Lögberg-Heimskringla - 02.03.1979, Page 2

Lögberg-Heimskringla, föstudagur 2. mars, lí)79
FOOTNOTES
—By Sharron Arksey
Lögberg-Heimskringla often receives letters from per-
sons interested in visiting North America, asking for
information about Canada and the United States. The
letters would perhaps be better addressed to govern-
ment departments which regulate foreign travel. But
we can at least help a little bit by telling the writers
about the most salient points of North American life.
The fallowing letter was recently received:
I am a 19-year old German girl, staying on an Ice-
landic dairy farm.
My friend’s (as well 19-years-old) and my wish is
travel to Canada since we admire this country so much.
I wonder whether it’s possible for us to get a job there
for two or three months, maybe even longer.
I have experience in farmworking, householding,
serving at restaurants. We both speak English and a
little bit French. I myself learned Icelandic as well.
We would both like to work in the country or a
little town than in a big city.
We would be very thankful if you could let me
know some address I could ask for. As well it would be
nice to get some general information about staying in
Canada.
I got in contact with Heimskringla newspaper here
in my Icelandic “family”. And I find it very interesting
to read it.
My greetings to you,
Hildegard Barthelmann, Efri-Dalsstöðum, Sval-
barðsströnd 601, S.-Þin., Iceland.
Working while on visits to this country is govern-
ed, of course, by federal departments, involving a cert-
ain amount of red tape. But perhaps some readers out
there would be interested in contacting Miss Barthel-
mann or would have some ideas as to how she and her
friend could go about realizing their dreams.
— 0 —
One somtimes feels sorry for the poor postal workers
who seem to be the butt of innumerable bad jokes
about their lack of efficiency.
Mailmen are only human, after all. And even com-
puters are only as perfect as the people that feed them.
But, on the other hand, if we are expected to do
every little just right, down to and including the in-
famous postal code, and if we are expected to pay in-
creasing amounts for the privilege of efficient mail
service, then it figures that, having done pur part, we
have the right to expect that efficient service.
A case in point: one of our subcribers has been re-
ceiving two papers, one addressed correctly to her and
the other addressed to someone else. The only things
the two subscribers have in common is that both their
last names start with “T” and they both happen to live
in Winnipeg.
Perhaps our mail sorters are suffering from the
much-publicized functional illiteracy supposedly in-
undating the work force. If so, remedial reading cours-
es are definitely in order.
— 0 —
Sometimes, of course, the mail is held up by circum-
stances beyond our control. “Neither rain nor snow nor
sleet nor hail” makes a good slogan, but suffers in
practical application.
Copies of Lögberg-Iieimskringla are sent by air
to Chicago where they are transferred to an Icelandic
Airlines flight to Iceland. But Chicago is one of the
American cities suffering from the southward shift of
our Canadian winter weather.
Because of recent blizzard conditions, the papers
sat in Chicago for up to three weeks and are only just
now beginning to move normally.
We can’t blame people all the time, I guess. And
you can’t presume to blame nature itself. In any battle
between man and nature, it holds all the cards.
YEAR OF THE CHILD
The United Nations has de-
signated 1979 as “The Inter-
national Year of 'the Child ’.
As reported in Lögberg-
Heimskringla, the President.
of lceland, Dr. Kristján Eld-
járn in his New Year’s mes-
sage to the lcelandic nation,
urged his peopie to partici-
pate in the Year of the
Child. The President íurther
revealed that it, was his
wish that Icelanders would
prove themselves to be a big
small nation in this regard.
It is signiiicant, that the
first citizen of Iceland should
in his ímportant New Year’s
message make his concern
Introduction to
Year of the child
Einar Arnason, author of
the articie which foilows
is a past president of the
Children’s Aid Society of
Winnipeg, having served
in that capacity for three
years,
He has been a board
member of that organizat
ion for 16 years. The
Children’s Aid Society is
governed by volunteer
board of citizens who
have a concern for childr-
en and who work on the
board without remunerat
ion.
for children the main thrust
of his message to the Iceland
íq nation. It reveals his tend-
er thoughts for children, a
strong cnaracteristic of Ice-
landic people as a whole.
We who are descended
from the same people can
look back and find the same
qualities amongst our Ice-
landic foreíathers that mi-
grated from Iceland. Each of
us can reflect back to areas
where Icelanders clustered
together and through close
contact knew each other
ever ready to help wherev-
er and whenever required.
In those areas, the welfare
of a child was never in jeo-
pardy. As happens in all so-
cieties, misfortune befalls
children through loss or in-
ability of parents to care for
their offspring. In the early
Icelandic communities childr
ren cast adrift were taken
into homes of relatives,
friends or neighbours and
treated as other members of
the family. There they grew
up and identified themselves
throughout their lifetime
with the adopting family.
