By Claudia Fox Reppen
In February 2010, I first walked through the doors of a place that every Norwegian has heard of, but few have entered: the mottak – short for asylmottak, or “asylum reception centre.” Spread throughout the country, these often run-down, dirty and smelly old buildings decades past their prime serve as the temporary — meaning anywhere from a few months to a few years, and for a handful of extremely unfortunate souls, decades — home to Norway’s asylum seekers.
Claudia Fox Reppen 