Denmark receives new comers, deports Syrian refugees
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Withthe new refugee crisis in Europe receiving Ukrainians fleeing the Russian assault, Denmark and some other European countries have tightened asylum measures toward Arab, Muslim and African asylum-seekers.
As hundreds of thousands of Syrians sought refuge in Europe in 2015, Denmark received more than 30,000 of them.
In 2019, the government began sending out letters to more than 1,200 people from the Damascus region, saying that after granting them residency permits, it was reassessing their temporary asylum status.
Over 100 Syrians have had their residencies revoked.
Since it does not have diplomatic relations with Syria and cannot deport Syrians, Denmark sent Syrians to detention centers where their movements are tightly controlled with a fear of being deported is kept in front of their eyes.
Security and human rights experts say Denmark’s assessment of the security situation in the Damascus region and other Syrian areas grossly misrepresents the risks of returning while Bashar Assad remains in power.
Meanwhile, Syrian refugees in Denmark say that they won’t go back as long as Bashar is there.
The United Nations’ refugee agency has called on governments around the world not to return Syrians.
Some European countries, like Britain, have explicitly said that Syria remains unsafe for returnees.
Other European countries have also toughened their policies on Syrian refugees. Germany has lifted a ban on deportations to Syria for those convicted of serious crimes and Sweden has stopped granting residency permits to some Syrians, but none have gone as far as Denmark.
“No Syrian should be sent back if they face danger,” Rasmus Stoklund, a government spokesman, said.
Denmark had to protect itself from problems caused by the integration of too many immigrants, Mattias Tesfaye, the country’s immigration minister, said in the European Parliament earlier this year.
Since 2019, at least 421 Syrians have fled from Denmark to four European countries: Germany, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands.
About 35,000 Syrians live in Denmark, including 4,700 people who have obtained the right of temporary protection, and 1,250 of them are from Damascus and its surroundings, according to the investigation that other media organizations prepared.
Since Denmark declared Damascus and Rif Dimashq as a “safe” area, the Danish authorities have canceled 378 residence permits for Syrians, including 101 decisions under appeal, while more than 400 files are still being reviewed.