The four criteria are: more than 40% of residents unemployed; more than 60% of 39-50 year-olds with no upper secondary education; crime rates three times higher than the national average; residents. 25:00. In 2018, the country's parliament passed "ghetto" laws to. Select stories from the Monitor that empower and uplift. Central to this is an effort to reduce the stock of common family housing 40% in tough ghettos by 2030 supposedly available to all based on principles of affordability, democracy and egalitarianism. For this purpose, various neighborhoods, different cities of Denmark were classified as "ghettos", whose residents since then are subject to special laws. Most Vollsmose residents are out of work, and incomes tick in at just over half the regional average. but only committed to a cosmetic removal of the term "ghetto" from government documents. The answer that the state has given with its "ghetto laws" is to create even more oppression. A group of women of Somali descent react as they play rounders in a park in Mjlnerpark, a neighborhood on the Danish government's "ghetto" list, in Copenhagen, Denmark, May 12, 2018. In its concluding observations on the sixth periodic report of Denmark from 2019, the CESCR urged the countrys adoption of a rights-based approach to its efforts to address residential segregation and enhance social cohesion. This would involve the scrapping of such terms as ghetto and non-Western and the repeal of provisions with direct or indirect discriminatory effects on refugees, migrants and residents of the ghettos.. We believe news can and should expand a sense of identity and possibility beyond narrow conventional expectations. log out. Plans to demolish social housing in the targeted areas have also been put on hold to free up accommodation for Ukrainians. Last year, Mjlnerparken, a housing project in Copenhagens Nrrebro area, became the subject of intense interest in the application of the Ghetto laws. Since 2010, the Danish government has resorted to generating "ghetto lists" marking out areas as socially problematic for the state. From: Witness. "We are very concerned about this issue and following it closely because it raisesred flags whenever ethnicity is listed as a criterion," she adds. The Social Democrats' shameful policy shows that anti-immigrant chauvinism isn't a way of defending the welfare state it's an instrument of privatization. How can you have a successful integration if my home is razed to the ground, and Im thrown out of my home and rehoused somewhere else in the city? saysIbrahim El-Hassan, a born-and-raised Dane whose family is facing eviction due to government policy. A lot of people living in the 'ghettos,' they don't have the economic stability.". The state officially labels such areas ghettos if they meet certain criteria on unemployment, crime, education levels, and income, and if more than 50% of residents are considered non-Western.. At some point Danes thought this was a cultural thing, because many dont adapt to the more egalitarian model where both genders work. The "social mixing" is to be promoted in order to divide the deepest and broadest masses, not to have them all in one heap and thus to deprive the oppressed of their power. Ultimately, these are large societal issues that shouldnt be placed solely on the shoulders of minorities, says Mr. El-Hassan. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Susheela MathLegal Officer, Open Society Justice InitiativeThousands of people across Denmark face eviction from their homes under the country's "Ghetto Package," which seeks to "eradicate" "ghettos" by 2030. Some of these individuals were refugees themselves and have fled conflict and persecution no differently than Ukrainians now fleeing war. Share:Share on WhatsAppShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on TelegramShare on RedditShare on Email Havoc and misery caused by recent floods in Bengaluru, Pakistan and Assam are not only natural disasters but are man made and due to climate change. Already a subscriber? Also, Vollsmose residents with more resources are beginning to move out, further stigmatizing the poorer and most vulnerable residents left behind. has been put on Denmark's 'ghetto-list' of troubled areas every year since the controversial category was created in 2010. The Social Democratic prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has continued the policy since coming to power in June 2019 although the word ghetto has been removed from the latest legislation. : Ibrahim vs the Ghetto Laws. In 2018, the country's parliament passed "ghetto" laws to further regulate the lives of individuals inhabiting various city areas focusing on their racial and ethnic origins. 19802022 The Christian Science Monitor. "It is not only created to hit Muslim groups and immigrantgroupsbutthe working class, too. We willfightto stay with our last breath.. Meanwhile, Sweden and Germany have received three to seven times as many asylum seekers per capita over the past five years, official figures show. . Western countries under this concept includeEU states, as well as the UK, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, the Vatican State, Canada, US, Australia and New Zealand. Stay informed about the latest scientific discoveries & breakthroughs. The very word is chilling, but has become normalised political currency in Denmark. The new proposal aims to take on what it calls "parallel societies," a term the government usesto label areas it deems to be lackingintegration into Danish society. Mr. El-Hassans parents arrived in Denmark when they were ages 9 and 13. Bureaucrats consider the following: the number of residents (greater than 1,000); a cap of 50% of non-Westerners; and