A Maasai perspective on the Swedish election.

Today is election day in Sweden and we realize that the last time we traveled together there was another election, when Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, and we were staying in Himo, Kilimanjaro.

I tell Rafael that there is a chance a xenophic party will gather over 4% of the votes and therefore be represented in the parliament, and might even come into a positition where none of the two main blocks will have their own majority, with the risk of the new parting getting even more power

-Rafael, we have gone through the Immigration program of the Sweden Democrats. What do you think about their message?

-I want to say that there might be some details or grievancies where xenophobic feeling can arise, and I don't know the details of the situation. But, times are not in the seventies, and current development is not in the favour of winding the clock back when it comes to the issue of integration and multiculturalism. It is very wrong to put a plug on migrants.

Otherwise Sweden will loose the respect it has earned over the years of extending a hand to those who have ever needed help.

-As a Tanzanian and Maasai, how do you look upon the idea of "national identity"?

-Swedes should be proud of being Swedes. I wonder if ever any migrant has tempted to turn Swedes away from their culture. Here we are all Tanzanians, but the idea of one national identity is not relevant when we have more than 200 active tribes, cultures and languages. We have Swahili as a common language but each tribe has their own. We all accept each other as Tanzanians.

I wonder about the issue of having this idea or feeling that migrants are a threat.

Xenophic movements happened in South Africa where immigrants were rejected, expelled, killed because of the idea that they were taking jobs and space from local people. This was happening through slow policy changes that accelerated to violent actions. Closing ears, closing eyes and finally closing the human feelings of kindness and compassion. The risk is that Sweden could follow in the same trend, in a very slow process.

Under the current migrant policy Sweden has earned respect over the world for showing a human side of a developed nation. There is a saying here: "The more the richer, the more the miser". Sweden has rather showed "The more the richer, the more the generous"

What is your idea of multiculturalism?

-It is when everybody are free to practice whatever culture they have, but not causing problems or being critical of others.