Refugees facing hostile politicians and press in Denmark were given the run of a daily newspaper on Friday to present a radically different picture of the thousands of asylum seekers knocking on Europe’s door.
“For politicians, refugees are just a problem to be solved as quickly as possible, and most prefer to do it without looking them in the eye,” said an editorial in Dagbladet Information, an independent liberal daily, in a special issue written entirely by refugees who are also professional journalists. “Today it is the refugees who speak to us.”
The paper assembled a dozen refugees, most of whom are recent arrivals in the country, giving them full editorial control and help with research and translation.
“This is a chance to show the Danish people a different picture – we are giving them a new kind of story made by refugees,” said Dalam Alasaad, a Syrian journalist from Palmyra who came to Denmark via Turkey last year. » | David Crouch in Gothenburg | Friday, October 9, 2015
