School refuses to enroll student with Arabic name

They used their brains to make sure it was discrimination, I just hope they used their brains again to record the conversations or it could all be for naught.

I usually avoid commenting on articles like these, but this was pretty disgraceful on the school's part and I hope they get reprimanded for this.

What would you expect for people who had a hardon for Hitler. wait until you see the PR job the swedes will do on this now. One thing the swedes are good at is PR.

The secretary should be forced to live, for atleat 1 year, with a male arab BEDOUIN nomad inside the tent pitched in the centre of the desert of some arab country.

arabs should start considering giving names like johan and anelie, think a lit bit about the secretaries who have to write your long and weird names understand the poor secretary johan is short cool and cute

They certainly know their rights...

awesome. never give up your rights. discrimination is disgusting. @Elias your comment shows how arrogant you are, I wish there was comment moderation system that noticed arrogant posters like you and banned them.

The best to do in these circumstances is to enroll the girl if she qualifies on the same basis as all other children. The principal and secretary (and other policy makers) then need to be educated and told discrimination is wrong. The family with the arabic sounding names should then forgive the school and let it be. Any vengeful action would just perpetuate the idea that people with arabic sounding names are associated with some kind of trouble. By forgiving them and educating them they would see that not all people that are different from them are bad (and might even behave better than themselves). They would be ashamed and think twice before discriminating again, especially against a group who now have the chance to show them they rise above petty discrimination.

@leroy: "What would you expect for people who had a hardon for Hitler. wait until you see the PR job the swedes will do on this now."

In a perfect world, you should be sued for making such a moronic generalization about "swedes". But for now, shame on you!

@Elias06: "arabs should start considering giving names like johan and anelie, think a lit bit about the secretaries who have to write your long and weird names understand the poor secretary johan is short cool and cute "

First of all, this has nothing to do with how hard it is for the "poor secretary" to write a name. A name, however complicated it may be, can be spelled out, and if the secretary can't put up a bunch of letters together, she is failing at one of her most basic duties as a professional.

Rather, this story is about ethnically discriminating against a child. It's against the law, and I sincerely hope that - if found guilty - the secretary gets slammed as hard as possible to send a clear signal.

It may be besides the point, but know that plenty of non-Arabs have Arabic name.

Awesome technique used to bring the roaches into the light. With any luck someone will lose their job, but most likely they will get a stern written reprimand or some other worthless admonishment.

@locaxy Are you denying now that would lot help Hitler in every way you lot could. Selling gold for them shipping Iron Ore to Herr Hilter & Co. In a perfect world you swedes should have charged with crimes against humanity like the Germans. You still have the largest neo nazi groups of any EU country no mention your not so long abolished Race Department. You stink you swedes.

The woman really shoud be named if found guilty. A crime like that requires that people be informed of who that person is.

@Southafrican: "Any vengeful action would just perpetuate the idea that people with arabic sounding names are associated with some kind of trouble."

To me, that sounds like blaming the victim. You're basing your logic on the premise that the xenophobia (some might say racism) in this case, is rational and that one can talk it out of people. I disagree with that. I think it's deeply engrained in a tiny fringe (luckily!) of society and it is the role of justice system to stomp it out of them. These people don't belong in the global world we are moving towards. They are relics of the past and should not be tolerated.

That there are people who will conclude from this story that "people with arabic sounding names are associated with some kind of trouble" is a minor issue because anyone who draws that conclusion from this story is stupid and shows signs of xenophobia. We can't possibly go around trying to accomodate stupid people! Anything less than the secretary losing her job is unacceptable! We can't let racists get in the way of children fullfilling their potential! I hope that was clear.

@leroy: "You stink you swedes."

Well...I'm actually one of those with an Arabic name. And I've been in Sweden for less than a year...so don't embarrass yourself. I wish Sweden acknowledged more its dark past...but I will never, ever blame a "swede" for what his or her grand parents might have done. Besides, there were plenty of anti-Nazis back then in Sweden. Your generalizations are shameful and needs to be denounced.

Shame on you!

Okey, i think this was the smart way to expose such discrimination.

From all swedes with due respect

I will say from my personal expereince and as well as from other known people to me...that those swedes who are above 35 or 40 years of age are mostly racist, they are full of rasism and they potray the bad picture of Sweden to the rest of world. The youngsters are good as compared to this age group.

And believe me I have also observed majority of Swedes people with telling lie...yes believe me. Then I thought if this is the case then what is the difference between these highly qualified, well mannered people and the people from those who belong to the third world countries?

Sweden is a very good countery i havent see any problem. I am not from Sweden but i am living in Sweden.In Sweden every one is happy and we got what we want so I dont blive her story.But to live in areb countery dont even think they are bad.Swedish are very kind and good people

very racist nation - but aren't we all

On the face of it it seems like clear discrimination.. and I wouldnt be suprised.. but its all hearsay...and who knows the truth.. there is nothing in writing. What they should have done is got written confirmation that "Annelie" was accepted. If it was confirmed that there was a place available in writing, thats all that was needed as proof.

The shame is on the swedes not me

@locaxy

I understand that you think stomping may solve the problem. But actually education will yield better results. I have seen how much better people react to one another if they are forgiving open minded. I have also seen how retaliation work and the mess it brings about. I am definitely against racism but think that the harm here could be rectified towards the Arabic sounding people: in this case without causing more hate and misery for people who merely need to see that not everyone are like them.

A number of great leaders have shown that this is a much better way to handle these things. While others have gone for the stomping approach.

I can relate to this post!!!

I'm an American and I have lived in Sweden for 15 years. When I first came here I had a Spanish last name and could not figure out why employers weren't hiring me. I would get asked strange questions like how many brothers and sisters I had. I was unemployed for two years. Then my mom came to visit me in Sweden and I had an idea to use her more English/Germanic maiden name. The officials even had my own mother sign the papers to use my own mother's maiden name (strange). My mom is American.

