Urbanities,
Vol. 3
·
No 2
·
November 2013
© 2013
Urbanities
55
citizenship is understood more broadly than a separation between citizens and non-citizens, with
a grounding instead in the idea of cultural and social citizenship.
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Why Norway?
Why do Lithuanian emigrants choose Norway as a destination? At first glance, the answer might
appear simple and straightforward, for Norway is one of the richest countries in the world.
However, Lithuanian migrants paint a much more nuanced picture of their decisions which broad
generalisations fail to explain. Although one Lithuanian interviewee simply picked a random
spot on the map and bought a one-way ticket, for most the choice is much more complicated. For
example, networks of migrant friends often influence migration decisions. The following excerpt
from an interview of a 26-years-old female emigrant demonstrates the multifaceted nature of
migration decisions:
‘I like it here. Before coming, I thought about culture, language and many other
things. Take, for example, Norwegian and British culture: Norwegian culture is the
much closer of the two to the Lithuanian culture’.
In what way?
‘For me personally, I mean. Norwegians eat potatoes and live in wooden cabins – in a
word, they are farmers who all of a sudden turned rich after finding oil. Brits have a
very deep culture, etc., and are different people in a way. Theirs is an ancient culture,
a culture of stonework, and this is something very different. I just thought that I
would feel better here because we would have more in common. And in general
Scandinavians have more in common with the Baltic States than the British do.
That’s what I think’.
And did this turn out to be the case?
‘Yes, absolutely. I mean when you talk to Brits, you feel the divide between yourself
and them because they look at things differently, especially if you’re talking to those
who were born there and received a good education. Someone whose past is rich in
all respects simply looks differently at himself and others’.
This woman based her decision to migrate to Norway not so much on economic factors as
on perceived cultural similarities between Norway and Lithuania. Many informants emphasised
the ‘rustic aspects’ of Norwegian culture as something that the country shares with Lithuania.
Another important reason is, of course, Norway’s image as one of the world’s richest countries,
especially after the economic crisis reverberated across Europe. In 2012, I met people who came
to Norway from countries, like Spain and the UK, that were more harshly affected by the crisis.
They believed that Norway had suffered much less than other countries, as indicated in the
8
Cultural and social citizenship attempts to explain participation in a social field not by referring to formal
citizenship rights and responsibilities, but rather by emphasising its non-formal aspects (see Glick Schiller
2005, Glick Schiller and Caglar 2008)
