visAvis no. 4

No. 4 - 2010

Voices on Asylum & Migration

50 kr. 8 c

No. 4 2010

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Indhold /Content 4 6 10 11 15 16 20 22 26 30 32 34 36 40 44 48 50 52 54 57 58 61 62 64 70 72 74 76 79 82 84 88 91

Leder / Editorial Barber Shop – haircuts with or without citizenship – Marie Sauer-Johansen Death Celebration – Omar The experiences of Somalian refugees: Maltreatment on their route to Europe – Liban Abdi Abanur Velkommen hjem til et fremmedfjendsk land Effective Walling-off – The European Border Security Agency "Frontex" – Matthias Lehnert Hvad sker der når de kommer hjem – Mona Ljungberg Una Raya En El Mar – Thomas Elsted Æsel (romanuddrag) – Kristina Stoltz Asylum Seekers – Solomon The biggest population without a country – Memo Jan På Svalbard behøves intet visum – Tobias Stål Hvordan muligheder opstår – Katrine Syppli Kohl Opensourcefood – An invitation for you to partcipate in cookin' up a storm – Arendse Krabbe & André Amtoft Dans ud af boblen – Marie Sauer-Johansen The Trampoline House is here! – Morten Goll Erindringen om nutidens Europa – Louise Rosengreen Hvor melbær gror – Anders Prien Non-ID Palestinian Youth Trapped in Lebanon – Lorena Torres From Nablus to Nowhere – Essam Hvem er ikke forelsket i Carmen? – Abigail Josephsen Vi har en historie – Jens Pfeifer Sulukule, Istanbul – Brian Berg Undocumented Americans – Eric Huerta Udokumenteret adgang til sundhedsvæsenet – Nina Monrad Boel Det 9. kollektiv – Sandra Lori Petersen Irregular migration i Skandinavien – overhovedet noget at snakke om? – Søren Rafn Usynligt skovles tagene for sne – America Vera-Zavala Pirate Bay – Patrick What refugees must know when they reach Sandholm Camp – Ziad Kabbani The camp as a variable instrument of migration control – Tobias Pieper Læsestof Oversættelser / Translations

Kolofon

visAvis er / visAvis is

Redaktion / Editorial Board

Abigail Josephsen Anaïs Anders Abildgaard Nielsen Anders Carlsberg Anders Prien Saxbøl Andreas Johansen Andreas Lemark Anna Bennike Arendse Krabbe Barzan Heidaryanfar Caroline Enghoff Mogensen Christian Christina Wendelboe Danial Yones Mamo Eric Yakubyan Essam Ester Vilstrup Gita Ghei Heidi Erschbamer Himan Safiri

Jeppe Wedel-Brandt (ansvarshavende)

Jens Pfeifer Marie Sauer-Johansen Mia Edelgart Nina Monrad Boel Rasmus Pedersen Sylvester Roepstorff Søren Rafn Casper Øbro (design & layout)

Honey Biba Beckerlee Hugo Hopping Jennie Kaae-Ferrara Joen P. Vedel Joyce Waak Kenny Joachim Hamou Karlos Shahinian Kaosar Ahmed Lars Engelgaar Laura Mancini Leonard Hamou Liban Abdi Abanur Lise Olivarius Lorena Torres Lorens Juul Madsen Louise Rosengreen Luqman Ahmad Maja Moesgaard Maria Bierbaum Oehlenschläger Memo Jan Mira Kellerman Mohamad Khadel

Mohamed Ahmed Abdi Mohamed M.M. Morten Buchardt Nabila Saidi Nanna Guldhammer Wraae Omar Otman Miloud Patrick Per Christensen Pil Rasmussen Poul Roepstorff Rosanna Singler Samiya Mahamed Osman Sandra Lori Petersen Solomon Soran Salem Ali Tenna Toft Olesen Thomas Bo Østergaard Thomas Elsted Tif Sigfrid Tina Helen Ziad Kabbani

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No. 4 2010

Kære Læser Det sidste halve år har været begivenhedsrigt for visAvis. Kort efter udgivelsen af sidste nummer stillede vi en frisørsallon op på Roskilde Festival, hvor vi var inviteret til at deltage. I august blev visAvis tildelt Fredsfondens Initiativpris – en anerkendelse, vi er stolte af at modtage og en anerkendelse, vi også gerne deler med alle, der engagerer sig og forsøger at ændre forholdene på asyl- og migrationsområdet. I november kunne visAvis endelig flytte ind i det nye Trampolinhus, der har tilbudt os plads til vores aktiviteter. Med den plads i et nyt brugerstyret kulturhus, ser vi frem til at kunne øge aktivitetsniveauet og sætter derfor gang i tiltag som f.eks. skrive-workshops, hvor vi vil kunne få mere ro til at fortælle de historier, folk har på hjerte.

Men også uden for visAvis har det været et begivenhedsrigt halvt år. Hen over sommeren genlød ikke kun Danmark, men hele Europa, af historier om romaer. Der var flere tilfælde af udvisninger, en del af disse på grænsen af gældende lovgivning og administrativ praksis, hvilket også gav sig udtryk i stærk bekymring fra bl.a. Europaparlamentet. Det er yderst problematisk at opleve, hvordan den offentlige debat gennem ukritisk spredning af fordomme omkring romaer understøtter staternes muligheder for at omgå regler, de ellers har forpligtet sig på. Det grænser til institutionaliseret racisme I efteråret besluttede en gruppe kurdere, der stod til udvisning til Grækenland, at lave en sultestrejke i protest mod dette. Som beskrevet bl.a. i sidste nummer af visAvis er vilkårene i de græske asyllejre forkastelige, hertil skal føjes, at muligheden for en rimelig behandling af éns sag i det græske asylsystem er utilstrækkelig. Der er således al mulig grund til at protestere her. Interessant var det dog også at følge, hvordan medier og politikere generelt ignorerede aktionen, eller i hvert fald var meget tilbageholdne med deres opmærksomhed. Noget af forklaringen på dette skal nok findes i aktionens natur. En sådan protest fungerer kun gennem opmærksomhed, og dén skabes langt hen ad vejen i medierne.

På den måde bliver medierne inddraget direkte i folks liv. Problemet er, at ved at skabe stor opmærksomhed omkring protesten, bliver presset på den enkelte for at opretholde sultestrejken større og dermed bliver medierne indirekte deltagende i en selvskadende handling.

Men vi må insistere på, at medierne har et ansvar for at berette fra vigtige samfundsmæssige begivenheder. Og en sådan var denne uomtvisteligt – det er menneskers liv, der kommer i klemme i vores politiske system. Der er grund til selvransagelse på en del redaktioner.

I oktober faldt der dom over Asylbureau Aps, der søgte at hjælpe nogle af de udvisningstruede irakere i Brorsons Kirken, gennem at benytte den såkaldte beløbsordning, der sikrer midlertidigt ophold til folk, der er ansat i et job med en årsløn over 375.000 kr. En ordning, der siden er ændret, bl.a. som konsekvens af Politikens Irak Center. Asylbureau blev i byretten dømt til at betale en bøde på 10.000 kr., ligesom bureauets formue på 308.000 kr. blev konfiskeret. Asylbureau har anket dommen. Dette er ikke pladsen til at gå ind i dommens detaljer. Men tilbage står, at mange har fornemmelsen af, at der her er tale om, at aktivisme kriminaliseres – også når den søger at holde sig inden for lovens rammer. Hvis dette er tilfældet, er det dybt problematisk. Det er helt essentielt for et fungerende civilsamfund, at vi kan føle os trygge ved at udfordre staten og den siddende regerings beslutninger uden at frygte vilkårlighed i loven. Asylbureaus ankesag bliver vigtig og meget principiel at følge.

I tilblivelsen af dette nummer af visAvis har vi haft fokus på spørgsmål omkring udokumenteret, eller illegaliseret, migration. De bevægelser over grænser, der ikke registreres officielt og sjældent er offentlig fokus på, og den situation den illegale migrant står i, samt de kampe, der opstår heraf. Men vi rykker ikke ved vores generelle fokus, der stadig er, at bringe de historier, folk, der søger asyl, har på hjerte og lyst til at bringe frem, samt gennem journalistik og kommentarer at formidle viden og argumenter, der kan forbedre debatten på området. Teksterne bringes på deres originalsprog, engelsk eller dansk, i første del af visAvis og kan findes oversat bagerst. Det kræver mange kræfter at lave alt det, vi har lyst til, og alle, der har lyst til at være en del af visAvis, er mere end velkomne til at kontakte os.

God læselyst! jw-b

Her finder du visAvis

How to get visAvis

Info

En liste over steder, der sælger visAvis kan findes på hjemmesiden; eller du kan få det tilsendt ved at betale 50,- plus porto 29,50, ialt 79,50 til nedenstående konto og sende en mail med navn, adresse og hvor mange eksemplarer, der ønskes.

Det er ligeldedes muligt at tegne abonnement via hjemmesiden.

A list of places that sell visAvis can be found on the website; or you can order by mail by paying 8 Euro plus postage into our account and send a mail with your name, address, and the number of copies you have ordered. It is also possible to subscribe to visAvis via the website.

Bank account / Bankkonto Jyske Bank Reg. Nr. 7851 Kontonr. 3285805 Website / Hjemmeside www.visavis.dk CVR-Nr. 32858023 ISSN: 1904-528X

Tak til // Thanks to

Lauritzen Fonden, Kulturministeriets bevilling af almenkulturelle tidsskrifter.

No. 4 2010

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Dear Reader The last six months have been eventful for visAvis. Following the release of the last issue we set up a barber shop at the Roskilde Festival where we had been invited to take part. In August visAvis was awarded The Peace Foundation’s Initiative Price – a recognition we are proud to receive, and also a recognition we happily share with everyone engaged in trying to change the conditions in the field of asylum and migration. In November visAvis finally moved into the new Trampoline House, that have offered us a space for our activities. With this space in a new user organized cultural house we look forward to increasing our level of activity. We will start initiatives such as workshops for writing where we will be able to better the conditions for publishing the stories people wish to share.

But it has also been an eventful six months outside of visAvis. During the summer stories of Romas resounded across not only Denmark but the entire Europe. There were numerous accounts of deportations, some of these bordering on current laws and administrative praxis which also was shown by a strong concern from The European Parliament. It is highly problematic to experience how the public debate through the uncritical spread of prejudices of Romas strengthen the states’ possibilities of evading regulations they have obligated themselves to. It borders on institutionalized racism.

In the Fall a group of Kurds that were to be deported to Greece decided to go on a hunger strike. As shown, in the last issue of visAvis, the conditions in the Greek asylum camps are despicable, to this must be added that the possibility of a just consideration of ones case in the Greek asylum system is slim. Thus there is all possible reason to protest here. However it was interesting to follow how the media and politicians generally ignored the action or at least were very hesitant in their attention to it. Some of the explanation for this is probably to be found in the nature of the action. Such a protest only works through attention, and that is mainly created in the media. In that sense the media is dragged into people’s lives. The problem is that by creating a major attention to the protest the pressure for the singular person to keep the hunger strike up increases, and thereby the media indirectly becomes participants in an action

of self harm. But we must insist that the media have a responsibility to cover important societal events. And a such this unquestionable was – it is the lives of human beings being squashed in our political system. There is reason for a lot of introspection in quite a few editorial offices.

In October sentence was passed on Asylbureau Aps, which sought to aid some of the Iraqis in the Brorsons Church threatened by deportations by using the so called Pay Limit scheme that secures temporary stay for people earning a yearly salary of more than 375.000 danish kroner. A scheme that have been changed since, as a consequence of the Iraq Center created by the newspaper Politiken. Asylbureau was sentenced to pay a 10.000 kroner and its fortune of 308.000 kroner was confiscated. Asylbureau has appealed the verdict. This is not the place for dealing with the details of the verdict.

But many are left with the feeling that this is a case of activism being criminalized – even when it seeks to work within the limits of the law. If this is the case it is highly problematic. It is essential for a functioning civil society to feel secure in challenging the State and decisions of the current government without fearing arbitrariness in the law. The appeal of Asylbureau will be important and very fundamental to follow.

In the making of this issue of visAvis we have had a focus on the question of undocumented or illegalized migration. Those movements across borders that are not officially recorded and rarely receives public attention, the situation the illegal migrant is in and those struggles that arise from this. But we do not change our general focus which still is to publish the stories that people seeking asylum have in heart and wish to bring forth, and by journalism and commentaries to spread knowledge and arguments that can help improve the debate in this field. The texts are published in their original languages, English or Danish, in the first part of visAvis and can be found translated in the back. It demands a lot of work to do all we aspire to, and anyone that would like to be part of visAvis are more than welcome to contact us.

Pleasant reading! jw-b

Om visAvis

About visAvis

visAvis er et tidsskrift om asyl og migration, menneskers bevægelser over grænser og de udfordringer, der er forbundet med dette. Vi arbejder for at forbedre debatten omkring asyl og migration, bl.a. gennem at bringe de tekster, folk, der søger asyl, har på hjerte. visAvis er et civilt projekt, hvor folk med og uden statsborgerskab i Danmark mødes om at skabe en alternativ offentlighed.

visAvis is a magazine on asylum and migration, the movement of people across borders and the challenges connected to this. We work to improve the debate on asylum and migration, among other things by publishing texts that people seeking asylum want to share. visAvis is a civilian project where people with and without citizenship in Denmark meet to create an alternative public space and debate.

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No. 4 2010

Oversættelse på side 92

Barbershop Haircuts with or without citizenship

Illustration Paula Bulling

af Marie Sauer-Johansen Roskilde Festival, 2. juli 2010: I et graffitimalet telt under den hvide sol står tre frisører skulder ved skulder. De er travlt optaget af at klippe tre livligt snakkende festivalgæster. Omkring dem maser folk rundt på det skrånende bræddegulv, der er malet grønt under kontorstole, der gør det ud for frisørstole. En langhåret pige overvejer, om hun tør tage springet ud i en kort punkfrisure, og lader sig overtale af sine leende venner. Frisøren er helt med på ideen og går straks i gang med saksen, der blinker om kap med hans sølvhalskæde. Ved siden af tegner en anden frisør koncentreret et slynget mønster i hovedbunden på en mand med et skarpt barberblad.

Duften af kaffe fra cafeen i den anden halvdel af teltet blander sig med lugten af varme mennesker, støv og øl. I sollyset udenfor sidder to piger og venter på, at deres navne bliver råbt højt fra en lang venteliste, mens de henslængt bladrer i kopier af visAvis og ser over på Cosmopolscenen, hvor et jamaicansk dance hall band sender vibrerende bas ud over hele pladsen.

På årets Roskilde Festival gav visAvis gratis klipninger i den improviserede frisørsalon ’Barbershop’. Barbershop var en del af Urban Conflict, et område Roskilde Festival havde inviteret 160 aktivister til at bygge op omkring Cosmopol scenen. visAvisholdet bestod af 26 mennesker, heraf seks frisører, der alle bor på danske asylcentre.

Ideen bag projektet var, at bruge den intime og tillidsfulde situation, der helt naturligt opstår mellem frisør og kunde, som basis for samtale og gensidig forståelse.

På den måde ville visAvis sætte spot på asylansøgeres mangelfulde muligheder for arbejde og uddannelse.

Uddannelse men intet arbejde

Uden opholdstilladelse er det forbudt at arbejde i Danmark, men man må gerne uddanne sig, uanset hvor længe eller kort man har opholdt sig i landet. Dansk Røde Kors Asylafdeling (DRKA), der driver de fleste danske asylcentre, udbyder en række statsfinansierede uddannelser og kurser. De fleste kurser, DRKA udbyder, er i eget regi, så som sprog og IT- kurser, men der er også en række særaftaler med offentlige og private uddannelsesinstitutioner, så som sprogskoler og tekniske skoler. Der er en klar overvægt af håndværksmæssige tilbud.

No. 4 2010

Bliv frisør

Frisøruddannelsen er af de uddannelser, DRKA har lavet særaftaler med. Den kan tages på et år på en privat frisørskole på Vesterbro.

Her går fem af de seks frisører, der arbejdede i Barbershop. Hos DRKA ser man frisøruddannelsen som en god mulighed: ”Frisøruddannelsen giver folk konkrete værktøjer med i rygsækken, som de kan bruge, uanset om deres fremtid ligger i Danmark, i deres hjemland, eller i et helt tredje land,” siger Lars Brügger fra DRKA. Han uddyber, at det er mere vanskeligt at få samarbejdsaftaler i stand med videregående uddannelser, bl.a. fordi de er dyrere end kortere uddannelser, men især fordi der kræves særlige forudsætninger: ”Vi vil meget gerne forbedre asylansøgeres adgang til uddannelse, men selv hvis vi havde flere midler til rådighed, ville der stadig være mange restriktioner, for de fleste asylansøgere har ikke de sproglige og faglige forudsætninger for at komme ind på de mere boglige uddannelser,” siger han. Han forklarer, at mennesker, der søger om asyl i Danmark, ifølge lovgivningen kan søge om støtte til en hvilken som helst uddannelse, der passer til deres individuelle situation. Dette inkluderer længere videregående uddannelser af boglig karakter.

Manglende viden om frit uddannelsesvalg

Men mange asylansøgere er ikke klar over, at de har frit uddannelsesvalg: ”Jeg hørte om frisøruddannelsen fra en af mine venner, som gik der, og spurgte så min sagsbehandler, om jeg kunne gå på den,” fortæller Luqman, en af frisørerne fra Barbershop. ”Jeg har ikke hørt om, at jeg kunne vælge andre kurser.” Hans fortælling gentages af de fleste af de frisørstuderende, visAvis har talt

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med, og understreger, hvor vanskeligt det er for mennesker, der hænger i limbo i asylsystemet at navigere i det danske bureaukrati. Her stiller både sprogbarrierer, emotionelt stress og ukendthed med det danske system sig i vejen for folks forståelse af egne rettigheder. Derfor bliver DRKA’s formidling af uddannelsesmuligheder og rene tilfældigheder ofte udslagsgivende for, hvilke uddannelser folk havner på.

Arbejdsglæde

Det faktum, at det er temmelig tilfældigt, at det netop er frisøruddannelsen, fem af de seks frisører i Barbershop er endt på, overskygger dog ikke glæden ved overhovedet at kunne uddanne sig. De fortæller, at studierne er et lyspunkt i den endeløse venten på afgørelsen af deres sager og, at de værdsætter deres nye faglige kvalifikationer. Men de udtrykker alle dyb frustration over, at det danske forbud mod at asylansøgere kan arbejde, forhindrer dem i at bruge deres profession i praksis, når de er færdiguddannede.

I Barbershop måtte de seks frisører klippe alt det hår, de ville – så længe de ikke tog penge for det. Og hvem vil ikke have en gratis klipning? På Roskilde Festivalen var der mange, der gerne ville have håret studset i teltet, som visAvis delte med Cafe Under Konstruktion, der normalt sælger kaffe til fordel for politiske projekter i Folkets Hus på Nørrebro. Men trods de travle arbejdsdage i Barbershop var der ved evalueringen af projektet kun en ting, frisørerne ønskede sig anderledes: Hvis bare der havde været bedre plads i teltet, kunne de have arbejdet endnu mere.

foto: Lars Engelgaar

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No. 4 2010

Barbershop portrætter Haircuts with or without citizenship fot: Lars Engelgaar

“I Barbershop måtte de seks frisører klippe alt det hår, de ville – så længe de ikke tog penge for det.”

foto Lorena Torres

foto Lars Engelgaar

Soran

Barzan

“Det bedste ved Barbershop var, at alle arbejdede sammen – mænd og kvinder, unge og gamle, alle hjalp hinanden og lavede det samme arbejde.”

Jeg havde aldrig prøvet at sove i telt før. Det telt, jeg sov i, var for småt, så mine fødder stak ud, men det gjorde ikke så meget. Jeg var lidt for genert til at sige det, fordi jeg bare var så glad for at være med.”

“Det var lidt svært at klippe folks beskidte hår, og der var ikke nok plads til at klippe på. Men til gengæld havde vi alt det udstyr vi skulle bruge, fordi vi var sådan en stor gruppe, der delte, det vi havde.”

“Det var fedt at få lov til at øve sig på at klippe. Jeg var kun blevet sat på til at klippe to timer om dagen, men jeg arbejdede i seks, for jeg vil meget gerne blive bedre til at klippe” “Jeg havde aldrig nogensinde forestillet mig at blive frisør. I Irak arbejdede jeg på en stålfabrik, men da jeg boede i Sandholm, havde jeg ingenting at lave, og så hørte jeg om frisøruddannelsen. Nu er jeg glad for den, for selv hvis jeg ikke får opholdstilladelse, kan jeg være frisør i andre lande.”

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foto: Lars Engelgaar

foto Lars Engelgaar

Danial

Himan

“Om der var for mange mennesker på festivalen? Måske var der 50 procent for mange, men det var lige meget, for vi havde det så sjovt hele tiden.”

“Det var første gang, jeg for alvor hørte musik fra andre lande. Det var mega fedt – især Balkan og noget fransk hiphop.”

“På Roskilde blev jeg aldrig træt – det var ligesom om, jeg havde uendelige mængder af energi, fordi alting var så sjovt.”

“Hvis nogle af kunderne var utilfredse med deres klipning, sagde vi bare: ’Det er Roskilde, det er gratis, slap af’.”

“Jeg har fire måneder tilbage på frisørskolen, når jeg er færdig, ved jeg ikke, hvad der skal ske. Jeg har fået seks afslag på min asylansøgning – nu venter jeg på det næste svar. Jeg ville meget gerne arbejde som frisør, men det må jeg jo ikke, så måske tager jeg i stedet nogle kurser på VUC.”

foto Lars Engelgaar

foto Lars Engelgaar

Christian

Luqman

“Jeg arbejdede også som frisør i Irak, efter jeg måtte forlade hæren. I Irak klippede jeg kun mænd, her har jeg lært at klippe damehår. Men det er egentlig ikke så anderledes, der er bare lidt flere ting, man kan.”

“Hvis jeg fik opholdstilladelse, ville jeg åbne min egen frisør, måske på Nørrebro. Hvis jeg ikke får ophold, ved jeg ikke, hvad jeg skal gøre.”

“Roskilde festival var ligesom en landsby, hvor alle passer på hinanden. Når man går på gaden i København, kan man ikke bare snakke med folk. Det kan man på Roskilde - når bare man kan tale dansk, så er alle åbne og vil gerne snakke.”

“Jeg har lært at barbere mønstre i hår i Burundi, hvor jeg mest gjorde det for sjov. Men hvis jeg får opholdstilladelse, kan jeg begynde på frisørskolen til december, men lige nu kan jeg ikke gøre noget, fordi min sag er blevet afvist så mange gange, at jeg nu er bange for at blive smidt ud af landet.”

Akvarel af Mathias Malling Mortensen

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OversĂŚttelse pĂĽ side 92

No. 4 2010

Death Celebration

Somalia is heavily afflicted by the group Al-Shabab which brainwashes children and engages in terror. The country is one of the most unsafe places in the world from where millions of people have been driven into exile.

by Omar My name is Omar. I'm a Somalian refugee in Denmark. I fled from my country to save my life.

After the collapse of the central government headed by president Siad Barre in 1991, Somalia has passed many political stages. It has been hit by natural disasters like drought and hunger and ravaged by endless civil wars.

In Somalia, there is a group called Al-Shabab which means 'young people'. This group fights the federal government and The African Union peacekeepers. They brainwash children who don't have any alternatives due to their low social status. Young people in Mogadishu don't have the possibilities to go to school or live a normal life and are forced to fight with the group as soldiers. The group wants you to take a gun and die without reason. If you refuse, they will attack and kill you.

Let's glance at one of the worst and most shocking tragedies which happened in Shamu Hotel in Mogadishu on Thursday morning the 3rd of December 2009, where outgoing graduates were supposed to be given the testimonial of their Master

Degree in Medicine after six years of studying in the 'war-town' Mogadishu.

The hall was highly well decorated, and the graduation ceremony was prepared in a beautiful manner.

Government ministers, doctors, professors, journalists, students and their parents and other honourable guests were invited to the long awaited celebration.

A heavy explosion shook the place where the graduation ceremony was going ahead and killed more than 25 people including the students who had studied long time to contribute to their community.

The responsibility of this attack was claimed by Al-Shabab insurgents and they pointed out that the students were supposed to fight instead of studying.

Somalia is one of the most unsafe places in the world. There is a reason why people from Somalia risk their lives and try to escape and find a place where they can get a better and peaceful life. In the last three years, 1.5 million people were displaced from their homes and many others killed according to UN and local human rights groups.

T

he responsibility of this attack was claimed by Al-Shabab insurgents, and they pointed out that the students were supposed to fight instead of studying.

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No. 4 2010

Oversættelse på side 93

The experiences of Somali refugees: Maltreatment on their route to Europe The refugee route from Somalia to Europe is paved with cynical traffickers, risky voyages, confiscations, humiliations and torture.

It is a scary space, and difficult to understand for one who has not experienced it. Liban Abdi Abanur writes here, drawing on his own experiences, on these issues.

by Liban Abdi Abanur Somalia and Yemen

The capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, has become a place with militants, fundamentalists, chaos and anarchy where innocent people flee from violence although they sometimes cannot reach a place far enough from the battle zone because of lack of finances.

Some of the 18 provinces of Somalia have stability and have harbors, like Bosaso, near the neighboring countries like Yemen where most of the Somali refugees immigrate to. The desperate person arriving in Bosaso asks people near the harbor about boats to Yemen.

There are a lot of smugglers who cheat the people and keep the refugees under the rocky cliffs for days until they have collected the number of people they need to load the boat. The smugglers patrol near the cliffs and bring new people every hour; suddenly you ask yourself how many people this small boat can take? But everyone will be forced to climb the boat, otherwise they will be beaten with sticks. They pay money for this gamble of life and death.

If the boat starts rocking heavily from side to side in the sea, the smugglers will decide who they will throw into the sea or shoot. The boat is a narrow place where you don’t feel your own body. Some people vomit and the people beside the vomiting person even sometimes try to survive from the vomit. But he/she can lose his/ her life because of the movement in the boat. The smugglers have difficulties because of the huge waves, and to survive they most likely continue to reduce the passengers.

At last, if you are one of the 150 lucky gamblers, the boat will reach a shore, and the smugglers will disembark the passengers hundreds of meters away from it.

They do not care if you can’t swim. From the shore the refugees start walking to the refugee camps far away without food, water and shoes in the long warm desert without shade or a place to rest. Sometimes a group from an international organization brings biscuits and

the water you were deprived of on the way. The estimated number of killed and drowned people during the crossing to Yemen was more than 1,000 in 2007 and nearly 400 by mid-2008.

Yemen is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and has traditionally adopted an open-door policy towards Somalis, granting them refugee status. It is estimated that 150,000 Somalis currently live in the country. But the destinations of the refugees appear to be changing; they now include more self-made refugee huts in the entire country. These ’invisible camps’ are composed of different people: extremely vulnerable families that fled from major cities because of the rocketing house prices, people that lost relatives in ideological skirmishes at home, former military or police officers that have defected after being threatened by armed groups, and many others.

T

hey did not respect us as humans, I don’t know why.

The police there are like in Africa, they only know violence, nothing else. It really hit me.

But in the meantime I met many really good people.

Syria

I and seven other people, three men, two women and two children, found smugglers in Syria who took us from Damascus to Halab and from Halab to Afrin. Before we reached Afrin some soldiers closed the road, parking their car across it. It was a narrow and curved road on the moun-

No. 4 2010

tain. The driver told us to run, they would kill us if they caught us. He drove the car very fast towards them, and the armed men fired at us till he turned the car into a jungle. The soldiers wounded the mother of the two children sitting in the back. Everybody was scared and shocked, at that moment nobody looked back. Hence I moved as fast as I could for at least six hours in the jungle not aware of the directions. At last I fell to the ground because of thirst.

13

I couldn’t walk, talk or shout. I was even too paralyzed to cry. Fortunately I was found by a farmer who owned the ground. I could see him but had no voice to talk. The farmer took me to his home and gave me water and some food. However, in the village I was the only black person.

I also had rough dirty clothes. Then one from the village took me to the border near Turkey called Antakya where he confiscated all my money. Near the border I found other

Akvarel: Mathias Malling Mortensen

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No. 4 2010

people sitting on the ground, and I felt happy to see them.

But we were kept in a farm without water and food and not allowed to speak or move.

At the time of crossing the border they moved us like animals from one place to another. They collected a lot of people in different places and then loaded us in a lorry with a motorcycle in front and behind us. They let us out in a jungle. I found two other Somalis who asked me if I was still alive.

The smugglers started gesturing and fighting both saying: ”Liban belongs to me” (”you lost him in the jungle and I found him”). My first smuggler said: ”We can’t quarrel any more, I will kill him.” But we were somehow already killed – as some refugees are somehow killed in Denmark since they are sentenced to prison from their arrival.

W

ith one hand he tightened the bag around my neck. I couldn’t breathe anymore. They repeated the process of the plastic bag three times – every time they asked the same question.

Greece

We used one of those small inflatable dinghies. We had wrapped all our things in plastic bags. We left at about two in the morning. After six hours at sea we finally reached the Greek coast. We were discovered by the Greek coast guard about 300 meters away from the island of Lesbos. It was a fast white boat circling around us with high speed. The police threw a rope to us and we were taken on board. We were exhausted and only wanted to sleep. We put ourselves down on the floor, but the police shouted: ”Don’t sleep, sit up!”, and they kicked us forcing us to sit up.

Another boat was called. They were rough with us as they put us on this one shouting ”Malaka” at us and other swearwords we couldn’t understand. We pleaded them: ”We are humans, please help us!” The first little boat drove off and the men from the larger boat searched us. They were looking for our money. As they were searching one of the policemen laughed and said: ”I am a doctor!” He found 50 Euros on me which he confiscated.

The police threw the bread and water and what else was left in our dinghy into the water. The dinghy was put over our heads. The police boat took us back into international waters. About two kilometers in from the Turkish coast they threw the dinghy out. Then we were violently forced back onto it. They had made a small hole in the rubber dinghy and only gave us one oar. We paddled desperately to reach the coast, but we were so exhausted we gave up after an hour. We thought we were going to die.

The water was very still. After a while we fell asleep. Then a big boat came and rescued us.

We arrived in Greece on May 1. We were first taken to the coast guards building, then to the hospital and back

again to the coast guards building for identification. We were even beaten inside the building of the coast guard.

They brought four men and asked us which one was the captain. I told them that none of them were the captain.

Then all were beaten. I was also hit above my right eyebrow, the whole area was swollen. In the camp no one asked me where the injury came from, neither the police nor the doctor. I was in the camp for three months. It’s not nice there, but I was satisfied because I had survived!

We were so scared! When I arrived in Greece and the police beat me I thought that the police are the same everywhere. They did not respect us as humans, I don’t know why. The police there are like in Africa, they only know violence, nothing else. It really hit me. But in the meantime I met many really good people.

To illustrate the violence let me tell you in details about an interrogation I experienced. Several times I was beaten. I had to kneel down. One policeman stood behind me while two stood in front of me. The one behind me hit me hard with a stick on the head. He hit me on the crown of my head repeatedly. I tried to protect myself with my arms. Then he hit my arms. I tried to look behind me, and then he started hitting me again. The two policemen in front of me were armed and showed me their weapons while I was being beaten. They looked at me very seriously. They said: ”We are going to kill you.” The expression on their faces was terrifying. I was very scared. The other policeman came up to me and whispered in my ear: ”Tell the truth. These two policemen are very dangerous.

They will kill you.”

Then they brought a plastic bucket full of water. I was kneeling the whole time. ”Do you see the water?” My arms were pressed together behind my back by one of the policemen. The other policeman put his hand on my neck and pushed my head down into the water. I couldn’t breathe anymore. I was pulled up after some time. ”Do you now know the color and name of the boat?” I said no. He punched me twice in the face. The policeman behind me grabbed my arms again. I wanted to take a deep breath of air. The policeman in front of me asked: ”Do you remember now, or not?” I said no again. He grabbed my head and pushed it into the water. I was absolutely terrified. I thought I would not survive. When I came up again the policeman asked again: ”So you don’t remember?” I repeated that I did not. Then the policeman took a plastic bag and put it over my head. With one hand he tightened the bag around my neck. I couldn’t breathe anymore. They repeated the process of the plastic bag three times – every time they asked the same question. Then a policeman signaled with his hand: That’s enough.

The long rough way I have passed some times still makes me out of my mind. When you are escaping from the borders with the smugglers together with women, children and weak people who can’t run and the smugglers signal that there is problem on the way, it means that it is time for running. Some of the people can’t escape in the critical situation. And they are on the verge of death if they are caught by the border guard or the local police in a country. So the only words the smugglers teach you is: ”Run, don’t stop!”

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Oversættelse på side 94

Matthias Lehnert is a doctoral candidate in law at the University of Münster and is presently writing his dissertation on the European border security agency Frontex. He publishes regularly in the German weekly jungle world.

Effective walling-off The European Border Security Agency “Frontex“

by Matthias Lehnert Frontex was established for the management of the operational cooperation at the external borders of the member states of the European Union. In fact, the agency has a wide influence over the fight against so-called “illegal migration” in Europe without being really controlled by other institutions.

over, the agency participates in the organization of deportation operations.

In the run-up to border security

In accordance with Frontex regulation, Frontex has developed a “Common Core Curriculum” for the training of border guards, containing different modules for the border security at sea, land and air. In addition to that, Frontex compiles manuals on different training aspects and carries out courses itself. As the training cannot take place in the agency in Warsaw itself, eleven partnership academies in the member states have already been established to carry out this harmonization of border guard training.

Traditionally, migration policy – as border security and the regulation of entry and exit of foreign nationals – is one of the core competences of national states. In the course of the opening of the internal frontiers inside the European Union, more and more activities are being taken in hand on the European level: Since then, In the context of border relevant research, different the regulation of migration constitutes a common interstudies have been drafted by Frontex. The “Bortec” est. Hence, a lot of directives and regulations, especially study concerns the establishment of a permanent regarding the harmonization of asylum policy, have monitoring system for the southern sea border been adopted since the end of the nineties. Furand the Mediterranean Sea. The study called thermore, a system, based on the Dublin II “Medsea” is focused on a European Paregulation, has been created on the memAlso trol Network in the Mediterranean ber states' competences for applicaSea. In order to improve and to tions for asylum: “One chance in deimpact research development only” is the principle; every miportation in the field of border security, grant can apply for asylum only Frontex tries to network with in one state all over Europe. matters, the role of different institutions such as To coordinate the prevention Frontex is becoming universities or the arms manuof illegalized migration to Europe facturer OHB in Bremen which generally and from the beginning, increasingly deals with the development of a the European Border Agency Fronmore and more satellite-based global monitoring tex was created in 2004. Frontex proactive system. Besides, Frontex participates began its work on the third of Octoin the “European Security Research ber in 2005 in Warsaw, Poland, and is and Innovation Forum” (ESRIF). managed by Executive Director Illka The Risk Analyses written by FronLaitinen, a former brigadier from Fintex deal with the focal points of illegalized migration on land. In essence, the agency has five areas of activity: In the way to and inside Europe and specific migration rethe run-up to concrete border security operations, it is lated aspects such as human trafficking. Thereby, Froninvolved in the training of border guards and in the retex harks back to statistics and operational information search development of border relevant technology and from the national border authorities and risk analysis it compiles so-called risk analyses. During border secuunits in the member states which are linked in the Fronrity operations, Frontex takes part as an organizer and tex Risk Analysis Network (FRAN). Besides, Frontex coordinator and deploys assets and personnel. More-

No. 4 2010

illustration: Deirdre J. Humphrys

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cooperates in this area with neighboring countries, so far especially in the Balkan region – now linked in the Western Balkan Risk Analysis Network – and different institutions such as Europol, the Joint Situation Centre, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development, the International Organization for Migration and the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The risk analyses are generally based on the “Common Integrated Risk Analysis Model” (CIRAM). Therefore, formulas with detailed questions regarding the particular topic of the risk analysis are sent to the different institutions.

Finally, Frontex experts evaluate the answers using IT. Frontex is, in accordance to the Frontex regulation, not authorized to gather or to process any personal data either in the context of risk analysis or in other areas.

But – irrespective of the practical handling of this requirement at the present time – the discussions within Frontex and the European Union point to an extension of the competences. If so, Frontex would – in the worst case – become a centralized security agency with unrestricted access to all databases dealing with third-state nationals.

territory of a member state, but also on the high seas and in the territorial waters of third countries such as Senegal and Mauretania. Thereby, attempts are made to intercept the detected migrant boats. Then the boat is taken under control and – officially, at least - “escorted” back to its port of departure or the next shore – regardless of the local conditions for migrants.

The joint operations are executed by national officials whereas Frontex doesn’t have any border guards itself. Nevertheless, the influence of the agency on the organization of joint operations must not be underestimated. Although the member states can also demand a Frontex operation, most operations are initiated by Frontex on the basis of the aforementioned risk analyses. Thereafter, an operational plan is to be elaborated by a project manager within Frontex on the basis of negotiations with the host states on whose territory the operation is to be taken place.

Then, the other member states are asked to participate by deploying border guards and assets. Though Frontex itself is also involved in the deployment of experts and assets. Particularly, the agency regularly provides “Frontex Joint Support Teams” (FJST) which are Organizing death composed of national pools of border guard experts.

The risk analyses provide the basis also for the menBased on an additional regulation of 2007, Frontex tioned training programs and research projects, can, in so-called “situations of urgent and excepbut especially for the joint border security optional pressure”, also deploy “Rapid Border erations under the aegis of Frontex. From Intervention Teams” (RABITs), likewise the establishment of Frontex until composed of national expert pools.

2009, altogether 92 operations – The members of FJST as well as the of different duration and inmembers of the RABITs have According tensity – have been carried executive power during the to the blog out at the sea, land and operations. air borders. The intention The operation is finally “Fortress Europe”, of such operations is, in performed under instrucaltogether about 15.000 general, to prevent so-called tions from a border guard “illegal migration” on the Euof the host state. However, people died on their ropean territory. This term, in Frontex is still involved also way to Europe since fact, serves mainly to criminalduring the operational phase ize most forms of migration as as a Frontex Coordinator is de1988 for the bigger part of migrants, ployed as an adviser and to oba legal way to Europe doesn’t exist serve the proper execution of the – especially for those who are seekoperational plan. Finally, the oping protection or who are not highly eration is evaluated by Frontex exqualified. perts.

In many cases, the operations are The intensified border security opaimed to increased identification controls of migrants erations, especially at the sea borders as well as the arriving seaborne, at land border checks or at the airrestricted options for entering Europe, implicate that ports on the European territory. In so doing, the offia lot of migrants accept the risk of even more dangercials try to find the – alleged – origin of a migrant also to ous ways to Europe. According to the blog “Fortress Euprepare a fast and “effective” return. Several operations rope”, altogether about 15.000 people died on their way at the sea borders, such as the joint operation “Hera” at to Europe since 1988 – in view of the current policy, the the west coast of Africa, are performed not only on the way to Europe will become no less dangerous.

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Irresponsible and uncontrolled

Hence, border security as well deportation policies are Also in deportation matters, the role of Frontex is bealready quite centralized. Notwithstanding the domicoming increasingly more and more proactive. Since nant role of the agency during the development and 2005 until April 2010, the agency has participated in execution of border security and deportation opera76 deportation operations with a total of 3.562 deporttions, Frontex nevertheless refers to the responsibility ed persons. While in the beginning, Frontex was typiof the national states. At least, this complexity of the cally involved only by co-financing deportation flights European and the national level makes judicial as well of different member states, a lot of operations are nowas democratic control much more difficult. adays also co-organized from Warsaw. The interested Moreover, and despite its substantial power, the member states can therefore express their interests agency is hardly subject to controls at the European via the ICONet, an IT-based network coordinatlevel. The European Commission doesn’t have ed by Frontex. In 2007, the “Frontex Core any authority regarding concrete measures Country Group” was established. Withof Frontex. The European Parliament in the framework of this forum, the simply adopts the budget within organization and the procedure the framework of the EuropeEfficient of deportation operations is an Union's general budget, discussed by Frontex experts but without having a real border and national authorities. impact on the policy of the security management, Frontex is, indeed, not autagency. The agency must pubhorized to conclude return lish only a working program regardless of the agreements with third counand an annual report. Even in individuals tries. Nevertheless, Frontex fosthis context, essential informaconcerned. ters – during courses for border tion about the operation is reguguards, conferences and operatiolarly kept secret. This way, Frontex nal cooperation – informal but close gets to deal nearly in camera with contacts with certain delegations of its mandate: Efficient border securithird countries. So it is assumed that ty management, regardless of the inFrontex is also involved in the negotiadividuals concerned. tions of return agreements.

One actor of a sordid business Comparable to the Frontex Coordinator during the Frontex, however, is made the only scapegoat of what joint border security operations, a Frontex observer is is, in fact, a murderous and degrading migration policy. attendant during the deportation operation to observe Frontex was, including its competences, installed by the the proper procedure of the operation. In the near fumember states in whose interest it is acting. Its activture, Frontex will charter aircraft itself to simplify the ity is, at the same time, a main part of the EU global procedure. While a feasibility study about the contracapproach on migration. This concept aims, besides retual relationships with air companies is to be delivered stricted entry policies and an increased cooperation in the near future, several aircraft were already charto protect the European borders, to outsource migratered by Frontex in 2010 in order to develop practical tion policy by intensifying cooperation also with third arrangements. states outside the EU in order to finally prevent migraBeyond that, Frontex is increasingly involved in sotion from the beginning. The basic concept as well as called “pre-return” matters. This means that the agency the outcome of the European migration policy is a difassists certain member states in the fields of identificaferentiation between two classes of migrants: On the tion and acquisition of travel documents to make reone hand, a legal entry is – besides just a few who are turns more “effective”. The agency carries out courses seeking protection – designed only for those who are, for officials dealing with deportations and develops as high-qualified, useful for the European economy. On practices in this area. In 2009, a project called “Attica” the other hand, the restrictive migration policy and the was initiated by Frontex. The central point is a “Return aggressive border security of the so-called “Fortress EuCoordination Office” in Athens, composed of Frontex rope” don’t just result in an increase in casualties on deployed experts. A related project called “Melita” was the way to Europe. Rather, the greater part of migrants established in Malta in 2010. already arrived on the European territory are socially excluded by getting a precarious residence permit status or being illegalized. Frontex is, thus, only one, however important, actor of the sordid business.

“Effective Deportations”

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Translation page 95

Mona Ljungberg er initiativtager til foreningen Borger for Asyl, der tidligere hed Støttekredsen for Flygtninge i Fare. Foreningen har til formål dels at informere asylanmodere om rettigheder i Danmark, dels at informere den danske offentlighed om forholdene i asylanmodernes hjemlande. Desuden arbejder foreningen med at holde kontakt til og informere om de mennesker, der ikke har fået asyl i Danmark og er sendt tilbage til hjemlandet.

Hvad sker der, når de kommer hjem?

Initiativet Flygtninge i Fare, nu Borger for Asyl opstartede i 2001 med det formål at fremlægge dokumentation og oplysning om flygtninges vilkår i Danmark eller rettere: dokumentation om det skred, der allerede begyndte i årene op til årtusindskiftet. Asylpolitik var ved at blive ændret til afvisnings- og udvisningspolitik.

af Mona Ljungberg / Borgere for asyl (tidligere Støttekredsen for Flygtninge i Fare) Manglende dokumentation

Det kan af gode grunde være temmelig svært at dokumentere, når en afvist asylanmoder sidder i et fængsel, bliver tortureret eller er blevet henrettet efter at være blevet afvist af Danmark. En nysgerrig dansker kan ikke lige følge med den afviste asylanmoder på turen til en diktaturstat eller et land i krig uden at udsætte sit eget liv for fare. Og det var netop, hvad den politiske højrefløj spillede og spiller på: ingen øjenvidneberetninger. Ingen beviser. Ingen kan fremvise lig på bordet.

Omkring årtusindskiftet dukkede imidlertid indenfor en forholdsvis kort periode et mindre antal flygtninge op igen, der var blevet udvist af Danmark. Den ene var en tamilsk ung mand på 19 år. Oprindeligt var den unge mand kommet til Danmark, som uledsaget flygtningebarn, bare 12 år gammel. Han fik afslag på asyl og blev tvangsudsendt 18 år gammel. Straks efter ankomsten til Sri Lanka blev han arresteret og gennem flere måneder underkastet de frygteligste torturmetoder.

Med hjælp fra en moster lykkedes det den unge mand at komme ud af fængslet og flygte til Danmark igen. Et offer for tortur i Sri Lanka og offer for inhuman flygtningepolitik i Danmark.

En anden person, en indisk mand fik afslag og blev tvangsudsendt til Indien. Også han blev ved udsendelse arresteret og underkastet tortur af værste skuffe. Efterfølgende blev han løsladt og for at undgå ny arrestation og mere tortur flygtede han igen. Igen til Danmark, hvor han har en bror. Mandens bror havde nemlig fået

asyl, fordi man i Danmark mente, at han var i risiko for at blive fængslet og tortureret på grund af sin brors politiske aktiviteter, som Danmark ikke mente var i fare og derfor gav afslag og sendte ud til tortur.

En tredje person, en algiersk mand, blev sammen med sin kone og sine børn brændt inde i sit hjem af de algierske militser. Manden var vendt tilbage til Algeriet efter afslag på asylansøgning i Danmark. Mandens og hans families skæbne kunne en fjerde person bringe nyt om, da det lykkedes ham at flygte fra Algeriet.

En forening opstår

Ovenstående blev baggrunden for, at vi var en lille gruppe mennesker, der besluttede os for at arbejde på en større dokumentation om konsekvenserne af Danmarks ændrede politik imod flygtninge. Naturligvis med henblik på at sikre asyl til flygtninge og et liv under menneskelige forhold. Fra at være en lille sluttet kreds udvidedes initiativet til Støttekredsen for Flygtninge i Fare eller Borgere for Asyl, som vi kalder os i dag, her snart 10 år senere.

Da vi startede vores forening i sin tid, kunne vi ikke forestille os, at det kunne blive værre for flygtninge i Danmark, end det allerede var blevet. Men det blev det.

Danmark begyndte at få internationale problemer p.g.a. udsendelser af flygtninge til lande, hvor de er i fare. Til nogle lande, så som Iran, stoppede udsendelser. Til andre lande, f.eks. Afghanistan, fortsatte de, herunder udsendelse af enlige mødre og deres børn.

Men også i Danmark kom forandringer. Flygtninge blev tvunget til at overleve sammenstuvet som kvæg under forhold i lejre, som de og deres børn blev syge af. Fra

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illustration Casper Øbro

Da vi startede vores forening i sin tid, kunne vi ikke forestille os, at det kunne blive værre for flygtninge i Danmark end det allerede var blevet.Men det blev det. sommeren 2006 begyndte Danmark at tvangs-udsende krigstraumatiserede flygtninge efter at have gjort dem yderligere syge i lejrene.

Fra en dokumentation om Danmarks udvisninger af flygtninge til tortur og henrettelser, har vores aktiviteter i de godt 10 år, vi har eksisteret, udviklet sig til en dokumentation og hjælpeindsats på mange planer for flygtninge, der søger asyl i Danmark Vi kunne naturligvis ikke blot se på, hvordan dansk flygtningepolitik udviklede sig til at nedbryde flygtninge, der har søgt til Danmark i håbet om at opnå asyl. Vi har derfor også gjort en del ud af denne dokumentation, bl.a ved at inddrage asylbørnene selv, give dem kameraer og udstille deres billeder og udgive deres beretninger i en bog. På den måde var børnene aktivt med til at gøre opmærksom på deres situation og oplevede at blive taget alvorligt.

Man må reagere på det man ser

Da en større gruppe af børnefamilierne i 2006 blev tvangsudsendt af Danmark (hovedsageligt til Kosovo) efter mange års ophold her, har vi også valgt, at doku-

mentere forholdene familierne blev udsendt til. Familierne har siden fået lidt økonomisk hjælp fra Danmark – nok til lige netop at overleve. Men livskvalitet er mere end lige netop at overleve. I støttekredsen har vi i de første år ydet familierne lidt pengebidrag og tøj. Ikke mindst har medlemmer og fonde bidraget til, at vi har kunnet besøge de udsendte børn og unge i Kosovo, invitere dem på heldagesudflugter og på feriekoloni eller rekreation ved havet i Montenegro i både 2008 og 2009.

I Danmark er der stadig en gruppe børn og unge tilbage, der kom til Danmark som flygtninge i 1999 – 2003. Efter at have tilbragt de fleste opvækstår på henholdsvis flugt og i danske asylcentre, har mange af dem i de senere år fået opholdstilladelse.

Enkelte har efter 12 år i Danmark fortsat ikke ophold. Med eller uden ophold gør vi også for denne gruppe tilbage i Danmark en trivselsindsats: udflugter og en gang om året et fælles feriearrangement. Formålet er at give de unge nogle gode oplevelser sammen, udenfor lejrene, at give dem gode oplevelser med i bagagen – livskvalitet såvel som integration er at få lov til at deltage i livet.

Det var kort fortalt om Støttekredsen/Borgere for Asyls baggrund og virke igennem snart ti år.

Til sidst skal tilføjes: Vi elsker at kunne være aktive for forbedring af de svagest stillede verdensborgeres livskvalitet. Både aktivitet og livskvalitet koster penge.

Støttebidrag kan indbetales på vores konto i merkur Bank – reg. Nr. 8401 – konto 103 8399

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Translation page 96

Una Raya En El Mar Tekst & foto af Thomas Elsted Vi runder et hjørne efter endnu en times vandring og udsigten er stadig den samme. Så langt øjet rækker mødes det af plastik … drivhus efter drivhus efter drivhus, gennempløjet af asfalt og grus, et vandreservoir grønt af næringsstoffer, dynger af kasserede grøntsager i græsset. Døre af blik og jern og lag på lag af plastik holder tørken, insekterne og nysgerrige øjne ude. En ung nordafrikansk fyr på cykel kaster et hurtigt blik på os, som han passerer forbi og forsvinder om hjørnet.

Vi er i et landskab af 30.000 hektar intensivt dyrkede grøntsager – tomater, agurker, peberfrugter, auberginer, squash, salat – i et hjørne af Spanien på kanten af Europa. El Ejido er en lille andalusisk by omgivet af industriel fødevareproduktion, under et hav af glinsende plastik. Her ved Middelhavets kyst, ikke langt fra ferieresorterne langs Costa del Sol, er betingelserne ideelle for billige grøntsager til hele Europa. Hver dag, året rundt, sikrer kombinationen af Europas stærkeste sol og den billigste arbejdskraft en endeløs strøm af lavpristomater og andet grønt til Europas supermarkeder.

El Ejido er en by fuldstændig afhængig af arbejdere fra udlandet. Nogle kommer som økonomiske migranter i søgen efter en tilværelse i Europa, andre kommer som midlertidige sæsonarbejdere. Næsten alle er mænd fra Marokko, Algeriet og afrikanske lande syd for Sahara, og er kommet med båd, patera, over Middelhavet.

Atter andre kommer fra Rumænien eller Latinamerika med hensigten at sende penge hjem til deres familier.

I tider som disse er arbejdstilladelse et tveægget sværd. Det er en naturlig forestilling, at den er vejen frem til et velbetalt arbejde i Europa. Men et flertal af lokale landmænd foretrækker dokumentløse migranter fremfor lovlige arbejdere. En daglejer uden papirer vil arbejde lange timer under plastikken; temperaturer når op over 45 grader, til en dagsløn på 20–35 euro – langt under en mindsteløn, der i forvejen er blandt EUs laveste. Og i en tid med økonomisk krise og vok-

sende konkurrence fra internationale selskaber udenfor Europa er arbejdsløsheden høj og lønningerne sjældne.

Mange drivhuse står forladte tilbage med medtagne sejl af plastik blafrende i vinden.

El Ejido opstod som en drøm om fremtidens måde at producere mad på. I dag er den drøm brast, og op mod 140.000 migranter lever fastlåst i afhængighed og slum blandt drivhusene. De heldigst stillede bor i grupper i små bylejligheder, andre i cortijos, forladte murede hytter, nogle konverteret fra opbevaring af landbrugskemikalier – og atter andre i chabolas, hjemmebyggede skure af plastik, træ og affald tilovers fra nedslidte drivhuse.

Koncentrationen af ikke-spanske arbejdere skjult i boliger blandt drivhusene kan lede tankerne hen på apartheid-tidens townships. Her venter de på arbejde, nok til at kunne komme videre, til at sende noget hjem, eller nok til at kunne forlade provinsen – men de sidder fast i økonomiske forhold, der ofte er værre end dem de lod bag sig.

El Ejido føles på mange måder som et moderne Babel; der bygges nye indkøbscentre og boliger, og der produceres og eksporteres grønt gennem Europa og sydpå til Nordafrika, mens arbejdere af stadigt flere forskellige nationaliteter og sprog strømmer til. Men jorden er udpint; bygninger står halvfærdige og forfalder; selvom store dele af befolkningen for så vidt nok ønsker regionens immigranter det bedste, er der en klar linje imellem immigranter og lokalbefolkningen. Som om Europas grænse har forskudt sig, og ståltrådshegnet mellem Marokko og spansk Nordafrika har løsrevet sig og selv er drevet nordpå. Frisk graffiti på byens mure står som påmindelser om levende nationalisme og den racisme, som ved flere lejligheder har ført til optøjer og uopklarede dødsfald blandt drivhusene. Og selvom Spanien har en række immigrationslove til at forebygge diskrimination og varetage immigranters rettigheder, så er El Ejido tydeligvis en sag for sig. Regeringen har for længst vendt det blinde øje til en sydspansk udgave af apartheid skabt af tvungen migration, xenofobi, national afhængighed af landbrug og efterspørgslen på

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El Ejido. Almeria

billige fødevarer i Europa.

Her i Norden, som i tiltagende grad i det globale Syd, gælder det at vores mad kommer til os gennem det globale marked. Internationale markeder i fødevarer begyndte med udvidelsen af det Britiske Imperium, hvis handelsruter strakte sig på tværs af verdenshavene, så man sagde, at solen aldrig gik ned over det Britiske Imperium. 150 år senere kan man sige det samme om shippingindustriens internationale netværk af superskibe og containere – for Maersk, MSC, Hapag-LLoyd og Evergreen går solen aldrig rigtig ned. Fra vinduet i en bus på vej gennem Algeciras' industrihavn, broen mellem Atlanterhavet og Middelhavet ved Gibraltar, og med blikket på kilometer efter kilometer af stablede metalkasser med varer på vej ind og ud af Europa, sidder jeg med den foruroligende følelse af, at hele byen i virkeligheden er flytbar, og at jorden allerede hér kan skride under mig. En havnestrejke er også undervejs: Maersk har for at spare lønninger valgt at flytte sin andel på 500.000 fragtcontainere herfra, til den nykonstruerede havn Tangier-Mediterranée på Marokkos nordkyst – 26 kilometer mod syd. Europas grænse forskyder sig igen.

