Norway: Is welfare system destroying Somali families?

[Ibtisam]

San Francisco (Somalilandpress) — Somali-Norwegian activist, Kadra Yusuf thinks that the Norwegian generous welfare system paradoxically may destroy the Somali families in Norway and lead to misuse of public funds.

 

In a provocative feature article published in Norwegian newspaper, VG, Yusuf argues that many Somali families artificially live apart in legally; while they live in same household in reality. Majority of Somali families are registered as a single parent household. Figures from Norwegian government statistics show that there are 2.5 times as many single parents among Somalis than in other migrant families. According to the same statistics, three of four Somali women do not work; one of the three are divorced and half have more than three children.

 

In the article Kadra Yusuf asks, “Why people who come from a conservative Muslim country suddenly decide to divorce in Norway?”

 

Yusuf reasons that many Somali immigrants declare to be single parents to benefit from generous assistance that is provided by the Norwegian welfare system.

 

She believes the Norwegian welfare system encourages married couples to divorce and reward single mothers with many children. Yusuf argues this lead to poverty trap for Somalis. Somalis should be required to do more than just live off welfare, she says

 

Politicians are afraid of stigmatizing, but they should be willing to take on the dreary debates too. Benefits for single parents is a social benefit that many use, but it’s being abused and Somali children are the losing end of this sytem, says Kafra Yusuf.

 

Kadra Yusuf argues that existing welfare system causes many family problems.

 

The ‘fictional divorce’ is not only legal fraud. Somali men leave their home during the day because of fear that social workers will show up at the house. They usually go Khat rooms leaving family responsibilities to women. This leads to alter the normal Somali family structure.

 

Kadra Yusuf calls the Norwegian government to reform the social welfare to remove poverty trap that many Somali families find them in.

 

Norway has one of the best and generous welfare systems in the world. parents are entitled to 12 months off work with 80% pay, or 10 months with full pay. The fertility rate has been a steady 1.8 higher than most European countries. Norwgian welfare’s motto has been, “from the cradle to the grave”. All Norwegians enjoy full health care and free education system throughout their lives.

 

 

Insurance Fraud

Magne Fladby, Director of the Norwegian National Insurance Verification and Collection Agency, says that they’re aware of the high risk for this type of fraud among Somalis.

 

“We get tips that this is widespread among Somalis. This is a benefits area we have a strong focus on in order to discover abuse,” he says.

 

Fladby says that they don’t have statistics based on ethnicity, and have no special measures directed only at Somalis. “We actively work to uncover abuses among single parents in general,” he says.

 

The figures on abuse of welfare benefits for single parents increased sharply in recent years. In 2008, his agency uncovered fraud of 2.3 million Kroner (373,000 US Dollar.) In 2010 they uncovered a record high of 8.2 million Kroner ($1,300,000.)

 

Ethnic perspective

The leader of the Parliamentary Labour and Social Committee Karin Andersen (SV) calls the government to finding a firm solution of this social problem and she encourage the social services to approach this problem from an “ethnic point of view.”

 

 

Source: VG Magazine

[-Serenity-]

I really dislike these whistle-blowers within the community who are more about naming and shaming and then criminalizing than doing something useful. I dont think its fair to put a blanket 'exploiters and abusers' label of the system on these families without trying to understand the situations that put them in there in the 1st place.

 

Still, its not to say the issues of social system abuse dont exist and need to be addressed. They do, but they need to be addressed primarily by the community. Not too long ago, I've come across a local Somali organization in my area thats addressing this very same issue of social welfare abuse, lack of cohesive parenting, social responsibility and inclusiveness within the system by advising and aiding these families and understanding their individual situations but started by Somalis and Somali families to help and aid other Somali families. Its working well from what I know as generally people want to help themselves and feel good about their place in society.

[Polanyi]

Khadra Yusuf is a typical freemason, racist, self hatin troll who is being used to incite the authorities against her own people. In a nutshell, she wakes up everday cursing the world for being black, SOmali and Muslim. Such people are known in scholarly terminology as " peacenowites". Peacenowites are people who flee from their own people, culture and religion, which they blame for their predicament. These people are schizophrenic cocunuts who feel white and european in their heart; yet have to still face the stigma of god creating them with melaninised,black cushitic skin.

