Vox Pop - iraqi asylum seekers

By New Times - 01.04.2008

On April 2nd Team New Times hit the streets to get the opinion of Copenhagen residents. We asked people:

• Here are about 400 rejected Iraqi asylum seekers in Denmark who don´t want to return home. What do you know about the security situa­tion in Iraq?
• What should the government do about the rejected Iraqi asylum seekers?

Anna

I know about the rejected Iraqi asylum seekers who do not want to return home from the previous election campaigns in November and I know about the security situ­ation from the news.

I think they should work and have their own money, and not live in these centres as they affect the mental and psychological situations of the asylum seekers.

I’m a mother of a baby, I under­stand that the asylum seekers [can] live in such centres for short periods of time but I cannot imagine living in these centres for a long period of time.

John

I heard about the rejected asylum seekers.

I think the government should keep them here and give them per­mission to work and integrate into Danish society if they want to stay here. We should respect their reli­gion and they should do the same for us.

Lisa

I have only heard about the secu­rity situation in Iraq from the media, and I did not know about the rejected Iraqi asylum seekers who do not want to return home. I think the government should handle each case individually, but really it’s a difficult question.

I think these people should have a second chance. If I made the decision, I would not send them back, expect for the ones who have committed crimes. In addition, asy­lum seekers should live outside of camps.

Nils

I have a good idea of what is going on in Iraq. I know how it is now and how bad it is. There is too much foreign power involved in the region. The country is currently a battlefield for these foreign pow­ers and of course there are refugees fleeing this country to all the other countries in the world.

Of course Denmark is included in this list of countries where refu­gees will head and the government should work with their knowledge and wisdom to take in these asylum seekers and treat them in a more realistic and humane way.

Vibeke

I think Iraq is a dangerous place and I know there are asylum seekers who do not want to return home. I think they should be allowed to get out of the camps and live a normal life, work and go to the folkeskole [state schools]. Camps are not a good place, especially for children.

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