Catching up with new Norwegians, 25 years on | Al Jazeera World Documentary

In 1996, a group of young people living in Norway were interviewed about what is meant to be Norwegian.
They came from diverse backgrounds - mainly from countries in Africa and Asia - and what united them was that they all lived in Norway and spoke Norwegian.
Twenty-five years later, this film tracks them down to discover how a quarter-century of living in Scandinavia has shaped their lives.
The individual stories tell much about what it means to be Norwegian, particularly for those first- and second-generation arrivals.
Connect with Al Jazeera World:
‣ KZbin: aje.me/AJWplaylist
‣ Twitter: / aljazeeraworld
‣ Facebook: / aljazeeraworld
‣ Instagram: / _aljazeeraworld
‣ Website: www.aljazeera.com/program/al-...

#AlJazeeraWorld

[@aljazeeraenglish]

Thank you for watching our documentary! Please let us know what you think in the comments below. Connect with Al Jazeera World: ‣ Twitter: twitter.com/AlJazeeraWorld ‣ Facebook: facebook.com/AlJazeeraWorld ‣ Instagram: instagram.com/_aljazeeraworld ‣ KZbin: aje.me/AJWplaylist

[@joefalch3155]

Det må være jævlig å flytte hit til dette drittstedet!! Hvorfor kom dere hit egentlig? Reis med hele familien tilbake før dere blir norske😅

[@samd7601]

This 90s fashion has come back

[@paulwratt]

I believe that color (or cultural background, in the context of this documentary) just makes it easier for distinctions to be drawn. Tthe truth of the matter is it doesn't matter what society you are in, there are always people who feel they do not fit in, and those that are told they are different, and therefore _they_ have to work harder to fit in. This is more common among teenage years (but not exclusively). What I do know is that if you are denied access to the knowledge of your own "cultural history" it _will_ have a negative effect on you as you grow older. Similarly, ignoring the cultural history of the society you live in will also have more negative effects the older you get. That "line" changes as the society grows by generations, there are no "hard and fast" rules, and every individual require more or less "assistance" in dealing with life in general.

[@Luakidinos]

This documentary is a must see for everyone. Mary Corn said something that should make all immigrants who are still on "integration" open their eyes and look a little closer at what it really means to be "well integrated". What do you give up in the process and is it even worth it?? There are many good reflections and thoughts shared about what it was/is like to grow up as "immigrants" or "not ethnically Norwegian" in Norwegian society. Thank you Asta, Jimei Idmond and everyone involved in this film. The director did a fantastic job. I am angry and disappointed at the way Norwegian society failed Jimei Idmond. The man has lived in Norway for 40 years, in the attempt to keep up with "integration" he was deprived of the opportunity to identify with his home country's culture. After 40 years in Norway, he is still waiting to get a Norwegian passport. He lost his mother and was not even allowed to travel to take part in her funeral simply because the Norwegian authorities does not want to see him as Norwegian. Shame, shame, shame. It is now time to give him the Norwegian citizenship. I think he deserves it and it is the least the Norwegian authorities can do to right the great injustice done to Jimei Idmond for many years.

[@mochtegerndane7097]

Get this. He is an effing criminal. He got to live in one pf the best countries in the world - and he repaid the Norwegians by being a criminal.

[@IageF]

I haven't watched the whole documentary yet, but some of these comments from the Turkish-Norwegian guy are very strange, I think. I'm Norwegian as well. I didn't have a cabin growing up. Only two of my friends did. I can't remember even one friend that had a boat, despite us living on the west coast. So it's very strange when he describe these things as normal for majority Norwegians to grow up with. This sounds more like a stereotype based on people he has met from Oslo's west-side, Asker or Bærum. But those are some of the wealthiest areas in Norway. Most Norwegians don't live like that.

[@The_Judge300]

I 100% agree. The reality is that it is a clear minority of Norwegians that own a cabin and/or a boat. Most of the Norwegians that own a cabin or a boat, are usually people with much money or they have taken up a large loan at a banc. Or their families have owned the cabin for 50-100 years or more.

[@IageF]

@@admiral20055 Is it you in the video? I didn't say that you are Turkish. I used the term Turkish-Norwegian, and I only used that term because you said at 30:21 "I don't know where I belong. Is it Norway or Turkey". So of course I then assume you identify as both: Turkish-Norwegian. Is that strange?

[@IageF]

Normally I just assume that if someone speaks Norwegian they are Norwegian. But if they tell me that they identify as both Norwegian and another nationality, of course it makes more sense to refer to them as both.

