Thursday, April 23, 2015

Immigration policy history – not as open as we want to believe – Swedish Radio

The fact that Sweden has always been an open country is something that is usually said. Christina Johansson that is the migration researcher at Malmö University believes that it is not true. There are many periods in which Sweden has had a restrictive migration policies.

Listen to an extended interview with Christina Johansson here

Christina Johansson think the reason that Swedish openness is commonly cited is located in the Swedish self-image.

– There associated with us To produce Sweden as a modern country, as a neutral welfare state. It is important for Sweden to appear as a pioneer in the field of asylum, she said.

During World War II came the slightly larger waves of refugees. There were people from the Baltic countries and some Jews succeeded despite the opposition to get to Sweden. Then changed the Swedish immigration character. It was labor.

– After the war goes large parts of the western world into a boom and there is a great need for labor. When trying to solve it in different ways by some form of organized labor in which Sweden concludes agreements with various countries. In the early 50th century it is also possible to come to Sweden as a tourist here in Sweden to apply for a work permit, says Christina Johansson.

Labour migration is often mentioned as a great success, as if it were uncontroversial, but it was not mean Christina Johansson.

– Sometime in the mid-60s began to get a discussion of what was then called the adaptation problems. Immigration had changed in nature at this time. Previously there had been much immigration from the Nordic countries and now had immigration from southern Europe has increased in importance. Actually, it was perhaps not a major problem with it is prepared as in policy debates.

Immigration from southern Europe was pointed out that there were groups that were linguistically, culturally and religiously different than what Sweden. Sweden was presented as very culturally homogeneous at this time, although we may not have in reality.

– You say it was xenophobia. Much of these discussions can be recognized by our contemporaries today and from other periods where immigration has been discussed. It was discussed as an adaptation issue and today we would say integration.

At the end of the 60th century also regulated immigration. It was not long as possible to get as a tourist and apply for a work here, but you would have your paperwork ready before you came to Sweden. 1972 stopped the non-Nordic labor immigration to Sweden.

– It is interesting why stop it because it is not until 1973, ie one year after it is stopped, that the Western world is entering a recession, says Christina Johansson.

So it was not that there were few jobs and bad economy that was the reason?

– LO was a strong player and also the unions. You could see the fear that immigrants would be utilized in the labor market. They wanted to focus on domestic resources, such as married women. It also mentions disabled in this context.

It reasoned that it was of care for those who would come here but Christina Johansson says that it was also about wages.

– There were concerns that the people who came here and arbetsmigrerade not joined the union as much.

Then it became refugee immigration back from South America, Iran, Iraq and until the 90s went on the Bosnian war. Shortly before the Government took Ingvar Carlsson, the so-called Lucia The decision was a view drastic restriction of the freedom to get to Sweden as a refugee.

– opening up to bring a very restrictive policy. They say we should primarily provide asylum to Genevékonventionsflyktingar. The fact that it had a very narrow interpretation of the Geneva Convention at this time so you open up the big restrictions.

There are some 1000 people per year then?

– Yes, absolutely. There were many different things that lay behind the decision. It came lot of signals from different Swedish authorities that asylum reception was not working as it should and that it was overloaded. The Berlin Wall has just fallen. It spread some kind of crisis atmosphere in the world, you might say. It is feared mass immigration from the East. Then there was also a specific group, Bulgarians of Turkish descent, who came to Sweden around 1989. It was the group that caused that they made this decision.

Some immigration opponents are talking about Lucia decision and that it should be possible to introduce it again. Can politicians do it the same way then?

– I do not think that you can. On the one hand we have today immigration courts. The politicians still put the foundation of the whole and decide on legislation but the ability to go and do not micromanage is not as great today. We have joined the EU and there are certain minimum standards to live up to. I think it would be deeply unfortunate if we were to get something that resemble Lucia decision again. I do not even think it’s possible, says Christina Johansson, migration researcher at Malmö University.

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