Fortællinger Fra Mjølnerparken

Dansk

Hvad har fællesskabet betydet for jer i Mjølnerparken i den tid, I har boet her?

(1) Skal jeg starte?

(2) Ja.

(1) Jeg vil sige tryghed, hygge, og så plads til alle. Sådan at man hele tiden har nogen at være sammen med, og man er sig selv, kan man sige. Det har været rigtig godt.

(3) [hvisker til (1)] Sammenhold.

(1) Sammenhold

(3) [hvisker til (1)] Fællesskab

(1) Sig det.– Sig det bare.

(3) Det har været et godt fællesskab. Har du sagt det? Det er i hvert fald et godt fællesskab, hvis han ikke har sagt det. Der plejede at være mange gode arrangementer blandt de unge, og, … hvad hedder de? Bo Vita?

(1, 2) Nej, det var Lejerbo.

(3) Lejerbo. De plejede nogle gange at holde 20-års jubilæum og Eidfest.

(1) Ja, Eidfest. Der var altid noget at lave. I ramadan måned, da man gik ned, der var jo bare gang i den. Ja. Hele gården. Alle kender hinanden. Folk har det godt med hinanden. Her plejede man bare at gå ned. Du går ned, fuglefrø,  vandpibe på bordene. Det var fuld hygge. Du var ægte hjemme. Der var ikke noget hvor, du tænker, ‘ej, ham der, eller hende der.  Du er bare nede. Du kender alle. Alle kender hinanden. Vi har boet sammen i rigtig mange år. Så det var virkelig hyggeligt. Selv nytårsaften. Det var så fedt,foran opgangene, hvordan folk kunne fyre fyrværkeri af.

[enighed blandt gruppen]

[fyrværkerilyde]

(1) Ja, lige præcis.

Hvad vil du sige? Er der noget, de ikke har sagt?

(2) Nej, jeg føler faktisk alt er blevet sagt.

(1) Der var gode arrangementer. Rigtig gode arrangementer. Og det har været meget specielt, vil jeg sige. Fordi alle kender hinanden. Hvor ellers har man kunnet sige, at de kendte en iraker, der plejer at sætte slushice hjemme hos dem? Og slik? Og de andre, mine naboer – Du går bare ind – Banker på døren, går ind. De har slik. Og slushice. De sælger dem billigt.

Altså, bare inde i deres lejlighed?

(1) Ja, bare i deres lejlighed.

(2) Min far plejede at sælge slik.

Solgte han det også?

(2) Ja, ja. Han havde en bod derhjemme.

(1) Min far plejer at sælge alt, bror. Du skulle have set Zs far, oooh, Zs far … Har du set det? Zs far, han var en rullende grønthandler. Han åbner bagagerummet, og han har alt, man kan se. Til den dag i dag, stadig. Ja. Så det er vildt grineren.

Og hvad i forhold til at være naboer? Hvornår brugte I tid sammen med hinanden?

(1) Tid? Altså man har meget tålmodighed, og man går jo bare ned. Lad os sige, at du ser nogle af dine naboer sidde på bænken. Du går ned og slår dig ned ved siden af dem. Henter lidt fuglefrø, hygger. Banker på hinandens døre. Der var meget mere frihed, mangfoldighed… alle kender hinanden. Bare banke på. Hygge. Der var ikke det store. ‘Ej, jeg kender ikke mine naboer. Jeg synes ikke lige… Jeg har det lidt dårligt med dem.’ Det fandtes ikke dengang. Det var bare…

(2) Ja ja, man plejer bare at tage ud, ligesom han siger, i sin opgang.

(1) Lige præcis.

(2) For eksempel, ligesom – jeg boede i første gård. Jeg plejede bare at gå ud hver dag, måske kl. 10 om morgenen. Jeg plejede at smutte ud kl. 10 om morgenen, og så plejede jeg bare at gå til tredje gårds fodboldbane. I tredje gård. Der var altid nogen. Jeg mødte altid nogen, som bare spiller fodbold, eller tysker, eller et eller andet.

