Visa or not visa

For me Visa is a creditcard. Some seldom time i have had to get a visa to travel to a country. But for me it has not been a hindrance, maybe even just the fun of having another stamp in my passport. As a norwegian it is my right by birth to travel wherever i want, when i want. And if some countries don`t want me to travel to them, i probably wouldn`t want to be there either. In two days i`m going to Albania – a former very isolated country. They need visa to go to Norway, i just need to buy a ticket.

One of the positive results of european integration is that there are fewer and fewer countries that need a visa to travel in our part of the world. But with that it gets even more strange that someone should be on the outside. And the symbolic of this outsideness get`s even stronger.

Yesterday the european commision recommended opening up for for Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro. Good, but Bosnia and Albania still isn`t found ready for this status, and have to wait. Probably until sometime in 2010. It`s a bad political signal, it is even bad political handicraft.

Politics should be to create oppurtunities. I might accept some of the technical arguments, also that bosnian politicans doesn`t give impression of being the best of the bunch. But still – if european integration should have any real meaning you shouldnt give the impression that someone isn`t welcomed into the club. Historical and other contexts need to be taken into account when such a decision is taken. There it is a stated goal for the EU to integrate Western Balkan. Then the countries in the area needs to be taken in together, not apart.
If not Europe makes the same mistake it has also done earlier – beliving that treating all countries formally equal will give the same result in every country. It doesn´t since the different countries in Balkan do have different starting points, and the same policy might give different reactions and resuts in each country. Like in Bosnia where bosnian croats and serbs actually can have dual citizenship with Croatia and Serbia, and getting visa that way. Sometimes neutrality means to take the strongest side.
In worse case it might only raise resentment towards the rest of Europe, and give raise to nationalistic politicans who prosper ecactlly on such feelings. It`s a bad circle of events.

Having to go through the process of getting a visa to visit someone or to go to a meeting, seems to me today to be one of the strongest symbol of being on the outside. It´s not just a question of the “big” issues like opening up for stronger economic development. It`s what ordinary people needs to go through to do something we think is a birth-given right.

A petition with the support from among others the Green parlimentarian in the european parliament Daniel Cohn-Bandit says it best – “The visa policy for the successor states of the former Yugoslavia risks to create two classes of citizens in South Eastern Europe, based on ethnicity.” And is this the kind of Europe we want? I hope not. The EU has had several setbacks recently. This threathens to be another if one doesn`t manage to integrate the balkan countries in a decent way.

Ironic this happens on the same day that on the other end of europe, the icelandic parliament has voted in favour of applying for EU-membership. It seems that they won`t have the same problems.
In spite of this i stand by me prediction that Bosnia will be a member of the EU before Norway, though… Some can, but don´t want to. Some want to but can`t. Europe today.

The mark of a good hotel

The mark of a good hotel is that there is a machine that makes ice cubes in the hall. Gothia Towers in Gothenburg is therefore a good hotel. Last week i ate (do we eat ice cubes or just suck on them?) a small bucket of ice cubes every night before going to bed. They are cold, and melts in your mouth.
Small luxery.

I like it! Though i have never heart anyone ask someone out for a bucket of ice cubes. Ice cream of course, but never ice cubes. Maybe one should try it some day. Anyone for ice cubes?

Congresses

It`s something about congresses. Even though i didn`t have any special tasks on this one – the IOGT-NTO movment in Sweden – and got to bed, well not very far from normal most of the days i`m still kind of washed up today. But in a good sense also. The swedes know how to arrange things like this, and they have the money to do the little extra. Not that it can´t be better, it was a little too long to the school and the night cafè for instance. But all in all – some good days in Göteborg.

But most of all good because of the people i met there. The new leader of IOGT-NTO, Anna Carlstedt, first woman president of the organisation, btw, said in a twitter message – What a great week it has been in Göteborg with 1300 abstainers who thinks it is possible to change the world. When did you you hear a leader of a political party say something similar? And that belief together with resources to put power behind the message and the professionalism the organisation has managed to build up gives the IOGT-NTO movement something special in swedish society. The only think i could have wished for was that more emphazise was put on international work and how to work together with other organisations and outside of Sweden and the umbrella-organisations. There i think the congress at times was a little too “inward-looking”. Not much debate.