Foruden at være forløber for international handel lagde det gamle Britiske Imperium grund til en anden moderne innovation, det kommercielle landbrugs største triumf, plantagen. Det globale kapitalismes frie marked blev grundlagt på arbejdslejre i fjerne kolonier, hvor importerede arbejdere fra andre fjerne kolonier høstede en endeløs strøm af råvarer til den industrielle arbejder hjemme i Europa. Plantagen bestod af vidtstrakte monokulturer, (kunstigt ensartede afgrøder) høstet af hvad Raj Patel kalder dens egen 'sociale teknologi’ – bestående af jord, sukkerrør og teblade opdyrket, høstet og plukket af en endeløs forsyning af erstattelige mennesker fra det globale syd. I dag har grænserne forskudt sig, og verden ser anderledes ud. Vi kalder tingene noget andet – vi offshorer og outsourcer og kalder bestemt ikke længere arbejderne for slaver.

Men jeg ved ikke, hvad jeg ellers skal kalde de produktionsforhold, som fortsætter i Europas baghaver.

Europas grænse forskyder sig tilsyneladende efter behov, som væggene i en foranderlig labyrint. Den går gennem Middelhavet, hvis internationale farvande patruljeres af Frontex, grænseagenturet som koordinerer EU’s fælles indsats mod migranter fra syd. Den går gennem de dobbelte pigtrådshegn i Ceuta og Melilla, som fremstår som Europas sidste, befæstede bastioner – EU i Afrika. Og i centre for immigrantbaseret fødevareproduktion, som El Ejido, lægger grænsen sig mellem mennesker.

I dag modtager store europæiske landbrug EU-subsidier til produktion og eksport af fødevarer, over Europas indre såvel som ydre grænser. I Danmark, som på markeder i Marokko, i Senegal, i Cameroon kan man finde grøntsager produceret i Sydeuropa med EU støtte og høstet af såkaldt 'illegale immigranter,' dokumentløse migranter, fra Marokko, Senegal og Cameroon. Fra ét administrativt synspunkt kan man reducere papirerne til dokumentation på lovligt ophold og tilladelse til arbejde; det er let og belejligt at glemme deres vigtigste funktion som dokumentionen på rettigheder, på ‘retten til rettigheder’ … Men dem foruden er der alvorlige menneskelige omkostninger, som ikke fremgår af regningen. Det er de hundredtusindvis af arbejdere i Almería, i El Ejido, i San Isidro, der betaler den højeste pris for tomaternes lavpris i supermarkederne.

Herhjemme slår jeg op i en landsdækkende avis, og der er en dobbeltsidet artikel i farver med overskriften: Mad er blevet billigere. Tal fra Danmarks Statistik bringer godt nyt til prisbevidste forbrugere, nemlig at priserne på de vigtigste madvarer er faldet siden sidste år. En ‘forbrugerekspert’ mener, at finanskrisen har betydet, at danskerne om muligt er blevet endnu mere prisfokuserede, og vi jager tilbud som aldrig før.

Jeg går på jagt i supermarkedet. Agurker, peberfrugter fra Almería, squash fra Níjar, tomater og auberginer fra El Ejido, æbler fra Granada, oliven fra Jaén …

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San Isidro de Nijar

No. 4 2010

No. 4 2010

Ceuta

White Power. El Ehido. Almeria

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No. 4 2010

Uddrag fra romanen

Translation page 96

Æsel

af Kristina Stoltz

Illustraion af Johanne Sigvardsen

Sankt Petersborg, februar 1999 Det ligner en slags muldvarpeskud, bare større, meget større, den måde isen skyder op på, som nye formationer, helt nye landskaber derude i den overisede bugt.

“Måske kunne vi gå derover,” siger Nadeem. “Over til Sverige i stedet for at blive ved med at vente og vente i al evighed.”

Det er første gang, Nadeem har været med på markedet, siden han blev rask i knæet igen. Og nu er det flere timer siden, de skulle have været hjemme hos Behsta, men Fahran fik ham overtalt til at gå med ned til vandet.

“Jeg kan ikke holde ud at vente længere, fortsætter han.

“Men hvis vi falder igennem, hvad hvis vi falder igennem?” siger Fahran.

“Vi falder ikke igennem, og der er ikke særlig langt. Hassan siger, at Sverige ligger lige derovre.” Nadeem peger ud på nogle skibe med master, der ser ud, som om de er skruet dybt ned i isen.

Han ved godt, at det ikke er nogen mulighed, at det er alt for risikabelt bare at begynde at gå, og så på isen, uden at være sikker på retningen, men det er, som om utålmodigheden er blevet større end hans egen fornuft, nu hvor han kan gå og bevæge sig almindeligt igen.

Han vil ikke vente længere, ikke arbejde som slave dag ud og dag ind uden den mindste garanti for, at de kommer videre.

“Har du overhovedet overvejet, at det måske aldrig sker?” siger han til Fahran.

“At hvad aldrig sker?”

“At MizaJan aldrig hjælper os videre.”

En lille sitren ved Fahrans øje – en krusning i det glatte ansigt, som får pupillen til at udvide sig en smule, men nok til at det brune bliver endnu mørkere, sort, som flyder der olie derinde, klistrende olie alt levende går til i, enhver tanke. Nadeem genkender udtrykket; nerven under det højre øje, der sætter sig fast. Det sker, når han bliver usikker, kommer i tvivl eller bliver bange. Af og til kan det tage flere timer før, det holder op, før øjet falder til ro igen, bliver brunt og stille.

No. 4 2010

“MizaJan vil os det bedste,” siger Fahran med sammenknebne læber. Han gav mig både luffer og støvler. Han er ingen ond mand. Det ved jeg. Men det er dyrt, så vi bliver nødt til at lægge mange timer på markedet først. Også dig, Nadeem.”

“Fatter du da ikke, at han bare er ude på at udnytte os?”

“Det ved du ikke noget om, for du har bare siddet derhjemme. Du kender ham ikke engang.”

“Men det gør du måske?”

“Bedre end dig i hvert fald.”

“Måske, men det er lige meget, for nu er vi her, og måske er det sidste gang, vi har muligheden.”

“Muligheden for hvad? siger Fahran irriteret.

“Muligheden for at blive frie. Lige nu. NU.” Han ser trodsigt på ham, som om det er ham, der har opstillet reglerne og forhindringerne, som om Fahran er blevet den autoritet, han ønsker at fælde, bare fordi det er ham, der har lært smutvejene at kende inde på markedet i den periode, han selv har siddet hjemme i stuen hos Behsta og spillet kort med tvillingerne.

“Vi kan jo bare gå over isen,” siger Nadeem triumferende. ”Men det tør du åbenbart ikke?”

Fahran nikker og åbner munden, men der kommer ingen ord. Han ser Mahmood for sig, spejdende ud over et turkisblåt hav med en gul drik i hånden og stråhat på hovedet, men der er ligeså koldt i Sverige, ligeså bundfrossent og tildækket af sne, og Mahmood har måske svært ved at holde varmen, når han sover, selvom der er varmet op i husene. Så han vender sig om, vender ryggen til bugten, Mahmood og Sverige. Vender ryggen til Nadeem og begynder at gå. Hvis Nadeem vil gå ud på isen, må han gå ud på isen. Det er der ikke noget at gøre ved. Han vil ikke prøve at tale ham fra det, føler det ikke som en mulighed, selvom der er ord; ord i hans hoved, ord han kunne lade komme ud af sin mund, men det er, som om en bro er braset sammen; den bro de gik på sammen, den bro legetøjsmanden stod for enden af og trillede kugler hen til dem; kuglerne, som nu er spredt for alle vinde, så ingen længere hører sammen i par, og han aner ikke, hvordan han skal udtrykke sig, hvilke ord han skal bruge.

Men Nadeem løber efter, krydser vejen, løber med tilbage til Nevsky Projekt, hvor han et øjeblik mister Fahran af syne mellem alle menneskerne på det brede fortov.

“Hvor skal du hen?” råber han.

Illustraion af Johanne Sigvardsen

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No. 4 2010

Illustraion af Johanne Sigvardsen

Fahran svarer ikke, for han ved det ikke, aner ikke hvor han skal hen. Han burde gå hjem, og egentlig er det det, han har mest lyst til, hjem til Behsta, Sarah og Fazilla, men han bliver afbrudt, distraheret af alle ansigterne, de furede pander, tykke huer, og tiggerne med fremstrakte hænder, lirekassemænd med blomster i hatten, catwalkkvinder i nylonstrømper og spinkle hæle, som måske er prostituerede, måske rige mænds ejendom. Han bliver distraheret, og sigøjnerne i farverige skørter ser det på lang afstand; hvor konfus han bliver. De ser det slørede blik og den lidt slingrende gang. De spotter ham med det samme fra den anden side af gaden og løber ud foran bilerne, helt uforfærdede med børn på ryggen, som er spændt fast med tørklæder om maven. Og inden han ser sig om, har de omringet ham og forsøger at hive hans hænder op af lommerne. ”Vi vil bare spå dig,” siger de i kor. ”Se din fremtid i øjnene, fortælle dig om de gyldne stier, vise dig vej til guldets kælder,” siger den ældste kvinde med guld i hele munden, men han river sig løs og løber ind i en tilfældig port, og de følger ikke efter.

I gården er der næsten stille. Kun tre mænd og en kvinde, på toppen af et klatrestativ, griner med øl i hånden. Og så kommer Nadeem løbende, styrtende, og han springer op på ryggen af ham, så de begge dratter om på asfalten.

“Du må da ikke bare gå,” udbryder han og bider ham let i kinden. Og de bliver liggende. Nadeem øverst med et grin om læberne. Det ligner ham ikke, slet ikke at være vovet på den måde; at ville gå henover is på egen hånd til ukendt land, at bide og tumle, at tage fat om ham, som han gør nu, og det får det til at kilde i hele kroppen på sådan en sær måde, så han også kommer til at grine, og de ruller hen af jorden i de tykke frakker med pelshuerne nede om øjnene, og Fahran ser ham for sig derude på isen; Nadeem langt derude, som mågen på Fontanka floden, mens isen slår revner, skaber pludselige forbindelser mellem alle verdenshjørner, livliner, stier, optegnelser og nye aftaler, som måske er helt tilfældige, mens Nadeem falder igennem, og det gør ingen forskel om han kan svømme eller ej, for det tager kun få minutter at forvandle ham til den saltstøtte, han altid har frygtet at blive til, et stykke hvidt drivtømmer ingen andre end ham, Fahran, tør drømme om at lade sig fragte på, og han knuger ham ind til sig, indtil to af mændene fra klatrestativet river dem fra hinanden og flår dem op fra den kolde asfalt i frakkekraverne, råber en hel masse ind i deres ansigter med en ånde så sur, at selv de mindste kropsdun ville kunne lade sig antænde, stikker dem et par syngende lussinger. De vrister sig fri og omtumlet af det pludselige overfald tager de hinanden i hånden og løber ud gennem porten, ud på gaden.

No. 4 2010

Om romanen:

Om forfatteren:

De to afghanske teenagebrødre Fahran og Nadeem er på vej til Sverige. Med sig har de erindringen om en barndom, der gradvis opløses under deres rejse. Som så mange andre afghanere er de tvunget til at forlade deres familie og hjemland, på flugt fra krig, ulykke og en ørkesløs fremtid.

Drengene begiver sig, uvidende herom, ud på en lang og strabasserende rejse, hvor fremmede mennesker griber ind i deres liv og på hver deres måde efterlader uudslettelige indtryk. Fælles for de mennesker de møder er kampen for at overleve og kærligheden som det (tabte) eventyr de nu hver især genfortæller på deres rejse.

Da brødrene ved et uheld skilles fra hinanden på vejen, forsvinder den sidste flig af tryghed i deres tilværelse. Æsel udkommer på Rosinante i foråret 2011.

Kristina Stoltz (1975) har et alsidigt forfatterskab bag sig, der udover den magisk-realistiske roman Turisthotellet fra 2006 også tæller digtsamlinger, børnebøger, noveller, lyd og lyrikværker og litterære manifester. Stoltz er medstifter af non-profitforlaget [FINGERPRINT] der har markeret sig på den litterære (undergrunds)scene ved en utraditionel og dogme-lignende tilgang til litteraturen.

Illustraion af Johanne Sigvardsen

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Oversættelse på side 97

Asylum Seekers There is great ignorance about the conditions in the asylum system.

The vast majority of asylum seekers are positive people, but some languish because of the system. To change the asylum system is therefore a matter of saving lives.

By Solomon Many people are ignorant of the situation and the conditions of the asylum system. Life goes on, as they say.

Many people in this system are miserably depressed and traumatized even though they have taken their journey in the quest for a normal life. Many asylum seekers told their stories about the dangers they experienced crossing the oceans and borders to their countries of destination, as some people in the same situation died in the struggle due to one reason or another.

It is not enough when the press only spreads news of violence about asylum seekers without proper evaluation of the fact that over 95% of asylum seekers are positive-minded and active people who in their real selves want to contribute positively to society. A lot of asylum seekers are positive-minded and active in the asylum system as we speak.

Different reasons have brought people to the refugee camps. Thus, there will sometimes be misunderstandings among people due to their different backgrounds, languages and cultures.

Some immigrants, who are probably not familiar with the asylum system, can suddenly unwillingly find themselves in this system without any choice after having been checked by the police for one reason or another which probably will lead to deportation. And in order to avoid immediate repatriation immigrants seek asylum - sometimes stating flimsy excuses that often don’t hold water. They are sad and will some times lay back or become passive in the system.

Some asylum seekers have traumas that seem uncontrollable to them which they pass on to other people with violence in some way.

However, some seek refuge for protection, love, another beginning, and are looking forward to their dream life styles. They fit into the asylum system and contribute with great initiatives and glowing efforts to make

S

ome live in fear of the rejection known as ‘negative answer’ by the Immigration Service which crowns their trauma.

life worth living. They are organized with good intentions in activities and programs set by the authorities with flexibility and commitments. Many asylum seekers contribute positively to daily life in the centres.

The asylum system calls for patience and adaptation of the people who live in dreams of a better world. Some get the breeze of relief and see their dreams come to pass, others hope to no avail. They get so traumatized and become shattered when they are not strong enough in the trial time.

Some live in fear of the rejection known as 'negative answer' by the Immigration Service which crowns their trauma. They can sometimes be mentally tortured and derailed and may have to be introduced to specialists for rehabilitation.

Thus, an asylum seeker - who has fled from his or her native land because of fear of persecution and who is full of big hopes and great expectations – who does his/ her duties in the system, picks up his/her letters, appears for his/her internships and attends to his/her assignments will still be a fugitive when he/she is being rejected asylum.

Obviously, he/she can become notoriously confused and will be subjected to life torture. This kind of asylum seeker is vulnerable to a mental disorder.

It is therefore important that countries and other concerned parties should take note of the flaws in the asylum system and change it as quickly as possible to save lives.

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Illustration by Christian

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Once there, they n the closed dow s, inting pres Kurdish pr of e teaching banned th d nguage, an la h is d r u K oks Kurdish bo burned all ould find. that they c

Forskellige versioner af Kurdistan

Oversættelse på side 98

No. 4 2010

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The Biggest Population Without a Country The Kurds are the largest stateless people in the world.

They have continually throughout history tried to establish an independent Kurdistan, but interference from other people and countries have always been in the way.

By Memo 40 million persons or more without a government. It seems strange, doesn't it?

Still the question is: Who are these people? Where do they live? Why do they have a big population without a country?

Maybe you will not believe what you have already read!

It's strange, isn't it?

This group of people were founded thousands of years ago, 4000 years before Jesus Christ, with its own religion, language, culture, and land. During the years, they could have forgot everything about their roots, but they didn't. They saved their own things and fought for it because they didn't want to be changed. Of course, this was not the case for all of them, as a few were easily integrated into other religions.

The Kurds are a group of which most people inhabit a region known as Kurdistan which includes adjacent parts of Iran (7 to 7.5 millions), Iraq (6 to 6.5 millions), Syria (3 millions), and Turkey (11 to 14 millions). Substantial Kurdish communities also exist in the cities of western Turkey, and they also exist in Armenia, Georgia, Israel, Azerbaijan, Russia, Lebanon and, in recent decades, European countries and the United States.

The Kurdish people have their own language with dialects as: Kurmanji, Soranî, Zazaki, and Fayli. These dialects depend on where they come from in Kurdistan, so the Kurdish people in Syria speak Kurmanji, in Turkey they speak Kurmanji and Zazaki, in Iran they speak Soranî and some other dialects which are almost the same as they speak in Iraq. The Kurds are predominantly Sunni Muslims but some are also Shia and Sufi or belongs to religions as Yazidism, Yarsan, Judaism, Christianity and Alevi. If you go back to the roots of the Kurds, you will see that they are all Yazidists, but during the ages, they were affected by other religions like Islam, Christianity, and nonreligious ways of thinking.

Kurdish culture is a legacy from the various ancient people who shaped modern Kurds and their society.

They celebrate Newroz (March 21) as New Year's Day.

In contrast to many neighboring Muslim populations, Kurdish women are not secluded and do not wear the veil. Kurdish men and women participate in mixed-gender dancing during feasts, weddings and other social celebrations.

Kurds tried many times to establish their own government but they couldn't achieve their sweet dream because of foreign interference by Syria, Iran, Turkey and Iraq from thousands of years ago until this moment.

For example, during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Kurds in Iraq attempted to establish a semi-independent state. On at least one occasion, they succeeded and formed the Kingdom of Kurdistan which lasted from September 1922 to July 1924. The second Kingdom of Kurdistan was attempted in south eastern Turkey with the Sheikh Said rebellion in 1925 and lasted only three months before it was put down by the Turkish army. The rebellion was initiated by Sheikh Said of Piran who was reported to have been assisted by tribal elements from Syria. Later in October 1927, the Republic of Ararat was a self-proclaimed Kurdish state. It was located in the east of modern Turkey, being centered on Ağrı Province. Ağrı is the Kurdish name for Ararat.

But unfortunately, Turkey subsequently crushed the Republic of Ararat, annexed its territory, and executed its leaders. In 1946, the Republic of Mahabad was established on January 22. Qazi Muhammad announced the formation of the Republic of Mahabad in Iran, but as always, on December 15, Iranian forces entered and secured Mahabad. Once there, they closed down the Kurdish printing press, banned the teaching of Kurdish language, and burned all Kurdish books that they could find. Finally, on March 31 1947, Qazi Muhammad was hanged in Mahabad on counts of treason.

So my friends, as you see, the foreign interference in Kurdish affairs was the only reason why Kurdistan was prevented from being established. I don't know why they don't want Kurds to have their own country, their own passport and their own life.

Therefore, a lot of Kurds live outside their country. They must escape when they demand their rights.

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Translation page 98

På Svalbard behøves intet visum Midt i det rå og frysende ishav ligger Svalbard, hvor alle har lov at bo. Her behøves ingen opholdstilladelser - kun naturen sætter sine strenge grænser. Men de norske myndigheder er begyndt, at lægge hindringer i vejen og stramme reglerne. Vi bringer her Tobias Ståls rapporttage fra de nordlige øer.

Af Tobias Stål

mangedoblede befolkning blev Svalbards status som ingenmandsland uholdbar og i 1920 blev SvalbardstrakI Arktis, nord for Norge og øst for Grønland, ligger den taten underskrevet i Paris. Den fastslår, at Svalbard er norske øgruppe Svalbard, med hovedøen Spitsbergen. en del af Norge, men giver øgruppen en særstatus. En Det er verdens nordligst beliggende samfund. Nogle få særskilt myndighed, Sysselmanden, udpegedes til at tusinde mennesker med forskellige nationaliteter bor forvalte øerne og repræsentere den norske regering. her i det barske klima. På grund af øgruppens nordTraktaten fastslår, at alle nationer har ret til at jage, lige beliggenhed veksler dagslyset med årets gang; om fiske og mine, samt at medborgere fra alle lande har sommeren er der midnatssol og konstant dagslys i fire ret til at opholde sig og arbejde på Svalbard. I løbet af måneder, men om vinteren er der til gengæld polarnat i 1900-tallet betød traktatens bestemmelser, at flere nafire måneder. Når solen forsvinder i slutningen af oktotioner var repræsentere på øen. Der fandtes svenske og ber, viser den sig ikke igen før slutningen af februar. Det russiske kulminer og minesamfund, og flere lande udmeste af øgruppen er dækket af gletschere og størsteførte videnskabelig forskning på øerne. Nordmændene delen af året er alt dækket af sne. Hvert år sker én eller var en minoritet på Svalbard frem til slutningen af den flere ulykker med isbjørne, så man skal bære et skydevåkolde krig, hvor Rusland begyndte at trække sig tilbage. ben, når man forlader bebyggelserne.

Det er stadig hovedsagelig minearbejde og forskning, der lokker mennesker til Svalbard. Der Barskt ingenmandsland bor stadig nogle hundreder russiske og Det arktiske miljø giver helt specielle ukrainske medborgere, og i det nor”Indenfor udfordringer. Der er ingen veje til ske samfund Longyearbyen er ca. at forbinde bosættelserne og halvdelen fra andre lande end kort tid vil alle materialer og fødevarer Norge, hovedsagelig indpaskontrol indføres må transporteres fra fastvandrere fra Thailand og for passagerer, der vil flyve landet, ofte med fly hvilket Sverige, der er kommet for gør det dyrt. Op til halvfjerdat arbejde. De fleste vesttil eller fra Svalbard og serne var der ingen flyveplads, europæere, jeg har talt med, dermed bliver det endnu så i vinterhalvåret, når havnen er kommet til Svalbard på grvar tilfrosset, var øgruppen stort und af eventyret og naturoplesværere at praktisere set isoleret fra omverdenen. velsen. Mange arbejder indenfor Svalbardtraktaten, som Svalbard blev længe anset som turistbranchen eller med forsknet ingenmandsland. Da Barents ing, men som oftest bliver de højst den var tiltænkt.” opdagede øgruppen i 1596 var her et par sæsoner. Thailændere får ofte ingen mennesker, og ingen nation arbejde som rengøringsfolk eller magtede at gøre krav på territoriet. I på restauranter. De høje norske lønstedet blev havene omkring Svalbard overrendt af hvalninger lokker mange, sammen med det faktum at en fangere og jægere fra flere europæiske lande, der jagtede arbejdstilladelse ikke er nødvendig. Man kan ikke tale hvalros, sæl og isbjørn. Det, der begrænsede rovfangom indvandrere og fastboende, da alle i Longyearbyen sten, var ikke plads- eller ressourcemangel, men prober tilflyttere. Nogle få har boet der et par årtier, men lemerne og risikoen forbundet med at komme herop og de fleste er nytilflyttede. Hele samfundet på Svalbard at overlevem, når man endelig var ankommet. Frem til er opbygget ud fra princippet om, at ingen skal fødes starten af 1900-tallet var det meget få, der havde overeller dø dér. Hospitalet er ikke indrettet til fødsler og vintret på Svalbard og mange, der forsøgte, overlevede den lille kirkegård blev lukket i 1930'erne. ikke.

Svalbard som sidste udvej

Særstatus

For hundrede år siden begyndte man at bryde stenkul og der opstod behov for helårsboliger, infrastruktur og senere endda et civilsamfund. I forbindelse med den

Enkelte, der bor på Svalbard, er ikke kommet der frivilligt, men som en sidste udvej når der ikke er andre muligheder for at blive i Europa. En af dem er Kazem Ariaiwand fra Libyen. Efter flere års kamp for at få op-

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foto Tobias Stål

holdstilladelse med sin familie i Norge, følte han sig tvunget til at finde en anden udvej. Ved en tilfældighed begyndte han at læse om Svalbard og de unikke love, der gælder dér. Da han forstod, at han kunne opholde sig lovligt på Svalbard uden papirer, rejste han med det samme dertil. Han skaffede sig et arbejde, først hos den lokale købmand, sidenhen med sit eget gadekøkken, Den Røde Isbjørn, der blev berømt gennem en tv-dokumentar. At finde sig tilrette på Svalbard var ikke let, siger Kazem, der tidligere har boet i storbyer. Pludselig at bo i en lille isoleret by, hvor alle kender hinanden, og den barske natur tog tid at vænne sig til. Han kom i al fald til at værdsætte stilheden og roen. På Svalbard har man tid nok.

Efter syv år på Svalbard og en lang kamp med udlændingemyndighederne, blev Kazems situation løst på en uventet måde, da han fik opholdstilladelse i Schweiz. Problemerne sluttede dog ikke hér. Siden da har norske myndigheder hævdet, at hans tidligere illegale ophold i Norge ugyldiggør hans Schengen visa, og at det kan tage år og meget bureaukrati at ordne.

Fanget på Svalbard

Når man bor på Svalbard anses man ikke som bosiddende i Norge. Man betaler ikke skat til Norge og tiden, man opholder sig der, tæller ikke med i muligheden for at få opholdstilladelse på det norske fastland. Det har en håndfuld asylansøgere i Norge måtte erfare og i praksis er de blevet fanger på Svalbard i mange år.

Selvom der ikke findes paskontrol på selve Svalbard, må man rejse via det norske fastland, når man vil forlade øen. I fjor blev en mand fra Libyen, der har boet flere år på Svalbard, tilbageholdt i Tromsø lufthavn, da han ville forlade Svalbard for at rejse til Sverige. Heldigvis blandede Sysselmanden sig og krævede at manden ikke skulle udvises til Libyen, men i stedet fik lov til at vende tilbage til Svalbard, der jo var det sidste sted udenfor

schengenområdet, han havde opholdt sig.

Kazem var derimod uheldig i foråret, da han var på vej tilbage til Svalbard, og blev tilbageholdt i Tromsø. At han nu havde schengenvisa, hjalp ham ikke, men han blev udvist med vold til Schweiz. Når han nu besøger Svalbard, kan han ikke længere risikere at blive pågrebet i lufthavnen, men må sejle fra Europa med båd, hvilket tager lang tid og er fuld af strabadser. Kazem fortæller, at han tror, de norske myndigheder bevidst gør det besværligt for folk i Svalbard uden opholdstilladelse i Norge. Det er en bevidst strategi, der går imod ånden fra Svalbardtraktaten.

Normalisering

På flere områder er Svalbard ved at normaliseres til en almindelig norsk kommune. Siden 2002 forvaltes Longyearbyen af en kommunelignende institution kaldet Lokalstyret. Svalbards dage som et lukket minesamfund er slut. Indenfor kort tid vil paskontrol indføres for passagerer, der vil flyve til eller fra Svalbard og dermed bliver det endnu sværere at praktisere Svalbardtraktaten, som den var tiltænkt. Kazem synes, at de norske myndigheders uro er overdreven. I den tid han opholdt sig på Svalbard, kom der kun fire-fem personer til Svalbard, for på den måde at kunne blive i Norge uden opholdstilladelse.

Hvad angår Kazem, så vil han stadig besøge Svalbard, selvom han nu har fået opholdstilladelse i Schweiz.

Han har stadig sin virksomhed på øen og venner han vil besøge. Kazem er blevet noget af en lokal berømthed og hans fastfood restaurant er en turistattraktion. Og han har vænnet sig til ekstremerne i polarlivet. ”Har du nogensinde set en isbjørn?” spøger jeg ham. ”Ja jeg har set mange, men ikke på tæt hold. Det er naturligt på Svalbard,” svarer han leende.

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Translation page 99

Integrationspotentialets fødsel: Dansk udvælgelse af kvoteflygtninge efter 2005

H vo r d an m u l i g h ed er op s t å r

Illustration Saskia Te Nicklin

af Katrine Syppli Kohl, ph.d.-studerende ved Sociologisk Institut, KU Flygtning er ikke bare noget, man er. Det kræver tid, kræfter og desværre også held for et forfulgt menneske at blive anerkendt som flygtning og få opholdstilladelse i et land, hvor han eller hun kan bygge sig en fremtid.

Der er mange led i de forskellige administrative processer, der har magt til at forvandle et menneske til en klassificeret flygtning med opholdstilladelse i fx Danmark.

Størstedelen af verdens 15,2 millioner flygtninge kan ikke søge asyl noget sted. De er flygtet til lande, der ikke ønsker at give dem asyl, og som ofte ikke har underskrevet flygtningekonventionen. Deres basale rettigheder bliver, i hvert fald i princippet, beskyttet af FN. Men det gør deres borgerrettigheder ikke. De må normalt ikke arbejde, de kan ikke få et pas eller stemme. De er i limbo

forstået på den måde, at de ikke har nogen lovlig adgang til de ting, vi andre bygger vores liv ved hjælp af: Selvforsørgelse, bevægelsesfrihed, politisk deltagelse, etc. De er tålt - og ofte knap nok det - af lokalbefolkningen, der tit føler sig truet af den store mængde fattige fremmede i deres midte. Alt for ofte er de i fare for at blive sendt tilbage til det land, de er flygtet fra eller på anden måde at blive overladt til deres skæbne.

Siden slutningen af 1970’erne har Danmark og en række andre velstående lande ved hjælp af genbosætningskvoter forsøgt at mindske presset på de lande, flygtningene i første omgang når frem til. Den udløsende faktor var dengang, at flere af de lande, der modtog store mængder af bådflygtninge fra Vietnam var begyndt at nægte at tage sig af flere. Nogle steder slæbte man simpelthen bådene ud på åbent vand og overlod flygtningene til en grum skæbne. Ved at tilbyde at aflaste modtagerlandene håbede genbosætningslandene både at opnå bedre

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I forskellige danske aviser har man i de seneste år kunnet læse beretninger om kvoteflygtninge, der har fået afslag på at blive genbosat i Danmark. De fortæller om enlige mødre med børn, som er blevet afvist, fordi ingen i familien kunne læse og skrive og om en gruppe børn, der blev afvist, fordi de virkede apatiske under interviewet med den danske kvotedelegation.

Afslagene bunder i, at disse mennesker ikke vurderes at have integrationspotentiale. Kvoteflygtningenes eksempel illustrerer, hvordan flygtninge ikke bare er en naturligt forekommende kategori af mennesker ude i verden. De er i høj grad et fænomen, der skal produceres – politisk, juridisk og administrativt.

Hvordan det sker, kommer jeg ind på nedenfor.

vilkår for de flygtninge, der blev i området og for dem, der blev genbosat. Årsagen til avisernes afsløringer af, at Danmark sorterer de svageste flygtninge fra, er den lovændring, der i 2005 introducerede bestemte kriterier for udvælgelse af Danmarks kvoteflygtninge. Med lovændringen blev det et krav, at alle almindelige kvoteflygtninge skal interviewes af en kvotedelegation i opholdslandet, før deres genbosætningsansøgning kan afgøres. Dermed blev udvælgelsen både dyrere og mindre fleksibel.

terier for dem. Fremtidens kvoteflygtninge skulle have integrationspotentiale, og det mente forvaltningen bl.a. at kunne måle på en bedømmelse af deres sproglige forudsætninger, uddannelsesforhold, arbejdserfaring, familieforhold, netværk, alder og motivation.

Lovændringen var baseret på mangelfuld dokumentation og de redskaber, som skulle rette op på situationen tog heller ikke afsæt i nogen reel undersøgelse af, hvad der virker på integrationsområdet. Det smagte af symbolpolitik, men dens effekter har været meget virkelige.

Med integrationspotentialekriterierne blev hensynet til den enkelte flygtnings tarv udsat for pres af en forestilling om, at hjælp til flygtninge medfører en trussel mod den danske velfærdsstats økonomiske og kulturelle overlevelse.

Hensigten med loven var at sikre, at de flygtninge, som fremover blev genbosat i Danmark, ville blive bedre integreret end tidligere. Lovændringen er i den optik et glimrende eksempel på en stats forsøg på at styre udkommet af en bestemt form for migration. Den er også et godt eksempel på hvordan en forvaltning skaber en bestemt slags flygtninge med egenskaber, som den selv definerer, hvorefter den udtænker træk, som disse egenskaber kan måles på.

I et forsøg på at kontrollere og afværge den risiko, som kvoteflygtningene ansås for at udgøre, indførte de danske lovgivere altså en række specifikke udvælgelseskri-

“Because they claim to look after the happiness of societies, governments arrogate to themselves the right to draw up profitand-loss accounts for the human misery which their decisions provoke, or which their negligence causes. One of the duties of international citizenship is to reveal human misery to the eyes and ears of government” Michel Foucault

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Illustration Saskia Te Nicklin.

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Problemet er ikke bare, at vi med sådanne udvælgelseskriterier sorterer de svageste flygtninge fra.

Det er også, at det ude i den kaotiske, svedige, beskidte virkelighed er mere end almindeligt vanskeligt at afgøre, hvilke flygtninge, der vil klare sig godt i Danmark. Udvælgelsesdelegationerne, der i dag skal vurdere næsten alle danske kvoteflygtninge ved en personlig samtale i opholdslandet, bliver ikke udstyret med en krystalkugle, hvori de kan læse den enkelte flygtnings fremtid i Danmark. Den ville ellers være meget anvendelig.

Store dele af velfærdsstatens forvaltning af sine borgere hviler på systemets skøn af ting som arbejdsevne, troværdighed og integrationspotentiale. Selvom alle skøn i socialt arbejde er vanskelige og potentielt problematiske, foregår kvoteudvælgelsen under ganske særligt udfordrende vilkår. Kvoteinterviewene foretages under stort tidsmæssigt pres, med mangelfuld information til rådighed, gennem tolk og på tværs af store kulturelle forskelle.

Samtidig er den lovgivning, udvælgelsen er baseret på, langt fra ligetil at anvende. På en kvoteudvælgelsesrejse til Nepal i 2008 diskuterede delegationen bl.a., hvordan man uden psykiatrisk ekspertise skulle være i stand til at vurdere, hvornår en flygtnings psykiske problemer er tunge nok til, at han eller hun ikke vil kunne få glæde af at komme til Danmark. Hvornår er et menneskes netværk stærkt nok, og vil denne person være lige så dygtig til at danne relationer i Danmark, som han eller hun har været i flygtningelejren?

Udvælgelsen af kvoteflygtninge er et eksempel på, hvordan forvaltningen i mødet med borgeren produ-

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cerer en række data, som gør den i stand til at træffe en beslutning i den enkelte sag: På hvordan mennesker oversættes til sager for systemet, og koges ned til en bouillon-terning af særlige træk som indadvendt, stærk, genert, eller sød. Det er usikkert om disse kategoriseringer overhovedet ville kunne genkendes af de interviewede selv eller af folk i deres omgangskreds.

Men de danner basis for forvaltningens beslutning om ja eller nej til genbosætning.

Som man også kunne læse i det seneste nummer af visAvis, er det enkeltstående mest kritisable træk ved de nye regler for kvoteudvælgelsen, at traumatiserede flygtninge risikerer at blive sorteret fra, fordi de ikke evner at vise motivation og handlekraft. Dermed udelukkes de flygtninge, der er hårdest ramt. Ønsket om at kontrollere den risiko, disse mennesker anses for at udgøre for samfundet trækker dermed i Danmarks tilfælde tæppet væk under flygtningesagens fremmeste formål: At give forfulgte mennesker mulighed for en ny start.

Hvis integrationspotentialekriterierne bundede i reelle undersøgelser af, hvem der klarer sig godt i Danmark og hvem der ikke gør, kunne de måske forsvares indenfor deres egen logik. Men det gør de desværre ikke. Integrationsministeriet har heller ikke efterfølgende ønsket at undersøge effekterne af lovændringen. Status er derfor, at den danske stat bruger mange penge på at screene de flygtninge, FN indstiller til genbosætning i Danmark, og at udsatte mennesker bliver afvist på baggrund af et mere end usikkert forsøg på at forudse deres fremtid i Danmark.

fakta FN har tre varige løsninger på flygtningeproblemer: Flygtninge kan enten blive i det land, de er flygtet til, hvis de kan få rettigheder der, de kan vende hjem til deres oprindelsesland, hvis det er blevet sikkert for dem eller, de kan blive genbosat i et land, der frivilligt tilbyder at tage i mod dem, hvis ingen af de to andre løsninger er inden for rækkevidde. Siden 1978 har Danmark hvert år afsat et beløb på finansloven til en genbosætningskvote. Genbosatte flygtninge betegnes derfor ofte som kvoteflygtninge.

Siden 1989 har kvoten været på 500 pladser om året.

Kvoteflygtninge er ikke asylansøgere. En asylansøger er et menneske, der selv rejser til et land og søger asyl der. Kvoteflygtning bliver man kun, hvis man er anerkendt som flygtning af FN, men ikke fik lov at søge asyl i det land, man flygtede til og ikke har mulighed for at vende hjem.

I 2005 indførte Danmark kriterier for udvælgelse af kvoteflygtninge. Nu skal en flygtning have integrationspotentiale for at blive genbosat. Det vurderes ud fra hans sproglige forudsætninger, uddannelsesforhold, arbejdserfaring, familieforhold, netværk, alder og motivation. Derudover kan analfabeter, misbrugere og psykisk syge ikke genbosættes med mindre de indgår i en stærk familiegruppe.

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Oversættelse på side 100

opensourcefood - An invitation for you to participate in cookin’ up a storm On the island of Møn, on Sunday 22 August, at Marienborg Manor, Opensource Food invited you to enter the stables and indulge in wild herb veggie patties garnished with rose hip pesto and many other delicious samples made from natures bountiful spoils. The horses had left the stables for the day and were replaced by a crowd of visitors for the opening of Decenter II, happily tasting and discussing the food being served.

ea “ The id you is that le er edib h t a g n ca any around s t n a l p in center asylum rk ” Denma

No. 4 2010

by Arendse Krabbe & André Amtoft Decenter II is a project by the Danish artist Bettina Camilla Vestergaard. The project was originally an artist collective, founded by author and critic Elsa Gress and artist Clifford Wright at Marienborg Manor on Møn in the 1970s. The collective became an experimental hub which attracted artists and cultural figures from all over the world. But when its patron, Count Peter Moltke, died in 1980 a lengthy legal battle with the ministry of agriculture began, ending with the decision to tear the manor down. Intrigued by this story, Bettina Camilla Vestergaard decided to create Decenter II. She invited a bunch of artists for a four-day-soiree in Marienborg’s empty park on the ground of the forgotten manor.

Nature is a food chamber

Artists at Decenter II, André Amtoft and Arendse Krabbe, decided to create a project about collecting the natural resources around Marienborg because they believe that understanding and using nature as a food chamber is not only useful for those who live close by nature but also for those who want to save money by cooking what they can forage. These advantages are even more evident for asylum seekers who often live in rural areas with limited financial means at their disposal for transportation and food. This makes it extremely difficult for asylum seekers to maintain a sufficiently healthy and varied diet. Therefore, Erik and Stan from the Red Cross Centers Sandholm and Kongelunden, and resident chef Julie A. Swane (Nature Foods), André and Arendse, gathered and kept a record of edible wild plants for four days, prepared and served them for the guests at the opening of Decenter II. Do it yourself

Gathering and serving delicacies at Decenter II was just a start – called ‘field guide 1’. Several field guides are on their way. The forthcoming guides will be distributed in all of the 21 asylum centers in Denmark.

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It so happened that the Sea Buck thorn Workshop came about in Kongelunden Asylum center this autumn. You can taste this at the launch of VisAvis#4. The localities of sea buck thorn and recipes can be found on opensourcefood.info’s field guide 2.

The idea is that you can gather edible plants around any asylum center in Denmark. On the web page, opensourcefood.info you can upload your discoveries to Google maps along with the matching recipes. Hopefully you feel inspired to participate.

Wild herb veggi patties

Use the following combination of wild herbs – or whatever seasonal plants are available. Be sure to use a variety of plants as it gives the best and tastiest balance.

Dandelion leaves (taraxacum officinale) Ribwort Plantain (plantago lanceolata) Garlic mustard (alliaria petiolata) Nettles (urtica dioica) Ground-elder (aegopodium podagraia) 350 g mixed herbs 3 finely chopped shallots 5 eggs 3 dl breadcrumbs or dried and crushed white bread Salt and pepper Oil and/or butter for frying Rinse and chop wild herbs (scald the nettles so they don’t sting). Mix onions, eggs, breadcrumbs and herbs together to make a firm mass. Roll into equal size balls press slightly to form patties. Prepare patties on a hot pan until golden and well done.

St. John’s tea (anti-depressant)

Collect a good handful of St. Johns Wort and water mint – either hang to dry or use fresh with boiling water to make tea. Add to taste.

More at www.opensourcefood.info

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Translation page 100

Dans ud af boblen Giver det mening at danse, når man er midt i at kæmpe for et liv i sikkerhed? Ja, mener danser og koreograf Lina Venegas.

Hun har lavet en danseforestilling i Østrigs mest lukkede asylcenter. af Marie Sauer-Johansen Da Lina Vengas blev spurgt, om hun ville udvikle en danseforestilling med en gruppe unge mennesker, der søgte asyl i Østrig tilbage i 2009, var hun ikke i tvivl om svaret. Det var nemlig et ukueligt ønske om at involvere sig mere i sociale og politiske forhold, der for syv år siden fik hende til at forlade et job som ingeniør i hjemlandet Columbia. Her arbejdede hun med sociale boligprojekter. ”Det var meget utilfredsstillende at opleve, at de økonomiske faktorer i sidste ende altid vejede tungere end de menneskelige hensyn,” forklarer hun over en ekkofyldt Skype-forbindelse fra Wien, hvor hun har boet siden 2002. ”Jeg følte, at dans var en mere direkte måde at arbejde med mennesker og udtrykke mig socialt og politisk på.” Begge dele har hun gjort med forestillingen Game Away from Home, som hun udviklede på opfordring fra Odeon Danseteatret i Wien med en gruppe af asylansøgere fra byens modtagelsescenter, Traiskirchen. Forestillingen blev meget vel modtaget og Lina er nu ved at sætte den op for tredje gang på

teateret ARGEkultur i Salzburg med en ny gruppe asylansøgere.

Kunst bag høje mure

Traiskirchen er det højest sikrede modtagelsescenter i Østrig, der med sin centrale position i Europa er gennemgangsland for mange asylansøgere og migranter. Her, i landets største ventesal til et bedre liv, opholder folk sig i en til to uger, inden de bliver sluset ud til centre i resten af Østrig. De skal bevise, hvem de er, og hvorfor de har brug for asyl. Centeret er et kritisk knudepunkt fyldt med hjertegribende skæbner, håb, fortvivlelse og smerte. Alle ingredienserne til et klassisk skæbnedrama. Og alligevel var det ikke de personlige historier, der slog Lina mest, men de mange kontrol- og sikkerhedsforanstaltninger. ”Traiskirchen er jo ikke direkte et fængsel,” siger hun. ”Men det har mange fængselslignende træk. Jeg kunne være i gang med at øve med mine folk, og så kunne politiet komme og tage nogle af dem til side for at undersøge, om de havde våben eller stoffer på sig, og at alt var i orden,”

Danseprøve, Wien, januar 2010. Foto: Hans Hochstoeger

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beskriver hun, stadig chokeret. ”I denne her situation kunne jeg aldrig sige, at mine træningsessioner havde første prioritet. Jeg kunne ikke sige, ’vær så venlig at respektere kunsten’”. I stedet for måtte Lina indordne sig under de samme kontrolmekanismer som alle andre i Traiskirchen og med stor frustration konstatere, hvordan de påvirker den menneskelige psyke. ”Folk bliver til en slags ordensmaskiner, fordi de hele tiden er optaget af at følge regler og leve op til standarder, ” siger Lina, som skulle skrive under på, at hun ikke ville udtale sig om stedet til pressen. Et løfte hun nu bryder med en del tøven. ”Men jeg kan jo ikke tale ærligt om forestillingen, hvis jeg ikke kan fortælle om dens relation til forholdene i Traiskirchen,” siger hun. Med tryk på ’ærligt’. Hendes største bekymring er ikke at få lov til at lave lignende projekter i fremtiden.

Migrationsspillet

Det østrigske asylsystem, og for så vidt asylsystemerne i alle lande, tvinger i Linas øjne mennesker på flugt til at deltage i et grusomt spil. Hun kalder det “spillet om at migrere til lande med bedre sociale og politiske forhold end ens hjemland”. Spillet reducerer folk til ansigtsløse brikker. De kan kun bevæge sig indenfor spilleregler fastlagt af internationale organisationer, nationalstater og lokale myndigheder, der står som forhindringer på vejen til målet om at komme ind i et nyt land. ”Det stod klart for mig, at det er vigtigere at vise den kontrolramme, folk bliver underlagt i asylsystemet, end at fokusere på deres personlige historier. Jeg vil heller ikke få folk til at tænke mere på deres tunge fortid - den er med dem hvert skridt på vejen alligevel, ” forklarer Lina. ”Det er ligesom om, at man er lukket inde i en boble, hvor man kun kan tænke på to ting: Den smertefulde årsag til ens flugt og de spilleregler, man skal prøve at leve op til for at nå målet om at få asyl. Den boble blokerer ens evne til at handle og til at være i nuet.”

Virkeligheden på scenen

For at illustrere spillet – Game Away from Home - lavede Lina scenografien som en fodboldbane. Med hvide kridtstreger, to mål og en dommer med fløjte og et arsenal af gule og røde kort. Spillerne bevæger sig mellem to mål, hjemlandet og indvandringslandet, i en koreografi, der snarere er eksplosioner af energi end pæne dansetrin. Hoppende, glidende eller syngende udtrykker de hver deres historie – men kun indenfor stregerne. Træder de udenfor, bliver de straffet af dommeren, hvis endelige dom er, at beordre spillerne til at forlade banen: Udvisning til alle.

Den svære rolle som dommer gav Lina sig selv. Som koreograf repræsenterer hun nemlig, efter eget udsagn, også en magtstruktur i forhold til asylansøgerne.

Selvom de deltager af egen fri vilje, er de underlagt en grad af kunstnerisk kontrol fra hendes side. Hun fortæller, at det er en vanskelig rolle at spille, men at det er mindst ligeså krævende for deltagerne at iscenesætte deres egen magtesløshed. ”Jeg tror ikke, at det er nemt for folk at spille dette her,” siger Lina. ”Det er jo ikke noget drømmeagtigt stykke med smukke mennesker, der danser stepdans, men et realistisk billede af folks egen virkelighed.”

Men forestillingen er, ifølge Lina, også en aktion imod den magtesløshed, den illustrerer, fordi den giver asylansøgeren mulighed for at gøre opmærksom på

Linea Venegas, Montreal 2009. Foto: Francois Pedneault

deres situation og udtrykke sig frit. Vejen ind til følelser fri for institutionel kontrol går her gennem afspændingsteknikker. ”Vi bruger dem både til at løsne lidt af den omgivende kontrol og til at prøve at acceptere den uforudsigelighed, der er både i processen og i deltagernes virkelige liv.” fortæller Lina om sine træningsmetoder. ”Man kan faktisk sige, at afspænding er blevet den grundlæggende filosofi for hele forestillingen.”

Spræng boblen

At udtrykke sig frit fysisk er, i Linas verden, at sprænge den institutionelle kontrolboble, om det så kun er for en træningssession eller en opførelses tid. Mens de danser, kan deltagerne være helt i nuet og fokusere på noget andet end deres vanskelige situation. Samtidig kan de dele deres migrationsoplevelser med hinanden på tværs af de sprogbarrierer, der ellers forhindrer dem i at forstå hinanden. ”Dans er et slags super-sprog, som folk kan kommunikere med uden ord – det er et sprog uden nationalgrænser,” siger Lina, som med sin flytning fra Columbia til Østrig jo selv er et udtryk for den ide. ”Jeg er blevet meget bevidst om, at dansen i sig selv har gjort dette projekt muligt – ligesom det gjorde det muligt for mig at komme ind i Østrig som indvandrer.”

Offentligheden kan vælge sin rolle

Men kan dans påvirke den offentlige meningsdannelse?

Lina tror på det. ”Det, at disse asylansøgere eksisterer som kroppe på scenen er en politisk manifestation. De er normalt gemt væk i udkanten af byerne, hvor vi ikke ser dem, og hvis ikke, er de i det mindste camoufleret i samfundet. Når vi bringer dem ind i teatret, får de mulighed for at sige: ”Vi er her, vi eksisterer, og vi vil gerne blive her!” Hun uddyber: ”At se disse mennesker gør et stort indtryk på publikum. Mange bliver chokeret over at opdage, hvordan livet som asylansøger er, for nogle

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er det endda så hårdt at se, at de græder….” Om tårer også flytter stemmer i et land, hvor højreradikale partier vinder frem, er et spørgsmål, som kun den østrigske offentlighed kan svare ordentligt på. Indtil videre får Salzburgborgerne mulighed for at forholde sig til asylansøgernes (spillede) virkelighed, når de går på scenen på ARGEkulturteatret i byen til november. Her har Lina nemlig foretaget et nyt træk for at reducere afstanden

mellem den østrigske offentlighed og de mennesker, der søger om asyl i landet. Der vil ikke være nogen siddepladser: Publikum må stå ansigt til ansigt med danserne. Men til forskel fra dem, kan de bevæge sig frit rundt. De østrigske statsborgere vælger selv, hvor de vil stå i spillet.

Mere om forestillingen på www.argekultur.at

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Opførelse af Game Away From Home Wien, Februar 2010 Foto: Hans Hochstoeger

“Det, at disse asylans øgere e som kr oppe på ksister scenen politisk er en normal manifestation t gemt . De er væ byerne hvor vi k i udkanten a i f kke ser vi bring dem. N er dem år ind i te de mul atret, f ighed f å r or at si her, vi ge: “ Vi eksiste e r r gerne b er og vi vil live her !”

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Oversættelse på side 101

For yderligere information, eller hvis du vil give en hånd med, kontakt os på info@trampolinehouse.dk www.trampolinehouse.dk

The Trampoline House Is Here!

by Morten Goll Foto Thomas Elsted On November 1, 2010, the Trampoline House will open its doors at the corner of Struensegade and Skyttegade, Nørrebro, Copenhagen. The Trampoline House will be a user driven culture house featuring 250 square meters, including kitchen, office/meeting room, a huge assembly hall which can be divided into two spaces providing for two simultaneous activities. The house is open to asylum seekers, Danes and anyone else, and as far as we know, it will be the first and only of its kind. We would like to express our gratitude to the philanthropic OAK Foundation for their generous donation which secures a stable economy during the first 3 years. But we need also to sound a big Thank You to the countless sympathizers who have helped us through the past two years, not to forget the volunteering users, with or without CPR numbers, who have worked hard towards the common goal.

As some are aware, it began as an art project called The Asylum Dialog Tank (ADT) in January 2009, at which Morten Goll, Joachim Hamou and Tone Olaf Nielsen invited students from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts to team up with asylum seekers in a workshop which had the aim of developing ideas for the improvement of the living conditions for asylum seekers. These initial workshops took place at Center Kongelunden and Center Sandholm. Today, ADT is an independent institution, responsible for fundraising and administration of the Trampoline House. To carry out these tasks, ADT has employed Morten Goll, Tone Olaf Nielsen and Nabil Latif. But the backbone of the Trampoline House is its users: all the volunteers, some of whom the state has labeled “asylum seekers” while others are considered Danish citizens. It was these

members of the first ADT workshops who developed the concept of the Trampoline House, and it is them, along with the new users, who will create and define the future house.

4 problems

Analyzing the general problems of asylum seekers, the ADT workshops defined three mayor points: poverty, isolation and mental paralysis. These three evils are a consequence of the Danish Foreign Act, which denies asylum seekers the right to work and live at will, isolates them in camps where – in practice – they are denied Danish language classes, and where independent initiatives are considered suspicious due to the fact that the foreign act only leaves minimal space for such. The fourth evil, which ADT recognized from the outset, is that any individual arriving in Denmark as an asylum seeker, during the process looses ones identity in order to become stigmatized as an asylum seeker with limited rights. The outcome of this process is that independent survivors are changed into passive receivers of social aid and victims.

3½ solutions

ADT's answer to these problems is to make it possible for people to leave the camps and meet some Danes.

Obviously the problem of poverty cannot be solved without changing the working ban of the Foreign Act, but ADT's answer to this problem is to create a common space which is free of charge for those who live in the camps. ADT recognizes that this is but half a solution, not solving the poverty, but it allows to forcefully attack the three remaining problems: isolation, mental paralysis and victimization. These problems are dealt with by creating a social platform that integrates asylum seekers as well as Danes in an environment based on un-

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conditional respect for all users. A platform that leaves room and resources for different types of activities organized according to standing demands. This way, isolation is replaced by a social network. Next, the spell of mental paralysis is broken due to the environment's stimulus on independent action, and last victimization is replaced by empowerment based on independent action and interaction with other users.

This platform was named the Trampoline House. We thought it a suitable name because a trampoline associates play, activity and adventure, while at the same time it is merely an aid: you have to do the work yourself on a trampoline.

The Trampoline House will be a user driven platform based on equal collaboration between citizens with rights and asylum seekers without rights. We will create an intercultural social network capable of generating and passing knowledge, friendships and cultural understanding. It is essential that the house does not maintain the asylum seeker in the role of the victim.

Therefore the house turns the host-guest relation on its head. Danes are also guests in the house, and asylum seekers are hosts. Since the principle of equality must go both ways, it is necessary that the ongoing activities in the house are as interesting to Danes as to asylum seekers. In short, people should use the Trampoline House because they find that the new “US” which we create together is much more fun than the old “them and us”.

It will happen in the Trampoline House

Based on the experience we have gathered from the variety of activities which we have hosted since January 2009, we can present a shortlist of must-haves for a future program. Needless to say, this program will be subject to change as the pool of users and their competences grow.

There will be a cafe, an evening school section (several volunteers has already proposed workshops with themes as different as healing and electro mechanics), joint dining once a week, movie-night, hair dresser's salon, computer access/library, etc. We will offer free weekly counseling by professional asylum right lawyers and monthly information meetings on the Foreign Act

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by The Committee for Refugees Under Ground. We also have plans for a free health clinic with volunteering staff. The idea is to turn the house into a resource center which can educate its users to become experts in their own cases.

The majority of asylum seekers are single males, but we plan to organize special activities for children, so that parents can take part in courses while the kids play.

We do contemplate the idea of a womens day, to assure that women and children will feel safe and at home.

Last but not least, we will organize public debates on varying subjects, such as gender roles, culture, Danish politics and society, cultural history, philosophy of ideas, litterature, asylum politics in the form of userto-user lectures, but also using invited guest lecturers.

Please join us

Let this be an open invitation to anyone with interest or curiosity! Please come see us, check out the program, and join up. It might be that you have an idea for an activity which could take place in the Trampoline House.

In that case, please talk to Morten, Tone or Nabil, who coordinates the program. We would also like to extend our invitation to all the organizations and networks, including visAvis, Grandparents for Asylum, The Committee for refugees Under Ground, Kirkeasyl, Internationalt Kristent Center, to use the house. This way The Trampoline House will become a natural meeting point for for asylum seekers, organizations and civilians.

Working for social change

ADT was initiated as a social art project, but it soon became evident that the problems that we set out to solve required a full engagement, far beyond the symbolic level which often is the realm of contemporary arts. Rather than just criticizing the state of affairs, the ADT group realized that social change, in the present political climate, only can happen if provoked from the bottom of society. Underneath the national consensus politics on refugee issues, there is a growing desire towards renewed respect for human rights and for a commitment to social global responsibility. The Trampoline House turns this desire into a concrete possibility, while at the same time, it suggests a new interpretation of the most debated word of the last decade: integration.

