City destroyed by migration: armed gangs, crime, rape, murder...
Social worker Alexandra Mezher, 22, was murdered in Mölndal on Monday
Gothenburg suburb last year took in more unaccompanied refugee children than anywhere else in the country – 4,041 added to a population of 63,000
Received £22.6million to provide housing for unaccompanied minors – the most state funding per capita than any town or city in Sweden
Crime figures reveal there were 222 criminal complaints linked to migrant centres – between 20 October 2015 and 8 January this year
Standing on a street corner in the pitch black night, a youth brandishes a broken walking stick like a weapon.
Wrapped up warm in a thick parka coat Mohammed jokes with his friends as passers-by watch the gang of unruly youths hanging around one of the few shops still open with suspicion.
As I approach, the 16-year-old drops the baton, his friend kicks it away, trying to hide it.
‘Mölndal is the best place in the world,’ Mohammed claims. ‘I have lived here my whole life. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.’
His family arrived in Sweden as refugees in the 1980s. Iraqi Kurds they were forced to flee Saddam Hussein merciless vendetta against this persecuted people.
His father stayed on to fight the regime – a volunteer to the fearless Peshmerga fighters, Mohammed announces proudly.
‘Sweden is very good for people who want to live a peaceful life,’ the youngster explains in flawless English.
‘Everyone is treated with respect. And Swedish people are kind.’
Mohammed’s friends have similar stories. Many were born in Sweden, others arrived as children – all of their families are from other countries – the Middle East, Africa or Eastern Europe.
‘At my school there are people from 25 different countries,’ he tells me.
‘And there are lots of new kids at school who have just arrived as refugees.’
A 20-minute tram ride from the glittering water-fronted centre of Sweden’s second city, Gothenburg, Mölndal is already one of the country’s most diverse communities. And when Europe’s migration crisis erupted last year city leaders stepped forward with open arms to help.
The Gothenburg suburb accepted more unaccompanied refugee children than anywhere else in the country – 4,041 added to a population of 63,000. In the autumn 400 refugee kids were taken in every week.
In 2014, Mölndal received £22.6million to provide housing for unaccompanied minors – the most state funding per capita than any town or city in Sweden.
Mölndal is home to the huge Sagasen refugee centre that houses up to 1,000 new arrivals.
Last year, Sweden, with a population of 9.8 million, took in more than 160,000 asylum seekers. Just over three out of every 2,000 citizens are now refugees.
‘Most of the new kids have special lessons at the moment,’ Mohammed explains. ‘They need to learn Swedish before they can join us in class.’
Exploiting the warmth and lighting of Mölndal’s bus station to chat and play on their smart phones are two such recent arrivals. Abdasis and his friend left Somalia just over a year ago.
The pair have only praise for Sweden – despite the long, cold dark nights of winter – because it has offered them sanctuary.
‘Sweden is good place,’ Abdasis, 16, said in broken English. ‘Somalia is war, always war, no peace. Sweden is peace, happiness, life.’
Not everyone in Mölndal or Gothenburg agrees.