When Ukraine recently became the target of Russian attacks, it was suddenly possible for Norway to receive 15,000, 30,000, even as many as 100,000 refugees in a short time.
There were never so many here, and it’s not really that surprising. Most people want to stay as close as possible to their home country, so that they can get home quickly as soon as the situation allows.
I am incredibly happy that the public sector in Norway is mobilizing and opening both doors and hearts for those who need a safe haven. I am proud of the volunteerism and civil society, which in turn gather and put in place offers and services quickly and efficiently.
I am grateful for business leaders who open their wallets so that humanitarian actors can do even more of what they are good at.
At the same time I pray that we do not pat ourselves too satisfied on the shoulder and say we are happy to help the almost 17,000 Ukrainians who have come to Norway in recent months. We now know that we have the capacity to help more people.
There are still many thousands of people who have fled from the same types of bombs, but from other conflicts. They live in refugee camps on our continent. Many have lived in camps ever since Europe set up its barriers in 2016.
In Greece alone, more than 2,000 unaccompanied minor girls and boys have been registered. It is urgent to offer these children a place to live that they can call a home, a future of predictability, school, work and security.
After the Ukraine war started, we have put all the cloths in to rebuild the Norwegian reception apparatus that was closed down when Europe closed its borders in 2016, when the whole continent introduced a so-called “strict but fair” asylum policy.
Virtually no one people on the run could then no longer go to Norway or to countries in Central Europe with their own help. Everyone who came from wars, conflicts and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan, Iran or African countries suddenly became the responsibility of the Mediterranean countries.
For Greece, it was only when the rest of Europe closed its borders in 2016 that the real refugee crisis began.
We remember that good from 2015 and 2016, that the enormous will to urgently mobilize and help does not last forever, neither politically nor voluntarily. We know from experience that we are fed up with news from war zones and suffering. We get used to it, and it no longer hits us as hard.
Eventually we no longer react to pictures of bombed schools in Mariupol. Barnelik which is washed ashore on one beach in the Mediterranean has long been yesterdays news.
It may be the body’s own defense mechanism that comes into play. Can we manage to continue our own everyday life if we take in reality all the time?
The most important for those affected by these crises is that fellow human beings, organizations, nations and leaders show action. Sympathy thoughts and statements of support are fine, but can not stop war or save those that drowns.
In Norway, we are building up to receive far more from Ukraine than the number that has been shown to come.
Before we lay down again the receiving apparatus we are now building up, and before we lay off the many who are now being trained in dealing with people on the run, let us ensure that even those who have fled war and conflict elsewhere, and who are also in our backyard on European soil , is given an opportunity for a life and a future.
Never before have more people had to flee their homes and seek safety elsewhere. Right now, over 100 million people are fleeing their country, or internally displaced.
The number is increasing every single year. In 2021 alone, more than 3,000 people drowned in an attempt to get to safety on European soil. Many of them were children.
Today, June 20, on World Refugee Day, I urge our political leaders to show action to find pan-European solutions for all those living in refugee camps on our continent. and safe routes for those who will eventually come.
Soon we will see too that climate change and famine will force thousands, yes probably millions of people on the run. It should not come as a surprise to either Norway, Europe or the world.
We must all be prepared, and we must all be willing to share more of both land and goods.
Now we know that we can mobilize quickly – if we want to. And Norway has been given a new opportunity to restore a frayed reputation as a humanitarian superpower – if we will.
It is not the thought that counts.
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