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Imagining Peace: Refugee Experiences in Iceland

by Daniel Montañez, Ph.D. Candidate, Boston University School of Theology

The northern lights and the Imagine Peace Tower in Reykjavík, Iceland. October 11, 2024.


On the island of Viðey near Reykjavík, Iceland stands the Imagine Peace Tower, a monument established in honor of John Lennon by his wife Yoko Ono, in 2007. The memorial radiates a beam of light that pierces the night sky every year from October 9th to December 8th and symbolizes Lennon’s and Ono’s lifelong mission for world peace. I had the privilege of seeing the sight on a recent visit to Iceland with Compass, a faith-based organization that partners with the Salvation Army to serve low-income households and refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants who travel to Iceland looking for safety and a new home.[1]

 

Over the past 12 years, the country of Iceland has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of migrants and refugees arriving to their shores. With just 55 refugees in 2012, today the number of refugees and asylum seekers in Iceland exceeds 8,715.[2] This is in part due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Ukrainians making up the largest population of refugees in Iceland. The second largest population is Venezuelans, as a consequence of the political instability in their home country. This crisis has resulted in faith-based organizations stepping up to care for the needs of their newest neighbors.

 

One such organization on the front lines of providing aid to migrants and refugees is the Salvation Army. With three bases across the country, Salvation Army clergy and volunteers provide food, shelter, and aid for those in search of temporary provisions. Through their Hertex clothing store, they provide refugees with warm clothing and opportunities to work as they seek to establish themselves in a new country. They also provide weekly meals, welfare assistance, and activities for youth and young adults from underserved Icelandic communities. Their location in Keflavík is a former U.S. military base, and currently serves to house hundreds of refugees as they seek to piece their lives back together in a new country.

 

During my time in Iceland I met Maria, a refugee from Venezuela and a former high-ranking police official in her home country. One day, when Maria expressed a disagreement with the actions of President Maduro, the life of her youngest son was threatened, and she and her family were forced to flee Venezuela in search of refuge. I asked Maria why they came to Iceland of all places. She expressed to me, “porque aquí es seguro.”[3] Compared to the conditions they left behind, making less than $50 a week to survive, Maria and her three children were content in Iceland, and are working alongside the Salvation Army with the hope of calling this new country their home.  

 

For the Salvation Army in Iceland, peace is not left to the imagination. It is a lived expression of their Christian faith and the answer for a wounded world. And while Lennon may have envisioned peace in a world with no religion, throughout Christian history, at its best, the Church has served as the first responders in providing support and aid in the midst of humanitarian crises. When confronted with the aftermath of a violent world, Christ instructs His people that, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”[4] As children of the living God who died so that a lost and wayward humanity might find refuge in Him, may we also serve as a place of refuge to those we meet along the way.

 

For more information about service-learning trips with Compass, visit compasspath.org. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube for more content like this.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Daniel Montañez was born in Visalia, CA to a Mexican mother and a Puerto Rican father. He is a Ph.D. candidate at Boston University School of Theology in the area of theology, ethics, and philosophy. He is the director of Mygration Christian Conference, and serves as the the director of the Migration Crisis Initiative for the Church of God (Cleveland, TN). Daniel is dedicated to serving his Latino/a community at the intersection of ministry in the Church, the scholarship in the academy, and social engagement in the public square.

Footnotes:

[1] For more information  about the Salvation Army in Iceland, visit www.herinn.is.

[3] “Because it’s safe here.”

[4] Matthew 5:9 (NIV)

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