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The Reykjavík Grapevine 6 Issue 12 — 2017 Reykjavík's mayor in happier times
ASK A
Historian
Q: “Have Iceland Ever Been Involved In Any War Or Conflicts?”
Raw Sewage Pours Into Reykjavík Waters, Shitstorm Ensues Tourists are not to blame Words: Paul Fontaine Photo: Art Bicnick Share: gpv.is/nws11
Last week, passersby discovered that raw sewage was pouring into Faxaskjól, in western Reykjavík, at a rate of about 750 litres per second. Worse still, it later came to light that this had been going on for ten days, due to malfunctioning sewage treatment machinery. Hólmfríður Sigurðardóttir, the environmental manager at Reykjavík Energy, explained to reporters that this was happening because sewage treatment workers had to repair the system, and this left them with two choices: either shut off the system completely, which could have led to raw sewage backing up into peoples’ homes, or letting untreated sewage pour forth.
Not even the mayor knew It was bad enough that the general pub-
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WHAT'S MISSING IN ICELAND
lic wasn’t informed ahead of time that this was going to happen. Reykjavík Mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson told reporters that he learned about the incident for the first time from the news itself. People were understandably upset, and members of the City Council’s opposition parties wasted no time in taking advantage of it. Arch-conservative and current Morgunblaðið co-editor, Davíð Oddsson, wasted no time in slamming the mayor in a column in his own newspaper. “I mean, 750 litres per second for ten days,” Independence Party councilperson Kjartan Magnússon blustered for reporters. “ There isn’t even a sign or a fence or anything.”
What about the beach? In fairness, Kjartan’s concern isn’t exactly misplaced. The seaside is a popular spot for children to play, especially in the warm summer months. Of particular concern was whether or not Reykjavík’s one and only warm water beach, Nauthólsvík, had been polluted. Such a turn of events would completely ruin what little summer we have here. However, Óttar Hrafnkelsson, who oversees Nauthólsvík, told listeners of
MISSING IN ICELAND
Jukeboxes Words: Paul Fontaine Granted, these may be increasingly fewer in number everywhere in the world, but jukeboxes are conspicuously absent in Iceland. Which is a real shame: one of the best parts of going out to dinner or visiting your neighbourhood bar is being able to put money in a machine that will make everyone listen to one of your favorite songs.
Instead, your dining and drinking experience in Iceland will either be entirely devoid of background music, or else you’ll wish it will be, when you consider how many places are going to be pumping out one of three categories of background music: touristcore (e.g. Of Monsters and Men or Kaleo), “clas-
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radio station Rás 2 that they have been monitoring the situation closely. Water purity is being tested, and thus far nothing untowards has been discovered. Not that this has stopped people from calling and asking about the situation, which he believes is easy to understand. In his own words: “No one wants to swim in raw sewage.”
Can’t flush this It turns out, though, that no one is innocent. One of the more damning takeaways from this story is that Reykjavík residents are flushing things down the toilet that they really shouldn’t be, which might have contributed to the sewage treatment facility needing repairs in the first place. These items include tampons, ear swabs, and even diapers. These are all items which are supposed to go in the general garbage, not down the toilet. As this is being written, city workers are working as fast as they can to get the matter under control. For the time being, it might be advisable to avoid swimming in the water around Reykjavík. And in the name of all that is holy, stop flushing things down the toilet that are meant for your trash can. sic” rock, or corporate ambient techno ad infinitum, whether you like or not. A jukebox, by contrast, will broadcast a music selection as diverse as an establishment’s clientele. It can also provide a chance to make friends—you put on one of your favorite songs and hear a cheer of recognition from across the crowded bar, your eyes meet, you smile and nod knowingly at one another, and a new connection is born. And if you’re in the mood for a fight, walk
up to any given jukebox, dump a bunch of money in it, program it to play “No Limit” by 2 Unlimited fifteen times, face the crowd, and await challengers. Jukeboxes are, in other words, a form of democratic control of the environment of any given restaurant or pub. As fond as Icelanders are of democracy, you’d think jukeboxes would be a mainstay around here. Unfortunately, jukeboxes are, and will likely remain, yet another thing missing in Iceland.
Stefán Pálsson Photo: Archive
Words: Johanna Eriksson Stefán Pálsson, Icelandic historian, explains: “As a NATO member Iceland have participated in wars and conflicts that NATO has engaged in. For example in Iraq and the NATO programme in Afghanistan there’s been Icelandic personnel, but none of them have been soldiers, but working in public relations for example. So there’s been some indirect activities lately as part of the NATO membership, but when it comes to something closer to full-scale war we’ve luckily not been involved. Many Icelanders like to talk about the Cod Wars, and brag about being the only nation in the world that has defeated the British navy in warfare. That’s really stretching it because that was a series of fishing disputes, and even though there were some minor clashes between the Icelandic Coast Guard and British ships, they were mostly solved through negotiation. I would almost say that calling it a war would be insulting towards people who really have suffered from wars. “In the Middle Ages, Icelanders were more unruly and there were civil wars between families and chieftains who had large armies which resulted in big battles, and eventually led to Iceland falling under the Norwegian throne, and being demilitarised. “Our best survival strategy in dangerous wars has been to be neutral and try keep good contact with our neighbours. We’ve always taken pride in that we’re a country without an army and that there’s no intention to form one.”