Only in Denmark

URL: http://politiken.dk/indland/ECE1540501/kloge-udlaendinge-bliver-overset/

Foreign expert workers must be brought to the country to get growth, we often hear from Danish companies.

But both public and private employers overlook the competent immigrants already here.

A new study from the Institute of Governmental Research (AKF) show that brought education and work experience does not help immigrants in employment.

“It’s only Danish and Danish professional education, which helps immigrants’ employment chances. They brought with them skills to help them, and it results in a double waste of resources to the community, “says Jacob Nielsen Arendt, research director of AKF.

The barriers must be removed 
AKF has analyzed 761 immigrants from Turkey, Pakistan and Iran, which on average has been here for 15 years at the time of inspection.

57 percent had a secondary, vocational or higher education from the country of origin, but the training gave them a higher employment rates than immigrants with no education.

Every third of those with a vocational or higher education in the baggage is in response to the lack of job opportunities chosen to take a Danish course at least equivalent amount. Which leads to the next get a job. We call AKF-researchers with a double waste of resources:

“By removing barriers to some of the educated enter directly into the workforce and contribute to society. Instead occurs the next wasted because society then uses the resources that the double-educate themselves. Resources could probably be better spent on immigrants with no education, “says Jacob Nielsen Arendt.

Immigrants considered incompetent 
Businesses complain regularly about the lack of highly skilled labor force with a global view. But the resource is located at the feet of employers, said several experts.

“We have a group of immigrants who repeatedly been found to be problematic and costly, and employers shall take them into. In reality, one should look at the group as a resource that businesses can use to become more competitive, “says Garbi Schmidt, professor of cultural studies at Roskilde University.

Same call from the company Relocare that helps highly skilled foreigners to gain a foothold in the labor market. Director Else Christensen find that employers mentality is an essential part of the problem.

“The foreigners who are here in the country, deemed incompetent immigrants, whereas foreigners abroad is considered a potential resource employee,” she says.

Important with a Danish education
But the trade association DI think it is not that employers have a responsibility.

Senior Consultant Sarah Gade Hansen suggests that there may be many reasons why the foreign education can not be used in Denmark, for example. a little about them. Therefore, she believes that it is “very positive” that immigrants complement with a Danish education.

“It’s really important that we in Denmark use the potential that we have already in the country. But many companies lack experts with special skills that you can no longer find in Denmark today, “she says.

URL: http://politiken.dk/erhverv/article1551593.ece

The crisis has reduced the proportion of immigrants from non-Western countries in the work. They simply work in the most affected industries.

Immigrants living life precariously on the job market.

They often work in factories, cleaning or in the canteen where the risk of layoffs is greatest. Thousands of industry job has been moved out of the country during the crisis, and when the belt must be tightened so that there will be throttled down to the canteen or cleaning.

“When companies need to save, so it is often in the production and support that is being cut. And those are the people with visible challenges, such as language, which often stands only. It is often those companies believe that they can best do without. Immigrants are located in other words, in highly exposed jobs, “said Josephine Fenger.

She is an expert in diversity management and integration of immigrants at the Center for Active Employment, CABI.

Working in production, catering and cleaning
CABI has made a study where they among other things, have looked at what types of jobs immigrants with non-Western background working in the light of an analysis of 382 companies.

64 percent of immigrant background working in the core production in manufacturing and almost 30 percent in the canteen, cleaning and the like. The results were compared with other studies.

“People with immigrant background are still overrepresented in the production and service occupations that do not require as much education and so great language skills. This is where the easiest to find work, but it also makes them vulnerable because their job easier is saved away, “said Josephine Fenger.

Conclusions aligns well with an analysis of the Labour Movement (AE) did last year. In 2008, 46.3 percent of immigrants with non-western background in labor, but the figure had dropped to 40.4 percent in 2010, when the financial crisis had taken hold.

For descendants of non-Western immigrants declined participation rate from 54.1 percent in 2008 to 44.7 percent in 2010.

“The crisis has been hard on immigrants in the labor market. These figures may even have been a little worse over the past year where the economy is facing, “says Lars Andersen, AE.

The language is the problem
The rate of employment among Danes has also declined during the crisis, but much more modest – namely from 71.1 to 67.4 percent.

“It’s gone better integration in the 1990s and the early years of this decade, but some progress has been squandered. It shows that immigrants are a vulnerable group in the labor market, “said Lars Andersen.

