Where are the student protests against the Ghetto Law?

Internationally, Copenhagen is known as a city ahead of its time. It has consistently been ranked among the most liveable cities in the world. It is for this reason that I chose to come to University of Copenhagen as an international student, to experience living in a society renowned for focusing on the welfare of its citizens. However, now, after living and studying here in Copenhagen, I have been left wondering: On whose welfare is this city really focusing?

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Whenever I spoke to students about this issue they were either completely or mostly unaware

As a foreigner, Copenhagen has welcomed me with open arms. My integration process was relatively smooth, an ode to the warmness of the welcome I received from locals and the ease of the government processes. However, through the lens of my legal studies here at UCPH, focusing on EU Welfare Law, I have been shown that my experience is one of privilege.

My legal studies here have facilitated my examination of Danish integration laws, including the Danish Ghetto Law. Through this examination it became clear to me that the warmness of my welcome to this country could be largely boiled down to what is on my birth certificate: I was born in New Zealand by New Zealand parents.

‘Non-Western countries’

The Danish Ghetto Law, officially known as the Social Housing Law, mandates development plans to decrease social housing in areas which are deemed to have difficulties with integration. These areas, until a 2021 amendment, were characterised in the law as ‘ghettoes’ and ‘hard ghettoes’.

The categorization is based on the fulfilment of minimum two out of four criteria related to the residents’ employment status, criminal records, level of education, and average income. Furthermore, at least 50 percent of the residents must be ‘non-Western immigrants’ or ‘descendants of non-Western immigrants’, where neither of the individuals’ parents are either Danish or born in Denmark.

‘Western countries’ include the EU, Andorra, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand (my country of origin), Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, the UK, the USA and the Vatican. ‘Non-Western countries’ include the rest of Europe, all countries within Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania as well as stateless people.

Thrown out of Mjølnerparken

In my studies I examined this law in the context of a case currently before the European Court of Justice challenging this law for its alleged breach of the Race and Ethnic Origin Directive, a directive of the EU binding upon Denmark. This case, colloquially known as the “Ghetto Case”, alleges that the distinction between western and non-western countries is a discriminatory one based on ethnicity.

This case concerned two social housing areas which have been categorized as ‘hard ghettos’ and in which residents therefore have had their rental contracts terminated. One of those areas was Mjølnerparken, located in Nørrebro here in Copenhagen.

When I learnt of such discriminatory practices, occurring right here in Copenhagen, within what I had previously viewed as a utopian welfare system, I was shocked. But what shocked me more was the seeming lack of meaningful discourse, at least in English, among University Students.

Not even a sticker at a bathroom stall

This is especially surprising considering the recent opinion of the Advocate General, that stated that in this case, Denmark should be found to be a clear breach of the EU Directive based the laws clear discriminatory nature. I would have expected that in Denmark, such an opinion would have resulted in large scale protests, condemning the governments conduct.

I would have at least thought that this issue would spark student protests

While there have been several community protests since 2018, when this law was brought into force, there seems to have been nothing large scale. If not large-scale protest, I would have at least thought that this issue would spark student protests and would have discussed on various posters stuck in campus bathroom stalls. But this issue seems to be one that has been largely ignored.

The wide scale student protests in Denmark and at UCPH by pro-Palestine groups shows that Danish students are no strangers to speaking up on issues of social justice. This is also not just a social justice issue; it is a social justice issue affecting a neighbourhood of the city within which many students at this university live. Additionally, it was discriminatory legislation relating to social housing, a system which houses many domestic and international students alike.

Haven’t you heard about this?

Universities are supposed to be places which foster revolution through enriched education and critical thinking skills, but whenever I spoke to students about this issue they were either completely or mostly unaware of the issue.

I cannot imagine what it would have done to my mental health and sense of belonging if I, after having created a community here in Denmark had been evicted from my home based on issues of race or ethnicity. If I, after settling down, had been forced to move somewhere new and unfamiliar, once more to start again.

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Sweeping this issue under the rug does not make it go away; it only erases the experiences of entire parts of Denmark’s society. In my opinion, equally as bad as a government which systematically discriminates against its residents based on ethnicity, is a society that pretends that such discrimination does not exist.