Majeed Hassan Abdullah speaks calmly to his son, who is lying in a hospital bed in Tromsø. They have traveled two and a half hours from Senja, and are waiting for an operation. When news meets Majeed, he is tired. The family of five has lived in uncertainty for six years, and at home in Senja, the second son is seriously ill. He will die soon, says Majeed. No municipalities will still accept the refugee family for settlement. – Everyone only thinks about money. I don’t know what to do, sighs Majeed. A tube in the stomach allows the son to be fed. Now there are problems with the probe and it must be changed at the hospital in Tromsø. His three adult children are disabled. They need care and attention around the clock. But Senja municipality disagrees with the state about who should bear the costs. While Majeed is in the hospital in Tromsø, he receives the message he has been dreading from his wife Khalida. Their son at home in Senja has passed away. Where are they going to bury him, without a settlement municipality in Norway? Asking the government to clean up – This makes it clear that a reasonable and sensible solution must be found before people simply die, while they wait for a sensible answer. This is according to general secretary Pål Nesse of the Norwegian Organization for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (Noas). – Now the Minister of Justice and Emergency Preparedness and the Minister of Labor and Inclusion must ensure that the state responsibility and the municipal responsibility meet, so that the individual refugee family does not remain in limbo forever, says Nesse. Pål Nesse, general secretary of Noas. Photo: Halldor Asvall / news On Tuesday, news meets Majeed Hasan Abdullah in Tromsø. He has been to the police station to sort out papers. He and his wife have decided to send their deceased son to Iraq. – The family wants to be buried there, says Majeed. The reason is that the family does not know where in Norway they will settle in the future. If they move from the municipality, there is no one to take care of the grave. And it can be a long journey to light a candle and remember your son. – Hurts deep in the heart State Secretary Samra Akhtar in the Ministry of Labor and Inclusion (Ap) says it is important for the government that everyone with a residence permit should live in a municipality. But she emphasizes that settlement is a voluntary task for the municipalities. State Secretary Samra Akhtar in the Ministry of Labor and Inclusion (Ap). Photo: Simen Gald Thus, the search is still on for a place to live for the family in Senja. – I understand that this is a demanding matter for those concerned. The Directorate for Integration and Diversity works purposefully to settle all refugees in Norway, including those with reduced functional abilities and extensive care needs. Examples like this are not something we want. Today, it is the state, through UDI, that pays for the care and care needs of the adult children. Akthar points to the government giving more money to the municipalities to accept refugees with special needs. But it hasn’t changed anything for the family at Senja. Tommy Myklebust is a close friend of the family. He calls the situation shameful and undignified. – They are in a great grieving process. They have that insecurity hanging over them all the time. I have challenges explaining to them why it is like that. It hurts deep in the heart, to tell them that we cannot look after them better than we do. Tommy Myklebust. Photo: Private Believes the state has violated human rights Lawyer Hans Brox at Rege & Simonsen says it is the state that is responsible for his clients having a settlement municipality. On behalf of his parents Majeed Hasan Abdulla and Khalida Ismail Abdulqade, he has brought the case before the Discrimination Board. Brox claims the state has illegally discriminated against the parents. – Because they are closely associated with people with disabilities, and that association means that my clients have not received a settlement municipality. Mamma Khalida holds her youngest stepdaughter’s hand. All three children live in a private institution, but the youngest daughter often comes to visit. Photo: Malin Straumsnes / news The family is also considering legal action against the State for infringement of the parents’ right to family life, based on the European Convention on Human Rights. Among other things, because the parents have sometimes been placed far away from the children. And that they live in great uncertainty because either the children or they may suddenly be placed in a completely different part of the country. State Secretary Samra Akhtar in the Ministry of Labor and Inclusion (Ap) will decide on a lawsuit, if it comes. – It is not natural for me to comment on it further, she says. Living in uncertainty Tom-Rune Elisussen is mayor of the Center Party in Senja municipality. A seafood municipality that made a profit of NOK 140 million last year. According to Elisussen, settling the refugee family will cost the municipality many millions out of its own pocket. They have calculated 12-14 extra man-years in health to take care of the family, and the mayor also refers to the challenge of a shortage of health workers. – This means that the service must be put out to tender. And then it is a private company that will deliver that service. It is a private company that provides that service today. So they are taken care of in that way, says Elisussen. He believes it is up to others to assess the legal aspects of human rights. Majeed works at Bakehuset in Finnsnes. Photo: Malin Straumsnes / news Majeed Hasan Abdullah says that the family is having a hard time in connection with their son’s death. At the same time, he still does not know where, when or if the family will settle in Norway. – I am very scared. We want to live in the same municipality. We can’t live like that.
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The son died without a settlement municipality – will bury him in Iraq – news Troms and Finnmark
