ABSTRACT
An old Saami man is about to die in northern Norway. 1 The Norwegian nurse tells Ole Henrik Magga, the visitor, that the old man has really made progress in his Norwegian – they can now communicate to some extent. Is it a human right to die in one’s own language? To be cared for in one’s own language? Both of us know of people having died, completely unnecessarily, because the medical staff could not communicate with the patient, in Norway and Sweden. In Denmark, according to the translators and interpreters’ trade union, only 10% of people who need interpretation in Danish hospitals get it. This includes mothers giving birth for the first time. A Saami medical doctor said a few years ago that the medical profession in Norway often treat old Saami patients in the same way as veterinarians treat sick animals because there is little of shared language. Humiliation is added to pain.
