Dear Doug Naysmith,

I am writing to express my concern and dismay about the [...]]]> Via the useful website writetothem.com, I recently sent the following letter to my my  MP:  Mr Douglas Naysmith.  For a while I have been extremely concerned about the way the British and Dutch governments have been treating Iceland.  I finally decided to voice my opinion.

Dear Doug Naysmith,

I am writing to express my concern and dismay about the way the British government is treating the nation of Iceland as a result of the IceSave problems.

First of all, it seems outrageous to me that anti-terrorist legislation was ever used as a tool against the Icelandic people. Not only does this set an extremely dangerous precedent – can Mr Brown simply declare anyone a terrorist? – but it’s also a clearly inappropriate use of such laws. It may well have also accelerated the collapse of the Icelandic banks.

I am also led to believe that, before the current economic crisis and IceSave’s part in it, the British government were warned about the potential problems with a bank backed by such a small economy. Obviously, the Icelandic government and business community hold a significant responsibility themselves. However, I cannot see that this is in anyway justification for bullying them.

Despite the fact that the losses suffered were the result of the actions of a few individuals; the Icelandic government has undertaken to repay the money lost by the British and Dutch governments. They are, however, looking to add conditions that will protect them and their economy from being enslaved to a debt they can never repay. Given that the Icelandic taxpayers are undertaking a debt which is in no way their responsibility; these measures do not seem unreasonable. However the British government seems intent on continuing to bully the Icelandic nation. In some ways it seems little better than the schoolyard bully trying to steal the smaller child’s lunch money. In fact – it’s more like making sure that child is never allowed to have any lunch money again!

Naturally I am as dismayed by the stance that the Dutch government has taken, but I have no way of making my feelings known to them.

I wonder if you would undertake to ask in parliament why such a position has been taken by our government and why our Prime Minister seems so intent on bullying a small nation.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Hunnisett

I don’t have much expectation of a favourable response – but at least I wrote to my MP about something I feel strongly about!

Yeah, so what is it with you and Iceland? Give us the inside story. Huh? A blog post, perhaps….

So here is the inside story…

I’m afraid that it’s not a very exciting one.  I have a fascination with a unique people and a rich culture. As I [...]]]> Recently  a friend of mine, Al Shaw, asked me, via Twitter:

Yeah, so what is it with you and Iceland? Give us the inside story. Huh? A blog post, perhaps….

So here is the inside story…

I’m afraid that it’s not a very exciting one.  I have a fascination with a unique people and a rich culture. As I read the sagas and enjoy Icelandic music I find that myself more and more intrigued by the people and their country. If my wife has my way, however, it will never be more than a simple fascination – an interest.  That is not because she doesn’t like Iceland – we both enjoyed a weekend there together – it is simply because she doesn’t like the cold.

I’ve only ever been there twice in my life.  Once, when I was twelve, I went with King’s Kids to do outreach in Iceland.  We were there for about 10 days and I had a wonderful time. More recently, my wife surprised me by taking me to Reykjavik for a weekend to celebrate my thirtieth birthday.  This was a much closer, albeit shorter, look at Iceland and it’s people.

Would I one day like to move there? Would I even like to see a church planted there?  Absolutely, yes – but I cannot in any sense say that I think that’s because of a call of God on my life. In fact, though it would take less to convince me, I think that my wife would need to see angels before she would !be brought around to the idea! (Any volunteers to dress up as angels welcome).

I would certainly, however, want to encourage and pray for anyone else who feels God calling them to this amazing country. Officially the country is a christian one; although it is dominated by religiosity and legalism. According to the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 83% of Icelanders belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Only 1% of Icelanders belong to what is considered a charismatic congegation. Most of the church activity is outside of the capital city. The Operation World website records that there are 8 charismatic congregations (and 1 pentecostal) with under 700 members.

The influence of Paganism is still quite strong in Iceland; perhaps largely due to a sense of history and an acient culture.

If nothing else – I would certainly recommend to anyone that they visit this wonderful country.  One side effect of the awful economic breakdown is that visiting is much cheaper than it used to be (although still not cheap).  This means you can help their economy and have a wonderful holiday at the same time!