Rina Wesenberg (32) lives in Romsås in Oslo and likes to be active. Wesenberg, who prefers the pronoun hen, is politically active for Rødt, heads the council for people with disabilities in the district and often goes to concerts and events. Fortunately, Rina likes indoor activities such as reading and listening to music, but she misses meeting friends outside and experiencing live music. Photo: Alf Simensen / news That is to say, this winter he has not been to any concerts or events physically. Because he can’t get far outside the door with his wheelchair with two-wheel drive. – The quality of life has clearly deteriorated, because I get to do less of what I usually do. Not that I’m a big outdoors person, says Rina and laughs. The outdoor area where Rina lives is characterized by the snowy winter. Photo: Alf Simensen / news – But I like culture, and then of course there is a lot you can miss. There is still a lot that can be done at digital meetings, but it won’t be quite the same experience, he adds. Music fan Posters of the bands Journey and Santana hang on the wall, the T-shirt is also adorned with Journey. Rina has collectible figures from the TV series “Buffy” and bookshelves full of books – including some of them about “Buffy”. “Dagsrevyen” photographer Sunniva Linjord films Rina at home in the living room. Photo: Alf Simensen / news – I read quite a bit, and then I like to go to concerts and events. That’s what’s nice about living here, there’s always an event, says the 32-year-old. She says that there are many events both at the local library and at the Volunteering Center that she usually makes use of. Rina likes to read. Among other things, she has many books by Jens Bjørneboe, crime fiction and Gunnar Staalesen, as well as collectible figures from the Harry Potter and Buffy universes. Photo: Alf Simensen / news – Have you come across any this winter? – No, I don’t have it. The first concert I have planned now is in April. Then I hope it works. Ice-covered footpath Rina takes news on a trip towards the subway station at Romsås. A trip that in the summer months takes around ten minutes. But we haven’t moved many meters before the first challenges come. The wheels of the Puma 40 chair with two-wheel drive spin on the ice. Rina passes it on. There are large piles of snow on several sides of the road Rina uses from home towards the subway station. Photo: Alf Simensen Further down the footpath past Svarttjern, there are large lumps of ice sticking up on the path. In other places there are large and deep holes in the ice layer, and down in a dump there is a deep pond. The walkers jump onto the edge of the snow next to the path and get past the pond that way. Rina has to drive through. He hopes there are not too deep holes in the ice so he can’t see under the water. We meet several people on the way to the track who stop and comment on the condition of the path. Rina lives in the Svarttjern housing association, and the roads in the area must be a mixture of private and municipal roads. Photo: Alf Simensen / news One says this path has been impassable for both wheelchairs and prams for a long time. Not that it is particularly accommodating to others either. Rina drives on. The chair spins, bumps, several times looks like it’s going to topple over. Rina takes it very calmly. But after a few hundred metres, between two deep holes in the ice, the chair is stuck. Rina would like to be more politically active, but says she loses some of the drive to be involved when she loses the physical meetings. Photo: Alf Simensen – Here, but no further, says Rina dryly. She asks news for help to get out of the hole. We turn around. Would prefer to take the subway – The biggest challenge is getting out in general, and being able to do it. Because if you get out, you depend on other people around who can help if you get stuck or if you slip away, says Rina. In addition to various chairs for indoor use, Rina has a Puma 40 with two-wheel drive for outdoor use. It is parked in the hallway. Photo: Alf Simensen / news When the footpath is not covered in ice and snow, he gets there on his own. – I prefer to take the subway, then you become a little more independent. Rina describes buses with ramps that do not work well in snow and cold, so that she both needs help and can risk stopping the bus for several minutes if she is to join. Virtual everyday life In addition to the general bus chaos everyone feels, Rina feels very much for all the passengers who have a hard time trying to catch a bus. So even though not all subway stops are wheelchair accessible, they prefer it. Colorful shoes are something Rina likes. She also says that she uses them to get positive attention. When she has glittering and colorful shoes, passers-by stare at them more often than at the wheelchair. Photo: Alf Simensen / news – What would you do today if things weren’t the way it is? – I would have gotten out. Maybe I had met some friends, or figured something out. Now there will be more FaceTime and Messenger, he says and adds: – You would think that you would have gotten used to it during the pandemic. But it is still quite difficult. Tough winter – How would you describe this winter? – This is the longest and most difficult winter I have had in several years. Rina has a considerable collection of shoes in the hallway. She jokes that the advantage of a wheelchair is that the shoes are less worn. There is both glitter and studs, pink plateau, silver and gold. Photo: Alf Simensen / news – Do you see any possible solution? – The big solution is for the snow and ice to melt, but it would have been good if they had made the plowing a little more standardized, a little more under control, says Rina. No plowing standard in the area According to Rina, the roads in the area are a mixture of municipal and private. Wesenberg had wanted one standard for plowing and better driving together. – If you had made progress for wheelchair users, then you would have made progress for everyone. Because then everyone would have come forward, he points out. On one arm, Rina has a bracelet with inspirational messages. “You’ve got this”, it says on one. Photo: Alf Simensen / news So far, Rina has to wait for the snow to melt before she can get to the subway again. Before it’s winter again. – But next winter I will hopefully have a wheelchair with four-wheel drive, so then I hope I can get to a few more places, he states. Oslo municipality will evaluate the City Environment Agency in Oslo has not answered news’s inquiries about the footpath, which Wesenberg believes the municipality is responsible for. But city councilor for environment and transport, Marit Kristine Vea, tells news that she understands that this has been a difficult winter for many, and that she wants to initiate work to evaluate the municipality’s efforts. – We will review the winter. It has been a tough winter. If we learn from it, we will be able to do this in an even better way in the years to come.
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Wheelchair user Rina Wesenberg is “trapped” indoors by slippery roads – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
