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Posted by: Murray 4.Dec.2005, 06:09 PM

I am very curious as to the status of the apathetic children in Sweden. I keep looking on the local for more info about this, but there seems to be a dearth of discussion/information. Specifically, I would like to know, what is the legal status of the children and families claiming asylum or the right to stay in Sweden based on medical/apathetic reasons? Has the Swedish public generally been supportive of these claims? How is the Swedish media reporting this issue?
I also heard from someone that a few of the parents were accused of drugging their children so they would appear catatonic. In addition to this, I have heard that some of the children were not even theirs; rather they were simply street children. Are any of these rumors substantiated?
What is you personal opinion of this situation?
Tack!

Posted by: Guest 4.Dec.2005, 06:40 PM

Aren't Swedish kids educated enough to drug themselves into a catatonic state like Britsh kids do (though admittedly even here it's tough to tell the difference between kids who've drugged themselves up and your average teenager being "Whatever!" in bed)? Anyway I'll leave it there as I'm feeling apathetic just now

Posted by: Roowhip 4.Dec.2005, 08:38 PM

The status with apathetic children is that they and their families get asylum. The question is why is it that there are about 200 apathetic children in Sweden and hardly any elsewhere (there were a couplein Norway but they were transferred from Sweden to Norway under the Dublin convention). The difference, as I see it is that Sweden allows asylum on humanitarian grounds whereas all other countries allow asylum based on grounded fear for your life in your country of origin ie Sweden will grant asylum if you become ill AFTER leaving your country (eg during the waiting process) irrespective of the situation from your country wheras all other countries base it on reason for fleeing your country. Since Sweden also base asylum on the situation after an asylum seeker has left their country, my opinion is it is nor wonder really why Sweden is the only country to have the problem of apathetic children and yes, I believe there is truth to the stories of drugging of the children etc (of course not all). But coming from lives we can't imagine, they take deperate measures to stay here where the benefits are much better than most other countries they travel through to get here (greece, Italy for example) and where they will get asylum more easily. Also to be considered is that these families with apathetic children come from the same region..why may that be...

Therefore, although Swedens asylum policy based on humanitarian grounds is with best intention, it has backfired terribly with the case of the children being kidnapped or drugged. My Swedish husband is of the opinion that although the good intention is of course there the Swedes are too trusting of others to "keep to the rules" as they would and he thinks Swedes in general (being spoilt by the system here) can't appreciate the desperation that people come from and that they would break rules and do horrendous things to children to get in...
I think Swedens asylum policy is characteristic of the Swedish way in general..this need to try and keep everyone happy..do the right thing by everyone (now I'm back onto my consensous type of management pet hate issue)..it just backfires..

Posted by: Murray 4.Dec.2005, 11:27 PM

Hey Andersson, great post. It is unfortunate that the Swedish hospitality may be taken advantage of in this case. It really will make it tougher for the next round of asylum seekers that are in serious need. Then again, you really have to feel for people that are so desperate that they would go to such extreme measures to stay in a country.
Yes, I heard they were all from the same region. My girlfriend who is Swedish claimed that there is a travel agency that offers a package to Sweden, including advice on how to beat the swedish asylum system.

Posted by: Guest 5.Dec.2005, 05:47 AM

In all seriousness, how are we defining "Apathetic" here? Have I missed something?

Posted by: Murray 5.Dec.2005, 10:49 AM

JEM- You asked if you have missed something. I suspected this was the case in your first post. Anyway, a few months ago I read an article about some immigrants that were claiming asylum for themselves and their families because when the immigration services tried to send them back to their country of origin, many of their children became apathetic. I guess apathetic in this case means that they stopped eating and interacting with the outside world. Several doctors claiming that this was a serious (real) phenomenon. The interesting thing is that this phenomenon is UNIQUE (as far as I know) to Sweden and these specific asylum seekers, who are apparently from the same region.
Naturally, some people cried foul, and accused them of faking the condition to recieve asylum. Re-read Andersson's detailed post again- it may make more sense now.
The twist in this whole thing is that (at least according to my girlfriend), some of these asylum seekers were accussed of "coaching" and "drugging" their children to induce this state of apathy.
Yet another twist-- some of the caretakers have been accused of molesting/raping the children in their "apathetic state" (I read this in Swedish, so I may have misunderstood this last part).
Anyway, this would make headline news where I am from, but in Sweden the discussion (as far as I can tell) is minimized to private conversation at home...
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Posted by: Guest 5.Dec.2005, 10:58 AM

I've heard that these problems exists elsewhere too, in England and Australia for example. I saw an interview with an Australian expert on this for a few months ago. He said that the countries must do something about this, but it's not getting enough attention at the moment.