January 2022: Amika Fendi celebrates her 29th birthday with her boyfriend’s family. He is invited to dinner and is given flowers by his girlfriend’s cousin. But he hasn’t gotten what he wants most. Amika has not met her own family for many years. Another birthday without them. Girlfriend Ida Neverdahl has baked a cake. The couple has been together for several years. Ever since Ida visited Tau in Rogaland. She came across Amika’s profile on a dating app and thought: What is a handsome brown guy doing here, of all places? Both swipe right. Amika shows Ida pictures and a map of Daraa, the town he comes from. Photo: Yasmin Mouafak Abokatmah / news They now live in a small apartment at Birkelunden in Oslo, but they cannot ask Amika’s parents to dinner. Nor can the parents invite them to Syria. The hope is that before he turns 30, Ida will finally meet his family. But first he must get a Norwegian passport. He has submitted his application for citizenship. But the wait is getting longer and longer with each passing month. Even though he knows he meets all the requirements after all he has achieved. Amika shows Ida pictures from his childhood in Syria. Photo: Yasmin Mouafak Abokatmah / news The Escape In 2011, Amika’s life took an abrupt turn. In the middle of the night there was a knock on the door. Amika’s family woke up with rapid heartbeats. A group of armed soldiers entered and arrested the 18-year-old. Accusation: Participation in demonstrations against the Al-Assad regime. For twelve days, Amika was mistreated, tortured and interrogated. Fortunately, he escaped in the end, and eventually began studying medicine. In 2013, medical student Amika commuted between her home town of Daraa in the south of Syria, and the university in Aleppo in the north. Once the bus was suddenly stopped. The regime’s police came in, pointed at some people and asked them to get off the bus. Amika was among those who were pointed out. Again he was arrested, imprisoned and interrogated for a whole day. Accusation: he had a PC and came from the revolutionary city of Daraa. Only after a bribe was he released. Now he was absolutely sure. There was no future here anymore. After the uprising against the Syrian regime and the desire for a democratic and free country, there was complete chaos. People were driven to flight, imprisoned and tortured with and without reason. The medical student dreamed of completing his studies in peace, and his family financed the trip to Egypt. Here he got a place at Ain-Shams University in Cairo. But the hope of completing his studies was dashed again. In a wallet Amika inherited from his father, he has the only private possessions he brought with him from Syria, photos, love letters and a note about military service. Photo: Yasmin Mouafak Abokatmah / news The road north In 2013, a coup d’état in Egypt led to discontent and a difficult political and economic situation. Amika feared a new authoritarian regime, and a repeat of what he fled from. – Now it was no longer possible to continue living here either. But Amika found a new hope. The road to Europe. The road of death. In 2014, he convinced his family to support the trip. In a small boat filled with refugees, Amika crossed the Mediterranean to the safe shore. Then he started walking and driving north. The road was not without dangers. When he crossed the border into Hungary, he was arrested. Again. Thirty days later he was released. The journey continued. The move north ended in 2015. Amika received a residence permit in Norway. Here he was assigned a social security number, post box and a blue passport. Photo: Yasmin Mouafak Abokatmah / news The first mailbox was in Rogaland. There he received two Norwegian bonus families and went on a Norwegian course. He quickly fulfilled the requirements for knowledge of Norwegian, social knowledge and good character. But to get Norwegian citizenship he also had to live here for several years. The blue passport In 2017, Amika studied English literature at the University of Stavanger. The language course included a compulsory exchange period. He wanted to go to Ireland. But instead of a normal Norwegian passport, Amika only had the blue passport. It is a travel document for refugees who have received a residence permit in Norway. While you can travel almost all over the world with a Norwegian passport, there are few countries that allow those who only have a blue travel document to enter. Amika therefore had to apply for a visa to go on exchange. While you can travel almost all over the world with a Norwegian passport, there are few countries that allow entry to those who only have a blue travel document. Photo: Yasmin Mouafak Abokatmah While the fellow students lined up at the airport to check in, Amika sat at home and checked her phone. He was waiting for a response from the embassy. Two months into the exchange period, his visa application was rejected. – It was something I worked on for a long time, wrote applications, paid a lot of money, insurance and everything. The friends were on an exchange and had an experience of a lifetime. At home in Norway, Amika signed up for an alternative course of study to complete her degree. At the same time, he taught English and Norwegian at the junior level at Tau. Longing for a hug Amika is in the middle of a group of four siblings. He and his little brother are in Norway. The parents and sisters are left in Syria. It has been ten years since they last met. – They haven’t seen me as an adult, I haven’t seen them getting older and older. The mother is ill. A few years ago she got cancer. No one told Amika until after she recovered. Now he fears that she will relapse, without them being able to meet. In 2019, Amika had earned a high enough income to apply for a visitor visa for her mother. After many weeks of waiting, he had to call his mother to tell her the news. A refusal. For the past ten years, Amika has only had contact with her mother on the phone. Photo: Yasmin Mouafak Abokatmah / news The Norwegian authorities would not take the chance of the mother staying if she was allowed to visit. – I think that I am not enough as a family member. The father has had a stroke and is almost 62. – My father may die soon, he is not healthy. Time means everything now. Amika has not met his parents since he left Syria in 2013. They are not allowed to come to Norway, or any other country where he can travel freely with the blue passport. – The countries I can travel to with a travel document do not grant visas to Syrians, and the countries they can travel to require visas for people in my situation. Amika longs to meet the family he hasn’t seen in ten years. Photo: Yasmin Mouafak Abokatmah / news The dream of a red passport In 2021, Amika