Frozen Norwegian Archipelago Might Provide A New Home For Syrian Refugees

Three years ago, a large shipment of seeds arrived in Svalbard — a group of tiny arctic islands between Norway, to which they belong, and the North Pole. The seeds were from Syria, and had been sent to the Global Seed Vault amid the escalating violence of the Syrian war and looting of seed banks.

The vault, located on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, is a sort of agricultural time capsule, designed to last thousands of years and withstand disasters ranging from climate change to nuclear war.

Now, the sparsely populated islands, where polar bears outnumber people, might again provide a safe harbor — this time, for refugees fleeing war and conflict in Syria.

Andrew Kroglund, who is head of international communications for the Green Party, Norway's eighth largest party, said the Green party branch in Svalbard has offered to help mainland authorities accommodate an unspecified number of refugees. Norway's parliament has already backed a plan to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next two years.

"Norway is no different from the rest of mainland Europe" Kroglund said. "In the short term, they are overstretched in terms of lack of housing, and trying to come to grips with the novelty of the situation, which is obviously overpowering."

Espen Klungseth Rotevatn, leader of Svalbard's Green Party, told a local news outlet that communities there would welcome refugees.

"Europe is on fire," Rotevatn said. "And it is now that our values and ethical standards are put to the test."

The same report says that the Green Party is exploring the possibility of constructing a reception center in the region to accommodate refugees.

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The Svalbard region has a population of roughly 2,642. A little under half of its inhabitants are Ukrainian or Russian, while the rest are mainly Norwegian. The region, which has been under Norwegian sovereignty since 1920, falls outside of the "Schengen" or "free-movement" zone in the European Union, which could make Rotevatn's proposal problematic.

Opportunities to build a new life and make a living are scant in this frozen world, of which almost 60 percent of land is comprised of glaciers. The region's economy revolves around coal mining, which Kroglund says is likely to go out of business in "a few years." Many of the other jobs are based out of arctic science research centers. Midsummer temperatures range from 37 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit. In the winter, they drop to frigid levels, averaging somewhere between -9 and -4 degrees.

The possibility of settling refugees in Svalbard was raised earlier this year, though perhaps for less altruistic reasons. Christian Eikeland, leader of Norway's Progress Party (FrP), a staunchly conservative and anti-immigration group, suggested building a camp to house refugees in Svalbard, but retracted his proposal after it drew criticism. Kroglund described Eikeland's suggestion as "a different type of proposal" fostered on anti-immigration sentiment.

In the 1980s, Carl I. Hagen, chairman of the FrP, also advocated the idea of sending drug addicts and criminals to prison camps on some of the isolated islands.

Meanwhile, Norwegian billionaire and property tycoon Petter Stordalen, who owns Nordic Choice Hotels, Scandinavia's largest hotel chain, has said he would offer 5,000 free nights in his hotels to refugees. He has reportedly already accommodated over 50 refugees at his Quality Hotel Airport Gardermoen outside Oslo.