Melting pot Svalbard – How much freedom is allowed? | DW Documentary

Melting pot Svalbard – How much freedom is allowed? | DW Documentary

no one needs a visa to live in the Arctic archipelago of salbar but it is Norwegian territory from the government side uh they want this to be a Norwegian family family Society foreigners feel ostracized the mayor and other local politicians don’t care about my problems because I can’t vote for them will falar remain an open Society in the future [Applause] a long descent into the permafrost underground Mia lettas Works in Coal Mine number seven in Spar the last operational Norwegian mine in the archipelago now I’m doing blasting and Mining and I really fell in love with uh both mine and the swar and all the people so originally from middle of [Applause] [Music] Norway Mia started as a trainee in 2020 but for the past 2 years she’s been a full-time member of the team and the only woman among the male miners I think I am just curious so somebody told me that SW is a good place and maybe I should try to go there and I did and they were right so from staying 3 weeks I I was supposed to stay for 3 weeks and I stayed for 6 weeks and went home and packed all my stuff and moved here today Mia is making the mine safer by reinforcing its Vault safety is top priority [Music] here the working language in the mine is Norwegian and most of the miners here are from Norway however a few individuals from other Scandinavian countries get by with Norwegian too but up on the surface in longia it’s more International mostly I speak Norwegian uh most of my friends are Norwegian but I do know people that are not so we use a lot of English as well and also it’s almost impossible to order your food in Norwegian so I have to speak English and uh I think it’s okay coal and miners have long been symbols of longan however in recent times Cole mining has decreased significantly signaling a change in life onalar toward tourism I haven’t been to the place where the coal is directly mined but I’ve been right up to the mine carts Valeria arrived inalar 4 years ago initially she worked as a tour guide in the Russian mining settlements of badenburg in Pur aidin on the archipelago in 2021 she relocated to the Norwegian town of longan Valeria has continued working in the tourism sector and is striving to integrate into the community I’m trying to learn Norwegian because it makes sense to learn it living on salbar I watch movies in Norwegian that’s how I discovered Scandinavia has really interesting films Valeria is Russian but has Ukrainian citizenship and comes from Kone in Southeastern Ukraine her mother chose to stay Valeria is staying with a friend and struggles to find a suitable permanent accommodation in longan with local authorities showing little concern I can’t believe that there isn’t some Corner in the whole town where I can at least have a place to live with my dogs especially if I can pay my rent I mean I pay taxes here so I spoke to the local it’s sort of like the local mayor’s office I basically told them I’m a Russian with a Ukrainian passport I can’t go back to any of the mainland countries that are somehow more or less native to me I met the mayor’s assistant who listened to me and harly said this is the brutal reality you must go back to the mainland if you have no place to live here industrial Norwegian companies can offer housing for their employees while Norwegians must find their own as demand increases life for foreigners in the town used to be easier according to Elizabeth Bourne originally from Seattle she’s been living in spad for 7 years runs an art gallery and advocates for foreigners rights Bourne has witnessed a significant increase of new arrivals in longan in recent years now comprising more than a third of the town’s population of over 2,000 [Music] I think that there’s a lot of anxiety about how this place is becoming less Norwegian than it used to be well it used to be a coal mining town that was run by a Norwegian company and nobody else could live here so of course it’s changed but I don’t think that they I don’t think the Norwegian government when they decided to promote tourism as a replacement industry for coal mining realized that one of the things that would come with tourism would be a large number of of non-n Norwegians the falar treaty signed in 1920 grants Norway sovereignty over the archipelago while ensuring equal access to resources and fair treatment for all parties fostering A Unique International Community on the islands today the majority of non-n Norwegians inalar work in the tourism sector concerned about the increasing number of foreigners on the archipelago Norwegian authorities two years ago restricted their voting rights to vote or stand for election in the local Council one must have resided on the mainland for 3 years the Norwegian authorities argue that this requirement ensures a good understanding of salvar policy and framework in response a silent protest emerged displayed at the Elizabeth Gallery echoing the voices of those non-n Norwegians who are fearful or