From Iceland — Icelandic Facebook groups: Away From Home
Maybe because of Sigur Rós or maybe the Panama Papers, Iceland has become a talking point for immigrants. According to the statistics, about 32,000 immigrants live in the country, which is almost 10% of the population. The Facebook group “Away From Home – Living In Iceland” is a haven for these foreigners. Here, one is free to bemoan Icelandic social norms (“Why are they always tagging my house?”) or ask questions that the natives might find stupid (“Is there a place I can take my injured bird?”). It’s a safe space where posters look to borrow camping gear, find running buddies or advertise expat-friendly events.
Fittingly, moderation is strict – when asking to join, the admins run a thorough search to make sure you actually live in Iceland. This is due to the influx of posts that—without this background check—would guarantee a lot of, say, “I hate Trump! I’m moving to Iceland! Find me a job!” or “I get to pay men to marry hot Icelandic women, please find me a wife.” For the record, Icelandic women aren’t that thirsty.
But the group is not without drama. Any mention of refugees or asylum seekers usually brings the villain to the surface.
Immigrants are in the minority in this country, so perhaps we should all take a tip from the ‘Shade: The Rusical’ episode of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’. There, queens of all shapes and colors joined hands and declared, “We are each other’s family, all 2,603,040 sisters. This is our country and we are the queens!” Come on, if Laganga and Bianca could hug it out, foreigners on this little island have no excuse. Yes, all 32,000 sisters — we are, as they would say in Icelandic, the foreigners.