Alternative War: Unabridged Read online

  Säpo, who currently deploy active monitoring measures on any immigrants travelling away from Sweden to participate in ongoing wars, have also noted a significant and rapid decline in those leaving over the same period. This made a significant change from 2015 when the security service came under fire from the EU for not doing enough to prevent fighters joining conflicts. At the time, their response49 was: “There is only very little we can do to stop people from travelling from Sweden to join al-Qaeda inspired groups.”

  “About 50 of those known to have travelled to Syria have returned to Sweden. They travel to Syria, return to Sweden and tend to go back again,” said Fredrik Milder, Säpo press officer. The agency confirmed that at least one hundred and fifty Swedish residents were known to have been to Syria or Iraq to fight for Isis or other extremist groups, with intelligence suggesting that at least thirty-five had died in the process.

  Of course, statistics the world over are only as good as the method by which they are collected. Because of me, the United Kingdom’s crime figures were stripped of their official status in 2013, having been found to have been broadly manipulated for decades and almost every major police force in the United States faced the same level of scandal in recent years. The UK’s employment figures are under almost constant fire, largely due to the three-year push of self-employment roles on job-seekers, which potentially distorts the number of unemployed people recorded, along with sanctions recording. My second trip to Mexico is another case in point. In November 2016, I concluded an analysis of data collected by the Mexican federal government since 1997 and found malpractice in collecting and reporting crime in every single one of Mexico's thirty-two states. The main method through which the authorities misrepresented the crime rates was by inflating the number of lower-level crimes in order to make it appear like there had been fewer high-impact crimes, like kidnapping and intentional homicide. I also found the case of one state that criminal threats, accidental homicides, and intentional homicides varied in the same way over the years analysed – an unlikely trend as there is no inherent correlation between those crimes. Without going into distracting detail here, there were clear links between the changes in state administrations and murder, rape, and extortion rates. Basically, corruption in public institutions working in cahoots with cartels.

  “There is manipulation clearly visible in the data, in every state in Mexico, across all crime types,” I told a packed press conference, wondering all the while if my head was going to end up in a bin truck.

  I’m trying to explain that understanding what’s behind the figures is crucial whatever situation you are looking at, as the full story is rarely contained accurately in data alone.

  Immigration to Sweden itself, I found, is tightly linked to what has been termed the ‘Swedish Model’ of social structure. The model has, for many years, been widely regarded as a near-perfect blend of the welfare state and capitalist policy, in which citizens are happy to pay up to sixty percent taxes to level the field for everyone across the country – it’s currently rated as the tenth happiest country in the world. Immigrants themselves are extended the same hand and may apply on arrival for “introduction benefit” – which is assessed individually, on a case-by-case basis, and is paid out only once there has been a plan agreed with the Public Employment Service. This is administrated by the Försäkringskassan50, along with “introduction benefit for housing” (of up to almost four thousand Kronor per month) and “supplementary introduction benefit for children.” Under Elevens attract eight hundred Kronor per month and older youths one thousand five hundred up to a maximum of three children, with the total benefit capped at four and a half thousand Kronor per month. Somewhat generously, in the case of more than three children, the benefit is paid on the ages of the oldest children to maximise state support given. Of course, in Sweden’s high-value property market, it is a natural consequence that immigrants in receipt of these benefits – and even those without – are driven towards the lower rent, popular schemes, such as those in Eastern Malmö or Rinkeby, the Stockholm district visited by Pool and the Russians.

  With my pre-reading done I made the arrangements to get to Sweden and put some real context around what I’d learned. With the world political and media climate as it had become, there was just no way to get to the truth by research alone – something which was once perfectly feasible as a blogger or a “data journalist.” I still owe a debt of gratitude to the huge number of people who made it possible by crowdfunding the investigative trip to Malmö, to see what was behind all the information I had gathered. It seemed clear, even sat in a leafy English town, the alt-right were unlikely to be painting a true picture. Then, only three days before I was due to travel, the unthinkable happened.

  On the 7th of April 2017, Stockholm was struck by the horror of a vehicle enabled terror attack, mirroring the method used previously in France and Germany. England went on to suffer a vehicle attack in Westminster a short while afterwards, though the attacker’s origin and target were notably different. The Stockholm attack itself was unique in that the suspect was arrested rather than shot dead by police during his arrest. He was subsequently identified as a failed asylum seeker from Uzbekistan, a state which remains closely tied to Russia. The thirty-nine-year-old, Rakhmat Akilov, admitted to committing an act of terrorism in the subsequent court proceedings. It also transpired he had been officially wanted since February 2017, after disappearing once his residency was declined by the Swedish authorities in December 2016. No terrorist group claimed responsibility for the Akilov’s actions, which also underlined a significant difference in the Stockholm events, and the suspect’s claims in court, that he acted on behalf of the Islamic State, have gained no credibility.

  Despite the tragic incident and horrific loss of life, I left home as planned on the 10th of April, determined to uncover the truth about crime and immigration in Sweden, doubly so, in fact, because I wanted to try and make it clear that no act of terror could deter balanced journalism.

