Man, you gotta hear what Sweden came up with now! That country that used to teach us how to welcome immigrants with open arms, well, they finally woke up. And what did they do? They dropped some measures that'll make you wanna kick your own feet, bro! Seriously, it's like a slap in the face for everyone who thought it was paradise over there.
Listen up, 'cause this is solid gold. Starting this summer, the Swedes rolled out a package of measures that flips the whole asylum policy upside down. And it's no joke, bro! One of them, the slickest one, is the so-called "snitch law." Six public institutions - including the tax office and social services - are forced to rat to the cops when they catch someone illegal. Yeah, you heard that right! It's like we're in a spy movie, no kidding.
A lawyer, Sofia Ronnow Pessah, said "some people will feel like they have to be on guard all the time." And what do I say? Well, back home, when you go to the tax office, you feel like you're in Mission Impossible, bro! But over there in Sweden, now they have the same fear. And just like that, the landscape changes.
And check this case: a woman from Iran, Leili Mehtarabbasi, has been in Sweden for 26 years without papers. Her son, Ali Reza Roudaki, says "it's like a Mission Impossible for us." Dude, 26 years, bro! I've been in Berceni for 26 years and I still feel at home, but they live with fear in their blood. And what do you do? Go back to Iran? Ha, easy to say.
Now, get this. In 2015, at the height of the crisis, 10,000 people a week were coming to Sweden. Now, barely 9,000 a year. And what did they do? They adopted the most restrictive options from the European Migration Pact. As of July 12, all permits are temporary. No more permanent residency, bro! That was the foundation of the Swedish model, but now it's gone down the drain.
And there's more: you have to prove you have a job, no debts, you're clean. Lose your job? Your permit gets revoked. And what about "behavior"? A vague term that experts see as a loophole for abuse. Meaning, one wrong move, and you're out on the street.
And for family reunification, it's a disaster. To bring your spouse and two kids, you need to make 53,000 kronor a month - almost 5,500 dollars! Man, me and Mioara barely make 5,500 lei, not dollars! How are we supposed to reach that?
All this change comes from 2022, when the Swedes elected a center-right government backed by the Sweden Democrats, a party that's been screaming anti-immigration for years. Even if the Social Democrats say they'll change some measures, most are tied to the European Pact, so it's hard to backtrack.
For now, I look at Mioara and say: "See, honey, even the Swedes don't want immigrants anymore." She stays quiet and counts the Lidl receipts. That's how it is, bro, the world is changing. Let's go have a beer at Fane's on the terrace, so we can forget our worries!