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Norway has agreed to accept 3,000 quota refugees this year, which is registered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
However, due to the crisis in the crown, the apparatus for selecting refugees with quotas on the ground has collapsed.
TV 2 has previously reported that the UDI has switched to selecting which refugees will be able to come to Norway via Skype interviews, from the UDI office in Oslo.
UDI pulls quota of refugees from Libya on Skype
Helgheim believes this is not safe enough and has sent a written question to Justice Minister Monica Mæland about it.
“It is very important that a thorough investigation is carried out to ensure that the right people are selected. If this work is not done thoroughly, it can have significant negative consequences and people who should never be allowed to come to Norway, still they may be allowed to come, “writes Helgheim.
– Reminiscent of Krekar
The FRP wonders if withdrawals on Skype and other web-based solutions are secure enough.
– It seems that the government takes very lightly the rigorous quality control that is usually done to receive quota refugees, he says.
– We must remember that Mulla Krekar came as a quota refugee when we did not have the systems in place. Now we don’t know exactly who will come, because we don’t have the opportunity to do the job thoroughly, and then the government should take responsibility and say we will wait until we are in control, Helgheim says.
The Ministry of Justice states that Mæland will not answer questions on this until he has sent his written reply to the Storting.
This is how withdrawal occurs
Solberg says yes to more quota refugees next year
Usually, a delegation from the UDI, the Immigration Police Unit (PU) and the Directorate for Integration and Diversity (IMDI) travel together to meet refugees in the country where they are staying.
They conduct interviews, check your identity and assess whether they are suitable for Norway.
The UDI then sends a list to UNHCR with the names of the refugees who have been approved.
The Korona crisis put an end to the expulsion of UN refugees for a long time, but the UDI found another solution.
– We now do it via Skype or other video contact, and in close collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. They strongly assist in the selection of refugees locally and then we conduct interviews from home. That’s the best we can achieve so far, not ideal but acceptable, says UDI director Frode Forfang.
– Small risk
Helgheim believes that the Minister of Justice must take responsibility and stop this practice.
– There is a reason why we have a huge apparatus that guarantees the quality of the refugees before we pick them up. When that work isn’t done, I’m afraid there will be people we don’t know enough about who shouldn’t have been here, he says.
– But now they interview them on Skype?
– It is very bad. I’ve been with this device myself and seen how it works, and it’s completely impossible to replace it with a Skype meeting, thinks Helgheim.
Forfang at the UDI, on the other hand, believes that the “crown solution” is good enough.
– Can you risk that those who come are not those who need it most?
– We work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and they make a first selection. It is their priorities that are taken into account, so I don’t think there is any risk of the wrong refugees arriving. Better to be there and interview them directly, but Skype is acceptable.
– But is there a higher risk of fake refugees arriving?
– No, they are people who are registered and selected by the High Commissioner, so there are several systems that will ensure the selection.
Helgheim emphasizes that he is not critical of the UDI, and is waiting for a response shortly from the Minister of Justice.
– We know from before that Mulla Krekar arrived as a quota refugee. It never should have happened, but it happened when we didn’t have a quality assurance system. Now we don’t have it either, and then of course we should have stopped, he maintains.
1,350 refugees to Norway
Norway stopped receiving refugees with quotas due to the entry and exit ban on March 14. Last week, the UDI reopened the reception of refugees.
TV 2 was present when the first 22 Syrian quota refugees landed in Gardermoen after a long journey from Lebanon.
The Sagene district in Oslo was ready to welcome a Syrian mother with a 15-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old son, who should have arrived this spring.
– I want my children to have a good future, with education. We know we will be welcomed here and have a good life, says a relieved mother Fairouz Hassan Othman, after landing on Norwegian soil.
– I want to finish my studies, my son Rashid smiles, and this also applies to the 15-year-old daughter:
“I want to study and become something that makes the family proud of me,” says Hevin.
The UDI proposes that as many people as possible who have been granted a residence permit as quota refugees come to Norway during the autumn.
– We are talking about 1,350 quota refugees who have already been granted residency. Some of them were granted permission last fall and should have arrived this spring, but have been delayed due to the pandemic. But now we have a plan for them to come to Norway in collaboration with many players, says Forfang.
– Well come
Helgheim believes that it is best to help refugees where they are, and especially now in the era of the crown.
– We have enormous pressure on the health system. Picking up a thousand quota refugees now, who need a lot of follow-up, a lot more space and resources than usual, will go beyond anything, and it’s irresponsible to continue that work in the midst of a crisis, when everything else is at a standstill, he says.
The dome on the right will have a total halt in the entry of quota refugees
As stated above, TV 2 has yet to receive a comment from the Minister of Justice, but the UDI director responds:
– It is good that those who have been selected as quota refugees can come to Norway. It was an unfortunate effect of the pandemic that many have had to wait a long time to come here to the country.
– These are refugees who will get a new country to live in, and of course they can’t be compared to vacation trips and that sort of thing. It is the fulfillment of a political objective that the Storting has adopted, says Forfang.
The objective of the UDI is that around 2,000 refugees of the 3,000 settle in the municipalities this year. Prime Minister Erna Solberg has previously told TV 2 that those who do not become residents this year will be transferred to the next.
Relieved and grateful
The Syrian refugee family is relieved and happy that the years of fleeing war and months of waiting for the crown in torn Lebanon are over.
They are met by two employees of the Sagene district refugee office, an interpreter and a taxi driver.
– We are very happy that you are here, you are great young people and you are a good woman, so all this will be good, assures section chief Pascale Hoek.
The family goes directly into quarantine and is given a crown test for safety.
– As soon as they come out of quarantine, they register with the police and are given a social security number, so that the young people can start school and the mother in an introductory course, says Pascale.
– I want to thank you for the welcome you have given us. I came here and I have no one to support me except my two children, says an excited Fairouz, before they are safely taken to their new Norwegian home in Oslo.