 

Thus, exposing SOmalis in the media, ridiculing them, mocking them and reporting their internal affairs to the authorities, is, indeed, a self coping mocking mechanism to address their own ilnesses. It is as if they are saying: " look at us, we are one of the good sheeps, please do accept us". Common symptons of the peacenowitus illness include: an obessive compulsive disorder which manifests itself in trolling the internet for bad news about Somalis, bringing SOmali problems to the mainstream, dissocating completely from ther SOmali community and many others which tim does permit for us to diagnose. One common characteristic of such individuals is that they rarely do anything for community. You will never see them giving a hand to any intiative. All they are good for is opening their big mouths, criticising, criticising and criticising.

 

Having said that, one cannot deny that the problems in the article exist and some of those statistics are very troubling. On One level, though, it does show that Somalis are entrprenurial fellows and true hustlers of high calibre. I think we need to channel those skills in the right direction and not break the law. We need a long term solution, not self hating-media hoggers and clowns. The problems mentioned in the article can only be addressed by the community. We need community activists, teacher, cushitic xalimo mothers, skinny amphibian farax alpha males, sahwa scholars and poets to sit down and come up with a solution.

A great insight can be learned from the mexian peasant revolutions and the earl inca resistance to the Spanish colonisation. Malcom X and Fanon also offer great insights. If we start our own SOmali Islamic Schools and employ purely SOmali teachers, I think we can create a real generation of halganised, cushitic and educated Somalis. Within 20 years it will be the norm for Somali folks to be professionals and highly educated people.

 

 

Islamic Government of Bladland

[Abwaan]

Soomaalidaa waxya tiraa "Farta iyo meesha bugta ayaa is og".

 

Sidee camal akhyaarta gabadha ayaad weerar ku qaadeen. Horta aan is weydiinnee ma wax jira ayay ka hadashay mise been bay sheegtay. Haddii ay wax jira ka hadashay maxaan u hiifaynaa maan ka hadalno qaab khaladaadkan loo saxo dadkana loo hanuuniyo.

[Safferz]

She is a native informant, providing the fuel for the flames of xenophobia, racism and suspicion already faced by Somalis and other immigrant groups in Western Europe. I don't think she is an Ayaan Hirsi Ali as the other thread asks, but in the sense that they both operate to legitimize anti-immigrant discourse and European racism (by assuring Europeans that their anxieties over these scary dark foreigners have basis in truth), they are extremely similar.

[NASSIR]

Well said Saffers. Her criticism is truly groundless, immature and unfair given the circumstance that Somali families face on a daily basis. It's like the tragedy of a single story the Nigerian novelist Chimamanda eloquently once retold in her speech..

 

Most Somali families did not come to Europe or America as economic migrants but as refugees or with the status of asylum seekers. The distinction is highly important to policymakers and immigration critics. And these families have yet to transition into that stage of assimiliation where they can phase out their dependency on welfare rolls.

 

Besides, Somali families in the Diaspora are still dealing with the issues of re-unification or how to reunite with their members seperated by the prolonged civil war in their homeland. It's not easy and I agree we are fed up with Ayan Hirsi wannabees and their many despicable faces..

[brotherInSubmission]

This is a tough subject, however, each of us should hold ourselves to a high standard and act honestly. Only then can be examples for those who are tempted by the easy money. a friend of mind decided to give his wife hundreds of dollars ($500+) a month so that she would not resort to this easy money which unfortunately she was brainwashed to pursue. Men are also culprits in this and so is the society.

[brotherInSubmission]

In all honesty had we sacrificed and acted trustfully, you would have seen waves of norwegian reverts. but when you represent Islam and you act dishonestly, don't be surprised for people not to be impressed.

[NASSIR]

^wlc to SOL.

[Juxa]

i agree with serenity, the community needs to know there are various benefits to working parents even if it was on part time basis.

