I can speak Danish ( Jeg kan snakke Dansk)

Submitted by jeff bercovitch (Canada), Aug 28, 2002 at 13:19

In the 1980s, in my more liberal days, I spent time in Denmark, visiting friends I had met working on various kibbutzes in Israel. At that time I thought they were a wonderful and lively people.

Before I left the country I visited a friend of time whom at the time was living with his girlfriend in Copenhagen; and it may have been the Norrebro quarter ( " bro " means bridge in Danish).

I was shocked to note the amount of Middle Eastern immigrant families living there but I was not very shocked after seeing so many Muslim Immigrants all over the tiny country. Especially in the town of Odense, the birthplace of Hans Christian Anderson.

At the time, the Danes saw nothing wrong in welcoming so many immigrants. In fact many of the young people I spoke with really enjoyed talking to them and helped them find work and helped them find jobs and places to live, getting a drivers license, etc.

But what I found strange was that few of the Muslim immigrants were attempting to learn more than a few words of Danish.

Denmark is now paying a price for their openness and liberal attitiudes towards foreigners. I hope that Canada and America can learn from Denmark`s nasty experience with Muslim Immigrants...

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