The niceties of legal docu-
mentation enshrined in
modern statutory require-
ments were unknown and
existed only vaguely, if inde
ed in actual fact. The ímpact
of social science and the mod
ern social worker did not
■ exist.. Community approvel
or condemnation ruled on
these adoptive arrangements
and indeed on ali child wel-
tare through humanitarian
assessment that guarded ag-
ainst child abuse.
Another interestmg iacel
was the voluntary attach-
ment of boys to familics
where they íound compatib-
le lies and assisted in the
farm chores and fishing and
continued to receive the
benefits of school attend-
ance. There were many ent-
erprising Icelanders that
pi-ovided homes for boys, in-
cluding employment as well
as guidance and humanitar-
ian concern.
For the unwed mother,
parents looked after their
daughters and eventually
ethrough wedlock went on
to raise families. The accept
ance of this fact by Iceland-
ers has always had a high
degree of sensitive concern
in an area that has brought.
condemnation in the more
Canadian elements of our
society. Abandonment by
parents of a daughter during
what must be a most diffi-
cult time in herlife , for
reasons of biological indis-
cretion and community con-
demnation, must be a cruel
fate to mete out to one of
your own kith and kin. The
old Icelandic ways of
humanitarian acceptance
must be the one that stands
out in the area.
In our visitations to Ice-
land, it is significant to note
that the old Icelandic con-
cern for children is very
much in evidence. And so as
we recede more and more
Veðurguðirnir hafa gert okk
ur erfitt fyrir að undanförnu
með að koma blaðinu til á-
skrifenda á' Islandi. Eins og
kunnugt er af fréttum hefur
oft verið hið versta veður í
Vesturheimi á síðustu vikum
og hefur Chicagoborg ekki
farið varhluta af því.
Blaðið er alltaf sent frá
Winnipeg til Chicago, og þar
er það tekið um borð. i is-
lensku vélarnar, sem flytja
það heim,
Nú hefur það konnð nokkr
urn sinnum fyrir, að flugvöll
urinn i Chicago hefur alveg
lokast, og eins hafa orðið
þar verulegar tafir, vegna
veðurs. Þetta hefur ekki ein-
göngu komið sér illa fyrir
farþega, heldur og einnig fyr
ir vörur, sem hafa stundum
legið dögum saman á flug-
vellinum.
I öllu öngþveitinu Iiefur
away from the cultural in-
fluences of our Icelandic
forefathers to melt, into the
mosaic of our respective
countries, it behoves us to
carry on with concern for
children in the manner of
our forefathers and that of
our conscience in Iceland.
In this, the .International
Year of the Child, and inde-
ed every year, we can each
in our own way express this
concern in a material man-
ner, through adoptions, tak-
ing in a foster child, interest
in child caring agencies,
work with government staff,
express our concerns to the
elected representatives, or
contribute to the fund rais-
ing efforts that support
child care. The unfortunate
child is vulnerable to negl-
ect and abuse. It, does not
have political influence and
ít is entirely dependent on
the community in which it
exists. The rewards to be
reaped in kindness to childr-
en ,are many through re-
spect shown by íamily, rela-
tives, friends and the com-
munity.
The message of the Presi-
dent of Iceland should alert.
us to the awareness that.
kindness to children is a
responsibility that we must
continually exercise for
which the rewards are great.
Fortunate indeed are those
of us that have had the good
fortune to be affecionately
guided by parents, regard-
less of material wealth.
Lögberg-Heimskrmgla ekki
komist alveg klakklaust frá
Chicago tii íslands og þvi
hafa orðið verulegar tafir á
afgreiðslu blaðsins á Islandi
að undanförnu.
Vonandi stendur þetta nú
til bóta með hækkandi sól,
og hafa þegar verið gerðar
sérstakar ráðstafanir af
hálfu ritstjórnarskrifslofu
blaðsins í Winnipeg til þess
að flýta afgreiðslu blaðsins
eins og kostur er.
Við þökkum áskrifendum
okkar biðlundina um leið og
við minnum á, að Birna
Magnúsdóttir, Dúfnahólum
4 í Reykjavík tekúr á móti
áskriftargjöldum. Einnig má
koma þeim til Árna Bjarnar-
sonar, útgefanda á Akur-
eyri, Norðui’götu 48.
Nýjir áskrifendur geta lika
snúið sér til þeirra tveggja.
já
—Einar Arnason.
TIL ÁSKRIFENDA Á ÍSLANDI