Daily life in the Danish refugee camps is oppressive – they are given a mattress and food, but nothing else. The rules are extremely strict and the message is extremely clear: "You are not wanted in Denmark".
The Kershovegor refugee camp is located in the deep Danish countryside. Unwanted migrants who are single are accommodated there. For people like Iranian Yassin, whose asylum applications have been rejected. The 36-year-old man lives in the camp, which looks like a prison. He's been behind bars every night for seven years now. “We have no right to anything. The conditions are really harsh. Denmark is a country of opportunities – but not if you live in Kershovegor. You are left to your own devices here,”, says Yassin to ARD.
In jail for spending the night at a friend's house
The daily life of the people in the camp, who are over 200, is very oppressive, the Iranian explains. You only have a mattress, three meals a day and strict rules. The message is extremely clear: let the refugees go.
Jasin speaks Danish well, would like to work and meet his Danish girlfriend. He spent the night with her once. But then the police came. “At seven o'clock in the morning, three employees came to the room. They told me: collect your clothes – you are under arrest. I asked – why? They said: you spent the night in a place where you are not registered”, the Iranian explains to ARD.
His offense was detected using an electronic system. The consequence: three months in prison.
Extremely strict rules for refugees
Denmark is famous as a liberal, intelligent and cozy country. At the same time, it has been tightening its migration laws for years and has even discussed how to repeal EU rules. The goal: maximum control over migrants and “zero asylum applications”, as the Danish government put it a few years ago. The explanation: migration threatens welfare in the Danish welfare state.
This policy is popular – in Denmark this is how elections are won. Migration Affairs Minister Kaare Dibwad is proud of what has been achieved – the number of asylum applications in Denmark has fallen sharply. “We have achieved success in terms of rejected asylum applications. We are one of the best in Europe when it comes to deporting people. Places like Kershovegor should not look like people want to stay in Denmark. It should be clear to them – they are unwanted. Understand that you have no future in this country”, says the minister, quoted by ARD.
Like in a Russian prison
Ellebek, the so-called “Refugee Center” near Copenhagen, is actually a deportation prison. Years ago, Danish television showed footage of this "center": unfinished construction, unbearable hygienic conditions, lack of medical care, limited access to fresh air. The EU inspectors sent to the spot state categorically: even Russian prisons are better.
Martin from Uganda was in Ellebek. The reason – during a police check in Copenhagen he presented himself with a false name out of fear, which is a violation of the rules. Although his asylum procedure was ongoing, he was detained for six months in Ellebek. ARD quoted him as saying: “It was traumatizing. The feeling that you could be deported at any moment fills you with fear and dread. At night you can't sleep, you have nightmares. When there's a knock on the door, you say – here's my turn.“
Martin does not give up. Activists got him a lawyer. He was released and granted asylum in Denmark. But he will never forget what he experienced in Ellebek, where, according to him, the conditions have never changed.
„Danish migration policy is chilling"
Migration Minister Dibwad defends the measures taken: “I don't know if the EU experts visited a Russian prison. I haven't been, so I can't comment. To put it bluntly – it could be a holiday camp and not a place for fun.“
The church, which is near Kershovegor, invites the people from the camp to meetings once a week. Anna Lisbet Zonne, who has been organizing these meetings for years, tells ARD that she has seen hundreds of refugees come and go. Many of them have meanwhile gone into hiding and sought their fortune elsewhere in Europe. “Our ruthless policy is working: the number of refugees is falling. In principle, the Danes are friendly people. But Danish politics is chilling."