationist resistance to integration within Swedish society. 

The following is a translation of Lars Hedegaard's article in Sappho.dk – organ of the Danish Free Speech Society - "Swedish Conditions" Feb. 3, 2012.

 
A climate prevails in Sweden that recalls the preliminary stage of totalitarianism according to Gunnar Sandelin who lost his job on account of his views.

The Swedish Spring

As reported in Sappho’s report a short time ago, we were a few guys from Denmark who drove over the bridge to Malmo on January 31 in order to take part in the newly begun Swedish Free Press Society’s first public meeting. Well, there is of course, public and public. As Jyllands-Posten’s correspondent remarked in his reporting on February 2nd, it was quite remarkable that 120 people had made their way to Ungdommens Hus, (The Young People’s House), since the meeting had not been advertised.

The police were similarly well prepared in sufficient number to prevent any disturbance. A travelling Norwegian had counted not less than 20 uniformed and armed policemen within the building and on the surrounding streets.

Into the picture arrived several gruff looking watchmen in civilian clothes who would protect the artist Lars Vilks, under threat of death.

Dangerous information

What were then the dangerous views that had been proposed that afternoon in the cold Malmø? What was the information that a group of elite Swedish pundits and journalists believed that the Swedish People would be better off not hearing?

One got a brilliant impression of this by listening to the Swedish journalist Gunnar Sandelin’s contribution. Since writing an article a couple of years ago on Swedish immigration policy and its consequences, this former staff member of SVT (Sweden’s Television) has not been able to find a steady job.

Besides being a professional journalist, Sandelin has an education as a social worker and is, in this regard, especially well equipped to deal with this topic. Sappho would very much have liked to translate his talk, but Sandelin spoke without a manuscript and was content with relying on some notes which he has been kind enough to send us. Here are some of his points: Without any evasions, Sandelin characterized Swedish immigration policy as “fraud.”

Since 1980, approximately 400.000 asylum seekers have been awarded the right of permanent residence in Sweden, but only 7 pct. of them are actual refugees and if one includes these with those who have a need for protection, they (real asylum seekers and those who need to remain in Sweden for their safety), constitute a third of the total at most.

How many in the same period of time have come to Sweden as a consequence of reuniting families is not clear but experts guess that it is matter of at least one person per asylum seeker. Therefore, the so called asylum immigration constitutes at least 800.000.

The Swedes must be "educated" correctly.

Therefore according to Sandelin, what is playing out is not really any policy of asylum but of “camouflaged immigration” and it is this fact the media and the political elite do their utmost to hide from the public.
Instead, they see as their appointed task to "educate" the people. This includes portraying stories on television designed to bring viewers to tears.

The people are being “misled instead of being informed on the ‘greatest challenge in our time.’” The people have not been asked. Until the Sverigedemokraterne (The Swedish Democrats) entered the Riksdagen (parliament) in the latest election, all political parties had reached a consensus that immigration must not be discussed. Nor must Swedes learn what massive immigration is costing. Figures such as 60 to 100 billion kroner annually have been mentioned. If the latter figure is correct, it amounts to almost half of Sweden’s total health expenses. Other experts have calculated that a sum of 260 billion per year is more accurate.

People sense that something is wrong but they lack the tools to formulate their fear. Instead, the politically correct forces portray critics as “sick” and suffering from xenophobia and islamophobia in precisely the same way as system critics in the Soviet Union were characterized as mentally "deranged.” As Gunnar Sandelin sees it, Sweden suffers from “mental Stalinism.”

Uncomfortable Facts

According to Sandelin, there is an array of facts that should make Sweden feel especially uncomfortable, if these could be discussed openly. Sweden is the number one country in the world per capita when it comes to reception of refugees and compared with Denmark and Finland, 7 to 8 times as many “refugees” per capita are given permanent residence. 96 pct. of the asylum seekers arrive without identity papers. Half of the asylum seekers who receive the right to remain in Sweden, have no or an extremely scarce elementary education or work training experience.

In 1990, Sweden had three so called “utanförskapsområden” (the equivalent of what in Denmark we usually refer to as ghettos). In 2006, this number had grown to 156. Only about half of these ghettos’ inhabitants in the economically active age groups actually have a job.

Lie After Lie

Staff members of  Migrationsverket, which administers the Swedish immigration policy, are quite clear about the real conditions and can relate anonymously on hundreds of examples of systematic asylum fraud.

Gunnar Sandelin cited an anonymous staff member at   Migrationsverket:

In Migrationsverket, there are personnel sitting and listening to asylum stories that are invented one after another. In response to "control questions" such as “What is your wife’s name?”,…Describe your home abroad,… “How many children do you have?”, …What are their names and how old are they?”, asylum seekers often cannot answer. They can’t remember their former lies from previous conversations/interviews with Migrationsverket and frequently request to be reminded of their former statements in order to refresh their memory.

Politically Correct Terror

Gunnar Sandelin was able to report on hundreds of e-mails, letters and telephone conversations from people who don’t dare say what they mean for fear of being called a racist or xenophobe."We have a politically correct terror in this country. People are afraid of being frozen out of their job and of being socially excluded. They are also afraid to speak about the problems with their partners. This even applies to those who have been successful in life.”

Examples:

Journalists who do not publicly dare eat lunch with Sandelin for fear of the reaction at their workplace.

The experienced writer Julia Caesar, who must write her book and her articles under a pseudonym for fear of retaliatory measures.

The Christian minister who does not dare speak out about what he has experienced in the way of Muslim influence in the church whose leadership he regards as politically motivated.

The significant other of a highly placed person within one of the Swedish political parties represented in the Riksdag, who does not dare to discuss the real costs of immigration in his home because he could then be regarded as friendly to the SD (i.e. sympathetic to the  Sverigedemokraterne), and thereby risk being kicked out of the inner circle.

A teacher, who has been called a racist by his pupils but dare not talk to her headmaster because she might be accused of spreading a hostile picture of the school. The mother who doesn’t dare tell her children that she votes for Sverigedemokraterne.


The First Stage on the Way to Totalitarianism

Gunnar Sandelin’s conclusion: "In Sweden an unhealthy climate holds sway that reminds one on the early stages of totalitarianism."

"People say one thing within home’s four walls but something else in the public square. Freedom of Expression is not something one is given as a gift. The individual must always take it."

How wonderful that in the midst of this "Republic of Fear," there are 120 Swedes who will attend the meeting in Malmø. They will find all the support that the Danish Free Press Society can give.

Postscript by Norman Berdichevsky: The same evening that the meeting in Malmø took place, another murder in the street occurred (apparently gang related), and a police station in town was bombed. Many of the murders taking place in Malmø have not been solved because no one dares appear as a witness and the city long ago acquired the name of Murder Capital of the North. The threads of “cultural enrichment” that so many politically correct politicians speak about are revealed for anyone to see. For movie fans who have seen Ingmar Bergman’s famous award winning film “Fanny and Alexander” set in the Sweden of 1903-07, the situation in Sweden’s second city today is particularly poignant, tragic and testimony to Sweden’s descent from a pillar of Western civilization to tragedy and farce.

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