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My Observations in Stockholm - Sweden

You may wonder 'why Sweden?' but let it be known that Sweden is a part of the world and as part of The world Renaissance Today I was curious to see what was going on in the Scandinavian country. Many football/soccer fans will think of popular footballer Henric Larrson as the face of Sweden.

I was looking forward to see snow then when we reached, however I was reminded that we were at the end of May and it's actually summer time. The myth of it always being cold in Sweden went straight out the window. Still we were told by the locals of the country?s terrible winters. I suddenly was happy that we didn?t arrive in the winter. At this time of year, on average the sunlight will be down at roughly 10pm and rise again at 3am in Stockholm. I thought to myself very strange.

There is a growing African community in Stockholm, which is the main reason I went to see their attitudes and behaviour. Believe it or not there is some history of Africans in Scandinavia dating back hundreds of years ago.

I heard stories of the Gambian community and its 'reputation'. Stories of guns and drugs are not uncommon in conversations, still at a lower rate than in London I noticed. I observed people from various African countries, from Gambia to Somalia to the Ivory Coast. The native Swedish people we met seem to be warm and friendly. Still there was one instance when all that was going to be jeopardised.

The African community is not as big in Sweden when compared to London but is growing. They have a unique urban culture of their own but the influence United States Hip-Hop culture is strong as many who speak English there have strong American accents. Also very popular in Stockholm is reggae-dancehall, which has a huge following.

I must comment on how clean the country is! The roads are spotless and huge, which reminds me of Canada. The coach ride from the airport was long still it gave me the opportunity to see the green-yellowish grass on the sides of the roads. You don?t really get to notice fresh air in a city very often. The vegetation is preserved and well kept, which may be the reason for the clean air. The tap water is clean and could be bottled up and sold I was told. I then began to think to myself, we are in European country yet they their attitudes to nature and ways of life are different.

The Swedish system works

When compared to London, Stockholm has a low crime rate and I suddenly began to observe and ask questions why is it not like London. In the few days that I spent in the country I learnt that; all retail shops and supermarket s selling alcohol closes at 2pm and 5pm in Central Stockholm. This must be why you do not get children running around with beer cans getting drunk or committing crime due to drunkenness. There is not an abundance of cash machines and other retail facilities except in Stockholm, which is a deterrent for criminal behaviour. I come to the realisation that England could learn a lot from Sweden when it comes to crime prevention. However implementing some of their tactics seems impossible as money is the main factor and they (England) will not close their shops for no one at 2pm or 5pm. Especially in the economical condition we are currently in where they want us to spend more.

After saying this we did go out to see the night life and did see adults getting drunk. I did manage to drive in the country and as we left to go 'home' an undercover police car stopped us. One police was white and the other was black wearing a hooded jumper. Guess which one was wearing the hooded jumper? This shows the cohesiveness of the police over there, which was started by the same stereotype attitude... If you see a bunch of black guys stop them and see what they?re doing, they look suspicious?.

Why is Sweden refusing the Euro?

To me Sweden is expensive as I find the Kroner really awkward. I said to myself why is it that Sweden is refusing to use the Euro. I began to ask questions and found out that it is not only because of national identity why they want to keep the Kroner currency. Sweden is very much industrialised and they make cars for export, Volvo is very popular and seem to be every other car is Sweden. The country also produces elements that make aeroplane wings etc and these are for export which they would get less for if they were to adopt the Euro currency. Still I believe it is only a matter of time before they accept the single currency. As there is an African community over there it is only right for us to try and network with each other as I see some losing their identity, you know the same problems we have in England. Many will get swallowed up by the popular culture forgetting their very own. At the same time I see Africans bringing with them parts of their culture which is easily seen as the most popular among young people.

There are several Africans in Scandinavia and other European countries. Look out for another piece on Africans in Russia and attitudes towards them.

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