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Our new team of volunteers decided to explore the dark side of Reykjavik with its social problems and its ecological issues. Minorities living in the town as well as youth hopes are also explored in the one who is probably to most committed number of UNA Magazine so far.
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UNA
June 2014
Magazine
2
Editorial Notes Reykjavik, the city to be? Between the world of myth and elves Selling the nature Living in the streets of Reykjavik
Index
04 06 08 10 16
3
Sex, drugs and marginal groups Minorities in Iceland Photography in Reykjavik Credits
Index
18 20 28 32
4
Editorial Notes
5
The previous release of UNA magazine in Eskifjor-
dur was successful in many different ways. At the
same time it covers parts of local culture but it also
offers guidelines for spending your free time in the
East. Most importantly, the magazine was published
with the close cooperation from our volunteers who
made the effort for all those who will come after
them.
In this edition however, we have turned the focus
back to Reykjavik. With the volunteers being inde-
pendent, hard working, professional and in general
outstanding we can proudly say that this time UNA
magazine will be published as a double. The first
part has a more serious note, as it covers social
problems, minorities, youth and their dreams and
similar topics. The second part has a lighter tone
and it is mostly about Worldwide friends and all the
funny stuff that is going on in the White house. I
hope both will create a pleasant experience for the
reader.
Jaka
5
6
Indi (19) is an Art Student of Myndlistasko-linn I Reykjavik, she doesn`t know exactly what she wants to do in the future, but she
wants to leave Iceland to live at a sunny place with a beach.
Reykjavik is full of young people. The city is very small, but still it has a wild night life and possibilities for high education. We asked young people on the streets in Reykjavik about their future plans and expectations.
1. What do you do? 2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Kristin Halldora Halldor-sdottir (23) studies Anthro-
pology in Reykjavik and is going to make an exchange
year in Utah. She wants to work in the economic sector in Iceland but before that
Kirtsin want to go on a world tour with Herdis. Herdis Sveinbjörnsdottir
(22) right now works in a nursing home and is not
quite sure what she will study but later definitely wants to work in Iceland
with children. Before that she wants to go on a world
Reykjavik, the city to be?
Hjördis (28) is the director of a Museum in Reykjavik. Original she`s from Snæfellsness but lives now in Reykjavik. She wants to stay in Iceland and continue working here.
By Anni and Julia
6
7
Aldis (24) is a fashion design student from Reykjavik. In a few years she wants to have her own brand and live
Hjálmfridur Bríet (16) and Hanna Lind
(16) attend Märta School in Reykjavik.
In five years Bríet would like to study at a university. Lind
would like to move to Western Europe, maybe to Germany
or Denmark.
Styrmir (18) and Ingolfur (18) study history in
Reykjavik. Both want to go abroad to study Art
and later they
want to come back to Ice-land to live
there.
Jóna Berglinf Stefán-
sdóttir (25) studies te-
xtiles in Myndlistaskó-
linn in Reykjavik.. She
has applied for an in-
ternship in a Finnish
textile design company called Muovo. In the
future she would like
to live in Finland or
Canada.
Anita (28) studies communication and
public relations and works at a hostel.
Ester (21) also works at a hostel. They would both
want to move abro-ad in the future,
maybe to Denmark.
Sindri Freyr (19) is a student.
He doesn't know what he will do in five years, but most li-
kely he will stay in Reykjavik.
7
8
With its bizarrely shaped lava fields,
extraordinary natural wonders and wild and mystical land-
scapes, Iceland al-most seems to be torn out of the pages
of a fairy-tale book. This fascinat ing country, with just
over 300 000 inhabi-tants, seems to be a very small nation,
but according to the Icelandic medieval
Sagas and Eddur these are not the only known inhabi-
tants of the Nordic Island. As they tell it´s also the home of
Huldufólk (hidden peop le ) , e lves, dwarfs, fairies and a
lot of other nature spirits. Because the Ice-
landic language has remained almost un-changed over centu-
ries, Icelanders are still able to read these thousand year
old writings without any problems. And
still until today the narratives of friend-ship and encounter
between human, elves and hidden people exist and are
told to the Icelandic children since early childhood.
During the centuries these numerous sto-
ries not only influ-enced and affected the Icelandic way of
thinking and acting towards themselves
and their surround-i n g s , i t a l s o strengthen the cohe-
sion of the Icelandic culture.
Current surveys
show that even to-day more than 80% of Icelanders do be-
lieve in a possible existence of elves. Also building plans of
roads are still re-routed or redesigned to avoid the distur-
bance or destruction of rocks and moun-
tains where elves and trolls are said to live.
Surprised by this re-sult I want to find
out what this is all
about, so I decide to take a closer look at this mystical world
by attending a crash course in the world`s only Elfschool lo-
cated at the west of Reykjavik.
