<
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2023/0315/By-sharing-housing-seniors-and-migrants-in-Sweden-build-bridges>
"It was when his older Swedish neighbors threw him a high school graduation
party that Afghan native Zia Sarwary finally felt a sense of belonging in this
picturesque seaside city.
“It meant everything to me,” says Mr. Sarwary, who at the age of 13 arrived
alone in Sweden during the 2015 refugee crisis. “That was the beginning of
feeling at home.”
Mr. Sarwary is one of dozens of tenants living in Sällbo, a shared-living
project mixing elder Swedes and young adults, some of them from Sweden, others
– like him – from the Middle East or Afghanistan. The six-story building with
51 apartments helps counter both the loneliness of advanced-age Swedes and the
integration difficulties facing migrants who arrived as unaccompanied minors.
Tenants of Sällbo have found common ground within these colorful walls, which
they attribute to the cumulative impact of courtesy, kindness, mutual
curiosity, and understanding.
“The whole goal was to show that even if you are different and even if you are
people who would not usually socialize, you would do so if there is a safe
environment where you know who is in the house,” says Dragana Curovic, the
project manager for Sällbo. “After three years, we can say that it worked.”"
Via
The Fixer March 29, 2023
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/at-this-swedish-apartment-building-young-and-old-promise-to-interact/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
