Iceland review - 2004, Side 43

fects Icelanders, and imany young Icelanders actively protested the
bill. Fuelled by youthful idealism, groups opposed to the immigra-
tion bill joined forces and presented 3500 signatures to Parliament
while debate over the legislation was underway.
According to Knútsson, who was once a self-described anti-war prot-
ester back in the 60s, it was unprecedented to have across-the-board
participation from the youth movements of all the political parties.
“It was one positive to come out of this ugly matter.“
For Knútsson, the support from young Icelanders was easy to explain.
“Because the law could affect their lives if they fell in love with a
foreigner.“
The protests seemed to make a difference. When the bill was first
proposed to Parliament, the legislation went even further than the
24-year-old rule. A provision in one of the articles stipulated that a
marriage would be considered fake if the couple had not been liv-
ing together before marriage; if the couple did not understand
each other’s mother tongue; if there was a big age difference; and
if a couple didn’t know much about their mate’s family history.
Also, the police could enter a person’s home without a warrant.
Furthermore, DNA testing had been proposed not when suitable
papers couldn’t be produced, but at the whim of the Immigration
Office.
But thanks to the various interest groups that testified before the
Parliament’s general committee, these aspects of the bill were
revised. Now, the four criteria used to deem a marriage false were
removed. As mentioned earlier, police must have a warrant to ent-
er a couple’s home, DNA tests can only be ordered if documentation
is not available. Plus, anyone denied a residence permit based on
the new legislation can have their day in court.
“We were happy that we were listened to and the general commit-
tee considered our opinion,“ says Tatjana Latinovic, a 37-year-old
from the former Yugoslavia who is married to an Icelander, and has
been living here for ten years.
Latinovic likes to point out that when she married neither her nor
her husband spoke each other’s language, and she knew very little
about her husband’s family history. She also says that while the
interests of foreigners were taken into account, portions of the bill
still are not acceptable.
“I think it goes too far in one aspect. You must be older than 24 to
get a permit based on marriage. It doesn’t serve any purpose.“
Absorbing Immigrants
Thitinat is a 22-year-old from Thailand who’s been living in Iceland
for over seven years. At the Thai restaurant where he works, he eas-
ily switches from Icelandic to Thai to English, depending upon the
customer.
“Everything is easy to live here,“ he says, responding to why he likes
living in Iceland.
He has a point. Despite the harsh winters, the bleak weather, life in
Iceland has its benefits - one of the highest standards of living in the
world. Couple this high standard of living with Iceland’s generous
social benefits, and it’s not a bad destination for those wanting to
improve their plight. Thus, there are interested immigrants.
And they seem to be welcome. Despite the fact that Icelanders are
hyper-protective of their notion of purity, immigrants like Thitinat
who, for simplicity, goes by the Icelandic name of Nói, are treated
with respect. (In the past, immigrants had to take on an Icelandic
name before becoming Icelandic citizens.)
Of course there are instances of racism. Iceland is like any other
country. I could list off the racist slights and slurs I hear every day,
but I could also point out the many Icelanders who go out of their
way to help immigrants assimilate.
“It is a positive aspect of Icelandic society that we appeal to immi-
grants. We have a clear and strong cultural and national identity
and can absorb foreign influx in the years to come as we have done
until now,“ writes Bjarnason.
But it is this strong national identity that is going to cause Iceland
trouble in the years to come. Sure, Icelanders have no problem with
immigrants like Thitinat. At the moment, most immigrants work in
ethnic restaurants or in fish factories, jobs that Icelandic youth have
long since abandoned.
The multicultural mix will become more combustible when the chil-
dren of people like Thitinat come of age, desiring all the same lux-
uries as every other Icelander, shunning the service industry for
high-paying jobs at investment companies and law firms. Only when
these children of immigrants begin to compete against Icelanders
for so-called white-collar jobs will we truly discover the nation´s
level of tolerance.
Edward Weinman is a staff writer.
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