Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 15:10:55 -0500 From: malecki-AT-algonet.se (Robert Malecki) Subject: M-G: Re: Response to open letter, or "non-apples" Hi Ann Charlotte, Thanks for the long letter! Sounds almost like you are a representative of some department in the goverment! As you have given me the benefit of the doubt on my rather hard position about the situation in Sweden I think it only honest that I give some of my credentials on why I feel that i can and did and will continue to write like this about Sweden on the race question and the calling for the IOC not to put the summer games in Stockholm. OK.. I came to Sweden also as a political refugee and activists during the Vietnam war. Not a deserter by the way and have lived here since. Naturally as a white male and American I have had a rather had a priviledged position in Swedish society, partially because of coming from the "great" land in the west that so many Swedes were to immigrate to during the earlier part of this century. And naturally back then most of the Swedish political parties were soft on or supported many third world movements. So I guess the 25 or so years i have lived in Sweden gives me some qualifications in order to express my views. That is the short version. OK? You first ask me a question and then go on to give your own interpetation of what is going on in Sweden. You write; >. However, I am curious as to what actually prompted you to take >such a stand against Sweden and Swedes, condemming an entire country as >being like "Alabama in the sixties". First of all, I think you are greatly >insulting the African Americans of the United States by comparing Jim Crow >laws, Klu Klux Klan, and George Wallace, to the situation some people of >foreign ancestry have in Sweden.(By the way, you refer to people as >"non-swedes", do you refer to oranges as "non-apples" too?). As far as I >know we do not in Sweden practice systematic, institutionalized, blatant >racism that keeps certain groups of people from being accepted and >acknowledged as citizens in their own country. Well now, I do not think i have been insulting at all just trying to give what I believe to be a rather clear picture of the present situation here in Sweden. Are you denying that the KKK mentality and the burning of crosses in front of people's houses has not taken place? Are you claiming that the courts time and again have treated the numerous number of cases involving violence, firebombing of houses, cold blooded murder of people fairly. Then obviously one of us is lying. I claim for example this is true in Sweden today! By the way America where I lived for almost 28 years also claims to be "equal and justice" for all (your arguement on Sweden) but is it? Really? Equal? Just? and all the rest in America? in Sweden? Sounds almost like and Alice in Wonderland fairy tale which if you repeat it a number of times makes it true. Oh well just a thought about "image" and all that stuff.. I also have a most recent example of "Jim Crow" justice in the Swedish courts. A Latin American representative in the parliment who along with the national TV filmed a whole sequence of him not being allowed into a nightclub for members only and two minutes later the white reporter walks in without any problems at all. All on film and documented! The court and the cops could not even get the person who was on film into the court room! The wrong person was brought in and the case was dismissed .. I can give you many more examples of Jim Crow justice. In fact it is a well known fact that people with dark skins in Sweden recieve longer prison sentences then white Swedes. And racism not being institutionalized. How dare you insult my intelligence. I can almost give you the exact day when racism became instiutionalized in Sweden. Or perhaps better where the politcal establishment (especially the Social democracy) declared "open season" on foreign nationals with the wrong skin color. It was when the right wing populalist party "New Democracy" was on the rise and was taking votes from all parties on their racists and anti foreigner political agenda. What did the Social Democracy do? They sent out Leif Bloomberg former metal chairman in the metal trade union and Social democratic party central committee and parliment representative. And he made his infamous speech about "Just because most Swedes call people nigger doesn't make them racist" connected to a political strategy which hand in glove incorporated the program of "New Democracy" on this question. That line was basically throw as many out as possible, including going back in the files for over ten and fifteen years and throwing out for example a African youth who was 20 years old and came here when he was 12! years old alone! claiming that he lied about his parents! By the way the only party that did not capitulate politically to the "New Democracy" was the "FolkPartiet" and honestly one should take there hats off and bow to them on this particular question. How many horror stories do you want. How about the terror a couple of years ago when somebody was walking around into stores and shooting people in the head with a pistol. Their crime having black or brown skins. How many did he shoot before they got a suspect? Now to the orange and apples stuff. Well if there is any difference between orange and apples it is the first, only and continual lesson drummed into the head of every foreign national. The infamous "What did You say?" always has meant that this particular person is not a Swede and thus should be treated accordingly. In fact this has always been the case. But having a black skin makes it ten times as worse and a hundred times worse. Because even if you speak a perfect Stockholm dialect or what ever you skin color gives you away and you should be treated accordingly. Now naturally there are quite a lot of people who certainly are not racists. And you go on in your long letter trying to give some sort of picture of "economic refugees" refugees who have come from various wars and revolutions etc. and quite a number of fairly normal claims by the government in regards to their policy on this question. By the way this is the official picture that Sweden would like to give of how they see this question. However recent events in the past ten years connected to the economic crisis, unemployment and horrible political opportunisn by the established political parties including a general shift to the right by all parties has led to a very horrifying situation in reality. The truth is not what the latest committee as claimed as being policy. The truth is that blood is flowing every day on the streets of Sweden. People with foreign back ground don't get jobs, Am I lying to say that unemployment of foreign "non-Swede" people is ten times as high as the "real" Swede? The truth is the Sincari family. The truth is and African friend of mine who lost her job because she was black and a Swede needed that job! The truth is that black people can not go into a restaurant. The truth is that there is a compact underlying tension between Swedes and non-Swerdes being flamed on by the complete inability of the state, the courts and the cops to take these questions seriously. I do not know which world you come from but this is the situation in Sweden today. And it will get worse perhaps before it gets better. In fact i can talk to any non-Swede about these things and my letter and most if not almost all would understand exactly what I am talking about! I intend to do everything i can to fight the general trend not only in Sweden but Europe of becoming a "festung". Because that is what is really going on today. Naturally my letter is part of that. I do not think that I am doing anything wrong by writting what I believe was a rather mild letter expressing how i think things are going here. And of course trying to move things in the other direction. Naturally I no longer feel that Sweden sees the question of solving the problem. despite putting Mona Sahlen on a committee against rascism. Or all the various twists and turns which quite clearly say We do not any longer want non-Swedes in this country. (The reformed law on foreigners) the main thrust is in down sizing the non Swede element of the population. Thus plainly getting rid of as many people as possible. However I am prepared at any time to work with the trade union movement to solve some of these questions. As a member of the largest trade union in Sweden (Kommunal) I certainly think that the trade union movement has the social power to *really* change things for the better. And i have certainly time and again try to raise this question only to be met with a politie and cold hand. Unfortunately it appears that the trade union leadership does not see this question as a first priority. So naturally if you have any real suggestions about how "we" can really begin to work to change things in a better direction well i am certainly open for all possibilities. But until then I'm am afraid that the blood on the streets just keeps getting deeper and deeper. The children of non-Swedes eat less, have less money and perhaps no future in this country. People with different colored skins can,t go in a restaurant. The cops the coursts the politicians sit on their asses dreaming up new "reforms" to help on on the way. Mean while the prisons are being filled more and more with non-Swedes with another colored skin and longer and harder sentences..etc etc etc. Sorry if I sound so negative. Sweden once upon a time was a very lovely place for foreigner nationals. You know back in the good old days when Swedish industry was crying for more workers..Well now we have something entirely different. And your pint job of how things are or should be sounds to me like a bureaucratic snowjob.. Warm regards Bob Malecki Robert Malecki Tundalsgatan 10B 915 31 Robertsfors Sweden --- from list marxism-general-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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