The headmaster Magnus H. Skar-
phedinsson who studied history at the University of Iceland,
founded the school 22 years ago. Since he was 11 years old
and he heard is grandma talking
about the elves and their stories he was passionately fasci-
nated by this sub-ject. Later he turned his passion into his
job. Now after more than 30 years of in-tense research he
spoke personally with more than 700 testimonies in over
43 countries about their encounters and experience with
elves, hidden people and other nature be-ings.
By now more than 8000 people from all
over the world have visited the Elfschool. Excited as well as
curious I arrive at the Elfschool and af-ter a warm welcome
I get my own little Studybook of Ice-landic fairytales and
enter into the class-room which appears to be a little cozy liv-
ing room with hun-dreds of books and lots of little figures
and statues of dwarfs, witches,
trolls elves and other weird looking crea-tures all around the
walls. The
Between the world of myth and elves --
Iceland a land of fairy-tales
9
other 8 participants appear to be mostly
Canadians aged be-tween 40-70. The mo-
tives for the visit in the Elfschool differ a lot. For some it´s
“just another story to be told “about their
incredible Iceland vacation, others only come to satisfy their
nagging wives and others again are truly persuaded that this
kind of magical crea-tures exist and want to learn more about
them. During the first part
of the course Mag-nus, explains us the differences between
the several elf types and the other hidden beings. He also tells
us about several re-ports of Icelandic
witnesses who have had an personal ex-perience with Elves
and hidden people and who came to him to tell their sto-
ries. Magnus emphasizes
very seriously that during his carefully conducted interviews
with the testimonies he sees himself as a neutral scientist, but
contrary to normal scientist he beliefs in
his witnesses. In the little break there is provided cof-
fee and cake for all
students and a vivid discussion about the
supernatural beings raises, in which all varying viewpoints
are hold. I get to know my classmates better and
Glory an 50 year old accountant from Que-
bec tells me about her own special meeting
with a leprechaun in England and her house where she has
established a little room just for fairies. The vibe is very nice,
but it gets obvious that there is a big di-
versity between the participants opinions about elves and other
supernatural things.
After the break Mag-nus tells us maybe
the most surprising thing of the day. Also if he is
absolutely convinced that elves and other nature beings exist he
himself has actually never seen one He
explains us that some people are more psy-
chic and more sensi-tive for that kind of experience than oth-
ers. During the child-hood everybody has a phase in which one is
more sensible for such experiences, but
the most people loose their sensibility after that phase. But with
the help of a psychic
friend he was at least able to find out
why the elves and hidden people never showed themselves
to him and invited him into their world.
“They are afraid that I would ask to many
questions, and that I would never leave again ...” he says.
With an arch smile on his face he adds a few seconds later
“and that would probably be true “
To make sure that no one will forget this unique experi-
ence at the end eve-rybody gets his own Diploma in “ Elfs-
and Hidden people research “ that con-firms that one has
finished the course. With some very in-
sightful new knowl-edge and very proud of myself and my
new received di-ploma I leave the Elfschool and I won-
der, in a world, where plenty of peo-ple believe in an in-
visible god up in heaven who send his son, born by a
virgin, down to earth to fulfill wonders and who rose from
the dead after three days…, is it really
that crazy to believe in elves?
Julia
10
Reykjavik, May 2014. Having a walk in the city,
we’re amazed by the sur-rounding sea, but also pitiful about the amount
of ongoing construction works. There is a vast
ocean on the left side, but as soon as you turn around, there are plenty
of building sites. The rea-son why so many tourists come to Iceland is to see
the pure nature but those constructions, which are
mostly supposed to be for tourists, will actually func-tion against them.
A new popularity Iceland had some severe
challenges to overcome, like the 2008 economic
crisis and 2010 eruption
of Eyjafjallajökull. How-ever, it was able to re-
cover quickly, partly be-cause of the increasing tourism due to the cur-
rency devaluation. The country became slowly a
tourist destination thanks to the new affordable prices and the amount of
tourists skyrocketed. The number of expected visi-tors this summer will
probably increase by 15 percent compared to
2013 and reach one mil-lion, which means six times more tourists than
Icelanders. It was found that these
rapidly increased tourists
are visiting similar regions
of Iceland. Many tourists
tend to stay in Reykjavik
as a base and have excur-
sions to other areas. This
means that the nature of
these regions is suddenly
enduring millions of foot-
steps. Such a sudden
change can be very harm-
ful, especially to a fragile
region like the highlands.
The reason why only few
areas are so popular
among tourists is because
the others don’t offer
enough infrastructures or
facilities for tourists.
