Denmark and the Netherlands are often seen as one and the same from abroad (if you don’t believe us, check out the first point in Vox’s recent primer on Denmark), and the Dutch comedy programme ‘Zondag met Lubach’ recently attempted to capitalize on that confusion by redirecting refugees to Denmark.
Sunday's episode of the satirical weekly news programme said that with the refugee crisis creating division within the Netherlands, the country can no longer guarantee the safety of refugees and asylum seekers.
“So to anyone coming our way, we have one clear message: Try Denmark!”, the video says, before extolling the virtues of the Danes.
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“Denmark’s population is highly intelligent. They all watch complicated Danish TV series without subtitles. Furthermore, people who have lived in Denmark for over five years automatically get their own internationally-acclaimed drama series”
The video, which can be seen as a response to Denmark’s own infamous message to would-be refugees, also wades in to a touchy area by bringing up the 2005 Mohammed Crisis spurred by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten’s publication of 12 caricatures of the prophet.
“Fun fact: Denmark has many cultural links to the Muslim world. For instance, the Prophet Mohammed was originally from a suburb of Copenhagen. This we know because the first drawings of the prophet were found here,” the narrator states.
The initial Danish response to the Dutch video has been positive.
“As a Dane, I approve of this message ^^ it's funny! Well played, Holland, well played!” one YouTube user wrote.
“We deserve this for making those stupid ads in the first place,” another wrote.
The video clip concludes with what could very well be a new national slogan for the Dutch.
“Come to Denmark: It’s the Netherlands, but somewhere else,” it states, before throwing in the bonus offer of Borgen box set for any refugees who “migrate within the next ten minutes”.
'Zondag met Lubach' airs on national broadcaster VPRO and is hosted by comedian Arjen Lubach. The programme has a weekly audience of around 500,000 and is particularly popular with younger viewers.
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