Monday, June 2, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Swedish tsunami survivors feel betrayed by authorities

Published 28 December 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Approximately 230,000 people lost their lives in the tsunami 20 years ago – 543 of them were Swedes.

The tsunami disaster on December 26, 2004, became one of Sweden’s darkest days in modern history, claiming the lives of approximately 540 Swedes.

A large number of survivors were also deeply traumatized by the dramatic events. While many have managed to move forward in life, they feel that authorities and civil society failed them during their greatest need for support.

Researchers at Uppsala University analyzed data from over 16,000 Swedish survivors, linking the information to Statistics Sweden’s population register and conducting an extensive survey.

– The combination of data sources allows us to study the tsunami’s effects across a broad spectrum of social, health, economic, and political outcomes. This unique opportunity helps identify what makes us resilient, explains Lina M. Eriksson, a researcher at the Department of Political Science.

The study noted several significant differences between survivors and the average Swede for example, survivors are slightly more likely to vote in political elections.

This increased voter turnout may stem from dissatisfaction with the Social Democratic government’s crisis management during the tsunami, where discontented individuals vote to hold leaders accountable, suggests Eriksson. However, other explanations may also play a role.

– Experiencing a major disaster can lead to lifelong trauma but also greater societal awareness. This awareness fosters increased engagement, as seen in the case of higher political participation.

“Damaged trust in politicians”

Interestingly, tsunami survivors now have higher education levels and incomes compared to a control group. However, no significant differences were observed at the group level regarding health. On an individual level, those hardest hit by the tsunami and who lacked social support today report poorer mental health and well-being than those who suffered greatly but received support from loved ones.

– Social support during a major societal crisis is critical for an individual’s long-term mental health and well-being after a traumatic event, Eriksson adds.

Many surviving Swedes were severely traumatized by their experiences. Photo: David Rydevik

Many survivors also express feeling let down by healthcare providers, authorities, and civil society, even though they generally received strong support from family members.

– There remains a significantly damaged trust in politicians and authorities regarding their preparedness and ability to handle natural disasters and extreme weather, Eriksson continues.

Social networks important

Those severely affected by the tsunami have less trust in politicians and authorities to manage crises compared to other Swedes. Eriksson emphasizes the importance of considering their perspectives and experiences.

Survivors also show lower belief in God and reduced trust in the Church of Sweden compared to others a finding described as surprising.

– Our results challenge the idea of religion as a universal substitute when the state fails in crisis management, suggesting there is something unique about Sweden. Likely, this is due to our secular society. In such a context, events like the tsunami can reduce religiosity rather than increase it, she speculates.

Eriksson highlights the crucial role of social networks during crises, particularly praising Sweden’s strong association culture as a positive force.

– An important insight from this project is that the social networks each individual belongs to are vital for both personal and societal resilience, as these networks provide multifaceted points of contact that can be activated for support during a crisis.

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Swedish Social Democrats: Population must be mixed

Population replacement in the West

Published today 14:33
– By Editorial Staff
Social Democrats leader Magdalena Andersson and party secretary Tobias Baudin.

The Swedish Social Democrats have concluded that integration efforts over the past few decades have not yielded the desired results.

The party now wants to focus on mixing the population and ensuring that newly arrived migrants are spread out and placed in “socioeconomically stronger” areas.

At the Social Democratic Party congress this weekend, the party presented a new migration and integration policy program for the upcoming elections, with a strong focus on social engineering and mixing people from different backgrounds in the same residential areas.

– It is important from a socioeconomic perspective to achieve diversity, claims Social Democratic Party executive Jonas Attenius in the tabloid Aftonbladet.

Decades of unrestricted mass immigration have led to the creation of ethnic enclaves and areas in many parts of Sweden that are completely dominated by people with non-European backgrounds.

The Social Democrats themselves have been driving forces behind this development and have ignored alarms and warnings from critics – but now claim that the situation is unsustainable and that the solution is instead large-scale, nationwide mixing.

– We are serious about breaking segregation and using housing policy as a driving force in this work, declares Lawen Redar, who has been working on developing the party’s new integration policy.

Preventing moves to “vulnerable areas”

To achieve this, asylum seekers will no longer have the right to arrange their own housing, and municipalities will be prohibited from placing migrants in so-called “vulnerable areas” – residential areas where many non-European immigrants already live.