Clara , Yunjin & Rosanne
Selling the Nature
11
12
To verify our first impressions about the situation of sustain-able tourism in Reykjavik, we decided to get in touch with some Icelanders who are con-cerned with this topic. We’ve got an interview with the man-aging director of Landvernd and with the young members of the Left-Green Movement. Afterwards, we also asked Ice-landic citizens for their opin-ions. Lack of research The non-governmental asso-ciation Landvernd works on environmental issues in gen-eral. Regarding tourism, it fo-cuses mainly on the influence on the nature in the country-
side. Accord-ing to its managing director “the nature in dif-ferent areas can manage the in-creased
amount of visitors differ-ently, that has to be consid-ered as the main point”. This means that some places can’t deal with visitors with-out being destroyed because of the fragility of their eco-systems. So there’s a need of general restrictions. In other spots, the number of people going there only needs to be regulated, but there’s still a lack of re-search about which land-scape is able to tolerate how much traffic. The best solu-tion would be to spread the tourist spots. “We have to take a map of the country and paint the different areas according to their capacity
to manage with a huge number of visitors”. Then, it will be pos-sible to decide which areas have to be closed to public and in which ones the government has to develop a better infra-structure. Infrastructure for nature protection However, as the increased number of tourists in Iceland can’t be denied, building infra-structure actually helps to pro-tect landscapes. On the one hand a further developed sys-tem of roads and paths can help to spread the incoming tourists. Currently there are places, which tend to be too
Sustainable Tourism: Marketing Untouched Nature
13
crowded like the “Golden Cir-cle” and suffer from the dis-proportionate exposure and others which haven’t been dis-covered by the tourist industry yet, although they’re not that vulnerable and quite interest-ing to see. On the other hand the infrastructure in popular places needs to be improved to limit the damages caused by visitors, e.g. if there’s an official path, probably people won’t walk everywhere and the rest of the area can be saved. As the landscape is the main reason for tourists to go to Iceland, its protection is also of economic importance, or how our interlocutor framed it “We are selling na-ture, that means we need to protect it.” Compromise between profit and conservation The members of Vinstri Græn, the Icelandic governmental green-left party, agree with him in that point and empha-size the question about the
how-to. “Marketing untouched nature is a contradiction in itself”, there’s a need of com-pounding between total isola-tion and commercial exploita-tion. Further the VG members
we spoke to, concur with the fact that the infrastructure has to be adjusted to the increas-ing dimension of tourism to avoid greater damage and preserve the diversity of land-scapes. Reducing it on a few famous places doesn’t meet Iceland’s singularity. But there are also other points where the Icelandic tourism could be more sustainable, e.g. the transportation. Most tourists use huge excursion busses, which consume lots of fuel although there’s a public bus system, but it’s just not that much promoted. Seeing Ice-land’s nature as a common good, the VG claims that tour-ists should pay a fee to the national government, not to private landowners, to com-pensate construction and renovation costs. As a way to pursue this aim, they name a “night fee” of about 2% which could be added automatically on the hotel prices. Citizens willing to share their country Regarding tourism in Reykja-vik in particular, the members’ attitude towards the visitors is very positive, “it gives the city the colour [they] have been missing”. But apart from the enriching intercultural experi-ence, there are still problems to solve. The government has to face the challenge of mak-ing Reykjavik a good city to live in, not only the starting point for tourist excursions. In this context the increasing number of hotels and tourist shops in the most central ar-eas downtown has contra-productive effects, not only for the inhabitants, but also for Reykjavik as a city which is worth visiting, “maybe you are destroying something that
tourists are coming to see, just to let them sleep”. On the other hand there are already alternatives developing, e.g. as the main street Laugavegur becomes more and more tour-istic, the parallel running Hverfisgata blooms, there is an increasing number of new shops or cafés. Generally, the VG members argue for a broader use of the city as a whole, while the downtown becomes progressively dense, the rest of the city offers quite a lot of space. It is quite amazing with how much kindness everyone con-sented to talk to us and to see how positive the approach to tourists is in general. Although our survey can’t be seen as representative, there was a clearly favourable tendency. Icelandic people in the streets were all willing to share their country and don’t see any problem in the huge number of tourists. The main reasons passers-by brought in, were the additional vivacity, which visitors bring to a sparsely populated place like Iceland and the financial gains. Ac-cording to the members of the Left-green movement, every-one is willing to give the tour-ists the experience they came for. “They know that it’s good for our economy. Everyone is nice to tourists – come let’s party and then jump into the sea!” Clara , Yunjin & Rosanne
l
a
r
a
J
u
14
Experiencing a huge tourist boom, Iceland’s future has never been so unsure and is in the center of every debate. Every single agency is invest-ing in tour operators or real estate business and numerous hotels have been built in Reyk-javik. What if all these new infrastructures in the tourist areas and in the center were empty in a few years? What if Iceland was not that trendy anymore, and what if the tour-ist agency found another fash-ionable country they can rec-ommend to their clients? The country is going to face many issues during the coming years. An endless popularity The citizens and the politicians don’t seem to think that Reyk-javik will lose its fame soon. One of the reasons is, that the city organizes some festivals during the year (such as the
