Norwegian Immigration Policy and UIF+VMZ Terrorist Attacks in Oslo
Hans Storhaug
*O/PSXBZFYQFSJFODFEUIFIJHIFTU refugees, as labour migrants, to study, or to immigration numbers ever. Although it join family living in Norway. t Immigrants and those born in Norway to was Polish and Baltic citizens that con- JNNJHSBOUQBSFOUTDPOTUJUVUF QFS- tributed the most, there was a growing TPOTPSQFSDFOUPG/PSXBZTQPQVMB- skepticism about immigration in gen- UJPO BNPOHXIJDI BSFJNNJHSBOUT eral. With the Arab Spring the fear of BOE BSFCPSOJO/PSXBZUPJNNJ- new waves of asylum seekers and radical grant parents. Islam became hot topics in the political t #SPLFO EPXO CZ SFHJPO IBWF B &VSPQFBO CBDLHSPVOE QFSTPOT EFCBUFQSJPSUPUIFNVOJDJQBMFMFD- IBWF B CBDLHSPVOE GSPN "TJB tions. With the terrorists attack on the GSPN "GSJDB GSPN 4PVUI BOE government building and the killings at Central-America and 11,000 from North UIF*TMBOEPG6UZB+VMZUIFEFCBUF "NFSJDB BOE 0DFBOJB PG UIPTF silenced. born in Norway to immigrants parents IBWF BO "TJBO CBDLHSPVOE IBWF QBSFOUT GSPN &VSPQF GSPN "GSJDB Norwegian immigrant population BOE IBWF JNNJHSBOU QBSFOUT GSPN *O /PSXBZT QPQVMBUJPO XBT South- and Central America. 440 000. It had grown to one million t !e majority of the immigrants are from CZ UXP NJMMJPO CZ UISFF Poland, Sweden, Germany and Lithuania. NJMMJPO CZ BOE GPVS NJMMJPO CZ !irty-three per cent of the immigrants have Norwegian citizenship. #Z +VMZ UIF ëGUI NJMMJPO 1 t #FUXFFOBOE BUPUBMPG was reached. With a birth rate less than non-Nordic citizens immigrated to Norway JOUIFMBTUEFDBEFT UIFQPQVMBUJPO and were granted residence here. Of these, growth is due to immigration, and the QFSDFOUDBNFBTSFGVHFFT QFSDFOU following key statistics summarise the were labour immigrants and 11 per cent were granted residence in order to under- present situation: take education. Twenty-three per cent came to Norway due to family reuni"cation with t Norway’s immigrant population consists TPNFPOF BMSFBEZ JO /PSXBZ BOE QFS PGQFPQMFGSPNEJêFSFOUDPVOUSJFTBOE cent were granted residence because they independent regions. !ey have come as had established a family. HANS STORHAUG t Statistics Norway has published "gures neighbouring countries and the Western on those born outside Norway since the world. Still both the authorities and the 1PQVMBUJPO $FOTVT PG #BDL UIFO QFSDFOUPGUIFUPUBMQPQVMBUJPOPG public in Norway have become increa- NJMMJPOXFSFCPSOBCSPBE UIFNBKPSJUZJO slingly concerned about the pressure 4XFEFO#Z UIFJNNJHSBOUTIBSFPG on welfare resulting from the immigra- UIF UPUBM QPQVMBUJPO IBE JODSFBTFE UP tion of people with low skill levels from QFSDFOU%VSJOHUIFJOUFSXBSQFSJPEUIFSF countries in the South – particularly XBT MJUUMF JNNJHSBUJPO BOE CZ POMZ from Africa and Somalia. A large pro- 1.4 per cent of the population was born abroad. Today 11.4 per cent of the whole portion of these newcomers have proven Norwegian population is born outside the di$cult to integrate in a labour market country. In Oslo, the capital of Norway, the characterised by high demands for skills GPSFJHOCPSOQPQVMBUJPOJTQFSDFOU and a compressed wage structure that makes lowskilled labour comparatively !e distribution of the immigrant pop- expensive. ulation is re#ected in table 1. 'SPNUPQVCMJDFYQFOE- iture on immigration and integration NPSF UIBO EPVCMFE GSPN UP 7 billion and in the wake of the Arab Polen 4QSJOH TUBSUJOHJO5VOJTJBJO%FDFNCFS Sweden NPSFBTZMVNTFFLFSTSFBDIFE/PS- Pakistan XBZ*O.BZQFSTPOTBQQMJFE Iraq for asylum, the second highest number Somalia ever, most of them from Somalia and Germany Eritrea. To meet the crises in Africa, Vietnam the UN High Commissioner on Refu- %FONBSL gees visited Oslo, urging Norway along with the rest of Europe to take its share. Iran In addition to these newcomers, Turkey BTZMVNTFFLFSTXFSFXBJUJOHGPS Bosnia-Herzegovina their applications to be processed. Some Russia had waited for years. !e government Sri-Lanka therefore increased the sta% handling !e Phillipines administration to shorten the pro- 6OJUFE,JOHEPN cess . !e government also introduced ,PTPWP a stricter return policy towards those !ailand who could not document their need Afghanistan for protection. Many were returned by force, despite heavy protests from or- Lithuania ganisations like Amnesty International and critical remarks from the UN High Commissioner of Refugees. 