whether the neighbourhood meets any two of four criteria, namely employment, education, income and criminality. If youre looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. On June 5, Danes head to the polls. I accept that. The three most recent Christian Science articles with a spiritual perspective. Mr. El-Hassan acknowledges many of the public housing districts have social problems, but believes the ghetto laws, in force since 2010, are counterproductive. Real news, real hope. Such policies can ultimately be used to force the demolition, sale, or privatization of public housing, and altogether cause differential treatment based on ethnicity, say the laws opponents. It is not only created to hit the Muslim groups and immigrant groups but the working class as well. Having his home neighborhood of Vollsmose be labeled a ghetto angers Ibrahim El-Hassan, a born-and-raised Dane whose family lives there and is facing eviction due to government policy. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. This irredeemable state of affairs has solid, disturbing implications, though both the CESCR and ACFC tend to be almost mild mannered in pointing it out: You did not belong and you cannot belong. The lawsuits in Denmark are ongoing. Youll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com. Denmark's Eastern High Court has referred a case against the Danish government to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to consider whether the EU's legal protection against racial discrimination applies to measures taken under Denmark's "Ghetto Package" laws. Become a Patron at Patreon Subscribe to our Telegram channel. June 2, 2021 When the center-left Social Democrats were defeated in the 2015 election,Mette Frederiksen took the reins of the party's leadership, whichdecided it "clearly needed to take a tough stance on anything immigration-related," says Rune Stubager, professor of political science at Aarhus University. Social housing associations will thus be obliged to terminate leases and evict entire households from their apartments if even one of the residents has been convicted of a crime. Ibrahim questions what it means to be Danish in his fight to stop Denmark's controversial ghetto laws. or call us at 1-617-450-2300. And Im going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in. We change lives. In 2018, the country's parliament passed "ghetto" laws to further regulate the lives of individuals inhabiting various city areas focusing on their racial and ethnic origins. With 98 percent of the 2,500 residents being immigrants or the children of immigrants, a good number hailing from the Middle East and Africa, the tough ghetto designation was a formality. He is saying out loud what is the unspoken intention behind the permanent removal of homes in ghetto areas: that these policies and demolition projects are driven by racial prejudice.. Posted. Over exploitation of urban land and water resources by greedy private real estate developers perhaps the chief cause of floods. Denmark wants to tighten policy aimed at reducing the concentration of 'non-Western' residents in disadvantaged areasa policy that has drawn lawsuits, accusations of xenophobia. She said: Recently, a representative from Bo-Vita, the organization responsible for the redevelopment of Mjlnerparken, said in an interview that in neighbourhoods like mine, there is an Arab mentality and residents do not care about western culture, making these areas feel potentially unsafe to Ukrainian refugees. Majken Felle, a resident of Mjlnerparken, a neighbourhood designated as a ghetto area, said she was convinced the parallel societies policy was driven by bigotry. How Denmarks ghetto list is ripping apart migrant communities, Sign up to First Edition, our free daily newsletter every weekday morning at 7am BST, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. The problematic designation of people of non-Western background is also a bit of brutal public policy. Denmark has made headlines across Europe with its migrant policy. What else this has to do with the so-called rule of law is questionable, and at the same time, the proposed law constitutes collective punishment, as entire families may be evicted from their homes. The Monitor is a peculiar little publication thats hard for the world to figure out. to Eurostat ("Migration and migrant population statistics - Statistics Explained", 2021), in 2019 Denmark had 10.56 immigrants per 1000 inhabitants. An essential part of the laws is also the plan to demolish entire neighborhoods, relocate the residents and turn the former "problem districts" into good neighborhoods. He ponders how his wife will possibly access the heart and kidney treatments she needs four times a week if they were forced to move away from their local hospital. If approved in its current form, the measures willmeet immediateresistancefrom human rights advocates. Radio Free never takes money from corporations, keeping our focus on people, not profits. unless you renew or This awful word Hear about special editorial projects, new product information, and upcoming events. Denmark's "Ghetto Package . The Danish welfare system is one of the most generous in the world, built upon high taxes and a duty-bound concept. Published: 1 December 2020 13:30 CET. How can you have a successful integration if my home is razed to the ground, and Im thrown out of my home and rehoused somewhere else in the city? says Mr. El-Hassan. Using non-Western as a marker adopted to distinguish the EU states, the UK, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, the Vatican State, Canada, United States, Australia and New Zealand. Read more summary. Even if the defendant appeals, the