A heated debate has erupted in Stockholm over a bridge under construction. The bridge will unite two opposite realities: Rinkeby’s disadvantaged neighborhood and the city of Sundbyberg, whose residents have a higher purchasing power. While Swedish extreme right-wingers fear this infrastructure will serve to spread crime, which they link to immigration, residents believe the bridge will not only facilitate travel, but also prevent segregation. Euronews journalist Valery Gouriot investigates the underlying realities in Sweden, where socio-economic inequality has never been greater than it is now.
Rinkeby is one of the nerve centers of so-called ‘gang violence’ in Sweden. There has been an increase of about 40% in murders in the country in a year. To try to end this problem, the government advocates a more restrictive immigration policy and more deportations. It is a bargaining chip used by the ruling coalition bloc to garner the support of the far-right party ‘Sweden Democrats’.
Clarissa Sidou, an officer with the Rinkeby Community Police, says, “Most of the young people who are suspected of committing crimes were born in Sweden. They are Swedish. Where are they being deported?”
“If they had been given a job and learned Swedish, they would have been integrated into society,” says Mustafa Endik, a resident of Sundbyberg. Andik, a former businessman and now a taxi driver, believes that politicians should “address the source of mass violence instead of fighting on the bridge.”
Andreas Cervenka, author of the Swedish journalism award-winning book ‘Greedy Sweden’, blames tax cuts and privatization policies for inequality. According to him, this makes Sweden “one of the most unequal countries in the world, with a very wealthy elite, with a large group of economically vulnerable citizens.”
“Worse than the crisis and inflation, uncertainty is affecting Sweden more and more,” says Jonas Wihlstrand, director of Stadsmissionen, the main Swedish charity.
“The number of applicants for aid has increased dramatically this year. Civil society has to take responsibility for feeding people. We don’t want the situation to get worse. It is the responsibility of politicians to try to fix the problem!” Jonas Vilstrand concluded.
