Swedish riots point to deep social problems

A week of violence in the Swedish capital
indicates that not all is well in a country
that prides itself on social equality.
Immigrants claim they are unjustly treated.
Sweden has often presented itself to the
world in the past as a model of social
justice and successful integration. For the
last week, however, it has been a country of
burning tires, schools and automobiles –
seemingly, a great divide between pretense
and reality.
"Not everything that shines is gold," said
Tobias Etzold, from the Northern Europe
Project at the German Institute for
International and Security Affairs (SWP) in
Berlin. "Even a supposedly model country,
like Sweden, with a well-functioning
welfare state and relatively affluent
population, is not immune to the economic
and finance crisis in Europe."
Tensions between rich and poor
The riots in the Stockholm suburb of Husby
has seriously shaken the idyllic world of
the Swedes. Some 12,000 residents live in
Husby; 85-percent of them have an
immigrant background. More than a third
of the 20-25 year olds have no job.
After the last economic crisis in 2008, the
Swedish government was forced to
implement austerity measures. The
economic problems at the time were quickly
remedied with reforms, but the financially
weaker portion of the population was hit
hard. "The government cut unemployment
benefits and subsidies for health care, while
giving tax breaks to the affluent," explains
Etzold.
"That led to a growing social divide between
rich and poor," said Almut Möller, from the
German Council on Foreign Relations
(DGAP), in an interview with DW.
The problems were clearly visible in
suburbs, like Husby, he added. The
communities were built in the 60s and 70s
to provide inexpensive housing. In the
beginning, it was poorer Swedes who moved
into these areas, but after a while, more
and more immigrants began to arrive.
"Sweden has a liberal immigration policy,
so today, the proportion of migrants is very
high," he added.
The Swedes moved away and the
immigrants stayed. When the
unemployment rate rises in areas where
people have less access to education and
work, then the unrest is greater, he said.
"And Sweden's youth unemployment rate of
24-percent is well above the EU average,"
Möller added.
Latent disposition for violence
The proverbial straw that broke the camel's
back was the shooting death of a 69-year-
old immigrant by the police, who claimed
they acted in self-defense. "Without this
incident the situation probably would not
have escalated," says Martin Diewald, a
sociologist at the University of Bielefeld in
Germany. Events, like that often unleash
the latent propensity for violence under the
surface," he said.
"For a group that sees itself as being
discriminated against, aggressions bubble to
the surface when something like this
happens because respect and recognition
have been refused to them," Diewald said.
Failed integration program
Meanwhile, the police have the rioters
under control. In the long term, Etzold
thinks the unrest could improve the
situation in the suburbs. "Policymakers
were surprised by the violence because they
neglected the problems in these
neighborhoods for a long time. Possibly, the
situation will lead to a growing awareness
that the government needs to do more," he
said.
Sweden's much-touted integration program
has failed in Etzold's view and the state will
have to invest more in education and the
job market. That's the only way Sweden can
regain its reputation as a model country, he
maintains. At the moment, says Etzold,
"that model is more a cliché than reality."