Script:
Police officer Geir Jon Thorisson is on an evening patrol in downtown Reykjavik
SOT Geir Jon Thorisson, Head of Patrol Unit, Reykjavik Police (Swedish)
-In the downtown area here, there are more than 400 bars. That’s a lot
Iceland’s capital, with its population of 120 thousand has possibly more bars per inhabitant than any other capital in the world, with a capacity of 25.000 guests.
The last few weekends, there has been a clear increase in drunken brawls and violence.
SOT Geir Jon Thorisson, Head of Patrol Unit, Reykjavik Police (Swedish)
-The hardest thing, is to maintain a degree of order, so the disturbances don’t turn into a disaster.
After the country’s economy collapsed in the beginning of October, the police here have been very busy.
According to the police statistics, there has also been an increase in theft, burglaries and other crime: A worrying development for officer Thorisson and his colleagues.
SOT Geir Jon Thorisson, Head of Patrol Unit, Reykjavik Police (Swedish)
-Yes, we had an increase in crime all the way from August to October. The times are such, that we may have an even further increase. There’s been an increase in break-ins and burglaries. There’s a profound anxiety amongst the people. They don’t know what will happen next. Will they lose their work, their cars and houses? People are telling us about these things all the time.
When the national banks collapsed, several thousand Icelanders found themselves unemployed over night.
Here, as elsewhere, the Police are the first to meet the anger and despair amongst the population.
During the past weekends thousands have taken to the streets to protest against their government, and alleged corruption amongst bank managers.
For the first time in history in this tiny nation, leading politicians and businessmen are now protected by armed guards.
Police are anticipating an escalation of these street protests in the near future.
SOT Geir Jon Thorisson, Head of Patrol Unit, Reykjavik Police (Swedish)
-The pressure is so great that a tiny spark may set off an explosion amongst the protestors. We have information on individuals who plan to go even further.
-What do they want to do?
-Basically, they want to take down the entire administration – sack the parliament.
It’s right after eleven in the evening and the crowd is getting bigger in the downtown bars, even though it’s only Tuesday.
Bartender Ludvig Leo Ludvigsson has more than enough work but, ironically, he doesnt see this as a positive thing in the current climate.
SOT Ludvig Leo Ludvigsson, Bartender (Norwegian):
-Are more and more people coming in here to drown their worries in alcohol?
-Yes, sure they do. When the Landsbanki went down it was particularly bad. A lot of people came here and said it was all over for them. It was not easy being a bartender then. Soon we’ll have 10.000 more people without jobs here, and Im not looking forward to that. People will come here and want beer because they feel their lives are just finished.
Iceland is a small society where everybody knows each other.
A society where the growth happened way too fast and the wealth came a bit too easily.
SOT Kjartan Hauksson, Former Bank Employee (Swedish):
-For 9 years I worked in this bank. It was a nice place to work. It was the job of my dreams.
Up until a few weeks ago Kjartan Hauksson had a safe job in a prosperous business.
Landsbanki was one of three big Icelandic banks that had engaged in an uncontrolled loaning spree abroad.
When the international credit crunch hit, they had accumulated loans worth 12 times the nation’s GDP. When the banks defaulted, the state had to take over their debts, worth more than 60 Billion dollars (US).
SOT Kjartan Hauksson, Former Bank Employee (Swedish):
- And now you have no job anymore?
-That’s right. And what happens next? Of course I have to start looking for a job here in Iceland. But this year up to 1000 bank employees have lost their jobs. Everybody is looking for a job, and there simply aren’t enough jobs to be found.
A thousand bank employees may not sound like a lot. But in this tiny nation, that equals 20 per cent of all employees in the financial sector.
Kjartan and his colleagues were hit twice by the bank collapse. Most of them invested large parts of their wages in bank stocks. That money is now gone.
SOT Kjartan Hauksson, Former Bank Employee (Swedish):
-On average, each employee owned from 40.000 to 70 000 dollars (US) in stocks in their own banks.
-How do you feel about that? Are you bitter?
-No, what happened to us was a catastrophe. Like a financial tsunami hit Iceland. When a natural disaster hits, you can’t do anything about it. You become a part of it, and just have to try and survive.
Today its practically impossible to get a new loan in Iceland.
Construction of new houses has come to a complete stop.
The new half finished Opera house of Reykjavik, previously a hectic construction site, is next to abandoned.
And here, in the capital’s harbour 5000 cars are sitting and waiting for importers who have no chance of paying for them.
SOT Knutur Hauksson, Car Importer (English):
- Devaluation of our currency means our loans have gone up 80 per cent. Here in Iceland the loans have an interest rates of 24 per cent. Then business is down 95 percent, so…
Car importer Knutur Hauksson is now trying to dump his stock of several thousand new and used cars at giveaway prices - in Eastern Europe.
SOT Knutur Hauksson, Car Importer (English):
It’s not a question of profits now, just a question of reducing your stocks.
If you had’ve asked me few months back if I would export used cars to Poland, I would ask you what kinds of drugs you are taking?
Iceland has probably been hit harder by the credit crunch than any other country in the world.
Many Icelanders now spend their time contemplating what went wrong, and what will come next.
Many seek comfort in religion and Parish minister Palmi Matthiasson has experienced a busy few weeks.
SOT Palmi Matthiasson, Parish Minister (English)
Everybody is affected. Some of the kids listen to their parents whispering in the night time. They think the kids are asleep. They are talking about losing their jobs, selling the house, and how they can manage to face next day. The kids are not willing to speak about it. They are afraid to get difficult answers from parents, so they are not feeling well.
Several times a day the minister hosts therapy sessions for businesses, unemployed people and for children.
The hardest part is trying to give people a sense of meaning in a hopeless situation, says Matthiasson.
SOT Palmi Matthiasson, Parish Minister (English)
Maybe we have not reached the bottom yet. But if we are going to go lower, we have to stay much closer together. We have to be stronger, to fight to lift us up again.
Come January, the Icelandic people will face the full impact of their nation’s bankruptcy, with the arctic winter at its darkest, bills impossible to pay and a estimated unemployment of up to 10 per cent.
The authorities of this tiny island nation are prepared for the worst. But minister Matthiasson still believes something good might come out of the crisis.
SOT Palmi Matthiasson, Parish Minister (English)
We can learn and we can figure out a new future. Because the greed was taking over. And now were are learning the hard way. I always have the feeling that God never closes a door without opening a window.
-END-
Director: Oystein Bogen
Cameraman: Paal Schaathun
Video Editor: Leif Erik Kleppen
Voice Over: Anthony Hill