Many citizens in Sweden, Austria, Italy and Germany have no contact with refugees at all, according to a new study from Malmö University in Sweden. The study also shows that people have a much more positive attitude towards Ukrainian refugees, compared to migrants from other countries.
In a study that is part of a larger research project, and which examines the integration of migrants after 2014, involving a total of 49 cities, 16,000 people have been asked to tell how they experience integration. This particular study only looked at Sweden, Austria, Italy and Germany.
The results show that citizens in Italy and Sweden are more likely to see non-European refugees as more integrated than those in Germany and Austria. However, in Sweden and Austria more negative relations are experienced, while in Italy relations are described as better. The results also show that in larger cities, such as Malmö and Gothenburg, people experienced more negativity in their contact with non-European refugees.
“Don’t know why”
Europeans’ attitudes towards Ukrainian refugees, on the other hand, are significantly more positive – but whether this is due to media coverage, their relatively small numbers, or the fact that they are also Europeans is unclear.
— We don’t know why, but we can assume that the fact that Ukrainians are Europeans plays a role, says researcher Nahikari Irastorza to forskning.se.
Many participants answered that they had no contact with any refugees at all, regardless of origin. On the other hand, about 50 percent said “there are almost no relationships but people respect each other, and there is very little conflict”.
