Questo brano può contene-

re 75-125 parole.

Il titolo è un elemento im-portante del notiziario e deve essere valutato con

attenzione.

Deve infatti rappresentare in modo conciso il contenu-to del brano e attirare l'at-tenzione dei lettori. Creare il titolo prima di scrivere il testo. In questo modo sarà

UNA

June 2014

Magazine

2

Editorial Notes Reykjavik, the city to be? Between the world of myth and elves Selling the nature Living in the streets of Reykjavik

Index

04 06 08 10 16

3

Sex, drugs and marginal groups Minorities in Iceland Photography in Reykjavik Credits

Index

18 20 28 32

4

Editorial Notes

5

The previous release of UNA magazine in Eskifjor-

dur was successful in many different ways. At the

same time it covers parts of local culture but it also

offers guidelines for spending your free time in the

East. Most importantly, the magazine was published

with the close cooperation from our volunteers who

made the effort for all those who will come after

them.

In this edition however, we have turned the focus

back to Reykjavik. With the volunteers being inde-

pendent, hard working, professional and in general

outstanding we can proudly say that this time UNA

magazine will be published as a double. The first

part has a more serious note, as it covers social

problems, minorities, youth and their dreams and

similar topics. The second part has a lighter tone

and it is mostly about Worldwide friends and all the

funny stuff that is going on in the White house. I

hope both will create a pleasant experience for the

reader.

Jaka

5

6

Indi (19) is an Art Student of Myndlistasko-linn I Reykjavik, she doesn`t know exactly what she wants to do in the future, but she

wants to leave Iceland to live at a sunny place with a beach.

Reykjavik is full of young people. The city is very small, but still it has a wild night life and possibilities for high education. We asked young people on the streets in Reykjavik about their future plans and expectations.

1. What do you do? 2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Kristin Halldora Halldor-sdottir (23) studies Anthro-

pology in Reykjavik and is going to make an exchange

year in Utah. She wants to work in the economic sector in Iceland but before that

Kirtsin want to go on a world tour with Herdis. Herdis Sveinbjörnsdottir

(22) right now works in a nursing home and is not

quite sure what she will study but later definitely wants to work in Iceland

with children. Before that she wants to go on a world

Reykjavik, the city to be?

Hjördis (28) is the director of a Museum in Reykjavik. Original she`s from Snæfellsness but lives now in Reykjavik. She wants to stay in Iceland and continue working here.

By Anni and Julia

6

7

Aldis (24) is a fashion design student from Reykjavik. In a few years she wants to have her own brand and live

Hjálmfridur Bríet (16) and Hanna Lind

(16) attend Märta School in Reykjavik.

In five years Bríet would like to study at a university. Lind

would like to move to Western Europe, maybe to Germany

or Denmark.

Styrmir (18) and Ingolfur (18) study history in

Reykjavik. Both want to go abroad to study Art

and later they

want to come back to Ice-land to live

there.

Jóna Berglinf Stefán-

sdóttir (25) studies te-

xtiles in Myndlistaskó-

linn in Reykjavik.. She

has applied for an in-

ternship in a Finnish

textile design company called Muovo. In the

future she would like

to live in Finland or

Canada.

Anita (28) studies communication and

public relations and works at a hostel.

Ester (21) also works at a hostel. They would both

want to move abro-ad in the future,

maybe to Denmark.

Sindri Freyr (19) is a student.

He doesn't know what he will do in five years, but most li-

kely he will stay in Reykjavik.

7

8

With its bizarrely shaped lava fields,

extraordinary natural wonders and wild and mystical land-

scapes, Iceland al-most seems to be torn out of the pages

of a fairy-tale book. This fascinat ing country, with just

over 300 000 inhabi-tants, seems to be a very small nation,

but according to the Icelandic medieval

Sagas and Eddur these are not the only known inhabi-

tants of the Nordic Island. As they tell it´s also the home of

Huldufólk (hidden peop le ) , e lves, dwarfs, fairies and a

lot of other nature spirits. Because the Ice-

landic language has remained almost un-changed over centu-

ries, Icelanders are still able to read these thousand year

old writings without any problems. And

still until today the narratives of friend-ship and encounter

between human, elves and hidden people exist and are

told to the Icelandic children since early childhood.

During the centuries these numerous sto-

ries not only influ-enced and affected the Icelandic way of

thinking and acting towards themselves

and their surround-i n g s , i t a l s o strengthen the cohe-

sion of the Icelandic culture.

Current surveys

show that even to-day more than 80% of Icelanders do be-

lieve in a possible existence of elves. Also building plans of

roads are still re-routed or redesigned to avoid the distur-

bance or destruction of rocks and moun-

tains where elves and trolls are said to live.

Surprised by this re-sult I want to find

out what this is all

about, so I decide to take a closer look at this mystical world

by attending a crash course in the world`s only Elfschool lo-

cated at the west of Reykjavik.

