Iceland review - 2015, Page 66

64 ICELAND REVIEW
HAND OF GOD
Liechtenstein are also signatories). Some
countries, such as Germany, have previous-
ly announced that they would stop applying
the regulation on Syrian asylum seekers,
but so far the official word is that Iceland
is not considering following suit. Iceland
has often cited the Dublin Regulation as
a reason for rejecting applications. Þórir
Guðmundsson at the Red Cross told Stöð
2 on September 17 that refugees with the
same background receive different treat-
ment based on how they arrive in the
country. Those who have false documents
are put into detention or deported, while
quota refugees are welcomed. He said the
government should consider carefully not
enforcing the Dublin Regulation in the
case of refugees arriving from war zones.
RESPONDING TO CONCERNS
Recent polls show that the majority of
Icelanders support receiving refugees. In a
poll conducted by MMR in mid-September
the attitude of Icelanders toward the num-
ber of refugees from Syria to be accepted in
the next 12 months was measured. On the
whole, 88.5 percent of those who had an
opinion said they wanted to receive some
refugees. Specifically, 19.1 percent of those
who had an opinion said we should receive
up to 50 refugees, while on the other end
of the spectrum 14.8 percent said Iceland
should accept more than 2,000 refugees.
Another poll, conducted by Maskína in
mid-September, states that 56-57 percent
of respondents were enthusiastic about
Iceland accepting Syrian refugees in the
coming months, while 22 percent were
against the idea.
During recent days and weeks, some
people have questioned why more refugees
should be resettled in Iceland when there
are plenty of people, such as senior citizens
and the disabled, who already live here and
could do with more help. The Ministry of
Welfare estimates that the cost associated
with resettling one refugee in Iceland is,
on average, ISK 4-5 million (USD 31,000-
38,600) for the first year, though it varies
greatly depending on the individual’s needs.
Jovana Schally, who was part of a group
of refugees to arrive in Iceland from Serbia
in 1996, is among those arguing that we can
in fact do both: help Icelanders and help
resettle refugees in Iceland. She pointed
out that among the refugees who have been
resettled in Iceland, there are prospective
doctors, teachers, psychologists, lawyers,
social workers and politicians. In response
to the skeptics, Eygló too has highlighted
the contributions refugees potentially make
to society. “[These] are people who are
working, paying taxes towards the welfare
system so ... I think precisely that this will
strengthen Icelandic society,” she said in an
interview with Stöð 2 on August 31.
While Iceland has one of the highest
birthrates in Europe, it can benefit from
the skills, ideas and connections which
refugees and other immigrants bring. The
analysis department at the Icelandic Arion
Bank released a report in mid-September
bolstering the argument that refugees can
be good for the economy, saying that while
welcoming a large number of refugees
to Iceland would be a very extensive and
expensive project, the long-term economic
effect would be positive. The report goes
on to say that there is little to suggest that
the move would cause wages to drop either.
The report highlights that one of the
greatest challenges faced is that the arrival
of refugees would increase pressure on the
housing market, which is already stretched.
New building projects are, however, good
for the economy. The bank also stated
that there will likely be a labor shortage in
Iceland in the coming years and decades if
the country hopes to maintain economic
growth. Developments are similar across
Europe, with predictions that the continent
will be facing a full-on labor crisis by 2030
if it intends to maintain growth, and that
foreign workers will be essential.
Following a flood of anti-refugee rhet-
oric and hate speech—mostly directed
at Muslims—coming from Icelanders,
but mostly from people abroad on ‘Kæra
Eygló,’ Bryndís acknowledged that there
are problems, including poverty, here in
Iceland and that people should discuss
them. “Of course we have to discuss best
practices, priorities and problems here at
home.” She argued, however, that pover-
ty exists in every country and that these
problems do not mean that Iceland cannot
receive refugees. Despite the flood of neg-
ative comments, she said that the overall
discussion on the site has shown that there
are many more positive voices out there
than negative ones. She asked people to
recognize that refugees are people like the
rest of us, writing on the Facebook cam-
paign page: “Refugees are human resourc-
es, experience and skills. Refugees are our
future spouses, best friends, our next soul
mate, the drummer in our children’s band,
our next colleague, Miss Iceland 2022, the
carpenter who finally fixes our bathroom,
the chef in the cafeteria, the fireman, the
hacker and the television host. People who
we’ll never be able to say to: ‘Your life is
worth less than mine.’” *

REFUGEES