Gerd Fleischer (born 17 September 1942) is a Norwegian human rights defender. Her activism stems from her experience as a

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

child, with a Norwegian-Sami mother and a German father. Fleischer is the leader of ''Selvhjelp for innvandrere og flyktninger'' ("Self-Help for Immigrants and Refugees"; SEIF). She is the recipient of the Jenteprisen (2014).

Biography

Gerd Elinor Fleischer was born in a small town in northern Norway on 17 September 1942 and was raised in

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

. Her mother is Norwegian-Sami and her father is German. As a child, Fleischer was subjected to discrimination, violence and persecution by the local community and the Norwegian state. After being beaten, bullied, and called a "German whore", she escaped from home at the age of thirteen because of domestic abuse, living a lonely life, hungry and homeless. Four year later, she left Norway and went into exile. During this time, she found her father in Germany, although at first, he denied knowing Fleischer or her mother. After eighteen years, most of the time in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, she returned to Norway, determined to fight for justice for the children of war, as well as other victims of discrimination and persecution. She has participated in the war children's lawsuit against the Norwegian state at the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

in 2007. Prior to the

2009 Norwegian Sámi parliamentary election The 2009 Sámi parliamentary election was held in Norway on 14 September 2009. Voters elected 39 members for the Sámi Parliament of Norway. The election saw significant losses for the two dominant parties in the Sámi Parliament, the Norwegian La ...

, she was the second candidate for the

Sámi People's Party The Sámi People's Party (, ) is a Norwegian political party, founded on 15 October 1999, without parliamentary representation, that refers to the Sámi ethnic minority in Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of ...

in the

Southern Norway Southern Norway (; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical List of regions of Norway, region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function ...

constituency. Fleischer fostered two

street children Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids, or urchins; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policymakers ...

from Mexico. She is featured in the documentary "De uønskede" ("The Unwanted").

Awards

* 2014, Jenteprisen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleischer, Gerd 1942 births Norwegian human rights activists People from Tromsø Norwegian victims of human rights abuses Norwegian people of German descent Norwegian women activists Living people