Høringssvar fra Katharina Ida Beutner

Part of what makes life in Longyearbyen so special, is how international it is. Nowhere else in the world, will you see so many nationalities working hand in hand, to create a place we all call "home". But why should we - the non-Norwegians - keep putting in an effort, if we're not allowed to make a change on the political base?

We, the non-Norwegians, call Longyearbyen our home, just like our Norwegian neighbours and friends.
Why should somebody, that just moved here a few weeks prior to the election, hold more power, than somebody, that moved here a decade ago, just because they don't hold a passport with NORWAY printed in golden letters?

If you want more Norwegians to move to Svalbard, or get rid of us - the non-Norwegians, then maybe you should also change the policy of being able to become Norwegian, by living on Svalbard.

During the past few years, we non-Norwegians, have felt again and again, like we're not wanted, by the higher ups in Oslo, and it became more and more clear, when the Pandemic hit our island in March 2020. But we're resilliant, we stayed. Because we want to shape the future of Svalbard, the future of Longyearbyen, the future of our home.

The mainland policis have made it clear again and again, that we're not wanted here, but yet we stay, because our Norwegian friends, and local politics, ensure us, that the words and actions of the mainland, do not represent the feeling of Norwegians living side by side with us, sharing their and our homes.

When word came out, that this proposal was made, Norwegians and non-Norwegians alike in Longyearbyen where furious, that this is even a public thought. We, the non-Norwegians, know that our friends will stand with us to protest, no matter if their Passport says NORWAY in golden letters, or not. Because to us, there is no "Norwegian Svalbardians vs Other Svalbardians" there is only "Svalbardians vs Mainlanders", we are one neighbourhood, one town, one Svalbard.