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E ri

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Translation page 102

nd rin gen

om nutidens Eu-

ropa

Hvordan kan man fortælle en flygtnings historie? Og hvad skal der til, for at omverdenen gider høre den? Det er nogle af de spørgsmål, italienske Alessandro Triulzi fra NGOen Asinitas stiller sig selv og arbejder på at besvare. Derfor indsamler han i samarbejde med flygtninge og migranter deres erindringer til opbevaring i arkivet Archivio delle Memorie Migranti. af Louise Rosengreen På hovedgaden i Pieve Santo Stefano, Toscana, hænger sorte og røde lystavler med ordene SELVMORD, BEDRAG og GRÅDIGHED i versaler dinglende hen over fodgængernes hoveder.

Det er de ni helvedescirkler, som præsenteres i Dantes Den Guddommelige Komedie, men ordene er samtidig meget velvalgte til at beskrive realiteterne for alle de mennesker, der lever i nutidens Italien uden papirer.

Det er mildest talt et helvede. De mennesker, som opholder sig længere tid i Italien uden papirer, har ingen rettigheder, og det svarer til at være på den forkerte side af loven: “Hvis du ingen rettigheder har i Italien, er du kriminel,” forklarer Alessandro Triulzi, der er professor i Afrikastudier på universitetet i Napoli.

Dagbøgernes by

Her i midten af september måned vrimler Pieve – kendt som dagbøgernes by – med historisk interesserede mennesker. De kommer fra andre byer. De kommer fra andre lande. Anledningen er, at vinderen af den årlige dagbogspris skal afsløres. Det sker traditionen tro ved en tre dage lang festival, hvor dagbøger, erindringsværker, personlige breve og andre dokumenter er på programmet. Dagens paneldebat har overskriften ”Hukommelsen, kulturen”.

Og det er i den anledning, at Alessandro Triulzi har fået lejlighed til at udtale sig om det, han brænder for: migranters rettigheder. Han har – ud over sin akademiske titel – ansvaret for arkivet Archivio delle Memorie Migranti og repræsenterer den Rom-baserede NGO Asinitas. Alessandro Triulzi, der er den sidste taler i rækken, starter med at stille et spørgsmål til lytterne i det tætpakkede telt. Det er et spørgsmål, han ofte har stillet sig selv: Der må være en bedre måde at få formidlet fortællingerne fra alle de mennesker, der kommer til

“Folk er efterladt i både på havet i dagevis. De forsvinder i havet. Det er en håbløs situation” Alessandro Triulzi Italien fra Afrika eller andre steder i verden end i pressen. Men hvordan?

Fra sprogskole til erindringer

Det kan publikum så spekulere lidt over. Imens fortsætter Triulzi med at problematisere Italiens håndtering af indvandring. Asinitas arbejde begyndte som et undervisningstilbud til flygtninge, en italiensk sprogskole, men det voksede sig større. Gennem mødet med de individuelle historier voksede behovet for at få formidlet erfaringerne, erindringerne.

“Vi arbejder med at involvere migranterne i vores arbejde. Det vi kalder en engagerende involverende metode til at samle erindringer. Indsamlingen sker på flere niveauer. Det ene er ved interview. Det foregår typisk ved, at vi sætter os omkring et bord. De taler, og vi lytter.” Det kan lyde simpelt, men Triulzi lægger vægt på denne del af processen. Det, der ifølge ham mangler for at nuancere Italiens forståelse af flygtninge og indvandrere, er i høj grad deres egen selvrepræsentation.

Et andet niveau i arbejdsmetoden er at afholde seminarer, hvor migranter bliver undervist i at lave film. På den måde får de kendskab til et medie, hvorigennem de selv kan fortælle deres historier. Et af resultaterne er den prisbelønnede film Like a Man on Earth fortalt af Dagmawi Yimer, der af politiske årsager flygtede fra Etiopien i 2005. Den skildrer de barske omstændigheder og den voldsomhed, hvormed afrikanske flygtninge bliver arresteret i Italien og sendt tilbage til Libyen, som

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konsekvens af den aftale Silvio Berlusconi og Muammar Gadaffi indgik for at begrænse antallet af afrikanere, der kom til Italien.

Skammen over fædrelandet

Asinitas og Alessandro Triulzis ambition er at ændre italienernes forhold til flygtninge. Han vil gøre omverdenen opmærksom på, hvordan Italien behandler dem. Han mener ikke, at Italien lever op til sit historiske ansvar som tidligere kolonimagt. Derfor sender arkivet også historierne om flygtningenes oplevelser af mødet med deres destination tilbage til deres oprindelseslande.

For Alessandro Triulzi skammer sig over sit fædreland. Især skammer han sig over, hvordan den italienske flåde specifikt er beordret til at sende hver en båd med flygtninge, der nærmer sig den italienske kyst, tilbage: “Folk er efterladt i både på havet i dagevis. De forsvinder i havet. Det er en håbløs situation, og der er ikke muligt at føre retssager, før man kan udpege den officielle person, der har afvist disse mennesker,” siger han og tilføjer: “Jeg skammer mig over, at asylansøgere bliver tævet af politiet, og over den måde Europa behandler romaer på. Det beviser, at vi har en europæisk kultur, der deler folk op i første- og andenrangsborgere.”

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Det usagte

“Det er ingen ’big deal’, det vi laver. Vi samler vidnernes historier. De historier, der er nødt til at blive fortalt, så vi kan give flygtninge deres stolthed tilbage. Og så man i fremtiden vil kunne læse og huske deres historier. På den måde betragter jeg vores arkiv som et fundament for fremtidens forståelse af Italiens nutid.” Således afslutter han. Taletiden er gået, men det indledende spørgsmål er endnu ikke besvaret.

Aftenen forinden dannede samme telt, hvori debatten nu afbrydes og opløses, ramme for præsentation og visning af kortfilmen ’MEI [MEIG] Voci migranti’. Det er en dokumentarfilm af instruktøren Federico Greco. I filmen gives ordet til en kurder, en marokkaner, en argentiner og en tuneser. Alle er de nu bosat i Italien, men deres fortid spænder fra tvangsægteskab over tortur til at have været ansat som politimand i et voldsregime.

Fælles for deres måde at skildre deres skæbne på er, at de ikke kan sætte ord på de allerværste begivenheder.

Det er umuligt at forklare det meningsløse.

Se mere:

www.asinitas.org www.likeamanonearth.blogspot.com www.fortresseurope.blogspot.com www.vocimigranti.blogspot.com Illustration Mia Edelgart

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Translation page 103

Abdul Malik Beakasyar har udgivet fem digtsamlinger på pashto. Spejlenes skygger er hans første digtsamling på dansk, som han har oversat i samarbejde med digteren Ole Lillelund. Den blev udgivet i foråret ved Det Poetiske Bureaus Forlag.

Hvor melbær gror

illustration Carl Johan Sennels

Abdul Malik Beakasyar har haft et omtumlet liv, siden russerne invaderede Afghanistan i hans ungdom. For at undgå at blive indkaldt til hæren flygtede han til Pakistan og bosatte sig i en flygtningelejr. Flere år senere endte Malik i Danmark og her har han netop udgivet sin første digtsamling på dansk. af Anders Prien Vi har klemt os op i et sensommerhjørne af Frederiksberg Have. Det er min intention at snakke om livets uundgåelige kompromis, som Malik selv kalder det, i sin seneste digtsamling Spejlenes skygger. Vores samtale kommer dog ikke til at hænge ved konkrete hændelser i hans liv, men i poesiens betydning. Dette virker helt naturligt for Malik, da poesien altid har fulgt ham og været essentiel for hans personlighed. Poesien har været den stemme, han har udtrykt sig med som menneske. Som han selv siger: ”Man kan nøjes med at læse mine digte for at kende hele mit liv".

Modpoler

Spejlenes skygger præsenterer et udvalg af Maliks digte.

De handler om det, han efterlod i sin landsby i Afghanistans bjerge og om det nye, der er begyndt, efter at han blev givet asyl i Danmark. Poesien svinger mellem modpolerne i hans liv: fra uforstået flygtning og asylansøger til anerkendt digter i Danmark. Modpolerne er også reflekteret i hans erindringer om livet i Afghanistan, som i digtet Spørgsmål: ”vi gik til mynah-stærens rede / vi spurgte melbærtræet / ved havens væltede mur / holdt vi en længere

pause / vi spurgte hængepilen der / til venstre for en harvet mark / gik vi frem og tilbage på diget / mellem to rækker bynke / vi spurgte lucernen ved floden / vi lyttede til poppeltræet hele natten / vi spurgte forsigtigt månen / vi lod ingen som helst gå fri / vi spurgte de fremmede / vi spurgte vore egne / da stormen bankede på var vi vågne / vi spurgte gang på gang/ efter larmen fra landsbyens legeplads / efter bølger af latter ved floden / efter fløjtens melodier midt på dagen / efter gemmelegen hen ved solnedgang / men ingen vidste hvad / folkene der havde gjort Jeg har bemærket, at du fremhæver latteren og børnenes leg som modpol til den stilhed, krigen efterlader. Samtidig synes du også at bruge melbærrene som modsætning til krigen?

"I bjergene, hvor jeg kommer fra, er der mange melbær". Eftertænksomhed. "Æbler plukker man alene, i sin egen have, men melbær vokser over det hele, og er på den måde noget fælles for hele familien og landsbyen, og på sin vis for Afghanistan som nation. Melbærrene er noget fælles, man samles om. På den måde er de en modsætning til krigen, der netop splittede familier og landsbyer".

Melbærrene er relateret til tiden i hans landsby in-

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den krigen – og for den sags skyld i hele det bjergrige Afghanistan; på den måde fremstår de som et symbol på en fortid og en fred, hvor familien og landsbyen endnu var samlet.

Krig og flugt

Krigen afbrød brat livet, som Malik kendte det, hvilket ses i digtet Bevægelser: “og den tid kom igen / pigerne gik ikke længere i bjergene efter urter / de gamle lege forsvandt / fra vor landsby / flodbredden blev smadret / midt om eftermiddagen / høsten afbrændt en varm middagstime / flokke af fugle fløj over bjergene / jeg så det selv. // og den tid kom igen/det var varm sommer / månen var fuld og rund om natten / men folk sov ikke længere ude / eller på taget / hver nat tænkte jeg: / hvor alene må månen være / hvor sorgfulde stjernerne / ingen vil lytte / til naturens egne lyde / de gamle i vor landsby sagde: / 'folk er inde bag fire mure.'”

Her synes du at beskrive krigens tid, som du oplevede den i din landsby i Afghanistan. Hvad kendetegnede denne tid i dit liv?

“Min oplevelse ses i digtet. Under krigen føler man sig bag fire mure, man er simpelthen lukket inde og man kan ikke være sig selv, eller den man var.”

Dette digt blev skrevet under den russiske besættelse af Afghanistan. Malik mindes, at den russiske regering begyndte at indkalde de lokale til militæret.

Han besluttede sig for at flygte over grænsen til Pakistan for at undgå indkaldelse. Et af hans digte handler netop om denne flugt. I digtet forlades en landsby, gæs trækker østover, og Malik har allerede krydset en flod.

Men digtet beskriver, hvordan en mager hvid hest og et barn på bare fødder aldrig når over på den sikre side.

Fornemmelsen af at være gemt bag en mur fortsatte under hans ensomme flugt til Pakistan. Flugten skabte en underlig følelse, forklarer Malik: ”På den ene side er man selv med, når man flygter, for man bevæger sig jo, men alligevel er man ikke rigtigt med."

Asylansøger i Danmark

Vores samtale følger i sporene af hans flugt mod Danmark og springer snart til hans ophold i Sandholmlejren. Asylcentret udgjorde en anden slags mur for Malik. I begyndelsen mødte han asylcenteret og dets beboere med undren. Han kunne ikke forstå, hvorfor de andre asylansøgere strejkede over så ubetydelig en detalje som kvaliteten af mad, fordi livet i Danmark virkede nærmest paradisisk i sammenligning med hans lange ensomme flugt.

Men den lange passive venten på asylcenteret var præget af ensomhed og han begyndte at forstå de andres følelse af magtesløshed. Personligt lagde han afstand til magtesløsheden – "mine egne tanker hjalp mig på vej" – selvom han, som mange andre, havde forladt sine nærmeste. Hans kone befandt sig endnu i flygtningelejren i Pakistan. I den første tid på asylcentret kunne Malik stadig skrive og det hjalp på følelsen af magtesløshed. Han følte sig ikke som en fremmed, men derimod som en ukendt, omgivet af hans manglende muligheder for at udtrykke sig som den, han følte, han var. Han husker sin poesi fra asylcenteret som sørgelig og præget af håbløshed – som i digtet “latter og gråd,” skrevet på Sandholm asylcenter, hvor han optræder i skikkelse af en grøn grædende papegøje: “når ingen forstår dit sprog / er du / som den grønne, grædende papegøje / hos den fede slagter derovre / jo højere den græder / des federe dens ejer / til tøjet stram-

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mer ham om kroppen / den ene græder / den anden tror han hører latter” Malik mindes stilheden, der omgav ham: "Man lukkede munden, for der var ikke mange, man forstod. Som menneske har man følelser, man vil takke folk, være vred på folk, men man kunne intet sige." Som asylansøger stødte han på en anden mur, stilheden og den manglende forståelse. Malik giver mig en nøglesætning, som bringer mig en smule nærmere hans følelser: "Hvis man ikke kan udtrykke sig, er man ikke den person, man føler man er, for det at udtrykke sig er jo en beskrivelse af en selv." Det var ikke kun livet i hans landsby, som Malik var flygtet fra, for heller ikke poesien havde fulgt med over grænserne. "I begyndelsen var det svært at skrive i Danmark, fordi mine tanker stadig var i bjergene,” siger han. ”Menneskers tanker følger sjældent med, men bliver en tid det sted, hvor man flygtede fra, og selv følte jeg adskillelse med min familie og livet i Afghanistan."

Livets kompromis

Lige siden han studerede litteratur og sprog ved universitetet i Kabul, har det at udtrykke sig poetisk været ensbetydende med det at være et helt menneske for Malik. "Når man skriver, snakker man med sig selv og bliver mere den, man er,” siger han. Men i Danmark var det pludseligt sproget, der blev hans hindring og udfordring. Efter 15 måneder på et par danske asylcentre blev han endelig givet asyl.

Hvad har det betydet for dig at få asyl?

“Jeg synes, at alt i livet har ulemper og fordele, men naturligvis følte jeg en sikkerhed, da jeg blev givet asyl.”

Livet er nu engang et kompromis, som det kommer til udtryk i hans poesi.

For Malik var livet som borger en anden begyndelse og han begyndte intensivt at lære sig det danske sprog.

Asyl blev ensbetydende med muligheden for at begynde en anden tilværelse, hvor han kunne formulere sit liv og sig selv igen, i nyopdagede vendinger. Nu er han en udgivet digter, der taler om livet med sine egne ord og på sine egne præmisser.

Malik betegner sine nyere digte som håbefulde. Det har været forløsende for ham, at kunne skrive igen og udgive en digtsamling: "Nu har jeg kunnet sige, hvad jeg ville,” forklarer han. Han oplever ikke længere, at den store mur forhindrer ham i at udtrykke sig, som den han er, men er bevidst om, at mange andre stadig er i den situation: "Sådan er det endnu for tusinder af andre i Afghanistan, og de mennesker tænker jeg på,” siger han.

Men vi skal ikke være bekymrede for Malik, for som han selv skriver, så har han endnu et par smukke planter, nogle gamle billeder, bunker af breve fra familie og venner og sange i sin fantasi, hvert af dem med en betydning på størrelse med Khyber-passet. Han ved, at: ”livet er et kompromis / jeg lever med / og skal leve med / det kalder jeg livet.” ”for første gang i fire dage / var himlen klart blå / var skyerne helt væk / når man så på / lucernemarkens genfrosne sne / skar det i øjnene / fra nabolaget steg tågerne / op som levende åndedrag / jeg har fundet bær men ikke nok / hans lomme bugner af melbær / vi er faldet i snak om duer / sidder og læner opad vægen / mig og Wakil / begge to (Abdul Malik Beakasyar: fra “begge to”)

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Oversættelse på side 104

Non-Id Palestinian Youth Trapped In Lebanon Because of the lack of proper documentation, non-ID Palestinian living in Lebanon are forced to lead a life without the most basic human rights. Are they a case of social invisibility or are they achieving recognition?

Essam has lived as an unrecognised person for almost 30 years – his daughter Dalia has done the same throughout her entire life.

Ein-el-Helweh Camp, Saida, Lebanon / Photo: Lorena Torres

by Lorena Torres Dalia was born in Lebanon, has inherited her father’s Palestinian nationality and therefore has no identity card. She and her family, along with about 5,000 other Palestinians in Lebanon, have no right to work, no access to a proper education or health care, and no freedom of movement.

group, the Danish Refugee Council defines the Non-ID as ”refugees who are not registered with any authority or agency in Lebanon and as a result do not hold any valid documentation that grants them legal status in Lebanon.” The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) defines Palestinian Refugees as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948, who lost both their home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 ArabIsraeli conflict.”

The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) says that Lebanon is hosting around 400,000 Palestinian refugees, and it has been estimated that around 5,000 are Non-ID Palestinians, or undocumented refugees. or anything related The Non-ID issue significantly influwith a union, they ences the lives of young adults, who have to be part of make up 48 % of the Non-IDs in Leba-non - almost half of the popularespective union first tion.

Invisible in their society

In an attempt to provide a clear definition of the status of this particular

and this is found almost impossible.

UNRWA‘s services are available to anyone who lives in its area of operations, meets this definition and is registered with the agency. Their definition of refugees also covers the descendants of people who became refugees in 1948. The majority of the Non-IDs came to Lebanon in the 1970s and onwards in connection with events such as Black September in Jordan or the war in Lebanon. They were mainly supported by

No. 4 2010

the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).

The Palestinians who came to Lebanon during this time fled for different reasons: some of them wanted to fight for the Palestinian cause and some were trapped in Lebanon and were refused re-entry to their previous countries of residence because they were associated with the Palestinian revolution. Some were refugees who fled their first country of asylum and others were students and workers who were unable to return home because of international border changes. The lack of documentation and legal status became a problem for the Non-IDs when the PLO left Lebanon in 1982.

Worse than a refugee’s life

The Non-IDs live under even worse conditions than those the registered refugees are facing already, and this influences the social, economical and legal aspects of their lives. The non-identified refugees’ situation in Lebanon was unknown until 2001, but this changed when a young unregistered refugee was killed while trying to escape the authorities at a checkpoint. He feared

Extremely poor conditions exist in the camp. The only places for children to play are in small, often dark alleys.

Ein-el-Helweh Camp / Photo: Dalia Al-Halabi

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being caught and arrested because he had no ID and could therefore not be identified.

In 2008 Non-ID Palestinians in Lebanon were granted ‘Special ID’ cards by the Lebanese Government, which grants them a one year residency and can be renewed at no cost. But these ID cards have not been given to all of the Non-IDs because they are afraid to show up and confront the authorities for fear of being considered illegal.

This becomes a never-ending cycle and has forced many of them to lead a life in limbo for decades. This is the only kind of life most of the youths have ever known.

Young people want dignity

Young people were given the opportunity to express their frustrations at dialogue sessions organised by the association for Palestinian Refugees Raje and the Danish Refugee Council. The sessions took place in the Einel-Helweh camp in southern Lebanon in March earlier this year, and the aim was to portray the reality of Palestinians’ life in Lebanon. The young people criticised politicians and others for using naturalisation as a pre-

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text for not guaranteeing their most basic human rights.

Ali Kayed, one of the participants at a youth centre in Beirut, said: “I don't want to be naturalised. I just want a dignified life. If the Lebanese government continue oppressing us and keep making our lives hell, all the young people will travel to Europe illegally. This is what’s happening.”

Life under Lebanese government

In August 2010 the Lebanese parliament passed a new law that gives Palestinians the right to work. Many Palestinians are very sceptical of this law because they believe there are many obstacles ahead and that the law will result in corruption. The new law permits Palestinians to work, but they are still not but I say it in loud voice NO! allowed to work in professions The young people also comsuch as medicine or engineeplained that the UNRWA, the ring. Nor are they allowed to PLO and other civil society orwork in anything related to a union, they have to be part ganisations were providing fewer scholarships than beof respective union first and this is almost impossible. fore. The NGOs’ and their own families’ lack of money has been an obstacle to allowing refugees to have an ed“I think the Palestinians should have the right to take ucation. They young people also said that many projects on any kind of work in Lebanon without having a work are short-term and have limited budgets. permit or being restricted in any other way, but the Education and work needed Lebanese Parliament is scared that we might forget our The results of these dialogues also indicated that many country and get too comfortable, but I loudly declare, of the young people, who make up the majority of the ”NO!”. What can educated Palestinians do with their dePalestinian population in Lebanon, are suffering from grees? Use them as toilet paper or change their career depression and despair and have no future to which they and sell vegetables at the market? I hope that, for once, can look forward. Manal Kortam, Youth Programme Cothe whole world will look at us and helps us get out of ordinator for Norwegian People’s Aid, says the non-ID Lebanon. I don’t think our life under Lebanese governyouths’ situation “…is a disaster. They’ve no future. ment will ever work out” said Ali. They’re discriminated against even more than other Palestinians in Lebanon.”

While the Lebanese Government hope for more international support, the UNRWA, together with the PalestiWhen I asked her what she thinks will happen with the nian authorities and the refugee community, are aimNon-ID issue in the near future - especially now that ing for improvement concerning the non-ID issue and these dialogues are taking place and the Lebanese aufor Palestinians’ conditions in general. It is also clear thorities have recognised the existence of this issue to all parties that the ultimate goal is for the Palestinshe said: “I’m optimistic in the sense that I believe their ians to be allowed back to their homeland. By making problem will be solved. By all standards you can’t have this complex issue visible and having it recognised, and an unrecognised group of people forever... their lives through dialogue meetings and research that have unmust be made possible at some point.” She believes it derlined their major needs, better relations have been is necessary for them to obtain access to education and achieved among the involved parties and some light has that they must be given the right to work if the condibeen shined on this issue. The youth in Ein-el-Helweh tions under which they live are to improve. have used their voices against injustice, but it is now up to the relevant authorities to allow them to lead dignified lives.

Electricity and water cuts occur every day.

Ein-el-Helweh Camp Photo: Lorena Torres

Oversættelse på side 105

No. 4 2010

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From Nablus to Nowhere Memories of a Palestinian family's escape, and thoughts about the hopelessness of life as paperless Palestinian in Lebanon. Essam underlines the futility of the situation of Palestinian refugees' based on personal experience.

Jafar Halabi, Tubas

by Essam The memories that came back to mind like fast bar film, were the moments when we left our village in Palestine in 1967. That serene village is Tubas town, near Nablus city, that beautiful mountainous area. When we left the village, we were under the fire of the Israeli soldiers. The soldiers were firing over the heads of women and children who were walking in droves on their feet. Some of them used donkeys to carry the elderly or little things like bedding and clothes. That day I was 3 years old. My mom held me some of the time, other times my grandmother held me, and some other times, my aunts held me. They came with us on the journey of escaping what was going on at that time. I didn’t understand what was going on around me. After the journey of escaping from the Israeli occupation and its heavily armed soldiers, we arrived in the first village in Jordan, the Valley of Al Yabsa. We then drove with, taxi from the Valley of Al Yabsa to the city of Amman, where my father was waiting for us, he was employed in the Jordanian army at that time, when the West Bank was under the administrative region of Jordan. After three years, my father left Jordan to go to Syria after the events of black September in 1970 and joined the Palestinian revolution with the Fatah movement led by Yasser Arafat (Abu Ammar).

In 1976, we followed my father into Lebanon, where he worked with the Fatah movement. At this point, we had travelled in several areas in Lebanon: the Bekaa region, Beirut, Saida, and Tyre. In 1982, we fled from Monia Saida to the Bekaa region near the Syrian border.

In 1985, my mother and my siblings went to Syria and then to Jordan, where my mother was able to enter, as she at that time was carrying a Jordanian passport, and

Jafar Halabi, Tubas

she lives in Jordan to this day. Meanwhile, me and my youngest brother, Mine, stayed in Lebanon.

We moved from the Bekaa to Saida in 1986 and have stayed there to this day. I met a Palestinian girl from the Ein-el-Helweh, whom I married. We have two daughters and a son. Today, I live without any identification papers, which impeded the march of my life, and now, I suffer from economic, social, and legal problems. Also, I cannot complete my university studies because I lack identification papers.

After what happened, they started to call me and call the five thousand like me “those without identification papers”. This group of Palestinians lack the enjoyment of simple human life, they cannot get an education or get married or move outside their residence area in the Palestinian camps. We see the solution to our problem: Either send us back to our country, Palestine, or at this moment, resettle us in a European country, because our life in Lebanon is impossible and it is causing us suffering and big problems, and that will affect the future of our children.

This group of Palestinians lack the enjoyment of simple human life, they cannot get an education or get married or move outside their residence area in the Palestinian camps.

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Translation page 105

Hvem er ikke forelsket i Carmen?

Intet europæisk folkeslag er omgæret af samme dobbelthed som romaerne: De bliver hyldet på de bedste europæiske teaterscener og samtidig diskrimineret på gadeplan. De er elsket og hadet – og er efter næsten 1000 år i Europa endnu ikke fuldt integreret. Her gives et indblik i romaernes lange historie. af Abigail Josephsen

blev forfulgt og sat i tugthuse eller tvangsbosat i særlige fattigkvarterer, skriver www.romanet.dk.

I det østlige Europa blev romaerne i 1200-tallet indfanget og holdt som slaver, og dette varede de næste 500 år. De blev først frigivet i 1864, senest i Rumænien og Rusland.

Frigivelsen betød dog ikke, at de nu blev betragtet som ligeværdige borgere: De var nederst i hierarkiet og blev tvunget ud i en tilværelse under kummerlige forhold, i fattigdom, uden uddannelse og uden rettigheder; en situation, som mange af dem stadig den dag i dag er fanget i.

romabørn bliver Fra den 8. november 2009 til 12. juni 2010 strømmede tusindvis af danraceadskilt fra de skere til Operaen i København for etnisk ungarske at se Carmen: fortællingen om den børn og sat i rene andalusiske, varmblodige femme fatale, sigøjneren Carmen, der skatter romaskoler, særlige sin frihed så højt, at hun er villig til romaklasser eller at gå i døden for den. Bizets opera fra 1875 river os ud af hverdagen og på skoler for ind i Carmens verden, hvor der ikke udviklingshæmmede findes kompromis for idealer som frihed og lidenskab. Vi fortrylles af børn hende, præcis som vi holdt af Esmeralda i Klokkeren fra Notre Dame og den stærke, frihedselskende Johnny Depp fra filmen Chocolat. Dette for blot at nævne et Raceadskillelse i Ungarn par nyere eksempler fra vores kulturskat, der har været Erzsébet Mohacsi, der er leder af stiftelsen Chance for med til at skabe myterne om sigøjnerne - eller romaer, Children Foundation i Ungarns hovedstad Budapest, som de selv foretrækker at kalde sig. fortæller, at romabørn bliver raceadskilt fra de etnisk

Bagsiden af myterne ungarske børn og sat i rene romaskoler, særlige romaMyterne om romaerne har ikke kun har en positiv side. klasser eller på skoler for udviklingshæmmede børn. Det Når Carmen er et godt eksempel på sigøjner-myterne, har resulteret i, at børnene stort set intet lærer, hvorså er det nemlig, fordi hun både snyder, bedrager, for kun 10 procent af alle romabørn får en ungdomsuddræber og selv bliver dræbt til sidst. Der er nemlig dannelse, mens 80 procent af de etnisk ungarske børn ikke plads til hendes slags i samfundet. Ifølge Carsten går videre i uddannelsessystemet efter folkeskolen.

Fenger-Grøndahl og Malene Fenger-Grøndahl, der har Uden uddannelse er romaerne så godt som udelukket skrevet bogen Sigøjner - 1.000 år på kanten af Europa, har fra at få andet end dårligt lønnet arbejde, og det holder romaerne i århundreder været både et fjendebillede og dem fast i deres outsider-position. et frihedssymbol i europæisk kultur. De er enten ble I Vesteuropa er romaerne på ingen måde blevet givet vet fremstillet som afvigere eller som en direkte trussel en mildere behandling. Blandt andet har man i Svermod den herskende samfundsorden - både i kunsten og ige tvangssteriliseret romakvinder helt op til 1976, og den akademiske verden. Romaerne er aldrig helt blevet under Anden Verdenskrig dræbte nazisterne omkring integreret eller accepteret i Europa. en million romaer i koncentrationslejrene med det er klærede formål at udrydde dem alle.

Forfulgt og diskrimineret gennem historien

Romaerne kom oprindeligt fra det nordlige Indien, og Kun talentfulde romaer må blive i Danmark De første romaer krydsede sandsynligvis Danmarks deres sprog - romani - rummer tydelige træk fra det grænse i det 16. århundrede og meget hurtigt - i 1533 oldindiske sprog sanskrit. Roma (oprindeligt: dōmba- befalede Christian III, at alle romaer skulle udvises. ) betyder “en mand fra lavkasten, der lever af dans og I 1875 blev der indført en fremmedlov, der forbød romusik” på sanskrit (A comparative dictionary of the Inmaer og andre rejsende at opholde sig inden for rigets do-Aryan languages). grænser. Nogle af de særligt talentfulde romaer - heri Romaerne forlod sandsynligvis Indien omkring år blandt den kendte Benneweis-familie – blev dog udsty1000 e.kr. for at blive lejesoldater for det Byzantinske ret med et særligt pas, der gav dem lov til at rejse rundt rige. Herfra rejste de videre op igennem Europa, hvor i landet og optræde, oplyser Immigrantmuseet. Fremde ernærede sig som daglejere, handelsmænd, musikere medloven gjaldt helt frem til 1953, og det betød, at poliog gøglere, men der blev ikke taget godt imod dem. I tiet under Anden Verdenskrig kunne afvise romaer, der 1200-tallet blev de dømt fredløse i det vestlige Europa, var forfulgt af nazisterne, ved den dansk-tyske grænse. hvilket betød, at enhver var fri til at slå dem ihjel og Efter Anden Verdenskrig ændrede situationen sig behandle dem efter forgodtbefindende. Romaerne var en smule. Men modviljen mod dem eksisterer stadig, fredløse i Vesteuropa indtil 1736, hvor de dog stadig

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hvilket blandt andet kom til udtryk ved årets Roskilde Festival, hvor festivaldeltageren Asger Hougaard i en kronik i Politiken beskrev de ydmygelser, romaerne her blev udsat for.

Blandt andet får en romakvinde smidt affald i hovedet af nogle unge danskere, da hun samler flasker. Samme måned blev en gruppe romaer - ifølge formand for Europabevægelsen Erik Boel - udvist ”på baggrund af tilhørsforhold til en etnisk gruppe, som man forbinder med kriminalitet” uden at være blevet dømt efter det helt grundlæggende juridiske princip, at man er uskyldig til det modsatte er bevist.

Har romaerne et valg i EU?

Noget er gået galt, eftersom roma-folket, der har levet i Europa i næsten 1000 år, stadig ikke er blevet integreret og accepteret i det europæiske samfund. Om romaernes tendens til at leve i parallelsamfund har været en konsekvens af, at de i århundreder har været undertrykt og forfulgt, eller om de rent faktisk ikke ønsker at integrere sig, er der meget delte meninger om. Men det er måske ikke det centrale spørgsmål men snarere, om romaerne har valget! Og videre: Hvem der i så fald skal sikre dem de basale rettigheder og det sociale og økonomiske fundament til at træffe det valg.

For romaerne er et folk uden en stat, og selvom de er udstyret med pas fra de lande, de bor i, så føler ingen europæiske lande et ansvar for at yde den indsats, der skal til. Den centrale aktør i dette er derfor blevet EU. Romaernes situation kom på dagsordenen i EU ved årtusindskiftet i forbindelse med inddragelsen af en række tidligere østeuropæiske lande, og siden er der udkommet en lang række rapporter og unBlandt andet får en dersøgelser fra Europa-Kommissionen om romaernes situation i EU. Netværromakvinde smidt ket EURoma, som er sammensat af affald i hovedet af repræsentanter fra 12 medlemslande, nogle unge danskere, arbejder på at fremme brugen af EU's strukturfonde til at støtte romada hun samler ernes sociale inklusion gennem udflasker. dannelse og job. Derudover har EU i 2010 lanceret “European Year 2010 against poverty and social exclusion”, som blandt andet sætter fokus på situationen for romaerne.

EU's indsats kan forhåbentlig være med til at ændre på romaernes vilkår og sikre bedre integration – herunder fremme mulighederne for at de kan få uddannelse, jobs og bedre boligforhold. Dette vil der ifølge en rapport fra Verdensbanken udgivet i efteråret 2010 være store økonomiske gevinster ved at gøre. Men for at EU's indsats kan give resultater, er det vigtigt, at almindelige europæiske borgere arbejder med at nedbryde de myter og fordomme, som romaerne møder hver eneste dag. Så kan de måske omsider – efter 1000 år – få lov at udfolde deres potentiale som ligeværdige borgere og mennesker og ikke længere blive gemt og glemt bag smukke billeder af Carmen og få affald smidt i hovedet.

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Fotos taget af fotograf Freddy Hagen, da han og journalist Niels Fastrup mødte de romaer, som senere blev udvist med forbud mod at komme til Danmark i to år. Billederne af ledningsstumperne hvor kobberet er blevet revet ud, de knuste vandpiber samt billedet af det forladte lokale, stammer fra det nedlagte posthus, hvor nogle af de anholdte sov og holdt til. Gadebillederne om natten stammer fra Rådhuspladsen og det indre København.

The fotos by Freddy Hagen were taken when he and Niels Fastrup met the Romas who were later expelled from Denmark. They are not allowed to reenter Denmark for two years. The pictures of the pieces of cable with the copper torn out and the broken hookahs, as well as the empty room, are taken in the abandoned postoffice where some of the people who were arrested people were staying. The streetscenes by night are taken at the cityhall square and in central Copenhagen.

Translation page 104

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Vi har en historie Danmark, Frankrig, Italien – en ting står klart – romaer har “åbenbart” ikke de samme rettigheder som EU-borgere, selvom de også er det. Det er ikke første gang at romaerne er blevet udsat for urimeligheder, uret og umenneskeligheder. Det er forkert, hvis ikke decideret farligt, at tale om romaerne uden at medtage deres historie, først og fremmest den del af historien, der berører 2. verdenskrig. “[...] Tydeligvis, nazisterne ville eliminere romaerne som en identificerbar gruppe af personer, overbringere af en kultur. Med massemord, ydmygelse og den værst tænkbare brutalitet og sadisme kunne denne politik udføres i praksis. Dette betød total elimination ved massemord, sterilisation eller deportation indenfor Reich'et – udenfor Reich'et blev vandrende romaer slået ihjel, hvorimod fastboende romaer stort set blev efterladt alene.”

Yehuda Bauer af Jens Pfeifer I Auschwitz døde 1.3 millioner mennesker. En million var jøder, og alene i året 1943 blev 21.000 romaer slået ihjel.

Romaerne kommer oprindeligt fra Indien og i det 14. og 15. århundrede ankom de første romaer til Europa. Velkomsten var lidt forskelligt: nogle lande bød dem velkommen, andre tolererede dem i kort tid, men i de fleste lande var de gentagne gange underlagt bortvisninger. Det var ikke unormalt, at lokalbefolkningen havde ret til at slå dem ihjel. Allerede i 1905 førte de bayerske myndigheder et register, hvor de havde samlet navnene på 3.000 romaer og fra 1911 blev der også registreret romaernes fingeraftryk. Det tyske kriminaludvalg udpegede i 1929 kontoret i München som centralkontoret til bekæmpelsen af romaer. Kontoret blev i 1938 flyttet til Berlin og skiftede navn til Reichcentret for bekæmpelsen af romaplagen. Under administration af de tyske kriminalpoliti havde kontoret akter af 16.743 ”race”romaer, 4.504 af racemæssigt tvivlsomme tilfælde og 29.604 af nomader uden roma baggrund.

Et stort antal af romaer blev steriliseret i 30erne udelukkende fordi de ansås for at være mindreværdige.

I Østrig deporteredes 4.000 romaer til et lager i byen Lackenback. i november 1941 blev 5.007 østrigske romaer videresendt til ghettoen Lodz.

Fra 1943 blev alle romaer deporteret til Auschwitz.

Ca. 22.700 ikke-Reichs-romaer blev også bragt til Auschwitz. Der fandtes ingen plan for at myrde romaerne med det samme, men i marts 1943 gassede man 1.700

romaer, fordi de mistænkedes for at have tyfus. Dette gentog sig igen i maj samme år hvor 1.000 romaer blev slået ihjel.

I november 1943 blev flere hundrede romaer deporteret fra Auschwitz til koncentrationslejren Natzweiler, i april 1944 blev 1.375 overflyttet til Buchenwald og Ravensbrück, i maj 1944 yderligere 266 til Flossenburg og Ravensbrück. I august 1944 overflyttede man yderlige 1.408 til Buchenwald og de resterende 2.897 indsatte af Zigeunerlager blev gasset ihjel.

De var ikke kun tyskerne, der havde konkrete planer om at slå romaer ihjel.

I Rumænien blev 25.000 romaer deporteret og de fleste af dem døde af enten tyfus eller sult. I Italien, Ungarn og Bulgarien blev romaerne ikke deporteret, mens de makedonske romaer blev sendt til arbejdslejre i Bulgarien.

Kort sagt, fandtes der mange forskellige grunde til at være ude efter romaerne. Forskelligt fra stat til stat forfulgtes romaer enten fordi de var ”Mischlinge” eller ren roma, nomader eller fastboende, kristne eller muslimer. I sidste ende døde mænd, kvinder og børn pga. sult og/eller sygdomme, blev skudt eller gasset ihjel udelukkende fordi de var romaer.

Kilder: The Holocaust Encyclopedia. (2001) Red. Walter Laqueur. Yale University Press.

Denmark and the Holocaust. (2003) Mette Bastholm Jensen og Steven L. B. Jensen. Institute for International Studies. Department for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

Bauer Yehuda. (2001) Rethinking the Holocaust. Yale University Press.

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foto: Brian Berg

Sulukule

November 2008. Et af de ældste romakvarterer i Europa, Sulukule kvarteret i Istanbul er under nedrivning og dets indbyggere er tvunget til at flytte udenfor byen i nye bebyggelser, hvor de ikke længere vil have mulighed for at arbejde med deres traditionelle beskæftigelse. Bag denne rydning finder man et forsøg på at gentrificere Istanbuls centrum.

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Sulukule

November 2008. One of the oldest Roma settlements in Europe, the Sulukule neighborhood in Istanbul is being destroyed and its inhabitants are forced to move outside of the city, in a new settlement where they will no longer be able to work in their traditional occupation. Behind this eviction, one finds an attempt at gentrification of the centre of Istanbul.

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Oversættelse på side 106

[Erick Huerta is a journalist and activist based in Los Angeles. Being without papers himself, he reports about the premises and conditions undocumented citizens living in the US face.

You can read his work on laeastside.com under the pseudonym El Random Hero.]

Undocumented Americans

by Erick Huerta

In America, being an undocumented college student means that you are a super hero. Simultaneously, you are blamed and used as a scapegoat for everything wrong in the country, yet as the next generation of individuals that are entering the U.S. work force; we are also the answer to the country's problems.

The U.S. was founded and built by immigrants, undocumented and unafraid. thus it comes as no surprise that one of the bigPublic Education gest American cultural icons is in fact an illegal Here in Los Angeles, children are required to atalien himself, Superman. Sent to Earth by his tend school regardless of immigration status. I parents as his home world was destroyed, raised graduated from the Los Angeles Unified School by an American couple to be a model American District, which has the highest dropout rate himself, taking on a fake identity as Clark Kent among minorities in the entire state of California. to function within society, fighting for truth, jusI graduated from an over crowded high school that tice and the American way. My story mirrors that was more concerned with getting students out, of Superman’s. I was brought to the U.S. at seven than preparing them for college. My entire life, I years old from Mexico D.F. because of the ecowas never encouraged by teachers or my parents nomic plight there. My familie’s chances for a betto excel in school ter quality of life other than for just and success were passing on to the better up north “Like a pebble thrown in a lake, the next grade. Bein the U.S. Thus, ripples of frustration have turned into cause I knew I was I assimilated tidal waves of personal self-destruction.” undocumented, and excelled in very early on in my new adopmy life I made a tive home makdecision. At the age of se-ven, as I was going to ing the language, customs and history my own. school, learning fractions, verbs and having fun However, I and hundreds of thousands of with friends, I decided not to care about my eduother undocumented college students, who were cation. I realized early on in my life that the world also brought here at an early age from their home I wanted to be a part of didn’t want me. I didn’t country, have no means of becoming legal resihave the proper documentation, so instead of exdents in the country we grew up in. For the last 19 celling in my studies and being placed in acceleryears, I have lived in the phantom society that exated classes, I stayed with the general population. ists in the U.S.A society that lives in constant fear Only doing enough work to pass by as another of militaristic immigration laws, being deported, average student. In those 11 years, I developed tolerating anti-immigrant and Latino sentiment. depression problems due to my immigrant status.

Through these experiences, I have found others I knew that being open about it was not socially like me who have lived the same kind of life I have, acceptable, both because of fear of being deported growing up in fear of not having a legal status, or facing alienation from fellow students. Keepnever telling anyone and keeping it secret from ing that secret and lying to friends caused longthe world. We are all college educated, we fight for term emotional and psychological problems. the rights of immigrants, Latinos and under repreThus, by the time I was ready to graduate from sented minorities like ourselves. We have protesthigh school, the reality of the real world was beed in the streets, been arrested for civil disobediginning to close in. My life plan was to work a ence and testified in congress for our dreams, to dead end job for the rest of my life because I had be legal residents in our adoptive country. We are

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no other choice. I had to become part of the underground economy and phantom society that exist in the U.S. Coincidently, that’s the same year Assembly Bill 540 passed in Congress and the Development, Relief, Education of Alien Minors Act was first introduced in Congress.

Assembly Bill 540 and The DREAM Act

Under AB 540, any California resident who graduated from a California high school could attend public colleges and universities while paying instate tuition, rather than out-of-state rates. As it stands at my current college, I pay an average of $80 for one class. If not for this law, I would be paying $560 for the very same class. Ironically, this law was not passed with the direct intention to aid undocumented individuals, but to help le-

gal residents and citizens who loose their state residency and want to pursue graduate or doctorate degrees, without having to pay out of state fees. Additionally, the DREAM Act is a law that would give undocumented individuals a path to legal residency in the US via a college education or military service. Under the DREAM Act: • a person would have to have been in the country before the age of 16 • been in the country five years before the law was enacted

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• have good moral character and no criminal record • have a high school diploma If these requirements were satisfied, they would be placed in a six-year, temporary residency probation period in which they must fulfill one of two requirements; enroll in a college/university for more than two years attaining a degree and actively working on attaining it. Or serving in the military for no less than two years. Having fulfilled either one of these requirements, individuals will be eligible for permanent legal residency.

Even though AB 540 was passed in 2002 and the DREAM Act was introduced for the first time, I didn’t find out about them until I enrolled in college and filled out the paper work. For three years after graduating high school, I worked as a street vendor selling fruit, hot dogs and shaved ice in a cart. While at times it seems that I wasted three years of my life working a dead end job, reading comic books all day, if it wasn’t for the time I spent doing that, I wouldn’t have the motivation

I have now to further my education in a serious manner. Upon enrolling in school, little by little I began to see that I wasn’t the only undocumented college student. I wasn’t the only underground undergrad.

Underground Undergrads: The forming of the Undocumented Student Movement

Through the internet, articles in newspapers and word of mouth I discovered the undocumented student movement that began in 2002 with the passage of AB 540. I found and befriended other undocumented students; some of who were attending some of the most prestigious, competitive and expensive schools not only in California, but in the entire country, paving the roads for thousands of other undocumented students. They began forming clubs at their schools strictly dedicated to helping and supporting undocumented students in school. Simultaneously, the current leaders of this movement here in California, all started out the same, leading to the creation of a state wide undocumented student network, at the time orga-nized and lead by a local immi-

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grant’s rights non-profit organization, CHIRLA, umented student movement has gotten to pass the DREAM Act. The loss came as a hefty blow to Coalition for Humane Immigrants Rights of Los Angeles. One of the first groups I learned about all the students and supporters that worked night and one of the most prolific in California is IDEAS and day to get as far as we did. They persevered at UCLA, Improving Dreams, Equality, Access and through countless sleepless nights and arduous Success. Being students at a school well known days making phone calls, sending out emails and and esteemed in the country, brought attention mobilizing their respective states and cities to to the work they did, their lives as undocumented take action. The months and weeks leading up individuals and raising awareness about the help to that vote were spent making legislative visits available to undocumented students who want to to politicians, to support and vote in favor of the continue on in their education.

DREAM Act. It was also the fist time the entire All these groups, clubs and organizations have movement mobilized nationally. Even a personal done countless workshops to help incoming stutestimonial from then UCLA student Tam Tran, dents, raise awarewho is of Vietnamness and to make ese decent, but sure that as many born as a refugee “We have protested in the streets, people as possible in Germany, having know about AB 540 no native country been arrested for civil disobedience and the DREAM to call home. She and testified in congress for our Act. Over the years, was stateless. She the numbers of stushared her story in dreams, to be legal residents in dents and groups/ front of Congress our adoptive country. We are clubs at different moments before schools here in Calithe vote occurred undocumented and unafraid.” fornia increased. to no avail. FollowCurrently, we are ing her testimonial, active undocupoliticians went afmented groups and organizations in 35 of the 50 ter her family, arresting them and trying unsucstates. We have a national network that continucessfully to deport them. ously works on the passage of the DREAM Act, At the same time, 2007 marked another milestopping the deportation of undocumented stustone in the movement, as the majority of indidents in deportation proceedings and advocating viduals that helped organize the movement were for our individual rights under the country's congraduating from school. Until 2007, the majorstitution. ity of DREAM Act supporters, advocates and organizers that comprised the network were college Legal Fear students in clubs/groups. The combination of failCurrently, the majority, if not all, the anti-immiing to pass the DREAM Act and facing the realigrant sentiment in the US is directed at Latinos. ties of being undocumented college graduates, The majority being from Mexico, because it’s proxunable to use their degree, unable to work legally imity to the US border, but it also includes anyone or have access to everyday items such as a drivfrom South America, Central America and other er’s license, the ability to travel safely and being nearby countries with dark skinned people. This able to work took it’s toll. Many of the graduates in turn makes the face of immigration brown and weren’t able to organize in the DREAM Act moveof Latino decent. However, as of 2009, the mament anymore because it was school club/group jority of undocumented college students enrolled exclusive. If you didn’t belong to a group/club at a in universities/colleges are of Asian/Pacific Asian school or worked at an organization, there wasn’t decent. While Latinos have been more vocal and a space for you. Individuals also wanted to focus out spoken about the issues, Asian students, like their time and energy on continuing their educaLatinos, have to deal with culture customs that tion, going into Masters and Doctorate programs, prohibit them from being so out-spoken. Like all navigating and creating new paths for undocuother undocumented immigrants, they stay silent mented students to follow once again. Three years and hide their legal status for fear of investigation later and those same students are now teachers by authorities, social shame and other personal and working professionals with Masters Degrees. issues. However, as the debate and legal battles The youth that led and started this movement are over undocumented immigrants continue to esnow young adults, continuing on with their lives calate, more and more undocumented students as undocumented or not. are coming of age and graduating high school.

2010 Undocumented & Unafraid They are following the footsteps of those before 2010 will forever go down in the walls of history them and joining the groups/clubs that will help as the year that undocumented students in the them navigate the school system and help them U.S. put their lives on the line not only for this succeed. movement, but for what we believe in. We have 2007 DREAM Act Fails to Pass lived in the shadows for more than 20 years. The In October of 2007, the DREAM Act failed to pass older we get, the faster time passes us by. We see short of eight votes. It was the clo-sest the undocour friends moving on in their lives, working in

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their chosen profession, traveling and settling The majority of these groups are comprised of undown to raise families. Like a pebble thrown in a documented college graduates and current stulake, the ripples of frustration have turned into dents who work on the DREAM Act nationally. tidal waves of personal self-destruction.

Our goal was to make the DREAM Act a reality in 2010 saw the movement at its best. We were 2010. We helped elect the first African American coordinated in every state, from the ground up. president, a president who supports and believes Everyday, more and more students came out from in the DREAM Act. We had hundreds of thouthe shadows after seeing the national media covesands of individuals ready to mobilize at the drop rage our actions garnered. We have been talked of a dime. Truly, we had grown immensely since about and discussed in every major news outlet 2007 and it was evident. The year began with a this country has, unafraid to use our real names, national meeting of all the DREAM Act groups in unafraid to hide from America. By doing this, the country. We strategized and planned the year, we put faces berevitalizing our hind the issue of entire campaign, undocumented, from our mes“Four leaders from the DREAM college educated saging to helping movement stood their ground at the individuals. No all the undoculonger were we a mented individugates of hell and didn’t blink.” mass of anonyals still hiding in mous people. We the shadows. were young men On Januand women from all walks of life and from all over ary 1, four undocumented students set out on a the world. We manipulated social media to our ad1,500 mile journey to walk from Miami, Florida vantage when organizing for events. Every skill to Washington D.C. to raise awareness about the and trade we have learned and mastered in our DREAM Act, the plight of undo-cumented indilives was used in the movement, from creating viduals, fighting anti-Latino and immigrant senartwork to creating a national campaign to stop timent and to urge the president and politicians the deportation of DREAM Act eligible individuto support the DREAM Act. The journey ended als in a matter of days. on May 1 and it succeeded in garnering national In September of 2010, the movement was and local media attention everywhere they went. reaching a critical point once again. In the three They brought hope to communities they passed years that lapsed from the last defeat, things have through. Constantly talking about the DREAM changed for the better. The movement is more orAct to people that have never heard of it, like ganized than before. The number of groups and a breath of fresh air in a smog-ridden city. In clubs has extended to include not only schools, March, the national movement enacted the “Unbut communities and national organizations that documented and Unafraid” campaign. Started by are supportive of the undocumented movement. a group in Chicago, Illinois, we took control of our

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social identities and made them our own. From the streets of Los Angeles to New York, the movement held coordinated rallies in multiple cities with one purpose, to tell the world that we are undocumented and we are unafraid. During the rallies, we walked up to strangers passing by and told them our stories. We told them we are undocumented, about our plights and the urgency for the passage of the DREAM Act. We changed a lot of minds that day, but most importantly, we took control of ours lives once again.

Civil Disobedience

However, the current path of the movement recently resulted in events that took place in May. For some time, four leaders in the movement started discussing and planning in secrecy, civil disobedience. Following in the steps prior civil rights movements of African Americans, lead by Martin Luther King Jr. and those of farm workers lead by Cesar Chavez. The months leading up to the action were planned according to the second.

The action consisted of a sit in, in the Arizona office of John McCain, urging for his support. Both the action and the location were strategically chosen because Arizona has the most prolific antiimmigrant laws in the entire U.S. Four leaders from the DREAM movement stood their ground at the gates of hell and didn’t blink. They were arrested and released in a matter of hours from an immigrant detention center, contradicting almost every law and procedure in the state. Through their actions, they single handedly ignited a furious blaze of passion in every single undocumented individual in this country.

Following on the heels of and in solidarity with the Arizona action, citizen students in California organized another civil disobedience, participating in a sit in. They blocked off a major street intersection in front of the Federal Bureau of Investigations building, continuing to keep attention on the arrest and DREAM Act in national media. After that action, the next few months were

spent planning locally and nationally for a mass civil disobedience action in the countries capital, Washington D.C. On July 20, 2010 undocumented students participated in a civil disobedience sit in, urging Congress to pass the DREAM Act. Despite all of these actions, as of yet, no one has been deported or seen jail. This is because of the legal teams created by attorneys and students aspiring to be lawyers.

On October 1, eight individuals were faced with serious charges and taken to court. During this court hearing, the eight undocumented individuals decided to defend themselves, making history.

Never before in the U.S. have undocumented individuals risked deportation by committing civil disobedience and then defending themselves in a court of law. By the end of the day, the judge proceeding over the case commended all of the individuals and said that they are the essence of what it means to be a U.S. citizen, clearing them of all charges.

Future Questions

On September 21, the DREAM Act was included in an amendment to a bill that funds the U.S. military. The strategy was to get the DREAM Act passed, by including it in this bill, but it fell four votes short because of it taking place just before the midterm elections. Politicians who were up for re-election were afraid to defend a bill that supports the fair treatment of immigrants. While the bill didn’t pass, it isn’t the final nail in the coffin. It only means that the movement will have to regroup and try to pass it the hard way, as a stand-alone bill. That window of opportunity is November, which is only a two weeks away as I am writing this. Our movement will once again do everything in it’s power to make sure that we pass the DREAM Act for the 1.8 million undocumented individuals waiting for their dreams to become a reality.

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Oversættelse på side 108

Udokumenterede migranters adgang til det danske sundhedsvæsen er et kompliceret felt uden klare retningslinier.

Mennesker, der lever under jorden, lever med frygten for at blive meldt til myndighederne ved henvendelse til en læge, mens denne står i et juridisk og etisk dilemma.

Udokumenteret adgang til sundhedsvæsenet af Nina Monrad Boel Kommer man ind på en skadestue, kan man få behandling – ligegyldig om man har dokumenteret ret til at være i Danmark eller ej. Men i andre dele af sundhedsvæsenet er det mere uklart, hvordan man skal takle patienter uden CPR-nummer.

Dan Biswas fra Forskningscenter for Migration, Etnicitet og Sundhed på Institut for Folkesundhedsvidenskab på Københavns Universitet har forsket i udokumenterede migranters adgang til sundhedsvæsenet, og han fortæller om problematikken: ”Det er lidt af en gråzone. De udokumenterede migranter har adgang til akut behandling ligesom alle andre. Men når det kommer til lidelser ud over det akutte, bliver det mere uklart.” Det er svært at definere præcist, hvad der er akut, og Dan Biswas pointerer desuden, at ikke-akutte tilstande kan blive akutte.

Adgang ad omveje

Udokumenterede migranter kan få adgang til ikke-akutte behandlinger i sundhedsvæsenet via flere kanaler.

En måde er brugerbetaling. Det er

“ De udokumenterede migranter har adgang til akut behandling ligesom alle andre.

Men når det kommer til lidelser ud over det akutte, bliver det mere uklart.” Dan Biswas

dog tvivlsomt, om udokumenterede migranter kan dække udgifterne for behandling, fordi de efter al sandsynlighed er mindre bemidlede.

En anden måde at få adgang til sundhedssystemet er at låne et sygesikringskort. Det er farligt for både den syge og den danske indehaver af kortet. Der bliver tvivl om, hvilke behandlinger patienterne tidligere har modtaget, og dette er problematisk, f.eks. i forbindelse med blodtransfusioner. I sundhedssektoren er man opmærksom på problematikken og forklarer udokumenterede migranter, der kommer med et lånt sygesikringskort, at de har mulighed for at blive behandlet anonymt.