International Film Festival, the Arts Festival in May, etc.). Foreigners who are coming for that kind of events are cer-tainly going to
take a tour to the main in-teresting places on the is-land. And even if the num-ber of visitors is maybe go-ing to decrease in a few years, there will still be some people willing to dis-cover the beautiful land-scapes around the city. Moreover, the prices should not become as high as be-fore the crisis and there is diverse audience coming here for numerous reasons. “We have here all kind of tourists all year.” This is why Iceland is supposed to stay a well-known destination now that it has been discov-ered. Charging the tourists Naturally, the infrastructures that have been built will have to be maintained for the future visitors. When no one pays to go on tourist tours anymore, it will be
hard for the government to start charging the citizens to look after empty tourist areas. This is the reason why the main discussion currently is about how to charge tourists. Should they just put some boxes in the main visited ar-eas, hoping that clients are generous enough to give a few kronas? Or should every single foreigner pay a fee when he leaves the country? Lots of ideas are on the table and one of them has to be chosen. “This is our gold, it’s our na-ture, we have to protect that and we need money to do that” According to the inter-views, the government legally has to use this money to build new infrastructures in these areas. Furthermore, there is a serious need to create new laws for the landowners, who can, nowadays, do what they want with the money they are earning with tourists. So far, they are not under obligation to use this money to renovate the tourist areas. “The govern-ment is against the fact that landowners are making people pay, but it is because they don’t get the share of it”. The state will soon have to vote to decide how to establish new taxes. Educate tourists and citi-zens Another future issue is the amelioration of education and information. The newcomers in Iceland often lack of time to inquire about the country and about the consequences re-lated to their arrival. “A few days before they leave, they just google “visit Iceland” and find the Golden Circle tour” Usually, they chose to visit only well-known areas and go on guided tours. An in-
“Responsible is possible”
15
creasing information in the tourist offices, for example, would help them to discover new places. It was interesting to see that most employees in the tourist offices are willing to promote tourism in some un-known areas. Moreover, for-eigners are usually not aware of the public bus systems in the country which is really effi-cient and friendlier to the envi-ronment than excursion bus-ses. Another lack of information is concerning the citizens’ aware-ness. When they have been asked for their opinions about the consequences of the in-creasing tourism in Iceland and Reykjavik, they never seemed to be that much in-formed about the environ-mental crisis that is taking place in Iceland. The most common answer was “You know, it is a big country and we are only a few people here, there is enough space for eve-
ryone”. To avoid this igno-rance, the government, in col-laboration with the Landvernd association, is working on a program called “Eco-Schools”, which take place in more than 210 establishments in the country, from kindergarten to university. Programs such as “Eco-Schools” are organized to provide a simple framework to help make sustainability an integral part of school life.
Marketing “Untouched-nature” Generally speaking, the situa-
tion doesn’t seem so alarming
according to the politicians and
the citizens. However, environ-
mental associations appear to
be more concerned. Tourism is
in the center of every debate
nowadays and hopefully the
state will chose an option that
will continue to promote tour-
ism and at the same time pre-
serve their natural gold. “You
know, I think responsible is
possible”. Obviously, in Iceland
or in any other country, opting
for a marketing of “untouched
nature” is a contradiction in
itself … and most of the people
working in the tourism sector
are naturally more willing to
sacrifice the nature to gain
more money. In a country
such as Iceland, no one has
the impression that these huge
natural areas would suffer be-
cause of a few tourists taking
pictures, but it is impossible
for an ecosystem not to be af-
fected by such a change.
Clara , Yunjin & Rosanne
16
The Salvation Army associa-
tion supports people in need.
It is an international Church
movement that currently
works in over 120 countries.
In Iceland their social work is
directed to support people in
need or in difficult situation.
The day shelter is a comfort-
able house next to the harbor.
Some men are relaxing or
sleeping on the couch. Some
are watching TV. About seven
people are sitting around ta-
bles with a cup of coffee and
cakes. Here is the workplace
of Rannvá Olsen who man-
ages the shelter. An interview
about the social problems and
the challenges for homeless
people in Reykjavik.
Can you describe the situation of
homeless people today and devel-
opment in the last years?
After the crisis in 2008, many peo-
ple lost their jobs and ended in the
street. It increased and changed
very much. In 2007, the average
was about 15 clients per day. In
January 2014, there are about 28
people who come here every day.
In Reykjavik, there are about 200
people who are categorized as
homeless. In 2007, there were
many alcoholics in the age of 40,
50, 60 years. 2010, there were
more people using tablets and nar-
cotics. The number of foreigners
seeking shelter in Reykjavík has
increased rapidly. One third of
homeless people are immi-
grants, a majority from Poland.
What is the function of the
day shelter in Reykjavik?
The shelter opened in 2007. It
is an institution of the Salva-
tion Army, a place where peo-
ple can come to have a shower,
get warm nutrition. They sleep
on the sofa, ask for food. We
prepare warm food and take
care of the facilities to allow
the visitors of the shelter to
rest, talk and relax. Here, they
get basic things that people
need to survive.
This shelter is just for men.
