For Iraqis, Swedish life is so different - World Blog - msnbc.com
source: http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/19/1161546.aspx
-
-
- starr111
- added this
"Life is so different here than in Baghdad," Duraid Faraj said of his new, unlikely home of Sodertalje, a small Swedish city near Stockholm.
In a country known for its dark winters, and its seafaring and seafood-loving people, Middle Easterners can feel like fish out of water.
In the center of town, Swedes and Iraqis walk along the lakeside waterfront and watch their children play on jungle gyms, but they never appear to mix or talk with each other.
With around 6,000 Iraqis living in this city, refugees arriving here are welcomed by friends, relatives, and neighbors from back home and can easily get by only speaking Arabic. Although many Iraqis in Sweden are Muslim – especially around the southern city of Malmo – the vast majority in Sodertalje are Christian. Iraqi churches here serve as both places of worship and as informal community centers, offering refugees a sense of belonging.
In a country known for its dark winters, and its seafaring and seafood-loving people, Middle Easterners can feel like fish out of water.
In the center of town, Swedes and Iraqis walk along the lakeside waterfront and watch their children play on jungle gyms, but they never appear to mix or talk with each other.
With around 6,000 Iraqis living in this city, refugees arriving here are welcomed by friends, relatives, and neighbors from back home and can easily get by only speaking Arabic. Although many Iraqis in Sweden are Muslim – especially around the southern city of Malmo – the vast majority in Sodertalje are Christian. Iraqi churches here serve as both places of worship and as informal community centers, offering refugees a sense of belonging.
