A pirate's tale

[Skybird]

Nice to see that our Danish neighbours can be as stupid as we are in Germany, that way we must feel less lonely.



[Die Welt] In 2021, a Nigerian pirate attacked a Danish frigate. He was taken to Denmark for treatment due to serious injuries. He received a residence permit there and is to be included in an integration program. This sparked a political debate in the country.

In Denmark, the residence permit of a Nigerian pirate who was involved in a battle with the Danish navy is currently causing a political debate. The man, known in the media as “Lucky”, received the permit following his treatment in a Danish hospital and is to be included in an integration program.

The Danish newspaper “B.T.” reports that “Lucky” came to Denmark in 2021 after he and four other pirates fought a battle with the Danish frigate “Esbern Snare”. His companions were killed in the fight and “Lucky” was brought to Denmark seriously injured. One of his legs had to be amputated due to his injuries.

In January of this year, the pirate was granted a residence permit in Denmark. “Lucky” will now also be offered an integration program, reports ‘B.T.’. The program includes a Danish language course and so-called “employment-oriented offers”. The aim is to enable the Nigerian to integrate into the labor market despite his missing leg.


Mikkel Bjørn, integration policy spokesman for the Danish People's Party, spoke out vehemently against the procedure: “This man should never have been in Denmark, and the idea that he can now be integrated is completely absurd”. He should “get a one-way ticket to Nigeria”, Bjørn added.

Steffen Larsen from the Liberal Alliance also voiced criticism. Although “Lucky” had basically only received the offers that all people with a residence permit receive, he found it “difficult to understand that we have come this far”. “After we shot the man's leg off in a fight, we should send him on a work program and teach him Danish,” he said sarcastically. One could only hope that the pirate would return to his home country of Nigeria.

The social-liberal party “Radikale Venstre”, on the other hand, believes that it would be inappropriate not to offer “Luky” an integration program. “Those are the rules. If you turn it around, it would be strange not to require him to go through such a program in order to receive integration benefits,” says integration policy spokeswoman Zenia Stampe. The Danish Ministry of Integration has not yet commented on the case in response to an inquiry from “B.T.”.