«Skin barrier»
Around 10% of Danish population are immigrants from another countries.
Some of them have black skin. They want to be integrated into Danish society.
But there is one obstacle - the color of their skin.
«No, no, no. Today we will not go out», - says Bowen 30-years old student of
Danish Academy of Business and Technology, took bottle of beer and sat down
on the sofa with his friends. Bowen and his «team» calls themselves «blacks»,
because of skin color. They came to Aarhus, Denmark from different African
countries to study and work. It is Saturday evening when we met - the right time
for nightlife. Time when city center comes alive, bars and clubs are full of
people, but Bowen and guys prefer to hang out at home. Last time, when they
tried to get into the bar they were not allowed because of their African faces and
black skin.
It was fashionable bar «London» in the city centre. Without going through
bouncer they went to less popular place, because security in «London» said that
if guys will not go away, they call to police. «They thought, that we are
gangsters. I was outraged. And i became angry», - he says.
«Only thing that works is a colour of your skin»
In Aarhus Bowen does his master courses and also work as a cleaner in the
cleaning company, because he needs money for living. He hopes that the good
education, that he can get in Denmark can help him find decent job in this
country.
But Bowen isn't sure sure that he can find something suitable for him in future
because he feels discrimination from employers.
«Employers look at colour of your skin. They always prefer people with European
face. So your CV doesn’t work just because of your face», - says Bowen.
«If I don’t find good job in Denmark, I will try to move to USA. Because I know,
that there more jobs and attitude to blacks is more tolerant», he adds.
According to Bowen if you are black, the only one job, that you can get in
Denmark is a cleaner in a supermarket.
«But it’s not enough. Especially if you want to have a family and have to get
money for your children and wife», he adds.
«Black» doesn’t mean offender
According to Bowen blacks in Denmark have to fight with stereotypes all the
time. For instance, anyone who reads news know about Somali pirates. As
Bowen says, some Danish people think that all blacks like this Somalian guys,
who can commit murder and commit another crime.
«They think if you are black you should be an offender», - says Bowen. «I came
to Denmark to study and to live normal life like Danish people. We are the same.
Most of us even have the same religion as European people, Christianity. It
means that some aspects of our culture are similar», - Bowen adds.
Not ashamed to be friends
But except from the discrimination Bowen and his friends feel love and support
from Danish people as well.
«Danish people on the streets are very open and friendly. They always help you
if you need help. If you don’t know the way they can tell you», - Bowen says.
Black guys have Danish friends and one of Bowen’s black friends Thomas (name
was changed, because he doesn’t want his name to be in article) even has a
Danish girlfriend. But the things are not that simple as they seem to be.
Once Thomas came to a bar with his white girlfriend. Sitting at the table with
food and drinks they saw people coming into the bar. When newcomers got into
the bar, they looked at Thomas. They caught each other eyes, then they left the
bar. According to Thomas these guys didn’t want to stay in the same place with
blacks. This affected Thomas’s girlfriend deeply.
«I started to cry, because it hurt me. Why should I feel the shame sitting with
my boyfriend in public place just because he has different skin colour?»,
Thomas’s girlfriend says.
Black but successful
But there some blacks in Aarhus, who know about discrimination, but don’t feel
it.
I met Babu at cafe Casablanca in city centre. Apart from Babu there are other
black people inside sitting shoulder to shoulder with white people. All men wear
blazers, all ladies are in dresses. This upmarket place usual for Babu as well as
wearing blazer, shirt and tie usual for him. He is successful in Denmark as well
as he was successful in his motherland.
For ten years he was a social worker in Tanzania and then, six years ago, he
came to Denmark to continue his career. He was invited to Aarhus because
employer saw his CV and his huge experience.
Babu works with teenagers who committed a crime. He helps them to be
integrated back into society. He is confident that it is very important to feel
yourself as a part of a society if you were separated somehow.
In his opinion the only one way black people can protect their reputation is to be
good person develop themselves and accept the rules of the society, which they
want to be in.
«The good life is our goal. And good life comes when people concentrate on laws
and system», - says Babu.
Denmark, Aarhus 2014
