Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 15:10:55 -0500
Subject: M-G: Re: Response to open letter, or "non-apples"


Hi Ann Charlotte,

Thanks for the long letter! Sounds almost like you are a representative of 
some department in the goverment!

As you have given me the benefit of the doubt on my rather hard position 
about the situation in Sweden I think it only honest that I give some of my 
credentials on why I feel that i can and did and will continue to write like 
this about Sweden on the race question and the calling for the IOC not to 
put the summer  games in Stockholm. OK..

I came to Sweden also as a political refugee and activists during the 
Vietnam war. Not a deserter by the way and have lived here since. Naturally 
as a white male and American I have had a rather had a priviledged position 
in Swedish society, partially because of coming from the "great" land in the 
west that so many Swedes were to immigrate to during the earlier part of 
this century. And naturally back then most of the Swedish political parties 
were soft on or supported many third world movements.
So I guess the 25 or so years i have lived in Sweden gives me some 
qualifications in order to express my views.

That is the short version. OK?

You first ask me a question and then go on to give your own interpetation of 
what is going on in Sweden.

You write;
>. However, I am curious as to what actually prompted you to take
>such a stand against Sweden and Swedes, condemming an entire country as
>being like "Alabama in the sixties". First of all, I think you are greatly
>insulting the African Americans of the United States by comparing Jim Crow
>laws, Klu Klux Klan, and George Wallace, to the situation some people of
>foreign ancestry have in Sweden.(By the way, you refer to people as
>"non-swedes", do you refer to oranges as "non-apples" too?). As far as I
>know we do not in Sweden practice systematic, institutionalized, blatant
>racism that keeps certain groups of people from being accepted and
>acknowledged as citizens in their own country.

Well now, I do not think i have been insulting at all just trying to give 
what I believe to be a rather clear picture of the present situation here in 
Sweden. Are you denying that the KKK mentality and the burning of crosses in 
front of people's houses has not taken place? Are you claiming that the 
courts time and again have treated the numerous number of cases involving 
violence, firebombing of houses, cold blooded murder of people fairly. Then 
obviously one of us is lying. I claim for example this is true in Sweden today! 

By the way America where I lived for almost 28 years also claims to be 
"equal and justice" for all (your arguement on Sweden) but is it? Really? 
Equal? Just? and all the rest in America? in Sweden?  Sounds almost like and 
Alice in Wonderland fairy tale which if you repeat it a number of times 
makes it true. Oh well just a thought about "image" and all that stuff..

I also have a most recent example of "Jim Crow" justice in the Swedish 
courts. A Latin American representative in the parliment who along with the 
national TV filmed a whole sequence of him not being allowed into a 
nightclub for members only and two minutes later the white reporter walks in 
without any problems at all. All on film and documented! The court and the 
cops could not even get the person who was on film into the court room! The 
wrong person was brought in and the case was dismissed ..

I can give you many more examples of Jim Crow justice. In fact it is a well 
known fact that people with dark skins in Sweden recieve longer prison 
sentences then white Swedes.

And  racism not being institutionalized. How dare you insult my 
intelligence. I can almost give you the exact day when racism became 
instiutionalized in Sweden. Or perhaps better where the politcal 
establishment (especially the Social democracy) declared "open season" on 
foreign nationals with the wrong skin color.

It was when the right wing populalist party "New Democracy" was on the rise 
and was taking votes from all parties on their racists and anti foreigner 
political agenda.
What did the Social Democracy do? They sent out Leif Bloomberg former metal 
chairman in the metal trade union and Social democratic party central 
committee and parliment representative. And he made his infamous speech 
about "Just because most Swedes call people nigger doesn't make them racist" 
connected to a political strategy which hand in glove incorporated the 
program of "New Democracy" on this question. That line was basically throw 
as many out as possible, including going back in the files for over ten and 
fifteen years and throwing out for example a African youth who was 20 years 
old and came here when he was 12! years old alone! claiming that he lied 
about his parents! By the way the only party that did not capitulate 
politically to the "New Democracy" was the "FolkPartiet" and honestly one 
should take there hats off and bow to them on this particular question.

