The article omits mention of the fact that Sweden now has the highest per capita rape statistics in the world and according to a recent program on Swedish national TV, 58 percent of rapes are committed by foreigners. Swedes are finding that foreigners are testing some of their most cherished beliefs like respect for women and opposition to anti-semitism which is also rife among the Muslim immigrants.
76
The answer is amazingly simple, and the same for all countries like Sweden and, even worse, America: the "Do-Gooders" must be eliminated.
23
Always interesting to see how differently our "great" leaders try to sell the image of Sweden to foreigners. The very same Claes Hultgren complained in the national press a couple of months ago about the crisis in Filipstad, and how they needed national funding to avoid bankruptcy. How with 80% of adult migrants being unemployed, and an additional 10% being in various government funded job programs, it was impossible for them to handle the situation on their own. The national government had forsaken them by dumping all these costs on them.
It's also interesting how this article only focuses on the economic issues, but doesn't mention the significant increase in arson, sexual violence, drug dealing etc. that has come with the migrants. Especially since this is a bigger concern to the Swedes than the economic issues, where most have accepted that it's going to be a significant net loss.
67
My argument is with the headline of this article: The Nordic Model May Be the Best Cushion Against Capitalism. Here I quote Jeffrey Dorfman in Forbes (Jul 8, 2018), when describing the Nordic countries as socialist. “It certainly isn’t socialism. In fact, the only reason most such countries can afford those benefits is that their market economies are so productive they can cover the expense of the government’s generosity. Perhaps a better name for what the Nordic countries practice would be 'compassionate capitalism.”
39
I'm disturbed by Goodman's rather racist dismissal of “Swedish heritage,” as simply 'white, Christian and familiar.'. To treat cultural and religious differences as simply a form of racial bigotry leads to a blindness to the relationship between history, culture, education, nurture, faith, and reason. Part of the problem here is the assumption that parts of this dynamic interchange are private and therefore inviolate. What is needed is a far more open and honest conversation about matters of the heart and how we as communities and individuals work through these to adapt to our changing world.
59
This is a poorly researched article.
It includes several quotes from anti-immigrant Swedes that contain false information about the economic status of refugees and immigrants in Sweden---implying that few immigrants work (the vast majority do), that the later waves are having more difficulties (they actually have higher employment rates), and generally uses stereotypes rather than data or analysis.
When the article does use finally data, such as the 15 percent unemployment, it is late in the article. And while it correctly implies greater labor market problems for immigrants, even this statistic contradicts the earlier picture of no one working and everyone just living on welfare.
28
Unfortunately, this article demonstrates that these immigrants are making disproportionate demands on Sweden, and not contributing their share. That undermines the social contract.
My father came, with his family, to the US in 1922, refugees from the Russian Civil War. My grandfather, who was in this mid-50's when they arrived, took low-paying jobs (no welfare). The children were eager to become Americans, learned English, and contributed to society (as an editor, nurses, and a librarian) throughout their lives. They lived in St. Paul, where a mostly ethnic-Scandinavian population was welcoming. Immigrants need to adopt the culture of their new home.
If these immigrants to Sweden had been Central Americans, few of these problems would have arisen. Central Americans and Mexicans work harder than anyone else.
27
Please stop equating a large social safety net with socialism or the lack of one with capitalism.
It is a totally separate issue.
33
I lived in Sweden as an exchange student in the early 1970s before the waves of immigration from the Middle East grew. At that time there were Swedish language programs for immigrants offered by LO (which by the way is the Swedish equivalent of the AFL-CIO, not a trade union in its own right as incorrectly stated in this article). At that time the backlash was against against Finns who lawfully crossed the Baltic to work in Sweden.
I think this article highlights the backlash of the right wing Swedish Democrats against their latest target of hate. But it appears to attribute this hate mongering to the Swedish public at large. My Swedish friends and colleagues do not share this viewpoint. At least one other NYT commenter with current, real exposure to Sweden disputes it as well.
20
Case similar in HK, our government grants entry to 150 people per day from china to become HK permanent citizens. Those migrants, mount an extra pressure on the already straining public health care system. For a minor surgery to be done in public hospitals, the waiting time takes up few years or more, let alone all the major surgeries. Among those immigrants, some of them were those gave birth illegally in HK few years ago, given their children who was born in HK enjoyed the rights to abode, few years later, they are granted with the entrance tickets to become entitled citizens. The vicious cycle continues, everyday we are facing the influx of migrants from China to share our resources. They don’t need to work to enjoy the social welfares, most of them claim to be unemployed to get the social allowances regardless how rich they are in mainland! They don’t even need to learn to speak your language provided that we are all Chinese!
20
how could this article not mention alesina, glaeser, and sacerdote’s seminal paper on this exact thing! https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/glaeser/files/why_doesnt_the_u.s._have_a_european-style_welfare_state.pdf let’s have some really important social science that has already answered this question get referenced in articles about it!
8
I hope this works out for all involved. However, I’m puzzled at the narrative that native Swedes are somehow racist or xenophobic because they want foreigners to learn their way of life? It’s their country! They’re Nordic and have been since god knows when, why is it racist for them to have anxiety over having their cultural and physical identity be forever altered?
This is not a corollary to a diverse nation such as the U.S., which is a genuine polyglot of people. This is their ancestral homeland and they’re trying to help out other people in need. Instead, they’re being portrayed as a bunch of whiny racists. That’s insanity.
125
You mean immigration has some negative social outcomes? Have the sociology departments who've sat mum during the rise of Trump heard about this?
36
@newyorkerva; sorry but head scarves are a huge message of cover your femininity, an antithetical idea to Swedish women, French women American women,lots of non muslim women who care about equality. If a muslim female immigrant from a muslim country truly wants to assimilate into a non muslim country she needs to learn the language and remove the head scarf and full body floor length robes. You can still be a perfectly good muslim without the total disguise of ones femininity. Its a choice. The recent widespread wearing of headscarves world wide has gone along with radicalization of Islam. God doesnt care if you cover your hair.
68
Many immigrants, including Muslims, hate the west or in particular the US until they need a better place to live.
Then they move here and they still hate us.
Some also see assimilation as being a weakness.
77
All lives matter, but not all cultures are equal. Not matter how generous the funding, government programs which ignore the disparities will never yield the hoped-for outcomes.
34
The early 1900’s witnessed a large immigration of Swedes into the United States. Largely, they were not welcomed. They did not speak English. The were considered stubborn if not stupid. Many could only get jobs in domestic service or temporary farm help. They settled towns in the Midwest where they maintained their language and culture.
Yet, their influence would become profound. Cities such as Minnepolis thrived, not just for its businesses, but for its social structure, services, and arts.
Sweden, itself, has benefited from immigrants in former times. Belgiums immigrated to work the mines, Slavs served as forced laborers (the source of the word “Slave”), and the Sámi also worked in mines. Immigration is rarely pretty, but we must embrace it as part of our collective humanity.
11
I don't know where you get your evidence for the statement that Swedes were not welcome. Also slav has nothing to do with slave. It means glorious.
24
As someone who speaks Swedish, has lived in Sweden, is married to a Swede, and has studied Swedish culture and history for more than 40 years, I have to say that the depth of reactionary ignorance displayed in these comments is alarming. But unfortunately not surprising. Sweden is a subject about which lots of Americans have offered uninformed opinions for many years, beginning with Eisenhower’s jab at a “certain Socialist country” with a supposedly high rate of suicide (in fact, America’s is higher).
23
Thank you for an enlightened read and for using the right descriptive phrases like - “winner-take-all capitalism” and “The Nordic Model May Be the Best Cushion Against Capitalism” - as they properly describe unadulterated American style capitalism that leaves benefits the Least while impoverishing the Most number of people, unable to pay for taxes, housing, food, healthcare, education and life in general as they work themselves to death to support the greed and avarice of the few capitalists that are hoarding all the wealth and POWER out of society.
Here in Denmark and next door Sweden you have immigrants that din’t emigrate to countries with a similar culture as their own. Why? Instead they came to benefit and take advantage of Nordic humanity and achieved economic success while rarely having any intention to assimilate into or contribute to the new society and culture they are in.
Nordic countries combined have a smaller population than a few major American cities and can easily be overwhelmed by a relatively small influx of immigrants.
Winner takes all is not a pitfall of Capitalism - it’s a feature. Denmark has the best of both capitalism and socialism, where business is run by the people, NOT state, while the social welfare is run by the state. Isn’t that the purpose of a government of the people?
America’s government is run by the capitalists - throwing people off health care to reduce THEIR claimed expenses, etc all to maximize the transfer of wealth out of Society
28
Well, duh, of course the Nordic model is straining under the weight of recent immigration. It works when there is cultural homogeneity, shared values. People know how to react in any given situation. Japan has an Asian version of the Nordic model. Everyone knows what's expected of them, & they have a feeling of shared community, so they're willing to tolerate & help one another. We had a variation of it here for a while because immigrants had a time to assimilate to our loose version of Anglo-Saxon culture, which also had time to adapt & absorb immigrants. It wasn't always pretty, but we stumbled along, pizza & chop suey, so to speak. Recently we've absorbed large numbers of immigrants with no time for assimilation, & seemingly, they have no interest in it either. They want to build their own little versions of the countries they left here in the US. That's happening in Sweden now as well.
67
@C.H., Oh but they do bring in such different foods and restaurants!
6
According to the article, Mr. Jamali traveled through a number of countries like Turkey that were safe for him before heading for Sweden. This likely explains his failure to become an authorized immigrant in Sweden, but means he has other options aside from returning to Afghanistan.
38
This article sheds light on the differences between the US and Europe. The US is already culturally diverse, the focus on the individual allows for a more libertarian live and let live approach. Europe is still fairly nationalistic, with distinct cultures in France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and the Nordic countries (short list, don't mean to exclude anyone).
We have seen the French citizens from the former African colonies stuck in generational segregation. A child born to French citizens of Algerian descent is still not seen as French, leading to a deep social rot.
The strong social state is dependent on a shared identity. In Europe, that identity is driven by the country's specific national customs. The US shared identity is more philosophical (freedom, individual rights, and generally integration [unfortunately now called cultural appropriation by some]). This means that a strong European-style social system is much harder to set up in the US, but immigrants who embrace the opportunities in the US can make a new home here.
8
As climate change sinks Bangladesh, as Jakarta sinks, as North Africa becomes unlivable, the reality of a coming century of refugees and immigrants arrives.
News is that the Koch brothers have joined with George Soros in calling for an end to these wars of imperialism, oil and profit. And they may be motivated solely by profit in trade, but to the extent that the necessity of global planning enters the planet's conversation, their gesture is a good thing, is hopeful.
The answer has to be global. All international agencies that now exist—the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Health Organization, the UN, the WTO, UNESCO, the IOM, UIA, World Meteorological Organization—all these, must meet, organize, and turn to the preservation of the planet.
And this is to say that if we want our own culture and our own stability, we all have to improve the countries from which people are fleeing. I will bet all people want their own culture and way of life. No one wants to leave home. World birth control, and an end to petty wars of power which will just exterminate us all—this is the great work to which the globe needs to turn. Now.
19
If I can offer some unsolicited advice to immigrants to Sweden that will help to cement your place in Swedish society and form the groundwork for the future:
a. enroll your children in the Swedish Boy Scouts and Girl Guides program
b. enlist in the Swedish military in hugely disproportionate numbers, and raise your children to enlist.
c. if you are not permitted to work under Swedish law, put on a yellow-and-blue Swedish soccer jersey and create full-time immigrant volunteer squads to dig ditches, sweep sidewalks, prepare meals for shut-ins, tutor each other in English, plant flowers, pick up trash, and care for the elderly, during the time you are not studying Swedish.
d. Create Arabic and other language courses in Swedish and European culture and history, with the goal of promoting tolerance of western norms, mores, and values, and even the embrace of those values.
e. Turn in lawbreakers in your midst to the authorities.
Do these five things, and I am sure you will be far more embraced even if your Swedish is now rudimentary.
49
That advice could be offered to immigrants everywhere.
I will distill it to one word: Assimilate! It is critical.
Segregated communities that so not assimilate will ultimately be problematic. Anywhere.
35
So they didnt know this would happen - how naive. These migrants were illiterate before they let them in -did they really think they would assimilate seamlessly?? When will people learn you have to work with small numbers, huge numbers overwhelm the best system and this is what you get. So frustrating. Well if only Sweden had been so welcoming to the Jews in the 1930's and 1940's, they would have had a huge influx of educated loyal newcomers that may have transformed their sleepy Nordic economy into a powerhouse - well they didnt. Now they have this. How do you say good luck in Swedish?
26
now lets see the nytimes publish a similar article about the United States and the downside of illegal immigration. the same applies.
41
If most Swedes know English then why aren't the refugees learning English? It has to be easier than learning Swedish as a second language. If they could speak English first then work on their Swedish it might help with assimilation. But if the refugees refuse to join society and try to make a Muslim world in a non-Muslim society blowback is inevitable.
26
"Some decry an assault on “Swedish heritage,” or “Swedish culture,” or other words that mean white, Christian and familiar."
What, Sweden doesn't have a culture that is just as important as what say the Afghani culture, rooted in the 12th century? This is a disgusting sentence and shows the author's bias. French culture is different from Italian culture, is different from Dutch culture, is different from Danish culture, which is also different from Swedish culture...ask any Swede...which is different from Norwegian, Irish, British and German culture. Has the author never travelled. This infuriates me. This has nothing to do with color and that is the trouble with the left, everyone white is privileged and racist and all those immigrants are just trying for a better life.
From Wikipedia "For decades, Danish immigration and integration policy was built upon the assumption that the next generation of immigrants would do better than the previous one and eventually do as well as Danes in education and employment. This assumption was disproven by a 2019 study by the Danish Immigration Service and the Ministry of Education, where the second generation did better than the first generation, but the third generation did no better than the second and in some cases worse."
I challenge Mr. Goodman to go without French food, to not look at Italian art, to never view an Ingmar Bergman movie, and to eat falafels. He should also ignore the Greeks, they created what...democracy!
50
Aah religion rears its divisive head as if Christianity never had a violent history. Hysterical that immigrants being forced to learn about Christmas and Easter is so important considering even biblical historians debate their accuracy. The funniest story of my own daughter in a Texas public middle school geography class was when they started talking about the Garden of Eden to which she said what and where is that. They were shocked but no one could tell her where it was. Oh like Narnia she replied. Just more proof to her the nonsense of religion. I find it amusing the picture of the Democratic picnic has white women in scarves with long sleeves yet they complain about women wearing Islamic scarves. It still about the color of your skin. Allow these groups to open restaurants from their own cuisine as Houston has where you can go to different parts of town to enjoy food from all across the world. A good meal as Anthony Bourdain taught us is what brings people together.
9
Ha! Your daughter sounds amazing. Perfect response!
4
Some decry an assault on “Swedish heritage,” or “Swedish culture,”
“They don’t show solidarity for people who are different.”
“People are quite open to showing solidarity for people who are like themselves,”
“I would start by forcing them to learn Swedish,”
One bus driver refuses to pick him up. Swedes holler at him from passing cars, telling him to go home.
Remind me to laugh out loud the next time a Swede calls the US racist.
9
@Libby A lesson here in how to take things out of context.
8
Hopefully the polemicists won’t continue to rive and destroy, as they are fixed to do so in the USA. The Swedes have got a great system and they should continue to tweak it and accept the need for slow change; the immigrants are there, but limiting the influx from here on makes sense.
12
With immigration such a hot button issue in the U.S., it's interesting to note the "Recommended" reader responses to these Comments. The numbers bode well for Trump2020.
19
To help them integrate, and reduce tension, ban the loud calls to prayer. They were a necessity before the days of clocks. Now everyone carries a cell phone and can set the alarm to remind themselves to pray,. Why should others be woken up with the calls?
48
Everybody cannot live in the western democracies, but a flood of people from the third world can overwhelm them. That makes this a serious threat to these nations, their cultures and civil order.
There is a distinct Swedish culture just as there is a distinct German or French culture despite claims to the contrary by the willfully ignorant. People of any race, culture or ethnicity will push back when they feel threatened by dissimilar groups that do not assimilate. It was ill advised to let people with no marketable job skills, no ability with the common language, and who do not share the culture of that nation as economic migrants. When the people from Syria crossed into Islamic Turkey they were refugees, but when they left Turkey for Europe they became economic migrants.
I am not happy with the snide remark in the article about white and Christian somehow being objectionable. The dominant culture of most of Europe has been Christian and most of the people were Caucasian until very recently. People who are native born Swedes might rightly feel that the culture of their family, community and nation are threatened by people who are almost the polar opposite of them and it is reasonable to think they might push back. I do not condone hate, but people are tribal along many lines and only a disingenuous person would deny that.
Climate change will trigger massive migrations, so this is just a sneak preview and the problem will be coming to your town.
58
Sweden/Norway/Denmark have all been very accommodating and hospitable to immigrants. While these are mostly economic refugees they have misused the tolerance level of these countries with their extortionist and intolerant demands.
Immigration has diminished a society that was Calvinist in principle and lived with a consensus driven compact. When different faiths come in and want to use the Christian guilt complex driven efforts to have superior rights then something is inherently incorrect.
38
I have been traveling to Sweden almost every year since 2003. My family and a some of my best friends are Swedish. It was a great country until 2015. I never felt unsafe, streets were clean, I never saw people worried about their pensions, women could walk in the streets at 3:00 am by themselves. Not anymore. Crime and sexual assaults are climbing. With good reason people are getting anxious about their pensions, metro stations are dirtier, social harmony is getting broken...What a shame.
250
what a shame when north and south American tribes killed each other for tens of thousands of years before Europeans came. what a shame that Europeans built railroads and electrical grids in nation's all around the world. what a shame when Europeans discovered antibiotics and hundreds of other life saving technology and shared that information with the world.
What a shame that people, today, blame their self-made problems on people who have been dead for hundreds of years.
108
@Ivan I don't trust these anectodal viewpoints, I see reports all the time that places in London where I grew up has "no-go" zones for non-Muslims etc. These claims don't add up to the facts. In Sweden, convictions for crimes have steadily decreased since the 1970s. Since 2010, Sweden has been conducting surveys according to which there's a 2% rise in respondents saying they'd experienced or come in to contact with crime. I'm willing to grant that there are problems, but nobody can take for face value your claim that social harmony is "getting broken" whatever that really means.
