This is the story of the greatest betrayal of the generation that built our country

There is an abundance of complaints about the authorities from ordinary people, whether concerning the municipality, the county or the state. What does that really say about us? Have we become a spoiled and demanding people? Did we misunderstand them when they promised that they would take care of us from cradle to grave? That it meant all-inclusive luxury, paid for by the welfare state?

At any rate, it certainly seems so. On social media we find posts about this or that mother or grandfather receiving dreadful food at the nursing home. Others have to share a tiny room with another person, so cramped that they can scarcely turn their walking frame on the way to the lavatory down the corridor.

People react strongly. This is not what we pay taxes for! It is a betrayal of the elderly who built the country! We demand change! The limp sausage from Halden that went viral is a good example. A sorrowful testimony to a government that has failed completely in the most important moral test: how the elderly are treated in the twilight of life.

“The dinner” an elderly woman received from the municipality.

We could, of course, try to see the positive side of it. The elderly lady could surely have bought two sausages at 7-Eleven for the 92 kroner she paid the municipality, but would she have been served “nutritious” American blend there? And best of all: no washing-up. The polystyrene goes straight into the rubbish bin and will disappear in approximately 500 years.

As mentioned, there is a great deal of complaining, even on those occasions when the state actually gets something right, also on the food front. Should not that be highlighted? Such as the luxurious Eid celebration in Oslo Prison, with gift bags, prayer caps and sweet little editions of the Qur’an.

That deserves coverage, and we shall take a closer look at it further down in the text.

Photo: Norwegian Correctional Service/Facebook/Eid celebration.

The state’s faithful lackeys?

From time to time the media address the treacherous care of the elderly, tucked away between Trump, Gaza, the latest immigrant discriminated against by Ola and Kari, and “best in test” sex toys. But it does not happen very often, especially not on NRK, whose principal task is to inform us about what is happening in society.

But perhaps they simply do not wish to spoil the mood for taxpayers; there is already so much negativity out there. Or perhaps it is simply about not biting the hand that feeds them, but instead serving as its faithful lackeys.

Yet it does happen occasionally. Many probably remember the state broadcaster’s story about Gerd and Anders. It was Gerd, who could scarcely turn her walking frame when going to the lavatory situated down the corridor, who lived there. The “slumlord” state took 85 per cent of her pension, and all she received in return was a chair, a chest of drawers, and a bed behind a partition wall.

Why bring up an ancient case from 2012? ask those who would rather avoid thinking about it. Precisely because such cases are so rare. As far as I know, NRK has not produced any similar report about single rooms in prisons and nursing homes.

That would have been far too uncomfortable. For nothing has changed.

And if it is not the single rooms, then it is the food. If it is not the food, then it is the abuse, the lack of activities, the long waiting times, the overmedicated elderly, the lonely who lie staring at the ceiling for weeks, in wet nappies, or those who are simply forgotten.

The list of problems in elderly care is almost endless. And in 2012, as now, one receives nebulous talk from politicians who change ministerial posts as often as people change underwear. They promise change, but it is merely empty words.

NRK interviewed Jonas Gahr Støre, who was Minister of Health at the time, and he understood Gerda Stamsås’ situation. – Things are moving in the right direction, he assured them. – But there ought to be single rooms for everyone, and that ought to be the goal when we build new nursing-home places.

In the video embedded in the article, we see that Støre became visibly irritated when asked critical questions by NRK’s presenter. He blamed the municipalities and wriggled away when asked why inmates have single rooms whereas elderly people such as Gerda do not.

Anders, the drug dealer in Halden Prison, had more compassion for Gerda than the Minister of Health had.

But Støre’s irritation was probably due to the fact that he was being confronted with yet another case in which the Labour Party had broken its election promises. In 2005 the red-green government promised better elderly care with major allocations of money. Four years later Jens Stoltenberg campaigned on “full nursing-home coverage” and 12,000 new places by 2015.

The result was only 567 new places in eight years. In other words, 11,433 places that never materialised. Is it possible? It is completely unreal! But it was not Gerda’s turn then either. And apparently it never is going to be ordinary people’s turn.

A summer is over for Gerda

Although Gerda lived in cramped conditions and almost never got outside, she told NRK that she thought she received good care at the nursing home. And by that she was probably referring to the staff.

Yet she was exactly as many of us Norwegians are brought up to be, perhaps the elderly most of all. Especially when we speak of the paternalistic state. Complain a little, but be restrained and cautious, and always add something positive at the end to balance the criticism.

Photo: Screenshot/NRK.

After all, we have been told since the day we were born that almost every other country is worse off than Norway.

Gerda wished to go outside at least once a day. When NRK interviewed her in October, she had gone on only three outings since May. Anders had been in and out of prison for more than ten years for drugs and is entitled to at least one hour of outdoor activity every day. NRK accompanied him on a walk through beautiful natural surroundings.