(1) Så du behøvede ikke at have en aftale med nogen, du går bare ned. Du ved, der er fire gårde med unge mennesker, med familier, og alle kendte hinanden. Så går du ud, (og spørger) ‘nåh, har du lyst til at spille fodbold?’, så kommer der (nogen). Der var altid nogen, der spillede. Du kunne altid bare joine dem.

Så det var meget spontant.

(1) Ja, præcis. Du havde ikke behov for at planlægge.

(2) Det var det, der var hyggeligt. Vi havde heller ikke en telefon dengang. Så hvis en af vores venner ikke var ude endnu, så gik vi over og bankede på hos ham. På hans dør. Det gør vi jo ikke nu. Vi plejede bare at gå over og banke på hans dør, og så ventede vi på ham i hans opgang i måske 10 minutter eller sådan noget. Så gør han sig klar og går direkte ud til os. Så plejer vi også at tage meget til kiosken, hentede slush ice og nudler og sådan nogle ting.

(1) Og Mimersparken dengang var også… Vi har rigtig mange spots, hvor vi plejer at sidde. Ligesom da vi fortalte det der fra da vi var rigtig små. Der hvor vi havde den der hule. Vi har haft 100 forskellige steder her i området, hvor vi bare har kunnet slå os ned.

Men de dage, i fortæller om nu, er det mere weekender eller ferier? Hvordan var en hverdag?

(1) Det var en hverdag.

(2) Det var en hverdag for os.

(1) Du går hjem, lægger din taske, går ud. Lægger din skoletaske, og efter det, spiser du din mad, og går bare ud. Hygger her og der; tager ind i Bispebjerg Parken; tager ud og spiller fodbold.

(2) Dengang plejede man ikke at spise ude hver dag, for eksempel. Man plejede mest bare at smutte ud. Eller komme hjem fra skole, måske spise noget mad og så bare ud igen. Og så , måske efter 2-3-4 timer, så smutter man hjem igen og spiser noget mad. Hvis du er træt, bliver man hjemme, ellers så smutter man bare ud igen, hvis folk er friske. Du aftaler jo det sammen med dem, du er sammen med.

(1) Jeg synes, der var hele tiden gang i noget. Der var også mange fodbold turneringer i Tredje Gård.

(2) Ja, ja. Game var der også dengang

(1) Ja, kan du huske dem der, der plejede bare at komme med højtalere?

(3) Game.

(1) De plejede at komme med højtaler. Nogen der var ude fra Mjølnerparken. Og så plejede de hele tiden, en gang om ugen, at spille med alle de unge.

(2) Hver søndag.

(1) Så plejede de at sende alle rundt. Og så plejede alle at komme. Og så samledes vi. Om du boede i fjerde eller i første gård, det er jo helt det samme. Så alle sammen samledes i Tredje Gård ved fodboldbanen. Så kom der nogle frivillige, der kom fra et eller andet sted, med højtaler og med fodbold. Så plejede vi at spille. Det var hver evig eneste uge i en meget lang periode.

(2) Det var hyggeligt. Så kunne vi lige vinde en Faxe Kondi til topspilleren.

Og hvad med alder? Var man meget opdelt, eller var det meget på tværs?

(1) Jeg vil sige, man havde sin.. Altså, jeg gik med min ven, og vi var på samme alder. Han gik med hans ven, og du ved. Men nogle gange blandede vi os og spillede fodbold sammen. Det gjorde vi tit. Vi havde også klub 36. Hvis du har hørt om den?

Kan du sige lidt om den?

(1) Ja, klub 36. Du går ned. Der er computerrum, TV. Alle går bare ned og spiller mod hinanden.

Altså ned i kælderen?

