Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.04.2006, Blaðsíða 42
In the past three years, the town of Egilsstaðir
has witnessed an unprecedented upswing
following the building of the Kárahnjúkar
dam, and the Fjarðarál aluminium smelter
in Reyðarfjörður. Due to its central location,
smack in the middle of Eastern Iceland, the
town has always been a service centre for
the neighbouring towns. It is home to the
district’s secondary school, the regional airport,
the district court as well as many official
institutions and large companies that serve
the whole region from Egilsstaðir. Now it has
become a service centre for the development of
heavy industry.
The results of this upswing were evident
when I drove through the town on a sunny
morning in February. Although I lived in
Egilsstaðir for more than half my life, this was
only my second visit back in over five years,
and I could hardly recognise it as the same
town in which I grew up. Everywhere I looked,
I saw new developments. What once used to be
a quagmire is now a new residential area. What
once was thought to be way out of town is now
well within its limits.
Egilsstaðir has traditionally always been a
town where people stay for a short period of
time. Every year an unusually high number
of people moves out of the town, while
new people move in. One reason for this
development is likely the local job market.
The town’s bloodline is the service industry,
which does not create many high-wage job
opportunities. People tend to treat it as a
temporary stopover on their way to somewhere
else. As a result of this, Egilsstaðir suffers from
a lack of identity. The close-knit community
feeling that is usually associated with small
towns in the countryside is all but non-existent.
“Work, work, work for the next four years”
Egilsstaðir, and the neighbouring area, is home
to roughly 3,500 people. It has grown fast
in the last few years. According to statistics
from the National Registry, the population in
Eastern Iceland grew by over ten percent in
2005 alone, with the biggest increase coming
in Egilsstaðir and the neighbouring areas. The
grand-scale building projects that are underway
have created an atmosphere of gold rush, where
people flock to Eastern Iceland to get theirs,
while it lasts.
Contractors, builders and other industrial
workers are especially in demand. I ran into an
old acquaintance, a house builder, and he told
me that he is “ridiculously” busy with work. “It
is work, work, work, at least for the next four
years,” he said. I asked if he was at all worried
about what happens after that, once the big
projects are over, and balance is restored. “I
have no time for worries, my friend, all I do is
work,” he answered.
Another local told me he usually gets a
phone call every other day, offering him work.
“If you speak Icelandic, and you are willing
to work, you can ask for almost anything you
want in salary.” But, he added, you better have
a place to stay.
Population statistics reveal a curious truth.
While the population in Eastern Iceland
has grown, the number of Icelanders living
there has actually decreased. Today, nearly 25
percent of all men, and over six percent of all
women in the region are foreign.
The underlying truth is that despite all the
work, despite whatever future prospects a large
aluminium company like Alcoa may offer in
terms of work, people are still leaving Eastern
Iceland. The increase in population over the
last few years has been created exclusively by a
temporary influx of foreign migrant workers,
brought to Iceland to finish a temporary
project.
There is nothing that suggests this will
change once the projects are complete. Heavy
industry is hardly likely to entice young
people, who have left the region to pursue
education, to return to Eastern Iceland. A local
construction engineer told me that despite all
the available work now and in the foreseeable
future, finding engineers to come and work
in Egilsstaðir is nearly impossible. “We are
overloaded with work as it is. But we can’t get
any good men to come here,” he said.
No Women in the Hot Tubs, Let’s Talk Hockey
An even more curious population statistic is
the ratio between the genders. In 2005, the
increase among males in Eastern Iceland was
over 18 percent, while the female population
increased by less than three percent. Nowhere
in Iceland is the gender ratio as one-sided. In
2005, there were 1,358 men for every 1,000
women. “We really need women here. We
have been reduced to sharing them,” a younger
local says jokingly, although his words carry a
hint of frustration.
Egilsstaðir is the urban planner’s
nightmare. It is spread out over a vast area,
creating long distances between service
areas and residential areas, making it almost
impossible for people to buy a carton of milk
without the aid of a car. In part, this is an old
problem, created years ago. The residents are
victims of the town’s past. The centre, or more
accurately, the commercial district, is located
on the edge of town, by the side of the national
highway. The residential areas and the schools
are located on the other end, and continue to
grow in the opposite direction, away from the
service area.
The presence of the migrant workers is
very evident in Egilsstaðir. The town has
become a multicultural society. This is perhaps
nowhere as apparent as in the local swimming
pool, where instructions are mounted on the
walls in several European languages, plus
Chinese. In the hot tub, I found one Canadian
and two Slovakians discussing their national
teams’ prospects in ice hockey at the Winter
Olympics. Portuguese, Chinese and Polish
colleagues joined in. This is a cross section of
the current population.
Meanwhile the PR people of Alcoa, the
parent company of Fjarðarál, are trying to
create public awareness and a good image for
the company among the locals. A regional
TV-guide publication featured a centrefold
ad, describing the production process from the
aluminium made in Reyðarfjörður to a finished
product, in this case a Ferrari sports car in
made in Italy. Strangely, there is no mention of
aluminium’s other uses, namely in munitions
and weapons production.
“We really need women here. We have been reduced to
sharing them,” a younger local says jokingly, although
his words carry a hint of frustration.
“I found one Canadian and two Slovakians discussing
their national teams’ prospects in ice hockey.”
EgilsstaðirOutside Reykjavík
Jobs, Yes. Women, No.
Visiting the Icelandic Klondike
by sveinn birkir björnsson photos by skari
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