Tolerence and tension
Gabrielle Edo, 15 years-old, pictured, is one of 36,000 Syrians who have sought asylum in Sweden since the 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
Sweden has for decades prided itself on offering a refuge for those fleeing oppression in other parts of the world. But an anti-immigrant party, the Sweden Democrats, has struck a chord with voters worried about declining welfares services.
The Swedish national flag flies in front of a house near Sodertalje. Approximately 40% of the city is made up of people with foreign backgrounds.
Alexandra Hannon, 20, a student, is pictured at a graduation party. Alexandra’s family are originally from Lebanon and moved because of the war.
Par Olsson, 39, acting principal at the Ronna school poses for a picture.
Yusef Kaspo, 73, a retired mechanic poses for a picture in the St. Jacob of Nsibin Syriac Orthodox Cathedral. Originally from Lebanon Yusef moved in 1967 because of the war.
Bob Azar, 48, originally from Lebanon, moved twenty years ago because of the war. He said "Moving to Sweden changed my life. When you feel safe it's everything."
A pedestrian makes his way past posters in the centre of Stockholm. Sweden sees itself as being one of the most progressive countries in the world but has now one of the highest differences in unemployment between foreign born and native residents and some of the most extreme ethno-racial residential segregation in the western world.
Goran Larsson, 56, is the owner and manager of the Bergby Gard Hotel which now houses asylum seekers. The centre houses around 150 people with the majority coming from Syria, Eritrea and Somalia.
Left to right: Edrisa Ssali, 20, Katerega Musa, 19, and Malik Douglas Darnba, 20, from Uganda are pictured in the room which they share in Sollentuna, a suburb of Stockholm. The three left Uganda, because they feared for their lives. They are unable to find any steady work or enrol in full time education.
Edrisa Ssali, 20, from Uganda pictured outside the one room accommodation which he shares with two others in Sollentuna, a suburb of Stockholm. The three who left Uganda as they feared for their lives in the unstable African country are unable to find any steady work or enrol in full time education.
An asylum seeker walks outside the Bergby Gard hotel and conference centre, which houses asylum seekers, north of Stockholm.
A sapling stands in front of blocks of flats in the Taby suburb of Stockholm.
