A magazine produced by asylum seekers living in the Danish Red Cross Asylum Centres > december 2006>issue # 70
Events through the asylum year 2006 Pages 4-5
Photo: Mohammed
This is the year of asylum 2006. From the asylum seekers’ point of view they might well ask: “another year has gone by – and what have we achieved?
Asylum year 2006 Here we are again at New Times reflecting on the past twelve months. If you ask an asylum seeker about the year 2006, he or she would probably say that it was the same as the past 4 to 8 years they have spent in a Danish asylum centre: time passing, dreaming, hoping and the daily waiting for the fateful letter from the The Danish Immigration Service with “positive or … negative”. At this time, and according to tradition, we will dwell a little on humanity and the things close to our hearts and make the traditional review of the past year. A year with advances and retreats, joys and sorrows. And yet a year so epoch-making for life in asylum in Denmark. It has been a great pleasure during the last year to experience the increasing numbers of inquiries from Danes who want to make contact with New Times and asylum seekers; Danes whose humanity doesn’t distinguish whether someone is a Dane or an asylum seeker - with a residence permit or without
one. The year’s dark side has been the powerlessness felt by the majority of people, who in some cases, have been sitting for an eighth year in an asylum centre waiting for an unknown destiny – either to be given lodging in Denmark or to be discarded. BUT 2006, as seen through the eyes of the New Times staff, was mainly a dreadful year. For many asylum seekers it was a year of rejections, expulsions, disappearances and life underground. But here at the end of 2006 we at New Times want to close the year by giving hope and faith that the many small advances will help and spread out like rings in water. For more and more people it is becoming clear how serious the situation is and they are fighting to preserve and develop the foundations of Danish humanity. At the close of the year a group of Danish citizens have taken the initiative to campaign for amnesty for the approximately 1000 rejected
asylum seekers who have been in Danish asylum centres for many years. In Holland, the demand for an amnesty led the government on December 1st to grant a general amnesty to all asylum seekers who came to the Netherlands before April 2001. This is a reversal of a decision made in 2004 to deport about 26,000 rejected asylum seekers. This shift in policy gives the Danish asylum seekers hope that the same may possibly happen here. New Times hopes that New Year and Christmas, which falls at the same time as the Muslim “Christmas”, the pilgrim festival, Eid, will bring a POSITIVE answer to the question: Another year has gone by – and what have we achieved? With these words New Times wishes everyone merry Christmas and Eid and a good asylum year! The editorial desk
Mohammed got residence permit (October the 10th was his last day as asylum seeker)
Photo: Mohammed
newtimes · December 2006
asking For amnEsty a group of Danes are taking an initiative for humanity. they are gathering signatures asking for amnesty for rejected asylum seekers.
By Jawad Amnesti Nu is a group of people concerned about the condition of rejected asylum seekers. They have organised a petition with the aim of raising a broad-based, popular outcry that can’t be ignored. They want to influence the political process relating to the rejected asylum seekers who have lived in the Danish asylum centres year after year. Many of the founders of Amnesty Nu know the families personally and visit them in the asylum centres on a regular basis. Thus, they observe at first hand what many researchers describe: people in the centres get sicker every day, or at least their lives seem very fragile. amnesti nu Amnesti Nu calls for asylum to be given to the 800 or so people - of whom 200 are children, who have stayed in Denmark more than three years. These are people whose cases have been rejected, but who can’t go home. “It is time to show the Danish sense of humanity by helping rejected asylum seekers who have been in Denmark for more than 3 years. We therefore call for amnesty for those people,” says the web page of Amnesti Nu others amnesties In Sweden, they have already taken action. Last year the Swedish parliament passed a temporary law relating to foreigners, which gave rejected asylum seekers (especially families with children) the possibility of getting their cases reopened.
So far, 17000 of the 30000 who are eligible have received residence permits. Also, the German government has decided to allow asylum seekers left on hold for years the right to stay. According to the Associated Press: “German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition agreed Tuesday on legislation that would allow some 190,000 asylum seekers whose cases have been unresolved for years to legally remain in the country.” Popular support “Our purpose is to show that there is a broad, popular support for having a more humane asylum policy in Denmark and to illustrate that the willingness exists to solve the concrete problem created by the strict Danish asylum law; namely the problems of rejected asylum seekers who have failed to obtain asylum and whom we cannot send home,” said Charlotte G. Mortensen, the contact person for Amnesti Nu. “Their children are suffering from the insecure situation. Year after year they have been in these centres. Many of the children are fluent in Danish and have lived in Denmark most of their lives; but always with the threat of being sent back to where their parents fled from.” added Charlotte. respect the law Rikke Hvilshøj, the Danish minister of immigration and integration, refused several times the idea of amnesty to rejected asylum seekers. “ Rejected asylum seekers have to leave the country as has been
decided by Immigration Service and Refugee Board; we can’t ignore and circumvent our legal institutions,” said the minister to Danish Broadcasting Corporation the goal The group hopes that with massive support for the collection of signatures they will be able to put pressure on the politicians and in this way contribute to a solution to the problem facing the asylum seekers. “We will send all the signatures to the Parliament, and when we reach 100,000 signatures or more we will also hand this important document to the Queen. According to old Danish law, the Queen may grant amnesty to prisoners. Even though she cannot do so today, we wish to illustrate our level of desperation and that we feel that we have nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to.” said Inga Axelsen, a member of the Amnesty Nu group. the collection of signatures Anna Als, a 27 year old Danish architect student, considers Amnesti Nu to be a good way to attract the attention of the current government and to show that a lot of Danes disagree with the asylum policy. “I signed the Amnesty Nu petition because it is inhuman to keep people in asylum centres for so many years. People become sick when they wait for so long doing nothing. Denmark is a rich county and we should be able to help refugees. I am afraid that our government will not change their attitude right away even with the gathering of many
signatures. Lets hope for future!” said Anna Als. Khodir is a rejected Iraqi asylum seeker who has been living in Denmark for the last six years. Today in Avnstrup he said that he hopes the gathering of signatures will continue until the goal is reached. “It is an encouraging campaign. The Danes who are behind the petition do feel and understand our sufferings. The initiative shows that a great number of Danes support humanity and care about asylum seekers and refugees.” said Khodir.
