Dorrit Moussaieff Comments on Immigration
Yesterday, Dorrit Moussaieff - wife of Icelandic president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson - became an Icelandic citizen. I'm very happy for her, and for her enthusiastic attitude regarding Iceland. As she says in today's Fréttablaðið:
"Where else in the world do people have it so good [than in Iceland]? You have the food, the air, the water, and the people are wonderful. I think Icelanders don't know how good they have it."
Fine words of praise. However, two comments drew my attention.
Moussaieff told reporters that, "It should not be easy to become an Icelandic citizen. It's very necessary that we choose carefully who gets to become an Icelander."
This comment surprised me - Moussaieff can rest assured that it isn't easy to become an Icelandic citizen. A person who immigrates to Iceland from a non-EU country must wait seven years to even be eligible, cannot leave the country for more than six months, and cannot accept most social benefits (such as unemployment) for the last two years, not to mention the 150 hours of Icelandic language classes that must be attended just to qualify for permanent resident status. Then, and only then, can a non-EU citizen who hasn't married an Icelander apply for citizenship. Becoming an Icelander is anything but easy.
I'd also be curious to know by what standard Moussaieff feels we must "carefully choose" who gets citizenship. Currently, any sort of criminal record pretty much excludes one from becoming a citizen and, as stated before, one cannot have drawn social support for the past two years - they must be capable of taking care of themselves. What further standards need to be imposed? Cultural? Religious? Political? We can only guess.
Another comment that sprung up in the interview was, "We have to make sure that people who come here give something back and don't live off of people who were here first."
People who come to this country have to work. They aren't "living off of" anybody. More often than not, they do the work that no one else can do or is willing to do. They work in construction, they clean offices and schools, the work in fish factories, in homes for the handicapped and the elderly, not to mention the myriad of other jobs that are held by both Icelanders and immigrants alike. They pay their taxes here and raise their families here. Some even start businesses of their own. If this isn't "giving something back", I don't know what is.
Again, I'm happy that Moussaieff has become a citizen and that she appreciates this country. But some of her comments clearly prove that there's still a long way to go in the struggle to clear up certain misconceptions that some people have about new Icelanders.
"Where else in the world do people have it so good [than in Iceland]? You have the food, the air, the water, and the people are wonderful. I think Icelanders don't know how good they have it."
Fine words of praise. However, two comments drew my attention.
Moussaieff told reporters that, "It should not be easy to become an Icelandic citizen. It's very necessary that we choose carefully who gets to become an Icelander."
This comment surprised me - Moussaieff can rest assured that it isn't easy to become an Icelandic citizen. A person who immigrates to Iceland from a non-EU country must wait seven years to even be eligible, cannot leave the country for more than six months, and cannot accept most social benefits (such as unemployment) for the last two years, not to mention the 150 hours of Icelandic language classes that must be attended just to qualify for permanent resident status. Then, and only then, can a non-EU citizen who hasn't married an Icelander apply for citizenship. Becoming an Icelander is anything but easy.
I'd also be curious to know by what standard Moussaieff feels we must "carefully choose" who gets citizenship. Currently, any sort of criminal record pretty much excludes one from becoming a citizen and, as stated before, one cannot have drawn social support for the past two years - they must be capable of taking care of themselves. What further standards need to be imposed? Cultural? Religious? Political? We can only guess.
Another comment that sprung up in the interview was, "We have to make sure that people who come here give something back and don't live off of people who were here first."
People who come to this country have to work. They aren't "living off of" anybody. More often than not, they do the work that no one else can do or is willing to do. They work in construction, they clean offices and schools, the work in fish factories, in homes for the handicapped and the elderly, not to mention the myriad of other jobs that are held by both Icelanders and immigrants alike. They pay their taxes here and raise their families here. Some even start businesses of their own. If this isn't "giving something back", I don't know what is.
Again, I'm happy that Moussaieff has become a citizen and that she appreciates this country. But some of her comments clearly prove that there's still a long way to go in the struggle to clear up certain misconceptions that some people have about new Icelanders.
posted by Paul F Nikolov at 1:48 PM
7 Comments:
In response to her comments, I would highly recommend reading "Flight of the Creative Class" by Richard Florida. In it, he outlines the importance of immigrants of all backgrounds and gives numerous examples of how poor, working class immigrants to the U.S. went on to raise children who started companies like google.com, amazon.com, etc. and made major contributions that helped shape the landscape of the economy as we know it today.
Its worth a read, because it also shows how different policies around the world, in accepting and declining immigrants, have helped or harmed those countries. And it also talks about the shifting tides of worldwide immigration as a result of the current U.S. administration's closing of the U.S. borders to non-U.S. citizens.
Frú Dorrit should behave more responsibly. I shudder when I think of all the racists and Icelandic purists out there reading her words and nodding there heads in self righteous agreement.
I wonder? Does Dorrit read the daily papers? There was an article somewhere in lasts weeks papers about the additional money in the national coffers due to increased taxes paid by immigrants.
