Swedes try dinner diplomacy to befriend immigrants

Sollentuna (Sweden) (AFP) - In war-torn Syria where Mikhail Zuhir comes from, a nighttime knock on the door can mean death, but when he rings the bell at a Swedish home on a dark night he comes bearing flowers.

Instead of fear, a warm dinner and welcome await the 29-year-old refugee who fled the violence that has claimed more than 195,000 lives since Syria's war began more than three years ago.

"As I see it, if you're invited to dinner and you arrive without flowers, you're sure not to get invited again," he said, handing a bouquet to his hosts, Urban Soederman and Jenny Sigurs.

Soon the three are seated at a table over traditional Swedish fare: salmon, potatoes, apple pie with whipped cream.

What seems a casual social event is proving to be a successful initiative at better integration, as Sweden faces a rise in the anti-immigration far right.

The project is the brainchild of Ebba Aakerman, a teacher of Swedish as a second language, who was moved by a simple idea -- nothing breaks the ice better than sharing a meal.

This dinner diplomacy, she hopes, will facilitate dialogue in a nation long known for its openness but shocked by September's general election when the far-right doubled its support to almost 13 percent.

For Sweden, mass immigration is a recent and growing phenomenon, with a 2013 survey showing 20.1 percent of the population has roots outside the country.

- 'I got curious' -

Akerman got the idea early this year when she started as a substitute teacher for foreigners making new lives in Sweden.

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Swedes try dinner diplomacy to befriend immigrants