ICORN Residency

Maria Amelie, real name: Madina Salamova – a young writer of Russian descent. She was born in Vladikaukaz in North Ossetia. For political reasons and in fear of being persecuted, Maria Amelie’s family moved illegally to Finland and then to Norway. During the following 8 years, Maria Amelie completed studies and worked in the cultural sector. In 2010, her debut book entitled Illegal Norwegian was published, causing a media storm and a nationwide debate on the perception of immigrants and refugees in Norway and in Scandinavian countries. The book became a bestseller and stirred public opinion, but it also became the reason why the writer was told to leave the country. This story divided Norwegian society into followers and opponents of the immigration policy. On the 12th of January 2011, during her speech in the Fridtjob Nansen School in Lillehammer, Amelie was arrested. She was kept in a prison for refugees for 7 days.In spite of huge support from the media, protests on the streets of Oslo and reactions of international institutions, she was deported to Moscow. Then she was granted cultural refuge at the Villa Decius Association in Krakow. In Krakow, she completed her second book about her experience following imprisonment: deportation and seeking of asylum. Having returned to Norway, she started work on a theatrical play based on her first book together with Nina Wester. The play was successfully staged in Opole in June 2011.