Carsten Kofoed: The eternal problem of the collaborator

The eternal problem of the collaborator

By Carsten Kofoed, Free Iraq Blog of Denmark, January 18, 2007

The lives of Iraqis working as translators for the Danish occupation forces in Iraq are in danger. Therefore, a group of Danish officers in Iraq believe that the twenty Iraqi translators should be offered asylum in Denmark when the Danish occupiers leave Iraq.

The Iraqi translators are important for the practical implementation of the occupation. With that they are riding on the back of their own suffering people who are struggling against the consequences of the bloody occupation that is being prolonged by the “work” of the translators. Therefore, it is obvious that the translators are hated by many Iraqis. These translators are like those Danes who were working for the Germans under their occupation of Denmark. They were not very popular either – to put it mildly.

Danish Minister of Defence, Soeren Gade, has stated that Denmark will not give asylum to the translators. The occupier sacrifices his local tools when they are worn-out. That is nothing new. It just shows that collaboration is a dangerous business. Justice has a way of catching up with the traitor in the end.

Sent as a comment (150 words maximum) to the Danish press on January 18, 2007. Published in the Danish dailies Nyhedsavisen (January 19, 2007), Information and Politiken (January 20, 2007).