What does it mean to love others as God loves them. We are in Norway a Christian country but we cannot manage to love. Why not? Perhaps it is because we are afraid to get involved, afraid to empathise with someone in a difficult situation because that would make us vulnerable to their pain, hurt and fear. Is it that we are afraid and so we hide from potential sources of pain?
I have a friend in Kristiansand who is good at keeping me up to date with absurd assylum cases here in Norway. There is sadly no shortage of them. This one however really does cause me to be "heated" when I think about it. So much so that I wrote to the newspaper and asked a journalist if she could highlight this story as it is heartbreaking.
A woman came to europe as a refugee, arriving first in Italy then coming further up and into Norway. While her application for assylum was being considered she gave birth to a baby. The application of assylum has been allowed as she has a real need for protection but she has been told that she cannot stay in Norway as the first place in Europe which she came to is where she has to be. That means she has to return to Italy. Ok so far? If thet is the rule then all would seem well? The problem is that the baby was born here in Norway and cannot return to Italy as a refugee as it has never been there. This mother has been told by the Norwegian authorities that she will be forceably returned to Italy but her five month old baby will have to stay here. There is an application procedure and system for reuniting families so all should not be black. The problem is that the average time taken for such a case to be decided is 4 years! Immigration have said she has one more week with her baby and then they will deport her!
I assume that there is an official in an office somewhere who has made a decision based on the rules and guidelines but really... it makes me VERY hot under the collar that things like this can happen. Not only that but this week too when an international report has said Norway is the best place in the world for mothers and babies. Well it is not for this mother and baby!
What might happen if we could and would put ourselves in someone else's shoes? Are we willing to empathise? Might that lead us into action? What if it was you? What if it was me? How aweful must someones life be and how rich and comfortable must I be before I am willing to do something about injustice and the treatment of the weak, poor and vulnerable around me?
For more information see (in Norwegian with translation click button):
http://www.facebook.com/#!/tolvtejanuar/posts/167506610044038
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