Photographer Kamran Karimi

One of my friends recently moved to Svalbard. The place where you can’t be born or be buried. Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole. One of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas, it is known for its rugged terrain of glaciers and frozen tundra sheltering polar bears, Svalbard reindeer and Arctic foxes. The Northern Lights are visible during winter, and summer brings the “midnight sun”—sunlight 24 hours a day. He thought I would love Svalbard, so he offered me his travel points to visit him. While chatting about travel dates, he mentioned the dark season.

 “If you want to experience Svalbard while it is still light, you should come soon. The dark period is just around the corner, but if you can cope with the dark, you are welcome after Christmas as well,” was his answer. 

I could deal with the dark. I longed to see a sky full of stars and the northern lights. Our chat flowed into money and prices. He mentioned that food was expensive, so he was eating out mainly because it was almost the same price as buying ingredients.

“Alcohol is cheap though and I have got an alcohol card now.” 

My wild fantasy

My wild fantasy created a picture of us getting drunk, exploring the night sky, stars and aurelia. So consumed by our quest that we forget about the polar bears and the temperature and end up being eaten by one of the big white ones or just freezing to death while watching the sky. 

Telling him about my wild imagination, he just laughed. 

“Relax, it is not going to happen. If you do not behave here, the Governor is going put you on the first flight and deport you. It happened today actually. “

“What? The mayor? Seriously? Have you met him and spoken to him? What is he like, apart from being a man of power?” I wanted to know.

“Yes, no kidding. The mayor is a woman, and she is very nice. The Governor is the boss here. Being here is really about the survival of the fittest and if you are not alert enough to take care of yourself you must leave Svalbard. They just put you on a flight and deport you.”

“By the way, there is no NAV (The Norwegian Labour and Welfare Organization)here, and you cannot give birth or be buried here, as it is so special. If you are pregnant, they send you to the mainland two weeks before your due date, and it is not possible to bury people here either. 

Hearing all this and looking at all his pictures, there was no doubt in my mind. Svalbard, here I come! Being so lucky to receive an offer like this, I could not say no.

Filled with gratitude, I will pay a visit to Svalbard (when the time is right), where you cannot give birth or die. Who would not want to visit a place like that? Even if it is dark and you can run to a big white one.

PS! I never made it there because of the COVID pandemic.