Only in Denmark

URL: http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Indland/2012/02/26/213237.htm

When the hair is black and the eyes are brown, working in Denmark can be a mixed pleasure. Workplace is in fact the only place where immigrants with non-Western background over the past 11 years has seen a small increase in discrimination rather than a decrease.

The weekly A4 writes the article based on the latest figures from market research Voxmeter which annually measures the discrimination in Danish society.

In 2000, only every tenth immigrant who pointed to colleagues as the culprits when they had experienced discrimination. Now it is every six.

Tolerance is less 
The trend worries Donald Ejrnæs, lecturer and researcher in labor and ethnicity at RU. There are two explanations for the increase, he told BBC News.

- One is that immigrants are in contact with customers and Danish colleagues, where they had a little more isolated job.

- The second is that the crisis means that there is competition for jobs. Danes feel more insecure and threatened to keep working, and it comes as reflected by less tolerant of others in jobs, including immigrants.

The consequence could be very unlucky. Namely, a segregated labor market without cohesion and greater contact between Danes and immigrants.

Mentoring can help 
Donald Ejrnæs fear that some migrants will withdraw from contact with ethnic Danes on the labor market and prefer secure bastions in the cleaning industry and hotel and restaurant kitchens.

The responsibility for change on the development lies with both employers and trade unions and also the state, says Anders Ejrnæs.

He points out that jobs could set up mentoring schemes to address social inclusion in the workplace.

URL: http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Andre_sprog/English/2011/12/20/131917.htm

The City Court of Copenhagen has found the father of a 16-year-old girl guilty of illegally providing a home to his daughter because she is an illegal alien in Denmark.

Lakhlifa Khallad was charged with allowing his own daughter to live with him. According to the indictment, he should instead have asked her to leave the country.

The daughter is 16 years old and has been living in Denmark for the last five years – but she has not been able to obtain a residence permit. She came to Denmark from Morocco because her mother had a new husband who did not want to look after her, and following the death of her grandmother with whom she was subsequently living.

The court found the father guilty, but a majority of judges thought that he should not be punished.

URL: http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Andre_sprog/English/2011/11/25/115826.htm

The number of new permanent residents in Denmark is falling dramatically, according to new figures from the Danish Immigration Service under the Ministry of Justice, writes Berlingske.

Up to 30 September this year the Immigration Service issued 525 permanent residence permits, compared to 1,796 in the same period last year. This is a decrease of more than 70 per cent. For comparison, the number of rejected applications has risen from 1,486 to 2,449.

This significant shift coincides with the point system of eligibility for permanent residence introduced in 2010 by the previous, Lib-Con, government and the Danish People’s Party.

The point system tightened such requirements as knowledge of Danish, a job and active citizenship, for example via local clubs and associations.

Peter Skaarup, deputy chairman of the Danish People’s Party, acknowledges that the main intention behind the Act was not to drastically reduce the number of new permanent residents.

“The aim was to get people to make a positive contribution to society. I think the numbers will rise again as immigrants start to fulfil the work experience requirements, for example,” he said to Berlingske.

The Liberals’ spokeswoman on integration affairs, Inger Støjberg, rejects any claim that the point system is not functioning as intended.

“The intention was that new immigrants should be able and willing to make a contribution to society, and the figures clearly show that many applicants have failed to meet the requirements,” she told Berlingske.

Although the new government’s programme includes a plan to abolish the point system, Morten Bødskov (SocDem), Minister of Justice, will not guarantee that more immigrants will be able to achieve permanent residence in future.

“When the proposed new legislation is presented next week, it will show how and when the government plans to introduce new measures,” Morgen Bødskov told Berlingske.

URL: http://www.dr.dk/P1/Netvaerket/Udsendelser/2011/11/10101629.htm

“Skrub hjem hvor du kommer fra!” (Go back to where you come from!)

It’s a phrase that increasingly affects adopted children in Denmark. Said by adults “white” Danes – and it is relatively new, reports adoption agencies.
That it may be difficult to gain access to nightclubs if your skin color is dark, is however not quite so new.

In Denmark, there is indeed a saying that skin color has no significance. That we in a way everyone is colorblind and that all are treated equally.

