Reykjavík Grapevine - okt. 2020, Blaðsíða 6

Minister of Justice Áslaug Arna Sigurb-
jörnsdóttir was asked in Parliament by
Centre Party MP !orsteinn Sæmunds-
son what kind of supervisory capabili-
ties the government has over people
who are facing deportation from
Iceland.
Áslaug responded by floating the
idea of creating what she called a
special “deportation area” where such
people could be held and kept under
close watch, to make sure they don’t
try to save their lives by going into
hiding. The idea was not exactly warmly
received.
“Why is there a child
prison in Iceland in 2020?”
The response was as fast as it was
strong. Many pointed out that no matter
what language the minister used, what
she was describing was a prison. Criti-
cism came from opposition MPs and
human rights activists alike. !órunn
Ólafsdóttir, who has long fought for
refugee’s rights, was amongst them,
asking, “Why is there a child prison in
Iceland in 2020?”
It also bears mentioning that the
idea would appear to violate the holy
writ of Icelandic refugee policy: the
Dublin Regulation. In particular, Arti-
cle 28.1 makes this very clear, where it
states, "Member States shall not hold a
person in detention for the sole reason
that he or she is subject to the proce-
dure established by this Regulation."
Several articles of the Geneva Conven-
tion on Refugees also expressly prohibit
Áslaug’s idea.
Ruling party dismisses
idea
All eyes were on the Left-Greens, who
lead the ruling coalition and have been
criticised for being ineffectual when
it comes to protecting refugees. In
response, Left-Green MP Bjarkey Olsen
Gunnarsdóttir took to Facebook to say:
“The issue in question is, of course,
nothing more than a refugee camp or
a prison and it is not possible to set
such up on the part of the Left Green
parliamentary party. A new law would
be needed to make this a reality, and
such a bill would not pass through my
party.”
Over the years, stories about Ice-
land have appeared in interna-
tional media that have captured
everyone’s imagination, particularly
those about construction work be-
ing sabotaged—by elves! Which has
got this Brit wondering: Do Iceland-
ers really believe in elves? And do
elves o!en cause trouble, or do they
live in harmony with man? We asked
author and elf authority Páll Ásgeir
Ásgeirsson.
Several stories exist about clashes
between building projects and elves.
Work has o!en already started when
messages come from the elves to
stop. Nobody listens and then machin-
ery breaks, work’s halted and roads
have to be rerouted. Most of these sit-
uations date back 40 or 50 years and
such clashes with the elf folk rarely
happen anymore. But elves are ex-
tremely clever and o!en several steps
ahead of us; they monitor our behav-
iour and have the means of chang-
ing our decisions without conflict.
Elves like living near people, in in-
habited rural areas. Therefore, most
of the stories about elves interrupt-
ing construction happened when
roads were first being built and cit-
ies and villages were growing rap-
idly. Nowadays the elves have moved
into urban areas, finding homes in
manmade structures. A large elf
community lives in the ocean wall in
Reykjavík—I hear it’s the most popu-
lar place to live. They seek structures
they don’t have to share with humans.
Many live in Hallgrímskirkja, museums
and other public buildings. They don’t
like buildings where humans reside.
Incidents where "mould" is found and
people vacate buildings show how
elves keep humans in place, driving
us out of places they want for them-
selves. They’ve also realised that na-
tional parks and reserves are care-
fully protected, so those who don’t
want to live in cities instead make
their homes in places like "ingvellir.
ASK AN
Elf Expert
Q: Do Elves Really
Disrupt Construction?

What do you do
when you’ve tried
a food, enjoyed it,
but found that it’s
not quite Icelandic
enough?
That’s
right, you
put it in
a volcano! Well,
maybe don’t toss
your loaf of rye into
an actual volcano—
you might end up
with some well-
done toast in that
case—but burying
it by a volcanic
hot spring is close
enough. In fact,
most traditional
Icelandic rye bread
is baked that way.
The name “hver-
abrau#” literally
means “hot spring
bread,” but its oth-
er nickname “$ru-
mari” translates
to the even more
exciting “thunder
bread.” (Though
this becomes less
exciting when
you realise that it
refers not to the
awe-inspiring ele-
ments that helped
create it, but to the
flatulence that fol-
lows its excessive
consumption.)
Though most
Icelandic rye bread
is cooked in ovens
nowadays, there
are still some
bakeries that insist
nothing tastes
quite as good
as their ances-
tors’ method. The
Laugarvatn Fontana
is one such place:
dough here is
placed in a lidded
pan, cling-filmed,
and buried in
the hot sand for
exactly twenty-four
hours. The result is
dense, chewy and
sweet—a little bit
like gingerbread.
For the most tradi-
tional combination,
serve warm with
melted butter,
smoked trout and
some hard boiled
eggs. You can cook
these in the hot
spring, too, if you’re
feeling adventur-
ous and you, well...
have a hot spring
nearby. For the full
Zac Efron ‘Down to
Earth’ experience,
eat whilst wearing
a beanie and saying
“whoa!” and “awe-
some!” uncomfort-
ably o!en. IRW
Hverabrau!
Minister Floats Refu"ee
Camps, Idea Sinks
“Not possible,” says coalition MP
Words:
Andie Sophia
Fontaine

Photo:
Art Bicnick
First 6 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 08— 2020
FOOD OF ICELAND
NEWS
Áslaug Arna, pictured without her helicopter
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