In the summer of 2008 there were around 70,000 unemployed when activated counted but the numbers rose quite rapidly in the wake of the financial crisis to more than 160,000 unemployed.

At our company Fruits & Vegetables Total Pak on Vestfyn know the problems with foreign workers. Here are 15 of some 40 staff immigrants.The company has not been out in saves below.

“But I understand the companies that choose to divest itself of immigrants if they are to dismiss. It can be difficult to give instructions when a portion of the employees do not speak Danish or misunderstand what is being told, “says director, Finn Jorgensen, Fruits & Vegetables Total Pak.

The Director believes nevertheless that it is wrong to choose the immigrants first.

“They are good and stable workforce and will gladly work overtime if necessary. I do not care where people are born, if they can get something from your hands, “said Finn Jorgensen.

The language is a challenge
At Total Pak has introduced language that takes place partly during working hours, partly for leisure. On the other hand, it has become mandatory to speak Danish in production.

“There may be cliques, where two rural men stand and speak a foreign language. Our Danish employees feel left out when, for example, works with two Poles who talk in their native language, “says Finn Jorgensen.

At CABI assess Josephine Fenger that language difficulties are one of the reasons that immigrants are more vulnerable than others. In CABI’s study estimates across 43 percent of the companies the language as a ‘challenge’.

“Once you’ve lost their jobs and have difficulty in the Danish language in advance so that it can in the current business cycle is very difficult to find a new job. And language problems can also make it difficult to find a relevant qualification bids. Thus, there is great danger that you’re trapped in an almost impossible situation, “said Josephine Fenger.

URL: http://politiken.dk/newsinenglish/ECE1498405/visa-problems-for-27-countries/

Businessmen and tourists from 27 countries have visa problems

EU President Denmark has made it almost impossible for businessmen and tourists from 27 countries to come to the country.

Qatar, for example, which is the world’s third richest country has seven flights to Copenhagen, but its citizens can no longer get a visa for Denmark in their own country. The same is the case for Bahrain and Libya.

The problem has arisen because Denmark has previously had visa issuance agreements with other Schengen countries in those territories where Denmark itself does not have a diplomatic representation.

But in September last year, the Integration Ministry suspended representation agreements with Finland and Germany, and France followed suit on January 1. The reason being given is that Denmark causes administrative problems for the other countries as Danish immigration authorities have to be involved in both applications and refusals for security and immigration policy reasons.

“We have this type of agreement with more than 30 countries and it works fine using normal procedures. The problem is that the Danish authorities do not want to follow normal procedures,” the French Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Eric Bosc tells Politiken.

A Danish Foreign Ministry spokesman says that Denmark’s interests are at stake.

“The result is that it becomes more difficult to get a visa to Denmark, and that is unfortunate. It affects trade, tourism and families and friends who want to come here,” says Ole Brix Andersen, Head of Department at the Foreign Ministry’s public service department.

Citizens from the 27 countries are not completely prevented from coming to Denmark – but they have to take a trip to another country that still has an agreement with Denmark in order to get a visa.

URL: http://politiken.dk/indland/ECE1484487/hoejtuddannede-blerti-minxhozi-smides-ud-af-landet/

Suitcases are piling up in the small hall. In the room are two more half-filled with the lid open.

The remains of Blerti Minxhozis life through 10 years in Denmark must be stowed together in unlikely little place, and he must say goodbye to his life and his apartment in the red-brick complex in Frederiksberg.

Albanian Blerti Minxhozi of 28 years has been given 30 days to leave Denmark, his graduate studies, his student, his friends, his brother and his condominium because he can not renew his residence permit.

On Wednesday he will be out of the Schengen area – 22 days before he must submit his thesis in Economics at the University. An education that is funded by the Danish taxpayers, but they never get the benefits of, because Blerti Minxhozi no longer allowed to stay in the country.

“The only feeling I can put into words, is absurd. It is a decision which either satisfy one or the other party, “he says.

As a 18-year-old moved Blerti Minxhozi to Denmark. He was the ambassador’s son  and completed his secondary education and worked hard to learn Danish – he took ten words every day in the dictionary and learned them by heart. Now he speaks with Copenhagen Danish sounding accent.

Blerti Minxhozi In short, the epitome of a resourceful, highly trained and well-integrated young immigrant who can and want to Denmark with all his heart.

