Asylum-seeking child raises over $200,000 in Sweden after social media post

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) — Murhaf Hamid, who had to file an asylum request in Sweden despite having been born in the country, has broken a fundraising record as hundreds of thousands of dollars flowed in to help the boy.

The 11-year-old has raised more than 3.2 million Swedish kroner ($223,000) by selling paper flower pins in a traditional yearly campaign for the Majblomman (Mayflower) children's charity, the oldest one in the country.

Hamid has asylum seeker status and lacks both a residence permit and citizenship in Sweden. At first, his hopes were limited to just earning enough to buy some pizza.

Asa Henell, the charity's general secretary, told the local TT Newswire that sales were "completely unbelievable" and that they had "never seen anything like it."

She said kids usually collected around $100, as they earned a 10% commission on the pins they sell and were allowed to keep any tips they receive. Hamid first started like everyone else, even facing racist and hateful comments during the campaign.

A family friend, Leila Orahman, who was also first to report the story, decided to share a post on social media about him after seeing that adults were treating Hamid rudely and trying to get him to leave public areas.

She added that it was not the first time he had been a victim of racism, English-language news outlet The Local reported, citing media reports.

Following Orahman's Facebook post, Hamid's story went viral, paving the way for his record-breaking fundraising earnings.

"It's like winning the lottery ... You help children and can earn some money yourself," Hamid told local news channel SVT Skane.

Hamid said he "wanted to buy a residence permit" with the money but admitted that this was "not possible."

Instead, he plans to buy a mobile phone, shoes, and clothes.

Meanwhile, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson were among many who spoke out against the hateful reactions that the boy received, saying that those who wrote racist comments should be ashamed.

Likewise, the far-right Sweden Democrats party also described the racist comments as "unacceptable."

"We have notified our membership department and will handle the matter internally," said a statement it released.