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Socialist left: Integration, but on our terms!

The leader of the Norwegian "Socialist left (SV)"- party, Kristin Halvorsen was cheered when she started her capaining in Asia yesterday. The campain is designed to collect votes from Indians and Pakistanees with norwegian citizenship. But the cheering and applause grew more and more silent as Halvorsen started adressing the subject of forced marriages.

Large banners displaying the words "We support SV in the 2005 election" were decorating the walls when Halvorsen arrived at the campaign in Amritsar in northern India. Over one hundred Indian citizens had turned up to hear the SV-leader speak. In colorful turbans they crowd togeather. They applaude and cheer when Halvorsen comes on stage. She recives more applause for promises of extended teaching in the immigrants native languages in Norwegian schools, easier access to Norwegian visa, more accept for different religions in Norway and guaranteed kindergarden for children of immigrants. But then the smiles faded. Halvorsen stated that she was against forced marriages and noone is smiling anymore. Halvorsen quickly states that she accept arranged marriages, but not forced ones and hastly moves on to the next point of her agenda. 

In the light of this event, in addition to others, it would seem that the selfcrowned queen of the Norwegian "left" is tolerant as long as the immigrants she is tolerating shares her ideological fundamentation. Not surprising from a politician who claims to be an iviromentalist, but is the member of parlament with the largest amount of taxifares in the recent years.  

HALT ON IMMIGRATION?

In 1975 The Norwegian parliament ruled a halt in immigration.

In 1973, pakistanian Ahmed came to Norway through legal labour-immigration. 20 years later, 62 of his relatives has come to Norway through arranged marriages. Now, his daughter Mina Ahmed, is coming forward after being forced into a marriage when she was 18. She calls Norwegians stupid.

 - "Norwegians are stupid to let themselves be fooled to take in so many people through family reunion. It is used as a loophole to get relatives into Norway and provide them with visa, and this is done through forced marriages".

 Mina herself was forced to marry one of her cousins from her home village, and met him for the first time on her wedding night. Today, Mina is separated and hoping to get a divorce. She and her six children have received death threats and are therefore under police protection.

- I'm choosing to get divorced, thereby abandoning contact with my family so that my children won't have to be forced into marriages.

 Financial milking cow

During the fifteen years of Mina’s marriage, she felt like a financial milking cow.

- All the money we had were sent to my husband’s family in his home country. His family used to live in a hut, now they live in a big house, they have fancy cars and servants. My former husband sent between 4 000 and 6 000 kr. to his relatives every month. I myself had to live on a minimum. I never got any thanks, instead I was beaten through the entire marriage.