Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.06.2007, Page 8

14_RVK_GV_09_007_ARTICLE/REFUGEES
According to the the United Nations Refugee Agency
(UNHCR), a refugee is a person who “owing to a well-
founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, reli-
gion, nationality, membership of a particular social group,
or political opinion, is outside their country of nationality,
and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to
avail themself of the protection of that country.”
World Refugee Day was celebrated on June 20. In
Iceland, the Red Cross, UNHCR and the Municipality of
Reykjavik used the day to bring attention to the issues
concerning refugees and asylum seekers both in Iceland
and around the world. The Grapevine is also taking this
opportunity to introduce the topic.
Red Cross Project Manager for Refugees and Asylum
Seekers, Atli Viðar Thorstensen, says that World Refugee
Day is about “advocacy and protection”. “It’s about in-
forming people in the government and the public about
refugees in Iceland and overseas,” he said. “It’s to show
people how refugees live,” added UNHCR representative
Sylvia Kithole from Kenya.
Earlier this year the state-appointed Icelandic Refugee
Board and the UNHCR reached an agreement to invite
30 refugees to the country each year. As part of this
commitment 30 Columbian refugees currently living
in Ecuador will arrive later this summer. The group will
consist of women and children on behalf of the UNHCR’s
international project “Women at Risk” which gives priority
to females and single mothers and their children in need
of refuge. In 2005 a group of 24 Columbian women and
children were invited to Iceland through the same project.
The annual intake of the other Nordic countries of the last
few years has been as follows: Sweden between 1,000 to
1,800, Denmark 500, Finland 750 to 1,000, and Norway
800 to 1,500.
Earlier this year, the Icelandic government decided
to donate USD 100,000 (approx. 6, 275,000 ISK) to the
UNHCR for the aid of Iraqi refugees. Iceland’s contribu-
tion in 2006 ranked 63rd on a list of 114 countries and
private donors. But, according to the daily newspaper
Morgunblaðið, ten Iraqis applied for refuge in Iceland
but have had their applications rejected. According to the
Ministry of Social Affairs, the policy is to accept around 30
refugees – those in most need. Although the government
has discussed the possibility of accepting refugees from
Iraq, at this stage they are giving preference to those
coming from Ecuador. The Red Cross explains that the
UNHCR (who is in charge of making recommendations
about refugees to the government) is focusing on refugees
from Columbia because of the lack of political pressure
to accept them.
Thorstensen recently returned from Ecuador where
he helped interview refugees from Columbia who will
potentially be resettled in Iceland. “The reason for UNHCR
asking Iceland to accept Columbian refugees is becau-
se there is an ongoing armed conflict in Columbia [...]
More than two million people have been forced to flee
their homes. Most of them have been displaced within
Columbia but many have fled to other countries,” he
explains. Thorstensen also explains that some refugees
may continue to be at risk in Ecuador and therefore need
to resettle in a third country such as Iceland.
What are refugees entitled to once they arrive in Ice-
land? When refugees arrive in Iceland they are provided
with a twelve month integration program. The Municipality
of Reykjavik provides refugees with free housing including
heating and electricity, medical care, financial support and
obligatory intensive Icelandic language classes.
“They are also permitted to work from their first day
in Iceland and are provided assistance in finding a job […]
and pretty much all of them that came in 2005 found jobs
within a year,” says Paola Kjærnested, Red Cross Project
Manager for Immigrants and Young People.
The situation with asylum seekers is a little different
though. To clarify, an asylum seeker differs from a refu-
gee in that he/she is someone who has made a formal
application for asylum and is waiting for a decision about
their status. If their application is accepted then they
become a refugee.
Asylum seekers usually stay at a hostel in Reykjanesbær
while they wait to hear if they are granted refugee status.
During this time they receive medical care, housing and
an allowance of 2200 ISK per week, but are not entitled
to work.
So, what happens to asylum seekers when they arrive
on Iceland’s door? According to Icelandic law, police can-
not deny entry into Iceland to individuals who maintain
that they have been forced to seek asylum as a political
refugee. The authorities conduct an interview with the
asylum seeker and if their statement is considered credible
their application for asylum is forwarded to the Directorate
of Immigration. If not, the police may refuse them entry
into Iceland and the applicant may be required to leave
the country immediately.
Thorstensen says that the human rights of asylum
seekers who have been allowed entry in Iceland are
upheld. “Asylum seekers who are staying at Fit hostel can
leave the hostel if they like and they have their freedom
of travel within Iceland. Many, however, feel restricted to
the hostel and Keflavík [Reykjanesbær] because of lack
of money,” he says.
However, because under Icelandic law police must
be able to contact the asylum seeker until a decision on
their status has been reached, the applicant may need
to report to police or not travel beyond certain limits in
the country. In theory detention can also be applied.
Records show that the vast majority of applications for
asylum in Iceland are rejected. “Only one asylum seeker
has so far received a refugee status in Iceland. That was in
2000. A few asylum seekers however receive permission
to stay on humanitarian grounds [...],” Thorstensen says.
According to Thorstensen there are currently 20 to 25
asylum seekers in Iceland, some who have been waiting
for a response on their status since 2005.
According to the Directorate of Immigration there is
no law in the Act for Foreigners that details the maximum
time that can be spent on processing an application, but
according to the Administrative Act all applications must
be processed as quickly as possible.
“We always try to answer them as fast as we can. But
with more complicated cases it can take longer because
we assess each case individually,” says an employee at
the Directorate of Immigration who preferred to remain
anonymous.
While researching for this article, the Grapevine attempted
to speak to other various government offices but did not
receive sufficient comment or assistance to quote them
in this article.
Protection by Numbers
Text by Zoë Robert
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