Reykjavík Grapevine - sep. 2021, Blaðsíða 2

First 06: KSÍ Cover-up
06: Too Few Immigrants
07: Weed Are Not Fish
08: Elections!
11: Iceland's Dark Past
In the Holocaust
24: Anna Rún Rules
Immigrants Are Breaking
Through In Icelandic Politics
We’ve been noticing something important about Icelandic
politics here at the Reykjavík Grapevine. It’s no small thing,
though it’s not been reported on by bigger media outlets.
Immigrants, or second-generation immigrants, are becom-
ing much more visible in Icelandic politics than just 10 years
ago.
Now, this is important for numerous reasons. First of all,
immigrants make up 15.2% of Iceland’s population, accord-
ing to the 2020 figures from Statistics Iceland. This means
that there are just shy of 60,000 immigrants in Iceland with
various backgrounds and needs—that’s roughly half the
population of Reykjavík or the entire populations of Iceland’s
2nd and the 3rd biggest towns combined. Still, there are few,
if any, giving a voice to this massive group in our democracy.
This seems to be changing rapidly. We saw a sharp increase
in immigrant candidates in the last municipal elections, as
we covered in 2018. Although we were worried at the time
it was just a fluke, the trend has materialised again among
candidates for Iceland’s parliamentary elections, which will
be held on September 25th—read all about it in our elections
feature on page 8.
Now, to be clear, this is not a big win for diversity. Most of
the candidates that are not born in Iceland, or from Icelandic
families, are not high enough on their respective parties’
lists to win a seat in Al!ingi. But there is one exception:
Lenya Rún Taha Karim, who is the third on the Pirate Party’s
list for the Reykjavík North district. The Pirates have three
elected in that district now, so there seems to be a fairly good
chance that a candidate of Kurdish descent could be elected
to the Icelandic parliament for the first time.
Immigrants in Iceland have the same needs as any
Icelander. They rely on health care, the education system and
they are active participants in the Icelandic economy. But
most immigrants face many more obstacles than Iceland-
ers, everything from racism to language barriers, to just
plain selectiveness when it comes to company owners hiring
Iceland-born applicants over immigrants. Of course, this list
is not exhaustive.
There's no doubt in our minds that these voices need to be
heard. But keep in mind, immigrants need to take the stage
and grab that microphone to be heard—it’s not like anyone
in the ruling coalition is going to give it up easily. And immi-
grants have the power to take it with those strong numbers.
Now is the time..

Valur Grettisson
Editor-in-chief
John Pearson is a
Reykjavík resident
who combines journa-
ism with profes-
sional backgrounds
in music, broadcast-
ing, scuba diving,
engineering and
underwater photogra-
phy. He loves puns,
alliteration and lists
that have three things
in them.
Hannah Jane Cohen is
based out of Iceland
by way of New York.
She's known for her
love of Willa Ford,
David Foster Wallace,
and other such
"intellectuals." Her
visionary work is
known for expand-
ing the definitions of
emotion, introspec-
tion, and above all
else, taste. Hannah is
also the current Drag
King of Iceland, HANS.
Poll! is a hard-work-
ing journalist by day
and an enthusiastic
ball-catcher by
night. A four-year-old
dachshund mix with
an IQ of a five-year-
old human, Poll! has
been the o"cial
Chief Of Morale at
the Grapevine for
eight months and is
a regular contribu-
tor to the Grape-
vine Newscast on
YouTube. Woof.
Desirai Thompson
is an American
graduate who made
her second home in
Sweden before pick-
ing up and moving
to Iceland. Having
studied psychology
and human rights,
she’s now flexing her
journalistic muscle
at the Grapevine. She
spends her spare
time secretly watch-
ing reality TV and
dreaming of getting
a dog.
Catharine Fulton is a
writer and editor who
has been involved
with the Grapevine
for many years, from
being our online
news editor to sta#
journalist. She is
now our beloved
copywriter. Outside
of dealing with our
writers turning in
work late, she also
has two extremely
cute kids.
Erik Pomrenke
collects graduate
degrees and is cur-
rently studying litera-
ture and historical
linguistics at HI. His
MA thesis is probably
going to be about
law and memory,
but it changes every
week. In his spare
time, he likes to
memorize inflection
paradigms and chill
to death industrial
and harsh noise.
Andie Sophia Fontaine
has lived in Iceland
since 1999 and has
been reporting since
2003. They were the
first foreign-born
member of the
Icelandic Parliament,
an experience they
recommend for
anyone who wants
to experience a
workplace where
colleagues work tire-
lessly to undermine
each other.
Reetta Huhta is a
Finnish student who
moved to Iceland
to become an au
pair, and decided
to never fully leave
the country. She
aspires to become a
journalist, and what
would be a better
place to start than
Grapevine? You can
probably spot her at
Ka" Vest, where she
spends most of her
free time.
Valur Grettisson is
an award-winning
journalist, author
and playwright. He
has been writing for
Icelandic media since
2005. He was also a
theatre critic and
one of the hosts of
the cultural program,
'Djöflaeyjan' on RÚV.
Valur is not to be
confused with the
dreadful football club
that bears the same
name.
20: Math! At The Museum
22: RIFF Is On
28: Selva Saves Us
COVER ART:
Photo by Art Bicnick.
On the cover: Six of the
new faces running for
Parlliament later this
month
EDITORIAL
Lenya
Rún Taha
Karim
The Pirate
Party
ARTISAN BAKERY
& COFFEE HOUSE
OPEN EVERYDAY 6.30 - 21.00
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