Something is rotten in the state of Denmark
All news media in Denmark currently has its eyes fixed on the exodus of refugees from Syria. More than 250,000 people have died during the civil war, cities are destroyed and it is fully understandable that many Syrians have decided to pack their belongings and head for less dangerous areas.
This means that we are currently seeing the biggest flow of refugees in Europe since the second world war.
The flow of refugees has now reached Denmark. These people are received in Denmark in many ways. The new Danish government has announced a significantly tougher approach toward foreigners, but right now it seems almost as though the hard words do not last very long. “We act with good judgement” the Danish prime minister said. Many Danes have shown their solidarity with the refugees.
They have been received with banners and signs that welcome them to Denmark, other Danes have collected warm clothes for the refugees. A lot of Danes have used their own cars to transport refugees from the Danish border to the Swedish one, which for many of the refugees is their ultimate goal.
The Danish people’s party – one of the most xenophobic political parties in Europe, shouts of course, in their usual unsympathetic way. The refugees just have to return to their own countries, Danish culture is threatened, the rhetoric is the same as we have heard the last several years from that side.
The Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen is asking for a European solution.
The chairman of the EU-commission Junker has presented a plan for the European countries. Denmark, Ireland and the UK have all requested judicial cooperation within the EU.
The UK and Ireland have said OK to the plan from Junker, but in Denmark most of the politicians have stated that Denmark has to establish her own policy. The Danish rules shall not be run by the EU. It simply does not add up.
In our little world here in Almuñécar our mayor Trinidad Herrera announced that the town is ready to receive refugees from Syria should it prove to be necessary. A great announcement which we can be proud of.
Thinking back to the war in the ex-Yugoslavia, the Red Cross built a refugee camp in the small town where I lived in Denmark. The 1,000 or so residents of the town welcomed the refugees with flowers and cake, the children were enrolled in school and the refugees took part in the city life.
Today some of them are still living in the town, but not in a camp, they are living in their own houses, having a job. It has been a happy integration. It has been a good story both for the refugees and for the city. If any refugees are coming to Almuñécar, it is my hope that the same will happen here. Let us make it a success for our town.