(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
This is for you who sit on the couch, you who sit at work, you who are on your way from picking up at the kindergarten, but most of all it is for you who sit in the Government. I'm so inwardly angry and sorry. What are you doing? Possibly not engaged in? You barely lift a finger. Do not tell me that a lone boat in the Mediterranean is enough. Do not tell me that it is enough to throw a penny in the well. If you do not do everything you can and can help when we know that children are drowning on the run daily – then I do not think there is any hope for a warmer and fairer asylum and refugee policy in some areas. Basic responsibilities. Asylum and refugee policy can be difficult. But the question of aid to the Mediterranean is not difficult – it is easy. Because this is about children. Several thousand children fleeing war and misery, drowning on their way to Europe. Often the policy is about balancing between taking care of children's and human rights and at the same time not overburdening one's own society. But dear government, do you claim that this misery and the violations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child can be tolerated because we have other things to worry about? Because Norway wants to be a country enriched with more experience and maybe a few more who need medical help? Well, then you have made a fundamental misjudgment. We can not budget away from our responsibilities in this crisis. Now it's about human dignity, about taking responsibility and standing up. If not now, in a situation where at least one child dies every day on the way to Europe, when do you think we should line up? What is really needed? When it comes to taking Norway's share of the responsibility for refugees drowning in the Mediterranean, it is not the same as saying that you want open borders. When we talk about the people behind the enormous numbers, it is not a question of Norway accepting everyone. But – because there is a reasonably large "but" out there in the Norwegian population – now we have to put down the calculator. It is no longer about numbers. This is just about human dignity. A view of humanity that is more worthy than statements such as "there will be refugees who die no matter how many ships we deploy", or "we will help them in the surrounding areas". We must contribute both in our home countries and on the borders of Europe, and we must do it now! When will Norway start talking internationally? It is not that this refugee crisis came as a surprise. The situation was both announced and expected; yet not enough was done to prevent people from drowning. Who did you think would do it, if not Norway or the EU? Should the home countries do that, ie countries that are full of conflict? Or neighboring countries that are overcrowded because they already have to take care of millions of refugees? It does not matter if the Government has been "good enough". Now it's about children. Children who need our help until we end this painful situation. The debate in Norway has lately been about Norwegian asylum policy, despite the fact that the crisis in the Mediterranean is not a national problem. The Progress Party's immigration policy spokesperson has suggested that Norway should close down the asylum system and rather set up large camps in nearby areas where refugees come from. In this way, Norway, which is already at the top of the world in all possible ways, can remain there, and everyone else can be excluded. There are 51,2 million people on the run in the world, half of them children. Of these, 11 people came to Norway in 480. It is presented as a bigger problem for us that people seek asylum here, than that about 15 percent of the number who applied for asylum in Norway, drowned in the Mediterranean alone this year. When will we start talking about international solutions to the refugee problem, if not now, in the midst of a refugee crisis? In all the misery there is one bright spot. 10 quota refugees is a demand from many of the parties outside the Government. When even the Labor Party proposes something that is not "strict and fair", but only fair, it seems almost too good to be true. Let us hope that Jonas Gahr Støre does not now compromise on broad agreement, but rather demands justice that the Labor Party can stand behind. Please, all party leaders and politicians in leading positions: Can we not just this one time stop letting this be about political games, about who wins and lose, and rather let it be about children? We can not compromise on children's rights. As Melissa Horn sings in «Kungsholmen havn»: When it comes to children, we have the right to take someone's side. For the first time in a very long time, let us take sides with the children who are on the run. Let's take sides with those who are drowning. Let's shit in our own parties.
Sjøvoll is the leader of PRESS – Save the Children youth
