Try to picture Sweden. It is a frigid utopia where the health care system is perfect, ABBA plays incessantly on the radio and you can eat those tasty meatballs that they sell at IKEA in their natural setting. People eat lots of smelly cheeses and enjoy yodeling, but the most notable characteristic of Sweden is the people — a blond−haired, blue−eyed, very attractive race. Men are called Sven Svensson and the women all belong on the Swedish bikini team. Swedes are a liberal, open−minded bunch; just like their country, they are pretty cool.
These are a few common perceptions of Sweden, but some are far from the truth. While it is easy to explain that yodeling is a stereotypical pastime in Switzerland, not Sweden, trying to define who the Swedish people are is not so simple.
In Sweden's recent September parliamentary election, the failure of the Social−Democrat bloc to gain a parliamentary majority was overshadowed by the significant gains by a radical anti−immigration party, the Sweden Democrats. Campaigning on the message that the growth of Sweden's Muslim minority is the greatest threat to the country since World War II, the party won 5.7 percent of the vote, gaining seats in parliament for the first time — 20 of them.
Many have been disappointed to have their illusions shattered after learning of the flourishing of racist and anti−immigrant sentiment in Sweden, a country that we tend to view as some sort of utopia where socialism works and people get it right when it comes to human rights and the environment. We throw up our hands thinking that if even the Swedes who are perceived as liberal and progressive cannot get it right, then surely we are left hopeless.
The growth of anti−immigrant, anti−Muslim sentiment is not restricted to Sweden. It is on the rise throughout Europe and, of course, right here in the United States. Far−right parties with anti−immigration agendas have made great strides in the past decade. France recently banned burqas and any face covering that completely conceals the face. This can either be viewed as a push to liberate burqa−wearing women,or as an anti−Muslim policy and a means of keeping such Muslim, foreign−looking attire out of the public eye.
Immigration is not a new phenomenon, especially in Sweden. It has been happening steadily for the past 70 years. Sweden's export industry flourished following World War II, leading to a period of practically unrestricted labor emigration from Finland and Southern Europe from 1949−1971.
The 1970s and 1980s brought an influx of refugees from the Middle East seeking asylum on the grounds of religious persecution. Many Kurds emigrated from Eastern Turkey, while the largest groups came from Iraq and Iran, with Iranians arriving in the 1980s in response to the Islamic Revolution and the war against Iraq. Increasing repression in Saddam Hussein's regime prompted the arrival of Kurdish Iraqis in Sweden in the 1990s. Today, foreign−born immigrants make up nearly 14 percent of Sweden's population of 9.1 million, with the biggest groups of non−European immigrants in the last decade coming largely from Somalia and Iraq. These people are Swedish, too, even if they are not blond.
Now that the majority of immigrants come to Sweden from the Middle East, immigration is suddenly perceived as a grave problem by a swath of the Swedish population. The Sweden Democrats gather strength from xenophobia, trying to instill fears that Swedes could become second−class citizens. While many Swedes have been shocked and embarrassed by the election results, the votes have been cast and reflect real xenophobia within Sweden. Our surprise at Sweden's perceived lapses should cause us to reexamine our own.
The United States is a nation of immigrants and, in many ways, they have historically been made to feel unwanted and unwelcome. When the Irish immigrated to the United States, they experienced open prejudice often through signs in storefronts commonly advertising, "Irish need not apply." The Irish often came as indentured servants and worked in very menial positions, but this was justified by claiming that the Irish were more savage and thus suited to be relegated to the lowest rungs of society and to be treated as borderline slaves.
Immigrant populations that deviate from an established white, English−speaking view of normalcy have traditionally suffered additional hurdles in the United States. Despite our melting pot ambitions, immigrants that are not white often carry a negative connotation of foreignness with them. In "A Different Mirror" (1993), the Japanese−American Ronald Takaki recalls an instance when his cab driver remarked that he was impressed at Takaki's flawless English. Takaki's family had been in the United States for several generations, yet he was presumed to be foreign simply because he had Asian features.
Different cultures and populations are becoming increasingly intermingled and any country that attempts to maintain a white majority and a culture of white normalcy is fighting a losing battle. We need to understand and accept that it is possible to be a Quran−reading American or a dark−skinned Swede. For those immigrants already settled in Sweden, organizations like the Sweden Democrats generate an atmosphere of hostility and prejudice. Children of immigrant parents who have spent their entire lives in Sweden are made to feel foreign, dangerous and unwelcome. This is clearly wrong. Hate and fear do not benefit anyone and are not solutions.
Why do xenophobia and racism occur? Perhaps it is because when we are happy with things as they are, we fear the addition of new elements which could alter the balance. But will the world implode because we have more Spanish speakers in the United States or because a smaller percentage of Swedes are blond? A main fear voiced by opponents of immigration such as the Sweden Democrats is that immigrants cause an erosion and loss of traditional culture. However, cultural identity and traditions do not vanish into thin air just because people from other cultures and traditions are being incorporated into your country.
As the world gets "flatter," all countries are faced with the challenge of maintaining their own cultures and values while simultaneously including those of others. We Americans are quite happy to eat tacos, burritos and pizza, all the fruits of immigrant populations. We embrace the tasty culinary aspects of other cultures but have a tendency to reject the people themselves, pushing them out of all but the most menial of jobs and regarding them as others.
We need to recognize that the new immigrant populations will not erode our traditions and country's identity, but will more likely enhance them. White needs to stop being a defining characteristic of the typical Swede or American. The world will keep on turning. Swedes can still dance around the maypole on Midsummer if it is important to them, and we can eat hotdogs at baseball games; but far better be it that in this changing world of increased extremism, we maintain traditions of humanitarianism and acceptance.
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Emilie Parmlind is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major.
