Breivik Trial: How Multicultural is Norway?

Right-wing extremist Anders Breivik said at his trial on Tuesday that Norway’s capital, Oslo, is a “multicultural hell”.

He said some neighborhoods in Oslo have become no-go zones for anyone but Muslims.

Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with Daniella Van Dijk-Wennberg, of Oslo’s Intercultural Museum, about diversity and tolerance in Norway’s capital.

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Lisa Mullins: On both days of his trial so far, Anders Breivik has said that he went on a killing spree last summer to “defend Norway from multiculturalism”. Today he called the capital, Oslo, a multicultural hell. Daniella Van Dijk-Wennberg is with Oslo’s Intercultural Museum. She says there’s a growing need in Norway for institutions like hers to emphasize the positive side of multiculturalism.

Daniella Van Dijk-Wennberg: Well, the need is, I think, now more obvious than ever and that is to promote cultural diversity and to start a dialog between people of different cultures. So both the immigrants that are coming to Norway, the immigrants that have been living in Norway for quite a long time, and Norwegians, that’s what we try to do.

Mullins: Where did you yourself come from?

Dijk-Wennberg: I’m from Holland.

Mullins: Interesting, because you would think the culture would be very similar. Is the intolerance that you are working against right now something you experienced?

Dijk-Wennberg: Yes, I definitely did. Yes.

Mullins: How so?

Dijk-Wennberg: I came to a small town in Norway. There’s something here in Norway that’s called the [Norwegian word]. I don’t know how that translates in English, but it’s something like the animal of small cities which comes up when people who are different sort of stand out in a crowd.

Mullins: How did you stand out though?

Dijk-Wennberg: I didn’t stand out that much color-wise, but I started working in a restaurant and in that restaurant there were a lot of racist opinions voiced and whenever these were voiced, I talked out against them and then when they reacted to this, it’s like, “OK, but you’re not one of them,” and then I always say, “Well, but I am. I am an immigrant.” One of the things that we do at our museum is hire staff that has a multicultural background. We try to work as we preach so to say.

Mullins: One of the things that Anders Breivik said today in his lengthy statement in court was that certain neighborhoods in Oslo are no go areas for anybody but Muslims. What’s your reaction to that?

Dijk-Wennberg: This is absolutely not true. Our museum is in the middle of one of these areas that he describes. I go there everyday to work. I’ve not experienced a single thing that was threatening to me at all and I’ve been working in that area for nine years now.

Mullins: Do you think there will be a time one day when Norway won’t need a separate museum, a separate facility to teach people about cultural diversity, to teach people how to be tolerant and why?

Dijk-Wennberg: That’s a good question. We’ve asked ourselves that question thousands of times. When this institution started, we said that the museum is going to work until there’s no need for us anymore, but I think, in one way or the other, intolerance will be present always and there will always be a need for our museum. We just have to go into our society and address modern, nowadays times and there will always be something which we can work on, unfortunately maybe.

Mullins: Alright. Thank you very much for speaking with us. Daniella Van Dijk-Wennberg is with the Intercultural Museum in Oslo, Norway. Nice to have you in the program.

Dijk-Wennberg: Thank you.

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