Thursday, September 18, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

“Respect for your own culture is a basis for progress”

Published 16 May 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Faroese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Høgni Hoydal at the press briefing at International Press Center in Copenhagen.
4 minute read

Developing a small nation like the Faroe Islands is challenging, especially culturally in the digital age, according to Faroese Minister Høgni Hoydal. He also believes that the Faroese government’s extensive efforts to develop the Faroese language and the small island nation’s culture have paid off.

I fully believe that the basis for all progress is human progress and that you have respect for your own culture, he emphasized during a visit to Copenhagen.

Høgni Hoydal has been the leader of the Faroese independence party Tjóðveldi, also known as the Republican Party, which is part of the governing coalition in the Faroe Islands, since 1998. Last week he visited the International Press Center in Copenhagen to report on the general situation in the Faroe Islands and the politics of the small autonomous island nation.

Among other things, Hoydal pointed out that over the past 5-15 years, the Faroe Islands have seen a population growth, which is a reversal of the previous trend. In 2023, the Faroese population is expected to reach 54,000 people. In addition to concrete investments in good conditions for family formation such as health care, schools and education and a generally functioning infrastructure to connect the 18 main Faroese islands, Hoydal placed special emphasis on investments in Faroese culture. A significant part of the public budget is being actively invested in the development of the Faroese language, partly because it is a major challenge to establish a small language like Faroese as a natural part of the global digital environment. He points out that the investments have yielded the desired results and are also reflected in a rich cultural life through music, literature and cultural festivals.

We have to use a large part of our budget to invest in textbooks and books and literature and art, so that we can have a modern society on our own basis, with our own language, and we are quite proud that we have managed to do so, says Hoydal.

I fully believe that the basis for all progress is human progress and that you have respect for your own culture, that you have a diversified world with as many diverse cultures and languages as possible. That is a huge challenge for us – as it is for so many.

The politician emphasizes that the Faroese approach is to simultaneously place great emphasis on encouraging learning about other cultures in order to interact effectively with the world.

“Everything is about self-reliance”

The Faroese minister also mentions that the definitive overall goal for the small island nation is to further increase its self-reliance.

For us, everything is about self-reliance and self-determination, he says, adding that the Faroe Islands also have a moral responsibility to stand on their own two feet in relation to Denmark, which has long supported the Faroese economy.

It is not only a question of self-reliance, it’s also a question of moral in my opinion. Today, the Faroese economy is stronger than the Danish economy, so why should we get money from Denmark when we are one of the richest nations in the world?

View over the Faroese capital Tórshavn. Photo: Arne List/CC BY-SA 2.0

The specific goal is to reduce the Danish support by 100 million Danish kroner over the next 4 years and to take over some new responsibilities. If the goal is achieved, it means that approximately 2.4 percent of the Faroese budget is financed by Denmark – something he points out was as much as 30 percent some 30 years ago.

Another part of the stated self-sufficiency goal is to become self-sufficient in electricity, something that has been achieved on land – but including the large fishing fleet, a complete solution has yet to be found despite the development of hydro and wave power.

13 tons of fish per Faroese – every year

The Faroese economy is very much based on the fishing industry, which accounts for 90 percent of the country’s exports, and Hoydal emphasizes that a very large part of the public debate naturally revolves around it. The Faroe Islands are only 1,299 square kilometers in land area, but the sea area is 274,000 square kilometers with a well-preserved marine ecosystem that allows for annual fish catches of as much as 700,000 tons, equivalent to 13 tons per Faroese per year or 40 kilos per day. 100,000 tons of these are salmon farms.

Everything in the Faroe Islands is about fish and sea, in a modern sense, and you can meet the Faroe Islands on every ocean of the world. Not only are we operating on our own waters but we are operating all around the world as seafarers and all modern industries that are related to the sea and to shipping and so on, says Hoydal, who adds that they are also investing in diversifying the area – including the cultivation of seaweed, which is in demand in pharmaceuticals and textiles.

One criticism directed at the Faroe Islands during the year is that they have exempted fishing exports from their sanctions against Russia, which is currently the only economic link that exists in practice between the countries. Increased pressure has been put on the Faroe Islands to end this, but Hoydal says that they are currently not worried that sanctions could potentially be imposed on the Faroe Islands by the EU. He adds that the Faroe Islands have previously experienced exceptional sanctions in connection with an EU boycott in 2013 that wiped out 50 percent of Faroese fish exports in one fell swoop.

If the EU had managed to put these sanctions on Russia, perhaps the war would stop, he says.