At the time I was also attending Kraftkällan in Danderyd to attempt to learn Swedish. A woman there lunged over me while I was eating lunch and said "your just here to take advantage of the system" I was so angry by this comment I stood up and told this middle aged woman that I was an American and that I did not need to be here since I had came here for love.

Anyway, I have reported things to the Ombudsman several times and nothing has ever been taken to court. Unless you have hard evidence it is forgotten. I think I will start to use recording devices myself because that is the only way to prove an act of racism or maybe even film.

Things have improved in the last 10 years as far as racism goes but there is still a long road ahead. One thing I don't understand is why Swedes let in foreigners and immigrants into Sweden in the first place if they don't want to integrate them into society.

I was at the airport recently after coming back from England on vacation. The guy at the booth said "how long will you stay in Sweden" I angrily said I have lived here for 15 years, can't you see that in my records?". He let me go by and I was fuming. Here I am with a good job paying high taxes and after 15 years I still don't get an ounce of respect.

Typical, I don't expect much more. I just hope Sweden will improve in the future in this respect.

There is 100,000 swedes in London alone and they are treated well. I think other EU countries should start treating them badly. This EU business has been abused by them. They go everywhere and get treated ok and then they treat all people badly who come to Sweden. It has to stop. They have to be treated badly every where. refuse to buy their products and treat them badly when abroad I do that. I have left parties in london when I found swedesare there and told them I don't like mixing with neo-nazis. Its that simple.

Swedes are very very very racists, clear headed people know that very well.

It's not strange that people become racists considering how many of youths from the middle east are behaving themselves in this country. However, countering racism with even more racism like leroy here does is just counter-productive...

The same thing happens when foreigners apply for jobs in Sweden. They are more inclined to consider Swedes or Nordic named people. I mean common guys this is the 21st century and the way these people act just goes to show how power is distributed across Sweden. No doubt the immigrants are always vengeful of the Swedes. Fix the discrimination first and then the immigrants will get off the dole, coz then they can get work!!

these people knows how to make money in Sweden !!!!

@southafrican:

I hate to tell you, but Sweden is a democracy. This is not an apartheid state. Individuals are protected against such things as ethnic discrimination.

And I repeat: Some highly educated well-to-do people are racist. So don't go telling me that this is a matter of education.

@Marko2010S: "Swedes are very very very racists, clear headed people know that very well."

Grow up! Swedes aren't any more racist than Greeks or Algerians. In this case, this secretary appears to be racist. Nothing more, nothing less.

Stop generalizing!

@superhero: "It's not strange that people become racists considering how many of youths from the middle east are behaving themselves in this country."

I would argue that racists didn't wait for middle-easterners to show up in Sweden before becoming racists. But I can see that the different norms and values exacerbate the situation.

Stop justifying racism!

Well, this is not new! It is an everyday affair. I am a graduate student and I called the administrator in my school to register a credit. I told her I do not speak swedish but speaks english. She said she is not the person instead she gave me the number to the switch board of my university ! I Laughed and I called her by name Magdelena that why are you lying to me and she cut the line! This happened in a university here in Stockholm

The spirit of Xenophobia is all around here, that is why it is better school fees is charged so that people will leave sweden for the swedes and we would see what the ratings would be. In some university it is even a problem to get supervision for master thesis talkless of Ph.D. I wish Sweden well. They bnefitted from me more than I benefit from them

Everyone in Europe is waking up to them....they have a bad name...no listens to them anymore.....they are the cold fish of Europe with the Finns

Lived it myself, applied for jobs with my Italian surename getting only thank you but not thank you. Applied with my husband's surename and got a call in LITERALLY 45 minutes with a lady telling me that it is hard to find such an impressive cv in someone my age. Things went wrong when I actually told her that I wasn't Swedish, the conversation turned into that "she only wanted to let me know how good it was and that she would be calling me in case something opens"...it's been two years.. did she call any of you? cause she hasn't called me.

Used to this, I only want to go back home and get my life back, but unfortunatly here I am stucked here with a husband that I love and that can't leave.

@glamelixir Your not alone there are thousands out there like you....but leave otherwise life run by you and you will have done nothing the swedes do this on purpose. Its not just to asylum seekers, tell your Italian friends please spread the word make them unwelcome when in Italy,,,take the swede to italy with you instead or UK

enrol ? try again...

anger and hate hides under the swedish smiles

The worst part is not the discrimination itself. I can think of a few other countries just as racist as Sweden, if not more. The worst problem is people's ignorance. The Swedes are used to think with their eyes closed, ears shut while chanting "we are the best in the world". Average Swedes strongly believe they live in the most fair and equal country in the world. It's sorta true as long as you are an ethnic Swede. With the paradigm of "there are no racists here" deeply rooted in the mind, you wont even realized when committing an act of discrimination. On one hand we have politicians and the media boasting the Swedish society of perfection. On the other hand the foreigners are rejected from job offers and various opportunities. These two things are pure contradictions. Just get rid of either one! Shape up or cut the lies!

Well, I have only one comment to add to this mess:

If you don't believe you'll make it you never will. It's basic psychology. People love making up excuses for their own shortcomings and playing the role of the eternal victim. There are enough immigrant CEO's, businessmen, and politicians in Sweden to prove that immigrants can very well make it big in Sweden. To what extent racism exists here is irrelevant. The people who truly work hard will overcome the odds.

Was very disappointed to read this article but I guess it happens in most if not all countries to some extent.

But, I have to admit that my experience of being with a Swedish international company is this:

a) your job is at a higher risk of being cut if it's not in Sweden.

b) If it's not happening in Sweden then it's not particularly important or interesting.

c) Talk about 'Diversity' is just that i.e. 'talk', which means that the company will still be headquartered in Sweden and the board members will remain predominantly Swedish. At the local level, especially internationally, managers will be forced to show extra diversity but back in Sweden the status quo remains more or less intact.

