In this episode of VICE Reports Hidden in Sweden, correspondent Milène Larsson discovers the emergence of a growing parallel society in Sweden, as increasing numbers of denied asylum seekers who fear deportation are going into hiding. Stakes for people in this situation are much higher now since it was revealed that the terror attack in Stockholm on April 7 was committed by a denied asylum seeker in hiding. She meets refugees and the ordinary Swedish people who are opening up their homes to hide them, and finds out about the civilian networks organising across Sweden to help those no longer under the protection of the authorities. She also meets an MP of the far right Sweden Democrats (now the second biggest party in Sweden) that wants to make it a punishable crime to hide refugees, as well as the head of the Swedish border police who expects an additional 40,000 denied asylum seekers to go into hiding in the coming years, and that’s not counting undocumented migrants.
No one knows the true scale of this parallel society and Sweden will struggle with the consequences of this social exclusion for decades to come. The occurrence of a parallel society is not unique to Sweden, it's a reality across Europe.
Producer/Director/Reporter: Milène Larsson
Camera: Alana McVerry
Editor: Leanne Welham
Production Company: VICE
Published: July 27, 2017