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         Refugees in Sweden Seek to Rebuild Trust after Sexual Assaults

   by Heather Murdock

   Many refugees and other migrants used to love this small city because,
   as they walked down the streets, people would look them in the eye and
   smile.

   That was before the sexual assaults.

   In the past month, 15 women and girls have been sexually assaulted on
   the streets, including an attempted assault on a 15-year-old Saturday
   night. Local eyes are more often cast down nowadays, and smiles have
   faded.

   "Recently, we were going to the supermarket," said Marwan, a pizza chef
   from Syria in a camp in the nearby forest. "A young Swedish girl saw us
   100 meters away, and she changed her direction."

   ''One man is custody in connection with the assaults, and police say at
   least three other assailants are at large. The man is believed to be an
   asylum-seeker, and some victims have described the other attackers as
   having foreign appearances and accents, according to regional police
   chief Stephen Jerand.

   The attacks have ranged from grabbing and threats to attempted rape.

   Aggravating the uptick in crime for regional police was a population
   swell, as refugees poured into Sweden last year. Nationwide, there were
   about 100,000 newcomers in the last four months of 2015 alone. The
   police force in this central province, Jämtland, has not grown with
   the population.

   "We have no more resources to solve the problem," Jerand explained. "It
   has accelerated since last year."

   Accusations called illogical

   As snow falls heavily on a nearby camp, young men from Syria, Iraq and
   Iran insist it is not logical for a refugee -- a person who risked
   everything for a new life -- to risk it all again to commit crimes in
   his chosen new country.

   "Refugees came here to make a new life," said Mahdi, an economics
   graduate from Kurdish Iran, "not to fight or to [harass] women."

   Danger on the streets, adds Ghaith, a Syrian dentist, is why most
   refugees fled their homes in the first place.

   "I'm not a bad guy," he said. "If I was a bad guy, I would stay in
   Syria and fight."

   The other 10 young men in the room nod, saying that in Middle East war
   zones, joining a militant group is often the only work available. Taha,
   an Iraqi lawyer who has been waiting for Swedish residency papers for a
   year-and-a-half, laughs.

   "I think," he explained, "if you stay and fight, you might make good
   money."

   `Hello, Stranger'

   Deeper in the forest, in a camp that houses about 400 people, night
   falls and the snow continues to build in thick piles on the pine trees.
   After passing out tea and Swedish cakes, refugees and aid workers sit
   down to talk.

   The goal is to discuss ways to stop the relationship between newcomers
   and the community from crumbling, according to Emma Arnesson, the
   founder of Hej Främling, an aid organization for refugees that in
   English means "Hello, Stranger."

   One of Hej Främling's goals is to connect existing communities with
   refugees and migrants through cultural and athletic activities,
   Arnesson says. It is a project more relevant than ever as
   anti-immigration sentiment grows along with the refugee population.

   "We want to bring people out from isolation," she says.

   Despite the newfound mistrust in the city, there is no shortage of
   volunteers or Swedish people who want to join refugees for events like
   football matches, running groups, skiing or singing, Arnesson explains.
   Down a small hill, 10 snowmen -- the tallest three meters high -- stand
   proud after a snowman-building competition earlier in the day.

   In response to the attacks, the organization has joined civilian
   security patrols at night to help prevent sexual assault. Refugees hope
   that by helping to protect the community, they will build trust until
   the assailants are caught, she adds.

   "They are frustrated and have a bad feeling," Arnesson said of the
   refugees trickling into the room before the meeting begins. "They read
   social media and they see that people are afraid."

   Particularly concerning to aid workers and those among the more than 1
   million people in Europe who fled wars and poverty in the Middle East
   and Africa last year is that when any migrant is accused of a crime in
   Europe, anti-immigration activists hold it up as evidence to support
   growing xenophobia.

   "Not all of your fingers are the same," explained Jamal, a father of
   two and grocer from Yarmouk, a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria where
   Islamic State fighters battle other militant groups. "If one is a bad
   person, it doesn't mean they are all bad."

   ''
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/refugees-sweden-rebuild-trust-sexual-
   assaults/3248025.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/refugees-sweden-rebuild-trust-sexual-assaults/3248025.html