But is racism and discrimination, a more widespread problem in our communities than we expect? How do we tackle the more or less hidden everyday racism that apparently is among us?

And us – it applies to us all – even among the minorities, there are many stereotypes and racist beliefs.

What does the prejudices and racist ideas we have, compared to having to live together in a community?

Is the so-called multicultural society where people with different backgrounds and different skin colors live side by side in mutual respect, an opportunity or a utopia?

We all have a strip of skin 
Dorte Toft believe that everyday racism is more widespread than we like to think. She has studied blogs, and is appalled by the attacks on other people she encountered in the universe.

- But we all have a strip of skin. I can also take myself to think – oh no, why, why – when I see covered women on the street, now that we have for so many years has fought for women’s emancipation. Prejudices and myths drags us all around, and I would hope that in future we will have a society where we marry over the border so that we have cleared up some of them, says Dorte Toft.

Anxiety 
- When white adult Danes can bring themselves to ask small dark children to go back to where they came from, it’s an expression of powerlessness and some fear of the unknown, says Nicholas Henningsen. He agrees that everyday racism is thriving in our communities and even he encounters it in his work among his friends and himself.

- No one is we’re born racists and prejudiced against other people. They come from somewhere. I think it’s something cultural, mixed with psychological mechanisms that powerlessness and fear of the unknown, says Nicholas Henningsen.

He also believes that in our communities is a fear of contact and a “touchy” – for what can be said without being called racist?

- A variety may well be an idiot, but it is obviously problematic if some people think he is an idiot because he is black, says Nicholas Henningsen.

Danish values ​​in a multicultural society 
The first January 2010, there were 542,738 immigrants and descendants of immigrants in Denmark.

This corresponds to approximately 10 percent of the Danish population. As the figure rises Denmark will move further and further towards a multicultural society. Periodically, the paper discusses whether it is possible that so many cultures can work together?
Yes, says Ann Elisabeth Knudsen. But she believes that it has to be based on so-called Danish values.

- I think it’s okay to say that if you want to live in Denmark, there are some rules to follow and an effort to do because we live in this country that has certain values ​​and a certain culture, says Ann Elisabeth Knudsen.

URL: http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Andre_sprog/English/2011/11/11/11124534.htm

It has become easier to persuade engineers, doctors and other highly educated foreigners to come to Denmark to work. Convincing them to stay, however, is proving difficult, according to the Danish National Centre for Social Research (SFI), in a report just released.

One reason for leaving again is the high Danish taxes, but the biggest problems arise if the family is unhappy, the researcher behind the report, Frederik Thuesen, says to DR News.

Job for spouse
“A highly educated expatriate often also has a highly educated spouse. The spouse naturally also wants a job that matches his or her qualifications, and that can be difficult to ensure,” says Frederik Thuesen.

The City of Copenhagen is aware of the importance of the social aspects in relation to retaining foreign workers.

Foreigners can visit the City of Copenhagen’s Citizen Services twice a week, where they can get help from the tax authorities, Citizen Services and other bodies.

Social relations are important
They can also obtain information about Danish clubs and associations, cultural life and language courses.

Copenhagen has the philosophy that foreigners that become integrated in society are more likely to stay.

“Lack of contact is often the reason that people leave again,” says project manager Trine Marie Ingeberg.

The 25-year-old Polish PhD student Jakub Modrzynski agrees, adding that it is very difficult to develop close relationships with Danes. And that is necessary if he is to stay in Denmark.

URL: http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Andre_sprog/English/2011/11/10/123610.htm

The government intends to remove the financial bonus paid out to municipalities that convince immigrants to go home. This proposal will be tabled in a new bill later this month.

Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten reports that this will also remove the municipalities’ duty to inform poorly integrated immigrants of their options via the repatriation scheme.

Still support for repatriation
Today an immigrant participating in the repatriation scheme is given a cash amount of nearly DKK 120,000 to establish a life in the country of origin. Expenses for airline tickets, removal, medicine etc. are also covered.

The government does not intend to change this part of the scheme, but the bonus paid out to the municipalities of DKK 25,000 per repatriated person is to be scrapped.

