Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.07.2016, Page 16

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Are Asylum
Seeker Shelters
Really Like
Prisons?
No, Actually: Prisons Are Better
During our visit to the asylum seeker
shelter at Grensásvegur, many of the
residents there compared the place
to a prison. This naturally raised the
question: How does this shelter com-
pare to Icelandic prisons, anyway?
What about asylum seeker shelters in
general?
Fortunately, the Icelandic prison
administration outlines in detail on
their official site just what kinds of
rights and privileges Icelandic prison-
ers are afforded. We also confirmed
these details with an official from the
prison system. What we found is that,
in fact, if these asylum seekers were
convicts in an Icelandic prison, they
would actually have more rights and
privileges than they do in Grensás-
vegur, and many other shelters.
By way of a point-by-point compari-
son, here is what we found:
Receiving guests:
Prison: Family may visit weekly;
friends no more than twice a month,
unless special circumstances arise.
Those in "open prisons" can receive
weekly visits from friends and family
if circumstances allow.
Asylum seeker shelters: No visitors
allowed, whether friends or volun-
teers. Government officials may visit
if granted express permission from
the Directorate of Immigration.
Common areas:
Prison: Prisoners do their cooking
in a common kitchen, where they can
meet and socialise with one another.
Grensásvegur: There is no common
area. Cooking is done in individual
rooms. Asylum seekers who live on
the same floor may visit each other,
but those on different floors need a
security guard’s escort. Other asylum
seeker shelters do have common areas.
Daily activities:
Prison: All prisoners are entitled by
law to take part in hobbies, exercise
and sports as a part of their daily lives.
Asylum seeker shelters: No such ser-
vices are provided by these shelters. In
fact, asylum seeker dorms that have
opened at Bífröst University grant asy-
lum seekers access to the library, but
prohibit them from using the gym, hot
pots or laundry rooms there.
Work and education:
Prison: Prisoners may attend classes
or actively work, sometimes even out-
side prison grounds, provided they
meet the necessary requirements to
do so.
Asylum seeker shelters: Asylum
seekers are prohibited by law from
working, as they are not issued an Ice-
landic identity number (kennitala). No
classes are provided by immigration
authorities.
Healthcare:
Prison: All prisoners are granted ac-
cess to healthcare workers, including
psychologists and addiction special-
ists, and are allowed to see a prison
chaplain, and be visited by the Red
Cross and prison authorities.
Asylum seeker shelters: Personal
testimony the Grapevine has received
from asylum seekers, and the per-
sonal testimony of Icelandic health-
care workers, has shown that access to
healthcare is complicated and spotty
at best.
Naturally, the one big difference is
that asylum seekers may leave their
shelters during the day with little ob-
struction save for possible curfews—
but Icelandic prisoners may, under
special conditions and circumstances,
also leave prison grounds if they quali-
fy to do so. At the same time, Icelandic
prisoners have considerably more ser-
vices and privileges afforded to them
than asylum seekers.
ANALYSIS
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 11 — 2016
16
The geothermally
heated beach of Nau-
thólsvík experienced
a mysterious jellyfish
infestation that got so
bad people were afraid
to go in the water. Many of those who did
got stung, prompting ambulance atten-
tion in at least one case. Just as people
were starting to come up with ideas as to
what to do about this, the jellyfish just as
mysteriously disappeared again. Maybe
they were never there to begin with and
this was all a mass hallucination. Cer-
tainly wouldn’t be the first time.
Good news, everyone! Our disgraced
former PM Sigmundur Davíð Gunn-
laugsson is back, and ready to run for
office again. Despite having ducked
under the radar for the past couple
months in the wake of the Panama Pa-
pers fiasco, he remains the chairper-
son of the Progressive Party—a posi-
tion he will likely run for again. He has
also made intimations that the early
elections he promised this autumn
might not happen after all. MPs for
the Progressive’s partners in the rul-
ing coalition, the Independence Party,
have on the other hand argued that it
doesn’t matter what he says; we will
have elections this autumn, probably
in October. Your guess as to whether or
not this will happen is as good as ours.
In less joyful news, a shady Dutch cor-
poration is hoping to build a private
hospital in Iceland. Iceland, like most
countries in the world, has a public
healthcare system, so the idea of a
private hospital here has raised seri-
ous concerns. While those behind the
project insist the hospital will be for
foreigners only, and will therefore not
have any impact whatsoever on the do-
mestic healthcare system, the fact re-
mains that it may siphon off doctors,
nurses, and other professionals from
our existing system, which is still in
dire financial straits. The green light
for the project has not been given by
Icelandic authorities at the time of this
writing.
NEWS IN
BRIEF
CONT.
Words
PAUL
FONTAINE
Photo
ART BICNICK
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