I want to thank the Academy for Migration Studies in Denmark (AMID) for honouring this ancient oriental tradition of "Seek it directly" and inviting a minority representative to put forward minority organizations point of view in this international gathering of scholars.

AMID’s wish to listen to the voices of ethnic minorities is very admirable. This interaction has been missing for the last 20 odd years. Hopefully the contact will grow and prosper with the passage of time, because a critical dialogue between grassroots and academic level is very essential for ethnic minorities in Denmark.

Discussions regarding Multiculturalism, Citizenship, Integration and Racism, are gaining momentum, intact with European Union’s political development as well as the demographic changes taking place in each European country. These issues constitute founding elements - collectively or separately – of a modern and well functioning society as well as for the well being of different ethnic groups. In this paper, I have decided to focus mainly on the concept of multiculturalism and the role it should or could play for a true mutual integration in the Danish society. This is an area, I have extensive experience and have been involved in formulating integration policies on official level without success and on grassroots level with a great deal of achievements.

Danish example, however is not unique. Almost all European countries are grappling with similar issues and are applying home grown remedies to find solutions. After the 20th November 2001 elections in Denmark, situation demands a clear response from EU as how to protect ethnic minorities, so that they can be an integral part of the society. There are fears which are backed by some emerging signs that Danish right turn can spill over to other European countries with disastrous effects for human rights. A popular argument goes: "If Danes can do it, why can not we?"   

I am a minority-politician, a practical person who experiences and judges the Danish culture and its interaction with other cultures from a very subjective point of view.

My brown eyes are the mirror in which Danish society reflects its beauty, its ugliness, its humanity, its ruthlessness, its democracy, its tyranny, its well-functioning systems and the oppressive ways it has, especially towards its ethnic minorities.

There have been written over 5000 books, NGO reports, university and college essays and official documents from 1965 to 2001 describing ethnic minority reality in Denmark.

Information abound, but mental blockade remains.

Let’s start with the concept of multiculturalism. One of the prevailing argument in favour of multiculturalism is that by the passage of time and the advent and acceptance of globalization as a permanent feature of the planet Earth, different ethnic groups would have the possibility to mix, adopt and give birth to a new way of thinking.

Since we live under the declared democratic value system, it is assumed that the concept of multiculturalism, cross-culturalism or inter- culturalism would not only prevail but would influence our common future. Our children would learn from each other’s traditions, cultures, religions and ways of life.

To me, this is a picture of an optimal wishful thinking, based on our noble human desires and faith on a continuous progressive development. I also wish it could translate into a reality but all signs are pointing towards an opposite direction.

Unfortunately, a resurgence of Eurocenterism and a revival of Danish national chauvinism have become two main stumbling blocks, which are preventing the walk on a true cross-cultural path. Besides this, there are some other very important economical interests and right wing ideologies at work.

For me, multiculturalism is passé. We must replace it with interculturalism or even better, with a holistic approach society, where non-European ethnicity and non-Christian religions are also accepted and respected. If the dominant culture is not prepared to accomodate interculturalism, then it must acknowledge that ethnic groups can, should and in fact are forming their own sub-cultures within the confines and boundries of a monocultural society. Ethnic minorities in some cases feel that they are actually better off outside the mainstream.This view point is based on years of efforts and willingness to be part of the majority without any visible success but many setbacks.

As one Pakistani shopkeeper so graphically put it the other day:

 "Learning the Danish language and culture has left me bitter and angry. Now I understand, how closed this society is. I do not want to put up with this." 

The answer to whether Denmark has always been a mono-cultural society or not, lies in a close examination of history, with non-Danish eyes.

From their history lessons, most Danes have learnt that Denmark always was a homogeneous society, and they have grown up with the idea that Danish culture is a permanent and unchanging phenomenon, that goes back to the old Danish king "Gorm den Gamle" and the Vikings.