(1) Ja, lige præcis. I Tredje Gårds kælder. Så den havde vi i en lang periode. Der kunne vi gå ned. Så kunne vi købe slush ice, popcorn og slik. Så gik man derned og hyggede sig og spillede. Og der kendte alle hinanden, og der lavede man ‘skift’. Der var jo så mange, der ville spille. Så når man sagde ‘skift’, så skulle alle de nye på. Så skulle man spille det og…

Hvad spillede I?

(1) Dota, Counter Strike, det hele. Computerspil. Og spiste slik og spillede fodbold ude foran.

Nu har i nævnt nogle steder, men var der nogle særlige yndlingssteder? I Mjølnerparken, som I havde?

(1) Jeg tror det hele. Jeg ved det ikke.

Der var ikke nogen steder, I sådan særligt hang ud?

(2) Altså, det var bare mest ved bænkene. Vi plejede bare at sætte os ved en bænk. Vi elskede alle bænke. Der var lige måske nogle yndlingsbænke. De lå ved 3. gård.

(1) For jer. For os var det 4. gård.

(2) Ja, for nogle grupper var det faktisk 4. gård. For os var det 3. gård. Vi elskede at sidde der. I 3. gård og 2. gård. For det meste, plejede vi at sidde der rigtig meget.

Var det så også noget med aldersgrupper? At f.eks. din vennegruppe samles i 4. gård, og så var de nogenlunde på jeres alder?

(1) Meget forskelligt. Vi havde venner i alle gårde. Så lad os sige, vi skulle… Lige pludselig samledes vi her, og jeg tog hen til ham. Folk ringer og siger, ‘hvor er du henne?’ ‘Jeg er i 3. gård.’ Lige pludselig stod vi alle sammen i 3. gård. Vi plejede tit at spille fodbold, hvor vi plejede at lave, hvad? Englænder? Var det ikke Englænder det hed?

(2, 3) Jo.

(1) Vi plejede tit at spille noget, der hedder Englænder. Det var fucking grineren. Der plejede vi at samledes. Vi kunne spille i otte timer. Det var rigtig hyggeligt. Og der plejede vi at spille på tværs af alder og aldersgrupper. Så det er… I forhold til nu og før? Det var en million gange hyggeligere før. Der var meget mere stemning. Der var liv. Nu – den er død. Der er intet tilbage. Er det ikke rigtigt?

(2) Ja. Der var meget mere fællesskab dengang.

(1) Fællesskab, hygge…

(2) Alle elsker hinanden.

(1) Der var flere arrangementer. Der var mere at lave. Jeg synes, det var tusind gange [bedre]– Jeg føler ikke, der har været noget i Mjølnerparken i rigtig lang tid. Altså en fest eller et eller andet for beboerne. Bare et eller andet. Og det er også meningen, tror jeg, for de har lukket alt det her. De har spredt dem ud. Så de bor adskilt – 1. og 4. gård. Så de holder sig væk fra hinanden. Så har de lagt to – de eksterne– her i midten. De har jo flækket hele Mjølnerparken.

 Hvor længe har I boet her i Mjølnerparken?

(1) Hele vores liv.

Har I alle sammen det?

(3) Ja.

(2) Ja.

Er der nogen historie, I synes, at folk udefra skal kende omkring livet i Mjølnerparken, som I tænker, ‘det ved I ikke, det burde i faktisk vide’?

(2) Jeg tror, vi har sagt det hele.

