The Lundian
Vol.
2014
Vol.26/No.
26/No.170,
171,Autumn
Autumn/Spyken
Issue 2014
FREE
NEWSLETTER
For Members of The EnglishSpeaking International
Community in Lund and their
Friends, Near and Far.
Important Days and Dates this Autumn
October
24 . United Nations Day
November
1 – All Saints Day
4 – Hijra, Islamic New Year; Solidarity Day
9 – International Day Against Fascism and
Antisemitism
9 – Fathers Day
10 – Mårtens Goose Eve
December
13 – Lucia Day
24 – Christmas Eve
25 – Christmas Day
26 – Boxing Day (Annandag jul)
31 – New Year’s Eve
01 – New Year’s Day 2014.
Source: www.calendarlabs.com
Elefanten i rummet:
Afrofobi i närbild.
English Internationals nya projekt
(2014 – 2015) vill fortsätta med ett forum
där fokus ligger på att förstärka arbetet
med att motverka diskriminering av den
afrikanska diasporan i Sverige.
Ett viktigt mål med projektet är att ta
fram en kvalitativ studie av
levnadsstandarden för afrosvenskar i
Sverige. Denna del av projektet kommer
att bli ett tillägg till den kvantitativa och
kvalitativ forskning som vi har redovisat i
vår tidigare rapport om den afrikanska
diasporan i Sverige, och den
Mångkulturella studien av afrofobi. Vi
skall sprida en omfattande enkät med
frågor om hur målgruppen upplever sitt
förhållande till vissa av samhällets
institutioner. De flesta sådana
institutioner har inte någon aktuell
forskning om diskriminering av
afrosvenskar pga Sveriges avsaknad av
termen ”ras” som diskrimineringsgrund
sedan 2009. Projektet syftar till att
motarbeta okunnigheten om, och
diskrimineringen av
Se sidan 3
An International Magazine
Young People are the Future
– so How Did They Vote?
By Maxine Pater, Olivia Borgström, Lund (Spyken High School, Hu2)
The national election recently took place in Sweden, the result
shocking some, while paining others. Many are unsure about the
consequences of these results. How will a government without a
majority carry
out their
decisions?
How could a
racist party
come in third
place? Are we
moving into an
era of racism
and
nationalism? Is
Sweden
retreating into the ignorance of the past, instead of moving toward
an equal future? The young people are the future, right? They will
govern this country some years from now, and dictate the path of
society. So how did the young people of Lund vote in the school
elections?
The three biggest high schools in Lund share their approval of the
environment party (miljöpartiet) but that is about their only main
common interest. The Moderates (moderaterna) came in first place
with the environment party not far behind in both the Polhem School
and the Cathedral School. The Spyken School, on the other hand,
elected the Environment party at first place with the social
democrats (socialdemokraterna) thereafter.
The Polhem School chose the Social democrats at a third place
while The Cathedral School chose the People party (folkpartiet) and
Spyken chose Feministic initiative (feministiskt initiativ).
The fact that the Environment party
is so big among youth does not
surprise us, since we are the ones
who have to live with the global
damage caused by our former
generations. Of the three schools, the
Polhem School had the highest
amount of votes on the Sweden democrats while the Spyken School
had the lowest.
Of course, while the three mentioned schools have primarily voted
on parties for environment and equality, some schools
See Page 2
Inside this Issue …
Front Page: Young People Vote
Page Two: Editorial / Opinion
Page Three: På lätt Svenska
Page Four: Media Watch: Books, Films, Radio.
The Lundian Magazine
Editorial
“Race” Did Affect
the Swedish
Election
Lund, Sweden.
M. A. Diakité, Publisher
and Editor
With help from volunteer writers at Spyken High
School in Lund, this issue marks another milestone
for keeping non-Swedish readers informed of what’s
going on in Lund – and Sweden in general. The
article on page 1 about young people and how they
voted was written by young people who are future
voters and hopefully rulers of this country. They did a
great job and readers should be proud of them. If you
haven’t read that article, and the one on page 3 of
this issue, please do, and send your (positive)
comments to thelundian@hotmail.com. Thank you.
As you must know by now, the results of the national
elections for major political offices this year were
seriously affected by the environment, immigration,
threats to ecucation and health care introduced by
the previous government and the divisions created
by the right wing (many call them fascists) Swedish
Demorats (SD). There was a clear shift towards the
left and persons of immigrant heritage are visible in
the new government. This despite the fact that the
SD saw an increase in votes by that made them the
third largest party in Sweden. The Left Party received
fewer votes than the Green Party and have so far
not been invited to join the Social Democrats and
Greens to form a government. Sweden now has a
minority governemnt. Stay tuned. We are now
entering the final months of 2014, and the weather
reflects it. It’s been wet and there have been floods
and clouds haning in the sky. But November and
december are fun months too as this is the festive
season with parties and dinners all over the place.
