As a child, I was nuts. I was outspoken, easy-going, and all over the place. I would flirt with alcoholics, I would talk to anyone who gave me even a slightest bit of attention, and I was always laughing.
I grew up in a very nice neighborhood. I've mentioned before that when I was 10 years old, I was the only one in my year who had not been to the Mediterranean.
The neighborhood was nice. Very nice. I had a few rules to follow, but other than that, I was free to conjur up and execute whatever shenanigans my little kid brain could imagine. And it could imagine a lot.
"Don't cross the big road."
"Don't talk to strangers."
"Don't accept candy or food from strangers."
"I want to meet all your friends and their parents before you can go there and play."
"Don't follow strangers anywhere."
"Keep an eye on your sister."
"You do not leave this block on your own."
Those were my rules. I didn't even know there was something called pedophiles until I was 12, because it wasn't an issue.
The climate has hardened severely in Sweden. Kids no longer feel safe playing on their own. Parents don't feel safe letting kids play on their own.
Fashion and material status has an ever younger target, and it makes me sad. Always being judged for what you eat, what you wear, what things you own.
So, you can imagine my happy surprise when I came to Swords. Children play unsupervised in the enclosure made by the apartment buildings. I saw a child laying on a bench without a fear in the world, and no one was fussing over it. I saw a child looking for her mother in the mall, but she would not talk to me when I asked if she wanted help. Children here seem to be raised the same way I was, and it makes me happy.
The climate here is so very different, and I love every second of it. People are so friendly, so kind, and so helpful. I hope to see this attitude spread further and further across the world.
DFTBA
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