The headmaster Magnus H. Skar-

phedinsson who studied history at the University of Iceland,

founded the school 22 years ago. Since he was 11 years old

and he heard is grandma talking

about the elves and their stories he was passionately fasci-

nated by this sub-ject. Later he turned his passion into his

job. Now after more than 30 years of in-tense research he

spoke personally with more than 700 testimonies in over

43 countries about their encounters and experience with

elves, hidden people and other nature be-ings.

By now more than 8000 people from all

over the world have visited the Elfschool. Excited as well as

curious I arrive at the Elfschool and af-ter a warm welcome

I get my own little Studybook of Ice-landic fairytales and

enter into the class-room which appears to be a little cozy liv-

ing room with hun-dreds of books and lots of little figures

and statues of dwarfs, witches,

trolls elves and other weird looking crea-tures all around the

walls. The

Between the world of myth and elves --

Iceland a land of fairy-tales

9

other 8 participants appear to be mostly

Canadians aged be-tween 40-70. The mo-

tives for the visit in the Elfschool differ a lot. For some it´s

“just another story to be told “about their

incredible Iceland vacation, others only come to satisfy their

nagging wives and others again are truly persuaded that this

kind of magical crea-tures exist and want to learn more about

them. During the first part

of the course Mag-nus, explains us the differences between

the several elf types and the other hidden beings. He also tells

us about several re-ports of Icelandic

witnesses who have had an personal ex-perience with Elves

and hidden people and who came to him to tell their sto-

ries. Magnus emphasizes

very seriously that during his carefully conducted interviews

with the testimonies he sees himself as a neutral scientist, but

contrary to normal scientist he beliefs in

his witnesses. In the little break there is provided cof-

fee and cake for all

students and a vivid discussion about the

supernatural beings raises, in which all varying viewpoints

are hold. I get to know my classmates better and

Glory an 50 year old accountant from Que-

bec tells me about her own special meeting

with a leprechaun in England and her house where she has

established a little room just for fairies. The vibe is very nice,

but it gets obvious that there is a big di-

versity between the participants opinions about elves and other

supernatural things.

After the break Mag-nus tells us maybe

the most surprising thing of the day. Also if he is

absolutely convinced that elves and other nature beings exist he

himself has actually never seen one He

explains us that some people are more psy-

chic and more sensi-tive for that kind of experience than oth-

ers. During the child-hood everybody has a phase in which one is

more sensible for such experiences, but

the most people loose their sensibility after that phase. But with

the help of a psychic

friend he was at least able to find out

why the elves and hidden people never showed themselves

to him and invited him into their world.

“They are afraid that I would ask to many

questions, and that I would never leave again ...” he says.

With an arch smile on his face he adds a few seconds later

“and that would probably be true “

To make sure that no one will forget this unique experi-

ence at the end eve-rybody gets his own Diploma in “ Elfs-

and Hidden people research “ that con-firms that one has

finished the course. With some very in-

sightful new knowl-edge and very proud of myself and my

new received di-ploma I leave the Elfschool and I won-

der, in a world, where plenty of peo-ple believe in an in-

visible god up in heaven who send his son, born by a

virgin, down to earth to fulfill wonders and who rose from

the dead after three days…, is it really

that crazy to believe in elves?

Julia

10

Reykjavik, May 2014. Having a walk in the city,

we’re amazed by the sur-rounding sea, but also pitiful about the amount

of ongoing construction works. There is a vast

ocean on the left side, but as soon as you turn around, there are plenty

of building sites. The rea-son why so many tourists come to Iceland is to see

the pure nature but those constructions, which are

mostly supposed to be for tourists, will actually func-tion against them.

A new popularity Iceland had some severe

challenges to overcome, like the 2008 economic

crisis and 2010 eruption

of Eyjafjallajökull. How-ever, it was able to re-

cover quickly, partly be-cause of the increasing tourism due to the cur-

rency devaluation. The country became slowly a

tourist destination thanks to the new affordable prices and the amount of

tourists skyrocketed. The number of expected visi-tors this summer will

probably increase by 15 percent compared to

2013 and reach one mil-lion, which means six times more tourists than

Icelanders. It was found that these

rapidly increased tourists

are visiting similar regions

of Iceland. Many tourists

tend to stay in Reykjavik

as a base and have excur-

sions to other areas. This

means that the nature of

these regions is suddenly

enduring millions of foot-

steps. Such a sudden

change can be very harm-

ful, especially to a fragile

region like the highlands.

The reason why only few

areas are so popular

among tourists is because

the others don’t offer

enough infrastructures or

facilities for tourists.

