WRITTEN BY ALESSANDRA COPPOLA, translated by Mary Rizzo
Which European country sustains the greatest number of refugees?
No, it’s not Italy. Despite the news of the refugee landings and the tragedies of Lampedusa, the proclamations of politics and the sacrifices of the local communities, women, men and children who cross our borders are for the most part directed elsewhere. The Syrians, in particular: they land here, in the southern part of Sicily or even along the Calabrian coast, they reach a train station, then they continue their travels towards the north. The answer to the original question, then, is another, miles and miles away: Sweden. Faithful to a long and established tradition of hospitality, Stockholm offers families fleeing the war the possibility of a permanent residence permit. In expectation of that document, there is a guarantee of a roof, meals, assistance, and the prospect of language training and placement programs, although in one of the villages scattered in the snowy landscape of Scandinavia. This was explained to me by a woman traveling with her two daughters in their twenties, passing through Milan: “I would stay in Italy, but here the maximum that you can give us is a piece of paper: that’s not enough to give you a roof over your head and you can’t eat with it. In Sweden, they give us a home and a support to start over again.”
The civilised choice of Stockholm is proving, however, untenable even for an advanced welfare like Sweden’s. And the Scandinavian government, as yesterday stated in the Wall Street Journal, that it no longer is hiding its annoyance regarding the Mediterranean countries that complain about the mass arrival of migrants (receiving millions in EU aid), but at the same time (ignoring the regulations) push refugees to the Northern European countries, shifting the problem elsewhere. The criticism is directed towards Athens, but especially towards Rome.
“There was much talk of economic difficulties – protests the Swedish Immigration Minister Tobias Billström – but Italy still remains one of the 20 richest countries in the world.”
Without a comprehensive law on asylum and with a reception system founded on emergencies and improvisation. The European regulations definitely deserve to be revised, but Sweden (9.5 million inhabitants) now compares the numbers and asks Brussels to intervene: in 2013 (UNHCR data) has received 50,000 applications for asylum against 25 thousand of Italy (60 million inhabitants). Regarding those applications from Syrians, the disparity is embarrassing: 677 here, 14,362 in Sweden, with the forecast of other 23 thousand in 2014.
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