This impression that their own country and culture is unique comes through very clearly in conversations. It has something to do with a lovely royal family, a common Danish language, values based on Christianity, fairy tale landscape, world's best welfare system and an ever-evolving democratic process from cradle to grave. In short a little sea of peace and harmony.

The question is:

Does this picture have another side? Does Denmark still maintain a unified cultural identity?

Looking at it from an outsider's point of view, this is a typical description of a mono-cultural society - extremely stereotyped and static.

But culture is not so easy to define. Some definitions are acceptable to most people while others are less welcome. Hitler's minister of information, Göebbels once said:

Today this brutal man would be kept pretty busy, since everybody talks about culture constantly, especially about cultural understanding, cultural gaps, cultural confrontations, multiculturalism and the ethnic minorities' adoption of Danish culture.

The fact is that if the Celts had not come to Denmark during their migration towards north, bringing their advanced bronze technology, the bronze age of Scandinavia might have been seriously delayed. One of the finest Danish bronze pieces of that time, Gundestrupkarret - is suspiciously similar to earlier findings from what is now Romania.

Since the Kingdom of Denmark was gathered under one king, in the year 1200, the country has got different territorial extensions, at times including Norway, a part of Sweden and Iceland. In 1864 Denmark lost its German territory, but part of this has since become Danish again.

When King Christian II needed vegetables to supply Copenhagen, he imported Dutch farmers, who could drain and cultivate the wetlands of Amager. When the moors of Jutland needed cultivation, German labour was used - the socalled "Potato-Germans". When King Frederik III needed inhabitants for his new, fortified city, Fredericia, he invited Jews, French Huguenots, Catholics and others, representing all the religions that were banned in Denmark at that time.

Around the year 1800, Spanish mercenaries arrived because of the Napoleon wars, and even though they represented an enemy, history books tell us that they were well received. When the railways were built, a large part of the labourers were Swedish. The farmers on Bornholm used Swedish farmhands, and in Lolland-Falster, Polish seasonal workers took care of the turnip harvest for decades. Some of all these different people settled in Denmark, became immigrants, and then Danes.

The immigration of those times, came from other European countries. These immigrants had the same colour of skin, practically the same Christian religion, a shared European history, and a recognizable cultural heritage.

From the middle of the nineteen sixties a different type of immigrants began to come, from countries in the Mediteranean area to Western Europe, where the rapidly developing industries created economical growth. This meant a need for labourers, and that need was filled by foreigners. They were men between 20 and 40 years, and they were employed in the big industries of Western Europe. They were called "Guest-workers" or "Alien-workers".

Immigration to Denmark followed the same pattern as in the other European countries. The first who arrived were skilled labourers from Yugoslavia, then unskilled labourers from countries like Turkey, Pakistan and Morocco. They were invited to Denmark to do the hard, dirty and low paid work, where all that was needed to get by was sign language. In 1973, when there was a stagnation in the need of labour, Denmark introduced a total stop for immigration of labourers from the so-called third countries, outside EEC, Scandinavia and Northern America.

The Danish employers and Danish society profited from the immigrants. They had been a cheap labour, had cost nothing for school education, health, dental work and all the other expenses needed to develop a Danish worker. And everybody certainly expected the immigrants to go back to where they came from, now that they were no longer needed.

As one can see from this short examination of Danish history, Denmark has never been a homogeneous and static society. Denmark is, as most of the countries in the world, a result of the eternal migration of peoples, and a mix of many different cultures. So what is culture really?

One definition could sound like this:

Culture is a combination of the basic ideas and behaviour of a people, influenced by the history, language, religion, social and material level, institutions, artistic and literary progress of the country in question. In short, how and why one thinks and acts the way one does.

All cultures are dynamic and changing, very few cultures have been static. On the other hand, cultures can stagnate for periods of time. Some cultures are conservative and less open to changes than others, and in some cases one part of a culture develops, while other becomes static, or regress. The industrial revolution and the colonialism of the 19th century created a big difference between the wealth and technological development of the Western countries, and that of the developing countries. At the expense of the rest of the world. These differences are still dividing the world.

