The days of segregating bus passengers by skin colour and their appearance are not just something from the bad old days of the American South or from the days of apartheid in S. Africa. It would seem to be alive and well and practised in Sweden even today. For some it brings back memories of Bosnia where those with the “wrong” names were selected to be put on the “death-buses”.
Sweden has a population of 9.55 million and around 19.6% or 1.858.000 inhabitants who have a foreign background, defined as being born abroad or being born in Sweden of two parents born abroad. Many sectors of industry and public services are totally dependent upon the “immigrants” as in the rest of Europe. The welfare states of Europe are more and more dependent upon the immigrants of working age who help support the ageing demographics. Overt discrimination in Sweden is probably much less than in many other parts of Europe but it would be quite wring to think that it is absent. The latent dislike of “others” will always be present under the surface but it is the political “respectability” provided by the new fascist or neo-Nazi parties which encourages this “latent” behaviour to openly manifest itself .
Another Kristallnacht somewhere in Europe within the next decade is not unthinkable. And if it happens it may well be in Greece or Germany or Austria but it could also happen further North.
Dagens Nyheter reports (my free translation):
The segregation of people having a different appearance which DN revealed on Saturday is not unique. When Viking Line buses would depart from Örebro, bus drivers used name-lists to place the “immigrants” on one bus and “Swedes” on another. “There was absolutely no way that this was random,” said Faruk Smailhodzic.
DN’s articles on how Eckerö Line buses, run by the People Travel Group owned by Veolia, on at least two occasions segregated passengers according to their skin colour has aroused strong reactions. And now it turns out that Wednesday’s and Thursday’s events are not unique.
On two occasions in December Viking Line drivers had been provided with lists of passengers in order to divide them onto different buses. One list contained the names that appeared to be “Swedish” and other names that appeared to be “foreign”. ….
For one couple it brought back memories of Bosnia. Memories of how some people were selected while others escaped. “We have experienced of when people are separated and put on a bus and it is not a good feeling. And there was always a feeling that maybe we were not going on any cruise, but maybe somewhere else”, says Faruk Smailhodzic.
Tags: Apartheid, Dagens Nyheter, Eckerö Line, People Travel Group, Segregation, Sweden, Veolia, Viking Line
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