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IMMIGRATION

OPINION: My humbling journey into a surprising Scandinavian life

Integration is a two-way street, even if cultural appropriation isn’t, argues The Local’s guest columnist Judy Wanjiku Jørgensen, who moved to Denmark from Kenya in 2013.

OPINION: My humbling journey into a surprising Scandinavian life
Photo: Judy Wanjiku Jørgensen

Adjusting to Scandinavian, and in particular Danish, life has not only been humbling but challenging. I took a big risk by moving abroad, leaving my comfort zone, and embracing a new culture.

I feel fortunate to have first arrived in Europe ten years ago, on a foreign correspondent programme in Helsinki. That trip marked a journey that would see me experiencing mundane things like flying in an aeroplane for the first time.

It was also a remarkable paradigm shift that would lead me back to Europe in 2008, on a full scholarship for a Master’s in journalism, and an eventual return in 2013 for marriage, family and career in Denmark.

In the course of my life and education in Europe, I have had a myriad of experiences. Several of which were, naively, hitherto unknown to me. Well, living in a student bubble back then didn't open up my mind to the realities of adult life.

That notwithstanding, many of the Kenyans that I met during my initial trips to Europe hardly ever narrated the not-so-rosy reality of life in their respective countries.

In retrospective, I see this as an important coping mechanism against the sometimes unfamiliar realities of life in Europe for an African migrant, and the mismatched utopian perception of life abroad. It is not unusual for many Kenyans, in Kenya, to romanticise life in developed countries.

By experiencing the following events of culture shock in various homogeneous Scandinavian countries, most notably my current home, Denmark, I have not only learned different cultural facets but also ways of developing a thick skin while retaining my identity, and sanity, in a land where I am an outsider.

I have been called ‘nigger’ about three times by random people. It first happened when I refused some drunken advances from two men outside a club in Helsinki, to which they called me a ‘nigger’ while staggering stupidly into the dark. I paid no heed to their foolishness.


People living in African cities like Nairobi can fall into the trap of idealising life in developed countries. Photo: Iris/Scanpix

Years later when studying in Aarhus, I participated in a cross-cultural dressing party with my classmates. Each participant was meant to dress as another classmate. Patricia from Spain dressed like me, complete with blackface, while I dressed as her with a whitewashed face for the full cultural effect. We were oblivious of the ruckus our cultural appropriation was about to cause to the public.

As soon as we boarded a public bus, we heard a visibly disturbed woman muttering obscenities under her breath. She would look at me, and then curse out. Eventually, she snapped and called me a ‘nigger’.

To this day, I remain baffled by why the woman took offence with my costume, all I remember from that event is a group of youngsters rallied her up and gave her a piece of their mind. Some of them later approached me and apologised for her behaviour, citing that not all Danes were as racist and ignorant.

To be honest, being called a nigger has never hurt me. Perhaps it is due to the cultural and historical dissonance from the term. Not many people understand the history behind the word, or even black slavery for that matter. However, vile and ignorant people will objectify all black people as a way of dehumanising, dishonouring and devaluing our blackness.

Deeply entrenched ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is a culture shock that I have experience on a personal level, more so when people expect me to behave like them while seemingly negating the fact that I am an adult who is well shaped by her Kenyan culture.

Ethnocentrism occurs when people say: “Well, now you are in Denmark and you should behave like the Danes.” This assumption makes people believe that just because they are in a more technologically and democratically progressive country, their culture and way of doing things is, therefore, more superior, say than that of Africans.

Their knowledge of Africa is shaped by what they see or hear in the media, and most ironically it is the belief that Africa is a country or a dark continent.

Understandably, Denmark is a small homogenous country, therefore when someone says to me that I should behave like a Dane, I acknowledge their fear of cultural erosion, and at best inform them that my integration will never erode my Kenyan identity.


Photo: Iris

I will admit that this element of ethnocentrism really scares me. I don't want to ever lose my identity while integrating into the Danish culture. I want to share my Kenyan culture, language and food with my children. I want them to become respectful citizens of the world, to be open-minded and wise.

See, the problem with an ethnocentric worldview is that it closes up minds rather than open them to accepting others with a different worldview; it focuses its ideology on the ‘us vs. them’ way of misunderstanding and understanding diversity.

Anonymity

For a Kenyan like me who comes from a collectivist culture and a small town where everyone seems to know the other, the European culture, specifically, the Scandinavian one feels very 'cold'. Their individualistic way of life is one which I doubt I will ever become fully accustomed to.

This element of anonymity remains one the biggest cultural shocks from when I first arrived in Finland. In true 'African' fashion, I knocked on my neighbour’s door, which he ignored at first but after persistence, he opened the door only so slightly, peering at me with suspicion.

I eagerly introduced myself, ready to strike some friendly small talk, only for him to stare back, stunned while only mumbling an almost inaudible response before shutting the door to my face. I went back to my room, crestfallen, wondering what I had done so wrong.

Since then, I have learned my lesson on anonymity, thus why today, I have come to accept the silence of my next door neighbour albeit us nonchalantly passing each other on the same staircase, without a word, for the past three years.

READ ALSO: Danes once again discuss who is a Dane

On the other hand, anonymity can be a good thing. It allows personal responsibility and freedom, although it can be severely alienating if one doesn’t have an established social circle and support system.