Today, many Danes mistake technological development for cultural progress, and thus draw the conclusion that some races and cultures are better than others. These ideas have of course been proven wrong by anthropologists, sociologists, archaeologists and historians through scientific studies.

Many cultures that once were highly developed socially and technologically, have vanished through the passing of history. For over 3.000 years, Egypt was the center of a great civilization, as were the Chinese and Indian civilizations, whereas the Greek and Roman civilizations, that founded the European idea of democracy, lasted less than 1.000 years.

While the Greek and later the Roman cultures were at their peak, the people of Northern Europe lived under rather primitive conditions. After the decline of the Roman Empire, the Arabic-Islamic culture and later the Pan-Turkish culture, dominated the world.

Today, it is West European culture that rules uninhibited. Denmark is a part of this dominating culture, so how does that effect the thinking of the Danes?

Clearly, the present time shows that cross-cultural understanding in a mono-cultural society is a condition still in a process of achievement. For example, the cultural pluralism gained in recent years in many societies in the Western World is being challenged by economical instability, and by increased ethnic and religious tensions.

Prof. Samuel Huntington from Harvard University in the USA is a modern day prophet of doom. In his book, "Clash of Civilizations", he advises the West to make alliances with the Russians, Japanese and Indians against the Islamic and Mandarin civilizations. The theme of this theory is based on an assumption that Western civilization should be the guiding light for human development in the future. If the barbarian civilizations of the East pose a threat, exterminate them.

Professor Huntington has very conveniently forgotten that the Renaissance of Europe, and thus the West - culturally as well as educationally - owed a great deal to Muslim and Jewish scholarship.

Danish attitudes towards immigrants have also changed drastically in the last few years. The borders have been closed since 1973, so that only refugees and family members have been allowed into the country. Contrary to the Southern European countries, Denmark has never received huge ethnic groups, that settled and formed their own cultures.

Perhaps the fact that Denmark has never received such strong cultural influence from the outside, explains why it is so hard for the Danes to accept the influence of the ethnic minorities today.

Many Danes are actually scared that the ethnic minorities might change Danish culture for good. But migration has always been a part of world history. The migration Denmark experiences now is a peaceful migration.

But if Danes insist on not only keeping their own cultural dominance, but also look down at every thing non-Danish, non-European, then it will create self-functioning sub-cultures and multiculturalism will remain a wishful thought.

Minorities will not only refuse to "submit" but also will turn their back on the majority culture which of course will always be Danish. Perhaps modern day Danes can learn from Søren Kierkegaard, the great thinker and religious scholar of the 18th century Denmark. He said in 1857: "If one wishes to help others, then it is not enough to understand them, but one must also understand, what the others understand".

If Danes truly wish to have a multi-cultural society, they must listen to their own great philosopher.

Citizenship no doubt gives ethnic minorities legal protection, equal rights on the paper and a sense of security but it plays a very insignificant part in the process of real integration. Even this thin legal security in many European countries as well as Denmark is now under threat. The (former) Justice Minister of Denmark, Frank Jensen stated in August 2001 that he wanted to propose a new legislation in the Parliament, which will give the Danish State the right to withdraw the Danish citizenship of a minority person who in  State’s opinion has acquired it under a false pretext. He also wanted to backdate the law and would have been applicable to all, even if they have lived 30 years in Denmark. It is thought provoking that this proposal was initially advocated by the extreme right wing People’s Party in the year 2000. The same party which is now the third largest political party in Denmark, forms the basis of the present government and has many new proposals in the pipeline. If EU does not protect citizenship by antidiscriminatory directive, the rights which follow with the citizenship are meaningless.

