Publisert med forbehold om endringer under fremførelsen. Talen ble holdt på engelsk.

Speech to open the exhibition: Nablus – an occupied city

Mayor of Stavanger, Christine Sagen Helgø,
Ladies and gentlemen,

The exhibition that we are opening here today turns the spotlight on one of the hardest and most relentless conflicts the world has ever seen.

As you all know, the city of Nablus on the West Bank has been twinned with Stavanger for many, many years. It is one of the oldest cities in the world. Now extremely densely populated. Marked by its location between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. A lively Arab city. Rich in history. Full of sights. And extremely badly hit.

This exhibition gives the city’s population a unique chance to be heard. The voices of the people are conveyed in videos that have been specifically designed for the purpose. They give us a brief glimpse into what it’s like to live in a world ruled by despair and resignation. A world punctuated by worry and anxiety. Yet these videos are also a treasure trove of stories of everyday life. Family life, school life, university life and refugee camp life.

It’s easy to forget so much when the TV cameras are rolling and international politics takes centre stage. That, for instance, life for those who live in Palestine usually consists of exactly the same kinds of trivial daily chores and routines that take up so much of our lives. What this kind of exhibition can do – something that newspaper articles, books and research can’t do – is to bring such realities home to us.

The scents emitted by a sack of spice conjure up local delicacies. The market is being rigged up with food stalls. The background noise is unmistakably Arabic. The aim of the exhibition is to stimulate the senses. Quite suddenly, we are a long way from home.

Ladies and gentlemen,

A long way from home indeed. And yet it’s not hard to spot the common thread here. The situation in the occupied Palestinian city of Nablus in 2014 – such an important landmark year for our own, Norwegian Constitution – provides an invitation to reflect on the democracy we are celebrating.

I would like to commend Stavanger Museum for seizing this opportunity. This exhibition gives us the chance to put our own constitution and the values on which it is based into perspective.

We know that the 112 men who convened in Eidsvoll in April 1814 arrived with the desire to create not only a better future for themselves and their own, but for their nation as well. The result was a constitution that embodied the separation of powers, sovereignty of the people and human rights. The Men of Eidsvoll prohibited what should never have been allowed – such as torture. And they allowed what should never have been prohibited – such as freedom of speech.

Yet Norway was not the source of these convictions. Far from it!

The founding fathers at Eidsvoll were inspired by ground-breaking ideas from the revolutions in America and France – notions and rights that are far from western for that reason. Notions and rights that are universal and that apply to every single citizen of the world.

In this bicentenary year of the Constitution, it is vital for us not to forget that the guarantees afforded us by the Norwegian Constitution are still a distant dream for an infinite number of people on this earth. This is the case for the people of Nablus; it is the case for people in other war-torn areas, in tyrannies and dictatorships; in all the places where gross infringements of human rights are a daily occurance. To really comprehend and appreciate our own constitution, it is these stories we are compelled to take in.

I would like to close by thanking Stavanger Museum for inviting me here today and for making this exhibition possible. Of the many events that have made up the national programme for the Bicentenary of the Constitution, this exhibition is one of those that stands out. I firmly hope and believe that it will receive many visitors in the time ahead.

It is a very great pleasure and privilege for me to declare this exhibition open.