Anger in suspect’s suburb
“Donald Trump was right all along,” growled Stan, a resident of the workingclass suburb of Märsta, where the 39-year-old Stockholm truck attack suspect was arrested.
He was referring to the US President’s claim in February that Sweden had suffered a terrorist attack, in a speech about terrorism in Europe.
“What he said at the time was nothing special, but then two days later there was a riot in northern Stockholm,” said Stan, 60. “So he turned out to be right.”
Märsta, an hour’s drive north, is a far cry from bustling Stockholm, with just a few elderly men sitting by Willys supermarket drinking coffee from polystyrene cups. Many of the buildings are anonymous high-rises.
The area is also at the centre of Sweden’s struggle to integrate a record number of migrants — a new arrival’s first port of call is often Märsta’s immigration centre.
“Now Märsta has a serious problem with Islamic extremists, very serious,” Stan continued. “And also with crime. There are problems every day, with crime, narcotics, theft.”
Asked whether he believed the two issues were linked, he nodded. “Of course they are. Now in Sweden there is no integration, and there is no point in even speaking to the Swedish government about it because they act like it does not happen.”
The suspect has been identified as a migrant labourer from Uzbekistan.
Märsta’s large Muslim community runs a mosque 200m from the city centre.
“Of course I heard about what happened,” said Osman, the imam, as he gingerly opened the door. “I condemn it, I absolutely condemn it.”
He was already concerned about the potential backlash. “I’m worried to go outside, and we’ve been told probably it’s best not to go outside for at least a few days wearing Islamic dress, possibly a week. I have been the victim of racism before. And when something like this happens, the Islamophobia will get worse, always does.”
Mohamed Belkaid, who was killed in a police raid in Brussels linked to the November 2015 Paris attacks, also lived in Märsta, according to Swedish news outlet SVT.—