The world is living in a complex geopolitical situation, with world peace threatened by the conflicts in the Middle East and in Ukrainewhere the tension has taken new steps in recent days following the Biden’s decision to approve the use of long-range U.S. missiles on Russian territory, and the Moscow’s response by changing its nuclear doctrine. to contemplate atomic response to conventional attacks against Russia.
In this regard, in the countries close to Russia there is growing insecurity about their neighborslast year Sweden and Finland broke their neutrality to join NATO.and now, the governments of the three Scandinavian nations (Norway, Sweden and Finland) are distributing to their population “manuals” and techniques for dealing with a possible war or crisis. resulting from a war conflict.
The “war and crisis manuals” handed out in Sweden and the Scandinavian countries.
As reported by the BBCas of this Monday, millions of Swedes are receiving copies of a manual with instructions, measurements and tips for the civilian population to prepare in case of war or other threats such as unexpected crises or extreme events. It includes indications for ensuring the self-sufficiency in extreme cases, such as those inor drugs that should be prioritized or other basic survival instructions.
In the case of Sweden, this manual is being distributed among the population in physical form, with a printed booklet entitled “In case of crisis or war”. In neighboring Finlandhas been published similar advice for the population on the Internetaimed at preparing civilians in case of “incidents and crises”. Norway has also distributed similar information among its nationals, including an essential list of long-lasting food, medicines or other basic items, such as iodine tablets.
Scandinavian countries have already resorted to similar measures throughout the 20th century, during World War II or the Cold War. Very recently, they have also Denmark e-mailed information to its population with basic advice in case of a national emergency.
Recommendations on food, subsistence…
Among the recommendations included in these types of guides and messages are:
- List of durable food or easy-to-cook foods: potatoes, carrots, soups, canned food…
- Basic objects for subsistence in extreme situations.
- How to protect yourself from low temperatures.
- Basic listing of drugs.
The manuals specify that. each environment is different (subsisting in an apartment in the city is not the same as subsisting in a farm in the countryside), so needs and recommendations must be adapted based on this premise. An essential recommendation is to procure food and water to subsist for at least 72 hours, a time threshold that is considered key.
Information for citizens in the face of the “change in the global context.”
Sweden’s Minister of Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlin explained that citizens “must be prepared” for a situation in which the global context is changingnot only because of the wars but also by the extreme weather events These changes must be reflected in the information available to the public. The minister went so far as to assert that “there could be a war in Sweden”a message that was interpreted as a wake-up call to exercise extreme caution in defense matters in the face of possible moves by Russia.
In Finland, the precedent of the Soviet invasion is not so far away.This has meant that Finland has always been a country that has always been very focused on defense against its Russian neighbor, although it was only a few months ago that it definitively joined the Atlantic Alliance.