eviction may be enforced, even if the defendant is not officially considered convicted at that time. Posts about One Denmark without Parallel Societies: No Ghettos in 2030 written by Andrew Multicultural Meanderings Working site on citizenship and multiculturalism issues. The ruling center-right government hopes to woo voters with its harsh anti-immigrant agenda. Employment & Labour Laws and Regulations Denmark 2022. . Those moved out of the areas will be relocated to other parts of the country. Thats not a recipe for success, according to the Danish interior ministry, and its most recent policies deem that neighborhoods must be better mixed. For too long people in these areas have been left behind, says Kaare Dybvad, minister of the interior and of building and housing, in a supplied statement. Starting at the age of 1, "ghetto children" must be separated from their families for at least 25 hours a week, not including nap time, for mandatory instruction in "Danish values," including the traditions of Christmas and Easter, and Danish language. The Interior Ministry last week revealed proposedreforms that would remove the word "ghetto" in current legislation and reduce the share of peopleof "non-Western" originin social housing to30% within 10 years. The very word is chilling but has become normalised political currency in Denmark. It was removed in December 2021 after its number of residents fell below 1,000. A selection of the most viewed stories this week on the Monitor's website. Germany's ring exchange with Ukraine: An assessment, Egypt: Alaa Abdel-Fattah close to dying, says sister, US midterms: From gerrymandering to voter intimidation, Nicaragua: Ortega's rivals decry local vote clampdown. In 2018, the countrys parliament passed ghetto laws to further regulate the lives of individuals inhabiting various city areas focusing on their racial and ethnic origins. The Christian Science Monitor has expired. "The distinction between Western and non-Western countries has nothing to do with a countrys political system, religion, economy or culture," it added. These neighborhoods are mainly the poorest proletarian neighborhoods in the country. The new draft law even stipulates that an eviction may be prepared as soon as an indictment is filed, and ultimately the verdict in the first instance will be sufficient to make it final. Denmark is facing fresh claims of racism after MPs changed the countrys controversial anti-ghetto law to allow Ukrainian refugees to move into social housing emptied of non-westerners. We have no plans to leave Vollsmose. Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, the third-largest city in Denmark, and a museum complex dedicated to him sits near the city center. These discriminatory measures do not serve any public good and clearly exacerbate the shortage of affordable housing in Denmark. improve functionality and performance. Support honest journalism because we have no PLANET B. this week, the danish minister of the interior and housing announced plans to introduce a requirement to reduce the share of persons of "non-western background" in designated areas to a maximum of 30 percent within ten years, while scrapping the controversial term of "ghettos," from its existing legislation in the government's so-called ghetto The Danish government plans to swap a controversial law targeting immigrant neighborhoods for another that cracks down harder. Ozlem Cekic,a former lawmaker who was one of the first women with a Muslim immigrant background elected to Danish Parliament, says the current "ghetto" legislation and latest proposals are counterproductive. Doing so enables the authorities to evict residents, demolish buildings and alter the character of the neighbourhood, a form of cleansing that has shuddering historical resonances. The UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner last year warned: "The effect is that 'non-Western' disproportionately means Denmarks non-white, non-European ethnic populations.". Harsher punishment for offences, lessons in Danish culture, forced relocation from problem neighbourhoods. He believes the residents should be helped where they live rather than being forced out. These families often overproportionally receive welfare benefits.. An update on major political events, candidates, and parties twice a week. While Denmark recorded 21,000 asylum applications that year, the figure stood at 2,716 in 2019. The COVID-19 passport provides personalised documentation of an approved COVID-19 vaccine, or a negative COVID-19 test result. In these areas, misdemeanours also carry double the legal penalties in place elsewhere and daycare is mandatory for all children over the age of one, or family allowances are withdrawn. Rights groups warn that such moves could violate current laws against discrimination. The housing ministry published the . Housing in Denmarks large cities can be prohibitively expensive, which can prevent the social mobility that comes with moving to a different neighborhood. The State distinguishes "ghettos" from other areas with the same socio-economic factors on the basis that the majority of residents are of what it calls "non-Western It will moreover restrict the housing options for ethnic minorities and people who are either unemployed or on low incomes. By Paola Buconjic. became the subject of intense interest in the application of the Ghetto laws. The 2018 agreement stipulates that if a residential area ends up on the so-called ghetto list, local councils must choose between four measures: 1) demolish public housing; 2) build new housing. By Richard Orange Copenhagen 1 April 2021 6:00am . Ferruh Yilmaz, an expert on Muslim immigration, says that a perceived crisis about immigrants cultural values is the work of the far-right, a phenomenon also observed in places like Germany, which has taken in a million migrants over the last five years. Twelve neighbourhoods currently fall into that category. These neighbourhoods are their homes. According to Statistics Denmark, 11% of Denmarks 5.8 million inhabitants are of foreign origin, of whom 58% are from a country considered non-western. 