Facts: For more information: http:// www.amnesti-nu.skrivunder. dk/. Facts: The figure of the 20th. of December: 41.401 online signatures and 434 by letters
newtimes · December 2006
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A last option
Hunger strikes are the last remaining option for some few asylum seekers who can not go back to their countries after the final rejections on their cases. In July, a group of six Iranian asylum seekers went on hunger strike in Christianborg Palace square. They demanded that their cases be considered by the Integration Ministry. The hunger strike was triggered by the suicide, on 19th June, of an Iranian asylum seeker at Hansthholm asylum centre in northern Jutland.
Repatriation
At the Danish Parliament
In January this year Care4You Association opened its first office in Arbil in northern Iraq; the aim was to assist repatriated Iraqi asylum seekers. Repatriation programmes to help asylum seekers make a fresh start in their home countries have had various levels of success and there have been reports of mixed experiences. Some former asylum seekers have criticized Care4You for misleading them and not keeping their promises.
On 10th October, representatives of asylum seekers living in Avnstrup, Sandholm, Kongelunden and Fasan centres gathered at the Danish Parliament and met with the Committee for Foreigners and Integration. At the same time there was a demonstration by 300 asylum seekers supporting their representatives and calling the attention of the public and Danish government to the conditions and long waiting periods in the asylum centres. They demonstrated with banners and appealed for an amnesty for all rejected asylum seekers who have been living for a long time in the asylum centres and who can not be deported back to their home countries.
Through the asylum year 2006
By Kumar Photos. Mohamed
At the end of the year, New Times takes a look back at the most important asylum-related events that took place in Denmark.
SANDHOLM on stage During April, the play, “Sandholm” was performed in Copenhagen, Svendborg and Odense. The play was written by a Danish writer, Anne Bro. It portrays the life and living conditions of asylum seekers in Denmark; the story and characters having been inspired by the daily life and activities of asylum seekers living in Sandholm asylum centre. On May 5th the play was performed at Mungo Park theatre in Allerød and the theatre administration gave free tickets to asylum seekers.
Poorest in Denmark In January, Rockwool Foundation Research Unit, a research study centre, reported that a refugee with a residence permit in Denmark has the lowest level of financial aid from the state compared with refugees in other European countries such as Holland, England, Sweden, Germany and Italy. Compared with Holland, a refugee living in Denmark receives about a third of the Dutch social support. In Denmark a refugee has to get by on 1,859 kr. each month for food, clothing and transportation. Furthermore, an unemployed refugee has to wait seven years to get the same level of social support as an unemployed Dane. In other comparable countries, refugees get the same amount as other citizens as soon as they are granted residence permission.
2006 – Energy Saving Year
This year the Danish Red Cross Asylum Department decided to save at least 5% on electricity, heat and water bills for a period of six months from 1st July to 31st December. There was an information campaign targeted at the school-aged asylum children in the form of a road show that visited all the asylum centres with poster displays about energy-saving methods. In order to make the campaign a success, there were also efforts to get the support of all residents and staff at the asylum centres.
Non-citizens During April, a majority of Danish MPs called for an improvement in the conditions at the asylum centres and especially in the conditions for children living in the centres. The improvements came after intense media coverage, criticism of the strict government policies and a visit by the Parliamentary Integration Committee to the asylum centres at Sandholm and Kongelunden.
Refugees – an art project 17th May saw the setting up of huge murals in front of the Torvaldsen museum. The murals were the product of a co-operation between the Danish Red Cross Culture House, Thorvaldsen’s museum and students from the Royal Danish Academy of Art. The art students, inspired by the stories of asylum seekers in the Culture House, painted the huge murals about refugees arriving in Denmark.
newtimes · December 2006
Cartoon Crisis In March, the publication of the “Mohammad cartoons” caused an international crisis between Denmark and the Muslim world. Asylum seekers feared the crisis would affect their chances of getting asylum in Denmark and that they would become victims of the crisis.
A new organization In March, a network of more than 2500 Danish priests, doctors, lawyers, writers and psychologists formed an umbrella organization, “Citizens for a civilized Denmark” for all organizations working with asylum seekers and refugees. According to one of the initiators of the project, Knud Erik Laegsgaard, a priest, the purpose of the organization is to achieve a relaxation of the rules and an improvement in the conditions for rejected asylum seekers, as well as to help individual cases more efficiently.
Activating asylum seekers
Children under a microscope
On 25th April, asylum seekers from Kosovo demonstrated in front of the Danish Parliament for 3 hours. On Friday 28th April, more than a hundred Iraqi asylum mothers accompanied by their children demonstrated in front of the Parliament. Both demonstrations appealed to the Danish government to grant temporary residence permits, as has happened in Sweden and Norway.
In April, the Danish government proposed some changes to the Immigration law so that phase 3 asylum seekers now have the same rights to education and activation as phase 2 asylum seekers. However, with the difference that classes should focus on repatriation with, for example, English instead of Danish language classes.
37 million kroner On 18th May, the Danish government granted a sum of 37 million kr. to be used this year to improve the overall conditions in asylum centres with special focus on activities for asylum children. The Danish authorities have recently been criticized in the media for not paying attention to the poor living conditions in the asylum centres. After receiving the 37 million kr. many changes and improvements have been seen in the daily life for children living in the asylum centres. For example, there is better infrastructure at the centres, an increase in activities and education for children and more support and help from the centre staff.
Iraq -- 2006 The unstable security situation in Iraq has become manifestly worse during the year. Rejected asylum seekers remain in Denmark without any solution despite the widespread recognition of the unsafe conditions across their country. An ECRE report in March stated that there is no proper infrastructure to uphold the rules and regulations necessary for the protection of human rights in the country. In addition to this, the instability due to increased violence, lack of basic services, housing shortages and increased unemployment severely hinders the ability of the country to absorb those who are returned back into it.