Swedish dishes such as goose, blodsopa (blood
soup), blodkorv (blood sausage), pepperkakor, glögg
(with or without alchohol), cinamon buns, coffee rings
with saffron and tons and tons of pastries. Yes, this is
the best season to be in Sweden. Enjoy.
The Lundian is published by
The English International Association of Lund,
Sandgatan 2, 4th floor, 223 50 Lund (By appointment only!)
Phone: +46 70 654 2126
+46 46 222 1229
E-mail: englintern@hotmail.com
Website: www.thelundian.com
From Page 1 – How did They Vote
do not share the same values. Thoren and Vipan –
two job preparing gymnasiums – have both elected the
Sweden democrats at first place. Now, we cannot help
but to notice how the schools with lower educational
levels are more prone to elect parties like the Sweden
democrats. Coincidence? Perhaps. Or perhaps racism
and nationalism is strongly connected to your
perception of the world. And surely, your perception of
the world is defined by your knowledge of it. It is much
easier to see others as “we and they” when you know
nothing about them or are unbeknownst of the
injustice in our history.
Now, we do not doubt that our opinion on the topic
has been made clear, but we believe in equality for
everyone. A great man once expressed his desire to
live in a nation where you would not be judged by the
color of your skin, but by the content of your character.
This man, Martin Luther King, was not talking about
our nation and he was not talking about it recently, yet
it is still relevant to the current situation in Sweden.
Approximately 50 years have passed since he stated
his wish, yet it is still a relevant topic, something which
we cannot begin to comprehend.
Perhaps you are wondering how this is related to the
elections of the youth in Lund. Well, since the youth
are our future and will, as we previously mentioned,
run the country and dictate the path of society, we
think it is important that we consider the conditions of
their education. As the results of the different school
elections in Lund show that students who take lower
educations were more inclined to choose racist
parties; we think we should make sure that the
education in subjects such as history, social- and
nature science have more focus, regardless of
education level, to guarantee that future voters are not
only aware of the mistakes made in our history as to
prevent future wars, but also know how to learn from
each other and consider the environmental issues.
Why live in a world where we are isolated in our own
countries when we can travel, explore, try new things
and share knowledge? Why live in a world filled with
animosity towards each other and with a threat of war
when we can create friendships and learn from one
another? We think we should fight for a world with
equality for everyone and in order to accomplish this
we need to start with the youth. The result of the
election in Lund alone is proof that educating the
young is essential for acceptance and world peace.
http://www.mucf.se/skolval-014/ValresultatRiksdagP74y3t.do
Publisher and Managing Editor:
M. A. Robinson Diakité
Copy Editor: Jack B. Nimble
Photo Editor: Monique Fransen
Art Director: Monique Fransen
Also Special thanks to Spyken High School in Lund
County, Media Tryck, the Board of E.I., The Raoul
Wallenberg Institute, Lund University information personal
and many, many others.
ISSN: 1404-9511
2014 © English International
More Books to Read: A Swedish Dilemma (ISBN 07618-3151-7), University Press of America, Lanham,
IL. A worthwhile book about the dilemma of becoming
a multiethnic society. Available at www.amazon.com
2
The Lundian Magazine
Local News…
På lättsvenska
A Newcomers Guide to the City
By: Angelica Bendrén, Amanda Mårtensson & Hanna Leander
(Spyken High School, HU2)
Photographers: Angelica Bendrén, Amanda Mårtensson &
Hanna Leander
Lund is a city filled with life, cultures and interesting people. If you are
new in Lund it might be interesting to get to know our favourite places
to go; maybe for a Swedish “fika”, which is a frequently used word for
sitting down with a cup of coffee and some cookies, or a nice walk in
the park. Here is the perfect guide for you.
Saluhallen (directly translated as The Hall of Sale) is a fairly small
building in the middle of central Lund; on the
outside it might look boring with its old
fashioned red brick
facade, but trust us;
you will not change
your mind if you
give it a visit. Even
though the place
looks small on the
outside, you will
easily get
overwhelmed by
the inside. The list of things they sell is
long, they have everything from an
American store to Asian foods as well
as all kinds of cheese and desserts.
When walking into this building you
will face a cultural experience to
remember. Here you will be able to eat
at their restaurants or you can buy your own food to cook at home,
such as special fish and Italian pizza.
