Reykjavík Grapevine - 23.05.2014, Blaðsíða 6

6
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 1 — 2011
News | Racism
Svarta Kaffið (“The Black
Coffee”) on Laugavegur has
been a fixture of downtown
Reykjavík for more than two
decades. The soup oriented
café, which seats roughly 60
people, got a face-lift in 2003
when the Miljevic family took
it over. Soup was no longer
served in bowls, but rather in
bread loaves and owner Dar-
ri Miljevic made a statue that
he had been given at his last
job the café’s mascot, plas-
tering “Jakob” all over the
place’s windows and menus.
From outside, Jakob greeted
patrons with a speech bub-
ble that says, “The best soup
in town,” a sentiment shared
by many who frequent this
bustling café.
This café, however, has been frequently
criticised through the years because
“Jakob” is a black Sambo statue wear-
ing clothes reminiscent of the Roaring
Twenties. For example, Trip Advisor
reviewer Rocky R left an entry on the
site in 2012, noting the “incredibly racist
statue,” likening it to minstrel shows and
expressing astonishment that “a restau-
rant could be so clueless and have such a
statue.” Numerous letters have been sent
to the Grapevine on the matter, with Li-
zanne from the US saying in 2013 that ev-
ery time she walked by Svarta Kaffið she
got a sharp pain in her stomach. “Their
signage, depicting a minstrel-esque char-
acter as their mascot, is pretty damn of-
fensive. How can people feel OK about
patronizing this establishment?”
The Levees Broke
Despite these complaints Svarta Kaffið
remained unfazed, opting to not change
its decorations or mascot. Until earlier
this month, that is, when noted internet
activist Hildur Lillendahl Viggósdóttir
posted a musing that decried the statue,
stating that this simply wasn’t OK in the
21st century. With 108 “likes” and 76
comments to her post, Svarta Kaffið’s
Facebook profile quickly flooded with
complaints and accusations of racism.
The following day, May 8, the Miljevic
family deleted all of the comments and
posted a photo of the staff along with the
message that they would meet hatred
with love.
Upon inquiry, Darri’s daughter Tinna
did not want to talk about the statue,
saying they had already apologised and
removed it. She said her family had been
persecuted and suffered enough abuse,
a family that did not judge people based
on the colour of
their skin. She also
defended the res-
taurant’s decision to
have their former
mascot, arguing that
people were respon-
sible for their own
negative interpreta-
tion of it.
“It’s painful that
we can't have a dark
skinned statue to
represent the café,
and it’s a case of re-
verse racism,” she
said. “They forced us
to remove the statue
because it was black,
but there were white slaves too. I just
don't know what good this will do them
in the fight against racism.”
The café’s public apology received a
lot of attention, earning coverage in the
local media which had until then mostly
turned a blind eye to the debate. Inter-
net commenters’ opinions ranged from
expressions of surprise (“What hap-
pened ”) and support (“best people
and family I know, keep going”), to adora-
tion (“I love the soup in bread”) and anger
(“You shouldn’t let the politically correct
slaves that are affected by ‘white guilt’
control you!”).
Not The Only Case
In Iceland’s recent history there are
a number of egregious examples of
racially-fuelled behaviour. The city of
Reykjavík, for example, banned black US
soldiers from shore leave in the capital
during World War II, and police inter-
fered when people tried to tear down
signs outside Hótel Borg that said “nig-
gers not permitted”
in the ‘50s. In 1968
former Prime Minis-
ter Geir H. Haarde,
age 16, wrote in his
school paper that
he was opposed to
black people mixing
their blood with the
Icelandic nation and
that he was against
them being granted
Icelandic citizenship,
let alone being let into
the country. When
Geir’s youthful folly
hit the headlines last
year, he retracted his
words, saying they
were a product of their time and his
youthful ignorance.
More recently, in 2007 the children’s
nursery book ‘Tíu litlir negrastrákar’ (an
Icelandic adaption of the notorious ‘Ten
Little Niggers’ rhyme) was reprinted in
Iceland, to much outrage. While many
claimed the book’s imagery and content
was racist at worst and painfully anach-
ronistic at best, others stepped to its
defence, noting the book’s heritage and
the historical value of its illustrations by
fabled artist Muggur. As recently as two
years ago, comedian Pétur Jóhann Sig-
fússon came under immense scrutiny
when he portrayed an Asian stereotype
caricature Tong Monitor in an ad cam-
paign for TV station Stöð 2. In response
to criticism from people like immigrant
minister Toshiki Toma, who called the
sketch “degrading to all immigrants,” Pé-
tur apologised and expressed regret for
his actions. “I didn't wake up one morn-
ing and decide that I was going to make
fun of Asians, and hurt as many people
as possible,” he said, explaining that his
intentions had not been malicious.
