My Friends Think I'm a Nazi

I never realised how much weight a Facebook status update carried until recently.

For those of you who are my friends on Facebook, you'll know I have a habit of updating my status rather regularly. Most, actually I think it would be more honest if I said 'all', of which are totally unimportant, pointless, off-hand thoughts or comments which (I thought) my friends would know do not really carry any weight.

Right. For you non-Danes out there, there is a situation right now in Denmark which is really grabbing the headlines . A group of about 60 Iraqis who had been denied asylum in Denmark, had occupied a church in Nørrebro, a district of Copenhagen. The Iraqis, men, women and children, have been taking refuge in the church since May this year. During last Wednesday night (the 12th August), the police entered the church and ousted the group, which - as far as I can tell - went as smoothly as can be expected. Yes, there were tears, there were cries of 'freedom', but there was no violence from either side (check this BBC article out for another summary).

However. Outside the church a large group of protesters had gathered, mostly made up of Danes. When the police tried to move past the protesters, they were met with anger, violence, and refusal to move. As it so often happens in these situations, it's not the 'accused' (and, before anyone jumps on that, I use that word very, very lightly - in fact I'm just not sure of what else to call that group) who causes the trouble, it's the massive group of protesters, most of whom are out for a peaceful protest, but some of whom just want to fight. The point that is being highlighted (quite rightly) in the media, is a film clip of a police officer hitting a sitting girl 8 times with his baton, even as she is trying to run away. It's terrifying, painful to watch, and just wrong.

Right. As this was all kicking off, I changed my status to; "Lara Mulady thinks Denmark should just calm down over this church business, and move along. There's nothing to see here."

Most of this is a saying - as in the typical British bobby 'move along, nothing to see here'. It was something that came in to my head as I was writing. But the whole thing was directed towards the Iraqi situation - not the police violence situation. Of course there's no way of knowing that, and of course that didn't stop people from asking me if I thought police violence against peaceful protesters was OK (I mean come on....).

I've been under a bit of fire for this, and seem to be having trouble explaining myself, partly because people don't want to hear. It's as if I've said this terrible thing, I've been judged for it, and that's it. There's no way I can give my side of the story. So here, in my little blog, which is all mine (so there), I will explain why I think that Denmark should calm down over this Iraqi business, and how that does not in any way mean that I am a Nazi.

I would like to say that I do not know all the details about this situation, which is the biggest point in this case. Non of my friends do either. In fact I'm willing to bet my feet that 99% of the protesters don't either. Which is mostly why I can't stand the fact that people are berating me for simply saying 'I can't take sides.' If we don't know all the details, how on earth can we make such a judgment? To me, saying that they should stay, no questions asked, is as bad as someone saying that they should go, no questions asked. Here's a novel idea; get the details, both sides of the story, then go make your mind up.

I know government processes have a reputation for being less than wonderful, but they are what we have to rely on (for now). The situations where some refugees are allowed to stay in the country, and some aren't, indicates to me that there must be some sort of procedure through which asylum seekers must go so as to determine whether or not they should be granted asylum.

Now I don't know why these Iraqis were seeking asylum. I don't know where they come from in Iraq. I don't know for what reasons they weren't granted asylum. I don't really know anything about it, and once again, this to me gives me reason not to say, without a shadow of a doubt - yes they should go, or no they should stay. What I do think is that all those people in Denmark who are up in arms over this, should take a step back and ask if they know the whole story. How can you make your mind up without it?

Some people think I'm moving over to the right, and asking how I can say that when I too am foreign to Denmark. They say it'd be different if they were white. Or why should others get in and they don't. I don't bloody know. Christ, I wish - I WISH - that Denmark was just this massive country with unlimited wealth, that could afford to just throw open their doors and say 'come in!' But, for me, reality kicks in at some point.

I just can't help but tell myself that a country must have a tipping point, so to speak. A maximum limit. There are only so many people a country can support. Surely, if the country lets in millions of people, this will reflect on the quality of life - not just for the original inhabitants, but also for those who have recently entered. There's only so much money to spend on health. On schooling. On welfare. On public safely. On benefits. On elderly care - and so on and on and on. What happens then? There simply has to be some sort of line drawn somewhere, and by God do I wish there didn't have to be, but, there just has to be. Am I really the only one who sees this? Does this really, really make me right wing orientated because I'm thinking ahead?

I hope it doesn't. I consider myself a liberal. Or socialdemokrat, here in Denmark (who, incidentally thought it was the right thing to do to send the Iraqis home), and by looking at both sides, not reaching out to far left or right, is precisely how I see liberals - not quick to judge, not quick to condemn, and simply trying to fully understand both views before making a statement.

In simple terms; I wish anyone could walk in to any country they choose, for any reason, and be welcomed and supported. But money, housing and space don't grow on trees, and as horrible as it is, some where along the way, someone has to say no to someone. Like it or lump it, that's just the way it is.

Any comments are really more than welcome on this - it's proving to be quite a dilemma in my head.