Migration memory told by Tansi Manotheepan

Norsk

Fra nord-Sri Lanka til nord-Norge
Dette er historien om hvordan besteforeldrene mine kom til Norge.

I år? så var det krig Sri Lanka, livet var vanskelig og tøft for både voksene og barn. Bestemoren min, Buvanadevi Kirupamurthy, bestefaren min Kirupamurthy Pancharatnam og moren min Ravinea Kirupamurthy (nå Ravinea Manotheepan) som bare var 1 og et halvt år bodde på Sri Lanka på den tiden. Bestefaren min hadde hørt at det var en god folkehøgskole i Norge og etter å ha snakket med bestemor så ble han enig om at de skulle flytte til Norge. Først så flyttet bestefar til Kabelvåg i Norge, så skulle han møte bestemor og mamma noen måneder senere på flyplassen i Oslo med en fetter. Han og fetteren hans var jo ikke vant til og se så mye fly så de sto og så på fly som landa, på den tiden hadde flyet til mamma og bestemor allerede landet og de visste jo ikke hva de skulle gjøre og bestemor snakket heller ikke norsk. Men hun snakket engelsk, så til slutt tok de en taxi til det stedet der bestefar bodde når han var i Oslo. Etter og ha venta en god stund så forsto bestefar at det var noe feil, og fordi det ikke fantes mobiler så kunne de jo ikke ringe. Bestefar og fetteren han gikk dit alle ankommer fra flyet og spurte om de som jobbet der hadde sett en mørkhudet mor og datter, og det hadde de. Så bestefar bare håpet at bestemor og mamma hadde gått til der han bodde i Oslo, der fant de hverandre og bestefar ble lettet. Det var veldig mye kaldere i Norge enn Sri Lanka, men det ble de vant til. En ting jeg tror de syns var veldig kult var snø, de hadde jo aldri sett snø før, tenk det! Etter noen dager i Oslo så fløy de sammen til Kabelvåg. Der bodde de i ca 2år. De lærte å stå på spark, snakke norsk, svømme og ble kjent med mange hyggelige og snille folk som de fortsatt kjenner i dag. Etter hvert så fant bestemor ut at hun var gravid og da tenkte de at de kunne flytte til Oslo fordi mange av søsknene til bestemor bodde der. Selv om det var veldig annerledes og flytte til Norge så var mange folk veldig snille og koselig og besteforeldrene mine sier at det er noe de ikke kommer til og glemme. Noen måneder  etter at de hadde flyttet til Oslo så ble onkelen min født. Bare 3 måneder etter at onkelen min hadde blitt født så måtte bestemoren min jobbe fordi sjefen sa at hun kom til og miste jobben hvis hun ikke jobbet. Besteforeldrene mine jobbet hardt for barna sine. Mammaen min og onkelen min. De hadde ikke bil og jobbet to jobber i noen perioder for å samle penger for å etterhvert kjøpe en leilighet. De var veldig opptatt av at mamma og onkelen min skulle få en god utdannelse. Nå lever både besteforeldrene mine, moren og onkelen min lykkelig i Norge. 

Skrevet julen 2023 av Tansi Manotheepan

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English

From northern Sri Lanka to northern Norway
This is the story of how my grandparents came to Norway.

This year? then there was war in Sri Lanka, life was difficult and tough for both adults and children. My grandmother, Buvanadevi Kirupamurthy, my grandfather Kirupamurthy Pancharatnam and my mother Ravinea Kirupamurthy (now Ravinea Manotheepan) who was only 1 and a half years old lived in Sri Lanka at that time. My grandfather had heard that there was a good folk college in Norway and after talking to my grandmother, he agreed that they should move to Norway. First, grandfather moved to Kabelvåg in Norway, then he was to meet grandmother and mother a few months later at the airport in Oslo with a cousin. He and his cousin weren’t used to seeing so many planes so they stood and watched planes land, at that time mum and grandma’s plane had already landed and they didn’t know what to do and grandma didn’t speak Norwegian either . But she spoke English, so in the end they took a taxi to the place where grandfather lived when he was in Oslo. After waiting a long time, grandfather realized that there was something wrong, and because there were no mobile phones, they couldn’t call. Grandfather and his cousin went to where everyone arrives from the plane and asked if the people working there had seen a dark-skinned mother and daughter, and they had. So grandpa just hoped that grandma and mum had gone to where he lived in Oslo, there they found each other and grandpa was relieved. It was much colder in Norway than Sri Lanka, but they got used to it. One thing I think they thought was really cool was snow, they had never seen snow before, imagine that! After a few days in Oslo, they flew together to Kabelvåg. They lived there for about 2 years. They learned to stand on kicks, speak Norwegian, swim and got to know many nice and kind people who they still know today. Eventually grandma found out she was pregnant and then they thought they could move to Oslo because many of grandma’s siblings lived there. Although it was very different and moving to Norway, many people were very kind and welcoming and my grandparents say that it is something they will never forget. A few months after they had moved to Oslo, my uncle was born. Only 3 months after my uncle was born, my grandmother had to work because the boss said she was going to lose her job if she didn’t work. My grandparents worked hard for their children. My mum and my uncle. They didn’t have a car and worked two jobs for some periods to collect money to eventually buy an apartment. They were very keen that my mum and uncle should get a good education. Now both my grandparents, my mother and my uncle live happily in Norway.

Written Christmas 2023 by Tansi Manotheepan

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