These anti-refugee road signs keep popping up in Denmark

The nations of Scandinavia may often be perceived as welcoming, liberal countries, but recent incidents show that reputation is increasingly misplaced.

Denmark came under fire for its so-called "jewellery bill" was passed in January which gives immigration authorities the power to confiscate the valuables of refugees coming into the country to cover the cost of their accommodation.

Now, its reputation has worsened with these anti-immigration road signs...

Appearing with arrows that have “Syria” and “Iraq” written on them, as well as the number of kilometres to reach them, the signs appeared in Thisted, a Danish county with six refugee camps nearby.

The Local, an English-language news network, posted an image of one of the signs on their Twitter account:

Thisted’s deputy mayor, Ib Poulsen didn’t condemn the signs, and told newspaper Ekstra Bladet:

This is a way to generate debate on immigration – and it’s fine by me.

The perception that Scandinavian countries are more friendly towards refugees is a common one, however the reality is much more conservative.

Along with Denmark, Sweden and Finland previously announced plans to deport tens of thousands of refugees, and Norway may enact emergency legislation in contravention of the UN Refugee Convention, which would deny all asylum seekers not coming from countries of conflict.

Signe Marguard Rønn, who lives in Thisted removed the signs when she saw them, and told the Jyllands-Posten newspaper:

I think it’s a shame that people who have traveled thousands of kilometres to reach safety are greeted with a sign that shows them the way back and sends a signal to ‘scram.’

HT: middleeasteye

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