On the +ve side at least Sweden as a country has laws and systems in place to encourage non-rascist behaviour and it's trying to do the 'right thing' even though the actions of some individuals is far from perfect.

Just to be clear; I really like Sweden, the country and the people.

Freedom of speech, freedom of woman, freedom of religion my azz, you cant get a job if you have arabic name in sweden. you cant enter into work or school.

I know three persons who changed their names from arabic sounded names in Sweden to some kind of stupid western names. you would look funny if you are dark arab and you cant speak perfect swedish and your name would be Gustavsson .

In the Arabic countries these whites gets the best jobs. because they respect them. Shame on these NAZIi racists!

@xykat

Why did they even check your records? Haven't you managed the swedish passport in 15 years ?

smart move, genius family

Thank god there is a Discrimination Ombudsman and victims may ask for help and justice.

If this went down EXACTLY as the story makes it out to, then this is really, really bad. Heads should roll for this one....oh wait, there are Muslims here and they will probably take that literally....let me rephrase, people should be fired over this.

This articles touches me so much and i feel it deep down my heart for before God we are all EQUAL.no need of discriminating anyone for school,jobs u name it.Its so sad that until someone changes a name to be treated ok.Prayers are needed for a change for in future they will be treated the same by other nations.Think of Swedes in Arabic countries .they will be treated the same coz of one person who is the so called secretary.Love is all is needed and seeing God's image in every human.

@Nachos: "Heads should roll for this one....oh wait, there are Muslims here and they will probably take that literally....let me rephrase, people should be fired over this."

Funny!

I was amazed to read some of these comments, the sentiments expressed are surprising to me ~~ perhaps I have been somewhat naive ~ but I have experienced some weird reactions from Swedes personally (American living in Sweden with a Dutch surname) - I chalked it all up my poor/lack of Swedish, I did not perceive it as bias because I was American (my appearance is very "Swedish" - I am fair and blonde). People all over the world having an attitude towards Americans - - now THAT would not surprise me at all given the Bush years and other diplomatic blunders. I agree that you cannot generalize, there are idiots everywhere that are filled with ignorant prejudices and in a perfect world they should be dealt with so that they are never have any power and are ignored. One thing I have noticed is that most native Swedes seem to want to go to America/get out of Sweden, even though they love their country. I wonder if they want to keep people out who will "take advantage of their system" supposedly, and they perpetuate the biased system, but long for a different system with more opportunity???? Oh well, generalizations just never work, too many exceptions. Alas, I am one of the many foreigners who would happily pay Swedish taxes with a great resume and cannot get much traction, still trying.

This whole "racism" thing has me asking a lot of questions. If Swedes are as "racist" as the Muslims on this board say they are then....

a.) Why do the Swedes give them a way out of their violence-ridden, war torn, dictator-having, 3rd world countries and then give them a free place to live, a monthly salary for nothing, protection in the media, Islamic schools, mosques, etc etc?

b.) Why the heck don't the Muslims find another country to go to? Egypt? Saudi Arabia? Syria? You know, one where they won't find any "racism."

c.) How, on God's green Earth, can a Muslim ever complain about someone else being a racist when you see how non-Muslims are treated in Muslim countries? They even treat their own women as property rather than people!

Funny how they don't like it when a little "racism" is done upon them, huh? Think they'll reflect on this and change their ways? LOL. Sure.

At any rate, if this story is correct then naturally what this secretary did was blatant and wrong. She got caught red-handed too. People can feel how they want about others but education is a basic human right, imo.

I am also amazed to read some of the comments but am more amazed at how little Swedes themselves seem to be aware how they are perceived by the immigrant community at large and by all races at that.

Swedes need to start taking a hard look at how they are perceived at home rather than seeking to understand how they are perceived abroad. The rift between immigrants and Swedes seems to be widening and we need to bridge the gap if anything.

I call bullshit.

@Nachos ....... Synagogue's inspired comment#43.

Schools in those districts are overwhelmed by immigrants. There are no Swedish children with whom the immigrant children can interact. I can imagine the desperation of the school employees that they have to deal with children who barely speak Swedish. The children need to learn Swedish before subjects can be taught like in normal Swedish schools. The real problem is that schools in those districts need "Swedish Language for Immigrants"-Teachers, instead of Subject Teachers. There is also the problem with Swedes not wanting to live in those districts because their children wouldn't have any Swedish friends. = Viscious circle...

Though while I hope the general Swedish population is not reflected by the prejudice this article - It does not excuse the idiots in middle / rural sweden with the confederate flags, weekly nationalist gatherings and blasting of KKK music from "raggarbils". Defn twisted!.

This story is at the moment just hearsay.

So far we only have the arab womans version, and there is no documentation if she didnt record the conversation. She most definetily left some non-favorable part out of the story.

On the face of it, if the story is true in all detail(which i sincerely doubt), the secretary act seems dispicable.

On the other hand, schools have a reputation to see to, and want their schools to be renowned for a high level of education. At all costs, they want their schools to attract the best pupils, and not become a magnet for children endowed with a low learning potential. And lets be honest, filling up a school with arab children, is usually a bad sign. Indicating that the level of academic achievement is low, that the school is troubled with disciplinary student problems, and that non-muslim children are harassed on a daily basis.

Ethnic swedes would shun schools like this like the plague.

Very few people would admit this openly, but its more or less a fact.

sometimes ,after reading stories like this,and my own experiences here,i think about leaving...........but i dont think its better anywhere else in Europe. Sad

Why are people so quick to jump to conclusions before getting all the facts?

.Do you people know that the student' mother is not lying? You don't.

I would like to hear the school version of events.

Who are you people and where do you come from??? And ask yourself "why am I here?"

