"FIRST DANES, THEN US"
Naturalization, labour and property market in Denmark challenged by discrimination
Music: Miush Shkirman — Gala ©
This year UN’s Committee for Racial Discrimination report expressed concerns about racism in Denmark. Experts claim it is the deep institutional discrimination that takes place in the labour and property market and while applying for citizenship. In Aarhus, a lot of new-Danes find a job or run their business in Bazar vest – a diverse and moving oriental shopping center.
By Maria Karnaukhova and Jeppe Trans
Majed Essam (to the left) can’t get Danish citizenship because of a debt in child support. Here he is at his shop with his brother Faris Kais (to the right)
“I’ve been living in Denmark for 24 years and until now, I can’t get a citizenship! I still have my refugee passport. It’s racist! My mother is 75 and they want her to go to school to get citizenship! I have relatives in Germany, France, Sweden and UK where they became citizens after 4-5 years of living automatically,” - says Majed Essam.
He and his family fled from the war in Kuwait to Denmark in 1991. He owns a Turkish sweet shop in the shopping center Bazar Vest, enjoys peace and being independent. But, as other 43 percent of ethnic minority groups he feels discriminated because of his ethnic heritage as the National Integration Barometer in Denmark has counted.
According to the Chairman of the European Network Against Racism’s Advisory Council, Bashy Quraishy, it is a tendency of discrimination on the structural level or institutional level that mostly bothers ethnic minorities – in police, property and labor market and when getting a citizenship.
“Denmark is peaceful, because people are rich and are not threatened by anybody. On the street, you don’t see violence, and you can walk at night without being bothered. When it comes to getting an apartment or a job, you see a very strong racism. Here the minority is dependent on the majority’s goodwill,” - he says.
The UN’s Committee for Racial Discrimination report also expresses concerns on this ground.
Discrepancy in the integration system
Special Advisor for Equal Treatment in The Danish Institute for Human Rights, Nanna Margrethe Krusaa, confirms the institutional discrimination takes place, when people with another ethnic origin than Danish wants to enter the labor market.
“There may be a tendency for employers to hire people, who they think looks like themselves,” - she says and continues:
“It’s hard to make employers change their position on this point. We have, of course, a discrimination law that says that one must not opt out of people because of their ethnic background - but reaching to the point where all employers comply with the law is not happening right now.”
Mohammad Aoud, a Palestinian Lebanese living in Denmark for 13 years, recognizes the difficulties in getting a job as an immigrant in Denmark.
“It’s problematic to get work. Danish people know that there are refugees that were born here and who are Danish people. They accept them more than me”, - he says.
Mohammed Aoud is now working as a butcher in the same place as Majed - in Bazar Vest, but it took him a long time to get into the labor market: “Denmark is a small country, there are not many jobs here. And first Danes, then us”.
According to Nanna Margrethe Krusaa this shows a discrepancy in the Danish integration system.
“They say all the time that you have to enter the labor market, because it’s there integration happens. When you can see there are many who feel discriminated against in the labour market, one might say that there is a gap,” - she says.
Mohammed thinks that the new generation of new-Danes has easier access to the labor market, because they are better in the Danish language.
Middle Eastern name discrimination
According to a recent report from The Danish Institute for Human Rights, you have to send 27 percent more applications for a place to live if you have a Middle Eastern name, than if you have a Danish name.
Morten Dalsgaard, a student queuing to buy some Turkish sweet in Majid's shop, recalls: “My Turkish friend, Seckin Taser, wanted to find an apartment in Aarhus. It was very hard for him to do it since the owners of apartments first look at the name and tend not to contact the person if he has a foreign name”.
He adds that when he engaged into the searching process they found a place quite fast.
This is not the only name discrimination people with Middle Eastern names face in Denmark though.
Matthias Hejlskov was born in Sweden, but has worked in Denmark until recently as an IT-supporter. At his work he had Middle Eastern colleagues, who had to change their names, because customers would react differently, if they heard the name was not sounding Danish.
