Debate, refugee A space for different viewpoints on refugee policy

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Our party colleague in the municipal council, Simin Sandlin, urges greater caution in refugee policy in an article published in Podstika on January 25.

The backdrop is the council's decision to settle 255 refugees in 2024. Sandlin expresses that he personally could have wished for fewer.

Some of us personally think that perhaps we should have accepted more, but we all stand behind the majority decision once it has been made up; By the way, this is a decision that does not prevent obtaining more than 255 pounds, provided that economic circumstances allow for this.

There are other municipalities that bear greater burdens than the city of Askar, which has a population of about 100,000 people. The city of Nice in Romeriki has a population of just under 20,000, but has just approved the settlement of 145 people; Hamar, with a population of 32 thousand people, decided 220 and settled 209 in 2023; Almost like a liquid.

The numbers are high, but the reason is clear: the war in Europe and the massive influx of refugees, mainly Ukrainians.

In fact, Ukrainians make up nearly 90% of all refugees arriving in the country.

The only thing missing is that we are not advocating for them in their crisis situation, but that does not mean that we should not think about long-term sustainability in refugee policy; Sandlin and I both worry about that, but our analyzes are somewhat different.

In his article, Sandlin highlights the life costs of NOK 21 million for a male refugee and points out that these are costs that the state and municipalities will have to bear in the long term.

This figure can be found again in reports prepared by Norwegian Statistical Institute researcher Erling Holmoe, and has long been established as a kind of reference point for the cost of migration.

The calculation is based on the average asylum seeker who arrived in Norway in 2016, typically a 25-year-old man from the Middle East or North Africa.

For today's discussion of the settlement of mostly Ukrainian refugees, it is not particularly relevant.

Moreover, Asker's immigrant population of about 10 percent consists mainly of Swedes, Poles and Lithuanians who manage their affairs well without help from the municipality and state; The proportion of refugees is still relatively modest.

None of us knows what the influx of refugees from Ukraine will mean for the economy of the municipality of Asker in the long term; Perhaps the end of the war will make many people want to return home, and Ukrainian refugees may have much greater chances of integrating into Norwegian society than the average asylum seeker in 2016 in Sandelin's 21 million kroner example.

At least, researcher Holmoy thought so himself in his report, but the responsibility that municipalities have for the state's refugee policy must be followed by adequate transfers and grants; We agree on that, Sandlin and us.

Therefore, we are pleased with the additional points in the presidency's decision, which made this clear.

Let us add that there is ample scope and space for different viewpoints on immigration and refugee policy in Asker Høyre. it is good. Internally, we would like to continue the discussion.