Who said pregnant women should take it easy?

Yesterday was D day. The day when we, after almost five months in a temporary apartment, got to move back in to our own place. For those of you who don't know, our apartment, that we moved in to five months ago, turned out to have water damage. So we had to move straight out again. But now, we're finally back in there.

So, apart from working eight days in a row, trying to study and exercise in between, my husband and I have now finally moved back in to our apartment. Who said pregnant women should take it easy?

This post is, of course, just an excuse for why I haven't been writing lately. But the fact is, that it's the same in the end of every year. Work is hectic. Studies are hectic. And then there is always something else added to it. And we shouldn't even talk about the added stress that Christmas brings. Is November and December the same for all people, or is it just me that somehow doesn't manage to even it out over the year?

Why are young people becoming murderers?

Over the last one or two years, there's been an increase in killings by youngsters in Stockholm. At least it feels that way. It could be that the media is reporting it more loud and frequently than before, but I don't think so. I actually believe that there's been an increase.

Just a few days ago it happened again. Two men were killed, for no real reason (if there is ever a reason). Two boys got in to an argument with them in a bar. Bouncers forced the two boys to leave. But instead of going home, the boys waited outside until the two men also left the bar, and they killed them. They just ran them over with their car.

My husband knew one of the men that were killed, and told me that he was the sweetest and most humble guy who, ironically (if you can call it that), worked against violence. I feel for my husband and for all the family and friends that's been left mourning and asking: "Why?"

This increase of young people turning in to murderers makes me sad. And it makes me too wonder "Why?". Why is this happening in Sweden now? Are young people today much more lost in the world, lost in their own identity (or lack of identity)? Where are we going wrong? What can we do to go right instead?

Recommendation

This evening I went to a concert. On stage was Amir Sulaiman, a spoken word artist from the States, currently on FBI's list of people considered being anti American.

Amongst many other poems and songs he did perform the poem that made him end up on that list. The poem that made the FBI questioning his mother, come to his workplace, and accuse him for being anti American.

It's interesting though, that the poem actually was not anti American at all. It was rather about injustice in the world. But the Feds interpreted it as anti American. I guess that say more about their view of their country than about Amir Sulaiman's view of the same country.

Anyway just want to recommend the artist. Buy the CD. Find it on the net. Watch him at a theater near you. Or something. The performance was great.

Does pregnancy provide you with cooking skills?

In my marriage one of us does most of the cooking. It's not me.

I used to really suck at cooking. These days I'm a bit better, because I've learnt a lot from my husband over the years. But I still suck compared to him, so I do not really see the point of cooking.

I mean, I love good food, so why should I eat less good food, when my husband can make miracles in the kitchen?

Lately though, I've been cooking a bit more than usual. I'm not sure if it's because I'm so much more hungry, being pregnant and all that, that I can't be bothered to wait for my husband to get of his ass to make me food. Or if it's just that my husband has been extra lazy recently.

I don't know, but anyway, I have been cooking. And the strange thing is that it's tasted pretty nice. My husband has even praised my food a few times, and that does not happen normally, believe me! Today he even said that there is hope for our unborn daughter.

So, is it possible that pregnancy actually also provides you with some sort of cooking skill, for the survival of the human race? Or is it just my husband being smart, realizing that if I haven't learnt now, I will never learn, so it's better encouraging me, even if my food suck, as our kid is going to have to eat it once in a while anyway.

Who really knows you?

I read on a friends blog, something she had written about her colleagues knowing her better than her old friends.

It made me think: Who actually does know you, for real?

Your parents? They might know most about your history, what you were like as a kid, and they love you unconditionally. But do they really know you? I'm pretty sure that my parents don't have a clue about what I believe in and what my views on life are. So how well do they really know me then?

Your old friends? In my case at least, I must say, it's pretty much the same as above. The only difference is, I guess, the part about unconditional love.

Your new friends? At least them you made as a grown up, very much from the stand point where you are today. And they might know most about what your political views are, what your favorite subjects are, and what you enjoy. But do they really now the whole of you, as there is probably a lot you've chosen to leave out?

Your partner? I guess that's as close as it gets (at least for me). But we all know that we never tell anyone everything. And we also know that love is blind, and because of love your partner probably ignores and unconsciously chooses to be blind to certain things about you.

