Sevgul Uludag
caramel_cy@yahoo.com
Tel: 99 966518
I go to Norway to attend the Global Investigative Journalism Conference… I am the only investigative journalist from Cyprus going there and on my name tag it says `YENIDUZEN and POLITIS newspapers` and I am proud of that – it shows that I come from `both sides`, not just one…
In preparation to the conference, the organizers had created a world map to show which countries we were coming from and apparently they would show only the northern part of the island but I would intervene and work with the organizers in order to fix this in order to show the whole of Cyprus, not just one part… After all, as an investigative journalist, I do not write about only `one side` but `both`… And in my heart, I refuse the division of my country – for me Cyprus is a whole and cannot be divided…
Seven years ago, I was here at Lillehammer, an Olympic town two hours by train from Oslo, again for the same conference… This year the conference runs between the 8th to 11th of October 2015 at Radisson Blue Hotel in Lillehammer in Norway…
Lillehammer is a quiet town with such stunning beauty of autumn that it is breath-taking! The colours of the trees have turned into all shades of yellows and oranges and the air is crispy, cold, maybe around 6 or 8 degrees – coming from a Mediterranean island, I really feel the cold. We are not used to cold weather, we don't know how to handle cold, we don't know how to walk in snow, we don't know how to hold an umbrella and walk in the rain because we actually don't have to if we live in Cyprus… So I bring warm clothes with my fear of the cold!
Lillehammer had become famous for winter Olympic Games – and later on, a fantastic TV series called `Lilyhammer` would make it even more famous… Set in Lillehammer, a New York mobster goes into hiding in rural Lillehammer in Norway after testifying against his former associates. Starring Steven van Zandt as `Johnny`, this comedy series reflects the cultural differences between the USA and Norway – but I think it is more than that… I find Norway refreshing with its quiet beauty and its very kind people… Norwegians sitting on top of the world have created a country with such beauty and such culture that it is extremely difficult to find in today's world such a place… They are a welcoming people, sharing what they have with others – and Cyprus has been part of it… They have set up PRIO in Cyprus and the main funding for Home for Cooperation in Nicosia in the buffer zone comes from Norway…
No, it's not something `symbolic`, it is more than that – it is the curiosity instilled from an early age towards `others` and the respect and kindness towards `others` - in order to respect `others`, first you have to respect `yourself` and that's what I see in Norway… Outside my hotel, I see a group of kids, around 8 years old with their teachers and they call me and say hello. I stop to talk to them – it is a group of around 15 of them and almost all of them speak perfect English… They are learning to become boy scouts and they are trying to make compasses and we speak of Cyprus and they become happy! Their teacher asks them if they know where Cyprus is and at least 6-7 hands shoot up, all smiles! They have all gone on holidays in Cyprus and say `Cyprus is very nice!` I leave the little Vikings on their task of making compasses and trying to find their ways in the forest with a big smile on my face…
Every two years, investigative journalists from all over the world gather at this conference to share their investigations and to learn the new techniques and trends in investigative journalism.
