Have you ever had to report someone you love? It felt a little like that, when I reported the United States to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva 2013-14. The most terrible about it, was to be alone, to not have a fruitful and honest discussion with other Swedish people, especially professionals. As if I betrayed them somehow. Maybe I did, revealed a truth that is far from Hallmark romance, although that too exists in the United States. It's a highly complex set of emotions for me, where some totally contradict the other. But, the truth of the matter is, that I have always been able to trust Americans. Someone will show up and rally for you, or be decent enough to explain why not. There is straight forwardness together with ingenuity that I sincerely appreciate, besides an open and allowed spirituality, a feeding of my curiosity and inspiration and the energy to push forward, providing me with a better confidence. And, the truth of the matter in Sweden is, that nobody can relate, nobody wants to and nobody cares. Neither about the good, nor about the bad. And I can certainly not trust anyone in a position of authority. How can they not do anything about what I've reported becoming subjected to inside Sweden either? Because I don't love him or them? Never have.
I've never been more baffled by this this media silencing treatment that I've been subjected to, these last couple of years. When I finally have a scoop much larger than me, nobody is interested? I bet it's like so often with other things here; the Swedish media doesn't want to write anything about the United States, unless it has been reported by the news media in the US first. Even with a Swedish person as a true source!
Meanwhile, the US tend to only focus their attention on their borders, where it can be illegal to entry, in contrast to living within the country with valid visas first. I had no idea that one can end up in a prison cell before becoming deported. And I'm pretty well versed, experienced and educated. Do the rest of the Swedish people and immigrants here know? I take it, US detention of immigrants, is a little like the pink elephant in the room. Nobody wants to talk about it, but it's still there. And I've always loved elephants...
I'm therefore also grateful to have been able to vent some of my experiences with a legal attaché at the US Embassy back then. It felt important to share, to be heard and to be real about a specific incident. Even if my books are indeed real too, it's still easy to get lost in nostalgia when I wrote and edited them. Nonetheless nothing becomes really solved and improved if it isn't discussed. Then that becomes the story instead.
Reality is always worthy of a discussion.
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