Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.08.2004, Qupperneq 15

Tom Joad´s shadow has been cast long and wide. How many of the
ca. 14 million people so far who´ve read the book have thought to
themselves that if they were there, they would have done something,
rather than stand idly by as people were evicted from their homes?
This summer has been a warm one on the east coast of Iceland. But
the sun has often been obscured by the dust clouds coming down
from the construction of the power plant being built at Kárahnjúkar.
To make matters worse, the company building the dam, Landsvirk-
jun, want to build a power line through neighbouring farmer´s lands
and are not taking no for an answer. Might they end up as latter day
Tom Joad´s? And does anyone give a damn?
A lone farmer speaks up
Guðmundur Ármannsson has lived all his life on his plot of land at
Vaði near Egilsstaðir. He´s never been abroad or even to Reykjavík.
The farthest he´s ever travelled is to Akureyri, the capital of northern
Iceland. He inherited the land from his father, the same family hav-
ing lived on the land since 1830. Guðmundur took over as farmer
25 years ago and lives there with his wife Gréta Ósk Sigurðardóttir.
He´ll be reaching 60, “that awful number,” as he calls it, next year.
But now, his peaceful existence has been disturbed. And he´s not
happy about it.
“I am unhappy about the powersale agreement. They get the power
at a very low price, pay very little taxes and no pollution tax. The
land being sacrificed is not being valued at all. They´re also bringing
in low cost labour, which will probably bring down wages here in
the long run, although, of course, we´re using low cost labour when
we buy things manufactured at low pay abroad. And that´s just the
economic side of things.”
The Jökulsá River has a very strong current and carries a lot of mud
with it that now winds up in the sea. It´s being diverted into the
Lagarfljót River, a popular outdoor area here. The colour of Lagar-
fljót is already changing. The water then winds up in the dam reser-
voir, along with all the mud it brings. In the summer, when the water
level drops, this will lead to the mud being blown as dust all over the
countryside. And what happens when eventually the reservoir gets
filled up with mud? That will be a problem for future generations. It
seems that no one has thought this through. The only explanation
they give is that it´s a challenge to engineering.
“This is not negotiation…”
Unlike many, farmer Guðmundur can´t just close his eyes and ignore
the construction.
“They´re building a power line through here. The line won´t cross
through my land, but they need to build a road to reach it that will.
I´m not the one that will be hardest hit by this. Farmer Sigurður
Arnarsson over at Eyrarteigar will have the line built right next to his
house, and he and I and other people agree that it doesn´t seem like
anyone can live in that house anymore after the line is built. He´s be-
ing pushed off the land, and for this he is offered 1.200.000 million
krónur (roughly 15,000 Euro).”
So what did the company, Landsvirkjun, say to the farmers?
“There was no negotiation. They offer a fixed amount of money, and
if you don´t take it they expropriate it. They´ve been getting away
with this method. This is not negotiation, this is an ultimatum.”
“Everyone´s drunk on aluminium
plants”
And your response?
“I´m not open for negotiation. They came here last November and
I said no to them. Then I didn´t hear from them for six months
and I thought I was rid of them. Then, about two months ago, they
come back. I´ve retained a lawyer, and this is going before the courts.
There are at least six other farmers who haven´t signed the contract
Landsvirkjun put in front of them either.”
So how do you see the future for this?
I have a bad feeling that in the future people on the East Coast will
be blamed for this. Of course it´s the government that made the de-
cision. But people here are ignoring the consequences. It sometimes
seems as if everyone´s drunk on aluminium plants. I have a feeling
the hangover will be terrible.”
So why has it come to this?
“I think that Icelanders have lost something they used to have, which
is love of their country. It´s been sacrificed on behalf of greed. I´m
afraid that we won´t be cured of that disease until we have a disaster
on our hands. And the longer it takes, the worse it´s going to be.”
V A L U R
G U N N A R S S O N
GRAPES OF VAÐIt
In the 1930s, dust storms swept the southern plains of the United States. The “Black
Blizzards,” as they were called, had come about because of overfarming, which had
caused the topsoil to wear thin and become dust. Crops failed, and as the banks
that held the mortgages realised they would not be getting returns on their inter-
est, farmers were run off of their land. Their plight is immortalised in the songs of
Woody Guthrie and John Steinbeck’s book “The Grapes of Wrath”, which went on to
become a Hollywood film starring Henry Fonda as Steinbeck´s protagonist Tom Joad.
b y