Migrants are evicted from “too many” neighborhoods by law: protests break out

Around 11,000 people across Denmark will have to leave their homes and seek new accommodation elsewhere over the next seven years. These are the predictions of experts who analyzed the consequences of the Danish law on the elimination of “parallel societies”, that is, urban areas where the presence of “immigrant” and “non-Western” people is considered too dense and homologous. The law, which dates back to 2018, was recently redesigned, prompting protests across the country as residents of homes up for sale accuse the government of implementing a “racist law” under the guise of creating “mess”. companies.

Differences

Banners hanging in Mjølnerparken, a housing project located between the Nørrebro district and the Bispebjerg train station in Copenhagen, where approximately 1,225 people live, read: “Our flats are not for sale!” it said. Here, 83% of residents are non-Western immigrants or born to immigrants, and the majority of residents are under the age of 18. Residents are angry at the Danish government, which is said to be using ethnicity to decide where people can live. They accuse politicians of passing a discriminatory and illegal law. In official data and documents, Denmark divides people considered to be of non-Danish origin into two groups: “immigrants” and “descendants” of immigrants (“evening mealIf people defined as “immigrants” and “descendants” do not meet these criteria, a person is of Danish origin if at least one parent is a Danish citizen. An “immigrant” person was born outside Denmark. While born to a “descendant” on Danish soil, immigrants from all EU countries, along with Andorra, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, are considered “Westerners”. The United States, the United Kingdom and the Vatican. Everything else is “non-Western”, including people from non-EU countries in the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

Eliminate “parallel societies”

In 2018, Copenhagen passed a law to redevelop impoverished urban “ghettos” with large immigrant populations by 2030. Later, its official terminology changed, abandoning the use of the word “ghetto” and replacing it with “parallel society”. The law provides for the reconstruction and renovation of dilapidated properties, but above all the change in social mix is ​​achieved by requiring at least 60% of houses to be rented at market prices. In many cases, it is a cost that immigrants and their descendant families cannot afford. Denmark has had one of the most restrictive immigration policies in Europe for at least a decade, fueled by right-wing populist parties that fuel the fire with aggressive anti-immigration rhetoric. The socialists who are in power today and who also support the purpose of the law because it will offer a better life to “immigrant” people are justified. They want to offer them “the same opportunities as other Danes”, Thomas Monberg, housing spokesman for the ruling left-wing Social Democrats, told AFP. While the law officially aims to eliminate “parallel societies” in poor neighborhoods, it also tries to prevent crime from nesting in certain areas.

Evictions in gentrified areas

Residents of the places that need to be evacuated have a completely different opinion. “This is pure racism,” Jawad, a 29-year-old doctor from Mjølnerparken, where gentrification is widespread, told AFP. “Although I was born and raised in Denmark, according to statistics I am a non-Western immigrant,” the doctor added. Residents of Mjølnerparken have filed a lawsuit against Denmark, and the European Court of Justice is expected to make a decision in the coming months. Under rule 295, the 560 houses in Mjølnerparken will need to be replaced with market-rate rentals that are out of reach for most locals. Majken Felle, president of the Mjølnerparken tenants’ association, said that before the law was passed, residents had agreed to temporarily relocate to allow their flats to be renovated. Although they could afford to return home after work, they were violently prevented from doing so.

living in second grade

The uncertainty created by local authorities overwhelmed citizens. To avoid repeated moves, many residents decided to leave the neighborhood, which is surrounded by some of Copenhagen’s most desirable areas. “Eighty percent of the Danish population has no personal contact with ethnic minorities, and even fewer Danes have set foot in one of these regions,” sociologist Aydin Soei, an expert in disadvantaged areas, told The Local. According to the expert, instead of helping integration, the law created a feeling of being seen as “second-class citizens” in many people.

Source: Today IT

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