If you do not like Sweden and Swedish hospitality.....go somewhere else or simply go home....and fight for "Justice", economical or political, there.

If you are so smart you should stay in your country and be "appreciated" there. If you do not want or you are not able to do that than stop blame Swedish people and others who try to help you.

Victim is a victim always....nobody can help you if you do not have self-respect. If you feel unwelcome and suppressed anywhere, do something to deserve respect, do not fight for it......, specially not in your host home.

Please stop complain ...nobody keeps you here.... go find your luck somewhere else if you do not like here.

@nachos:

> "If Swedes are as "racist" as the Muslims on this board say they are then...."

Who's Muslim on this board? Leroy?

> "a.) Why do the Swedes give them a way out "

Good question. I guess it's the same reason the Swedish government sends loads of money to "help" 3rd world countries. If Sweden was a direct democracy, I really doubt things would be the way they are today. Decisions made by elected representatives don't necessarily reflect the will of the people.

> "b.) Why the heck don't the Muslims find another country to go to? Egypt? "

You seem to have a bone to pick with Muslims. Nothing in this story alludes to the little girl being Muslim. In fact, Arab Christians are disproportionally represented in Sweden compared to the rest of the world.

And besides, who cares? It's a child. If it were up to me, it should be illegal to tag young kids with labels such as "Muslim", "Jew" or "Catholic". It's silly and only creates problems.

> "c.) How, on God's green Earth, can a Muslim ever complain about someone else being a racist"

Don't conflate Arabs, Muslims and Arab Muslims. And don't confuse ideology with race.

Arab Muslim countries are generally open about their discrimination. It's codified. There is no hypocrisy.

As for women, it's not like they have been emancipated in the West for a long time. It's very recent (Switzerland...the people so scared of minarets that they had to have a constitutional amendments banning them, gave women the right to vote somewhere in the 60s). The third world hasn't caught up yet. And women are de facto second class citizens in poor countries...be it Congo, Peru or Tunisia.

> "Funny how they don't like it when a little "racism" is done upon them, huh? Think they'll reflect on this and change their ways? LOL. Sure."

The story is about a K-I-D!!! Shame on you for speculating about how she'd discriminate against others given the opportunity.

There's little about religion that I like. And Islam is certainly the religion I hate most. But your speech is out-of-place and just despicable here. If the story was about veils, mosques or even remotely related to religion, I'd propably support you. But this is about discriminating against a Swedish little girl based upon her "ethnic" background.

> "At any rate, if this story is correct then naturally what this secretary did was blatant and wrong."

Why wouldn't the story be correct? Frankly, do you think the audio recordings were made up? Do you think anyone would fake the whole story and make the little girl go through this trauma just for the sake of it? This is not a court case where you can make money. Best you can do is get the secretary fired and the child enrolled in the program.

It's truly sickening that some people would question the veracity of this story in an attempt to whitewash the alleged hideous actions...

@stateohio905

you go somewhere else and stopping talking Swedish rubbish

@leroy,

I do not talk Swedish rubbish or any other like you do... ,I am not Swedish and I have 3 passports, all of them deserved with respect.

I tried to"'Open your eyes". Not yours particular, since you obviously know what you do,....The girl in subject has to be grateful to get a chance to go out from "ghetto" and enroll in a school with mix students in order to learn better Swedish language and habits.

And the schoolmaster probably was suppressed and happy to get a chance to diversified students with native speaker, could be the only one in the school.

Try to look a glass halve full rather then halve empty.

@stateohio905

That was indeed the typical Swedish bullshit any immigrant have had thrown on their face.

I am an immigrant myself. I didn't choose to live in this country. My parents got hired as engineers working for a big company here. And I came along from the Asian country where I was born. Even though people wont mistake me for an Arab, I still feel unwelcomed from time to time. What the immigrants ask is not just social benefit and money from the government, but more human interaction and being respected as fellow human-beings. Hell if I can get more of these at the expense of paying more tax, I'd even do that. The sense of belonging doesn't come from money or other materialistic factors for that matter. How about treating people equally? For example like saying hi when walking past each other on streets instead of exclaiming "you steal our jobs"; or NOT rejecting a job applicant for being Asian/Mideast/African/Slavic? I don't need a 200 sqm mansion with an equally big backyard to feel good. The sense of respect stems from the small gestures of people, the way they greet you and wants to know you as a person. Then again I can't blame the Swedes cos they don't even show much intimacy towards each other. I plan to move to another country in a few years time. So for any of you who advocate the "take it or leave it" attitude, I can tell you im taking your advice to the heart.

@LeoKinmann

"For example like saying hi when walking past each other on streets instead of exclaiming "you steal our jobs"; or NOT rejecting a job applicant for being Asian/Mideast/African/Slavic?"

People in northern Europe in general dont say "hi" to strangers they meet on the street, its a custom. This is regardless of race, creed or sex.

It seems like you simply have misunderstood a custom of this country.

Swedes will not necessarily reject a arab or african job application. Instead they will prefer to hire members of their own ethnic group. This is called "ethnic nepotism", and is largely practiced by all peoples of this world.

This is a fact of life, and one of the main reasons why multiculturalism doesnt work very well.

"So for any of you who advocate the "take it or leave it" attitude, I can tell you im taking your advice to the heart. "

Good for you. This is probably the best thing to do if you feel alienated in this country. I would do they same thing too.

One cant expect the indigenous population of a country to change their deeply ingrained culture and traditions.

It is always the responsible of the newcomer to adapt to the ways of the new country.

It is basically as you say; "take it or leave it".

@ Janni k

"People in northern Europe in general dont say "hi" to strangers they meet on the street, its a custom. This is regardless of race, creed or sex."

I did cover this point when saying "the Swedes don't even show much intimacy towards each other". And I also said for this reason, "I can't blame them". I have lived here for many years and I do know what is Swedish custom. Then again, how often do you see a Swede insulting another random Swedish stranger on the street?