Deportations increased World Refugee day
On 5th April, Kazim Popal, an asylum seeker from Afghanistan was arrested and sent to closed camp after a stay of almost 5 years in Denmark and was finally deported on 19th April to his country where he was supposed to face his destiny. Throughout the summer, there has been an increase in forced deportations of rejected asylum seekers, especially of people from Albania and Kosovo. The Danish newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad, reported in September that at least 40 people from Kosovo had been deported by force and 13 people had left voluntarily.
20th June is UN World Refugee Day. The purpose of this day is to draw attention to the plight of refugees, to celebrate their courage and renew commitment to solving refugee problems. On 28th July asylum seekers and Danes celebrated World Refugee day with a Cultural Day, organized by Adult Vocational Training (VUA) and the Culture House. The focus of the Cultural Day was asylum children and young people from the centres. There was free entry, food, barbeques and different kinds of entertainment such as music, games and helium-filled balloons.
Lowest rate of asylum
The prize
On 18th April, it was announced at the European Parliament in Brussels that Mr. Kasper Treden Jensen had won 1st prize for his article in a competition for young journalists supported by the European Council of Refugees (ECRE), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and European Year Against Racism. Kasper Jensen, a student at the Danish School of Journalism, wrote an article titled ´Suicidal Silence´ about attempted suicides by asylum seekers in Denmark.
The number of people seeking asylum in Denmark this year was the lowest since 1983; a sixth of the numbers arriving in 2001. The total number of asylum seekers in 2006 decreased all over Europe by 20 percent compared with the previous year. However the lower rates do not mean that the world has now become more peaceful. According to the General Secretary of the Danish Refugee Council, Andreas Kamm, the reduction is a result of more restrictive policies towards refugees and more effective control at borders.
newtimes · December 2006
Getting residence “Welcome to Denmark! We wish you luck and happiness in your new life in this country.” With
FACTS:
these words Denmark welcomes asylum seekers
The Initial Period as a new citizen in Denmark The Danish Immigration Service decides in which municipality the accepted asylum seeker will reside, based on a number of considerations and assessments. After an asylum seeker has been granted residence permit, the Danish Immigration Service will see that he/she is registered in the municipality where he/she will be living. Upon registration, he/she will automatically be issued with a civil registry number (CPR number). The civil registry number consists of the date of birth plus four digits that are specific to the person. A civil registry number may be composed as follows: 23(day) 04(month) 54(year) – 3476. For women the last digit (in this case 6) is even, whereas for men it is uneven. You will need your civil registry number every time you contact public authorities and institutions. When an asylum seeker has registered with the municipal authority, he/she will automatically be registered with the National Health Service and receive a national health insurance card. More information can be found at http://www.nyidanmark.dk/
upon being granted asylum. By Sameer In October 2006, the Danish Refugee Board started granting asylum and residence permits again, some to stateless Palestinians on the grounds that there is no possibility of sending them back home. In the last two months about thirty people have obtained residence in Denmark. Some have moved to their new homes in municipalities; others are still waiting for their turn to be moved. On the 10th October 2006, Abo Mohammed and his disabled son Mohammed were protesting with a group of other asylum seekers in front of the Parliament asking for amnesty. What they didn’t know was that permanent residence permits were waiting for them in an envelope in Avnstrup centre. After spending five years in Avnstrup, they are now settled in Jægerspris in a house with special facilities. “We are happy about obtaining residence in Denmark, but we feel sad for our colleagues trapped in asylum centres for years and still waiting for it,” said Abo Mohammed. I got a residence Wahoo!! Ghassan is a stateless Palestinian who has been living in Denmark
newtimes · December 2006
for more than six years. He was a rejected asylum seeker on the list to be deported to Lebanon, but for years it has been impossible for the Danish police to send him back. Ghassan still can’t believe that he has obtained residence in Denmark. The Danish Immigration Service decided that Ghassan should be accommodated in Kalundborg and he has moved recently from Avnstrup centre to settle permanently in his new home. “I got residence and I don’t believe it! I am really happy and shall serve Denmark and respect my residence permit. My life is going to change with this development. Now I feel that I have stability and a homeland. Thanks to Denmark, I am no longer stateless or a refugee,” said Ghassan. Happy ending Haitham and Amal with their 3 children from Jelling centre got residence in October 2006. They have been moved to Kolding municipality and are settled in their new home after living in asylum camps for 5 years. They have become lawful residents, the joy and happiness shines from their smiling faces. “We feel better for sure. We are finally settled in Denmark and we shall live a normal life. We are
going to participate in an integration programme and learn the Danish language, although our children got the Danish language a long time ago,” said Amal. “I would like to find a job as soon as possible. It is one of the best ways to become part of Danish society, because much of daily life in the Danish community goes on at the workplace,” said Haitham. Another happy family from Jelling: Mohammed and Nadia with two boys were pleased to get residence. It was a happy ending after eight years of waiting for the wife and more than six years for the husband. They are settled in a house in Husum. Mustafa and Zeinab with their three boys were happy to get residence and a house in Thyregod. “We will contribute to the community as best as we can by getting educated, working, paying taxes and supporting ourselves and our family,” said Mustafa. An Albanian family of four from Kongelunden, who prefer to remain anonymous, obtained residence in October 2006 after waiting for six years. They have moved to Nykøbing F. Another two cases from Kongelunden received residences in October, one moved to Copen-
hagen and the second to Hillerød. In November a stateless Palestinian family of five from Kongelunden got residences as well after 5_ years. They are still waiting to know which municipality they are going to move to. Mohasin from Sudan Mohasin Mohammed fled from Sudan two years ago. She applied for asylum in Denmark, but was rejected by the Immigration Service and Refugee Board. On 9th October 2006 she got residence on humanitarian grounds. Mohasin’s aim is to get a very good education. During her asylum period she joined many courses at the Culture House and she has made good progress in learning the Danish language. “People who are doing fine in their homelands wouldn’t leave their country. I am glad that I have been accepted and granted residence
in Denmark. However, I wish the same thing for all my colleagues who are captive in asylum centres for years without residence,” said Mohasin. First, Mohasin wants to study the Danish language and then wants to join the Landbohøjskolen to study for her doctorate. She is expected to leave Fasan asylum centre shortly and to move to her new home in Ballerup. On the 24th November she gave a farewell party with cakes for her colleagues and the Red Cross staff at the Culture House. “I will respect the laws and rules in Denmark and do my best efforts to become a good citizen in the country which has granted me the right to stay,” said Mohasin. Despite the long time they spent in asylum centres these asylum seekers are delighted with their happy endings.
