Friday, September 5, 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.
3 minute read

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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Malmö schools to block social media

Published 3 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
As mobile restrictions have been implemented, students have started browsing social media using school computers instead.
1 minute read

Social media will be blocked on all school computers in elementary schools in Malmö, Sweden. The implementation is a pilot project to see if it counteracts harassment in schools and provides increased study peace.

It began when a special education teacher raised alarm about students’ use of social media during class time, where she emailed some concrete suggestions to the city of Malmö. This then led to an investigation into students’ digital work environment with a focus on social media.

Now the city of Malmö has decided to block social media on students’ school computers. The platforms being blocked are Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Google Chat, Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Roblox, Discord and Threads. The blocking applies both during and after school hours.

Most schools today have introduced some form of mobile phone restrictions. But young people are very resourceful and find new ways, so they have replaced phones with computer, says Malmö’s education commissioner Sara Wettergren from the Liberal Party to the Bonnier publication DN.

During the investigation, teachers were positive about the blocking, but not all students were completely satisfied. However, they now hope for more study peace in schools and also that it could lead to fewer instances of harassment.

The pilot project will run throughout the 2025/2026 school year and will then be evaluated.

Swedish preschool chain extracts millions – children get less butter

Welfare collapse

Published 2 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Tax funds finance preschool – butter is portioned out in the smallest possible amounts.
2 minute read

The Swedish preschool company Hagvidson has extracted millions in profits in recent years. Meanwhile, the company is rationing butter and sandwich toppings for preschool children.

Hagvidson currently owns over 21 preschools across Sweden, including facilities in Falun, Stockholm, and Uppsala. The preschool company has grown significantly in recent years and has purchased ten new preschools during this period. During the same timeframe, the owners – three men from the Örebro region in central Sweden – have extracted €6 million in dividend payments.

The men have taken director fees and salaries totaling around €900,000, which is primarily based on tax funds and municipal preschool funding.

Despite the million-euro profits, the company is strict about imposing restrictions on the children, according to an investigation by the Schibsted newspaper Aftonbladet. The restrictions primarily concern children eating too much sandwich toppings, but also include limits on paper towel usage for both staff and children.

We need to think about how much butter we put on the sandwiches and the amount of toppings – more is being used than usual right now. If we want to keep using Bregott (a popular Swedish butter-margarine blend), we need to be mindful of this”, states a protocol sent to employees, which the newspaper obtained.

Half a cheese slice

One solution from the preschool company is for adults at the table to portion out the butter to ensure children don’t take too much from the package themselves. Furthermore, only one topping per sandwich is allowed, something that employees at one of the preschools also confirm.

The children get half a cheese slice or half a thin slice of turkey on their sandwich and eat a maximum of two slices of bread – one soft and one hard per day – yet this still seems to be too much, the educator tells Aftonbladet.

Hagvidson’s CEO Michael Enghag declined an interview regarding the children’s restrictions on sandwich toppings, citing the company’s “communication policy”.

Number of prisoners in Sweden has doubled in ten years

Published 29 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
1 minute read

The number of inmates in Swedish correctional facilities has nearly doubled in the past ten years, according to statistics from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå). The number of new admissions has also been the highest in almost 30 years.

At the end of 2024, the total number of people in correctional facilities was 8,206 people, 593 women and 7,613 men. This is referred to as having an ongoing prison sentence execution. This represents an increase of 17 percent compared to the previous year. Compared to 2015, the figure has increased by 91 percent.

The number of new admissions, that is, those who have begun serving a prison sentence, has reached a record high of 11,812 people, which is the highest figure in 28 years.

The increase in the number of inmates in correctional facilities since 2017 is primarily explained by the harsher penalties for serious crimes that have been implemented in recent years, says Charlotta Lindström, statistician at the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, in a press release.

Swedish consumer authority wants to ban all telemarketing

Published 28 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Eight out of ten Swedes actively try to avoid telemarketing calls in various ways, according to a report by the Swedish Consumer Agency.
2 minute read

The Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket) is proposing a general ban on all telemarketing in Sweden. Six out of ten Swedes no longer answer calls from unknown numbers due to fear of salespeople, causing people to miss important calls from healthcare services and police.

In the report “Telemarketing – an unwanted, inappropriate and deeply problematic business method” submitted to the Swedish government today, the Consumer Agency proposes that all telemarketing should be banned.

As a second alternative, the agency suggests replacing the current Nix registry (Sweden’s do-not-call list) with an opt-in system, where sales calls would only be allowed to consumers who have actively consented to being contacted.

— Telemarketing deprives the consumer of initiative and control over both what should be purchased and when it should happen. The consumer is taken by surprise and unprepared meets an eager salesperson who usually only has a single product to sell, says Cecilia Tisell, consumer ombudsman and director-general of the Swedish Consumer Agency.

The authority’s investigation shows that eight out of ten Swedes avoid calls from telemarketers in various ways. A clear majority do not answer calls from unknown numbers at all, which has serious consequences.

— What are the consequences when we no longer answer the phone out of concern that it’s telemarketers or scammers calling? We see in the survey that people miss important calls from, for example, healthcare services and the police. This is unfortunate for the individual and causes various societal actors much additional work, explains Tisell.

Contributes to debt problems

Complaints to the Swedish Consumer Agency about misleading and aggressive marketing are significantly higher for telemarketing than for other sales methods. Particularly vulnerable are consumers with disabilities and immigrants who do not speak Swedish properly.

A recurring problem is that consumers and companies often disagree about whether any purchase has actually taken place. While consumers claim they only said yes to information or free offers, companies quickly demand payment for subscriptions.

Lotteries/gambling, loans, electricity contracts, insurance, mobile and TV subscriptions, and health supplements are examples of products still often sold by phone.

— Being enticed and pressured to take loans you may not need and cannot afford is unacceptable. Aggressive marketing of credit contributes to the problematic debt situation we see in society today, states Cecilia Tisell.

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