The homicide rate in Sweden consistently hovers at around 1 per 100,000, making it one of the most exceptionally safe countries. Over the past few years this has risen to 1.14 - be rational, the worst case scenario is that there is a crime problem that authorities and the state are struggling to keep up with.
22
@Afghan American
...so two wrongs make a right. Got it.
14
This article is ridiculous. No one has ever believed that the Swedish system was based on benevolence. It’s based on solidarity. You do your job to contribute to the system, and in return you know that you are protected by the system. There’s no economic system anywhere that can sustain a large influx of people who don’t add value back into the system while simultaneously draining resources. The system is predicated on people being able to contribute. Hopefully subsequent generations of kids will able to participate that in that system more fully. It’s hard when people come in already old and illiterate.
I’m also baffled by the dig at Swedish culture, as if it wasn’t a real thing. Sweden has a long and rich cultural history and set of norms, traditions, and cuisines. Why would that be of any less value than cultures from other nations? It makes no sense to just say it’s about being Christian and white. Anyone who has spent any time there can speak to a really specific world view and way of living.
560
@Elle:"I’m also baffled by the dig at Swedish culture, as if it wasn’t a real thing."
As long as the words "white" and "Christian" are, to ANY degree, associated with the definition or description of a culture, that culture's legitimacy is considered at best suspect by the forward thinkers who illuminate the way forward in mass-migration to the "West" and "North". This applies on a regional, national, provincial, state or city level. The NYT consistently parrots this perspective.
This perspective ensures the same result in the immigration discussions: Target nations, just be quiet and suck it up. Any further debate is confirmation of your xenophobia, Islamophobia and racism.
94
@Elle Exactly. Apparently the only cultures that don't count are Northern European cultures, where the majority is white. The fact that the author put "Swedish Culture"Also a study in Denmark in 2019 found that while the second generation of non-western cultural immigrants fared better than their parents, those benefits were lost by the third generation and there was a continued reliance on the state. This quote from the article Some decry an assault on “Swedish heritage,” or “Swedish culture,” or other words that mean white, Christian and familiar." is disgusting and racist and should not have gotten through an editorial review.
78
Efforts to assimilate refugees as Sweden has done are nice stories but band-aid approaches to an enormous problem. Sweden discusses strained budgets, reaching a "tipping point" and slowing the influx of refugees but the number of desperate people worldwide who want to flee their homelands continues to rise. The only long-term solution is birth control in developing nations.
101
This is a societal issue as much or more than an economic one. Sure, the refugees are straining local budgets but a few million euros here and there won't make that much difference. The real problem is a refusal to even slightly integrate. For example, the headscarves are a reminder that these people demand and accept women as lower status, a repulsive proposition to the progressive Swedes. The refugees look more like they're trying to bring Islamic culture to Sweden than working to integrate themselves into Swedish society.
577
@Michael A headscarf does not mean that women are lower status anymore than a head covering for women in Amish country means that those women are lower status. There are issues of status and patriarchy in many of these cultures, but at least they're obvious about it instead of hiding it the way we do here in the USA.
Sweden figured wrong about educational achievement of the refugees based on earlier immigration patterns of high skilled folks. The US has a need for low skilled workers because we don't like to clean our houses, cut our grass, wash our cars, etc.
19
@Michael. That is a good point, i am part of a community in Canada where approximately 50% came over as refugees (the balance came over as immigrants under a number of programs including the merit based points category) in the mid to late 80's and all of the 90's.
The majority of those who came over as refugees spoke limited English, though none were illiterate with had education that rarely exceeded high school.
Over the last three decades the community has integrated itself impressively with the second generation showing remarkable levels of academic and business success.
As a matter of fact the achievements of the women outstrip the men especially in the professions. The majority of this community is Hindu with the balance evenly split between Catholics and protestants.
30
@newyorkerva I'd say that head coverings for women indicate lower status no matters where they're found, so yes, the same would be true for Amish women.
134
Many of the immigrants from countries in Asia and Africa who came to America over the last 40 years have been successful. The major difference between their experience (so far) and that of European immigrants of the early 20th century is that the European's experiences were based in cultures that valued a more individualistic norm. They also valued the concepts of democracy as an ideal. Many came from countries with monarchies whose powers had been checked by the formation of parliaments and other government systems. They came to America with the express intent of assimilating. Many discouraged their children from speaking their native tongue. Others anglicized their names. Near all learned English.
For immigrants now entering Sweden and many other countries, integration is not a priority. They aren't immigrating to become a Swede or an American, they are immigrating to be safe. They want their culture, religion and safety. Assimilation seems a threat, not a goal. Religions brought from Europe by immigrants were Christian. That's just a fact. There were many divides concerning what kind of Christianity to belong to, but they were all versions of Christianity. For Muslims or Hindus or other religions integration and assimilation are existential threats. They fear losing their children to western norms and culture. They don't want their children making choices based on those norms. They want the control necessary to pass their culture and religion onto the next generations.
22
It's nice to have a compassionate immigration policy that welcomes all those seeking entry. That isn't possible considering the shear numbers of people who want to improve their life and seek opportunities. At some point harsh decisions need to made, the life boat dilemma.
A immigration moratorium of a few years is needed so asylum,refugee, birth tourism,and various gaming the system issues are addressed. This is a divisive issue. One party speaks of open borders and labels those who want controlled imigration in derogatory terms. Coming here illegally must be dis-incentivized. Rule of law matters..the Statue of Liberty and inscriptions weren't ment to over rule that.
28
I remember when I was young and the world population was turning from 2 to 3 billion people. My school teachers introduced us to the concept of Zero Population Growth.
I suggest the possibility that if a male immigrant already has two children, he voluntarily get a vasectomy in order to obtain a path to citizenship in various countries. In my town a man was recently killed along with his 9 children (all under the age of ten) in an auto accident. It was terrible to contemplate the loss of so much young life but it is also puzzling that large families are currently necessary for people who are hoping to emigrate.
In the end, the USA has a lot to answer for and the best thing to do is to permit immigration and encourage smaller families.
15
If every country puts down guns and adopts the social democracy system, people wouldn't leave.
It's the only way forward for the planet to survive.
Cooperation, not competition.
5
We should not conflate economic migrants with refugees. Most of the young, male migrants who have flooded into Europe are there out of purely economic motives. Having left their parents, wives and children back home, they can hardly claim it was too dangerous to stay there themselves.
57
I think articles like these play into the worst right wing fears about immigration. What threat does it truly pose? If Europe can re-build after WWII, in which tens of millions of people were displaced, than without question it can accommodate several million migrants as a far wealthier and technologically advanced continent.
This article provides expertise, it is just engaging at the level of popular opinion without any context or facts. Precisely what populist governments prey on.
Governments and their constituents need to connect the dots and realize that the antagonisms caused by climate change and war will create millions of migrants in the coming decade, the UN estimate is up to 10% of the worlds population will be displaced by climate change. There is no alternative but to deal with it and be thankful that we are far more equipped to deal with mass migration than at any time before. The right wing line about border policy is a myth, there is no alternative to accepting migrants because this is the reality of our world.
3
@me I honestly don't quite understand your question. Could you provide any disagreements specifically, using facts?
1
I have a certain amount of confusion from various statements in this article. First, it states that the refugees cannot work while their asylum cases are pending. It also states that the unemployment rate is 15% among them. Then, it goes on to claim "Most refugees can study only part time."
If they are unable to work, why can the only study part time?
24
This is weirdly timely! In 2005 in my admission essay to the Public Policy masters program at Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, I cited a study saying that 75 percent of those polled indicated rising disapproval of immigration in Sweden, which was alarming given the country's positive integration record. Hertie did not accept me into the program. But reading the essay, earlier this week, when I was Kondonizing my home office, it was uncanny that the policy issues I had hoped to study further are in today's headlines: immigration, refugees, climate change, press freedom, terrorism and nationalism. If Sweden becomes a turncoat nation on this issue, then all hope will be lost.
6
Fascinating article and a harbinger of much broader and deep political, economic and social impacts yet to come. Not only are we seeing the effects of 15 years of warfare in the Middle East but also more subtly the effects that climate change will increasingly have in the years and decades to come. This will look like child's play compared to the when the wells and taps run dry across all of the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.
I applaud Sweden for taking on this enormous challenge but I don't quite understand why we must equate "work" with a wage? Why can't Sweden and other countries take up the approach that if you are on social welfare beyond a certain time, you have to "work" doing something at least part time even if that is filling in potholes, picking up trash, or taking meals to the elderly. At some point, we have to provide the opportunity and demand that something is given back for that which was paid forward.
15
There are issues with immigration. But at least the Swedes are setting assimilation and integration into their societal agenda. What we seem to be doing here, instead, is to let each ethnic group separate off into their own enclaves, maintaining their own ethos, hoping that eventually they will assimilate. In reality, the enclaves encourage separateness. Assimilation takes effort, both on the part of the immigrants and the host country. Perhaps the Swedish model is better than ours.
13
Some of these comments are shocking. I do not know whether Sweden will solve its immigration problems. Nevertheless, I believe Swedish culture is bigger than these problems and Sweden will succeed.
I imagine that there were articles from the early 20th century which expressed concerns about Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigants.
5
Exactly! And generations later, the initial hostility from natives towards immigrants fades away as the immigrants’ children assimilate and contribute just as well as anyone else.
2
@Tom:
What is truly shocking most of us today is that an additional 6 billion human beings have been added since the 1900s you eloquently mention in your comment, many of whom are born in poor disfunctional or war torn countries.
12
It seems like many people are letting the superficial issue of “cultural differences” distract them from the facts, which, according to this article, are 1) Sweden’s economy is fully capable of handling this situation, as burdensome as it may seem, and 2) refusing resources to the needy is only going to promote hostility and resentment, eventually becoming a downward spiral of classism and intolerance that is all too familiar in the US. Even if you find “cultural differences” off-putting and are annoyed at others simply living their lives, helping them is much more logically sound than rejecting them.
2
Oil rich Norway plus U.S. gold plated NATO Military (free ride) privileging, enabling social safety net. Taxes currently imposed even with refugees spiking still a minimal burden.
7
Sweden has nice people but it is not an environment most people would voluntarily choose for emigration...Long dark dreary winters...Young immigrants are like many young Swedes...They want to move somewhere else...
4
Not so sure about that. Give me winter.
6
Typically when you want to immigrate to someone else's country you fill out an application, you learn their language, you familiarize yourself with their customs and ways and swear allegiance to your new country, especially if they are giving you asylum, and you convince them that you want to be one of them. That mostly has not happened here.
What we have here are the elements of the million illegal liimgrants who sneaked into Europe and who were let in mostly by Germany and Angela W. Merkel. If it was my country I'd kick most of them out.
One way or another Germany finds a way to mess up Europe.
31
Come on NY Times. This is news, not an opinion piece. Phrases like this are condescending to the reader looking for news:
"“Swedish culture,” or other words that mean white, Christian and familiar."
So, there are no such things as Swedish culture and anyone that claims there is, is doing so only to cloak their true racist beliefs?
Give me a break.
54
@Stuart M, I also thought that this statement was terribly off-putting. As if being Swedish is bad. So it is their culture and that they happen to be white and Christian doesn't make it wrong. So tired of this white bashing clap trap. Whites currently make up about 15% of the world's population.
23
Not so sure about that.
Read this, Bernie. This why your proposals will not work here. This is why illegal immigrants and refugees cannot receive government benefits.
24
Sweden should follow America’s lead for fixing its problem: Deny reality and chalk all that doesn’t work per presumption up to racism, since that model has worked so well here.
18
here the thing about immigrants. if you give them legal status, they will pay taxes and contribute to the economy. In fact, even illegal immigrants pay sales tax, property tax (through their rent to landlords), road tolls etc and contribute to the economy by patronizing businesses. The idea that immigrants will be a strain on the economy is as ridiculous as the idea that US born babies will be a strain.
2
@James Campbell Immigrants, especially low skilled immigrants cost money, study after study has shown. Factor in education, medical etc. and their contributions in sales tax etc. don't cover it.
27
Well, James, by your logic we really should throw open the borders and invite all who can get here to come and live. Absolutely no downside, right? Of course, living in Iowa you might be unaware of, for example, overcrowded public schools which are focused on ESL rather than AP, honors programs, and special education for American kids. Over crowded emergency rooms and some public hospitals going broke because of the underfunded mandate to treat all comers may also have escaped your notice but the NYT has covered it (see the article on the crippling cost of Diabetes Care for illegal immigrants in Miami and LA, for example.) There’s the foreign gang problem (MS-13) to contend with.
I could go on but the main question I would like to ask you is what, from your perspective, is the limit on immigration? Is there a limit? If so, what is the basis for that limit?
May I suggest that you go live in a large metropolitan area for two decades or so and raise children who attend the public schools there before you so blithely opine about immigration and its benefits. To many of us, this country is more than its economy. Speaking of immigration as if it is only an economic issue and not a cultural one, as well, is insulting whether one is speaking of Sweden, the United States, or elsewhere.
21
If the middle doesn’t have these open conversations with hard data, this massively important topic will be shaped by the loud voices mostly on the far right. The left has to be willing to say more than migration is great for everyone and to say otherwise makes you a racist.
Complex issues cannot be resolved with tweets and pronouncements. I applaud everyone doing the hard work in the middle.
16
@NancyJ< Liberals may have good ideas but they always leave the work for others to do.
7
Characterization of Swedish culture as “white and Christian” only is an insult and a blatant display of cultural ignorance and insensitivity. I am not Swedish but I have lived in Europe and have visited the Nordic countries many times. There are profound and interesting differences between Sweden and Norway or Sweden and Denmark, between the heritage of August Strindberg and Henrik Ibsen, between the Stockholm and Oslo urban cultures. And now it is all folded into the same meaningless label as Alabama and Missouri: “white and Christian”? What if I said “all Muslims are the same”? People who come into a well-defined and self-aware national culture have to assimilate or leave. The Nordic countries cannot compromise their own values of social cohesion, work ethics, education, and pride in their history in order to pander to newcomers from places where these values are unknown. As long as immigrants want to be good Swedes, they will be accepted. The burden of proof is on them, not their generous hosts.
53
Sweden has a crisis with its refugee situation, anyone who does not acknowledge this obvious fact is in denial.
However, some context is needed. Why are these people fleeing in the first place? Sweden is certainly not benign (nothing comparable to the USA) and some guilt is at play it seems. They’ve tried to do the right thing, but Sweden is a tiny country and is overwhelmed.
As long as the west blithely invades and meddles with these poor countries forced migration will continue to be a major problem. And that is before one considers AGW.
All this is to say, yes the refugees are a crisis but they are not emerging from a black hole.
8
@M I think you might want to investigate what China is doing in some of these countries (as well as to your city) and see how many immigrants they take it. Sweden is benevolent, China is not.
8
The logic is simple: Creating a safety net, for example, in form of healthcare for “all” will spike immigration and thus increase racism because the culture feels threatened.
As a German-Afghan US immigrant, who is a proponent of a regulated loophole-free capitalistic system, I share the downside fear of probable increasing illegal immigration that comes with a Sanders/Warren election. The candidates should be aware and concerned of the negative consequences, and should address them.
It is also not about one model being superior over another; A hybrid model (capitalism + socialism influences) may work out. Clear is that our current US model focused on aggressive capitalism has failed us by allowing one opinion to matter more than another. One consequence is that Lobbyism defines what our government does in the short and long-term. The above-mentioned candidates will address these issues because they are more independent than other candidates. For example, unexplainable drug price discrepancies, which are part of the healthcare issue will be addressed.
9
The difficulties inherent to accepting large groups of immigrants or asylum seekers are obvious, but with sufficient resources and effective policies--and a realistic time horizon--those people can be well integrated into society. Accepting too many people with too few resources, however, guarantees a reaction and gives right-wing parties an opportunity to gather support. An immigration/asylum system that limits how many people enter a country and provides them with the long term resources needed to integrate is the only way we can help those in need, stimulate our economies, and reduce the right-wing impulse.
18
This is what happens when sentiment overwhelms good sense. There is a lesson here for the US. We have virtually no social safety net, yet there are seemingly rational politicians who would open our borders and abolish immigration enforcement. (A policy that not even Obama could stomach.)
The progressive left seems fixated on what these "refugees" want. They seem to be incapable of facing the issue of what American citizens need. In return for opening borders, what do WE get in return? The ultra-left finds it impossible to answer, beyond the platitudes of charity and warm feelings.
Until they can form an honest cost/benefit response, open borders will remain a losing proposition.
37
Solution ... OK, we tried to help you, but it's not working out. We are sending you home. Good luck. This is another example of a European country that is now paying a huge price for allowing a huge influx of Muslim immigrants. It's not that Muslims are bad, but their culture/religion are simply TOO different to permit smooth assimilation into non Muslim societies. Sorry if this sounds bigoted, but this is a situation that is repeating itself over and over in multiple countries.
49
@Glenn monahan: Glenn I would humbly suggest it’s not the fact these folks are Muslims that creates the problem, it’s the simple fact that generations of folks that live in Sweden worked hard paid into a system to allow themselves a good life, that good life is being threatened not because of a persons religion or skin color but merely because no one wants to give up what he has worked so hard for, if there is to be a “ shared” sacrifice it should come from those who were either the reason surrounding the conflicts or those that benefit from conflicts. In the Middle East the players are easy to identify, Royal Saudis, right wing Israelis, their American supporters and the defense industry. Swedes had no part whatsoever in creating this situation, they have a right to be unhappy, pay up Adelson, Halliburton and MBS.
8
@Glenn monahan Yes, it is bigoted. Broad generalizations like this help no one, well, except Mr Trump.
1
Is this supposed to be an example of unbiased journalism? It is simply another allegation of racism against a society that is doing more for the immigrants than most others. The immigrants should be enormously grateful for every scrap they get. And where is reporting on the widespread rape of Swedish women by Muslim men? Soon the NYT will not be distinguishable from the Huffington Post.
