Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.07.2016, Blaðsíða 14

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 11 — 2016
14
The Grapevine paid a visit to one of
Reykjavík's shelters for asylum seek-
ers, speaking with some of the resi-
dents there about their daily lives.
Earlier this month, Iraqi asylum
seeker Raisan Al-shihmani was moved
into one of Reykjavík's shelters for asy-
lum seekers, located on Grensásvegur,
a few kilometres east of our offices
downtown. The Grapevine tagged
along with about a dozen people hop-
ing to pay him a visit, to check on his
physical and mental state on the sev-
enteenth day of his hunger strike.
We were greeted at the door by a se-
curity guard, who asked that neither
his name nor face appear in this arti-
cle. As expected, we were denied entry,
as this is a part of the Directorate of
Immigration’s larger policy of forbid-
ding journalists, volunteers or even
friends from visiting asylum seekers
where they live. The guard told us that
Raisan was, however, free to step out-
side and speak with us.
When guests expressed concern for
Raisan's health, the guard told us that
he "checks on him regularly," which we
learned means a guard checks on Rai-
san with each shift change, or about
every eight hours. Guests also asked
if it is true that residents at Grensás-
vegur cannot even visit each other be-
tween floors. While the guard said he
could not comment on specific mat-
ters within the house, residents we
would later speak to told us that while
residents on the same floor are free to
visit each other, a security guard is the
only person allowed to let people visit
each other between floors.
No visitors allowed
"It is strictly forbidden to bring visi-
tors to the premises," a sign inside
the front door of Grensásvegur reads,
in English. "Those who violate these
rules will immediately be expelled
from the house!"
In asking other residents about this
policy, we learned that it is strictly
enforced. Residents have been kicked
out of Grensásvegur, sometimes for
days at a time. With nowhere else to
go, some of these asylum seekers find
themselves having to sleep outside un-
til they are allowed back in.
Raisan soon emerged, and came
outside to greet his guests. Other resi-
dents soon followed, chatting freely
and openly with the guests, although
most declined to be photographed or
to have their names mentioned for
fear of jeopardising their applications
for asylum.
Raisan told us he was holding
up fine enough, having lost a lot of
weight, but that the medical attention
he has received has been lacking. An
ambulance that came to check on him
merely measured his blood pressure
before declaring him in fine health
and departing.
In fact, the Grapevine learned that
if a resident requests medical atten-
tion, the guard on duty does not call
for an ambulance or a doctor directly.
Rather, the guard must contact the
Directorate of Immigration, and they
in turn are responsible for contact-
ing medical personnel. This has led to
problems: one resident informed us
that one time he had fallen down in
the facility, injuring his head. He re-
quested an ambulance, and the guard
on duty at that time alerted the Direc-
torate of Immigration. However, for
whatever reason, no ambulance was
called. After waiting two hours, the
resident was forced to call his friend
to come fetch him and take him to the
hospital. Furthermore, as the Direc-
torate of Immigration alone had the
authority to provide him with pain-
killers for his injury, he could not get
them directly, and ended up waiting
five days for his tablets.
“Like a prison”
Another resident the Grapevine spoke
with informed us that when he arrived
in Iceland, the police had demanded
his mobile phone. He surrendered his
phone to authorities, but after four
months of waiting he has yet to get it
back. Police reportedly did not tell this
asylum seeker what they were looking
for on his phone, nor what crime he
was suspected of committing to war-
rant searching his phone.
Every resident expressed the desire
to work, if for no other reason than to
have something to do. However, asy-
lum seekers are not issued an official
Icelandic identity number (kennitala),
and so are not legally permitted to
work.
A common theme that emerged in
talking with the residents is the deep
sense of social isolation they feel. Lik-
ening Grensásvegur to a prison was
not an uncommon comparison. The
residents have no common area in the
facility to gather and talk together, nor
a kitchen to cook their food. There is
no television, nor even books to read.
Instead, they live two to a room (with
the exception of Raisan, due to his
hunger strike), and do their cooking
on hobs in their living quarters.
Without anything to do all day, be-
ing forbidden from receiving guests,
and having restricted access even to
each other within Grensásvegur, these
residents are often troubled by anxi-
ety, fear, isolation, and mind-numbing
boredom.
After about two hours, the visitors
said their goodbyes to the residents.
The residents thanked us profusely for
coming to chat. We left reluctantly, to
return to our daily lives in Iceland.
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GPV.IS/GRE11
A Visit To Grensásvegur
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Words PAUL FONTAINE Photo ART BICNICK