It's Thursday morning and the Pride Kungsan outdoor area is bathing in sunlight, though the atmosphere on stage is not as sunny. People gather to listen to a debate between the Swedish Migration Board and the organisations Ain't l a woman, Interfem, Queerinstitutet and Transmilitanta brigaden. The topic is how the Swedish Migration Board have handled LGBTQ asylum seekers applying for residence permit in Sweden.
The debate is set as a trial, aiming for a dismissal of the Migration Board's presence at LGBTQ events, and the authority was invited to participate.
– The Migration Board declined our invitation, because they don't want a dialogue. They claim we're threatening them, one panelist says.
The board's response surprise both panel members and audience, mainly because the board have a tent of their own in Pride Kungsan, and because of past events at HBTQ-Festivalen in Gothenburg.
– Every time we've made contact with the Migration Board, both past and present, we have made it clear that we do not support violent actions.
The atmosphere is dense when the trial starts. Several witnesses are called to give their perspectives, including Stockholm Pride's chairman Pär Wiktorsson. Further on, Carina, asylum seeker from Belarus, tells the tragic story of how she and her girlfriend were persecuted and harassed in their home country. The Migration Board has rejected their asylum application three times.
– The Stockholm Pride festival is all about being a platform for open debate. The power of Pride is creating a forum for debate and criticism, reflecting the basic values of Stockholm Pride, Pär Wiktorsson says.
Commitment and gravity
The atmosphere is as severe as the coldest of winters, and the Migration Board's absence isn't helping.
– We find the Swedish Migration Board guilty on all counts. The Migration Board are for instance guilty of having incompetent administrators deciding on other people's lives, sending people to death.
When the "jury" has dismissed the Migration Boards self-proclaimed right to resident at LGBTQ events, the trial ends. An employee at the Migration Board is reported to have been part of the audience.