Udokumenterede migranter kan blive behandlet anonymt ved, at lægen udsteder et midlertidigt CPRnummer med patienten fødselsdato plus fire bogstaver i stedet for de sidste fire cifre. Denne metode kan også bruges, hvis turister får behov for lægehjælp. At udgive sig for at være turist med et forlagt pas er endnu en måde, udokumenterede migranter kan blive tilset på. Dan Biswas fortæller endvidere, at de papirløse migranter ofte tager til læge med en dansk bekendt: ”De vil gerne have en person med, som kan berolige dem, som kender deres sag, og som kender systemet.”

Han fortæller endvidere, at i tilfælde, hvor migranten ikke kan få en dansk person med, kan de også finde på at tage kontakt til læger i deres hjemland og få rådgivning over telefonen. I nogle tilfælde selvmedicinerer de sig.

Endelig er der mulighed for at gå den legale vej og henvende sig til Udlændingeservice. Herefter skal migranten typisk tage ophold på et

“… at videregivelse af oplysninger til politi vil være berettiget, såfremt der er tale om efterforskning af alvorligere kriminalitet som mand-drab, seksualforbrydelser, grovere vold m.v., herunder vold imod børn. Det er sundhedsstyrelsens opfattelse, at misbrug af sygesikringskort ikke er af en sådan karakter” asylcenter og kan modtage sundhedsydelser på samme vilkår som asylansøgere. Da det for manges vedkommende vil medføre efterfølgende udvisning af landet, har de ikke incitament til at benytte denne vej.

Frygt for angivelse

Lever man under jorden, lever man også med den konstante frygt for at blive angivet. Det kan afskrække udokumenterede migranter fra at søge lægehjælp i tide. ”Frygten for at blive angivet er der ikke kun i forhold til hospitaler, men i forhold til hele deres dagligdag. Så de er meget påpasselige med at sætte sig i situationer, hvor deres sande identitet kan blive afsløret,” fortæller Dan Biswas.

Men læger har tavshedspligt, og selvom man benytter sig af et

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sygesikringskort, der ikke er ens eget, har lægen ikke pligt til at indberette personen. Et brev fra Sundhedsstyrelsen dateret 9. januar 2003 til de ledende embedslæger slår fast: ”… at videregivelse af oplysninger til politi vil være berettiget, såfremt der er tale om efterforskning af alvorligere kriminalitet som mand-drab, seksualforbrydelser, grovere vold m.v., herunder vold imod børn. Det er sundhedsstyrelsens opfattelse, at misbrug af sygesikringskort ikke er af en sådan karakter.”

Det svære estimat

Hvor mange, der lever under jorden i Danmark, er svært at sætte tal på, da det er vanskeligt at indhente data. EU-programmet Undocumented Workers Transitions kom i 2009 med estimatet 3000. Dette tal er baseret på tal fra Udlændingeservice og Rigspolitiet. I EU formodes der at være 5-8 millioner udokumenterede migranter, med hovedparten i Syd-europa.

De papirløse migranter, der lever i Danmark, kommer både fra lande i og uden for Europa. Europæiske borgere har ret til gratis behandling i sundhedsvæsenet med det blå sygesikringskort, men det er ikke altid, at østeuropæere, der har levet en forhutlet tilværelse i deres hjemlande, har et sådant i bagagen. ”De hjemløse EU-borgere har midt i deres travlhed med at flygte fra fattigdommen ikke husket deres blå sygesikringskort og bliver derfor afvist på hospitalerne,” skri-ver Bjarne Lenau Henriksen, chef i Kirkens Korshær i en kronik i Kristeligt Dagblad. Han beklager i samme kronik, at regeringen sanktionerer mod organisationer, der hjælper hjemløse uden papirer.

Dilemma mellem love og løfter

FN's Menneskerettighedserklæring anerkender ethvert menneskes ret til lægehjælp i tilfælde af sygdom.

Dette er dog ikke et juridisk bindende dokument, men Danmark har ratificeret FN's Internationale Konvention om Økonomiske, Sociale og Kulturelle Rettigheder, der ligeledes anerkender ethvert menneskes ret til lægehjælp. For læger kan lægeløftets bud om pligt til at hjælpe syge tjene som støtte.

I lægeløftet fra 1815, som alle nyuddannede læger aflægger, udtaler de løftet om ”at jeg ved mine forretninger som praktiserende læge stedse skal lade det være mig magt-

påliggende, efter bedste skønnende at anvende mine kundskaber med flid og omhu til samfundets og mine medmenneskers gavn, at jeg stedse vil bære lige samvittighedsfuld omsorg for den fattige som for den rige uden persons anseelse.” Det strider således mod lægeløftet at afvise patienter. Men det er de danske skatteydere, der finansierer sundhedsvæsenet. Ifølge formand for Lægeforeningens etiske udvalg Poul Jaszczak i Politiken den 16. september 2009 er det tyveri at bruge hospitalernes faciliteter uden om det normale system – det vil sige at bruge sundhedsvæsenets ressourcer til ikke-akutte behandlinger: ”Et pænt ord er, at det er misbrug af offentlige midler. Et mindre pænt ord er, at det er tyveri. For når sundhedsydelser bliver udført i hemmelighed, er der jo ikke nogen til at betale for behan-

dlingerne, og så tager man så at sige af kassen.”

Paul Jaszczak søger klarhed i retningslinierne. Han efterlyser politisk vilje til at finde en varig løsning på den uholdbare situation: ”Det er et alvorligt etisk og sundhedsmæssigt problem, at vi forhindres eller begrænses i at yde almindelig læge- eller sundhedshjælp til udokumenterede flygtninge eller for den sags skyld til andre, der ikke har opholdstilladelse i Danmark, og som har hjælp behov. Det kan ikke være rigtigt, at læger på den måde skal arbejde i en gråzone,” siger Poul Jaszczak til Ugeskrift for Læger i juni 2010.

Illustration Saskia Te Nicklin

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Stills fra ”N'entre Pas Sans Violence Dans La Nuit” af Sylvain George / Noir Productions 2005 – 2007.

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D e t k o

l

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9 . e k t

af Sandra Lori Petersen “Hvad vil vi ha?” råber Eric i megafonen. “Papirer!” svarer gruppen af demonstranter omkring ham. “Til hvem?” spørger han. “Til alle!” lyder svaret, og sammen råber de: “Frihed! Til alle – lighed! Til alle – respekt! Til alle…”.

Medlemmerne af Det 9. Kollektiv af Personer Uden Papirer (Le 9ème Collectif de Sans Papiers), har ansøgt om tilladelse til at demonstrere foran det franske Ministerium for Immigration, Integration, National Identitet og Solidarisk Udvikling i Paris. De er imidlertid blevet placeret omkring 200 meter fra Ministeriets indgang, bag en politibevogtet barriere, og er således havnet foran en katolsk privatskole. Resultatet er en del velfriserede skolebørn, som rokker med til demonstranternes djemberytmer, mens politibetjentene ser søvndrukne til.

Kollektivet er det niende ud af en lang række af kollektiver af sans papiers (uden papirer). Det blev stiftet i 1999 i kølvandet på besættelse, af kirken Saint Ambroise i Paris, Marts 1996, og politi og myndigheders efterfølgende rydning af kirken. Med besættelsen manifesterede en gruppe hidtil ”usynlige” borgere sig som en samlet gruppe og krævede rettigheder, en kamp som kollektiverne fører videre. Det 9. Kollektiv holder demonstrationer, laver besættelser af offentlige bygninger og forsamles udenfor institutioner, hvor personer uden papirer diskrimineres. ”Det mest effektive er besættelserne; Når vi besætter offentlige bygninger tiltrækker vi os opmærksomhed” siger Bahijah, som er medstifter af kollektivet. Det er blandt andet ved besættelserne, at kollektivet overrækker en liste af navne til myndighederne, med krav om at alle personer på listen, skal have gjort deres ophold i Frankrig lovligt og have de samme rettigheder som andre borgere. Saliha forklarer, at ”fordelen ved at kræve sine papirer som et kollektiv er, at man kan lægge et større pres på myndighederne, og at man er mindre bange når man er mange.”

I 2006 anslog det Franske Indenrigsministerium, dengang med den nuværende Præsident Sarkozy som

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minister, at mellem 200.000 og 400.000 personer uden papirer, befandt sig i Frankrig. Man estimerede en tilstrømning af yderligere 80.000 personer årligt. Mange personer uden papirer arbejder, og det gør de udenfor det regulerede arbejdsmarked, uden rettigheder og med en timeløn, som ofte er under halvdelen af den officielle mindsteløn i Frankrig, som er på knap 9 € i timen.

“Der er mange personer uden papirer, som ikke kender deres rettigheder” siger Saliha, der blev en del af kollektivet i 2004, fik sine papirer i 2007 og bliver ved med at være del af kollektivet. Hun fortsætter: ”De ved ikke engang, at de har ret til at ringe til nogen hvis de bliver anholdt, eller at de har ret til at tilkalde en læge. I visse byer – ikke i Paris – men i andre byer i Frankrig, risikerer folk at blive udvist inden der er gået 72 timer, efter de er blevet anholdt ved en tilfældig kontrol. Det sker ikke når man er del af et kollektiv, for så kender man sine rettigheder og man har altid en person man kan kontakte. Så snart en person fra kollektivet har givet besked om, at han eller hun er blevet anholdt, laver vi en demonstration foran den politistation, hvor han eller hun befinder sig. Sådan viser vi, at personen ikke er alene. Det destabiliserer politiet en smule, og i enkelte tilfælde er det sket, at personen er blevet løsladt fra politistationen igen med det samme.”

“Hvad vil vi ha?”

“Papirer!”

“Til hvem?”

“Til alle!”

Bahijah iagttager blandingen af forældre og barnepiger der har samlet sig omkring den katolske skoles port: “Der er garanteret barnepiger uden papirer, som kommer og henter børn her”. Eric ser også på skoleporten og råber i megafonen: ”Forældre i razzia – børn i fare! Forældre anholdt – børn i fare!”.

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Translation page 109

Papirløse migranter, eller 'illegale' som de oftest kaldes, er bestemt ikke noget man almindeligvis forbinder med skandinaviske lande, men et fænomen ofte forbundet med f.eks. europæiske middelhavslande som Italien og Spanien, hvor det er kendt at sort arbejde, er en del af økonomien. En nyudkommet antologi rykker ved denne forestilling.

Irregulær migration i Skandinavien – overhovedet noget at snakke om?

af Søren Rafn Måske kan vi gå med til, at også de skandinaviske lande er relateret til papirløse migranter, i kraft af de varer, som f.eks. tomatplukkere har del i at forsyne os med. Ligeledes ved alle, at især Danmark gør en målrettet indsats for at utallige folk, der søger asyl eller immigrerer holdes uden for det nationale fællesskab. Men at papirløse findes som et nævneværdigt fænomen inden for de skandinaviske velfærdsstater, der traditionelt karakteriseres ved deres trods alt ordnede forhold og sociale sikkerhed, er bestemt ikke en del af skandinavernes selvforståelse.

Den nyudkommne antologi Irregular Migration in a Scandinavian Perspective, gør op med dette og forsøger at ændre præmissen for at diskutere migration i en skandinavisk kontekst. Antologien er redigeret af Trine Lund Thomsen, Martin Bak Jørgensen, Susi Meret, Kirsten Hviid og Helle Stenum, og er bygget op omkring tre hovedafsnit: to artikler om etiske og begrebsmæssige perspektiver, tre artikler om migration i henholdsvis en global, europæisk og skandinavisk kontekst, samt syv empiriske studier, der bygger på feltarbejder og talrige interviews med migranter. Antologien vekselvirker

således mellem teoretiske analyser, med stor vægt på sociale forhold og rettighedsspørgsmål, og empiriske eksempler, der sætter migranters livshistorier og omstændigheder ind i det overordnede perspektiv.

Den gennemgående pointe er altså, at 'illegal' migration er et skandinavisk fænomen. Eller 'irregulær' migration. Ifølge Trine Lund Thomsen har brugen af begrebet 'irre-

Irregulære migranter er en integreret del af velfærdsstaterne, men presses ikke desto mindre ud i kriminaliserede zoner af samfundet. gulær' til formål at overskride statens synspunkt på migranter som legale eller illegale, samt at tegne et langt mere nuanceret billede af den komplekse proces, der illegaliserer migranter og skaber irregularitet.

Irregularitet ses som et integreret fænomen i samfundet og opdelingen mellem os og dem som en konstruktion. Denne pointe knytter i høj grad an til det globale migrationsregime, som Sarah Kalm

karakteriserer ved det liberale paradoks, at varer og penge flyder uhindret over landegrænser, mens stater skærper kampen mod menneskelig bevægelse (og opretholder de priviligerede landes position). Og til den europæiske tilgang til irregulær migration, der i følge Martin Bak Jørgensen har bevæget sig fra at opfatte den irregulære som et offer for udbytning (i 90'erne), til kriminalisering af irregulære (0'erne) for siden at bygge bro mellem offergørelse og kriminalisering. De skandinaviske velfærdsstater undslipper ikke disse kontekster, og deres generelt øgede restriktion på asyl- og migrationsområdet, der naturligvis varierer fra land til land, tvinger blot migranter ud i kriminaliserede zoner, hvorfra de ifølge Trine Lund Thomsen imidlertid navigerer strategisk.

Migranter opfattes altså ikke blot som ofre, men aktive agenter, der får stater til at udvide den kriminelle zone. Den juridiske definition af 'illegale migranter' må ifølge Helle Stenum konstant forandres for at skabe en zone af usikkerhed for både migranter og NGO'er, som da socialminister Karen Jespersen i 2007 forbød herberger med offentlig støtte at huse migranter uden opholdstilladelse. Man kan sige, at der skabes en usikkerhedszone, der f.eks. rammer

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det stigende antal af polske bygningsarbejdere, som er kommet til landet efter den europæiske udvidelse mod øst via officielle og uofficielle kanaler. Antologiens empiriske kapitler tegner i det hele taget et billede af en kompliceret sammenblanding af legale, semi-legale og illegale niveauer i den gråzone migranterne må navigere inden for, i konstant frygt for deportation. Dikotomier som 'legal' og 'illegal' overser at migranters status ofte skifter, som når et arbejdsvisum overskrides, eller en afvist asylansøger går under jorden. Og at den 'legale' migrants løn ofte ender på grænsen til det ulovlige, fordi arbejdsgivere kan udnytte migrantens usikre situation. Trine Lund Thomsen påpeger, at fagforeningerne her spiller en dobbelt rolle, idet de både beskytter migrantarbejderens rettigheder og repræsenterer systemet, således at det er forbundet med usikkerhed og risiko for migranter at opsøge dem. Migranter fastholdes i prekære livs- og arbejdssituationer, hvor arbejdsforholdene er dybt afhængige af den enkelte arbejdsgivers moral, hvilket får Kirsten Hviid til at betegne den ulovlige rekruttering af ukrainske landbrugsarbejdere i Jylland som et rent lotteri for migranterne. Betegnende for migranternes gråzone er Helle Stenum beretning

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om en sælger af hjemløs-avisen Hus spiller flot sammen med antologiens Forbi, der udtrykker glæde ved 'ille- strukturelle niveau, som når Sara gales' udelukkelse fra at sælge avis- Kalm i sit bidrag citerer Mae Ngai en, men siden fortæller med sænket for at kalde den irregulære migrant stemme, at han selv boede 'illegalt' i for et ”umuligt subjekt – en person, Danmark og Sverige i seks år. der ikke kan være et problem, og et Analyserne vekselvirker mel- problem, der ikke kan løses.” lem det strukturelle niveau og de Det drejer sig måske om 50 milliinterviewede migranters histori- oner på verdensplan og 5-8 millioner er. Migrantens krop får en særlig i Europa, hvoraf det anslås at 50.000 plads i de afsnit, der forholder sig lever i Sverige, 18.000 i Norge og til de papirløses manglende ret til at 5.000 i Danmark. Det lavere antal bruge sygesikringssystemet. Ram- i Danmark, knytter Sussi Meret og in Baghir-Zada Martin Bak viser, hvordan Jørgensen an, ”Lægerne gjorde hvad den universelle til den hårde de kunne. Men de ret til sundhed asylpolitik og er et tveægat det faktum, kunne ikke give mig get sværd, da at asylansøgere opholdstilladelse.” menneskeretnægtes adtighederne ungang til arbejderstreger alles lige ret til sundhed de, men påpeger også at Danmark og velfærd, men samtidig beton- ikke gør meget, for at undersøge den er nationalstatens suverænitet og videre skæbne for de asylansøgere, retten til at udelukke ikke-stats- der forsvinder og muligvis går under borgere fra sundhed. Baghir-Zada jorden. Er der mon langt flere? Her beretter, hvordan migranter i Sver- er måske kimen til en yderst interesige føler en fundamental smerte i sant fortsættelse af antologiens forshele kroppen. Som en udtrykker kning, om end en sådan kan siges det: ”Lægerne gjorde hvad de kunne. at være etisk problematisk i forhold Men de kunne ikke give mig opholds- til de papirløse, der ønsker at holde tilladelse.” Det er 'illegaliteten', ikke lav profil. Omvendt ligger der også bare manglende sundhedsadgang, et etisk problem i, som Anette Bruder er roden til migrantens smerte. novskis i bevidsthed om dette diDenne fænomenologiske tilgang lemma påpeger, ikke at blotlægge omfanget af irregularitet.

Irregular Migration in a Scandinavian Perspective viser, at der bag de større og mindre tal, gemmer sig et globalt og europæisk fænomen, som de skandinaviske velfærdsstater ikke kan lukke øjnene for eller tie ihjel. Irregulære migranter er en integreret del af velfærdsstaterne, men presses ikke desto mindre ud i kriminaliserede zoner af samfundet. Denne kontroversielle afdækning sker i en forsigtig politiske tone. Lad os håbe, at denne bog ikke kommer til at henligge som et randfænomen i bogverdenen, eller som en pligtskyldig belysning af noget man fejlagtigt ser, som et marginalt fænomen.

Hvor afdæmpet det end kommer til udtryk gennem antologien, så peger den på en demo-kratisk krise, hvor en integreret del af samfundet disintegreres, og hvor der er al mulig grund til at råbe op.

Coverillustration, Irregulær Migration in a Scandinavian Perspective

Irregular Migration in a Scandinavian Perspective: Trine Lund Thomsen, Martin Bak Jørgensen, Susi Meret, Kirsten Hviid & Helle Stenum (red.), Shaker Publishers, Maastricht, 2010.

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Translation page 110

Papirløse, illegal arbejdskraft, illegaliserede eller irregulære migranter, der er efterhånden mange navne for dem, men meget lidt offentlig viden og debat. Vi bringer her en tekst af den svenske forfatter og politiker, America Vera-Zavala, skrevet i forbindelse med hendes bidrag til teaterstykket Den polske rörmokaren.

Teksten har tidligere været bragt i Tidsskriftet Flamman.

Usynligt skovles tagene for sne af America Vera-Zavala Første gang jeg opdagede, at jeg var begyndt at lægge mærke til dem, var en nat på et af Stockholms insteder. Der stod de, usynlige, lænende mod en væg.

De småsludrede, helt ædru, klar til at rense toiletterne. Jeg så på dem, prøvede at gætte mig til om de var bolivianere, ecuadorianere eller noget lignende sydamerikansk. Undlod at spørge dem for ikke at forskrække. Hvert menneske har en hi-storie. Det, der gør de papirløse så specielle, er, at deres historier, som de selv, må forblive uopdagede.

Sort arbejde har altid eksisteret. Nyt for det svenske arbejdsmarked er, at det sorte arbejde nu også udføres af EU-medborgere eller illegale indvandrere. Staten opdeler arbejdsmarkedet i hvid og sort arbejdskraft. Ud fra det skabes moral og principper, politiske diskussioner og svulstige taler, men sjældent fortælles historien om, at den hvide og sorte arbejdskraft arbejder side om side og lever en anden virkelighed end både LO-ledelsen og Svenskt Näringsliv. Øverst oppe findes en politisk debat, under den er arbejdskøberne og længst nede findes arbejderne, hvide som sorte, uanset pas og baggrund må de dagligt arbejde og hvile. På trods af at såvel regulær som irregulær arbejdskraft har lignende problemer og mål, eksisterer der to parallelle systemer. I Sverige er der overenskomst, statistik, pensioner og forsikringer. De usynlige har parallel løntrappe, hjemmelavet statistik, usynlige forhandlinger, organiske kreative organisationsmåder.

Det var efter en indbydelse fra Lars Norén og Ulrika Josephsson til at medvirke med et teaterstykke til Riksteaterets projekt Den polske blikkenslager, at jeg begyndte at opsøge dem, menneskene uden papirer, uden de sidste fire cifre, de usynlige, de ulovlige.

Riksteaterets projekt vil være med til at åbne folks øjne og lade teateret blive en motor i samfundsdebatten.

Ingen ved, hvor mange de er. Men et muligt tal er 16.000, hvilket er antallet af mennesker, politiet er blevet sat til at udvise. Antallet afhænger af hvilke, vi tæller med: asylansøgere med eller uden arbejdstilladelse, arbejdssøgende EU-medborgere. De kommer fra det meste af verden: de tidligere øststater, Latinamerika, Afrika, Asien. ”En fyr havde

fået mit telefonnummer i Cochabamba!” fortæller en der plejer at udbyde ’papirløst’ arbejde. En del vil arbejde her nogle måneder, andre vil blive i Sverige permanent. De mest problematiske i myndighedernes øjne er dem, der vil leve her, dem som vil have papirer og cifre og ikke bare være gæstearbejdere. ”Jeg har taget lån i mit hus”, siger en papirløs, ”og jeg kender flere, som har solgt deres hus eller taget enorme lån for at kunne købe billetten til Sverige.”

De findes overalt, hvor simpelt, ofte tungt, manuelt arbejde udføres. De skovler sne, de gør rent på hoteller, de vasker op i restauranter, de kører pakker, de er vagtmænd, gartnere og de kan bo som hjemmehjælpere i svenske ministres kælderlokaler. De arbejder sort, fordi de er tvunget til det. Ellers er de ’ordentlige’, bevæger sig sjældent ind mod centrum, er ikke ude sent, går aldrig over for rødt, har altid betalt metro-billetten. Mønstermedborgere uden de sidste fire cifre. Den store forskel mellem de papirløse og de lovlige er frygten. Evig og altid at være på vagt. ”Jeg vil aldrig kunne spise en frokost uden at se mig over skulderen,” siger en af de papirløse. ”Jeg ville aldrig opholde mig på Hovedbanen, ikke engang for at binde mine snørebånd,” fortæller en anden om frygten for at blive kontrolleret.

De irregulære behandles ikke som en del af arbejds-kollektivet, hverken af arbejdskøberne eller fagforeningerne. På gulvet er det anderledes, de ses som arbejdere af deres kollegaer. I mine interviews opgiver samtlige at de er arbejdere, føler sig udnyttet, evigt udsat for trusler og er helt bevidste om niveauet af de ’lovlige’ lønninger. De forsøger ofte at forhandle, men udgangspunktet er bunden. Arbejdskøbernes trusler om udlændingepolitiet vejer tungt. ”Den hjælp, vi får, kommer ofte fra arbejdskammerater med de fire sidste cifre,” siger en papirløs. De på gulvet arbejdende mænd og kvinder har altid været opfindere af overlevelsesteknikker, at fiksfakse og hjælpe, snarere end at bekæmpe hinanden. Over deres hoveder skabes der moral og principper og pludselig kan arbejderne anklages for dobbeltmoral og bristende solidaritet.

Malin, som gør rent lovligt på et luksushotel, side om side med en irregulær boliviansk kvinde, kan give sin kammerat ekstra meget mad fra køkkenet og samtidig være involveret i en faglig kamp mod sort arbejde. Det gør ikke Malin usolidarisk eller til

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en stikker. At afstå fra fagforeningskampen er ingen løsning - den tankegang bygger på den borgerlige opfattelse, at man må give afkald på noget for at hjælpe hinanden. Arbejdere har til alle tider stået sammen for at kæmpe for, at de ikke er nødt til at opgive noget som helst. Elementær kundskab om arbejdskamp: solidaritet betyder fælles kamp for fælles interesser og har altid stået i kontrast til velgørenhedstanken.

De irregulære arbejdere indgår i et organiseret netværk af økonomiske interesser. Den spanske version af udtrykket ’lade som om det regner’ er ’hacerse el sueco’, der betyder ’at gøre sig svensk.’

Det dukker konstant op i min bevidsthed mens jeg skriver stykket Concha tu madre. Alle lader som om det regner. Det er der en grund til.

Tilstanden i den informelle sektor går stik imod den svenske selvopfattelse. Arbejdskøberne undskylder ofte den udnyttelse, fjendtlighed og racisme som rammer mange irregulære arbejdere. De, der køber deres arbejdskraft rammes af selvnægtelse og medfølelse: ”Jeg ansætter hellere dem, fordi de har det så hårdt i deres hjemland,” siger en rig svensker om, hvorfor han lader folk vaske op for 35 kroner i timen på hans luksusrestaurant.

De, der befinder sig øverst oppe, udvælger enkeltsituationer og udnytter dem til eget formål. Svenskt Näringsliv til lavere lønninger og forringelser af rettigheder for arbejderne. LO argumenterer for samfundsfølelse og ro og orden, som om Sverige ikke har forandret sig. De, der befinder sig på gulvet, kæmper for en løn at leve af, A-kasse, pension og forsikringer. Samtidig med debatten raser om, hvad vi skal gøre ved dem, arbejder de videre, side om side, lovlige og ulovlige arbejdere. Adskilt af de fire sidste cifre.

Saskia Sassen har beskrevet hvordan, det informelle samarbejder med det formelle i den første verden. Sassens ofte brugte eksempel er, hvordan børshajerne på Wall Street går ud og køber en chorizo til frokost af en illegal arbejder med en illegal pølsevogn. Michael Hardt og Toni Negri analyserer to parallelle økonomier, der befinder sig på hver sin side af loven, men samtidig er afhængige af hinanden. De illegale er en forudsætning for vores lovlige økonomi.

Hvis en svensk stilladsarbejder falder og dør, havner hun i Byggnads optegnelser og statistikken over ulykker på arbejdspladsen. Desuden udbetales forsikringer. For en papirløs bolivianer er der ingen optegnelser. En død illegal stilladsarbej-der er en billig affære, hverken løn eller forsikring skal udbetales. Dette ved både fagforeningen og arbejdskøberne. De lader som det regner. Hacerse el sueco.

Den politiske debat kværner løs deroppe. Den informelle sektor er der få, der taler om. Arbejdernes spørgsmål tages ikke op, eller kun i fordrejet form.

Både fagforeninger og arbejdskøbere ignorerer at alle arbejdere, med få undtagelser, vil skaffe sig bedre løn, større sikkerhed, forsikringer og kon-

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trakter. Men fagforeningerne kan gøre en indsats.

Under en rejse til Manila i jaunar 2007 interviewede jeg den fagforeningsombudsmand, der i 6 måneder organiserede fillipinske hjemmehjælpere i Hong Kong. De mest almindelige problemer var løn, forsikring og kontrakt. Jeg har været i korrespondance med fagforeningsaktivister i Italien, Belgien og Spanien, der organiserer papirløse. De mest almindelige problemer hér var ligeledes løn, forsikring og kontrakt. De illegale arbejdere har i deres usynlige verden de samme problemer som de synlige arbejdere. De har også samme mål: bedre rettigheder og højere løn.

På gulvet er man bevidst om dette. Fillipinske hjemmehjælpere kan mødes på deres fridag og hjælpe hinanden med løn- og arbejdskrav. Fagforeningsombudsmanden Teody fortæller, at de plejede at mødes hver søndag i en park i Hong Kong - det var der, han opsøgte dem. Der er 200.000 fillipinske hjemmehjælpere i Hong Kong og de har alt at vinde ved at organisere sig. Latinamerikanske stilladsarbejdere og opvaskere kan lave aftaler, tale lønninger og rettigheder på møder arrangeret af italienske fagforeninger eller møder, de selv organiserer. Selvorganiseringen gør det sværere for arbejdskøberne at udnytte dem. Den svenske fagbevægelse organiserer ikke papirløse. De organiserer udelukkende arbejdere, som bor lovligt i Sverige. De fyrer trods alt ikke arbejdere fra byggerier, sådan som det er blevet præsenteret i debatten, men de synes, at det er i orden at udvise dem, der ikke må opholde sig i Sverige.

De hjælper til tider irregulære arbejdere, der er blevet snydt for deres løn, da alle, der arbejder, skal have løn og for at statuere eksempler overfor arbejdskøberne. Men der er ikke en speciel afdeling, en indsigt i nødvendigheden, en nysgerrighed eller åbenhed til at lære af de uformelle arbejdere eller af andre lande. At organisere papirløse virker for dem som en tilbagetrækning i stedet for en offensiv handling. De tager sig ikke af den bolivianske rengøringsdame, som gerne vil have kollektivaftaler, være medlem og engagere sig i fagforeningen, men ikke må - fordi hun ikke findes i fagforeningens øjne.

Der er billeder, der for evigt kan ændre éns perspektiv. Jeg elsker udsigter. Jeg søger hen til dem, føler mig fri dér. I flere interviews fortæller de papirløse om hvordan, de sendes op på tagene for at skovle sne, deres frygt, om nogen, der er faldet i døden, en anden, der er blevet bestukket at arbejdskøberen til at tie. Jeg tænker på dem nu, når jeg ser tage. Når det sner, tænker jeg, at de nu sendes op på tagene.

Og det er netop en snevejrsdag, da jeg genser en af dem, jeg har interviewet flere gange. Hun fortæller mig, at der siden november har været en forstærket indsats mod de papirløse. Politiet checker deres papirer overalt og slår hårdt ned på dem. Blandt dem går der rygter om propfulde detentioner og at den nye regering planlægger at legalisere, og derfor smide så mange som muligt ud af landet inden det sker.

foto af Emil Westman Hertz

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OversĂŚttelse pĂĽ side 111

Have you ever heard of the Danish pirate Kristen Rohde, who was allied with Russia's Ivan the Terrible, and spread terror among Polish and Swedish merchant ships in 1500-century, but whose destiny was sailed by a joint Danish-Swedish effort against piracy?

Read the incredible story here.

Pirate Bay

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by Patrick The characterization of piracy begins in the Middle Ages with the description of Vikings invasion of Europe.

Thanks to the unique coastline in Scandinavia, many naval bases could be organized, giving the Vikings the possibility of quick and violent attacks on the European mainland. Vikings could be considered the first medieval pirate organization, with a strict set of rules for their efficient military campaigns. All of Northwestern Europe had to unite under the banner of the Hanseatic League, to give a decisive rebuff to the Normans.

The most famous period in the history of piracy is the 16th century during the rivalry between England and Spain. But what happened here, around the Baltic Sea at that time? Everybody on this planet has heard about the Vikings, and we know Denmark is a great marine empire but what about Danish pirates? What happened to them after the Vikings era; did they just disappear?

After some research I found some interesting stories to share with my dear readers. Here is one of them: Ivan the Terrible was no fool, and knew perfectly well that the construction of a great empire is not possible without the construction of seaports and a strong fleet.

He understood perfectly, that to perform these tasks he would need outside help and turned to Scandinavia.

Here, he found the best man for the job, a Dane who eventually became a real pirate legend!

The Baltic Sea at that time was an arena of fierce struggle for gaining control over trade routes. Polish, Lithuanian and Swedish corsairs intercepted Danish and Hanseatic merchant vessels en route to Nava and other ports, belonging to the then Russian crown.

In the summer of 1570 there suddenly appeared a mysterious pirate flotilla headed by Kristen Rohde, who in a short time took control of the Baltic. Merchant and captain of his own ship, Rohde conducted trade with Lübeck, but then took a more profitable route than fishing and became a pirate. Owners of vessels during these times were dependant on the political situation and it was common that they would go from being merchants to pirates or vice versa.

Prior to serving Ivan the terrible, Kristen was working for the Danish King Frederik II and operated successfully against the Swedes. There was a long-standing connection between the Danish and Russian courts against their common enemy, Sweden.

Having finished with the preparations, in June 1570 Rohde went to sea with the Russian admiral certificate.

Near the island of Bornholm he bought an armed ship, which became the flagship of its fleet.The authorities of the island at this time (a sort of parking place for pirates - the "Baltic Tortuga") greeted guests, like Rhode.

The Danish admiral, commander of the flotilla based at Bornholm, considered the pirates his allies and even supplied them with maps.

But the booty "Russian admiral" Rohde didn’t stay on shore for long. He was not afraid to attack a large caravan of merchant ships loaded with goods. On the seventeen ships heading for the ports of Netherlands and Friesland, none had gone from Rohde.

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July 31, 1570, in the Polish town Gdansk, an urgent meeting of the city council decided to begin immediate preparations for a special expedition against pirate Rohde. Polish ships were sent to Bornholm. When the island appeared on the horizon, the Danish fleet met the Polish squadron. The two fleets met at sea, and the admirals gathered for negotiations.

The Danish admiral confirmed that Rohde’s vessels had been in Bornholm, but had left for Copenhagen the day before. The Polish admiral told him about his order to pursue Rohde. The Danes volunteered to escort the Polish army "to avoid confusion in the territorial waters of Denmark." The world at that time was volatile, so this precaution seemed like a good idea for Poland.

When the Polish pirate hunters moved in to Copenhagen, the Danes suddenly went after them. Since the squadron was close to Copenhagen harbour, the Danes also opened fire from this front on the Polish army and forced them into the port of the Danish capital. The Polish court was an ally of Sweden (with Sweden and Denmark at war), so all the Polish sailors were immediately arrested. The arrested Poles could only watch in rage a few days later, when two ships of pirate Rohde sailed in to the capital filled with valuable products.

Rohde’s fleet gradually increased and by September he had six fully equipped and armed vessels with crew. The audacity and rapid growth of his fleet seriously bothered the Swedish crown. They started a real manhunt against Rohde. Once the Swedes caught up with his flotilla and managed to sink several of his ships, but Rohde succeeded to flee into the port of Copenhagen under the protection of the canons of the King of Denmark.

Here, he found the best man for the job, a Dane who eventually became a real pirate legend!

Troubles for the "Russian Admiral" Rohde began with an event that had no relation to him directly. Instead it was a dozen Swedish pirates that during a fog thought they landed on the Swedish island Öland, only reali-zing their mistake when presenting a letters of marquee issued by the Swedish crown to the local authorities.

They had landed on the island Gorée which was Danish territory and therefore were immediately arrested.

The Swedes were chained and transported to Bornholm where local authorities prepared another ship to take them to Copenhagen.

At the same time an unfortunate misunderstanding occurred at sea. Captain Klaus Rosebud were part

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Ivan the terrible

of Kristen Rohdes fleet and sailed with his vessel “Hare” in search of trade ships. He came across a Danish navy ship under command of Captain Joachim Nifund who decided to board the pirate ship. Despite letters, issued by the Russian czar (an ally of the Danish Crown), Nifund locked Captain Rosebud and his people in the hold and escorted his ship to Bornholm.

But the pirate Captain Klaus Rosebud, who was kept in a hold almost two weeks, intended going to Copen-

The arrested Poles could only watch in rage a few days later, when two ships of pirate Rohde sailed in to the capital filled with valuable products.

hagen with a complaint about Captain Nifund. The local authorities in Bornholm asked if he could bring the Swedish pirates with him to the capital on his vessel “Hare”. Captain Rosebud accepted, and soon after he fled and took to the sea. The Swedes knew that Captain Rosebud and his lieutenant Shutse were sleeping in a cabin on the upper deck and that there was only one watch and the navigator on the deck. The Swedes had succeeded to remove the chains and suddenly they attacked the crew of the ship. The crew was surprised and quickly overthrown. The Swedes then attacked the officers at the upper deck and soon they were the masters of the ship.

First, they decided to sail to Sweden, but the weather was not conducive to that travel. On the third day of a strong northeast wind they drove the ship to the shores of the Pomeranian part of the Swedish occupation. Here the Swedish pirates told the authorities what happened to them. After Captain Rosebud had admitted, he and his crew were subject to Admiral Rohde an international commission was convened to resolve "the issue of Rohde." This became part of the ongoing negotiations between Denmark and Sweden that among other things dealt with piracy. There was a mutual understanding that piracy had to stop.

Here's how events unfolded. In October 1570: Rohde once again sailed into the harbour of Copenhagen,

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seeking refuge from his Swedish pursuers. He had no idea of the diplomatic development that was developing around him. He was allowed to go ashore in Copenhagen, but was then hastily sent out of town to the castle Gall as a prisoner. Even if any contact with the outside world was forbidden he was kept with honour in the castle - well fed.

This became part of the ongoing negotiations between Denmark and Sweden that among other things dealt with piracy. There was a mutual understanding that piracy had to stop.

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There was such an unusual attitude towards the prisoner that the Danish authorities found it difficult to handle the situation. On one hand Rohde was appointed by the Russian Tsar and Ivan the Terrible wanted him back. On the other hand, he was wanted by most of the surrounding countries. Manoeuvring between two fires, King Frederik kept Rohde in honourable captivity but gave all the trapped pirates from Rohde's ships to the Swedes.

The king wrote a letter to Ivan the Terrible, explaining the arrest. A long correspondence started but no agreements could be found, even if King Frederik proposed to give Rohde back to the Tsar. In the summer of 1573 King Frederik personally visited the castle Gall and ordered a transfer of Rohde to Copenhagen. In the capital the conditions of the prisoner considerably softened: he could live in a private apartment on his own account, under the supervision of the authorities. His only limit was that he had no right to leave the city.

Our brave admiral was held as a prisoner for the rest of his days All matches with real historical events and persons are purely coincidental or deliberately distorted, this essay can’t claim any scientific credibility, the author takes full responsibility for this act.

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Oversættelse på side 112

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What refugees must know when they reach Sandholm Camp Life as an asylum seeker in Denmark is hard. But knowledge about the practical aspects of the camp is a great help. Ziad Kabbani here gives useful information for newcomers in Sandholm.

by Ziad Kabbani Hi to all refugees who come from their countries as asylum seekers to live in Denmark. Searching for peace, and to feel safe with their family and children.

There are many steps that all refugees must know when they come to the Sandholm Camp. First I want to tell you about what the Sandholm Camp is.

The Institution for detained asylum seekers, Sandholm Camp, is also called Center Sandholm or Sandholm. It is located in former military barracks and is Denmark's largest reception center.

The center is operated by the Danish Red Cross. It serves as both a receiving departure center for newly arrived asylum seekers and asylum seekers who have been definitively rejected.

The Red Cross facility Sandholm also offers sections of the Immigration Service, and the National Police Immigration Department, as well as penal institutions for detained asylum seekers.

About what is found in the Sandholm Camp:

1st. When you want to enter the Camp, you will see a black iron gate and one member of the staff. He will ask you what you want. When he finds out that you are a refugee, he will send you to the police information to introduce yourself to them. They want to know if you came to Denmark as a legal migrant or in another way. They take finger prints and a picture to make you an ID card, and they give you a number as your name.

They give you a paper as ID until they have finished your card. On this paper they put your number and your picture and all that they want to know about you. This was at building 1 and 2.

2nd. Office 67:

Then they send you to the office 67 to complete your papers and to register you. They give you what you need for your room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedclothes. They give you the key for your room and take you to it. There are rooms for single persons, and there are rooms for families.

Center Sandholm houses around 500 residents.

There are three types of accommodation:

1st. A building with family rooms with private bathroom.

2nd. Two buildings with 4-person rooms and common bathrooms and toilets in the corridor. These rooms are for young men.

3rd. There are 6 new buildings with double rooms with private bathroom.

4th. There is also a laundry with washing- and drying machines to wash your clothes in every old building.

5th. Cafeteria: Residents can either eat in the Center’s cafeteria or receive money to cook themselves. The Cafeteria is located in the old building 11.

6th. The health clinic in old building 14 and 15: When a refugee arrives, they do a medical check to know his or her state of health. And if he or she is sick, they give him or her the right treatment.

7th. Residents' phones and various tenant-led activities, such as sewing for anyone who needs to repair and fix his or her clothes. In the Info café you can read books, and there is a computer room if you want to use the internet.

There is a women's group in which all women can do sports and have meetings. There is also a bicycle workshop, to give everyone who needs it a bicycle to ride at the Center.

8th. Job Center: This office is located at the old building 76, next to the info cafe. Every asylum seeker has to do a work contract or take classes in English and Danish as well as computer lessons and do job training at the Red Cross culture house by Forum in Copenhagen. All newly arrived asylum seekers are offered a short course in Danish and knowledge of Denmark for everyday use.

9th. School: All school-aged children of families of refugees go to school at the Danish Red Cross' school in Lynge or the local public schools. A big bus picks them up at 8 AM to take them to school take them back at 2 PM. There is a kindergarten at the camp which cares for the smaller children during the day.

10th. The Club: Center Sandholm also has a play group for the smaller children, and a club for the older children, which helps them with their homework. They arrange activities and trips for all families and children and show them all of Denmark.

I think this information is very important and interesting for all asylum seekers. This is a picture of Sandholm Camp.

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Translation page 112

Tobias Pieper has a degree in Political Science and Psychology. He works at “Opferperspektive” in Potsdam, Germany. His main focus is refugee policy, migration and racism.

The following text was first published in german, in the anthology GrenzRegime. Diskurse/Praktiken/Institutionen in Europa. AssoziationA (2010).

The camp as a variable instrument of migration control Functional thoughts from the perspective of a critical state theory

by Tobias Pieper The nation's biopolitical access to migration

Through the implementation of capitalistic production methods, and the new configuration of the emerging political balance of power and its consolidation in the modern state, profound social changes occurred, which have had a determining influence on what we today comprehend as migration. As an important function of the state, biopolitics evolved as census registration, together with the regulation of the population as a mass, and the regulation of the labour market, central parameters such as birth and death rate and working capacity.

As the implementation of the capitalistic production methods emerged in existing territories, the modern state arose (starting in Europe), as a national competitive one. Ever since, the competition between nations has determined, both as the tyranny of the nations and as the central ideological modus, the everyday common sense, as well as cultural and political practices of both domestic and foreign politics.

The technical innovations dating back to the beginning of the modern state were expressed through the bureaucratic control practices. The development of biometrics and the attempt of the technical-statistical definition of the individual, now being set in repressive focus, moved the barrier and differentiation of the population in residents and non-residents to the focus of national interests.

Key terminology to be mentioned are: the criminal records on the length of ears, the development of photography and the passport system. The regulation of the national labour market, the competition of the neighbouring labour force, and at the same time, the ongoing enforcement of the regional borders to the competing neighbour states, results first now in the normalised identification of the excluded being, the migrant or the foreigner. The categories and analytic patterns, through which migration is now approached, are relatively new and closely related to the technical-biopolitical developments of the modern state. This differentiation and its ideological acceptance in the common sense of a people and their cultural practices, is a

fundamental precondition for the understanding of racism as social relation, as it is experienced today.

The modern state is, as a materialisation of a densified balance of power, the center of sovereignty and through its monopoly on the use of force, the central site of repression.

Even if the modern state – at least in the centers – develops towards a governmental state, the armor of violence is always, and inevitably, a precondition for the implementation of new structures. Keywords to be mentioned are the so called original accumulation, colonialism, present imperial wars, but also Hartz IV (German unemployment benefit paid after the first 12-18 months of unemployment) and the treatment of the undesired migrants. Law as a normative structure of a society limits the application of force of the state, as positive rights such as the integrity of an individual or the integrity of the private sphere are formulated. Law is therefore not to be understood as a governmental system, but as a contested field, where fights are codified and integrated and where the application of power simultaneously is restricted and normatively controlled.

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In the perspective of the European submission of the world (colonialism) and the violent treatment of the colonial subject (enslavement and genocide) it becomes clear, that the mode of violence is inherent in the modern state. In the national balance of power, social fights and its institutionalized acteurs ensure the enforcement of law as restriction of governmental and private violence. This does not work outside the nation, as the mode of the nation which permeates the entire texture of a society pools the competing interests, subordinates them a generalised national interest and suspends current law in the treatment of the new-colonial Other.

The camp as variable instrument of migration control

The modern state's treatment concerning the submission of the colonial Other is characterised by the unrestrained use of violence, which is exercised beyond the domestically established, legal restriction of governmental power. It could be postulated that, on the intersection of the constitution of the European national states, it structurally comes to a suspension of law through violence.

Here, the organised military enforcement of domestic competing interests in relation to the non-European world, carries along the suspension of law through violence.

The emerging material structures of the states incorporate the suspension of law in order to submit the racist marked Other and depict them in the emerging institutions. It is here, the camp as a variable control and repression instrument, as an institutionalised scene, as an architecture of violent colonial submission, originated historically.

The camp as a modern architectural instrument became prevalent in various forms, and it is normally applied as repressive control for regulating crowds of people, who either do not have that many rights or who have difficulties in enforcing them (military camps, migrant camps, the sick and homeless people). Camps are made into variable instruments of domestic municipal offices, of the military and the migration politics, in regard to people, who interfere with the ruling perspective and who, based on their potential lack of rights, can be excluded socially in the camps. Places

emerge, where existing law is neutralized through a nation's violence.

It is in the camps, that a national order is enforced through violence and transformed into prevailing law. Camps are to be understood as a nation's instrument within the field of repressive biopolitics, an instrument which historically succeeded, as it can be applied both variably, economically and flexible.

Concentration camps first appeared in Cuba in 1896 (installed by the Spanish Conquista) in the form of modern instruments of colonial biopolitics. In 1900, the USA established concentration camps in the Spanish colonial territories, for the purpose of detaining Philippine guerilleros. In the so called Boer War (1899-1902), Great Britain installed camps where the detainees died in large numbers, due to the miserable living conditions. In Namibia, the German colonial power installed concentration camps under the construction of the railway line, where “extermination through labour” was practiced. 70 percent of the employed labourers did not survive the exploitation due to the bad working conditions – the deadly ex-

They cannot stop the movement, but they increase the costs for getting through and for being trafficked. haustion of colonial working labour was nevertheless approved. Another example is the German genocide on the Herero people, where concentration camps functioned as a military instrument, in order to control and exterminate the masses.

Also in Europe, camps served as controlling instruments of biopolitics, in order to control and contain infectious illnesses, to detain homeless people and to regulate the working force in front of the gates of the factories. The first concentration camp for the regulation of Jewish migrants coming from Eastern Europe was installed in Germany in 1921, and it was closed again in 1923 after heavy protests against

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the bad living conditions.

Modern day camps are modelled on the camps installed by Nazism, which involved the ethnicization of a homogenous demographic group, and whereby the by the Nazism defined “Other” was locked up in the concentration camps and exterminated methodically. Existing today, inside both centres and peripheries, camps are places where lawlessness is applied in order to control migrants and the ethnicized Other.

Even though places comparable to the death camps of the Nazism do not exist, there can still be identified continuities that recourse to the lawless dealings with migrants or people defined as such.

Nevertheless, it is obvious that the living conditions in the various types of camps – from the concentration camp to the camps for migrant workers – cannot be compared to each other, as life in the camp above all is determined by the political will of those who are in control of it. Camp architecture as provisional arrangement together with the inner variable conditions produces a potentially legal vacuum, which can be determined centrally by the political purpose of the installation and the pan-social coverage. The barrack as the prototypical, architectural element of the camps provides an economical and easily built space, where masses of people can be accommodated only because they are subjected to an authority. The historical continuities of this spatial concept are situated in the combination of the economically efficient construction and administration, as well as the randomly adjustable conditions of life within.

The camp, with its diverse, and control accomodating architecture, suits the respective politics as a variable concept for having control over masses of people. It lies in this variability that the camp concept is as successful as the broad spectrum of its use: for the extermination of people, the exploitation of workers and/or the accommodation of young people in organised spare time activities. Thus, the camp as concept and power control requires a further specification which clarifies the involved political purposes.

It is through this specification, that the distinction between the present camps and the camps of the Nazism becomes clear.

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Contemporary camps for regulating migratory movement

When looking at the present migration regime it becomes clear that the age of the camps is not over yet. Furthermore, camps are being installed as an approved medium of control. Postcolonial migratory movement, together with the inexorable migration, carries the practices of the outlaw – the camp as highly symbolic treatment of the undesired – back from the former colonies to the centres. Each country of the European Union has its own detention camps for migrants, for the undesired and the illegalised. The spectrum is as big as it is innovative, from classical detention camps to deportation prisons to the German Federal camp systems, consisting of semi-open, decentralised camps installed in former military barracks, run-down apartment blocks, containerships or shanty towns. Present development in the migration regimes emphasises a further move of the legal vacuum, the camp. Having arrived in the centres, the border area of the European Union is extended, and the concept of the camp is simultaneously outsourced.

Only the justification patterns are conform to the contemporary.

Today, pedagogically oriented concepts are exported, the blueprint for detention camps for undesired migrants are added for free. According to the argumentation of the EU-administration, for the construction of EU-funded camps in the transit nations, the EU detains migrants in camps in order to pro-

tect them from themselves, or rescues refugees from drowning when trying to escape from the European border agency Frontex. Thus, the EU evolves from being a pure, economically potent centre to a global, military player. Through economic integration and military threats, neighbouring states are forced to build camp landscapes around the EU. Detention camps, supported both financially and conceptually, are found in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania and Latvia – which all have become EU member states in the meantime – and in the Ukraine, Croatia, SerbiaMontenegro, Libya and Algeria. The inclusion in the camp is exported.

The migrant’s exclusion of the Euro-

Keywords to be mentioned are the so called original accumulation, colonialism, present imperial wars, ... and the treatment of the undesired migrants.

pean Union is already initialised before they even have reached Europe.

When we now take a concrete look at the camp in regard to the conflicting priorities of migration, different concepts and diverse embodiments are to be found. To pe-

ripheral camps two central, official concepts can be applied, known as Regional Protection Areas and Transit-Processing-Centres.

Regional Protection Areas, also know under the name of safe haven, are widely applied. Whenever the Western war armada sets off, in order to fight for human rights and to secure the access to resources, no matter if it's in former Yugoslavia or in Iraq, regional camps are established in order to control the escape of the poorest. Huge refugee camps, often built in form of tent camps for more than 100,000 people, are constructed in the effected or adjacent nations. The know-how of the IOM (International Organisation for Migration) in collaboration with the Red Cross is implemented, common medical treatment is ensured, safety guards are instructed and in cooperation with the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), the implementation controlled.

Transit-Processing-Centres are a blueprint which has not been effectuated yet. Introduced by Tony Blair and Otto Schily and supported by the UNHCR, they are meant to become regional asylum camps, where refugees on their perilous transit to Europe are detained, and whose applications for asylum are received and decided upon by officials of both the UNHCR and the EU. When getting an affirmative answer, the few accepted are then flown into the EU and with the help of Resettlement-programs integrated into the job market. But, as mentioned before, such concepts are still a blueprint, and the associated

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restriction of national sovereignty of the neighbouring countries is not yet applicable.

The types of camps which design the EU-camp cosmos and cordon around the EU are mostly regular detention camps for migrants. Official concepts do not exist; based on the knowledge of the IOM, Frontex, cooperating institutions and the local Red Cross Organisations, they are installed in the unlegislated areas. Former military barracks are normally still under the control of the national army. The period of detention is regulated by national laws, but the inhuman living conditions depend on the local social conditions and the resisting structures. If the camps are not part of the public sphere, the camp officials are free to fill the unlegislated area with their own power.

Also inside the EU the regular detention camp rules. According to the new EU deportation directives, the period of detention has just been raised to one and a half year; earlier, months have been the norm, not years. Also in this case, the conditions in the inside depend on the local networks and the social institutions. In Greece for ex., conditions are so bad that Norway has decided not to deport people back to Greece, as the Geneva Convention on Refugees would be transgressed by doing so.

The situation in the German Federal Republic is both unique and different, as there exist semi-open camps, which I described as a decentralised camp system, where still almost 10,000 migrants are detained.

The camp system consists of differ-

ent types of camps, which are normally open in order for the migrants to have the possibility to leave the

Key terminology to be mentioned are: the criminal records on the length of ears, the development of photography and the passport system. camps and work irregularly. From the migrants' point of view, the law of the residential obligation parcels the area into administrative district units, and the leaving of the respective administrative district results in a punishable offense – police control is omnipresent. A new type of camp is the so called “Ausreisezentrum” (exit centre) or the “Ausreiseinrichtung” (exit institution), both of them theoretically open; thus being an extension of the potentially unlegislated area. The conditions in the camps are meant to put people off; migrants are almost forced to disappear and accept their own existence without perspectives. Cynically, this is then turned humanitarianly, and presented as volunteer departure to the public. Also in the German Federal Republic, there are traditional detention camps, as for example the deportation prisons and the exterritorial area at the Frankfurt airport; but it is not the number of detained people that gives them their importance, they are rather to be understood as one single component of the entire camp system.

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Social exclusion and detention are the primary functions of the inner European camp system. Integration into society is studiously avoided; at the same time, the authorities’ control access should always be possible. The camp cosmos of the EU can only be classified according to the functional element within the general migration regime. Separate military battle groups and the coordination of border police authorities are cornerstones of the border regime being established around the European centre. Frontex, in collaboration with IOM, has established a network that collects data about travelling routes and regions, elaborates risk analyses and provides knowledge, military techniques and educated personnel for the management of migration. Around the core countries of the EU, border areas are emerging with differentiated national sovereignties. Nations with graded dependencies develop, and border security is outsourced.

The classical border fence is replaced with high-tech supported safety technology. Screening gates evolve, graded border areas that are arranged around the centre and whose purpose it is to circulate goods and to select undesired migrants. The computer-aided screening of the border areas is flanked by the installation of detention camps.

They serve as gathering places on the itineraries, they try to regulate, select and manage movement. They cannot stop the movement, but they increase the costs for getting through and for being trafficked. The dead in the seas and at the fences are paying the price for this policy.

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af Søren Rafn

Guests and Aliens, Saskia Sassen New Press, New York, 1999

Saskia Sassens klassiske Guest and Aliens fra 1999 leverer endnu provokerende indsigter i immigrationens væsen. Værket anfører, at Europa i lighed med USA, om end på anden vis, er et kontinent med en immigrationshistorie, og ansporer med sin historie om europæisk migration i 200 år begge kontinenter til at bevæge sig væk fra kontrolregimer og angst for masseinvasion.

Sassen viser, at migration følger

af Sylvester Roepstorff Nutidige forudsigelser om migration og dens virkninger har ofte vist sig at være forkerte, hovedsaligt på grund af utilstrækkelig forståelse af fortiden, siger en ny bog. Det vil sige, at nervøsiteten over stigende Migration History in World History. indvandring bl.a. skyldes en manMultidisciplinary Approaches glende historisk viden.

Jan Lucassen, Leo Lucassen og Udgiverne af bogen Migration Patrick Manning (red.), Brill, History in World History nævner, at Leiden, Boston, 2010 den historiske tilgang til migration Press, New York, 1999 ikke er slået igennem i den offen-

by Joachim Hamou

Sylvain George: L’Impossible - Pages Arrachées, 2009

“L’Impossible - Pages Arrachées owes a debt to Rimbaud, Dostoyevsky and Benjamin. This film sets out to bear witness to the discriminatory policies that shape our epoch, the ‘hellish’ nature of some political lives (those of migrants/immigrants, workers, the unemployed, students, etc.), and gets to the nub of the question of rebellion and insurrection: overload, disidentification, undecidable reconfiguration...

