Sweden, COVID-19, and invisible immigrants

Abstract

In this chapter, international media coverage of Sweden’s infamous “light touch” COVID-19 strategy is connected to another subject that dominated coverage of Sweden: immigrants and immigration. For years, immigrants were framed—by both right-wing and supposedly “progressive” outlets—as the central issue facing Swedish society, and as a problem and threat. Stockholm has been the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, and it is parts of the city with the highest percentage of residents with immigrant backgrounds that have been hit hardest. In other words, the very people vilified by the media when arriving as refugees are the ones now bearing the brunt of COVID-19. Coverage of this element of the impact of COVID-19 on Sweden has been striking by its absence. Ignoring this part of Sweden’s COVID-19 story erases the place of immigrants in Swedish society. This erasure, in turn, reinforces vague, stereotypical notions of Swedish social, economic, political, and ethnic homogeneity that makes real analysis impossible. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Irene Gammel and Jason Wang;individual chapters, the contributors.