TV 2 recently told about 31-year-old Yulia Neschadim and her daughter of four, who lives in an asylum reception center in Porsgrunn.
– We just wait and wait without getting an answer. The wait is exhausting and discouraging. No one can give an answer regarding residence or what will happen in the future. That’s cruel, Neschadim said.
She is not alone in waiting, because several thousand Ukrainians are in the same situation.
And although the government has promised progress, little has happened.
The Norwegian Association for Asylum Seekers (NOAS) is very concerned that it takes so long to settle the refugees.
– THROWING BALL: Yulia Neschadim said that it was difficult to find information and difficult to get answers. – I have become a throwing ball in the system, she said. Photo: Ingvild Gjerdsjø / TV 2
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“Where will all the refugees go?”
16,040 Ukrainian refugees have applied for asylum in Norway, shows a recent update from the UDI, Monday.
So far, only 1296 of them have been resident in a municipalityshows figures from the Directorate for Integration and Diversity.
3387 people have secured an agreement on settlement with a municipality, but are still waiting for reception.
Although there has been no lack of goodwill to help Ukrainian refugees on Norwegian soil, several bureaucratic challenges have arisen along the way that have trained the process.
– We understand that this is new and many came at once, but this has been too slow. Especially in light of the fact that many volunteers and municipalities have given notice that everything is ready. They wonder “where will all the refugees go”? says Pål Nesse, Secretary General of NOAS.
– DISAPPOINTED: Pål Nesse, who is general secretary of NOAS, is disappointed that no more refugees have settled in municipalities until now. Photo: Martin Leigland
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The most important tool
The refugees who come to Norway from Ukraine have had to leave their homes and flee war, often without a father and husband in the family.
– They have been through something traumatic, need normality and can not just sit and wait for something to happen, Nesse says.
In addition, settlement is not just about giving the refugees a network, school and a job. It is also about the safety of the refugees.
90 percent of those who come to Norway are women and children, which Kripos describes as a particularly vulnerable group.
In recent weeks, several women have reported unpleasant experiences from foreign men. This led to Kripos on Friday upgrading its assessment, and said yes NRK that they think it is “Very likely” that the refugees will be abused.
– TOYS: Children play outside the National Arrival Center at Råde. Photo: Frode Sunde / TV 2
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– Many people struggle to make ends meet since the remuneration at transit reception is very low. They can be lured by men who offer financial help and a place to live, but who have an expectation of benefits, says Nesse.
He is well aware of the problem that refugees are exposed to sexual abuse internationally.
– But I was not aware of the extent of this also in Norway, so it is worrying, says Nesse.
– LID OFFER: NOAS constantly hears about refugees who have received fraudulent offers online or on social media. Photo: Martin Leigland / TV 2
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Fear several incidents
Ecocrime is also concerned that Ukrainian refugees are being lured into undeclared work, prostitution and human trafficking, they wrote in their threat assessment for 2022.
Nesse confirms that they also still hear candy stories. He sees that very many men offer to help the refugees in social media and online, but is worried that not everyone has good intentions.
– Among these are obviously people you should not make contact with, who play on the fact that the refugees are broke, impatient and have a great need to get started. What we fear is that there will be more stories over time where people have been lured, he says.
Nesse is fully aware of what is most important to minimize the risk of Ukrainian refugees being exploited.
– The most important tool against this is rapid settlement. That they enter a municipal system, get a social network, job or schooling, so that they can start living a normal life, he says.
According to Nesse, it is not good enough to make promises of quick settlement, without setting specific goals for how many people will be settled each week.
– Now you should set specific figures for how many you can settle each week ahead, so you get to the finish line quickly. It must be several thousand every week.
– SEVERAL PHASES: The refugees who come to Norway must first visit Råde to be registered. After that, most end up in the emergency department pending settlement in a municipality. Photo: Frode Sunde / TV 2
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Rejects criticism
Director Libe Rieber-Mohn in the Directorate for Integration and Diversity rejects the criticism that the settlement is too slow. On the contrary, she says the process has never been faster.
– We settle as much as we can, and we have employees who make a fantastic effort and who work evenings and weekends to ensure that the settlement goes quickly. This is going at a very fast pace, says Rieber-Mohn to TV 2.
– PRIORITIES: Director Libe Rieber-Mohn believes it is important to keep the settlement up at a high pace going forward. Photo: Martin Leigland
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In addition to the 1296 who have been settled, she points out that 3387 Ukrainians have received an agreement on settlement with a municipality.
When asked by TV 2 about how many IMDIs have the ambition to settle every day and every week, Rieber-Mohn says that they do not operate with such a number. She refers to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI).
The UDI, for its part, states that the Ukrainians who live in the receptions today will be mapped well before the summer holidays. For specific objectives for how many refugees are to be settled, they refer back to IMDI.
– MAPPER: The fact that IMDI maps the refugees before they can be settled is one of the main reasons why the process takes time. Photo: Martin Leigland / TV 2
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In fact, fewer settle
TV 2 has collected figures from week 17 (April 25-May 1), which shows that 589 refugees settled that week. There are an average of 84 refugees a day.
On Friday 29 April, a press conference was called. Then came the promises from the government that they would simplify the processes and solve the bottlenecks to ensure quick settlement.
Preliminary figures nevertheless indicate that little has happened.
From Friday 29 April to Friday 6 May, 501 refugees settled, which is an average of 72 people every day.
– TEMPORARY: The refugees are given a temporary stay at a reception center like this in Porsgrunn while they wait. Photo: Ingvild Gjerdsjø / TV 2
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Although Rieber-Mohn does not agree that settlement is too slow, she shares the concern that waiting refugees may be exploited.
– I am worried, especially for the Ukrainian refugees who are not registered and who can live privately with people they should not live with. The most important thing is that everyone registers, then you come in under orderly conditions and it ensures that we can follow them up in a good and safe way, she says.
A resting edge
Pål Nesse in NOAS experiences that the system, as it is today, is unnecessarily bureaucratic.
– Everything does not have to be finished for the refugees to be settled. It is better to spend resources on settling tomorrow, and then solve the other things eventually, he says.
– SHORT: Pål Nesse, Secretary General of NOAS, believes it is important that the time of reception is as short as possible, so that the refugees have a certain normality with networks, school and work. Photo: Martin Leigland / TV 2
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Nesse also believes that the responsible authorities have a room for maneuver right now, since there have been fewer arrivals from Ukraine recently.
– Right now you have a resting edge and the opportunity to force this strongly.
Another consequence if the settlement continues to drag out in time, according to Nesse, is that the large mobilization in society, both among volunteers and in the municipalities, may be less.
– We have to forge while the iron is hot.
So many are residents
- 16,040 Ukrainian refugees have applied for asylum
- 11,345 have been granted asylum by the UDI
- 1179 refugees have IMDI asked the municipalities to settle, but the municipality has not yet responded.
- 3387 has an agreement with IMDI and a municipality on settlement, but has not been settled
- 1296 is a resident.
The figures are from Monday 9 May.
Source: IMDI and UDI
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