Another HAPPY ENDING
After writing this article, the writer – Sameer - received a letter from the Immigration Service, with a POSITIVE - a residence permit for him and his family after a wait of more than nearly six years in different asylum centres in Denmark. Sameer, a Palestinian from Lebanon, started the asylum journey in August 2001, when he arrived in Denmark with his family – a wife and three children. Few days after arriving in Denmark he started his career in journalism by reactivating “Avnstrup Voice”, which had not been published for the previous four months. Sameer wrote articles which caught the attention of the editors of New Times, who, at the end of 2001, called him to the Culture House and asked him to join the staff. Since then Sameer has attended many courses and learned a lot about journalism. Besides writing Sameer established the asylum seekers’ council at Avnstrup and was elected chairman. He was asked by the Culture House in Nykøbing F. to establish a magazine there. Thus, he estab-
lished “Dialog” and ran it for 2 years, while he also continued to write for New Times. Sameer has organized many events to attract the Danish media’s attention to the asylum issue. He has made interviews with many politicians. He has represented asylum seekers on many occasions and on 10th October this year he addressed the members of the Immigration and Integration committee of Parliament. For the last 4 years Sameer has been behind many activities in the Culture House in Copenhagen. For example, and was head of ASIG (Asylum Seekers Information Group). Sameer has made numerous presentations about the asylum system and life at the asylum camps to foreign delegations and students at universities and colleges. On 24th November 2006 the Refugee Board issued a decision to grant Sameer and his family residence based on article 7 stk 1. Thus ended their 5½ years of asylum life in Denmark and now they are poised to take on their new roles in Danish society.
New Times wishes POSITIVE good luck and a bright and successful future to its veteran writer Sameer, its best photographer Mohammed, and its youngest writer Diana.
newtimes · December 2006
Asylum seekers’ wishes for the year 2007
They recently got residence permits. New
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I wish to see my oldest son in the year 2007. I haven’t seen him for more than 6 years. I would like our family to be reunited in one country.
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I wish to have a sister. Ali (age 9), Thyregod
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I wish to get a bicycle in the year 2007.
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Abdu (age 10), Avnstrup
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I wish to travel and see all Europe.
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Hamza (age 11), Kongelunden
Mohfoza, Skibby
Times took photos of two happy families in their new homes in Kolding and Thyregod. Amal and Haitham with their three children, Amani, Waleed and Abed. Moustafa and his wife with their three children, Talal, Hasan and Ali
I wish for peace to prevail and that wars reach an end in the whole world. I don’t want to see any more refugees and asylum seekers fleeing their countries because of war or because of the lack of freedom and democracy. Mohasin, Ballerup
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Its difficult to make friends and we have been close friends for many years. Our wish for the New Year is not to be separated and to remain close to each other and to live in one country.
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Hillen, Galila, Mivan and Mahabat
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I wish to have my own room, separate from my two brothers.
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Hasan (age 11), Thyregod
I wish all asylum children get residence permits in Denmark - like we got.
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Talal (age 13), Thyregod
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I wish to attend a Danish school and have lots of friends to play with.
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Faraz (age 11), Kongelunden
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I wish to travel to the USA in the year 2007 to attend a music festival to hear one of the rap stars. Also I would like to go on a clothes shopping trip in the States.
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Mahmoud (age 13), Kongelunden
Photos: Mohammed
newtimes · December 2006
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I am praying to God for the peace in the Middle East and to eliminate war from the region especially, in Iraq. May the New Year bring peace, prosperity and joy to our lives. My personal wish is to have a chance to do some professional work and to contribute to Danish society with my skills.
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I wish to live in a bigger home than the litle room I share with my family. And to go to a Danish school and to be with Danish kids. I wish to become a professional football player.
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Allan (age 15), Avnstrup
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I would like to convey my best wishes to all my family in Iraq whom I could not see for the last six years. I pray to God for peace, stability and security in my country in the coming New Year. My personal wish is to start a new and normal life away from all the worries of the past. Ali, Sandholm
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I haven’t seen my wife and little girl (8 years old) since I came to Denmark in 2001. The thing which makes me most anxious is the violence and killing in my country, Iraq. I would like Iraq to become a secure place so I can return and have a normal life.
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Baher, Avnstrup
Dr. Taha, Avnstrup
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I wish to live a normal life with my two children and to end my asylum life which has lasted for 4 _ years. I have a mentally sick child and hope he will soon be well again.
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Masoumeh, Kongelunden
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I wish my mother will soon be discharged from hospital. I also wish to stay with my parents in one country.
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Aiman (age 13), Kongelunden See my web: aimansumuligevalg.dk
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I wish to start my higher education in a Danish institution and to be able to function in Danish society like other educated Danes who are my age. Helen, Avnstrup
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I wish to meet my old friends from the asylum centres. I would like them to live near me.
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Waleed (age 13), Kolding
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I wish to open a pizza restaurant and make the best pizza in Denmark.
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Farhard, Kongelunden
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It is the editors’ hope – and wish for 2007 – to see new faces, both men and women, people of all ages and nationalities and from all the asylum centres in Denmark here in the Culture House and in job training with New Times. The editors invite all interested asylum seekers to come and participate in the media course and write articles.