Living in the streets of Reykjavik
Iceland is a wealthy nation with a strong social system but still homeless people are a part
of the Icelandic society. Homelessness is not a problem, drugs are not a problem. The ac-
curate number is hard to tell. In Iceland, about 200 people between the age of 18 and 75
are officially registered as homeless. Around one quarter is female, according to a report
by Reykjavík City Council welfare division. The report also reveals that the majority of
those registered as homeless are Icelandic citizens. The majority of homeless people are
pleased with the services provided by the city. There are several homeless care projects for
them. The city of Reykjavík does own three temporary shelters in town – one on Mik-
labraut, one on Þingstræti and the Red Cross shelter for women. These places serve as a
place to sleep and little more.
A visit in the shelter:
“Never lose hope”
17
How is the situation of homeless
women?
Much more men than women are
homeless and it’s harder to say ex-
actly how many women are living
on the street. I think, women are
much more invisible. My explana-
tion is that some of them could sell
their bodies. Some of them stay
with the men who provide them
with drugs.
It’s difficult to imagine what it
must be like to live day to day
without shelter or income, cut off
from our families and rejected
by the society which raised us.
Can you describe the daily rou-
tine of these people?
Our opening times are from 10 am
till 5 pm. Drugs and alcohols are
prohibited here. People can store
personal belongings and wash or
get new clothes, watch videos.
Some of the guys play the guitar,
others play chess and some of them
love puzzling. There is also the
possibility to work. On the first
floor in the day shelter is a storage
room which used to be a workshop.
They get 500 Icelandic króna per
hour. Not much, but money for
some cigarettes. For the men is this
job really important. They like it to
do something but they don’t have
the energy to work all day.
Are they ashamed of their situa-
tion?
Majority of those who are defined
homeless are addicts and many of
them also suffer from mental ill-
nesses. Some of them are really
sick. But sometimes I meet some
of them in the city and think:
Wow! Many of them care for
themselves. You wouldn’t identify
all of them as homeless people.
Your work has started 2009. Can
you give an insight in your job?
When I have started my work, I
had much experience with alcohol-
ics. But this was totally new. First,
I worked very much on the floor.
Cleaning the rooms, preparing the
building for the clients, these are
important tasks. More and more, I
have to buy food, organized meet-
ings. Three volunteers work here.
We cooperate with the police,
street workers and the city,
especially the city guards.
These are three persons driv-
ing around and call 112, for
example, if someone lies in
the street, for example. But if
some of the drunken men are
violent, then they can’t come
here. There are ambulance
services communicate in is-
sues, take people to the day
shelter and exchange the nee-
dles of the drug users accord-
ing to the principle of harm
reduction.
You meet some of the clients
every day. What is your re-
lationship to them?
Very good! The soul care is
very important. We are a
Christian organization and
spiritual talks are also essen-
tial. We try to talk with them –
but not always there is enough
time.
What are the biggest chal-
lenges of your everyday
work?
Of course we try to help all of
them. We try to show them
other ways. Sometimes, there
aren’t any results for a long
time. Sometimes I ask why I
am doing this. But then there is
a light. All of our clients have
their own social advisors who
help them. And we always have
hope. Never lose hope!
Isabel Stettin
18
A random chit-chat with K., a 36 year old marginal individual from Reykjavik. Me: Hello, do you have a lighter? K.: Of course. Always! Where are you from? — Stuttgart, Germany. Have you been there? — No, only in Berlin. I have friends there. But in Amsterdam and Copenhagen as well. I am planning a big trip trough these cities, and also Morocco and Africa. Maybe Mexico as well. —WOW. That is nice. But I guess it is quite expensive. — Well, I receive 1200 euros/month from the Icelandic state. It is enough. I hate this place anyway. Don't want to stay here. —You speak a good English. — I don't have any education. But I have learnt English in the prison school. What are you doing in Iceland? — Travelling. It is really nice here. Bit expensive though. — Listen to me. Do you want to save money? Go with with your VISA Card... Do you have one, don't you? —Yes. — So, you go with your VISA Card and you rent a car. With VISA card you will receive an insur-ance. So you travel for some days and on your last day, you tell your friend, that she should “steal” your luggage. You know what I mean? — I am not sure.... — You pretend that she stole it. And the company will pay everything back to you. — Really? — I did it so many times. It works. Try it out. — Can you tell me some cool pubs from Reykjavik? — Downtown everything sucks... Well, I don't like it. But like 30 minutes from here, you will find a nice bar. Go there. You can find everything there. — Everything? — Yes, sure. Drugs, girls, alcohol. — Do they people use here drugs? — What do you want? I can get you anything. Just tell me what do you want. — I don't use drugs, thanks. — I am telling you, that the drugs here are much better than in Germany. And more expensive. But we grow our own marijuana. It is nice. But I like to take some pills. Those are really good. You feel like in a movie. You just watch out from your head. It is amazing. Or the good mush-
rooms in the autumn time. — How do you get them? — In trucks or per post. It is easy. We don't have enough heroin and cocaine. But we have other things. Everybody from here is using drugs. You can ask anyone from the street, and they can get you something. Especially weed. But I can get you anything. And we are growing them by ourselves. — Do you never get caught by the police? — Well, maybe sometimes, because the police is everywhere. Big brother, you know. But I have ex-perience and I don't care. — And what about prostitution? — We have, we have. Most of the girls want to get some drugs, so they go to that bar I was telling you about and get what they want, and give something else as a payment. They are really easy going girls. Don't like them. What about you? Where do you want to travel? — To the south, I think. Or everywhere. I am planning to rent a car. — Yes, do it. With your VISA card. Do you have one?—Yes. — Do it. And don't forget one thing: you should never ever trust anyone. Ever. I am talking now nicely, but do you know who am I?