(1) Ja, ja. Men jeg tror, det er mere de fordomme. Jeg tror, der er rigtig mange fordomme udefra. De har jo aldrig snakket med os. Du kommer ind, og du har jo mødt os. Du ved, hvem vi er nu. Men der er mange af dem – De er bange for at snakke med os, vil jeg sige ligeud. Mange etniske danskere. Det er derfor, at når de kommer herind, der er måske mange af dem, der er nervøse. Og det er dem, der måske er lidt provokerende – for os. Fordi hvis du kommer og flytter ind til et sted som Mjølnerparken, så skal du ikke komme og kigge skævt. Du skal jo forvente, ‘okay, der bor nogle mennesker her i forvejen, og vi bliver også nødt til at tilpasse os.’ Vi kan ikke forvente, at du… bare, ligesom de har prøvet at lave det helt om, det kommer jo ikke til at fungere. Nu er de fleste ikke engang flyttet tilbage ind i fjerde gård. Når folk flytter tilbage ind i fjerde gård igen, og det bliver færdigt, og alt kommer tilbage, så kommer der jo noget liv igen. Så kommer der mange flere mennesker. Så kommer der jo også til at komme mere aktivitet i fjerde gård, når alle kommer tilbage igen. Fjerde gård har alligevel været den største gård i Mjølnerparken. Så der kommer… Det er ikke fordi, den er helt ude. Det er den ikke. Nej nej. Slet ikke.

Nej, nej, nej. Det er fordi, der har været flere år, hvor der er…

(1) Renovationer. Alt det der. Men, vi lever stadigvæk, bare rolig.

Ja.

(1) Så det er det, med at man skal være realistisk. Og hvad er det, man er flyttet ind til? Man skal ikke komme og sidde og… Fordi det synes jeg er dårlig stil. Hvis du vælger at flytte ind et sted, hvor der allerede har boet nogen i rigtig, rigtig mange år, ikke? Så skal man ikke komme og være sådan…

(3) Forvente.

(1) Ja, forvente, at alle går… – Jeg føler, at der er mange, der har fordomme. Også her. Også de nye beboere. Jeg ved ikke, hvad de kommer fra. Om du ved… Der er jo sikkert mange af dem, der kommer fra alle mulige steder i Danmark, hvor de måske ikke har haft nogen indvandrere-venner eller andet. Så det er det, man også skal forholde sig til. At du flytter ind med – Det er et multikulturelt sted. Og kan du ikke leve med det, så flyt til Bornholm. Er det ikke rigtigt?

(3) Jo, jo.

(1) Det er det.

Tak.

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English

What has the community meant to you in Mjølnerparken during the time you’ve lived here?

(1) Should I start?

(2) Yeah.

(1) I’d say safety, coziness, and space for everyone. Like, you always had someone to be with, and you could just be yourself, you know? It’s been really good.

(3) [whispers to (1):] Togetherness.

(1) Togetherness.

(3) [whispers again:] Community.

(1) Say it — just say it.

(3) It’s been a good community. Did you already say that? Well, it’s definitely been a good community, if he hasn’t said it. There used to be a lot of great events among the young people and… what were they called? Bo Vita?

(1, 2) No, it was Lejerbo.

(3) Lejerbo, right. They used to hold 20-year anniversaries and Eid festivals sometimes.

(1) Yeah, Eid festivals. There was always something going on. During Ramadan, when you went downstairs, it was just full of life. Yeah. The whole courtyard. Everyone knew each other. People got along. You’d just go down – there’d be sunflower seeds, hookahs on the tables. It was total coziness. You were truly at home. There wasn’t any of that, like, ‘Ugh, that guy,’ or ‘ugh, her’. You just went down. You knew everyone. Everyone knew each other. We’d lived together for so many years. It was really, really nice. Even on New Year’s Eve – that was amazing. In front of the buildings, how people would set off fireworks.

[agreement from the group]

[imitating firework sounds]

(1) Yeah, exactly.

What were you trying to say– is there anything you wanted to add, that they haven’t said?

(2) No, I think everything’s been said, actually.

(1) There were good events. Really good events. And it was very special, I’d say. Because everyone knew each other. Where else could you say you knew an Iraqi guy who used to sell slush ice from his apartment? And candy? And the others – my neighbors – you’d just walk in, knock on the door, go inside. They had candy. And slush ice. Sold it cheap.

Like, just inside their apartment?

(1) Yeah, just in their apartment.

(2) My dad used to sell candy.

He did too?

(2) Yeah, yeah. He had a stand at home.

