How can we immigrants choose our representatives?

The first Multicultural Assembly in Reykjavík in November 2010 saw the first elections for Reykjavík's new Multicultural Council. This council, which consists of seven immigrants, was intended to become "the voice" of immigrants who reside in the city.

There were two requirements for participation in the elections: one, only immigrants with legal domicile in Reykjavík could participate in the election, and two, they must be first generation immigrants.

Before the elections, there were concerns that the council might not be impartial if five of seven were Polish. In 2010, there were 3.264 Polish people living in Reykjavík, by far the city's largest immigrant group. However, the election result was unexpected. Not only were no Polish delegates elected to the council, but also none from EU countries. Some said the election itself was not well publicised among immigrants. Others said the candidates' ideas were not presented clearly, but regardless, the show must go on.

The city is going to hold elections for the Multicultural Council for a second time this autumn, and its Human Rights Office is reviewing the election system.

And I think it is desirable and only fair that we immigrants participate in this review process by voicing our opinion.

I think it is important that the Council reflects the diversity of immigrants in Reykjavík, as we immigrants are very different from each other ethnically, culturally, mentally, religiously and so on. Not to mention, we have different legal rights as well. There are immigrants who have already obtained Icelandic citizenship, immigrants that have green cards, immigrants that have Icelandic spouses, immigrants from the EU/EEA area and from outside of the EU/EEA.

Among those, the biggest difference is whether immigrants are from the EU/EEA area or not with regards to their various rights in order to live in this country, so I therefore propose that this aspect of diversity be taken into greatest consideration.

To ensure diversity, I suggest we use the "quota" system, with three seats for immigrants from the EU and four for non-EU immigrants, or perhaps three from the EU and four for non-EU, depending on which quota is filled first. I want to do the same for gender equality in the council. The same method can be used for ensuring a balance between men and women. Namely both men and women cannot have more than four seats. This looks complicated, but in reality it's not; it's just like a simple puzzle. And by using this system, at least we can ensure the balance between EU immigrants and non-EU immigrants, and between male and female representatives on the council.

This is a rough sketch, and there are several things that we need to consider. For example, if we should limit only one person from one nation, how do we define the home country of an immigrant who was born in Sudan and then moved once to Germany before coming to Iceland-is this person a EU immigrant or non-EU? More such questions will arise.

It is my sincere wish that opinions and ideas from us immigrants can help to design a better election method, and that the upcoming elections for the Multicultural Council in autumn will be carried out in as democratic a way as possible.

- Fyrst birt í RvkurGV 19. júní 2012 -

Athugasemdir

[Lesandi (IP-tala skráð) 16.7.2012 kl. 19:27]

Sæll. Ættir þú ekki að birta þessar hugleiðingar á íslensku og/eða þessum algengustu innflytjendamálum eins og pólsku. Innflytjendur eins og þú sem skilja grein á svona "fínni" ensku með svona "menntuðum" orðum eru í miklum minnihluta hér. Það er mín reynsla að því miður tala flestir innflytjendur á Íslandi annað hvort enga, eða mjög litla ensku. Þeir læra hana þó yfirleitt aðeins við komuna til Íslands, afþví fólk hér neitar að tala við þá íslensku. Ég þekki marga sem komu hingað og kunnu hvorki íslensku né ensku, en kunna nú sæmilega ensku en enga íslensku, eftir 10-20 ára dvöl hér á landi. Sem er náttúrulega hræðileg þróun...Það væri gott ef maður eins og þú með góða greind og sköpunargáfu gæti leitað leiða til að leysa þetta vandamál.

[Lesandi (IP-tala skráð) 16.7.2012 kl. 19:39]

Takk fyrir að deila fallegu ljóðunum þínum og vonast til að sjá fleiri.

[Valdimar Samúelsson, 16.7.2012 kl. 20:34]

Sæll.

Má ég spyrja. Sá sem er komin með íslenskan ríkisborgararétt er ekki lengur innflytjandi í mínum augum. Ég hef aldrei heyrt um grænakortið hér á landi er það svokallað tímabundið atvinnuleifi. ?

[Toshiki Toma, 16.7.2012 kl. 22:37]

Sæl/l, lesandi.

Takk fyrir ábendinguna. Ég var(er) að pæla á skrifa samsvarandi skoðun á íslensku líka. Það er ansi erfitt mál að ná til innflytjenda sem flesta til að halda í samskiptum.

Valdimar, orð "innflytjendur" er hugtak sem erfitt að skilgreina fullkomnalega vel. Borgin ákvað að skilgreina innflytjendur sem "fyrsta kynslóðarfólk af erlendum uppruna" og ég fylgi henni í þessari grein.