"Swedes will not necessarily reject a arab or african job application. Instead they will prefer to hire members of their own ethnic group. This is called "ethnic nepotism", and is largely practiced by all peoples of this world."

Unfortunately, I know people who have been rejected for being foreigners. If you want to find yourself one example, read comment #28. Besides, multiculturalism works in many places. It works in Canada, and some states in US such as CA, NY or MA. I've lived in NY for some time so I know. Altho I'm not saying it works in entire America.

"Good for you. This is probably the best thing to do if you feel alienated in this country. I would do they same thing too. One cant expect the indigenous population of a country to change their deeply ingrained culture and traditions."

If you want to leave it's generally advisable to take your time and secure a job in your next country first. While I'm doing this in Sweden, I'd fight for my right whenever needed. And if there is a slightest chance that what I say can be heard by anyone of the indigenous population, I'll keep using my freedom of speech.

"It is always the responsible of the newcomer to adapt to the ways of the new country. "

It's true. The question is the opportunity cost. When I visited US half a year was enough for adaptation before I felt I owned my space. Here, many years and still struggling.

@Jannik

I could not say it better and agree more with you.

@LeoKinmann

This is exactly what I call self respect. Good for you. I did it myself 25 years ago,

I traveled around the world and had been living/working in several countries with different cultures.. And when I think in which country I feel the best, it is Sweden. Off course nothing is perfect, but compared with other countries Sweden is the most tolerable than any other. Specially if your ethnicity does not fit in local environment.

Good luck to you and you will remember me once in the future.

Jannik: "Instead they will prefer to hire members of their own ethnic group. This is called "ethnic nepotism", and is largely practiced by all peoples of this world."

This is a bullshit argument, if there ever was one. The prevalence of a practice has nothing to do with its morality.

It's wrong to discriminate based on ethnicity. If you disagree, it means that you have shaky ethical standards.

To be honest, no land in this world is a paradise, you probably see a lot of problems in Sweden, but trust me, once you step out..looking from outside, it is still the best country when it comes to many things. I have traveled around the world, and believe me, if you don't have anything, this is perhaps the best place you can be....so stop blame it, and learn to feel good.

look at the fact that how many non-fee-paying students from the third world in Sweden?

How generous the Swedish women are, can you see how many of these perfect blondes are hanging out with these "victims"?

Sweden went as far as it can to support some of the most "pain in the ASS" people. Will your own nation even dare to do so for you???

Don't try to let others feel sorry for you. Try your best to make it here.

@LeoKinnman

"I did cover this point when saying "the Swedes don't even show much intimacy towards each other". And I also said for this reason, "I can't blame them". I have lived here for many years and I do know what is Swedish custom. Then again, how often do you see a Swede insulting another random Swedish stranger on the street? "

Fair enough, you did actually cover this point.

While the scandinavian, and this goes to some degree for all germanic people, do seem to have a cold aditude towards strangers, it also has its advantages. Scandinavian people are on average not very confrontational, and only rarely resort to violence when personal conflict arises.

"Unfortunately, I know people who have been rejected for being foreigners. If you want to find yourself one example, read comment #28."

if a company is desperat enough, they will hire most anobody avaliable. But you are right to some degree, some businesses are very picky. But again, this goes for other ethnicitys as well.

Some family enterprises are very closed towards outsiders, i experienced this with for instance, chinese people.

"Besides, multiculturalism works in many places. It works in Canada, and some states in US such as CA, NY or MA. I've lived in NY for some time so I know."

It probably works better in some places than others. But the decisive factor is which groups of people are mixed together. Some groups(ethnicitys, cultures, religions), are more compatible than others.

Big cosmopolitan citys can probably accomodate more diverse populations. Unfortunately this comes with a cost. These citys suffer from lower levels of trust and less social cohesion. This effect is mitigated when diversity rises.

"While I'm doing this in Sweden, I'd fight for my right whenever needed. And if there is a slightest chance that what I say can be heard by anyone of the indigenous population, I'll keep using my freedom of speech. "

Its your right to exercise freedom of expression.

Im just advising people not to be to naive when dealing with this type of subject. Culture usually changes very slowly, and often with lots of opposition to change.

@locaxy

"This is a bullshit argument, if there ever was one. The prevalence of a practice has nothing to do with its morality. "

I was actually more stating a fact than defending the practice morally. So there is not much BS about it. All the empirics on the subject, confirm that its a very pervasive phenomenon globally.

"It's wrong to discriminate based on ethnicity. If you disagree, it means that you have shaky ethical standards. "

In some circumstances i think most definetily its ok. I rather regret to say, that my sexual preferences are very discriminatory. I simply have a strong sexual preference for my own ethnicity. And i know lots of people who feel the same way.

Personally i think this is perfectly morally acceptable.

@locaxy

"I would argue that racists didn't wait for middle-easterners to show up in Sweden before becoming racists."

Of course not, but when you see people from a certain group of people constantly behaving badly, or when being badly treated by these, even the most open minded person can turn into a racist. This is true for all people of all races all over the world so there is nothing strange or unnormal about it.

who here said that "it works in Canada". That is one of the most divided countries in the world.

The mother and daughter should call back. Was the mother trying to get her daughter into a better program?

Some ideas that came to mind from evil America...

This just calls for vouchers so that each parent can use the free market to choose their school. Instead of insiders controlling the situation which exists in every culture where social funds are controlled in a beauractratic fasion, freedom should rule.

Or should we start busing in Sweden to make sure that we have proper integration of schools. Everyone should fill in a 100 question survey and based on statistical correllation and social demacratic intentions we'll place each child. Harvard does this with the freshman incoming class for dorm placement. Why can't Swedish children do the same.

Nice to see the usual "All Swedes are racist" clan commenting on this story.

@Jannik. There is no use arguing with some of these people. Some of these people who are complaining about the racism in Sweden do not realise their own racism.