  I didn’t know what to expect, arriving in the immediate wake of the country’s only attack since 2010, but what I found was quite extraordinary. I also learned the Swedish word for damage: skada.

  Four:

  Nils Karlsson describes himself on social media as the original vagabond and an “unwashed phenomenon.” Though he is larger than life – and somewhat crumpled looking – in truth, he’s a fascinating character: an ethics lecturer, a Green Party politician, and the Deputy Mayor of Malmö.

  Although we’d missed each other via message and went on to have some inexplicable telephone issues while I sat drinking coffee in the fierce, spring sun on Stortorget square, he made time in an incredibly frantic schedule of public engagements to meet with me in his office at the Stadhuset (City Hall), a municipal building at Augustpalms Plats on the busy Föreningsgatan.

  The trip to Malmö was quite the experience – an early flight from Gatwick on Scandinavian, landing at Copenhagen to grab the train across the astounding Øresund bridge, spelt the Danish way, for a short ride to Malmö central station. Visually, it’s one of the most splendid short journeys in Europe and brings with it a real sense of adventure. The cold, of course, bites as soon as you get outside but when the sun is up and out it bakes you through any glass you sit by. Too early to check into the hotel, I’d wandered for a while and settled down for early lunch and a huge latte in the Coffee House, an impeccably decked out cafe with huge picture windows looking straight onto Stortorget. The staff spoke amazing English, which makes you feel embarrassed really, ignorant, but they were warm, friendly, and swift with the delivery of a monstrous kyckling sandwich. That’s chicken, by the way. Predictably, I was hysterical, courtesy of a soon to be short-lived attempt at not smoking while desperately hoping to do the investigative series of articles justice. The panic set in when I couldn’t get hold of Karlsson straight away and I’d convinced myself everything was going to go to rat-shit in double time. Then, ping. His Twitter message came through with
a number. I called it, nothing, and the panic set in again. Then he sent another number and this time we spoke. He had managed to clear me a slot in an otherwise packed daily schedule, on the proviso I could be there within thirty minutes. The first ten minutes of walking turned out to be in completely the wrong direction due to the GPS on my iPhone going crazy, but I managed to get there, in the end, walking up to the tall, grey, 1970s building via broad steps adorned with flowers and burned candles – another memorial to the Stockholm victims of only a few days ago. Periodically people would stop, quietly reflecting before moving on about their daily business. Karlsson came and met me in the lobby, cutting an interesting figure in a creased suit, shirt hanging out, hair wild. His keenly intelligent eyes gave him away though – behind the outward image was one of the sharpest minds I had ever come across. And I’ve crossed paths with quite a few.

  A trained philosopher before he became a full-time politician, Karlsson lectured at the internationally respected University of Malmö on ethics and epistemology – the theory of knowledge and the distinction between justified belief and opinion. “It’s interesting,” he told me, “because suddenly I leave the university and ‘what is truth’ is suddenly international politics on account of Trump.” It is not hard to see why epistemology, though not something you’d often use in a daily conversation, is going to become crucial in the world as it eventually rises from the ashes of the Alternative War.

  Epistemology comes from the Greek epistēmē, meaning 'knowledge', and logos, meaning 'logical discourse'. The branch of philosophy concerns itself with studies of the genes of knowledge, justification, and the rationality of belief51. Fascinatingly relevant, it concentrates on the philosophical analysis of the nature of knowledge itself and how it relates to such concepts as truth, belief, problems of scepticism, the sources and scope of knowledge and justified belief, and the criteria for each. I had no idea the term was first used by Scottish philosopher James Frederick Ferrier in 1854, but it’s Scottish roots are even older – King James VI of Scotland, according to experts, personified the concept as the character Epistemon in 1591. Essentially, it’s a really complicated way of debating the difference between truth and belief – the former being fact, and the latter able to exist in an alternative way.

  On hiatus from teaching others, Karlsson was elected as a deputy mayor of Sweden’s large port city and serves with broad ranging responsibilities for democracy, gender equality and human rights. “Interestingly enough, also IT solutions for the city,” he added, not hesitating in explaining this apparent curiosity, “which really is a strange thing as it’s not part of the others but nobody wanted that so I took it. One of the things I’ve been working is getting the citizens of Malmö access to the internet by opening up the closed Wi-Fi across the city.” He sees access to the internet for all citizens as an essential part of effective democracy, telling me “by amplifying the signals and letting it leak out you can get quite much Wi-Fi...I think it’s a nice thing to do.” This is hugely divergent from the current, Conservative narrative in Britain, which aims to restrict and monitor the internet and, via the so-called Snooper’s Charter legislation, maintain records on the internet searches of citizens and residents.