Clara , Yunjin & Rosanne

Selling the Nature

11

12

To verify our first impressions about the situation of sustain-able tourism in Reykjavik, we decided to get in touch with some Icelanders who are con-cerned with this topic. We’ve got an interview with the man-aging director of Landvernd and with the young members of the Left-Green Movement. Afterwards, we also asked Ice-landic citizens for their opin-ions. Lack of research The non-governmental asso-ciation Landvernd works on environmental issues in gen-eral. Regarding tourism, it fo-cuses mainly on the influence on the nature in the country-

side. Accord-ing to its managing director “the nature in dif-ferent areas can manage the in-creased

amount of visitors differ-ently, that has to be consid-ered as the main point”. This means that some places can’t deal with visitors with-out being destroyed because of the fragility of their eco-systems. So there’s a need of general restrictions. In other spots, the number of people going there only needs to be regulated, but there’s still a lack of re-search about which land-scape is able to tolerate how much traffic. The best solu-tion would be to spread the tourist spots. “We have to take a map of the country and paint the different areas according to their capacity

to manage with a huge number of visitors”. Then, it will be pos-sible to decide which areas have to be closed to public and in which ones the government has to develop a better infra-structure. Infrastructure for nature protection However, as the increased number of tourists in Iceland can’t be denied, building infra-structure actually helps to pro-tect landscapes. On the one hand a further developed sys-tem of roads and paths can help to spread the incoming tourists. Currently there are places, which tend to be too

Sustainable Tourism: Marketing Untouched Nature

13

crowded like the “Golden Cir-cle” and suffer from the dis-proportionate exposure and others which haven’t been dis-covered by the tourist industry yet, although they’re not that vulnerable and quite interest-ing to see. On the other hand the infrastructure in popular places needs to be improved to limit the damages caused by visitors, e.g. if there’s an official path, probably people won’t walk everywhere and the rest of the area can be saved. As the landscape is the main reason for tourists to go to Iceland, its protection is also of economic importance, or how our interlocutor framed it “We are selling na-ture, that means we need to protect it.” Compromise between profit and conservation The members of Vinstri Græn, the Icelandic governmental green-left party, agree with him in that point and empha-size the question about the

how-to. “Marketing untouched nature is a contradiction in itself”, there’s a need of com-pounding between total isola-tion and commercial exploita-tion. Further the VG members

we spoke to, concur with the fact that the infrastructure has to be adjusted to the increas-ing dimension of tourism to avoid greater damage and preserve the diversity of land-scapes. Reducing it on a few famous places doesn’t meet Iceland’s singularity. But there are also other points where the Icelandic tourism could be more sustainable, e.g. the transportation. Most tourists use huge excursion busses, which consume lots of fuel although there’s a public bus system, but it’s just not that much promoted. Seeing Ice-land’s nature as a common good, the VG claims that tour-ists should pay a fee to the national government, not to private landowners, to com-pensate construction and renovation costs. As a way to pursue this aim, they name a “night fee” of about 2% which could be added automatically on the hotel prices. Citizens willing to share their country Regarding tourism in Reykja-vik in particular, the members’ attitude towards the visitors is very positive, “it gives the city the colour [they] have been missing”. But apart from the enriching intercultural experi-ence, there are still problems to solve. The government has to face the challenge of mak-ing Reykjavik a good city to live in, not only the starting point for tourist excursions. In this context the increasing number of hotels and tourist shops in the most central ar-eas downtown has contra-productive effects, not only for the inhabitants, but also for Reykjavik as a city which is worth visiting, “maybe you are destroying something that

tourists are coming to see, just to let them sleep”. On the other hand there are already alternatives developing, e.g. as the main street Laugavegur becomes more and more tour-istic, the parallel running Hverfisgata blooms, there is an increasing number of new shops or cafés. Generally, the VG members argue for a broader use of the city as a whole, while the downtown becomes progressively dense, the rest of the city offers quite a lot of space. It is quite amazing with how much kindness everyone con-sented to talk to us and to see how positive the approach to tourists is in general. Although our survey can’t be seen as representative, there was a clearly favourable tendency. Icelandic people in the streets were all willing to share their country and don’t see any problem in the huge number of tourists. The main reasons passers-by brought in, were the additional vivacity, which visitors bring to a sparsely populated place like Iceland and the financial gains. Ac-cording to the members of the Left-green movement, every-one is willing to give the tour-ists the experience they came for. “They know that it’s good for our economy. Everyone is nice to tourists – come let’s party and then jump into the sea!” Clara , Yunjin & Rosanne

l

a

r

a

J

u

14

Experiencing a huge tourist boom, Iceland’s future has never been so unsure and is in the center of every debate. Every single agency is invest-ing in tour operators or real estate business and numerous hotels have been built in Reyk-javik. What if all these new infrastructures in the tourist areas and in the center were empty in a few years? What if Iceland was not that trendy anymore, and what if the tour-ist agency found another fash-ionable country they can rec-ommend to their clients? The country is going to face many issues during the coming years. An endless popularity The citizens and the politicians don’t seem to think that Reyk-javik will lose its fame soon. One of the reasons is, that the city organizes some festivals during the year (such as the

