Waldo Wilfredo Salomon Rodriguez

As the years pass I feel more and more Danish. But as a new Dane I would like to add: The current immigration policy is absolutely vile. New refugees have harsher conditions than we had. And I’m afraid that the inhuman immigration policy will lead to the direct opposite of integration. It is marginalization at its worst. And it is a major change of attitude in just 40 years.

I came to Denmark as a refugee from Chile in 1976, I was an opponent of the Pinochet military dictatorship. Immediately after the coup in 1973 I was arrested and imprisoned for three years, before I was deported. I landed in Aarhus, and to begin with I thought that everything was terribly hard – the culture, the language, the climate, but worst of all was the waiting and hoping to be able to return to Chile. Amidst all this, the big solidarity the Danes showed toward all us refugees from Latin America was essential. We were accepted for what we were, namely political refugees. When I left Chile in the 70s there were several military coups taking place across Latin America, supported by the US and some European countries. These coups were brutal against progressive forces trying to introduce democratic societies. Thousands of people were either killed, went missing, were imprisoned or tortured. Many were deported and many fled. After a long and stable period the right wing in Latin america and the US have begun introducing “soft” coups. The purpose of these coups is to re-introduce neoliberal economic politics, which will increase the poverty in these countries. I am really worried about the future of Latin America, so I’m pleased that my family and I now live in Denmark.

64 years / male / in a relationship / children / area inspector with a property company / Frederiksberg / from Chile / came to Denmark in 1976 / residence permit same year