47
Americans are told their culture is toxic. Hard work, dedication, charity, stiff upper lip, liberty, courtesy, conformity while remaining an individual, education, family, entrepreneurship, equal treatment under thelaw...these are less interesting that what "free" stuff do my "rights" give me from those who still love that culture.
22
I guess it's time for NYT's monthly crisis report from Sweden, featuring radical sound bites to get the American political tribes riled up but little actual research.
Look at a chart of immigration to Sweden after WWII: the latest wave is another blip similar in scale to waves from Finland, Iran, Eastern Europe, and Yugoslavia. Each of those groups was described as an economic and cultural threat (yes, even the neighboring Finns!), yet here we are decades later with a functioning democracy, a good economy, and a lot of people with funny names like Zlatan Ibrahimovic whose Swedish identity is no longer a subject of debate.
Yes, difficult choices of spending and co-existence must be made. However, the xenophobic message is starting to get through because of a massive tailwind. Over the last 25 years, income inequality in Sweden has been growing as fast as any other in the OECD, and wealth equality is second only to the US. The three biggest cities are growing quickly, leaving the rest of Sweden with a shrinking, aging population. fewer opportunities, and less tax income to pay for critical services. Sound familiar, Americans?
The only real difference between the US and Sweden is that in the US, we're still waiting for everyone to wake up to the fact that the richest society in history can trivially afford and benefits enormously from a basic quality of life for every single person in its borders, while in Sweden we're fighting to keep the human decency we already have.
10
This article reeks of propaganda... it might be entirely organic how this came about but I doubt it... I mean you have an article demonizing Socialism and legal Immigration in one fail swoop.
The bottom line: of course socialism is going to cost more... but you're kidding yourself if you think you're the one that will be paying more. They can't get blood from a stone and face it, you're already tapped... no... the money will come from the rich and that's why we see such a fight over this topic... the rich control the narrative.
They want you to think kindness is going to come out of your pocket. But it really comes out of theirs... so be kind! It's cheaper than you think... and you'll feel so good about yourself!
5
Denmark, in desperation, has taken radical measures to integrate Islamic immigrants
From the NY Times
"Starting at the age of 1, “ghetto children” must be separated from their families for at least 25 hours a week, not including nap time, for mandatory instruction in “Danish values,” including the traditions of Christmas and Easter, and Danish language. Noncompliance could result in a stoppage of welfare payments. Other Danish citizens are free to choose whether to enroll children in preschool up to the age of six.
Denmark’s government is introducing a new set of laws to regulate life in 25 low-income and heavily Muslim enclaves, saying that if families there do not willingly merge into the country’s mainstream, they should be compelled."
NY Times, July 1. 2018
If Trump would do similar, the NY Times would undoubtedly label him a fascist.
30
@talesofgenji
Germany imposed some pretty strong requirements on its immigrants as well. Imagine the outrage if the US government required immigrants to take English lessons?
22
“Some decry an assault on “Swedish heritage,” or “Swedish culture,” or other words that mean white, Christian and familiar.”
Why is this article’s writer interjecting this very subjective comment into this piece, which is otherwise presented as an objective reporting of the news? Either report the news (Swedes are unhappy that unemployed immigrants are straining their social system) or write an opinion piece (Swedes are racists). Stop trying to pass off one as the other, NYT.
61
So, based on numerous article and comments it seems that:
Much of the migrant issues stem from people moving from corrupt and politically unstable war torn countries in the middle east, africa and central/south america.
According to many, it is the US and to some extent her allies, as well as enemies like Russia that have caused the wars and political instability by taking out existing "bad" leaders and creating power vacuums.
Many believe that it is our (the stable western countries) responsibility to put money into these countries to help educate people, provide aid, humane living conditions and benevolent governments and make living in these countries "humane" by our standards.
But money has been provided, albeit to a lesser extent than many believe is necessary, but we've seen in central/south America that proving more aid does nothing if the current corrupt government stays in power.
Perhaps the answer is we, collectively, the stable, civilized, western countries should just take over these countries and provide all that same aid. At least we could hope 100% of it is not linking some politician's of warlords pockets and it should greatly improve the quality of life in these countries and drastically reduce the need for unrestrained migration.
4
A major reason why European and other advanced economies can offer better social programs than the U.S. does is that U.S. taxpayers heavily subsidize the military defense of most of these countries. If aggressor nations gain technological military advantage over the U.S., we all will lose both our political freedom and our economic prosperity. For example, ask the Muslim population of northwestern China how they are enjoying rule from Beijing.
19
The article fails to mention two things.
1, The Nordic model in Sweden is built on and by immigrants. During the 60s and 70s immigrants from Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Chile and Finland, among others arrived in large numbers alleviating a massive shortage of workers. Those immigrants helped build Sweden's modern cities and by working in the factories of Swedish companies helped propel them into international giants such as Ikea and Ericsson.
2. The drastic cut in welfare and public services is due by a wave of tax cuts and privatisation of public companies and welfare institutions that started in the 90s. By a series of governments on both the right and then left, that was "inspired" by the ideas of Thatcher, Friedman and Ayn Rand. A set of policies that is, unfortunately, still on going.
So basically the Nordic Model is cracking, not because of immigration, but because Sweden tried to emulate American Capitalism.
A fact conservatives and right wing nationalist doesn't care to admit which is why they are perfectly happy blaming immigrants instead.
Despite the fact that in 10 years time the current set of immigrants will have become a huge asset for a country with an ageing population while the immigrants themselves will have become completely integrated, nationalised swedes.
Because that is exactly what happen to the immigrants from the 60s and 70s, whose children I grew up with and went to school with, without ever thinking of them as anything but Swedish.
10
It’s not an analogous comparison. Cyprus, Greece, Finland and Turkey (to a lesser extent) have Westernized cultures. The current wave of immigration comes from Muslim/Islamic cultures which clash with basic tenets of Western fairness - gender equality, religious tolerance, etc. Unless there is an acceptance of these principles and an attempt to assimilate, they should be regarded as guests without state supports or voting rights.
17
The problem isn't immigration. It's mulitculturalism. Assimilate! Assimiliate! Assimiliate!
America forces that and that's why immigrants are successful here.
16
One very big point is overlooked in this whole discussion: were it not for the U.S. invasion of Iraq under false pretext seventeen years ago, a war that spread across the Middle East, a war that created unimaginable pain, suffering as well as hundreds of thousands of deaths, a war that was begun for one purpose only to eradicate the Middle East of enemies of Israel and The House of Saud under the auspices of a “ war on terror”, that war begun on 9/11 would never have happened were it not for our meddling in the Middle East for big oil and Israel, a war that has created not only refugee problems throughout Europe, in turn creating a swing to the right, has eaten up a generation of Americans tax dollars that should have been used rebuilding America to compete in the twenty first century not paying for endless wars than will never be won which in turn delivered to America a Nationalist attitude in Trump and perhaps with good reason, we exited WWII with the world as our oyster, we enter the twenty first century attempting to piece together the broken shell of our own creation for our own survival and have left a swath of destruction on three continents forcing millions to flee for their survival. If there were a textbook written on how NOT to run the world it should be written by the troika of American and Israeli leaders, international financiers, extraction industries who plundered the world and its environment and the defense industry Eisenhower warned us about.
14
The Swedes have a pretty good thing going for themselves, that they built for themselves, by themselves. Now they are being asked to provide that same good life for people who did none of the work, paid none of the bills and may not even wish to make any contribution at all. It takes 6 years to learn enough Swedish to work in a restaurant? I don’t wonder why right-wing movements are gaining traction.
26
"provide the best healthcare, housing, and welfare benefits for those who are fleeing violence."
Why? I know poster is referring to Sweden but the implication is that this what the US should do
We have plenty of US citizens who need services, who are homeless, jobless.
19
This story is a microcosmic reflection of what may be the most urgent threat of the 21st Century to our species--even more urgent than climate change IMO. Economic and conflict driven migration is as old as human history. However, the Earth's so-called developed nations may have reached their saturation point in terms of accommodating migrants seeking to build decent lives for themselves and their families. Unless the developed, "civilized" world is ethically and spiritually willing and financially able to wall itself off from all those in Africa, Asia and Central and South America fleeing violence, persecution, unspeakable poverty and lives that are otherwise unworthy of living, we must figure out how to induce the migrants to stay home and build there futures there.
I would suggest one way to reduce migration related to conflict is to make the UN a genuine and robust diplomatic and peacekeeping force with real teeth, not subject to the veto power of a Security Council member. It should be used to prevent political disputes in undeveloped countries from becoming civil wars, one of the biggest causes of migration.
I'd also suggest serious economic development measures in those regions similar in scale to the Marshal Plan that rebuilt a WWII-decimated Europe. If every developed nation contributed, say 50% of its military budget or 1% of its annual GNP, to a project offering jobs that paid as much or more than a migrant would earn by leaving, far fewer would leave home.
7
Does China and Russia participate?
2
@Practical Thoughts More importantly why aren’t Israel and The Saudis taking in the refugees, they are the reason for the wars. Russia and China have zip to do with the equation, Russia got involved after we staged a coup to throw out the Ukraines duly elected President and insert one more friendly to our “ allies” in the Middle East
3
This article and the comments on it make me sad for the future of humanity. If the predictions about climate change are at all close to being right, we're going to have to deal with lots of migration and refugee issues going forward. How are we going to deal with that, if we can't deal with these comparatively small resettlement problems?
And I'm not necessarily blaming one side or the other. I'd say that wealthier, more stable countries have a duty to take in refugees, and refugees have a duty to integrate into the countries willing to take them. However, it seems like it might be unrealistic to expect both sides to live up to their obligations to a sufficient extent to make things work.
11
I think when a person chooses to leave his/her native country for another, whether it's forced because of violence or voluntary, that person must also be willing to assimilate and integrate into the country that he/she is going to. I'm not saying that people have to give up all of their cultural identity or anything to that extreme but it's also just not realistic if you refuse to assimilate to the new country. I am speaking as an immigrant to the U.S. People leave their countries for a reason. If you're not willing to change yourself then it makes more sense to stay and fight in your country for the changes you want to see.
With that said, I do think most immigrants want to contribute to society and work. It's just that the time it takes them to assimilate might not be at a fast enough pace for the locals, which I also understand.
It's a complex matter without any easy solutions.
31
The pessimistic perspectives in the article invariably lean towards those with a vested interest in stoking xenophobic fear. They are right-wing politicians running for office on platforms of distrust and cultural homogeneity, thinly veiled with "economic concern" and appeals to an imagined, glorious "pre-immigrant" past. Little data and evidence is provided. When the actual experts speak (economists, front-line labor experts, etc.), there is concern, sure, but the message is primarily one of optimism and faith in the Nordic Model. The model's success relies on impartial, unprejudiced public investment in its citizens. Abandoning it now, for little purpose other than to satiate reactionary xenophobes, seems the best way to ensure the system fails. Rather than Mr. Grahn's unfounded closing quote, I'll leave you with the real takeaway from the article:
"Over all, the cost of social programs for refugees runs about 1 percent of Sweden’s annual national economic output, about as much as Sweden now spends on international aid. The economy is growing. The government’s finances are solid.
'Sweden can bear this cost,' Mr. Ruist says. 'This seemingly unsolvable refugee crisis is fully solvable.'"
3
European democratic socialism has benefitted from the fact that the great majority in each country are white. Now that non-whites are potentially benefitting from government programs, support has been reduced. The fact that those programs would benefit non-whites is the reason the US has lagged behind Europe in social programs. It is all about who "deserves" help and whites world wide have never believed that non-whites are really a part of the family.
5
@Old blue Louder for the folks the back!!!
@Old blue Louder for the folks in the back!!!
Homogeneity is the single reason why nordic countries are constantly self-reporting the highest levels of happiness and life satisfaction on those lists we come across regularly portraying how wonderful life is in those places. When everybody looks the same it is much easier to interpret, evaluate and try to solve social problems from the prism of the common good.
As soon as homogeneity is threatened, human biases take over and the whole situation turns political.
That's why, in my opinion, the pluralistic makeup of the United States gives it a leg up in the understanding and problem solving initiatives to solve our most pressing social issues. If only we had the political will to tackle them with compassion and an understanding that the demographic changes taking place today will require the presence of more immigrants today so that tomorrow's solutions can materialize.
12
@J L Rivers
Hear hear!
I wish people in the US would understand that integration is required for successful immigration. So many times, I see "progressives" arguing that we should embrace their culture and allow them to remain distinct, like not making immigrants learn English. But all that does is promote a subclass that's stuck and resented. I do hope the Sweds get through this; it's the only hope for the rest of us.
40
@Andrew This is a straw man argument. Time and time again, this article states that a tremendous amount of focus is placed on facilitating integration. Much of it successful, though like all integration, slow. No one is saying that integration isn't necessary. Likewise, very few in the US are arguing that immigrants shouldn't learn English (including most immigrants themselves). You are propagating arguments used by those who seek to accumulate power by capitalizing on humans' innate fear of the "other".
4
The complaints about refugees mentioned here seem perfectly valid. It's not going to be possible to get a high-paying job for an illiterate foreigner that can't speak Swedish. Thousands of the refugees are never going to integrate well, and will always be a burden on the state.
I don't think anyone should excoriate the Swedes for recognizing this either, it should be kept in mind that all the nations these refugees hail from would refuse to support refugees themselves. Most of them drove out their Jewish and Christian populations long ago, through violence.
Which brings up another point, do people really want to import a culture that sees women as second-class citizens, that is highly xenophobic, that is influenced heavily by dogmatic fundamentalism, and that distrusts science? I wouldn't want a lot of Trump supporters (who match these criteria) to move into town, and that's what's being asked of Sweden here.
So yes, it's a major problem, and it's going to get worse. The area producing these refugees is getting less inhabitable and more war-torn every year. There are still hundreds of millions living there who will either be refugees or dead within the next forty years or so, because the Middle East will become uninhabitable thanks to climate change.
We're going to have to start making tough calls, or bad things will happen on their own to reduce our overpopulation problem.
24
@Dan Stackhouse--i was all in with you until you had to get your leftist bash at trump in there in an article in which it really has no relevance
11
Dear Bored critic,
I have to bash Trump, because he is the worst president we ever had. And I was inviting liberals to consider how they'd like thousands of Trump supporters coming to town, to indicate how unpleasant it can be to co-exist with a backwards culture.
5
@Dan Stackhouse--im not a big.fan of trump but clearly you are either very young and dont remember too many presidents or you aren't very schooled in US history because there are quite a few presidents worse than trump. You may also be confusing personality with effectiveness. And some of our presidents with the nicest, sincerest personalities have been among the most ineffective.
Dont let your hatred of his personality completely blind you as it has so many others
5
I do wish this story, and the general tale of change going on throughout Europe today, was more regularly covered in the news. It's a shame that its become such a partisan tale on both sides.
On one side people claim all migrants are happy and willing to learn if you could just get over isms and icsts. On the other side people claim that all migrants are ready to exploit naively generous welfare systems with no intention of doing anything except coasting off the system as long as they can.
This is one case where the reality very much falls in between the two extremes. This article's decision to not even briefly mention Malmo/Herrgarden is an example of the problem. This area is at the crux of one side of the perception, while the article's "Babak" - working his way to fluency in Sweden and looking to work as an electrician as at the crux of another side's perception. Both sides tend to take their Babaks or 'Malmoese' and extrapolate that to all migrants which paints a ruefully inaccurate picture thus hampering their ability to come to informed conclusions.
6
"On paper, Mr. Jamali, 19, is the worst case for Sweden."
Unfortunately, Mr Jamali is one of the best cases. He seems willing to learn, to work and to assimilate. It's the ones who dont care to learn the language, dont want to assimilate and just want to surround themselves in a neighborhood of their own people, with their own language and culture and soak up as much free benefits as possible that are the problem. And this mentality is not isolated to migrants, it exists right here in the US in our cities like NY, Detroit and Chicago. We see it in the form of generations of welfare recipient families. Way too many people have lost their pride and feel "free" is just fine and working the system to maximize their "free" is a perfectly acceptable occupation.
32
and in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio
3
The cause of all these refugees and immigration is very much de-emphasized in this article.
4
"After an economic crisis in the early 1990s, Sweden lowered taxes and reduced spending, trimming unemployment benefits and pensions. Complaints about delays in the health care system have become legion, with wealthier people resorting to private insurance."
Could a far left supporter please explain this fact?
20
"“People are quite open to showing solidarity for people who are like themselves,” says Carl Melin, policy director at Futurion, a research institution in Stockholm. “They don’t show solidarity for people who are different.”
It's easy to see how the Nordic Model has worked for years in Sweden since they had been a homogenous population without people who are different.
13
Perhaps if native-born Swedes were more encouraging of the refugees, like Babak Jamali, who do work hard to integrate themselves, others would follow. It can't be easy to do the work of integrating oneself into another culture when you know people will yell at you from cars and bus drivers will refuse to pick you up. Where's the incentive?
2
@Michele I think the incentive is that they get to stay in a country that's not war-torn and where they're not fleeing from violence and fearing that they may be killed.
15
There is always this assumption that all cultural values are equal. They are not.
Refugees from places like Iraq,Somalia, Syria are best placed in majority Muslim nations, especially in the Gulf because the vast majority cannot even manage to work in the economic systems of the West. A lot of them put their religion first and if the work they take on will interfere with that, the religion comes first.
The Gulf nations actually make for such accommodations, but of course there is none of the welfare that exists in the West.You actually have to work if you live there as a non-citizen.
This is not to say that those nations do not have a secular class that can fit in, but that class is often extremely small and rarely leaves even in times of war.
The refugees from Syria for example are not the secular class from Damascus and Aleppo, but from ultra-conservative regions like Idlib , Rural Aleppo and Raqqa. The Syrian secular class actually stayed. The Somali refugees are not the merchant class from Mogadishu that mostly moved to other East African nations, but the poor from the Interior where getting a Grade 4 education is a miracle.
If you expect such people to integrate with ease, then that is pure delusion.
78
What this points out is that there is a point where immigration can overwhelm the ability of the host country to easily provide for the immigrants. It also points out that not all immigrants are easy to integrate into the host society. If you speak the language and have a skill it can work fairly easily. If you do not, it becomes more daunting. Crime is always an issue. Nothing will turn off support of locals quicker than crime. Finally, there is an enormous number of people who would like to immigrate (close to 3/4 of a billion according to Gallup). This is undoubtedly beyond the ability of Western nations to absorb.
