– It was important for us to come here and say very clearly that Oslo is ready. We will do everything we can for the refugees. Here there will be huge needs.
–
– The people of Oslo will have a new classmate or a new neighbor from Ukraine in the future. We will welcome them. Many of them probably have a feeling of being a little left to themselves, says City Councilor Raymond Johansen.
On Sunday, he and a small delegation from the city council visited Scandic Helsfyr, which has been taken into temporary use by the UDI as a reception center.
The hotel is part of the emergency services from Oslo Municipality.
There is a calm atmosphere that meets the city council leader. Around 20 Ukrainian refugees are accommodated in the hotel. Most are in their rooms, many of them with their pet.
–Often unregistered
On Sunday evening, a new bus load is expected. Unlike the two buses that stopped by on Sunday morning, is not this unannounced.
Buses with around 50 refugees usually arrive unannounced and must be accommodated in a short time. There can be many bus loads to receive at short notice, the city council leader believes.
– We do not know how many will come, but Oslo is ready to receive the number the UDI requests us. We are an experienced recipient of refugees. In recent years, capacity has been greatly reduced because the number of asylum arrivals has been greatly reduced, says Johansen.
The Helsfyr hotel has a capacity of 1000 seats, spread over 420 rooms.
The refugees will eventually be settled around Oslo’s living quarters. Work in the districts has begun.
Must build fast
City councilor for work, integration and social services, Rina Mariann Hansen, is responsible for coordination.
She says we are facing a huge challenge in building capacity quickly.
– We have an idea that this is a large scale, she says.
The head of the health service, Hilde Terese Hamre, says they assist the UDI and the state with health care for the refugees.
– Some people have diabetes and have forgotten their medication. There is a great need for psychosocial assistance, there are many traumatized.
Several mattresses
The UDI announced on Sunday that they are continuously expanding the offer at the arrival center in Råde.
On Friday, they received 350 extra mattresses and ten new toilets.
– It is demanding for the staff to handle unannounced buses that arrive with around 50 in each bus, but we do our best to take care of everyone in the best possible way.
- The UDI cooperates with Noas, the Red Cross and the civil defense to take care of the refugees.
- 128 new asylum seekers were registered from Ukraine on Saturday.
- A total of 510 new asylum seekers have been registered in the last week.
Collective protection
The government introduced Friday temporary collective protection to refugees from Ukraine. The day before, 27 EU countries agreed on the same.
The scheme means that Ukrainian citizens receive temporary residence for up to three years, without individual assessment.
A similar national scheme was introduced in Norway during the Balkan War in the 1990s.
The government has asked the immigration authorities to strengthen the capacity and not least to map the capacity of the various municipalities.
More than 1.5 million on the run
In ten days is more than 1.5 million people forced to flee Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
This is the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II, Grandi writes Twitter.
The UN fears that up to 4 million people will flee Ukraine as a result of the Russian invasion and war, while other experts believe that up to 10 million Ukrainians could be forced to flee, according to NTB.
The cheeky videographer: From day one, civilians and the military have filmed the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Documentation of the war is on the markers in the map. All videos are continuously verified by VG.
