Øens børn
DANSK TEKST
Kunne du tænke dig at være barn på en ø?
Måske tror du, det må være kedeligt uden kammerater, fritidsklubber, sportsklubber og alle de ting, man kender fra fastlandet. Men lad mig fortælle dig, at det at være barn på en ø slet ikke er kedeligt!
Frem til slutningen af 1900-tallet var der masser af børn på øen, og i 1940'erne fik øens børn og unge deres egen sportsplads, hvor de spillede håndbold, når de ikke hjalp til i landbruget.
Men ved du, hvad der var allerbedst? Hele øen var børnenes legeplads! De byggede huler, hvor end det var muligt - på halmlofter eller i gamle stalde og landbrugsmaskiner. Den bedste hule var Klinthulen, bygget og vedligeholdt af generationer af børn i Klinterne mod syd. Det var ikke bare et legehus, det var deres fristed, hvor de lærte at passe på hinanden og deres fælles skatte.
De større børn lavede hemmelige klubber, hvor de små ikke måtte være med. Her dyrkede de fællesskabet, som er så vigtigt i teenageårene. Måske blev der røget en enkelt cigaret og smagt på rester fra forældrenes barskab. Hvem ved, hvad der foregik bag de lukkede døre.
På øen nød børnene stor frihed og blev sjældent overvåget af deres forældre. Men det betød ikke, at de var overladt til sig selv. Alle øens beboere sørgede altid for at holde øje med børnene, når de krydsede deres vej, så de altid var i sikkerhed. Der var også klare regler at følge. Som barn måtte man ikke gå ud på molen, fordi havmanden ville tage én, og man skulle holde sig fra kvæget på markerne for ikke at skabe ballade.
Som du kan høre, var det at være barn på en ø var langt fra kedeligt, der var altid noget at udforske og lære, og fællesskabet på øen var stærkt.. Så når du bevæger dig rundt på Bjørnø, kan du prøve at forestille dig, hvordan det var at være barn her.
Children of the Island
ENGLISH VERSION
Maybe you think it must be boring without friends, social clubs, sports teams, and all the other things you might know from the mainland. But let me tell you, being a child on an island is not boring at all!
Until the end of the 20th century, there were plenty of children on the island, and in the 1940s, the island's children and teenagers got their own sports field where they played handball when they weren't helping with farming.
But do you know what was the absolute best? The whole island was the children's playground! They built hideouts wherever they could - in haylofts or in old barns and farming machinery. The best hideout was Klinthulen, meaning ‘the hideout in the cliff’, built and maintained by generations of children in the cliffs to the south. It wasn't just a playhouse; it was their sanctuary where they learned to take care of each other and their shared treasures.
The older kids formed secret clubs where the little ones weren't allowed to come. Here, they nurtured the sense of community, which is so important during the teenage years. Perhaps they smoked a single cigarette and tasted the leftovers from their parents' liquor cabinet. Who knows what went on behind closed doors.
On the island, children enjoyed great freedom and were rarely closely supervised by their parents. But that didn't mean they were left on their own! All the island's residents always made sure to keep an eye on the children when they crossed their paths, so they were always safe. There were also clear rules to follow. As a child, you were not allowed to go out on the pier because the sea monsters might take you, and you had to stay away from the cattle in the fields to avoid causing trouble.
As you can hear, being a child on an island was far from boring. There was always something to explore and learn, and the sense of community on the island was strong. So as you move around Bjørnø, you can try to imagine what it was like to be a child here.