Iraqi Södertälje

From an article in the New York Times:

Mr. Lago is the mayor of this scenic Swedish town of 60,000 people, which last year took in twice as many Iraqi refugees as the entire United States, almost all of them Christians fleeing the religious cleansing taking place next to Iraq’s anti-American insurgency and sectarian strife.

So the mourners are now part of Mr. Lago’s constituency, and their war is rapidly becoming Sodertalje’s war—to the mayor’s growing chagrin. Sodertalje, he says, is reaching a breaking point, and can no longer provide the newcomers with even the basic services they have the right to expect.

About 9,000 Iraqis made it to Sweden in 2006—almost half of the 22,000 who sought asylum in the entire industrialised world. This year, when the United States has promised to take in 7,000 Iraqis, around 20,000 are expected to seek asylum in Sweden.

Many of them are expected to find their way to this thriving town nestled among cold lakes and steep pine and birch-covered hills about 18 miles southwest of Stockholm. During 2006 following a migration route for Middle Eastern Christians laid down almost half a century ago, more than 1,000 Iraqis arrived here. This year, up to 2,000 are expected to come.