12,000 in country, which currently accepts just 50 refugees, sign open letter with many saying they would house Syrians in their own homes
A double rainbow at Skogafoss waterfall in Iceland. The country has been named as the most peaceful on earth, with Syria the least. Photograph: Jorunn Sjofn/Rex Shutterstock
by Jessica Elgot, The Guardian
Thousands of Icelanders have called on their government to take in more Syrian refugees – with many offering to accomodate them in their own homes and give them language lessons.
Iceland, which has a population of just over 300,000, has currently capped the number of refugees it accepts at 50.
Author and professor Bryndis Bjorgvinsdottir put out a call on Facebook on Sunday asking for Icelanders to speak out if they wanted the government to do more to help those fleeing Syria. More than 12,000 people have responded to her Facebook group “Syria is calling” to sign an open letter to their welfare minister, Eygló Harðar.
Speaking on Iceland’s RÚV television, Bjorgvinsdottir said her country’s attitude was being changed by the tragic news reports. “I think people have had enough of seeing news stories from the Mediterranean and refugee camps of dying people and they want something done now,” she said.
“Refugees are human resources, they have experience and skills,” the Icelandic letter reads.
“Refugees are our future spouses, best friends, or soulmates, the drummer for the band of our children, our next colleague, Miss Iceland in 2022, the carpenter who finally finished the bathroom, the cook in the cafeteria, the fireman, the computer genius, or the television host.”
Many of those posting on the group have said they would offer up their homes and skills to help refugees integrate. “I have clothing, kitchenware, bed and a room in Hvanneyri [western Iceland], which I am happy to share with Syrians,” one wrote. “I would like to work as a volunteer to help welcome people and assist them with adapting to Icelandic society.”
“I want to help one displaced family have the chance to live the carefree life that I do,” another wrote. “We as a family are willing to provide the refugees with temporary housing near Egilsstaðir [eastern Iceland], clothing and other assistance. I am a teacher and I can help children with their learning.”
Iceland’s prime minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, said he was aware of increasing popular pressure to take in more refugees. “I assume that during Tuesday’s cabinet meeting I will propose the establishment of a special committee of ministers to discuss the problem and evaluate how Icelanders can respond, how we can contribute as much as possible,” he told RÚV.
“It has been our goal in international politics to be of help in as many areas as possible and this is one of the areas where the need is most right now.”
Iceland was recently named the world’s most peaceful country in the Global Peace Index, with Syria the least peaceful.
The open letter and offers of assistance from ordinary citizens reflects a shifting attitude towards refugees in some parts of Europe.
Over the weekend, German football fans held up signs at matches welcoming those fleeing persecution, and the German tabloid Bild, not renowned for its liberal attitudes towards immigration, has taken up the cause. Martin Patzelt, an MP from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party, has temporarily housed two Eritrean refugees in his home in Brandenburg.
Great to see Germany’s @BILD highlighting plight of refugees with articles, photos, tweets & this profile pic pic.twitter.com/jTjmn1uOuA
— Andrew Stroehlein (@astroehlein) August 30, 2015
Heartwarming welcome to refugees from Germany’s football fans. Theresa May & David Cameron should pay attention. pic.twitter.com/8Ts9COCOMm
— Sadiq Khan MP (@SadiqKhan) August 31, 2015
Patzelt said he been contacted by many other Germans offering their homes too, but had also received death threats. “I didn’t want any refugees in my life, but they came. And I took the challenge,” he told EU Observer.
Last month, the Guardian reported on the story of a French family in Calais who gave a Syrian refugee food and shelter every night as he attempted to cross to the UK.
About 20,000 people took to the streets of Vienna on Monday to protest against the treatment of refugees, including senior church leaders and politicians, after the bodies of 71 people were found in an abandoned truck last week.
“We’ve had enough – enough of the deaths, the suffering and the persecution,” the archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, said.