Of all the measures introduced to deter people from seeking asylum in Denmark over the last decade, it is the impermanence of refugees’ status that is often cited as the most effective.
Before 2015, refugees in Denmark were initially allowed to stay for between five and seven years, after which their residence permits would automatically become permanent. But 10 years ago, when more than a million people arrived in Europe fleeing conflict and repression, largely from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Eritrea, the Danish government dramatically changed the rules.
Since then, temporary residence permits have only been granted for one to two years at a time and there is no longer any guarantee of getting a permanent visa. In order to gain permanent status, refugees have to be fluent in Danish and are also required to have had a full-time job for several years.
So, it seems to work then. Applications are well, well, down.
But the reduction has come at a cost, critics say, to Denmark’s reputation and sense of self. The incorporation of populist rightwing ideas into nominally centre-left politics have, they suggest, eaten away at some of the ideals that Denmark is internationally best known for.
And that’s the best they’ve got against it. But, but, we’re lefties!
One of the reasons that Denmark’s really rather lefty social democracy works is that at times – the right times too – they’re really very right wing and harsh about it. Unemployment bennies, for example, are high, the retraining very good indeed. After two years you get absolutely nothing though. Two years is long enough to get a new job, see?
“But the reduction has come at a cost, critics say, to Denmark’s reputation…”
In the opinion of people who’s opinion should be discounted, maybe.
It’s certainly boosted Denmark’s reputation in my eyes. But no doubt that is the worst possible cost I could inflict on them.
eaten away at some of the ideals that Denmark is internationally best known for.
When I was growing up that meant really nice bacon.
Top-end cameras and microphones?
Tins of Danish butter cookies.
.
Danish bacon was always (and remains) waterlogged crap.
It would be interesting to compare the crimes in say, the UK and Sweden, with Denmark.
Little girls gang raped and tortured?
Grenade explosions p.a.? FGM?
But the reduction has come at a cost, critics say, to Denmark’s reputation and sense of self.
If the policy of allowing tens of thousands of Third-Worlders into Denmark every year continues, in 50 years Denmark will no longer exist. Politicians need to decide which is more important; feeling smug and virtuous or having a Nation.
But.. but… but… a Danish state for Danish people in the historic homeland of the Danish people…. that’s GENOCIDE!!!!!!
“It’s about the attitude and feeling of being here as a visitor on a temporary basis. You don’t know where your future is going to be,” said Michala Clante Bendixen, who runs the refugee advisory group Refugees Welcome Denmark and is Denmark’s country coordinator for the European Commission’s Migrant Integration Hub.
We wouldn’t tolerate people sprinkling garbage on the streets to feed the rats. So why do we tolerate people running “refugees welcome” organisations that are responsible for so many rapes, assaults and murders across Europe?
Jail her. If “the law” can put people in jail for emojis, the law can easily imprison people for providing aid and comfort to criminal settler-colonists. Put these animals in cages, they’re an enemy within the gates.
See also Care4Calais.
There’s one particularly irritating bint who is always on the BBC and who I’d certainly like to see facing some porridge but ideally I’d like to see with the HRA modifications and reinstatement of the death penalty for high treason that charge levied against people like this. Would Churchill have tolerated a load of SS people being brought in by charities under the auspices of being refugees? We have an estimated dozen ISIS brigades all across the country – more than our own armed forces. And yet we (including numerous posters on here) continue to think Putin is a serious or greater threat to the UK than that!!
V_P
We have an estimated dozen ISIS brigades all across the country – more than our own armed forces.
Citation needed. The number of suspected islamists is not publicly available.
And yet we (including numerous posters on here) continue to think Putin is a serious or greater threat to the UK than that!!
It’s not either/or but both/and. MI5’s caseload shows a significant focus on Islamist terrorism, which accounts for about three-quarters of its workload. Putin is a serious threat to the UK; but the threat his regime poses is dealt with by MI6.
Putin poses a very limited threat to the U.K.. The number of Russians here is extremely limited and new arrivals are negligible – by contrast Dozens of ISIS recruits arrive on the boats every single day. My figures could be applied to Alum Rock and Luton alone I’d imagine. All funding needs to be removed from the Ukraine war and redirected to the threat within. Anyone advocating the imbroglio’s continuation I can only assume
Is a useful idiot for ISIS or some other Jihadist group.
Putin poses a very limited threat to the U.K.
In your – very limited – opinion…
The number of Russians here is extremely limited and new arrivals are negligible.
A threat to the nation is not measured solely by numbers arriving but by espionage, propaganda, potential for sabotage, cyber-attacks, geopolitical strategy, etc.
Islamism and Russia are both threats to the UK.
I’d agree – pro Ukrainian propaganda and the resultant frittering away of scarce resources in an already denuded armed forces have been disastrous.
The threat from Islamism is clear, present and real. Russia is largely a paper tiger with a declining population which has struggled to gain a few thousand kilometres in an ill advised misadventure at massive cost. Its economy is crumbling and much of the population wants to leave.
By contrast there are dozens of Islamic states with huge resources and demographics which mean they will outnumber us very shortly if they don’t already. They are ensnonced across the west and their ideology is utterly alien and intolerant of any dissent.