(1) My dad used to sell everything, bro. You should’ve seen Z’s dad, oooh, Z’s dad… Have you seen it? Z’s dad was like a mobile greengrocer. He’d open his car trunk and have everything you could imagine. To this day, still. Yeah. So that was hilarious.

And what about being neighbors? When did you spend time together?

(1) Time? Well, you had a lot of patience, and you’d just go downstairs. Let’s say you saw some of your neighbors sitting on a bench. You’d go down and sit next to them. Grab some sunflower seeds, hang out. Knock on each other’s doors. There was a lot more freedom, diversity… everyone knew each other. Just knocking on doors, hanging out. There wasn’t that whole, ‘Oh, I don’t really know my neighbors,’ or ‘I don’t feel comfortable with them.’ That didn’t exist back then. It was just…

 (2) Yeah, yeah, you’d just go out, like he said, in your building.

(1) Exactly.

(2) For example, like — I lived in the first courtyard. I used to go out every day, maybe around 10 in the morning. I’d just head out, 10 a.m., and go to the football pitch in the third courtyard. There was always someone there. I’d always meet someone — people playing football, or tysker [a street game], or something.

(1) So you didn’t need to make plans with anyone, you’d just go down. You know, there were four courtyards with young people and families, and everyone knew everyone. So you’d go out and ask, “Hey, wanna play football?” and people would join. There was always someone playing — you could always just join in.

So it was very spontaneous.

(1) Yeah, exactly. You didn’t need to plan anything.

(2) That’s what was cozy about it. We didn’t even have phones back then. So if one of our friends wasn’t outside yet, we’d just go knock on his door. On his actual door. You don’t do that now. We’d just go over, knock, and wait for him in the stairwell for maybe 10 minutes or something. Then he’d get ready and come right out. And we used to go to the kiosk a lot – grab slush ice and noodles and stuff like that.

(1) And Mimersparken back then too… We had so many spots we used to hang out in. Like we said before, when we were really little – we had those dens. We had a hundred different places in the area where we could just hang out.

The days you’re talking about – were those weekends or holidays? What was an ordinary weekday like?

(1) It was a weekday.

(2) Yeah, that was a weekday for us.

(1) You’d go home, drop your bag, head out. Drop your school bag, eat something, then just go out. Hang out here and there, go to Bispebjerg Park, go play football.

(2) Back then, you didn’t eat out every day, for example. You mostly just went out. Or came home from school, maybe ate something, and went out again. Then maybe after 2-3-4 hours, you’d go home again and eat something. If you were tired, you’d stay in. Otherwise, if people were still up for it, you’d go out again. You’d just plan it with whoever you were with.

(1) I think there was always something going on. There were lots of football tournaments in the third courtyard too.

(2) Yeah, yeah. Game was around back then too.

(1) Yeah, do you remember the ones who used to come with speakers?

(3) Game.

(1) Yeah, they’d come with speakers – people from outside Mjølnerparken. They used to come once a week and play with all the kids.

(2) Every Sunday.

(1) Yeah, they’d go around and gather everyone. And then everyone came. Whether you lived in the fourth or the first courtyard, it didn’t matter. Everyone gathered in the third courtyard by the football pitch. Some volunteers came with speakers and footballs, and we’d play. It was every single week for a really long time.

(2) It was cozy. You could even win a Faxe Kondi (soda) as top player. And what about age? Was it very divided, or did people mix a lot?

(1) I’d say you had your group… Like, I hung out with my friend, we were the same age. He hung out with his friend, you know. But sometimes we mixed and played football together. We did that often. We also had Club 36. Have you heard of it?

Can you tell me a bit about it?

(1) Yeah, Club 36. You’d go down there – there was a computer room, TV. Everyone just went down and played together.

Like in the basement?

(1) Yeah, exactly. In the basement of the third courtyard. We had it for a long time. You could go down there, buy slush ice, popcorn, candy. Hang out and play. Everyone knew each other, and we took turns – ‘shift’, we called it. There were so many people who wanted to play, so when someone said “shift,” the next group took over. Then you’d play and…

What did you play?

