Today was a busy, but amazing day! I might have to keep it pretty short since I have some intense reading left to do tonight... but I'll try to keep it good. OH! And no pictures. I didn't feel like taking pictures in the museum and there wasn't really much to take pictures of at the asylum center...
First thing today I met up with 5 of my friends and we went to complete and assignment about the National Museum (its free!) First we spent an hour wandering through the enormous Denmark pre-history exhibit that went through the stone age, bronze age and iron age. It was really interesting seeing how technology evolved and how long people have been wearing necklaces and combing their hair for... OH! and there were BOG PEOPLE! Meaning, these people were sacrificed into bogs... then perfectly preserved for... until now. They were really cool... kinda creepy, but really cool. Then we headed to the Greenland exhibit... which was just a ton of stuff shoved into glass boxes with lots of fur clothes (including fur underwear?!) And a little bit on eskimos. Part of our assignment asked "what does the Greenland exihibit lead you to believe about Greenland? How does this differ from the way Denmark is portrayed in the pre-history exibit?" To which we answered, "Denmark seems to be very rich and strong with a long history while Greenland is portrayed as simply being a cold home to eskimos." Which... was pretty much how they were presented... despite the unfair representation... Then we headed up to the classical greek antiquities room... I found the toys room first... which lead to the modern Danish history bit which I thought was REALLY cool, but one of the girls I was with didn't like it and just hurried her way to the greek exhibit which I was pretty uninterested in... So I'll be going back to look at the modern history room... And most of the other rooms since we left after that to find lunch.
We couldn't find a good, not busy, cheap lunch place, so we ate at Spicy Sandwich, which... was good, just not amazing. They got whole pizzas for 40 kr! AND the pizzas were good. It was a pretty sweet deal. And then two of us met up with another classmate and headed over to the meeting place for the asylum.
We took the metro there, ended up there an hour early and went to a park across the street and sat there and chatted for a bit before going and meeting the rest of the class.
So. We went to the Danish Red Cross Asylum center. Basically, when people started trying to come here as refugees, the Danish government asked the red cross to find a way to give them food and shelter while their applications for asylum were being processed. The Red Cross got some money to do this and have been doing this ever since. Now, I could go on for a bit about the history of Danish immigration and current immigration and asylum laws, but I will spare you the pain. If you're interested... e-mail me or we can discuss it when I get back- my whole class is focused on this theme. To start with, we had a short mini-lecture giving us a history of the organization and she explained why they were there and everything they do. They house many asylum seekers and they feed them, they provide activites for kids and teens and classes for anyone over 17 (because they are not eligable for public school when they turn 17.) They can do job training classes or take classes in danish or english, they can take classes on integration... Lots of things. It was interesting to learn that, while seeking asylum, you cannot hold a job. Keep that in mind. Anyway, we learned about their newspaper that they publish (in english: www.newtimes.dk) That the asylum seekers publish. Then we split our class in half for the really interesting part. There were two people currently living in the center who agreed to come talk to us- One from Algeria and one from Sri Lanka.
My group talked to the one from Sri Lanka. He came here with his wife, and the two of them have been living in the center for a year and a half waiting for a response to their application. The two of them had a child 10 days ago! (The baby girl is NOT a danish citizen because Denmark doesn't do the where you're born you're a citizen thing- they do whatever your parents are, you are, thing.) Anyway, His story was he was a freelance investigative journalist who spoke both languages in Sri Lanka. Theres a civil war there and he would go between the two sides and get facts and give them to the media... which the government didn't like... So the government started following/threatening his group of journalists and he paid a guy to take him and his wife to Switzerland (90% of asylum seekers pay a person to take them out of the country: human traffiking...) Problem being, these people they pay usually leave or ditch them or get caught along the way and the Dublin agreement says that the first place you're registered is where you have to stay... So he landed in Denmark and an official asked him why he was here... and now he has to stay. He thinks that the government won't decide on his case because they want the war in Sri Lanka to be finished so they can just send him home...
The other guy had a really interesting story... He has been living in the Asylum center for 9? years!!! He applied for asylum because he was in the army, but didn't agree with the government or what he was fighting for... but being a deserter gets you killed or tortured in Nigeria... So he simply can't go back.... but being a deserter isn't reason thats accepted to get you asylum... so he was rejected. Now, policy says, when you're rejected you must leave... but in practice this doesn't happen. He appealed the rejection 7 years ago and is still waiting for a response...
We also learned about the problem with Iraqi refugees... The problem is, they've all been rejected but Iraq wouldn't take them back. So... they've been stuck in political limbo for 9? years... over 350 of them! They just live in these centers and can't go anywhere else. Just today or yesterday, an agreement was signed though between Iraq and Denmark where Denmark is now paying Iraq (yes, Denmark does have the second highest amount of troops in Iraq...) to take back their refugees... And then they're paying the refugees to leave too and giving them money to start businesses or whatever (Copenhagen Syndrome: We want you to be successful and happy... just not here!) One guy in particular who has a PHD from a university in Bahgdad has been here for a VERY long time and is very scared to go back because he worked for the previous government... the one the present government hates... So that could be dangerous for him.
But anyway... it was REALLY interesting. We all got business cards and pleas from the people there to come volunteer and since I don't think SheZone will give me enough hours for my class... I just might take them up on the offer! I think that would be so interesting...
So... after all that, a few of us went to a cafe for a debreif which was good. I love talking about these things with a small group thats genuinely interested AND (important AND) informed. Our professor stuck around too, which was good. Then I checked the time and BOLTED it was 4:45... it takes me ATLEAST 40 minutes to get home... and I was making dinner for my host family!!!
I managed to make it home by 5:20 (super fast! I made a bus that I didn't think I would...) and then just started cooking. I made marinated chicken and potatoes with olive oil and thyme. It was all very good and everyone really liked it... even though we didn't eat until 7 (Michael's bed time... whoops...)
And now I'm posting this, sending some quick e-mails and doing many, MANY pages of reading until (probably) very early in the morning... Whoops!
OH! Friday I'm going to Tivoli!!! Whos excited? I'M EXCITED!!!
16 years ago
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