Thus, by dialectical reversal, ‘offpremises’ that cannot be assimila-

Translation page 113

bestemte mønstre, og hævder, at lovgivning og hverdagsdiskurser om asyl og migration er ude af trit med politiske og økonomiske realiteter.

Værkets fokus er tiden efter 1848 og de store nationer: Tyskland med dets midlertidige billige arbejdsmigranter; Frankrig med dets åbne grænser og assimilationspolitik; Italien, der eksporterede arbejdere i stort tal til bygning af tunneler, veje og jernbaner i Europa. I alle tilfælde blev immigranter diskriminerede, skønt de på ingen måde var at be-

tlige debat, og denne mangel netop er skyld i hvad de kalder den moralske panik.

Bogen er den tredje ud af indtil videre syv udgivelser i en serie kaldet: Studier i global social historie, som både har en global og et tværvidenskabelig indgang til sit stof.

Migrationens historie starter for ikke mindre end 100.000 år siden: Out-of-Africa-teorien hævder, at det anatomisk moderne menneske opstod i Afrika for ca. 200.000 år siden og begyndte at udvandre - øst-

ted are made visible: impossible bodies!” This is the official presentation of the film by the French filmmaker Sylvain George from 2009.

Sylvain George uses a stylized film language to investigate some of the most troubling issues in modern politics. In the first part he takes a very close look into migration by highlighting the plight of migrants attempting to cross the Channel in search of better lives in Britain. The sequence is filmed with 8 mm film without sound and continues for an astonishing half hour without sound. The sequence evolves like a

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tragte som en kulturel anden, som problemet påstås at være med muslimer i dag. Med første verdenskrigs flytgningestrømme blev immigranten dog til flygtning, og ’udlændingen’ blev en afgørende figur for nationale identitetsdannelser. Pas og kontrol blev nøgleord i den ’krise’, problemstillingen også forbindes med i dag.

Med et utroligt rigt kildemateriale skaber Sassen en historiemosaik og taler for multilaterale tilgange til asyl og migration. Europa beskrives

på det punkt som værende foran USA i kraft af bl.a. domstole, der modarbejder politiske stramninger.

Alligevel klæber nationerne sig til deres suverænitet og opfattelsen af at være passive modtagerlande, der rammes af immigration. Men migration produceres og er et aspekt ved også modtagerlandenes økonomi.

Kun et mindretal beslutter sig for at emigrere, sjældent de fattigste. Der er ingen udsigt til masseinvasion, som der heller ikke var før grænsekontrollens tid.

Guests and Aliens er et nøgternt oplysningsværk, der stille og roligt polemiserer mod magthaverne og deres eftersnakkere. Fokus er således ikke på migranters autonomi og politisk mobilisering fra neden, som det er svært at tænke politisk forandring foruden, men Sassen baner vejen for den, der arbejder med asyl og migration fra neden eller fra oven eller vil kvalificere sin holdning på området.

over - for ca. 100.000 år siden. Det vil jo faktisk sige, at mennesket har været lige så lang tid på farten, som det har været fastboende. Hvad der dog ikke bliver diskuteret.

Migration studeres - i det linguistiske afsnit - igennem undersøgelser af låneord, ordenes spredning og indtrængning i andre sprog og de demokratiske implikationer, de har.

Vi hører endvidere i biologiafsnittet om genetiske blaffere (genetic hitch-hiking), dvs. de gener der ikke direkte er vigtige i overlevel-

seskampen og som derfor bruges som tegn på, at der er foregået migration - og om ’gene flow’, der er bioantropologernes og bioarkæologernes betegnelse for migration.

Vi hører om geokemiske undersøgelser af først dyrs siden menneskers folkevandringer, som kan studeres i skeletternes vidnesbyrd om hvad dyr og mennesker har spist.

Vi hører om familiemønstres, ægteskabsformers og arvereglers betydning for hvem, det er og hvordan og hvorhen mennesker bevæger sig.

Bogen også er en introduktion til en lang række forskellige måder at studere migration på, og i den forstand lever den op til alle akademiske standarder - bl.a. ved at afholde sig fra at gå ind i en kritisk dialog med de nutidige politiske forhold.

De neutrale metoders implicitte politiske budskab er imidlertid at godtgøre hvor naturlig og ustoppelig en del af menneskehedens historie migration er.

nightmare where the oppression of sounds and the beauty of image create a monstrous polarity to the desolation of the refugee’s situation.

In the second sequence we follow a group of activists in two different actions, both in epic Parisian locations. They are opposing the centralisation of power and the constant governmental cuts. In one part the students are resisting the anonymous law force with stones and bottles. Eventually, in the middle of the night, the last participants are caught trying to hold on to a revolutionary statue in the square shout-

ing to the journalist (Sylvain being addressed directly) “join us!” A noncommentary sequence follows with the silent arrest of the last activists followed by the cleaning of the square.

The final sequence lashes out towards the double standard of the 68-generation that turned socialism into liberalism. It is a well-written text read over a montage of gay activist demonstrations in the 70’s, libertine experimental film from the same period exoticizing young Arab men, and early mainstream gay film productions. The film is a hymn for

the critical voice that, despite the pitfalls that may accompany it, continue to question all aspects of power. Maybe homosexuals have won a privilege but that doesn’t mean minorities all together have been that fortunate.

L’Impossible-Pages Arrachées is an important tool for understanding the activist sensibility and it points out the limit of solidarity in our society with the refugee as a silent ghost reminding us of the chilled consequences of conformity.

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No. 4 2010

Imre Kertész: Kaddish for et ufødt barn, Batzer & Co, Roskilde, 2002 af Jeppe Wedel-Brandt Kære læser, lad mig starte med at bekende noget for dig. Jeg bliver ofte ramt af komplet afmagtsfølelse, når der sker nye udviklinger på asyl- og migrationsområdet i Danmark. Jeg bliver forbandet, rasende og trist, når folk, jeg kender bliver udvist, når folk, der f.eks. er med til at lave visAvis, bliver presset til det urimelige af et system, der virker koldt og ligeglad. Jeg føler en enorm skam, når en stat, der regner mig som en af dens medlemmer, sætter folk i lejre og tvinger dem til urimelige vilkår. Det får mig til at handle, selvfølgelig gør det det. Men ofte mærker jeg en håbløshed. Hvorfor overhovedet forsøge at deltage i en debat, i en kultur, der har frembragt sådan et system. Jeg tror, det er en følelse, mange aktivister kender. Følelsen af at det er umuligt, at det ikke nytter noget at forsøge at påvirke den kultur, vi lever i. Afmagt og grundlæggende ulyst til samfundet. Selvfølgelig skal vi prøve at ændre det på, finde en måde at påvirke systemet men jeg tror, der er en del at hente, ved at undersøge den følelse af generel ulyst lidt nærmere.

Det er præcis ulysten til hele kulturen, der bliver behandlet i den Nobelprisvindende forfatter og Auschwitzoverlever Imre Kertész’ mesterværk Kaddish for et ufødt barn.

Et værk, der netop er, hvad titlen lover – en sørgemesse for det barn, fortælleren, kaldet B, aldrig fik – men også så meget mere. Hele teksten består af en monolog fortalt af B, henvendt til et du, barnet, der aldrig blev født, og de lange sætninger slynger sig ind og ud af hinanden og litteraturhistorien. De eneste brud, de eneste afsnitsmarkeringer, i hele bogen er, når der ind i mellem

udråbes et “Nej!”. Og på en måde er historien i Kaddish for et ufødt barn netop historien om dette “Nej!”. Der findes nemlig et oprindeligt nej i B’s historie – et nej han udtalte, udskreg, da hans daværende kone ville have et barn med ham. Sørgemessen for det barn, der altså aldrig blev født på grund af et “Nej!”, er således også en refleksion over det “Nej!”, over hvorfor B sagde eller skreg det ud. En refleksion, der viser at det “Nej!” runger ud i hele B’s liv og i den kultur, han lever i. Det er således ikke kun en afvisning af at få et barn, men en afvisning af hele kulturen, eller med Kertész’ ord: “mit liv anskuet som mulighed for dit liv”. Altså, er det forsvarligt at sætte et barn i denne verden?

Kaddish for et ufødt barn er også fortællingen om B som overlever af Auschwitz. Det chokerende ved den fortælling er imidlertid Kertész’ insisteren på, at Auschwitz ikke er exceptionelt, men nærmere en ekstrem af den kultur, der frembragte det sted, den kultur, vi ikke har gjort op med og derfor den kultur, der gør det nødvendigt at sige, nej ,skrige “Nej!” For Kertész er det vigtigt at gøre op med idéen om, at der ikke gives nogen forklaring på Auschwitz. Tværtimod er Auschwitz et resultat af en verdenshistorie og en kultur, der har skabt mulighedsbetingelserne for det: “Auschwitz er efter min mening et billede på det enkelte liv og dets id, set i en bestemt organiserings tegn.” Det er denne organisering, der kan forklares, den har et navn, vores kultur, og det er den, B bliver nød til at sige, nej skrige, “Nej!” til. Det er i alle vores hverdagslige krænkelser af hinanden, alle de små skridt i den gale retning,

at vi skaber mulighedsbetingelserne for det: “Auschwitz [har] hængt i luften i umindelige tider, hvem ved, måske i århundreder, som en mørk frugt modnet i talløse fornedrelsers glitrende stråler, i venten på det rette øjeblik til at falde ned i hovedet på os”.

Det er tung læsning, men også vigtig læsning, for med sin sørgemesse opstiller Kertész netop det mørke hul, afmagten overfor en kultur, der kunne skabe Auschwitz, en kultur, der udviser vores venner til usikkerhed og i nogle tilfælde død. Det mørke hul, man ikke kan tillade sig at være bange for at kigge ned i. Vi lever i en kultur, der har travlt med at forarges over tortur, folkemord og intolerance, men nægter at erkende, at vi selv med de selv samme logikker, der skaber disse, tager spadestik til et lignende mørkt hul. En kultur, der erklærer disse forbrydelser som uforklarlig ondskab, i stedet for at tage et virkeligt opgør med sine egne strukturer. Vi kan lære noget af vores afmagt – også uden at følge den – vi kan lære noget af Kertész, når han fortæller os, at ”det der virkelig er irrationelt, det der virkelig ikke findes nogen forklaring på, er ikke det onde: Det er det gode.”

Der er mange flere pointer og mange flere gode grunde til at læse Kaddish for et ufødt barn – ikke mindst Kertész’ uomtvisteligt fantastiske litterære kvaliteter – men for mig, kære læser, er det især som hjælp til at erkende dybden af den nuværende brutalitets årsager. Og derfra alligevel forsøge at handle, alligevel forsøge at ændre noget, alligevel kæmpe imod.

TRANSLATIONS

No. 4 2010

Indholdsfortegnelse af oversættelser Content of Translations

92 Barbershop – Haircuts with or without citizenship – Marie Sauer-Johansen 92 Dødsfejring – Omar 93 De somaliske flygtninges erfaringer: Mishandling på vejen til Europa – Liban Abdi Abanur 94 Effektiv afskæring – Frontex - det europæiske grænseagentur – Matthias Lehnert 95 What happens when refugees return home? – Mona Ljungberg 96 Una Raya En El Mar – Thomas Elsted 96 An excerpt from the novel Æsel – Kristina Stoltz 97 Asylansøgere – Solomon 98 Den største befolkning uden et land – Memo Jan 98 In Svalbard no visa is required – Tobias Stål 99 How possibilities are made – Katrine Syppli Kohl 100 OPENSOURCEFOOD – Arendse Krabbe & André Amtoft 100 Dance outside the bubble – Marie Sauer-Johansen 101 Nu kommer Trampolinhuset! – Morten Goll 102 The memory of present day Europe – Louise Rosengreen 103 Where bearberries grow – Anders Prien 104 Non-ID Palæstinenser fanget i Libanon – Lorena Torres 104 We have a history – Jens Pfeifer 105 Fra Nablus til Ingenmandsland – Essam 105 Who is not in love with Carmen? – Abigail Josephsen 106 Papirløse amerikanere – Eric Huerta 108 Undocumented Access to Health Care – Nina Monrad Boel 109 Irregular migration in Scandinavia – something to talk about at all? – Søren Rafn 110 Silently the snow is shoveled of the roofs – America Vera-Zavala 111 Pirate Bay – Patrick 112 Hvad flygtninge skal vide ved ankomst til Sandholmlejren – Ziad Kabbani 112 Lejren som et variabelt instrument til at kontrollere migration – Tobias Pieper 113 Readings

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No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS

Barbershop – Haircuts with or without citizenship

by Marie Sauer-Johansen Roskilde Festival, July 2nd 2010: Under a burning white sun, in a graffiti painted tent, three hairdressers are busy cutting festival goers hair.

Around them, people are pushing and shoving over the crooked plank floor, painted green below the second-hand office chairs that the customers are seated in. A long-haired girl is considering whether to go for a short punk cut, and is convinced by her enthusiastic friends. The hairdresser is totally up for the idea, and immediately fetches his scissors, which gleam in the half-darkness like his thick silver necklace. Next to them, another hairdresser keeps his eyes fixed on the swirling pattern he is shaving on a man’s scalp. A spicy smell of coffee bubbles into the air from the café in the other part of the tent, and mixes with the smell of hot people, dust, and beer. Outside in the sun light, two girls are waiting for their names to be called from the long waiting list, while they lazily flick through copies of visAvis and glance over at the Cosmopol stage, where a jamaicansk dance hall band fills the whole area with vibrating bass.

At this year’s Roskilde Festival, visAvis offered free hair cuts in the improvised hair salon, ’Barbershop’. Barbershop was part of the Urban Conflict area, created by 160 activists around the one of the main stages, the Cosmopol stage.

The visAvis-team consisted of 26 people, including six hair dressers, who all live in Danish asylum centres. The idea behind the project was to use the trust and intimacy that naturally develops between customer and hairdresser as a foundation for conversation and mutual understanding. In this way, visAvis wanted to draw attention to asylum seeker’s lack of opportunities for work and study.

Study but no work Without a resident’s permit it is illegal to work in Denmark, but you are allowed to study, regardless how long your stay in the country is.

The Danish Red Cross (DRC), which runs the majority of the Danish asylum centres, offers a range of publicly funded courses and degrees.

Most of the courses, in subjects such as language and IT, are run by DRC themselves, but there are also a number of special agreements.

These allow asylum seekers to attend public and private institutions, such as language schools and various vocational schools. All together, there is a clear emphasis on vocational and practical vocations.

Become a hairdresser DRC has made special arrangements with many of the institutions offering diplomas in hairdressing. One of these is a private hairdressing school in Copenhagen. Here you can take a diploma in hairdressing in just one year, and this is where five out of the six hairdressers who worked in Barbershop are studying. At DRC, Lars Brügger from the asylum department sees a diploma in hairdressing as a very good option: “Hairdressing skills are easily transferable and can be used everywhere, whether your future is in Denmark, your home country or in a whole new country,” he says. He adds that it is more difficult to make special agreements with uni-

Dødsfejring af Omar

versities and other academic institutions, partly because the courses they offer are more expensive than shorter courses like the ones in hairdressing, but especially because they demand special qualifications. “We are very keen to improve asylum seeker’s access to education, but even if we had more resources, there would still be restrictions, because most asylum seekers do not have the academic and linguistic qualifications to get into courses of a more academic kind,” he says. He explains that people who seek asylum in Denmark are allowed to apply for financial support to attend any education that suits their individual situation. This includes university degrees.

Lack of knowledge about free choice But many asylum seekers are not aware that they have free access to education: “I heard about the hairdressing school from a friend of mine who studied there, and then I asked my contact person in DRC, if I could go there too,” says Luqman, one of the hairdressers in Barbershop. “I didn’t know that I could choose other courses.” His experience is shared by most of the hairdressing students that visAvis has spoken to, and is a testament to how difficult it is to navigate the Danish bureaucracy when you are stuck in a limbo position, waiting for the result of an asylum application. In this situation, language barriers, emotional stress and unfamiliarity with the Danish public system blocks people’s understanding of their own rights.

Thus, it effectively becomes DRC’s communication strategy and complete coincidences that determine what courses people end up on, and whether they end up on one at all.

The joy of working But the randomness characterising the situation of the five hairdressers at Barbershop, does not ruin their joy at being able to study.

The hairdressers at Barbershop tell visAvis that their studies are a light in the darkness of their never ending wait for answers to their applications, and that they value their new professional skills. But they all express deep frustration over the fact that the Danish ban on work for asylum seekers prevents them from using their skills professionally after graduation.

In Barbershop, the six hairdressers were allowed to cut all the hair they wanted to – as long as they didn’t charge for it. And who wouldn’t like a free haircut? At the Roskilde Festival, there was no shortage of people eager to get a trim in the tent that visAvis shared with Café Under Construction. The cafe normally sells coffee at Folkets Hus at Nørrebro in Copenhagen and donates proceeds to political projects. But despite the hectic working days at the Barbershop, there was only one thing, the hairdressers would have wanted differently, when we evaluated the project: if only there had been more room in the tent, they could have worked even more.

Barzan “The best thing about Barbershop was that everyone worked together. Men and women, young people and old people – everyone helped each other and did the same kind of work.”

“I had never slept in a tent before. The tent I

slept in was a little bit too small, so my feet stuck out, but it didn’t matter very much. I was a little too shy to mention it, because I was just so happy to be there.”

Soran “It was a little bit difficult to cut people’s dirty hair, and there wasn’t quite enough space to work, but one good thing was that we had all the equipment we needed, because we were such a large group, and everyone shared what they had.”

“It was great to get some practice at cutting hair.

I had only been put down for two-hours work every day, but I worked for six hours, because I really want to get better at cutting hair.”

“I had never imagined that I would become a hairdresser. In Iraq I worked at a steel factory, but when I lived in Sandholm Asylum center, I had nothing to do, and then I heard about the hairdressing school. Now I’m very happy that I go there, because even if I don’t get asylum, I can work as a hairdresser in other countries.”

Himan “If I think there were too many people at the festival? Maybe there were 50 percent too many, but it didn’t matter, because we just had such a good time all the time.”

“This was the first time I really listened to music from other countries. It was really cool – especially Balkan and some French hip hop.”

Danial “At Roskilde I never became tired – it was like I had never ending energy, because everything was so much fun.”

“If some of the customers were dissatisfied with their haircuts, we just said ‘it’s Roskilde, it’s free, chill out.”

“I have four months left at the hair dressing school, and when I’m done, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ve got six negative answers to my asylum application, and now I’m waiting for the next answer. I would love to work as a hairdresser, but I’m not allowed to, so after I finish I will probably take some courses at VUC.” Luqman “I also worked as a hairdresser in Iraq, after I had to leave the army. In Iraq, I only cut men’s hair though, here I’ve learned to cut women’s hair. It’s not that different, you can just do a bit more with women’s hair.”

“If I got asylum in Denmark, I’d like to open my own hair salon, maybe at Nørrebro. If I don’t get asylum, I don’t know what to do.”

Christian “Roskilde festival was sort of like a village, where everyone takes care of each other. When you walk the streets of Copenhagen, you can’t talk to people. At Roskilde, you can do that – if only you speak Danish, like I do, everyone’s willing to talk to you.”

“I learned how to shave patterns in hair in Burundi. There I mainly did it for fun. If I get asylum though, I’d like to start at the hairdressing school in December, but right now I can’t do anything, because my case has been turned down so many times that I’m scared of being thrown out of Denmark.”

Somalia er stærkt plaget af gruppen Al-Shabab, der hjernevasker børn og bedriver terror. Landet er et af de mest usikre steder i verden, hvorfra millioner af mennesker er blevet drevet på flugt.

Mit navn er Omar. Jeg er somalisk flygtning i Danmark. Jeg flygtede fra mit land for at redde mit liv.

Efter sammenbruddet af den centrale regering ledet af Siad Bae i 1991 har Somalia gennemgået mange politiske stadier. Det er blevet ramt af naturkatastrofer som tørke og sult og blevet sønderlemmet af endeløse borgerkrige.

I Somalia er der en gruppe ved navn Al-Shabab, der betyder ‘unge mennesker’. Denne gruppe bekæmper den centrale regering og Den Afrikanske Unions fredsvagter. De hjernevasker børn, der ikke har nogen alternativer på grund af social lavstatus. Unge mennesker i Mogadishu har ingen muligheder for at gå i skole eller leve et normalt liv og er tvunget til at kæmpe med gruppen som soldater. Gruppen vil have dig til at bruge en pistol og dø uden grund. Hvis du nægter, vil de angribe og dræbe dig.

Lad os kaste et blik på en af de værste og mest chokerende tragedier, der skete i Shamu Hotel i Mogadishu den 3. december 2009, hvor dimmi-

terende kandidater skulle have haft beviset på deres kandidatgrad efter seks års studier i ‘krigsbyen’ Mogadishu.

Salen var veldekoreret i stor stil, og afgangsceremonien var arrangeret på den smukkeste måde. Ministre fra regeringen, læger, professorer, journalister, studerende og deres forældre og andre ærværdige gæster var inviteret til festligholdelsen.

En voldsom eksplosion rystede stedet, hvor ceremonien var i gang og dræbte over 25 mennesker inklusiv nogle af de studerende, der havde studeret lang tid for at kunne bidrage til deres samfund.

Al-Shabab-oprørere påtog sig ansvaret for angrebet og pointerede, at de studerende burde kæmpe i stedet for at studere.

Somalia er et af de mest usikre steder i verden. Der er en grund til, at somaliere risikerer livet og forsøger at flygte for at finde et sted, hvor de kan få et bedre og fredeligt liv. De sidste tre år er 1,5 millioner mennesker ifølge FN og lokale menneskerettighedsgrupper blevet bortdrevet fra deres hjem og mange andre dræbt.

No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS

93

De somaliske flygtninges erfaringer: Mishandling på vejen til Europa Flygtningeruten fra Somalia til Europa er brolagt med kyniske menneskesmuglere, hasarderede sejladser, konfiskationer, ydmygelser og tortur. Det er et skræmmende rum, som den der ikke har oplevet det, har svært ved at forstå. Liban Abdi Abanur skriver her, med udgangspunkt i egne oplevelser, om disse forhold. af Liban Abdi Abanur Hovedstaden i Somalia, Mogadishu, er blevet et sted med militante, fundamentalister, kaos og anarki. Et sted hvor uskyldige mennesker flygter fra vold, selv om de nogle gange ikke kan nå langt nok væk fra kampzonen på grund af pengemangel.

Nogle af de 18 provinser i Somalia er stabile og har havne, f.eks. Bosaso, nær nabolandet Yemen, som de fleste somaliske flygtninge immigrerer til. Den desperate person, der ankommer i Bosaso, spørger folk i nærheden af havnen efter både til Yemen. Der er en masse smuglere, der snyder folk og holder flygtninge under stenklipperne i dagevis, indtil de har samlet det antal mennesker, de skal bruge for at læsse båden.

Smuglerne patruljerer i nærheden af klipperne og bringer nye mennesker hver time; pludselig spørger du dig selv, hvor mange personer denne lille båd kan tage? Men alle vil blive tvunget til at kravle ombord på båden, ellers vil de blive slået med stave. De betaler penge for dette hasardspil om liv og død.

Hvis båden begynder at vippe kraftigt fra side til side i havet, smuglerene beslutte, hvem de kaster i havet eller skyde. Båden er et meget trangt sted, hvor du ikke kan føle din egen krop.

Nogle kaster op, og folk ved siden af den der kaster op forsøger endda nogle gange at overleve af opkastet. Men han/hun kan miste sit liv på grund af bevægelsen af båden. Menneskesmuglerne har vanskeligheder med de enorme bølger, og for at overleve fortsætter de med stor sandsynlighed med at reducere antallet af passagerer.

Endelig, hvis du er blandt de 150 heldige gamlere, vil båden nå frem til en kyst, og menneskesmuglerne skubber passagererne fra borde flere hundrede meter fra den. De er ligeglade med, om du ikke kan svømme. Fra kysten begynder flygtningene at gå mod de fjerntliggende flygtningelejrene uden mad, vand og sko i den langstrakte varme ørken, uden skygge eller et sted at hvile. Nogle gange bringer en gruppe fra en international organisation kiks og det vand, man var berøvet for på turen. Det anslåede antal af dræbte og druknede under sejlads til Yemen var mere end 1.000 i 2007 og næsten 400 midtvejs i 2008.

Yemen har underskrevet flygtningekonventionen fra 1951 og har traditionelt haft en åben politik over for somaliere og givet dem flygtningestatus. Det anslås, at 150.000 somaliere i øjeblikket bor i landet. Men flygtningenes destination synes at være under forandring; de omfatter nu i højere grad selvlavede flygtningehytter i hele landet. Disse ’usynlige lejre’ er sammensat af forskellige mennesker: Ekstremt sårbare familier, der er flygtet fra de store byer på grund af ejendomsprisernes himmelflugt, folk, der har mistet pårørende i ideologiske stridigheder hjemme, tidligere militær- eller politifolk, der er trådt fra efter at være blevet truet af bevæbnede grupper og mange andre.

Syrien Jeg og syv andre personer, tre mænd, to kvinder og to børn, fandt smuglere i Syrien, der tog os fra Damaskus til Halab og fra Halab til Afrin. Inden vi nåede Afrin, lukkede nogle soldater vejen ved at parkere deres bil på tværs af den. Det var en smal og snoet vej på bjerget. Chaufføren sagde, at vi skulle løbe, de ville dræbe os, hvis de fangede os.

Han kørte bilen meget hurtigt imod dem, og de bevæbnede mænd skød mod os, indtil han drejede bilen ind i en jungle. Soldaterne sårede moren til de to børn på bagsædet. Alle var bange og chokerede, på det tidspunkt kiggede ingen bagud. Derfor be-

vægede jeg mig så hurtigt som muligt i mindst seks timer i junglen uden at have styr på retningen. Til sidst faldt jeg til jorden af tørst. Jeg kunne ikke gå, tale eller råbe for at blive hørt af nogen. Jeg var for lammet selv til at græde. Heldigvis blev jeg fundet af en landmand, der ejede jorden. Jeg kunne se ham, men havde ingen stemme at sige noget med.

Landmanden tog mig med til sit hjem og gav mig vand og noget mad. Men jeg var den eneste sorte person i landsbyen. Jeg havde også slidt og beskidt tøj. Da bragte en fra landsbyen mig nær grænsen til Tyrkiet, ved området kaldet Antakya, hvor han konfiskerede alle mine penge. Nær grænsen mødte jeg andre mennesker, der sad på jorden, og jeg var lykkelig for at se dem. Men vi blev holdt fanget på en gård uden vand og mad og uden lov til at tale eller bevæge os.

Da vi skulle krydse grænsen, flyttede de os som dyr fra et sted til et andet. De samlede en masse mennesker forskellige steder og læssede os derefter i en lastbil med en motorcykler foran og bagved os.

De slap os ud i en jungle. Jeg fandt to andre somaliere, der spurgte mig, om jeg stadig var i live.

Menneskesmuglerne begyndte at gestikulere og slås og sagde begge: ”Liban tilhører mig” (”du mistede ham i junglen og jeg fandt ham”). Min første smugler sagde: ”Vi kan ikke skændes mere, jeg dræber ham.” Men vi var på en eller anden måde allerede blevet dræbt – ligesom nogle flygtninge på eller anden måde er blevet dræbt i Danmark, når de er blevet idømt fængsel fra deres ankomst.

Grækenland Vi brugte en af disse små oppustelige joller. Vi havde pakket alle vores ting i plastikposer. Vi tog af sted omkring klokken to om morgenen. Efter seks timer på havet nåede vi endelig den græske kyst.

Vi blev opdaget af den græske kystvagt cirka 300 meter fra øen Lesbos. Det var en hurtig hvid båd, der kredsede omkring os med høj hastighed. Politiet kastede et reb ud til os, og vi blev taget om bord.

Vi var udmattede og ønskede kun at sove. Vi lagde os ned på gulvet, men politiet råbte: ”Du skal ikke sove, sæt dig op”, og de sparkede os og tvang os til at sidde op.

En anden båd blev tilkaldt. De var hårde ved os, da de bragte os over på den, og råbte ”Malaka” og andre bandeord efter os, vi ikke kunne forstå. Vi bad dem: ”Vi er mennesker, hjælp os!” Den første lille båd forsvandt, og mændene fra den større båd kropsvisiterede os. De var ude efter vores penge.

Idet de søgte, lo en af politibetjentene og sagde: ”Jeg er læge!” Han fandt 50 euro på mig, som han konfiskerede.

Politiet kastede brød og vand, og hvad der ellers var tilbage i vores jolle i vandet. Jollen blev sat over vores hoveder. Politibåden tog os tilbage til internationalt farvand. Omkring to kilometer fra den tyrkiske kyst, kastede de jollen ud. Så blev vi tvunget tilbage i den på en meget voldsom måde. De havde lavet et lille hul i gummibåden, og de gav os kun en åre. Vi padlede desperat for at nå kysten, men vi var så udmattede. Vi gav op efter en time. Vi troede, vi skulle dø. Vandet var meget stille. Efter et stykke tid faldt vi i søvn. Så kom en stor båd og reddede os.

Vi ankom til Grækenland den 1. maj. Vi blev først bragt til kystvagternes bygning, derefter til hospitalet og tilbage igen til kystvagternes bygning til identifikation. Vi blev slået inde i bygningen af kystvagten. De bragte fire mænd og spurgte os, hvem der var kaptajnen. Jeg fortalte dem, at ingen af dem var kaptajn. Så blev alle slået. Jeg blev også ramt over mit højre øjenbryn, hele området var hævet. I lejren var der ingen, der spurgte mig, hvor skaden kom fra, hverken politiet eller lægen.

Jeg var i lejren i tre måneder. Det er ikke rart dér, men jeg var tilfreds, fordi jeg havde overlevet! Vi var så bange! Da jeg ankom til Grækenland og politiet tævede mig, tænkte jeg, at politiet er de samme overalt. De respekterede os ikke som mennesker,

jeg ved ikke hvorfor. Politiet er ligesom i Afrika, de kender kun til vold, intet andet. Det ramte mig virkelig hårdt. Men samtidig mødte jeg mange rigtig gode mennesker.

Lad mig i detaljer fortælle om en afhøring, jeg oplevede, for at illustrere volden. Jeg blev slået flere gange. Jeg blev nødt til at knæle. En politibetjent stod bag mig, mens to stod foran mig. Politibetjenten bag mig ramte mig hårdt med en stav på hovedet. Han ramte mig på toppen af mit hoved igen og igen. Jeg prøvede at beskytte mig selv med mine arme. Så slog han mine arme. Jeg prøvede at kigge bagud, og så begyndte han at slå mig igen. De to politibetjente foran mig var bevæbnede og viste mig deres våben, mens jeg blev slået. De kiggede meget alvorligt på mig. De sagde: ”Vi vil dræbe dig.”

Udtrykket i deres ansigter var skræmmende. Jeg var meget bange. Den anden politibetjente kom hen til mig og hviskede i mit øre: ”Fortæl sandheden.

De her to politibetjente er meget farlige. De vil slå dig ihjel.”

Så hentede de en plastikspand fuld af vand. Jeg knælede hele tiden. ”Kan du se vandet?” Mine arme var presset sammen bag min ryg af en af politibetjentene. Den anden politibetjent lagde sin hånd på min hals og skubbede mit hoved ned i vandet. Jeg kunne ikke trække vejret længere. Jeg blev trukket op efter et stykke tid. ”Kender du navnet og farven på båden nu?” Jeg sagde nej. Han slog mig to gange i ansigtet. Politibetjenten bag mig greb mine arme igen. Jeg ville tage en dyb indånding. Politibetjenten foran mig spurgte: ”Kan du huske nu eller ej?”

Jeg sagde nej igen. Han greb mit hoved og pressede det ned i vandet. Jeg var fuldstændig skrækslagen.

Jeg troede ikke jeg ville overleve. Da jeg kom op igen, spurgte politibetjenten igen: ”Så du kan ikke huske?” Jeg gentog, at det kunne jeg ikke. Så tog betjenten en plastikpose og trak den ned over mit hoved. Han strammede posen omkring min hals med den ene hånd. Jeg kunne ikke trække vejret længere. De gentog processen med plastikposen tre gange – hver gang stillede de det samme spørgsmål.

Derefter signalerede en politibetjent med sin hånd: Det er nok.

Den lange hårde vej, jeg har taget, gør mig stadig nogle gange ude af den. Når man er på flugt fra grænserne med menneskesmuglerne sammen med kvinder, børn og svage mennesker, der ikke kan løbe, og smuglerne giver signal om, at der er problemer på vejen, betyder det, at tiden er inde til at løbe. Nogle af disse mennesker kan ikke flygte i den kritiske situation. Og de befinder sig på grænsen til den visse død, hvis de bliver fanget af grænsevagten eller det lokale politi i et land. Så de eneste ord, smuglerne lærer dig er: ”Løb, stop ikke!”

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No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS

Matthias Lehnert er uddannet cand.jur. og er i gang med sin ph.d. om det europæiske grænseagentur Frontex. Han skriver for det tyske ugemagasin jungle world.

Effektiv afskæring Frontex - det europæiske grænseagentur af Matthias Lehnert Frontex blev etableret for at forvalte det operative samarbejde ved Den Europæiske Unions medlemslandes ydre grænser. I realiteten har agenturet stor indflydelse på kampen mod såkaldt ”illegal migration” i Europa uden egentlig at være kontrolleret af andre institutioner.

Traditionelt er migrationspolitik – ligesom grænsesikkerhed og regulering af udlændinges ind- og udrejse – en af nationalstaternes spidskompetencer. I takt med åbningen af Den Europæiske Unions indre grænser bliver flere og flere aktiviteter taget hånd om på det europæiske plan: Siden da har reguleringen af migration udgjort en fælles interesse. Heraf følger, at en masse direktiver og reguleringer, især omhandlende harmonisering af asylpolitik, er blevet indført siden slutningen af halvfemserne.

Yderligere er der blevet etableret et system, der bygger på Dublin II-forordningen og omfatter medlemslandenes beføjelser angående asylansøgninger: Princippet er ”kun én chance”; hver migrant kan kun søge asyl i én stat i hele Europa. Det europæiske grænseagentur Frontex blev etableret i 2004 for at koordinere bekæmpelsen af illegaliseret migration til Europa generelt og fra begyndelsn. Frontex begyndte sit arbejde den tredje oktober 2005 i Warszawa i Polen og forvaltes af ansvarshavende direktør Illka Laitinen, en tidligere brigadegeneral fra Finland. I det væsentlige har agenturet fem aktivitetsområder: Under forberedelsen til konkrete grænsesikkerhedsoperationer er det involveret i træning af grænsevagter og forskning i og udvikling af grænserelevant teknologi, og det udarbejder såkaldte risikoanalyser.

Under grænsesikkerhedsoperationer deltager Frontex som organisator og koordinator og implementerer aktiver og personel. Endvidere deltager agenturet i organiseringen af deportationsoperationer.

Under forberedelsen til grænsesikkerhed I overensstemmelse med Frontex’ vedtægter har Frontex til træningen af grænsevagter udviklet et ”fælles kernepensum”, der indeholder forskellige sektioner for grænsesikkerheden til lands, til vands og i luften. Derudover sammenstykker Frontex manualer om forskellige træningsaspekter og udbyder selv kurser. Da træningen ikke kan finde sted i selve agenturet i Warszawa, er der i medlemslandene allerede blevet etableret elleve partnerskabsakademier, der skal gennemføre harmoniseringen af grænsevagttræningen.

Hvad angår grænserelevant forskning har Frontex lavet udkast til forskellige undersøgelser.

Bortec-undersøgelsen handler om etableringen af et permanent system for overvågningen af den sydlige havgrænse og Middelhavet.

Undersøgelsen ved navn Medsea fokuserer på et Europæisk Patruljenetværk i Middelhavet.

For at forbedre og påvirke udviklingen i forskningsfeltet grænsesikkerhed prøver Frontex at skabe netværk til forskellige institutioner, som universiteter eller våbenfabrikanten OHB i Bremen, der har at gøre med udviklingen af et globalt satellitbaseret overvågningssystem.

Desuden deltager Frontex i The European Security Research and Innovation Forum (ESRIF, det europæiske sikkerhedsresearch- og innovationsforum).

Risikoanalyserne skrevet af Frontex beskæftiger sig med omdrejningspunkterne for illegaliseret migration på vej til og i Europa og specifikke migrationsrelaterede aspekter som menneskehan-

del. Derved vender Frontex tilbage til statistik og operativ information fra de nationale grænseautoriteter og medlemslandenes risikoanalyseenheder, der er forbundet til Frontex Risk Analysis Network (FRAN, Frontex netværk for risikoanalyse). Desuden samarbejder Frontex inden for dette område med nabolande, forløbig især i Balkanregionen – nu forbundet i The Western Balkan Risk Analysis Network (det vestlige Balkan-risikoanalysenetværk) – og forskellige institutioner som Europol, Joint Situation Centre, Det internationale center for udvikling af migrationspolitik (ICMPD), Den internationale organisation for migration (IOM) og FNs Flygtningehøjkommissariat (UNHCR). Risikoanalyserne er generelt baserede på en fælles, integreret risikoanalysemodel (Common Integrated Risk Analysis Model, CIRAM).

Derfor bliver formularer med detaljerede spørgsmål angående risikoanalysens specifikke emne sendt til de forskellige institutioner. Endelig evaluerer Frontexeksperter svarene ved at bruge IT. Frontex er i overensstemmelse med Frontex’ vedtægter ikke autoriseret til at samle eller behandle nogen personlige data, hverken i en kontekst af risikoanalyse eller inden for andre områder. Men – uanset den nuværende praktiske håndtering af dette krav – peger diskussionerne inden for Frontex og EU i retning af en udvidelse af beføjelserne. I så fald ville Frontex – i værste fald – blive et centraliseret sikkerhedsagentur med ubegrænset adgang til alle databaser, der har at gøre med tredjelandes borgere.

At organisere død Risikoanalyserne danner fundamentet for de nævnte træningsprogrammer og forskningsprojekter, men især for de fælles grænsesikkerhedsoperationer i Frontexregi. Fra etableringen af Frontex og til 2009 er i alt 92 operationer – af forskellig varighed og intensitet – blevet ført ud i livet ved grænser til vands, til lands og i luften. Hensigten med sådanne operationer er generelt at forhindre såkaldt ”illegal migration” på europæisk territorium. Denne term tjener i virkeligheden mest af alt det formål at kriminalisere de fleste former for migration, da der for de fleste migranters vedkommende ikke findes nogen lovlig vej til Europa – især ikke for dem, der søger beskyttelse eller som ikke er højt kvalificerede.

I mange tilfælde sigter operationerne mod øget identifikationskontrol af migranter, der ankommer ad søvejen, til grænsekontroller på landjorden eller til lufthavne på europæisk territorium. På den måde prøver embedsmændene at finde en migrants – påståede – oprindelse, også for at forberede en hurtig og ”effektiv” tilbagesendelse. Adskillige operationer ved havgrænser, som fællesoperationen Hera ved Afrikas vestkyst, udføres ikke bare på et medlemslands territorium, men også i internationalt farvand samt i tredjelandes havterritorier såsom Senegals eller Mauretaniens.

Derigennem gøres der forsøg på at opfange de sporede migrantbåde. Så bliver båden taget under kontrol og – i hvert fald officielt - “eskorteret” tilbage til sin udskibningshavn eller til den nærmeste kyst – ligegyldig hvad de lokale betingelser er for migranter.

Fællesoperationerne udføres af nationale embedsmænd, eftersom Frontex ikke selv har nogen grænsevagter. Ikke desto mindre må agenturets indflydelse på organiseringen af fællesoperationer ikke undervurderes. Selv om medlemslandene også kan kræve en Frontexoperation, bliver de fleste operationer iværksat af

Frontex på baggrund af de førnævnte risikoanalyser. Derefter vil en operativ plan blive udarbejdet af en projektmanager inden for Frontex på baggrund af forhandlinger med værtsstaterne på hvis territorium, operationen vil finde sted.

Derefter bliver de andre medlemslande bedt om at deltage ved stille grænsevagter og aktiver til rådighed, selv om Frontex også selv er involveret i udbydelsen af eksperter og aktiver.

Især sørger agenturet regelmæssigt for Frontex’ fælles støttehold (Frontex Joint Support Teams, FJST), der er sammensat af nationale reserver af grænsevagteksperter. Baseret på ekstra vedtægter fra 2007 kan Frontex også i såkaldte ”presserende og exceptionelle situationer” implementere Rapid Border Intervention Teams (RABITs – hastegrænseinterventionshold), ligeledes sammensat af nationale ekspertreserver. Medlemmerne af FJST såvel som af RABITs har udøvende magt under operationerne.

Operationen bliver endelig udført under vejledning af en grænsevagt fra medlemslandet.

Frontex er dog stadig involveret også i den operative fase, da Frontex’ koordinering (Frontex Coordinator) fungerer som rådgiver samt observerer, at den operative plan udføres korrekt.

Endelig bliver operationen evalueret af Frontexeksperter.

De intensiverede grænsesikkerhedsoperationer ved især havgrænserne såvel som de begrænsede muligheder for at komme ind i Europa medfører, at en masse migranter påtager sig risikoen ved endnu farligere veje til Europa.

Ifølge bloggen Fortress Europe har i alt omkring 15.000 mennesker mistet livet på vej til Europa siden 1988 – og med den nuværende politik for øje vil vejen til Europa ikke blive mindre farlig. ”Effektive deportationer” Også hvad angår deportationer bliver Frontex’ rolle i stigende grad proaktiv. Fra 2005 og til april 2010 deltog agenturet i 76 deportationsoperationer med et samlet antal på 3.562 deporterede personer. Mens Frontex i begyndelsen typisk kun deltog ved at medfinansiere forskellige medlemslandes deportationsfly, bliver en masse operationer på nuværende tidspunkt også organiseret i samarbejde med Warszawa. De indblandede medlemslande kan derfor udtrykke deres interesser via ICONet, et IT-baseret netværk koordineret af Frontex. I 2007 blev Frontex Core Country Group (Gruppen af Frontex’ kernelande) etableret. Inden for rammerne af dette forum diskuteres deportationsoperationernes organisering og procedure af Frontexeksperter og nationale myndigheder.

Frontex er bestemt ikke bemyndiget til at indgå hjemsendelsesaftaler med tredjelande. Ikke desto mindre plejer Frontex – under kurser for grænsevagter, konferencer og operativt samarbejde - tætte forbindelser med visse delegationer fra tredjelande, så det antages, at Frontex også er involveret i forhandlingerne om hjemsendelsesaftaler.

Svarende til Frontex’ koordinering (Frontex Coordinator) under de fælles grænsesikkerhedsoperationer ledsager en Frontexobservatør deportationsoperationen for at observere, at operationen bliver udført korrekt. I en nær fremtid vil Frontex selv chartre fly for at forenkle proceduren. Mens en undersøgelse om gennemførligheden af de kontraktlige forhold til luftfartselskaberne vil blive leveret i en nær fremtid, blev adskillige fly allerede i 2010 chartret af Frontex for at udvikle praktiske arrangementer.

No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS Ud over det er Frontex i stigende grad involveret i såkaldte ”førhjemsendelsesspørgsmål”.

Det betyder, at agenturet assisterer visse medlemslande i identifikationen og erhvervelsen af rejsedokumenter for at gøre tilbagesendelserne mere ”effektive”. Agenturet udbyder kurser om officiel håndtering af deportationer og udvikler praksisser inden for dette område. I 2009 blev et projekt ved navn Attica sat i værk af Frontex. Hovedformålet er et kontor for koordinering af hjemsendelser (Return Coordination Office) i Athen sammensat af Fronteximplementerede eksperter. Et beslægtet projekt kaldet Melita blev etableret i Malta i 2010.

Uansvarlig og ukontrolleret Dermed er grænsesikkerhed såvel som deportationspolitik allerede ret centraliseret. Trods agenturets dominerende rolle under udvikling og udførelse af grænsesikkerhed og deportationsoperationer henfører Frontex ikke desto mindre til nationalstaternes ansvar. Denne kompleksitet på det europæiske og det nationale plan gør mildt sagt retslig såvel som demokratisk kontrol meget sværere.

Yderligere – og trods sin betragtelige magt – er agenturet knap nok underlagt kontrol på det europæiske plan. Europa Kommissionen har ikke nogen autoritet, hvad angår Frontex’ konkrete tiltag. Europa Parlamentet vedtager ganske simpelt budgettet inden for rammerne af EU’s generelle budget, men uden at have reel indflydelse på agenturets politik. Agenturet er kun nødt til at offentliggøre et arbejdsprogram og en årlig rapport. Selv i den kontekst bliver essentiel information om operationerne jævnligt holdt hemmelig. På den måde får Frontex lov til at varetage sit mandat næsten for lukkede døre: Effektiv grænsesikkerhedskontrol uden hensyn til de berørte individer.

Kun én aktør i et beskidt foretagende Imidlertid er Frontex gjort til den eneste syndebuk for hvad, der i virkeligheden er en morderisk og nedværdigende migrationspolitik.

Frontex inklusiv dets beføjelser er blevet indsat af medlemslandene i hvis interesse, det agerer.

Samtidig er dets aktiviteter en væsentlig del af EU’s globale tilgang til migration. Dette koncept er – ud over rettet mod en strammet indrejsepolitik og et øget samarbejde, der skal beskytte

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de europæiske grænser – rettet mod outsourcing af migrationspolitik gennem intensivering af samarbejdet nu også med tredjestater uden for EU for endelig at forhindre migration helt fra begyndelsen. Det grundlæggende koncept såvel som udkommet af den europæiske migrationspolitik er en differentiering mellem to klasser af migranter: På den ene side er den lovlige indrejse – ud over for ganske få, der søger beskyttelse – konstrueret kun for dem, der som højt kvalificerede er nyttige for den europæiske økonomi. På den anden side resulterer den restriktive migrationspolitik og det såkaldte Fort Europas aggressive grænsesikkerhed ikke alene i en stigning i ulykkestilfælde på vej til Europa.

Snarere bliver størstedelen af de migranter, der allerede er ankommet til europæisk territorium, socialt ekskluderet ved at få en prekær status af opholdstilladelse eller ved at blive illegaliseret. Frontex er således kun én, omend en vigtig, aktør i et beskidt foretagende.

What happens when refugees return home?

by Mona Ljungberg / Citizens for Asylum (formerly the Support Group to Refugees in Danger) The Refugees in Danger association was established in 2001 with the aim of collecting and presenting documentation and information about the state of refugee conditions—or rather to track the collapse of asylum policies, that began right before the turn of the millennium in Denmark—as the Danish asylum policy changed from an inclusionary humanitarian effort to a policy of rejection and expulsion.

Lack of documentation.

It is very difficult to document when a rejected asylum seeker is in prison, or is being subjected to torture, or has been executed after having been rejected by the Danish immigration service. If a Dane would like to witness what happens to a rejected asylum seeker, in a country where a dictatorship or war is established, she cannot go without putting her life at risk. As a result, the political Right in Denmark has in the past exploited that there is hardly any eye witnesses or proof documenting the fatal outcomes faced by rejected asylum applicants. As Danes, we see no dead bodies.

However, a small number of refugees who had been expelled from Denmark have returned and their experience became the basis and living proof of the outcomes generated by the current inhumane asylum policies, for example: A19-year-old Tamil man who as boy had come to Denmark seeking asylum, as an unaccompanied 12-year-old , whose asylum application was eventually rejected and he was expelled when he turned 18. Immediately after his arrival to Sri Lanka he was arrested and subjected to the most horrible kinds of torture for several months.

Another person – an Indian man – had his application rejected and was expelled to India. He was arrested as well and subjected to torture.

He was then released, and to avoid being arrested again or subjected to even more torture, he fled once more. He returned to Denmark, where he has a brother. His brother had been given asylum because there was reason to believe that he was at risk of being put in prison and tortured due to his brother’s political activities; the brother whom the Danish immigration service, did not believe was in danger, and therefore rejected and sent back to India.

A third person – an Algerian man – had his house set on fire by an Algerian militia and

died together with his wife and children. This man had returned to Algeria after having been refused asylum in Denmark. A fourth man, who succeeded in fleeing from this danger in Algeria, brought the news of the man and his family’s destiny back to Denmark.

An association is founded.

The stories above made a small group of people decide to work for better documentation on the consequences of Denmark’s changed refugee policy. The intention with this was to ensure that refugees would obtain asylum and have the chance to lead a dignified life. In the beginning we were a small group of people, but the initiative was later expanded and became the Support Group to Refugees in Danger or Citizens for Asylum, which is the name that we use today, almost 10 years later.

When we originally founded our association, we did not imagine that things could get any worse for refugees in Denmark than they were already.

But they did. Denmark soon faced problems because of expulsions of people to countries where people are in danger if they return. Expulsions to some countries, such as Iran, stopped, but Denmark continued to expel people to some countries – for instance Afghanistan. This included single mothers and their children.

However, changes occurred also within Denmark. Where asylum applicants survive in cramped camps, almost like cattle, where the conditions often lead them or their children to fall ill. Denmark also began to expel refugees who were traumatized by war after 2006.

Citizens for Asylum initially started to document the expulsion of refugees to their home countries, documenting if they are tortured or executed, but over the last 10 years we have focused, documented, and helped refugees who seek asylum in Denmark on many levels.

We could not stand by and watch how Danish asylum policies developed into a set of negative administrative decisions that break down refugees, who come to Denmark with the hope of obtaining asylum, in an effort to flee fatal conditions in their home countries. This is why we have worked hard on this documentation.

Furthermore, we have involved the asylum children themselves by giving them cameras and by exhibiting their photographs and stories in a book. In this way the children have been actively engaged in making other people aware of their situation and have sensed that they have been taken seriously.

You have to react to what goes on.

A large group of families were expelled (mainly to Kosovo) in 2006 after having stayed for many years in Denmark. The association decided to document the conditions that awaited them. The families have since been given a bit of financial help from Denmark – just enough to get by. But quality of life is more than merely to survive. The members of our group have provided the families with some money and clothes.

Furthermore, members and foundations have helped us since, to visit the expelled children and young people in Kosovo and invited them on day trips and to family holiday by the sea in Montenegro in 2008 and 2009.

There is still a group of children and young people in Denmark who came here as refugees from 1999 to 2003. After having spent most of their childhood in Danish asylum centers, many of them have been given residence permits, and while this is the correct political tendency by the Danish immigration service, it is not correct nor humane, to keep children under a suspended or prolonged asylum application process. A few of them have not been given residence permits although they have stayed in Denmark for over 12 years.

No matter whether they have residence permit or not, we still make an effort to help them by taking these young adults and children on trips and by organizing a common holiday for them once a year. The aim is for young people to have a good time together outside the camps – if the quality of life is raised, a successful integration can happen, as a result of having had the chance to take part in dignified living standards.

The above mentioned, is a short description of the background of the circle of supporters and Citizens for Asylum association, which represents almost 10 years of work.

Finally, we should add: we wan to continue to be active and improve the quality of life of the asylum applicant in Denmark. This process and its activities is aimed at raising the quality of life of our participants and it takes money.

Donations are kindly accepted and can be paid into our account in Merkur Bank – reg. no. 8401 account number 103 8399.

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No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS

Una Raya En El Mar

by Thomas Elsted We turn a corner after yet another hour’s walk and the view is still the same. As far as the eye can see it is met by plastic … greenhouse after greenhouse after greenhouse, dissected by asphalt and gravel, a water reservoir green from chemical nutrients, heaps of discarded vegetables in the grass. Gates of tin and iron, layer upon layer of plastic to keep away the dust, the bugs, and curious eyes. A young Moroccan man on his bike briefly glances as he passes by, soon to disappear around the corner.

We are in a landscape of 30,000 hectares of intensively grown vegetables – tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, zucchini, lettuce – in a corner of Spain on the edge of Europe. El Ejido is a small Andalusian city surrounded by industrial food production, below a sesa of shimmering plastic. Here, on the coast of the Mediterranean, not far from the holiday resorts of Costa del Sol, are the ideal conditions for cheap vegetables for all of Europe. Every day, year round, a combination of Europe’s brightest sun and the cheapest labour ensures an endless flow of discount tomatoes and other vegetables to the supermarkets of Europe.

El Ejido is a town entirely dependent on foreign workers. Some arrive as economic migrants in search of a life in Europe, others as temporary seasonal workers. Almost all are men from Morocco, Algeria, and sub-Saharan Africa, and have arrived by boat, patera, crossing the Mediterranean. Others have come from Romania or Latin America hoping to make enough money to send back home to their families.

In times like these, a work permit is a doubleedged sword. Many local farmers prefer undocumented migrants over legal workers; a labourer without papers will work long hours below the plastic, where temperatures often exceed 45°C, to a daily wage of 20-35 euros; far below a minimum wage that already figures among the lowest in the European Union. And, in a time of economic crisis and growing competition from international operations outside Europe, unemployment remains high and paychecks rare.

Many many greenhouses stand abandoned with weatherworn and torn sheets of plastic fluttering in the wind.

El Ejido arose as a dream of the future of how to grow food. Today that dream is broken, and as many as 140,000 migrants live confined in dependency and in slum among the greenhouses.

Some of the luckiest live in groups in small city apartments, others in cortijos, abandoned brick huts, some converted from chemical depots, and many more in chabolas, homemade shacks

of plastic, wood and leftovers from worn down greenhouses. They wait, for work, to move on, or the opportunity to return home, but are stuck in economic circumstances often worse than what they left behind.

In many ways El Ejido feels like a modern Babel; new shopping centres and residences are being built, and greens are produced and trucked through Europe and shipped south towards northern Africa, while workers of more and more nationalities and languages arrive. But the soil has been exhausted; buildings stand half-finished and run-down; and though large portions of the local population probably want the best for the immigrants, a clear line is drawn between the immigrants and the local population – as if Europe’s border has been displaced and the fence between Morocco and Spanish Africa itself has drifted north and settled in southern Spanish towns like El Ejido. Fresh graffiti on the city walls stands as a reminder of a nationalism that’s alive and well, and the racism that has more than once recently been the cause for riots and mysterious deaths. And although Spain has a number of immigration laws to prevent discrimination and look after immigrants’ rights, El Ejido evidently marks an exception to the rule. The local government has long since turned a blind eye on a subdued apartheid created by forces migration, xenophobia and the demand for cheap foodstuffs in today’s Europe.

It was told that the sun never set upon the British Empire. A hundred and fifty years later the same can be said about the international network of container ships – for Maersk, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd, and Evergreen the sun never really sets. From the window in a bus moving through the industrial harbour of Algeciras, the bridge between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean off Gibraltar, watching kilometer after kilometer of stacked metal boxes with goods coming in and out of Europe, I get the unsettling feeling that the whole city is really movable – and that already here the ground is at risk of sliding under my feet. Indeed, a dockworkers’ strike is under way; to cut down their expenses Maersk has decided to move its share of 500,000 cargo containers from here to the newly constructed port Tangier-Mediterranée on Morocco’s northern coast – 26 kilometres south of here. Europe’s border shifts again. Or is it just me?