Hoydal concludes that Arctic cooperation in particular is very difficult to navigate and unpredictable even in the near future due to the tragic situation in Ukraine.

This terrible new geopolitical situation has also put pressure on what we have tried for many years, to have international and regional bodies to govern everything that happens in our vast area of the North Atlantic and the Arctic, he notes.

 

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Only 1 in 80 Swedish special shelters meets modern standards

The new cold war

Published yesterday 9:36
– By Editorial Staff
The Igeldamm Garage in Stockholm, Sweden is the only major shelter in Sweden that meets modern standards.
2 minute read

Swedish authorities have intensified their messages in recent years about citizens needing to prepare for crises and war. Meanwhile, an investigation of the country’s own shelters reveals major shortcomings in the maintenance of critical infrastructure.

Of Sweden’s eighty special shelters – intended for nearly 100,000 people – only a single facility has been upgraded to modern standards after decades of neglected maintenance.

The Igeldamms garage in Stockholm, Sweden stands today as the sole example of a completed special shelter, while the remaining 79 facilities still await necessary upgrades, reports Swedish public television SVT.

The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) has begun modernization work in approximately thirty of the eighty special shelters. The work has cost €7.7 million in the past year alone, but the pace is said to be far from sufficient to meet political ambitions for improved crisis preparedness.

Henrik Larsson, head of population protection at MSB, cannot provide information on when all facilities will be remediated:

— It depends. We need to get into all facilities and see what condition they’re in. In some facilities, quite extensive renovations may be required, and then it becomes very costly.

— If all facilities are in the same condition as here (Igeldamms garage), then it shouldn’t be any problem to do it before 2030, but I suspect we’ll have some facilities that we’ll need to spend time and significantly more money on, he continues.

64,000 shelters to be inventoried

During the Cold War, thousands of shelters were built around the country, but many have been used for completely different purposes for decades without proper maintenance. Now MSB has been tasked with inventorying the country’s total stock of 64,000 shelters between 2025 and 2030.

For the current year, approximately 10,000 minor inspections and around 2,000 major inspections are planned – a pace that MSB itself considers insufficient:

— We need to increase by 500 more per year to go through the entire stock by 2030. We need to be between 12,000 and 13,000 annually, estimates Larsson.

Inadequate protection

In addition to the already approved Igeldamms garage, with space for 1,200 people, two additional facilities are planned to be completed next year – one in Stockholm and one in Gothenburg, Sweden. This means that only three of eighty special shelters will have modern standards before 2027.

MSB’s assessment shows extensive shortcomings in the existing stock: only half of all shelters offer satisfactory protection against shrapnel and bombs, while only about ten percent have reasonable protection against chemical warfare agents.

Since the responsibility for addressing deficiencies lies with individual property owners, MSB cannot provide any timeframe for when the shelters will actually be in functional condition.

About Swedish shelters

Sweden has over 64,000 shelters with space for approximately seven million people. The shelters may be used for other purposes during peacetime but must be ready for use within two days during heightened alert or war. When a shelter is activated, it must have water, heating, ventilation and toilet facilities – however, there is neither food nor hygiene products.

The shelters are built to protect against shock waves and shrapnel from explosions, fire, chemical weapons and radiation from radioactive substances. People should be able to stay in the shelter without interruption for at least three days. It has never been the ambition to build shelters for the entire population, and their placement has been determined based on threat assessments.

During air raid alerts, people should immediately go to the nearest shelter or other protective space such as basements or subway stations. People do not belong to any specific shelter but use the one that is closest.

Source: MSB (Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency)

Swedish PM: “Don’t bring Middle Eastern conflicts to Swedish streets”

The genocide in Gaza

Published yesterday 8:27
– By Editorial Staff
The loud pro-Palestinian protests have become a very troublesome disruptive element for the Kristersson government.
2 minute read

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of the Moderate Party presents new measures against demonstrations and says he now wants to remove “Middle Eastern conflicts” from Swedish streets.

Critics note, however, that the Moderate Party has for many years pushed for mass immigration specifically from the Middle East – and continues to do so.

In a post on X, the prime minister writes about how politicians have been confronted outside the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament), ministers have been followed home from work, and Jewish families have been subjected to threats, and now the government promises tougher action.

“Don’t bring Middle Eastern conflicts to Swedish streets and squares. We must take care of the Sweden we love”, the prime minister appeals.

The statement comes from the same party that during Fredrik Reinfeldt’s government from 2006 significantly increased mass immigration to Sweden from the Middle East – a policy that continues today despite all problems and warnings, even though the rhetoric has changed.

