Europe’s new house-guests won’t settle for anything but the best, as having travelled to Sweden the picky migrants find the peaceful hinterland isn’t quite exciting enough for them.
Sweden’s Migration Bureau has confirmed at least thirty migrants refused to get off a government bus after they discovered their new home was to be more rural than they expected.
Although the thick woods that blanket central Sweden are presumably quite a novelty for the tens of thousands who have come to Europe from more arid parts of the world, the seclusion of the Äråbadet resort proved too much. Some slept overnight on the bus as they refused to accept the taxpayer-funded accommodation, demanding to be taken to a city instead.
The conversion of the holiday spot to migrant accommodation is part of a desperate push by the Swedish government to find any last unoccupied beds in the country, as the estimated 190,000 new arrivals expected this year take almost every space. The government is increasingly turning to out-of-season holiday accommodation for short term use by migrants, which has led to new arrivals being billeted in sometimes unusual spots.
Converted to house 50 migrants, a heated pool, sauna, and restaurants made the small village a desirable holiday retreat for native Swedes, but failed to charm the newcomers. Being surrounded by forests made them feel uncomfortable, reports TheLocal.se.
If a sense of claustrophobia caused by the dense woodland disturbs, these migrants may prefer instead to take logdings at another Swedish holiday destination converted for their use at the last minute. Just 150 miles north of the Arctic circle, the Riksgränsen ski resort is close to the Norwegian border and has space for 600 migrants.
Inhabitants may find themselves suffering from agoraphobia — a fear of wide open spaces — instead, not to mention concern about the weather. The isolated resort enjoys temperatures that plunge as low as -35°C in winter, and receives zero hours of daylight a day until Spring.
The shortage of accommodation supply presently seems unlikely to be relieved, as even though the prime minister has admitted that Sweden is reaching capacity his government has committed itself to doing absolutely nothing whatsoever about it. The nation instead continues to encourage further arrivals with announcements about improving conditions for migrants, promising better housing and education for newcomers.
The approach stands in direct contrast to northern European neighbours Denmark, which went so far as to take out advertisements in foreign newspapers to warn would-be migrants off bothering to come. The initiative came as part of a publicity package for the new right-wing government’s drive to cut benefits for migrants, which it has now applied retroactively even to foreigners who have long lived in the country.
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