bought an apartment and moved with Ida to Oslo. As digital editor at Cappelen Damm, he works to develop digital platforms for Norwegian secondary schools. While the dreams of study and work were fulfilled, the dream of meeting the family grew. Amika has a blue travel document, but wants a red passport. Photo: Yasmin Mouafak Abokatmah / news And now Amika had lived long enough in Norway to apply for citizenship. In 2021, the waiting time to get a response was 12 months. In September of the same year, he submitted the application. While Amika was waiting for the red passport, he, his girlfriend and their friends planned a trip to Lebanon in October 2022. The couple Amika and Ida laugh at each other’s passport photos. Photo: Yasmin Mouafak Abokatmah / news The hope was that they could meet the family there. But as the months passed, the waiting time at the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), who process applications for citizenship, increased. To save the journey, Amika applied for a visa to Lebanon with the blue passport. Amika had not received an answer on either citizenship or visa when the departure date came. The others left, and the plan was for him to follow. A week later he received a letter. The visa application was refused. He did not hear from UDI. While the friends shared photos from the beautiful autumn evenings in Lebanon, Amika sat at home in Oslo and deleted all social media. – It felt unfair. A feeling of powerlessness. There are structural barriers that stand in the way of enjoying yourself. Amika was sent a taste of her mother’s best dish, makdous. It is a traditional dish of aubergines stuffed with paprika sauce, walnuts and olive oil. The mother prepared the dish well in advance, because she thought she was going to meet Amika. Since Amika didn’t come, she sent the food package with her friends here. The food crossed all the borders to Norway, while Amika continued to fill out visa applications and pay fees. Amika feels that the waiting time is a burden in everyday life. Photo: Yasmin Mouafak Abokatmah / news The finish line is moved while he runs While Amika waited for a response from UDI, the piles of applications in the system grew. After a change in the law in 2020, you could apply for a Norwegian passport and at the same time keep the passport from your home country. This led to many who had lived in Norway for a long time choosing to apply for Norwegian citizenship. At the same time, many who came during the wave of refugees in 2015 fulfilled the residence requirement. Altogether, this led to more than twice as many applying to become Norwegian. UDI was unprepared for the sharp increase, says section head Øystein Tonstad Leknes. The waiting time first increased to 16 months, and then to 18. – You can’t plan anything, says Amika. The 18-month waiting period meant that he should have received an answer in March 2023. But the waiting period could be extended again. – It is terrible. Especially with the fact that it is constantly being pushed forward in time. It is much easier to deal with an application process if you know when you will receive an answer, says Ida. The couple discuss travel plans, but find it difficult to plan. Photo: YASMIN MOUAFAK ABOKATMAH / news A robot to help UDI had received extra money to handle the expected increase in the number of applications. They employed more case managers, and developed an automated case management system to deal with cases. – The automated solution makes decisions based on rules, so no case manager at UDI needs to assess the case, explains section manager Leknes. Those who are processed automatically receive a response within a few weeks. But that doesn’t apply to everyone. The rest must wait to be assigned a case manager before they can receive an answer. Amika’s application is in the queue, while a colleague from a western country received an answer in record time. – I just wanted to understand why some are automatically treated while others are not, says Amika. UDI says that they can only process applications automatically if all conditions are met. – A case can be processed automatically if we have all the information we need, if this information is reliable, and all conditions are met, explains Leknes. Applications from countries with less reliable ID documents are to a lesser extent automatically processed. – I feel privileged because I managed to get out of Syria, but it comes with many disadvantages. While he waits for a response from UDI, Amika tries to enjoy life as best he can. Amika, Ida and their friend Iver watch a game they have made together, where a sperm tries to find its way to the egg without losing its life on the way. Amika wrote the text for the game. Photo: Yasmin Mouafak Abokatmah / news Ten years without parents January 2023: In a hall in the center of Oslo, Amika celebrates her 30th birthday. Together with his girlfriend, brother and friends, they organize a big party, raising money for an important cause. Amika didn’t get to meet his family until he turned thirty. He still has to wait for the Norwegian paperwork. The sisters are married and have children. Amika has never met her nephews and nieces except behind the screen. It’s heartbreaking for him. – I miss taking them on trips or playing together, I miss being an uncle. A while ago, Amika’s uncle died of a heart attack in the Emirates. – If I had citizenship, I could travel at once and stay with them for a week or two. The response from UDI should have been just around the corner. But with each passing month, the wait increases. First, it goes from 21 to 22 months during January. In February, it was stated on UDI’s website that it normally takes 24 months to receive a response. UDI cannot promise that the waiting time will not increase further. – That the waiting period is two years for parts of the applicant group is too long. It is a temporary situation which we hope will improve, but we cannot guarantee that it will not go up, says Lekens in UDI. UDI assesses every month whether the waiting period needs to be adjusted. – I contribute constructively to society, but the system contributes more or less destructively, says the 30-year-old. Amika submitted his application in September 2021. Perhaps he will receive an answer in September 2023. If Norway swipes to the right. Inshallah. Amika celebrates her 30th birthday in Oslo. Amika and her brother Mohamad watch the stage. Amika decorates the room. Amika, and a friend who also had a birthday, are on stage. Between them stands the artist Øystein Runde.
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Amika has not met her family for 10 years – but the waiting time to get a Norwegian passport just keeps getting longer and longer – Documentary