International Film Festival, the Arts Festival in May, etc.). Foreigners who are coming for that kind of events are cer-tainly going to

take a tour to the main in-teresting places on the is-land. And even if the num-ber of visitors is maybe go-ing to decrease in a few years, there will still be some people willing to dis-cover the beautiful land-scapes around the city. Moreover, the prices should not become as high as be-fore the crisis and there is diverse audience coming here for numerous reasons. “We have here all kind of tourists all year.” This is why Iceland is supposed to stay a well-known destination now that it has been discov-ered. Charging the tourists Naturally, the infrastructures that have been built will have to be maintained for the future visitors. When no one pays to go on tourist tours anymore, it will be

hard for the government to start charging the citizens to look after empty tourist areas. This is the reason why the main discussion currently is about how to charge tourists. Should they just put some boxes in the main visited ar-eas, hoping that clients are generous enough to give a few kronas? Or should every single foreigner pay a fee when he leaves the country? Lots of ideas are on the table and one of them has to be chosen. “This is our gold, it’s our na-ture, we have to protect that and we need money to do that” According to the inter-views, the government legally has to use this money to build new infrastructures in these areas. Furthermore, there is a serious need to create new laws for the landowners, who can, nowadays, do what they want with the money they are earning with tourists. So far, they are not under obligation to use this money to renovate the tourist areas. “The govern-ment is against the fact that landowners are making people pay, but it is because they don’t get the share of it”. The state will soon have to vote to decide how to establish new taxes. Educate tourists and citi-zens Another future issue is the amelioration of education and information. The newcomers in Iceland often lack of time to inquire about the country and about the consequences re-lated to their arrival. “A few days before they leave, they just google “visit Iceland” and find the Golden Circle tour” Usually, they chose to visit only well-known areas and go on guided tours. An in-

“Responsible is possible”

15

creasing information in the tourist offices, for example, would help them to discover new places. It was interesting to see that most employees in the tourist offices are willing to promote tourism in some un-known areas. Moreover, for-eigners are usually not aware of the public bus systems in the country which is really effi-cient and friendlier to the envi-ronment than excursion bus-ses. Another lack of information is concerning the citizens’ aware-ness. When they have been asked for their opinions about the consequences of the in-creasing tourism in Iceland and Reykjavik, they never seemed to be that much in-formed about the environ-mental crisis that is taking place in Iceland. The most common answer was “You know, it is a big country and we are only a few people here, there is enough space for eve-

ryone”. To avoid this igno-rance, the government, in col-laboration with the Landvernd association, is working on a program called “Eco-Schools”, which take place in more than 210 establishments in the country, from kindergarten to university. Programs such as “Eco-Schools” are organized to provide a simple framework to help make sustainability an integral part of school life.

Marketing “Untouched-nature” Generally speaking, the situa-

tion doesn’t seem so alarming

according to the politicians and

the citizens. However, environ-

mental associations appear to

be more concerned. Tourism is

in the center of every debate

nowadays and hopefully the

state will chose an option that

will continue to promote tour-

ism and at the same time pre-

serve their natural gold. “You

know, I think responsible is

possible”. Obviously, in Iceland

or in any other country, opting

for a marketing of “untouched

nature” is a contradiction in

itself … and most of the people

working in the tourism sector

are naturally more willing to

sacrifice the nature to gain

more money. In a country

such as Iceland, no one has

the impression that these huge

natural areas would suffer be-

cause of a few tourists taking

pictures, but it is impossible

for an ecosystem not to be af-

fected by such a change.

Clara , Yunjin & Rosanne

16

The Salvation Army associa-

tion supports people in need.

It is an international Church

movement that currently

works in over 120 countries.

In Iceland their social work is

directed to support people in

need or in difficult situation.

The day shelter is a comfort-

able house next to the harbor.

Some men are relaxing or

sleeping on the couch. Some

are watching TV. About seven

people are sitting around ta-

bles with a cup of coffee and

cakes. Here is the workplace

of Rannvá Olsen who man-

ages the shelter. An interview

about the social problems and

the challenges for homeless

people in Reykjavik.

Can you describe the situation of

homeless people today and devel-

opment in the last years?

After the crisis in 2008, many peo-

ple lost their jobs and ended in the

street. It increased and changed

very much. In 2007, the average

was about 15 clients per day. In

January 2014, there are about 28

people who come here every day.

In Reykjavik, there are about 200

people who are categorized as

homeless. In 2007, there were

many alcoholics in the age of 40,

50, 60 years. 2010, there were

more people using tablets and nar-

cotics. The number of foreigners

seeking shelter in Reykjavík has

increased rapidly. One third of

homeless people are immi-

grants, a majority from Poland.

What is the function of the

day shelter in Reykjavik?

The shelter opened in 2007. It

is an institution of the Salva-

tion Army, a place where peo-

ple can come to have a shower,

get warm nutrition. They sleep

on the sofa, ask for food. We

prepare warm food and take

care of the facilities to allow

the visitors of the shelter to

rest, talk and relax. Here, they

get basic things that people

need to survive.

This shelter is just for men.

