Arzia Tivany Wargadiredja
May 25th, 2021

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More proof that racism is alive and well in Denmark (Photo: Pixabay)

The beginning of the video only reveals the voice of a man shouting at a family who were spending time by the water.

“What are you doing here? Get lost!” says the man.

Kodes Hamdi, along with her husband and two children, never expected to receive offensive treatment while spending family time at Kastrup Habour.

But she instantly turned her camera on and kept recording a video that exposed blatant racism and xenophobia against her family.

“This here, this is not your country, damn it,” he says. “You are guests here,” a man is heard shouting in the video. 

He doesn’t hold back with the profanity either, despite being in the presence of two small kids who were clearly shaken.

Hamdi later posted the video on Facebook on Sunday morning. By the next day, it had been shared 5,000 times, and received thousands of comments, mainly in support for the family.

Hamdi, who is a math teacher explained that that was not the the first time something similar occurred to her. But this time was different because it happened in front of her children.

“I’m still shaken. Seeing my children affected by such a horrible thing can turn me into a lioness,” she told TV2 News

“My parents have taught me to leave it and turn the other cheek. But this time I needed to tell him that I understand very well what he was saying and I can defend myself by answering him.”

READ ALSO: More hate crimes being registered in Denmark

Is it a crime?
Due to the incident, Hamdi and her family have reported the man who made racist remarks against her to the police.

But, some say that the incident may not be categorised as a crime because it didn’t turn violent – and that’s despite a recent uptick in reported instances.

According to figures revealed by the police in 2020, registered hate crimes increased by 27 percent from 2018 to 2019.

The increase primarily involves race and religion, where racially-motivated hate crimes accounted for 312 reports, and 180 reports related to religion.

PM aghast
PM Mette Frederiksen was among the many affected by the disturbing video.

“Parents and two small children were unreasonably forced to endure shocking and racist words due to their skin colour. That affected me,” Frederiksen wrote on Facebook.

“The family had the courage to stand up in the face of the situation. We all have a responsibility to speak out – against racism, hate and discrimination. It doesn’t belong in Denmark.”

Liberal Alliancen party’s Jan E Jørgensen argued that this form of crime should be discussed at a higher level.

“It must be a criminal offense to verbally attack a family that has not nothing wrong,” he said.

“It’s worrying. We must have a discussion with the justice minister about what we can do about this problem.”

Check out the video below.