In any realistic threat assessment Islamism poses far greater danger than Russia. which was arguably provoked by meddling in its sphere of influence despite consistent warnings not to do so by arrogant imbeciles who seemed to be nostalgic for the Cold War.
But by all means let’s continue to throw even more good money after bad. When Sharia Law is imposed we’ll at least hold the moral high ground.
Most controversial is the so-called law against “ghettoes” (now known as “parallel societies”), which allows the state to demolish apartment blocks in areas where at least half of residents have a “non-western” background.
Let’s hire the Israelis to help demolish Tower Hamlets.
Wow, that is hard line.
Sounds like a sensible, centrist policy to me…
…if not a bit ‘wet’?
The Israelis generally try to get the buildings evacuated first.
Back in the early 90s Denmark took in many refugees from Romania. Most of them were accommodated in ships docked near Copenhagen. The majority of them fitted in successfully in their adopted country and some were excellent software and electronics engineers as I discovered when I later worked with them.
How can you be a refugee from a fellow-EU state?
Romania not in EU then
Romania only nominally in EU now still… As is every Balkan EU member…
A bit like many complaints about President Trump – “Europeans are laughing at us”, “the World has lost respect for us”, “all the pop stars are saying very bad things about us”.
Yeah, we don’t care
Unfortunately President Trump is economically illiterate.
IMHO – 2 years is way more time than unemployment bennies should go on.
I remember, quite some time ago, reading about one of the Scandi countries that had generous unemployment bennies that lasted up to 2 years. After somebody looked over the data a wee bit, they noticed that those who hung on the longest tended to drop off the dole around 22 -23 months. It was almost as if they finally took the job they could’ve had quite a while ago.
That’s from Denmark. But do note that if you’ve not achieved it by 24 months then you get nothing at all. Which works I think…
As an aside, I’ve just read this in an article about the Airbus A321XLR:
“The XLR is probably not optimal for us because our passengers have a lot of luggage,” said Brussels Airlines chief executive Dorothea von Boxberg in an interview with Simple Flying.
“Last July, the peak month, the average passenger on long-haul flights to Africa was carrying 75kg of luggage.
Just think about that for a moment.
Norman
Self evidently this may be required, especially given where they fly to. Most of the destinations are in the old French colonies in the West. These are some of the poorest countries in the world and access to luxury goods is a challenge. Even getting them shipped across is prohibitively expensive if not impossible. So the luggage is almost certainly –
That does not in the least surprise me. One of the effects of our DFID’s efforts. As Lord Bauer, the ‘anti-Murphy’ said – Foreign aid is the subsidy by poor people in richer countries of richer people in poorer countries.
75kg inside a suitcase?? – that’s the weight of a woman in some countries.
I find it amusing they insist on immigrants learning fluent Danish. A few months ago I was listening to something and a guy was talking about deciding to learn Danish because he wanted to work there. When he visited and mentioned that he was learning the language he was met with an amused laugh:
”Why? We all speak English and nowhere else speaks Danish” was the type of response he got.
Still I approve making them learn the language is a good idea, it helps understand the culture. We should insist on at least B2 English here.
I never forget that after the Hard left’s control of education for decades it was speculated even before the floodgates opened that the percentage of people who could speak
Proper English was higher in Denmark and the Netherlands than here. May not be as true with ISIS and the like ensconced in the latter in particular but in my visits to both countries every white person spoke English at least.
I had a neighbour for 15 years who was a Greek immigrant. Heavy accent but otherwise pretty good English. Retired but he’d worked in the local Ford factory for decades, must have come over in the post war wave of Italian/Greek immigration, so effectively a refugee I suppose. But he’d made himself a useful member of society, so good on him. The lesson is there are refugees and refugees I guess.
His wife had extremely limited English. Which after that length of time was amazing, but we were in Brunswick, Melbourne, which was the Greek enclave, and she got by all her life by going to the right shops or having her husband or son translate. Again, not a drain on society. I’m sure she would have failed a language test though.
That’s not to say he wasn’t a bit of an arsehole. He’d follow people to the shops if they parked in our street, complain about people using the disabled park out the front of his house which they regarded as their personal property. He did successfully lobby the council to have it installed so maybe… My favourite was shortly after the soon to be Mrs Ltw moved in, I saw him out the front, stopped for a chat, and he pronounced “you have clean wife”, going on to explain the moral shortcomings of his daughter. I told the missus and she was mystified, wondered if he meant she had good hygiene 🙂
My Greek neighbours are nice people. Indeed they put up with me!!!
You still have a Denmark. A self. A national identity. Tolerate invasion and you won’t.
See: GB, France, Biden’s USA.
Let’s examine the language:
Someone coming into Denmark and requesting asylum and government gives them a temporary residence permit. K. Sounds reasonable.
it is the impermanence of refugees’ status
Then they aren’t refugees.
In order to gain permanent status, refugees have to be
Wait . . . to be refugees, you have to have permanent status. Until then, you are an asylum seeker.
Does the Guardian writer not understand the basics of asylum seeker vs refugee? You request asylum, if granted, you become a refugee.
Whah! Whah! Whah!