Ukrainian women describe the Danish asylum center as more unsafe than bombs in Kyiv... and this is what they face...
Many Ukrainian women with children criticize the unsafe conditions at the Danish asylum center, speaking of drugs, alcohol, and threatening behavior.
Residents of the asylum center in Hviding, Ribe, reported on May 2 that one of the residents attacked one of the center's buildings, as shown in a recorded video, according to the source. According to the residents, a girl sitting inside the building was almost hit by one of the stones, and according to the police, a woman living in the building was injured by a window glass.
The man then entered another building where he went berserk in the kitchen and laundry room, destroying several washing machines before the police arrived and arrested the aggressive resident. Four hours later, he returned to the asylum center again.
Ukrainian refugee Olya Taborovska said it was a violent experience for residents, as she and her 14-year-old daughter arrived in Denmark in April after fleeing Ukraine, which they were told was one of the safest countries in the world. However, according to the Ukrainian mother, the experiences at the Danish asylum center were far from the safe environment she thought she would find, as she told the source.
Olya Taborovska added that she felt unsafe at the asylum center because, according to her, drugs were being taken, alcohol was being drunk, and late at night people were partying, and because she had suffered threats from men several times.
Olya said, “I didn’t choose Denmark for convenience but for safety, but I’m more afraid for my child here in Denmark than I was when we were sitting in a shelter in Kyiv.”
The asylum center in Hviding is home to approximately 350 refugees from 30 different countries, including men, women, children, couples, and individuals.
A few days after Olya Taborovska and her daughter were housed in Hviding, a couple – a man and a woman – moved into the same room. Olya was outraged and commented, “A stranger living with my teenage daughter? How is that possible? I went to the administration and asked to move to another room. But they said we no longer have space. You have to live with a man.”
Olya emphasized, “When the administration warns us, ”Don’t leave your room after dark,’ it speaks for itself. According to the Ukrainian woman, the problems with other residents are getting worse.”.
Niels Bogskov Fredriksen, operations manager at AsylSyd, the center in Hviding to which it belongs, admitted that this sort of thing should not happen: “We don’t usually accommodate in this way and mix men and women, so if it happened in the way you described, it’s wrong… We have an ongoing dialogue with our residents here, and if there is insecurity, we have to deal with it within the staff group.”.
Olya Taborovska was later transferred to another center and therefore no longer lives in Hviding.
Another Ukrainian refugee, who still lives in the asylum center with her four-year-old son, wanted to remain anonymous because she feared reprisals from some of the male residents. She told the source: “They do drugs, drink vodka, and play music until 3 a.m. When I asked them several times to stop and said I would call the police, they replied that they didn’t care.”.
Both women also recounted the series of threats and violence from the men: “There was one who shouted, hit people, and pushed them. He would walk around shouting, “Damn you Ukrainians! I’m going to kill you!” He attacked our children and screamed in an unnatural way, as if he was losing his mind.”
Earlier in May, police told SYD TV that they were regularly present at the asylum center to provide security for the residents.
The Danish Immigration Service stated in a written response to TV2 that families with minor children would “as a general rule” be housed alone. However, exceptions were necessary in several centers to cope with the large number of displaced people from Ukraine. The response continued, “The agency is considering a more targeted approach to housing foreigners within the asylum center system, in line with current needs, including the separation of different population groups. The Danish Immigration Service takes incidents of unsafe behavior at accommodation sites very seriously and maintains close dialogue with operators regarding how to handle such incidents, including preventative measures such as security guards.”.
According to the United Nations, 6.8 million Ukrainians have fled their homeland since the bombing began on February 24. Around 30,000 Ukrainian refugees have been taken in by Denmark, but an unknown number have left the country again since then.
(Source: TV2)
