Jokkmokk's municipal chairman Roland Boman proposes using the government's 350,000 SEK repatriation grant to incentivize moves to rural northern Sweden. The idea has gone viral and is praised by readers as a clever counter to the government's policy. Several municipalities oppose forcing immigrants to return and highlight the need for labor.
The Swedish government has offered municipalities 350,000 SEK in grants to facilitate the repatriation of immigrants, as part of the Tidö agreement's migration policy. The aim is to pressure countries like Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan to accept deportees through economic incentives, according to the prime minister. However, Jokkmokk's municipal chairman Roland Boman has flipped the concept, proposing the funds be used as a relocation grant for people wanting to settle in Jokkmokk and other rural northern municipalities.
The proposal has garnered significant attention and is described as viral, with the headline 'Jokkmokk's protest went viral: "Not afraid of the trolls"'. Anna Lindström from Lästringe calls it a 'sovereign idea' in a letter to Dagens Nyheter. Other readers, like Per Hammarin from Enskededalen, praise municipalities refusing to 'nag new citizens to move home' and criticize threats of withheld state grants as 'Trump politics'. Lars Wengrud from Bromma warns that repatriation demands would collapse public services, especially in SD-strong rural areas.
Birgitta Eriksson from By expresses grief over the policy, saying it makes people unwelcome despite the need for labor in jobs Swedes won't take. Jens Busch questions the government's 'bribes' to Somalia. Several letters emphasize it's inhumane to deport integrated youths with jobs and family in Sweden. Overall, readers' reactions reflect broad criticism of the government's strategy, with Jokkmokk's counter-proposal as a symbol of resistance.