See Page 4
The English International Association of Lund (EIA) was founded
in 1987 in Lund, Sweden by a group of international researchers, foreign
students their Swedish friends and sympathizers. It was based on solidarity
with the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Two important groups we are concerned with are migrant workers and ethnic
minorities as defined in UN, regional, ILO and other instruments protecting the
rights of those, regardless of their original status.
th
The association maintains an office on the 4 floor of AF-Borgen and persons
who wish to join and take part in activities are welcome to visit. Leave a note
with your contact information if we are not in for the moment. We shall contact
you. Contact info: www.thelundian.com.
Från sidan 1 – om Afrofobi
afrosvenskarnas situation i dagens Sverige
och minska afrofobin i landet. Dessutom vill vi förbättra kunskapen om
afrosvenskarnas rättigheter och rutiner i deras kamp mot rasism och
diskriminering.
Projektet är av allmänt intresse pga att kampen mot diskriminering i
Sverige ligger i de internationella fördragen, EU-direktiv, den svenska
grundlagen, inhemska lagar som BrB (1971), Arbetsrätt och Civilrätt
(Diskrimineringslag (2008:567).
Se också Afrikanska diasporan i Sverige,
utgiven av The English International
Association, Lund 2009
(www.thelundian.com/Särskilda rapporter).
Lunds
Integrationsoch
Mångfaldsrunda uppmuntrar och stödjer
arbetet för allas lika värde och en
välkomnande stad i enlighet med
lagstiftning,
överenskommelser
och
handlingsplaner som vårt land och vår
kommun har anslutit sig till. Rundan byggs
upp av olika steg fördelade över året:
processutveckling,
inspirationsforum,
planering, arrangemangsvecka, reflektion
och nystart. Här kan de medverkande
både uttrycka egna erfarenheter och se
världen ur andras perspektiv, för att
tillsammans utforska nya vägar till
inkludering och jämlikhet.
Rundan erbjuder inspiration, kontakter,
samtal och tillfällen att skapa aktiviteter
som vidgar normer och främjar jämlikhet
mellan människor med olika erfarenheter.
Alla erfarenheter kring t.ex. etnicitet, kön,
ålder, sexualitet, funktionsförutsättningar
och trosuppfattning, är lika värdefulla.
Med stöd av Rundan kan olika
förvaltningar, organisationer, företag och
ideella
föreningar,
knyta
an
till
gemensamma, gränsöverskridande och
årligt återkommande sammanhang i Lund.
Rundan ger möjlighet att kraftsamla och
visa upp något av allt det som sker i
kommunen och ta del av goda exempel.
Den erbjuder en struktur utifrån vilken
arbetet kan utvecklas och förbättras.
Info: 046- 35 50 00
Det finns en ny bok om
diskrimineringslagen:
Diskrimineringslagen – från princip till
praktik, beskriver den värdemässiga
grunden för dagens svenska
diskrimineringslagstiftning och visar att
begreppet diskriminering rymmer ett flertal
olika dimensioner, såsom känslor, levda
erfarenheter, normer och juridiska ramar.
Utöver att presentera den lagstiftning som
är framtagen för att motverka
diskriminering syftar denna bok till at
normkritiskt och tvärvetenskapligt föra
samman strukturella, juridiska och
praktiska perspektiv och exempel på
diskriminering. Boken riktar sig till
studenter som läser kurser som behandlar
diskrimineringsfrågor. Den är även lämplig
för yrkesverksamma inom de områden
som berörs av diskrimineringslagen,
såsom skola, hälso- och sjukvård och
socialtjänst samt för personer med
personalansvar.
Författarna: Filippa Swanstein & Karin
Henrikz, Malmö Mot Diskriminering,
Malmö.
© Studentlitteratur AB,
www.studentlitteratur.se
3
The Lundian Magazine
“Café & Le”(directly translated as Cafe & Smile) is a
music cafe located near Saluhallen. It offers lots of
things, such as salads, sandwiches, coffees and
much more for a reasonable price.
We gave it a visit to ask a few questions and were
both surprised by the English speaking skills among
the staff and all the things they served. We are
recommending this cafe since their dishes are freshly
cooked; you can even take a peek while it is in the
making. There are mainly Italian focused dishes, with
a fair amount of pasta dishes, but you can enjoy a
Greek Caesar salad or a Swedish pie if you would
like.
This cafe is special because it is a so called “music
cafe” which means that cosy music is always played
in the background, as well as there is an open mic
every Saturday. Come and sing along!
Stadsparken (directly translated as “the city park”) is
the biggest park in Lund. It is a family friendly place
which suits all ages. Here you can go for a relaxing
walk around the lake and enjoy the beautiful
surroundings. If you are not in the mood for a walk
there are also lots of hammocks where you can lay
and relax on our (very few, but still) hot summer days.