7 June 7 Jun . The desire to avoid ghettoization of groups is commendable, but using mandatory relocation of non-Western residents out of their homes in order to socially integrate them elsewhere can increase their alienation. Doing so roped those whose grandparents had converted to Christianity and the secular. Ethnic Engineering: Denmark's Ghetto Policy in World by Dr Binoy Kampmark 25/04/2021 Share: WhatsApp The very word is chilling, but has become normalised political currency in Denmark.. Islamabad rents rise amid influx of Afghan refugees. "I agree with the government that there are some very big problems in some communities. "It's our opinion that there is a strong risk of discrimination occurring in these cases, which we think is linked to the 'ghetto' criteria," Kusaa says, potentially violating national and EU laws. Denmark 's government currently. In its place, the Social Democrats that had adopted the rhetoric of the nationalists took power, with the support of three left-wing parties. . 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Danish Parliament recently passed a majority of controversial laws in a 22-proposal bundle known locally as the "ghetto package." Among these laws are plans to forcibly educate poor immigrant children in Danish customs for 25 hours per week, double the punishment for crimes committed in certain immigrant-majority neighborhoods, and increased surveillance of government-designated "ghetto . DENMARK'S "GHETTO" LAWS MASTER'S THESIS 31.05.2021. For this purpose, entire blocks have already been razed to the ground or rents in working-class neighborhoods have been raised so massively that housing has become unaffordable. People demonstrate against the sale of housing in Copenhagen under the country's so-called 'ghetto package' of legislation in 2020. you are agreeing to our, One month free trial to theMonitorDaily, Kellyanne Conway: An insiders look at the Republican Party, With giant trolls, one artist preserves imagination and the environment. The anti-ghetto law was put in place as a way to block immigrants to avoid so-called "parallel societies" and disadvantaged neighborhoods. Because Danes also pay such high taxes to support one of the most generous welfare systems in the world, theres a perception that immigrants arent pulling their weight by paying into the system, causing the fabric to erode, says Dr. Schaeffer. If youre placed in a municipality where employment rates are higher, your own probability of finding work is higher, says Marie Schultz-Nielsen, a senior researcher at the Rockwool Foundation Research Unit in Copenhagen. Families removed from these areas would be relocated to other parts of the country. Denmark and Canada reach deal to end 'Whisky Wars' Attribution. On 24th June 2021 Denmark passed its new Whistleblower Protection Act (Lov om beskyttelse af whistleblowere). Kusaa tells DW there are three court cases pendingin Denmarkover the impactof the current "ghetto" legislation lawsuits that the Danish Institute for Human Rights has intervened in. On the surface, theghetto laws purport to better help integrate non-Western foreigners into Denmarks social fabric. Since 2010, the Danish government has resorted to generating ghetto lists marking out areas as socially problematic for the state. To be labeled a ghetto under the 11-year-old Danish law, an area must be more than 50% "non-Western," and also match criteria on employment levels, crime statistics, education levels, and gross. "And so they did quite visibly and vocally since 2015. November 03, 2021 Contact Office of Communications media@opensocietyfoundations.org +1 212-548-0378 COPENHAGENToday, Denmark's Eastern High Court will begin deliberations on a case filed by Copenhagen residents against the Danish Ministry of Interior and Housing. In Mjlnerpark a ghetto in Copenhagen a dozen residentsare suing the minister for housing for discrimination. In 2018, the country's parliament passed "ghetto" laws to further regulate the lives of individuals inhabiting various city areas focusing on their racial and ethnic origins. Mette Frederiksen, the Social Democratic Prime Minister of Denmark. Internetplattform fr die Entwicklung der revolutionren Bewegung. A place for major news from around the world, excluding US-internal news. "All other countries are non-Western countries," the ministry said in a statement to DW on Tuesday. When the Danish government introduces its "ghetto package" of laws, El-Hassan decides to defend his neighbourhood. Unlike many other countries, the tighter grip on immigration and asylum has been embraced in recent years by mainstream political parties on both the right and left. It does not matter whether they own or rent all residents should have a degree of security of tenure, which guarantees legal protection against forced eviction, harassment and other threats., Such policies tend to consume the reason for their implementation. Denmark is the first EU country to implement the . Since 2010, the Danish government has resorted to generating "ghetto lists" marking out areas as socially problematic for the state. About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review under the charming heading of do things that dont interest you: Many things that end up being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight.