From Iceland — VIDEO: Satirical Christmas Card (Not Actually) From Immigration Directorate Mailed Out

VIDEO: Satirical Christmas Card (Not Actually) From Immigration Directorate Mailed Out

Published December 18, 2018

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
Andie Fontaine

Numerous people, including reporters at Grapevine, has received a satirical Christmas card that sharply criticises the Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL). Now, that card has been given a dramatic reading on a video, which also translates the card’s text to English.

The card is a fairly polished production, and sent via mass mailing with no return address. At first glance it appears to be just like any number of boring, official Christmas cards sent by bureaucrats. A closer read of the text, however, strongly indicates a work of satire.

After wishing the recipient a happy holiday season, the author reflects on the year past at ÚTL. They point out that in the first 10 months of this year, 903 people were denied a residence permit and deported from the country, including many children, some of them born in Iceland. They then say that this “is the result of our interpretation of the Icelandic constitution and our discrimination of people based on their nationality.”

The entirety of the Icelandic text read aloud, along with English subtitles, can be seen here, or you can watch it below:

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