Social relevance?
When he began his master studies in 2008, he got a residence permit as a student. Refer to the standard study he got two years to do his MA in Politics. completion plus six months to apply for jobs in. Therefore, the initial permit expire 28th February 2011, he figured. According to the rules of the Immigration Service can then apply for extension of study permit for 12 months.

In February this year Blerti Minxhozi sought extension to his permit. First with the expected thesis submission in August 2011, but since he also had two student, partly from consultancy firm Nordic Consulting Group and as chief accountant at the Albanian embassy, ​​he changed in July with his tutor studying economics delivery date to January 2012.

Was shocked for given refusal
“Frankly, I had not given the permit a thought. I could not see why they would not give it to me. “ When, in November received a refusal from the Immigration Service, he was therefore shocked:

“It was the decision that I had already used up the extra 12 months, since I, according to the prescribed period of time should have been finished in August 2010,” said Minxhozi, “but where is the six months that you have to apply for jobs ? If it was calculated, I could easily have finished my studies and got a job afterwards. “

Blerti Minxhozi has always fulfilled its activity requirements. Study job is a necessity if you have a job in the Danish society. It has all his Danish friends also, he says. He was millimeters from having to enter the workforce and provide its community obligations.

“I would guarantee me a good work in Denmark, so I could be of use to the Danish society and pay the good gift back, which it has provided me with a free education and full SU ‘.

Long treatment times
The clouds are gray and threatening to Frederiksberg. The first wet snow started to fall. Lint slaps down heavily on the three suitcases.

“Very lucky day,” said Blerti Minxhozi when his girlfriend complains about snow that whipped in the face on the way to the subway.

He feels empty inside – overwhelmed by meaninglessness. He is not angry at them at the Immigration Service, they just do their job – it’s the rules, it is mad with, they hit the wrong ones.

“You feel mistreated. You follow all the prescribed rules and contributing to society, and then you still sent out of the country like you’ve done something wrong. It’s a very uncomfortable feeling, “he says.

He waited ten months of its decision in the matter, according to regulations, it must take three months: “If I had got the decision in March so did I at least knew what I was dealing with. So I had had enough time to deliver my thesis in August, “said Blerti Minxhozi.

Single Ticket to Albania
When the Ministry of Employment in nine months have treated Minxhozis complaint, it is too late. It would so far be if the decision fell in the morning. He has had enough, he has seen Denmark from one side, he can not unite with:

“If you listened to the political debate in Denmark over the past several years, it’s just someone like me, they’d like in the country. But the rules and laws in the area reflect the views of the debate. If a highly educated come to the country, he does not bother to wait ten months to be admitted, so you might as well find opportunities in another country, “he says.

Minxhozis girlfriend just finished as a civil engineer specializing in management. They should move together in his apartment in Frederiksberg. The dream was to get a job in a Danish interest organization and work of Danish exports. But now it gets another country who come to enjoy Minxhozis highly trained skills and tax dollars.

He struggling suitcases and bags into the compartment in the SJ train to Gothenburg, where he will take leave of some family. On Wednesday he flies to Tirana in Albania.

URL: http://politiken.dk/debat/ECE1455702/thorning-gavner-danmarks-omdoemme/

66 foreign journalists asses Denmark’s reputation abroad

Ten years after ‘System change 2001′ the journalists who write about Denmark in foreign media are in no doubt: Denmark’s reputation dropped sharply from 2001 to 2011 under VKO.

But with the new government is facing arrow in the opposite direction.

It appears from a policy survey of 66 foreign journalists from 28 countries. We bring this figure from the survey and interview with two reporters.

Denmark’s image gets better

Elmar Jung is a German freelance journalist for the Financial Times Deutschland.

“During the previous government people have had the feeling that Denmark has never been fully respond to the EU project. We have the Danish population’s brains with the EU, but not their hearts. It is understood that a Danish membership is good for the Danish economy, but the Danes are not entirely convinced of their European identity. They see themselves as Danes – before they are Europeans.

Furthermore, the Danish population’s reputation in Germany was marked by the immigration policy that VKO introduced, which Denmark has repeatedly been lashed by the EU. It has over the last decade allowed many Germans paint a picture of Denmark as a navel-gazing country with a very tight immigration policy, where the Danish People’s Party had great influence.

