SOS Against Racism Noerre Allé 7 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark sos@sosmodracisme.dk www.sosmodracisme.dk
Copenhagen, April 19,
2010
Press Statement:
To the international press covering Denmark!
Seniors in Denmark protest in parliament
against new severe restrictions proposed in Aliens' law
Denmark has the
coolest seniors!
Grandparents for Asylum strike again: today they sang in parliament in protest
over a new immigration law which (among many other things) makes it easier for
the authorities to deport people and deny them asylum. The session was
interrupted for ten minutes and the seniors taken to a police station. They
will
be fined.
A short video-presentation from the demonstration by Grandparents for
asylum in the Danish Parliament may be seen on this short video from Danish
Radio update (DR-Update):
http://www.dr.dk/nettv/update?video={6C67C3B5-9473-4C7C-B0DE-D4A184A5EB2D}
Henrik Dam Kristensen of the Social-Democrats has pointed out that it is also
the first law in the history of Denmark that reduces vote rights. Under current
law, foreigners with a residence permit can vote in local and regional
elections after three years in Denmark. According to the new law, they will get
to vote after four years in Denmark.
Grandparents for asylum are basically a group of seniors who week after week
meet to protest against Denmark's asylum policy in front of three asylum
centres within one hours drive from Copenhagen:
Sandholm, Avnstrup and Kongelunden. They have also organised protests
and other civic actions in the city as well as written a book about asylum
seekers in Denmark.
The song they sang in parliament today was "Barndommens land" (Land
of Childhood) by famous poet Benny Andersen. They sing it in front of the
mentioned asylum centres. In these asylum centres live many rejected asylum
seekers who have been living in Denmark up to 12 years, with or without
children.
As a
rejected asylum seeker in Denmark you live in a limbo without most human
rights: no right to work, no right for adults for education, and you usually
have to live in an asylum centre. Children have a right to education, but this
will often be given in a centre school for asylum children the children have by
law been exempted from the right to go to public schools in Denmark. After a
few years in an asylum school, the children cannot learn much more there, at
the same time only very few children are thaught their mother tongue.
The
children are harmed by the institutionalisation of their lives and by living
close and under very narrow circumstances with a lot of traumatised persons in
refugee camps. After a long period with hopelessness, anxiety and nothing
meaningful to do, many parents become mentally ill, and many will not be able
to care for their own children. This is an important reason why 20 out of 21
Iraqi children who have lived in Denmark during many years have now mental
problems like depression, apathy, anxiety, sleep disorders and suicidal
thoughts. Most of them are in need of child psychiatric treatment - even if
only two of them receive such treatment at present. In a Danish survey it was
found that already after one year in the asylum system children had mental
symptoms.
Minister of
Integration Birthe Rønn Hornbech said the Grandparents showed "a complete
lack of democracy", which is pretty interesting coming from a minister who
is rushing this law through as much as she can, giving experts and NGOs no
longer than six work days to comment on the new law (276 pages).
When The Danish Institute for Human Rights decided not to submit a comment
because the deadline was completely unrealistic and that it was impossible to
do a good job on such short notice, the minister accused the institute of
"politicizing".
Protesting
answers to new proposed restrictions in the alien's law: L187, L188 and L189
have been sent by a lot of NGO's, even if their chance of influencing the
politicians is very meager. At the moment most Danish politicians find it more
opportune to stick to a nationalist and xenophobic policy, addressed with the
eufemistic description as a "fair and strict policy towards
foreigners".
Danish
asylum policy has earlier been seriously criticised by the LIBE Committee under
the European Parliament. LIBE advised Denmark to give protective status to
rejected asylum seekers who had lived many years in Denmark, but the Danish
government did not wish to follow such advise. Denmark has also not followed
the advices by the UNHCR not to refoule Iraqis, but to give them asylum
according to the U N Convention of Refugees.
Anne
Nielsen, Chairman,
SOS Against
Racism, Denmark
Telephone:
+45 42331968
email:
sos@sosmodracisme.dk
www.sosmodracisme.dk
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