Racism via Facebook

A village has been torn apart by a bitter Facebook row over migrants following violence and murder on the streets, with neighbours accusing each other of racism.
“Now this has happened, do you really want them here in the village?” asked one member of the community page for Harlosa in Sweden, posting a news article about 22-year-old refugee worker
Alexandra Mezher, who was stabbed to death by an asylum seeker last week.
“Does something have to happen here in Harlosa for people to wake up?”
The post has now been deleted, but not before it triggered a furious argument, reported by the UK Telegraph. “Is there some special race you don’t want placed in Harlosa?” one user asked the original poster.
Another went further, saying: “I don’t particularly like racists.”
The moderator deleted the conversation, noting that the creator of the post had asked for it to be removed because he hadn’t expected such an emotional response.
It illustrates the chaotic situation in Sweden right now, where masked men believed to belong to a Neo-Nazi gang stormed Stockholm’s main train station this weekend and attacked foreigners.
The mob, wearing black balaclavas and armbands, targeted kids as well as adults who didn’t appear ethnically Swedish. On Friday, gangs handed out leaflets urging the infliction of “deserved punishment on children of the North African street”.
More than 35,000unaccompanied children arrived in Sweden last year alone, and Harlosa is set to be one of many communities opening centres to accommodate migrant youths.
It was at one of these homes that 15-year-old Youssaf Khaliif Nuur allegedly stabbed staff member Ms Mezher to death. The 6ft-tall youth’s appearance in court on Thursday was pounced upon by anti-immigration campaigners who claim many young asylum-seekers are, in fact, adults.
The case highlights disturbing tensions in a country that was initially generous with its migrant intake but has now said it will expel 80,000 people over the next few years.
Migrants were linked to thousands of crimes last year, according to one Swedish newspaper, including 559 assaults, 450fights and four rapes.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Stockholm on Saturday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and the acceleration of deportations, along with counter-protesters who see them as fascists.
The situation in Sweden echoes recent conflict in Germany, where many citizens have turned against refugees aftermass sex attacks in Cologne on New Year’s Eve. Vigilantes vowed to “clean up the streets” of the city, with police saying at least 11 foreigners, including Pakistanis, Guineans and Syrians, had been injured in revenge attacks.
Google searches for pepper spray and firearms licences skyrocketed, while searches for the phrase “refugees welcome” had plummeted since September. German newspaper Bild
reported that less than 40 per cent of the population now believed police could ensure their safety, with rumours of an Islamic attack circulating.
Facebook, Google and Twitter agreed to delete “hate speech” posted to their sites in the country within 24 hours, as the government attempted to crack down on anti-immigration sentiment.
A 13-year-old Russian-German girl today admitted to making up a story about being kidnapped and raped by migrants in Berlin, The Guardian
reported.
Lisa was reported missing on 11 January after she failed to appear at school, but reappeared 30 hours later with injuries on her face, telling her parents she had been attacked by men of Middle Eastern or North African appearance.
Her case caused outrage, but when questioned by specialists three days later she “immediately admitted that the story of the rape was not true”, said the state prosecutor. She had spent the night with a friend, who is not being treated as a suspect.
She is now having treatment in a psychiatric ward.