Problematising refugee migrants in the Swedish forestry sector

In this article, ideas behind current Swedish efforts to integrate refugees in ‘green’ industries are analysed. We ask why the employment of refugees in forestry, a sector historically and globally notorious for its abuse of migrant workers, has come to be regarded as a solution in official Swedish migration policy. A discourse analytical approach is applied, analysing what the arguments are for introducing refugees to forestry work and how the forest, as a space, is depicted and used discursively as a means for refugee integration. The sources for the analyses consist of articles appearing in the printed press from 2015 to 2017. Three main problem discourses are identified: the ‘labour shortage’ discourse, the ‘refugees in need of work’ discourse and the ‘forest as a health-promoting learning environment’ discourse. The hazardous aspects of forestry work or the fact that refugees might be overqualified for the jobs offered are generally left unproblematised