Seven years ago, again it was here, at Lillehammer – and now again back to Lillehammer… SKUP, the Norwegian Investigative Journalists' Union is our host, as before… SKUP had been the target of the Norwegian far-right terrorist Anders Behring Breivik when SKUP was having its congress but since he could not finish the bomb he was making `in time` he changed the target and on 22 July 2011 killed 8 persons by setting off a bomb in Oslo and then he went and shot 69 youngsters at a summer camp of the Workers' Youth League. He was convicted of mass murder and terrorism in 2012 and is now in jail… From Norwegian colleagues we learn that his initial target of bombing was the SKUP congress – he hated journalists and he wanted to kill journalists but since he could not finish his bomb `in time` he changed his target… Police would find among his notes that the original plan of bombing was the SKUP congress…
Our conference is the ninth conference of the investigative journalists of the world and we come from 120 countries, around 900 investigative journalists… I share the hotel flat with two other journalists: One from Azerbaijan and one from Tadjikistan… At the conference, I meet journalists from diverse regions – we sit down with journalists from Mongolia to share experiences and they give me their money as a gift where there is the picture of Djengiz Khan – they are proud of him… We speak of the weather and life in Mongolia and in Cyprus…
There is a surprise in for me at this conference: I was awarded with `Courage in Journalism` by the International Women's Media Foundation in 2008. I find out that this year, `Courage in Journalism` Award goes to the Honduran journalist Lourdes Ramirez and she is here, at the conference! We meet and hug each other and talk about the award and our lives… A journalist from Paraguay, Mariana Ladaga Pereyras translates for us…
Because of her investigative work on crimes of the gangs Lourdes came under threats from some gangs and she had to flee for some time to live in America but then she went back to Honduras… One of the most violent countries in the world, only 2 per cent of crimes are solved and police corruption is widespread… After Norway, Ramirez will fly back to Honduras and then to Washington, New York and Los Angeles to attend the award ceremonies of IWMF… I wish her luck…
The most interesting discovery for me is not only the journalists from Mongolia and Honduras but also Faroe Islands… I had never heard of Faroe Islands and here I have an opportunity to learn more from Sveinur Tróndarson… He speaks at a global networking session and soon, together with a Catalan journalist, we get out to speak about Faroe Islands…
Faroe Islands are somewhere between Iceland and Norway – they come under the `rule` of Denmark although Faroe people are not Danish. They are an `autonomous country` under Danish Kingdom. According to Wikipedia, `Between 1035 and 1814, the Faroe Islands were part of the Kingdom of Norway. The 1814 Treaty of Kiel granted Denmark control over the islands, along with two other Norwegian regions: Greenland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands have been a self-governing country within the Danish Realm since 1948. The Faroese have control of most domestic matters; areas that remain the responsibility of Denmark include military defence, police, justice, currency and foreign affairs.`
I learn that `Faroe Islands` mean `The island of sheep…` Even before the Vikings arrived there, there had been people living on these islands… Their population goes back to Faroese, Scottish and Norwegian/Scandinavian…Their culture is a Nordic culture…
And weather? Out of 365 days, 260 days are rainy… People speak Faorese language, as well as Danish language… The Faroese language dates back to `Old Norse` language spoken in Scandinavia in the Viking Age… According to Wikipedia, `Until the 15th century, Faroese had a similar orthography to Icelandic and Norwegian, but after the Reformation in 1538, the ruling Norwegians outlawed its use in schools, churches and official documents. Although a rich spoken tradition survived, for 300 years the language was not written down. This means that all poems and stories were handed down orally... These were eventually written down in the 19th century.`
They have few trees but lots of seabirds… They have seals and sometimes whales visit Faroe Islands…
What do they eat? They eat meat, seafood and potatoes… Goat meat is the basis of many meals and one of the most popular treats is `skerpikjot` just like our `tsamarella`… They also eat whale meat and lots of fresh fish, as well as seabirds and their eggs… Dried fish is also commonly eaten…
They too face similar problems like us: Youngsters moving to Denmark or elsewhere and as in the words of Sveinur, `We have same problems as you…`
The main bulk of their budget comes from Denmark and they have self-rule, except in foreign affairs… 49 thousand people live on Faroe Islands and 95 per cent of their economy depend on fishing… `That's why Faroe Islands said NO to membership to EU` explains Sveinur, because it would limit their fishing… So not a member of EU, its main budget coming from Denmark, there is always discussion about whether to become `independent` from Denmark or to stay as they are we learn…
Going out of Cyprus brings me information that I would not come across otherwise… I will continue to share my experiences from the Global Investigative Journalism Conference next week as well…
(To be continued…)
Photo: With journalist Lourdes Ramirez from Honduras and journalist Mariana Ladaga Pereyras from Paraguay…
(*) Article published in the POLITIS newspaper on the 8th of November 2015, Sunday.
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