“We are removing it because it sends the wrong signal that these people do not belong here. The new government doesn’t want to send that signal,” says Minister for Social Affairs and Integration Karen Hækkerup (SocDem) to Information.

She adds that paying out a bonus based on how many people the municipalities convince to leave Denmark also sends an unfortunate signal.

Libs: Damaging to integration
According to the Liberals’ integration spokesperson Inger Støjberg, “the government is precision bombing those elements of the integration policy that work”.

“This means that immigrants who simply can’t become integrated will not be encouraged to leave the country,” says Inger Støjberg to Jyllands-Posten.

URL: http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Andre_sprog/English/2011/10/28/113551.htm

The government has declared that it will not allow any more children to become entangled in the family reunification rules and be prevented from living in Denmark with their mother or father.
However, 12-year-old Sirapat from Thailand has not had any benefit from this decision. Yesterday, the Ministry of Justice refused permission for the boy to live with his mother in Denmark.

The boy’s mother, Amporn Kamminsen, was not immediately able to call her son yesterday to inform him of the news. Seven months ago, the boy had to travel back to Thailand alone after the first time he was refused permission to live with his mother.

Moved from place to place
Since then, he has lived with his mother’s cousin, then with a sister, and for the past couple of months with an elderly teacher in Bangkok, where he is now affected by the increasing floods.
Sirapat’s father in Thailand refuses to have any contact with the boy.

URL: http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Andre_sprog/English/2011/08/03/095313.htm

There is only one person to blame for the massacre in Norway, and that is Anders Breivik and no one else.

That was the clear message from Dansk Folkeparti chairwoman Pia Kjærsgaard, when she during her party’s summer meeting was asked whether she, as her Norwegian sister party, is going to change her tough tone in political debates.

- It would be a very big mistake to start introducing restrictions now. People need to stop taking the blame and saying “This is our fault and we have to change our behavior”. That is simply giving him too much, she says to DR.

Terror has given others food for thought
Chairwoman of Norwegian party Fremskrittspartiet Siv Jensen has today told vg.no that there are words she regrets and phrases she would not use today – not in the upcoming local election campaign either.

MEP Morten Messerschmidt from DF said to Information Friday that he had gone through his previous writings and he “would no longer express himself that way”. But Pia Kjærsgaard, on the contrary, believes freedom of speech and the debate in Denmark is one of the reasons why there are not more people who resort to violent actions like Breivik.

They want to shut us up
DF foreign affairs spokesperson Søren Pind does not see any sense in toning down the rhetoric either.

- What does it mean to tone down the rhetoric? That I cannot say I am against the Islamic advances in Europe – because Breivik was against this? Am I not allowed to say that I support a strict immigration policy – because he supported that? What we are asked to do is shut up and stop expressing any of our political opinions.

- I think it would be good if Lars von Trier could tone down his rhetoric, and Klaus Rifbjerg and Christian Braad Thomsen as well, says Søren Espersen to DR.

URL: http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Andre_sprog/English/2011/08/02/120523.htm

When police search people for weapons in the special search zones in Copenhagen, half of those who are searched are non-ethnic Danes, a new report based on police figures shows.

President of the Danish Police Union Peter Ibsen is however not surprised that police focus especially on non-ethnic Danes. Moreover, he dismisses the fact that the police discriminate against non-ethnic Danes.

- As far as I know, non-ethnic Danes are overrepresented in the search zones. Therefore there is nothing strange about the fact that many of those who are searched are non-ethnic Danes, he says.

URL: http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Andre_sprog/English/2011/07/04/151534.htm

According to party chairperson Pia Kjærsgaard (Dansk Folkeparti), the EU has only itself to blame for the fact that the Schengen agreement concerning internal border cooperation is not working.

- The EU has allowed for the accession of Eastern European countries to the Schengen agreement – most recently Bulgaria and Romania.

- Crime is prevalent in both these countries, where the Eastern European mafia is almost as influential as the countries’ politicians, and where shootings on the streets are part of the everyday life and corruption a common phenomenon.

- Undoubtedly also among the Romanian and Bulgarian border officers, who are now entrusted with guarding the EU’s external borders, Pia Kjærsgaard explains.