Sweden Approaches the Influx of Refugees Differently

Like it had done for decades, Sweden continues to accept refugees coming to its borders, but it now approaches the influx a little differently.

A big difference

Many of the refugees recount the hardships they endured during their plight from Syria to Iraq to Greece and more countries just to reach Northern Europe where they hope they will have a better life. Some people become lucky, like those that made it to Stockholm Central Station.

A young Syrian refugee recalled that through his journey to Sweden, he went to prison, had been moved and in some instances, ignored. Now that he had reached Sweden, he’s very thankful, because he’s being treated as a human being.

Open-door policy

Sweden had always been known as a generous country that had remained neutral in foreign affairs for a long time. While there are now critical voices, like many others in Europe that are questioning the sustainability of the country’s open-door policy, the government has some good plans for the asylum-seekers.

Harnessing new talents

Morgan Johansson, the Migration Minister of Sweden, believes that it is better to understand the positive and significant impact of the refugees on the country’s economy. He said the population in Northern Europe is aging and the increase in the number of pensioners means there is an immediate need for more workers to support them. He cited the fact that about one-third of the Syrians coming to Sweden now are nurses, engineers and doctors – people with higher education that he believes Sweden will need in the near future.

He says that getting these refugees into appropriate jobs will have a great impact on the country’s integration policies in which the government made a large investment. The Swedish Public Employment Service (SPES) is now tasked to assess the skills of those lucky enough to be given asylum. The government agency then arranges additional education and training for them if needed and likewise matches their skills with potential employers.

Limited success

The integration process still shows limited success, since, for the past two years, only about 30 percent of refugees have accessed education or have found employment. One of the stumbling blocks is learning the Swedish language. Majority of the refugees granted asylum before were lacking in formal education and had limited skills.

While the opposition feels that they have to be selective, Minister Johansson stated that they have a moral obligation to these people and it is not right to be selective because he believes that all humans have the same value, which is what the European Union stands for.

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