If you have a sibling he/she might end up in the same category as the partner, above. At least my sister does.

But I'm still pretty sure no one totally knows you. When it comes to myself only one-two-three-four people are close to knowing me, in the way I define "really knowing".

So the following question then is: Does it really matter or not? Is it good that no one has the full story? Or does it make us more lonely, inside, than we have to be? What do you think?

Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega

Yesterday a friend of mine organized a fancy dress party. Fancy dress is not really my thing. I barely use make up normally. I barely dress up. So I guess a fancy dress party, where you have to put time and effort in to both clothes and make up, is a bit too much for my lazy ass. Or I just lack imagination.

But when someone puts a lot of energy into organizing a party for her friends. The least the friends can do is to dress up for it. So that’s what I did.

But I had no clue what to dress up as. So I forced my poor, lovely sister to help me. She had the idea that we would go together as the Pulp Fiction characters Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega. Guess who had do go as Vincent Vega?

I sure did look like an idiot as Vincent Vega. And most people couldn’t even figure out what my sister and I were trying to look like. But one thing is certain. I had so much fun while preparing. I’ve never laughed so much in my whole life. That’s in-between putting my head out through the window, trying to get some air that was not poisoned by the black hair spray my sister was spraying all over my hair.

It was also great being at the party watching all the people and the effort and creativity some of them had put into their costumes.

And honestly, I think it was crystal clear what my sister and I was trying to portrait. What do you think? :)

"It's a free world"

Would like to recommend a film. Watched it the other day. It's a Ken Loach movie called "It's a free world".
A great movie. And the lead actress does a great job, this being her first "real" acting job, I think.

The film is about how far you are prepared to move away from your values when your child is depending on you. How being greedy can make you lose it all. And how wrong you are when you believe that you and your loved ones are more important as human beings than other people.

Seriously, what's wrong with some people?

In the UK the government is planning on starting giving vaccine against the HPV virus, in school, to all girls 12 and 13 years of age.

The HPV virus, that is transmitted through sexual intercourse, causes 70% of all cases of cervical cancer. There are 2800 cases of cervical cancer every year in the UK.

You think that everybody would be happy about the vaccine, and the fact that the government is planning on giving it to all girls, before they supposedly have started any sexual activity, and therefore they will not get the HPV virus.

Wrong! Everybody's not happy. Some catholic organization is now afraid that this action will make young girls more promiscuous, because of their awareness of being immune to the HPV virus.

Hello!! What's wrong with some people?? I mean, most kids have never heard about the HPV virus, so a vaccine against it will surely not change their sexual activities. And what happened to HIV and all the other sexually transmitted diseases? I seriously doubt that kids are going to think: "Great, now we're immune to the HPV virus. Fuck the other risks of unprotected sex, let's sleep around like never before!"

Discrimination by the Swedish state

The other day, when I was sitting on the tube, I noticed an ad. It said "Save marriage. Mummy, Daddy, Child". Behind the ad is some kind of christian organization. Why they feel that they should bother me and everybody else, with their discriminating message, I don't know.

But the sad thing is, that they are not the only ones doing the discrimination. In Sweden the state is doing a very good job at it too.

1995, in Sweden, people of the same sex got the right to register their partnership, as it's called. This was supposed to be like marriage, but doesn't have the exact rights and regulations as a marriage, is not called a marriage, and has a similar but not entirely similar ceremony.

I guess Sweden felt "modern" in 1995, by doing this. But today, 12 years later, when marriage is recognized no matter if it's between a man and a woman, two men, or two women, in many other countries, Sweden still have this separation between the two. I really do not understand.

This morning I watched a debate about the same ad, as it's of course been upsetting for a lot of people. The person arguing against the campaign stated that in the tube, in Sweden, the rules say that an ad should not be of risk of hurting or offending people.

Further she said that it's horrible to all the kids, that travel by tube to school, and who do not fulfill the ideal of the campaign. That is children that might have just one mummy but no daddy, two mummies, or to daddies, just to give three examples. The campaign basically says that their way of living is not as good as the way that is promoted in the campaign.

The guy responsible for the ad could not see this. All he did was claim that we all have to live with offensive and hurtful ads surrounding us in society. And of course he constantly kept mentioning freedom of speech, even though his opponent explained that he can say what ever he wants, but not on the tube.