Tekla Fodor
Sex, drugs and marginal groups
If I say Iceland, YOU say: beautiful landscapes, pretty women, volcanoes, expen-sive beer, glaciers, friendly people. And I agree.
If I say social problems in Reykjavik, YOU say: ööööööö, never heard about it, eco-nomical crises(?). And I disagree.
19
The mentioned laws and policies are unfortunately not (always) strong enough to stop business man to sale their most expensive champagne in different clubs in Reykjavik. Tómas Gabríel Benjamin, journalist at Grapevine went undercover to one of the famous Champagne club Reykjaviks and witnessed how much women cost and what they offer: – The article was a bit of a gamble. Everone suspected that there is prostitution going on. And I went to confirm it, just to see what is going
on there. I wanted to see it with my eyes - said Gabríel next to a cup of coffee on a Sunday afternoon. He ordered 15 minutes for 20.000 ISK and had the opportunity to get some private time with a girl, chosen by him. (If you are interested in the story please follow this link: http: / /grapevine. i s/News/
ReadArticle/Anything-You-Want-For-Twenty-Thousand-Kronur) – In the end there was nothing to deny, so I contacted some lawyers and at the beginning nobody wanted to talk with me, no one knew anything. But then I find a guy who flipped and I received the needed numbers – confirmed the journalist. The origin of the girls working in these clubs was unknown, but since the Icelandic society is a small one, it is presumable that the girls were not from Iceland: – If you live here and work as a prostitute for longer than three months people will recognize you on the street – explained Gabríel. Shortly after the article
appeared (18.07.2013) the police started to investigate and shut down two out of three champagne clubs in Reykjavik. This doesn't mean that the old-est profession of all times disap-peared from the peaceful city, but surely it is hidden in a proper way. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - My colleague and I met Tómas Gabríel Benjamin in May, 2014 in Reykjavik. He was willing to talk about his experience as a jour-nalist in Reykjavik and told us interesting stories about the “dark side” of the city. We want to thank Tómas Gabríel Benjamin for his time and all the information, contacts that he gave us to continue our research in social problems in Reykjavik.
Tekla Fodor
Icelandic fancy Champagne for you?
Iceland is a country, that cleary values women – this was shown by the huge effort of cracking down the human trafficking and stripping in the country. "It is not permissible for restaurants [which includes bars] to offer nude shows, promote or profit in any way from the nudity of staff or others present." - stays in Article 4, section 4 of Icelandic law 85/2007, amended on 23th of March 2010. They also adopted the so called Nordic model, a set of laws and policies with two main goals: to curb the demand for sex trafficking and to promote gender equality.
Did you know, that in Iceland:
· beer was banned
from 1945 until 1989. Today you can buy beer only in Vinbudin, the state-run liquor store (aside duty-free, res-taurants and pubs)
· in 1956 all boxing
shows, competitions and lesson were forbid-den. In 2002 they al-lowed amateur boxing, but only under strict conditions
· the government has
banned prostitution in 2009 and a year after, in 2010 the strip clubs as well.
· Same-sex marriage
has been legal since 2010 and the homo-sexuals have the right to adopt children.
· Vigdis Finnbogadottir
was the world's first female head of state – elected in 1980
· the sale of handguns
is illegal · there is nor army, air
force or navy. But Ice-land does have a Coast Guard
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Minorities in Iceland
Population of Icelanders in
March 2013 was 322,930 inhabi-
tants. 9,371 of them are Polish. Islandic govern-
ment opened for Poles labour
market in 1 May 2006. Polish so-
ciety in Iceland has their own priests, shops,
schools and eve-rything what
they need. Sec-ond minority in Iceland are Litu-
anians: 1,609. In
2012 there was opened direct air route be-tween Reykjavik and Lithuania. There are
Lituanian musical groups and private schools for kids. The third population of for-
eigners in Iceland are Philippines: 1,385. “Living in Iceland is terrific” minorities say.
We met many of them and they are really glad to live here. The weather is a thing,
which is often picked out as the
most difficult fac-tor in adaption.
Every inter-viewee said that rapid weather
change and long winter makes
their life here harder. What
else did they need to over-come to get used
t o I s l a n d i c condictions? How
their living in Iceland start?