In just these two decades, Sweden has received hundreds of thousands of people from various conflict areas in the Middle East, and a large portion of them have today been granted Swedish citizenship.

After Israel’s invasion of Gaza, however, Swedish politicians from the Moderate Party and other liberal parties have shown growing frustration and anger over the vocal protests from many of the immigrants they themselves allowed into the country.

These demonstrators protest almost daily against Israel’s genocide against Palestinians and demand, among other things, that Sweden cease its support for the Israeli state – demands that have become increasingly troublesome for those in power.

“Intrusive” demonstrators may face harsher punishment

Therefore, Kristersson now announces the following measures, among others:

• Review of criminal liability for demonstrators who act “intrusively or aggressively”
• Police given greater opportunity to decide on alternative times and places for demonstrations
• Clearer opportunity for police to intervene if decisions are not followed
• Police must report on how they work against disturbances at gatherings

The government is also reviewing possibilities to deport pro-Palestinian demonstrators who are considered particularly troublesome or who are accused of “glorifying terror” by, for example, expressing sympathies for Hamas or other groups designated as terrorist organizations.

“Whipping up hateful sentiments”

Kristersson writes in his post that “a heavy responsibility also rests on those who, by spreading lies, terror romanticism and antisemitism, polarize and whip up hateful sentiments in Sweden”.

For many, however, it appears ironic that the prime minister now claims to want to stop Middle Eastern conflicts from Swedish streets – conflicts that have largely come to Sweden through policies that his own party has implemented.

Others point out that it is telling that those in power react so strongly and condemningly only when they themselves are affected by disturbances and discomfort, while ordinary Swedes have been affected daily for many years by significantly worse immigration-related incidents without this receiving any attention whatsoever.

Swedish teachers’ union warns: Threats and violence becoming normalized in schools

Published 14 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
2 minute read

An increasing number of teachers are being subjected to threats and violence in their professional roles, according to a report from Sveriges Lärare (Swedish Teachers’ Union). Staff working in after-school programs are the worst affected.

One in three teachers has been subjected to threats or violence in the past year. Meanwhile, four out of ten have witnessed a colleague being subjected to the same.

The report also shows that violence is becoming increasingly normalized – many teachers have stopped reporting incidents due to lack of support from school management and unclear procedures.

Threats and violence in schools are no longer isolated incidents – this is a systemic failure. That we teachers cannot feel safe at work is unacceptable and must never be normalized. The limit of what we teachers can endure has been exceeded, says Anna Olskog, chairperson of Sveriges Lärare in a press release.

Problem worst in after-school programs

Teachers in after-school programs are the worst affected – six out of ten have been subjected to harassment, threats or violence. Half of all teachers experience high stress, one in three suffers from depression and one in five is considering leaving the profession. The report also shows a clear connection between increased exposure and staff shortages.

Sveriges Lärare demands zero tolerance for threats and violence from school management and that authorities address the problem.

Threats and violence in schools are not just a school issue, it’s a societal issue. When teachers hesitate to report incidents and when colleagues leave the profession, we lose both quality and safety in schools. We have long demanded a national effort – from the state, from school management and from society as a whole – to reverse this development, says Olskog.

More Swedish adults worry about children’s mental health

Published 12 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Mental illness among children has become a widespread societal problem, experts warn.
2 minute read

Nearly half of Swedish adults have felt concern for a child’s mental wellbeing, according to a survey conducted by Verian on behalf of Bris (Children’s Rights in Society), a Swedish children’s helpline. At the same time, many don’t know how to get help for the child.

A large portion of calls from children who contact Bris concern mental health issues. During the summer, for example, 46 percent of calls dealt with this theme, showing a stable trend. Last year, the proportion of calls about mental health issues was 44 percent, confirming that these issues have been prominent for several years.

The survey shows that five out of ten adults have at some point felt concern about a child’s mental wellbeing. Of these people who felt concern, 64 percent say they know how to get help for the child. At the same time, 22 percent are uncertain and 14 percent say they don’t know.

We know that many adults want to act, but the fear of doing something wrong can sometimes become an obstacle. We often give the advice that as an adult, you don’t need to be an expert on everything. The most important thing is that you reach out to the child, says Sara André in a press release.

In recent years, mental health issues have increased among children and young people. Among other things, the number of young people seeking help for depression and anxiety has increased, according to the National Board of Health and Welfare. The proportion of ADHD diagnoses has also increased markedly among children, where it increased by 50 percent just between 2019 and 2022.

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