Friday, July 11, 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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Green Party economist: Good that fewer children are born in Sweden

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published today 11:36
– By Editorial Staff
The Green Party politician Lennart Olsen sees children as an unnecessary burden on the economy and the environment.
2 minute read

That fewer children are born in Sweden is only good for the environment, argues Green Party (Miljöpartiet) politician Lennart Olsen. Children and young people also cost more than older people, who can still work at higher ages if the pension age is raised, he adds.

Olsen writes in a debate article in the Bonnier publication Dagens Nyheter that people should view positively the fact that Swedes are not reproducing themselves.

“What’s needed here is a reversed perspective, where lower birth rates and eventually decreasing population should be welcomed to reduce the exploitation of the earth’s ecosystems“.

The Green Party member believes that the Swedish government’s investigation aimed at proposing measures to raise the very low birth rates in Sweden is “misguided”. He argues that the state can save money from fewer children being born.

“For the state’s and municipal sector’s economy, children and young people are a much greater expense than the elderly. This is because virtually all people between 0 and 20 years old cost a lot of money in the form of preschool, school, higher education, parental insurance, child allowance and more“, Olsen explains his thesis and argues that older people also won’t need as much pension if the retirement age is raised further.

Above all, the Green Party economist sees the possibility that fewer Swedish children will lead to a better climate in the long term.

“The positive effects of such a development can then also take effect and lead to reduced pressure on the earth’s ecosystems“, writes Olsen.

Olsen represents a so-called neo-Malthusian line, an ideological movement that strives for reduced population and strongly influences the climate alarmist movement.

Sweden’s Christian Democrats call for tax relief for families with children

Published yesterday 7:08
– By Editorial Staff
1 minute read

Swedish families with children should receive tax relief, according to the same model as Hungary. This is proposed by Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch.

The catastrophically low birth rate has recently become a topic of discussion even among Swedish politicians. Childbirth in Sweden is at historically low levels. During 2023, an average of 1.43 children were born per woman – the lowest figure ever recorded. The standing solution advocated among Swedish politicians has been to bring foreigners to Sweden to replace the population.

The leader of the Christian Democrats Ebba Busch proposes on this theme to follow the Hungarian model, where families with children receive significant tax relief that increases for each child. The principle is to make it easier for one or later both parents to support themselves through work instead of benefits.

If current birth rate trends continue in Sweden, each new generation will be approximately 30 percent smaller than the previous one, which means major consequences including for the labor market and welfare system when fewer people of working age must support a growing elderly population.

 

Almost total halt for imported berry pickers in Sweden

Published 8 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
2 minute read

The Swedish Migration Agency has rejected almost all applications for berry pickers for 2025. As recently as 2023, 5,000 permits were granted.

Citing years of indications that employment conditions in the berry industry are not being upheld, the Migration Agency has granted only 89 permits for berry picking this year. A total of 2,397 applications for berry pickers have been received for 2025.

Last year, the Migration Agency rejected all applications for berry pickers, but 1,272 applications were subsequently approved after court review.

The Migration Agency has also this year assessed that workers in the berry industry risk not having their employment conditions met. Therefore, the agency has decided to reject most of the applications for Thai berry pickers, says Hanna Geurtsen, Deputy Project Manager for Work Permits at the Migration Agency, in a press release.

This year, the Migration Agency explains, all employers active in berry picking have chosen to apply for permits via the EU’s Seasonal Workers Directive. The difference when applying for a work permit as a seasonal worker, compared with the national main track for work permits, is among other things that the berry pickers this year are directly employed by a company in Sweden and not via a foreign staffing agency.

It’s partly about having an employment contract signed by both parties and that the employment conditions must be in line with Swedish collective agreements. For the majority of the applications received this year, these requirements have not been met, says Hanna Geurtsen.

The berry companies that have been rejected have the possibility to appeal these decisions in court, the agency adds in its press release.

Number of berry picking permits granted by the Migration Agency in recent years:

2025: 89
2024: 0 (1,272 were approved after court review)
2023: 5,372
2022: 6,594
2021: 5,175

Swedish government to map immigrants’ opinions

Published 7 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The Liberals' new integration minister Simona Mohamsson on the left, on the right migrants who have landed in Europe (archive image).
1 minute read

The Swedish government is now launching a project to examine immigrants’ opinions compared to native Swedes.

The results will serve as guidance for future integration efforts, says the Liberal Party’s new integration minister Simona Mohamsson about the project.

World Values Survey, WVS, is an international research program that examines people’s values in everything from social, political, economic, religious and cultural aspects.

The Swedish government is now paying WVS €450,000 to examine how values differ between non-Western immigrants and those with entirely Swedish backgrounds. During the autumn, around 3,000 people will be interviewed.

“We are an extreme country”

According to surveys that World Values Survey has previously conducted, the differences between immigrants and native Swedes are very large regarding views on things like divorce, premarital sex, abortion and homosexuality, where Sweden overall stands out as an exceptionally liberal-oriented country.

We are an extreme country in a good way. For people who become part of our society, it becomes somewhat difficult to navigate that map, says Mohamsson about the project to the Bonnier-owned newspaper DN, which among other things highlights that immigrants are more skeptical toward homosexual relationships.

There’s a whole generation of girls who don’t get to choose who they want to love or boys who can’t come out of the closet, she says.

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