Anyway, I am upset about the ad being on the tube. Honestly I am upset about it being anywhere. I do not understand how people can feel that discrimination is okay. I do not understand the Swedish state. And I do not understand the organization mentioned above.

If Jesus did exist, and if the bible is sort of correct, he was a kind man that accepted people the way they are and did not discriminate or agree with discrimination. That's what I believe anyway.

Better safe than sorry?

A few days ago my husband and I watched a documentary about abortion and abortion laws in the UK. The angle was that it's now being debated in the UK wether or not to change the time limit that is set for when you can and can't do an abortion. The reason for this debate is different opinions about when the baby/fetus can feel pain.

Today, in the UK, you can do an abortion up until week 24 in your pregnancy. In Sweden abortion is free until week 18. After that you need permission from the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen). That board only give permission for an abortion later than week 18 if it's determined that the baby will not survive, will be a very handicapped child, if the mother is very ill or if there are difficult social circumstances. And the board is never allowed to give permission for an abortion if there is a chance that the baby could actually survive if born at that moment. This is considered being in and around week 22.

As I mentioned above the documentary was about when the baby/fetus can feel pain. Some people claim that the baby can't feel pain until in week 26, which is why abortion in a pregnancy that is as far gone as week 24 is considered okay.

Others claim that there is a big chance that the baby/fetus can feel pain on and off as early as in week 17. And because of that they consider abortion after this stage inhumane, as it's painful for the baby/fetus.

The documentary touched me. I guess it would be strange if it hadn't, especially as I'm carrying a baby that is now 20 weeks and a few days old. The documentary showed a healthy and happy baby, born prematurely in week 22. Just a few minutes later an aborted 24 weeks old fetus was shown.

It really does make you wonder "when is there life?" And being pregnant you start thinking about the fact that you consider your own fetus/baby being a life, an individual, while technically it's still legal to abort her.

Although, as I said, the documentary was not about that, and I'm glad it wasn't. We've heard way to many debated about that and the question is a very emotional and difficult one.

But what is easier to discuss, I think, is this issue about pain. If there is a risk that the fetus actually do feel pain in week 17, even if it's just a tiny risk, why not apply the well known phrase "better safe than sorry"? Why not lower the limit to week 16? I know that sometimes there is bureaucracy that could make the pregnancy being far gone before there is a possibility for abortion. But shouldn't then the slow bureaucracy be taken care of instead?

I am pro abortion. I think that women should have the right to decide over their own body. That doesn't mean though, that I think abortion is a good thing. I believe/guess that it's often a horrible experience for both the mother and father involved.

Therefore I feel that information and availability when it comes to contraception never is good enough, always should be a priority.

When it comes to the limit for abortion I leave that to the experts, and hope that they will come to a conclusion that involves lowering the limit IF proof shows that there could be a risk of pain, for the fetus, when being aborted.

I'm hooked on "Blocket"

To be honest I have never really been in to second hand clothing.
First of all I find it a bit difficult to find something I want in most second hand shops.
Either it does not look very good. Or it looks good, but it's not my size.
And second, I find it a bit strange searching around amongst all those clothes that used to belong to other people.

I love getting old clothes from friends though. Not that it happens very often, but still.
As an example, about a year ago or so, I got this gorgeous red coat from a friend. I love it!
So I don't have a problem wearing other peoples old clothing, I guess I just don't have the patience for second hand stores.

Being pregnant though, you do start to think about lots of things, and this clothing stuff is one of those things for me.
It feels like such a waste, in both an economically and environmentally way, to by new clothes at the moment.
I mean spending lots of money on things that I will only be able to wear for a few months feels stupid. Not to mention how stupid it is from an environmental perspective.

So I went on to "Blocket", the most known website in Sweden for all kinds of second hand stuff. And I searched for maternity clothing. I met the same problem as I do in second hand stores, finding something that both seemed nice looking and that seemed to be my size. But finally I did fid two pairs of dungarees. I emailed the people who had put up the ads. And this evening one of them called and gave me instructions to her home.

I went there, paid only 75 SEK and got myself a nice pair of trousers. I am so happy! It really made me feel good. I felt like I did both the environment and my wallet a favor. And most of all I did my sad looking wardrobe a favor, as I barely have anything that fits these days.

