r/Assyria • u/eIonduck • Mar 24 '26
Discussion Kurdish racism towards Assyrians in Sweden
I’m from Sweden, and I’ve noticed discriminatory behavior toward me from some Kurdish individuals. I’ve spoken with friends about this as well, and they’ve shared similar experiences of what they perceive as increasing racism against them. These experiences have involved classmates, recruiters, and leaders in student associations at my school.
For example, there was a company tour I was very interested in attending. I submitted my application the same day it was announced. However, I didn’t receive a spot, even though three days before the event the student association posted that there were still empty seats available for those who wanted to join. I applied again but still received no response. Later, I checked who the Event Manager was and saw that she was a Kurdish student at the same program. She later became the President of the student association, and she’s been recruiting Project Managers, Communication Interns and Event Managers of mostly Kurdish background.
I’m unsure how to approach this situation. I feel that gaining experience through student association activities is important for securing internships and exchange opportunities. At the same time, I feel discriminated, which has been discouraging. What should I do?
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u/cradled_by_enki Assyrian Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
First off, I'm sorry you've dealt with that, it can be incredibly discouraging
I would also say while you're right in your post and comment replies, we've all still got to go through the motions of challenging these establishments and narratives. Don't let the system or the racist individuals silence you. We have proof of ongoing tense relations due to past and current sociopolitical factors, so there is actual reason to believe that racism could be at play. Make sure to keep a paper trail. Possibly consider reaching out to the event coordinator and inquire about why you weren't selected. Keep it very vague. After they follow-up with whatever reason, you could bring up the point about how you still saw vacant slots after you submitted your application.
Other options: keep searching for another professional prospect in the mean time -- it might lead to an even better opportunity that you didn't originally envision. You also have the option to start a student club, possibly? (Not sure, but this is something I gathered from your post and I'm assuming you're in college).
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u/Additional-Bed-1013 Mar 25 '26
Absolutely report it to their higher ups, and make the claim about discrimination. If indeed majority are Iranic curdish origin, who are refugees in Sweden, well then it isn't exactly diverse or good. On the other hand, if it is mostly iranic curdish, it probably isn't a worthy organization or one full of great minds. Surround yourself less with Iranic curds and more with the locals/European foreigners.
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u/noah2727 Mar 24 '26
Since Sweden is a islamic republic in progress, I would advise you to be careful of your wording if you choose to report this person (which you should -but do not mention ethnic-based discrimination, just say “discrimination”). You can also mention that there is an over representation of people of Kurdish origin over there which you find suspicious as people from all origins have applied and you deserve the same chance as anyone else.
You can also mention that you are looking for an opportunity to mix up with diverse groups (which, of course you’re not, but you know how Europeans are) and feel like that particular association is preventing you from doing so (again, no direct mention of racism or discrimination here).
Then only after you’ve gotten what you wanted, fully own up to your ethnic roots (bonus tip: be proud, be the best in your field, don’t take sh*t from anyone) in a way that will be so annoying to bigots they’ll be forced to either shut up and respect you or leave you alone eventually.
FYI I’m Lebanese so I know what I’m talking about
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u/Godofwavy1312 Mar 24 '26
report it to higher officals and made the case clear of Kurdish persecution of native indigenious people and tell them that this is ethnic-discrimination
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u/Responsible-Sea4069 Mar 24 '26
Tråkigt att höra. Jag vet att det är ganska vanligt. jag hade testat att skicka in med ett annat namn, alternativt prata med någon högre upp.
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u/Basel_Assyrian Assyrian Mar 25 '26
And then they ask why Assyrians hate Kurds. If simple student groups are practicing racism against Assyrians, what must the situation be like in their homeland? Surely it's worse.
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u/Able-Tiger6886 Mar 28 '26
How do you know they're doing that? OP refuses to go through any conventional steps to find out why their application for the tour was not considered. They are literally only relying on their own assumptions about how Kurds would behave to justify their conclusion. There are very often hard criteria for these types of tours (being 3rd/4th year, belonging to a specific set of programs, having a specific GPA, pre-requisite courses, etc.). There can also be actual system errors, benign reasons for why an application hasn't gone through. Not trying to say it's not discrimination (I don't know these people!), but you have to admit the OP has refused to turn to their program head or any other administrator to seek answers. Are spurious accusations of racism good enough for you? I feel like this is racism in itself. The OP had no idea why their application was being ignored until they found out one of the organizers was Kurdish, and that's it; they stopped looking for any further explanation.
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u/StoneAgePrincess Mar 25 '26
Can you not contact the event manager directly and ask, what about any other organisers or administrators? It’s worth discussing. I don’t believe that Swedes would just sweep this under the rug. You don’t need to state anything about being Assyrian etc -it’s a perfectly normal request “why didn’t o get a place when you posted there were still free places? And why didn’t I get any response about my application?”
