African Woman Stands Up to the Nazis in Sweden
The images of Tess Asplund, a 43 year-old African woman, has gone viral after she blocked the path of the Neo-nazi terror group, Nordic Resistance, that staged a demo on Sunday, 1st of May 2016 in Borlänge as part of the organization’s May day events.
During the brief confrontation between Tess and the Nazis, Tess raised a clenched fist “Mandela salute” in front of the leader of the uniformed Nazis, a salute that is usually associated with Black Power movement which was established in the 60s by the Black Panther Party to fight against oppression of African Americans in the United States.
According to Tess, who spoke to journalists, her clenched fist salute was not a call for violence in fighting the Nazis but a statement for peaceful protest. She said that during the confrontation, she was not scared but pissed off. About 300 members of the Nazi organization were out to show their ugly faces in the streets of Borlänge when they met Tess at the square where police were providing security for the demo.
She said that the clenched fist salute is not a big deal for her but her Nelson Mandela gesture that she has used since she became an activist 26 years ago. “There must not be Nazis matching in our streets”, she said.
She said that everything happened so fast. She apparently stared at one of the Nazis and he stared back but did not flinch. No one said a word. Then the police came and took her away. Although it is known that majority of the Nazis are former convicts of violent crimes, Tess said that she was never afraid. In her justification of her action, she said:
“One must dare to show that it is not okay for Nazis to demonstrate in our streets. I am 43 years old, 163 centimeters tall and weighs 50 kilos, it is not much but together, we can all fight against racism”.
The Nazis have been preaching an agenda of deporting all immigrants to their countries of origin while at the same time spreading hatred and xenophobia around Sweden. They have been burning refugee reception centers, calling for a stop to immigration in Sweden, advocating a white supremacy ideology, calling for a ban on visas and calling for an all-white society in Sweden.
Okoth Osewe
Kenya Stockholm Blog 