Well, culture shock has been an important aspect of my enculturation. It has shaped and continues to mould my understanding of life abroad, as well as integration into life in Denmark.

Real growth comes when we abandon our comfort zones. The uncomfortable situations have forced me to grow up, to view life objectively rather than with a utopian mentality.

Life abroad has so far been an exhilarating experience. However, it often invites a sense of feeling lost, as I continue to integrate into a new language and culture.

I am privileged to have a strong Kenyan cultural background, a stable family, and a future in Denmark of learning, change, and growth.

My transition to life in Denmark may not have disillusioned me, but it has made me objective and pragmatic.

Judy Wanjiku Jørgensen is a Kenyan-born journalist, blogger, photographer and Mama to two Afro-Viking sons. Judy runs Memoirs of a Kenyan Mom Abroad, a blog which chronicles life and career abroad, motherhood, interracial relationships and race issues.

This opinion piece was originally published on Judy's blog and has been republished with the author's permission.

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IMMIGRATION

Why Denmark is considered Europe’s strictest country on immigration

Denmark has a reputation as being one of, if not the, strictest countries in Europe when it comes to immigration. From citizenship to asylum, family reunification and work permits, we look at some of the rules that have earned the Nordic country this tag.

Why Denmark is considered Europe's strictest country on immigration

Citizenship

Normally, you must have lived in Denmark for nine consecutive years (without living elsewhere for more than three months) in order to qualify for Danish citizenship.

This period is reduced in some cases. Examples of this are for refugees, who can apply after eight years; people married to Danes qualify after 6-8 years; while citizens of Nordic countries only need a two-year stay.

There’s also a language test and a citizenship test which must be passed before you can attain eligibility for naturalisation.

Several European countries have longer basic residence requirements, including Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Spain (all ten years). Each of these countries, like Denmark, has a language requirement but Italy and Austria do not permit dual nationality, something Denmark has allowed since 2015.

An area in which Denmark sets itself aside on citizenship is the citizenship test. The oft-criticised test consists of 45 multiple choice questions, including a five-question section on “Danish values” such as equality, freedom of speech and the relation between legislation and religion. 

The pass mark is 36/45 and at least four of the five Danish values questions must be answered correctly. 

READ ALSO: Which European countries have the toughest rules for gaining citizenship?

Asylum and refugees

Denmark made a name for itself in February 2016 when it introduced a law permitting police to confiscate jewellery, cash and other valuables with a value above 10,000 kroner from arriving migrants and asylum seekers.

That law, which was reported on by major international media, was unique to Denmark. The government argued it would help pay for the costs of taking in refugees, but as of 2022 it had only been used 17 times in 6 years.

With its 2019 “paradigm shift” on immigration, Denmark took a perhaps less symbolic but more substantial step on asylum.

The policy shift, marked by a bill that was passed in parliament and still pursued by the current government, means that all laws passed on asylum are done so with a view to sending refugees home at some later time when their home country is deemed “safe”: in other words, all refugees are considered to have temporary status in Denmark.

The policy has led to a series of controversial rulings by immigration authorities to revoke the refugee status of people from the Damascus area of Syria. Many individual cases were reported by Danish media and a significant number of the decisions have been reversed.

Denmark continues to take in one of Europe’s lowest numbers of refugees, meanwhile, and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said the country’s target should be to accept no asylum seekers at all.

Family reunification

The Danish government last week said it would ease rules so that Danish nationals moving back home after spells living abroad will face fewer obstacles if they have foreign spouses and children.

The decision came after scores of reports in Danish newspapers, notably Politiken and Ekstra Bladet, told of absurd individual cases. Some of these cases involved a refusal of family reunification claims because the Danish partner – born, raised and schooled in Denmark – failed to meet a Danish language requirement despite Danish being their mother tongue.

READ ALSO: Danish family reunification rules panned in report as Danes fail language test

While that rule will now be tweaked, other strict demands remain in place for Danish-foreign couples hoping to set up home in Denmark.

The controversial “bank guarantee” in which couples must deposit a large lump sum with authorities, is yet to be adjusted despite the coalition government stating an intention to do so after taking office last year.

Another one of the myriad rules on family reunification is the 24-year-rule, preventing couples from seeking family reunification until they reach that age. The Local has previously spoken to a couple who have fallen afoul of this rule.

Work permits

Denmark has eased its work permit rules to an extent since the current centrist coalition government was elected a year ago.

This includes permanently reducing the minimum wage requirement to be granted a work permit under its Pay Limit Scheme, and a recent decision to allow foreigners working for subsidiaries of Danish companies to work in Denmark for short periods without a work or residency permit.

READ ALSO: How have work permit rules been changed in Denmark?

While the government – or parts of it – has shown a willingness to ease its work permit rules in the face of desperate calls for foreign labour from businesses, reports of individual cases continue to paint a picture of zealous implementation of labyrinthine rules which appear to deprive the public and private sectors of well-integrated, qualified workers.

These include people ordered to leave Denmark because, for example, their marriage has ended, because of a mistaken wage calculation by case officers or because authorities simply say they don’t believe an applicant’s wage is genuine, which they are allowed to do under existing work permit rules.

These rejections invariably include short-notice orders to leave Denmark, even if the rejected person has lived in the country for many years and does not have a home anywhere else.

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