4 As we have seen, the largest immi- !ere was also a special focus on those grant groups in Norway come from our who had their applications rejected be- "&.*+063/"- cause they lacked identi"cation papers, sequently has no papers and no civic but who refused to return voluntarily. SJHIUT 0O +BOVBSZ TIF XBT Over the years many have left the the arrested, put in custody while waiting reception centers - uno$cially the num- for deportation. Many of the people ber is more than ten thousand – and be- demonstrating against her deportation came illegal immigrants. argued that paperless immigrants should " ZFBSPME .BSJB "NFMJF SFBM be granted the right to work, pay taxes name Madina Salamova, gave these ille- and access Norway’s public health ser- gal immigrants a face by publishing her vice while they wait for their situation to book Illegally Norwegian, where she de- be resolved. For many in the same situ- scribes her #eeing the Russian republic ation “Hers was a voice for the voiceless of North Ossetia as a child and going - those who are living in hiding them- underground with her parents when selves and living in a very, very di$cult their asylum application was rejected. situation.” Maria Amelie somehow managed to :FU /PSXBZT 1SJNF .JOJTUFS +FOT evade Norway’s immigration authorities Stoltenberg, stood "rm. Speaking on for eight years while learning #uent Nor- national television, he said he under- wegian, getting a university degree and stood why people were demonstrating., then writing her best-selling book. A but added: weekly news magazine awarded her the “… my task is to make sure we execute UJUMFA/PSXFHJBOPGUIFZFBSJO a fair refugee and asylum policy, so we Maria Amelie called herself a paper- have to treat people on an equal basis, less immigrant - someone whose asylum [so] that those who are in need of pro- application has been denied and con- tection are the ones who are allowed to stay.” But critics said the government need not have bent any rules to allow Maria Amelie to stay. John Peder Egenaes, head of Amnesty International Norway pointed to the fact that “Norway is one of the few countries that never had any kind of regularization of these people’s situations, while this has happened to six million people in Europe. “It basically means their status as illegal is changed to legal. And this has never happened in Norway. We are just creating a paperless underclass right now.”7 !is was a di$cult situation. ! e Labour Party faced a right-of-centre face by publishing her book “Illegally Norwegian” in opposition ready to attack any sign of weakness on immigration. !e govern- ment’s minority partner, the Socialist HANS STORHAUG Left Party was keen to ease immigra- the extremes, often blaming ‘Islam’ and tion laws, which led to serious tensions ‘the Muslims’. Although they only rep- within the government. However, Maria SFTFOU QFS DFOU PG UIF QPQVMBUJPO Amelie was deported to Moscow where to many Norwegians the Muslims have she applied for a work permit and later become a threat to Norwegian cultural returned as a legal Russian immigrant values and the Norwegian welfare state. worker. !is was clearly demonstrated in the report Welfare and Migration. !e Fu- Norwegain Integration Barometer ture of the Norwegian Model, published 2010 .BZɨFDPNNJUUFFQPJOUFE Although the Maria Amelie case aroused to the fact that there is a steady #ow of a lot of sympathy for the so-called ‘pa- poorly quali"ed groups in Norwegian perless’, general opinion on immigra- working life, and that many of them are tion has moved in a negative direction unemployed: Somalis, Iraqis, Afghani- TJODF"DDPSEJOHUPUIFNorwegian stanis, Pakistanis, Moroccans, Turkeys, Integration Barometer 2010 (a survey on ,PTPWPT BOE *SBOJBOT o BMM .VTMJN Norwegians attitude towards immigra- countries. At the