Living in the streets of Reykjavik

Iceland is a wealthy nation with a strong social system but still homeless people are a part

of the Icelandic society. Homelessness is not a problem, drugs are not a problem. The ac-

curate number is hard to tell. In Iceland, about 200 people between the age of 18 and 75

are officially registered as homeless. Around one quarter is female, according to a report

by Reykjavík City Council welfare division. The report also reveals that the majority of

those registered as homeless are Icelandic citizens. The majority of homeless people are

pleased with the services provided by the city. There are several homeless care projects for

them. The city of Reykjavík does own three temporary shelters in town – one on Mik-

labraut, one on Þingstræti and the Red Cross shelter for women. These places serve as a

place to sleep and little more.

A visit in the shelter:

“Never lose hope”

17

How is the situation of homeless

women?

Much more men than women are

homeless and it’s harder to say ex-

actly how many women are living

on the street. I think, women are

much more invisible. My explana-

tion is that some of them could sell

their bodies. Some of them stay

with the men who provide them

with drugs.

It’s difficult to imagine what it

must be like to live day to day

without shelter or income, cut off

from our families and rejected

by the society which raised us.

Can you describe the daily rou-

tine of these people?

Our opening times are from 10 am

till 5 pm. Drugs and alcohols are

prohibited here. People can store

personal belongings and wash or

get new clothes, watch videos.

Some of the guys play the guitar,

others play chess and some of them

love puzzling. There is also the

possibility to work. On the first

floor in the day shelter is a storage

room which used to be a workshop.

They get 500 Icelandic króna per

hour. Not much, but money for

some cigarettes. For the men is this

job really important. They like it to

do something but they don’t have

the energy to work all day.

Are they ashamed of their situa-

tion?

Majority of those who are defined

homeless are addicts and many of

them also suffer from mental ill-

nesses. Some of them are really

sick. But sometimes I meet some

of them in the city and think:

Wow! Many of them care for

themselves. You wouldn’t identify

all of them as homeless people.

Your work has started 2009. Can

you give an insight in your job?

When I have started my work, I

had much experience with alcohol-

ics. But this was totally new. First,

I worked very much on the floor.

Cleaning the rooms, preparing the

building for the clients, these are

important tasks. More and more, I

have to buy food, organized meet-

ings. Three volunteers work here.

We cooperate with the police,

street workers and the city,

especially the city guards.

These are three persons driv-

ing around and call 112, for

example, if someone lies in

the street, for example. But if

some of the drunken men are

violent, then they can’t come

here. There are ambulance

services communicate in is-

sues, take people to the day

shelter and exchange the nee-

dles of the drug users accord-

ing to the principle of harm

reduction.

You meet some of the clients

every day. What is your re-

lationship to them?

Very good! The soul care is

very important. We are a

Christian organization and

spiritual talks are also essen-

tial. We try to talk with them –

but not always there is enough

time.

What are the biggest chal-

lenges of your everyday

work?

Of course we try to help all of

them. We try to show them

other ways. Sometimes, there

aren’t any results for a long

time. Sometimes I ask why I

am doing this. But then there is

a light. All of our clients have

their own social advisors who

help them. And we always have

hope. Never lose hope!

Isabel Stettin

18

A random chit-chat with K., a 36 year old marginal individual from Reykjavik. Me: Hello, do you have a lighter? K.: Of course. Always! Where are you from? — Stuttgart, Germany. Have you been there? — No, only in Berlin. I have friends there. But in Amsterdam and Copenhagen as well. I am planning a big trip trough these cities, and also Morocco and Africa. Maybe Mexico as well. —WOW. That is nice. But I guess it is quite expensive. — Well, I receive 1200 euros/month from the Icelandic state. It is enough. I hate this place anyway. Don't want to stay here. —You speak a good English. — I don't have any education. But I have learnt English in the prison school. What are you doing in Iceland? — Travelling. It is really nice here. Bit expensive though. — Listen to me. Do you want to save money? Go with with your VISA Card... Do you have one, don't you? —Yes. — So, you go with your VISA Card and you rent a car. With VISA card you will receive an insur-ance. So you travel for some days and on your last day, you tell your friend, that she should “steal” your luggage. You know what I mean? — I am not sure.... — You pretend that she stole it. And the company will pay everything back to you. — Really? — I did it so many times. It works. Try it out. — Can you tell me some cool pubs from Reykjavik? — Downtown everything sucks... Well, I don't like it. But like 30 minutes from here, you will find a nice bar. Go there. You can find everything there. — Everything? — Yes, sure. Drugs, girls, alcohol. — Do they people use here drugs? — What do you want? I can get you anything. Just tell me what do you want. — I don't use drugs, thanks. — I am telling you, that the drugs here are much better than in Germany. And more expensive. But we grow our own marijuana. It is nice. But I like to take some pills. Those are really good. You feel like in a movie. You just watch out from your head. It is amazing. Or the good mush-

rooms in the autumn time. — How do you get them? — In trucks or per post. It is easy. We don't have enough heroin and cocaine. But we have other things. Everybody from here is using drugs. You can ask anyone from the street, and they can get you something. Especially weed. But I can get you anything. And we are growing them by ourselves. — Do you never get caught by the police? — Well, maybe sometimes, because the police is everywhere. Big brother, you know. But I have ex-perience and I don't care. — And what about prostitution? — We have, we have. Most of the girls want to get some drugs, so they go to that bar I was telling you about and get what they want, and give something else as a payment. They are really easy going girls. Don't like them. What about you? Where do you want to travel? — To the south, I think. Or everywhere. I am planning to rent a car. — Yes, do it. With your VISA card. Do you have one?—Yes. — Do it. And don't forget one thing: you should never ever trust anyone. Ever. I am talking now nicely, but do you know who am I?