At the congress it seemed like some people are afraid that the popular movment-part of the organisation isn`t been given the status that it deerves, and that the organisation should focus more on the traditional ways of working. I don`t really see the incompatibilities here. Every age has it`s form of organisations, and on must always be able to adjust to that. The important part is that the core values doesn`t change, and from my position it doesn`t seem to be happening.

All in all some inspiring days that will be good to have with me later

Jackson memorial

I admit it – i have both laught of and told some Michael Jackson-jokes last week. It`s just too easy. And after todays memorial this could also easily be another anti-american, anti-consumerism, anti-hype grumpy blog-entry. But in the end – that would have been too easy also. It`s too easy to say that there are more important things going on in the world when for many millions this was probably the most important today. I don?t think we need to be reminded of it. The energy gone to grief over Michael Jackson would probably not been used at fixing the world`s ills anyway.

The most famous picture from president Kennedys funeral in `63 is not of statemen representing their country, but it is of his son saluting the coffin as it moves by. And what will be remembered from this memorial is not the artists, but Jacksons daughter telling the world that he was the best father you could ever imagine. That is what it`s about. Not a superstar who is dead, but a father. A very famous father, but still a father. And even the best father one could ever imagine. I had tears in my eyes then.

And one could have hoped that it ended there also. No more books, no never before released music, no people telling us about what might or might not have happened. The daughter has spoken – he was the best father one could imagine. And that`s enough for me. I don´t have need for more information now.

But unfortunately i guess the last chapter is not written, quite literally. There will be books, and there will be stories, and the circus wil continue. But i will remember this moment. RIP.

Vacation-time at work

Vacation-time at work and very few people at the offices. Should perhabs make me more effective, but doesn`t feel that way. Maybe i prefer having some people around me after all. Or maybe it is just that routines becomes a little different. No common lunches for instances, instead poping out to buy something when it suits you.
I kind of prefer having vacation when other people dont, so summer becomes a bit lonely at the office.

Just half a week this week, though. From wedensday it is Gothenburg and the swedish congress instead. The swedes know how to organize such things, even though i´m not sure if the cost of it all are worth it. If the figure i have seen is correct than IOGT-NTOs congress costs 1,9 million crowns. As a comparison – the amount given to international work are a bit over 2 millions, almost the same. I believe that an organisation needs big events like this, it is part og bringing people together, strengthen identity with the organisation and perhabs also pride in it. But one would think that it should be ways of making this cheaper. Well, none of my business probably, but it bothers me a bit anyhow. Maybe i would have felt better if the amount given to international work was raised considerably.

Weather

I should be careful making this blog into a weather-blog. But it does take some of the attention at the moment. All-time-high measured in Oslo yesterday. But a tremendous thunderstorm made temperatures (and trees) fall. That also happened here – tempratures, not trees. Finally some air to breath in, and i could turn off the vift. Today we are back to the thirties again, though. I really start to understand the need for siesta in southern countries. There is not much meaningful activities you can do before the evening anyway.

Otherwise just so this blog entry shouldnt be about weather entirely – logistics of the summer starting to fall in place, Tour the france starts today, mens final in Wimbledon tomorrow.

Heat

It sucks being sick. It sucks even more being sick in a heatwave. In this case it might have been the warmth that got to me also. I think i usually handle heath pretty well, but this time i got nausea and has been throwing up. Had to have a couple of days at home getting better. But now i`m back in shape. Or somewhat.

We are reaching records here now. Yesterday we were only 0,1 degrees from an all-time-high heat record in Oslo. And four days with temperatures over 30 degrees is something we only expereince once every 14 year or so. This is the fifth i think.

One thing you learn in a heatwave is how to fall asleep with a wift on full speed close to your bed. I found out that the clue was to pretend that it is waves coming into a beach. The sound isn`t too unsimilar actually. It makes you feel you are falling asleep while there is a small storm outside, but storms are chilly, so that is a good thing. Thinking about anything that is chilly – icebergs, icecubes, icebears – gives some relief.