Akureyri town council has expressed the desire to welcome up to 50 asylum seekers currently being detained in refugee camps in Greece and Italy.
RÚV spoke with town council chairperson Guðmundur Baldvin Guðmundsson, who said that while it has not been decided just how many asylum seekers the town will accept, all the necessary services are available. As such, the town has asked for a meeting with the Ministry of Welfare in order to work out the finer details of welcoming refugees at the first opportunity.
“The way we see it, if everyone shoulders this social responsibility, it’s possible we could solve this problem,” he said.
Akureyri accepted 24 asylum seekers from the former Yugoslav Republic in 2003, and Guðmundur says all the families who came still live in Akureyri and have integrated well. He encourages other municipalities to take part in accepting more asylum seekers.
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