Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Hate Crimes: Just One Part of Malmö’s Problems


It was recently reported by the BRÅ (Brottsförebyggande rådet, the Crime Prevention Council), that the numbers of hate crimes against Jews have decreased in Malmö. This is encouraging news for those who choose to believe that Malmö is going towards a brighter future based on these new statistics.  The reality, however, speaks for itself.
After a film crew from the US decided to cancel their plans to shoot a movie in Malmö last week, it seems like the authorities in Malmö are becoming increasingly desperate to improve the bad image of Sweden’s third largest, yet most infamous city.
Shortly after the decision was made to halt the plans for making the movie, a representative for the Scandinavian movie making industry was interviewed explaining exactly how many millions of kronor Malmö would lose by not getting the investments generated by the American movie production. It is clear that the situation and the city’s reputation, which Mayor Reepalu (Social Democrat) has created for Malmö, have started to become destructive, not only for the Jews living there, but also for the rest of the population.
Malmö’s reputation was tainted internationally in 2009 after it seemed the mayor managed to speak ill about Jews in every sentence he blurted out.  As if that weren’t bad enough, the city also faced several bombings as well as a deranged individual who  randomly shot down people with foreign looks.  So, since 2009, Malmö has become internationally infamous, and much of this can be accredited to the current mayor of the city, Ilmar Reepalu; during his term he has managed to make Malmö a place which is now internationally feared and avoided.
It is perhaps not a coincidence that the BRÅ, just days after the cancellation of the movie project, decided to reveal that numbers of hate crimes against Jews have decreased. One hence wonders to what lengths the Swedish authorities are willing to go in order to better Malmö’s image. It also makes one question the relevance of these numbers.
What is known is that Malmö faced a new bomb attack just a few days ago, not in Rosengård but in upscale Limhamn on the other side of the city. Lawlessness and crime are still running high, apparently in all parts of the city, and it is becoming increasingly evident that hate crimes against Jews are just one part of Malmö’s problems.
Reepalu has fallen into a habit popular among his Social Democrat political cronies and their allies who control media outlets such as Aftonbladet and the TT wire service—just to name a few.  They act as if inconvenient truths can be swept under the rug—in this case by false accusations against the SWC and a few manipulated statistics flung out in the media—even while actual events contradict their “creative interpretation” of reality. However, as seen in the movie producers’ cancellation, people are not being fooled, and Malmö is keeping its bad reputation.

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