The conclusion is that I am now hooked on Blocket. I have now been searching for baby-clothing, push chairs and toys. It's amazing how cheaply you can buy those sort of things. And honestly, why spend huge amounts of money on stuff when the kid is going to grow out of it so quick I won't even be able to blink.

Now I'm looking forward to crisscrossing Stockholm, visiting more strangers, and paying them for their used stuff.

This bloody government!!!

Last year we had an election. And a new government came in to power. The right wing one, in Swedish terms.

I was not a part of making that happen. I voted left wing as always. Partly because it goes hand in hand with my ideologies. But also because I did not believe a word of the crap that the right wing side was promising. They basically made the left wing arguments their own and left the left wing parties speechless. Bad planning by the left wing side and a lot of people fell for it.

A year later this new right wing government is tapping each others backs because of tax reductions. The sentence they constantly use is: "People now have a thousand sek extra in their wallets every month". That might be true. I don't know, I haven't really noticed. But true or not, tax reductions make me furious when the money to finance this is taken from people that are already vulnerable.

I work at a so called group home for people with Down Syndrome. And while the bloody government brag about the tax reductions, we get the information that we have to do a lot of cut downs this coming year. This even though they, in another document, agree on us needing the amount of money we have today (without cut downs) for those five people, living in the group home, to be able to live the life they have the right to according to LSS (a law that states the rights for people with handicaps).

Obviously this new government does not feel that that law is one that we should care much about. After all, it's just a law. And after all, it's just peoples life we are talking about here.

Do not girls also play football?

When my husband told one of his friends that we were having a daughter, the friend said "I'm sorry".
My husband, not just a bit offended, asked what the friend meant.

The friend answered:
"Well, you will not be able to connect a hundred percent with a daughter. You know, girls are just different than boys".

My husband and I still wonder how the guy can believe than your own influence on your kids do not matter. How he can be so blind that he doesn't see that most of todays differences between men and women have a lot to do with so many other things that their biological sex.

A colleague told me that his friend had said, when the friend was expecting, that if the baby was a boy he would take up football coaching.

Here my only question is: Do not girls and women also play football?

"It's a girl!"

People who know me well also know that the subject gender is one of my favourite ones.

Gender is also a subject that becomes highly obvious and important when you're about to have a baby.
One of the issues my husband and I had to discuss was whether or not to find out the sex of the baby, when we did the ultrasound.

I first did not want to know. Mainly because I do not think and do not want the sex to matter.

My husband on the other hand really wanted to know. He said that it would help him connect with the baby at this early stage. Not because it would matter whether or not it was a boy or a girl, but just because it would be easier for him to picture the baby and imagine the baby if he got to know the sex. That made me even more sceptical as I felt that made the sex more important than it is.

Finally I did give in though, and agreed to find out the sex. It's a girl!

And my husband was right in one thing. It did make it easier for him to connect. Because since the day we found out, he has been planning, dreaming and imagining our daughters future. She's going to be both a Formula 1 champion - the first female and black one. On top of that she's becoming the president of Ghana or maybe the Primeminister in the UK.

A collegue of mine later gave me a good argument for finding out the sex when doing the ultrasound. She meant that by not finding out people make the sex a bigger issue than it is. They say they want it to be a surprise. What kind of surprise is that when the sex really doesn't matter? The surprise is the baby, the individual, not the sex! Just as studying the heart, the legs, the lungs, the stomach, we might as well also observe the penis or vagina. Because that's mainly all it is; a body part, an organ.

Another friend gave me a good reason to not find out the sex. She said that today we try to have too much control, we monitor everything, we want to know everything, and a pregnancy is something natural that sort of takes care of it self, so why not just let go? Why not just try to accept that we do not need to know it all. And that, she said, was her reason for not finding out.

Both arguments are good arguments. Both women are highly intelligent women that I respect a lot. Therefore my conclusion is that people can do whatever they want as long as they themself feel that it's the right thing to do. And as long as they do it for themselves and not because "that's the way it supposed to be".

I did not feel a hundred percent when finding out the sex, because I only did it because it was important to my husband. Now I am happy that I did it, because my collegue helped me find a good argument that worked for me too.

Finally, I still do not understand when people say that the only reason to not find out the sex, is because of the surprise, because they want to here the words "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!". I find that so unimportant. But as I said before, we all make our own choices for (hopefully) our own reasons.

How can breastfeeding be considered obscene?