very bottom are the tion and integration), more than half of Somalis, with an employment rate of UIFQFSTPOTBTLFEoQFSDFOU POMZ 9 – want to close the borders as compared !e Committee therefore strongly XJUIJO"MNPTUIBMGo recommended a further development of percent thought that integration was the so-called introductory programme VOTVDDFTTGVMoVQGSPNQFSDFOU with a strong labour market pro"le – in- !e reasons are many and complex tegration through work – and 300 hours and cannot be addressed here, but there compulsory courses on the Norwegian are some aspects that might help to ex- language and social issues. Activation plain the negative trend: Public discus- is a key word, emphazising the need to sion on child marriages, male and female make immigrants active contributors circumcision, the head-scarf for women, in society instead of passive receivers of but also on school drop-outs, work drop- social bene"ts. To reach these goals, the outs, exploitation of social bene"ts and committee also recommended a stronger international terrorism, have increased commitment by public and private sec- in recent years. Although only a tiny tor to help integration of poor quali"ed proportion of terrorist attacks in Europe immigrants in productive labour and have been carried out by Muslims, many to prevent this group from falling out Europeans – and Norwegians - share the of ordinary working life permanently, view expressed in an election speech in which would mean a substantial burden CZ$BSM*)BHFOoGPSNFSMFBEFS on the welfare budget. of Fremskrittspartiet (Progress Party) !e report created a great stir.. that “not all Muslims are terrorists, but High-pro"les individuals like Jens Ul- all terrorists are Muslims.” So the debate ltveit Moe, founder of the Norwegian about immigration has been polarized, investment company, the Umoe Group, and the media have mainly reported on claimed that immigrants are a threat to "&.*+063/"- UIFXFMGBSFTUBUF 10 Progress Party repre- an atmosphere of anti-Muslim feeling. sentative Per-Willy Amundsen claimed And most people – myself included - ex- UIBU JNNJHSBOUT BSF CBE FNQMPZFST 11 pected that immigration would be the while on the other side Anna-Sabina main issue in the forthcoming munici- Soggiu, leader for Norwegian social pal elections in September. workers (Fellesorganisasjonen) claimed that the report to a great extent over- !e Oslo Tragedy looked the reasons why many immi- ɨFOoPO+VMZ/PSXBZXBTTUSVDL grants did not succeed on the labour by a double terrorist attack – the most market. !e report was, no doubt, a serious one since World War II. A bomb valuable contribution in outlining a pol- exploded in Oslo destroying large parts icy for sustainable immigration, but I do of a government o$ce block and there not think I am too wrong saying that XBT B NBTT TIPPUJOH BU 6UZB *TMBOE many of the proposals in the report were QFPQMFXFSFLJMMFEBNPOHUIFN ABEPQUFEGSPNUIF1SPHSFTT1BSUZ}TJN- young members of Norwegian Labour migration policy. Party’s youth wing, the AUF. ɨFSFGPSFJOFBSMZTVNNFSJN- Immediately after the explosion many migration was a hot political issue, with feared an Islamic terrorist action, and
HANS STORHAUG some innocent Muslims were attacked a change in society, and from his per- in the streets. A few hours later, when spective, he needed to force through a UIFQFSQFUSBUPS}TOBNFBOEIJTFYUSFNF revolution. He wished to attack society right-wing ideas were known, the "rst and the structure of society.” But he did reaction among Norwegian Muslims not succeed. In contrast to U.S. Presi- as well as among most Norwegians was EFOU (FPSHF #VTI} iXF}MM IVOU UIFN simply relief. It was an ethnic Norwe- down” after 9/11 Norwegian prime gian, born and raised in Oslo. His name minister Jens Stoltenberg said “we will and appearance burned into my mind respond to his actions with more open- and retina: Anders Behring Breivik. In a ness, more tolerance and more democ- QBHFiNBOJGFTUPwXIJDIIFQVC- racy”. lished online hours before his actions, With these words Stoltenberg gained entitled 2083: A European Declaration