Amal Aden
Encyclopedia
Amal Aden is the pseudonym
of a Somali
-Norwegian
writer
. She has been noted in Norway because of her strong criticism of the Norwegian integration
and immigration
policy, and is the author
of several books regarding issues related to this.
, and became an orphan
at the age of four. She was illiterate, and made a living from stealing from the dead among other things. She immigrated to Norway
through family reunion
by relatives as a thirteen year old in 1996, after living as a street child
for seven years. She claims to not have "fit in" with Somalis in Norway, including the relatives who brought her there, and struggled at first with the meeting of another culture
, child protection and other public services which she claims were unable to help her. She ended up in the drug
environment in the Oslo
city district of Grønland
, and lived on the streets of the same city periodically.
Today however, she is self-employed and works as an interpreter for the police
, school
s and other instances, as well as being an advisor and lecturer
for municipalities and other instances. She is the mother of two twins. Since 2002 she has lived in Hønefoss
, claiming she was forced to move from Oslo as she could not move around freely there, being spat at, receiving death threats, verbal abuse and being hit by people from certain immigrant communities. She says this is because she wears regular pants
, and is believed by Somalis to be too well integrated, and betraying of Islam
and their culture
. She also claims that walking around on the streets in Oslo is worse than on the streets of Somalia. Aden is personally a "believing Muslim".
From November 2008 to February 2009 she worked for the immigration and integration critical think tank
Human Rights Service
, but came into conflict with it, and reported the organisation to the police for alleged illegal surveillance
. While she was, and remains, supportive of the integration policy of the Progress Party
, she came into conflict with its former leader Carl I. Hagen
, as he thought Aden's criticism of HRS to be uncalled for.
While she had originally written her first books without disclosing anything about herself besides her pseudonym, some had speculated if in reality she was an ethnic Norwegian falsely presenting herself as a Somali. In March 2009 however, she went public and revealed her physical identity as truly being a Somali woman. In another interview, in August 2011, she came out as a lesbian woman.
and integration
debate as a strong critic of the current Norwegian integration policy. She has especially criticised the Somali community in Oslo for being unwilling of integrating in the Norwegian society. Though she asserts there exist some Somalis who seek integration in Norway, she for instance claims that Somalis in Norway are often outcast as "betrayers" if they try to connect with ethnic Norwegians
, or are revealed to have ethnic Norwegian friends. Other claims of traditions and attitudes of the Somali community in Oslo include that:
In 2010, after an ongoing public debate about if Grønland could or would become a Muslim
city district, she claimed it had already become one many years ago. She also strongly criticise the Socialist Left Party
, of which she used to vote for, of trivialising a major society problem, and as of 2009 she has changed her allegiance to the Labour Party
. She however hold that the Progress Party
is the only party who dare to speak the truth about integration in Norway, though she disagrees with the general policies of the party.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of a Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
-Norwegian
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. She has been noted in Norway because of her strong criticism of the Norwegian integration
Social integration
Social integration, in sociology and other social sciences, is the movement of minority groups such as ethnic minorities, refugees and underprivileged sections of a society into the mainstream of societies...
and immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
policy, and is the author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of several books regarding issues related to this.
Early and personal life
Aden was born in northern SomaliaSomalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, and became an orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
at the age of four. She was illiterate, and made a living from stealing from the dead among other things. She immigrated to Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
through family reunion
Family reunion
A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family get together. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year....
by relatives as a thirteen year old in 1996, after living as a street child
Street children
A street child is a child who lives on the streets of a city, deprived of family care and protection. Most children on the streets are between the ages of about 5 and 17 years old.Street children live in junk boxes, parks or on the street itself...
for seven years. She claims to not have "fit in" with Somalis in Norway, including the relatives who brought her there, and struggled at first with the meeting of another culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, child protection and other public services which she claims were unable to help her. She ended up in the drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
environment in the Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
city district of Grønland
Grønland
Grønland is a neighbourhood in central Oslo, Norway. It is served by several tram and bus lines, as well as the Oslo Metro at the Grønland Station....
, and lived on the streets of the same city periodically.