Iceland’s Cultural
Insensitivity
Unnur Dís Skaptadóttir, a professor of
anthropology, believes Iceland's cultural
insensitivity stems from a lack of critical
discussion on racial and cultural issues.
Having studied in the US, where such
things were routinely discussed, she was
shocked by people's language in Iceland
when she returned 25 years ago. “People
regularly used words like the n-word,
completely oblivious to how degrading it
is,” she recalls. Although she says things
have improved, there’s still a ways to go.
Despite Icelanders living on an island,
Unnur points out that they are not iso-
lated from racial conceptions. “We watch
films and shows from the West and we're
a part of that same world,” she says. “Peo-
ple say all kinds of ignorant things where
they haven't properly put themselves in
other people's shoes, things that people
find to be very hurtful. When confronted
about it, Icelanders get really defensive,
blatantly unaware of the negative con-
sequences that cultural stereotypes have
on people’s opportunities in the labour
market, housing market and life. We have
no excuse for acting this way.”
For now the statue in question has
disappeared along with his likeness,
which used to appear on the restaurant’s
menus and window displays. And the
Miljevic family has publically stated that
Jakob is away on holiday, but it’s probably
safe to say that the Sambo statue has gone
away for good.
So Long Jakob!
The rise and fall of Svarta Kaffi’s
controversial mascot
Words by Tómas Gabríel Benjamin @Gabrielandmore
Photo by Alisa Kalyanova
“It’s painful that we
can't have a dark
skinned statue to repre-
sent the café, and it’s a
case of reverse racism,”
Tinna says, explaining:
“they forced us to re-
move the statue because
it was black, but there
were white slaves too.”
6
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 06 — 2014
Jakob
The statue Jakob was given to
Darri Miljevic for working 20
years in a restaurant before he
opened Svarta Kaffið in 2003.
It was removed on May 8 after
numerous complaints.
So, summer has officially begun
here in Iceland, which means it’s
whaling season again.
Whaling is cur-
rently permitted
in Reykjavík’s
Faxaflói Bay—the
same waters in
which tourists go
on whale-watching expeditions.
This grim irony has led many whale
watching companies to call for a
larger “no hunting area” around
the city. Given that whale watching
yielded over four billion ISK last year,
it’s perhaps no wonder that all of the
candidates for Reykjavík’s mayor
have voiced their support for this
idea, as well as for banning whaling
ships from docking in Reykjavík’s har-
bour. But ultimately, only Minister of
Fisheries Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson
could enact such changes.
In other news, the Reykjavík
police force has pledged to
increase the number of bike cops
around town, hoping to increase
their visibility with the public, and
also to cover more ground faster than
would be possible on foot or in patrol
cars.
Such speedy law-
enforcement could
have proved useful
in Akranes earlier
this month, when
a man walked into
a local shop, filled a basket with gro-
ceries, asked for a pack of cigarettes
and then walked out without paying,
challenging the employees to “just
call the police.” Apparently he for-
got something on his shopping list,
because that same evening the bra-
zen shop-and-dasher returned to the
scene of the crime for an after-hours
break-in. After much confusion and
several rounds of questioning, he con-
fessed to both crimes.
Meanwhile, Minister of the Inte-
rior Hanna Birna Kristjánsdót-
tir is still not willing to admit to her
misdeeds in the (mis)handling
of Nigerian asylum seeker Tony
Omos’s case. She also continues to
play fast and loose with facts: most
recently, she said she couldn’t com-
ment while police are still investigating
(not true). Previously, she stated that
a memo leaked to the public relaying
false information about Tony did not
come from her ministry (not true),
and also that—based on the terms of
the Dublin Regulation—Iceland was
obliged to deport Tony back to Swit-
zerland, the country he arrived from
before seeking asylum here. (Any
guesses? It’s not true!)
While investigations into the Tony
Omos case are ongoing, blun-
dered deportation attempts continue
to be an issue. This month, the Reyk-
javík District Court ruled against
the Ministry of the Interior and the
Directorate of Immigration’s deci-
sion to deport “A,” an Iraqi asylum
seeker who arrived to Iceland in 2012.
A’s 800,000 ISK in legal fees will be
paid by the defendants, but whether
or not he will be granted asylum is still
an open question.
Pause for a little good news? Iceland is
still a pretty good place to be a mother.
According to the annual “State of the
Continues over
By Larissa Kyzer
NEWS IN BRIEF
EARLY MAY