Is it any wonder Swedes are considered racist with prats like @Leroy spouting his racist crap. Well said @stateohio905. If you don't like Sweden, go back to whatever hell-hole you come from.

@Jannik:

>"I was actually more stating a fact than defending the practice morally."

Forgive me for not buying that explanation. You tried to downplay the event, by giving the practice a fancy name coined by van den Berghe to justify the oppression of black Africans.

Here's what wikipedia has to say about ethnic nepotism: "Current proponents and users of the term are regularly associated with white nationalist, separatist and supremacist movements, and with pseudoscientific racism and scientific racism ideologies that have been disqualified as hard science in the 20th century by the American school of cultural anthropology (Franz Boas, etc.), the British school of social anthropology (Bronisław Malinowski, Alfred Radcliffe-Brown, etc.), the French school of ethnology (Claude Lévi-Strauss, etc.), as well as by the discovery of the neo-Darwinian synthesis."

How would it look if this thread was about rape and you jumped in saying that men don't necessarily rape women, but that it sometimes happens because of Man's drive to fecundate as many females as possible? Called it "survival of the fittest" and finished by saying that it happens all over the world? Are we to believe you're trying to "state facts"? I, for one, don't think it's unfair to assume you were trying to rationalize the behavior.

> "I rather regret to say, that my sexual preferences are very discriminatory. I simply have a strong sexual preference for my own ethnicity."

That's very much your own personal business. I don't care if you practice incest. What goes on between two consenting adults is their own business. Discrimination is when somebody in a position of power abuses it to further the cause of people closer to them. Be it their nephews (textbook nepotism) or people of the same ethnicity. Do not confuse private matters with public issues. Now, please...don't embarrass yourself further. Your attempt to rationalize the secretary's discriminatory behavior is becoming increasingly transparent.

@seagull

If you met me you never say that to my face.....because I would hit you..and thats the only way many of you swedes change is through violence sadly. There is plenty on the way. England had Brixton and Paris too has had riots you lot are next and I predict you will run to the Germans for help..lol

@locaxy

"Forgive me for not buying that explanation. You tried to downplay the event, by giving the practice a fancy name coined by van den Berghe to justify the oppression of black Africans. "

I wasnt necessarily trying to either downplay the event, or morally defend it. I dont agree with your assesment that Van den berghe was trying to justify oppression against blacks. Its the exact opposite.

"Ethnic nepotism is a concept in sociobiology to explain why people prefer other people of the (perceived) same ethnicity or race. Influenced by W.D. Hamilton's theory of kin selection, ethnic nepotism describes a human tendency for in-group bias or in-group favouritism applied on the ethnic level. It was coined by sociologist Pierre L. van den Berghe in response to Belgian oppression of Africans he witnessed as a Congolese-born European in the Belgian Congo."

As its states, the development of the theory is an attempt to base social science on a foundation of evolutionary biology.

""Current proponents and users of the term are regularly associated with white nationalist, separatist and supremacist movements, and with pseudoscientific racism and scientific racism ideologies that have been disqualified as hard science in the 20th century by the American school of cultural anthropology (Franz Boas, etc.), ...."

Im sorry to say so, but cultural maxism (Boasian cultural anthropology, Frankfurt school) does not qualify as science, and is in itself an example of pseudoscience.

They simply dont have any scientific authority on the subject matter.

That nazis or other rightwing groups use the term to justify their political ends, does not disqualify the theory as such. You are commiting a fallacy, analog to "guilt by association".

"Are we to believe you're trying to "state facts"? I, for one, don't think it's unfair to assume you were trying to rationalize the behavior. "

I was actually trying to rationalize the behaviour, trying to make sense of why it happens so often.

Rationalizing behaviour, does not entail that i find it morally acceptable. I would do the same in the case of rape, despite the fact that i dont find this behaviour morally acceptable either.

"That's very much your own personal business. I don't care if you practice incest. What goes on between two consenting adults is their own business."

There is a thin line between the private and the public. If i decide to hire people of my own ethnicity exclusively in my private firm, am i then practicing "racism", or attending to my own personal business?

"Now, please...don't embarrass yourself further. Your attempt to rationalize the secretary's discriminatory behavior is becoming increasingly transparent. "

I dont find it embaressing to admit that i was rationalizing the behaviour.

But a suspect that you are embarresed, since you have demonstrated that you arent capable of reading a wiki-article.

@Jannik:

> "I wasnt necessarily trying to either downplay the event, or morally defend it."

Oh, dear...let's say that your posts are sufficient to objectively deduce you were trying to 1) downplay the event (see your characterization of the story as "hearsay"), 2) justify and rationalize it ("ethnic nepotism"), and 3) argue that it's not morally reprehensible (by equating a school's decision to enroll a student to your pick of sex partners).

> "I dont agree with your assesment that Van den berghe was trying to justify oppression against blacks."

Read the paper. It's pretty clear what his motives were.

> "Im sorry to say so, but cultural maxism (Boasian cultural anthropology, Frankfurt school) does not qualify as science, and is in itself an example of pseudoscience."

Don't feel sorry. To me, all "soft science" is pseudoscience.

But I am certainly not a cultural Marxist (if that's what you meant by "maxism"). You, on the other hand, with your rationalizations, show profound ignorance. Sociology as a discipline, emerged to counter rationalization.

> "I was actually trying to rationalize the behaviour, trying to make sense of why it happens so often."

No. You were making excuses for it. Classic example of the Naturalistic fallacy.

I'm beginning to wonder if you even know what rationalization means.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalization_%28psychology%29

> "I would do the same in the case of rape"

I am not buying that. I sincerely doubt that in the context of a news forum, you would try to rationalize the rape of a woman.

> "There is a thin line between the private and the public."

Not even remotely in this case. This is a school, and it is only permitted to operate on the premise that it will not ethnically discriminate.