Today however, she is self-employed and works as an interpreter for the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
s and other instances, as well as being an advisor and lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
for municipalities and other instances. She is the mother of two twins. Since 2002 she has lived in Hønefoss
Hønefoss
Hønefoss is a city in Buskerud county, Norway, and the center of the municipality of Ringerike.In 1852, Hønefoss received town status and was separated from Norderhov. Hønefoss celebrated its 150th year of township in 2002...
, claiming she was forced to move from Oslo as she could not move around freely there, being spat at, receiving death threats, verbal abuse and being hit by people from certain immigrant communities. She says this is because she wears regular pants
Trousers
Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...
, and is believed by Somalis to be too well integrated, and betraying of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and their culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
. She also claims that walking around on the streets in Oslo is worse than on the streets of Somalia. Aden is personally a "believing Muslim".
From November 2008 to February 2009 she worked for the immigration and integration critical think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
Human Rights Service
Human Rights Service
Human Rights Service is a Norwegian organisation which was founded in 2001.It describes itself as a "non-partisan independent think tank which work with themes attached to the new multiethnic and multireligious Norway and Europe"...
, but came into conflict with it, and reported the organisation to the police for alleged illegal surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
. While she was, and remains, supportive of the integration policy of the Progress Party
Progress Party (Norway)
The Progress Party is a political party in Norway which identifies as conservative liberal and libertarian. The media has described it as conservative and right-wing populist...
, she came into conflict with its former leader Carl I. Hagen
Carl I. Hagen
Carl Ivar Hagen is a Norwegian politician and former Vice President of the Norwegian Parliament. He was the chairman of the Progress Party from 1978 until 2006, when Siv Jensen replaced him as chairman of the party...
, as he thought Aden's criticism of HRS to be uncalled for.
While she had originally written her first books without disclosing anything about herself besides her pseudonym, some had speculated if in reality she was an ethnic Norwegian falsely presenting herself as a Somali. In March 2009 however, she went public and revealed her physical identity as truly being a Somali woman. In another interview, in August 2011, she came out as a lesbian woman.
Views
She has been noted in the Norwegian immigrationImmigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
and integration
Social integration
Social integration, in sociology and other social sciences, is the movement of minority groups such as ethnic minorities, refugees and underprivileged sections of a society into the mainstream of societies...
debate as a strong critic of the current Norwegian integration policy. She has especially criticised the Somali community in Oslo for being unwilling of integrating in the Norwegian society. Though she asserts there exist some Somalis who seek integration in Norway, she for instance claims that Somalis in Norway are often outcast as "betrayers" if they try to connect with ethnic Norwegians
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
, or are revealed to have ethnic Norwegian friends. Other claims of traditions and attitudes of the Somali community in Oslo include that:
- Somalis don't want to integrate in fear of losing their religionReligionReligion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
and cultureCultureCulture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
. - Somalis despise and fear Norwegians, who are seen as untrustworthy infidelInfidelAn infidel is one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of a particular religion – especially in reference to Christianity or Islam....
s and whores. - Violence is common everyday. The father hit the mother, and the mother hit the children.
- Somalis "divorce" on paper only to gain public economical support for single mothers.
- Somali organisations work against integration internally, but presents itself to work for integration externally.
- Somalis aren't interested in their children, but give birth to many to gain the most possible social securitySocial securitySocial security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
payments. - Many support female genital cuttingFemale genital cuttingFemale genital mutilation , also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision, is defined by the World Health Organization as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons."FGM...
, even though they say otherwise externally.
In 2010, after an ongoing public debate about if Grønland could or would become a Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
city district, she claimed it had already become one many years ago. She also strongly criticise the Socialist Left Party
Socialist Left Party (Norway)
The Socialist Left Party or SV, is a Norwegian left-wing political party. At one point one of the smallest parties in Parliament, it became the fourth-largest political party in Norway for the first time in the 2001 parliamentary election, and has been so ever since...
, of which she used to vote for, of trivialising a major society problem, and as of 2009 she has changed her allegiance to the Labour Party
Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
. She however hold that the Progress Party
Progress Party (Norway)
The Progress Party is a political party in Norway which identifies as conservative liberal and libertarian. The media has described it as conservative and right-wing populist...
is the only party who dare to speak the truth about integration in Norway, though she disagrees with the general policies of the party.