Tuesday, October 5

Protests at the Parliament


This is a video I took from the protest. This will be a good intro into what many Icelanders went through tonight. 


Did you know there were protests outside Iceland's parliament today? I write this and wonder how much happens globally that is so important to the people going through it and can go completely unknown to the rest of the world.

So here is the low-down. From the beginning
1) Icelandic bank(s) collapsed in 2008 (this became known as the kreppa) the nations currency (krona) becomes a small fraction of what it was before. Many many Icelanders took out these "special" loans to pay for their homes and cars(these loans much like in the USA were being offered to EVERYONE). Iceland gets rid of old Prime Minister, Geir Haarde (who has played a big part in the collapse and is facing criminal charges (LINK)} and puts in new PM Johanna Sigurdardottir. This up-heavel is called the "pots and pans revolution" where much like today crowds banged all that they had in their kitchens outside of the parliament, demanding a change in government and accountability for the collapse. 
2) “I have full understanding that people who are suffering because of the crisis demonstrate their anger because there are many big unsolved problems as is clear by the forced auctions of people’s homes,” added Foreign Minister Össur Skarphédinsson. This quote sums up what's happening now pretty well. People are very scared because they are faced with losing their homes and many feel the government hasn't done anything to protect them. 
It's very different reading about this vs. seeing it. To add to the whole feeling in the air, the wind is literally blowing like a monster. It's howling and rattling the windows, I wouldn't doubt if there was a connection somehow here. I will keep you posted as I learn more about this situation from the people who are experiencing it

1 comment:

  1. This is a link about the forced auctions happening next week.
    http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=28304&ew_0_a_id=368380

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