Iceland review - 2012, Qupperneq 31

ICELAND REVIEW 29
sweet teeth
"Kókosbolla"
among some of the children in our midst,” continued the
school nurse, a woman by the name of Sigrún Björnsdóttir.
She said that the children were often poorly dressed, “some
of them do not have outdoor clothing so teachers and staff
members often bring them clothes that their own children
have outgrown.” She stated that the parents were often low-
wage earners and lived in second-rate housing. “To experi-
ence a shortage in all areas sets a permanent mark on the
children.” This was during the boom period, when pension
funds began cutting back on benefits to people with disabili-
ties while the government decided to allow them to increase
their income by working. Something went amiss because
the following year persons with disabilities had to repay the
department of social insurance 20,000 ISK per month. The
Family Support Organization (Fjölskylduhjálpin) distributed
food and Christmas presents to the poor but Davíð Oddsson,
who was then Prime Minister, said that line-ups appeared
wherever something could be had for nothing. At that time,
the media did not consider reports about the living standards
of the poor to be a newsworthy issue, unless some rich big
shot dressed up as Santa Claus and gave to the poor in the
presence of photographers. Rather, the tales told were of dar-
ing financiers, of their chivalric castles of cards and of their
aeroplanes and yachts. Poverty has increased since the crash.
Those who were in it before are still there, but adding to their
group are those who have lost their jobs, those so indebted
that they fail to make ends meet and even people who were
wealthy but lost everything. That which does not appear in
adults can be seen in the children. At the same time as the
welfare system is slashed, some members of Parliament want
to build a harbour for a decommissioned aluminium smelter
and expend seven hundred million crowns in the process, but
it is out of the question to raise the price of energy for big
industry, change the fisheries’ quota system or challenge the
holding companies of the wealthy. The government and its
supporters understand the problem but lack solutions and a
change of government would affect little change, except for
the worse. 
Who needs coal when
you have fire?
Landsvirkjun is among Europe’s leading producers of energy from
renewable sources. This summer, three of our power stations are
open to the public. Opening hours and route information at
www.landsvirkjun.com/visitors
Landsvirkjun is Iceland’s largest
producer of renewable energy www.landsvirkjun.com