I thought Norwegian men were the best men in the world, but that is not true! Before I met the man who became my husband, I worked in a factory in Bangkok, and he lived in Pattaya. We met through the Internet and eventually became a couple.
After a while we decided to get married. I came from a poor family, so having a foreign husband who could take care of my family was part of my reason for marrying him.
Gara Noorweey kan deemne siʼa taʼu, afaan Noorweey barachuuf mana barumsaa dhaquu jalqabe. Yeroon sun yeroo ulfaataa ture. Hayyama konkolaachisummaa waan hin qabneef, abbaan manaakoo konkolaataan gara mana barumsaatti na gessuu, na eeguu fi na deebisuu qaba ture. Karaa tokkoon tokkoon isaa saʼaatii tokko ture. Yeroo muraasa booda itti dhihaanne, garuu amma iyyuu konkolaataa isaatiin gara mana barumsaatti na geessuuf cichee ture. Kophaa koo akkan deemu hin barbaanne.
We moved to Norway, and I started going to school to learn Norwegian. It was a difficult time. I did not have a driver’s licence, and my husband had to drive me to school, wait for me, and drive back. It was an hour each way. After a while we moved closer, but he still insisted on driving me to school. He did not want me to walk alone.
Erga gara Noorweey dhufee as qarshii baay’ee hin qabu. Yeroo tokko, abbaan manaakoo qarshii laaqanaaf naaf kenne, garuu qarshii baayʼee xinnoo waanan qabuuf, ani kaawwadheen ture. Hiriyyoonni koo mana barumsaa jiran hojii akkan argadhu na gargaaruu barbaadu, abbaan manaakoo garuu hin dandeettu jedha. Qulqulleessituu ta’ee hojjechuun anaaf waan malu itti hin fakkaatu.
I have hardly had any money since I came to Norway. Once, my husband gave me money for lunch, but since I had so little money, I kept it. My friends at school want to help me to get a job, but my husband says I cannot. He does not think working as a cleaner is appropriate for me.
Instead he had another job for me – building a garage. He was the boss and I did everything. He could not do much because he was ill. He did not give me any of the money he made from building the garage.
Gaaf tokko yeroo kophaa mana jiru nuffisiise waan tureef saree argachuu qabna jedhee murteesse. Barumsa booda waanan dadhabuuf hojii manaa waanan qabuuf ani saree hin barbaanne. Guyyaa hunda saree sanaan nan deema jedhe, dhumarratti garuu saree fi abbaa warraa koo dulloomaa kunuunsuun qaba ture.
One day he said he was bored when he was home alone, so he decided we should get a dog. I did not want a dog as I was tired after school and I had homework to do. He said he would walk the dog every day, but in the end I had to take care of both the dog and my old husband.
Fuuldurri maal akka fidu hin beeku. Karoorri koo mana barumsaa biraa dhaquudha, garuu abbaan manaa koo akkan akkas godhu hin barbaadu. Na rakkisuuf daran fagoo deemuuf karoorfatee jira. Ani mormuu barbaada, garuu akkamitti akka ta’e hin beeku. Biyya ormaa jaarsa waliin akka abbaa manaatti jiraachuun akkan yaade salphaa miti.
I do not know what the future will bring. My plan is to go to another school, but my husband does not want me to do that. He is planning to move further away to make it difficult for me. I want to resist, but I do not know how. It is not as easy to live in a foreign country with an old man as a husband as I thought it would be.