In the park you will find the paradise for children,
there is a big playground equipped with trampolines
and swings only to mention a few.
For the animal friends Stadsparken has a number of
different birds to offer. You can feed the ducks in the
lake or visit big cages where there are hens,
budgerigars and peacocks.
Also, in the park there is a swimming hall called
“Högevallsbadet”, a cafe and restaurants.
BOOKS TO READ THIS AUTUMN
Here are some more books worth reading this season.
Most of them are available at local libraries in Lund,
Malmö and other cities. All of them will give insights into
living in Sweden. Some are in Swedish.
Tusen år av invandring: En svensk kulturhistoria (1992).
Immigrants have been arriving in Sweden since the end of the
Stone Age. If you read Swedish, this book is a very good
historical account of migration to Sweden. During recent years
immigrants themselves have written a number of books and
made films. The growing list is too long to be published here,
but the few mentioned below are well worth your while to read.
Available at local public libraries.
Afro-Nordic Landscapes: Equality and Race in Northern
Europe (In English) challenges a view of Nordic societies as
homogenously white, and as human rights champions that are
so progressive that even the concept of race is deemed
irrelevant to their societies. The book places African
Diasporans, race and legacies of imperialism squarely in a
Nordic context. How has a nation as peripheral as Iceland
been shaped by an identity of being white? How do Black
Norwegians challenge racially conscribed views of Norwegian
nationhood? What does the history of jazz in Denmark say
about the relation between its national identity and race? What
is it like to be a mixed-race black Swedish woman? How have
African Diasporans in Finland navigated issues of race and
belonging? And what does the widespread denial of everyday
racism in Nordic societies mean to Afro-Nordics?
This text is a must read for anyone interested in issues of
race/ethnicity in the Nordic region and Europe at large. As Paul
Gilroy writes in his foreword, it is a book that "should be
studied with care and profit inside the Nordic countries and
also outside them by the broader international readership that
has been established around the study of racism and 'critical
race theory'." (http://www.routledge.com.)
Somalis in Malmö (in English) is a non-fictional account of
Somalians living in Malmö (2013) that was published by the
Open Society Foundation London. It is in English and is part of
a series on minority communities in Europe. Available on:
opensocietyfoundations.org.
Egna Roster Egna Bilder (EREB – in Swedish) is a beautiful
book that contains interviews of Somalis in Malmö, many who
have
never
been
their homeland.
It contains
interviews
New
York.
OninDecember
19, 2013,
the UN
Generalwith
members
of an issued
older generation
of Somalisestablishing
who are telling
Assembly
a draft resolution
an the
youth about the history of their culture and homeland.
International Decade for People of African Descent.
Published by Hidde Iyo Dhaquan, Lars Åberg and a group of
The decade
startseditors,
on January
1, 2015
onthat
Swedish
and Somali
the book
is partand
of aends
project
December
31,
2025.
See
General
Assembly
aims to revise the collective memories of Somalians living in
Resolution
www.ohchr.org.
Malmö.
and A/68/L.34.
provides anSource:
exhibition
that will run until 29 June
2014. The book can be purchased through Bokus and Adlibris.
Information about the book and the project are at
Join The Lundian on Facebook
www@hiddeiyodhaquan.com.
.
UN News
Why We Publish in English
Though Swedish is clearly the first language of Lund
Lund’s ‘Internationella’ 1959-1976 is about the community of
(after all, we are in Sweden), English has always been
foreign and Swedish students who lived in that first
the lingua franca of the non-Swedish academic
international house for students that is still affectionately
community.
is why TheItEnglish
referred
to as This
“Internationella”.
is largelyInternational
in English with
Association
of
Lund
publishes
newsletter
tips in
articles in Swedish by persons whothis
lived
there untilwith
it closed
and information
for readers
English.
Readers’ pro1976.To
obtain a copy,
see the in
website:
www4.lu.se/mediatryck/bok-kompediefoersaeljning.
bona articles and opinions are welcome. Send an
inquiry to englintern@hotmail.com. We publish articles
Afrofobi,
En or
kungskapsöversikt
overa afrosvenskars
situation I
in Swedish
English and have
website:
dagens
Sverige.
Editor:
Tobias
Hübinette.
This
is
a
report
www.thelundian.com. Volunteer writers are welcome.
about the marginalization of Afro-Swedes in Sweden. It was
commissioned by the Minister for Integration, Mr. Erik Ullenhag
(Ministry of Employment) and provides a systematic review of 4
the current situation on afrophobia experienced by Swedes of