Iceland review - 2019, Page 40

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Iceland Review
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because I find it fantastic the way she puts it. When I
interviewed her, she had already been in Iceland for
17 years, and yet she told me ‘I’m only temporarily
here.’ It illustrates that people are not making the
decision to stay, yet still they are living here. She’s
spent half of her life in Iceland, but she’s still not
decided.”
If at one time migration consisted of leaving one
country, settling in another, and starting a slow pro-
cess of integrating, today the reality is much more
complicated. Air travel and improved communica-
tion have made it much easier for migrants to make
multiple moves or split their time between coun-
tries. Jobs and labour markets also cross borders so
that Poles in Iceland aren’t necessarily encouraged
to put down roots. “Many come as posted workers
or workers through staffing agencies, which don’t
create an environment for people that encourages
them to settle. Some people choose to do it, but they
are still working in these Polish circles or migrant
circles so they don’t maybe interact with Icelanders
very much.”
It’s not only Polish people in Iceland: many
migrants across the world are facing this fluid reality.
“If we think about contemporary migration as part of
the transnational labour market, often the mobility
is organised in such a way that it doesn’t encourage
people to settle. It imposes this transnational living.
I find in this kind of situation, it’s problematic to talk
about integration,” says Anna.
“Icelanders are talking about integration in
terms of participation in society, but it’s only a
minority that participates in this way.” This is
largely because the local community doesn’t create
spaces for immigrants to contribute. Yet, Anna says,
it’s difficult to determine what’s best for a migrant
community. “Is it a goal of integration to make immi-
grants mirror the things that Icelanders are doing?”
More interaction, more inclusion
While there may be little infrastructure that
encourages immigrant communities to participate
in Icelandic society, some Poles, like Tomasz, are cre-
ating it themselves. Tomasz chairs ProjektPolska,
an organisation which he co-founded with friends in
2012. While previous groups within the Polish com-
munity in Iceland focused on supporting its mem-
bers, Tomasz says that’s not what ProjektPolska had
in mind. “We wanted to look outside our community,
reach out to Icelandic people and other foreign-
ers, and even people back in Poland - the wider the
better. Our message was very simple: more diversity
and inclusion.” Since its founding, ProjektPolska has
aimed to organise events that spark dialogue and
challenge the prevailing image of multiculturalism.
“We collaborated with one of the biggest Polish
newspapers, Metro, to make a special issue in
Icelandic that was all about Poland. We distributed
that in the streets. We made a Polish living library:
we rented a couch, put it in Kringlan shopping mall,
and invited people to chat with Poles. We did a com-
petition to design an Icelandic sweater with a Polish
cultural motif. We wanted to think outside the box
and do things that promote culture but in a differ-
ent way. Young, creative, hip - not just something to
display in a museum.”
Avoiding the typical trappings of cultural events
was also a way to counteract Poland’s growing
nationalist movement, Tomasz says. “Our inde-
pendence was a very bloody event. So to celebrate
our Independence Day, instead of doing something
like waving a flag, we organised a small event to
encourage blood donation to the local blood bank by
immigrants.”
Giving blood was just another way for
ProjektPolska’s organisers to spread their mes-
sage: that immigrants have a desire to contribute to
Icelandic society. “We are here as Polish people, we
are not moving anywhere, and we want to contrib-
ute. We want to do whatever it takes to make Iceland
prosper, to make it more inclusive and open.”
Talking together
When it comes to inclusivity and openness, Iceland
has a long way to go. Though events celebrating
diversity exist, like Reykjavík’s annual Multicultural
Day, they are missing the mark, according to
Tomasz. “Multicultural Day was based around this
parade and a food festival. It’s colourful and people
dance. Everyone has a good time, but then they go
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