Residents at Gamlegården: ”We're afraid, and we want practical solutions - our children are in danger”

After the tragic shooting drama a lot of people living at Gamlegården want to talk, but they are afraid. They think that the responsibility for developments lies with several instances, from politicians to the police and even the press. That is how you can summarise what a few people Kb Mosaik spoke to had to say.

But they are unwilling to speak openly or give their names - they are afraid of becoming the next victim.

One person who has lived in the area for ten years says:

– I can't understand what happened, I feel as if I'm in the worst part of Mexico. I've lived here for ten years, and there are always problems .Most of the ones who deal with drugs are known to the police one way or another, but it's pity they are only in prison for a short time and then they're back again, more criminal than they were before.

– In short , they're not afraid of being sentenced, and they know very well that the punishment is not severe. They don't care that they figure in the police criminal register. Somehow or other that doesn't affect their activities, they keep on with their criminal activities as usual. Our children are in danger.

– Even although they are in prison, they have a better life there than outside. They talk to each other about prison being a holiday.

– You journalists don't criticise how the police work in the region either. Everybody knows very well that the police handle these people considerately whereas they ought to be treated more firmly and seriously.

One person who works in the area says:

– I've worked in the area for some time, and the people who sell drugs are well known, everyone knows who they are. Me too, just an ordinary person - I know who they are, so what about the police?

– Most of the problems in the area are caused by gangs of drug-dealers and are related to the process of selling and dividing up the area.

There aren't many problems here caused by the honour culture, as some people maintain, or are religious in origin, or have to do with our non-Swedish background. We all suffer because criminals sell drugs openly and because of the problems that arise from this phenomenon.

– What we need is tougher punishments and more effective methods of investigation. It isn't enough simply to rely on that there must be evidence. There are lots of ways of keeping drug-dealers and their activities under observation.

These ineffective laws and consequences have brought us to this situation. It used to be limited to selling drugs. Now weapons are part of the drug-dealing picture and shots are fired in public areas. I'm seriously considering moving away from the area.

It isn't only a question of more severe punishment, residents would also like to see other measures.

– Laws must be adapted to the new type of criminals that have appeared in the community. Not just here, all over Sweden. I'd say that the laws in my country are not made for Swedes, they are made for the people who live there. And it's just the same here, laws here are made for Swedes and not for us.

One person who is visiting the area asks if you can work as a police informer.

– I know most of the criminals here and I know how things work, but what's the point? I really do want to reveal their names, but I'm scared. They have contact with people in other towns and can easily get rid of anyone at all, he says.

– They know very well that the laws are not severe.