They passed a large football pitch, table-tennis tables and a lovely garden with large wooden flower beds and a greenhouse. It is not difficult to imagine Gerda among the flowers and vegetables, with sunshine on her face and colourful butterflies fluttering past.

Gerda Stamsås is probably gone now. And that is the saddest thing of all: a quiet, modest woman who spent her final days behind a partition wall and ended up as a forgotten statistical detail in an old NRK report.

It may well be that they have more single rooms in the nursing homes in Sarpsborg today. But the food is nothing to write home about. It is simply scandalous, and only demonstrates how little truly changes.

Screenshot/Facebook.

Degenerate culture: fish balls on Christmas Eve

For many elderly people, meals are the highlights of the day, perhaps the only thing they still have to look forward to. That this is allowed to continue in welfare-state Norway is simply incomprehensible.

Celebrity chef Arne Brimi hit the nail on the head already in 2019 when he said that this was a degenerate culture:

What kind of culture prevails when it is always the weakest in society who must pay the price for a degenerate culture?

Brimi was speaking with VG about the case in which four elderly people in Andøy municipality were served fish balls in white sauce on Christmas Eve, leftovers from Little Christmas Eve. – For me and for ordinary people it is a mystery where those responsible get such menu plans from, said the celebrity chef.

Such dreadful stories never cease, Brimi said. He continually received messages from across the country, and Andøy was merely one among many cases. He had devoted his whole life to good food, but believed that we had got nowhere. Those sitting in nursing homes on Christmas Eve are among the weakest in society.

Clippings from iFinnmark, Gjengangeren, Dagbladet and Ringerikets Blad.

Brimi reminded us that we must remember that many institutions take meals seriously, and that is indeed true. We hear many people saying the same thing, especially those responsible. But they ought instead to say: Not a single elderly person in the richest country in the world ought to be subjected to such treatment. End of discussion!

I would rather die with my boots on

If nationwide media did their job, they would publish such stories every single day. In that case politicians might have no other choice than to deliver. Instead we receive only fragments and never manage to see the whole picture. The suspicion is that this is precisely the media’s strategy and intention.

Celebrity chefs and food critics such as Nils Henning Nesje and Odd Solve Grannes, together with Sunnmørsposten, did a fantastic job at the end of December last year. They tested an entire week’s menu from Matvarehuset, the supplier to Ålesund municipality’s nursing homes and home-care service.

Photo: Screenshot/Sunnmørsposten.

In a video on Facebook, chef Nils Henning stated outright that he could not manage to eat the food. It tasted stale and like a cheap imitation of the real thing. He caused an uproar when he said: … if this is what I have to look forward to, then I would rather choose to die with my boots on …

In Ålesund it was business as usual. The capacity for self-criticism among politicians and bureaucrats is astonishingly low, a pattern we know all too well.

Ivar Østrem and Runar Paulsen, elected representatives on the municipality’s health and care committee, wrote an article in Sunnmørsposten entitled “When Contempt Becomes Communication”.

They did not promise better food for the elderly. Instead they went hard against the chefs and called Nils Henning’s language “stigmatising and contemptible”. They wondered whether the chefs had violated the press’s ethical rules, and concluded with:

– We need a public conversation based on insight, not contempt. On respect, not ridicule. And we need journalists who understand that their words carry power and responsibility, and provide nourishment to all the internet trolls that Sunnmørsposten has been so concerned with highlighting.

The internet trolls are probably women such as Torill, who commented on the video on Facebook: – Is this how we thank those who helped build our country? Reprehensible.

That is how it is in Norway today. In former times one received soap in one’s mouth for foul language. In Ålesund one receives a moralising finger-wagging for criticising poor food for the elderly. The same moralising, merely with less soap.

Shame on you, politicians!

But it is precisely such reports that we need every single day in order to awaken the politicians. Even if it ends with a moral lecture about language and breaches of the Code of Ethics of the Norwegian Press.

Who can forget when Dagbladet sent celebrity chef Bård Greni and two journalists to test the food at nursing homes, prisons and the student canteen in Halden?

The difference between the nursing-home food and the food in the student canteen and the prison was like night and day, Dagbladet wrote at the time. At Halden nursing home they felt like turning around at the door. Away from the stale smell and the depressing food whose sole mission was to fill stomachs.

If one is not already afraid of growing old, this food is reason to become terrified, said Greni. – When did politicians last eat a meal in a nursing home?

Like a Michelin restaurant

Nevertheless, from time to time the welfare state actually manages to get something right, also on the food front. We need look no further than Oslo Prison to see what they are capable of when they exert themselves 1000 per cent.

We are not entirely sure who wins the competition for best Eid menu, Oslo Prison or NRK’s “The Feast after the Fast”. It is actually quite close. But of course you who pay the bill deserve all the credit.

