Don't think they will return to Grindavík

“I think we’ve decided not to go back,” says a born and bred “ Grindvíkingur ” and a new father Guðjón Sveinsson.

Guðjón and his wife Ayça Erishin, who had their first child on Wednesday, say they don’t trust themselves to move back to Grindavík, especially after they became parents.

“I might trust myself to return, but I don’t think my wife will trust herself to do so later. It’s uncomfortable to live in this situation, and even though the seismic activity might die down, a similar situation can come up again. Now that we’ve got the baby, we want to find a permanent home,” Sveinsson says.

All the family in Grindavík

Sveinsson, who was born and raised in Grindavík, moved back to Iceland this summer after living elsewhere for some time. His wife, Ayça, is from Turkey and has been living in Iceland for nearly four years.

“We had been living in Reykjavik until this summer. Then we could expand and settle in good housing in Grindavík, which we had already prepared for the baby,” he says.

“My family is all from Grindavík, more or less. Both my parents, siblings and a large part of the family live there, so we came to Grindavík to be close to our family.”

“Not the ideal situation to be on the road looking for a place to live”

Their son was born at Landspítali hospital last Wednesday, but according to Sveinsson, both mother and child are doing well. They are now staying in a summerhouse owned by Sveinson’s parents.

“We are very lucky to have a strong family that supports us. We don’t have any problems finding a place to live, but it’s maybe not the ideal situation to be on the road looking for a place to live at the moment,” he says.

The young couple were already taking most of the necessities out of Grindavík when it was decided to evacuate the town on Saturday night, November 11.

“We’re in a pretty good position compared to a lot of people despite this,” he says. “Of course, this takes a certain amount of time, but we have a strong support system that we’re always safe and can always find a place to live. These are just such sudden changes that you didn’t expect and something that you couldn’t control.”

The son will always be a “Grindvíkingur”

According to Sveinsson, the little family in the summerhouse is doing well for now and the new parents are planning to use the maternity/paternity leave to figure out the next steps. But he says it’s hard to think about the uncertainty that exists about the future of Grindavík.

“You’re ready to live somewhere else, but it’s hard to imagine that your home town would go down in the worst case scenario,” he says.

Finally, Sveinsson says that the little boy will always be a “Grindvíkingur”, although it doesn’t look like the little family’s intentions to settle in the town will be realized.

“Of course, he’ll be a “Grindvíkingur” in his heart, it’s inevitable, no matter what happens.”