Wonyoo and Paula
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Guoxiu: I used to live in
Beijing with my hu-sband and daughter.
In 2008 my sisters li-ving in Reykjavik invi-ted me here. I accep-
ted invitation and sta-yed here till now.
When I decided to stay longer I took I-
celandic course and after 3 years here I got a job.
How did everything
begin?
Michael: The first visit in Iceland was holidays in 2010. When I came back to my
routine in France, I felt strong feeling to change something in my life. I bought one way ticket to Iceland and was living in couchsurfing friend’s place, then in hostel in Reykjavik. I was looking for job by knocking door to door. Worldwide
friends found a place for me in their crew. Once a time there was nobody who could drive with participants for an excursion to Fjords. I became a driver, camp leader afterward. I stayed in organization 9 months.
Julia: My friend invited me to visit him in Re-
ykjavik 6 years ago. I decided to stay here
for a while and after 3 weekd I found a job as a babysitter. I overstayed and was
working in cleaning company, afterwards as a bartender in coffeehouses.
Marek: I have been working abroad since 1991. Af-ter working in Canada I came to Iceland. In 2008 there was no work, so I came back to
Poland for half of a year. When I returned to I-celand I decided to stay here.
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Michael: I am energetic engeener and work in renovation company now. During the summer time there is a
chance to work in a hotel and help in all kinds of jobs. I don’t know the
language, so I can’t work as an engi-neer. Even if I knew Islandic, I wouldn’t work in this kind of job. It’s
quite arduous work, not for me.
Is your work different than in your country?
Julia: Well, I usu-
ally worked at the café as a manager in Lithuania. Now
I’m doing the same job.
Marek: In Poland I worked as a
blue-collar
Guoxiu: I used to be a housewife in China. In
Reykjavik I work at café. My duties are to keep the place in clean-
ness. I clean dishes much more than I did in China. J
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What kind of cultural differences can you perceive?
Michael: According to France, I can see the difference in attitude to work in Iceland. Workers don’t compete here. What’s more, I discern that families in Iceland are often patchwork. People get married as really young people, have children and
then divorce. It is not seldom that Icelanders set up home a few times in their lifes. I also noticed Icelanders don’t mind time. They always have time for every-thing and often are late.
Guoxiu: It seems to me, that life in China is more com-
plex. Chinese think too much, are nervous about what’s happening tomor-
row, what government says, how should I act in my society. Here, Ice-
landic people live calmly and comfortably. Ice-landers are easy-going.
Julia: I cel anders are more
cheerful and less care a b o u t
money than people in Lithuania.
Marek: Icelanders are much more helpful
than Poles. I have a feeling they’re really contented when
they can help.
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How did your adap-tation proceed?
Michael: I didn’t have many troubles with adaptation.
The only nasty thing I ex-perienced was talking to me in Islandic even if I
knew English. The cold wasn’t the problem for me, only darkness during
the winter. Everything seems to be easier in Ice-land. People can make up
some solutions swim-mingly.
Guoxiu: My sisters and their family living here teached me Ice-
landic. They were a strong support for me during adaptaion. Af-
ter 3 years I found a job. Working in a res-taurant was hard for me due to communi-
cation problems.
Julia: At the be-ginning I felt
alone, be-cause I had only one
close friend at that time. It was hard
time for me, w h e n I spoke to my
family and friends only via skype
Marek: When I came here in 2008,
it was easier to adapt than today. There were less Polish people, Icelanders were more
likely to help foreigners.
Can you speak Ice-landic? Do you think it helped you to adapt? If you can’t speak, did it handi-
capped to adapt?
Michael: All Icelanders can speak Eng-
lish, I don’t think Icelandid is needed to live here. I suppose Icelandic helps in adaptation. It’s easier to make friends
among local inhabitants then.
Guoxiu: Yes, I do. I can’t speak English and without Icelandic I
couldn’t live here. For me local language was necessary to get
a job here.
Julia: I was learning Icelandic at work and now I can speak it without a big efford. It helps
me at work, I can easily com-municate with locals and make friends.
Marek: I can’t speak Icelandic, but I use Eng-
lish. It was enough for me to get a job here and make some friends
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What was the biggest diffi-
culty to adapt in Reykjavik?
Michael: I didn’t have bigger problems with
adaptation here. The only thing was the darkness during the winter.
Guoxiu: Actually, there was
no problem. I can get Chi-nese vegetables to make meals and have an appoint-
ment with a doctor. Weather was a problem sometimes but for me
that's also okay, because I lived in Beijing and I got used to bad, cold weather.
Only one thing is that my daughter lives in China and she has came here only
once. I miss her.
Guoxiu: They are ex-
tremely nice, for me they were always open-minded and it was easy
to be a friend with them.
What can you say about Icelanders attitude?
Michael: Is it said that Icelanders
are rather withdrawn and I agree with that statement. It seems that Islanders prefer
to have a few close friends and it is enough for them. From the other hand, Reyk-
javik inhabitants are cheer-ful, opened to small talks and calm. They always have
time to help you.