29
@Robert THESE PEOPLE SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for themselves, we are not their keepers. It is not easy to make a living I can not be burdened by some one else's predicament thousand of miles away. I wish them well.
4
Well the problem wouldn't be so severe if we took our share of refugees. I don't even think we took ten thousand Syrian refugees. We don't do our part.
1
@AM--we are taking our refugees from central and south america. At a current rate of approx 100,000 per month.
20
@AM
The Migration Policy Institute has a 1/12/17 article titled "Syrian Refugees in the United States” which says, "In total, 18,007 Syrian refugees were resettled in the United States between October 1, 2011 and December 31, 2016.”.
7
People like to present the US as being "behind" the more enlightened European nations. In fact, the US is lightyears ahead in terms of immigration. What these countries are experiencing for the first time, the US experienced decades ago. Americans really don't deserve lecturing on integrating immigrants.
The US is also ahead of Europeans in terms of integrating into the EU. We know all about large unruly bureaucracies having had decades of experience with our own federal bureaucracy. Europeans are only now finding out exactly how such a large bureaucracy affects their sovereignty and freedoms.
19
The effects of climate change and the continuation of war and conflict will further exacerbate migration. We all better get used to people who appear "different" from us and learn to get along and help one another. For the love of all that is good, these are human beings that have been through tragic experiences.
I have read about us turning away thousands of jews during the 30's and 40's due to the depression and xenophobia. Have we learned nothing from our past?
4
@Sue Salvesen--are you learning nothing of immigration issues based in what is happening all over Europe?
10
The author suggests and many comments echo the idea that citizens of a country are not willing to support people who are different than the majority of the population. This is a myth. Citizens are unwilling to support for long periods of time people who cannot contribute to a society. Of course, integration is important and should be expected. I did not speak English when coming to this country and my family made every effort to not speak our native tongue so that we would learn it quickly. We were always proud and grateful to be accepted here. We did not receive financial aid of any sort but brought skills with us. We are talking about unskilled people here, some even illiterate in their own languages much less a foreign one, so comparing immigrants of the past to those of today is on many levels invalid. The Western world is experiencing its own problems since unskilled labor is unneeded. Where it is needed, such as in farming or construction we pay virtual slave wages to illegal immigrants and drive wages down for our own citizens. I don't think this is just. In any event, immigration is a complicated issue especially when we're bringing unskilled, illiterate people into societies that no longer need unskilled labor. Better to bring in skilled workers and make sure that they are fully contributing and integrated. Better to help their home countries through financial and food aid.
23
I recommend you watch the show Lillehammer which I thought was a very unique show that showed the subject brought up here in a funny and semi Soprano like way. It was based in Norway and starred Steven Van Zant of the E street Band and the Soprano's Sylvio. Plot was basicallyhe escapes the city and relocates there to hide from the mob which he was part of and sets up shop there as the new crime boss. It is great but the way the government handles a refugee is hard to imagine to us here and the show illustates it well. Unique twist but not a plot spoiler is Steven speaks English but the natives speak Norwegian and they use subtitles. I loved it.
2
If the most generous of nations is headed this way, what about the rest of the North and South receiving forced migrants?
11
Here in the Seattle area, some Somalis practice polygamy. One husband may have up to 4 wives, each of whom, under our welfare system, is entitled to her own section 8 apartment and other welfare provisions.
My former neighbor taught at an elementary school whose student population was one third Somali. He said that a Somali father could have multiple children in the same grade. My former neighbor also said that the Somali children seemed desperate for male attention such that he, the other male teachers, and male members of the non-teaching staff were overwhelmingly popular among them.
31
@ann-and this is what we should think is acceptable and desirous for us to have in the US?
15
"Dark-skinned" immigrants? Please. This is not the 1950s, and migrants or refugees are not a mass of an indistinguishable hue. I fear that the reporter has been contaminated by the toxic Sweden Democrats and is now bringing this infection to US media. Let's watch out for the racist tropes, shall we?
5
Any credibility this article may have had is eviscerated by the reduction of an entire, centuries-old culture into a caricature described as "white", "Christian", and nothing more.
22
It is very unlikely that the Swedish system can succeed as a global model. Furthermore, the current immigration crisis is likely to get worse rather than better unless significant changes in attitudes, opinions and the leadership quality of governments in developed countries significantly improves. Here are some facts that clearly display the hand we've(humanity)been dealt.
1. Europe has a very high population density, well ahead of North and South America. It is also barely recovering from an economic crisis, particularly in Southern Europe.
2. The USA has not done particularly well for the bottom half of the economy. Although unemployment is low wages are stagnant for the low skilled and under educated classes. Hence Trump and the emergence of his confreres in Europe.
3. Although Asia, and particularly China, has a low population growth rate it already is overcrowded and has large areas of impoverishment.
4. Africa is the fastest growing in population and could possibly overtake Asia in the next 25 to 50 years. (It already has almost the population of North and South America plus Europe). It is also poor, poorly educated, embroiled in almost constant warfare, tribalism and all the other malignant remnants of colonialism.
5. Through in global warming, depletion of natural resources, desperate attempts by "humanists" such as Bill Gates, to prevent childhood mortality in Africa, the Catholic Church and abortion, automation, etc. etc.
The next 50 years will be rough.
11
Excellent article with an attempt to highlight the issues around immigration and refugee resettlement. If we don’t openly discuss the real challenges and also opportunities of immigration, the conversation will be dominated by the Trump’s of the world who will only create more problems and spread disinformation and inflammation.
1
@NancyJ
At least the Swedes have the freedom to acknowledge that they have issues with immigrants. Here, the moral outrage crowd would have been all over them. Paul Krugman would quickly created a column with statistics on why they're wrong. Nancy Pelosi would have snorted, "Make America White Again". The president would have been accused as nauseam of "racism", "xenophobia", etc.
These irrational responses to Americans' legitimate concerns are what spread disinformation and inflame.
24
No it wont survive refugees, if the refugees number a certain number and proportion. The way a small, resource-rich, educated, urbane, civil, homogeneous society chooses to govern itself, and is willing to make sacrifices for the common good is dramatically different from a large sized society that has wide variance in education, skin tones, etc. chooses to about its business. The latter is decidedly more inclined to protect the interests of a homogeneous subset that they either actually enjoyed, or imagined that it did. So no, Sweden will survive only up to a point. Then, we have considerable historic evidence to indicate what Europe does with people it does not like. Why do we expect anything different this time around?
6
It is very sad and disheartening to find that my Danish grandmother was possibly right when she hypothesized that Scandinavia’s wonderful tolerance for people of all colors and races was only made possible by the rarity of such immigrants. It was easy to find the differences interestingly and unthreateningly exotic when there was really no danger that the majority of people in any neighborhood or circumstance would be of Scandinavian heritage, all speaking the same language and mostly practicing the same religion. Foreigners are still a minority but no longer a comfortably small one and thus more people view them as a threat.
27
I’m a fiscal liberal. I think public financing of health care is a must, as health has an inelastic demand curve. Prices don’t settle at the intersection of supply and demand. People will generally pay any price to stay alive. However, I’ve yet to hop on the “diversity is god” bandwagon. I think it’s just an excuse to keep affirmative action around forever. So what if all the good college slots are taken by Asians? If they earned it, they deserve it. Anyway, aside from a few token positive statements, this article shows that diversity brings questionable benefits and definite problems. I know. Heresy. Get over it.
26
As I began reading, I thought, am I living in the Twilight Zone? In the past twenty-four hours, the NYT has published multiple articles unsympathetic to immigration.
Then the author followed factual descriptions of the immigration issues (ie numbers, budgets, dollar figures) with an isolated anecdote about one person Babak Jamali. And concludes with the line 'especially people who stand out as different from the majority' to smear those on one side of the issue with a charge of racism.
Alas, Roger Sterling will not emerge from the shadows, and the sun will rise in the east tomorrow.
9
@Andy Deckman It looks like a radical shift for the NYT and it is. It is time to show the profound discontent a large segment of Americans is experiencing . This is just a preamble.
5
According to these stats Sweden has 15 immigrants per 1000 inhabitants.
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/pdfscache/1275.pdf
That is not much.
2
@Elisabeth You read these statistics wrong: these are the immigrants arriving in just one year, 2017. Today the percentage inhabitants with a foreign background in Sweden is 24.1%.
9
@Joseph That is huge and it is happening at a dizzying pace with no time to integrate properly. I am afraid the west is losing its equilibrium. I don't like what I am seeing ,reading or witnessing. Race is not an issue for me, ethnicity and religions are.
5
The ecosystem is only stable if the population of remoras doesn't wildly outgrow the population of sharks.
10
Humans don’t live in the eco system like animals in pure dependence. Animals don’t grow food or raise it. Nor should we justify treating each other as animals by such anecdotes which lead to fascism.
2
I heard a story from a taxi diver here a while back that explains some of the issues. The taxi driver was driving an unemployed Somali man who was talking about his 14 kids. He had 7 in Sweden and 7 in Somalia. For the seven in Sweden, he got helped by the system to get a new big apartment in an ok part of Malmo. The kids have free computers, schooling, free dental and there is an amount for each kid that the parents get per month. The Taxi driver asked him if he wasn't going to get a job to support all these kids. The man replied that he would not be able to find any job that would pay him enough money to pay for the rent of the expensive apartment so it made no sense for him to get off the
unemployment he was in. So to sum up. For all the wish for the system to be good to immigrants, it has created a pothole where the immigrants can live pretty nicely on having a large family and staying at home. Meanwhile, pensioners can't afford dental bills or high rents in their apartments. The system needs to be cleaned up. Unfortunately, it is a slow-moving apparatus which creates anger and resentment to immigrants.
58
@Christian
So you "heard" a story and you naturally assumed it was true?
That story, or variants of it, has time and time again been debunked.
2
@Ola Halling So now all taxi drivers ,mostly immigrants as well should be debunked for false stories? Please....
11
The real problem is overpopulation. On a planet with a projected 10 billion humans later this century, facing dwindling resources, increasingly polluted air and water, and destructive climate change, no country will be able to "survive immigration".
23
@RC
The real problem is overpopulation in only SOME parts of the world - and it's not the developed world.
12
YOUTUBE has a clip of Swedish police trying to stop Middle Eastern immigrants from jumping over the turnstiles at the train station. The cops are beaten senseless for their milquetoast manners by these laughing miscreants who then board the train, still laughing. Later a police supervisor spokesman says his cops are very sensitive about being accused of racial profiling, and how they are receiving more sensitivity training, Etc...Sad to see.
27
Immigration is a huge problem and it will produce right wing governments the world over.
People. Don't. Want. To. Be. Invaded.
49
@Will. I totally agree with you. It has been happening for the past 40 years or so. It has reached the bursting point. I see it in the increase of the number of unfavorable comments regarding illegal immigration.There is a palatable malaise when when i talk about this issue. It has to be address clearly and urgently.
6
Cultural and religious colonialism and imperialism. Swedes will not exist in a hundred years- their population slowly whittled away through violence. A murder here and murder there for families with one or two kids means eventual eradication. And the colonizers each have five or six kids. Farewell Sweden. Hello Afghanistan of the North.
19
“People are quite open to showing solidarity for people who are like themselves,” says Carl Melin, policy director at Futurion, a research institution in Stockholm. “They don’t show solidarity for people who are different.”
Wait a minute.
The New York Times is always saying that Diversity is Strength. Do they not get the New York Times in Sweden?
14
Migrants are a tough issue, one that is going to get worse. The problem is only to get worse, yet we don't have any kind of cohesive strategy across the various countries migrants are fleeing to on how to handle the crisis. It is easy to say the Swedes are being bigoted, but that leaves out the very real impact large numbers of immigrants have on a small country, not just the cost of getting them settled, but also in issues like how do you protect the social liberalism of a country when you have a large group of people coming in are not. Then, too, there are the costs, and if you are talking a population that is ill educated, does not speak the language, it is not an easy fix. Children are not a problem, they go to school, and they pick up the culture and whatnot pretty easily, but there is going to be large population that for years will not be able to meld in easily, that will have a hard time, and may never really fit in and will be costly.
The real answer to this is not likely to happen, and that is where there is some sort of agreement between various countries taking in migrants about how many they can take, and in help from other countries in helping settle migrants, so the host country doesn't get swamped. Migration right now is chaotic, where you have 10's of thousands of refugees pouring into a country with a population under 10 million and others refusing any. This is only going to get worse as climate change starts taking its toll.
4
Very important lesson: Assimilation counts. With assimilation, a country can absorb newcomers fairly well. Look at the USA and Canada for proof.
Without assimilation, you will have big problems.
Assimilation is not accommodation by those already there. It is not turning a blind eye to things that aren’t working well. It means that the new people have to adapt to and adopt the ways of their new home. And they must do so fast, deeply and earnestly.
And that’s a key point that the progressives ignore, denigrate and insult, to their very large detriment.
There is a reason that there has been an electoral backlash across the west. Nobody thinks that Trump or Boris or any of the rest of the populists are good folks. But they do expect them to protect the natives of the country in question.
By contrast, progressives attack the natives for being rational enough to predict the failure to assimilate and problems that will cause.
This was absolutely predictable and predicted by the MAGA crowd. It’s also why Trump has a good chance of winning again. The open borders position of the Democratic Party is working hard to make sure that Trump wins again.
31
When do immigrants not assimilate? The grandparents may have trouble but the young always want to assimilate.
That’s three generations later.
You want sympathy for people who don’t assimilate when they get there? Nor the generation that’s born there? Gotta wait for the 2nd generation born in-country?
That’s insane.
6
Since the article mostly portrays the views of the Sweden democrats, it gives a warped perspective. Immigration is without a doubt positive for Sweden as a whole. As the article stated, the rate of unemployment for immigrants are 15 % - which must be considered very low.
The economy of Sweden is among the strongest in Europe. The government finances are likewise among the strongest in Europe. How can that be if immigrants were such a burden? The answer is simple - they are not.
The simplified view that immigrants are lazy and live of welfare is not true, and has never been true.
The rise of populism in western democracy is due to fear of the unknown - and politicians willingness to abuse this fear.
7
Well, Ola, many of your fellow citizens appear to disagree with your rosy view of things. Moreover, your national neighbor, Denmark, has done an about face on immigration partially in response to what it sees as the disaster in the making in Sweden.
An idealistic and homogenous people experience the reality of importing relatively huge numbers of poor, often illiterate, and dysfunctional people and find they don’t like the resulting costs and effects on their culture. Surprise! No amount of happy talk can force a return to the naive view of mass immigration as a national boon.
13
@Katie
Well, Katie, Sweden is not and have never been "idealistic" or homogeneous.
Other that setting that record straight, any further argument with you over "importing" people whom flee war and conflict, has no point.
1
Mr Goodman writes a thoughtful, nuanced article. One senses his sympathy for the immigrants. He puts the best spin possible on Sweden's experiment.
But, despite a few hopeful anecdotes, Sweden's approach clearly isn't going to work.
15
Or is it?
I lived in Sweden for five years. Stockholm. The tax rates are not much different than ours. The VAT tax is another story:
25%. Almost every purchase/bill delivers a substantial amount to the government. In turn, almost every aspect of Sweden's infrastructure is superior to the USA. Impeccable roads, transportation, health services, schools and so on.
Job creation is directly linked to these services too.
That said. The Swedes have not found immigration easy
at all. Some of the problems stem from a culture that is by nature not very flexible or expansive. I would not define a Swede as outgoing. They don't have very good interpersonal skills.
I never felt accepted at all. I left Sweden (very happily) and returned to the USA. I feel for the immigrants there because
regardless of the "benefits" the chances of assimilation and very difficult and more than likely impossible.
16
What a great perspective. Thankyou.
A lot of people in these comments, and cited in the article, claim that the refugees/immigrants are not interested in joining the culture, learning the language, working, etc., but this seems purely anecdotal or stereotypical. What is the actual evidence as to whether or not people want to learn the language and work? My guess is most refugees/immigrants would be quite eager to do so if they had training opportunities. Giving people a few years of training so they can do a lifetime of work would just be smart policy. The fact that someone wants to continue to wear a headscarf or to not celebrate Christmas has nothing to do with their willingness to be a part of a society and to work.
5
If it is at all possible to generalize the second generation of immigrants usually embraces the dominant culture quite emphatically, encouraged by their parents to do so. The third generation, feeling secure and comfortably established, once again embraces and celebrates their country and culture of origin. Neighborhoods like Little Italy or Chinatown that may persist for several generations but even they eventually blend in or start to disappear into the wider society. And what remains of these neighborhoods becomes more and more accessible to the wider population as an interesting and welcoming place to visit, especially via restaurants and food markets. New York City would be greatly diminished if we did not have wonderful enclaves like China Town and Little Italy (which has mostly moved).
1
A more careful reading of the piece reveals that job training aplenty is available but that the training is for jobs requiring a strong educational underpinning. According to the article, too many of the immigrants are at best undereducated and at worst, illiterate. The immigrants won’t qualify for the training until they receive an entire belated education on the Sweden taxpayer’s dime. Does that sound simple to you?
Also according to the article, there simply isn’t a lot of menial work such as house cleaning available in Sweden because most people do their own house cleaning. Imagine that! We keep being told that Americans won’t do menial jobs like house cleaning, yard work, etc. Yet, in iconic Sweden, there is no culture of using (exploiting) imported labor to outsource domestic tasks and men and women are more or less equally represented in the workforce. Hmm.
15
@Katie
Many of the migrants who have moved to the U.S., without authorization, are at best undereducated, and at worst illiterate.
Mexico
The average adult from rural Mexico (as of a few years ago) had no more than a grade school education. The Mexican culture placed more importance on having a great many children than on educating them. While education was free in Mexico, the schools in many small towns only went up to the 6th grade. Any parents who wanted their children to continue on in school had to transport them, at their own expense, to a town whose school offered higher grades. Most villagers were farmers who did not think more education was necessary.
The last Mexican president lost popular support when students from a teachers’ college mysteriously disappeared. These students were on their way to protest a new requirement that students pass an exam on teaching before being certified. Rural teachers had always inherited or purchased their positions, and did not want to have to pass an exam. Teachers in rural Mexican schools are uncertified.