During the last twenty years I have had the opportunity to work closely with ethnic minorities in Denmark and Europe and study the problems they are facing. Whether these problems are socio-economical, political or cultural, these are identical in their nature and substance. One clearly notices that when the European societies and authorities talk of integration, they are principally referring to people from the developing countries. Countries like Sri Lanka, Turkey, Pakistan, Somalia, Morocco and areas like Middle East and the African continent. People who in many cases have already been pushed towards the outer edges of the European societies. Talking to diverse ethnic minority groups in EU and visiting the countries Denmark normally compares itself, I know that the situation is very dire and needs a drastic changes in prevailing integration policies.

Alone when one looks at the discussions taking place in almost every political and social debate forum regarding the presence of the ethnic minorities, one can remark that whether these discussions are being held in Parliaments or in the street, by intellectuals or by common people, they usually end up raising more questions than giving some answers.

Some of the questions, which are most often raised by the Danes, are:

Compared to these complex theoretical questions, ethnic minorities find themselves asking two very basic questions:

With a non-European background but living in Europe permanently, I am not in a position to answer the questions native Danes and Europeans should answer. I would however relate to the last two questions, usually asked by minorities form the developing countries.

Migrations of all types have a common thread and the fact is that whatever form the migration takes, it brings with it, its own consequences. These consequences can be economical, cultural, social and political, and they can be applied to both the person who is moving as well as to the land to which he or she is moving to.

From 1945 until the middle of the seventies, particularly during the rapid expansion of the industry, which took place between 1960 and 1975, the import of labour power was a marked feature of all advanced industrial Western countries. Employers were looking for flexible labour units. Temporary foreign workers matched this requirement. They provided labour as was needed, without demanding any inflationary effects on wages or social expenditure.

In the early sixties and seventies many European countries did allow small populations of migrant workers from the developing countries as well as former colonies to come and settle. This imported labour and guest workers in the beginning, but contrary to the expectations of the majority society they stayed and became immigrants.

In Denmark they are commonly called "flygtninge og indvandrere". They have only lived for 35 years. Later years many refugee groups were also given protection.

According to the figures issued from the Interior Ministry on 1.1.2001, the total number of foreigner living in Denmark was 395.947, spread over 166 different nationalities. 121.195 had refugee background and 171.491 were immigrants and their families. It is worth remembering that 103.261 or nearly 33 % of the foreigners in Denmark come from Scandinavia, the European Union, North America and OECD countries. Danish state or public does not classify them as immigrants. The other 67% come from the developing countries and 70% of those are Muslims with different backgrounds.

Most of them have actively tried to become a part of the Danish society, individually or as a group. The experience shows that the integration of various minority groups into Danish society has failed. This has been pointed out time and again by scholars, researchers and ethnic minority organisations. Although the reasons for this failed integration vary-depending upon who is the source and which interest one wishes to enhance, it is a popularly accepted fact that minorities are given the blame by the political establishment.

There are many answers to this question. May be as many, as there are cultural sociologists, anthropologists and politicians.

But seen through minority eyes, the commonly held Eurocentric ideas in Danish society - that is, the idea that the European form of civilization is the only true civilization, will not allow the ethnic minorities equal access and opportunity in the society, regardless of the command of language and the presence of other required qualifications. Some individuals among the minorities have managed quite well in Danish society and feel accepted in a protected environment. Unfortunately they are the exception and not the rule. This accept of the individual depends on certain conditions to be fulfilled, such as his or hers willingness to give up the original cultural identity, distancing from own religious beliefs, combined with a good education and relatively good command of the local language. A light colour of skin and a humble attitude towards the majority helps a great deal too.

As a collective ethnic group it is much harder to become integrated, because the ethnic characteristics are much more visible than those of the individual. Analysis shows that the ethnic minorities who have certain common factors with the majority, such as colour of skin, geographical connections and religion, adapt and are accepted easily, sometimes even quite painlessly. One can call it a successful process of integration and it applies to groups like East Europeans, white EU-citizens, Americans and Scandinavians.

