Yulia Neschadim (31) and her four-year-old daughter live at a refugee reception center in Porsgrunn.
Even though they have been promised progress, they are still waiting to settle in a municipality so that they can start their lives here.
– We just wait and wait without getting an answer, she says to TV 2.
She has experienced that other refugees, who arrived in April, have already been given a place to live. The family itself has waited for two months without anything happening.
– The waiting time is exhausting and discouraging. No one can give an answer regarding residence or what will happen in the future. It’s cruel, she says.
– TEMPORARY: The family has lived in an emergency room in Porsgrunn and has been waiting to start life since March 7. Photo: Ingvild Gjerdsjø / TV 2
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Like staying in a boarding school
Neschadim and his daughter have been granted temporary residence in a house in Porsgrunn.
The house consists of five floors, where she and her daughter share a studio with beds, a chair and a small refrigerator. The family must share the kitchen, toilet and bathroom with the rest of the floor.
– It’s like living in a boarding school, she says.
They receive food and pocket money, but experience that the latter is not enough. The allowance for a mother with one child who lives in a transit reception center is just under NOK 160 a day.
– ACCOMMODATION: Yulia and her four-year-old daughter share this room at the reception. Photo: Private
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Although the daughter gets the days to go to kindergarten, Neschadim is worried.
– My daughter is exhausted by all the noise here and by living in such a small room. The food also contains a lot of pepper and spices, which children do not eat, so it is challenging for her, she says.
Despite this, Neschadim says she is grateful.
– The staff is very nice. We are very grateful that Norway gives us a roof over our heads, she says.
The biggest problem is waiting time and uncertainty.
– NOT ALONE: According to the survey on Friday, more than 14,700 Ukrainian refugees are still waiting to be settled in a municipality. Photo: Ingvild Gjerdsjø / TV 2
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– Like a throwing ball
Neschadim finds it very challenging to find information as a refugee. She has therefore received help from the staff at the reception, who have contacted the UDI on her behalf.
– But the UDI sends us on to IMDI, IMDI takes it on to the municipality, and the municipality does not respond. I feel like a throwing ball, she says.
She has had her application for collective protection approved, but after that it has been quiet, she claims.
– LIMITED: When you do not know Norwegian and speak limited English, it is difficult to find information about the processes as a newly arrived refugee, says Neschadim. Photo: Ingvild Gjerdsjø / TV 2
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– Neither IMDI, the municipality nor the employees at the reception can give any answers. Everyone says the same thing – wait. No one has been able to guarantee that we get a stay in the municipality we want. In general, no one has an answer, she says.
The family is not alone in experiencing this. TV 2 has been in contact with several Ukrainian refugees, who say that they are frustrated and desperate about the wait.
– MOVED: Even though the family has stayed in Porsgrunn for two months, they will probably be placed in another municipality eventually. Photo: Ingvild Gjerdsjø / TV 2
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– Too slow
They receive support from the organization Norwegian Association for Asylum Seekers (NOAS).
– The settlement has been too slow, and we are a little impatient. We have been told that it will go faster, so now we really expect the speed to increase. This is so important for those concerned, says Secretary General Pål Nesse of NOAS.
He recalls that the refugees were traumatized after being forced from their homes and fleeing war.
– We must remember that everyone has had their lives uprooted, quickly and brutally. Then sitting and waiting is the worst thing that can happen to you. You get impatient, you get depressed, you wonder what’s going on and you get too little information, he says.
– TOO SLOW: Pål Nesse in NOAS says that many refugees contact them to ask why it takes so long to be offered settlement. Photo: Martin Leigland / TV 2
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He supports the refugees in that the best thing for them now, would have been to be able to start their lives in a municipality.
– For both adults and children, it is important that you get normalcy. They can get it when they settle. The children can start school and kindergarten, the adults can start courses or enter working life. It is important that something happens, and now it must happen quickly, says Nesse.
Rejects the criticism
The Directorate for Integration and Diversity (IMDI) has the main responsibility for the work of settling refugees in Norway.
They reject the criticism that the settlement is too slow.
– We settle as much as we can, and we have employees who make a fantastic effort and who work evenings and weekends to ensure that the settlement goes quickly. This is happening at a very high pace, says director Libe Rieber-Mohn in IMDI.
– PRIORITIZED: Director Libe Rieber-Mohn believes that the settlement of Ukrainian refugees is taking place at a rapid pace. Photo: Martin Leigland / TV 2
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Of the 15,893 Ukrainian refugees who have applied for asylum in Norway, only 1183 of them have settled in a municipality, according to the Directorate for Integration and Diversity (IMDI) overview Friday.
Rieber-Mohn points out that another 3151 Ukrainians have reached an agreement with a municipality and are in the process of settling.
Facts about settlement
- 15,893 Ukrainian refugees have applied for asylum
- 10,743 have been granted asylum by the UDI
- 781, IMDI has asked the municipalities to settle, but the municipality has not yet responded.
- 3151 has an agreement with IMDI and a municipality on settlement, but has not been settled
- 1183 is a resident.
The figures are from Friday 6 May. Source: IMDI and NOAS
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Although the director believes that the settlement of refugees has never taken place at a higher pace, she understands that the refugees who are waiting find it difficult.
– It is not fortunate that people stay at the reception. For the individual who has not settled, you will be able to experience the situation as very insecure and insecure. The best thing is that you settle down quickly, so that you can have a safe environment around you and start everyday life in Norway, says Rieber-Mohn.
– HOPE: Although Yulia Neschadim’s situation is difficult, she says she has hopes and dreams for the future. Photo: Ingvild Gjerdsjø / TV 2
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– The situation is terrible
Neschadim fled with her daughter, while her husband and relatives remained in Ukraine.
– I miss them very much. The situation in Ukraine is terrible and I am very worried about them, she says.
– FAMILY: Mother and daughter stay together in Norway, but miss the rest of the family in Ukraine. Photo: Private
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If the situation in her home country does not stabilize in the near future, she is determined to create a life in Norway.
– I dream of moving into a separate house with my daughter, and being able to settle here and contribute to society, she says.
Neschadim does not speak Norwegian, so the first thing she wants to do is go to school so she can learn the language. Then she wants to get into working life.
– My dream is also that my daughter makes friends in kindergarten who both speak and understand her mother tongue, she says.
– WANT TO GET AWAY: The family hopes they get an answer and an offer to settle in a municipality soon. Photo: Ingvild Gjerdsjø / TV 2
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