On 22 July, 2011, a neo-nazi terrorist planted a bomb in Norway and shot at participants in a youth camp. 77 people died and nearly two hundred were injured, many of them non-adults. We write this post is remembrance of that anniversary, since the incidents are far from forgotten in Norway. In fact, there’s even a museum in Oslo. Its deeply moving website contains official responses, survivor narratives, information about anti-Islamic movements in Norway and beyond, and lots more. So we thought we’d share our first impressions of how Norway is handling its racial and diversity issues now.
Norway has been a haven for refugees and those seeking asylum for many years. In the past, they came from Asia and east Africa. More recently they come from the Middle East, and now many from Ukraine are arriving here. Norway accepts about 50,000 immigrants per year (including those with Norwegian ancestry). Of these, just about half are from elsewhere in Europe. And like much of Europe, native birthrates in Norway are declining. This results in 15% of the people living in Norway being foreign-born (25% of those living in Oslo). A couple more stats to make this real for our mathy friends: Norway’s population is just under 5.5 million, which means that they take in 1% of their population per year. For comparison, the U.S., with a population over 330 million, takes in .3% of its population, and the UK (67M) takes in .4%.
So our mental picture of the ‘typical’ Norwegian has undergone some adjustment. We were out walking one afternoon and saw a group of teenagers who looked Somali, wearing Los Angeles Lakers jerseys. To our surprise (but shame on us!) they were all speaking Norwegian. Then again, one positive aspect of the new look of Norway is that nearly everyone addresses us first in Norwegian – for all they know, we really do live here!
The influx of non-native born residents is not controversial in the sense that the citizen body fully supports it; there is no public debate about the right course of action. But it does have people talking about what it means to be Norwegian. Countries like the U.S. – a nation of immigrants – have struggled with self-definition for generations. It is really interesting to see how the conversation differs here, where a shared ethnicity has been important for nation-making. An ethos of relationship and shared concern is always hard to maintain in the face of visible differences. And there are signs of that struggle here, as there are in many other parts of the world.
We have seen some, but not much, evidence of racialized sentiment, mostly in graffiti and fictionalised on television programs. Probably there is much more that we are missing. Still, to us it seems as though Norway’s approach has been largely successful, and could provide a model for others.
