Norway’s National Day

Celebrating Constitution & Children

By  ATLE HETLAND

On the 17th of May the Norwegians celebrate their National Day or, Constitution Day as it is also called as the day is actually in remembrance of Norway again becoming an independent country in 1814, with its own constitution and parliament. Denmark was on the losing side in the Napoleonic Wars and had to cede Norway, which entered into a union with Sweden until 1905.

Norway is a small country with less than five million people, including about half a million immigrants. The 35,000 Pakistanis in Norway constitute the largest group of New Norwegians from outside Europe. But there are large communities from other countries in our region, too, notably Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey. In total, there are about 150,000 Muslims in Norway, and over one hundred mosques, spread all over the country. Tromso, a good distance north of the Artic Circle boasts the world’s northernmost mosque. However, most Norwegians are Christians, or culturally Christians, as we often say, with the Protestant-Lutheran state church dominating.

The Norwegian National Day is in many ways a Children’s Day. The schools are central in organizing processions and parades in the town and city centres. Children wave flags, carry balloons, blow trumpets and enjoy themselves. And without a brass band a Norwegian school has not come of age.

In Oslo there are almost three hundred schools taking part in the main procession down-town, and all of them have to pass by the Royal Palace where they can see the King and Queen waving to them from the balcony.

Talk to any Pakistani-Norwegian child, they will not have a shred of doubt that they are as Norwegian as any other blue-eyed kid on this day. And the Norwegian public has embraced the colourful processions with children and adults of all shades, creeds and colours.

Today, Norway is a very wealthy country, with oil and fish resources in abundance. Yet, in the nineteenth century, most Norwegians were very poor and many emigrated to America. They have no problem relating to immigrants having come to Norway from Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Pakistanis belong to the first large wave of immigrants who began coming to Norway in the 1960s and 1970s. Two-thirds of them are Gujratis. They started in humble jobs as buss drivers, factory and restaurant workers, small shopkeepers, and so on. The Pakistani immigrants have always worked hard and, today, forty years later, the young generation has integrated well into the society and many have done well through education, business and government jobs. Well, save for a few tax evaders and swindlers and some involved in more serious crimes. Yet, it should also be realized that it is difficult to be an immigrant and it would only be expected that some end up having social and other problems, and the receiving country needs to help them adjust. As usual, it is the young men who are at risk. But all in all, Pakistani immigrants are a great asset to the Norwegian society.

Maj. (r) Engineer Mukhtar Ahmed, the Chairman of the Pakistan-Norway Association (PANA) in Islamabad is in Oslo on this year’s Norwegian National Day, celebrating with relatives there, admiring their children in the processions and taking part in the sports games and all the other festivities, from morning to evening. Obviously, rain is not good, but it is early summer so anything can happen. It still has all the paraphernalia and everyone in festival mood.

“I also expect to see the young children of my own classmates from Toyen School in Oslo”, he says, reminding us that he went to school in Norway for some years before returning to Pakistan. “I am a Pakistani citizen”, Mukhtar says, “but when I visit Norway I also feel at home in that land. This summer, my wife and three children will also visit, and I visit every year. Yet the Islamabad-Rawalpindi area is our main home.”

Norway has extensive cultural cooperation with Pakistan. Last week, Lok Virsa Museum in Islamabad, launched the first report of cultural heritage sites in Pakistan, under the National Database Centre for Cultural Heritage, funded by Norway and UNESCO. And this week, a couple of Norwegian musicians will play at the Norwegian Embassy on the National Day. Ambassador Robert Kvile can enjoy the day in the company of members of the small Norwegian community in Pakistan, including ethnic Norwegians and Pakistani-Norwegians, and Pakistanis.

Norway’s development aid to Pakistan, and special grants for flood victims and IDPs, reached about fifty million dollars last year, Norwegian statistics show. Pakistani statistics show that Telenor, a Norwegian government-owned limited company, is one of the largest in Pakistan with over 25 million customers, and it is one of the most prestigious places young, modern Pakistanis can work, according to a recent opinion survey. Another Norwegian company, Eltek Valere, provides maintenance and other support to the running of the telecom towers boosters. Remittances from Pakistanis in Norway surpass the official development aid.

“Although there is good contact between the two countries, there is still room for expansion of cooperation in trade, research and other fields”, says Mukhtar Ahmed, the Chairman of the Pakistan-Norway Association (PANA). “I hope that the University of Gujrat will succeed in establishing the planned Norwegian Centre for Language and Social Sciences. Obviously, the Norwegian government with the private sector companies have to help finance such as centre”, the PANA Chairman says.   

Atle Hetland is a senior Norwegian social scientist currently based in Islamabad. atlehetland@yahoo.com