Asylum seekers in Sweden have begun moving into the first tent camp set up for them, despite wintry temperatures as the country struggles to accommodate the large number of migrants arriving, an AFP correspondent at the scene reported Friday.
“The first 12 asylum seekers have moved into the tent camp … set up in Revinge” in southern Sweden, the Migration Agency said in a statement.
Images of the camp of white tents, erected on a grassy field in the tranquil countryside, were striking, a sight unseen in the Scandinavian nation since the Balkans war in the early 1990s when Sweden also took in many refugees.
On Friday, temperatures in Revinge hovered around five degrees Celsius (41 Fahrenheit), as rain lashed the area.
Around 200 people will live in the heated tents, which sleep 12 people each.
So far only single men are being housed in the tents, as families with children and those with special needs are being prioritized for proper housing.
The Revinge tents are a temporary solution pending the construction of a more permanent camp, the Migration Agency said.