Debate entry expressing the views of the writer.
(Sandefjords) About youth groups, about drugs, about robberies and fighting. When it is written about children who leave school, about bullying and people outside. Everything is connected in a way. Crime does not happen in a vacuum. No one wakes up one day and thinks:
Today I will be a criminal.
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It starts somewhere
Sandefjord is one of the municipalities in Norway with the biggest difference between rich and poor. We both have some strong taxpayers, and we have a large proportion of residents who rely on help from Nav. One of the things that creates the biggest conflict in the world is the lack of goods. Big differences between people create a sense of injustice, a knowledge of us and them. An obvious source of conflict.
Paralyzed and oppressed
Poverty is oppressive, the constant worry about money worries that person. I am fortunate to be both a childcare educator and an author.
For 17 years I have worked with vulnerable children and families. For the past year I have been traveling around talking about my books. Books that mostly reveal a reality that many of us don’t see. Among other things, a story about how you have to be extra resourceful to be poor, and that it is a paradox for many.
It became especially clear to me after I met the seven
the classes in Tønsberg this spring. We talked about the character Emil in one of my books. A boy who has no money, loses his partner, is ashamed and makes bad choices due to lack of money. I asked the seventh graders what they can do together that is free.
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Child poverty
It was a question of waking them up, making them think about it and involving the other students around them. About 10 percent of all children in Norway suffer from poverty, which means that several of the children I spoke to are like Emil in the story.
And what did they answer the question of what you can do that is free?
The answer is almost the same in every class: Hanging out, talking, playing soccer, hanging out in town.
Poverty does not just mean lack of money. It can also mean parents who are worried and stressed, it can mean the lack of other people’s belongings and clothes, it can mean limited spaces and sharing rooms with several siblings, it can mean very little food, no recreational activities.
And that probably means there is nowhere to hang it.
You can’t invite your friends over, you can’t offer them anything, your gaming equipment is outdated, there’s no place to be.
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The hang is free
So the only free activity is hanging out. At McDonald’s, in the park, at the mall, outside the school, in the woods behind the hall.
(Which in itself provides another good reason to invest heavily in our youth clubs.)
Money is a condition
During the day there is a school, where you get the chance to compare yourself with others. There, some have bought an iPhone 15, others have bought expensive branded clothes, some are going on expensive holidays, others have received thousands of kroner as a graduation gift.
Money is a condition. If you want, you can go to TikTok to see even more about everything money can buy.
This is how the gap grows between the houses and the things that are not. It must feel very unfair to stand on the sidelines while others build their abundance in our country.
That’s in this section oss and dam created.
A big difference here in our city.
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This is when it’s scary
The more the class divisions increase, the more conflict we have. Crime is a symptom of this.
Sanctions and consequences for those who commit the crime are burning fire. Of course fires must be extinguished, but it is better if they are prevented.
It’s best if it doesn’t start burning at all.
But it requires resources and long-term work to prevent it.
It costs money to lift people out of poverty
We would rather spend money on something else, if I interpret the city of Sandefjord correctly.
In any case, a thematic plan for protection work was designed in our town. The most surprising thing about this plan is that the measures described there must be resolved within the existing financial framework.
So nothing more was allocated.
I repeat: Protection work requires resources, it costs money to lift people out of poverty.
Everything is connected.
2024-05-12 21:05:16
#connected
