Actually it's my third day in Denmark, but according to the schedule the actual program starts today.
So, This morning we were picked up by Mrs. Karen Inger Thorson, one of the project coördinators at the Red Cross Asylum Department Headquarters. The visit also was planned there. While Mrs. Thorson introduced Andreas and me to some of her colleagues, I was intrigued by one man in particular, namely Mr. Troels Peter Koch. He is a project coördinator too, who is working on different social projects and also with young unaccompanied asylum seekers concerning social inclusion. We made a very good first contact and it seems as if we're sharing the same ideas about social isolation and the different barriers we meet when trying to break through them. Because we had so little time, he gave me a survey he created about his experiences with young asylum seekers and people who already made the transition to living as a refugee in Denmark. Throughout interviews with these people, a very clear insight in their own background (education, religion, interests) and how they use their own skills in order to integrate into society is offered. Some of my former objectives surely will find an answer in this survey.
So then it was time for dinner. And as always, it was very, very nice! The ingrediënts provided for the ISS catering for fedasil Bevingen aren't that great in my opinion, especially when I compare it with this exquisite Danish kitchen. It's like sitting in a first class restuarant. Especially the extra apples that were provided. But when I looked at the sticker, I knew why agricultural Sint - Truiden is the homeground of Pink Lady and Jonagold. :)
After dinner, we were guided through the Sandholm Reception Centre by Mr. Michaël Ehrenfels and I guess his colleague's name was Per, 'Pierre' in French (if you look at his moustache, you'll know who I mean... it's the newest trend since two years now :)). Sandholm is known as the centre where all newcomers pass during their first stage of interview, some of them have special needs (victims of agression, violation of human rights in country of origin) or just can't or don't want to go anywhere else for accomodation. Illegals aren't allowed inside this facility. It was quite astonishing to hear that some of the people were living there for over more than ten years. "It's called tolerated stay." : Mr Ehrenfels told me. This concerns people who aren't recognised as a refugee, but just cannot return to their country of origin, for diverse reasons.
Eventually, we had a sharing about our experiences on how we used empowerment in our fields of work and a lot of common thoughts met eachother. As so, we agreed that it's much more important for an asylum seeker to be acknowledged in his suffering instead of trying to make it stop by putting structural sanctions on unwanted behaviour. Most agression is a masked behaviour for underlying stress or frustration. In order to make contact with the person behind this behaviour the best way to break through this barrier is by recognizing the true suffering behind it by showing compassion up to a certain level. Because in the end, every human being is expected to show some equal respect.
So, it is half past midnight by now... I need to get up in six hours... But it's not a shame to be to late, I noticed today.
So see you tomorrow, wonderful world. :)
Wesley
So, This morning we were picked up by Mrs. Karen Inger Thorson, one of the project coördinators at the Red Cross Asylum Department Headquarters. The visit also was planned there. While Mrs. Thorson introduced Andreas and me to some of her colleagues, I was intrigued by one man in particular, namely Mr. Troels Peter Koch. He is a project coördinator too, who is working on different social projects and also with young unaccompanied asylum seekers concerning social inclusion. We made a very good first contact and it seems as if we're sharing the same ideas about social isolation and the different barriers we meet when trying to break through them. Because we had so little time, he gave me a survey he created about his experiences with young asylum seekers and people who already made the transition to living as a refugee in Denmark. Throughout interviews with these people, a very clear insight in their own background (education, religion, interests) and how they use their own skills in order to integrate into society is offered. Some of my former objectives surely will find an answer in this survey.
After a brief introduction about the organigram and the main tasks in the different structures of the Red Cross Asylum Department Mrs. Thorsen explained to us, Mr. Thorbjorn Bosse Olander gave us a very clear insight on the asylum procedure in Denmark. Mr Olander works as a lawyer for the Red Cross. Compared to the asylum procedure in Belgium, there are a lot of similar points, like first interview (Dublin or not, fingerprints, documents...) and a more specific interview about each individual story. After a few months the asylum seeker wil get his or her decision and still can file a judicial complaint. A great difference I noticed, was that here an asylum seeker doesn't get an attorney for free but has to pay for his services, except when the complaint is filed against the decision on their asylum procedure...
After dinner, we were guided through the Sandholm Reception Centre by Mr. Michaël Ehrenfels and I guess his colleague's name was Per, 'Pierre' in French (if you look at his moustache, you'll know who I mean... it's the newest trend since two years now :)). Sandholm is known as the centre where all newcomers pass during their first stage of interview, some of them have special needs (victims of agression, violation of human rights in country of origin) or just can't or don't want to go anywhere else for accomodation. Illegals aren't allowed inside this facility. It was quite astonishing to hear that some of the people were living there for over more than ten years. "It's called tolerated stay." : Mr Ehrenfels told me. This concerns people who aren't recognised as a refugee, but just cannot return to their country of origin, for diverse reasons. Eventually, we had a sharing about our experiences on how we used empowerment in our fields of work and a lot of common thoughts met eachother. As so, we agreed that it's much more important for an asylum seeker to be acknowledged in his suffering instead of trying to make it stop by putting structural sanctions on unwanted behaviour. Most agression is a masked behaviour for underlying stress or frustration. In order to make contact with the person behind this behaviour the best way to break through this barrier is by recognizing the true suffering behind it by showing compassion up to a certain level. Because in the end, every human being is expected to show some equal respect.
So, it is half past midnight by now... I need to get up in six hours... But it's not a shame to be to late, I noticed today.
So see you tomorrow, wonderful world. :)
Wesley
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