But when it comes to ethnic minorities who are essentially different from the majority, as with Turks, Pakistanis or Moroccans, the process of adoption takes another route. This process is still incorrectly called integration, but in reality it is a process of segregation or even disintegration. - This is what the ethnic minorities from the developing countries face today in Denmark and other European countries.

The term integration comes from two Latin words: inté - gratus and means a wholeness, where the single part retains a relative independence. According to the New Webster’s dictionary it means "To make up or to complete as a whole, to bring together parts into a whole". The American Encyclopedia describes integration as "A process which brings different cultures and races together, and is based on equality, justice and equal protection under the law".

These descriptions are the ultimate ideals of integration that a democratic and humane society can aspire to.

But when we look at the Danish or other European societies and the way they want minorities to integrate, it rather reminds of a huge machine, where all the ethnic groups enter from one end, with all their different cultures, religions, norms, traditions, historical backgrounds, social understandings and economical status. Then the door to the machine closes. Different buttons with labels such as Culture, Traditions, Mentality and especially, one enormous button labeled "The language" are pressed. The machine starts,. The people get mixed, bleached and brainwashed, and finally a whole new brand of a person rolls out on the conveyor belt. A bottle of bear in one hand, Danish/EU flag in the other, and singing the national anthem of the country he/she lives in.

A magical transformation.

Sometimes minorities really wish that such a machine existed. At least this way all their troubles would disappear. But since one lives in the real world, one has to deal with it as such.

To understand the living conditions of ethnic minorities in a given European context, a small journey must be undertaken in their world and experience how the process of integration has progressed until now. The ethnic minorities have gone through different phases during the past 35-40 years in different European countries including Denmark.

First phase started in the early sixties and lasted up until the mid seventies. In this phase, ethnic minorities found themselves very isolated. They were invited to do dirty, demanding, low paid jobs which no local would touch. They found with their own efforts, jobs, small accomodations and established a little social network. But at that stage, they did not know the local language, norms of society, its cultural traditions or how the different institutions functioned. It was very difficult for them to find their way around in highly industrially developed and functional societies of Europe. Thus they felt insecure and were dependent on the goodwill of the majority. Even if the Danes and other Europeans were rather friendly and helpful in the beginning, they treated and considered people from the developing countries as merely exotic entities but not equals human beings.

The second phase started in the mid seventies and lasted until the mid eighties. One can call it, the adjustment phase. Here the minorities began to stand on their own feet. By then they had brought their families, had learnt a little bit of the language, found proper housing and their children started attending schools. By that time they had also started moving socially in the mainstream society, thus breaking the isolation and moving towards the individual participation in the society. By that time however the unemployment in Denmark and different European countries started rising dramatically due to the oil crisis and other economical factors.

This had a devastating effect on the ethnic minorities because they were the last ones to be hired and the first ones to be laid off. In Denmark at that time the unemployment among the minorities reached 30 % compared to 8% among the Danes. This loss of contact with the labour market deprived minorities any further chances of active participation in the society. For many Danes and Europeans, it was at this stage that the ethnic minorities stopped being a positive economical factor in society and became a liability. All of a sudden, public, politicians and media started taking a negative interest in the ethnic minorities, labeling them as a problem. For ethnic minorities, the process of integration came to a stand still and in fact started back tracking from then onward.

Third phase started in the mid eighties and was a very crucial point for minorities.

This is when the authorities began putting demands on minorities, to learn the language - something they did not bother about earlier - to adopt the local culture and traditions - without explaining what they were, upgrade the qualifications – without providing jobs and in general asked them to become a copy of an average European worker.

The fourth phase began in the nineties but came into the full swing at the start of third Millennium. It resembles the first phase with its isolation. Unnecessary cultural demands and exclusion from jobs, housing and education have forced the minorities to the outer edges of the society, where they find themselves isolated once again.

But this time there is a notable difference. Now the minorities have learned the languages, they know the norms of societies they live in and are familiar with the laws. They are more organized and less naive. They have been through a tough process of learning. They know the system and they are ready to fight for their rights on their own conditions and with their own means.