 

inla is-sheegto is the best thing, there is hardly any difference as the government with subside low income families

[brotherInSubmission]

more damage is done to the somali community by the result of absent fathers from these activities than there is benefit from whatever funds gained.

[Oz]

Well said Nassir. The question that stands is has this wannabee tried to address the issue to the somali community? If the answer is yes or no, she thinks this is the right way to deal with the community? Its one thing to wanna be famous and think your helping the community. Yes welfare destroys oneself especially when there is so much opportunity around.

[Neumann]

Originally posted by Polanyi:

Khadra Yusuf is a typical freemason, racist, self hatin troll who is being used to incite the authorities against her own people.

Freemason? That's an odd choice of word. In as much as I agree that this paints an unfavourable picture of the Somali community in Norway and elsewhere, I can neither think of moral nor legal justification for cheating the welfare system. On that grounds, I can't help but think that her act could be for the betterment of the Somali society.

[Som@li]

No wonder why some countries now stop or reduce intake of Somali refugees, cuz of these ****** making up all these stuff.

[LayZie G.]

POLANYA the unknown is all bark. I dont believe he knows what or who he is talking about or talking to for that matter. And I very much doubt that he knows freemasonry beyond what he googled just before he posted the rubbish above. With that said,

welfare sympathizers must think that money grows from trees.

 

They, the sympathizers probably go as far as thinking that the benefits these blood sucking vampires aka welfare leechers receive are not funded on the backs of honest, hardworking tax payers. For every dollar given to the leecher, thousands of dollars are sucked from the tax payers annually in order to pay for xalimo's 9th child because she can't say no to her dead beat husband long enough to leave him or for that matter, long enough to search for a job to pay for her growing family. The dead beat dad, who happens to be her on/off boyfriend LIBAN when the hat fits is too sharing on the wealth that the benefit system has bestowed on these blood sucking vampires on the backs of honest, hardworking tax papers. spineless leechers that they are, weyba isla fiican yihiin, so much so that they have a base that shields them from outside criticism while providing leachers a safe and nurturing environment for the sake of hibernation.....NOT ON KHADRA''s watch, I SAY, surely not on the many that will follow her footsteps, wherever, whoever they may be, shall attack and attack they will.

 

Instead of showering his brave soul with commendations for flushing out the waste in the broken system, she is made out to be the villain in this nightmarish narrative.

 

I for one commend her for all she has done for her community, as well as for staying true to her convictions. Overall, I commend her for being a principled human being.

 

 

PS: I just have to say that as I was laughing out loud@nassirs little rant, I almost missed to ask him how his circumstance is any different from the leechers? For instance, if nassir says I too can be labelled as a leecher, does that mean you are sucking the blood of the tax payers in your area? The answer is probably no, because something tells me nassir has a daytime job, probably has a real state property to his name but somehow he feels that being a a sympathizer to vampires sucking the blood of fellow tax payers is the "muslim thing " to do, better yet "the somali thing" to do. Dont you dare air our dirty laundry, how dare u to the so called "ayan hirsi wannabes", says nassir.

 

In all seriousness @NASSIRr, leechers may be victims of circumstance but they do not have to allow themselves to be prisoner of their circumstances.

 

Sure, they are disadvantaged but nothing in life is given, you have to earn everything and anything you desire in this world and you have to be willing to take it. You have to be able to bring yourself up from nothing and make yourself of something. You can not sit around and moan about how bad you have it without really doing anything about it....you can protest all you want and throw fits @nassir but only you can remove the shackles of your past, no one else will deliver the keys in hand and foot.

 

Opportunities that these leechers are afforded are the same opportunities that fellow somalis will kill to get(some of our pple die trying), only if they had have the chance. Instead, hundreds of thousands of our people are stuck in hellholes like yemen, prostituting themselves, begging just so they can have enough to feed themselves and here, we are discussing families who choose to remain at home, mother and father and continue to get handouts when both adults are blessed with a clean bill of health to work and earn an honest living. YOu can rant all you want but makaayeelin with that violin you just played above. THEy, the leechers CHOOSE TO BE PRISONERS OF THEIR PAST AND FOR THAT NASSIR, YOU ARE DEAD WRONG.