Norway is a country of fjords and mountains tucked into the periphery of northern Europe, and Norwegians are known for being close to nature and their country's rugged landscape. This relationship is reflected in the popular enjoyment of outdoor life and winter sports. Today, the small population of 4.2 million lives in relative comfort, and security is provided by a well-developed social welfare system. However, life in Norway has not always been comfortable or secure. During the last century, conditions led many Norwegians to immigrate to the United States.
Alphild Skjorestad's life story illustrates aspects not atypical of Norwegian emigration history. Alphild is a Norwegian-American lady who lives in a red, white, and blue wooden cottage by a fjord on the west coast of Norway. Two months after she was born, her parents emigrated from Norway to the United States, leaving her behind in the care of closer relatives. At the age of two, she was sent to the United States to be reunited with her parents. Later, she married Bjarne Skjorestad, a young Norwegian immigrant in Chicago. In 1969, when Alphild and Bjarne were in their sixties, they moved back to Hommersak, Bjarne's small Norwegian hometown, as pensioners. On their living room sofa is a cushion they brought from the United States. On it is embroidered "Kan du glemme gamle Norge?" ("Can you ever forget good old Norway?").
To an outsider, it might seem that Norwegian emigration history provides Norwegians with a unique angle on recent immigration to their country. After all, the accumulated experience of Norwegian immigrants to the United States, including the fates of those who put down roots and the unavoidable adjustments of those who returned to the "good old Norway" they could never forget, provides a potentially good resource for helping new immigrants who find themselves in parallel situations. However, these experiences have not been tapped to create a resource helpful in Norway's current debate on the issue of immigrants and immigration to Norway.
Who Are These New Immigrants?
Although the percentage of foreigners living in Norway today has not far surpassed the 1920 figure of 2 percent (3 percent in 1989), the immigration issue has become a hotly debated topic that can effectively polarize public opinion. In part, this emotionality can be attributed to the fact that recent arrivals in Norway come from Asia, Africa, and South America. Though these newcomers account for less than 1 percent of Norway's 4.2 million inhabitants, their presence is much more controversial than that of Americans, alien Scandinavians, or other Europeans. The new minorities from the Third World are more readily visible in the Norwegian landscape, and to some Norwegians, they seem more threatening to Norway's traditional way of life.
Most foreigners in Norway live in Oslo, the capital city, and the neighboring areas. Here one finds clear signs of the presence of the new minorities. In Oslo's poorer East End, many Asian-run groceries are stocked with exotic fruits, vegetables, and spices most Norwegians cannot identify. Often, prominently displayed posters written in non-Latin alphabets advertise cultural evenings or meetings. Sometimes, on the streets here, one can see Muslim women, veiled and covered from head to toe, or Pakistani men with long beards, who wear baggy pants and knee-length tunics underneath suit jackets. To the average Norwegian in Oslo,
...
Read Full Article
|
