As gang crime and aggressive clans spread across Sweden, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for native Swedish families to find a safe place to live with their children.

The Stockholm neighbourhood of Farsta was hit by two bombs in just two days in March 2024. Birgit Sjögren, a local woman spoken to by the newspaper Aftonbladet, commented resignedly that “It doesn’t matter where we move, Sweden has become the home of criminals”.

A number of Swedes are therefore choosing to leave their homeland. And it’s not just about seeking more sun and warmth. Seeking safety has now become an important priority for many.

The Åland Islands in the Baltic Sea belong to Finland, but have considerable autonomy and are mainly Swedish-speaking. An increasing number of Swedish families with children are now seeking refuge there, hoping to escape gang shootings and bombs. “We don’t have explosions or anything like that in Åland”, Annika Hambrudd, Minister of Culture and Education in the Åland government, told SVT in 2024.

Now, Jonas Andersson at Samnytt has spoken to some of the Swedes who have moved to Åland.

Linda Lundgren packed up her life in Sweden and moved to Åland with her family. They had discussed the matter for a long time, but it was when her daughter no longer dared to go to school alone that the decision was made.

The move is happening quietly. No demonstrations, no loud debates. Just families selling their houses and booking one-way tickets to Mariehamn.

Some move to physically protect themselves from violence in the suburbs, school chaos or drug trafficking in neighbourhoods where children could previously play freely. Others move for the right to homeschool, which has been effectively banned in Sweden since 2011.

In Åland, education is compulsory, schooling is not. This means that parents have the right to teach their children at home. The number of homeschooled children in Åland has exploded in recent years – from eight children in 2012 to 128 in autumn 2024. Over 80 per cent of these children were born in Sweden, according to a study by the University of Helsinki.

Many of the families moving describe themselves as ordinary people. Not activists. Just parents who want to give their children what they themselves have grown up with – quiet neighbourhoods, well-functioning schools, respect for adults and a sense that society is connected.

A father who recently chose to move from Uppsala to Åland with his three children explains why the move felt natural: There was a strong longing for togetherness and the family was tired of feeling like strangers in their own country.

Most of them work remotely or have found local jobs. There are also Swedish companies that have moved their entire operations to Åland.

The flow of people to Åland is still small overall, but it raises questions. What does it say about Sweden when families with children start emigrating to protect their children?

Samnytt has been in contact with Jörgen Wehmonen from Stockholm, who lives half the year in Åland and knows many Swedes who have moved to the island. He believes that the reason why Swedes flee Sweden is crime and insecurity.

“If you have children, it’s about the environment in the Swedish school, it’s messy, it’s noisy, there’s no security, and you want to get away from that environment. Outside of school, it’s also about crime. Should you dare to let your 12-year-old daughter or son out? I know a lot of people here in Stockholm who don’t let their 15-year-olds go out anymore. It’s too dangerous.”

When asked about the brutal criminality that has affected Swedish youth in recent years – humiliation robberies, rapes and an escalating sense of insecurity – Wehmonen says it’s tragic. This is due to mass immigration from the Middle East and Africa. That the cultures that have come here want to conquer and dominate.

“It’s about humiliating and taking power at all costs. Many of those who have come to Sweden have been brought up to assert themselves in a different way. We want to live in harmony, it’s a completely different culture. Dominance culture is a good word to describe how they behave.”

He also believes that those affected are mainly Swedish boys and girls and that this is linked to the culture of honour that has taken hold in Sweden.

“Swedish young people are easy prey. They often don’t fight back. Unfortunately, they are easy victims.”

When it comes to the difference between Finnish (Ålandic) and Swedish schools, Wehmonen believes that Swedish schools are also feminised and negatively influenced by too much feminism and gender ideologies. Boys in particular suffer doubly, from the insecurity and vulnerability in society, plus demonisation in the classroom.

With a 19-year-old daughter in Stockholm, the question is: Would he have chosen Åland if she were a child today?

“Yes, absolutely. I wouldn’t want to have children in Sweden today. I think it has gone too far. I don’t want to be part of this country anymore, I want to escape from this country. The only thing that keeps me here is my daughter.”

Samnytt asks Jörgen Wehmonen what it says about a society when people start emigrating, referring to crime and insecurity.

“That our politicians are not addressing the problems, that mass immigration is completely out of control, that integration is not working at all.” He concludes by saying: “There must be a total stop. A total stop, for many years to come. If it is to be saved. But I fear that it’s too late. In ten or twenty years, migration will only increase, and more and more Swedes will leave Sweden.”