  Karlsson was voted into to the role at City Hall in 2014 having been a part-time politician since 2006. As a member of the Green Party which rules in the city in coalition with the Social Democrats, he reflects on the previous partnership with the far-left, highlighting they still call themselves Marxist. “I know the Labour Party in England does that too, but just on the 1st of May,” he quipped before moving on to his true passion, Malmö itself. Part of the reason I first spoke to Karlsson was his vocal opposition to the viral views spread by the alt-right and the way he continued to talk the city up in the face of their damaging commentary. It’s clear from the way he describes his town that he means every single world. “If I was going to try and sell Malmö to you, I would say it was a beautiful city, aesthetically,” he said. “Over the past two hundred years, we have been very conscious in saving old architecture and interspacing it with new, so you can see how the city has changed through the ages just by looking, which I think is a nice feature.” It’s not hard to agree with him, the city being awash with a blend of styles everywhere you look. Truly historic melds with both the utilitarian post-war and the brand new architecture which is flourishing everywhere. While in some towns this doesn’t work, creating an odd and ungainly hodgepodge, here it is a triumph.

  “What’s also nice is the transition from an industry town to a more creative industry – or knowledge-based town – production wise. There are actually more people working in Malmö now than when we were at the height of the industrial era in the 60s, 70s, and early 1980s.” He doesn’t believe people miss the leading role of industry over creativity, either, and recommended the Western districts to those wishing to move here. I’m sorely tempted, to be honest.

  To me, it was apparent integration is a key part of the culture as well as the architecture, with the old and new mingling happily together, but Karlsson pointed out it is still a modern city, meaning it does see the same problems faced around the world. “In some parts, it is [integrated] but Malmö is like two cities: we have Eastern Malmö and Western Malmö. The Eastern part is where we have state-funded, massive, buildings of housing which were built in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Huge apartment complexes with a bit of green in between. They were always intended to be cheap housing and have continued to be the cheapest housing in Malmö, so the people who are the poorest continue to live there – which also means you have pushed some of the social problems which go hand-in-hand with poverty to the Eastern parts of Malmö.” He highlighted to me that the more focused interspacing of historic and modern architecture is found in the central or Western districts which he described as “quite a bit more affluent.”

  “The difference between the median income between the Eastern and Western parts of Malmö is more than SEK300,000 a year, thirty thousand pounds roughly. There’s a big difference,” he added as the friendly conversation continued. I found him refreshingly open and utterly fascinating.

  Turning to the more provocative issue of crime and immigration, I was unapologetically blunt in asking if there was a link between the two, acknowledging my grossly basic approach to such a complex topic. (It’s near impossible to have this discussion without a much broader one about the influence of social and economic issues). Karlsson surprised me with his candour on the highly emotive subject. “Whatever I say it will be a simplification of how things really are,” he said, “but I do think yes, immigrants, in particular second-generation immigrants, are over-represented in violent crime and thefts, and those kinds of crimes. That is a fact. But it is also a fact that they grew up in an area where your mother and father don’t go to work and they live in poverty, so there is a strong correlation to the socio-economic level of your area and your family.”

  “What we see,” he continued, “is when families get more income and move out of these areas they leave the city altogether – we have a big problem with housing so they often move out of Malmö and another poor person moves in.” He could have been describing any poor area, any council estate, anywhere in the world, even where the population is wholly indigenous, and what Karlsson was getting at appeared to be that environment is responsible for crime, rather than immigration. I’ve worked these areas as a police officer and this is a simple truth of daily life. Karlsson was quite right.

  “You can’t really say they are committing crimes because they are immigrants,” he told me, and I had to agree from the standpoint of experience, but I wanted to know if – as at home and elsewhere – the occurrence of discriminatory factors in society played to the narrative. Specifically, I was asking about the old demon of skin colour. “There is a theory that there is some structural discrimination against people with darker skin, but I don’t really buy that because when you look at the immigrants that come to Malmö, which is quite a lot – about
40% of the population is born outside of Sweden or has parents born outside of Sweden – twenty years ago it was people from the Balkans, then ten years ago South America,” he replied. Only in recent years was there a change in Sweden, with people mainly from the Arabic states migrating to Sweden and forming the bulk of arrivals, and this has generated a new problem when set against the huge change in the economic output of Karlsson’s city. “This is where it gets to be really complex,” he said. “The people coming to Sweden now, most of them, do not have a degree of education that is matched with the labour market here. If you came before 1990 there was always some industry looking for unskilled labour and you trained on the job and could have a good career making things.”

  “Since the decline of the manufacturing and textile industries, the wharf which was here, it’s gone and with that is the need for unskilled labour,” he concluded, summing up a clear issue again repeated worldwide. “They’re not uneducated, they don’t know the language of course but you can learn Swedish, that’s no problem,” Karlsson told me, adding “but you don’t have the education necessary for most of the jobs in Malmö and that is a new situation.”

  However, the Swedish view appears largely positive and pragmatic when compared to other Western countries.

  “It is solved within one generation though because the children growing up go through our school system. Fully qualified to get a degree, they can take the jobs here,” Karlsson said, making clear he and the rest of City Hall don’t see these problems as either permanent or insurmountable. Surprisingly, Karlsson raised the idea of profit from immigration, seemingly tying the idea of people having monetary value in with the concept of productivity output, rather than being individual cost centres – effectively the benefits argument which is always wheeled out in immigration debates.