Julia: I was alone I couldn’t
meet my friends, my family. Communication problems were the big-
gest problem for me.
Marek: The only thing
was weather, other issues went without any trou-
Julia: Icelanders are really helpful,
they helped me with studying Ice-landic. Marek: I feel here like at home. I
live the same rhythm like Ice-landers.
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Julia: If I took Icelandic citizenship, then I would loose Lithuanian one. It’s not necessary for me to get it. I became stronger physically, because of moving to other country and it’s the most relevant issue for me.
Are you going to acquire the citizenship?
Michael: I would like to have Islandic citizenship, but firstly I needs to know language. I’m afraid I wouldn’t be the part od Icelanders society and it’s impossible for foreigners.
Guoxiu: I have Visa. And I want to get a citi-zenship.
Marek: I don’t need citizenship.
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Photography in Reykjavik
Reykjavik is a city with a wide scene of visual arts.
There are many possibilities for studying arts and
making arts in Reykjavik. Therefore Reykjavik also
offers a lot to see for someone who enjoys visiting
galleries and museums. Interested in photography, I
chose two of my favorite photography attractions in
Reykjavik.
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If you’d like to meet an
Icelandic photographer
and enjoy some really
good photographs, visit
Ari Sigvaldason’s gallery
at Skólavörðustígur 101.
Sigvaldason is probably
one of the best contempo-
rary photographers work-
ing in Reykjavik. 20
years ago he decided to
leave his work as a jour-
nalist and open his first
photo gallery. Fotografi
has been located on
Skólavörðustígur since
2007.
When I step into the gallery,
Sigvaldason sits in his arm-
Fotografi, Skólavörðustígur 101
chair and listens to Bob Dylan.
The armchair is his favorite
place and there he wants to be
photographed, he says. When I
start photographing, he contin-
ues reading his book like the
camera in front of him would-
n’t exist.
His behavior describes per-
fectly his visions in photogra-
phy. His passion is to docu-
ment every day life and natu-
ral moments that are not
In Fotografi you can buy Sig-
valdason’s photos and the
book, Shot in Reykjavik. You
can also just stop by for chat-
ting with him. The gallery
doesn’t have any certain open-
ing hours. If the door is closed,
don’t hesitate to call the num-
ber written on the door.
Anni
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Museum of
photography
From a Different Angle pre-
sents photographs by Ice-
landic women, who have
worked as photographers
in Iceland. The curator of
the exhibition, Katrín Elvas-
dòttir, wants to give credit
to the icelandic female
photographers’ works, be-
cause they haven’t been
much respected in the
past. The photographs de-
scribe the icelandic culture
and nature during a 140-
year-long period and show
both the development of
the camera technology and
development of photogra-
phy as a form of art.
The exhibition is divided in
tree categories: landscape/
nature, family/home life
and portraits/social life.
The first locates in the
Reykjavik Museum of Pho-
tography and the two oth-
ers in the National Museum
of Iceland.
The photo series are all
very different, which makes
the exhibition interesting.
My personal favorites from
the landscape section were
certainly Inga Sólveig
Friðjónsdottir’s dark moun-
tain views and Vincent
Malassis’es series called Pe-
tites pauses. The series of
portraits and home life were
even more impressive. In
family and home life section
you should give attention to
Greta Guðonsdottir’s series
of an old woman living her
last days and in portrait sec-
tion you should check out
Herdis Guðmundsdóttir’s
beautiful photographs of dif-
ferent characters in nature
light.
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Exhibition: From a Different
Angle. . . Photography by Ice-
landic women 1872–2013 (25
January-1 June 2014)
Location:
Reykjavik Museum of Photogra-
phy, Tryggvagata 15
Opening hours: Mondays to Thursdays from
12.00-19.00Fridays: 12.00-18.00
Weekends from 13.00-17.00
National Museum of Iceland,
Suðurgata 41
Opening hours:
1. may – 16. September every day 10-17
Both of the museums are
worth to see. The Reykja-
vik Museum of Photogra-
phy has a collection with
around 5 million photo-
graphs from 1870 to 2002
and their temporary exhi-
bitions offers a lot of qual-
ity photographs with inter-
esting themes. The Na-
tional Museum of Iceland
has in addition to the tem-
porary exhibitions a per-
manent exhibition about
heritage and history in Ice-
land.
Anni
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CREDITS
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Project managers: Jaka Cuk and Alessandro Zabban Editorial Team: Alessandro Zabban, Rosanne Fasel
All Articles by:Anni Reenpää, Tekla Fodor, Yunjin Bae, Julia Hoffmann, Paula Wicher, Clara Jungblut, Rosanne Fasel,
Wonyoo Choi, Isabel Stettin Cover and back pictures by Anni Reenpää (www.annireenpaa.com)
Pictures page 18 and 19 are only illustrations
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