world-wide sympathy and admiration, of Independence, Mr. Brevik explains and in Norway people across the coun- why he committed the killings.!e text try gathered in churches, town halls, rants against Marxism, multiculturalism meeting houses in a new feeling of and globalization, and warns of what empathy, solidarity and unity, in Oslo IFDBMMT*TMBNJD%FNPHSBQIJD8BSGBSFΉ QFPQMFKPJOFEJOUIFTPDBMMFE He calls for a crusade to defend his idea Rose March in remembrance of the vic- of Europe: “What most people still do tims and their families. not understand is that the ongoing Isla- misation of Europe cannot be stopped !e Utøya Effect before one gets to grip with the polit- !e tragedy also had political e%ects. A ical doctrine which makes it possible,” month before the tragedy, Norwegian he wrote. So the target that formed in voters were presented with the results his mind was not immigrant groups, but from the June polls, re#ecting both the government itself which had opened !e Maria Amelie case and the Report the borders for Muslims, and young on Welfare and Migration. It gave the people who were attached to the ruling Labour Party the lowest scores in many left-leaning Labour Party. ZFBSToQFSDFOU BOEJUXBTFYQFDUFE His lawyer, Geir Lippestad, said that that the party would lose ground in the “he had been politically active (Fpu) election. But the tragedy paved way for and found out himself that he did not the best elections for the Labour Party succeed with usual political tools and so JOZFBSToVQQFSDFOUDPNQBSFE resorted to violence”. In his own chilling UPUIF+VOFQPMMT BOEQFSDFOUJODPN- words, the killings were “atrocious but QBSJTPOUPUIFFMFDUJPOT*UJTOPU necessary”. From his own tweets, para- unlikely that some of the 100,000 new phrasing the English philosopher John voters were sympathy voters, or endors- Stuart Mill, you can glimpse his twisted ing the way Prime Minister Jens Stolten- certainty: “One person with a belief is berg had handled the tragedy. However, equal to the force of 100,000 who have its coalition ally the Socialist Left Party only interests.” (SV) lost even more votes after the trag- Again, quoting his lawyer: “he wanted edy and ended up with only 4 per cent, "&.*+063/"- EPXOGSPNQFSDFOUJOɨFCJH sincere commitment to Norwegian de- winners were the Conservatives, who mocracy. Also Muslim young men and probably took votes from the anti-im- XPNFOXFSFLJMMFEBU6UZB0SBTPOF migration Progress Party once favoured who knows most about Muslims in Nor- by right-wing extremist Anders Behring XBZ ,BSJ7PHU 3FTFBSDIFSBUUIF*OTUJ- Breivik, which lost a third of its vote, see tute of Cultural Studies at the University Table 1. 14 of Oslo says: A new “us” seems to have been created. Anti-immigrant sentiments in Eu- rope June Across Europe there is a strong and Polls growing concern about immigration. It Labour Party 31.6 27.2 29.6 is partly fuelled by unemployment but also has its roots in threatened identity. 28.0 30.3 19.3 Conservative Party Societies have been changing fast. !ere Progress Party 11.4 16.4 17.5 is mounting frustration that o$cials at Centre Party 6.8 5.7 8.0 both European and national level seem Liberal Party 6.2 4.4 5.9 not to listen to the views of the voters. 5.6 5.3 6.4 With globalisation, national identity $ISJTUJBO1FPQMF}T seems to have become more important. Party !e nation state remains the focus of Socialist Left Party 4.1 5.4 6.2 most people’s identity, and so nationalist parties have made gains in many parts of &VSPQF UIF 'SFFEPN 1BSUZ JO "VTUSJB Voluntary Work UIF'MFNJTI#MPDLJO#FMHJVN UIF%BO- !e tragedy has also given voluntary JTI1FPQMF}T1BSUZJO%FONBSL UIF/B- work a new meaning. Many voluntary UJPOBM'SPOUJO'SBODF UIF)FMMFOJD'SPOU organisastions and individuals gave a JO(SFFDF UIF/PSUIFSO-FBHVFBOE/B- helping hand during and after the trag- UJPOBM"MMJBODFJO*UBMZ UIF%FNPDSBUTJO FEZ BU 6UZB 1BSUJDVMBSMZ PSHBOJTBUJPOT 4XFEFO UIF5SVF'JOOTJO'JOMBOE UIF like Red Cross and Folkehjelpen – Peo- 1BSUZ GPS 'SFFEPN JO UIF /FUIFSMBOET QMF}T)FMQ4JODFUIFUSBHFEZIJUTPNBOZ UIF4XJTT1FPQMF}T1BSUZJO4XJU[FSMBOE young