Summary: The undernews overflows with reports of sexual assaults by immigrants to Europe. Are these just rumors or gender and class biases in action? (as in Why report it since it affects only lower class women?) If true, these will fuel the growing revolt against Europe’s leaders as voters turn to right-wing parties. Read and decide for yourself. Time will tell the truth.
From the Daily Mail (a UK tabloid)
The Daily Mail is a British tabloid. They have run several articles about the problems emerging in Sweden as the number of migrants hits a tipping point and overwhelms their society.
“How Europe’s most liberal nation gagged its own people on migration attacks“, 4 March 2016 — “The Swedish conspiracy to hide the truth about the refugee influx.”
“Stockholm train station is where a ‘group of neo-Nazis attacked refugees’. Around the same time as a woman, 22, was allegedly murdered by migrant. Despite reports no migrants have told police they were assaulted at station. If exaggerated, it could have made Swedes less ready to voice their worries.”
“Women are warned not to go out alone at night in Swedish town after multiple sex attacks by ‘foreigners’“, 8 March 2016.
“Women in Östersund, Sweden, warned not to go out alone after dark. Follows spike in assaults in city centre by ‘men of foreign appearance’. Police added that attacks are unusual as ‘no perpetrators were drunk’.”
“Two 10-year-old schoolgirls molested and a woman’s trousers ripped off“, 11 March 2016 — “Inside the sleepy Swedish town rocked by EIGHT sex attacks in three weeks by migrant men.”
“A string of brutal sex attacks has left residents of Östersund, population 44,000, living in fear they could be next. The small town has seen eight separate sex attacks since February 20, with the latest occurring at the weekend. Girls as young as 10 have reported being groped and threatened, while others have fought off would-be rapists. Police have warned women they are no longer safe walking alone at night, turning the city into an empty ghost town. Local women spoken to by MailOnline have said they are ‘terrified’ and that the situation in the town is ‘out of hand’.”
The Swedish government strikes back
The government has begun to push back against these reports, such as this on CNBC: “Migrants not to blame for sex attacks: Swedish PM“, 20 January 2016.
A report about the Daily News’ series prepared for the Swedish Foreign Ministry was sent to State Secretary Hans Dahlgren and the prime minister, reported the Swedish news agency TT, with snippets repeated by Breitbart and the English-language version of The Local — and approvingly echoed by the major media. TT also said Sweden’s British embassy is to try to counter the negative coverage by working with Swedish organisations in the UK. The report does not deny the substance of the Daily Mail articles, a detail that journalists forget to mention.
“Sweden is being used as a deterrent and an argument against allowing more refugees into the UK. …The tabloid Daily Mail has launched a campaign against Swedish migration policy. …The Daily Mail characterises Sweden as naive and an example of the negative consequences of a liberal migration policy. …Sweden has been seen as a pioneer symbolizing humanism, solidarity, transparency and has risen above all the challenges that Swedish society is facing with the large number of refugees.”
The pièce de résistance: Sweden’s leaders mock the public’s increasing concern about the flood of migrants by opening the borders for two weeks: “Sweden’s border checks have dramatically stemmed the flow of asylum seekers, but people without IDs will be allowed in to the country for at least two weeks this summer” It’s fun to mock the proles!
The Local reports the facts, with the spin
The Local is an English-language news service published across Europe (see Wikipedia). They do not well report crimes by migrants but they thoroughly cover attacks on migrants (here and here). Their reporting about the mitigation crisis has been solidly pro-government: “Police defend warning for solo women in northern Sweden“, 8 March 2016 — “Police in Östersund in northern Sweden have warned women about being out on their own after dark, but the city’s mayor has trashed the idea.”
However, some developments are too large to ignore: “Immigration concerns swell among Swedish voters“, 20 Feb 2016. Opening…
“40% of Swedes now believe ‘integration and immigration’ is the biggest issue facing the Nordic nation, a new poll suggests. Immigration has overtaken education as the single most important issue for voters selecting a political party, a new poll for Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) by Ipsos suggests.
“The poll shows that 40% of Swedes selected ‘integration and immigration’ as the key political topic when deciding who they would vote for if there was an election. This compares to 20% in June 2015 and just 5% in 2010. “It’s the biggest change for an individual issue we’ve ever seen in our measurements,” Johanna Laurin Gulled, a spokesperson for Ipsos, told DN.