Besides being the precursor to international trade, the old British Empire brought about another modern innovation, commercial agriculture’s greatest triumph: the plantation. The bricks of the free market of global capitalism were laid upon labour camps in remote colonies, where imported workers from other remote col-

onies harvested an endless flow of produce to the industrial worker at home in Europe. The plantation consisted of extensive monoculture crops harvested by what Raj Patel calls its own ‘social technology’ of earth, sugar cane and tea leaves tilled, hacked and picked by an endless supply of expendable people from the global South. International trade was built on exploitation of people and soil. Today the borders have been displaced and the world is a different place. We call things by other names – we are offshoring and outsourcing, and we certainly do no longer call the workers slaves. But I don’t know what else to call the state of production that continues in the back gardens of Europe.

Europe’s border seems to have the magic ability to shift with demand, as the walls within a labyrinth. It divides the Mediterranean, whose international waters are patrolled by Frontex, the border agency coordinating the Union’s efforts against the flow of migrants from the south. It runs along the twin barbed wire fences in Ceuta and Melilla, representing Europe’s last fortified strongholds – the EU in Africa. And in centres for immigrant labour ased food production like El Ejido, the border settles between the people.

Today, large European farming operations receive subsidies for production and export of foodstuffs, across the internal as well as external borders of Europe. In Denmark as in markets in Morocco, in Senegal, in Cameroon there are vegetables produced in southern Europe with EU subsidies and harvested by so-called ‘illegal immigrants’ from Morocco, Senegal, and Cameroon – that is to say: without papers. Papers are perceived as merely documentation of permission to stay and permission to work. But most importantly the papers are documents of personal rights – of the right to have rights.

Without papers they do not appear in the accounts – and the price workers pay is the one deducted in the supermarket.

Back home in Denmark I open a national newspaper, and here’s a double-page spread in colour. The headline is Food is now cheaper. Numbers from Statistics Denmark bring great news to the cost-conscious consumer – prices on the most important basic foods have gone down since last year. One ‘consumer expert’ believes that the financial crisis has meant Danes are now, if at all possible, even more focused on price, and as never before are hunting cheap offers. I go hunting in the supermarket. Cucumbers, peppers from Almería, zucchini from Níjar, tomatoes and eggplants from El Ejido, apples from Granada, olives from Jaén.

An excerpt from the novel Æsel

by Kristina Stoltz Saint Petersburg, February 1999 It almost looks like a molehill, only bigger… much bigger. The way the ice juts up, like new formations, entirely new landscapes out there in the icy bay. ”Maybe we should walk over there,” Nadeem says. ”Walk to Sweden, instead of waiting and waiting forever.”

It’s the first time Nadeem’s been to the market, since his knee got better. They should’ve been home at Behsta’s hours ago, but Fahran had coaxed him down to the water. ”I can’t stand to wait any longer,” he continues. ”But what if we fall through, what if we fall through?” says Fahran. ”We won’t fall through, and it’s not that far. Hassan said that’s Sweden, right over there.” Nadeem points towards some ships with masts, they look like they’ve been screwed deep into the ice.

He knows it’s not possible. It’s way too risky to just start walking without knowing which way to go... and on the ice on top of that. But it’s like the impatience has overgrown his own common sense, now that he’s up and walking normally again. He doesn’t want to wait anymore, doesn’t want to work like a slave all day, everyday, without a guarantee that even-

tually they’ll move on. ”Have you even considered that it might never happen?” he says to Fahran. ”That what will never happen?” ”That MizaJan won’t help us move on.”

A small tick by Fahran’s eye, a small spasm on his otherwise smooth face, making the pupil dilate a little, just enough for the brown to turn black like oil is whirling around in there. The sticky oil that living things get sucked into and die in. Nadeem recognizes that expression, that nerve under the right eye that gets stuck. It happens when he gets nervous, becomes uncertain, or scared. Sometimes it takes hours to go away, before the twitching eye calms down again, then turns brown and still. ”MizaJan only wants the best for us,” says Fahran, lips tight. ”He gave me mittens and boots. He’s not a bad man. That I know. But it’s expensive for him, that’s why we have to work off a lot of hours at the market first. You too, Nadeem.” ”Don’t you get it, he’s just out to exploit us?” ”Like you’d know, you’ve been sitting there at home, you don’t even know him.” ”And you do?” ”Better than you.”

No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS ”Maybe, but it doesn’t matter. We’re here now, and this may be our last chance.” ”Chance for what?” says Fahran, irritated. ”Chance to get free. Right now. NOW.” He looks defiantly at him, as though he’s the one who made all the rules and obstacles, as though Fahran is the authority he wants to trap, just because he’s the one who caught on to all the shortcuts at the marketplace while he was sitting at Behsta’s playing cards with the twins. ”We can just walk across the ice,” Nadeem says, triumphantly. ”But you’re too scared to, right?”

Fahran nods and opens his mouth, but no words come out. He imagines Mahmood, looking out across a turquoise sea, yellow drink in hand and wearing a straw hat. But it’s just as cold in Sweden, permafrozen and snow clad, and Mahmood has trouble staying warm when he sleeps, even though the houses are heated. He turns around, turns his back to the bay, Mahmood and Sweden. He turns his back to Nadeem and starts walking.

If Nadeem wants to walk on the ice, he has to walk on the ice too. There’s nothing to do about it. He won’t try to talk him out of it, it’s even a possibility, even though there are words; words in his head, words he could let escape from his mouth. It’s as though a bridge collapsed, the bridge they were walking on together, the bridge the toy figurine was standing at the end of, rolling balls towards them. Balls that are all over the place now, so no pairs are together anymore, and he has no idea how to say anything, which words he should use.

But Nadeem runs after him, crosses the road, and runs back to Nevsky Project. He momentarily loses sight of Fahran through all of the people on the wide sidewalk. ”Where are you going?” he shouts.

Fahran doesn’t answer. Because he doesn’t know, has no idea where he’s going. He should go home to Behsta, Sarah and Fazilla, but he’s distracted by all the faces, the furrowed brows, the woolen hats, the beggars with hands outstretched, organ grinders with flowers in their hats, catwalk ladies wearing nylons and thin heels that might be prostitutes, maybe the property of rich men. He gets distracted and the gypsies with colorful skirts notice from a distance how disoriented he becomes. They see his hazy gaze and wobbly walk. They spot him immediately from the other side of the street and run out in front of cars, completely unphased, with children on their backs, tied tightly with scarves around their bellies.

Before he knows it, they’ve got him surrounded, trying to pull his hands out of his pockets. ”We just want to read your palm, ” they say in unison. ”See your future in your eyes, tell you about the golden paths, show you the way to the cellar of gold,” says the oldest, a woman with a mouth full of gold, while he pulls himself away and runs into a random doorway.

They don’t follow.

The yard is almost quiet. Only three men and a woman, at the top of a

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jungle gym, are laughing with beers in their hands. Then Nadeem comes running, falling, and he jumps onto his back, and they both fall onto the asphalt.

“You can’t just leave like that,” he says loudly, and bites him gently in the cheek. And they stay like that with Nadeem on top wearing a smile on his face. It’s not like him, not at all, to be that daring… wanting to walk on ice, alone, to a strange country, to bite and tumble, grabbing him like that, like now, and it’s tickling him allover in such an odd way, so he starts laughing too, and they roll over each other on the ground, in their thick jackets with fur hats pulled down around their eyes, and Fahran sees him out there on the ice. Nadeem is far out, like a seagull on the Fontanka river, the ice breaking, creating lines between the four corners of the world, lifelines, pathways, records and new deals, which might not be entirely arbitrary, while Nadeem falls through, and it doesn’t matter if he can swim or not, it’ll take only minutes for him to turn into a pillar of salt. He’s always been afraid he’d become a piece of white driftwood. Nobody else besides Fahran would dream of letting himself travel on, and he hugs him close, until two of the men from the jungle gym rip them apart, peel them off the asphalt by their necks, shout into their faces with a breath so foul that even the smallest of facial hairs could ignite, finally slapping them. They manage to free themselves, and overrumpled by the sudden attack, grab each other’s hand and run out of the yard and into the street.

About the novel: Two Afghan teenagers, brothers Fahran and Nadeem, are on their way to Sweden. On their journey they bring the memory of a childhood, which slowly disintegrates along their way. Like so may other Afghans, they are forced to leave their family and country behind, on the run from war, social disarray, and an uncertain future.

The boys make their way, unbeknownst to them, on a long and taxing journey, where people enter their lives, and in each their own way, leave their indelible mark. A common trait these people they meet share is their fight for survival, and love as the (lost) adventure they recount on their way.

When the brothers are torn apart by accident, they lose the last shard of comfort in their lives. Æsel to be released by Rosinante in Spring 2011.

About the author: Kristina Stoltz (1975) has a versatile authorship to her name, including the magic realistic novel Turisthotellet from 2006, poetry collections, childrens’ books, novels, sound and lyrical works, and literary manifestos. Stoltz is the co-founder of the non-profit publishing house [FINGERPRINT], which has made itself visible with an untraditional and dogmatic approach to literature.

Asylansøgere Der hersker stor uvidenhed om forholdene i asylsystemet. Langt de fleste asylansøgere er positive mennesker, men nogle sygner hen på grund af systemet. At forandre asylsystemet er derfor et spørgsmål om at redde liv. af Solomon Mange mennesker er uvidende om situationen og forholdene i asylsystemet. Livet går videre, som de siger.

Mange mennesker i dette system er frygteligt deprimerede og traumatiserede, selv om de har foretaget deres rejse med ønsket om et bedre liv.

Mange asylansøgere fortalte deres historier om de farer, de oplevede, da de krydsede havene og grænserne til deres destinationslande, eftersom nogle folk i den samme situation – af den ene eller anden grund – døde under kampen.

Det er ikke tilstrækkeligt, når pressen kun spreder nyheden om asylansøgerens uden sagligt at forholde sig til den kendsgerning, at over 95% af asylansøgerne er positivt indstillede og aktive mennesker, der inderst inde ønsker at bidrage positivt til samfundet. En masse asylansøgere er positivt anlagte og er aktive i asylsystemet i talende stund.

Forskellige grunde har bragt mennesker til flygtningelejrene. Det vil således nogle gange komme til misforståelser mellem folk på grund af deres forskellige baggrunde, sprog og kulturer.

Nogle immigranter, der sandsynligvis ikke er bekendt med asylsystemet, kan pludseligt ufrivilligt befinde sig i dette system uden noget valg, efter at være blevet kontrolleret af poli-

tiet af én eller anden grund, der sandsynligvis vil føre til deportation. Og for at undgå øjeblikkelig repatriering søger immigranter asyl, af og til ved at komme med tynde undskyldninger, der ikke holder vand. De er nedtrykte og vil nogle gange trække sig tilbage og blive passive i systemet.

Nogle asylansøgere har traumer, der forekommer dem umulige at kontrollere, hvilket de overfører på andre mennesker med én eller anden form for vold.

Imidlertid søger nogle tilflugt for at få beskyttelse, kærlighed, en anden begyndelse og ser frem til deres drømmelivsstil. De passer ind i asylsystemet og bidrager med strålende initiativer og glødende engagement til at gøre livet værd at leve. De er organiseret i aktiviteter og programmer, som myndighederne i god mening har fastsat med fleksibilitet og forpligtelser. Mange asylansøgere bidrager positivt til det daglige liv i centrene.

Asylsystemet kræver tålmodighed og tilpasning for de mennesker, der lever i drømmen om en bedre verden. Nogle oplever brisen af lettelse og ser deres drømme gå i opfyldelse, andre håber til ingen nytte. De bliver så traumatiserede og ødelagte, når de ikke er stærke nok i forsøgstiden.

Nogle lever i frygt for afvisning, kendt som ’negativt svar’, fra Udlændingeservice, der sæt-

ter kronen på deres traume. De kan nogle gange blive mentalt forpinte og afsporede og må introduceres til specialister for at blive rehabiliterede.

En asylansøger, der – flygtet fra sit hjemland på grund af frygt for forfølgelse og fuld af store håb og store forventninger – gør sine pligter i systemet, henter sine breve, passer sit praktikophold og varetager sine opgaver, vil således stadig være en flygtning, når han/hun bliver nægtet asyl.

Hun/han kan åbenlyst blive notorisk forvirret og vil blive udsat for pinsel i livet. Denne slags asylansøger er sårbar over for psykisk lidelse.

Det er derfor vigtigt, at lande og berørte parter tager fejlene i asylsystemet til efterretning, og ændrer det så hurtigt som muligt for at redde liv.

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No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS

Den største befolkning uden et land Kurderne udgør det største statsløse folk i verden. Gennem historien har de løbende forsøgt at etablere et uafhængigt Kurdistan, men indblanding fra andre folk og lande har altid været i vejen. af Memo 40 millioner mennesker eller mere uden regering. Det lyder mærkeligt, gør det ikke?

Spørgsmålet er stadigvæk: Hvem er disse mennesker? Hvor bor de? Hvorfor har de en stor befolkning uden et land?

Måske kan du ikke tro på det, du allerede har læst! Det er mærkeligt, er det ikke?

Denne gruppe af mennesker blev grundlagt for tusinder år siden, 4000 år før Jesus Kristus, med dens egen religion, sprog, kultur og land.

Gennem årene kunne de have glemt alt om deres rødder, men det gjorde de ikke. De bevarede deres og kæmpede for det, fordi de ikke ønskede at blive gjort anderledes.

Kurderne er en gruppe, hvoraf de fleste folk bor i regionen Kurdistan, der inkluderer tilstødende dele af Iran (7 til 7.5 millioner), Irak (6 til 6.5 millioner), Syrien (3 millioner) og Tyrkiet (11 til 14 millioner). Der findes også væsentlige kurdiske samfund i byer i det vestlige Tyrkiet, og de findes ydermere i Armenien, Georgien, Israel, Aserbajdsjan, Rusland, Libanon samt, i de seneste årtier, i europæiske lande og USA. Det kurdiske folk har deres eget sprog med dialekter som: kurmanji, sorani, zazaki og fayli og disse dialekter afhænger af, hvor de kommer fra i Kurdistan. De kurdiske folk i Syrien taler kur-

manji, i Tyrkiet taler de kurmanji og zazaki, i Iran taler de sorani og nogle andre dialekter, der ligner dem, der tales i Irak. Kurderne er overvejende sunnimuslimer, men nogle er også shia eller sufi eller tilhører religioner som yazidism, yarsan, jødedom, kristendom og alevi. Hvis man går tilbage til de kurdiske rødder, vil man se, at de alle er yazidister, men gennem årene er de blevet påvirket af andre religioner som islam, kristendom eller ikke-religiøse måder at tænke på.

Kurdisk kultur er en arv fra forskellige oldtidsfolk, der formede de moderne kurdere og deres samfund. De fejrer Newroz (21. marts) som nytårsdag. I modsætning til mange muslimske nabobefolkninger er kurdiske kvinder ikke afsondrede og bærer ikke slør. Kurdiske mænd og kvinder deltager sammen i dans til højtider, bryllupper og andre sociale festligheder.

Kurdere forsøgte mange gange at etablere deres egen regering, men de kunne ikke opfylde deres søde drøm på grund af syrisk, iransk, tyrkisk og irakisk indblanding fra tusinder år siden og frem til i dag.

Under Det Osmanniske Riges kollaps forsøgte kurderne i Irak f.eks. at etablere en semi-uafhængig stat. I mindst et tilfælde havde de succes og skabte kongeriget Kurdistan, der varede fra september 1922 til juli 1924. Det andet Kurdiske kongerige blev forsøgt etableret i det sydøstlige Tyrkiet med Sheikh Said-oprøret i

1925 og varede kun i tre måneder, før det blev slået ned af den tyrkiske hær. Oprøret blev ledet af Sheikh Said af Piran, om hvem det forlød, at han blev hjulpet af stammefolk fra Syrien. Senere i oktober 1927 proklamerede republikken Ararat sig som kurdisk stat. Den lå i det østlige moderne Tyrkiet, centreret omkring provinsen Ağrı. Ağrı er det kurdiske navn for Ararat, men desværre knuste Tyrkiet efterfølgende republikken Ararat, overtog dets territorium og henrettede dets ledere. I 1946 blev republikken Mahabad grundlagt den 22. januar. Qazi Muhammad annoncerede tilblivelsen af republikken Mahabad i Iran, men som altid, den 15. december, ankom iranske styrker og sikrede sig Mahabad. Da de kom, lukkede de den kurdiske trykkepresse, forbød undervisning i det kurdiske sprog og brændte alle de kurdiske bøger, de kunne finde. Slutteligt, den 31. marts 1947, blev Qazi Muhammad beskyldt for forræderi og hængt.

Mine venner, som I kan se, har udenlandsk indblanding i kurdiske affærer altid forhindret grundlæggelsen af Kurdistan. Jeg ved ikke, hvorfor de ikke vil have, at kurdere får deres eget land, deres eget pas og deres eget liv.

Derfor lever mange kurdere uden for deres land.

De må flygte, når de kræver deres ret.

In Svalbard no visa is required In the middle of the icy ocean lies Svalbard, where everyone is allowed to live. Here, no resident’s permit is required – only nature sets its own harsh limits. But the Norwegian authorities are beginning to tighten migration legislation for the area. We bring Tobias Stål’s report from the northern islands.

by Tobias Stål In the Arctic, north of Norway, and east of Greenland, lies the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard, with the main island Spitsbergen. It is the world’s most northern society, and a few thousand people of different nationalities live in this harsh environment. Due to the northern placement of the archipelago the amount of daylight varies during the year. Every summer the midnight sun provides constant sunlight for four months, but in return every winter the polar night also lasts four months.

When the Sun disappears at the end of October, it does not show itself until the end of February.

Most of the archipelago is covered by glaciers, and during most of the year, everything is covered in snow. Every year one or two accidents involving polar bears occur, so it is obligatory to carry a rifle for self-defence when leaving the settlement.

The Arctic environment provides some unique challenges for the people living here – there are no roads connecting the different settlements, and all materials and groceries must be transported from the mainland, often by airplane, making them expensive. Up until the 1970s there was no airport, so during wintertime when the harbour was frozen, the archipelago was almost completely isolated from the outside world.

No-man’s Land For a long while Svalbard was seen as a no-man’s land. When Barents discovered the archipelago in 1596, there were no humans, and no nation could manage to lay claim to it. Instead, the surrounding seas were exhausted by whalers, and hunters from many European countries hunted

walrus, seals and polar bears. What limited the exploitation was not the wide spaces or lack of natural resources, but the problems and risks involved with getting there, and surviving when once arrived. Up until the start of the 20th century, very few people had spent an entire winter on Svalbard, and many who tried did not survive the attempt Special status A hundred years ago when coal mining began, the need for permanent settlements, infrastructure and a civilized society arose. With the quickly growing population, Svalbard’s status as a no-man’s land became unsustainable, and in 1920 the Svalbard Treaty was signed in Paris, determining Svalbard as part of Norway, whist still giving the archipelago a special status. A separate authority, the Sysselmann, was set up to administer the archipelago and represent the Norwegian government. The treaty established that all nations are allowed to hunt, fish and mine and that citizens of all countries have the right to live and work on Svalbard. During the 20th century, the stipulations of the treaty meant that more nations came to be represented on the archipelago. There were Swedish and Soviet coal mines and mining communities, and many countries carried out scientific research.

The Norwegians were a minority on Svalbard up until the end of the Cold War, at which point Russia began to scale down its presence on the archipelago.

Mining and scientific research are still the main attractions for people coming to Svalbard. A couple of hundred Russian and Ukrainian citizens still live there, and in the Norwegian community, Longyearbyen, approximately half of the inhabitants are not from Norway - primar-

ily immigrants from Thailand and Sweden, who move there to work. Most western Europeans I have spoken to have come to Svalbard for the adventure and to experience its famous nature.

Many work in tourism or scientific research, although the custom is to stay for a couple of seasons at most. People from Thailand often work mainly as cleaners or in restaurants. The high wages in Norway are enticing, coupled with the fact that a work permit is not needed. It is not possible to make a classic distinction between immigrants and permanent residents with the exception of a few, almost everyone are new arrivals. The entire society at Svalbard is built upon the principles that no one should be born or die here. The hospital does not usually handle deliveries, and the small cemetery was closed down in the 1930s.

Svalbard as the last resort Some residents of Svalbard have not come here by choice, but as a last resort, when all other options of staying in Europe have been exhausted.

One of these is Kazem Ariaiwand from Libya.

After several years of struggling for a residence permit in Norway for him and his family, he felt forced to find another solution and by chance he read about Svalbard and its special laws. When he discovered that he could live legally on Svalbard without papers, he headed for the archipelago immediately. Upon arrival, he got a job in the local supermarket, and later he set up his own street kitchen, The Red Polar Bear, which subsequently has become famous through a TVdocumentary. Settling down on Svalbard was not easy, Kazem explains, having only previously lived in large cities. Suddenly living in a small isolated town, where everyone knows everyone, and the harsh weather, took some time getting

No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS used to. At last he came to enjoy the silence and calm. On Svalbard you have plenty of time.

After seven years on Svalbard and a long struggle with the immigration authorities, Kazems situation was resolved in an unexpected way, as he got a residence permit for Switzerland.

But his problems did not end here. Since then, the Norwegian government has continuously claimed that because he previously lived in Norway illegally, his Schengen visa is invalid and it may take a year and much bureaucratic work to fix.

Stuck at Svalbard When you live on Svalbard, you are not considered as living in Norway. You do not pay taxes to Norway and the time spent there does not count towards getting a residence permit for Norway. A handful of asylum seekers have experienced this the hard way, becoming prisoners on Svalbard for many years. Even though no passport checks are carried out in Svalbard, you must travel via the Norwegian mainland when you wish to leave the archipelago. This spring a Libyan man residing on Svalbard for many years was seized in Tromsö airport, when leaving Svalbard for Sweden. Luckily the Sysselmann

intervened and demanded that the man should not be exported to Libya, but instead be allowed to return to Svalbard, as this was the last place outside of Schengen the man had been.

Kazem on the other hand was not so lucky, when he was returning to Svalbard he was seized in Tromsö. The fact that he now carried a Schengen visa did not help him, and he was violently exported to Switzerland. When visiting Svalbard now, he cannot risk getting caught in the airport but must instead sail from Europe by boat, which takes a long time and is full of hardships. Kazem says that he thinks the Norwegian authorities are deliberately complicating things for Svalbard residents without residence permits for Norway. It is a conscious strategy, going directly against the spirit of the Svalbard Treaty.

Normalisation In many ways Svalbard is becoming normalized towards becoming a regular Norwegian municipality. Since 2002, Longyearbyen has been administered by a municipality-like institution called Lokalstyret. Svalbard’s days as a closed mining community are over. Soon passport ex-

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aminations will be made on passengers flying to or from Svalbard, thereby making it even more difficult to live up to the ideals of the Svalbard Treaty. Kazem believes the concerns of the Norwegian authorities are exaggerated. During his more than seven years on Svalbard, maybe four or five people came to Svalbard with the purpose of staying in Norway without a residence permit.

Kazem will still be visiting Svalbard, even though he now has a residence permit for Switzerland. He still has his business there, and friends he wants to visit. Kazem has become something of a local celebrity and his fast food restaurant is a tourist attraction. And he has become very used to the extremes of life in the Arctic. “Have you ever seen a polar bear?” I ask him. “Yes I have seen many, but never up close.

That is natural on Svalbard,” he says, laughing.

Read more about Svalbard: www.w3.org/People/howcome/traktater/svalbard www.svalbardposten.no www.udi.no

How possibilities are made The Danish selection of quota refugees after 2005: The birth of the integration potential.

by Kathrine Syppels Kohl [Background information] UN has three durable solutions to refugee problems: refugees can either stay in the country they have fled to if they are given rights there, they can return to their country of origin if it has become safe for them to do so, or they can be resettled in a country volunteering to take them if none of the two first solutions are in sight.

Since 1978, Denmark has allocated a fixed amount of each year’s national budget to a refugee quota. Because of this, in Denmark resettled refugees are often called quota refugees.

Since 1989 the quota has been 500 refugees per year.

Quota refugees are not asylum seekers. An asylum seeker is a person who travels to a country and seeks asylum. You do not become a quota refugee unless you have been recognized as a refugee by the UN but haven’t been permitted to stay in the country you fled to or to return home.

In 2005 Denmark introduced criteria for the selection of quota refugees. Now a refugee must have ‘integration potential’ if he is to be resettled. This potential is to be assessed from his language skills, educational background, work experience, familial situation, network, age, and motivation. Furthermore, illiterates, substance abusers and mentally ill persons cannot be resettled unless as part of a strong family group.

“Because they claim to look after the happiness of societies, governments arrogate to themselves the right to draw up profit-and-loss accounts for the human misery which their decisions provoke, or which their negligence causes. One of the duties of international citizenship is to reveal human misery to the eyes and ears of government” Michel Foucault In recent years various Danish newspapers have brought accounts of quota refugees who have been refused resettlement in Denmark. They tell of single mothers with children who were rejected because no member of the family could read and write, and of a group of children who were rejected because they appeared to be apathetic during their interview with the Danish quota delegation. The refusals are all due to the fact that these people are not seen as having potential for integration.

The example of the quota refugees illustrates how refugees are not merely a naturally occurring category of people ‘out there’. They are very much a phenomenon that needs to be produced

– politically, legally and administratively. I will return to how this is done below.

A refugee is not merely something you are. It takes time, strength and sadly also luck for a displaced person to be recognized as a refugee and to eventually obtain residence permit in a country where he or she is able to build a future.

There are many steps in the various administrative processes which have the power to change a person to a classified refugee with a permit to stay somewhere like Denmark.

The majority of the world’s 15.2 million refugees cannot seek asylum anywhere. They have fled to countries that do not want to grant them asylum and that are rarely signatories to the Refugee Convention. On principle at least their basic rights are protected by the UN. But their civil rights are not. They are usually not allowed to work, they cannot get a passport or vote. They do not have legal access to most of the things we non-refugees build our lives on: Self-reliance, freedom of movement, political participation, etc. They are tolerated though often barely so by local communities that are often feeling threatened by the large amount of poor strangers in their midst. Only too often are they in danger of being sent back to the country from which they fled or of being left to their fate.

Since the late 1970s a group of affluent countries including Denmark has been using resettlement quotas to attempt to ease the pressure on the countries that refugees get to in the first place. What triggered off the program was that a number of the countries receiving large amounts of boat people - refugees from Vietnam – had begun to refuse to take care of more.

In some places the authorities even went so far as to drag the boats back into open sea leaving the refugees to a dire fate. By offering to relieve the receiving countries of part of their burden the resettlement countries were hoping to obtain better conditions for the people staying in the area as well as for those resettled elsewhere.

The root cause of the newspapers’ exposure of the Danish practice of sorting out the weakest of the refugees is the 2005 amendment to the alien’s act that introduced certain criteria for the selection of Denmark’s quota refugees.

The amendment introduced the requirement that all ordinary quota refugees have to be interviewed by a Danish quota delegation in the country of first refuge before a decision can be reached in their case. This demand made the selection more expensive and less flexible.

The criteria of integration potential show that the care for the individual refugee has been under pressure from the thought that helping refugees lead to a threat against the financial and

cultural survival of the Danish welfare state.

Thus, in an attempt to control and avert the risk that the quota refugees are seen as constituting the Danish government introduced a range of specific criteria for their selection. The future Danish quota refugees were to have the potential for integration perceived by the administration to be measurable by an evaluation of their language skills, educational background, work experience, familial situation, network, age, and motivation, etc. The amendment of the alien’s act was based on meager documentation and the means proposed to correct the problem did not rest on any real investigation into what works and what doesn’t work in the area of integration. It smacked of a symbolic policy though its effects have been very real.

The aim of the law was to make sure that the refugees to be resettled in Denmark in the future would integrate better than their predecessors. Viewed that way the amendment is a prime example of a state’s attempt at managing the outcome of a specific type of migration. It is also a good example of how the administration first creates a certain category of refugees with specific characteristics and then comes up with certain features that these characteristics are thought to be measurable from.

The problem with this isn’t merely that our criteria of selection sorts out the weakest of the refugees. It is also that in the chaotic, sweaty, dirty reality ‘out there’ it is more than a little difficult to determine which refugees will do well in Denmark. The selection delegations that are to assess almost all of the Danish quota refugees at a personal interview in the country of first refuge are not given a crystal ball to aid them in their work. It would come in handy though.

Large parts of the welfare state’s administration of its citizens rest on the system’s assessment of things like working capacity, credibility and potential for integration. Even though all assessments in social work are difficult and potentially problematic the quota selection is carried out under particularly challenging conditions. The interviews are carried out over a short period of time, often without access to relevant information, through an interpreter and across great cultural differences.

Additionally, the legislation on which the selection is based is far from easy to apply. Among the points being discussed on a quota selection trip to Nepal in 2008 were how it is possible to assess if a mentally ill refugee will benefit from coming to Denmark when no psychiatric opinion is available. When is a person’s network sufficiently strong and how can you tell if he or she will be as good at forming relations in Denmark

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TRANSLATIONS

as in the refugee camp?

The selection of quota refugees is an example of how the administration during local meetings with the citizens produces a range of data which enables it to make a decision in each and every case. Of how people are translated into cases for the system and are boiled down to a few lines of specific features such as introvert, powerful, shy, or nice. It is hard to say if these characteristics would even be recognized by the refugees themselves or by people who know them well. But they form the base of the administration’s decision to say yes or no to resettlement.

As pointed out in the most recent edition of visAvis the single most objectionable trait of the new rules of the quota selection is that traumatized refugees risk being sorted out on account of their difficulty in expressing motivation and energy. The selection thus excludes those who have the greatest need of help. The wish to control the risk to society that these

people are perceived as constituting are therefore seen to undermine the core aim of the refugee cause: to provide displaced human beings with the opportunity of a new start.

If the integration potential criteria were developed on the backdrop of serious examinations of who do well in Denmark and who would be better off back in the camp within their own logic you might be able to defend them. But sadly they do not. Nor has the Ministry for Integration wished to investigate the effect of the amendment on the integration of the new generations of quota refugees. Thus we are left with a program that demands an expensive screening of the refugees the UN has proposed for resettlement in Denmark with the result that a number of vulnerable individuals are rejected on the basis of a more than uncertain attempt to foresee their future in Denmark.

OPENSOURCEFOOD - en invitation til at deltage i vild kogekunst af Arendse Krabbe & André Amtoft Den 22. august ved Marienborg Park på Møn kunne man gå ind i stalden og mæske sig i delikatesser som urtedeller med hybenpesto. Alle delikatesserne var tilberedt af ingredienser fra naturen. Hestene var ude, og inde var en flok nysgerrige og velbeværtede ferniseringsgæster, som var kommet til åbningen af Decenter II. Kunstneren bag Decenter II er Bettina Camilla Vestergaard. Det oprindelige Decenter var et kunstner kollektiv på Møn oprettet af forfatteren og kritikeren Elsa Gress og kunstneren Clifford Wright på Marienborg Gods i 1970’erne. Kollektivet blev hurtigt et eksperimenterende centrum for en masse kulturpersonligheder fra alle verdens hjørner. Men kort efter at Decenter II’s mæcén, Grev Moltke, døde i 1980, blev godset revet ned. Draget af denne historie besluttede Bettina Camilla Vestergaard sig for at skabe Decenter II. Hun inviterede en gruppe kunstnere til en firedagskoloni i Marienborgs park på det sted, hvor godset stod i sin tid.

Naturen som spisekammer Som indbudte kunstnere til Decenter II valgte André Amtoft og Arendse Krabbe at reflektere over og skabe et projekt om at sanke mad i og omkring Marienborg park. At bruge naturen som ens spisekammer er ikke kun ideelt for dem, som lever tæt på naturen, men også for dem, der ønsker at spare penge ved at lave mad af det, de samler.

Disse fordele er endnu mere indlysende for asylansøgere, som ofte lever i udkantsområder med begrænsede finansielle midler til dækning af mad og transportudgifter. Forhold som disse gør det ofte meget svært for asylansøgere at opretholde en sund og varieret kost.

Derfor sankede og bogførte Erik Yakubyan og Stan (fra Røde Kors Centrene Sandholm og Kongelunden), huskok Julie A. Swane (Nature Foods), André og Arendse spiselige planter, som de derefter tilberedte og serverede til Decenter II’s fernisering.

Gør det selv Aktiviteterne under Decenter II var kun en begyndelse - kaldet ’field guide 1’. Flere optegnelser er undervejs. De vil alle give oplysninger om, hvilke muligheder for at sanke der er omkring danske asylcentre. Lige nu er der 19 asylcentre, så der vil der vil også være 19 field guides.

I efteråret lavede vi en havtorneworkshop i Kongelunden Asylcenter. Til lanceringen af VisAvis #4 kan du smage hvad der kom ud af det. Lokaliteten af havtorn og opskrifterne kan findes på www.opensourcefood.info under ’field guide 2’.

Vi inviterer dig til at udvælge et eller flere af de 19 asylcentre, som er tættest på din daglige færden og samle planter, frugt, nødder og urter i dét område. På hjemmesiden opensourcefood. info kan du uploade dine fund og eventuelle tilhørende opskrifter til Google Maps. Vi håber, at du føler dig inspireret til at deltage.

Bon appétit!

Vilde urtedeller Brug den følgende kombination af vilde urter eller andre urter, der kan findes i sæsonen.

Brug en variation af urter - det giver den bedste smag.

Mælkebøtteblade (taraxacum officinale) Lancetvejbred (plantago lanceolata) Løgkarse (alliaria petiolata) Brændenældeblade (urtica dioica) Skvalderkål (aegopodium podagraria) 350g blandede urter 3 fint snittede skalotteløg 5 æg 3 dl. brødkrummer eller tørret og smuldret hvidt brød salt of peber olie og/eller smør til stegning Rens og snit urterne (skold brændenælderne, så de ikke brænder) Bland løg, æg, brødkrummer og urter sammen og lav en fin masse. Form massen til kugler og tryk dem derefter flade. Forbered urtedellerne på en varm pande indtil de er gyldne og gennemstegte.

Prikbladet perikon og vandmynte the anti-depressivt Saml en god håndfuld Prikbladet Perikon (Hypericum Perforatum) og Vandmynte (Mentha Aquatica). Lufttør eller brug urterne friske, hæld kogende vand over, og lad det trække.

Tilsæt evt. flere urter for at forstærke smagen.

Se flere opskrifter på www.opensourcefood.info

Dance outside the bubble Does it make any sense to dance, when you’re struggling for a better life? Yes, says dancer and choreographer Lina Venegas. She has created a dance piece in Austria’s highest security asylum camp. af Marie Sauer-Johansen When Lina Venegas was invited to create a dance piece with a group of young people seeking asylum in Austria back in 2009, she jumped at the chance. Behind her decision to leave a job as an engineer in her home country, Columbia, seven years ago, was a real passion for becoming more involved with social and political issues.

“It was very unfulfilling to me as a person that the economical factors were always more important than human and environmental ones,” she explains through an echoing Skype connection from Vienna, the city she has lived in since she arrived to study contemporary dance in 2002. “I felt I could express my political beliefs much more directly and work more closely with people through dance,” says Lina. The piece she has created in Traischkirchen, the largest reception camp in Vienna, has given her the chance to do both these things. The piece Game Away From Home was very well received, and she is

now staging it with a new group of asylum seekers at the ARGEkultur theatre in Salzburg.

Art behind high walls Traiskirchen is the highest security asylum camp in Austria. With its location in the heart of Europe, Austria is a transit country for many migrants and asylum seekers. The majority of them pass through Traiskirchen, where they stay for two or three weeks, before they are transferred to camps in the rest of the country.

Here, in the country’s largest waiting area, onroute to a better life, they have to prove who these are and why they need asylum. The camp is a critical point, filled to the brim with heart wrenching life stories, hope, despair and suffering: all the ingredients for classic drama. And yet, it was not the personal stories, but the high level of security and control that made the strongest impression on Lina. “Traiskirchen is not a jail, but it has many of the features a jail has. For example, I could be in the middle of

rehearsing with my people, and then the police would arrive and take some of them into a room to check that they didn’t have weapons or drugs on them, and that everything was in order,” she says, still shocked. “In this situation I couldn’t say that my rehearsals had priority. I couldn’t say ‘please, respect art’.” Instead, Lina had to adhere to the same rules as everybody else in Traiskirchen, and much to her distress, discover how they affect people psychologically. “People become machines of order, because they are all the time busy following rules and fulfilling standards,” says Lina, who had to sign a declaration that she would not publish any information about the camp, a promise she now breaks with a great deal of hesitation. “But it would not be honest of me to talk about the piece without talking about its relation to the situation in Traiskirchen,” she says, with an emphasis on ‘honest’. Her biggest worry is not being allowed to do similar projects in the future.

No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS The migration game The ways Lina sees it, the Austrian asylum laws, and for that matter, asylum legislation in all countries, make people play a merciless game. She calls it “the game of migrating to countries with a better social and political situation than your own country.” This game reduces people to faceless pieces, who can only move according to rules made by international organisations, nation states and local authorities. All these institutions act as barriers on the way to the goal of getting into a new country. “It was clear to me that it is more important to show the frame that people are put into, than to focus on their personal stories. Also, I didn’t want to go there and make them think even more about their past and their sufferings – these stories accompany them every day anyway,” Lina explains.

“It’s almost as if you’re locked inside a bubble, where you can only think of two things: the painful reason in your past which has forced you to leave and the rules that you have to follow to reach the goal of asylum. This bubble blocks your ability to act and to exist in the present.”

Life on stage To show this Game Away from Home, Lina made the set design as a football pitch, complete with white lines, two goals and a referee with a whistle and red and yellow cards. The players move between the two goals, the home country and the migration country, in a choreography which are more like physical explosions of energy than beautiful dance steps. They slide, jump or sing their way across the stage – but only inside the lines. If they step outside, they are punished by the referee, who’s final order is to tell the players to leave the stage: deportation for everybody.

Lina gave herself the difficult part as referee, in order to illustrate that she is aware of the fact that she, as choreographer, also represents a figure of authority to the asylum seekers, who, despite the fact that they participate on a voluntary basis, have to respond to her artistic control.

Lina says that it is a difficult role to play, but no less difficult than it is for the asylum seekers to stage their own powerlessness. “I don’t imagine it’s easy for people to play this,” Lina admits. “This is no dreamy piece with beautiful people doing step dance or hip hop: It is a realistic image of people’s reality.’

But the piece is, according to Lina, also an action against the powerlessness it illustrates, because it allows the asylum seekers to draw attention to their situation and express themselves freely. In order to reach emotions free of institutional control, Lina used release techniques. “We try to release the strain of the negative surroundings and we also use release techniques to try to accept all the things that we can’t control – both in the process of creating the piece and in the participant’s real life,” Lina says, and adds thoughtfully: “In a way release technique has become the philosophy of the whole project.”

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Burst out of the bubble To be able to express yourself freely is, in Lina’s world, to break out of the bubble of institutional control, even if it is only for the brief period that is the rehearsal session or a performance. While they dance, the participants can focus on the present and escape to a place where they do not have to think about their difficult situation. At the same time they can share their migration experiences with each other across the language barriers that normally stops them from understanding each other. “Dance is like a super-language that allows people to communicate without words – it’s a language without national borders,” says Lina, who, with her move from Columbia to Austria, is herself an embodiment of this idea. “During this process I have become very aware that dance itself is what has made this project possible – just like it made it possible for me to come into Austria as an immigrant.”

The public can choose where it stands But can dance influence public opinion? Lina believes so. “The very fact that these asylum seekers exist as bodies on stage is a political statement.

These people are normally hidden some place in the city where we don’t see them, or if not, they are at least camouflaged in society. Bringing them to the theatre allows them to say,“we are here, we exist, and we would like to stay!” She elaborates: “Seeing these people make a very strong impression on people. Many are shocked to find out what life as an asylum seeker is really like, and for some it’s too hard to see and they come to me crying after the performance…” Whether emotional responses can translate into votes in a country where right wing radical parties are gaining ground, is a question only the Austrian public can answer properly. For a start, the Salzburgers get the chance to experience what (staged) life is like for people seeking asylum in their country, when the piece plays at the ARGEkultur theatre in November. This time, Lina has done something new to reduce the distance between asylum seekers and the Austrian public; she has removed the seats so the audience will be on stage with the players. But in contrast to them, they can move around freely. The Austrian citizens can choose where they stand in this game.

Read more about the performance: www.argekultur.at

Nu kommer Trampolinhuset! af Morten Goll Den 1. november 2010 åbner Trampolinhuset på hjørnet af Struensegade og Skyttegade på Nørrebro i København. Trampolinhuset bliver et brugerstyret kulturhus på 250 m2, med køkken, kontor/møderum, en festsal som kan deles til to rum, hvor der kan foregå forskellige aktiviteter samtidig. Huset er åbent for asylsøgere, danskere og alle andre, og så vidt vides helt enestående i sin art. Vi skylder den filantropiske fond, OAK Foundation, en stor tak for deres generøse donation som sikrer en stabil økonomi i næsten tre år. Men der skal også lyde en stor tak til de talrige sympatisører som har hjulpet os gennem de sidste 2 år, og til de frivillige, med og uden CPR-numre, som har ydet en enorm indsats.

Som nogle vil vide begyndte det hele med kunstprojektet, Asyl Dialog Tanken (ADT) i januar 2009, hvor Morten Goll, Joachim Hamou og Tone Olaf Nielsen inviterede studerende fra Kunstakademiet og asylsøgere til i fællesskab at udvikle ideer til forbedring af asylansøgernes livsvilkår. Disse indledende workshops foregik på Center Kongelunden og Center Sandholm. I dag er ADT en selvejende institution der fundraiser til, og forestår den administrative drift af Trampolinhuset. Til at varetage administrationen af huset har ADT ansat Morten Goll, Tone Olaf Nielsen og Nabil Latif. Men rygraden i Trampolinhuset er brugerne: alle de frivillige hvoraf nogle af statens kategoriseres som asylansøgere, mens andre opfattes som danske statsborgere. Det var deltagerne i ADT workshoppene der sammen udviklede konceptet om Trampolinhuset på de første workshops, og det

er dem, der sammen med nye brugere kommer til at bruge og skabe stedet i fremtiden.

4 problemer Da ADT workshoppene analyserede asylsøgernes generelle problemer, definerede gruppen tre punkter: fattigdom, isolation og mental handlingslammelse. Disse tre onder opstår som følge af udlændingeloven, som forbyder asylsøgere at arbejde og bo hvor de ønsker det, og isolerer dem i lejre hvor praksis er, at de ikke kan få sprogundervisning i dansk, og hvor selvstændige initiativer er suspekte, i det loven kun efterlader et snævert rum hertil. Det fjerde onde som ADT var opmærksom på fra starten er, at ethvert menneske der ankommer til Danmark for at søge asyl, under processen mister sin identitet for at blive stemplet som asylsøger med begrænsede rettigheder. Resultatet er at aktive og selvstændige overlevere bliver forvandlet til passive modtagere og ofre.

3½ løsninger ADTs svar på disse problemer er at skabe mulighed for, at de kan forlade lejrene og møde nogle danskere. Det er indlysende at fattigdommen ikke kan ændres uden at ændre udlændingelovens arbejdsforbud, men ADTs svar på dette problem er, at skabe et fælles rum som så vidt muligt skal være gratis, for dem der bor i lejrene. ADT er klar over at det kun er en halv løsning som ikke løser fattigdommen, men det giver rum til at tage seriøst fat på de 3 andre problemer: isolationen, handlingslammelsen og offergørelsen. Disse problemer skal så løses ved at skabe en social platform hvor der foregår reel integration mellem danskere og asylsøgere i et miljø hvor der hersker ubetinget respekt for

alle brugere, og hvor der er plads og økonomi til at brugerne kan skabe forskellige aktiviteter efter behov. Isolationen erstattes af et socialt netværk. Dernæst brydes handlingslammelsen fordi det sociale rum stimulerer handling, og sidst erstattes offerrollen af en identitet der bygger på selvvalgt aktion og interaktion med de andre brugere.

Den platform blev døbt Trampolinhuset. Vi syntes det var et passende navn fordi trampolinen associerer til leg, aktivitet og oplevelse, samtidig med at den kun er et hjælpemiddel: man må gøre arbejdet selv på en trampolin.

Trampolinhuset skal være en brugerstyret platform der bygger på ligeværdigt samarbejde mellem borgere med rettigheder og asylsøgere uden rettigheder. Vi vil skabe et flerkulturelt socialt netværk som er i stand til at skabe og formidle viden, venskaber og kulturforståelse. Det er essentielt at huset ikke fastholder asylsøgerne i offerrollen. Derfor vender huset værtskabet på hovedet: danskerne er også gæster i Trampolinhuset, og asylsøgerne værter. Da princippet om ligeværdighed går begge veje, er det også nødvendigt at de aktiviteter der foregår, skal være lige interessante for danskere som asylansøgere. Folk skal komme i Trampolinhuset fordi de synes det nye ”OS”, som vi skaber sammen, er sjovere end det gamle ”dem og os”.

Det kommer til at ske i Trampolinhuset På baggrund af de erfaringer vi har fra de forskellige aktiviteter vi har afholdt siden januar 2009, har vi sammensat et foreløbigt program.

Det vil i sagens natur ændres og udvides i takt med at basen af brugere med forskellige kompetencer øges.

Der skal være café, aftenskole (flere frivil-

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lige har allerede budt ind med workshops.

Temaerne spænder fra healing til elektronik og radio workshops.), ugentlig fællesspisning, filmaftener, frisørsalon, computerrum/bibliotek med internetadgang, m.m. Vi vil tilbyde ugentlig advokathjælp til asylsøgere ved professionelle asylretsadvokater og månedlige informationsmøder om udlændingeloven ved Komiteen for Flygtninge Under Jorden. Vi arbejder også med ideen om en sundhedsklinik med frivilligt personale. Vi ønsker at huset bliver et resursecenter som kan gøre folk til eksperter i deres egen sag.

Mange asylsøgere er enlige mænd, men vi vil også at lave særlige aktiviteter for børn, så deres forældre kan deltage gå til møde mens nogen tager sig af børnene. Vi overvejer også at reservere en dag om ugen til kvinder og børn, for at sikre at disse grupper føler sig hjemme.

Sidst men ikke mindst er det tanken at arrangere offentlige debatter om forskellige temaer,

TRANSLATIONS som for eksempel kønsroller og kultur, dansk politik og samfund, kulturhistorie, idehistorie, filosofi og litteratur, asylpolitik både i form af bruger-til-bruger foredrag, men også med inviterede gæster.

Kom forbi og vær med Lad dette være en åben invitation til alle med interesse eller nysgerrighed! Kom forbi og se hvad der er af aktiviteter, og meld dig til noget af det der foregår. Det kan også være at du/I har en ide til noget som kan foregå i Trampolinhuset. Så skal du tale med Morten, Tone eller Nabil som koordinerer aktiviteterne i huset.

Endelig vil vi gerne invitere alle de organisationer og netværk, som tæller blandt andre visAvis, Bedsteforældre for Asyl, Komiteen for Flygtninge Under Jorden, Kirkeasyl, Internationalt Kristent Center med flere til at bruge huset. På den måde kan huset blive et naturligt mødested for asylansøgere, organisationer og

civile.

At skabe social forandring ADT startede som et socialt kunstprojekt, men det blev hurtigt klart at de problemer som vi satte os for at diskutere fordrede et engagement ud over det symbolske plan, som ofte karakteriserer samtidskunsten. I stedet for blot at kritisere tingenes tilstand indså ADT at hvis der skal skabes social forandring på det her felt, så skal den komme nedefra, ved at give borgere og flygtninge fra lejrene mulighed for at tage initiativet. Nedenunder den nationale konsensuspolitik på flygtningeområdet er et voksende ønske om fornyet respekt for menneskerettighederne, og for at vi tager et globalt socialt ansvar alvorligt. Trampolinhuset gør dette ønske til en konkret mulighed, samtidig med at det anviser nye veje for det mest omdiskuterede ord i de sidste 10 år: integration.

The memory of present day Europe How can you tell a refugee’s story? And what does it take to make the world want to hear it? These are some of the questions Italian historian Alessandro Triulzi from the NGO Asinitas asks himself, but also works to answer. Therefore, he collects, in cooperation with refugees and migrants, their memories and stores them in the archive Archivio delle Memorie Migranti.

by Louise Rosengreen On the main street in Pieve Santo Stefano, Tuscany, are black and red lit signs with the words SUICIDE, DECEIT and GREED in capitals dangling over pedestrians heads. These are the nine circles of hell, as presented in Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’, but words are also very well chosen to describe reality for all the people living in contemporary Italy without papers. It is hell to say the least. The people who are staying for long in Italy without papers, have no rights, and it the same as being on the wrong side of the law: “If you have no rights in Italy, you’re a criminal,” Alessandro Triulzi, a professor of African studies at the University of Naples explains.

City of diaries Here in mid-September, Pieve – the city of diaries – teems with historically interested people.

They come from other cities. They come from other countries. The occasion is the disclosure of the winner of the annual journal price, which traditionally is done by a three-day festival, where diaries, memoirs, personal letters and other documents are on the program. Today’s panel discussion is entitled ‘Memory, Culture’.

It is on this occasion that Alessandro Triulzi has been given the opportunity to comment on his passion: the rights of migrants. He is – besides being a professor – responsible for the audiovisual archive Archivio delle Memorie Migranti, and he represents the Rome-based NGO Asinitas. Alessandro Triulzi, who is the last speaker of the day, begins by asking the dense crowd of listeners a question. A question he often asked himself: There must be a better way to tell the stories of all the people who come to Italy from Africa and elsewhere in the world, than is generally seen in the press. But how?

From language school to memories He leaves the question unanswered, for the audience to think about. Meanwhile, he continues to question Italy’s handling of immigration. As-

initas work began as an Italian language school for refugees, but grew beyond that. Through encounters with individual stories of refugees and migrants, our need to convey their experiences and memories grew.

“We are working to involve migrants in our work. What we call an engaging participatory method to collect memories. We collect the memories on different levels. One way is through interviews. It is typically done through round table conversations. They talk and we listen.” It may sound simple, but Triulzi emphasizes this part of the process. According to him, what is missing to expand Italy’s understanding of refugees and immigrants is, for a large part, the self-representation of those people.

Another level of our working method is to hold seminars where we teach the migrants to make movies. That way they acquire skills and knowledge of a media through which they can tell their stories. One result is the award winning film ‘Like a Man on Earth’, narrated by Dagmawi Yimer, a political refugee who escaped Ethiopia in 2005. It portrays the harsh circumstances and the brutality with which African refugees are repressed in Libya and turned back, as a consequence of the agreement Silvio Berlusconi and Muammar dafi signed to limit the number of Africans who came to Italy.

The native shame Asinitas and Alessandro Triulzis ambition is to change the Italians’ relations to refugees but also to make the outside world aware of how Italy treats its immigrants. He does not think that Italy is taking its historical responsibility, as former colonial power. For those reasons the archive also intends to send the stories of the refugees back to their countries of origin. Alessandro Triulzi is ashamed of his homeland. Particularly he is ashamed of how the Italian fleet has been specifically ordered to send every single boat of refugees that approach the Italian coast, back without any regard to asylum pro-

cedure: “People are left in boats at sea for days. They disappear into the sea. It’s a hopeless situation, and is not easy to take these incidents to the court before we can identify the official who rejected those people,” he said. He adds: “I am ashamed that asylum seekers are beaten by police and by the way Europe deals with Romanis. It proves that we have a European culture that divides people into first and second class citizens.”

Untold “It is no ‘big deal’, what we do. We gather the stories of the witnesses. The stories have to be told so we can give refugees their pride back.

And so that in the future their stories can be read and be remembered. In that sense I see our archive as a foundation that lets the people of the future get an understanding of Italy’s present.” Thus he concludes. The time is up and the speech is over, but the initial question remains unanswered.

The night before at the same location a presentation and viewing of the short film ‘MEI [MEIG] Voci migranti’ took place. It is a documentary film by director Federico Greco. In this film a Kurd, a Moroccan, an Argentine and a Tunisian get to tell their stories. All four are now living in Italy, but their stories range from forced marriage to torture to having been employed as a policeman in a violent regime. Common to the way they portray their fate is that they can not articulate the worst of the events. It is impossible to explain the totally meaningless.

View more: www.asinitas.org www.likeamanonearth.blogspot.com www.fortresseurope.blogspot.com www.vocimigranti.blogspot.com Translation by Rasmus Emil Mikkelsen

No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS

103

Where bearberries grow Life has been tumultuous for Malik since the Russians invaded Afghanistan in his youth. To avoid being conscripted to the army, he fled to Pakistan and settled in a refugee camp. Several years later, Abdul Malik Beakasyar ended up in Denmark, where he has recently published his first collection of poetry in Danish.

by Anders Prien We are squeezed into a summery corner of Frederiksberg Gardens. It is my intention to talk about the inevitable compromise of life, as Malik himself calls it in his latest poetry collection Mirrors shadows. Our conversation, however, does not stick to the facts of his life, but moves on to poetry instead. This seems quite natural to Malik, as poetry has always been an essential part of him. It is the voice he has always used to express himself as a human being.

As he says: “All you have to do to know me is read my poems.”

Contrasts Mirrors shadows is a selection of Malik’s poems.

They are concerned with everything that he left behind in his village in Afghanistan and with the life that begun when he was granted asylum in Denmark. The poetry moves between the contrasts of his life: from an isolated refugee and asylum seeker to a recognized poet in Denmark. The contrasts are also reflected in his memories of life in Afghanistan, like in the poem Question: “we went to the nest of the mynah bird / we asked the bearberry tree / at the garden’s toppled wall / we paused for long / we asked the weeping willow there / left of a harrowed field / we went back and forth on the dike / between two rows of mugwort/we asked the lucerne at the river / we listened to the white poplar all night/we asked the moon cautiously/we allowed no one to go unasked / we asked the strangers / we asked our own / when the storm knocked we were awake / we asked again and again / for the noise from the village’s playground / for waves of laughter by the river / for the melody of the flute in the middle of the day / for the hiding towards sunset / but no one knew what / the people there had done” I have noticed that you emphasize the laughter and the children’s play as contrasts to the silence after the war. Simultaneously, you seem to use the bearberries as a contrast to the war? ”In the mountains, where I am from, there are many bearberries.” Thoughtfulness. “Apples you pick alone, in your own garden, but bearberries grow everywhere. In this way, they are shared by your whole family and village, and in a way, by the whole of Afghanistan as a nation. Bearberries are something you gather around. They are a contrast to the war which divided families and villages”.

The bearberries are related to the time in his village and in Afghanistan as a whole before the war; they are a symbol of a peaceful past in which the family and village was still together.

