I can become rich.... if I win the lotto.
I can become poor....if I don't take care of my finances.
I can become thinner..... if I stop drinking soda and start exercising.
I can become nicer......just by having that first cup of coffee in the morning.
and I can become trilingual..... if I start practicing my Spanish again.
But there is NO AMOUNT of:
bike riding,
leverpostej eating,
Dannebrog waving,
or perfecting of the phrase "rød grød med flød"
that will ever help me to BECOME DANISH.
Pretty sure that the only way that is PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE is if I DIE and am REBORN within the borders of Denmark.
Now why on earth would I concern myself with trying to "become Danish" ??
Because yesterday Denmark named a new Immigration Minister and if I say that the Dansk Folkeparti is PRAISING his appointment, does that tell you anything about his beliefs?
Here is a bit about what Mr. Søren Pind thinks about immigration (på dansk)....
JYLLANDS POST
And here is the same story (på engelsk)...
COPENHAGEN POST
Regardless of what language is used to tell the story, the result is the same...One of the MOST HORRIFIC EXAMPLES of XENOPHOBIA and downright PREJUDICE that I have heard coming from one person's mouth .... and that says a LOT considering I live in the same country as Pia K...
I think I celebrated Birthe's move to retirement a bit prematurely..
11 comments:
I am definitely for integration and I think that when you decide to live in another country you shoould learn the language, history and tradition and respect the culture. You should integrate your own culture into the culture of the country you have moved to. You should repsect that things might be done differently in this country that your home country. But you SHOULD NOT assimilate. That would make us all the same and seriously; wouldn't that be boring??
Tina, you are so right.
When you lived in Italy, you were still Danish, through and through...not Italian. And how sad if the Italian govt had demanded that of you....
I am 100000% for integration...but i never agreed to assimilate. And I don't think we should have to.
Otherwise our Cook & Talks would always be Hakketbøf! :-)
Now THAT would be boring :-)
There is an election coming...
There is an election coming...
There is an election coming...
There is an election coming...
What a shameful direction Denmark is taking...
In total agreement with you ladies, what I don't understand is how the Danish people just accept this? Do they all feel the same way as the immigration minister? Do Danes live in Spain and other "syden" type places like Norwegians? How would they feel if the Spanish demanded that they assimilate if they are going to live there? Wouldn't happen! Amazing this is happening in what I thought was a progressive country!
Amy, not all Danes accept this! However, this is a democratic country and as long as this government has the majority of the votes there is very little the rest of us can do except to protest and try to change the public opinion. Like it or not, that's the way democracy works.
I absolutely hate the government, the opinions they stand for and the retoric they use, but being Danish I can assure you that it doesn't help, that the people, like me, who defend foreigners at every turn, feel hurt when foreigners start complaining about "Danes". Just as foreigners don't like it when Danes generalize, we don't like it when foreigners generalize.
Maybe we should start by all STOPPING all this generalisation
I agree with Tina. And I think it is interesting to note that the latest surveys show that if Løkke would call for election now, he would lose to the opposition. Hence his last minute panic, I suppose.
We elected them. We have to trust them. You do not need to understand it. You just need to accept it.
I never realized that it could be so hard to become a naturalized citizen anywhere...here in NZ they aren't exactly arms-wide-open, but they aren't nearly as hard as DK.
Thank you. Now a days most country thinks a lot to provide citizenship for immigrants.
Post a Comment