The deadly weight of silence and indifference

The murder of George Floyd and the media attention that followed has shone more light to topic of discrimination faced by minorities in Norway. While there has been huge support against discrimination, some have questioned why we should care since such level of brutality does not happen in Norway. I say we should care because not every death is physical.

I want to raise awareness about the death of the dreams and careers of many skilled immigrants who moved to Norway as adults – a problem that cuts across immigrants of every race and skin color. I want to raise awareness to unofficial statistics that show that in Norway where gender equality is high on the agenda, 4 in 10 skilled immigrant women are involuntarily unemployed. I want to raise awareness against the false belief that immigrants are highly represented in unemployment and underemployment statistics because they are uneducated or cannot speak Norwegian. I want to raise awareness against the false narrative that immigrants enjoy being on welfare. On the contrary, many skilled immigrants avoid NAV due to the stigma and because a decent job is beyond money, it is tied to identity and self-worth.

 

On the contrary, many skilled immigrants avoid NAV due to the stigma and because a decent job is beyond money, it is tied to identity and self-worth.

I believe that beyond the benefits to the individual, the Norwegian society has a lot to gain when skilled immigrants contribute intellectually and economically to the society. Skilled immigrants have what it takes to adapt quickly to the Norwegian society, and so the society needs to be more open to support this group to transition faster. I want to challenge Norwegian individuals and organizations to care about this problem because the prosperity of immigrants is not mutually exclusive to that of Norwegians.

We should care about this issue with a sense of urgency because we need every hand on deck as we try to rebuild the post-COVID19 economy. And very importantly, we need to care because young immigrant children need to have positive immigrant role models and to know that their dreams are valid and that they can aspire.

Some demonstrations need to happen on the street, but some need to happen in the boardrooms and management meetings until cultural diversity in Norwegian businesses becomes more than just a CSR checkbox. Whenever you are tempted to ignore and stay silent on this issue, remember that your indifference or silence may contribute to the death of many dreams and careers.

2 thoughts on “The deadly weight of silence and indifference”

  1. Great piece, Ejiro!
    You care about a cause? You’re affected by certain situations around you?
    Well, the one thing one could do in playing his/her role in bringing a reform is by SPEAKING OUT. Many times, a bold comment is all that would be needed to bring change. #TheRippleEffectTheory
    So, cheers, Inter-Nationals!!! You’re on the path to bringing reformation.

    Reply

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