Sweden’s asylum scandal - 2018

As this blog has maintained for the past 10 months (see the start here) there has been something very UN-Swedish about the policy towards under 18 asylum seekers from Afghanistan.

Indeed, it is nothing short of a massive and shameful scandal.

It is a scandal that has placed Sweden in the position of apparently breaking it’s undertakings (since 1951) under the UN Charter for Refugees, breaking it’s undertakings under EU agreements/laws – even breaking it’s own laws: here for example an excerpt from the Swedish Aliens Act:

I have been in love with Sweden for 30 years. To discover actual evidence of duplicity, double standards – even fraudulent misrepresentation and contempt of court (in secret courts at that, secret because the Migration Agency wanted it so – and not for State Security reasons) by a government department is not only distressing to me personally, it has been a death sentence to young people who would rather take suicide than suffer REFOULEMENT. Despite all undertakings to do with NON-REFOULEMENT Sweden has been practising this.

Little by little the truth is emerging, whether connected with medical age tests (the most recent scandal) to employees of the Migration Agency voicing their unhappiness with this situation.

You can download a pdf file here with this latest news from the Migration Agency employees via the DN newspaper:  in english      in Swedish 

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not defending every asylum seeker here – some were clearly over 18 when they arrived prior to the new law/rules which took effect in November 2015. Some were ‘economic migrants’.

Nor am I insensitive to the amount of money it has cost – but here it must be observed that SeK 13 billion of that came from the Foreign Aid (ODA) budget in 2016 and was then recycled into the Swedish economy, mostly paid for accommodation set at a rate (amazing) of SeK 1900 per day for an unaccompanied child. This,according to the IMF, OECD,Bloombergs contributed considerably to the substantial growth in GDP for Sweden. In short, instead of spending money abroad, it was spent at home.

However, when a young person clearly and indisputably was under 18 prior to Nov 2015, and was kept waiting for a decision for 12 months or more – and that decision ignored evidence, facts,documents,opinions from social services and the youths own account (something which all the conventions state should be given the benefit of the doubt)- then there is something very,very,very wrong.

I have been in love with Sweden for over 30 years. This blog, if you care to look back into the 15 years it has been running, has always tried to present Sweden in it’s best and most normal light.

But this scandal is simply NOT SWEDEN !