The word integration has become a magic word in the debate and in all governmental programmes. In reality it is not integration but a strong demand for assimilation. It is sad to point out that a large part of Danish society still takes no interest in the collective living conditions of the ethnic minorities.

The last ten years have been most painful. Firstly because the ethnic minorities have realized that the Danish society has never fully accepted their existence as a permanent and equal part. Secondly because the Danish society is trying to force an assimilation process onto the ethnic minorities, without understanding one basic fact. As long as most Danes hold on to their Eurocentric belief, they will never accept a non-European, non-white, non-Christian person as an equal partner.

All the official integration policy papers and reports and laws only speak of integration in terms of learning the Danish language and adopting the Danish culture. The latest report from Interior Ministry’s "Think Tank", published on 16th August 2001 clearly demands that ethnic minorities must accept, commit to and adopt Danish norms and values, like respect for democracy, human rights, respect for the law, citizens rights and tolerance.

It is very interesting to note that these values are very universal and not at all a product of Denmark. The report does not mention, what the Danish society or State should do in practice, to assist ethnic minorities in their struggle to be a part of this well defined Danish community.

The whole burden of integration is put on the shoulders of the ethnic minorities thus relieving Danish society of any responsibility for the very concrete socioeconomical problems it has created for the minorities. When the Danes talk of equal rights and equal responsibilities for everybody living in Denmark, they forget the most important aspect of mutual integration, namely, the provision of equal opportunities, and protection of these rights under the law.

Let us now look at, how the ethnic minorities themselves think of and describe the official concept of integration. Many among the ethnic minorities are very resentful towards the idea of one way integration where only minorities are subject to act.

Well, because the society is asking them to renounce the value of their own cultures, family system, religious practices, the importance of their own languages, their ethnic identities and thus subjugate to the norms of the majority society, which bases its values sole on European norms. Minorities in Denmark, often hear the phrase "While in Rome, do as the Romans do". Minorities would like to do as Romans do, but what if the Romans won't let them do, what they themselves do?

Minorities do not understand that a society which speaks so much of democracy, human rights and individual freedom, all of a sudden changes around its moral standards when it is confronted with the problems of ethnic minorities. The ethnic minorities resent being lectured on Danish values that the Danes themselves do not practice.

Minorities point out that if the society really wishes a two-ways integration, it must stop demanding and start listening in order to lay the foundations for a fruitful dialogue. To them it is imperative that the majority representatives sit down with minorities and discuss with an open mind and an open heart, all the problems it has created for the minorities and the problems minorities have created for themselves. Through these discussions, a consensus will appear which will help both parts to find ways to solve the problems and bring down the barriers against integration.

This can only happen if the majority wishes such dialogue. Dr. Jørgen Bæk Simonsen from Copenhagen University supports this argument. In his interview in the national daily Politiken (17.08.2001), he remarked: "The Danish public does not dare to let others differ. We say all the time that immigrants and refugees should be a part of a free society, but then we Danes in the year 2001 also want to define what freedom is".

In order to achieve a successful integration, authorities have to show political will and moral courage to admit the actual structural and institutional racism that exists in the Danish society.

Racism today has taken many forms in Denmark and Europe. First, we have Street Racism. This form is blatantly made known by abusive expressions such as, "Muslims go home!" or "Throw the foreigners out!"

White youth gangs have attacked migrants on the street or in their own homes.

Graffiti with racist slogans is widespread in large towns. In parks, on walls, at bus stops and other public places, one can read this nasty form of writing. In buses, trains and other forms of public transportation, people often avoid sitting beside a person who is non-white. People pass discriminatory remarks without anyone taking a stand against it. In shopping centers and playgrounds, Danes and Europeans often show hostility to people belonging to black and ethnic minority groups, or ignore them altogether.

The racist activities take place on different areas and are expressed in various ways.