Returned to Iraq: “Much safer than in Sweden – now I live like a king”

Published 14 October 2024 at 16.02

Domestic. Dagens Nyheter has interviewed the restaurateur “Amin” – who chose to move back home to Iraq from Sweden and describes it as one of the best decisions he made.

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– I have forgotten that time! Now I live like a king! I'm progressing, I'm fine now! says Amin to DN.

On the other hand, he notes that he has lost a large part of his life through his stay in Sweden. But now he has managed to build a successful restaurant business in his native Iraq, where he lives well. In Iraq, it is “much safer than in Sweden”, says Amin.

After being subjected to threats, violence and blackmail from a criminal network in Skärholmen, Amin chose to leave Sweden and return to his homeland, from which he moved after the US invasion in 2003.

In the DN interview, Amin talks about the difficult years that drove him to the decision. Although his first time in Sweden was positive, everything changed when criminal gangs took over the area. Restaurant owners, including Amin, were forced to pay large sums of money to protect their businesses from vandalism and violence.

Amin describes how the police initially tried to help, but that the violence in the area escalated – with several shootings, one of which was a homicide right outside his restaurant.

After ten years of struggle, and with a marriage cracking under the pressure, Amin decided to leave Sweden. Today he lives again in Iraq, where he has started a new restaurant and feels safer. However, he is deeply saddened by having lost contact with his family in Sweden.

– I moved to Sweden because it was a safe country. Now I'm moving from Sweden because it's not safe anymore, says Amin to DN.