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New Times’ wishes for 2007 If you want to know more, contact Osama on 32 96 00 88 or send an e-mail to oah@redcross.dk or come to the first meeting on Tuesday 2nd January 2007 at 11.00 am. at the Culture House. Tickets will be paid.
newtimes · December 2006
Asylum Women–Double difficulties In Denmark, women and
Fatcs:
girls face many difficulIn 2002, women accounted for around one third of asylum applicants for in Europe. UNFPA United Nations population fund report, ‘a passage to hope: women and international migration’ The low number of women arriving in Europe is due to families often only having enough money to pay the people-smugglers for one family member, which is usually male. 80% of the approximately 50 million refugees worldwide are women and their children. UNHCR Refugees magazine issue 126 Each year, 2 million girls worldwide are forced into marriage. womankind.org.uk One in every five women in the world have been raped UNHCR Refugees magazine issue 126 Every day 6,000 girls undergo female circumcision. Amnesty; www.amnesty.org Five thousand honour killings were carried out in 2005. Christian Science Monitor
ties when seeking asylum based on gender-based persecution.
Photo: Mohammed
By Sonya All refugees have basic needs but women refugees have need of special protection. Women often seek asylum from persecution that is unique to them. They need protection against abuses such as rape, forced marriages, honour killings, female genital mutilation, exploitation, trafficking and domestic violence. These events are often undocumented and can relate to cultural and religious practices. Gender-based persecution The European Campaign for Women Asylum Seekers run by The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) is working with others to demand that gender-based persecution be recognised as a legitimate cause for claiming asylum in all of the EU Member States. Currently there are no special provisions in the Danish legislation regarding the processing of claims submitted by female applicants despite the European Union directive that sets out the minimum rules governing the conditions in which refugee status is granted. Among other issues, it recognised genderspecific forms of persecution. It calls for all countries to comply with the directive by October 2006. Certain countries have an arrangement to opt out, which is the
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newtimes · December 2006
case with respect to Danish immigration laws. Danish legislation Women’s issues are often considered insufficient reasons to grant refugee status. “The Danish legislation does not include any special provisions for women seeking asylum. In the law, there are only special provisions for unaccompanied minors,” explained Eva Singer from the Danish Immigration Service to New Times. In 2006 the United Nations Population Fund stated: “officials tend to favour a narrow definition of what constitutes a refugee. This means they are sometimes reluctant to recognize gender-related persecution as grounds for asylum…… some argue that violence against women is of too personal a nature to amount to persecution; others fear that all applicants seeking asylum on the basis of discrimination or assault would have to be approved if women were considered a particular social group”. Missing protection In 2004 the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) issued a Country Report on Denmark which stated that “if asylum is granted to women it is most likely in the form of subsidiary protection
instead of status according to the Geneva convention”. “The appeal board sees gender-related persecution as a ‘private’ conflict and ….refers women to seek protection with their national authorities.” This is despite the fact in many countries women may not get protection from authorities even if gender-based violations are outlawed in their country. Restrictions In a report to the Danish Government in 2002, the UNHCR commented: “We would like to stress that the act of rape in particular is considered as an international crime and it is not understandable why victims of such a crime would be specifically excluded from international protection and the scope of Section 7 (2) of the Aliens Act.” The publication ‘New Issues in Refugee Research’ UNHCR 2004, states that the Danish Refugee Council has advised that the authorities are restrictive in cases where an asylum seeker fears persecution to a particular social group. It also states that there appears to be an inconsistent approach to assessing gender related persecution. Statistics from January 2000 to February 2003 show that the Danish Refugee Board decided 168 cases concerning fear of persecution due to ‘membership of a particular
social group’ out of which 41 were granted de facto refugee status,14 convention refugee status and the rest received a negative answer. There have been several cases that reveal that a women’s safety is often neglected during the decisionmaking process and that it is usually uncertain that a women will be safe when returned to her home country. This has been acknowledged in the document, “Hidden Injustice: Denmark’s insufficient recognition of Gender based motives, 2006” that shows that gender-related issues of asylum seekers are under presented in the policies of the government. The immigration rules here in Denmark make it hard to be an asylum seeker but it’s doubly hard to be a woman asylum seeker. “Many women come here to find support and protection driven by specific, gender-based violence. It appears that they are not getting all the protection they need,” said Jehan Farah, an asylum seeker. Two stories S was lucky, she escaped from her father. S was a young, 20 year old asylum seeker from Iran. Her father wanted to marry her against her will to one of his business associates. She persuaded her father to let her came to Denmark for a holiday to visit her sister, and while here she applied for asylum.
Her application was refused and S desperately sought advice. Lonely and frightened, she confessed to being a lesbian, which is forbidden in her homeland. She was guided to Landsforeningen for Bøsse og Lesbiske (LBL) (Gay and Lesbian association) who befriended her, gave her support and legal advice. Eventually, S went underground and finally got to Norway, where she has been given asylum on the grounds of her sexuality. Linda and Sally Eid may not have been so lucky. Sally and Linda were born in Dubai to a Muslim father and a Christian mother. The father wanted the girls to be brought up as strict Muslims. At the ages of 15 and 20 respectively, the father wanted to marry his daughters off to his business associates, so the mother brought the two girls to Denmark, where they sought asylum. Linda and Sally asked for protection in Denmark, amongst other things, because their father had threatened to kill them because they refused to be forced into marriage and because they had converted from Islam to Christianity. However, on 12th March 2005 after staying in Denmark for five years, Linda and Sally were forcibly deported to be handed over to their father in Syria. Neither of them has been heard of since. You can read their full story on http://lindaogsally.dk
The editorial desk: This article is one of the firste articles in New Times about the rela-
l o r t n o c ! t ’ n n e a r c d I l i h c my
tion between the parents and their children in asylum seeking families.
Many asylum seekers are unsure about how best to relate to their children. How should they set limits without ofending the child’s rights or being accused of being dictatorial and authoritarian? Some think that staying in the asylum centres has contributed to their loss of control over their children.