Tekla Fodor

Sex, drugs and marginal groups

If I say Iceland, YOU say: beautiful landscapes, pretty women, volcanoes, expen-sive beer, glaciers, friendly people. And I agree.

If I say social problems in Reykjavik, YOU say: ööööööö, never heard about it, eco-nomical crises(?). And I disagree.

19

The mentioned laws and policies are unfortunately not (always) strong enough to stop business man to sale their most expensive champagne in different clubs in Reykjavik. Tómas Gabríel Benjamin, journalist at Grapevine went undercover to one of the famous Champagne club Reykjaviks and witnessed how much women cost and what they offer: – The article was a bit of a gamble. Everone suspected that there is prostitution going on. And I went to confirm it, just to see what is going

on there. I wanted to see it with my eyes - said Gabríel next to a cup of coffee on a Sunday afternoon. He ordered 15 minutes for 20.000 ISK and had the opportunity to get some private time with a girl, chosen by him. (If you are interested in the story please follow this link: http: / /grapevine. i s/News/

ReadArticle/Anything-You-Want-For-Twenty-Thousand-Kronur) – In the end there was nothing to deny, so I contacted some lawyers and at the beginning nobody wanted to talk with me, no one knew anything. But then I find a guy who flipped and I received the needed numbers – confirmed the journalist. The origin of the girls working in these clubs was unknown, but since the Icelandic society is a small one, it is presumable that the girls were not from Iceland: – If you live here and work as a prostitute for longer than three months people will recognize you on the street – explained Gabríel. Shortly after the article

appeared (18.07.2013) the police started to investigate and shut down two out of three champagne clubs in Reykjavik. This doesn't mean that the old-est profession of all times disap-peared from the peaceful city, but surely it is hidden in a proper way. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - My colleague and I met Tómas Gabríel Benjamin in May, 2014 in Reykjavik. He was willing to talk about his experience as a jour-nalist in Reykjavik and told us interesting stories about the “dark side” of the city. We want to thank Tómas Gabríel Benjamin for his time and all the information, contacts that he gave us to continue our research in social problems in Reykjavik.

Tekla Fodor

Icelandic fancy Champagne for you?

Iceland is a country, that cleary values women – this was shown by the huge effort of cracking down the human trafficking and stripping in the country. "It is not permissible for restaurants [which includes bars] to offer nude shows, promote or profit in any way from the nudity of staff or others present." - stays in Article 4, section 4 of Icelandic law 85/2007, amended on 23th of March 2010. They also adopted the so called Nordic model, a set of laws and policies with two main goals: to curb the demand for sex trafficking and to promote gender equality.

Did you know, that in Iceland:

· beer was banned

from 1945 until 1989. Today you can buy beer only in Vinbudin, the state-run liquor store (aside duty-free, res-taurants and pubs)

· in 1956 all boxing

shows, competitions and lesson were forbid-den. In 2002 they al-lowed amateur boxing, but only under strict conditions

· the government has

banned prostitution in 2009 and a year after, in 2010 the strip clubs as well.

· Same-sex marriage

has been legal since 2010 and the homo-sexuals have the right to adopt children.

· Vigdis Finnbogadottir

was the world's first female head of state – elected in 1980

· the sale of handguns

is illegal · there is nor army, air

force or navy. But Ice-land does have a Coast Guard

20

Minorities in Iceland

Population of Icelanders in

March 2013 was 322,930 inhabi-

tants. 9,371 of them are Polish. Islandic govern-

ment opened for Poles labour

market in 1 May 2006. Polish so-

ciety in Iceland has their own priests, shops,

schools and eve-rything what

they need. Sec-ond minority in Iceland are Litu-

anians: 1,609. In

2012 there was opened direct air route be-tween Reykjavik and Lithuania. There are

Lituanian musical groups and private schools for kids. The third population of for-

eigners in Iceland are Philippines: 1,385. “Living in Iceland is terrific” minorities say.

We met many of them and they are really glad to live here. The weather is a thing,

which is often picked out as the

most difficult fac-tor in adaption.

Every inter-viewee said that rapid weather

change and long winter makes

their life here harder. What

else did they need to over-come to get used

t o I s l a n d i c condictions? How

their living in Iceland start?