One thing though. Applications for citizenship are no longer only considered 2x a year. Rather as they come in to the Ministry.
"I shudder when I think of all the racists and Icelandic purists out there reading her words and nodding there heads in self righteous agreement"
Im actually very surprised reading the articles published here and this idea of establishment of a political party, only to distinguish "new Icelanders" from something you must then believe to be native Icelanders.
I believe this idea will only be a step backwards.
Thanks for your input, anon.
The term "new Icelander" refers to both new arrivals to Iceland and Icelanders who have new ideas about the way they would like to see this country develop. As our party is purely democratic, our platform is shaped not by my will but by the input I receive from others. This isn't about what I want, but rather, what those who participate want.
In terms of steps backwards, immigrant issues were sorely neglected if not totally ignored by the five parties that ran in the last municipal elections. For this reason, I took the decision to form a party that would represent those had been previously grossly under-represented.
In the end, it's dialogue such as this that not only helps shape the direction the party takes, but also makes me grateful to live in a country where we can have such discussions.
First of all I want to congratulate Mr. Nikolov, reffering to him as Mr. is pretty strange to me since I am an Icelander, for his campaign for the New Icelanders Party. The party will perhaps not completly conquer the allready established partys in the democratic election, allthough I surely do hope that they will be successful to squeese one member into parliment, none the less in my oppinion this effort will create more mature and healthier debate in the Icelandic community, and precisly that must be the objective for the establisment of the New Icelanders Party. So good for you Mr. Nikolov and all the others who have lined behind the party, for I will surtenly think twice before I cast my own vote to the other partys.
Concerning the comments Frú Moussaieff. The comments have been on a very „One way street,” in my oppinion. It is obvious that the majority of a nation has to apreciate the status of foreigners and other minorities, so both can live a good life in the country. It seems strange to me than, if we can´t appreciate Frú Moussaieff´s situation. She is of course in a difficult spot. The First lady, but still, was a foreigner, perhaps even still considered as such. If she comments as to how we should take a more: „open gate,” policy towards foreigners, the nation would perhaps pick up like she is talking for her own well beeing but not for the nations well beeing, or she is using her influence as First lady to push ridicioulis laws through congress. After that she would maybe be considered as some kind of lobbyist for foreigners rather than consentrating on beeing the First Lady. Of course these arguments would be lutacris. But I have no doubt that this would be the outcome since Icelanders are no different from other nations.
Better looked upon, allthough being the most famous and well liked foreigner in the country, she isn´t in the position to help your cause directly and pushing for changes. This is something that the government ought to be fully capeble of doing them selves, but frankly and to bad for us all, they have not yet done.
As to what she said: "It should not be easy to become an Icelandic citizen. It's very necessary that we choose carefully who gets to become an Icelander."
I´m not sure that I disagree. Allthough we should not pick harder restrictions, and I don´t think that is what she meant, I just think that there has to be active control on the import of working force. By that I am not saying that import of labour is a kredit note for the economy, I think it is pretty well known that the nation gains around 170.000 krónur each year on each foreigner that moves to the country. But social proplems that „pop up,” when nations become more multinational is a fact.
I think we should put more ambition into making the lives of foreigners who are already in the country, much better. And by that I mean, much better.
Language seminars should of course be free of charge. And the course of „more seminars the better,” should be taken.
Educated foreigner should also of course be considered equel to Educated Icelanders, that is to say if languge skills is not a proplem to the work effort they give.
Political partys have to give foreigners a clear democratic option as to what the party can offer them in gain for their vote. They have to set goals that leads to real soloutions for foreigners.
Strict punishment for those who import labour and treat them badly. In fact this is impossible to prevent completly if Icelandic co-workers do not look out for the interests of their foreign colleges.
I don´t know but there is much more that we can do to make the life of foreigners more easy going. Any ideers perhaps?
All in all I don´t think we can blame Frú Moussaieff for her comments. She is under a lot of pressure by the nation to act as an Icelander;) Further more if she can hear this, I want to congatulate you on your Icelandic citizenship and I truly do hope you will run for the presedency in next elections.
Concerning Frú. Moussaieff´s second comment:
"We have to make sure that people who come here give something back and don't live off of people who were here first."
Of course I again agree. If this was the case, than there would not be any reason to make foreigners able to come to the country. But this isn´t how it is in Iceland at least. Better yet, if this is an argument, then surely there must be a flipside to that coin, that is to say the Icelandic state has no right to gain money from foreigners who come to the country, making them paying same amount of taxes but rewarding them with lesser social services, or social status if you will. So alternetly they have moral obligations to get this 170.000 krónur back in the hands of those who in first place created the value, foreigners.
Of course we want the people living in this country to be contributing. What makes Moussaieff's comment insulting is that it implies that there are people coming here who aren't contributing.
New arrivals in Iceland are working, often at jobs no Icelander wants to do, and are paying taxes into a pension fund - a fund they might not be here to collect on and might not be able to cash in on should they leave (different funds have different policies on whether or not someone leaving Iceland may take out what they've put in).
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