Currently being reported as food riots in some blogs, the unrest in Iceland sees a physical manifestation of the financial meltdown that left the country all but bankrupt and, at times, facing severe food shortages.
Here's the ITN report on YouTube and a report from The Scotsman. Check on some of the blog conversations and you will see they are being dubbed 'food riots'. Reviewing what has gone on, the riots are less about food and more about the future people see themselves facing - although I worry that the question of food may come into the protests soon. The actions taken by normally placid Icelandic citizens demonstrate the extent to which trust in the system - and those responsible for running the system - has been lost We have seen food riots elsewhere in the world throughout this year (April was particulary notable for this) and although any sort of riot is disturbing, a food riot, perhaps more than any other expresses the desperation people feel when they are cornered and without hope when it comes to the essentials of life. I think we will see more actual food riots from previously peaceful people in the months ahead and not simply because there are food shortages - primarily because people will simply not be able to afford the basics. Here in NZ, the average family food bill has risen by at least $35 - $50 per week in the last twelve months.
Without wishing to be a doom-mongerer - rather acting as an observant forecaster - there's definitely a storm brewing. Good crisis communication starts with tackling and resolving the issue long before it becomes a crisis. Sadly, the issue has been around for the last eighteen months (longer in many parts of the globe) but very little overt action has been taken to address this fundamental concern for every single person. Hatches are not being battened, the political fallout will be extreme and the social cost immense. Oh dear.
Will Iceland's summer election warm the nation's economy?
After the food shortages of last year, the riots and then the 'pots and pans' or Saucepan Revolution in January, Iceland heads to the polls this weekend. The election is a direct result of citizen protests triggered as the Icelandic economy went into melt-down.
Tomorrow's election (April 25) - is an election which, according to some, has delayed the payments from the IMF promised during the meltdown period last year. Many Icelandic bloggers have been charting, reporting and commenting on the quiet revolution that has been underway, so much so, that a list of bloggers deemed to be 'enemies of the Progressive Party was recently published by the DV newspapers. One longtime blogger, Alda, was saddened to be left off the list - she felt her place should have been assured by this post which provides insight into some of the background to the crisis through the lens of the film, Dreamland, in turn based on the book Dreamland: A Self-Help Manual for a Frightened Nation by Andri Snær Magnason. I would heartily recommend you read Alda's post (and her blog generally) as the story of Dreamland is one that I believe has been replicated in many places around the world - and that in the months ahead, we will see similar situations arise in many small nations.
There is daily talk of 'the recession' as if it is an amorphous doom, arriving unannounced and bringing with it these unavoidable consequences. Mainstream media makes it easy for us to believe that 'the recession' is as sudden and out of the blue as a previously unspotted asteroid. But this is not the case. The financial troubles that abound - in Iceland and elsewhere - are primarily the fruits of unethical, profit-driven, greedy sharp practice. Judgements made in the interests of the shareholder, not society. Where companies are making workers redundant, I seriously question the validity of the redundancies blamed on the 'recession', convinced as I am that many are using it as an excuse to cover up previous mismanagement of their organisations (and I would include the public sector in that as well).
I hope that after the election, the people of Iceland can begin a new era with leaders capable of rebuilding the country's economy as well as relationships within the wider global community. I hope that out of this, they are able to redefine business models that meet their needs without putting the security of their citizens at risk in the future. I suspect it will be a long road and my earnest hope is they get the support they will need. And I hope too, that some time soon, the amorphous recession will cease to be blamed by all and sundry and instead, the economic behaviours that brought us to this point in history are investigated, highlighted, outlawed and changed for the better. If not, many more Saucepan Revolutions will begin to bubble and before long they will boil over into streets worldwide.