Denmark has been accused of applying double standards to migrants and asylum seekers. As a result of the turmoil in Ukraine, nations have extended their arms to Ukrainian refugees, providing a friendly response that has previously been refused to certain other communities escaping crises throughout the world, including Palestinian refugees from Syria.
Over the last week, this dichotomy has become highlighted as people criticize European countries for turning away needy Syrian asylum applicants while attempting to be welcoming to refugees and migrants fleeing conflict in Ukraine. European authorities have also considered Ukrainian refugees less of a danger and much more worthy of assistance than others.
Denmark, which has among Europe’s strictest anti-immigration laws, has approved a rule that grants Ukrainian refugees speedy residence and work visas and accessibility to the country’s educational and healthcare systems. The government passed while Syrian and Palestinian asylum seekers languished in Danish detention camps for months after revoked their residence cards.
As a result of the influx of migrants from the Middle East and Africa into Europe in 2016, Denmark implemented a rule forcing new arrivals, refugees, and migrants to surrender assets such as jewelry and gold to help pay for their residence. This legislation does not apply to Ukrainian refugees.
The Danish government has also agreed with public bodies to help asylum seekers integrate into Danish areas within four days of receiving a temporary residence card.
“It’s going to go very fast. Within a couple of weeks, many Danes will have a new colleague, a new neighbor, or a new classmate,” Mattias Tesfaye, Denmark’s foreign secretary, stated on Danish tv.
According to the government, many billion kroner has been put in to cover charges that might support those evacuated from Ukraine due to the Russian assault.
According to Interior Minister Mattias Tesfaye, some 24,000 persons have registered for residence in Denmark under the new special statute for Ukrainian refugees, including 2,000 requests for asylum.
“On this basis, the Danish authorities and Danish government are preparing for over 100,000 to come to Denmark,” Tesfaye stated.
“I’d like to stress that this doesn’t mean that 100,000 Ukrainians are guaranteed to live in Denmark in a few months. Nobody knows how many will end up coming here,” he added.
Currently, more than two billion kroner has been put aside to pay the costs of 20,000 Ukrainian migrants. The bulk of the money came from Denmark’s quota for overseas international aid.
The friendly smile offered to Ukrainian refugees in Greece, Hungary, Denmark, and Poland has previously been actively hostile to refugees. It was a stark contrast to the European refugee crisis of 2015, when the emergence of over one million refugees and migrants fleeing violence and instability in the Middle East and Africa sparked anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe.