By Jehan & Osama The stay in asylum centres is, in most instances, far too long; the waiting time at the centres while not knowing what the future will bring, is like a stay in no-man’s land - and the longer the stay the greater the loss of authority over one’s children. No-mans land That is the view of many parents whom New Times has talked to at Avnstrup and Kongelunden. “My son threatens that he will complain to the authorities if I don’t give him permission to stay out late at night,” said a mother (N) at Avnstrup centre, who wishes to remain anonymous. She thinks that the concepts of “setting limits” and “upbringing” have acquired a negative ring, and that upbringing for many people has become synonymous with old fashioned authority when children should listen obediently and learn to behave properly. Then there was the tradition of smacking children to “make them understand”.
social conventions, mutual respect and responsibility for other people that children experience at home, provides the completely natural foundation for their future lives,” said mother G. “We should not lose our model of the family because we spend several years in a Danish asylum centre. What will happen to our children if we are sent home, they won’t have our cultural values or language? They will be lost in their home country,” said mother N. A gradual transition G. says that it is understandable that the staff at the Danish asylum centres treat the children according to Danish culture and values. However, she thinks that, on the contrary, the asylum centres should
be transit areas with exits either into Danish society or back to the home land. “When my son took his father’s clothes to the washroom a Red Cross staff member asked him why his father couldn’t wash his own clothes. In Denmark, children are not under an obligation to serve their parents in that way. This caused a split first between father and son and then in the family, said G. and added, “back home, when I got a headache, my son would always say ‘mother, lie down and I’ll make you a cup of tea’. Here my son wouldn’t even visit me in hospital and his father always had to bribe him to get him to come to see me”. G. noticed that this development in her son’s behaviour started after a year of
living in the asylum centre. Both mothers agree that the transition from the patriarchal society at home to a democratic society like the Danish one, must be gradual. “The children misunderstand the Danish democracy, which they suddenly have, but can’t handle. They think that democracy is both an absolute, limitless freedom without responsibility and about breaking free from the family at any price,” said mother G. She added that living in an asylum centre should not be the same as living in Danish society, because you never know whether you will stay in Denmark or be sent home. Un-Danish methods Asylum seekers think that a child’s development, well-being and
upbringing is the parents’ responsibility. It is also their responsibility to give their children basic values, skills and knowledge including the skills to get on with other people and act in society in a respectful way. Therefore, in the end, it is the parents who bear the responsibility for their children’s actions and behaviour until they come of age. “When we try to take responsibility for our children we are met with the threat that our children will be taken away by force if we use un-Danish methods. And if our children overstep the Danish norms and law, then we get blamed for having failed to bring them up properly. We don’t have the right to bring up our children,” said the mother, N.
Caring or egoistic? “I don’t want to smack my children, but on the other hand I want them to show me respect and love just as I love and respect them,” said another mother (G), who also wishes to remain anonymous, but whose name is known to the editors. G added that she wants her children to be like they were before our family came and sought asylum in Denmark five years ago. “My children were more caring and closer to me before we came to Denmark, but now they are more self-centred and ill-mannered on the pretext that they want to be more independent like Danish children,” said mother M. “In my country the home provides the framework for children and adolescents, and it is also the focus for most adults’ lives. The Photo: Mohammed
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The long period of waiting makes asylum seekers suffer, but this time also gives them the possibility to become better acquainted with Danish culture and to know more about
Cultural the customs and habits of Danes.
By Sergie Denmark is a country with diverse opportunities for enjoying art. As a capital, Copenhagen has numerous museums, exhibitions, theatres and musical activities. Many asylum seekers use their time to increase their knowledge of the local culture, but some of them become creators themselves and thus give joy and spiritual pleasure through their artistic inspiration. Inspiration in waiting Jawad, a painter living in Avnstrup, speaks about his art as a hobby because although painting has always been a part of all his life, he never went to art school. Having a lot of free time being in Denmark, Jawad has devoted himself completely to fine art. He has painted many pictures in different styles: realistic and modern. He prefers to paint landscapes - views of both Denmark and Iraq. Jawad is full of originality; he has interesting ideas and a rich imagination. As a real artist, he is demanding and critical of his work. He regularly visits art galleries and keeps up his skills. Unfortunately, Jawad does not have the possibility of having a public exhibition. His room in Avnstrup is an artist’s studio, where his guests can see and enjoy the results of his creative inspiration. 420 M.A.S.K Denis Dunaev, another Avnstrup tenant, is indeed a multi-talented person. He is a recognised musician who composes songs - both music and lyrics - and arranges them on the computer. While in Denmark, Denis graduated from a school of dancing and he has also performed several times as a DJ. His enthusiasm led to the creation of an ensemble named 420 M.A.S.K. The origin of name comes from the number of the room, where the musicians rehearsed together and the letters, M, A, S, K stand for the musicians’ countries of origin: Moldova, Albania, Somalia and Kurdistan. Denis gathered together four aspirating musicians and fused their different voices into one homogeneous whole. Because they lacked a producer/ promoter, Denis took on the role. On 12th October, Copenhagen Cultural Night, the ensemble gave their
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debut concert in the Red Cross Culture House. They performed thirteen songs about love, friendship and other eternal, universal humanitarian values, and about their life in Avnstrup. The performance was acclaimed by all who heard them. It was a tremendous success. The audience reacted to every song with great enthusiasm. “It was a great experience to take part in the concert, It was really great, I got incomparable pleasure from singing and dancing and it was wonderful to be applauded by such a lovely, friendly audience,” said Allan, the young Kurdish soloist. 7 years of my life Otman has worked in the Red Cross Culture House for a many years on a number of different assignments. Otman is a technical engineer by training, but during his seven years in Denmark he has gained a new occupation: as a cameraman. His reportages are a special chronicle of asylum life, all important events have somehow or other been captured by his camera. He has made four films. The themes combine cultural and political events. Otman filmed a children’s event in Kongelunden when a group of young dancers dressed in oriental costumes performed a picturesque spectacle. A second film shows a demonstration by asylum seekers in front of the Danish Parliament. A third was a feast in the restaurant, “Ankara” and the fourth a sightseeing canal tour round Copenhagen. Otman has also taken part in a project by media students from the University of Roskilde, in which he appeared as the main character. The project resulted in a film called “7 years of my life” in which Otman tells about the joys and sorrows of his life in Denmark as an asylum seeker. Synergy We do not live in an isolated society, and nowhere in the world can you find a homogeneous culture. Culture has many facets, and the presence of different ethnic groups enriches a country like the water from diverse brooks fill up a river. The foreigners learn a lot about European Culture, but they also bring a lot of positive energy and ideas and thereby contribute to the development of the cultural process.