(1) Dota, Counter-Strike, everything. Computer games. And we’d eat candy and play football outside.

Now that you’ve mentioned some places – were there any particular favorite spots in Mjølnerparken?

(1) I think… all of it, really. I don’t know.

There weren’t any places you especially hung out?

(2) It was mostly the benches. We’d just sit at the benches. We loved all the benches. There were maybe some favorite ones – those were in the 3rd courtyard.

(1) For you guys. For us, it was the 4th courtyard.

(2) Yeah, for some groups it was actually the fourth. For us, it was the third. We loved sitting there – 3rd and 2nd courtyards. We spent a lot of time there.

Was that also kind of age-based? Like your group in the fourth courtyard were mostly your age?

(1) Very mixed. We had friends in all the courtyards. So, like, suddenly we’d all gather somewhere – I’d go to his place, people would call and say, ‘Where are you?’ ‘I’m in the 3rd courtyard.’ Suddenly we were all in the third courtyard. We’d often play football – we used to play that game, what was it called again? Englænder, right?

(2, 3) Yeah.

(1) We used to play a lot of that game called ‘Englænder’. It was fucking hilarious. That’s where we’d all gather. We could play for eight hours straight. It was super cozy. And we’d play across ages –  kids and older ones together. So, compared to now? It was a million times cozier before. There was so much more atmosphere. It was alive. Now it’s dead. Nothing’s left. Right?

(2) Yeah. There was way more community back then.

(1) Community, coziness…

(2) Everyone loved each other.

(1) There were more events. More to do. I think it was a thousand times better – like, now, I feel like nothing’s happened in Mjølnerparken for ages. No parties or events for residents or anything. And I think that’s intentional, because they’ve shut everything down. They’ve split people up – the first and fourth courtyards are apart now. They keep to themselves. And they’ve put the external ones in the middle. They’ve basically broken up all of Mjølnerparken.

How long have you lived here in Mjølnerparken?

(1) Our whole lives.

All of you?

(3) Yeah. (2) Yeah.

Is there any story you think people from outside should know about life in Mjølnerparken? Something they don’t know but really should?

(2) I think we’ve said it all.

(1) Yeah, yeah. But I think it’s more about the prejudices. I think there are a lot of prejudices from the outside. They’ve never talked to us. You come in here, and now you’ve met us – you know who we are. But many of them – they’re scared to talk to us, honestly. A lot of ethnic Danes. That’s why, when they move in here, a lot of them are nervous. And that’s kind of provocative, for us. Because if you move into a place like Mjølnerparken, you shouldn’t come in and look down on people. You should expect, ‘Okay, people already live here, and we also have to adapt’. You can’t expect to just… change everything. It’s not going to work. Most people haven’t even moved back into the 4th courtyard yet. When people move back in again – when it’s finished, and everyone returns – then life will come back. More people, more activity, especially in the 4th courtyard, when everyone’s back again. The fourth courtyard has always been the biggest one in Mjølnerparken. So, it’s not like it’s gone. Not at all.

No, no, no. It’s just that for some years, there’s been…

(1) Renovations. All that stuff. But we’re still here, don’t worry.

Yeah.

(1) So that’s the thing – you’ve got to be realistic about what you’re moving into. Don’t come here and… you know. Because I think that’s bad style; If you choose to move somewhere where people have lived for many, many years, you shouldn’t come and be like…

(3) Expectant.

(1) Yeah, – Expect that everyone will just leave… I feel like a lot of people have prejudices. Even the new residents. I don’t know where they come from. Maybe from other parts of Denmark where they’ve never had immigrant friends or anything. So that’s something you have to understand too: you’re moving into a multicultural place. And if you can’t live with that – move to Bornholm. Right?

(3) Yeah, yeah.

(1) That’s it.

Thanks.

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