Just read, on the site alltombarn.se, via a link on DN:s website, that Facebook is closing accounts that includes photos of women breastfeeding.
The reason is that pictures like that are obscene, according to Facebook.
Honestly, if someone wants to put up photos of their baby and breasts let them do it!
I'm not sure that I would like to put up a photo like that of myself on Facebook, but it sure isn't obscene to do it.
How could it be?

Paris

Five things I love about Paris:

The gorgeous and totally amazing architecture
Food - the variety and the huge amount of oriental food in particular
Patisseries
Dogs - especially the fact that you can take your dog to a restaurant
Shopping - could spend a million in all the great shops and boutiques

Five things I hate about Paris:

Traffic - what happened to stopping at zebra crossings and not driving when the traffic light is red?!
Pollution
The amount of smokers and smoke everywhere
The tube - what is it about all the walking in the tube, up the stairs, down the stairs, through long tunnels?!
Shopping - don't have a million to spend

Being pregnant

I've never been pregnant before.
Even though I've thought about it many times, I really didn't have a clue what it was going to be like.
Now I'm starting to slowly get a clue.

First three months it was all about feeling sick. All I did was eat, nibble and eat again, just to prevent the feeling of sickness. Coffee made my stomach turn. The deodorant gave me a head ache. I used to love indian food - and now I couldn't stand the smell of it.

Beginning of forth month was nice. I was so happy that I no longer felt sick. This was up until my ass started hurting from Diastasis Symphysis Pubis. And it's not only the ass that starts behaving strangely, so does the knees, the most of the legs as a matter of fact. It's all down to some hormones that makes the skeleton softer. It's supposed to be like that, but it's still very annoying, and it really hurts when doing certain exercises.

Now, when I head in to the fifth month, it's all about eating again. This time it's not to prevent sickness, it's basically from constant hunger. According to certain websites this is when the baby starts putting fat on, and that is the reason for the sudden hunger. I'm telling you, eating is a full time job at this time. And I guess it will get worse.

This is exactly where I am now. And about five months away from delivery date. I have no clue what the five coming months are going to be like, and I definitely don't have a clue about how it's going to be to be a mother. Or what I'm going to be like as a mother.

But I do know this: Even though I no longer recognize my own body, I feel fat, I can't always control my temper, my feelings or my physical body anymore. And even though being a mother will mean putting someone else first, all the time, I am so happy about this little thing that is growing inside of me.

We did a scan in week 15. My sister said he/she looked like a cheese doodle. One friend thought it rather looked like a rabbit. Another one said he/she looked like an alien. And my husband says that he/she looks like a monkey. What ever he/she looks like right now, I think it's the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen.

It truly is a miracle!

Did I create a monster or am I the monster?

A colleague of mine told me, a few weeks ago, about emu oil. She said that lotion containing emu oil is great for people with really dry skin. I got excited, as my husband suffers from dry skin. I ordered the lotion online and when it arrived I gave it to my husband and told him all about its supposed good effects.

He gladly took it, but looked a bit surprised, and said: "Emu oil, doesn't that come from the emu?".

"Of course not!", I said, very sure that there was no chance someone would put oil from an animal in a lotion, and that my colleague would never have recommended something like that to me, as I am a vegetarian. I know, I was a bit naive on both accounts.

It did not take long though, before I started doubting what I had just said, and I searched the net for answers. Of course I found that the oil does come from the emu. The animal is not killed solely for the oil, but that is not much of a comfort for a vegetarian.

The problem is that my husband loves the lotion and has told me straight out that he will keep on using the lotion.

So I am stuck between the happiness of having found a great lotion for my husband, and the sadness of that great lotion containing animal fat. Makes me feel like a hypocrite. But on the other hand, it is not the first time. Every time I wear my leather shoes or my leather hand bag I feel the same.

Actually I very often feel like one, a hypocrite that is. I take a stand by doing or not doing certain things. And just a few minutes later I make an exception on something similar.

Does that make me weak? Or am I just doing my best, and should accept that no one is perfect? Or am I too selfish to sacrifice things that I like and that's why I only sacrifice things that really does not matter to me anyway? Maybe I only do so called good when it suits me?

The Police

The otheer day I went to Globen to see THE POLICE in concert. As we had booked tickets pretty late, and on top of that we were four people that wanted to sit together, we naturally ended up in the so called nose bleed section.