people, many young people have and the Progress Party in Norway. also responded to the tragedy by join- !ere are frequent expressions of con- ing these and Amnesty International cern about the growing in#uence of these and Center for Anti – Racism. !e La- parties. Others say that they provide a CPVS1BSUZ}TZPVUIPSHBOJTBTUJPOIBTBMTP useful channel for the feelings of frustra- gained several more members than usual. tion and alienation. And perhaps most important, there An expert in European right-wing ex- seems to be a new and more sympa- USFNJTN BU -POEPOT ,JOHTUPO 6OJWFS- thetic awareness of the Muslim presence sity, Andrea Mammone, says Breivik’s JO/PSXBZ BHSFBUOVNCFSPG.VTMJNT ideas are consistent with many on the express their feeling of belonging and extreme right in Europe. “!ese ideas HANS STORHAUG of having a pure community, of having much better chance of arriving at such a white Europe are quite widespread values happens if other points of view get across European right-wing extremism, su$cient cultural self-con"dence, polit- !ey are against immigration and Islam, ical power, and opportunity to express which is a very easy target. !ey are for themselves.19 an immigrant-free Europe.” In this respect, I believe, AEMI can ,#JTXBTGSPNUIFNBHB[JOFthe New make a di%erence. Representing a diver- Internationalist says a tide has turned sity of research centres, libraries, archives over the past decade. !e extreme right and museums dedicated to the research may agree with much of Breivik’s out- and dissemination of migration issues, look, but, they say, not with his tactics, past and present, our organisation has the and it is important to separate the two. potential to enhance public awareness of “What is interesting to note is that these present migration and to prove that mi- views are no longer fringe views,” Biswas gration history matters. noted, “!ese views are entering part of the mainstream”. But he also says that Notes “linking Islamophobia, hostile anti-elite 1 Statistics Norway/ ssb.no views to violent acts is wrong.”17 "MMëHVSFTQSPWJEFECZ4UBUJTUJDT/PSXBZTTCOP "GUFOQPTUFOOPXFCBSDIJWF !is anti-Muslimism, as a rule, *CJE equates migrants and Muslims, fosters -BST#FSBOHFS ##$/FXT intolerance towards communities whose IUUQXXXCCDDPVLOFXTXPSMEFVSPQF religion is Islam and whose Islamic char- *CJE IUUQXXXCOQPSHVLOFXTBOUJJNNJHSB- acter, real or imagined, is the subject of tion-sentiment-rises-‘tolerant’-norway prejudice. In many Western European /06 7FMGFSE PH NJHSBTKPO %FO OPSTLF societies multiculturalism has been trans- NPEFMMFOTGSFNUJE0TMP formed into an ideological battleground 10http://www.abcnyheter.no/penger/oe- LPOPNJKFOTVMMUWFJUNPFJOOWBO- and has encouraged the growth of ‘iden- drere-uthuler-velferdsstaten tity politics’ across Europe. IUUQBSUJLLFMWFMGFSE@PH@JOO- Some of Europe’s leaders, from Angela vandring_dominerte_sporretimen .FSLFM UP %BWJE $BNFSPO IBWF RVFT- IUUQXXXEBHCMBEFUOPLVMUVS debatt/debattinnlegg/audun_lysbakken/broch- tioned multiculturalism. France’s depor- NBOOVUWBMHFU tations of Roma, Silvio Berlusconi and IUUQXXXOPSXBZVOPSH/PSXBZBOE6//PS- Nicolas Sarkocy debate on “enhanced wegian_Politics/Our-response-will-be-more-open- security” in Europe’s visa-free Schengen ness-more-democracy-/ 7BMHSFTVMUBUFUIUUQOSLOPWBMHWBMHSF- area – meaning how to close their borders sultat/ for people #eeing Africa, and the Norwe- IUUQXXXBMTIBSREFXIPBSFNVTMJNT HJBO 1SPHSFTT 1BSUZ}T DPOUJOVPVT UBML of-norway.html about “covert” Islamization, are all ex- IUUQXXXWPBDPN70"@4UBOEBSE@&OH- lish/Norway-Massacre-Highlights-Europes-Grow- pressions that migrants, and Muslims in JOH'BS3JHIUIUNM particular, represent a threat to European 3V[JDB$JDBL$IBOE &UIOJDBOE$VMUVSBM*EFOUJUZ countries and civilization. By claiming of Muslim Immigrants in Western Europe in AEMI the superiority of Western culture and Journal, Vol. 2 19 Ibid. Reference to Bhikhu Parekh, Minority pratices values, they also want to coerce others and principles of toleration in International Migra- into accepting these values. However, a tion Review,7PM /FX:PSL