Stockholm – Sweden’s leading photographers are launching a new exhibit and publishing a book in response to President Donald Trump’s criticism of the country’s immigration policies.
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During a rally in Florida in February, Trump said that terrorism was growing in Europe, and “look what’s happening last night in Sweden.” But the comment baffled many Swedes because there had been no extraordinary trouble that night in Sweden, a country welcoming to immigrants. Trump later tweeted more comments attacking Sweden’s immigration protocols.
Publisher Max Strom commissioned “Last night in Sweden” in an effort to present a more diverse and multi-faceted portrait of the country.
“We felt we had to react because we didn’t recognize Sweden at all in his words,” photographer and publisher Jeppe Wikstrom told The Associated Press before the opening of the exhibition.
The photos, all taken after 6 p.m. in the spring, present a diverse portrait of Sweden, from an elderly couple in their sauna to a group of scouts from Syria practicing music.
The crowdfunded book hits the shelves on Tuesday, with the first copy sent to the White House and the next ones to all members of U.S. Congress.
“Last night in Sweden” doesn’t shy away from complicated truths, and the book’s foreword acknowledges that following an extremist attack in Stockholm in April, it’s “hard to claim that ‘nothing happened last night in Sweden.'”
But those involved in the project hope to present a nuanced portrait of the country that transcends social statuses as well as political, social and cultural divides.
“When I see this exhibition and this book, I feel very proud of being Swedish,” said Anna Claren, the head of the Nordic School of Photography, who worked on selecting the photos for the book. “There are a lot of different people of course, but there is so much warmth around and among people.”
Beautiful to those Muslim beasts blow you up . Of course a diverse crowd is beautiful . We are accepting of all ethnic groups whether black Latino Asian or LGBT . But we don’t want people whom are part of a religion of hate . We don’t want people whose religon has a few hundred million people that support terror . Yes there maybe some peaceful ones among you . But when those who support violence are in the millions maybe even hundreds of millions it’s no longer just a few radical extremists. Millions of people are a lot. Who says it’s so many ? Well we know Iran , pakastain , Iraq , Afghanistan Syria etc openly hate us . Peaceful countries like Jordan and turkey commend attacks against Jews . Oh but it’s only politics and does not represent the citizens of those countries? Well there has to be a significant amount who support those policies even if not all . Or else those pro violent pro terror regimes would not survive . It’s pretty clear that millions of not hundreds of millions support terror . Thats too many to claim it’s a few radicals . With that size and amount of haters you are not welcome among us .
Blacks Latinos Asians you are all welcome . Muslims please stay away
Alas…if only more Americans would react this way to Trump’s BS.