How many horror stories do you want. How about the terror a couple of years 
ago when somebody was walking around into stores and shooting people in the 
head with a pistol. Their crime having black or brown skins. How many did he 
shoot before they got a suspect?

Now to the orange and apples stuff. Well if there is any difference between 
orange and apples it is the first, only and continual lesson drummed into 
the head of every foreign national. The infamous "What did You say?" always 
has meant that this particular person is not a Swede and thus should be 
treated accordingly. In fact this has always been the case. But having a 
black skin makes it ten times as worse and a hundred times worse. Because 
even if you speak a perfect Stockholm dialect or what ever you skin color 
gives you away and you should be treated accordingly.

Now naturally there are quite a lot of people who certainly are not racists. 
And you go on in your long letter trying to give some sort of picture of 
"economic refugees" refugees who have come from various wars and revolutions 
etc. and quite a number of fairly normal claims by the government in regards 
to their policy on this question. By the way this is the official picture 
that Sweden would like to give of how they see this question.

However recent events in the past ten years connected to the economic 
crisis, unemployment and horrible political opportunisn by the established 
political parties including a general shift to the right by all parties has 
led to a very horrifying situation in reality. The truth is not what the 
latest committee as claimed as being policy. The truth is that blood is 
flowing every day on the streets of Sweden. People with foreign back ground 
don't get jobs, Am I lying to say that unemployment of foreign "non-Swede" 
people is ten times as high as the "real" Swede? 

The truth is the Sincari family. The truth is and African friend of mine who 
lost her job because she was black and a Swede needed that job! The truth is 
that black people can not go into a restaurant. The truth is that there is a 
compact underlying tension between Swedes and non-Swerdes being flamed on by 
the complete inability  of the state, the courts and the cops to take these 
questions seriously.

I do not know which world you come from but this is the situation in Sweden 
today.
And it will get worse perhaps before it gets better. In fact i can talk to 
any non-Swede about these things and my letter and most if not almost all 
would understand exactly what I am talking about! I intend to do everything 
i can to fight the general trend not only in Sweden but Europe of becoming a 
"festung". Because that is what is really going on today. Naturally my 
letter is part of that. I do not think that I am doing anything wrong by 
writting what I believe was a rather mild letter expressing how i think 
things are going here. And of course trying to move things in the other 
direction.

Naturally I no longer feel that Sweden sees the question of solving the 
problem. despite putting Mona Sahlen on a committee against rascism. Or all 
the various twists and turns which quite clearly say We do not any longer 
want non-Swedes in this country. (The reformed law on foreigners) the main 
thrust is in down sizing the non Swede element of the population. Thus 
plainly getting rid of as many people as possible.   

However I am prepared at any time to work with the trade union movement to 
solve some of these questions. As a member of the largest trade union in 
Sweden (Kommunal) I certainly think that the trade union movement has the 
social power to *really* change things for the better. And i have certainly 
time and again try to raise this question only to be met with a politie and 
cold hand. Unfortunately it appears that the trade union leadership does not 
see this question as a first priority.

So naturally if you have any real suggestions about how "we" can really 
begin to work to change things in a better direction well i am certainly 
open for all possibilities. 

But until then I'm am afraid that the blood on the streets just keeps 
getting deeper and deeper. The children of non-Swedes eat less, have less 
money and perhaps no future in this country. People with different colored 
skins can,t go in a restaurant. The cops the coursts the politicians sit on 
their asses dreaming up new "reforms" to help on on the way. Mean while the 
prisons are being filled more and more with non-Swedes with another colored 
skin and longer and harder sentences..etc etc etc.

Sorry if I sound so negative. Sweden once upon a time was a very lovely 
place for foreigner nationals. You know back in the good old days when 
Swedish industry was crying for more workers..Well now we have something 
entirely different. And your pint job of how things are or should be sounds 
to me like a bureaucratic snowjob..

Warm regards
Bob Malecki

Robert Malecki
Tundalsgatan 10B
915 31 Robertsfors
Sweden












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