We experienced it when the government introduced border control, which gave an additional notch in the Danish reputation. Therefore, we can already tell that there are changes with the new government, where the frontier boom demolished and some tightening rolled back. It will change much in the way the EU perceives Denmark on. In addition, Helle Thorning a much more European and international profile than Lars Lokke Rasmussen.Her background in Brussels and British husband also speaks of a more international politician who will stand well against the other member states up to the Danish EU Presidency. “

Denmark went off the rails

Monika Wallgren is a freelance journalist from Sweden.

“It has gone off the rails in Denmark over the past ten years. It was not always so. There was almost daily negative story about immigrants in the Danish media during VKO government. I think it went very hard for everything that was not Danish, in newspapers, television and radio. Both general and in public debate.

The Danes forget so often that the policy will be conducted at Christiansborg, the course will be covered in our respective countries, which then shapes their image of Denmark. Denmark’s image abroad has been much damage during the civil government, which has repeatedly criticized and exhibited Muslims living here in the press, which they have noticed in Sweden.

It has been a very inhuman policy, and the media have of course reported constraints to home countries, so that Denmark’s reputation has been great battle for the last ten years. I am optimistic about Helle Thorning, because you can not really tighten more to foreigners than VKO already done. It can not go more wrong than it already is now. “

Survey:

Politiken Research has asked 66 foreign journalists on Denmark’s reputation.

During VKO alliance 2001-2011 changed Denmark’s reputation in the country, I write, tell it …

Much worse / worse: 38

Much better / better: 1

Same: 23

Do not know: 4

—

What do you expect will happen with Denmark’s general reputation, with the new Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt? I expect that Denmark’s reputation is …

Much better / better: 44

Much worse / worse: 0

The same: 13

Do not know: 9

—

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements: “In the country where my stories are published, the Danes were perceived as more xenophobic (xenophobic, ed.) During VKO alliance 2001-2011 ‘.

Agree: 52

Disagree: 8

Neither / nor: 6

—

What do you expect will happen with Denmark’s general reputation in relation to xenophobia under the newly elected Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt? It will be …

Much better / better: 48

Much worse / worse: 2

The same: 9

Do not know: 7

URL: http://politiken.dk/newsinenglish/ECE1357364/danish-right-wing-infiltrated/

A network seems to have been able to infiltrate the Danish People’s Party, Den Danske Forening and racist and violent groupings.

A secret network called ORG , which has sought to ‘clean’ Denmark of immigrants and have a showdown with ‘traitors’ who have made immigration possible, has been active in infiltrating political and right-wing organisations, according to documents Politiken has obtained.

ORG, which has some 100 members, was started by a small group of men, several of whom have held leading positions in the Danish People’s Party, or been candidates for the party, while at the same time taking part in Ku Klux Klan-type events and exerting influence on extreme right-wing organisations.

Several ORG members have said they are willing to use violence against immigrants, and have praised the Hells Angels support group AK81 for ‘beating provocative wogs’.

Jesper Nielsen, who is the head of ORG, has refused to be interviewed about the organisation.

“ORG has not wanted the publicity concerned as we assume that the non-public character of the association will be misconstrued and misused to ascribe surreptitious motives to its closed nature,” ORG’s Board says in a message.

Confronted with Politiken’s information, Danish People’s Party’s Party Secretary Poul Lindholm Jensen says that ORG’s Chairman Jesper Nielsen has been part of the party leadership in Aarhus and that another ORG member has been a parliamentary candidate for the Danish People’s Party.

“I have not heard of ORG before. But I can see that neither of the two are with us anymore. They both solved the problem by withdrawing from the party,” Lindholm Jensen says.

While ORG has managed to keep the organisation secret for more than 20 years, Politiken has obtained internal ORG documents.

The documents include ORG’s organisational setup and tasks, several years of communication between the network’s leading members on a closed Internet forum as well as examples of the network’s extensive ‘traitor archive’, which is called ‘The Great Memory’. The documents show that ORG monitored political opponents, certainly until 2009, and was ready to share its information with the Den Danske Forening association, which is vehemently opposed to immigration.

The secret network’s Copenhagen leader, known as PUJ, received a suspended sentence in 2009 for having abused his position as a policeman to gather information on political adversaries.

A search of his home turned up correspondence with ORG’s Leader Jesper Nielsen, but the lead was not developed during his court case. “Our view was that he had contacts with other people who shared his views,” says Copenhagen Public Prosecutor Liselotte Nilas.