Central America
A 2/17 Inter American Dialogue Report titled "Educational Challenges in Honduras and Consequences for Human Capital and Development” said the average Honduran, age 15 and above, has only a 4th grade education. Even those Hondurans who have attended school for more years do not do well on international tests for their grade levels.
Guatemala and El Salvador have higher illiteracy rates than Honduras.
7
Don’t give up! And don’t forget that this is just the beginning of a humanitarian social experiment to test the capacity of the most advanced industrial nations on earth to not only rescue, but absorb and culturally assimilate, the most dispossessed and desperate of people on earth fleeing horrific conditions. It’s an experiment worthy of a Nobel peace prize just for trying and it has already been an outstanding success in saving thousands of lives and relieving countless misery regardless of the ultimate success or failure of attaining the goal of assimilation and economic development for all. Contrast the picture of smiling mother and story of striving 19 year old Swedish student who wants to become an electrician to those who gave their lives attempting to cross the sea or live bleak existences in migrant detention camps in other countries. Give the Swedes, Danes and Norwegians an A for effort at least, for success in rescuing thousands of individuals, and for trying to transform their lives and their societies, even at great cost to their own members. A true test of the most noble elements of human culture — empathy, compassion and charity. Of course there are limits even to these virtues and some will complain that the costs are too great to bear. Social institutions will be tested as will peoples’ patience and tolerance for diversity. There will be a learning curve. Benefits, immigration policies, incentives, language and job training can all be modified over time.
6
The political persecution in Sweden continues to pick up speed. For more and more critical political commentary, which in a country like the US or South Korea would naturally be covered by the freedom of expression, one ends up in Sweden before the judge. Flippancy, humor, exaggerations, carelessness - all this must not be more. In other words, human weaknesses can not be more. Many political opinions are undesirable and can no longer be. The legal basis for this is laid by a recently tightened law called "Hets mot folkgrupp" "Hunt against ethnic groups".
4
Reading about the overflow of despairing immigrants at US and European border facilities is depressing. Yet, beyond humanitarian considerations lies a cold reality. The long term success of the immigration process and its political impact on the host country comes down to economics and compatibility of values. In the short to medium term, it is unrealistic to expect host country nationals to tolerate their tax money be subtracted from their social programs and redirected to supporting the integration of migrants. This is especially true where the majority of today's migrants are not equipped to make any significant contribution to the local economy and/or do not make any effort to accept/adopt host country social norms. The American melting pot concept is nice and probably romantic and the European balkanization of any country is frightening. It is not economically feasible for countries to take in unskilled immigrants indefinitely. Also, it is politically risky to accept people that are not compatible with local values because it will create a backlash. This is already happening in Europe. Importantly, the developed countries would be wise to increase their investments in developing countries with focus on the education of the people. Most people want to stay in their countries. Effective economic aid programs (Marshall Plans?) make sense as they allow people to stay in their countries. Finally, US and EU need to revisit/update their immigration and foreign policies.
17
It seems to me that we should be aiming to be like Sweden, not Sweden becoming more like the U.S. I welcome the new robot vacuums and mops, and with robots picking up more of the workload in other areas (maternity and paternity leave would be good too) we might finally be able to take responsibility for and spend time with our own children and aging parents. That sounds a lot better than the colonial fantasy we live in right now.
9
One multiplying consequence I think the Swedish government should consider is the extremely identifiable "lower class" that will emerge from this plan set in place. Fiscally, a couple of million euros will not create a burden on the government, but if these immigrants continue to perform lower than average and be harassed for their cultural distinction, I fear it will create a wicked connection of racial and economic status that we unfortunately see in the USA today.
9
This is exactly why the Nordic model does not work for the United States. We have all of central and south america sitting on our southern border. If you think illegal immigration is an issue now wait until we have universal health care. The system will be so burdened it will collapse in under 5 years.
26
In depth data analysis. Thank you.
3
@Tom The reality is that we cannot implement a universal healthcare system until we solve the immigration problem. Why do you think it is so difficult to immigrate to Canada? Their healthcare. They realized long ago that they would be bankrupt.
13
Prefer fact free emotion then?
1
Recall what happened when Merkel opened the borders to the refugees in Turkish camps. The first trainload was at least 90% healthy young men. They stated that Germany was just a stop-off; they were heading to Sweden because the benefits were better!
They had no intention to assimilate or to support themselves. But Sweden let them in anyways, no questions asked.
A lesson: Don't assume your standards of honesty and behavior are respected by those with a different background. As much as it may be against one's nature: Examine the motives and capabilities of those wanting in, with suspicion.
51
Wow. The discourse found in the comments here are disheartening. In the US, we have freedom of religion, which hopefully some people in this comments section can begin to comprehend. Headscarves are no indication of assimilation or non-assimilation. In the US, many second & third generation persons where headscarves, speak English, are educated, pursue their careers with a high degree of ambition, & are tax paying members of the union. You can't expect the first wave of 30/40 year old persons to just magically start speaking Swedish & start wearing shorts. Their brains are past their peak. It's unfortunate there isn't more of a service sector in Sweden that could help them gain their footing.
It is 2019 y'all. Globalization & world population is growing, & the world is smaller.& western imperialism (mass colonization in 1500s -1900s), western foreign policy (war mongering), and global warming (vastly attributed to developed nations), have their repercussions. Any belief about staying homogeneous is naive. Instead of complaining about headscarves, & a desire to cling to the past, we could all use our collective 21st century brainpower to come up with some solutions & imagine a world full of prosperity, safety, & cleanliness for everyone. Everyone has to give something up- if my Afghan immigrant parents are OK with me drinking beer & having pre-marital sex, I think Swedish people can be OK with people wearing headscarves as they try to rebuild their lives.
12
Two main points. First of all, enjoy this article from the comfort of your kitchen table because once Bangladesh floods completely due to rising sea levels and large sections of the ME become too hot to live in, we will all look back on this refugee crisis as the good old days.
Secondly, a close reading of this article makes it clear that there is no crisis. The cost to the budget is actually relatively low, there were problems with the social safety net before the refugees arrived and many refugees are keen to integrate. So this is a crisis of perception. Or alternate facts. Kind of like how there is no man-made climate change.
8
@Damhnaid
Thank you! Well said.
1
During the past year, I spent a couple of months in Solna, a suburb just north of central Stockholm. This and other suburbs farther north of the city is an area inhabited by many recent arrivals, as well as Swedes whose families have lived in Sweden for generations.
It was a joy to see the multicultural mix in the streets and in the subway, people wearing all kinds of clothing and speaking many different languages, all apparently very happy to be there.
Stockholm, I recognize, is not Filipstad. And it is not Malmö, the third largest city in the country and the one farthest south, which has received more immigrants than any other in Sweden.
But your article is quite one-sided and even slanted towards the deplorable Sweden Democrats. It ignores the country-city divide in Sweden (as in this country) and the strong support many Swedes, especially Swedes with university educations, have for immigrants and their problems.
9
@lrw777
Those well educated Swedes are ironically moving to gated communities that have popped up all over Stockholm.
Stockholm is like California. NIMBYsm seems to be the main ideology. Yes, they support immigration, but all of them seek to live in an all-White neighbourhood
8
The root problem here is lightly touched on but not fully embraced. It is couched in more PC acceptable terms. It is sad that what was taught plainly in history and social studies classes in the school when I was growing up is now politically incorrect and therefore verboten.
It is as simple as this- Immigration is a net benefit to a society when the immigrants are highly skilled and fully assimilate. They are leaving their country for a reason. Their culture and ideals failed in the country they are leaving so by the necessity of needing to immigrate, they need to adapt to the local culture and not the other way around. Now some parts of their culture are fine. Bring your food, bring your style, bring your clothes and even your language but you MUST learn the prevalent language of the society you are trying to be a part of. But people have to carefully examine larger more socially powerful aspects of the culture left behind to see if it contributed to the rot they are leaving- aspects of faith, treatment of women, work ethic, politics, ideas on civil rights.
I would challenge you to look at waves of immigrants who have been successful vs not. The successful ones fully immigrate and adopt the local culture.
24
Governments are going to have to learn to factor in the human response to threats posed by the ‘other’ that evolution wired into all of us over the millennia if we’re going to survive the coming struggles due to dislocation. To ignore it in the name of enlightenment it is to treat humans as something they’re not.
6
I do believe Sweden, the U.S, Europe and the world will be all the more rich for integrating today's huge migrations. It is naive to think the generations long transition will be smooth. Though, Sweden is on the right tract by requiring language classes for those who are jobless and illiterate. It's the minimum price for entry.
6
Shared values are at the foundation of every successful nation. When the institutions and traditions that undergird these values fail and are not readily renewed with something superior, the culture fails and with it, the nation declines.
Immigration stresses the entire system and accelerates the process, but is not the root cause. The root cause is when we forget the stories that explain why we are who we are, where our values come from, and why they are the correct values. Without that knowledge or the mechanisms to communicate it, we cannot expect to sustain our culture let alone welcome immigrants into it.
9
It makes perfect sense that people must buy into the Nordic model through taxation before enjoying its substantial benefits. The immigrants who don’t work but feel entitled to maximum financial assistance are grifters, plain and simple. The Swedes should deport the non working immigrants before they initiate or suffer social unrest. I say this as a nonwhite person who would be viewed with suspicion, at best, if I were to go as a tourist to Filipstad.
I found it interesting that Swedes are now facing delays in the health care system and the wealthy have turned to private insurance. Sounds as though single payer models, such as the proposed Medicare for All, are not the calorie-free whipped cream cake they are made out to be.
22
Consider this--the refugees cited in this article came to Sweden LEGALLY. They were admitted through programs that planned for the impact of that flow of refugees. Here in the US, we don't even know how many illegal immigrants are here. No planning. In CA, this has created an underground economy--landscaping and housekeeping crews are led by recent immigrants who employ illegal aliens from their own countries, paying them in cash (no taxes) and depending on our social net for health care, driver's licenses, etc. This perspective from Sweden is interesting, but they got to this point with legal immigration. We are so far beyond that here, Sweden seems quaint in comparison.
25
There is a reason that socialism starts with “social.” A socialist government model requires and demands that every citizen socialize by contributing to a common social good. If there is no common definition of what is the social good then socialism, by definition, cannot exist. Requiring immigrants to socialize is not right wing as this article alleges, it is the absolute center of the Swedish system.
360
@Chris but it's not socialism. workers dont control the means of the production there. it's still privately controlled.
11
@Stephen
I think you are conflating socialism with communism. In pure socialism, the social controls the fruits of production, not the means of production itself. Ericsson and Volvo are private companies who make their own business decisions and the Swedish government redistributes the fruits of those companies to its people as the social sees fit. In communism, the commune controls both the means of production and distribution of production’s fruits. In North Korea, a true communist state, Koryo Air and the Pyongyang Chewing Gum Factory are owned by the commune, the commune makes all the business decisions, and the commune redistributes the business’ fruits as it sees fit.
18
@Chris You're talking about a social democracy - which describes most modern capitalist countries (Sweden, USA, etc) where the bulk of GDP is created through private enterprise and redistributed through taxation into the welfare programme. This mixed economy is often referred to as Keynesian, Keynes was the economist who refined the use of fiscal and economic policy (e.g. taxation of private sector and borrowing from banks) that this model is based on.
The only truly socialist govt I can think of would be something like Cuba, where virtually all enterprise is state owned, and the state intervenes directly to make sure people are employed and have access to services.
11
It’s nonsense to suggest a functioning welfare state requires crippling levels of personal taxation.
The USA could easily provide cost effective healthcare and higher education if it reallocated priorities: more tax collection from corporate and billionaire deadbeats (Amazon, Starbucks, etc.), less corporate welfare, a sane and appropriate military budget, rollback the insane tax cuts for the rich, eliminate insurance and Pharma gross profiteering.
It’s not that the USA can’t provide European style welfare, it’s that it is corruptly in thrall to special interests and chooses not to.
12
There is a lot of hate for this article, but I think it does a great job showing immigration and thinking across Scandinavia.
4
Israel teaches highly motivated immigrants Hebrew in a year. Surely highly motivated immigrants can learn Swedish as quickly. The issue is low motivation. Motivation can be extrinsically increased by a carrot and stick approach, with the stick about twice as effective as the carrot.
14
Once again we see the NY Times working from its very parochial diversity beliefs and then expressing surprise that the integration of very different cultures together is difficult. In fact, more difficult than the fantastical vision of how you open up the borders and live happily ever after.
I'm sorry to suggest that the residents of wherever have a right to believe that the belief systems and cultures have a value which exceeds that of immigrants from different such structures--not necessarily better, but of higher value to the current residents. I don't find that to be xenophobia. Also that it's almost certainly true that some immigrant cultures meld less easily with local cultures than do others, and that that difficulty might be worth considering.
On the other hand, who would've believed that this was going to be easy? (Oh, right...the mindless diversity crowd....)
34
Some countries need immigration because of birth rate but there is an optimal number. Immigrants need to be welcomed and assisted (maybe for years) in assimilating into a community. You can’t ignore human nature and just open the gates and settle an unlimited number of immigrants into a few locations. Each individual community or city can only assimilate a particular number of immigrants. Sadly, we can’t save everyone in the world but we can help some while helping ourselves. Governments are not doing the work and research to know how many immigrants to settle where. For example, U.S. fills some jobs like agriculture & housekeeping with undocumented immigrants but refuses to create immigration laws to fill these jobs with legal immigrants.
4
Yes! This article explains perfectly why Sweden's model would not work well in the United States. As the article points out, Swedes, who have been a very homogenous population until their recent influx of immigrants, are willing to pay very high taxes for a great support network for people who work, but they do not want to continue to pay those very high taxes to support immigrants who don't/can't work because they don't know the language and have little or no skills. Sweden's model will only continue to work well for them if they only allow skilled immigrants who are employable and willing to learn the language and customs of Sweden.
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@Sophie the article offers optimistic counter-arguments to your pessimistic thesis every step of the way. The system may not work in its current capacities, but with the proper realignment, as evidenced by the author and both empirical and anecdotal evidence, the integration of refugees, immigrants, et al. produces benefits for both the host country and the individual. Those who consider the battle lost are those who will lose the battle; if our systems, both in Sweden and the US, cannot endure an ever-evolving landscape, then we ought to consider reorienting them. Begrudging the immigrant will not solve the problem.
37
Sweden's model won't work successfully anywhere. Crime by immigrants is through the roof and immigrants are sucking the public coffers dry. The Swedish experiment won't end well. The average "original" Swede will be much worse off.
36
@Sophie My ancestors came from Sweden and Norway to the United States 120 years ago. They couldn't speak the language. A number of them couldn't read and write. But hmmm, something happened and they and their offspring and myself became productive members of society. Rather than can't work here, almost our entire country is the product of the successful integration of immigrants over time. It can and does work. But ... you have to invest in education and training and kindness and compassion to make it work. That's what the article points out and where Sweden is making that sort of investment the benefits are there to see.
33
This is news? We've known about all of this for years, but there is such tremendous discomfort about discussing and acknowledging it that we've seen what amounts to a tacit (or maybe explicit) agreement among respectable news outlets not to report on any failures of mass immigration.
24
There’s no problem. Raise taxes and provide the best healthcare, housing, and welfare benefits for those who are fleeing violence. Set an example for the rest of Europe and the US.
47
@John--did you miss the part that swedes already pay in excess of 50% of their income in taxes? How much more should they increase it to? 60%?, 70%?. And are you willing to pay 60%-70% of your income in taxes to support free services for immigrants, both legal and illegal, as all the democratic candidates who raised their hands at the debate support?
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@John There is a problem. When discussing immigration in the USA, I don't hear our politicians asking questions like ... How many immigrants should we accept per year? or What's the desired breakdown of immigrants needed for unskilled vs unskilled work? or Which communities/states want/need immigrants? Why don't we have reasoned debates on these issues, rather than hyperemotional responses to the daily crises we currently are experiencing? With rapidly growing populations in troubled areas proximal to our southern border (and in other parts of the world) we are facing growing pressure to figure out better ways to deal with immigration.
42
@John We will all go bankrupt and start to destroy each other.
23
I think the issue is not that these people are coming from non-European societies per se. The real issue is of volume. For example, a gentle river flowing down a mountain posses no threat to those living near it. However, during prolonged rain, a peaceful river can turn dangerous when it overflows its banks inundating the homes and threatening lives in its aftermath. In a similar way, by Sweden accepting all at once 160,000 plus refugees, they created the "flood" they are now complaining about. When people of other nationalities and cultures immigrate to another country, there is a certain reasonable expectation that they will learn the language and culture of their new adopted home. Really then, why would a refugee not want to do that if they are planning for a very long-term stay in Sweden? Sweden could have helped themselves by putting a cap on the number of refugees permitted into their country to something more reasonable in proportion their population, say maybe 10 or 20 thousand refugees/asylum seekers per year. A smaller number of refugees would allow for Sweden to then "absorb" these new people which might mitigate the resentment that has been created from this self-inflicted crisis.
12
@Robert--something that needs to be enforced here also. We do have immigration caps by country but then we have in excess of 100,000 people trying to cross the southern border.
5
From my somewhat provincial and limited exposure to immigrants as a physician in central WI where there was a sudden influx of Hmong refugees from refugee camps in Thailand where they lived in very difficult circumstances I say wait to make judgements until at least one generation is born in America.
The Hmong did not have a written language, were from hunter gatherer and small farming communities and had a very patriarchal social system.
Within a few years their children made up 20% of the kindergarten class of a nearby town.
We adapted by finding translators, being tolerant of most of their, to us, different ways of dealing with illness, expecting them to abide by our laws relating to domestic violence and even our fish and game laws.
Today about thirty years later they are the highlight of our farmers market, their children are flourishing and the women in particular led the way to integration without losing their cultural identity.
Of course there are outliers but in general I think things turned out much better than people thought when the Hmong arrived.
Patience, support and good will are the keys to success.
