#8: Farewell to restrictions, summer festivals, asylum seekers
Hi there,
As you’ve probably heard, the Kingdom of Denmark— eager, as ever, to be at the vanguard—is lifting all Covid-19 restrictions as of Tuesday, February 1. ALL restrictions. Yes, all restrictions. If the government believes it can protect the vulerable sufficiently and cope with the hospitalisation rate, I’m all for it. On a personal level, nearly every single social engagement has been cancelled over the past few months because of a positive test or contact to an omicron-infected person. However, the skeptic in me is thinking, okay we’ve been here before, in six weeks we’ll be hunkering down once again as the next variant rolls through town. But what the hell. Enjoy the freedom while we can, right?
Besides, the next crisis is simmering: the build-up of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border. Denmark is deploying a frigate and four F-16 jet fighters to join NATO forces in the Baltics as Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania all have no air force to speak of. The Defence Ministry said, in a cocksure statement: “Denmark is helping to ensure that NATO has the necessary forces at its disposal to deter enemy forces from invading the Alliance's territory at a time when the situation in Ukraine may threaten stability in Europe.”
At the home front, if we can call it that, life’s enjoyments must go on: at the Wednesday press conference where she announced the lifting of all corona rules, Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen added a vital point: “A summer of hugs, get-togethers, concerts and festivals awaits us once again.” What she meant, of course, was Roskilde, the Zealanders annual release of all inner tension stored up in the dark half of the year. Mud camping. Nude runs. Swimming in beer. “Hugs”. Oh, and music. The catch: Roskilde and most other big festivals are sold out, thanks mostly to people holding onto tickets for the cancelled festivals of the previous two summers. DR recommends heading to other, smaller festivals, such as Thy Rock, on the West cost of Jutland. They still have tickets, but sorry, it’s not quite the same. A matter of preferences, I guess. Northside in Aarhus isn’t sold out, either, and has some big names in its roster (Nick Cave!) The line-up of Heartland Festival on Fyn in early June is more up my alley. And they still have tix!
Immigration minister Mattias Tesfaye (who is the son of an Ethiopian refugee), has been rejoicing, not at the end of Covid as we know it, but at the low level of asylum applications in Denmark last year. The number of applicants fell to 2,095, just 10 percent of those recorded at the height of the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015. “I’m pleased we still have low asylum numbers here. A series of clever decisions have been made which have continually ensured better control of immigration.” By clever decisions, I guess he means one of Europe’s wealthiest countries doing anything it can to reduce the number of refugees, from revoking residence permits from Syrians to renting prison cells for those who have been convicted of crimes — in Kosovo. On the bright side, Kosovo will be funding its “green transition” with the €210 million it receives in rent over ten years. You couldn’t make this stuff up.
Finally, on a rather different note, I highly recommend the stunning Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum. Trigger warning: includes terrifying spider shots.
Til next time,
Maurice