In Sweden, minority groups say racism is a part of everyday life

Big cities are not a safe haven for newcomers who do not look ‘Swedish’, with reported hate crime up 20 per cent nationally in the decade through 2018

The government is sticking to a national plan in place since 2016 to educate people, prevent hate speech online and push the legal system to combat hate crimes

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Youths walking along a street in central Klippan, Sweden. An undercurrent of racism has been at the margins of Swedish politics for decades. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 3:00am, 18 Jan 2023Updated: 3:21am, 18 Jan 2023

It did not take long for Chinedu to feel unwelcome in Sweden.

When he arrived from Nigeria in 2018, joining several hundred thousand Africans in a country of 10 million, at first he thought he had found the tolerant, inclusive society that was regularly near the top of global rankings for quality of life and happiness.

He enrolled in Malmo University and worked towards a Masters in international migration studies, made friends and got a job. But he said he and his family soon encountered racism, and he is now so fearful for their safety that he asked not to be identified by his real name.

When Chinedu and his wife are out shopping, people tend to look the other way to avoid making any eye contact, he said. At school, he said kids shout at his children to “go home” and yell that “Blacks don’t belong here”. Following the gains of the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) in September’s general election, he said he feels ever more uneasy in his adopted country.

Local residents at a bus stop in central Klippan, Sweden. An undercurrent of racism has been at the margins of Swedish politics for decades. Photographer: Carsten Snejbjerg/Bloomberg

“It happens nearly every day,” Chinedu said. “The impression I had is that you can come to Sweden and they won’t mind whether you are black, white or brown, but Swedish people are not comfortable with immigrants the way they used to be.”

Big cities a haven for immigrants?

Other people from Syria, Romania and Afghanistan said in interviews that they have encountered bigoted behaviour and taunts, and worse, and none were willing to tell their stories on the record, fearful of reprisals.