Last year, more than 33,000 Ukrainians received collective protection in Norway after fleeing their homeland. Most of them are women with children. We have a good overview of where they are and what they are doing: Many have already found a new home in Norwegian municipalities, started learning the language and looking for work. But even if the statistics show that integration is going well, it does not necessarily show how we who fled the war feel. The war has led to a clear “before” and “after” for most Ukrainians. It is a life experience we wish we never had to experience. Many of those who were forced to leave Ukraine feel guilty. Blame for their survival and for having light and heat, unlike the Ukrainians who stayed at home. My research shows that the mental state of the refugees is actually often worse than for those who stayed at home. They cry more often, and feel sadness and stress. This is due to uncertainty about one’s own future, isolation from home and family, and feelings of guilt. I have felt this myself, because I came alone as a refugee to Norway in March 2022. My parents and many friends are back home in Ukraine. Being in a safe place with a roof over your head, food on the table and warmth in your body does not mean that life is easy. Many feel that life has lost meaning. But life must have meaning. The question is, how are we going to achieve that? Active refugees What associations do we get when we say the word “refugee”? Among the first are “loss” and “escape”: Loss of house and home, loss of work and income, separation from family. Escape involves the need to start life over, depression, trauma and waiting. In the public conversation, refugees are perceived as a “weak” group that primarily needs help. Most of these characteristics are true for many refugees, but the associations make us quickly forget that refugees are individuals with a social subjectivity, which the war cannot take away from them. Despite language and cultural barriers, refugees do not lose the ability and desire to be active. We used to be active and included in social life before the war. We must be even more active now. Migration studies show that the best way to deal with trauma is through social engagement. Activity allows you to preserve your identity and helps you remain yourself. In the absence of work, this can be volunteering, such as activity related to helping those who remained at home. This is something that applies to all refugees, not just us from Ukraine. But the status of “collective protection” granted to Ukrainian refugees allows us to actively help our country, far beyond its borders. The status differs from the traditional asylum process in that it gives a certain freedom of choice. For example, you can choose where you want to live (in reception or with friends), it gives you an automatic work permit and you can cross borders without restrictions. There are unique opportunities that make it possible to stay active and have freedom of choice and action in the host country. This makes the situation of Ukrainian refugees unique and gives us a special social role. We have a historic opportunity to formulate and realize the “Refugee Mission”. The mission should be to build a bridge between two societies and bring out the truth about war. After all: Personal experiences and stories reveal and enrich more than numbers and dry facts. The refugees contribute Today, Ukrainians amaze the world with the strength of their resistance to the enemy. Surveys show that a record number of Ukrainians volunteered during the war. A new meaning of civic identity is being formed in Ukrainian society. To be Ukrainian today means to continue to resist and bring Ukraine’s victory closer. At first glance, it may appear that the refugees are not involved in this process, due to physical distance and uncertainties in the host country. We must avoid that. The fact that almost 5 million Ukrainians have applied for temporary collective protection in various countries of the world, and are forming new social contacts, makes Ukrainian refugees real ambassadors for Ukraine. Refugees can and should become a reliable bridge between those who want to help and those in need. Every refugee has many contacts in Ukraine. We know who needs help at the front or in the de-occupied territory. After the victory, refugees will contribute with reconstruction projects, cooperation between host city and home city. It will strengthen the social capital of Ukraine in the international arena. We must prepare for this assignment already now. The famous Austrian psychiatrist and author of Life Must Have Meaning, Viktor Frankl, managed to survive in a concentration camp by providing psychiatric help to prisoners. With that, Frankl showed that in the worst place on earth, it is not the physically strong who have the best chance of survival. They are the strong in spirit. Those who know what and who they live for. Let it be an inspiration to all Ukrainians abroad: Let us be of help to Ukraine and those who stayed at home.
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The refugee’s social mission – Speech