Asylum seekers’ art in the year 2006 The artist : Ihsan Adham
standby
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ali has finished hF with
“go&sEE” visit
a grade of 9.5 but faces difficulties in entering a university because he is
Denmark is fed up
an asylum seeker. asylum
with asylum seek-
seekers are denied higher
ers who cling to the
education due to the lack of
asylum centres even
residence permits and money.
though they have been asked to leave. now there’s a new ploy to get them to go home: a small group are to take a trial trip home. the motive is to persuade them to leave Denmark, where they have no right to asylum. Photo: Mohammed
By Basem It is a seldom phenomenon that rejected asylum seekers gets Danish travel documents and have the possibility to travel abroad, and return to Denmark. two conflicting images of reality “The Kurdish region is safer than other places, but it is still hazardous. The situation can now be described as a civil war and no place is secure,” said Osama Al Erhayem, chairman of the Danish-Iraqi association at http:/avisen.dk. “We should not give asylum to people who are not entitled to it and who can just as well be at home. It is safe to travel to the region (Kurdish Iraq ed.). It is my opinion that many myths are being created in the asylum centres about how hopeless it is to return home – which it is not,” said Irene Simonsen, Integration and Foreigners spokesman for the Venstre (Liberal) party in the same web article, what is the reality? There are currently many Kurdish Iraqis in asylum centres throughout Denmark. Most of their cases have been rejected, but the government is unable to deport them because the situation in Iraq is unstable. Therefore, the government has given the organisation, Care4You a project to help repatriate Kurdish Iraqis. The plan is to send seven asylum seekers to Iraq so that they can assess the situation in the country for themselves.
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Mr. Torben Jacobsen, the secretariat chief of Care4You Association and the organiser of this trip said that the project consists of two elements. One element is advice to rejected asylum seekers from northern Iraq about future business and work possibilities in Kurdistan/Iraq. As part of the project Care4You Association will offer the rejected asylum seekers assistance in developing business plans: “It is important that people have some business plan in the event that they decide to go home to Kurdistan/Iraq.” The second element is the socalled “Go&See” visits (GSV). As part of the programme Care4You will accompany seven rejected asylum seekers to Kurdistan/Iraq. “In particular we will offer meetings and arrange contacts with persons and organisations, who can tell about business opportunities and possibilities for jobs in the private labour market in Kurdistan/ Iraq,” said Torben. own plans The participants will also have the opportunity to investigate some of their own plans and possibilities concerning work and business in the event that they decide to go home. Of course, people will also have an opportunity to visit family and friends. An important aspect of the project, according to Torben Jacobsen, is to offer support and inspiration and to stimulate a positive attitude to repatriation. The project is about voluntary repatriation and the
possibilities for creating a new and active life for those individuals and families who are at present stuck in asylum centres. The project does not involve forced repatriation; the starting point is the actual situation in northern Iraq. The job to develop and carry out the project has been given to Care4You Association and the Care4You staff will deliver it. Care4You operates with a free hand to make contact with organisations and individuals in relation to the separate tasks, which are part of the project as a whole. reporting The visit is scheduled to last for fourteen days. After the visit there will be a report. Most important is that the information is delivered to other rejected asylum seekers in the asylum centres, so that anyone who is considering a future in Iraq, gets realistic information in relation to business and work possibilities in Kurdistan/Iraq. This report will not have any influence on future government decisions. The Government uses its own sources of information passed through the Danish embassy in Baghdad. Care4You deals only with personal advice and support, and the organisation does not have any say in relation to governmental decisions. All the the participants’ expenses for the “Go&See” visit will be provided by the project. Care4You will pay all the expenses for travel, accommodation and food, meetings, taking pictures
and so on. But it will not pay for the private visits to relatives and friends. go&see my family Chalak, a Kurd from Sulaimaniya in the north of Iraq is one of the seven rejected asylum seekers who have been selected from 12 nominated for this project. Chalak says that he has good relations with Care4You gained during his job training on Want2Work at the Red Cross Culture House. Chalak has a BSc degree in electrical engineering which would give him a better chance to get a job or to start a business project in Kurdistan. “The most important thing for me is to visit my family and friends after a very long period of severance. Second is to give a true and reliable picture of the situation in northern Iraq. This picture may – or may not - encourage me or others
to return to Iraq in the near future,” said Chalak when asked about his goals for the trip. Chalak added that he will take a camera and notebook to write down all the details about his trip, although he has not yet been asked officially to make any report about the trip. “I will interview and report what the Kurdish authorities and organisations say, and also report on how life is for the ordinary people,” said Chalak. The date is now set and the asylum seekers will be leaving for Iraq on 12th January 2007. New Times will report on the asylum seekers’ experiences and findings in the next issue. For more information about the “Go&See” visit see: http://care4you.dk/
legal letters is your direct way to learn more about asylum seekers and law. stine Østergren, an experienced
LEGALLETTERS legal counsellor at Dansk
Flygtningehjælp, will do her very best to answer all your questions.