War and flight The war abruptly cut Malik off from the life he knew, which is reflected in the poem Movements. and those times returned / the girls no longer went to the mountains to collect herbs / the old games disappeared / from our village/the river bank was smashed / in the middle of the afternoon / the harvest burned in a warm midday hour/ flocks of birds flew across the mountainsn / I saw it myself. // and those times returned / it was hot summer / the moon was full and round in the night / but people no longer slept outside / or on the roof / every night I thought: / how alone the moon must be / how mournful the stars / no one will listen to nature’s own sounds/ the old in our village said: / ”people are behind four walls”.

In this poem, you seem to describe the war as you experienced it in your village in Afghanistan. What characterized this period in your life?

“My experience is reflected in the poem. During the war, I felt trapped behind walls, you simply feel locked in, and you cannot be the person you are or were before.”

This poem was written during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. Malik remembers when the Russian government began forcing locals to join the army. He decided to cross the border to Pakistan to avoid conscription. One of his poems is about this flight. In the poem, people are fleeing a village, geese migrate eastwards and Malik has already crossed a river. But the poem describes how a lean white horse and a child with bare feet never make it to the safe side of the river.

The feeling of being shut off behind walls continued to follow him during his lonely flight to Pakistan. The flight gave him a strange feeling: “On one hand you are very much part of the experience because you are actually moving, but on the other hand you can’t really keep up with yourself”.

Seeking asylum in Denmark Our conversation follows in the footsteps of his flight to Denmark and soon jumps to his stay in Sandholm asylum camp. In the asylum center, Malik was faced with a different wall. In the beginning, he approached the center and the other asylum seekers with wonder. He did not understand why the others went on strike for such negligible details as the quality of the food, since life in Denmark seemed like paradise compared to his lonely flight.

But the long passive awaiting at the asylum center was lonely and he began to understand the powerlessness that the other asylum seekers felt. Personally, he kept a distance to the powerlessness – “my thoughts helped me through” – even though he had left his family and friends behind like most others. His wife was still living in the refugee camp in Pakistan.

The first few months at the asylum center, he was still able to write and that helped him keep a distance to the powerlessness. He did not feel like a stranger, but rather as an unknown because he could not express himself honestly. He recalls his poetry from the asylum center as sad and marked by hopelessness – like in this poem laughter and tears, written at the Sandholm asylum center, where he appears in the shape of a weeping green parrot. when no one understands your language / you are / like the weeping green parrot / at the fat butcher over there / the higher it cries / the fatter its owner / till his clothes tighten up his body / one is weeping / the other believes he hears laughter Malik remembers the silence at the center: “You only spoke rarely, because you only understood a few people. As a human being you got feelings, you want to thank people, to be angry at them, but you could not express anything”. As an asylum seeker, he faced the wall of silence and a lack of understanding. Malik gives me a key sentence to bring me closer to understanding his feelings: “If you cannot express yourself, then you are not able to be the person you actually feel that you are, since expressing yourself is describing yourself”. It was not only the life in his village in Afghanistan that Malik had left behind; the poetry had not followed him across the borders. “In the beginning, it was hard for me to write in Denmark, as my thoughts were still in the mountains” he says. “Thoughts rarely keep up with your movements, but stay a while at the place you left. Personally, I felt myself separated from my life and family in Afghanistan”.

The compromise of life Ever since he studied Persian literature and languages in his youth at the university in Kabul, expressing himself poetically has been central to being a whole and balanced person. “While writing, you talk to yourself and become who you are,” he says. But in Denmark, the language suddenly became a challenge and a hindrance.

He was finally given asylum after spending 15 months at a couple of Danish asylum centers.

In what way has it been important for you to be given asylum?

“It seems to me that everything in life has both advantages and disadvantages, but of course I felt an increased safety when I was given asylum.”

Life is always a compromise, as it is expressed in his poetry.

Becoming a citizen was another beginning for Malik, and he began to practice Danish intensely. Asylum became central to the possibility of beginning a new life, where he could articulate his life and himself again in newly discovered phrases. He is now a published poet speaking about life with in own words and on his own premises.

He characterizes his newest poems as being filled with hope. For Malik, it has been redemptive to be able to write again and to publish a collection of poetry: “I have been able to say what I wanted for now,” he explains. He no longer experiences that the great wall stops him from expressing himself, but he is very much aware that people are still in that situation: “This is the life of thousands currently living in Afghanistan, and these people are in my thoughts,” he says.

In his poems, he tells us not to worry about him, because he still has a couple of beautiful plants, some old pictures, piles of letters from family and friends and songs in his memory – each of them with an importance the size of the Khyber Pass. He knows that: “life is a compromise / I am living with/ and will live with / this is what I call life.” “for the first time in four days /the sky was clear blue / the clouds all gone / when you looked at/ the refrozen snow of the lucerne fields / it hurts the eyes / from the neighborhood the mist ascended / like living breath / I have found berries but not enough / his pockets abound with bearberries / we are talking about doves / sitting and leaning against the wall / me and Wakil/both of us” (Abdul Malik Beakasyar: “both of us”) Abdul Malik Beakasyar has published five collections of poetry in Pashtu. Mirrors shadows is his first collection of poetry written in Danish, which he has translated in collaboration with the poet Ole Lillelund. It was published in the spring at the Poetic Bureau publishing house.

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No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS

Non-ID palæstinensere fanget i Libanon Med mangel på ordentlig dokumentation er non-ID palæstinensiske unge boende i flygtningelejren Ein-el-Helweh, Saida, Libanon henstillet til et liv uden selv de mest basale menneskerettigheder. Forbliver de et eksempel på social usynlighed, eller får de deres anerkendelse? af Lorena Torres Dalia blev født i Libanon, har arvet sin fars palæstinensiske statsborgerskab, og ejer derfor ingen identifikationspapir. Sammen med sin familie, og cirka andre palæstinensere i Libanon, er hun ikke berettiget til at arbejde, har ingen adgang til skolegang eller sundhedsydelser, bevægelsesfrihed eller nogen form for anerkendelse.

The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), FNs hjælpeorganisation for palæstinensiske flygtninge, spår at der bor cirka 400.000 palæstinensere i Libanon. Ud af disse er 5.000 non-ID palæstinensere, eller flygtninge uden identifikationspapirer. Denne tilstand berører især de unge, som udgør 48% af non-ID palæstinensere i Libanon, altså næsten halvdelen.

De usynlige For bedre at kunne definere denne gruppes status, siger Dansk Flygtningehjælp, at de er, ”flygtninge som ikke er registreret hos nogen libanesiske myndigheder, og dermed ingen gyldig dokumentation har, der berettiger dem til lovligt ophold i Libanon”. UNRWA definerer palæstinensiske flygtninge som ”personer hvis oprindelige bostad var Palæstina i tidsrummet juni 1946 – maj 1948, og som mistede hjem og erhverv som resultat af den arabiske/israelske konflikt i 1948”.

UNRWAs ydelser er tilgængelige for alle, der bor indenfor deres operationsområde, og som hører under denne definition, og som tilmed også er registreret hos dem. Definitionen af flygtning omfatter desuden efterkommere af personer der flygtede i 1948. Hovedparten af NonID palæstinensere kom til Libanon i 1970erne og frem, samtidigt med begivenhederne Sorte September i Jordan eller krigen i Libanon. De fik fik hovedsagligt støtte af den palæstinensiske befrielsesfront, PLO. De palæstinensere der kom til Libanon på det tidspunkt flygtede af forskellige årsager. Nogle kom for at kæmpe for den palæstinensiske sag.

Nogle blev fanget i Libanon og nægtet adgang til deres tidligere lande, fordi de blev forbundet med den palæstinensiske revolution. Nogle var flygtninge som flygtede deres første asyl-land.

Andre var studerende og arbejdere, som ikke havde mulighed for at vende hjem efter de in-

ternationale grænse-ændringer. Mangel på dokumentation og statsborgerskab blev en udfordring for non-ID palæstinensere efter PLO forlod Libanon i 1982.

Værre, end et flygtningeliv Non-ID palæstinensere bor under endu værre forhold, end hvad de registrerede asylansøgere gør, hvilket får konsekvenser for de sociale, økonomiske og lovmæssige aspekter af deres liv. Denne situation var ukendt indtil 2001, efter et tilfælde, hvor en ung, uregistreret flygtning blev dræbt, på flugt fra myndighederne ved en grænsepost. Han havde ingen identifikation på sig, og var netop bange for at blive arresteret.

I 2008 fik, non-ID palæstinensere i Libanon fik tildelt særlige id-kort af de libanesiske myndigheder, hvilket berettigede dem til ét lovligt opholdssted om året, og den kan gratis fornyes.

Dette kort er dog ikke kommet ud til alle, eftersom mange udebliver, da de er bange for konfrontationen med myndighederne, af frygt for at blev arresteret som ulovlige. Det er en ond cirkel, som henstiller mange til et liv i limbo, i nogle tilfælde i årtier. For de fleste unge, har dette været det eneste liv de nogensinde har kendt til.

De unge vil have et værdigt liv De unge flygtninge have en mulighed for at udtrykke deres utilfredshed ved nogle dialogmøder der blev holdt af Dansk Flygtningehjælp og Palæstinensiske Flygtninge i Raje ved Einel-Helweh lejren i Sydlibanon i marts 2010.

Formålet var, at udstille den palæstinensiske situation i Libanon. Blandt andet blev politikere kritiseret, for at bruge naturalosation so et dække for, at de mest basale menneskerettigheder ikke bliver overholdt.

Ali Kayed Kayed, én af deltagerne på et ungdomscenter i Beirut udtrykte: “Jeg vil ikke naturaliseres. I vil bare leve et værdigt liv. Hvis den libanesiske regering fortsætter med at undertrykke os, og gør vores liv til et helvede på jorden, så flygter de unge illegalt til europa. Det er hvad der sker”.

De unge argumenterede, at UNRWA, PLO og andre civilsamfundsgrupper uddelte færre stipendier end tidligere. Manglen på ressurcer hos NGOerne eller deres egne familier stod i vejen for, at flygtninge kunne få sig en uddannelse. De udtrykte også, at mange af projekterne er kortsigtede og har begrænsede budgetter.

Krav på uddannelse og arbejde Resultaterne af disse dialoger viste, at mange af de unge, som udgør hovedparten af den palæstinensiske befolkning i Libanon, døjer

med depression, modløshed, mangel på fremtidsperspektiver og håb. Manal Kortam, Ungdomskoordinator hos Norsk Folkehjælp, beskriver situationen hos non-ID ungdommen som “en katastrofe. De har ingen muligheder. De bliver tilmed diskrimineret dobbelt, i forhold til ande palæstinensere i Libanon”.

Da jeg spurgte hende, hvordan hun opfattede hele non-ID problematikken i den nærmeste fremtid, særligt nu hvor disse dialoger blev afholdt, og de libanesiske myndigheder har anerkendt problemet, argumenterede hun: “Jeg er optimistisk omkring at denne problem bliver løst. Efter enhver standard er det uholdbart at have et folk ikke bliver anerkendt…disse er verserende liv”, og hun anser adgang til uddannelse og arbejde som fordele, og en forbedring af deres liv og livsvilkår.

Livet med den libanesiske regering fungerer aldrig Ved udgangen af august 2010 har den libanesiske regering vedtaget en ny lov, der tillader palæstinensiske flygtninge at arbejde. Loven er modtaget med en vis skepsis blandt palæstinensere, som ser en del udfordringer forude og endda grund til korruption. Den nye lov giver palæstinenserne mulighed for at arbejde, men de må stadig ikke arbejde som f.eks læger eller ingenører, eller andet forbundet til en fagforening som kræver medlemskab.

“Jeg tror, palæstinenserne burde være berettigede til at arbejde indenfor et hvilken som helst felt i Libanon, uden restriktioner, men de er bange for, at vi glemmer vores land og bliver magelige. Hvad kan disse uddannede palæstinensere gør med deres universitetsgrader? Bruge dem som toiletpapir, eller skifte karriere, og sælge grøntsager på markedet? Jeg håber, at hele verden kigger på os, for en gangs skyld, og hjælper os med at komme ud fra Libanon, for det lader til, at livet med den libaneniske regering aldrig vil fungere”, undtrykkede Ali. Mens den libanesiske regering håber på mere international støtte, arbejder UNRWA, sammen med de palæstinensiske myndigheder og flygtningesamfundet, på en forbedring af nonID problematikken, og for palæstinensiske vilkår i generelt. Det står klart for alle parter, at det ultimative mål er, at palæstinenserne kan komme tilbage til deres hjemland. Ved at anerkende dette komplekse emne, og gøre det synligt i gennem dialogmøderne og undersøgelserne, der har kortlagt de vigtigste behov, har de involverede fået et bedre indbyrdes forhold, men det mangler stadig international anerkendelse. De unge i Ein-el-Helweh har hævet deres stemme. Nu gælder det bare om, at de gældende myndighederne giver dem et værdigt liv.

We have a History

by Jens Pfeifer Denmark, France, Italy – One thing seems to be clear – Gypsies, even if being EU-citizens, do “obviously” not have the same rights as other EU-citizens. It is not the first time Gypsies are exposed to unreasonable, injustice and inhuman measures. Talking about gypsies without remembering their history, especially the history under WWII, is not just wrong, but even really dangerous. ”[...] Clearly, the Nazis wanted to eliminate the Roma as an identifiable group of people, the bearers of a culture. They carried out this policy by mass murder, humiliation, and the utmost brutality and sadism. Within the Reich, this meant total elimination, by murder, sterilization, or deportation Outside the Reich […] wandering Roma were murdered, wheras settled Roma were, by and large, left alone.” (Bauer, 66) Alone in Auschwitz 1.3 million people died. One million were Jews, but alone in 1943 21,000 Gypsies were among the murdered.

The people named Gypsies have their origins in India and wandered into Europe during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In some countries they were welcome upon their arrival, in others tolerated for a while, “but in most they were repeatedly subject to expulsions”. It was not unusual that the local inhabitants were free to kill them. Already by 1905 the Bavarian authorities kept a register containing the names of more than 3,000 Gypsies and from 1911 they even registered their fingerprints. In 1929 the German Criminal commission designed the Munich office as the

Central Office for combating Gypsies. The office was moved to Berlin in 1938 and under the new name of Reich Center for Combating the Gypsy Plague, now being a component of the German Criminal Police, had records of 16,743 “racial” Gypsies, 4,502 racially doubtful cases, and some 29,604 non-Gypsy nomads.

From the mid thirties a great number of Gypsies, men, women and children were sterilized simply because they were “inferior”.

In 1940 4,000 Roma Gypsies from Austria were deported to a camp at Lackenbach. In November 1941 5,007 Austrian Gypsies where shipped to the ghetto of Lodz.

In 1943 Auschwitz was designated as the camp the Roma had to be deported. Approximately 22,700 Gypsies were brought to Auschwitz from outside the Reich. There was no plan to kill the deportees outright, but in March 1943 1,700 were gassed because of the suspicion of typhus. Again in May more than 1,000 were gassed for the same reason.

On November 1943 several hundred Gypsies were transported from Auschwitz to the Natzweiler concentration camp. In April 1944 1,375 were transferred to Buchenwald and Ravensbrück, in May 1944 226 to Flossenburg and Ravensbrück. In August 1944, 1,408 to Buchenwald and the remaining 2,897 inmates of the Zigeunerlager were gassed.

German agencies were not the only initiators of lethal measures against Gypsies.

Approximately 25,000 were deported in Romania, many died from either typhus or starvation.

No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS Italians, Hungarians and Bulgarians did not shoot Gypsies, although Macedonian Gypsies were sent to do forced labor in Bulgaria.

In sum gypsies were targeted for variety of stated reasons. From country to country their victimization could depend on whether they were Mischlinge or pure Gypsy, nomadic or sedentary, Christians or Muslims. In the end men, women and children died as a result of hunger, disease, bullets or gas simply because they were Gypsies.

105

Sources: The Holocaust Encyclopedia. (2001) ed. Walter Laqueur. Yale University Press.

Denmark and the Holocaust. (2003) ed. Mette Bastholm Jensen and Steven L.B. Jensen. Institute for International Studies, Department for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

Bauer Yehuda. (2001) Rethinking the Holocaust. Yale University Press.

Fra Nablus til Ingenmandsland Minder om en palæstinensisk families flugt og tanker om det udsigtsløse liv som papirløs palæstinenser i Libanon. Essam understreger det håbløse i palæstinensiske flygtninges situation med udgangspunkt i egne erfaringer af Essam Minderne ramte mig som noget fra en gammel film. Det var minderne om dengang, vi forlod vores landsby i Palæstina i 1967. Landsbyen hedder Tubas og ligger tæt ved byen Nablus i et smukt bjergrigt område. Da vi forlod byen, var det det under beskydning fra israelske styrker.

Soldaterne skød om ørerne på kvinder og børn, der kom gående i hobetal på deres bare tæer.

Nogle brugte æsler til at bære de ældste eller ting som sengetøj og beklædning på. Jeg var 3 år gammel på det tidspunkt. Jeg blev båret skiftevis af min mor og min bedstemor og sommetider af en af mine tanter. De var med på vores flugt væk fra de ting, der foregik på det tidspunkt. Selv forstod jeg ikke, hvad der foregik omkring mig. Efter vores flugt fra den israelske besættelse og dens svært bevæbnede soldater, ankom vi til den første landsby i Jordan – i Al Yabsa-dalen. Herfra tog vi en taxa til byen Amman, hvor min far ventede på os.

Han var ansat i den jordanske hær på det tidspunkt, da Vestbredden hørte under jordansk administration. Efter tre år og i forbindelse med hændelserne under Sorte September 1970 forlod min far Jordan for at slutte sig til den palæstinensiske revolution og Fatah-bevægelsen i Syrien, som blev ledet af Yasser Arafat (Abu Ammar).

I 1976 fulgte vi med min far til Libanon, hvor han arbejdede for Fatah-bevægelsen. På det tidspunkt havde vi rejst i adskillige områder i Libanon: Bekaa-regionen, Beirut, Saida og Tyre. I 1982 flygtede vi fra Monia Saida til Bekaa-regionen nær den syriske grænse. I 1985 tog min mor og mine søskende til Syrien og senere til Jordan. Min mor havde på det tidspunkt jordansk pas, og hun kunne dermed komme ind i Jordan, hvor hun stadig lever den dag i dag.

Min yngste bror Mine og jeg selv blev i Libanon.

Vi flyttede fra Bekaa til Saida i 1986, og her bor vi endnu. Jeg mødte en palæstinensisk pige fra Ein-el-Helweh, som jeg giftede mig med. Vi har

to døtre og en søn. I dag lever jeg uden identifikationspapirer, hvilket har hæmmet mig i mine udfoldelsesmuligheder og ligeledes betydet, at jeg i dag har forskellige økonomiske, sociale og juridiske problemer. Det har også betydet, at jeg ikke har fået lov til at gennemføre mit universitetsstudium.

Efter disse hændelser er man begyndt at kalde mig og de 5000 andre som mig for ”dem uden identifikationspapirer”. Hele denne gruppe af palæstinensere har aldrig oplevet glæderne ved et helt almindeligt menneskeliv. De kan ikke uddanne sig, blive gift eller flytte væk fra deres opholdssteder i de palæstinensiske flygtningelejre. Som vi ser det, findes der én løsning på problemet: Send os enten tilbage til vores land Palæstina eller lad os bosætte os i et europæisk land. Vores liv i Libanon er umuligt og fyldt med både lidelse og store problemer, der ikke kun vil påvirke vores egen fremtid, men også vores børns.

Who is not in love with Carmen?

No other European people are subject to the same ambiguous treatment as the Roma: they are applauded in the best European venues, but discriminated against at the same time. We both love and hate them and, after almost 1,000 years in Europe, they are not yet integrated. The following is an insight into the long history of the Romany people.

by Abigail Josephsen From November 2009 to June 2010, thousands of Danes went to the Copenhagen Opera House to enjoy ‘Carmen,’ the story about the warm-blooded, Andalusian femme fatale, the gypsy Carmen, who loves her freedom so much that she is willing to die to hold on to it. Bizet’s opera from 1875 still pulls ordinary citizens away from their everyday lives and pushes them into Carmen’s world, where no compromises are made when it comes to ideals such as freedom and passion. We are mesmerised by Carmen, and many of us have loved Esmeralda in ‘The Hunchback from Notre Dame’ and the strong and freedom-loving Johnny Depp from the film ‘Chocolat.’ These are a few examples from our cultural heritage that have helped bring to life the myths about the gypsies, or the Romany, as most of them prefer to call themselves.

The dark side of the myths The myths surrounding the Romanies are not entirely positive. Carmen is a particularly good example of the Gypsy myth, which she personifies because she cheats, cons and kills people and is murdered herself in the end. All this happens because there is no place for her and her kind in society. According to Carsten FengerGrøndahl and Marlene Fenger-Grøndal, who have co-written the book Gypsy 1,000 Years at the Edges of Europe,the Romany have been portrayed as both enemies and symbols of freedom in European culture for centuries. They have been portrayed as deviants or as a direct threat to the order of society when it comes to the arts and the academic world; in this way the

Romany have never been fully integrated or accepted in Europe.

Persecuted and discriminated throughout history The Romany people originally came from northern India, and their language has distinct characteristics originating from the old Indo-European language Sanskrit. In Sanskrit, Romany (originally: domba) means a man from the low castes who makes a living from dance and music (A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages).

In all probability, the Romany left India around the year 1,000 to become soldiers of fortune, employed by the Byzantine Empire. From here they went up through Europe where they earned a living working as hired labourers, traders, musicians and street performers, but they were not well received. In the 1200s they were outlawed in western Europe, which meant that anyone could kill them or treat them as they saw fit. The Romany were outlawed in western Europe until 1736, where they were still persecuted and put in prison or forced to live in poor neighbourhoods (according to romanet.dk).

In eastern Europe in the 1200s the Romany were caught and kept as slaves. This went on for the next 500 years. They were not emancipated until 1864 – for instance in Romania and Russia. However, their emancipation did not mean that they became equal to other citizens; they were still at the bottom of the hierarchy, forced to live a life of destitution without education and rights – a situation in which many of them still find themselves to this day.

Racial segregation in Hungary

Erzsébet Mohacsi, who is the head of the foundation Chance for Children in Hungary’s capital Budapest, says that Romany children are racially segregated from the ethnically Hungarian children and put in Romany-only schools, special Romany classes or schools for mentally challenged children. The result is that they learn almost nothing, which is why no more than 10 percent of Romany youths receive the education that other youngsters do, while 80 per cent of ethnically Hungarian children move on in the education system after finishing state school. Without an education, the Romany are more or less prevented from finding anything else than poorly paid jobs, which forces them to remain outsiders.

In western Europe the Romany have in no way been treated better. One example is Sweden, where Romany women were forcibly sterilized as late as until 1976 and, in the course of World War Two, the Nazis murdered around one million Romany in concentration camps with the proclaimed aim of exterminating them all.

Only talented Romany are allowed to stay in Denmark According to the Danish Immigration Museum, the first Romany probably crossed the Danish borders in the 16th century and very soon – in 1533 – King Christian III decreed that all Romany were to be expelled from the country. In 1875 a law on foreigners came into force that prohibited Romany and other travellers from staying within the borders of the kingdom.

Some of the talented Romany – for instance the well-known Benneweis family – were given a special passport that permitted them to travel around the country and perform. The law on

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No. 4 2010

foreigners was in effect as late as until 1953, which meant that, during World War Two, the police could reject Romany at the Danish-German border, although they were being persecuted by the Nazis.

After the war the situation changed a little, but the feeling of antipathy towards the Romany still lingers on. This was evident at this year’s Roskilde Festival, where Asger Hougaard, a guest at the festival, described in an article in the Politiken newspaper the humiliation to which the Romany were subjected. Some young Danes, for instance, threw rubbish in the face of a Romany woman when she was collecting bottles. According to chairman of the European Movement in Denmark Erik Boel, in the same month a group of Romany were expelled “on the basis of the fact that they belong to an ethnic group that is associated with crime” without having been convicted in keeping with the fundamental principle that you are innocent until proven guilty.

Do the Romany have a choice in the EU? Something has gone wrong since the Romany people, who have lived in Europe for almost 1,000 years, have still not been integrated and

TRANSLATIONS accepted in European society. If the Romanys’ inclination to live in parallel societies is a consequence of the fact that they have been suppressed and persecuted for centuries or if they actually do not want to be integrated is a question about which people disagree. But perhaps this is not the question that we should be asking ourselves; maybe the question is rather if they have a choice at all! And, who is responsible for ensuring that they have the basic rights and the social and economic foundation that can make them capable of making that choice.

The Romany are a people without a state and, even though they have passports from the countries they live in, no European state feels responsible for putting in the required effort.

Therefore, the central player in all this has become the European Union.

The Romany peoples’ situation was on the agenda in the EU at the turn of the millennium when a range of former eastern European countries became members of the EU. Since then, a number of reports and surveys have been published by the European Commission concerning the Romany peoples’ situation in the EU. The network EURoma, which has representatives from 12 member states, works to

advance the use of the EU’s structural funds to support the inclusion in European society of the Romany through education and jobs. Furthermore, in 2010 the EU launched the ‘European Year 2010 Against Poverty and Social Exclusion,’ which, among other things, focuses on the situation in which the Romany find themselves.

Hopefully, the European Union’s effort will help change the conditions under which the Romany live and also ensure better integration for them to have an education and a proper place to live. According to a report from the World Bank, issued in the autumn 2010, there are great economic advantages to be had if these objectives are achieved. However, if the EU’s effort is to provide good results, it is critical that ordinary European citizens work to disprove the myths and prejudices that the Romany are met with every day. Perhaps after 1,000 years they will then finally have the opportunity to fulfill their potential as equal citizens, and people, and no longer be forgotten and hidden behind beautiful and mythical images such Carmen, or have rubbish thrown at them.

Papirløse amerikanere I Amerika betyder det at være collegestuderende uden papirer, at du er en superhelt. Samtidig bliver du brugt som syndebuk for alt galt i landet, og alligevel er vi, som den næste generation af individer, der træder ind på USAs arbejdsmarked, også svaret på landets problemer. af Erick Huerta [Erick Huerta er journalist, baseret i Los Angeles. Som en der selv er papirløs, rapporterer han om betingelserne og forholdene, som papirløse borgere i USA lever under. Hans artikler kan læses på laeastside.com under pseudonymet El Random Hero.]

USA blev skabt og bygget af immigranter, det kommer således ikke som en overraskelse, at en af de største amerikanske kulturelle ikoner, Superman, faktisk selv er en illegal fremmed.

Sendt til Jorden af hans forældre, da hans hjem blev ødelagt, opfostret af et amerikansk par til selv at blive en mønsteramerikaner, påtagende sig en falsk identitet som Clark Kent for at fungere i samfundet, kæmpende for sandhed, retfærdighed og ’the American way’. Min historie spejler Supermans. Jeg blev, syv år gammel, bragt til USA fra Mexico D.F. på grund af de ekstreme økonomiske vanskeligheder der.

Min families muligheder for et bedre liv og for succes var større oppe nordpå i USA. Jeg assimilerede mig således og excellerede i at gøre mit nye adoptivhjems sprog, vaner og historie min egen.

Alligevel har jeg og tusinder af andre papirløse collegestuderende, der også blev bragt hertil fra deres hjemlande i en ung alder, ingen muligheder for at blive lovlige indbyggere i det land, vi voksede op i. De seneste 19 år har jeg levet i det spøgelsessamfund, der eksisterer i det amerikanske samfund, der lever i konstant frygt for militaristiske immigrationslove, for at blive deporteret, nødsaget til at tolerere antiimmigrant og -latino stemninger. Gennem disse erfaringer har jeg fundet andre som jeg, der har levet samme slags liv, vokset op i frygt for ikke at have en legal status og aldrig kunne fortælle det til nogen, holdende det hemmeligt for verden. Vi er alle collegeuddannede, vi kæmper for rettigheder for immigranter, latinoer og underrepræsenterede minoriteter som os selv. Vi har protesteret på gaden, er blevet arresteret for civil ulydighed og har vidnet i kongressen for vores drømme, at blive lovlige indbyggere i vores adoptivland. Vi er uden papirer og uden frygt.

Offentlig uddannelse Her i Los Angeles er det obligatorisk for børn at gå i skole uanset deres immigrationsstatus.

Jeg bestod fra Los Angeles Unified School Di-

strict, der har den højest frafaldsrate for minoriteter i hele staten Californien. Jeg bestod fra en overfyldt high school, der var mere interesseret i at presse studerende igennem end at forberede dem til college. Gennem hele mit liv er jeg aldrig blevet opfordret af lærere eller mine forældre til at brillere i skolen, udover til at lige at blive rykket op til næste klassetrin. Da jeg meget tidligt i mit liv vidste, at jeg var papirløs, tog jeg en beslutning. Som syvårig, mens jeg gik i skole, lærte brøker, verber og havde sjov med mine venner, besluttede jeg mig for at være ligeglad med min uddannelse. Jeg indså tidligt i livet, at den verden, jeg ønskede at være en del af, ikke ville have mig. Jeg havde ikke de rette papirer, så i stedet for at brillere i mine studier og blive placeret i eliteklasser, forblev jeg i det anonyme flertal. Jeg lavede kun lige nok arbejde til at bestå som endnu en gennemsnitselev.

I de 11 år udviklede jeg problemer med depression på grund af min immigrantstatus. Jeg vidste at det, at være åben om det ikke var socialt acceptabelt både af frygt for at blive deporteret og for at måtte udstå fremmedgørelse fra medstuderende. At holde den hemmelighed og lyve for venner medførte langvarige følelsesmæssige og psykologiske problemer.

ønsker at fortsætte kandidat- eller doktorgrader uden at være nød til at betale udenforstaten afgiften. I tillæg til dette er The DREAM Act en lov, der ville give papirløse individer en vej til lovligt ophold i USA gennem en collegeuddannelse eller militærtjeneste. Under The DREAM ACT: • skulle en person have været i landet inden vedkommende blev 16 • have været i landet fem år før loven blev vedtaget • have god moralsk karakter og ingen pletter på straffeattesten • have et high school diplom Hvis disse forhold var i orden, ville de blive placeret i en seksårig midlertidig opholdstilladelsesperiode i hvilken, de skal opfylde et af to krav; at indregistrere sig på et college/universitet i mere end to år for at opnå en grad og aktivt arbejde på at få denne. Eller at tjene i militæret i en periode på ikke mindre end to år. Efter at have opfyldt et af disse krav kan individer blive indstillet til permanent legalt ophold.

Da jeg var klar til at gå ud af high school, var den virkelige verdens virkelighed således begyndt at stramme sig på. Min plan for livet var at arbejde i et fremtidsløst job resten af mit liv, fordi jeg ikke havde andet valg. Jeg var nød til at blive en del af den undergrundsøkonomi og det spøgelsessamfund, der findes i USA. Pudsigt nok var det samme år, at Assembly Bill 540 gik gennem Kongressen og Developement, Relief, Education of Alien Minors Act [Udvikling, Støtte, Uddannelse af Fremmede Mindreårige Loven] første gang blev fremført i Kongressen.

Selvom AB 540 blev vedtaget i 2002 og The DREAM Act blev fremlagt for første gang, opdagede jeg dem ikke før, jeg indskrev mig på college og udfyldte blanketterne. I tre år efter high school arbejdede jeg som en gadesælger, jeg solgte frugt, hot dogs og shaved ice fra en vogn.

Selvom det til tider virker som om, at jeg spildte tre år af mit liv med at arbejde i et fremtidsløst arbejde, så ville jeg ikke have haft den motivation, jeg nu har, til at fremme min uddannelse på seriøs vis, havde det ikke været for den tid, jeg brugte på at gøre det. Efter at have indskrevet mig i skolen begyndte jeg lidt efter lidt at se, at jeg ikke var den eneste papirløse collegestudent. Jeg var ikke den eneste undergrundsprægraduat.

Assembly Bill 540 og The DREAM Act Som følge af AB 540 kan enhver indbygger i Californien, der har bestået fra en californisk high school gå på offentlige colleges og universiteter og betale den studieafgift, elever fra staten skal betale, i stedet for elever-uden-for-staten raterne. Som det ser ud nu på mit nuværende college, betaler jeg gennemsnitligt 80 $ for et kursus. Hvis det ikke havde været for denne lov, ville jeg have betalt 560 $ for det samme kursus. Ironisk nok blev denne lov ikke gennemført med den direkte intention at støtte papirløse individer, men for at hjælpe legale indbyggere og borgere, der mister deres bopæl i staten og

Undergrunds-prægraduater: Skabelsen af de Papirløse Studerendes Bevægelse.

Gennem internettet, avisartikler og via mundtil-mund metoden opdagede jeg den papirløse studenterbevægelse, der startede i 2002 med vedtagelsen af AB 540. Jeg mødte og blev venner med andre papirløse studenter; nogle af dem gik på nogle af ikke kun Californiens, men hele landets, mest prestigeøse, konkurrenceprægede og dyre skoler, banende vejen for tusinder af andre papirløse studenter. De begyndte at lave klubber på deres skoler dedikeret til at hjælpe og støtte papirløse studerende i skolen. De nuværende ledere af denne bev-

No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS ægelse her i Californien startede alle samtidig ud på denne måde, hvilket førte til skabelsen af et statsdækkende studenternetværk, på det tidspunkt organiseret af en lokal non-profit immirgrantrettigheds-organisation, CHIRLA, Koalitionen for Humane Immigrant Rettigheder i Los Angeles. En af de første grupper, jeg lærte at kende, og en af de mest aktive er IDEAS på UCLA [Forbedrende Drømme, Lighed, Adgang og Succes]. Som studerende på en landskendt og respekteret skole fik de opmærksomhed omkring deres arbejde, deres liv som papirløse individer, og det højnede bevidstheden om den hjælp, der er tilgængelig for papirløse studenter, der ønsker at fortsætte deres uddannelse.

Alle disse grupper, klubber og organisationer har holdt talløse workshops for at hjælpe nystartede studerende, højne bevidstheden og sikre sig, at så mange folk som muligt kender til AB 540 og The DREAM Act. Gennem årene er antallet af studerende og grupper/klubber på forskellige skoler her i Californien øget. I dag er vi aktive papirløse grupper og organisationer i 35 af de 50 stater. Vi har et nationalt netværk, der kontinuerligt arbejder på vedtagelsen af The DREAM Act, på at stoppe deportationerne af papirløse studerende i deportationsprocedurer, og advokerer for vores individuelle rettigheder under landets lovgivning.

Legal frygt I dag er størstedelen af, hvis ikke al, anti-immigrant stemningen i USA rettet mod latinoer.

Flertallet af disse kommer fra Mexico på grund af dettes nærhed til grænsen, men de inkluderer også alle fra Sydamerika, Centralamerica og andre nære lande med mørkhudede mennesker.

Dette betyder således at immigrationens ansigt bliver brunt og med latinobaggrund. Dog var det sådan, at fra 2009 var flertallet af papirløse collegestuderende indskrevet på universiteter/ colleges af asiatisk/stillehavs-asiatisk baggrund. Mens latinoere har været mere højlydte og åbne omkring emnet, har asiatiske studerende, som latinoer, været nød til at forholde sig til kulturelle vaner, der forhindrer dem i at være så åbne omkring det. Som alle andre papirløse immigranter forbliver de stille og skjuler deres lovmæssige status af frygt for autoriteternes undersøgelser, social skam og andre personlige forhold. På trods af dette, og mens debatten og kampen i retten over papirløse immigranter eskalerer, bliver flere og flere papirløse studerende myndige og går ud af high school. De følger i fodsporene af dem, der kom før dem, og går ind i grupperne/klubberne, der hjælper dem med at navigere i skolesystemet og hjælper dem til at få succes.

2007 DREAM Act vedtages ikke I oktober 2007 manglede The DREAM Act otte stemmer for at blive vedtaget. Det var det tætteste de papirløses studenterbevægelse har været på at gennemføre The DREAM Act. Nederlaget kom som et stort slag for alle de studerende og vores støtter, der arbejdede dag og nat på at nå så langt, som vi gjorde. De holdt ud gennem utallige søvnløse nætter og anstrengende dage brugt på at foretage telefonopringninger, sende e-mails og mobilisere deres respektive stater og byer til at handle. Månederne og ugerne op til den afstemning blev brugt på at foretage lovforberedende besøg hos politikere for at få dem til at stemme for The DREAM Act. Det var også den første gang, at hele bevægelsen mobiliserede nationalt.Det blev endda til et personligt vidneudsagn fra den, dengang, UCLA studerende Tam Tran, som er af vietnamesisk baggrund, men født som flygtning i Tyskland, således ikke havende noget oprindeligt land at kalde hjem. Hun var statsløs. Hun fortalte sin historie foran Kongressen øjeblikke før, afstemningen fandt sted, til ingen nytte. Efter hendes vidnesudsagn gik politikere efter hendes familie, arresterede dem og forsøgte uden held at deportere dem.

Samtidig markerede 2007 også en anden milepæl i bevægelsens historie, da flertallet af de individer, der hjalp til at organisere bevægelsen dimitterede fra deres uddannelse. Indtil 2007 var flertallet af The DREAM Acts støtter, fortalere og organisatorer, der udgjorde

netværket, collegestuderende i klubber/grupper. Kombinationen af at mislykkes med at vedtage The DREAM Act og at møde realiteterne af at være papirløse collegekandidater, ude af stand til at bruge deres grad, ude af stand til at arbejde legalt, eller have adgang til hverdagsting som et kørekort, muligheden for at bevæge sig rundt sikkert eller have et job, begyndte at koste dyrt. Mange af kandidaterne var ikke længere i stand til at organisere sig i The DREAM Act-bevægelsen, da den var en eksklusiv skoleklub/gruppe. Hvis du ikke tilhørte en gruppe/ klub på en skole, eller arbejdede i en organisation, var der ikke plads til dig. Der var individer, der også ønskede at fokusere deres tid og energi på at fortsætte deres uddannelse ved at gå ind i kandidat- og doktorale programmer, og dermed navigere og skabe nye veje for papirløse studerende at følge igen. Tre år senere er de samme studerende nu lærere og arbejdende professionelle med kandidatgrader. De unge, der ledede og startede denne bevægelse er nu unge voksne, der fortsætter deres liv, papirløse eller ej.

2010 Papirløse & frygtløse.

2010 vil gå ind i historien som det år, da papirløse studerende i USA satte deres liv på spil, ikke kun for denne bevægelse, men for hvad vi tror på. Vi har levet i skyggerne i mere end 20 år.

Jo ældre, vi bliver, desto hurtigere løber tiden os forbi. Vi ser vores venner bevæge sig videre i deres liv, arbejde i deres valgte profession, rejse og slå sig ned og skabe en familie. Som en sten kastet i en sø er frustrationens krusninger vokset til tidevandsbølger af personlig selvdestruktion.

2010 viste bevægelsen sig fra dens bedste side.

Vi var koordineret i hver eneste stat, nedefra op. Hver dag kom flere og flere studerende ud af skyggerne efter at have set den nationale mediedækning, som vores aktioner skabte. Vi har været talt om og er blevet diskuteret i alle større nyhedsorganer, dette land har, uden frygt for at bruge vores rigtige navne, uden frygt for at gemme os for Amerika. Ved at gøre dette sætter vi ansigter bag spørgsmålet om papirløse collegeuddannede individer. Vi er ikke længere en anonym masse af mennesker. Vi er unge mænd og kvinder fra alle samfundslag og fra hele verden. Vi vendte sociale medier til vores fordel, når vi organiserede til begivenheder. Enhver evne og ethvert fag, vi havde lært og mestrede i vores liv, blev brugt i bevægelsen, fra at skabe kunstværker til at skabe en national kampagne for at stoppe deportationen af DREAM Act-kandiderende individer, alt dette på få dage.

I september 2010 nåede bevægelsen igen et kritisk punkt. I de tre år, der var gået siden det seneste nederlag, havde tingene ændret sig til det bedre. Bevægelsen er mere organiseret end tidligere. Antallet af grupper og klubber har udvidet sig til ikke kun at inkludere skoler, men også fællesskaber og nationale organisationer, der støtter den papirløse bevægelse. Flertallet af disse grupper består af papirløse collegekandidater og nuværende studerende, der arbejder nationalt på The DREAM Act. Vores mål er at gøre The DREAM Act til virkelighed i 2010.

Vi hjalp med til at vælge den første afrikanskamerikanske præsident, en præsident, der tror på The DREAM Act. Vi havde hundreder af tusinder af individer klar til at mobilisere på et øjeblik. Vi var i sandhed vokset siden 2007 og det var tydeligt. Året begyndte med et nationalt møde for alle DREAM Act grupperne i landet. Vi lavede strategier og planlagde året, revitaliserede hele vores kampagne med vores budskaber om at hjælpe alle de papirløse individer, der stadig gemte sig i skyggerne.

1. januar kastede fire papirløse studerende sig ud på en 1.500 mils gåtur fra Miami, Florida, til Washington D.C. For at skabe bevidsthed om The DREAM Act, om lidelserne for papirløse individer, for at bekæmpe anti-latino og immigrant stemninger og for at påvirke præsidenten og politikere til at støtte The DREAM Act. Rej-sen endte 1. maj og den fik succes med at opdyrke nationale og lokal medieopmærksomhed overalt, de kom hen. De bragte håb til de lokalområder, de passerede igennem. Konstant snak-

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kede de om The DREAM Act til folk, der aldrig havde hørt om den, som et frisk vindpust i en smogplaget by. I marts startede den nationale bevægelse kampagnen “Papirløs og frygtløs.”

Startet af en gruppe i Chicago, Illinois, tog vi magten over vores sociale identiteter og gjorde dem vores egne. Fra gaderne i Los Angeles til New York holdt bevægelsen koordinerede stævner i utallige byer med ét formål: at fortælle verden, at vi er papirløse og vi er frygtløse. Under stævnerne gik vi op til fremmede på gaden og fortalte dem vores historier. Vi fortalte, at vi er papirløse, og vi fortalte om vores problemer og nødvendigheden af vedtagelsen af The DREAM Act. Vi ændrede manges holdninger den dag, men vigtigst af alt tog vi kontrol med vores liv igen.

Civil ulydighed Bevægelsens nuværende vej ledte for nyligt til de begivenheder, der fandt sted i maj. I noget tid var fire af bevægelsens ledere begyndt i hemmelighed at diskutere og planlægge civil ulydighed. I fodsporene af tidligere borgerrettighedsbevægelser, som de afrikansk-amerikanske ledet af Martin Luther King Jr. og landarbejdernes ledet af Cesar Chavez. I månederne op til blev aktionerne planlagt i forlængelse af den sidste af disse. Aktionen bestod af en sit in i John McCains Arizona-kontor kaldende på hans støtte. Både aktionen og dens placering var strategisk valgt, fordi Arizona har den mest omfattende anti-immigrant lovgivning i hele USA. Fire ledere af DREAM-bevægelsen stod fast foran Helvedes Port og blinkede ikke. De blev arresteret og i løbet af timer løsladt fra et detentionscenter for immigranter, i strid med næsten enhver lov og procedure i staten. Gennem deres aktioner tændte de egenhændigt en rasende stormild af passion i hver eneste papirløse individ i dette land.

I hælene på dem og i solidaritet med deres Arizonaaktion organiserede studerende i Californien endnu en civil ulydighed ved at deltage i en sit in. De blokerede et større vejkryds foran FBIs bygning, hvormed de vedblev med at fastholde opmærksomhed på arrestationen og The DREAM Act i de nationale medier. Efter den aktion blev de næste par måneder brugt, både lokalt og nationalt, på at planlægge en masseaktion med civil ulydighed i landets hovedstad, Washington D.C. 20. juli deltog papirløse studenter i en civil ulydigheds sit in og appelledere til Kongressen om at vedtage The DREAM Act. På trods af alle disse aktioner er ingen, endnu, blevet deporteret eller sendt i fængsel. Dette er på grund af de juridiske grupper skabt af advokater og studerende, der aspirerer til at blive advokater. 1. Oktober stod otte individer over for seriøse anklager og blev slæbt i retten. I løbet af disse høringer besluttede de otte individer at forsvare sig selv, og skabte hermed historie. Aldrig før har papirløse i USA risikeret deportation ved at begå civil ulydighed og så forsvaret sig selv i retten. I sidste ende roste dommeren, der var ansvarlig for sagen, alle individerne og sagde, at de var essensen af, hvad det betød at være en borger i USA, og rensede dem for alle anklager.

Fremtids spørgsmål 21. september blev The DREAM Act inkluderet i et tillæg til en lov, der giver penge til det amerikanske militær. Strategien var at få The DREAM Act vedtaget ved at inkludere den i denne lov, men der manglede fire stemmer fra vedtagelse, fordi det fandt sted kort før midtvejsvalget.

Politikere, der skulle genvælges, var bange for at forsvare en lov, der støtter rimelig behandling af immigranter. Selvom loven ikke blev vedtaget, er det ikke det sidste søm i kisten. Det betød kun, at bevægelsen må regruppere og forsøge at få den vedtaget på den hårde måde, som et enkeltstående lovforslag. Denne chance udløber i november, hvilket kun er to uger væk, mens jeg skriver dette. Vores bevægelse må igen gøre alt i dens magt for at sikre, at vi vedtager The DREAM Act for de 1,8 millioner papirløse individer, der venter på, at deres drøm skal blive virkelighed.

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No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS

Undocumented Access to Health Care The Danish health care system is a complicated field where access to its services by undocumented migrants is operating without clear rules. People who live outside of the Danish Civil Registration Service, Det Centrale Personregister, fear that, if they contact a doctor, he will report them to immigration authorities. The doctor has a problem as well: he is facing a legal and ethical dilemma.

By Nina Monrad Boel When you go to an emergency ward, you will be treated, whether you have a documented right to stay in Denmark or not. But in other programs and services of the health care system it is less clear how patients without a civil registration number should be dealt with.

Dan Biswas from the Danish Research Centre for Migration, Ethnicity and Health from the Department of Public Health at Copenhagen University has done research into undocumented migrants’ access to emergency treatment. He explains about the problem: “It’s a grey area. Undocumented migrants have access to emergency treatment in the same way as everybody else. But things are less clear when it comes to things beyond injuries and acute illnesses.” It is hard to define exactly what the overall health condition of an undocumented individual living under these circumstances, as Dan Biswas points out also that non-acute health conditions may turn into acute health problems.

Access by a circuitous route Undocumented migrants can obtain access to non-acute medical treatment in more than one way. User charges are a possibility, but it is doubtful if all undocumented migrants will be able to cover these expenses because some of them will not have the money for it. Another way is to borrow someone’s medical card, but this is dangerous both for the person who is ill and for the Danish owner of the card. Where questions will arise about which treatments the patient has had, which is a problem for instance if a blood transfusion is needed. The health care sector is aware of this problem, and undocumented individuals who bring with them a borrowed medical card are told that they can be treated anonymously. One way in which to be seen by a doctor is for the doctor to prepare an interim civil registration number with the patient’s date of birth plus four letters instead of the last four figures. This method can also be used when tourists need medical care. Stating that you are a tourist and that you have forgotten to bring your passport with you is also a way for undocumented migrants to receive medical care. Dan Biswas says that paperless migrants often go to see a doctor together with a Danish friend: “They like to bring a person with them who can reassure them and who knows their case and the system.”

Biswas adds that in some cases where a migrant cannot bring a Danish person with him, a migrant may also contact a doctor in his own country and ask for advice over the phone. In

some cases migrants medicate themselves. Finally, there is the option of choosing the legitimate path and contact the Danish Immigration Service. After having done this, the migrant must typically stay in an asylum centre and can then receive medical help on the same conditions as other asylum seekers. Many migrants will then be expelled from Denmark, which is why they are not inclined to contact the Immigration Service.

Fear of being informed on If you live underground, you also live with a constant fear of being informed on. This may stop undocumented immigrants from seeking medical help as quickly as they should.

“The fear of being informed on isn’t there only when it comes to hospitals; it’s something that undocumented migrants live with on a daily basis. This is why they are very careful about getting involved in situations where their identity may be revealed,” says Dan Biswas.

However, doctors are bound by patient confidentiality and, even though you are using a medical card that is not your own, a doctor is not obliged to inform on people. This is made clear in a letter from the Danish National Board of Health, dated January 9, 2003: “…passing on information to the police is justified when a matter relates to investigations about serious crimes such as man-slaughter, sexual offences, aggravated violence, etc., including violence against children. It is the National Board of Health’s view that abuse of a medical card is not an act of this nature.”

Difficult to establish estimates It is difficult to estimate how many people live outside of the national civil registry and welfare system in Denmark because it is hard to obtain data. The EU project on Undocumented Worker Transitions provided an estimate of 3,000 people in 2009. This figure was based on figures from the Danish Immigration Service and the Danish National Police. Approximately that 5-8 million people live in the EU as undocumented immigrants - especially in southern Europe.

The paperless immigrants who live in Denmark come from countries both outside and inside Europe. European Union citizens have a right to free medical help from the health care system of any of the member countries, and in Denmark they are eligible for health care through the use of the blue medical card. However, people from eastern European countries who have lived miserable lives in their home countries do not always possess a blue EU medical card: “Homeless EU citizens have struggled to escape poverty and often haven’t remembered to bring their medical card and are therefore rejected

at hospitals,” writes Bjarne Lenau Henriksen, head of Kirkens Korshær (private social state church organization that helps marginalised groups such as homeless people, mentally ill people, lonely people and substance abusers) in the Kristeligt Dagblad newspaper. In the same article he criticises the Danish Government for introducing sanctions against organizations that help homeless people without papers.

Dilemma between laws and promises The UN Declaration on Human Rights states that all human beings have a right to medical help when they fall ill. This is not a binding document, but Denmark has ratified the UN International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which acknowledges all human beings’ right to receive medical help.

For doctors, the Hippocratic Oath’s command about helping the ill supports this declaration.

In the Hippocratic Oath from the 1815, which is the vow that all graduated doctors pledge, they say that … “in my work as a practicing doctor, I must always strive to use my knowledge on the basis of my best judgment with diligence and care to the benefit of society and my fellow human beings, and I will always provide the same care for the poor as for the rich without discriminating between them.” This means that it is a violation of the Hippocratic Oath to reject patients. However, it is the Danish taxpayers who finance the health care system. According to a statement by the chairman of the Danish Medical Association’s Ethics Committee Poul Jaszczak, reported in the Danish newspaper Politiken on September 16, 2009, he views the use of the health system’s resources in other ways than the usual way of using them as theft; that is, to use the health system’s resources for non-acute treatment is a theft: “A ‘nice’ way of describing this is to call it abuse of public funds. A less ‘nice’ way of putting it is to say it’s theft. When health care services are performed in secrecy, there’s no one to pay for the treatment – Your are actually dipping for yourself out of the public treasury.” He is calling for political will to find a permanent solution.

“It’s a serious ethical and health problem that we’re prevented from or restricted when it comes to providing ordinary medical help for undocumented refugees or for other people who don’t have a residence permit and who need help. It can’t be right that doctors are having to work in a grey area,” said Poul Jaszczak in the Journal of The Danish Medical Association in June 2010.

The 9th Collective

by Sandra Lori Petersen ”What do we want?” Eric yells into the megaphone, “Papers!” answers the group of demonstrators. “For whom?” he asks, “For everybody!” sounds the answer, and together they shout: “Freedom! For all – equality! For all – respect!

For all…”

The members of the 9th Collective of People Without Papers (Le 9ème Collectif de Sans Papiers) has requested the permission to demonstrate in front of the French Ministry for Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Solidarity Development in Paris. Nevertheless, they were placed at a 200 meters distance from

the entrance of the Ministry, behind a barrier guarded by police, and found themselves in front of a private catholic school. The result is a number of fairly slick school children, moving to the rhythm of the djembe, while the police officers are overlooking the whole affair with a drowsy look in their eyes.

The Collective is the ninth out of a large number of collectives of sans papiers (without papers). It was founded in 1999, in the wake of the occupation of the Church Saint Ambroise by a group of sans papiers in March 1996, and the following clearance of the church by police and authorities. With the occupation, a group of citizens that had been “invisible”until then,

manifested themselves as one joint group, and demanded rights, a struggle the collectives are taking further. The 9th Collective organizes demonstrations, occupations and gatherings in front of institutions where people without papers are discriminated. “The occupations are the most effective: When we occupy public buildings we attract attention,” says Bahijah, one of the founders of the Collective. For instance, under the occupations does the Collective take advantage of it and hands in a list of names to the authorities with the demand that all of the people on the list will have their residency in France made legal and have the same rights as other citizens. Saliha explains, that “the advantage of demanding your papers as a collective is

No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS that you can put a greater amount of pressure on the authorities, and that you are less afraid when you are not alone.”

In 2006 the French Ministry of the Interior, by then with Sarkozy as its minister, estimated 200,000-400,000 people without papers resided in France, and an influx of an additional 80,000 people per year was expected. Many people without papers work, and they do that outside of the regular labour market, without rights and with an hourly wage which is often less than half the official minimum wage in France of a little under 9 € an hour.

“There is a lot of people without papers, who don’t know their rights,” explains Saliha, who joined the Collective in 2004, got her papers in 2007 and still is part of the Collective. She continues: “They don’t even know they are entitled to phone someone, if arrested or that they have the right to see a doctor. In some cities – not in Paris – but in other cities in France, people run the risk of being deported within 72 hours after having been arrested during an accidental control. That does not happen when you are part of a collective, because then you know your rights, and there is always a person you can contact.

As soon as a person from the Collective has informed somebody that he or she has been ar-

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rested, we make a demonstration in front of the police-station where he or she is. In that way, we show that the person is not alone. It destabilizes the police a little bit, and in some rare cases it has happened that the person was freed from the police station immediately.”

Bahijah is watching the assembly of parents and nannies who has gathered around the gates of the catholic church: “I bet there is lots of nannies without papers, who come here to picks up kids.” Eric is also watching the gates of the schools and he is yelling in the megaphone: “Parents in raid – kids in danger! Parents arrested – kids in danger!”

Irregular migration in Scandinavia – something to talk about at all?

Undocumented migrants, often mentioned as ’illegals’, are certainly not something usually associated with Scandinavian countries. More often, they are a phenomenon associated with European Mediterranean countries, for example Italy and Spain, where it is known that undeclared work is integrated in the economy. A newly published anthology disturbs this idea.

by Søren Rafn Maybe we can realize that the Scandinavian countries are related to these migrants due to the goods which we receive; for instance our tomatoes are provided to us in part by the work of the undocumented laborers. Everybody also knows that especially Denmark makes a targeted effort to deny access to the national community to numbers of people seeking asylum or immigrating. That people without papers should be a significant phenomenon in the Scandinavian welfare states, after all traditionally characterized by their order in matters and social security, is certainly not a part of Scandinavian’s self-understanding.

The ideas and articles presented in the newly published anthology Irregular Migration in a Scandinavian Perspective attempt to change the premise for discussing migration in a Scandinavian context. The anthology is edited by Trine Lund Thomsen, Martin Bak Jørgensen, Susi Meret, Kirsten Hviid and Helle Stenum, and is built around three main sections: two articles on ethical and conceptual perspectives, three articles on migration in a global, European and Scandinavian context, and seven empirical studies based on fieldwork and numerous interviews with migrants. The anthology thus interacts between theoretical analysis, with emphasis on social issues and rights issues, and empirical examples which put migrants life stories and circumstances into the overall perspective.

