Around fifty exchange students came to Kristianstad, the southern part of Sweden, from 11 countries to study, and ended up in hospital and prison.
When it comes to “hospital” or “prison” most commonly associated with misfortune, people tend to avoid it, not to mention living inside. But the landlord called Kerstin had an idea and turned the jail into renovated student accommodation in Fangelse where supermarkets and shops are nearby. Students living there can easily get access to the city centre on foot in five minutes and take a bus to the campus within ten minutes.
However, in the first month of student arrival, the student housing in Fangelse was not ready; therefore the erasmus students had no other option but to live in the place the landlord provided free of charge but it is far away from the city centre, until the renovation of prison was done. The refurbished place they lived in the first month is hospital in Broby where many refugees are living in the vicinity. Facilities in Broby have been rearranged after students moved back to the prison since “hospital” was going to accommodate a group of asylum seekers.
Students at first were unsatisfied with the arrangement because they did not expected that the student housing in Fangelse was still under renovation and thus the facilities in hospital were poor-equipped. Yuri Choi from South Korea said the corridor was too dark, which made her scared of walking alone at night. Another student from Hong Kong called Levia Kwong also added that the way to the laundry was scary because the lights were always off and on.
After a full month, the exchange students were finally able to move back to the prison where the facilities are much better than Broby; however, the construction workers were still doing their jobs even after students moved in. Many students complained that the noise woke them up every morning until November, the third month they were living in the prison.
Even so, they, from Germany, France, Italy, and other eight countries, are the first group who lived in the renovated prison in Fangelse, unanimously saying that they did not have a bad mood despite living with the noise made by workers. They added, thanks to the accidental living in hospital, unity among exchange students has become greater because they had to share the only living room in Broby.
The Swedish newspaper about exchange students in Fangelse
Melissa KO 