Khalil Ahmad

I am not 100% foreign, but then again neither 100% Danish. My habits and rhythm have been adjusted to those of this society. I get up early, ride my bike to work, have weekends off. But I am also influenced by my background. I insist that you should be allowed to practice your religion, even though you live in a country where most people are atheists.

In many municipalities, the integration department has been merged with the employment department, which is not necessarily a good idea since integration policy is not equal to employment policy. Overall one can argue that refugees have some additional challenges in terms of getting a job, which do not apply to others in the employment area and vice versa. One should not put people in boxes and think they can’t do anything because of their culture, but also you should not ignore from where and what people come.

Refugees should not be helped the same way as people born and raised in Denmark. If you want to treat people equally, you need to treat them differently. To me it would be perfectly alright with a lower level of pay for refugees, albeit just for a limited period. I know that some would argue that this might lower the general level of pay. However, I think that you need to start this way, because too many refugees are just not able to start on a level which matches the requirements of the Danish labour market.

51 years / male / in a relationship / children / M.Sc. Sociology / integration consultant / Roskilde / from Afghanistan / came to Denmark in 1987 / residence permit same year