> "If i decide to hire people of my own ethnicity exclusively in my private firm"

Why would any modern human being want to do such a thing? That would be both immoral and illegal. You are stuck in a tribal mindset. Wake up! Globalization is here.

That said, I oppose the laws that make such behavior illegal.

> "I dont find it embaressing to admit that i was rationalizing the behaviour."

That settles it then. If you can't even perceive how blatant your bias is in this case, then there's no point arguing further with you.

@locaxy

Well if the story is true, i wouldnt downplay the event. Im just trying to avoid jumping to conclusions.

I wasnt justifying it either. When i used the term "rationalizing", i was using it in a more simple sense, trying to make scientifically sense of a phenomenon. Labelling a social behaviour as "ethnic nepotism", does not amount to "making excuses", or some other sort of psychological "defense mechanism".

Its actually a preferable term to "racism", which is a very morally loaded term, bandied around on all sorts of occasions where it is not very appropriate or precise.

There is nothing wrong with explaining controversial behaviour logically. This does not entail that the explanation is false as the article suggests.

Your confusing rational explanations with psychological motivation. You actually dont have a clue as to what my true intentions are, but instantly assume that i was trying to defend the secretarys behaviour morally.

"Read the paper. It's pretty clear what his motives were."

Well the article says the following;

"It was coined by sociologist Pierre L. van den Berghe in response to Belgian oppression of Africans he witnessed as a Congolese-born European in the Belgian Congo."

Its the opposite of what you stated according to the article. I have also read his paper by he way, and there is nothing in it which would suggest that he was morally justifying the oppression of blacks.

"You, on the other hand, with your rationalizations, show profound ignorance. Sociology as a discipline, emerged to counter rationalization. "

No im afraid that you are not very well aquainted with sociology as a discipline. "Rationalization" actually has a distinct sense in sociology, diiferent from the sense employed in psychology.

"No. You were making excuses for it. Classic example of the Naturalistic fallacy."

No a was doing the exact opposite. I wasnt saying that because some statement is true it is actually morally defensible. You on the other hand, have commited the "moralistic fallacy". Because you think ethnic nepotism is morally bad, it can not be true.

"Not even remotely in this case. This is a school, and it is only permitted to operate on the premise that it will not ethnically discriminate."

Probably not. But in the example i put forth, the case is not clearly cut. I was arguing that discrimination is morally defensible in certain cases.

"Why would any modern human being want to do such a thing? That would be both immoral and illegal. You are stuck in a tribal mindset. Wake up! Globalization is here."

Well im a stating a fact, it happens all over the world all of the time. Sad but true. You are once again commiting the moralistic fallacy. Reality isnt always cosy and politically correct. Globalization or not.

"That said, I oppose the laws that make such behavior illegal."

Well at last there is somthing we agree on.

Shameful issue but i grew up in Spain and had to suffer this and more all my life. Sweden is the first country where i have lived where i have not encountered such generalized racism. In Spain its been hell and i have been a citizen since i was very young.

I am not saying Sweden is not racist but i think its naive to think that there IS one single non-racist country. Issues like this happen all the time in all countries. So lets stop blaming the swedes as the worse, they are not, they are just like anyone else in the world.

I used to live in Kista and there was hardly any whitey's that live there. Maybe the school needed a couple of token Swedes.

@David T

Dont worry there is plenty of white trash still left in Sweden, yet

@leroy. Yes you probably would, and being English myself, I'd probably hit you back, harder - you sound like you need taking down a peg or 2. One great thing about native swedes is generally they are calm and unviolent, unlike it seems many immigrants. Sweden has it's doors virtually wide open, and what do people coming in do...increase overall crime rates, cause violence and spout racist crap like yourself. Whatever your gripe against any particular Swedes is, you can never lump them together, or blame people living now for their ancestors behaviour.

If you take that logic to it's conclusion then the woman in this article would be right to refuse entry to an arab, because of course they are all suicide bombers!

the article isn't half as interesting as the comments. I am always shocked by the number of violent Swede haters that emerge in this comment section. Leroy for example starts by accusing Swedes now 70 years ago of supporting Hitler , progresses to saying Swedes stink and ends with threats of violence i guess to prove his point that he is a nice contribution to Swedish society ..

@seagull

You english only fight when your in groups or in the army or drunk or all three....sweden suits people like you because many of you left the UK complaining that there was too many immigrants there...lol..well there here now too. And the swedes are violent just look at the street fights on a Saturday night. Its as bad as ingerland

@Jannik: "You actually dont have a clue as to what my true intentions are"

That's not entirely true. I read what you write around here. You strike me as someone who would go to great lengths to play down any such story, but who would make a big fuss about it if the roles where inversed (i.e: switch Arab for Swede and vice-versa).

If I'm mistaken, please forgive me for having jumped to such conclusions. But be aware that I based it on nothing but your comments on other topics.

What is this? Have the pseudo academics become aggressive? One things certain, that intelligence isn't the benchmark for comments.

"Swede haters", "Hitler lovers" etc. I thought the Worlds problems stemmed from differing religious beliefs! Time to think again?

You know, if you don't discriminate then you don't make decisions. Irrespective of whether your a "National", and all of us are whether we admit it or not, is another matter but everyone of the same ilk, culture, religion usually sticks together. So what?

Joining the EU ended Sweden. When there are no more Swedes in Sweden, then the nation will be free to do as they please. Get rid of that racist flag! There are no more Swedes to respect of love it left. They Swedes can't wait to hand over all their nation to muslims and illegal immigrants. Thats the message I see in these comments. So be it. Stop calling yourself Swedish and get rid of all blondes! That colour hair is racist! Everything about Europeans is RACIST! Only people of colour should rule Europe, even though they are, in their hearts, more racist than you think. Idiots!