This particular aspect of the case was handed over to the Danish Security and Intelligence Service PET, whose chief Jakob Scharf says in a written response:

“PET has been involved in investigating this case, which led to a police employee being sentenced for illegally collecting personal information from police registers. The fact that the information was seemingly collected for an extreme right network was, and remains, the object of PET’s attention,” Scharf says.

URL: http://politiken.dk/newsinenglish/ECE1352920/nazi-saluting-youths-chase-family-from-beach/

A family with Indian roots was chased from a beach, police chose not to investigate.

Justice Minister Lars Barfoed has ordered a report from the police as to why it is not prepared to investigate the case of a family that was stoned off a beach by Nazi-saluting right-wing extremist youths.

Police have closed the case as it is only being seen as a breach of the peace, but Justice Minister Lars Barfoed tells Berlingske he wants an explanation.

“I can fully understand that the family concerned finds the police reaction strange and I will be asking the police for an explanation,” Barfoed tells Berlingske.

After having been chased from a beach near Aarhus, the Danish family with Indian roots sought shelter among summerhouses. But the group of extremist youths continued to chase them through the area.

The family attempted to call police to help them but eventually had to flee the area. When police arrived some 90 minutes later, officers declined to investigate as they said there was not enough evidence, Berlingske says.

According to the newspaper, the family had taken pictures of the youths’ number plate and vehicle which bore right-wing extremist signs. A witness had also called police when he saw how the family was being stoned.

URL: http://politiken.dk/debat/ECE1342989/er-det-okay-at-raabe-efter-mig-fordi-jeg-er-koreaner/

I want to know whether my feeling is completely wrong or that racism is allowed in Denmark that it’s no longer seen as racism?

I can start with myself. As a Korean adopted, I have experienced where I got yelled at as “perker” (person with middle eastern background / immigrant in general), “fede kineser” (fat Chinese?), “thailuder” (Thai prostitute). This thing has apparently many names.

The most surprising thing is that these yellings come from people whom I think they never see themselves as racists. They can be parents at my son’s nursery, friends’ friends, fellow students

The scariest thing is that, nobody ever reacts on this kind of yellings and episodes

A concrete example from Kongens Have (King’s Park): A mother bumped to my son with her stroller. Her argument was: “Look at your son, he’s Chinese, he’s disgusting”

URL: http://politiken.dk/newsinenglish/ECE1337058/finland-denmark-creating-a-european-problem/

The Finnish foreign minister questions Denmark’s border and Nordic Council policies.

Finland’s Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja (SocDem) has questioned Denmark’s new border control regime, with suggestions that Denmark is building increasingly high walls around itself, according to Finland’s main Swedish-language newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet.

“I hope that Nordic cooperation will not be affected. I’m not speaking as a government minister, but with my experience from the Nordic Council I can say that on several occasions we have tried to find out whether Denmark wants to be in Nordic cooperation at all,” Tuomioja said in Pori, where he and Development Aid Minister Heidi Hautala presented the new Finnish government’s foreign policy platform.

Tuomioja said he not only saw strengthened customs border controls as taking a stand in relation to the Nordic region.

“This not only affects the Nordic region but all of Europe. It is a European problem,” Tuomioja said.

Asked how the problem could be solved, the Finnish foreign minister is reported as saying: “I feel a big temptation to say: through the next election in Denmark”.

URL http://politiken.dk/newsinenglish/ECE1327383/german-minister-condemn-denmark/

Germany’s 16 federal state ministers are to meet in Berlin this week and are expected to condemn the Danish government and the Danish People’s Party’s agreement to extend customs controls at Danish borders, according to Hessen’s Justice and Europe Minister Jürg-Uwe Hahn in an interview with Jyllands-Posten.

“Hessen will put forward a proposal that clearly condemns the move and supports the German government’s attempts to bring about a quick change in the Danish practice,” Hahn says.

“Denmark has ostracised itself,” He tells Jyllands-Posten.

German federal state ministers play a central role in German EU policy as under the German constitution they have a voice in federal EU policy.

Jyllands-Posten says a condemnation from the 16 ministers would be a clear escalation of Germany’s criticism.

Hahn’s statements come as customs officers prepare today to introduce the new agreement at Danish borders.

Tax Minister Peter Christensen (Lib) tells Jyllands-Posten that Hahn’s statements are ‘a tad for hysterical for me’.