16 April 2009

On Saturday 4th April, the food was better, but they served only one soup spoon of rice per person. People normally eat at least three soup spoons full of rice. In this case many people went back to ask for more food, but they were denied. Many were frustrated and life in the TV room was miserable. It was exactly like people who have lost their loved ones, just like a funeral place in Africa.

One Ethiopian man went at 22:00 hours that night to buy some bread from Statoil about 15 minutes walk from the camp. Four people came to my room, separately, asking if I had some bread, they needed to eat. They were very hungry; one could see it from their body language and physical look. Only one of them was able to say a few words before leaving, he said and I quote: ”I am very hungry as if I have eaten nothing at all. I don’t really know what happened today with the food. It was better but so little that I could even count how many pieces of rice were on my plate. I could have eaten up to four plates of rice if they were to accept my request for more food”.

On Sunday 5th April, three people were asked by the reception staff to go and do some work that they would be paid 100 kr for each. Three asylum seekers went and they were asked to carry three freezers from the kitchen to the store, under the TV building. After the work was done, the asylum seekers begged the staff member if he could open the Internet, and the staff said: ”Yes, I will do that for you good guys”. At 14:20 there was Internet connection as promised by the staff.

The normal time for Internet was always from 16:00 to 23:59, but now there had been no Internet for several days. Perhaps the reception staff was happy on Sunday because of the work done by the asylum seekers. Normally the reception pays people for any kind of work in kind, not in cash. I believe this must have been an individual initiative. My reaction was that if the reception staff break the rules, it is OK, but if asylum seekers break the rules it is a grave criminal offense. We know that one asylum seeker has been employed for 10 consecutive months, and is still working washing plates. Yet he has no work permit in Norway. This just to give the reader a concrete example as to how the reception staff break the rules and laws of the country without any repercussions.

On 10th April, the asylum seeker who was working without work permit washing plates has been dismissed from his work and we have not been able to reach him for a comment. The reception staff can employ any asylum seeker any time and can pay them in kind or in cash as they wish. We are not allowed to work according to the Norwegian law, yet the reception has employed one asylum seeker to wash plates for almost a year now. If it was in solidarity with the inhabitants, then one person could work for a month, then there should be a shift and every inhabitant can get some money to buy a telephone card, since telephone card is always our personal justification for such employment. Employing only one person for the job manifests prejudice and discriminating against inhabitants. We don’t know if there is any rule or law that protects inhabitants’ interests.

On 12th April, Easter Sunday, we expected to have nice food for the Easterl. For National Day and Christmas, we do have special food and Coca-Cola to celebrate. But to our disappointment, Easter Sunday was even worse than the ordinary days. It is just hard to describe how one could expect that such a huge Christian feast could just go without recognition, while on Ramadan Muslims were given nice food and soft drinks to celebrate the events. Such situation is prejudice and discrimination against others’ beliefs. Norway is a Christian country with a state religion in the Constitution. We believe that denying us Christians from celebrating our most important religious feast was just another bitter pill to swallow as discrimination looms against us from all aspects of our lives.

On the 14th April, a 20 year old Chechen man and his mother were deported by the PU before lunch time.

On 16th April, Utlendingspolitiet (PU) brought one African man to the camp. We did not have time to ask his identity or where he was arrested, but he was handcuffed. We believe the PU brought the man from Trandum camp, where detainees on the deportation list are kept, near the airport. The PU van stopped outside the reception, and they pulled the man out of the van and removed the handcuffs and told him to go. The PU said: ”this is a new home”. To our surprise, the man took his luggage and put it on his back, and started walking out of the camp compound towards the gate. The PU stood and watched the man leaving the new home, what Harald (the head of Lier) calls ”Paradise”. He walked away as everybody was watching. The PU continued watching until the man faded away. There was no word from any of them.

It was an interesting scene and an amazing one. We believe the man was brought from Trandum camp, because he looked stressed and angry with everything he saw. We have seen such a look on those who have been to Trandum camp before. They behave strangely and their minds seem confused. I tried to get information about the man from the reception, but their mood was that of a lion and a deer: suspicious.

The point is that the PU themselves are tired with the entire game in the ventemottak. They seem exhausted after many failures to deport people without clear identities. There are many people who are now dumped in ventemottak after PU has exhausted all the means to deport them. The number of such groups has increased over the last 3 years. Such a phenomenon describes how the ventemottak was not planned and has been an unsuccessful project that will exist as a symbol of injustice in Norway forever.

Inhabitant of Lier ventemottak, anonymous