[@Iselinilin]

From quick searching online one can find that 10 per cent of the Norwegian population own cabins. Yes, it differs from place to place and I also grew up on the West Coast with ALL my friends' families having cabins and boats except for us. I agree that it is a stereotype and it is often reproduced by Norwegian people which reinforces exclusivity in the concept of what it means to be Norwegian for all Norwegians. There were classic moments when politicians were asked what it means to be Norwegian and spoke of cabins and skiing. That's just ridiculous and deservedly those politicians got a lot of criticism.

[@IageF]

@@Iselinilin Did they own a cabin or have access to a cabin? I think there is a difference between those two. If your grandparents own a cabin and the whole extended family use it, that is more comparable to Norwegians of Pakistani and Indian background that have houses in their home countries they've inherited and share with extended family as well.

[@beautifulprogressivewester7855]

Qatar needs open borders and liberalism.

[@peterbradshaw8018]

Do not hold your breath on that happening any time soon.

[@t.i.p1366]

😂it’s gonna mess up their it’s already dad as it but we don’t have and fuel to fire and I really don’t want to see migraine Migrates running away from wars to be turned into slaves that is what is most likely gonna happen if they do that it’s gonna be a mess a huge mess

[@FreemanV99]

Ironically these people could easily be accused of not assimilating. They're made outsiders who don't belong to that country by the established system. If hosts are unwilling to open their doors then, how theses people would ever feel home?

[@The_Judge300]

Yes, many can be unwilling to open their doors, but very many are opening their doors as well. Very few people are made outsiders because of any established system in Norway. If there is one practice in the Norwegian system that made many outsiders 25 years ago, then it was the fact that they didn't expect more than they did from the immigrants. In many ways the immigrants were given way to little incentives to assimilate and very little were demanded from many of them. And sadly this made it much easier for far right people in Norway to come with their racist garbage. The reality in Norway today is very different and if people complain about being discriminated by the government in any ways because of their skin colour, religion, ethnicity and more, they are using that as a leverage to achieve what they want and not because it is real. Of course we still have some racists in Norway. They are all over the world. But I have travelled many places in the world, both in the Europe, Americas, Asia and Africa and the racism is clearly the lowest in Norway and Sweden. I have 2 kids that are half Asian and they have experienced extremely little racism. And the little racism they have experienced have been from immigrant children. The problem that often occur when it comes to assimilating, is that many don't want to assimilate that much for different reasons. Many don't because they plan to move back to their country after some years. How well many have assimilated in Norway the last 25 years and more have most of the time depended on themselves and where in Norway they have chosen to live. You don't get well assimilated when you move to an area where many from your old country live and choose to only be together with them. You don't get well assimilated when you think Norwegian culture is bad for you, your wife and your children. You don't get well assimilated when you are not willing to or not allowed by a family member to learn Norwegian well.

[@jzk2020]

@@The_Judge300 Lies lies lies lies. What racism did you experience in Africa? BTW... that's a CONTINENT like Europe... not a country. Also, I bet your kids look more European than they do Asian, I bet nobody can tell they are Asians, that's why they are not facing racism.

[@The_Judge300]

@@jzk2020 You are a clueless idiot J K. And you clearly show how much of an idiot you are when you call someone a liar and being as clueless as you are. Where do you live in the world? How much have you travelled? Firstly do my kids in fact look way more Asian than European. And if you didn't know it, then Europe, Asia, Americas and Africa are all continents. I just wrote Americas because I have been both in the northern and the southern part of it. And what racism did I experience in Africa? I can give you example of one country in Africa I have visited with lots of racism. South Africa. There it is racism from whites against Asians and black Africans. There is racism from Asians against whites and black Africans. And there is racism from black Africans against whites and Asians. And there is even racism between different tribes in South Africa. And the racism and at times pure hate between different tribes are very common in many African countries.

[@post_eternity]

Like Aljazeera there are some stuff you shouldn't report on. This is one of them

[@laraslong]

Is there anyone doing anything for Jimei`s case?!!

[@noelmaher4633]

Next week, Pakistani and Indian workers in Doha... Ohh wait...

[@GingerBalls-fp8kx]

New Norwegians 😄

[@danditto6145]

They seem so unhappy except for the Turkish guy and the guy from India. Maybe they would like Qatar better. Norway, may not be the best fit.

[@soriamoria2317]

Kjære alle dere som strever med å "være norske" i dette landet. Den norske identiteten er ikke så fantastiisk. Vær den dere er. Å passe inn kan være vanskelig for enhver. Det viktigste er å være den vi er. Selv er jeg en norsk-amerikaner og har vel aldri passet inn og det er helt greit for meg. Vi er alle UNIKE.

