Iceland review - 2019, Qupperneq 91

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Iceland Review
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Reykjavík
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Krauma-200x300mm-bleed2.pdf 1 3/27/2018 2:35:55 PM
Small protest, small pond
There are advantages and disadvantages to protesting in a coun-
try of few, says Stefán. On the bright side, “You feel like you can
make a difference as an individual.” As an example, Stefán points
to Sveinn Rúnar Hauksson, a doctor who passionately headed the
Iceland-Palestine Association for decades. The organisation suc-
ceeded in bringing a once-marginal issue into the political spot-
light, eventually leading Iceland to be the first Western European
country to express its support for Palestinian independence.
“That’s an example of what you can do in a small country. You can
just see that with enough endurance, you have an impact. But, of
course, in the big picture, it will not really matter whether Iceland
supports Palestine. That’s the obvious disadvantage. At the
end of the day, you matter very little in the global context. Your
actions are largely symbolic.”
Yet that’s largely the nature of activism, says Stefán. “It’s very
rarely the case that in the grassroots struggle you can just find
a ‘moment of victory.’ Much more often the impacts are indirect
and it’s difficult to measure them.”

Protesters are not indifferent
Björn says it’s significant that the public has chosen, time and again,
to protest at Austurvöllur in front of Iceland’s Parliament. “It’s the
oldest and most respected institution of the nation, founded in 930,
and by protesting there, people are saying that they are absolutely
not indifferent about it. People are both expressing distrust in the
Parliament and encouraging it at the same time.”
“There are many reasons to worry about democracy today.
But what is positive is that there is a growing number of people in
the country, not just in universities or government institutions,
who are reflecting on how democracy should be and how it could
work best. And that’s a good thing: democracy needs to be under
constant review.” But, Björn says: “We have to do more than pro-
test. We need to put people in power or change the system so that
it reflects this demand, this necessity to change society.”
“I have no particular belief that Iceland has a special role in
the history of the world, nevertheless we saw after the banking
collapse that many looked to Iceland and followed its reactions
closely.” He points to Greta Thunberg as an example of an
individual who has made a global impact. Finally, he says, radical
change “is no horrible fate, rather quite the opposite; it could
lead to a better life for everyone.”
It’s very rarely
the case that in
the grassroots
struggle you
can just find
a ‘moment of
victory.’ Much
more often the
impacts are
indirect and
it’s difficult to
measure them.