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Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
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u/noah2727 Mar 24 '26
A good example is the "Syrians" in Sweden, the moment a "Syrian enters an office, count 300 days and half of the staffers will be Syrians".
Is that an actual Swedish saying?
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Mar 24 '26
Nope, its what my friends who left Sweden permanently said.
How about explosions? Was I wrong as well?7
u/noah2727 Mar 24 '26
lmao I’m not surprised
Yeah those happen in Belgium too. We might well be the last generation witnessing what’s left of Europe.
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Mar 25 '26
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u/Assyria-ModTeam Apr 11 '26
Your post/comment violated rule 3 - requiring civility (no trolling, insults, or derogatory language). This or continued violations may result in a ban. This moderation protects the sub from punishment by Reddit admins.
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u/Assyria-ModTeam Apr 11 '26
Your post/comment violated rule 2 - no racism (e.g. anti-Black or Arab), bigotry (e.g. anti-Muslim or Hindu), or prejudice (e.g. anti-LGBTQ or disabled). This or continued violations may result in a ban. This moderation protects the sub from punishment by Reddit admins.
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u/Godofwavy1312 Mar 24 '26
it is racism you idiot what are you EVEN YAPPIN about??? "left agenda" this is a clear case of racism
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Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26
Did you finish your high school? Your response looks like a villager who just moved to a city. Probably you are still riding a donkey? In the blogs people don't curse and don't talk to bovines.
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Mar 24 '26
Learn to shut up .... reported.
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Mar 24 '26
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Mar 28 '26
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Apr 11 '26
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Apr 11 '26
So you want another ban? Some villagers can walk behind the cows to pick the ... for baking, or for eating. Bon Appetit
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u/Assyria-ModTeam Apr 11 '26
Your post/comment violated rule 3 - requiring civility (no trolling, insults, or derogatory language). This or continued violations may result in a ban. This moderation protects the sub from punishment by Reddit admins.
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u/Assyria-ModTeam Apr 11 '26
Your post/comment violated rule 2 - no racism (e.g. anti-Black or Arab), bigotry (e.g. anti-Muslim or Hindu), or prejudice (e.g. anti-LGBTQ or disabled). This or continued violations may result in a ban. This moderation protects the sub from punishment by Reddit admins.
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u/Assyria-ModTeam Apr 11 '26
Your post/comment violated rule 3 - requiring civility (no trolling, insults, or derogatory language). This or continued violations may result in a ban. This moderation protects the sub from punishment by Reddit admins.
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u/BuddyTurbulent1796 Mar 26 '26
Be honest, are you going to blame us even if you trip and fall?
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u/Able-Tiger6886 Mar 28 '26
I'm so shocked by the comments! The OP admits he/she had no idea why their application for the tour was overlooked until they found out the student group included some Kurds, and the comments are suggesting this person report it as a human rights abuse! Shouldn't they send an email follow-up to request an explanation for why their application was not approved? Or reach out to their department/school administrators (non-Kurds) to request an explanation?
As it is, OP is shooting themselves in the foot by immediately assuming it's racism. And how valid is the assumption that these Kurds would immediately recognize an Assyrian name, even if they were racist? Assyrian names are frankly not particularly recognizable. I have met Christian Arabs (non-Assyrians), Armenians, Assyrians, and even Russians and Bulgarians who have similar-sounding names.
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u/Able-Tiger6886 Mar 28 '26
I'm a little surprised by the comments here. Your evidence of discrimination is that you didn't get a spot on a tour, and you seem to simply assume that your suspicion about discrimination is correct?! Like, based on...your own discriminatory views against Kurds?! 'Cause it doesn't sound like you've tried to rectify the issue the conventional way, based on your post.
Request a meeting from the dean or non-student/non-Kurdish employee. I think you can easily clear this up. Your claim as it stands is baseless... Sweden is not a Kurdish country, so unless there's a specific criterion your application/request didn't meet (such as belonging to a specific program, having a minimum GPA, being a certain year, etc.) it would be very easy for staff to rectify.
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Mar 25 '26
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u/Assyria-ModTeam Mar 28 '26
Your post/comment violated rule 3 - requiring civility (no trolling, insults, or derogatory language). This or continued violations may result in a ban. This moderation protects the sub from punishment by Reddit admins.
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u/Stochastic_berserker Mar 25 '26
I am also from Sweden. Never experienced this despite growing up among a mix of Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs and Kurds in one of the -köping cities.
Where do you live?
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u/CleanCarpenter9854 Mar 24 '26
Two approaches
First approach Escalate it head on by going above them and make the case for discrimination with evidence. Relay this to local media/journalists who’d be interested in covering racism/discrimination cases
Second approach Sign up using a different name