Apathetic showing for pro-refugee rally in Copenhagen
Few Danes joined in a demonstration for the rights of refugees in Denmark, despite more popular turnouts at pro-Palestinian rallies; rally called for an improvement in the conditins for the refugees.
Compared to the presence of leftist organizations and Scandinavian anarchists during protests against the security barrier in Israel, it appears that the problems faced by the refugees in Denmark doesn't evoke as much public fervorl.
The main speech pleads: 'Please join our protest'
The main speaker on the back of the pickup was wearing a scarf designed to look like a Palestinian kaffiyeh. He called, in English, for the immediate closure of the refugee camps, and the new prison facilities which the Danish government established following the "European Refugee Crisis," and to create legislation to absorb the immigrants.
He even called on—pleaded for—passersby (who were watching from a safe distance) to join in the protest. But the Danish public was apathetic.
The speaker switched, and tearfully recalled the treacherous journey he had to undertake to get to Europe from his homeland in Africa. The other protestors began to chant, "We're people too!"
One of the few Danish citizens there at the protest was an older man with a red coat who was riding his motorcycle along with the procession. His name was Emil, and he told Ynet that he was "a social activist who is a professional at giving the Fascist, Danish regime a headache."
He refused to say any more on that matter, believing that the Ynet journalist was a member of the Danish secret police.
'We used to be a prime example of a socialist welfare state'
After Emil understood that he was speaking to an Israeli journalist, he explained that he too is Jewish and that he has "fascist ultra-Orthodox Jewish relatives" who moved to Israel and live in Jerusalem."The situation in Denmark is deteriorating really quickly. We used to be a prime example of a socialist welfare state," he explained.
"The Danish underground saved almost every Danish Jew from the Nazis, and today, we are behaving like fascists. We're closing our borders to refugees, and for those who come with a little bit of money, the fascist government takes the money away. A Danish citizen who helps a refugee get into Denmark receives a fine. Meanwhile, the government is building detention camps, prisons for the refugees! This isn't the socialist Denmark I grew up in! This is an embarrassment!"
The protesting refugees arrived at the plaza across from the Danish Parliament building.
"I ran from death—I ran away from a civil war. I promise to be a good citizen, helpful and productive. Why do you imprison me?" His name is Abdul, and he escaped from Somalia to Denmark two years ago, and has been stuck ever since.
A Somalian Immigrant: 'I have to be counted every night at the facility'
"Neither in nor out, I have to return every night to be counted in the detention facility. I don't have a work permit. I live in a small and crowded room with four bunk beds. Eight grown men in a tiny room; there's no privacy, and no future," Abdul said.
He added, "If I would have come from Syria, I would have immediately received refugee status, an apartment, and professional training. But because I came from Somalia, and someone in the UN decided that our civil war is over, all of a sudden, I'm not eligible for anything!"
There were also other immigrants from Somalia and Afghanistan at the protest together with Abdul, and they requested for equal rights in Denmark, and to receive exactly what the refugees from Iraq and Syria receive.
"We're all humans. I deserve to live in dignity. As long as I suffer, you will never be happy!" Abdul said.
The protest in front of the parliament died out rather quickly. It was hard for the protestors to stand without movement in this cold. The volunteer bus driver who was supposed to return them back to the detention facility for the count had arrived. The activists giving speeches from the back of the pickup truck called on the few Danes in attendance to join the refugees to see the conditions in which the refugees live; but none of them were interested.
It seems that one doesn't necessarily need to travel all the way to Denmark to see that the refugees from Africa and the Middle East aren’t exactly wanted in this northern welfare state. The Danish government prints advertisement in Arabic newspapers warning about the extreme difficulties of getting to Denmark.
They also attach the "jewelry warning" to this advertisement, which allows the Danish government to confiscate any jewelry or large amounts of money the refugees bring with them as payment for the food and shelter the government provides them.