unable to speak due to the precarious positions taking the vote away um is one of the ways to keep people from feeling like this is a good place to be I think very much that Norway would like to Norwegian IE longer ban but the way that they’re doing it also alienates the Norwegians here um you cannot Norwegian ISE a place when you have 40% of your population cannot speak the language and they can’t speak the language because there are no language classes and there haven’t been for a very long time tadia anik the mayor of longan was elected last fall under changed election rules which excluded many local foreigners from participating despite sar’s unique status tadia emphasizes that it remains a part of Norway way albe it an unconventional one still we’re just making more and more iron curtain like people come to longin to work and it’s up to you when you arrive here to how shall I say take care of yourself and that’s not only for foreigners that even for Norwegian that we have lesser rights here compared to Mainland even as a Norwegian that’s quite important also part of the picture from the government side uh they want this to be a Norwegian family family Society but the growth in number of people has been um mainly going into foreigners that doesn’t mean that foreigners are foreigners are not welcome but the government wants it to be a better balance and then they have to to make policy that makes this better balance and sometimes I would that can be um considered as tighten up the grip kind of so the rules in Norway are very liberal and I don’t think Norway wants to have that kind of liberality here because they feel a need to keep more control here because this is such an open Community I don’t I don’t blame Norway for their concerns but I do think they’re going about um trying to achieve their goals in a way that actually is going to do the exact opposite the falar treaty has been responsible for the balance for a century non-n Norwegians view recent changes as a restriction of their rights despite the prohibition of discrimination in the falar treaty the local newspaper faad poon closely monitors this issue there was a lot of frustration and sorrow amongst the non-norwegian inhabitants of of longan um because a lot of people have lived here for a long time and and uh been kind of part of the uh local democracy been in local St um and maybe see uh Norway and longan as a sort of a community that they want to take part of un like the Norwegian uh yeah democracy so so there was a lot of feelings and and frustration the Restriction of Rights means that two groups Norwegians and non-n Norwegians exist side by side especially in political terms the mayor’s Aid the mayor and any other local politician don’t care at all if I have a place to live or not or what my problems are they’re not interested in helping as I cannot give them my vote Elizabeth plans to continue raising awareness about the challenges faced by non-n Norwegians inalar despite her love for the Arctic she has chosen to leave and reunite with her family [Applause] no one stays here forever this is not a place where you can live forever I have a four-year-old granddaughter and as my son reminds me that uh if I intend to know her then I need to be near her and sending photos of me on a snowmobile isn’t going to make it so I will I will leave next year and I’ve I know that Valeria hopes to be successful in finding accommodation inalar but would move to the European Mainland if necessary Mia’s life lacks stability as the mine is set to close next year Norway is relinquishing its coal Legacy [Music] inalar uh but I’ve been looking into going through Australia Greenland uh because I really like mining so I would like to keep doing that uh but I’m also open to be a mechanic again on the main land yeah life here doesn’t suit everyone months of sunshine then months of darkness and the arctic cold it still managed to draw in many Internationals because of its unique environment and the visa-free work opportunities but the new law has undoubtedly made living together more difficult [Music]

Svalbard Island is known for its snow-capped mountains and unique wildlife. It’s also an international melting pot, but soon all that could change.

Living and working in Svalbard is possible without a visa. The Archipelago belongs to Norway and is a visa-free zone. Its unique status has attracted an international community over the past hundred years. Svalbard mainly attracted coal miners in the past. But in recent years, the number of foreigners in the capital Longyearbyen has risen significantly and now accounts for more than a third of its 2,000 inhabitants. One of the main industries is tourism, but artists and scientists have also been drawn to the Far North. The Norwegian authorities have been concerned about the growing numbers of foreigners and have restricted their right to vote. Foreigners now feel increasingly marginalized and are protesting, including those who were afraid to speak out due to their precarious situation.

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