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@H
It's true what you say about the Hmong. And many felt that the US owed them something for their service during the war so many arrived feeling fairly entitled. But I am not sure any of that matters when you are talking about the success an immigrant family has in integration. The successful integration of immigrants has to do with the resources (financial and otherwise) they arrive with, and the support they get in the communities the arrive in, including (and perhaps most especially) the support they get from others of their culture who have arrived before them. All of that is true regardless of whether the migrants are
"real" refugees or merely people seeking better circumstances.
12
@Edward B. Blau You make a good point, and the Hmong are a success story, but please read yesterday's Times story on the impact of this flood of migrants on schools. The 20% number you mention is critical--that's a sustainable number to support and absorb. But try increasing that to 60% or higher, as has happened outside of Wisconsin. Sustainability is key, here, and I'm glad it worked out in your village. But the rest of our country is finding out that without proper planning, it creates a larger set of problems.
45
@Edward B. Blau
The corrupt crony capitalist corporate plutocrat oligarch welfare Trump clan still hasn't shed it's Neanderthal barbarian 'outliers' nature and nurture origins after a much longer sojourn infesting America.
7
This survey is a good start but the emphasis could be supplemented by some facts. First, far right parties never complain about wasteful military build ups that weaken the welfare state. Second, such parties never use their political muscle to improve efficiency of the immigration system in any comprehensive way. Third, a high degree of gratuitous racism accompanies these parties—something the author papers over in a way that’s frankly weird. In contrast, innovative integration approaches utilize cooperatives, networks and social peer exchanges.
3
I currently live in Sweden. I have a job with a middle-class salary and I pay 27% taxes. This is about the same as what I was paying in taxes when I lived in NYC with a similar salary. In return for that, I don't pay insurance premiums, I pay max $110 in doctor's copays per year. I also don't need a car since public transit is so good. Parental leave is also 4x the amount that even the best companies in the US give.
When I tell my family and friends in the US how much I pay in tax and what I get for it, they're typically very annoyed at how little they get when they pay about the same. This is especially true if you're self-employed in the US and have to pay the extra 12.5% self-employment tax. The idea that all Swedes pay much more in tax than in the US isn't always true. If you earn a lot of money in Sweden, you will pay a large marginal tax rate on the amount above around $4000 per month that you earn, but for those of us earning middle-class incomes, it's not significantly higher.
477
@AM Don't people who have no jobs get the same or better 'benefits' than you do? By benefits I mean not having to pay anything for healthcare(or reduced premiums), possibly generous unemployment benefits if they had ever worked?
If any of the above is true, then I think anyone with common sense can see why these 'refugees' flock to the Nordic countries.
47
@Joe O'Malley Plenty of people flock to the US as well, when Canada has far superior social welfare benefits up north. It's matter of physical proximity and an urge to horrible circumstances. If you grew up in Afghanistan wouldn't you prefer to escape to Norway? A little empathy goes a long way.
14
@AM
You forgot to mention the 25% VAT you pay in Sweden. Sales tax is only 8% in NYC I believe.
57
Time is the issue here. Becoming educated and learning the language takes time. The influx of refugees has slowed. their is progress being made. The complaints are real, but the solution will come if xenophobia doesn't block it.
20
@newyorkerva The influx of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants has not slowed overall. Sweden and other Nordic and western countries and can't provide the "solution" to hundreds of millions who want to move. The answers lie at home.
13
Yes. Instead of escaping or avoiding the problem, be the solution! Fight! Revolt! Take real steps toward self-determination and create your own future.
2
@me Gallup polls report that a majority of respondents are in favor of immigration and helping illegal immigrants gain legitimate status, and believe that immigration contributes positively to the country. So there you go.
Humanitarianism or profitability. Which will win out?
6
@Daniel I think it may depend upon how much a population is willing to support the transition of immigrants into their society. How much of your money are you willing to give?
13
Modern means of travel and the internet have globalized the problem of refugees. They are much more able to search for and travel to a desired destination to request asylum. It's the only way out of a terrible life in their homeland, but then it stresses the resources of the receiving country.
If the wealthy nations of the world spent as much on developmental aid as they do on military, they could probably make a huge improvement in the lives of these people where they live, reducing the number of refugees in the first place. This is clearly a global problem and getting worse.
24
@me
Sweden spends plenty on its military.
Sweden has a long history of neutrality and therefore has to rely on its own armed forces.
It has always had a robust arms industry and is a big exporter of military equipment.
2
The USA should take all refugees from Iraq or pay the relocation and resettlement costs incurred by other countries. It was the USA that invaded, destabilized and destroyed Iraq, without provocation and without cause. Millions of Iraqis were dislocated and made homeless thanks to the invasion and subsequent chaos.
23
@Xoxarle There are far more migrants from places OTHER than Iraq. Iraqi migrants are used as a decoy for the larger problem of horrific human rights abuses, overpopulation, poor economic management, corrupt government...etc...etc...in the African and Middle Eastern countries that people are leaving in order to have a more comfortable life in places like Sweden.
And let's remember - the vast majority of the people who left Muslim countries are young men. These men have been influenced by cultures that do not favour human rights for women or girls. Not a friendly prospect for the European women and girls whose ancestors worked for their human rights.
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@Xoxarle True, invading Iraq was a massive error, but, we destabilized Iraq by removing a vicious, predatory autocrat and his corrupt regime (albeit without a viable alternative) Fact is, we cannot afford to fix Iraq; we have spent trillions trying. It's always easier to start a war, or to destroy things, than to repair or build up. I hope our current regime so intent on tearing things down comes to realize it is much costlier in the long run to remediate than to prevent or improve (whether it's diplomacy versus war, environmental protections versus Superfund cleanups, carbon emissions limits versus global warming, etc)
5
@Xoxarle Are you sure Iraqis want to return to rule under Saddam Hussein? How many did he kill in his decades long rule?
5
“People are quite open to showing solidarity for people who are like themselves,” says Carl Melin, policy director at Futurion, a research institution in Stockholm. “They don’t show solidarity for people who are different.”
People who are different as in, don't have they skills needed for the modern economy and lack language skills needed to learn those skills? It seems as if the resentment is routed in fairness not those uglier baser human traits. I am not there on the ground so I don't know if, or how much, racism or religious bigotry factors in; but I suspect if the refugees are not working and thus not contributing as much as they are getting that is likely the route of the problem. That is on the state for being naive as to how much effort and time it will take to get the new comers up to speed and thus not communicating that to the public. I understand the frustration. Frankly, if the US is any guide a large percentage of these refugees will never get up to speed. But their children will. They question is whether the population has the patience to wait that long.
2
The biggest potential issue with mass immigration to Europe to me seems to be the Inglehart–Welzel Cultural Map differences. You have countries with the highest secular-rational/self-expression values facing significant immigration from countries with the most traditional/survivalist values, so some degree of culture clash is inevitable.
If these immigrants "assimilate/meld" into their new countries at the rate of American immigrants --- US immigrants, documented or not, often assimilate so quickly to American culture their parents struggle to force them to retain much cultural heritage past a generation or so --- European nations will face little backlash. If, on the other hand, socioeconomic segregation or ghettos occur, problems will persist.
9
As someone who used to fully identify with liberal policy positions, it is just this sort of hypocrisy that has pushed me politically rightward over the years.
Dilemma: Progressives say they are not racist until they have to ride the train with people of color.
Dilemma: Progressives support a social safety net until that means supporting other people.
While my rightward drift hasn’t led me to reject the ideals of progressive ideology, it has taught me that progressives can’t be relied on to maintain their generous spirit. Often disappointed in the fair-weather progressives, I’d rather negotiate in good faith with people who are willing to voice their less generous inclinations, even if I may disagree with them. Voiced, these inclinations can be analyzed and resolved positively. Seeing redundant hypocrisy in other progressives has also led me to re-evaluate my own purported ideals and I’ve realized, with exception, there are good ideas coming from most political corners, even if they appear at first look to conflict with my system of belief.
14
Like Sweden, the US must ask and answer the question: how many immigrants can we accommodate? Are the immigrants we accept willing to be assimilated and accept our core values? We value diversity, which in general is a good thing, but we should expect those who come here to accept basic social values that are fundamental to our culture.
It is also worth asking whether migrants assimilate economically, and contribute to society by taking on jobs and paying taxes, or if they become burdens on society. In the case of legal immigrants, I have no doubt that the answer will be positive. For illegal immigrants, the answer will be harder to come by, and hard to interpret, since illegal immigrants may not, by law, get most jobs. We should, however, be asking the questions, so we can make informed decisions about important issues of national policy.
12
The framing of this story around the "taxpayer" and the presumption that people who can't pay taxes are a burden is shameful.
At one point they talk to an economist who insists that the costs are small and not "burdensome" but it doesn't make up for the rest of the piece.
All the while Sweden's debt to GDP ratio is close to the lowest it has been in decades!
8
So people should take on debt to support refugees? Wow
6
@Luke Last time I checked no one suggested taking out a mortgage to support refugees
I never much liked school, but I managed to earn a B.A. in political science. I enlisted in the army, and they sent me to school to learn Arabic. I had a friend whose ancestors immigrated from Palestine who went to language school with me, who also had a B.A. in political science. We were both chatting about what underachievers we were, and he explained how it is with immigrants. The first generation either: a.) come over as doctors or engineers; b.) work 3 jobs; or c.) open their own businesses. They push their kids to become doctors or engineers. Their grandchildren end up with degrees in English or political science, and either join the army or wait tables.
11
@crankyoldman--thats actually referred to as "shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in 3 generations"
3
The "Squad" and those who have turned against what the USA stands for should just move to Sweden. Good bye.
11
And to think that the Iraqi, Somali and other immigrants would not be there but for the 20 years of US wars and destabilization of the entire Middle East and Africa.
Maybe they should blame the US and not the immigrants.
11
@Umar
The US did not destabIlize Somalia.Somalis did that to themselves.
While it is true Iraq was destabilized by the US, most of Iraq ,especially in the South and Kurdish areas are safe and in fact, the person who used to cause conflict in both those areas was Saddam.
Same to Syria, 90 percent of the country can be classified as safe, both Government held areas and areas held by the Kurdish led SDF.
Which begs the question why the refugees are not going back.
6
@Umar
The U. S. is enormously popular in the Kurdish and southern areas of Iraq.
It is similarly popular in Albania and Kosovo for the same reasons.
2
A country cannot offer generous social benefits while promoting lax immigration policies, or all the world will come looking for a handout. Fix immigration before promoting Medicare for all.
34
My grandparents were Jewish immigrants that only managed to enter the US because they had fake documents. Now my mother complains about "illegals," forgetting that she is the child of some. And the icing on the cake? My undocumented nephew wears a MAGA hat and t-shirt at the same time because he doesn't see himself as an "illegal." How we forget ourselves.
9
Sweden has made a huge mistake.
27
This was inevitable.
A society that welcomes many immigrants (who are not engineers or sports stars) cannot sustain a generous social safety net. One can try to exclude people from a social safety net, but this basically creates a pool of people tempted to turn to crime and others tempted to exploit them.
There was a poker essay written long ago by one of the writing duo Sklansky and Malmuth titled "Why (Some) Morons Do Better Than You". The spirit of the article is technical mastery of minutia - in politics, this might be things such as debate gotchas and polling-based platforms - never make up for doing a few basic things well.
People may be baffled why a party that basically denies environmental science, excuses human right violations (even those committed by Americans), celebrates fraudsters and nominates the likes of Roy Moore of Alabama and Representative King of Iowa can continue to do well. When I ponder this unfortunate reality, I come back to this tension - welcoming immigrants vs. a very robust social safety net. One cannot sustain both, but few Democrats acknowledge this.
Current Republicans have chosen the 2nd least logical "quadrant" - low immigration, low safety net - but while this is logically flawed, it is nowhere near as bad as high immigration, big social safety. Democrats too often ignore this and other tensions, such as public spending and corruption, or unions and environmentalism, and as a result find that some morons do In fact better than them.
13
Unfair article. You described being Swedish as if it was the same as joining a racist political party:
"Some decry an assault on “Swedish heritage,” or “Swedish culture,” or other words that mean white, Christian and familiar."
It's not. You can be white as can be, and not fit into Swedish culture.
And living on welfare without ever having paid taxes into it seems seems like a good way to not fit in to any community, anywhere.
78
@Bill That line raised my hairs also. I was just in Sweden and neighboring countries. The most wonderful decent humans you can ever meet. Immigration of african people is decimating these countries. We drove in a taxi by an area where the immigrates reside. Trash everywhere, and crime is like our inner cities.
15
Wow, this is a terribly unkind article about Sweden. Some countries have refused to take any refugees at all such as Poland, Russia, and Israel.
Quote "Sweden Democrats, a right-wing political party with roots in the neo-Nazi movement". You know this as a fact? Those are pretty strong words that you need to elaborate on, because some people read things and think that if it's in print it's true.
Sweden is proud of their culture, there is nothing wrong with that. You sight a few immigrants who have done well, bravo for them! But it's obviously not the majority or Sweden wouldn't be having a problem.
21
And all this is surprising, how?
9
Interesting that the article does not mention the dramatic increase in crime - a topic that is all but taboo in Sweden. I wonder why.
62
@Kai where are studies on this?
@Kai
Because its not true?
1
David Attenborough, the nature film guy, testified in London yesterday that this wave of immigration is just the tip of the iceberg.
As the climate change brings more deserts will develop and current deserts will expand, causing mass migration from the
Middle East, Asia and especially Africa.
Just food for thought.
8
I spent a short time, in the late 1990s, as a guest lecturer in Sweden (Vaxjo and Lund). I don’t speak Swedish, but that was no problem because every Swede that I met spoke English... not just at the universities but everywhere else I went. At that time, English courses were required, starting in elementary school. And, the Swedes dressed a lot like Americans. While having dinner at a professor’s home, her 13-year old son learned that I spent time in Chicago, got excited, asked me if I ever saw Michael Jordan play for the Bulls, and showed me his MJ/Bulls t-shirt.
Globalization — most Swedes are quite flexible.
Sweden had immigration in the 1990s. There was a minority of Swedes trying to gin-up fear about immigrants back then, too. It always seems to emanate from some right-wing group, regardless of which country you analyze. I’m not surprised that the anti-immigration Sweden Democrat party is right wing, with neo-Nazi roots/inclinations... should sound familiar to any American.
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@Donna Nieckula
Interesting that views like yours always seem to be voiced by Americans who disrespect other countries by never bothering to learn the local language when they go there for work/vacation.
So yes, of course it makes sense for you to protect other people's rights to be just as disrespectful and not assimilate. Because you never would consider such a thing.
16
@Donna Nieckula Yes, throwaway smears and guilt by association sounds very familiar in that it's the standard way to make immigration restriction seem socially unacceptable and not worthy of discussion.
8
As a pretty left leaning person myself, I have to say the liberal policies of accepting millions of immigrants is going to backfire and cause a surge in far-right parties in Europe (lile AFD in Germany). The difference between America and Europe is America is a country built on the idea that we are a big melting pot bound together by a sense of individuality. We are actually still an experiment to see if this system works. Europe is steep in history and ideals even though it is very modern societies. America is very young while Europe has been around since forever - the ideas of multiculturalism is not going to be as accepted as many want to believe. All it is going to do is drive voters to right-wing parties. They will accept some and help them integrate to become productive and contribute to the welfare systen, but hundreds of thousands dumped in some of these small countries is going to cause massive issues. When you have a strong welfare system and union, it isn't about individuality. It's about doing your part for the community (paying super high taxes, working, etc). If it seems people aren't doing it, the friction begins.
28
@Drew
//America is very young while Europe has been around since forever - the ideas of multiculturalism is not going to be as accepted as many want to believe.//
Is that the majority of Europeans speak many languages fluently, because they are one culture?
People who view Europe as one monolithic culture have very little knowledge of European history - or the history of European countries with Muslim nations.
Nowhere have I seen as much groaning and complaining about learning a non-English language as I have in Canada and the US. Yet these cultures are supposed to be most "diverse" and accepting of foreigners? Please.
2
Controlled immigration can be called enlightened self interest but when immigrant numbers swamp the education system and the medical system while straining the social welfare system let’s be honest, it creates a big problem.
It seems that other solutions have to be brought to bear in Scandinavia as in the US, including guest worker programs and programs to help stabilize these war torn countries like Syria and Afghanistan and gang run narco states like Honduras and Guatemala. This too is enlightened self interest.
One key though is to treat our fellow travelers on this planet with respect and provide a leg up as opposed to an unlimited handout. Most don’t want a long term handout but many will happily take it. Let’s get the incentives right and stop playing the blame game politics of Trump and Sweden’s far right.
Many decry the fact that immigrants won’t assimilate but shun them like the plague. Extending the hand of friendship will go a long way in helping solve the problems created by immigration. The fearsome, untrustworthy “other” is often merely ourselves in different garb and speaking a different language once we get to know them.
6
It isn't racist or bigoted to want your safe, stable, and prosperous community to remain that way. Infusing a large number of people who are vastly different is going to be disruptive. No matter what, it is going to take the newcomers quite a long time to adjust to the language and culture of their new home.
The change in foreign-born people as a percentage of the total population stood out to me. It went from 11% to 19% in Sweden. In the United States, it is approaching 14%, which is nearly equal to the peak rate in 1910. I don't remember immigration being a hot button issue when the rate was only 8% in 1990. There seems to be a tipping point around 10% where the native population begins to feel uncomfortable.
Immigrants have always been an invaluable resource for the United States. So the question is, at what ratio does the cost of immigration start to outweigh the benefit? If public schools can handle 5% of their students being ESL, can they handle 10%? What about 20%? What about the added strain on public housing, food stamps, healthcare, law enforcement, etc.?
I don't know what that number is, but it isn't racist or bigoted to want to remain below it. The problem right now is that President Trump frames everything in the most racist way possible, which doesn't help keep the debate civil.
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@Steve Acho He never actually says anything racist -- you can't point to a sngle instance of any racist remark form Trump. But his actions are being construed or interpreted as racist by the left which has become paranoid about race. The left brings up race more often now than the right.
9
Totally obvious this would happen. Human solidarity extends only so far. As much as I support single payer health insurance in the US, prospects for it decrease with every non-white person that steps over the US border.
17
It worked here because until recently, immigrants happily abandoned their cultures and became part of the great American melting pot.
