Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.07.2013, Qupperneq 5

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Lögberg-Heimskringla • 15 júlí 2013 • 5
Op-Ed
This morning in the centre of Reykjavík, outside the Parliament, the
celebrations started, as tradition
has it, with our President laying
a wreath at the other statue of
Jón Sigurðsson. The fact that
two identical statues of Jón
Sigurðsson exist, one in the
heart of Iceland's capital directly
in front of the Alþingi, the other
here outside the Legislative
Building of the capital of
Manitoba, shows the unique
and remarkable bond existing
between Manitoba, Canada and
Iceland.
This celebration on the
National Independence Day
of Iceland, Jón Sigurðsson's
birthday, here at his statue is
now a cherished tradition, a
homage to Iceland's greatest
freedom fighter whose weapons
were his knowledge of history
and logic, and the use of words.
His mighty weapon of choice
was the pen.
Today, my wife Anna and
I have been exactly two weeks
in Winnipeg and I am grateful
for this opportunity to say a
few words here. I have done
so once before during my term
as Ambassador to Canada,
a decade or so ago and it is
wonderful to be back with you
again, here in Canada.
Last winter was one of
the longest and hardest in
Northeastern Iceland in living
memory. Last fall a very harsh
and sudden snowstorm swept
over the area and thousands of
sheep were lost. When we left
for Winnipeg there was still a
lot of snow in the area. Farmers
in the Northeast and North of
Iceland will have to plough
and seed their fields again,
with the great cost that this
entails. The central government
will, however, financially
help the farmers. This episode
in Northeastern Iceland last
winter brings to mind stories
of the hardships endured by
our countrymen. The ancient
farming techniques used in
Iceland could not sustain the
increasing population in the
late 1800s so there was an
exodus to the West, mostly to
Canada but also to the USA.
Most of the many who left
Iceland were from the North,
East and the Northeast. Their
stories are rich in drama and we
retell them on many an occasion.
To Canadians of Icelandic
descent they are well known.
Last winter's farming disasters
in Northeastern Iceland, even
with all the modern technology
at hand, including exact
meteorological equipment
and other knowledge, make us
intimately sympathize with our
poor countrymen well over a
century ago when they left their
destitute motherland for the west
with nothing but their books.
Their descendants have done
them proud as hardworking and
honest citizens at all levels of
society in Canada.
It is our solemn obligation
to nurture and strengthen the
unique bonds beteen Icelandic
and Canada. The young are
the future and we should
do all we can to encourage
more exchanges. Tonight
we are going to hear and see
young Canadians of Icelandic
descent at the Winnipeg Art
Gallery; the Núna (Now)
festival in Winnipeg is already
a remarkable success and so
are many exchanges of young
artists between Iceland and
Canada; the Snorri Programs
have made possible exchange
visits of many young North
Americans of Icelandic descent
to Iceland and some young
Icelanders to North America, to
name important forward looking
work that has been developed.
We need even more.
We honour the memory of
the Icelanders who continued
to cherish and respect their old
motherland, who toiled to make
their dreams come true in a
new and different fatherland,
if not for themselves, then at
least for their children. They
shaped a shared history and
at the same time enriched our
culture and broadened Icelandic
horizons while slowly but
surely becoming energetic and
productive Canadians.
Many of the Icelandic
immigrants to America and their
descendants made heroic names
for themselves in the World
Wars, defending freedom and
democracy for all of us, some
of them making the ultimate
sacrifice. They fought for their
new fatherland and for its values
as well as their old motherland's
ancient values. We see their
pictures, Icelandic names
and stories in the two books,
Veterans of Icelandic Descent
in World War I and II. In the
latter book we also see a limited
record of those of Icelandic
descent in the Korean War and
in Vietnam. These fine books,
made possible by the IODE,
are a remarkable testament to
North American "Icelandic"
war veterans, war heroes, their
service and sacrifices. They will
never be forgotten.
All relations between
Iceland and Canada should be
seen against the backdrop of the
emigration of a significant port-
ion of the Icelandic population
to this magnificent and vast land,
but clearly Iceland and Canada
share a common vision in today's
globalized world. A vision based
on the same basic principles of
democracy, freedom, human
rights and the rule of law, to
name some fundamentals that
Jón Sigurðsson also wrote and
spoke about in the 19th century.
Our relations have matured; we
are founding partners in a great
defence alliance, NATO. We
support each other at intern-
ational organizations as diverse
as the global United Nations
and at the small Arctic Council.
Our commercial exchanges are
mutually beneficial and should
be expanded to the maximum on
the basis of the new Free Trade
Agreement. We are cooperating
in technology, for example
in the use of sustainable and
pollution free energy resources,
such as geothermal energy.
Mutual tourism is on the rise,
Icelandair will fly year round
to Toronto as of now. Many
enriching exhibitions, shows
and other cultural exchanges
take place between Iceland
and Canada every year.
One of the strengths of
Canadian society is its centres
of learning, its universities. And
a great number of Icelanders
have studied at these and then
returned to Iceland to put
theory into practice. Of course
some countrymen of mine stay
in Canada after their university
or other specialization here
and make a life for themselves
as the emigrants from Iceland
in earlier years did. In many
places these "new" Icelanders
and the "old" ones, i.e., the
descendants of those who
left Iceland in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries join
together in Íslendingafélög,
Icelanders' societies, and a
whole new cycle begins. Here
in Winnipeg we have happy
examples of the "old and
new" metaphor in the fact that
several young families came
two or three years ago after
our banking and currency
crisis and now work here and
in Gimli.
May the friendship and
cooperation between Iceland,
Manitoba and all of Canada
thrive with each generation
to come.
June 17th Address at the statue of Jón sigurðsson in Winnipeg
Hjálmar Hannesson addressing the Winnipeg June 17 gathering
Hjálmar Hannesson
Consul General of Iceland
Winnipeg, MB
Photo: Kendra JónaSSon
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