An Enemy of the People in Oslo

I have worked in a watch-and-opticians shop at Lamberseter shopping-centre for 42 years. 

I belong to the traders, the forest walkers, the skiers, the dog lovers, the sports-organization people, the society-builders, the volunteers, the community people, the ones who get things done, the realists, the hobby painters, the handicrafters and the social, but I do not belong to the racists, the home-sitters, the immigration enemies, naive, the politically engaged or the environmental activists.

I live in Oslo because I was born and grew up here. That's the way it goes. Moving was never a subject for me. I grew up at Stovner on a pig-farm, when Stovner was considered the countryside. A lot of space with flowers and nature.  

I remember An Enemy of the People from the TV-theatre in Norwegian Broadcasting. It was quite gloomy and filmed in black and white. About the quote; "The strongest man in the world is he who stands alone" I would liken it to my own experience; when we fought for compensation after the horrid expropriation, we were strongest standing alone. We had no choice, and in the end; we won! But to be honest I think standing united is the strongest. 

My turningpoint came as a teenager when we still lived on the farm and were forced to move. Our family were forced out because of this expropriation in order to get space for the high-rise block of flats and the suburbs that developed there. We were poorly compensated, and therefore fought in court for higher compensation. After six years it ended in the Supreme Court and we finally won. My family thought the authorities were very brutal and unjust, and it was painful for the family, and especially for my father. Our fight - it felt like David against Goliat. I changed and started to appreciate the fragile nature and cultural landscape. , made me think that no one should have to be forced to fight against the authorities like we did. 

For the performances, I am taking the tube-line number 5 from Stovner Centre.