19
@Songbird That is not remotely true. You couldn't have been more wrong had you tried.
Going back over a hundred years, the main complaint about immigrants was that they weren't learning the language, or working hard enough to assimilate. Exactly the same as today.
The first generation of adult immigrants struggle to learn the language and culture. Their kids are fluent in the language, and want to be seen as American.
@Steve Acho
Nope. I get a sense that recent immigrants want to transform what it means to be American.
They don’t want to dissolve.
2
A great threat to Sweden's view of itself as a center of high quality of life is the growing gang activity around Malmo and Gothenburg -- both by native born white skin heads (many of whom fly the American Confederate flag) and by refugees. This is where Swedish xenophobia is actually being played out.
3
It is concerning that the article allows a quote in the fourth paragraph ("Ninety percent of the refugees don't contribute to society. These people are going to have a lifelong dependence on social welfare") to go unchecked until much farther in.
One has to read much farther down into the article to see the actual facts that dispute this opinion. It is bad editorial standards to let such a blatant disregard for the facts surface at the beginning of an article and let it stand unchecked for so long.
That quote should immediately be followed up with the statistics of the number of refugees that are actually on social welfare.
6
When the dominance of a ruling ethnicity is threatened, its members become xenophobic, atavistic and cruel. That is the common, rotten foundation for all these poorly-named “populist” movements. Rather than being movements of the people, they are movements of powerful but insecure ethnicities. So let’s start calling Republicans, Tories, and Sweden Democrats what they actually are: Ethno-nationalist hate groups.
3
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. -- Laozi
The modern take would be that you give a man a fish, expect his extended family to join him and you'll have to feed all of them for the rest of your life.
Closing the border is the way to force those countries where immigration originates to solve their own problems. Short of that, immigration influx will continue until our standard of living equals that in the countries of origin of the immigrants. We're already seeing the standard of living of working families declining to meet that of neighboring countries. Middle class is slipping... It's the law of pressure gradient.
22
Ronald,
I agree with your premise. However, America had a direct hand in Honduras’ problems when Hilary Clinton supported the coup in 2009 that put in the incompetent right wing government that ruined the country. What then?
@Practical Thoughts
As a gesture of peace, reconciliation and to further the harmonious relationship between our people, deport Hilary Clinton and her extended family to Honduras, until all socio-economic problems are resolved, and reverse immigration occurs.
2
You know, New York Times, Swedish culture is a thing. It exists. It goes beyond being white, christian and familiar, as you dismissively put it. Your average Swede has a different culture than your average Frenchman, with a different way of life, a different outlook on life, a different language. Now, does the influx of migrants threaten to extinguish that culture? No. Will it change it? Probably a bit, which is expected and normal.
US commentators often seem to forget that smaller cultures can be distinctive, even if the people that happen to compose it are mostly white. White is not a culture. The cultural American empire does not encompass the whole of pale people.
43
A,
It’s not only Europe that has distinct cultures from place to place but also this is a big issue in Africa where the multitude of ethnicities were thrown together without thought to cohesion.
2
@Practical Thoughts And yet the left keeps insisting that diversity is a strength.
3
Of course. Anyone who didn't see this coming was living in a cloud.
23
Everything reported in this article applies equally well to all the other European countries which had strong systems of social protection and which have experienced very large inflows of low skilled immigrants from Africa and Central Asia over the last few years. The money is running out and since there is a very strong perception that too much of the money is going to people "who are not like us and never will be" it provides a huge amount of ammunition for the "populists". This issue, mostly left unarticulated , was one of the causes of the recent Gilet Jaune revolt in France which started with people asking where did all their money go?
Interestingly, one of the reasons cited for the low development of social welfare in the US compared to Europe is because the majority white population did not want to subsidize the black minority (if I remember correctly this idea was developed by Paul Krugman in one of his books.
Clearly, Europe is now also reaching the limits of how much the majority is willing to subsidize a minority perceived to be mostly parastic freeloaders with no interest in our countries other than what than what they can get for free.
9
Europe has had a direct hand in driving the abysmal conditions in Africa. UK, Spain, France, Belgium, Russia Germany and Portugal hand picked leaders, overthrew others and exploited the countries for preferential access to minerals.
France still to this day has a heavy hand in the affairs of its former colonies.
I do think it’s unfair for Switzerland, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe to to take on the challenge of migration.
@Practical Thoughts. I'm not sure what point you're trying to make but if your idea is that France's colonial history , which was mostly very short (late1800's to late 1950's) somehow justifies the country having to accept and look after every one who turns up from any of these former colonies plus rapidly increasing numbers from countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, Nigeria, Ethiopia & Eritrea with which France has no historical links and with which it has little to no involvement today, I'd be interested in understanding your logic. Do you consider that the present day citizens of every country have unlimited responsibility/liability for the "sins" of their forefathers. As it happens, as an immigant myself, my own forefathers weren't even French, just Francophile.. :-)
1
The foreign-born population is 20% already and rising fast. That large figure doesn't include children of foreigners, who may or may not be integrating. Then factor in that that 20% comprises a disproportionately young population reproducing at much higher rates than the native population.
The author studiously refuses to connect the dots for us, but it is clear that indigenous Swedes will soon be a minority in their own homeland. And yet it still isn't enough to indemnify them against racism accusations from the wokerati. Nothing ever is.
100
When in Rome live like Romans do, that's the main message refugees should get. Whether it is mosque waking up the entire neighborhood or learning the language or expecting too much from the country and people who gave asylum, refugees are the ones who should be willing to change their thinking, behavior, and even beliefs. They had a choice to stay where they born, citizens of the host country, because they are nice, accepted them. Show your hosts some gratitude and be willing to cooperate and compromise.
109
Sweden reports 1.67 births per woman.
They need immigration to survive as a nation, as we do in Canada and many other Western countries.
Which does not preclude selectivity in immigration.
5
@M Clement Hall
And why are there only 1.67 births per woman in Sweden and Canada? Why are people "choosing" not to have children?
Could it be because the cost of living is so high that it makes taking time off work to raise a child not feasible?
Maternity leave for a year doesn't solve the problem of what to do with the kid after that one year, when you have so little money left over that paying for daycare is not feasible?
These refugees are able to to have a lot of children because the social supports they receive as are significantly more than a citizen who's on social support. They also receive additional money from their ethnic groups.
Just look at the orthodox Jewish communities - people with armies of children yet very few high paying jobs to actually support those large families.
Refugees/immigrants ble to have so many children because they are careless in their parenting, resulting in many behavioral problems people complain about. Those who are educated and value good parenting have the same low birth rate as everyone else.
19
@Viv
My wife had four children
Does that mean we were careless parents?
The Western world faces a major problem with declining birth rates which will not be solved by abuse.
Sweden is conducting an experiment that likely will fail.
Not all cultures are the same.
Many people would be surprised to know that even today there is a statistically significant difference in higher education attainment rates between British/Scottish Americans and Italian Americans.
No one is or should be racist against Italian Americans anymore, but it's a reminder that culture is not an insignificant thing and assimilation is a multi-generational process.
25
The population bomb is subtle, partially obscured by the aging demographic. The ability to generate migrants from “the third world” will only be compounded by climate change. For a while, the North Sea neighborhood will seem “cool”.
47
@Kirk Cornwell I'd say the "population bomb" is not so subtle. Population doubling times are the shortest in most of the countries we view as "troubled". They typically need food, health care, education, political stabilization, birth control, sustainable eco-stuff ... you know ... all the things that we're so good at providing.
5
Why is Swedish culture defined so pejoratively at the very outset of this article? Would we be so insulting towards cultures in African or Latin American countries? No, we have been taught since middle school to respect these cultures - their food, music, rituals and heritage - even when in reality many of these cultures can be terrible towards its own citizens, especially women, homosexuals and people from other cultures or religions. But I guess we can’t respect or admire a white homogeneous European culture that has been stable and caring towards its own people since modern memory. All because it can’t handle a sudden wave of people who speak a different language, and have very different beliefs.
258
@AL
Thank you for saying this. There's nothing "homogeneous" about European culture if you bother to look. People respect each other's cultures. That's why it's so many people who speak multiple languages in Europe - something that is not present on any other continent.
50
@Viv
Africa is the most polyglot continent.
Most Africans speak at least 3 languages: their own, their neighbors', and English or French.
FYI
English speakers aren't monolingual because they are stupid or lazy; we just have the reasonable expectation that others will speak English.
Linguistics is a hobby of mine, so I do find that a pity.
6
@AL There has never existed a "white homogeneous European culture". And what we Swedes might see as part of our homeland's culture and food often turn out to be imports, like Christianity, "Swedish" meatballs. potatoes, coffee, etc. Humans have always traveled, always traded and sometimes learned a thing or two in the process. This said, it is easy to understand that a sudden influx of large numbers of refugees will put pressure on the system, but fact is that most immigrants work and pay taxes and contribute to the evolving Swedish culture and economy.
3
Our country has a way flimsier safety net than that of Sweden. How is it, then, that our struggling citizens ( half a million with no homes) are supposed to be happy with so many resources going to immigrants who come here illegally? Maybe if we cut our absurd, one trillion plus military budget, there would be enough, but shouldn’t that money be used to fix our tattered infrastructure or shore up our under-funded public schools?
30
@Ellen
Maybe if corps and the wealthy simply paid their fair share of taxes? Corps and the 1% love to talk about their philanthropic work for which they receive tax deductions. I’d love to hear that they simply paid their fair share. Don’t need to slash any budgets if our government had the will to tax everyone fairly.
16
@Ellen Asylum seekers are not ILLEGAL, it is a LEGAL process. Asylum is a legal status that the U.S. government can grant to people who are at risk of harm in their home countries because of who they are.
@Butch
Yes, it sure would help if corporations and the tippy tops paid a fair amount- many corporations pay zilch. But, no question, the monster military budgets (800 bases around the world, outmoded tanks made in Ohio), which do nothing but suck up our tax dollars...and a foreign policy that rains misery on so much of the world, needs a total overhaul. Both parties vote for it. Isn’t this how Rome fell as an empire?
1
"Over all, the cost of social programs for refugees runs about 1 percent of Sweden’s annual national economic output, about as much as Sweden now spends on international aid. The economy is growing. The government’s finances are solid."
If the money being spent on refugees is about the same as what Sweden was already spending on international aid, it seems that the real issue isn't how much refugees cost the system. It seems that the real issue is how much refugees affect the otherwise-homogeneous society.
5
Give these people a break! I studied Swedish after five years of German, which is related, and still have difficulty when I am there. People tend to speak fast, and kind of slur words together. I end up falling back on English, which most Swedes are fluent in, but these refugees can't do that. It takes awhile to assimilate. There might be people struggling, but I have seen evidence of people fitting in as well.
6
@me
I doubt those pensioners will object when they need someone to help them get to the bathroom or produce young people to pay into the system going forward. It's a complex system.
2
While this article highlights two immigrants who are working very hard to assimilate and fit into the Nordic Model agreement of everyone must work and contribute, it would have been more useful to see data as to how many fall into that category vs. how many are outside of it and receiving benefits without contributing. Unemployment stats aren't enough to get the whole picture.
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@B Dawson
I believe the article does answer your question:
“People don’t want to pay taxes to support people who don’t work,” says Urban Pettersson, 62, a member of the local council here in Filipstad, a town set in lake country west of Stockholm. “Ninety percent of the refugees don’t contribute to society. These people are going to have a lifelong dependence on social welfare. This is a huge problem.”
13
@Daulat Rao That isn’t an official statistic. It is a general expression meaning “a lot.” But even that isn’t necessarily accurate at all.
6
@B Dawson
"The average refugee in Sweden receives about 74,000 Swedish kronor (about $7,800) more in government services than they pay into the system, Joakim Ruist, an economist at the University of Gothenburg, concluded in a report released last year and commissioned by the Ministry of Finance."
7
The key difference between the historical migration in the US and the recent immigration in many of the northern industrial Scandinavian countries is the willingness to contribute to the society that has been "chosen." Perhaps we should be asking the question "why are the Nordic countries chosen?' when there are countries closer to the places of origin of the immigrants that are safe, not embroiled in warfare, and where the cultural differences are not as vast. Why are they traveling so far afield? The richer countries in the middle east could conceivable absorb the families and not require such a stark cultural adjustment. Perhaps more international pressure needs to be placed on those governments to participate in accepting war/economic refugees closer to their homes.
80
The vast majority of refugees are being absorbed by neighboring countries. Only a very small fraction ever reach the EU, let alone Sweden.
1
The article barely mentions an intriguing option for some refugees: voluntary repatriation. How does this work in a benevolent nation like Sweden? Isn't it possible that some immigrants, seeing the reality of their futures after a couple of years' solid effort in integrating, and changes in their home countries' situation, would prefer repatriation to otherwise becoming a permanent, disliked underclass?
19
The immigration/refugee wave is because these fellow human beings have been left stateless. Start from there and work back.
Why are they left stateless? What can be done to establish stability where they come from? Is it worth it for the west to "invest" in the promotion of democracy abroad?
What happens with regime change? Does that create a power vacuum filled by the devil we don't know?
I think the issue isn't necessarily refugees coming to "benefit surf" but more due to the issues of collapsing states where they emigrate from. Solve that, and the immigration wave slows.
7
'Some decry an assault on “Swedish heritage,” or “Swedish culture,” or other words that mean white, Christian and familiar.' A statement like this needs to be supported with some sort of evidence. Also, using the term "white" in an American paper, whose readers have a different understanding of whiteness than the people in the article, problematically implies some kind of Swedish white nationalism that may or may not exist--again, such statements need evidence.
15
It's very telling that the author thinks the phrases “Swedish heritage” and “Swedish culture" are so meaningless that they can only be code for racism. I doubt he would be so dismissive of concerns about cultural heritage in, say, a central African nation.
The truth is, massive demographic change that undermines the nation-state and its people is another tool in the box for neoliberal oligarchs and plutocrats (and their media allies) looking to undermine democracy, national sovereignty, and any and all other impediments to their own wealth and powery.
146
“But Sweden’s experience with refugees suggests a more pragmatic, even transactional conception of the social welfare state, a sort of membership club in which people pay dues for expected services. If too many people get the benefits for free — especially people who stand out as different from the majority — faith in the system is imperiled.”
No, it’s not “faith” in the system that’s imperiled, it’s the system itself, and it has nothing to do with being “different”; it’s simple arithmetic.
78
The major difference between taxes for us in the U.S. and those in Sweden is not the amount that you pay in taxes, it is the amount of expenditure on defense spending. If you include my co-pays and deductibles toward health care and add that to my taxes, social security withholding 9and desperately trying to put something aside for retirement) and other things I don’t think I pay out any less than people in Sweden.
46
@Brian You are correct. That defense spending is awfully important to maintaining safety throughout the world, though. If can be far less, however.
2
The belief systems of the huge majority of 21st century immigrants into Western Europe, are vastly different from those of the existing inhabitants. No amount of good will and willingness to subsidize immigrants who have zero interest in integration, will change this fact. No country in Western Europe has ever been a “melting pot”. The only question now is how much damage is done before this very unwise experiment by clueless European leaders is unwound.
101
Generosity and human kindness has its limits and maybe the Swedes have reached their limits. Influx of refugees leaving their devastated bombed out homelands resulting from useless regime change wars supported by the western leaders is testing the generosity of the Swedes. I bet the Swedish leaders promised their gullible kind hearted citizens that the refugees were to be sheltered temporarily and would not cost much. Now they know they are stuck with refugees permanently.
What are the lessons from the Swedish experience? Don't allow an influx of refugees from anywhere. Just allow a limited number of vetted refugee families to enter in phases. Settle them with humanitarian care and don't let any other country to tell you how much can be allowed in your country.
102
......while dark-skinned immigrants sink into poverty and joblessness in isolated ghettos.
What the article doesn’t mention is this is happening already. Sweden has US style ghettos where gangs rule. Police stations reminisce of the garrisons found in Northern Ireland at the hieght of the troubles are now the norm. Bombings shootings are a daily occurrence. None of this gets reported (outside of the right wing news) because of the fear that it will only encourage the populist.
It’s not immigration that is so much the cause the issue as lack of integration. The children of immigrants and asylum-seekers are the ones were joining the gangs as they see no future.
73
How you ever been to one of these so-called “ghettos”, they are nowhere near what constitutes a “ghetto” in the US.
“The state delivers...”
“Governments furnish...”
No they don’t. The tax paying citizen delivers and furnishes. The government simply makes them.
49
@ DoctorHeel The tax paying citizens of Sweden recover their investment based on high taxes in times of need or in later life when medical care is necessary. Try talking with someone from one of the Nordic countries rather than making a knee jerk statement devoid of knowledge.
@DoctorHeel People naturally form cooperative units; homeschoolers, for example, combine their resources, form groups, collaborate on curriculum. They start as individuals standing outside the system and then create their own. Then someone has to manage or *gasp* govern it. Then people get mad at the person doing the governing. Lol
My take away from this article is something I think most people already know but is overlooked by the media in general - A community, whether small or local, or national in scale, is generally willing to support others in their community or others outside of it, but only if those people are similar to them. If the community takes in people who are unlike them, it threatens their identity which makes them unique, like a tribe. This isn’t racism or some horrible form of xenophobia from evil nationalists or republicans - it’s human nature wired into our DNA. Even the Nords experience such challenges.
If this same article was published about Americans it surely would have a racist, nationalist spin attached to it rather than an honest conversation such as this article.
54
Naivety. That's the word you're looking for to describe the Swedes. "We didn't have enough children to sustain our welfare systems, our towns, and our way of life so let's import people from a completely different culture. But we can't push them to integrate." It's wanting to have your cake and eat it too, and it never works.