[@whatsoccuringmaizuu]

Can Jemei work in Norway ?

[@bibivanderveen5455]

Yes. He has a residential permit which allows him to work.

[@Media56109]

It is essential for other immigrants to learn, it is good to integrate but don't forget your home country, the good culture life is very unpredictable, look at my Senegalese bro no state, that means he can't leave Norway to another state. He can't identify as a Senegalese nor does Norway want him. The same experience is here in Sweden, African children who only know Swedish but zero African language, let them think about it and change imagine the latest government, little crime for immigrants is equal to deportations.

[@michaelgerard2]

I see the kalergi plan is going off without any problems...

[@ericwilliams8475]

It's hard to assimilate

[@ns-wg4vz]

You see the baby 👶 in time if they manage the inflow (the Muslim ones might not they don't let there women marry freely) the general population will absorb on 3 or 4 generations that is if you control the inflow to the overall population it a numbers game

[@sharzadangiki1950]

Is Norwegian a difficult language to learn?

[@jzk2020]

@Travel Crawl Get a room.

[@jzk2020]

About as hard as any other language.

[@beautifulprogressivewester7855]

Apparently less hard than Swahili.

[@sincotarious519]

depends on what languages you know before hand, for english native speakers it is supposed to be quite easy because of the shared germanic roots of the language

[@The_Judge300]

That very much depends on what language is your first language. For some it can be extremely difficult to learn Norwegian, but others learn it rather quickly.

[@socio-economicnewsnetwork4740]

If people want to live in other countries they should respect other countries religion and culture as simple as that, we have seen people of some community in Europe causing riots, looting and attacks on the people who gave then shelter. They claim themselves as religion of pieces.

[@daleestep9518]

They will all be leaving soon these people are trash

[@henrytan5588]

The issue remains that European are not welcome in Africa and the ME. Robert Mugabe has policy to drive the White farmers settlers out of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. Africa is for Black African. The Middle East is for the Arab. It is time for the European to settle in Africa and the ME. Otherwise the Black African should be deported immediately to their country of origin. Why should Black African be minority in any European country? Black pride is the Black should be in their country of origin. The Black African should develop their own country and not be a hated minority in Europe. As most African countries are now free and sovereign then they will need to develop their own home. There is no African countries that welcomes the European. The same is said for the Arab Emirates that have no White citizens at all. Naturally the natives in Europe would not welcome Arab and Black African as these illegal migrants came from free and sovereign society.

[@socio-economicnewsnetwork4740]

@GN28 secular doesn't means they don't have any religion or culture, it means they respect other religion until they get respect. But in these cases what happened in Sweden riots, France, Germany and UK attacks everyone knew which community they belong to.

[@The_Judge300]

These boys and now men that felt that people were suspicious of their group of friends, were most likely correct. It was clearly not fair towards them, but at the same time was there a good reason for this. Even if their group of friends didn't do crimes, then there were many other groups/gangs of young boys of different national backgrounds in the same areas that did lots of crimes and very serious crimes as well. Including murders.

[@drakenkraken8455]

Should have interviewed Zaniar Matapour and Arfan Qadeer Bhatti too.

[@peterbradshaw8018]

Western European norms are quite different from other cultures. It could be genetically determined to a greater extent than cultural. Certain Asians like the Japanese and South Koreans also have certain characteristics that set them apart from others.

[@bartelgrant]

It is pointless to look for genetic causes for cultural differences. Cultures change all the time and vary with language, countryside, wealth, war, piece, education, development, religion. There are literally thousands of more plausible reasons for cultural differences than genetics.

[@terhgasabeha9552]

@@bartelgrant maybe he's trying to say Supremacy.

[@jzk2020]

You do realize the people in Japan and Korea came from China? Just like many Chinese are now in Indonesia and parts of Philippines and Thailand. They are not different and unique. And there's nothing special about Europeans or Jews or Japanese/NORTH Koreans/South Koreans. You just want to try to make yourselves feel special by shoving a stick up your b0tts and walking around like your sh** don't stink.

[@peterbradshaw8018]

Really what could account for certain peoples advancing over millennia while others remaining stagnant even after being exposed to a superior culture. Some folk take to intellectual interests while others as a group flounder. Political correctness is going to kill some of us literally like the Swedes who allow an alien culture to swamp their city in crime.

[@peterbradshaw8018]

The gentleman is in and out of prison and blames everyone but himself lol are these people space cadets.

