The sweeping package of laws, which has received all-party support, allows large numbers of 'non-western' people to be evicted and moved elsewhere.
Controversial government plan to evict settled communities is blasted as racistThe Danish government has been accused of 'racism' over a controversial plan to break up so-called 'ghettos' of inner-city immigrant communities to encourage integration.
The architect of the tough legislation, former Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has warned darkly that ghettos could 'reach out their tentacles onto the streets' by spreading violence Critics argue that the laws are a blunt weapon which only serve to destroy settled communities – many of which had sprung up precisely because the government had housed people there.
The Mjolnerparken residents are suing Denmark for discrimination, with the European Court of Justice due to rule in the coming monthsThe estate, in Norrebro, just north-west of the Danish capital's centre, is now a giant building site It's hard to imagine a more assimilated Danish citizen than transport firm boss Mr Aslam, who arrived in the country from Pakistan as a child aged seven.
IT consultant Jumana El-Subaihi, 44, has lived in Denmark since the age of three, but now, because of her Palestinian heritage, feels she and her family are being discriminated againstWandering around the streets of Norrebro, past shops called 'Hijab Queens' and 'Shisha King', it would be easy to forget you're in DenmarkMajken Felle, head of the Copenhagen renters' association, stands in the courtyard of Mjolnerparken housing estate in Copenhagen,...
The Mjolnerparken residents are suing Denmark for discrimination, with the European Court of Justice due to rule in the coming months. But however laudable the aims of using the anti-ghetto legislation to solve the problems of high crime rates, unemployment, gangs and overcrowding, it certainly hasn't found favour with the residents of Mjolnerparken.
In 2015, they were shown glossy new brochures of how their area would be rejuvenated and transformed with public money, which they naturally welcomed. Three years later, however, when the anti-ghetto policy emerged, it transpired that the rebuild would come with a catch – thousands of people would be moved out and rehoused elsewhere, with no option to return to the refurbished properties.
'My family left Bosnia because the Serbs were using 'ethnic cleansing' and expelling people like me at the point of a gun,' the single mother-of-one told MailOnline.'Mjolnerparken was home to me and my son, and we were part of a big family with a support network. I knew everyone and saw my neighbours' children grow from babies to adults.
IT consultant Jumana El-Subaihi, 44, has lived in Denmark since the age of three, but now, because of her Palestinian heritage, feels she and her family are being discriminated against. Along with the housing laws, the anti-ghetto legislation also covers education and states that from the age of one, children born in the designated areas must be sent to kindergarten for a minimum of 25 hours a week so that they can be instructed in 'Danish values' and language. Those who do not comply could find their benefits payments cut or stopped.
'We live and work in Tingbjerg, and we love our life here. But the 'ghetto' list designates Tingbjerg as something infected. A problem. But we are not a virus in Danish society. We struggle with our studies, we work and contribute to Danish society - and we feel a huge responsibility to contribute to Denmark.
'At Christiansborg you often talk about strengthening the cohesion of Denmark, but the 'ghetto' list does the opposite. It builds a wall between 'us' and 'you'. It labels us as problems living in a 'black hole'. But you are the ones who keep digging the hole deeper while we desperately try to climb up.'
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