Reykjavík Grapevine - 25.08.2017, Side 4

The Top
Stories
Aug 10th – Aug 24th
Words: Paul Fontaine
NEWS IN BRIEF Our undisputed
top story of the past two weeks has
been the Icelandic reaction to the
American reaction to Iceland’s
abortion laws and Down’s Syn-
drome. A recent report on Amer-
ican news station CBS pointed
out that medical professionals
in Iceland are obliged to offer
expecting mothers the option of
pre-natal screening, and that the
majority of those women who find
out that there are signs of Down’s
Syndrome in the developing fetus
elect to terminate the pregnancy.
Evangelicals and reactionaries of
all stripes jumped on this story,
misrepresenting it as “the Icelan-
dic government forcing women
to kill Down’s Syndrome children,
completely wiping them out of the
population.” The truth is: not all
women even accept the pre-natal
screening when it is offered, let
alone elect to have an abortion af-
ter discovering possible signs of
Down’s Syndrome, and there are
many wonderful people of all ages
with Down’s Syndrome in Iceland.
You can’t believe everything Sarah
Palin tells you, amazing as that
sounds.
Asylum seekers
Speaking of amazing, we have
actually had some positive news
about asylum seekers lately. The
Ministry of Justice announced that
they will award an 830 million ISK
contract to one lucky organisa-
tion, which will become an inde-
pendent body advocating on be-
half of asylum seekers in Iceland,
as well as providing legal services
to them. In addition, a travelling
installation piece will give locals
the chance to listen to asylum
seekers tell their stories in their
own words, shedding light on the
human aspect of the issue. Lastly,
some 15,000 Icelanders signed a
petition imploring the Ministry
of Justice to stop the deportation
of two families who are due to be
sent out of the country. Maybe
things are turning around? We’ll
believe it when we see it.
Come visit beautiful Reykjanes
Things are heating up in Rey-
kjanesbær, where the contro-
versial United Silicon plant is
still causing health problems for
residents in the area. There have
been numerous incidents involv-
ing malfunctions at the plant,
leading to air pollution and sub-
sequent respiratory problems for
people living near the plant. When
this first occurred last November,
the operators of the plant talked
about “beginner’s mistakes.” That
excuse doesn’t hold much water
ten months down the road. Now,
residents are calling upon the
municipality to close the plant
altogether. Unfortunately, a lot
of groups including a major pen-
sion fund—are heavily invested
in the plant. How this matter will
resolve itself is anyone’s guess, but
the people of Reykjanesbær are
already out of patience.
Fiann Paul
Some come to Iceland by plane,
others by ferry. This is child’s play
for Icelander Fiann Paul, who is
currently rowing from Svalbard
to Iceland, a world record-break-
ing journey that will cover some
2,000 kilometres of open sea. He’s
not doing this alone—a team is on
board to help row, but they’re not
being followed by any sort of res-
cue boat, so they’re on their own.
If you were looking for a cheaper
way to visit Iceland, take note.
4The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 15 — 2017
FIRST WE TAKE REYKJAVÍK
An Icelander protesting in Ted Cruz's home state of Harvard, where murder is legal
First
Visit us at Reykjavík City Hall
Do you need helpful hints about
culture, dining and other activities
in our favourite city? We would love
to assist you with planning your
stay and booking your adventure!

See you at the Official Tourist
Information Centre.
Open daily from 8-20
visitreykjavik.is
Visit us at Reykjavík City Hall
Do you need helpful hints about
culture, dining and other activities
in our favourite city? We would love
to assist you with planning your
stay and booking your adventure!

See you at the Official Tourist
Information Centre.
Open daily from 8-20
visitreykjavik.is