The basic point is that ’illegal’ migration is a Scandinavian phenomenon. It is also called ’irregular’ migration. The use of the term ’irregular’ is according to Trine Lund Thomsen designed to exceed the State’s view on migrants as legal or illegal, and to paint a far more nuanced picture of the complex process that illegalizes migrants and creates irregularity. Irregularity is seen as an integral phenomenon in society and the division between us and them as a construction. This point relates very much to the global migration regime, that Sarah Kalm characterizes by the liberal paradox, that goods and money flow freely across national borders while states intensify their fight against human movement (and maintains the position of the privileged countries). It also points to the European approach to irregular migration, which according to Martin Bak Jørgensen has moved from perceiving the irregular as a victim of exploitation (in the 90’s) to the criminalization of irregulars (0’s) before bridges were made between victimization and criminalization.

The Scandinavian welfare states cannot escape these contexts, and their generally increased

restrictions on asylum and migration, which obviously varies from country to country, only force migrants into criminalized zones where they, according to Trine Lund Thomsen, however navigate strategically.

Thus migrants are not only seen as victims but active agents, carrying along the states’ expansion of the criminal zone. According to Helle Stenum, the legal definition of ’illegal migrants’ has to be changed constantly to create a zone of uncertainty for both migrants and NGOs, as for example when the Minister of Social Affairs Karen Jespersen in 2007 forbade publicly supported shelters to house migrants without residence permits. One could say that it is this uncertainty zone that affects for instance the increasing number of Polish construction workers who have arrived after the European eastward enlargement through official and unofficial channels. The empirical chapters of the anthology represents altogether a picture of a complicated mixture of legal, semi-legal and illegal levels of the grey zone that migrants must navigate within in constant fear of deportation.

Dichotomies such as’ legal ’and’ illegal ’overlooks the fact that the status of the migrants often changes, like when a work visa is exceeded, or a rejected asylum seeker goes underground.

The dichotomies also overlook the fact that the ’legal’ migrants’ salary often ends up being on the edge of illegality since employers are free to exploit migrants because of their insecure situation. Trine Lund Thomsen points out that the unions here play a dual role in the sense that they both protect the rights of migrant workers and represent the system so that it is associated with uncertainty and risk for migrants who might try to contact them about an issue in the workplace. Migrants are held in precarious living and working situations where working conditions are heavily dependent on the individual employer’s morale; as example Kirsten Hviid states the situation of the illegal recruitment of Ukrainian agricultural workers in Jutland which she describes as pure lottery for the migrants. Indicative of the migrants’ grey zone is Helle Stenum’s report on a seller of the homeless paper Hus Forbi expressing his delight with the ’illegal’ immigrants’ exclusion from selling the newspaper, but later tells with lowered voice that he lived ’illegally’ in Denmark and Sweden for six years.

The analyses interact between the structural level and the interviewed migrants’ stories.

The migrant’s body has special place in the sections which relate to the people without papers lack of rights to use the health insurance system. Ramin Baghir-Zada shows how the universal right to health is a double-edged sword, because human rights emphasizes everyone’s

equal right to health and welfare, but also emphasizes the nation-state’s sovereignty and the right to exclude non-citizens from health.

Baghir-Zada recounts how immigrants in Sweden feel a fundamental pain throughout the body. As one puts it: ”The doctors did what they could. But they could not grant me permission to stay.” It is ’illegality’, not just lack of healthcare access, which is the root of the migrant’s pain. This phenomenological approach suits the structural level of the anthology, as when Sara Kalm in her contribution quotes Mae Ngai calling the irregular migrant an ”impossible subject - a person who cannot be a problem and a problem that cannot be solved. ” There are perhaps around 50 million people worldwide and 5-8 million in Europe, of which it is estimated that 50,000 live in Sweden, 18,000 in Norway and 5,000 in Denmark. Susi Meret and Martin Bak Jørgensen relate the lower number in Denmark may be due to the tough policy on asylum and to the fact that asylum seekers are denied access to work, but they also point out that Denmark does not really take the trouble to examine the fate of those asylum seekers who disappear and may go under ground. Are there many more? Here is perhaps a path to a very interesting continuation of the anthology’s research, although such can be said to be ethically problematic in relation to those undocumented wanting to keep a low profile.

But as Anette Brunovskis suggests, well aware of this dilemma, there is also an ethical problem in not examining the extent of irregularity.

Irregular Migration in a Scandinavian Perspective shows that a global and European phenomenon is hidden behind the major and minor numbers that the Scandinavian welfare states cannot ignore and about which they should not remain silent. Irregular migrants are an integral part of welfare states, but are nonetheless pressed into criminalized areas of society. This controversial examination is done in a cautious political way. Let us hope that this book will not end up being a peripheral phenomenon or a dutiful illustration of something mistakenly viewed a marginal. For even though it is expressed in a subdued manner throughout the anthology, it points to a democratic crisis where an integral part of society is disintegrated, and where there is every reason to shout out.

Irregular Migration in a Scandinavian Perspective: Trine Lund Thomsen, Martin Bak Jørgensen, Susi Meret, Kirsten Hviid & Helle Stenum (eds.), Shaker Publishers, Maastricht, 2010.

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TRANSLATIONS

Silently the snow is shoveled of the roofs Paperless, illegal workforce, illegalized or irregular migrants, there are by now many names for them, but not much public knowledge or debate. We bring a text by the Swedish writer and politician, America Vera-Zavala, written in connection with her contribution for the play Den polske rörmokaren. The text has previously been printed in the magazine Flamman.

by America Vera-Zavala The first time I realised that I had started to notice them, was a night in one of Stockholm’s inplaces. There they were, invisible, leaning against a wall, chitchatting, completely sober, and ready to clean the toilets. I looked at them, trying to guess whether they were Bolivians, Ecuadorians or something similar. I declined asking them, so as not to frighten them. Every human has a story. What makes the paperless so special is that their stories, as they themselves, must remain hidden.

Black labour has always existed. The thing that is new for the Swedish workforce, is that black labour is also being done by EU-citizens and illegal immigrants. The state divides the workforce into white and black labour. Stemming from this, morals and principles are created along with political discussions and pompous speeches, but seldom is the story told that black and white labour is working side by side, and living another reality than both leadership of the LO and Svenskt Näringsliv. At the top is the political debate, beneath this are the labour buyers and at the bottom are the workers, white and black. Regardless of passport and background they must work and rest daily. Despite the regular and irregular workforces sharing common problems and goals, there exist two parallel systems. In Sweden there are collective bargaining, statistics, pensions and insurances.

The invisible have parallel wage tariffs, home made statistics, invisible negotiations, organic and creative ways of organisation.

It was after an invitation from Lars Norén and Ulrika Josephsson to participate with a play for Riksteatern’s project The Polish plumber, that I first started seeking them out, the people without papers, without the last four digits, the invisibles, the illegal. Riksteatern’s project seeks to help open people’s eyes and let the theatre be a motor in the general debate.

Nobody knows how many there are. A possible number is 16.000, which is the amount that the police have been set to deport. The number depends on who we include: asylum seekers with or without work permit, EU-citizens seeking work. They come from most of the world: the former Soviet Union, Latin America, Africa, Asia. ”One guy got my phone number in Cochabamba!” tells one person who usually hires the paperless. Some want to work here for a couple of months, others wish to stay in Sweden permanently. The most problematic in the Governments eyes, are the ones who want to live here, who want papers and digits and not just being guest workers. “I took a loan in my house”, says a paperless,” and I know more who have sold their house or taken enormous loans to afford the ticket to Sweden.”

They can be found everywhere where simple, often heavy, manual labour is performed. They shovel snow, they clean hotels, they are dishwashers in restaurants, they deliver packages, they are guards, gardeners, and may live as domestic help in the basements of Swedish ministers. They work black because they are forced to.

Otherwise they are ’well behaved’, seldom travel to the city centre, don’t stay out late, never cross a red light, always pay for the metro ticket.

Model citizens without the last four digits. The main difference between the paperless and the legal is the fear. Constantly being on guard. ”I will never be able to have lunch without looking over my shoulder,” says one of the paperless. ”I would never linger at the Central Station, not even to tie my shoelaces,” another tells, regarding the fear of being checked.

The irregulars are not treated as a part of the work force, neither by the work buyers nor by the unions. On the floor, things are different, they are seen as workers by their colleagues.

In my interviews, all emphasize that they are workers, feeling exploited, perpetually threatened and completely aware of the size of the ’legal’ wages. They often try to negotiate, but the starting point is rock bottom. The work buyers’ threats of the foreign police weigh heavily. ”The help we receive often comes from work mates with the last four digits,” says one of the paperless. The men and women working on the floor have always been inventors of survival techniques, to use small trickeries and help rather than fighting each other. Above their heads, morals and principles are formed, and suddenly the workers may find themselves accused of double standards and lacking solidarity.

Malin, a (legal) cleaning lady at a luxury hotel, cleans alongside an irregular Bolivian woman, and is able to give her work mate food from the kitchen while at the same time being involved in a union case against black labour. This does not make Malin unsolidary or a snitch. Giving up on the union battle is not a solution - that train of thought comes from the bourgeois idea of having to sacrifice something in order to help others. Workers have at all times stood together to fight for not having to sacrifice anything. Basic knowledge of class struggle: solidarity means common struggle for common interests and has always stood opposite the notion of charity.

The irregular workers are part of an organised network of financial interests. The Spanish version of the saying ’To pretend it is raining,’ is ’hacerse el sueco,’ meaning ’to make oneself Swedish.’ This continually pops into my head as I write the play ’Concha tu madre’. Everyone pretends it is raining, and there is a reason.

The state of the informal sector is in sharp contrast to the Swedish self-perception. The work buyers often excuse the exploitation, illwill and racism that meet many irregular workers. Those who buy labour, are struck with self denial and compassion: ”I would rather hire them, seeing as they have such a hard time in their home country,” says a rich Swede, explaining why he lets people do the dishes for 35 kroner an hour in his luxury restaurant.

They who are at the top select isolated incidents and use them to their own advantage.

Svenskt Näringsliv for lower wages and debasing workers rights. LO appeals to civic spirit and a sense of decency, as if Sweden has not changed at all. Those who are on the floor, fight for sustainable wages, unemployment benefits, pensions and insurances. As the debate rages over what we are to do with them, they continue working, side by side, legal and illegal workers. Separated by the last four digits.

Saskia Sassen has described how the informal and formal work together in the First World.

Sassens oft-used example is how the Wall Street sharks go out and buy a chorizo for lunch, from an illegal worker, with an illegal hot-dog stand.

Michael Hardt and Toni Negri analyse two parallel economies on opposite sides of the law, but who are still dependent on each other. The illegals are a prerequisite for our legal economy. If a Swedish construction worker falls and dies, she is registered in the registers of the Byggnads and statistics over work related accidents. Also, insurance is paid out. For a paperless Bolivian, there are no records. A dead illegal construction worker is a cheap affair, neither wages nor insurance need be paid. Both the unions and work buyers know this. They are pretending it is raining. Hacerse el sueco.

The political debate rattles on above. Only few mention the informal sector. Workers questions are not raised, or only in a twisted way. Both unions and work buyers ignore that all workers, with few exceptions, want better wages, more security, insurances and contracts.

But the unions can make a difference. During a trip to Manila in January 2007, I interviewed the union Ombudsman, who for six months organised Filipino maids in Hong Kong. The most common issues were wages, insurance and contracts. I have been in contact with union activists in Italy, Belgium and Spain, who help organise the paperless. The most common issues here were the same, wages, insurance and contracts.

The illegal workers have in their invisible world, the same problems as the visible workers. They also share a common goal: better rights and higher wages.

On the floor they are well aware of this. Filipino maids may meet up on their weekly day off, and help each other with wage and work demands. The union ombudsman, Teody, tells that they use to meet every Sunday in a park in Hong Kong - it was here he sought them out.

There are 200,000 Filipino maids in Hong Kong and they have everything to win by organising themselves. Latino construction workers and dishwashers may make deals, talk wages and rights at meetings organised by Italian unions or even themselves. Self organization makes it harder for the work buyers to exploit them. The Swedish Labour movement do not organise the paperless. They only organise workers staying in Sweden legally. At least they do not lay off workers from building sites, as is has been presented in the debate, but they find it fair to deport those who may not stay in Sweden. Sometimes they help irregular workers that have been cheated of wages, since all workers are entitled to wages, and so as to set an example towards the work buyers. But there is no special unit, no insight in the necessity, no curiosity or openness to learn from the informal workers or from other countries. To them, organising the paperless seems like a step back, instead of being proactive. They do not care about the Bolivian lady who wants collective agreements and to be a member of and involved in unions - but cannot because, she does not exist in the unions opinion.

There are images that forever change your perspective. I love beautiful sceneries. I seek them out, feel free there. In numerous interviews, the paperless tell about how they are sent up on the rooftops to shovel snow, about their fears, how someone fell to death, of another who was bribed to silence by the work buyer. I think of them now, when I see rooftops. When it is snowing, I think of them being sent up there. And it is exactly such a snow filled day, that I revisit one of the paperless I have interviewed many times. She tells me that since November there has been an increased effort to remove the paperless. The police check their papers everywhere, and strike down hard against them. Among them there are rumours of police detentions crammed with people, and that the new government plans to legalise, and therefore deport as many as possible before it happens.

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Pirate Bay Har du nogensinde hørt om den danske pirat Kristen Rohde, der var allieret med Ruslands Ivan den Grusomme og spredte skræk blandt polske og svenske handelsskibe i 1500-tallet, men hvis skæbne blev beseglet af en fælles dansk-svensk indsats mod pirateri? Læs den utrolige beretning her. af Patrick Optegnelserne om pirateri begynder i middelalderen med beskrivelser af vikingernes invasion i Europa. Takket være Skandinaviens enestående kystlinie kunne der organiseres mange ”flådebaser”, og dermed havde vikingerne mulighed for effektive og voldelige angreb på Europas fastland. Vikingerne anses for at være middelalderens første organiserede pirater med et stramt regelsæt for deres effektive militære felttog. Hele Nordvesteuropa var nødsaget til at samle sig i Hanseforbundet for at kunne komme med et afgørende modspil til normannerne.

Den mest berømte periode i pirateriets historie er i 1500-tallet under rivaliseringen mellem England og Spanien. Men hvad skete der egentlig omkring Østersøen på den tid? Alle og enhver kender til vikingerne, og vi ved, at Danmark var et stort maritimt imperium, men hvad med danske pirater? Hvad skete der med dem efter vikingernes æra ophørte? Forsvandt de bare?

Efter en del research stødte jeg på nogle interessante historier, som jeg vil dele med mine kære læsere. Her er en af dem: Ivan Den Grusomme var ikke nogen tåbe. Han vidste udmærket, at tilblivelsen af et stort imperium ikke var mulig uden konstruktionen af havneanlæg og en stærk flåde. Lige så vel vidste han, at for at opnå dette, ville han få brug for hjælp af udenlandsk art, og han henvendte sig derfor til Skandinavien. Her fandt han den bedst tænkelige mand til jobbet: En dansker, som skulle vise sig at blive en rigtig piratlegende! Østersøen var på denne tid en arena for stride kampe om at opnå kontrol over handelsruterne.

Polske, litauiske og svenske røvere modarbejdede danskernes og hansaernes handelsskibes overfart til Nava og andre havne, der tilhørte den daværende russiske trone.

I sommeren 1570 opstod der pludselig en mystisk lille piratflådestyrke anført af Kristen Rohde, som i løbet af ganske kort tid fik tilegnet sig kontrol over hele Østersøen. Som handelsmand og kaptajn på sit eget skib handlede Rohde med Lübeck, men slog så ind på en mere profitabel vej end fiskeri og blev pirat. Skibsejere på denne tid var afhængige af den politiske situation, og det var ikke ualmindeligt, at de gik fra at være handelsmænd til at blive pirater eller omvendt.

Før Kristen tjente Ivan den Grusomme, arbejdede han for den danske kong Frederik II og opererede succesfuldt mod svenskerne. Der eksisterede et længerevarende samarbejde mellem de danske og de russiske hoffer mod deres fælles fjende Sverige.

Efter at have færdiggjort forberedelserne i juni 1570 stak Rohde til søs med et russisk admiralcertifikat. Tæt på Bornholm købte han et armeret skib, som blev kommandoskibet i hans flåde. Øens autoriteter på denne tid (øen var en slags holdeplads for pirater, ”Den baltiske Tortuga”) hilste gæster som Rohde velkommen. Den danske admiral, kommandør af flo-

tillen med base på Bornholm, anså piraterne for at være hans allierede og forsynede dem endda med søkort.

Men den røveriske russiske admiral Rohde blev ikke længe på land. Han var ikke bange for at angribe en stor karavane af handelsskibe, der alle var lastet med varer. Af de 17 skibe på vej mod Nederlandene og Frisland undslap ingen Rohde.

I den polske by Gdansk blev det den 31. juli 1570 ved et hastemøde i bystyret besluttet at påbegynde forberedelser til en særlig ekspedition rettet mod piraten Rohde. Der blev sendt polske skibe til Bornholm. Da øen kom til syne i horisonten, kom den danske flåde den polske eskadre i møde. De to flåder mødtes på havet, og admiralerne samledes til forhandlinger. Den danske admiral bekræftede, at Rohdes skibe havde besøgt Bornholm, men at de dagen forinden var rejst videre mod København. Den polske admiral betroede ham da sin ordre til at forfølge og finde Rohde. For at undgå misforståelser og forvirring i Danmarks territoriale have foreslog danskerne at eskortere den polske armé til hovedstaden. Verden syntes på denne tid uforudsigelig, så det forekom at være en god idé for den polske flåde.

Da de polske pirater rykkede ind mod København, fulgte danskerne pludselig efter dem. Eftersom eskadronen befandt sig tæt ved Københavns havn åbnede danskerne ligeledes ild mod polakkerne fra den front og tvang dem derved ind i den danske hovedstads havn. Det polske hof var Sveriges allierede (Danmark og Sverige var i krig), så alle de polske sømænd blev øjeblikkeligt arresteret. De arresterede polakker kunne få dage senere blot se til i vrede, mens to af pirat Rohdes skibe, fuldt lastede med værdifulde sager, sejlede ind i hovedstaden.

Rohdes flåde voksede sig støt større, og omkring september havde han seks fuldt udrustede og bevæbnede fartøjer med mandskab.

Dristigheden og den hastige oprustning af Rohdes flåde var en stor bekymring for det svenske kongehus. Det indledte en reel menneskejagt på Rohde. Det lykkedes en enkelt gang svenskerne at indhente Rohdes flotille og sænke adskillige af hans skibe, men Rohde havde held til at søge ly i Københavns havn under beskyttelse af den danske konges kanoner.

Problemerne begyndte for ’den russiske admiral’ Rohde med en begivenhed, der egentlig ikke direkte havde noget med ham at gøre. De begyndte derimod med et dusin svenske pirater, der på grund af tåge fejlagtigt havde antaget, at de var ankommet til den svenske ø Øland for først at opdage deres fejltagelse, da de præsenterede et kaperbrev udstedt af den svenske konge til de lokale myndigheder. De var havnet på Goreé, der var dansk territorium, og blev derfor straks arresteret. Svenskerne blev lænket og transporteret til Bornholm, hvor de lokale myndigheder klargjorde et andet skib, der skulle bringe dem til København.

På omtrent samme tidspunkt fandt en uheldig misforståelse sted på havet. Kaptajn Klaus Rosebud, der var en del af Kristen Rohdes flåde, sejlede med sin vessel Hare på jagt efter handelsskibe. Han stødte da på et af den danske flådes sejlskibe, der var under kommando af kaptajn Joachim Nifund, som besluttede at gå om bord på piratskibet. På trods af breve udstedt af den russiske zar (en af den danske konges allierede), spærrede Nifund kaptajn Rosebud og hans mænd inde i opbevaringsrummet og ekskorterede hans skib til Bornholm.

Men piraten Klaus Rosebud, der blev holdt tilbage i opbevaringsrummet i næsten to uger, havde intentioner om at tage til København med en klage over kaptajn Nifund. Bornholms lokale myndigheder forhørte sig, om hvorvidt Rosebud kunne tage de svenske pirater med

sig til hovedstaden om bord på sin vessel Hare.

Rosebud indvilligede og var snart derefter stukket af til havs. Piraterne vidste, at Rosebud og hans løjtnant Shutse sov i kahytten på det øvre dæk, og at der kun var en vogter og en navigatør på dækket. Det var lykkedes svenskerne at få kæderne brudt op, og med ét angreb de skibets besætning. Det kom bag på besætningen, der hurtigt blev overmandet. Svenskerne angreb da officererne på det øvre dæk, og snart var de herre over hele skibet.

Til at starte med besluttede de sig for at sejle til Sverige, men vejret var ikke passende for den slags overfart. På tredjedagen med en streng, nordøstlig vind førte de skibet til den pommerske del af de svensk-besatte kyster. Her berettede de svenske pirater for myndighederne om, hvad de havde været ude for. Efter kaptajn Rosebuds havde indrømmet, at han og hans mandskab havde været ofre for Rohdes, nedsatte man en international kommission med det formål at løse ”problemet Rohde”. Det blev en del af en længerevarende forhandling mellem Danmark og Sverige, som blandt andet omhandlede pirateri. Der var en gensidig forståelse for, at pirateri måttes stoppes.

Her er hvordan begivenhederne så udfoldede sig i oktober 1570: Rohde havde igen lagt til i Københavns havn for at søge asyl fra hans svenske forfølgere. Han havde ikke den ringeste anelse om den diplomatiske udvikling, der fandt sted omkring ham. Han fik tilladelse til landgang i København, men blev da omgående ført ud af byen til fængslet i slottet Gall. Selvom al kontakt til omverdenen var forbudt på slottet, blev han behandlet med ære – og sultede bestemt ikke.

Der var en så usædvanlig tilgang til fangen, at de danske myndigheder kom i tvivl om, hvordan de skulle håndtere situationen. På den ene side var Rohde udnævnt af den russiske zar, og Ivan den Grusomme ville have ham hjem. På den anden side var han eftersøgt i de fleste af de omkringliggende lande. Manøvrerende mellem to brændpunkter, beholdt Kong Frederik Rohde i et ærefuldt fangeskab, men gav alle de tilfangetagne pirater fra Rohdes skib til svenskerne.

Kongen skrev et brev til Ivan den Grusomme og forklarede arrestationen. En lang korrespondance opstod, men ingen enighed kunne opnås, selv ikke da kongen foreslog at udlevere Rohde til zaren. I sommeren 1573 besøgte Kong Frederik i egen person slottet Gall og forlangte, at Rohde blev forflyttet til København. I hovedstaden blev fangens vilkår forbedret en del: Han havde lov til at leve på egen vis i sin egen lejlighed, dog under opsyn fra myndighederne. Den eneste begrænsning var, at han ikke måtte forlade byen.

Vor modige admiral blev holdt i fangenskab resten af sine dage.

Alle sammentræf med sande historiske begivenheder og personer er rent tilfældige eller bevidst fordrejede. Dette essay kan ikke gøre hævd på nogen som helst videnskabelig troværdighed. Forfatteren tager fuldt ansvar for denne handling.

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TRANSLATIONS

Hvad flygtninge skal vide ved ankomst til Sandholmlejren Livet som asylansøger i Danmark er hårdt. Men viden om praktiske forhold i lejren er en stor hjælp. Ziad giver her nyttige informationer til nyankomne i Sandholmlejren. af Ziad Hej til alle flygtninge, der kommer fra deres lande som asylansøgere for at leve i Danmark.

I søgen efter fred og at føle sig sikre med deres familie og børn.

Der er mange trin, som alle flygtninge bør kende til, når de ankommer til Sandholmlejren.

Først vil jeg fortælle jer om, hvad Sandholmlejren er.

Institutionen for tilbageholdte asylansøgere, Sandholm-lejren, kaldes også center Sandholm eller blot Sandholm. Den er placeret i tidligere militærbarakker, og er Danmarks største modtagelsescenter. Centret drives af Dansk Røde Kors. Det fungerer både som center for modtagelse og for udvisning af nyligt ankomne asylansøgere og for asylansøgere, som er blevet endeligt afvist.

Røde Kors-anlægget Sandholm indeholder også afdelinger af Udlændingeservice og Rigspolitiets Udlændingeafdeling, samt et fængsel for frihedsberøvede asylansøgere.

Kort om hvad man møder i Sandholmlejren: 1. Når du ankommer til lejren vil du se en sort jernlåge og en af centrets ansatte.

Vedkommende vil spørge dig om dit ærinde.

Når vedkommende finder ud af, at du er flygtning, vil han sende dig videre til politiets

oplysningskontor for at introducere dig for dem. De vil have oplyst, hvorvidt du er kommet til Danmark som lovlig migrant eller på en anden måde. De tager fingeraftryk samt et foto for at kunne lave et ID kort til dig, og de tildeler dig et nummer som dit navn. De giver dig et stykke papir som ID, indtil de har færdiggjort dit kort. På dette papir anfører de dit nummer og billede, og alt hvad de ønsker at vide om dig.

Dette var i bygning 1 og 2.

sundhedsundersøgelse for at kende hans eller hendes helbredstilstand. Og hvis han eller hun er syg, giver de vedkommende den rigtige behandling.

2. Kontor 67.

Derefter sender de dig videre til kontor 67 for at færdiggøre papirer og din registrering.

De giver dig hvad du har brug for til dit værelse, køkken, badeværelse og sengetøj. De giver dig nøglen til dit værelse, og tager dig med hen til det. Der er værelser til enlige og der er værelser til familier.

Der er en kvindegruppe, hvor alle kvinder kan dyrke sport og holde møder. Der findes også et cykelværksted, så alle der skal bruge en cykel til at komme rundt i lejren, kan få en her.

Center Sandholm huser omkring 500 beboere. Der er tre typer beboelse: 1. En bygning med værelser med privat bad til familier.

2. To bygninger med firesengs værelser og fælles badeværelser og toiletter på gangen.

Disse værelser er beregnet til unge mænd.

3. Der er seks nye bygninger med dobbeltværelser med privat badeværelse.

4. Der er også et vaskeri med vaskemaskiner og tørretumblere til tøjvask i enhver gammel bygning.

5. Kantine: Beboere kan enten spise i Centrets kantine, eller modtage penge til selv at lave mad. Kantinen ligger i den gamle bygning 11.

6. Sundhedsklinikken i de gamle bygninger 14 og 15: Når en flygtning ankommer, laver de en

7. Beboertelefoner og forskellige beboeraktiviteter, såsom syning for enhver, som trænger til at reparere og ordne sit tøj. I Infocaféen kan man læse bøger, og der findes et computerrum, hvis man vil bruge internettet.

8. Jobcenter: Dette kontor ligger i den gamle bygning 76 ved siden af infocaféen. Alle asylansøgere skal lave en arbejdsaftale, eller modtage timer i engelsk og dansk, samt computerundervisning og praktik i Røde Kors’ kulturhus ved Forum i København. Alle nyankomne asylansøgere bliver tilbudt et kort kursus i dansk og viden om Danmark til hverdagsbrug.

9. Skole: Alle børn i skolealderen fra flygtningefamilier går i skole på Dansk Røde Kors’ skole i Lynge, eller på de lokale folkeskoler. En stor bus ankommer klokken 8 for at køre dem i skole og tilbage igen klokken 14. Der er en børnehave i lejren, som tager sig af de mindre børn i løbet af dagen.

10. Klubben: Center Sandholm har også en legestue for de mindre børn, og en klub for de større børn, hvor de kan få hjælp med deres lektier. De arrangerer aktiviteter og ture for alle familier og børn, og viser dem hele Danmark.

Jeg mener, at disse informationer er meget vigtige og af interesse for alle asylansøgere.

Dette er et billede af Sandholmlejren.

Lejren som et variabelt instrument til at kontrollere migration - Funktionelle tanker fra en kritisk statsteoretisk synsvinkel Tobias Pieper har en grad i politologi og psykologi. Han arbejder med ’offerperspektivet’ i Potsdam, Tyskland. Hans primære forskningsområde er flygtningepolitik, migration og racisme.

Tobias Pieper Det national-biopolitiske blik på migration Da kapitalistiske produktionsmetoder og den nye sammensætning af en gryende politiske magtbalance blev iværksat og den moderne stat blev konsolideret, skete der nogle grundlæggende sociale forandringer, som har haft en bestemmende indflydelse på hvad vi i dag forstår ved migration. Som en vigtig statslig opgave fremkom biopolitikken som statistisk registrering og regulering af befolkningen som masse samt centrale parametre for reguleringen af arbejdsmarkedet, såsom fødsel og dødsrate og arbejdskapacitet. Da indførelsen af den kapitalistiske produktionsmåde spredte sig i de eksisterende herredømmer, opstod deraf den moderne stat i en national konkurerrence. Siden da har nationernes konkurrence i form af nationernes tyranni, en central ideologisk modus såvel som hverdagens common sense og den kulturelle og politiske praksis bestemt både indenrigs- og udenrigspolitikken.

De tekniske nyskabelser i den moderne stats fødselstime udtrykte sig også i den bureaukratiske kontrolpraksis. Udviklingen af biometrien og

forsøget på teknisk-statistisk at definere det individ, der nu var stillet i et repressivt fokus, rykkede grænsen og differentieringen af befolkningen i ind- og udlændinge ind i det statslige interessefelt. Stikord var her forbryderkartoteker over ørelængde, udviklingen af fotografiet og pas-væsenet. Reguleringen af det nationale arbejdsmarked, konkurrencen om arbejdskræfter i naboregionerne og den parallelle rumlige afgrænsning mod den konkurrende nabostat førte først til vor tids normaliserede identificering af ikke-tilhørende, af migranterne eller udlændingene. De kategorier og analyseraster, som forståelsen af migration i dag benytter sig af, er relativt nye og tæt forbundet med den moderne stats teknisk-biopolitiske udvikling. Denne differentiering og dens ideologiske indskrivelse i menneskets daglidagsforstand og i dets kulturelle praksisser er forudsætning for en forståelse af racisme som et samfundsmæssigt forhold, sådan som vi ser det i dag.

Den moderne stat er som materiel struktur knudepunktet for det udøvende herredømmes fortættede kræfter og igennem sit voldsmonopol repressionens vigtigste område. Også hvis den moderne stat - i det mindste i dens centre - udvikler sig i retning af en forvaltningsstat, er voldspanseret uafvendeligt og altid forudsætning for indførelse af nye strukturer. Stikord er her den såkaldte akkumulation, kolonialismen, aktuelle imperiale krige, men også Hartz IV (tysk arbejdsløshedsunderstøttelse efter de første 12-18 måneders arbejdsløshed, red.) eller omgangen med uønskede migranter. Statens voldsanvendelse indskrænkes af loven og sam-

fundets normative udrustning, i hvilken positiv ret - såsom kroppens usårlighed eller privatsfærens ukrænkelighed - formuleres. Loven skal dermed ikke forstås som statens skelet, men som en kampplads, hvor kampene bliver kodificeret og indhegnet og hvor voldsanvendelsen indskrænkes eller bliver normativt kontrolleret. I lyset af den europæiske undertvingelse af verden (kolonialismen) og den voldelige omgang med det koloniale subjekt (slaveri og folkemord) bliver det tydeligt, at voldens modus er uadskillelig fra den moderne stat. I nationale kraftforhold sørger sociale kampe og deres institutionaliserede aktører for gennemførelsen af ret som indskrænkning af statslig og privat voldsanvendelse. Udenfor det nationale gælder dette ikke, fordi den nationale modus, som gennemsyrer hele samfundets væv, samler de konkurrerende interesser og underordner dem en almengjort national interesse, hvormed gældende ret holdes ude og omgangen med den nykoloniale anden sættes ud af kraft.

Lejren som et variabelt instrument af migrationskontrol Den moderne stats underkastelse af den koloniale anden er karakteriseret af en uhæmmet anvendelse af vold, der bevæger sig hinsides den internt retlige indskrænkning af vold. Går man ud fra dette, kan den tese fremføres, at retten strukturelt suspenderes igennem vold i det snitpunkt, der opstod mellem de nyetablerede europæiske nationalstater, den organiserede militære gennemførelse af nationalt bundne og konkurrerende kapitalinteresser i forhold

No. 4 2010

TRANSLATIONS til den ikke-europæiske verden. Den materielle struktur, som opstår på dette sted, bruger suspensionen af retten til at undertrykke den racistisk markerede anden og integrerer den i de nye institutioner. Det er i denne snitflade, at lejren historisk set opstår som et fleksibelt kontrol- og undertrykkelsesinstrument, som et institutionaliseret område for den voldelige koloniale underkastelses-arkitektur.

Lejren som det modernes arkitektoniske instrument satte sig adskillige steder igennem og blev - og bliver - som regel indført til at udføre en repressiv kontrol, når det handler om regulering af menneskemasser, der har færre rettigheder end andre borgere eller ikke kan håndhæve dem, de har (militærlejre, lejre for migranter, syge, hjemløse). Lejren bliver til de nationale myndigheders, militærets og migrationspolitikkens fleksible instrument overfor de mennesker, som forstyrer det herskende perspektiv og bliver, fordi de er retsløse, samfundsmæssigt ekskluderet igennem lejren. Områder opstår, hvor gældende ret bliver suspenderet af statslig vold.

Lejren skaffer på disse steder med voldsanvendelse en statslig orden, der omsættes i gældende lov. Lejren skal forstås som en statslig praksis, som et statsligt instrument indenfor en repressiv biopolitik, et instrment, som historisk set har vist sig succesfuld, fordi den var variabel, billig og fleksibel.

Som den koloniale biopolitiks moderne instrument dukker nu for første gang koncentrationslejre op i Cuba i 1896, oprettet af den spanske conquista (de spanske kolonisatorer, red.). 1900 oprettede USA koncentrationslejre i de kolonier, Spanien havde erobret, for at internere filippinske Guerilleros. I den såkaldte Boer-krig (18991902) oprettede Storbritannien lejre, hvor de internerede døde i massevis p.g.a. miserable livsbetingelser. Den tyske kolonimagt oprettede arbejdslejre i Namibia under bygningen af jernbanelinjen, hvor ’tilintetgørelse igennem arbejde’ blev omsat til praksis. 70 procent af de indsatte overlevede ikke udbytningen p.g.a. arbejdsbetingelserne, den morderiske ”slitage” på den koloniale arbejdskraft blev med billigelse taget med i købet. Også under det tyske folkemord på hereroerne (et folk i Namibia, red.) blev der opført koncentrationslejre som militært instrument til at kontrollere og tilintetgøre menneskemasser.

Indenfor Europas grænser blev der dog også oprettet lejre som biopolitikkens instrument til at kontrollere hygiejne og smitsomme sygdomme, til internering af hjemløse og som arbejdslejre foran fabrikkernes døre for at regulere arbejdsmasserne. Den første koncentrationslejr blev oprettet i Tyskland i 1921 for at regulere jødiske migranter fra øst. Den blev p.g.a. protester imod de dårlige livsbetingelser lukket igen i 1923. I fortsættelse heraf grundlægges den moderne lejr i den tyske national-socialistiske fascisme, der med etniseringen af en egentlig homogen befolkning og ved at indespærre den af antisemitismen konstituerede anden, der mekanisk blev tilintetgjort i KZ-lejrenes gasfabrikker. I dag finder vi også i såvel centrene som i periferien lejre som retsfrie områder, der skal kontrollere migranten og den etniserede anden.

Også når der ikke er nogen lejre, der kan sammenlignes med NS-fascismens dødsfabrikker, kan vi konstatere nogle kontinuiteter, der vedrører den retsfrie omgang med migranter og mennesker, der er markeret som sådan.

Ikke desto mindre er det tydeligt, at livssituationen i de forskellige lejrtyper - fra koncentrationslejren til gæstearbejderlejren - ikke kan sammenlignes, fordi livet i en lejr fremfor alt er præget af den politiske vilje hos dem, der hersker over den. Lejrarkitekturen, der fremtræder som noget foreløbigt, producerer igennem de indre variable betingelser for et potentielt retsfrit rum, som hovedsaligt bliver styret af installationens politiske målsætning og de samfundsmæssige rammer. Barakken som lejrens prototypiske arkitektoniske element skaber et billigt og hurtigt opbygget rum, hvor netop en masse mennesker kun kan huses, fordi de er underlagt en central befalingsvold. Dette rumskoncepts historiske kontinuitet ligger præcis i kombinationen af økonomisk effektiv opbygning og forvaltning såvel som i de interne tilfældige og regulerbare livbetingelser. Lejren med dens sansbare arkitekturs forskellige herredømme- og kontrolteknikker passer til den gældende politik som et variabelt koncept til at kontrollere

menneskemasser. Denne fleksibilitet udgør konceptets succes og forklarer det spektrum, indenfor hvilken lejren blev og bliver benyttet: til at tilintetgøre mennesker, til at udbytte arbejdere eller til anbringelse af unge med organiserede fritidsaktiviteter. Lejren som begreb og herredømmekoncept behøver altså en supplerende specificering, som gør den politiske målsætning klar. Igennem denne specificering bliver afgrænsningen overfor NS-fascismens lejre også tydelig.

Den moderne lejr til regulering af migrationsbevægelser Blikket på migrationsregimets nutidige konturer gør det tydeligt, at lejrens tid langt fra er forbi. Endvidere bliver det indført som et godkendt kontrolmiddel. Postkoloniale migrationsbevægelser, afstemningen med fødderne (udtryk brugt om udvandringen fra DDR, red.) og den af forskellige grunde ustoppelige migration udøver de retsløses praktik, lejren som den symbolbærende omgang med de uønskede, fra og med de tidligere kolonier til de nutidige centre. I alle landene i Den Europæiske Union findes der interneringslejre for migranter, for de uønskede og illegaliserede. Variationen er lige så stor som innovativ, fra klassiske interneringslejre over deportationsfængsler til det tyske lejrsystem, der består af halvoffentlige decentrale lejre, installeret i gamle militærkaserner, kondemnerede modulbygninger, containerskibe eller barakbyer. Den nutidige udvikling af migrationsregimet gør en fortsat bevægelse af det legale vakuum og lejrene tydelig. Når man er ankommet til centrene, bliver EUs grænseregion udvidet og samtidig bliver lejren som koncept eksporteret.

Kun begrundelsesmønsteret har tilpasset sig nutiden. Idag bliver pædagogisk ensrettede menneskeretskoncepter eksporteret, og planer for interneringslejre for uønskede migranter kommer gratis med i købet. EU-administrationens argumentation for at opbygge EU-financierede lejre i transitlande rundt om EU er, at migranter interneres i lejre for at beskytte dem fra sig selv eller for redde flygtninge fra at drukne i forsøget på at flygte fra den europæiske grænsekontrol, Frontex. EU udvikler sig fra at være et ren økonomisk potent centrum til en global militaristisk aktør. Igennem økonomisk integration og militære trusler er nabostaterne tvunget til at bygge lejrlandskaber rundt om EU. Der findes interneringslejre, konceptuelt såvel som financielt støttet af EU, i Polen, Tjekkiet, Slovakiet, Ungarn, Litauen og Letland - alle er i mellemtiden avanceret til medlemsstater - endvidere i Ukraine, Kroatien, Serbien-Montenegro, Libyen og Algeriet. Indlemmelsen i lejre bliver eksporteret. Udelukkelsen af migratner fra det europæiske fællesskab skal allerede begynde før de overhovedet er ankommet til Europa.

Når vi endnu engang konkret anskuer lejren i migrationens spændingsfelt, så får man øje på forskellige ideer og ideer, der allerede er omsat til virkelighed. For de perifere lejre findes der to centrale officielle koncepter, kendt som Regional Protection Areas (Beskyttede regionale områder, red.) og Transit-Processing-Centres (Transit-proces-centre, red.). Regional Protection Areas, også kendt som sikre havne, bliver etableret i rigt mål.

Hver gang den vestlige krigsarmada bombende baner vej for menneskerettighederne for at sikre sig adgang til resourcer, ligegydigt om det er det tidligere Jugoslavien eller i Irak, bliver der bygget regionale lejre for at kontrollere de fattigste.

I de angrebne lande eller i nabolandene bliver der bygget enorme flygtningelejre, der består af teltbyer for til tider mere end 10.000 mennesker. Her flyder know-how fra IOM (International Organization for Migration; international organisation, der fokuserer på migranter og deres rettigheder, red.) sammen med Røde Kors, der i fællesskab yder medicinsk forplejning, vagtpersonale bliver uddannet og i samarbejde med UNHCR (FNs flygtningehøjkommisariat, red) bliver implimenteringen kontrolleret. Transit-ProcesCentre er et forslag, som endnu ikke kunne blive omsat. Forslået af Tony Blair og Otto Shily (SPD-politiker og tidligere tysk indenrigsminister, red.) og understøttet af UNHCR, skulle de være regionale asyllejre. Her skulle flygtninge interneres før de begav sig ud på den livsfarlige overfart til Europa og deres asylansøgning skulle indgives til og afgøres af embedsmænd fra UNHCR og EU. Efter en positiv beslutning

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skulle de få anerkendte flyves ind i EU og integreres i arbejdsmarkedet med hjælp fra Resettlement-programs. Men - som sagt - er sådanne koncepter kun skitser, den dermed forbundne indskrænkning af den nationale suverænitet i nabolandene kan endnu ikke realiseres.

Den type af lejre, som udgør EU’s lejrkosmos og EU’s ydre grænse, er overvejende regulære detentionslejre for migranter. Der findes ingen officielle retningslinjer; med afsæt i erfaringerne hos IOM, Frontex, de relevante institutioner og den lokale afdeling af Røde Kors etableres de i retsløse områder. Man bruger gamle kaserner, der i mange tilfælde stadig kontrolleres af hæren. Interneringsperioden reguleres af nationale love, men de umenneskelige levevilkår hænger sammen med samfundsforholdene og modstandsstrukturen på stedet. Hvis lejren ikke befinder sig i den offentlige sfære, kan lejrens personel udfylde det magtfulde tomrum med deres egen magt.

Også inden for EU er det regulære detentionslejre, der præger billedet. Interneringsperioden har, i overensstemmelse med EU’s nye deporteringsdirektiv, netop blevet sat op til 1½ år.

Tidligere har måneder, ikke år, været normen.

Også i dette tilfælde hænger de indre forhold sammen med de lokale netværk og sociale bevægelser. I Grækenland er forholdene for eksempel så elendige, at Norge har besluttet ikke at tilbagesende migranter til landet, fordi det ville indebære en overtrædelse af Genèvekonventionen.

I Tyskland er situationen også på dette område anderledes og enestående. Her findes der halvåbne lejre, som jeg har beskrevet som et decentralt lejrsystem, hvor der dog fortsat tilbageholdes 100.000 migranter. Lejrsystemet består af forskellige lejrtyper, som dog normalt er tilstrækkeligt åbne til, at migranterne kan forlade dem og påtage sig sort arbejde. Ud fra migranternes synsvinkel opsplitter loven om bopligt området i administrative enheder, det at forlade en respektiv administrativ enhed er strafbart og politikontrollen er allestedsnærværende. En ny lejrtype er det såkaldte udrejsecenter eller udrejseinstitution, der begge teoretisk er åbne – og dermed er der i grunden tale om en udvidelse af det retsløse rum. Formålet med forholdene i lejrene er at fordrive migranterne, som nærmest tvinges til at forsvinde og erkende deres egen perspektivløshed. Dette bliver så kynisk vendt til noget humanitært og præsenteret for offentligheden som en frivillig udrejse. Med deportationsfængslerne og det ekstraterritoriale område i Frankfurts lufthavn findes der også i Tyskland klassiske interneringslejre, men deres betydning skal ikke ses så meget i antallet af indsatte som, at de er en del af det samlede lejrsystem.

Formålet med det indre europæiske lejrsystem er at udelukke migranterne fra samfundet og internere dem. Integration i samfundet undgås omhyggeligt, og samtidig skal myndighederne hele tiden have mulighed for at kontrollere.

EU’s lejrkosmos kan kun klassificeres som et funktionselement inden for det almene migrationsregime. Separate militære kampenheder og koordineringen af grænsepolitimyndighederne er hjørnesten i etableringen af et grænseregime rundt om det europæiske centrum. Med Frontex opstår der i samarbejde med IOM et netværk, der indsamler data om migrationsruter og regioner, tilvejebringer risikoanalyser, viden, militær teknik og uddannet personel til håndtering af migrationen. Rundt om EU’s kernelande opstår en række grænserum af differentieret national suverænitet. Der udvikler sig lande, der i varierende grad står i et afhængighedsforhold til EU og bistår det med at håndtere migrationen.

De klassiske grænsehegn erstattes med højteknologisk sikkerhedsteknologi. Der opstår selektive gates, graduerede grænserum, der breder sig som ringe rundt om centeret og har det formål at sikre varernes uhindrede cirkulation, samtidig med at man udskiller uønskede migranter. Sideløbende med den computerstyrede screening af grænserummene etableres der interneringslejre. De tjener som opsamlingssteder langs migrationsruterne, de forsøger at regulere, udvælge og forvalte bevægelsen. De kan ikke forhindre bevægelsen, men får prisen for passage og trafficking til at stige. Prisen for denne politik er de mange døde på havene og langs grænsehegnene.

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Saskia Sassen: Guests and Aliens, New Press, New York, 1999

by Søren Rafn Saskia Sassens classic Guest and Aliens from 1999 delivers still provocative insights in the nature of immigration. The work points out that Europe like the US, all though in another way, is a continent with a history of immigration, and incites with its story on 200 years of European immigration both continents to move away from regimes of control and fears of mass invasion. Sassen shows that migration follows certain patterns and claims that law making and everyday discourses about asylum and migration are out of touch with political and economic realities.

The focus of the work is on the time after 1848 and the big nations: Germany with its temporary cheap migrant workers; France with its open borders and politics of assimilation; Italy that exported workers in big numbers for the construction of tunnels, roads and railways in Europe. The immigrants were in all cases discriminated even though they in no way could be regarded as a cultural other which is said to be the problem with Muslims today. With the refugee flows of the First World War the immigrant turned into the refugee, and the ’foreigner’ became a crucial character for the construction of national identity. Passports and control became key words in the ’crisis’ that migration is associated with today.

With an incredibly rich source material Sassen makes a mosaic of history and speaks for multilateral approaches to asylum and migration. Here Europe is a step ahead of the US due to for example courts who work against political restrictions. Still the nations cling to their sovereignty and the opinion of being passive receiver countries. But migrations is always produced and is also an aspect of the economy of the receiving countries. Only a minority decides to emigrate, seldom the poorest. There is no mass invasion in the horizon just like there was no mass invasion before the time of border control.

Guests and Aliens is a sober work of enlightenment that with quiet and ease polemizes against those in power and their parrots. The focus is thus not on the autonomy of the migrants and political mobilization from below without which its hard to imagine political change, but Sassen paves the way for those who works with asylum and migration from below or above or wants to qualify their opinion on the subject.

Migration History in World History. Multidisciplinary Approaches: Jan Lucassen, Leo Lucassen and Patrick Manning (eds.). Brill, Leiden – Boston, 2010 (Studies in Global Social History, Volume 3)

by Sylvester Roepstorff Present predictions about migration and its effects have often failed, mainly because of insufficient knowledge about the past, tells a new book. In other words the nervousness about increasing immigration is caused by a lack of historical knowledge.

The publishers of the book Migration History in World History mention that the historical approach to migration hasn’t entered the public debate, and this shortage is the reason for what they call the present moral panic.

The book is the third out of up to now seven publications in a serial called: Studies in Global Social History, which has a global as well as interdisciplinary approach to the subject.

The history of migration starts no less than 100.000 years ago: The Out-of-Africa-Theory claims that the anatomical modern human being arose in Africa 200.000 years ago, and began to migrate - eastwards - around 100.000 years ago.

That is to say that Man has been on the road for just as long as he has been settled. This fact isn’t discussed in the book.

Migration is studied - in the linguistic section - through the research of borrowed words, the spread of words, intrusions in other languages and the demographical implications they have.

We hear further - in the biological essay - about genetic hitch-hiking, that is the genes which are not directly involved in the fight for survival and therefore can be seen as a sign of migration - and

TRANSLATIONS about gene flow, which is the name for migration that bio-anthroplogists and bio-archeologicalists use.

We hear about geochemical investigations of the food of migrations of first animals and then humans which can be studied in the skeletal evidence of what man and animal ate.

We hear about the significance of family patterns, matrimonial forms and rules of intheritance for who it is and how and to where people are travelling.

The book is also an introduction to a multifaceted approach to studying migration and in that sense it lives up to all academic standards.

This also entails a renunciation of a critical dialogue with present political circumstances. The implicit message in this neutral method is to substantiate or how natural and unstoppable human migration is, and how it is in fact an integral part of human history.

Sylvain George: L’Impossible – Pages Arachées, 2009

af Joachim Hamou ”L’Impossible – Pages Arachées skylder Rimbaud, Dostojevskij og Benjamin. Filmen sætter sig for at vidne om de diskriminatoriske politikker, der former vores epoke, den karakter af ’helvede’ nogle politiske liv har (dem der er migranter/immigranter, arbejdere, arbejdsløse, studerende, osv.) og når ind til kernen af spørgsmålet om revolte og oprør: overmætning, disidentificering, ubestemmelig rekonfigurering ... Således, gennem en dialektisk omvending, bliver ’ikketilgængelige’ steder synlige: ’usynlige kroppe!’”

Dette er den officielle præsentation af den franske filmskaber, Sylvain Georges, film fra 2009.

Sylvain Georges benytter et stiliseret filmsprog til at undersøge nogle af de mest bekymrende problemer ved moderne politik. I den første del foretager han et meget tæt blik på migration ved at fremhæve de svære problemer for migranter, der søger at krydse kanalen i håb om et bedre liv i England. Sekvensen er filmet med 8 mm film uden lyd og fortsætter på utrolig vis i en halv time uden lyd. Sekvensen udvikler sig som et mareridt, hvor undertrykkelsen af lydene og skønheden i billederne skaber en monstrøs polaritet til trøstesløsheden i flygtningenes situation.

I den anden konsekvens følger vi en gruppe aktivister i to forskellige aktioner, begge i episke parisiske lokationer. De protesterer mod magtens centralisering og regeringens konstante nedskæringer. I den ene del modsætter de studerende den anonyme lovmagt med sten og flasker. Til slut, midt om natten, bliver de sidste deltagere arresteret, mens de forsøger at klynge sig fast til en statue fra revolutionen på pladsen råbende til journalisten (Sylvain bliver adresseret direkte) ”deltag!” En ikke-kommentet sekvens følger med den lydløse arrestation af de sidste aktivister fulgt af rydningen af pladsen.

Den sidste sekvens slår ud mod 68-generationens dobbeltmoral, der førte socialisme til liberalisme. Det er en velskrevet tekst læst op over en montage af homorettigheds-demonstrationer i 70’erne, libertinske eksperimentalfilm, der eksotiserer unge arabiske mænd, fra samme periode og tidlig mainstream bøssefilmproduktioner. Filmen er en hymne over den kritiske stemme, der, på trods af de snublefæller, der måske følger den, fortsætter med at stille spørgsmål ved alle aspekter af magt. Måske har homoseksuelle vundet et privilegie, men det betyder ikke, at alle minoriteter har været så heldige.

L’Impossible- Pages Arrachées er et vigtigt værktøj til forståelsen af den aktivistiske sensitivitet, og den peger på grænserne for solidaritet i vores samfund ud, med flygtningen som et stille spøgelse, der minder os om konformitetens isnende konsekvenser.

Imre Kertész: Kaddish for et ufødt barn, Batzer & Co, Roskilde, 2002

by Jeppe Wedel-Brandt My dear reader, let me start by confessing something to you. I am often struck by a feeling of complete impotence when new developments in the field of asylum and migration occurs. I become damned, enraged, and sad when people, I know, are deported, when people, that for in-

stance are making visAvis, are pressured to the extreme by a system that seems cold and indifferent. I feel an immense shame when a state, that counts me as one of its members, puts people in camps and forces them to live under unjust conditions. Why even attempt to take part in a debate, in a culture, that has created such a system. I think this is a feeling many activists know. The feeling that it is impossible, that it is useless to try to affect the culture we live in. Impotence and a thorough disinclination towards society. Of course we must try to change it, to find a way to affect the system, but I believe there is a lot to be gained by looking into this feeling of general disinclination.

It is exactly the disinclination towards the entire culture that is treated in the literary masterpiece, Kaddish for an Unborn Child (1990), by the Nobel Price winner and survivor of Auschwitz, Imre Kertész. A text that is exactly what the title promises – a eulogy for the child, the narrator, called B, never had – but also so much more. The entire text consists of a monologue by B told to a You, the child that never was born, and the long sentences weaves in and out of each other and the literary history. The only breaks, the only markings of paragraphs, in the entire text are when from time to time there is yelled a “No!” And in that sense the story in Kaddish for an Unborn Child is also the story of this “No!” Because in the story of B there exists an original no – a no, he spoke, yelled, when his former wife wanted to have a child with him. The eulogy for the child, that was never born because of a “No!”, is thus also a reflection on that “No!”, on why B spoke or yelled it out. A reflection that shows, that this “No” echoes out into the entire life of B and the culture in which he lives. It is thus not only a rejection of having a child, but a dismissal of the entire culture, or in the words of B: “my life seen as possibility for your life”. That is, is it defensible to set a child into this world?

Kaddish for an Unborn Child is also the story of B as a survivor of Auschwitz. The choking in this story is however that Kertész insist that Auschwitz is not exceptional, but more to be seen as an extreme of the culture that created it, that culture, which we have not done away with and therefore the culture, which makes it necessary to say, no yell, “No!” For Kertész it is important to confront the idea that there is no explanation to Auschwitz.

On the contrary, Auschwitz is a result of a world history and a culture that have created the conditions of possibility for it: “Auschwitz is in my opinion an image of the singular life and its id seen in the sign of a particular organization.” It is exactly this structure, that can be explained, it has a name, our culture, and it is this, B has to say, no yell, “No!” to. It is in all our everyday violations of each other, all the small steps in the wrong direction, that we create the conditions of possibility for it: “Auschwitz [has] hung in the air above us in times unmemorable, who knows maybe for centuries, as a dark fruit matured in the glittering rays of innumerable degradations, in wait of the right moment to fall down on our head”.

It is a heavy read, but also an important read, for with eulogy Kertész paints exactly that dark hole, the impotence faced with a culture that could create Auschwitz, a culture that deports our friends to uncertainty and sometimes death.

That dark hole, we cannot allow our selves to be afraid of looking into. We live in a culture that is busy in condemning torture, genocide, and intolerance, but we refuse to acknowledge that we, with the exact same types of logic that create these, are taking sods for a similar dark hole. A culture which declares these crimes to be inexplicable evil, instead of actually dealing with its own structures. We can learn something from our impotence – also without following it – we can learn something from Kertész when he tells us, that “what is truly irrational, what there truly is no explanation for, is not evil: it is good.”

There are many more points and plenty more good reasons to read Kaddish for an Unborn Child – not the least the indubitable amazing literary qualities of Kertész – but for me, Dear Reader, it is as a help to acknowledge the depth of the causes of the current brutality. And from there still attempt to act, still attempt to change something, still fight back.

ISSN: 1904-528X