Last wednesday (yes I'm a bit behind) we visited the Center Sandholm - the first place all asylum seekers go when they arrive in Denmark. The tour itself was a bit odd, as always. The center is run by the Red Cross which is highly controversial because in order to do so they have entered into a private contract with the Danish government, which inherently compromises their commitment to impartiality.
The place is run very much like a prison. It is isolated and individuals are treated like criminals... a funny thing when you consider their actual situation. We couldn't take photos inside the camp of course because it is where people lead their private lives. We did, however, photograph a protest going on right outside the center by some of the Iranian asylum seekers who may soon be deported. If deported they will most likely be murdered.
When I say isolated - the asylum seekers are allowed to leave but in reality there is no where to go nearby that they can afford to access. Some of the children are bussed to school, but many are not allowed to go to Danish schools because the Danish authorities do not want them to develop connections to Danish society.
These photos are taken by Eda Elif Tibet, the Turkish fellow from Istanbul. She is interested in documentary film making and photography.
We spoke with the man who was coordinating the protest. They had been protesting for 28 days when we were there. For the first three weeks they were on a hunger strike. The man organizing the campaign was clearly highly educated - we speculated that he is a political asylum seeker as he made some illusions to that possibility though of course didn't want to compromise his identity.
Very descriptive.
The place is run very much like a prison. It is isolated and individuals are treated like criminals... a funny thing when you consider their actual situation. We couldn't take photos inside the camp of course because it is where people lead their private lives. We did, however, photograph a protest going on right outside the center by some of the Iranian asylum seekers who may soon be deported. If deported they will most likely be murdered.
When I say isolated - the asylum seekers are allowed to leave but in reality there is no where to go nearby that they can afford to access. Some of the children are bussed to school, but many are not allowed to go to Danish schools because the Danish authorities do not want them to develop connections to Danish society.
These photos are taken by Eda Elif Tibet, the Turkish fellow from Istanbul. She is interested in documentary film making and photography.
We spoke with the man who was coordinating the protest. They had been protesting for 28 days when we were there. For the first three weeks they were on a hunger strike. The man organizing the campaign was clearly highly educated - we speculated that he is a political asylum seeker as he made some illusions to that possibility though of course didn't want to compromise his identity.
Very descriptive.
No comments:
Post a Comment