Current Events > Denmark's agressive double punishment ghetto plan unlikely to solve any problems

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Denmark's so-called ghetto plan, which has received broad coverage in domestic and international media, is unlikely to to have any real effect on social challenges in underprivileged areas, residents, representatives and experts told The Local.

The plan, which was passed in part by parliament last month with further consultations due in the autumn, comprises 22 initiatives to integrate the ghettos. These include including demolition of housing units, double punishment for certain crimes in certain areas, stricter rules regarding social welfare benefits, mandatory day-care for children to learn Danish, easier access for municipalities to residents data and financial incentive for municipalities to achieve high levels of integration.

Prime Minister Lars Lkke Rasmussen and seven ministers presented the ghetto plan in Mjlnerparken, one of the so-called ghettos in Copenhagen, in March this year.

The Danish Ministry of Transport and Housing classifies 27 underprivileged areas around Denmark as ghettos, based on criteria including residents heritage, levels of education, employment rate and crime rate.

We need a more precise effort, whereby we do not inconvenience Danes all over Denmark. Action must be taken where the problems are greatest, and there only, as Rasmussen said in his New Year's speech.

While the government dismisses criticisms that the ghetto plan is specifically targeting people with certain ethnicities or religions, residents of the areas in question have disputed this, primarily because of the criterion that labels an area as a ghetto if more than 50 percent of its residents have non-Western origins.

Aslam recalled the day when the plan was presented in Mjlnerparken, with the high-profile political announcement met by demonstrations calling for equality of the law, to which the minister of integration Inger Stjberg, writing on her Facebook page, rhetorically asked which law, in reference to Islamic Sharia law.

[The government] doesnt say it directly, but indirectly they just want to split Muslims from living together. And now they blame all problems on Muslims, Aslam told The Local. His four children, who were born in Mjlnerparken are enrolled in higher education, are still considered to be ghetto because they live in a certain neighbourhood.

What they [the government] are saying is that if you come from Africa or Asia or the Middle East then you cannot be Danish, Aslam said on what the ghetto plan meant to him, adding integration comes from both sides, not just one side.

In Aarhus, residents of Gellerupparken, another of the areas designated as 'ghettos', also feel discriminated against because of the plan, according to Maher Taha, a Palestinian who lived for 16 years in Gellerupparken and offers legal consultations to residents.

Taha admitted that Gellerupparken has a lot of crime-related problems, but disagreed on the governments approach to solving them.

The situation in Mjlnerparken is arguably different to that in Gellerupparken. Of the two neighbourhoods, the latter has higher proportional figures for unemployment (52.9 percent vs. 43.5 percent in Mjlnerparken), as well as for criminal convictions (3.43 vs 2.52 percent respectively), according to official figures. For Mjlnerparken, those crime figures actually fall outside the 'ghetto' threshold, but the area qualifies on other categories.

Of course, people in a way feel discriminated against, because where is democracy? They decided without asking the residents. So we think democracy in this case was limited, just as it is in the countries we came from, Taha said.

Aslam shared the same concern as Taha.

(The government) hasnt discussed anything with us, they did not ask what we needed, they are just sitting in the parliament, discussing with people who have the same ideas like them, he said.
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The governments proposal of the ghetto plan states that 12 billion Danish kroner (about 1.6 billion Euros) will be dedicated for the demolition and conversion of some buildings in the ghettos. According to the governments website, converting the ghetto will be done by selling units on the general housing market.

This allows private investors and homeowners with new housing types to help change the housing composition in the area. This must be done either by private investors buying a part of the current general housing or by building new private housing in the ghetto areas, the governments website states.

John Andersen, a professor at Roskilde University's Department of People and Technology, said that this part of the ghetto plan would have an impact on the Danish social housing system.

There are some interesting contradictions. The government says they want to make sure that we have mixed neighbourhoods, but they want to reduce social housing, which will lead to more segregation, he said.

The ghetto plan reinforced anti-immigrant and anti-inclusive rhetoric and it is an attempt against the unique social housing model in Denmark that is part of the welfare system and this is not that first time, right wing parties attacked the social housing system in the 80s as well, Andersen added.

According to Carsten Jensen, a professor at Aarhus University's Department of Political Science, politicians do not see the existence of the ghetto plan within a welfare system as a dilemma because it [the welfare system] only achieves equality for the native group, so they dont see a problem with the ghetto plan.

The goal of the welfare state is not to legally achieve equality, so there is no conceptual reason why the ghetto plan shouldnt exist within the welfare state and they are also two very different political domains, Jensen said.

The goal of the ghetto plan is to ensure equality and integration, but so far it seems like the extreme way to do it, he added.

The ghetto plan is a result of a political discourse which has existed for the past decade, according to Andersen.

We have had populist pressure that to some extended affected other political parties, he said, the growth of the Danish People Party promoted anti-immigration stances to other parties.

In the ghetto problem, the word ghetto is a problem, Andersen said, citing that it reinforced discrimination.

The plan could have been good and does have valid points, while other points are discriminatory, such as the double punishment, which results in lack of social justice, he said.

But Andersen said he doubts that the plan will actually have as strong an impact as intended.

Municipalities have (such) a great power in Denmark, that they could counteract national policies. What I hope is that there will be a gap between the national level and the local level in implementation, he said.

FUll Article: https://www.thelocal.dk/20180712/denmarks-ghetto-plan-unlikely-to-solve-problems-faced-by-underprivileged-areas-residents



I know CE has some weird views on foreigners, refugees, other religions and the poor.

But I really do not get how people can be cool with "The punishment for this crime is twice as bad for you because you did it down this street while those guys did it a mile away down that street so the punishment is standard for them."

To me, that's literal madness.
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UnfairRepresent posted...

But I really do not get how people can be cool with "The punishment for this crime is twice as bad for you because you did it down this street while those guys did it a mile away down that street so the punishment is standard."

Small technicality, but my understanding is that the punishment for the crime is different depending on where you live, not where you committed the crime? Could be wrong
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scar the 1 posted...

UnfairRepresent posted...

But I really do not get how people can be cool with "The punishment for this crime is twice as bad for you because you did it down this street while those guys did it a mile away down that street so the punishment is standard."

Small technicality, but my understanding is that the punishment for the crime is different depending on where you live, not where you committed the crime? Could be wrong

Nope

https://www.thelocal.dk/20180226/danish-government-wants-double-punishments-for-crimes-in-underprivileged-areas

its where the crime takes place.

If you rob a store in the Ghetto your fine/jail time will be doubled.

And keep in mind if you live in a Ghetto, odds are you are poorer than the average citizen
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Alright cheers, thanks for clearing it up.
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scar the 1 posted...

Alright cheers, thanks for clearing it up.

You're welcome
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