Editor: Here’s the latest on the Swedish Refugee Resettlement Bus Soap Opera by guest writer ‘Pungentpeppers.” If you missed the first chapter, click here.
The asylum bus melodrama has turned psycho, as two of the Arab asylum seekers strip to their underwear and crouch on the ice in protest.
Were they pretending to be polar bear swimmers who jump into the freezing ocean at the Jersey Shore on New Year’s Day? Do they think they’re “Fe-Men”? Maybe they’re sexually frustrated potential public exhibitionists? Only their psychiatrist knows for sure.
They say they’re terrified by bears and wolves and snow. But then one asylum-seeker adds, “I walked 1400 kilometers from Syria through Turkey and Macedonia to get to Greece!” But Macedonia has Europe’s largest wolf population. Who is he kidding?! [Gotta double check every little thing they say!]
Freelance journalist Jens Ganman, who reported from the scene, says the men unanimously insist that they were given no information about where the bus was headed; however, he cannot vouch for the accuracy of their account. [I believe they originally agreed to go on the bus because they imagined the destination would look different. However, after they changed their minds, they could not admit having made a mistake – preservation of their Middle Eastern notions of personal honor and infallibility would not permit that. So instead they insisted they were lied to. Lying happens all the time in the Middle East! LOL!]
Despite the craziness of the bus protest, Ganman, our hero on the scene, maintained his sound judgment, as can be understood from his interview with Sweden’s “Nyheter Idag”. When asked what he thinks about the standoff, Ganman points out that Swedish politicians are giving orders to the Migration Board that are increasingly difficult to carry out. [Sweden expects to receive another 100,000 asylum seekers this year on top of almost the same number in 2014.]
He also finds it strange that the Swedes aren’t having a stronger public debate about the profit-driven motive behind all of this asylum resettlement activity! In Sweden, as in the U.S., private businesses are profiting from taxpayer-paid refugee benefits. For example, Ganman mentions the phenomenon of Bert Karlsson, the former head of an anti-immigration political party who flipped and hopped on the taxpayer-paid asylum gravy train to make a business out of housing asylum seekers. However, ultimately Ganman blames the political establishment for the mess created.
At noon on Friday, the asylum-seekers agreed to leave the bus and take the offered accommodations. They said they were promised apartments after three months. However, the Migration Board refused to verify this or discuss the terms of the deal offered.
The story may not be over yet. A couple hours later, protester Moaweyh Ramly spoke with Sweden’s “Expressen” to say that the refugees are very disappointed. There are no guarantees they’ll get apartments. “They have cheated us.” [We’ve heard that line before!]
Ganman’s facebook page is here. Even if you can’t read Swedish, the photos are worth the visit.
Important update January 4th: You must read the Swedish Surveyor for more on the outrage! It is in English!