something political

i've been laughing recently with another fulbrighter here in dk about the relative differences in our blogging lives.  i tend to lean more on the photo and adventure side of life--sharing brief cultural exchanges and pieces of my life here.  he, on the other hand, shares these quite eloquent thoughts about the culture and politics of life in copenhagen.  i've often laughed and said we should do a joint post--readers would REALLY be getting a full view then.  but in tribute to this "other" blog perspective, i'm going to share some different kinds of stories these next few months.  one of them is a news article from the copenhagen post.  cph post is one of the few english news sources, and is linked with expat in dk, which gives it a somewhat foreign/integration slant.  that aside, it's hard to deny the facts of this brief article..

Integration or Assimilation

New immigration minister: become like us or stay away

WEDNESDAY, 09 MARCH 2011 10:35 DV NEWS

Søren Pind prepared to further tighten immigration laws

Either foreigners make an effort to become Danish or they can just stay away from Denmark, according to Søren Pind, the new immigration minister.  Only hours after taking over as immigration minister after Birthe Rønn Hornbech was fired yesterday, Pind declared himself ready to tighten up the immigration laws.

According to Pind, it should be set in stone that Denmark has room for foreigners that adopt and respect Danish values, norms and traditions; if they don’t, they shouldn’t be here at all.

“The way I see it, when you choose Denmark, you choose Denmark because you want to become Danish,” Pind told Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

He highlighted a misunderstood notion of integration, where traditional Danish values have been compromised in an attempt to accommodate foreigners. This, he said, is a threat to Denmark as a nation.

“In my view, a mixture of cultures and the trails it carries with it makes the whole thing crackle, and I will do everything I can to fight that,” he said.

This is great news for the Danish People’s Party (DF). “There are several areas where tightening measures are needed, so Søren Pind’s statement is definitely good for us to hear,” said DF’s immigration spokesperson Peter Skaarup.

In the opposition, Socialist People’s Party (SF) immigration spokesperson Astrid Kragh said that the nation is under threat if Søren Pind fails to realise that he needs to focus on high-priority tasks involving ghettos, education of non-ethnic youths and unemployment among foreigners.