@locaxy

In a way i think its sad that the secretary would want to discriminate. Apart from her action also being illegal.(if she actually did discriminate, so far we only have the arab girls word for it).

On the other hand, i am not surprised that something like this would occur in a country which is becoming multicultural at an alarming high rate.

The secretary probably had her reasons for it, and you and I might find them despicable. But i would never just assume that she did it because she is an evil "racist". She might be under pressure from the staff or from parents whose children are already enrolled in the school.

This is of course just speculation, we dont know what her reasons are.

Fair enough, you actually might have a clue.

On a general level i am against creating multicultural states, and therefore i will view all the negative effects of multiculturalism with a critical lens.

I dont know if i would wallow in anger and resenment if it happened to a swede, i cant exclude the possibility that i would.

On a practical level, i dont think something like this would happen with switched roles. Not many swedes, would for instance, like to put their child in a koran school.

But i am pretty sure that stories like this, where ethnic nepotism or the dark side of it, racism, is involved, will become plentiful in the years to come.

I agree with Elias06, furthmore all non-whites should paint their faces to look more like whites and disown their non-white families because they are dirty foreign.

Hard to believe, that this is happening in the "best islamic state in the world".

"Swedes will not necessarily reject a arab or african job application. Instead they will prefer to hire members of their own ethnic group. This is called "ethnic nepotism", and is largely practiced by all peoples of this world. "

Jannik, another neo nazi in all but name. Plenty of countries in the middle and far east prefer to hire whites than their own race. So that throws your racist ideal out the window.

Ad respect to Leo, all non-whites are asking for is equality and common respect. If you can't do that, then you are lesser beings than the ones you belittle every day.

@Icarusty

"Jannik, another neo nazi in all but name. Plenty of countries in the middle and far east prefer to hire whites than their own race. So that throws your racist ideal out the window."

Well if they do prefer to hire white people, then the white people most definetily have skills and experince which the locals dont have.

The chinese also want to hire westerners, as it gives the impression that their company is well connected.

In these cases, the foreigners need to bring something to the table which the locals are lacking.

When this is not the case, lots of empirics confirm that ethnic nepotism is pervasive all over the world. Even in the so called "land of the free", there is a significantly higher probability that a company owned or run by ethnic group X, will hire a person belonging to ethnic group X.

Pointing out this fact does not make me a neo-nazi. I really cant see what it is that I have written, that would make me a neo-nazi?

I think you need to expand your vocabulary a bit.

"Well if they do prefer to hire white people, then the white people most definetily have skills and experince which the locals dont have. "

Your train of thought is so ignorant, yet so intrinsic to white supremacists that it's hard to make a start on changing your views. You may not be the typical "skinhead, sig heil thug" type chanting white supremacy literature on the street... but your type is far worse in a way, because it isn't obvious - tied to normal society, and accepting of the norm (where equality does not exist), with no wishes to change it because it suits the white race absolutely fine.

For example, have you ever wondered that non-whites and foreigners have the expertise that Swedes just don't have? Nope, probably didn't - in their inferior "educational" institutions, right?

I have no doubt that there are plenty of similar racist people, of all races, out there who happen to own businesses/are in positions of power who blindly reject anyone not of their "clan". But your blunt statement of it earlier sounds like you are almost proud of that fact, and that it should continue to happen - a dangerous belief, and following that logic the same as thatto the Germans during Nazi Germany who watched and aided their Jewish neighbours and former friends to their deaths.

If you are assuming this is some secretary trying to keep the school 'white' by using discrimination, take a look a the pictures at Husbygårdsskolans site:

http://www.husbygardsskolan.stockholm.se/husbygard/teknikmodell.html

It might be possible that the secretary actually tried to affirmative action to have more ethnic swedes going there.

Its plausible that the very same secretary admitted many students with foreign background. Either that or the secretary was racist summer substitute :P

@Icarusty

"Your train of thought is so ignorant, yet so intrinsic to white supremacists that it's hard to make a start on changing your views. "

What is it in my train of thought that makes me so ignorant? Is it possible that you are actually the ignorant one, who doesnt have first hand knowledge of the social statistics?

You know very little about me, but already you have concluded that i am a "white-supremacist". You are totally caught up with your own preconceptions, and display the most striking instance of ignorance.

"For example, have you ever wondered that non-whites and foreigners have the expertise that Swedes just don't have? Nope, probably didn't - in their inferior "educational" institutions, right?"

Well offcourse i have. But immigrants are a very diverse group, which come from all over the world.

In general, most immigrants with valuable skills, which are in scarce supply, usually are able to find jobs very quickly.

But the sad fact is, that a very large proportion of immigrants and descendents of immigrants have low qualifications.

"But your blunt statement of it earlier sounds like you are almost proud of that fact, and that it should continue to happen - a dangerous belief, and following that logic the same as thatto the Germans during Nazi Germany who watched and aided their Jewish neighbours and former friends to their deaths. "

Your frothing nazi accusations do not work on me. They are totally ludicrous, and a remnant of irrational leftist thinking.

If you actually read what i wrote earlier, you would conclude, that i wasnt necessarily endorsing it. Ethnic nepotism is more or less an empirical fact, especially in multicultural countries.

It does not in any way logically follow, that recognizing ethnic nepotism as a fact, will lead to genocide or anything similar.

Your way of reasoning is absurd, and makes it impossible to have a rational debate with you.

All of you above slandering Sweden and Swedes: If the shoe doesn't fit...

Besides there are always more than one side to every story. For instance, what says she weren't late sending in her application?

Another note: suing for discrimination, no matter what cause, means that the other party has to prove they did NOT discriminate. Reversed burden of truth is the fact in discrimination cases. Maybe a quick class in common Swedish laws and practices would be a useful hobby for some of you?

Last: do any of you really believe anyone with a Swedish name or heritage would ever be able to claim discrimination or racism if they lived in an arabic country?