First I was a bit dissapointed, thought that the experience would be totally ruined by having those crappy seats.

Also, I've always thought of Sting as a great artist, but never knew many songs by The Police, so I was a bit afraid that I would not be able to get the right feeling.

But both things mentioned above never became a problem. The concert was great. It did not matter at all that I only knew a few songs. And I totally forgot about the location of our seats. That must mean that the concert was amazing, even if certain critics said otherwise (as always).

The only thing that bothered me was something I read in the newspaper the other day: How can someone like Sting, that seems so great have fired his chef at home for being pregnant? How can he be so aware of environment and human rights and not have any sence of the mistake in discriminating a woman because of her pregnancy? I mean, it's not like he could not afford paying for her one year of maternity leave, or whatever she would have asked for.

Gladly she (the chef) won in court. Sadly Sting lost a few points in my book. But deep inside I'm still hoping that he really is that lovely guy that he seems to be and that it all was just a big, big misunderstanding.

Feeling of Pleasure vs Feeling of Pain

I am totally addicted to chili. Fresh chili, that is. I just love it. But why is it that us human beings don't know when we've reached our limit?

I remember once, in Ghana, when I decided to eat a mixture including lots of fresh chili. I was warned by my husband and the house keeper, and still I ate it. It was lovely.

But the next day it wasn't lovely anymore. I was sitting on the toilet crying from a burning pain in places you don't want a burning pain.

And yesterday I did it again. My husband and I went to a nice Thai restaurant in Vasastan, Stockholm. (It's called Narknoi if anyone reading this would like to go there.) As I'd been there before I knew exactly what I wanted for a starter. They have this really nice, and really hot cucumber/lime/chili salad. I just had to have it, even though I could clearly remember what it had done to me the last time.

I ordered. I ate. I cried. Snot was running. Sweat was running. And I could barely speak for 15 minutes as my tounge felt all swollen. I was in pain!

So, what is it with us people? Why is it that I know that, even though it's painful, I will order the same salad the next time too? Is the feeling of pleasure (the lovely taste I mean) so much stronger and more memorable than the feeling of pain?

Don't us Swedes need to start open up?

Last Thursday I went to a so called "language cafe" outside of Stockholm in a place called Fittja.

It was my first time in Fittja and people who knows me also knows how far away from town I consider that being. It's amazing how quickly you become a sad city slicker. I mean, 10 year ago I lived in a small town in the north of Sweden. The town were I grew up, that is.

Now I have recently moved to a place called Aspudden, after living for many years in the centre of town. Aspudden is a lovely place with lots of green areas, water and even som cliffs. It only takes ten minutes on the tube to get to the City Terminal in Stockholm. The perfect place to live I guess. And still I'm having problems accepting that I'm not living slam bang in the middle of town any more.

So, back to Fittja. I felt a bit lost, at first, when I got there, as it was as far out of town I've ever been on the tube. I did not see much of the place, as the "language cafe" is located a few hundred metres from the tube, so I can't tell you much about Fittja. But my feeling of being lost transformed in to excitment when I got to the cafe.

Short about the cafe. It is organised by SWERA (Swedish Refugee Aid) and it's open for refugees that want to meet Swedes and practice their Swedish. The Swedes there are people that have signed up as volonteers for this and other things, wanting to help in the integration process or/and just meet new interesting people.

So, as I said it was exciting at the meeting. Managed to have really interesting conversations even though the people I spoke to barely spoke any Swedish. It was great, I learned a lot and had lots of fun.

There were way more refugees there than volonteers there though. And it made me think. Are Swedes not interested in meeting people from other cultures? Isn't it as much fun and as interesting for a Swede as for a refugee to learn about other cultures and to meet people that the probably wouldn't meet otherwise? Isn't it just as important for Swedes as it is for foreigners that integration in Sweden works in a better way than it does at the moment?

According to one of the guys I spoke to at the cafe there is no longer any faith/trust between Swedes and foreigners. He blamed the small percentage of refugees that comes here and makes trouble and don't follow the law, as he said. Or actually as he said, wrote and explained with the help of a Swedish - Arabic dictionary. I don't think it's just that simple though. I believe that us Swedes need to open up properly and honestly to new citizens of this country. If we do many of the current problems would go away.