University of Southeast Norway, Refugees | Refugee crises then and now
Opinions This is a debate post. The post expresses the writer’s attitudes.
Is today’s crisis unique? Both yes and no. If we look at the refugees themselves, it is striking that virtually all are women and children. This means that the motivation in the receiving community is great to receive them. In fact, one has to go back to 1956 and the refugee crisis in Hungary during the Cold War to find commitment. There is little doubt about the status of the Ukrainian refugees – they are real refugees. Whether the Ukraine war will trigger a greater influx of migrants from other areas without the need for protection, as we witnessed during the Syrian crisis, is too early to say. In any case, the reception of women and children from Ukraine requires extensive integration measures and large allocations, under economic conditions that are not the most favorable for a generous refugee policy.
Another characteristic of the Ukrainian refugees is that they come from a country that is geographically, and not least culturally, close to us. This is not new either. In the 1990s, large groups of refugees from the former Yugoslavia, Bosnians and Kosovo Albanians, came together over 20,000 in total. Nevertheless, the refugees were not met with unreserved support. The debate about refugees in general was quite heated at the time, and the crisis in Yugoslavia was complicated, since it involved internal refugees in a civil war-torn country. The refugee crisis in Ukraine, on the other hand, comes in the wake of a regular invasion and is a clear violation of international conventions.
READ ALSO: Rune travels in and out of Ukraine with emergency aid: – I do no good by sitting at home
The Bosnia and Kosovo crises also involved collective protection. Initially, it was thought that the refugees should be returned to their home country when it was safe. The problem with collective protection is, of course, to determine whether and when it is safe to return to the country of origin, and whether the period of residence drags on and thus creates a humanitarian basis for turning temporary residence into permanent residence. Providing temporary collective protection solves the crisis there and then, but having great unpredictability for both the authorities and the refugees.
In the case of the Bosnians, the authorities opted for a double track where the refugees would be integrated, while the protection would be short-lived. When the UDI considered it safe for the Bosnians to return, both the Bosnians and many Norwegians protested. There was political uproar; The Minister of Justice in the Labor Party government was replaced, and the Bosnians were given a collective amnesty and consequently a permanent residence permit. In the case of the Kosovo Albanians, things went more according to plan. Nevertheless, no more than half returned voluntarily, even with ample financial support from the Norwegian authorities.
READ ALSO: 58 Ukrainians are registered in Tønsberg: – But there may be far more who have come
Voluntary involvement
A complicating factor in the Ukraine crisis is volunteering. This applies to both private initiatives to transport refugees from Ukraine or from the border countries to Norway, as well as voluntary military recruits to the Ukrainian defense. The latter is most similar to the situation during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, in which volunteers from several Western countries participated on the side of the Spanish Republic. The framework around the Syrian dangers, on the other hand, was quite different. Nevertheless, the public sector is given a responsibility for Norwegian citizens who commit acts of war, either through various forms of diplomacy and legal proceedings, or as a welfare state with a duty to help Norwegians with physical injuries and war trauma.
“Rescue operations” from private Norwegians have undoubtedly been positive for the Ukrainian refugees who can take advantage of the offer, but at the same time contribute to creating a confusing and unpredictable situation for both the refugees and the society that receives them. It is not often that refugees are transported in this private way, but without historical precedent it is not. During the Vietnam War, a group of pro-American, Norwegian youths took the initiative to hand-pick a group of Vietnamese orphanage children and transport them, in violation of Norwegian law, to Norway by plane. But it was impossible morally to send the children back, and they were adopted and grew up in Norway.
READ ALSO: Asks all newly arrived Ukrainians to contact Tønsberg GP’s office
Political consequences?
We do not yet know to what extent the refugee crisis in Ukraine will affect international or Norwegian refugee policy. What we do know is that major refugee crises in the past have most often led to a change in control and integration policy. The first major crisis in the post-war period, the boat refugees from Vietnam after 1975, blew up the reception capacity in Norway. At the time, it was the Norwegian Refugee Council, a voluntary organization, that dealt with the refugee issue. Since then, the state has taken over responsibility for the refugees, and the current UDI will eventually come into place. As mentioned, the handling of refugee flows from the Balkans did not go exactly according to plan, and created turbulence in Norwegian politics.
READ ALSO: When Gunnar saw the Ukraine refugees, he got an idea: – We are ready at five hours notice
The refugees who came to Europe during the civil war in Syria in 2015 helped to undermine Schengen cooperation on border control. This meant a major defeat for a common refugee policy in the EU and EEA countries and a return to a control policy formulated at national level. For Norway, the northern escape route across Storskog and a record number of asylum seekers in 2015, over 30,000, was a strong reminder of how attractive Norway has become as an immigration country. In the wake of the Syrian crisis, the administration of the right to asylum has come under strong criticism, and several experts, including Sylo Taraku in Norway, has called for a stricter and more realistic practice of asylum law. What will be the outcome of the European and Norwegian handling of the crisis in Ukraine is highly uncertain, but it is not unlikely that it could have major and perhaps unforeseen consequences for Norwegian society.