‘Safer in Iraq’: Businessman flees Sweden for Iraq amid migrant violence
An Iraqi national who operated a pub in Sweden for nearly 20 years has fled back home due to migrant gang violence, Remix reported Tuesday.
The restaurateur, identified as Amin, came to Sweden in 2003 at the precipice of the Iraq War. He opened a bar on the outskirts of Stockholm, which was successful for a time.
In 2014, however, Sweden began accepting waves of migrants as a show of “humanitarianism.” Rather than require the newcomers to integrate, then-Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt told native Swedes to be more tolerant and “open their hearts.” A year later, the country allowed an unprecedented 163,000 asylum seekers to stream across its border.
Around 20% of Sweden’s population is now made up of migrants, most of whom come from Muslim countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. As in other countries, the migrant influx has brought with it a spike in crime and gang violence, causing people like Amin to flee.
“I moved to Sweden because it was a safe country. Now, I’m moving out of Sweden because it’s no longer safe,” Amin said in an interview.
“Imagine how it feels to work 10 hours a day and then some nasty person comes and threatens you and says disgusting things,” he added.
Amin said there were several shootings in his area, including a killing outside his restaurant.
“There is no safety in Sweden. I don’t feel safe there anymore. You can’t wear nice clothes, a gold chain, a nice watch. You can’t drive a nice car because someone will destroy it,” he explained, adding: “It is much safer in Iraq than in Sweden.”
Desperate attempts to manage migrant crime
Violent crime has reportedly become so dire that in June, for the first time in the country’s history, police introduced a stop-and-frisk policy. The decision came in response to a gang-related double shooting.
The Swedish government is also now desperately trying to incentivize migrants to leave the country. Last month, Migration Minister Johan Forssell announced a new remigration policy that will pay migrants to go back home.
“Migrants who voluntarily return to their home countries from 2026 onwards will be eligible to receive 350,000 Swedish kronor ($33,690),” Forssell said. The offer is also open to migrants with Swedish citizenship.
