Earlier this month, three Syrian immigrant families moved to Kaxås, a small village in rural Offerdal, Sweden. Bo Oskarsson, the owner of ICA Ladan, Kaxås's only grocery store, posted a message (seen above) on his store's Facebook page that read, "We welcome all from Syria, and hope you enjoy beautiful Offerdal." He also announced that ICA Ladan would start carrying traditional Syrian products. The short and simple post quickly gained national attention and mixed responses.
Some support the message; a Facebook group in support of ICA Ladan now has over 700 members on Facebook - more than the entire population of Kaxås. Others strongly oppose the message and have left death threats for Oskarsson.
Sweden was once a very homogeneous nation; however, immigration has grown tremendously in recent years, with over 100,000 people immigrating to Sweden in 2009 alone. The majority of these immigrants come from the Middle East or Latin America and settle in the south of Sweden, home to most of the nation's population.
I lived in Kaxås four years ago and was surprised and disappointed by the hateful reactions. At face value, the initial post by Oskarsson is hardly a controversial message and has little to no political agenda. It is a simple welcome to the village's newest residents, who just happen to be from Syria, and it accidentally became an example of the attitudes towards immigration in Sweden, showing the great divide between Swedish citizens.
Sweden still has work to do in order to become truly multicultural. Though there are plenty of Swedes like Oskarsson, who seek to welcome immigrants and help them adjust to life in Sweden, there are still those whose fear of change quickly shifts to hatred. As Sweden continues to welcome thousands of immigrants into the country, the attitude towards immigrants needs to shift as well.
Sources (Swedish language):
ICA Kaxås välkomnar syrier och blev rikskända
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