Furthermore, moving to these immigrant-dense areas will also be restricted by making those who move there risk losing their social benefits. Instead, migrants will be placed in “socioeconomically stronger” areas around the country.

– We have legislation that requires us to place people, and it is not God-given that it always has to be in a suburb. But this presupposes strict migration, that it is at a very low level, says Jonas Attenius, chairman of the municipal council in Gothenburg and newly elected member of the Social Democrats’ executive committee.

He confirms that mixing is a stated and very important goal for the Social Democrats, but believes that it may take time.

– Yes, we need to mix the population in the long term. I usually say ‘in a generation’. This is a long-term goal.

“No problems whatsoever”

– It is important to use our housing construction to achieve this mix. The way we live is also segregated. In one place there are rental properties, in another there are villas and condominiums. We want to work on building a mix, Attenius continues.

He believes that voters will welcome the explicit mixing policy and takes the opportunity in the gossip magazine to apologize to the migrants who have been placed in Swedish suburbs in recent decades.

– I say sorry to them. Sorry for what we’ve done. Now it’s time for the full force of society to step in. If a refugee family moves into an apartment building where people who’ve lived in Sweden their whole lives also live, and five blocks away another newly arrived family moves in — I don’t think that will be any problem whatsoever, he assesses.

No “paradigm shift” yet

Mass immigration to Sweden has been extremely extensive in recent decades – according to statistics from the Swedish Migration Agency, nearly 2.5 million people have immigrated in the 2000s alone – leading to a long list of difficult problems.

Regardless of whether the Social Democrats or the Moderates have governed Sweden, the policy of population replacement has continued, and anyone who opposed it could long expect to be subjected to smear campaigns or character assassination in the establishment media.

However, the success of the Sweden Democrats has led to a rhetorical shift among the other parties, and today both the Social Democrats and the Moderates claim that they want to see a limited migration policy. In practice, however, not much has happened, and despite the government’s promises of a “paradigm shift in migration policy”, 94,000 residence permits were granted last year.

More young Swedes getting confirmed: “Want to get closer to God”

Published today 8:33
– By Editorial Staff
Young people are confirmed in St. Mary's Church, Ystad.

After decades of decline, the number of confirmands in Sweden is now increasing – and many young people say they feel a need to get closer to God.

It’s no longer uncool to be interested in the Christian faith or to call yourself a Christian, says parish educator Sara Björnö.

After falling from 80 percent in the 1970s to below 20 percent during the coronavirus crisis, the number of confirmation candidates has now recovered to pre-2020 levels. This has led the media to speculate that it is a lasting “Jesus trend”. However, Associate Professor Frida Mannerfelt in practical theology believes it is too early to draw any firm conclusions:

– We should be cautious about calling the increase a trend reversal, she says.

Confirmation has changed from a self-evident tradition to an active choice for a minority, driven by secularization and the fact that Christianity no longer has a special status in Sweden, as well as the immigration of non-Christian groups.

At the same time, many young people say that it is precisely their encounter with other religions that has made them curious about religion and led to a desire to find a religious affiliation for themselves.

“Making an active choice”

Today’s confirmands are no longer attracted by gifts, but by a desire to explore life issues such as death, identity, and community. Statistics also show that more people are being baptized during the confirmation period – from 1 percent in 2007 to 10 percent in 2022 – which indicates a growing interest in Christianity.

Being able to discuss questions such as ‘How should I deal with the fact that I’m not perfect?’ is necessary in a society where pressure is put on young people from various quarters – such as social media and the current grading system – to be perfect, says Mannerfelt.

Those who choose to be confirmed today are, to a greater extent, making an active choice to do so, continues the lecturer.

Sara Björnö is a parish educator in the Almby parish in Örebro, and she clearly sees that more young people today are curious about Jesus and Christianity.

– Quite a few say they are interested in God and Jesus. Several have written that they want to get closer to God and that they have found faith after confirmation.

Attracted by soccer camps and ski trips

She has noticed a noticeable change in how young Swedes view religion.

It’s no longer uncool to be interested in the Christian faith or to call yourself a Christian, she says.

At the same time, the Church of Sweden has also been criticized both externally and internally for being “vague” and unserious in its recruitment efforts – for example, by attracting confirmation candidates with secular activities such as soccer camps, ski trips, and visits to amusement parks.

