Iceland review - 2019, Síða 92

90
Iceland Review
How about an old fish factory for lunch and
a run-down bus station for dinner? Treat your
taste buds at Iceland’s first street food halls.
Hlemmur Food Hall & Grandi Food Hall.
mathallir.is
Reykjavík
Food Halls
Struggling for others
One of the most recent protests in Austurvöllur square
concerns the plight of asylum seekers, their right to
humane treatment and to have their cases heard. When
Ali Al-Ameri came to Iceland from Iraq as an asylum
seeker, the reality he encountered did not match his
expectations of the country. “I was just surprised.
Everybody in Iceland is protesting. Old people, poor peo-
ple, sick people, workers. Poor people in Iceland? How
can that be? They are 350,000 and they’re not happy?”
Ali worked as a translator for international forces in
Iraq, of which Iceland was a part. The work eventually
made it too dangerous for him to continue living in his
home country, but Iceland has denied his request for asy-
lum. Ali has been participating in refugee-led protests
demanding better living conditions for asylum seekers
and due processing of their cases. Though the group has
met with representatives of the Prime Minister’s Office
and Ali himself met the Prime Minister, the government
has yet to act on any of the group’s demands, including
granting asylum seekers work permits, due process of
all asylum applications, and the closure of the iso-
lated Ásbrú refugee camp in Keflavík. Echoing Björn’s
statements, Ali says he notes a clear divide between the
government and the people. “Icelandic people are very
nice people and very helpful and stand up for our rights,
but the government does not.”
Elvis Mukoh Check, an asylum seeker from Cameroon,
has also been active in the protest actions, which included
camping overnight at Austurvöllur and a 58km march
from Keflavík to Reykjavík. He says that although the pro-
tests have yet to achieve their aims where the government
is concerned, they have definitely had an impact on the
public. “The protests we have organised have really done
a lot to inform Icelandic people about what asylum seek-
ers here are going through,” Elvis says. “Before, I had an
Icelandic friend, he didn’t even know whether there were
asylum seekers in Iceland. Now, most Icelanders know
and talk about how asylum seekers are treated. With the
help of the public we may trigger some changes.”
Ali and Elvis’ applications for asylum have both been
denied. Though they expect to be deported, they continue
to protest to support others. “I’ve lost hope for staying in
Iceland,” Ali says. “But I’m not losing hope for other peo-
ple. I have to work for others, for the young people, sick
people, people who have attempted suicide, because they
are in a really hard situation.” Elvis agrees. Though he
confesses his experience has been traumatising, he says
that other refugees’ optimism is what keeps him afloat. “I
really pray that something will be done. Even if not for us,
for other people. Some of us, we may go back, but at least
they can look into other people’s cases. When I see other
people who still live with the hope that one day it will be
better, it also gives me hope.”
The protests we
have organised
have really
done a lot to
inform Icelandic
people about
what asylum
seekers here
are going
through.