“I had a colleague who was Arab and spoke perfectly Danish. At the end of a call, the customer wanted to give him a positive recommendation. She asked for his name, and when he said “Mohammed”, she did not believe him. She said: “Come on, you speak perfect Danish, your name can’t be Muhammed”. He was really angry about that afterwards”.
Bazar Vest is Scandinavia’s biggest bazar, and it is located in the city Aarhus in the eastern part of Jutland
Tightening of laws blows up the problem
Niels Erik Hansen, the leader of the Danish Documentation and Advisory Centre on Racial Discrimination that helps people with legal guidance, sees another tendency.
“The amount of cases has been massive the last 8-10 years, and it’s the state of Denmark, which is the biggest discriminator. It’s mostly cases with citizenship and family reunification”, - he says.
He explains that they have recently won a case at the UN’s human rights committee, where the state of Denmark was convicted for discrimination. “It was about a man, who was rejected Danish citizenship even though he suffered from post-traumatic stress, and did not stand a chance to meet the language demands in the citizenship test,” - he says.
He believes the tendency is due to the recent years tightening of laws for foreigners in Denmark.
Nanna Margrethe Krusaa backs up that explanation.
“The rules on foreigners justice becomes tighter and tighter - so when you live in a society that constantly makes it harder to get, for example citizenship, then there are more cases that are being appealed and complained, because people want it tried throughout the system,” - she says.
According to the Danish newspaper BT, on her meeting with the Ministry of Finance on the 7th of December Inger Støjberg, Immigration and integration minister, admitted: “We have the strictest rules towards neighbour nations”. She also added that she realized that the discourse had become rather sharp but it was a risk she was ready to take.
Johanne Schmidt Nielsen, spokesperson for integration in the Danish left-wing party Enhedslisten, finds it worrying: “The current government does not seem to give the fight against this discrimination any attention or priority at all. Denmark used to be a Nordic state with splendid human rights record. All these measures contribute to an unfortunate us-versus-them discourse.”
Rima Zam Zam tries to integrate the best she can in the Danish society. This year she even bought a Christmas tree. “I like the tradition even though I don’t believe it,” - she says.
The need for mutual integration
“You don’t get engaged into the Danish culture, even though you try hard”, - tells Rima Zam Zam, who works at a charity organization in Bazar vest. She came from Lebanon 30 years ago.
“You are always a Muslim, never mind how long you’ve been here. When you work with Danish people, they often want you to talk about how it is to be an Arabic woman. When they hear I’m married, they often think, that I was forced to it. Prejudgments. Always.”
The background of this problem is, according to Bashy Quraishy, an integration system in Denmark that does not live up to its duties.
“I think the Danish politicians should understand their responsibility. They should make progressive laws, not restrictive so that minorities feel they’re part of the society. It they will, they will make an extra effort to become a part of it,” - he says and continues:
“Danes doesn’t seem to understand the concept of integration. The word comes from Latin and means when the small becomes the part of a big without losing its identity. It`s not a one-way street: you learn the language, dress like Danes and stuff like that. Integration happens when there are equal rights, equal responsibilities and equal opportunities in the society.”
Peter Hervik professor in migration at Aalborg University agrees with that.
“There are some difference from one country to another, although two European countries do stick out a little: The Netherlands and Denmark. Discrimination seems stronger here at both the political-, media- and popular level,” - he says.
He also adds that the whole discussion of the integration system is closely connected with Danish nationalism.
“We can’t speak about integration without speaking about nationalism. We are saying that it’s people’s own responsibility to be integrated and it’s not our responsibility to be part of the integration. In Sweden, they say that Swedes needs to integrate as well. In Denmark it`s not our problem. It’s a vicious circle that will hopefully end at some point in the future,” - he says.
Majeed's brother, Faris, as well as Rima, doesn't feel engaged. He points at Majed, offering some sweets to customers, and complaints: “They accept us but not entirely. We feel rejected, distanced from others. If you don`t accept us, why then let us in, let us work and live here? Denmark is a good, beautiful country but this system is crazy”.