Sunday evening, the small town of Rødding in southern Jutland saw a torchlight procession against racism.
This followed two incidents of shops on the main street owned by immigrants seeing their windows smashed, and their storefronts graffitied with racist messages.
According to the local newspaper Mig og Vejen, about 300 people turned up in the small town of fewer than 3,000 residents.
“Perkere ud af DK”
The reason behind the demonstration is a series of attacks on storefronts owned by immigrants in Rødding.
These include a barber’s shop and a pizzeria that were both attacked in the early morning hours on Saturday. They had their windows smashed and their storefront graffitied. According to TV Syd, the pizzeria had also seen its storefront vandalised in September.
A car dealership in the town owned by an immigrant had also previously been the victim of vandalism, with several of its cars burnt on Industrivej, according to Mig og Vejen.
The graffiti on the storefront from the weekend read, “Perkere ud af DK”, with perkere being the plural of a derogatory term for people of Middle Eastern background, and the rest meaning “out of Denmark”.
The South Jutland Police have confirmed that they have received reports of the two incidents of vandalism.
Organising the event
The event was organised on Facebook, where the organisers wrote, “This is not just an attack on three businesses. It is an attack on good people who go to work every day, pay taxes to our shared society, and contribute to the development of the town of Rødding.”
At the protest, which started at 18:00 Sunday evening, Kasper Hofer Østergaard, one of the organisers, told DR, “I am very, very moved that so many people, just like us, are outraged and saddened by this. And that they wish to show support and sympathy for these dear fellow citizens.”
The owners of the businesses that had been vandalised were given goodie bags prepared by shops in Rødding.
“Deeply grateful”
Ibrahim Saadi, the owner of the car dealership that had been vandalised, told DR that “I am deeply grateful to see so many people. A thousand thanks. I’d like to return the favour by having the pizza man make pizza for everyone on me.”