[@mcgotes]

The fact is that without a working permit many are forced to make money however they can. Maybe you should step down from your high horse? Have you ever been in this position that he has been in?

[@Iselinilin]

What is not explained in the documentary is that stateless people have no rights and are not allowed to work and earn only a very tiny amount of money each month on which it's incredibly difficult to survive. IMO, it's a disgrace to 'modern' states and international conventions and it shouldn't be possible to make someone stateless.

[@iShriek]

@@Iselinilin And why is he stateless?

[@jubaourdja4579]

@@iShriek politic

[@iShriek]

@@jubaourdja4579 He is stateless because he keeps committing crimes. In Norway you do not have to resort to that to survive, and especially if you're black. You will be prioritised.

[@xxbambamxx7261]

We don't know everything in these cases, what the government sees as not good enough, maybe they haven't finished requirements that was put up when they make decisions on who gets to stay, and who gets to leave.. If you do criminal acts under that process, you will NOT get a citizenship. And Norway and any other country out there, can't just open boarders for anyone.. There is a huge process to get a citizenship, and that's hoe it should be to. Most people come to a new country, lacking papers, documents on real identity.. These ends to be confirmed, and that's not always possible.. Then they will be sent back. I got married to a foreign woman,.and it's been a hard process to get her to stay here with me, but im not mad, I'm happy the government keeps up with requirements, so we don't have a influx of random immigrants rolling in 24/7.

[@joefalch3155]

Crime do not get you a reward!! Bye Bye

[@PwningGerZ]

You’ve committed worse crime! You pleasured yourself with a picture of your own mother! More disgusting than a graffiti sprayer like Jimei.

[@pal-a]

Why can rich Muslim countries take them?

[@NotoriousNine11]

They took the Ukrainians

[@Abbas_Ali_Iqbal]

Gopal baboo barthan doh. Apna country se kachara kam karr. Apnay mulk main wc bana. 😂😂 ziada matt soch iss baray main

[@Tamking72]

i'm just gonna say what stupid seystem

[@saraswatkin9226]

What did they expect in Neonazim.

[@The_Judge300]

And what was that comment meant to be?

[@mosimosi630]

It should be illegal for these countries to have people who are considered illegal for 40 years this is evil what is wrong with Norway Europe and America because they do that too smfh

[@yougetaspear7799]

Best just go home, how can you survive without existing literally

[@KamiTenchi]

He's not Norwegian.

[@jzk2020]

Clearly you didn't see the video. Just saw the thumbnail and went "hE iS NoT a nOrWegIan, JaI CoW."

[@brojwz2314]

@@jzk2020 So what's the video about?

[@sincotarious519]

hvorfor ikke? de snakker norsk, er norske statsborgere, har levd i Norge i mange år...

[@daleestep9518]

@@sincotarious519 no you are not and never will be go back to your own country

[@larsenger8618]

And neither are you then based on your nams!

[@brojwz2314]

Only Norwegians are the real Norwegians. You can make them new qatarus

[@The_Judge300]

🤡

[@jimmihendrixhendrix9575]

Should've stayed in your on country you will feel better.

[@Iselinilin]

As if he had a choice, coming here as a child, Norway was the only country he knew...

[@sickre]

Norwegian = Norwegian blood.

[@The_Judge300]

This is totally wrong.

[@Iselinilin]

Try to do a blood test of white Norwegian people and you'd be surprised by the diversity and you'd have a hard time finding that 'Norwegian blood' of yours

[@LovzaNo]

Correct. If anyone in the world can become a Norwegians then there is no such thing as a Norwegian person.

[@josephinebrevig8748]

The Turkish heritage guy who thinks he looks Norwegian looks nothing like a Norwegian…..sorry to disappoint him.

[@Hello-uk5xp]

He does to me 😂

[@josephinebrevig8748]

@@Hello-uk5xp pfffff 😉😆

[@Taongapuoromaori]

@@josephinebrevig8748 He looks more Norwegian than you. You look purple....🤣😂😂😅

[@leonardschoyen]

He could totally pass as a Norwegian that spends more time in the sun than average, both as young and adult.

[@abhishekkambanor2294]

​@@TaongapuoromaoriMuslim cucks 😂😂

[@peterbradshaw8018]

The lady goes out of her way to identify as African and rubbishes the new Norwegian and wonders why she doesn't fit in. Dwl

[@Shamansdurx]

The ROyal HO of troll land has integrated well with the Shaman!

[@amarrajputpunjab]

He's not Norwegian.