[Halldór Egill Guðnason, 16.7.2012 kl. 23:16]

"I think it is important that the Council reflects the diversity of immigrants in Reykjavík, as we immigrants are very different from each other ethnically, culturally, mentally, religiously and so on. Not to mention, we have different legal rights as well. There are immigrants who have already obtained Icelandic citizenship, immigrants that have green cards, immigrants that have Icelandic spouses, immigrants from the EU/EEA area and from outside of the EU/EEA."

Þetta er kjarni málsins og ekki auðvelt að gera svo öllum líki. Þetta er vandmeðfarið mál, en óska ykkur góðs gengis.

"Borgin ákvað að skilgreina innflytjendur sem "fyrsta kynslóðarfólk af erlendum uppruna""segir manni hinsvegar að baráttan verði ekki auðveld, þrátt fyrir að yfirvöld telji sig slegin til riddara með svona bulli.

Hefði haldið að fyrsta kynslóðarfólk af erlendu bergi brotið, væru fyrstu afkomendur innflytjenda sem fæddust á Íslandi, en svona maður vitlaus.

[Toshiki Toma, 16.7.2012 kl. 23:49]

Takk fyrir athugasemdina þína, Halldór.

Já , þetta er alls ekki auðvelt mál til að fá sátt allra sem eiga hlut að málum. En alla vega vona ég að skapandi umræða verði til.

[Vilhjálmur Örn Vilhjálmsson, 17.7.2012 kl. 06:57]

According to most international definitions, an immigrant is a person who has taken permanent residency in a country, which is not his native country, and who intends to become, or is a citizen (subject), of the country he has emigrated to. Periodical Workers and refugees are not immigrants. Refugees want to become citizens and to be acknowledged as immigrants with permits to stay, to work and eventually become a citizen. However, workers who settle for a while in Iceland with the intention to benefit from a better work situation than in their native countries, cannot be categorized as immigrants.

Those Poles in Iceland, who might not have planned to become Icelanders and Icelandic citizens, are not immigrants but rather guest workers. They have, or should have, the same rights as the citizens, because they originate from the EU/EAA area. But this does not mean that they automatically interested in multicultural social networks. I have witnessed some grave anti-Semitic and other intolerant remarks from Poles living in Iceland on the webpage www.islandia.pl, which is run by friends of Iceland in Poland. Those remarks were always removed very quickly. I would not expect people who utter those remarks to participate in your council, the lack of Polish participation in your elections might also reflect that the Poles in Iceland have no intention of becoming Icelandic Citizens. There were 20.000 Poles in Iceland, now there are only 3624 in Reykjavík. These numbers might indicate that Poles do not consider themselves as immigrants in Iceland. 90% of Poles in Iceland do not speak Icelandic and a Icelandic hate page with 700 signatories against polish workers does not promote mutual understanding. Much information on the Polish migration to Iceland can be found here: http://migracje.civitas.edu.pl/index.php/en/ According to the study, those who remain and kept their work in Iceland (after the financial meltdown) find Icelandic way of life easier than in Poland, with less bureaucracy and more lenient working conditions. This chapter http://migracje.civitas.edu.pl/images/pdf_eng/chapter%2012.pdf in the research on Poles in Iceland is quite interesting and might give some answers to the question you ask. The mere size of the Polish group in Iceland also explains that they are less likely to adapt and integrate than smaller groups or few individuals.

When you define yourselves as a Multicultural Council, I would reckon you welcomed all foreigners of all creeds, all statehoods (stateless as well), immigrants as well as guests, refugees as well as citizens of Iceland, regardless of their language abilities or the color of their skin – of their own free will. Favoring of certain groups and “causes” is certainly a wrong path.

If Poles do not want to participate, this could be because of lack of communication. However, the possibility that e.g. Poles do not want to be categorized as immigrants or the ridiculous "first generation of people of foreign origin” is plausible and has to be respected. If they do not vote in your elections, they possibly do not want to vote at all.

[Vilhjálmur Örn Vilhjálmsson, 17.7.2012 kl. 07:00]

Dear Toshiki-San, for some reason you removed me from the list of your friends. I'm technically a second generation immigrant, although my mother is Icelandic. I have done research on the history of refugees and immigrants and I am a privileged "immigrant" in Denmark, where I live. I hope your deleting of me was a technical error and I hope that you accept me as friend on the blog

[Toshiki Toma, 17.7.2012 kl. 11:19]

Sæll, Vilhjálmur,

Thank you for the very informative comment.

I myself don´t put a heavy emphasis on the definition about immigrant. Those who have moved to Iceland and still have some conscious about it, both positive or negative, are "immigrants" regardless the length of stay or citizenship. Of course this is not an academic definition, but a practical definition for my work.

I don´t remember why I removed you from the list. Actually I am not active in blog now, and just remove someone who, I know, has passed away.

Sorry if you had taken t personally. Of course you are welcome again. ;-)