There is a discussion within the Church of Sweden about whether the pursuit of relevance risks appearing frivolous, but the prevailing view is that there are several ways to achieve this, concludes Frida Mannerfelt.

The Swedish Church has also been criticized by conservatives for being perceived in many places today as highly politicized, with a strong focus on modern left-wing activism rather than on faith in God and traditional Christian values.

Tests reveal imported honey in Sweden is fake

Published yesterday 11:34
– By Editorial Staff
According to EU rules, real honey should only contain honey - and nothing else.

All honey imported into Sweden is fake, new tests show. Instead, the “honey” contains mostly sugar and syrup.

The industry organization Biodlingsföretagarna has tested 40 honey products available on the Swedish market. A new form of DNA technology was used to test the honey.

36 of the products, all imported, did not contain real honey, the tests showed. Instead, the products contained sugar and syrup. Only four of the products tested contained real honey and all were produced in Sweden.

We consider this to be extremely serious. We knew there were fake products on the market, but we are shocked by the scale of it, says Yngve Kihlberg, chairman of the Swedish Beekeepers’ Association, to the tax-funded SVT.

“Must await EU decision”

In the EU, a product called “honey” must contain only honey. It is okay to mix honey from different origins, but not to add other ingredients. According to the trade association, most of the imported “honey” comes from China, where they have found ways to cheat to allow products to pass controls even though they contain very little honey.

Swedish grocery retailers will not replace the honey products identified as fake at this stage, as they have passed the current controls.

We would like to replace the current testing methods if they do not work. But we have to wait for the EU’s decision on the accreditation of the DNA tests, says Martin Andersson, who is responsible for industrial policy at the Swedish grocery trade, to SVT.

Worrying trend: More people driving under the influence of drugs

Published 30 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Genre image - traffic accident. There is no information that drugs are related to this particular incident.

In Sweden, it is now more common for drivers to be under the influence of drugs than alcohol, while in Finland it is still more common to drive drunk than under the influence of drugs.

Between 2018 and 2022, 81 people died in Finland in traffic accidents where the driver who caused the accident was under the influence of at least one drug. This corresponds to 11 percent of all fatal traffic accidents during the period when drug testing was possible.

– Alcohol is still the most common intoxicant in fatal traffic accidents, but drugs are becoming increasingly common. This is particularly true of amphetamines, which are often linked to high speeds and risky decisions. Cannabis is also common among those who drive while intoxicated, says Kalle Parkkari, Director of Traffic Safety at the Finnish Accident Investigation Board, to Swedish Yle.

Statistics show that drivers under the influence of drugs are more likely to collide with other vehicles, while drivers under the influence of alcohol tend to drive off the road or crash in off-road terrain. However, Parkkari points out that the number of cases is so limited that it is difficult to draw firm conclusions.

– There is nevertheless a slight trend indicating an increase in drug-related driving under the influence. Traffic is part of society, and drug use in society appears to be on the rise. It is therefore inevitable that drugs will also begin to appear more frequently in traffic, Parkkari notes.

Sweden stands out in the statistics

In Sweden, the trend is more alarming. Between 2012 and 2022, 23 percent of drivers who died in traffic accidents were under the influence of drugs, compared to 11 percent who had alcohol in their system. Drug-related drunk driving has thus overtaken alcohol as the most common cause.

Lars-Olov Sjöström, traffic safety manager at the Swedish Motorists’ Sobriety Association, points to a change in attitude among young people as a possible explanation.

– For a hundred years, we have taught people not to drive with alcohol in their system, but the surveys we have conducted in collaboration with authorities in Norway show that the same young people who refrain from driving when under the influence of alcohol do not think as carefully when it comes to cannabis. We are lagging behind in providing information about cannabis and other drugs.

“We can learn from each other”

He believes that a more liberal and permissive view of “recreational drugs” among young people makes the work more difficult, but still sees hope for change within five to ten years. Both Parkkari and Sjöström emphasize the importance of cross-border cooperation to manage the development.

– It would be enormously helpful if we could learn from other countries’ experiences in this area. While the situation in Finland is still under control, it is very important to ensure that it does not get worse, says Parkkari.

Sjöström agrees, adding:

– We are seeing the same pattern in Finland as we have seen in Sweden, so we can learn from each other and discuss methods for dealing with the problem.

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