In Sweden, the idyll of a middle-class residential area was badly shaken last week when an 18-year-old rap artist was shot in the parking lot of a sports field south of Stockholm. The shooting happened at seven in the evening, when there were children and young people practicing on the sports field.
Also who moved to Sweden from Finland 18 years ago Pamela Taivassalo At the time of the incident, the daughter was on the sports field in soccer practice. Taivassalo, who works as a program manager for Swedish radio, describes the situation in Svenska ‘s Slaget efter tolv program.
– It felt unreal when my son said that I should call my daughter and that there was a shooting on the sports field. When I reached my daughter, they were sitting in the dressing room. There was a lot of crying all around and the atmosphere was creepy.
Taivassalo’s daughter’s soccer team did not witness the murder itself. However, the daughter said that she saw how the friend of the shot man ran towards them in the parking lot, threw himself on the asphalt and just uncontrollably screamed his pain away.
After the shooting, Taivassalo decided that he and his family would move out of the area. He later realized that moving would mean the gangs would win.
More than a million views
Dagens Nyheterin According to (DN), it is common for serious acts of violence to be filmed, and for filmed videos to be distributed on social media services popular with young people, such as Tiktok. That was also the case with the 18-year-old rapper. The videos that went viral of the work collected more than a million views in 12 hours.
– Videos of violence spread quickly on Tiktok, and everyone knows who each one is. For example, in a murder on a soccer field, everyone immediately knew that the victim was a rapper and for which gang he had worked as a runner, says Taivassalo.
of the police who spoke to DN Martin Lazarin according to the videos published on Tiktok are a way for criminal gangs to attract more young people to gangs.
– The videos can depict gang violence, or it can be a music video where enemies of gangs are barked at. This helps gangs recruit young people, says Lazar.
– Not everyone is necessarily interested in joining gangs, but even that is enough that someone always contacts the publishers of the clips.
Working as a juvenile delinquency investigator in the Stockholm police Luay Mohageb assessed last week to that the gansta rap wave that has reached Sweden in recent years has taken over Swedish youth culture completely, and made many young people idolize the criminal lifestyle. According to him, young people who join gangs are usually from areas with a lot of crime and severe social exclusion. Now, however, ordinary young people from middle-class families have actively started joining gangs.
Also according to Lazar, gangs’ promises of quick enrichment, abundant life, fast cars, parties and luxury vacations appeal especially to young people who are at risk of being marginalized.
– It is sad that human life is no longer worth anything to these young people. Instead of studying in a bad school and having an uncertain future, young people may choose a life of crime, which offers fast cars, beautiful women and heaps of money. Many seem to feel that it is cool and worth pursuing, Taivassalo tells Svenska .
How can violence be stopped?
The intensified gang violence in Sweden and the increased share of young people in brutal acts of violence were discussed this week Bettina Sågbomin piloted in the Slaget efter tolv talk show.
In addition to Pamela Taivassalo, who works as a program manager at Swedish Radio, the program was visited by a journalist from Svenska Dagbladet Paulina Neuding. Neuding is a lawyer by training, and he often writes about issues related to immigration, integration and human rights.
In the program, Neuding states that the Swedish school system is one of the reasons why the situation is so serious now.
– The problem with the Swedish school system is that it is too progressive. It is very important that this is taken into account in Finland, because your school is also developing in the same direction, Neuding believes.
Neuding means many things when it comes to progress. According to him, there is no discipline or order in the schools. Teachers have a very weak position, and children must not be offended by demanding that they behave properly or respect teachers or other students.
– There is a book recently published in Sweden that shows exactly how chaotic the Swedish school system in marginalized areas is, and how huge the problems are. Schools are unequal and certain schools have children who have committed very serious crimes.
According to Neuding, the Swedish school system should be rebuilt.
– We should return to classical pedagogy and the traditional view of discipline and order. This gangster culture must no longer be treated softly, and it should not be possible to come to school in gang clothes.
Taivassalo is on the same lines as Neuding.
– The school must be an authority, as it was also in Finland before the latest curriculum came into force. Finland is currently running face first towards the wall, just like it was done in Sweden about ten years ago, says Taivassalo.
Youth homes do not work
In the discussions of Swedish journalists, the minor punishments for juvenile delinquents came up.
In addition, the Swedish police statistics published last year according to the report, only a quarter of gang-related shootings result in the perpetrators being convicted.
– The risk of being caught in crimes committed by young people is low, and the punishments are non-existent. It has led to the fact that we now have very young hitmen on the streets. All this is connected to a kind of gangster culture. There are long lines of young people who are willing to kill, says Neuding.
– It is very interesting that nowadays you can get women if you are a murderer. In this gangster culture, it is perceived as raising a person’s status. This is a completely new situation.
Before in Sweden, even those under the age of 21 received reduced punishments compared to others, Neuding says. According to him, it was decided to change the law in order to reduce serious crimes committed by young people. Paradoxically, the change in the law has led to the fact that more and more young people are hired into gangs, Neuding states.
If the minor perpetrator is eventually convicted, he can be placed in a youth home for a maximum of four years. According to Neuding, youth homes are not equivalent to prisons.
– The UN convention on children’s rights is a law in Sweden, and they must not be locked in their rooms. They need to get their own tablet computers because otherwise their human rights will be violated. They watch a lot of TV and play video games. Among juvenile delinquents, these youth homes are called “Playstation camps”, Neuding describes.
When the young people are released, they are placed in regular schools, according to Neuding.
– No parent wants their children to go to the same school with these criminals.
Taivassalo sees another downside to Sweden’s current system.
– If a young person seriously wants to join a gang, he should even apply to a youth home. There, in addition to all the necessary gang connections, he gets juice and a bun.
The problems stem from a failed immigration policy
According to Neuding, Sweden’s problems now stem from socially marginalized areas that have developed due to a failed immigration policy.
– As a neighboring country, it is very important for you to understand that immigration to Sweden was very comprehensive for a long time. Certain areas were filled with immigrants at the same time that the problems started to become more common.
According to Neuding, in Sweden it was thought for a long time that Swedes are morally better than neighboring countries because the country practiced the policy of open hearts. The procedure was supported by all political parties.
– In Sweden, for a long time, people wanted to deny that the situation was becoming so serious. Bringing up problems was not considered a good thing and was interpreted as racism. Now we are slowly starting discussions about it.
Neuding himself comes from an immigrant family. He sees that the integration of immigrants is challenging, because Sweden is one of the most knowledge-intensive economies in the world.
– It’s kind of sad that the situation is being addressed only now, when violence has started to affect the lives of middle-class families as well.