“The poll also suggests that only 17% of voters think that Prime Minister Stefan Löfven’s Social Democrat party has the best policies on immigration. Meanwhile, 21% favour the approach of the nationalist Sweden Democrats.”
From the Gatestone Institute
The Gatestone Institute is a conservative think-tank with a reputation among critics as being anti-Muslim. They too have covered this issue, with a series of article like this: “Sweden: Sexual Assaults at Swimming Pools” — Horrific, if true.
“Young male asylum seekers have turned Sweden’s public swimming pools into ordeals of rape and sexual assault. Swedish politicians seem convinced that some education on “equality” will change the ways of men, who, since childhood, have been taught that it is the responsibility of women not to arouse them — and therefore the woman’s fault if the man feels like raping her. More and more Swedes are now avoiding public pools altogether. Staff at Malmö’s Hylliebadet family adventure pool were given strict instructions not to report certain things, and above all, never to mention the ethnicity or religion of those who cause problems at the pool.”
Their reports appear well-sourced, usually from major news services. Read and decide for yourself. Germany: Migration Crisis Becomes Public Health Crisis. Germans Opposed to Mass Migration are “Free to Leave”. Sweden: Shambles in Asylum Heaven. Germany’s Migrant Deportation Plan: “Political Charade”. Sweden: Death by Immigration. Germany: Migrant Crime Skyrockets. Sweden’s Migration Industry. Germany: Migrant Rape Crisis Worsens. Finland’s Immigration Crisis.
Reports from Europe’s other newspapers
“Swedish police accused of covering up sex attacks by refugees at music festival” by David Crouch in The Guardian, 11 January 2016 — “PM says police report’s failure to mention incidents at 2014 event amounts to ‘double betrayal’, while reports emerge on New Year’s Eve attacks in Malmö.” Also see their op-ed by Andrew Brown: “The cover-up of sex assaults in Sweden is a gift for xenophobes“, and the NYT article about the incident. AP news: Cologne prosecutor Ulrich Bremer said reports describing only three of the suspects as refugees are “total nonsense” and that “the overwhelming majority of persons fall into the general category of refugees.”
“It’s not only Germany that covers up mass sex attacks by migrant men… Sweden’s record is shameful” by Ivar Arpi in the UK Spectator, 16 January 2016 — From the Aftonbladet. “Stockholm police were warned not to give descriptions of the perpetrators lest they were accused of being racist.”
“Swedish Feminists Thread Needle Between Sexism and Racism in Migrant Controversy” by Eliza Gray in Time, 19 January 2016.
Conclusions
Europe has entered the last stages of the great experiment: allowing mass immigration into Europe from culturally-different and much poorer nations. To maintain support Europe’s leaders use their power to hide its ill effects.
Unfortunately their scale and intensity of these events makes this impossible, although they are reported only by conservatives and tabloids. Elite media maintain a decorous silence, allowing their upper class readers to maintain their illusions. But the lower classes live with the consequences and are beginning to revolt — supporting far-right parties that want Europe’s borders closed. As Merkel learned today.
This could get exciting if Europe’s leaders refuse to change course. Watch this space.
For More Information
Recommended: “Michel Foucault saw Europe’s current refugee crisis coming 40 years ago” by Stephane J Baele (Lecturer, U of Exeter) at Quartz.
If you liked this post, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. See all posts about immigration, especially these…
- Must our population grow to ensure prosperity? — Spoiler: no!
- Stratfor: Why Germany Cannot Stop the Flow of Migrants.
- Europe’s elites use immigration to reshape it.
- Stratfor: How immigration will change German politics, which will change Europe.
- Recommended: Torching Utopia: Sweden tries mass immigration.
It appears that Merkel may have lit the fuse on the destruction of plans for the European state. Uncontrolled immigration will, probably, prove to be one crisis too many, and if it isn’t, the exit of the UK (looking more likely by the day) may be enough to tip things over.
Ironic really for a leader who looked close to invincible at one time and appeared to have ridden out the ‘Greek Disaster’ it looks possible she’ll only be remembered as the woman who destroyed plans for a European state and possibly the EU itself.
Steve,
While disintegration of the EU is a possible result, governmental structures tend to be far more durable than people expect. While the structure might change in some respects, I give low odds on its disintegration. The powerful political and economic factors forcing integration remain, despite policy errors along the way.
Pingback: The numbers are out – Swedes will be a minority in few years – Asylkaos