On July 12th while everyone was busy getting on with their lives in Sandholm in particular and in Denmark in general, you could easily guess what was going on in the asylum seekers' minds. Or if you whispered to them you would understand their various reactions and feelings; from feelings of despair to disappointment and much worse - mental sickness and hopelessness, which in many cases have became synonymous with the asylum life in Denmark.

But it was a different and quite special day for a 20 year-old, well dressed and jubilant young Somali woman named Hawa. Hawa was recently granted asylum by the Danish Immigration Service (Udlændingeservice), just seven months after she arrived in Denmark. For Hawa it was an extraordinary event because, like everyone else, she hardly believed it possible to be granted asylum so easily.

Good times

For this occasion she invited everybody in the centre to a party. The noise of the music echoed round every corner in the centre followed by dancing and songs. Sweets and all kinds of drinks were served. It was like a birthday celebration for Hawa because she feels that living in Denmark will change her whole life, it will be like being born again.

“I couldn’t believe it at first. In that moment that I knew I got positive my eyes burst with tears. It is something I will never forget”, said Hawa.

Hawa came from her war-ravaged country where she suffered from the endless wars and unlawful society. On her way to another Scandinavian country, she stumbled in Denmark, which is not preferred by Somali refugees because of the restrictive immigration policies.

“I was disappointed when I was caught in Denmark because Denmark was not my destination and you never know what is going to happen tomorrow” she said.

A big smile and sparkle in her eyes, she looked beautiful in her traditional Somali dress worn by women on special occasions and entertaining with her friends and class mates with energetic dances. When asked about her future ambitions she said that now she has the basic rights within the system, she will continue to educate herself and go to college one day, while supporting her life financially.

Sudden change

For nearly a decade Denmark has had one of the most restricted asylum policies in Europe. Once, it was one of the most welcoming societies and friendly to the refugees, which made it an ideal destination for asylum seekers throughout the world. During these years many Somali refugees flocked to the country and settled, but when these things changed the Somali refugees used Denmark as a bridge to the other Scandinavian countries such a Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Until very recently the only Somali refugees in the asylum centers were the left-overs of the many people who were affected by the regime change and who have spent at least six years here.

“In 2003 we were more than 100 asylum seekers all from Somalia and we were rejected. Today you hardy find 10 or 20 of those people. All of them have left the country for somewhere else,” said a refugee, who asked to remain anonymous.

Maybe this year a new dawn is breaking for the asylum seekers in general and those from Somalia in particular who have become suspicious of the Danish refugee policy. These days in Sandholm you see refugees from Somalia who were brought in by the police and some of them got asylum while others continue their journeys even after they were finger-printed. Instead of staying here they vanish suddenly because they never think that Denmark is the right place to file their case for asylum.
Why all the festivities?

If you combine all these things you'll understand that Hawa’s celebration for her positive is rare compared with other countries like Sweden. In Sweden between January and June 2009, 2074 people from Somalia have applied for asylum in Sweden, (SR Östergötland & Swedish Migration Board’s (Migrationsverket) mid-year report). While in Denmark the number applying between January and May 2009 was only 56 persons (nyidanmark.dk).

Hawa has now begun her new life in Esbjerg Municipality (Kommune) where she will live for the next three years on an integration programme as directed by the integration authorities. She lives in a small apartment and attends Danish language school as well as internships.