Time for action – no more postponements to the flea island

I have visited Finnmark, more specifically Øksfjord and Loppa Øy every year since I was born in 1988. My father, grandmother, uncle and aunt still live there, in addition to other relatives and friends.

Now that I have children myself, they have also been on annual summer holidays – it is important for me to show them the place I have loved all my life. It can’t be done as easily anymore. And my mother, who must have access to vital health care, is reluctant to travel now. Is she going to get to the necessary treatment?

It is not okay for an entire island to stand without adequate preparedness for hours every single day, all year round. It is also not okay for people to be deprived of the opportunity to visit or live on the Loppa island because you do not get there. I live in Telemark, and it almost requires a master’s degree in logistics to get to the journey. When that, in addition, is a great chance that the speedboat will be canceled – then both quality of life and belonging for us who still have strong ties to the island are suffocated.

There is no good reason to wait. The municipality owns the part of the port that actually prevents calls at low tide. It is this area that must be dredged – and it can be done regardless of disagreement with the Norwegian Coastal Administration. Two million kroner has already been set aside.

So why doesn’t it happen? Why is it not prioritized when both health preparedness and settlement are at stake?

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