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We live under the strictest measures Norway has seen in peacetime. Åse (85) remembers what it was like to live in Norway when there was no peace.
If it had been a normal Christmas in a normal year, Åse Eriksen (85) would have received a visit from her son from Stockholm. That was the plan, and Åse was waiting for it.
– We visit each other as they are, us. I travel alone, that’s fine, because he picks me up at the airport.
But it is not a normal Christmas. 2020 is not a normal year. And Åse’s son can’t come home for Christmas.
– Sometimes I’m very depressed, it’s me. Because I think about him a lot, says Åse, and continues:
– But I see him on Skype, he calls every day. If he does not receive me, he will call again. So it has always been. Now I miss him so much that I cry every day when I see him on the screen.
The sea
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– Many hours alone
There are many in Åse’s situation this year, whether they are parents who miss their children or siblings who miss each other. Grandparents who have not seen their grandchildren for a long time or couples who are not allowed to celebrate Christmas together.
Korona has given us the year of solitude, in a country that already contains a lot of solitude. 16 percent of us were alone for crown, and now a study shows that the number has risen to 26 percent. Another study shows that more than half of us have felt lonely in the last year.
– I’ve been alone for fourteen years, when my husband died. So sometimes I feel lonely, and especially now that they are not allowed to meet, says Åse.
Åse has previously worked in the health service. He loves people and he likes to have a little to do.
– Now I will be many hours alone. But I do read a bit and play a game that I have on the phone. Watching a little television. And repair the TV for the others who live here, says the 85-year-old and laughs.
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Åse lives in a housing association with several care apartments. They have good unity, he says, so every day at four in the afternoon they meet for coffee in the living room.
– It’s very nice, we look forward to that time, says Åse.
– Are you afraid of getting infected?
– We are careful and we keep our distance. But we haven’t had any infections here, thankfully, Åse says, continuing:
– I’m a little afraid of getting the crown, but then I try not to think about it. Yesterday I was in the hospital and the doctor said that I was very healthy.
– The worst for young people
Åse isn’t so bad, after all. She emphasizes this several times throughout the interview, which is done over the phone, of course.
– This is probably worse for young people, I think. Older people understand seriousness, but it’s harder to understand when you’re young, Åse thinks, and continues:
– We all remember what it was like to be young, right? You wanted to party and have fun!
Nor is she the only one interviewed, but rather receives a visit from her visiting friend from the Red Cross. Monica Klausen has contact with Åse several times a week.
– I am very fond of Monica. She does everything for me! Take me if I have to go shopping or stop by to talk to me.
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Six singles about the crown crisis: – If the earth sinks, then you want to share it with someone
The Red Cross has never had a greater need to visit friends. Many people sit alone for a long time, especially the elderly in the risk group, and for many there is much comfort in the company of a volunteer who passes by or strikes a chord.
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Some choose to have contact only by phone during the crown crisis, but for Åse, there was never any question.
Loneliness was greater than fear of the crown. But of course Monica doesn’t come to visit unless she’s completely healthy.
We have known each other all fall, but naturally we take precautions. I know Åse a little before, she is next to my mother. So we had a great time together, says Monica.
Remember the war
For many Norwegians, the crown crisis is the most intrusive they have ever experienced. The government itself said it on March 12; They introduced the strictest measures Norway has ever seen in peacetime.
Åse, on the other hand, was born in 1935. She has experienced worse.
– I remember we sat together on the ground floor of the shelter when the plane’s alarm sounded. I was shaking so much I couldn’t get dressed, remember.
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Remember the day of liberation, they went by train and celebrated that the war was over.
– But we were together in the shelter, although he was terrified. Now we are not allowed to be together. It’s sad, Åse says.
– Hope it works soon.
On Christmas Eve, Åse will be celebrated with her sister and her family. She is looking forward to it, but had she had the chance, she would have traveled to Sweden to visit her son, despite the crown.
– He had come to pick me up, him, so it would have been good for him.
– Are you afraid of Christmas?
– No I do not. It’s nice to be with my sister, and I’m decorating and taking out the elves. But it’s strange with that, I wish I had my son here.
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