In a Norway at “Christmas speed” to catch up on all Christmas traditions after two years of pandemic restrictions, Javad El Bakali stands out.
He dares to say out loud that his greatest wish is a whole week indoors, with nothing else to do but play Playstation and sleep late into the day.
RELAXING: Since 2019, Javad El-Bakali has run the humor account utlending.memes on Instagram. Photo: Thomas Evensen / TV 2
– Christmas is free. Not having to do anything, I think is cool, he says.
For the comedian who thinks a lot about everything from power support, Tinder and the Antonsen case, it is hectic to weed out racist comments in social media at the same time as he debuts the book “Dette er nordmenn”, which came about by chance.
Came into existence by accident
With parents from Morocco, and growing up in Haugenstua in Oslo, he has his own distinctive look at differences.
Since 2019, the humor account “utlending.memes” on Instagram has gained more than 81,000 followers.
BOOK SIGNING: Writing a book was much more fun than he thought. Photo: Thomas Evensen / TV 2
BOOK SIGNING: Writing a book was much more fun than he thought. Photo: Thomas Evensen / TV 2
El Bakali was nominated in the category “funniest online of the year” in the Humor Prize this year.
Winner of this year’s bookseller’s prize, Zehan Shakar, pays tribute to his author colleague who is twelve years his junior: “No one in this country is better at describing the ‘foreigner’ culture than Javad.”
– The fact that he gave me that quote means an incredible amount. I was reasonably high on myself that day, smiles the debutant.
El Bakali wanted to follow up the success in social media with a TV series. For half a year he worked on what at the time felt like his life’s work.
– I was so ready to get a yes, he says.
NETTHETS: Several times a day, he closes the comments section for racist, homophobic statements. Photo: Thomas Evensen / TV 2
The dialogue with NRK, which started before Christmas last year, ended in rejection this summer.
– It was really a stroke of luck.
Because of the disappointment, he gave energy to try something completely new. He wrote to a publisher, was accepted, and now has a new book on the way, because it was “extremely fun to write a book”.
FUN: Javad El Bakali signs books he hopes will end up under many Christmas trees. Photo: Thomas Evensen / TV 2
Racism from childhood
What kills his broad smile is hateful people.
A survey Infact has done for NRK, shows that one in four multicultural people in Oslo have experienced racism in the last two years. Javad El Bakali has also experienced that.
– I was going to take a train from Haugenstua to Skøyen to visit family. We were eight and twelve years old and offered to help a lady with a pram, but she shouted: “Keep your hands away!”. My brother and I chatted. Then a blond boy came to help, and then everything was fine for her, he says.
It made a strong impression on the eight-year-old who just wanted to be kind.
Twelve years later, he was looking for a part-time job, when the interviewer asked if El Bakali could name any boys who had been making noise outside the store.
– I may look like them, but I don’t know who they are and I don’t live here.
FAN: Store manager Aiden Taylor in Anni’s sausage shop is one of El Bakali’s many fans. Photo: Thomas Evensen / TV 2
He believes racism has become more hidden over the years:
– We have an approach to the comment field that it is not representative, and that what appears in the comment field cannot be taken seriously, but we have to.
Many senders hide behind an anonymous account, but El Bakali receives the most hateful comments from men aged 27-50, including healthcare workers and fathers of three.
– One of the most disgusting things I’ve seen
He was on holiday when Sumaya Jirde Ali accused comedian Atle Antonsen of racism.
– I dreaded reading the comment fields. Many people defended Antonsen. The comments I saw about her are some of the most disgusting things I’ve seen.
HUMOR: The Instagram profile Utlending.memes has more than 81,000 followers. Photo: Isac Skjevik Kvello / TV 2
He sees several similarities with the case against Bent Hulsker, who was convicted of hate speech.
– “The Oslo bubble” thinks they should be taken, but most people asked: “Was it so crazy?” Maybe people don’t mind that much?
Sent photo of parents’ home
He himself has not reported anyone.
– I didn’t know it was possible until a couple of years ago. I knew there was a law against harassment, but I didn’t think I could file a hate crime report.
Among prejudice, incitement, and hate speech, there are also threats.
– I get more shit. I don’t think I would have received threats if I were white. There was one who the screenshot the house of my mother and father from Google maps.
HOT: El Bakali received the most heat after commenting on electricity and housing prices. Photo: Thomas Evensen / TV 2
Cabins and houses are minefields
El Bakali received the most opposition when he spoke about the electricity subsidy: “If you own more than one home, you should be able to afford to pay the electricity bill”.
He takes self-criticism and does not believe that everyone who owns a cottage is wealthy, but that the government should prioritize those who struggle with the electricity bill where they live.
When El Bakali complained about housing prices in Oslo, the same guy commented on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter:
“Fucking morrrapules, I’ll find you. That you are not grateful for what this country has done for you. Ungrateful monkey.”
– The worst ones arrive directly in the inbox. I feel like 80 percent of what people write didn’t have the guts to say the truth.
To close comments would be a personal defeat, says El Bakali, who removes racist or homophobic comments several times a day.
He thinks we would have benefited from spending time with others, instead of interpreting each other in the worst sense.
WILL CONTINUE: The comedian will continue to take cultural differences in stride. Photo: Thomas Evensen / TV 2
– A kind of Tinder date
Utlending.memes arose on a gray winter’s day when he missed humor in social media. Ideas come from various roles he himself fills when he is with his parents, the girl, or his friends from Haugenstua. To supplement his income, he took a part-time job in a psychiatric home. He describes job interviews as “a kind of tinder date”:
– Before I went down on all fours, now I go in with an attitude that if they need me, I will get the job. I think they see the value if you have clear principles.
When asked if the incitement will influence him to think less;
– No, it’s too much fun. Besides, I have good people around me.