Is it possible for asylum seekers to get married in DK? According to the Danish Marriage Act (§11a), anyone who are not legally staying in Denmark are not permitted to get married. Asylum seekers are in Denmark on what is called a procedural stay and as a result they will not be permitted to marry. In special cases, the State County may permit asylum seekers to marry even though they do not meet the condition of a legal stay. This possibility of exemption is normally to be used in the following cases: -When the alien has stayed in Denmark for a long time and has formed an apparent attachment to the person with whom he wishes to marry. -In the case of serious illness or handicap, where a denial of marriage would seem unreasonable. -In the case where the two parties have or are expecting a child. -In the case where the two parties have formed an attachment before their arrival in Denmark, ex in the case where they have been married in their home country, but in a way that is not recognised as a marriage by the Danish law. Normally it is not possible to exempt from the requirement of legal stay, if the asylum seeker has received a rejection on his or her asylum application. Exemption is only possible when the alien has stayed in Denmark for a long time and where a deportation is not a real possibility. I have just received asylum in DK. Is it possible to keep the residency in DK and live abroad, without getting financial benefit from DK? According to the Danish Aliens Act § 17, subsection 3, a person who
has obtained asylum in Denmark cannot keep his residence permit if the person in question of his own free will settles in his country of origin or has obtained protection in a third country. In other words, if you obtain a residence permit in another country, your residence permit in Denmark will lapse. We have applied for asylum in July 2001. We have been rejected and our case was back and forth. We got residence in November 24, 2006 by a decision from the Refugee Board. Which law is applied on us, the old or the new law issued in July 2002? Who decide it? The changes in the Aliens Act of June 2002 come into force on July 1. 2002. The changed rules concerning refugee status in § 7 do not apply to asylum seekers who have applied before the 1st of July 2002. Other provisions in the Aliens Act will, however, apply to you and your residence in Denmark. We are an asylum family for more than 5 years. It was beyond our estimation to stay without a legal status in Denmark such a long time. We have a son living in EU with permanent residence, but needs a visa to come to Denmark. Will Immigration Service accept our family’s sponsorship to grant our son a visit visa to Denmark? First of all I must bring to your attention that whether or not your son can obtain a visa to Denmark, depends on which country he lives in and what kind of residence permit he has. According to the Danish Alien Act §
2b, foreigners who have a residence permit in a Schengen-country are allowed to travel to Denmark and stay here for a period of 3 months without obtaining a visa. But not all EU-countries are members of Schengen. Members of Schengen are Germany, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Greece, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland. If your son lives in an EU-country not mentioned above, he is obliged to apply for a visa to visit Denmark, but normally a sponsorship is not necessary, except from the fee he has to pay for the visa. Finally, the various EU-countries operate with different residence permits and not all residence permits are treated equally when the Danish Immigration Service has to decide whether or not a visa shall be issued. If you have further questions, you are welcome to visit the open counselling at DRC, Wednesdays between 13.00-15.00 or contact us at advice@drc.dk. I got to know that the Danish government will issue a travel document to some Iraqi asylum seekers for a temporary visit to North of Iraq. I am a journalist and my friend is an artist and we are both asylum seekers who received an invitation to a conference in Spain. Will the immigration authority provide us with temporary travel documents or permissions to attend the conference? According to the Danish Immigration Services (udlændingeservice) temporary travel documents are not to be issued to asylum seekers except in very exceptional cases. The Immigration Services has, for
example, provided travel documents to asylum seekers in order to allow them to visit seriously ill family members. Therefore the Danish authorities will not, normally, issue travel documents in order to allow an asylum seeker to attend a conference. The case of the Iraqi asylum seekers, who have received travel documents to visit Iraq temporarily, is a special case. It is an arrangement that only concerns asylum seekers from Kosovo and Iraq who have already received rejections on their applications for asylum. The Danish authorities have issued travel documents so that these asylum seekers may visit their home country for a short period of time. This would enable them to individually assess the possibility of returning to their native country. The Police stated in a report to the Refugee Board that our deportation is impossible. Rejected asylum seekers normally get residence based on such statement by the Police. Is there a paragraph in the law granting residence when police consider deportation is impossible or it is the Judge at Refugee Board who decide? According to the Danish Aliens Act § 9c, subsection 2, a residence permit may be issued upon application to an alien whose application for asylum has been rejected, provided that: -It has not been possible to return the asylum seeker for at least 18 months -the asylum seeker has assisted in the in the return efforts for 18 months consecutively -the return is considered impossible according to available information If the police decide on the abovementioned criterions that it is not
possible to return the asylum seeker in question, they can recommend the asylum seeker for a residence permit in Denmark. The recommendation is given to the Danish Immigration Service (Udlændingeservice), except in the cases of stateless Palestinians, where the recommendation is given to the Refugee Board (Flygtningenævnet). Upon the reception of the recommendation, the relevant authority decides in the individual case, whether or not the police shall continue their efforts to return the rejected asylum seeker or whether residence permit should be granted.
ask us any questions? Write your question to: n new times DRC Culture House Strandgade 108 1401 København K newtimes@redcross.dk Please feel free to ask anonymously. You can also contact: n Dansk Flygtningehjælp Legal Councelling Unit – Asylum Department Borgergade 10 Postbox 53 1002 København K Webpage: www.flygtning.dk E-mail: advice@drc.dk Free legal counselling for asylum seekers every Wednesday 13-15 You need to present you questions in Danish or English
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Tell your fortune from the coffee grounds – what will the New Year bring you?
Photo: Mohammed
Published by: The Red Cross Asylum Department Editorial Office: DRC Culture House, Strandgade 108 1401 Copenhagen K, Denmark Tel. 3296 0088; fax: 3296 0058 E-mail: newtimes@redcross.dk
Editor-in-chief: Henrik Ravn Managing Editors: Osama Al-Habahbeh and Isabel Fluxá Rosado Staff: Sameer, Mohammed, Kumar, Sergei, Jawad, Jehan, Otman, Sonya, Basem, Mustafa, Diana. Translation and Proof reading: Patricia Brander.
Lay-out: Jens Burau Printed by: OTMAvistryk Distributed to: Danish asylum centers, ministries, members of the Danish Parliament, public libraries, asylum and human rights organisations, NGOs, medias and individuals in Denmark and abroad.
ISSN: 1397 6877 The opinions expressed are those of the authors and the persons interviewed. DRC cannot be held responsible for any other opinions. All contributions are very welcome from readers and others who take an interest in the issue of
asylum. The Editorial Board reserves the right to edit these materials according to editorial and space considerations. This publication is based on the Red Cross principles of humanity, independence, impartiality, neutrality, voluntarism, universality and unity.
ASYLANSØGERE PÅ VEJ MOD ARBEJDE
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