I live a life similar to yours. The words do not belong to me, but to author Jan Grue. They might as well have been mine. For twenty years I have been naver. For twenty years I’ve been someone it’s okay to talk down about, someone it’s okay to have low thoughts about, and someone who needs to be followed. I have dealt with Nav longer than most of the people who work there. I’ve had the hub longer than Nav itself has existed. I am an expert in the overlooked subject of navigation. Here’s my advice: Be prepared to lose your income overnight. It has happened to me more times than I can remember, and has been due to everything from me being between decisions, mistakes on Nav’s part, acute illness or the fact that I have not been eligible for benefits. The latter does not mean that I have thus been able to work. Always keep money aside for a potential repayment claim. It’s hard if you’re living on a bare minimum, but try anyway. Even if the fault is Nav’s, you must pay back what you have received too much. That in itself is reasonable. Do not expect that you will be settled, on the contrary, if you discover it and notify Nav. Don’t expect a “thank you for reporting”. Rather, “You should have discovered” (yes, I did), “You should have notified” (yes, I did) and threats of a police report if the claim is not repaid within a short time, when Nav finally deals with it. The threatening tone is independent of whether you have demonstrably cheated money or not, and also whether you have notified yourself. Be good at Norwegian, especially the distinctive bureaucratic language. I have lost track of the number of letters that have been difficult to decipher. This despite the fact that I am a competent reader with Norwegian as my mother tongue. The difficulties have both been due to ambiguities (in one decision, for example, it says that I have been granted child allowance, but that I will still not receive it), and language that I have perceived as unpleasant. Nav can easily claim that you should have understood something you didn’t, and threaten to report it to the police. Have lots of ice in your stomach, possibly hobby psychologists available. You will need it when you receive confusing or frightening letters. You will also need it if you feel unjustly accused of something, and when you do not get an answer to what you ask about in the inbox on nav.no. Should you need guidance beyond the general text of the law, unfortunately you cannot always expect to receive it. Prepare to have to deal with an agency that thinks you’re lying. How else am I supposed to interpret that one consistently has to tick the boxes in order to understand that incorrect information can lead to repayment claims and a police report when applying for guidance or support for living? I understand that it is necessary to inform about this when you first come into contact with Nav, or once in a while. But having to agree every other week that I can be reported to the police if I make a mistake makes me feel lousy. Have fit and evenly distributed ill health. Not periodically bordering on too good, then you can lose the benefit you need in all the bad periods. If you are on benefits with a registration card scheme, you also cannot have periods in your life that are so demanding or be so ill that you forget to send the heart’s registration card. It must be sent every two weeks. If not, you lose the decision, your rights and thus your income. Try to be entitled to the right type of benefit. If you receive, for example, welfare benefits, you should keep yourself healthy. Absence notified by a doctor for more than three days leads to a 25 percent reduction in payment. The daily rate before withdrawal is NOK 255. If you still go and get the flu which persists and ends up with bilateral pneumonia and a hospital stay, you should at least have a partner to support you. With a four-week deduction in benefits, it is hardly possible to pay for the doctor’s appointments and the medicines you need. Just being able to be on sick leave requires that you can actually afford to pay for a doctor’s appointment. Of course, those who can work full time must try to support themselves with their own income. There are certainly people who take advantage of the good welfare schemes we have. Is it still right to let the few who take advantage of the system to affect the security and the feeling of having a human dignity for all of us who lack both health and the conditions to work? Ideally, your health should of course be so good that you do not need assistance from Nav. But that’s a privilege not everyone has. Get used to Big Brother seeing you. Big brother, i.e. Nav, must know what you do, how often you do it and for how long. He also needs to know if your colic or anxiety has marginally improved. It is reasonable that everyone should work as much as they can, but the aim of father of the country Einar Gerhardsen was that no one should have to stand with hat in hand. My Lua has become so shabby from frequent use that it barely holds together. Get used to the fact that your words don’t mean much. Make sure that either your healthcare professional or event organizers spell them out for you. You have to be resourceful enough to ask for help and be clear about what you need, but resource-poor enough that you actually get it. It might be reasonable, too. Nevertheless. Having to follow a reporting regime and living a life where I am constantly dependent on other people’s assessments of me has shaped me. I’ve been doing this for twenty years. I have lived and live a life similar to yours. From decision to decision, from benefit to benefit. It is not by choice. I’ve lost track of how many case managers and supervisors I’ve had. Some have been superb. Others have been chronically unavailable. Everyone has probably had too much to do. In all respects, it has gone beyond my quality of life and enjoyment of life. There is nothing I wish more than to be able to work. Contribute with paid work, get the best loan terms from the bank, have a trade union behind you and join the salary scheme. But it has not been possible, despite persistent attempts. It doesn’t mean I’m lying or lazy. I was just born with different prerequisites.
ttn-69
The neglected subject of navigation – Speech
