
When Denmark criminalised kindness - miraj
https://granta.com/denmark-criminalised-kindness/
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PhDuck
Kindness is not strictly speaking _always_ supposed to be legal -- it can be
considered kind to aid someone in escaping from prison but it's not legal and
I think most would agree that it's wrong/immoral/unethical.

Her defence against the legal trouble is that she did not know about the legal
requirement; this is not a valid defence in the eyes of the law and have time
upon time be struck down in Danish courts.

~~~
URSpider94
It is odd to me that the criminality of aiding someone in the interior of a
country (I.e. not crossing the border) would hinge on whether they were there
legally. As the author mentions, that would seem to put an undue burden on her
to determine whether someone's immigration papers are in order. I guess that
doesn't stop it from being illegal, but it makes it nearly impossible to
determine if one is in compliance.

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isubkhankulov
Amazing and well written piece that gives a unique perspective on the
situation: someone actually trying to help purely out of basic human decency
and others based on a vitriolic political agendas stepping all over those
actions.

History really does rythme.

~~~
troisx
Maybe there are other reasons that people didn't want a refugee shelter
popping up next door to them, like crime and overcrowding. If she wants to
help she can follow the law and do it without forcing everyone in her
neighborhood to participate in a refugee transportation and housing operation.

~~~
URSpider94
She gave five or six people a ride, served them coffee, and then sent them on
their way. Hardly a refugee shelter!

~~~
Torgo
You're ignoring the part where they organized a campaign on Facebook that got
hundreds of cars and boats to move people, and finally only stopped when they
were trying to rent multiple buses and were told by the police to stop it.

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zubairq
I live in Denmark, and unfortnately this story is true. It seems like we have
learnt nothing since World War II

~~~
newspaper-shill
Fellow dane here. I think the direction the mainstream political parties are
moving is a national shame.

~~~
zubairq
yes I agree. I was part of a Danish Government programme in 2013 where top
members of the Danish government publicly said that they wanted Denmark to be
the best country in the world for foreigners. Then to make a U-Turn like this
shows that we have become just like the USA, with big promises to get elected
and no substance anymore!

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aedron
The only solution to the immigration/refugee issue is to help people near to
where they came from. I consider it unquestionable that Europe cannot absorb
all the people that want/need to come here.

So pour as much money as necessary into establishing proper facilities in the
nearby countries. Greece could do with the capital injection, and if not I bet
other countries would gladly bid for the opportunity of an industry on this
scale. That would be equally Samaritan and actually have a chance of being
efficient, for many reasons.

\- More cost-effective

\- Save the refugees a grueling trip and eliminate black market people
traffickers

\- A facility in a neighboring country actually stands a chance of determining
the status of each refugee, as they will more easily be able to research local
conditions

\- People who aren't actually refugees will have to first make it to the
actual crisis zone, making it more difficult to fake refugee status

\- Refugees will be able to more easily return to their homes when/if the
security situation is resolved

In my opinion, this system could easily be enforced by adopting a policy where
each refugee must register at a entry point near each crisis area. Here they
will be fingerprinted and have their case registered in the system.

Now, anyone that turns up anywhere inside Europe is summarily sent back to any
of the entry points to start the process properly. As soon as this gets known
among refugees (which will be within days), no more people will trek a
thousand kilometers or pay criminals to transport them, since they will be
sent back anyway.

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albinary10
Very interesting read.

For people who know the history and believe in human stupidity to repeat its
mistakes, there is much to reflect. There are people who think that, whatever
happens, they will be on the safe side, but you never know how things might
evolve and one day you might be on the "unsafe" side.

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Kim_Bruning
The author was showing a little kindness to people who are fleeing a war.

Not everyone thinks the same way, so I can imagine indifference here and
there. If you're on an online website, rather than confronted right then-and-
there with another human being in need, I can imagine you take a somewhat
abstract view.

What surprised me in the story was the outright hatred and aggression some
people have towards "the other".

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kahrkunne
Tl;dr the author transported illegal refugees to Sweden, despite suspecting it
to be illegal; is somehow upset for being sued

~~~
rspeer
"Illegal refugees". What a lovely phrase you've come up with. I'm sure people
will stop fleeing a war if you tell them that it's illegal.

~~~
kahrkunne
Sorry, minced my words there. Of course there's no such thing as an illegal
refugee.