Wonyoo and Paula

21

22

Guoxiu: I used to live in

Beijing with my hu-sband and daughter.

In 2008 my sisters li-ving in Reykjavik invi-ted me here. I accep-

ted invitation and sta-yed here till now.

When I decided to stay longer I took I-

celandic course and after 3 years here I got a job.

How did everything

begin?

Michael: The first visit in Iceland was holidays in 2010. When I came back to my

routine in France, I felt strong feeling to change something in my life. I bought one way ticket to Iceland and was living in couchsurfing friend’s place, then in hostel in Reykjavik. I was looking for job by knocking door to door. Worldwide

friends found a place for me in their crew. Once a time there was nobody who could drive with participants for an excursion to Fjords. I became a driver, camp leader afterward. I stayed in organization 9 months.

Julia: My friend invited me to visit him in Re-

ykjavik 6 years ago. I decided to stay here

for a while and after 3 weekd I found a job as a babysitter. I overstayed and was

working in cleaning company, afterwards as a bartender in coffeehouses.

Marek: I have been working abroad since 1991. Af-ter working in Canada I came to Iceland. In 2008 there was no work, so I came back to

Poland for half of a year. When I returned to I-celand I decided to stay here.

22

23

Michael: I am energetic engeener and work in renovation company now. During the summer time there is a

chance to work in a hotel and help in all kinds of jobs. I don’t know the

language, so I can’t work as an engi-neer. Even if I knew Islandic, I wouldn’t work in this kind of job. It’s

quite arduous work, not for me.

Is your work different than in your country?

Julia: Well, I usu-

ally worked at the café as a manager in Lithuania. Now

I’m doing the same job.

Marek: In Poland I worked as a

blue-collar

Guoxiu: I used to be a housewife in China. In

Reykjavik I work at café. My duties are to keep the place in clean-

ness. I clean dishes much more than I did in China. J

22

24

What kind of cultural differences can you perceive?

Michael: According to France, I can see the difference in attitude to work in Iceland. Workers don’t compete here. What’s more, I discern that families in Iceland are often patchwork. People get married as really young people, have children and

then divorce. It is not seldom that Icelanders set up home a few times in their lifes. I also noticed Icelanders don’t mind time. They always have time for every-thing and often are late.

Guoxiu: It seems to me, that life in China is more com-

plex. Chinese think too much, are nervous about what’s happening tomor-

row, what government says, how should I act in my society. Here, Ice-

landic people live calmly and comfortably. Ice-landers are easy-going.

Julia: I cel anders are more

cheerful and less care a b o u t

money than people in Lithuania.

Marek: Icelanders are much more helpful

than Poles. I have a feeling they’re really contented when

they can help.

24

25

How did your adap-tation proceed?

Michael: I didn’t have many troubles with adaptation.

The only nasty thing I ex-perienced was talking to me in Islandic even if I

knew English. The cold wasn’t the problem for me, only darkness during

the winter. Everything seems to be easier in Ice-land. People can make up

some solutions swim-mingly.

Guoxiu: My sisters and their family living here teached me Ice-

landic. They were a strong support for me during adaptaion. Af-

ter 3 years I found a job. Working in a res-taurant was hard for me due to communi-

cation problems.

Julia: At the be-ginning I felt

alone, be-cause I had only one

close friend at that time. It was hard

time for me, w h e n I spoke to my

family and friends only via skype

Marek: When I came here in 2008,

it was easier to adapt than today. There were less Polish people, Icelanders were more

likely to help foreigners.

Can you speak Ice-landic? Do you think it helped you to adapt? If you can’t speak, did it handi-

capped to adapt?

Michael: All Icelanders can speak Eng-

lish, I don’t think Icelandid is needed to live here. I suppose Icelandic helps in adaptation. It’s easier to make friends

among local inhabitants then.

Guoxiu: Yes, I do. I can’t speak English and without Icelandic I

couldn’t live here. For me local language was necessary to get

a job here.

Julia: I was learning Icelandic at work and now I can speak it without a big efford. It helps

me at work, I can easily com-municate with locals and make friends.

Marek: I can’t speak Icelandic, but I use Eng-

lish. It was enough for me to get a job here and make some friends

24

26

What was the biggest diffi-

culty to adapt in Reykjavik?

Michael: I didn’t have bigger problems with

adaptation here. The only thing was the darkness during the winter.

Guoxiu: Actually, there was

no problem. I can get Chi-nese vegetables to make meals and have an appoint-

ment with a doctor. Weather was a problem sometimes but for me

that's also okay, because I lived in Beijing and I got used to bad, cold weather.

Only one thing is that my daughter lives in China and she has came here only

once. I miss her.

Guoxiu: They are ex-

tremely nice, for me they were always open-minded and it was easy

to be a friend with them.

What can you say about Icelanders attitude?

Michael: Is it said that Icelanders

are rather withdrawn and I agree with that statement. It seems that Islanders prefer

to have a few close friends and it is enough for them. From the other hand, Reyk-

javik inhabitants are cheer-ful, opened to small talks and calm. They always have

time to help you.