32
I live in Denmark and here too they have found that it is very hard to integrate the many people they have taken in from largely Muslim countries. They offer all kinds of support, in fact the Bureau of Immigration changed its name to the Bureau of Immigration and Integration, but they do not wish to see ghettos and they need only look across the bridge to Malmo in Sweden to see what a catastrophe this has been. This has nothing to do with skin color as the left is always quick to point out, this has to do with culture and fairness. The Nordic culture is centuries old, it is based on Christianity and they see this refusal to integrate as a threat to their culture. They encourage integration, they have banned the Nikab and they offer a very handsome cash settlement to those who will return to their own country. Children of immigrants born in 'ghettos' must send there children for mandatory instruction in “Danish values,” including the traditions of Christmas and Easter, and Danish language. Failure to comply means you can lose welfare and housing benefits. Parents who send their children to their home country for extended periods, which the government considers re-education can face jail. Those who do not comply with deportation orders and who have been convicted of crimes are housed on an island. They have had the same problems as Sweden, high unemployment among migrants, higher use of welfare and social services, gang violence. This is not an unreasonable reaction.
306
There has always been a case that strong welfare systems only work in homogeneous societies. Now we're are getting a test case of where a homogeneous society with a strong welfare system is becoming more heterogeneous rapidly through immigration of a group who are quite different and relatively poor and in need of that welfare system. This piece seems to back up the argument that people are much more comfortable paying to support people they perceive as like themselves. But there also is a different issue, one of importing poverty. Loose immigration policies and strong welfare programs are arguable incompatible.
68
Regrettably, I have seen it time and time again, a wave of immigrants foisted upon a community, usually without a referendum or any dialogue with locals. it always seems to result in tearing the community apart. I saw this firsthand in Rutland Vt.
They wanted to bring 100 Syrians in.
Some decent people entirely on their own, helped them with clothes, furniture and other support items. (their was also Fed. Gov. help) Other people, were outraged and put up a stink. net result was a divided community, friendships lost, families too, becoming divided on the issue. perhaps over time wounds will heal and the refugees will assimilate but make no mistake about it, bringing in people so different than the local population is a double edged sword.
47
I have an interesting thought. If a group of refugees was to camp out in my fairly large (but not huge) front yard, should I take them under my wing? I fact, I could feed clothe, and shelter ten or so people, based on my salary and savings. What if some needed medical attention, or transportation to various places/activities? What about arranging their kids' education and language lessons? I note that some of my neighbors are also blessed as am I. Should we, as some countries, bound by a form of duty to help out in these circumstances?
2
@John L. ... what's stopping you? Why not do it; i.e. tents, porta - potties, cooking grills, etc on the front lawn?
4
The Nordic model is a wonderful thing, but America succeeds in one area that other countries are struggling with, and that is assimilating immigrants. Our country can absorb immigrants from the Middle East. But it is even easier when the immigrants come from Spanish-speaking countries because we have a huge population of Spanish-speakers already living here. The cultures of Latin America, especially Mexico, already have a home here and have for hundreds of years. There is less of a language barrier, and we place fewer expectations on immigrants so that they are able to settle here more easily. It’s not without its struggles. Our immigrants have obstacles to overcome, too. But a nation built on immigration is uniquely capable of addressing this in ways Europeans are struggling with.
15
@Joshua Krause
Joshua,I agree with you. I grew up inMexico City with American parents. However, having just been in Stockholm on vacation, I can tell you that this society far outpaces the US in terms of benefitting all its population including immigrants. There is a minimal level of housing, which means there are no slums. Didn't see any homelessness and one of my friends taught Swedish as a Second language to immigrants geared at carpentry training. Some Swedes do complain that their benefits are diminishing, but my friends, both with Ph.D. say it's mere scapegoating, because ultimately, you need immigrants to support an aging and shrinking population. In Stockholm, the immigrants I saw spoke Swedish and worked.
9
@RST And then more immigrants to support the aging immigrant population? they will get old and sick too.
2
My takeaway is that large scale immigration is difficult and resistance is a common human response. There were similar issues in the US - from NYC to the Colorado coalfields - from the 1860’s through 1920’s during large influxes from mostly Europe. And there was no social program free-riding risk. This is a much larger cultural difference plus an economic impact. I’m sympathetic to the plight of refugees but we (as humans) also need to be realistic on how they can be absorbed and received.
19
Immigrants have to be fully integrated into society. That requires language immersion, intense cultural education and job training for the positions available.
Everyone needs to be honest with how many migrants are coming each year, the cost to integrate, train, educate and provide health care and infrastructure. What is the impact to the labor market, demographics.
Be honest. You will never get beyond the fear until you come correct with facts and figures.
20
“Swedish culture” could also mean respect for women's right and gay rights. It's not necessarily a pejorative.
204
You make an important point - it is challenging to be tolerant of cultures that are intolerant. I live in a community with many immigrant cultures that do not view women or other groups as equal to straight, cis men. Intellectually, I understand that women choose to be covered and subservient to men. I strive to respect the culture yet it’s difficult to accept on a visceral level. As a woman, interacting with these men is degrading - the disrespect is blatant. While I want to welcome all people and don’t want to impose my values on others, I also want to expand equality and not regress as a community. How do we find a balance? How can we do better?
(The above is also true of men such as Mike Pence who does not respect women colleagues enough to dine alone with them and creates a clear career disadvantage. I really don’t want to increase the percentage of such people.)
55
As Sweden is discovering, it is pretty easy to tout yourself as a model when your society is small, homogeneous and Nordic. When you become highly multicultural, it is quite a different thing and a whole lot more challenging.
For all the faults in the American model (and we read about them every day in this newspaper and elsewhere), the USA does have some experience with multiethnic integration on a mammoth scale. Even for countries preternaturally equipped to handle the challenge, it is extraordinarily difficult, especially when it is perceived by citizens that the country has lost control of its borders.
141
@Tom Great point.
As the child of immigrants, the most significant value for my parents was integration. They wanted their children to be fully American, fluent in English, and culturally adept. I didn't recognize it at the time, but they did my siblings and me a great service. Things have changed, as we see, and not for the better.
20
@Factumpactum
How have things changed? I am a bilingual teacher in NYC and I can assure you that my students' parents want them to participate fully in the American dream, and they know that speaking English and getting good grades are the key to their success. Your parents did you no favors if you lost your family's native language. Two languages are always better than one.
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-benefits-of-bilingualism.html
2
Culture matters. If a nice, liberal, Ben and Jerry kind of Vermont Village was inundated by a large number of MAGA hat wearing Trump supporters and their Tea Party forebears, it would change the nature of the village in ways those Vermont liberals would not appreciate. That is what Europe is facing. But it is worse because many of their immigrants do not share the core cultural values of the western Europeans. Demographics is science, not a political position. And the demographics of much of Europe suggests that, by the end of this century, climate change will be the least of Europe’s problems.
211
The "safety net" in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway works - because there is a fundamental understanding that except for the very sick and elderly - men and women must work and contribute to the financial pool that supports so many social programs. In fact, an article in the NY Times - not too long ago- highlighted the societal pressure women feel to NOT be stay at home parents. Another article in the Times from 2011 says the key to Norways financial success is that women are in the work force. In order to work, you must have a good grasp of the language, you must be skilled (these countries have very few unskilled jobs ) and there must be a cultural understanding that a women's place is outside of the home working. I can't imagine that in only a short 4 years - people coming from Iraq, Somalia, or Syria have been able to check all these boxes. It seems like the Swedes are going to have to either pour way more money into the process to get everyone working, or cut back on social programs. I am just surprised that they couldn't predict this when they let the migrants and refugees in.
145
@Questioning Everything
In reference to women working outside the home - this is one of the first things I wondered about. The cultural preferences of the immigrants is not entirely in line with that sort of societal model. The question becomes, then, does the pressure for women to work outside the home appeal to women from a culture where a college education is difficult to achieve. Or do they continue in traditional roles defined by their native culture. One or the other will have to change.
12
@Questioning Everything You also forget that these families from the countries you mentioned have an average of 6-8 kids for family plus a couple baking in the oven at any time.
24
@B Dawson
"In reference to women working outside the home - this is one of the first things I wondered about. The cultural preferences of the immigrants is not entirely in line with that sort of societal model."
Where are you getting that information from? Evidence please.
If you don't pay attention to right-wing, conservative, and Trump cult noise, you might miss how much satisfaction and comfort these realities provide for them.
Unfortunately, for that constituency, immigration and all the complications attached to it, is a zero-sum concept; how many ways can they say no?
Worse still, when primitives like Trump, Miller, Mulvaney, Barr, Fox News, and particularly McConnell are allowed to set the terms of the debate, there is no debate: separate children from parents, hold them in cages, make them live in unsafe custody.
The problems in Sweden, a nation only recently invested in immigration culture, are idiosyncratic, but that doesn't mean we can avoid the real difficulties we face here over assimilation, fairness, and human rights before we even consider how to regulate all the moving parts.
Let's do it humanely; not succumb to the vile and grotesque policies of Trump and his yes men.
6
@JS
Really JS? What policies are you proposing? I’m a Trump supporter and wish for only common sense immigration policy where we offer all that we can afford as a society to those people wishing to immigrate. As we speak South American immigrants are painting the house next door. Best workers available. Stop hating Trump and start working with all parties and people to fix our problems. For me, the democrats will do any harm necessary just to hammer Trump. You might be one of them?
37
@BobG How are Democrats supposed to work with someone like you who claims that they "...will do any harm necessary just to hammer Trump."?
Pot, meet kettle.
1
@BobG They're painting the house next door until Trump's ICE deports them. Trump doesn't want to solve the problem. He wants immigrants as scapegoats so he can rile up his base
The issue is mindless support of multiculturalism in lieu of forced assimilation and the expectation that people who want join a society must work in that society instead of against it. We must be conscious enough of what has worked to advance our society and not be willing to overlook or ignore those attributes so as not to “offended” the sensibilities of those who are leaving a failed society in a mindless accommodation of the worst aspects of multiculturalism.
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The Nordic experiment will fail. The EU must close its borders to illegal immigrants/refugees. if it wants to maintain its western culture identity.
139
Immigration 100, 200 years ago isn't the same thing as immigration in the 21st century. Population is burgeoning in third world cultures based on agrarian societies while industrial countries where education and stable governments have provided the population a better life with smaller family units and more disposable income. The immigrants arriving don't live in this type of cultural existence and have difficulty adapting to this new type of environment. Each individual will adapt differently just as we have in our own culture but some never will. They will not be able to leave their old world behind and adapt. This is what creates the problem with mass migration. Once they are in, the problem belongs to the citizens to pay the price. I have no solution and the problem is not going away as climate, social upheavals and war upend the lives of people around the world. This is only the tip of the iceberg.
212
I’m not much a historian, but I don’t think the migrations we’re seeing today are much different than those of 100-200 years ago. Think of the Chinese immigrants brought here to build our railways and canals; think of the starving Irish potato farmers who came here during the industrial revolution; think of the massive shift of farmers, many of whom were illiterate, to the cities during that same period. We have long accepted, with the expected grumbling of a portion of the population, the poor, the hungry, the illiterate, and it is what has made America great - we can do it again.
4
@Bella That's what the nativists said when my grandparents came before WW I.
4
@Robert Immigration of low-skilled worker was successful 100 -150 years ago because there was a need for uneducated labor - that's not the case today. Also, there was no social safety net back then so it immigration didn't cost the native population money
31
Unfortunately, in Sweden as in just about everywhere else, it's basic human nature that reacts defensively to large numbers of "strangers foreign to the tribe". The higher the economic and perceived social costs of absorbing immigrants, the greater the reaction amongst native Swedes. The numbers of newly arriving immigrants seems to have dropped recently, but were it to increase once again to 2015 levels, I can see how all but the most liberal Swedes would eventually reach a tipping point. With the changes in world climate and resultant social upheavals, mass immigration of the world's poorest is a worldwide problem that is not going to go away.
25
And this is why Bernie’s idea for the USA is just postering and destined for failure. These models do not and cannot work in a heterogeneous population with large influx of immigrants.
85
@Stefan
It can work. We just need to do what every other advanced nation on earth has done---control who gets in our country! One more illegal alien is one too many.
Immigrants who are here must be assimilated into our way of life or they can return to their homeland and their way of life. It all starts with speaking English.
When in Rome do as the Romans do.
7
@Ted Pikul then why did Bernie raise his hand expressing support of decriminalization of unauthorized border crossings? That is tantamount to supporting open borders
4
For a welfare state to work, you cannot have people who game the system.
The Nordic countries are as close as possible to a society where everyone is an educated, upper-middle-class nice guy who obeys the laws and works even if it doesn't make much economic sense. Here in the US, this is obviously far from the truth; if we had a welfare state, the citizens we've got would compete to see how much they could steal.
Even in Sweden, they nearly went broke in the early 90s, showing that not everyone is as nice as advertised. In fact, human nature will virtually guarantee this; over time, every system will become corrupt as abuses spring up. Countries like France and Italy are full of corruption, as grifters embed themselves in the system and find highly profitable ways to live without doing much in the way of work.
Naturally, the people who do actually work and pay taxes don't like this.
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@Jonathan Gaming the system isn't limited to low-income immigrants. The 1% games the US system every day. Keep focused on immigrants and don't notice the rich guy stealing your wallet.
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@MikeG We keep trying to tell ‘em, but feelings don’t care about facts.
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@Jonathan :: I feel the need to point out that the financial crisis in the 90’s didn’t have anything to do with the influx of refugees coming from the balkans.
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Honestly? That is all that “Swedish culture” means? 20 years ago I began writing about the phenomenon of Americans who advocate for multicultural societies wanting to vacation in countries like Sweden where there was a distinctive monoculture: national dress, language, dance, food, etc. it was...and still is very difficult to get such people to reconcile this.
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@Mike Pod - Perhaps because many of the U.S. residents who "advocate for multicultural societies" are themselves upper middle class (mostly whites) who usually don't live near the working class communities that actually end up hosting immigrant populations.
It's just something they feel good about saying, while continuing to live in their gated communities and taking their international vacations, while the working and poorer classes of U.S. citizens actually live the "multicultural" part.
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The mass immigration schemes that have roiled Western Europe are substantially responsible for the surge of right wing populism. They have been a disaster and should have never happened. This fanciful notion of some mythically lovely and pure of heart earnest and open minded souls, searching for a new way of life has evaporated in the harsh reality of a jarring and profound cultural disconnect. We need to stop blaming the victims. That just increases the likelihood they will opt for the poison pill of the far right.
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One of the most prominent examples of left wing absurdity is the hysterical endorsement of systems that only work in a vacuum of exclusion.
But, it’s also frightening to many how those on left don’t understand the fundamental difference between Sweden (one country) and the United States (50 individual countries- basically).
This is why trump was elected. It’s not because people agree with him. It’s because the alternative seems delusional.
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@Matt Few advocate for a Nordic model which is a tough sell here in our highly individualistic society (as you rightly suggest). What most Democrats would like you to understand is that you are being cheated and robbed and giving away your family’s financial security. And demagogues are playing you for a fool on immigration so they can win an election and steal from you some more.
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@Matt
Um, how do you explain the fact that more people voted for Trump's opponent?
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@mja
Because the USA has a strategically brilliant election system which plays the long game by prohibiting mob rule.
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In the U.S. of A. surveys of spending on the poor, relative to population size, show a tendency for more spending in areas of high homogeneity (mostly white) in population and less in heterogeneity. I think people naturally do not want to support people they do not see as like themselves. Hence the need for national policies that promote and enforce equitable support for the poor.
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Or, tax payers are willing to give a hand up not just handouts forever...
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@Bill Wilson
Perhaps this has something to do with the likelihood that areas of mostly white population might be wealthier in many cases, and can consider spending more money for the needs of the poor, no matter what their skin color.
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No the Nordic model is not the the best cushion against Capitalism, America is and has proven it for app. 250 yrs.
Yes, it had slavery, lynching, internment camps, discrimination etc. etc. but as time goes in a relative short period of time it cured itself of these things and changed it. There are many countries around the world that have been killing each other for eons.
Also, far left liberals love to foam at the mouth over how wonderful nordic type countries are.
Last I checked, America is still the king of immigration in the world including from these countries.
I live in Brooklyn and there are a ton of immigrants from Nordic countries.
"Advanced" countries like Nordics and other Western European countries show their dirty laundry when they are faced with immigration, it can become really ugly.
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@Paul
"Yes, it had slavery, lynching, internment camps, discrimination, etc. etc. but as time goes in a relative short period of time it cured itself of these things and changed it."
A relatively short period, and cured, really? Tell that to the African American's we enslaved for nearly 300 years, how short of a period did that feel to those who were enslaved?
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It took an internal war to end slavery, and another century’s worth of internal social struggle to end lynching and institutional discrimination. They didn’t just magically go away. the ideas they were founded on (white supremacy) have become less acceptable to a large segment of the population, but to pretend like white supremacy doesn’t exist in 2019 is ridiculous. The Last time I read the paper, the U.S. still had internment camps.
I know, the article is about Sweden, but we need to be honest about our own history in order to make a blueprint for the future. Otherwise our ideas about where we are going will be as delusional as our ideas about how we got here.
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@Kim-thank you for your reply. Christians, Jews and arabs have been killing each other for thousands of yrs, so have others.
In geological time 300 yrs., is rather short and as the country ages, correction of grievances are taken place even faster in this country. It only took a short time to redress the injustice to Japanese Americans in internment camps.
Yes we are not perfect but we are also not the worst country on earth by far.
If immigration is a factor, we are near the top re the best countries to be.
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What it’s testing is the perception of the Nordic model, not the model itself. The underlying financial model is solid and the Swedes are pragmatic enough for the majority of them not to fall for the demagoguery of the right wing despite its electoral gains. Immigration issues in general often come down to primitive responses regarding the fears of “other” and the willingness of politicians to exploit that fear.
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@Orange Nightmare Read the article again. You didn't get it the first time. Sweden as all countries does not have infinite resources. That's a fact not a perception.
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@Orange Nightmare - If their model is solid, why was there "an economic crisis in the early 1990s, [when] Sweden lowered taxes and reduced spending, trimming unemployment benefits and pensions."? This was before any immigrants arrived! The model is unsustainable even without immigrants, unless you have billions of dollars in revenue from North Sea oil like Norway does. Then you can live like a socialist billionaire.
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@Jonathan
That is a really good point. I have Norwegian ancestry and visited there recently. Norway is swimming in money. I wonder how these issues are playing out there. Also, one of my Norwegian cousins is an immigration officer. He says they mostly deal with Eastern European illegal immigrants. He personally escorts them back to their home country. I asked him if that was controversial but he didn’t act like it was. Just enforcing the law.
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