On March 17 there was a Nordic Studies session where our guests of honor were Mottak refugees, mostly from Afghanistan around 17 years of age. They arrived in Norway in the most unlikely manner, from paying smugglers to drive them in the underbelly of trucks to crossing from Turkey to Greece a stowaways in ships. They are now living in Forde and attending Norwegian classes and looking to be accepted in Norway.
Among them there is a young artist from Afghanistan who has applied to the UWC through the Norwegian committee and may become the first Mottak resident to attend the school. He has received a note of thanks from King herald upon sending the King a portrait he made. Nordic also now has a beautiful landscape on our staff room from him as a gift to the school, presented to Angie as originator of the Mottak service.
The group was led by Sulah, who gave a presentation of life in the Mottak and the procedures done by the Norwegian government to deal with refugees and help them to get accepted and integrated in the communities.
Prior to Sulah’s presentation Ellen, Hans Peter and Irina from Mottak Tuesday made a presentation on the refugee question in the Nordic region with emphasis on Denmark and Sweden.
The guests enjoyed tea and cakes before departure and since the visit was so successful and well attended by an eager public who asked many questions, plans are being made to extend the session to a full, all school one next year.
Mottak Thur has invited the young refugees to attend the Global Concerns on Education where they will be able to contribute with their experiences.