Julia: I was alone I couldn’t

meet my friends, my family. Communication problems were the big-

gest problem for me.

Marek: The only thing

was weather, other issues went without any trou-

Julia: Icelanders are really helpful,

they helped me with studying Ice-landic. Marek: I feel here like at home. I

live the same rhythm like Ice-landers.

26

27

Julia: If I took Icelandic citizenship, then I would loose Lithuanian one. It’s not necessary for me to get it. I became stronger physically, because of moving to other country and it’s the most relevant issue for me.

Are you going to acquire the citizenship?

Michael: I would like to have Islandic citizenship, but firstly I needs to know language. I’m afraid I wouldn’t be the part od Icelanders society and it’s impossible for foreigners.

Guoxiu: I have Visa. And I want to get a citi-zenship.

Marek: I don’t need citizenship.

26

28

Photography in Reykjavik

Reykjavik is a city with a wide scene of visual arts.

There are many possibilities for studying arts and

making arts in Reykjavik. Therefore Reykjavik also

offers a lot to see for someone who enjoys visiting

galleries and museums. Interested in photography, I

chose two of my favorite photography attractions in

Reykjavik.

29

If you’d like to meet an

Icelandic photographer

and enjoy some really

good photographs, visit

Ari Sigvaldason’s gallery

at Skólavörðustígur 101.

Sigvaldason is probably

one of the best contempo-

rary photographers work-

ing in Reykjavik. 20

years ago he decided to

leave his work as a jour-

nalist and open his first

photo gallery. Fotografi

has been located on

Skólavörðustígur since

2007.

When I step into the gallery,

Sigvaldason sits in his arm-

Fotografi, Skólavörðustígur 101

chair and listens to Bob Dylan.

The armchair is his favorite

place and there he wants to be

photographed, he says. When I

start photographing, he contin-

ues reading his book like the

camera in front of him would-

n’t exist.

His behavior describes per-

fectly his visions in photogra-

phy. His passion is to docu-

ment every day life and natu-

ral moments that are not

In Fotografi you can buy Sig-

valdason’s photos and the

book, Shot in Reykjavik. You

can also just stop by for chat-

ting with him. The gallery

doesn’t have any certain open-

ing hours. If the door is closed,

don’t hesitate to call the num-

ber written on the door.

Anni

30

Museum of

photography

From a Different Angle pre-

sents photographs by Ice-

landic women, who have

worked as photographers

in Iceland. The curator of

the exhibition, Katrín Elvas-

dòttir, wants to give credit

to the icelandic female

photographers’ works, be-

cause they haven’t been

much respected in the

past. The photographs de-

scribe the icelandic culture

and nature during a 140-

year-long period and show

both the development of

the camera technology and

development of photogra-

phy as a form of art.

The exhibition is divided in

tree categories: landscape/

nature, family/home life

and portraits/social life.

The first locates in the

Reykjavik Museum of Pho-

tography and the two oth-

ers in the National Museum

of Iceland.

The photo series are all

very different, which makes

the exhibition interesting.

My personal favorites from

the landscape section were

certainly Inga Sólveig

Friðjónsdottir’s dark moun-

tain views and Vincent

Malassis’es series called Pe-

tites pauses. The series of

portraits and home life were

even more impressive. In

family and home life section

you should give attention to

Greta Guðonsdottir’s series

of an old woman living her

last days and in portrait sec-

tion you should check out

Herdis Guðmundsdóttir’s

beautiful photographs of dif-

ferent characters in nature

light.

31

Exhibition: From a Different

Angle. . . Photography by Ice-

landic women 1872–2013 (25

January-1 June 2014)

Location:

Reykjavik Museum of Photogra-

phy, Tryggvagata 15

Opening hours: Mondays to Thursdays from

12.00-19.00Fridays: 12.00-18.00

Weekends from 13.00-17.00

National Museum of Iceland,

Suðurgata 41

Opening hours:

1. may – 16. September every day 10-17

Both of the museums are

worth to see. The Reykja-

vik Museum of Photogra-

phy has a collection with

around 5 million photo-

graphs from 1870 to 2002

and their temporary exhi-

bitions offers a lot of qual-

ity photographs with inter-

esting themes. The Na-

tional Museum of Iceland

has in addition to the tem-

porary exhibitions a per-

manent exhibition about

heritage and history in Ice-

land.

Anni

31

32

CREDITS

33

Project managers: Jaka Cuk and Alessandro Zabban Editorial Team: Alessandro Zabban, Rosanne Fasel

All Articles by:Anni Reenpää, Tekla Fodor, Yunjin Bae, Julia Hoffmann, Paula Wicher, Clara Jungblut, Rosanne Fasel,

Wonyoo Choi, Isabel Stettin Cover and back pictures by Anni Reenpää (www.annireenpaa.com)

Pictures page 18 and 19 are only illustrations

34