Around 60 inmates participated in the celebration in 2024, the Norwegian Correctional Service wrote on Facebook. Then they go full Hallmark, and we reach for the Kleenex. Because religious holidays without family and friends can be particularly demanding in prison, and then sorrow, despair and longing quickly arise among the prisoners.

There are really no words. We can produce a visual presentation showing the food from Oslo Prison versus the food served at a nursing home in Hammerfest.

Those responsible will say that this is not comparable. Prisons are state institutions, rehabilitation is important, whereas nursing homes are municipal.

No, we say. We shall no longer tolerate it. This concerns a government that long ago lost its morality, and it is high time they fixed it!

The sweet little Qur’an

Since we are slowly moving towards an Islamic nation, Eid celebrations in Oslo Prison have become an annual tradition. A glance at the Norwegian Correctional Service’s Facebook page reveals very little attention surrounding our own holidays, and no other religions are mentioned.

Sixty inmates participated in the Eid celebration in 2026 at Oslo Prison, which has capacity for 243 inmates. Either 25 per cent of the prisoners are Muslims, or Ola, Igor and Andrzej have converted. The Norwegian Correctional Service uses both eid and id interchangeably. But a beloved child has many names, as the saying goes.

This year’s celebration was exceptionally splendid, with gift bags and beautiful Islam-inspired table settings. Here is a close-up of what was inside the gift bags. A sweet little edition of the Qur’an, a “one size fits all” prayer cap, beads and other goodies.

Norwegian Correctional Service, Facebook.

Incidentally: The little prayer cap is called a taqiyah, the same word as the concept taqiyya. Many today claim that it is used to conceal radical intentions and promote long-term goals. But of course it is Islamophobic to think such things.

Gift bags are popular in the United States as well. There they have “blessing bags” for, among others, the homeless, the elderly and children with cancer. State-funded gift bags for inmates, however, are not exactly common practice.

What if the prison administration instead had allowed inmates to pack gift bags for the elderly and the poor? But no. They have taken “to coddle” to an entirely new level, and there appears to be no end to it. And for some reason they continually feel the need to flatter and display submissiveness towards Muslims and Islam.

The comment section on the Norwegian Correctional Service’s Facebook post was eventually closed. But some managed to have their say before they silenced us.

Kåre understands the situation and writes that the food there is better than Christmas celebrations at many nursing homes in Norway. Jørn uses rather strong language and ought to have had his mouth washed out with soap. He calls it an idiotic idea. “Bread and water” is what they deserve. Arseholes!

Cream cake every fifth birthday

Even during the Covid pandemic, Oslo Prison arranged Eid celebrations for inmates, at a time when our elderly lost access to healthcare services and experienced deteriorating health because of the lockdown.

The event was carefully planned, and during an extremely demanding time for inmates, the prison wished to balance infection-control considerations with good content in the best possible manner.

Just look at the exquisite desserts, and the prayer rugs are of course sponsored by ordinary taxpayers. No desserts for Muslims only every fifth year there, no indeed. As at the nursing home in Drøbak.

That was when Ullerud Health and Care Centre in Frogn municipality had exceeded its budget and had to save half a million kroner. Cream cake would be served at milestone birthdays, and they would cut cakes, fancy cheeses, hot lunches, juice and soft drinks for the elderly.

Parts of the list of cuts made tragic reading, said the Food and Nutrition Association at the time. The real tragedy is that this was eight years ago, and nothing has changed since.

Another tragedy is that while Muslim criminals received special treatment during the pandemic, our elderly lost access to physiotherapy, psychological assistance and other healthcare services. A survey commissioned by the Norwegian Directorate of Health showed that many experienced worsening chronic illnesses, poorer mental health and reduced functional capacity because everything was put on hold.

The moral touchstone of a government

What if we try to find meaning in the madness and look at the positive side? After all, the aim of our prison system is rehabilitation, so that murderers, rapists and hardened criminals can become our neighbours.

These Muslim men and their children are our future and ought to be well taken care of, so that they are not unpleasant towards us when there are too many of them. The elderly are, after all, in the twilight of life and will soon depart this earth anyway.

But no, we cannot be bothered to look on the bright side. For in this story there is no such side.

In one of his final speeches as Vice President, Hubert H. Humphrey said that the moral touchstone of a government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.

The moral test of government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.

In that respect, the Norwegian government has failed completely. Humphrey’s mother, incidentally, was Ragnhild Kristine Sannes, a Norwegian immigrant. One can only wonder what she would have said about present-day Norway, the country she left in 1883.

While the viral sausage from Halden stands as a sorrowful testimony to a government that has failed totally in the most important moral test, Sverre from Karmøy is the symbol of an entire generation that was betrayed, abandoned and forgotten.

Mens eldre blir mishandlet bak lukkede dører, er Norge verdensmester i bistand