"This is my little sister"
Dagbjört Hjaltadóttir says that her sister was poorly cared for after a major shock when an avalanche hit Súðavík and her sister lost everything. mbl.is/Eggert Jóhannesson
"There was no one to take care of them, no institution, only individuals out in town. My sister had half her teeth broken, her shoulder broken, her collarbone broken and her shoulder torn, tendons and other things, but she received no follow-up after she came south," says Dagbjört Hjaltadóttir, the sister of Berglind Kristjánsdóttir who, together with her ex-husband Hafsteinn Númason, lost three children in the avalanche in Súðavík 30 years ago: Hrefna Björg, seven years old, Kristján Númi, 4 years old, and Aðalsteinn Rafn, 2 years old.
Dagbjört Hjaltadóttir says that there was a lot of confusion when it came to supporting the couple after the tragic loss they experienced. After the shock, their belongings fit into one suitcase and she says that those who went to Reykjavík, unlike those who remained in Súðavík, after the disaster received little help in the weeks after they came south.
Dagbjört is among those interviewed by Morgunblaðið and mbl.is on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the avalanche on January 16, 1995, which claimed the lives of 14 people, eight of whom were children.
With a few clothes in a bag
Dagbjört is 69 years old and has lived in Súðavík most of her life. She says she is very close to her sister, but there are eight years between them.
"Linda (Berglind) is not the type to want to attract sympathy, but I just think it's time to tell about this. That's just how things were and something has settled in a person," says Dagbjört.
After the avalanche, Berglind was taken to the hospital in Ísafjörður for treatment. She stayed there for a few days. After that, she and her husband, Hafsteinn, went to Reykjavík, where they were basically on their own, according to Dagbjört.
“They were sent on a regular flight to Reykjavík, with a few clothes in a bag and there was no system to keep them going. They were on their own and just went to our mother. But there was no one from the Red Cross, no one from civil protection, no one from the social services who caught these people,” says Dagbjört, who herself has handled the reception of refugees in Súðavík on behalf of the Red Cross and knows how to handle things.
Made an appointment with a dentist
“For example, it just so happened that through an acquaintance with the dentist here in the Westfjords, Berglind got an appointment at Tanngarður, at the university after she came south,” says Dagbjört.
She says that in 1995, their mother lived in a small three-room apartment building in the western part of town where the sisters grew up. There was a lot of grief there.
“My mother was completely devastated, having lost three grandchildren and feeling a little overwhelmed by everything,” Dagbjört says.
Out of the blue, however, “some man in town” called Berglind and Hafstein and offered them an apartment on Hringbraut.
“At that time, there had been no word from the authorities or those who are supposed to catch people who end up in hell. There is no other word for what they ended up in,” Dagbjört says.
Called a psychologist from the phone book
She says that at first they moved into an empty apartment that was unfurnished. They had to contact the authorities themselves, and through that means they got money to buy a kitchen table, two chairs, and a bed. At that time, the collection money had not yet been returned to the victims.
“But they just sat there and looked at each other. Both of them, of course, were very depressed. "They decided to open the phone book themselves to find a psychologist or someone who could help them. It was just done by pointing out the name of some psychologist that they themselves knew nothing about. This describes how confused they were. There was no one who would help them or was within their reach," Dagbjört says.
She does note, however, that all sorts of people, with whom they had no prior relationship, showed them kindness. Sweaters were knitted for them, various small things were given to them, and other things of that nature.
Children's clothes came out of the bags
The memory goes back to the days after the avalanche.
"My sister had become able to walk after being in the hospital in Ísafjörður for a few days. At that time, she was all bent over and her back was completely out of shape. People were told that they could get clothes, presumably from the Red Cross. They were taken to a shopping mall and there were black bags of used clothes that they could get for free. They weren't buying clothes for them. But so what. She went with Sigríður (Rannveig Jónsdóttir), who had also just lost her baby.
Sigríður started rummaging through the clothes for them, except that they were mostly children's clothes, and it turned out that they simply couldn't do it. So they went to a clothing store there and were allowed to take clothes. But the Red Cross or someone else didn't pay for it and they were then charged for the clothes when they came south. Yet everyone knew that these people had nothing," Dagbjört says.
Dagbjört is very upset when she tells this story.
"I can't help but criticize this"
"I don't know if they would have taken any of the blow that these people experienced, but it would have been better if someone had been able to take care of this practical matter when people are even physically in a mess and their world has collapsed. These people didn't just lose their loved ones, they lost their community, their belongings and their house. I can't help but criticize this. This is my little sister."
They were not offered a house like the others
She believes that this indifference slowed down Hafsteinn and Berglind's recovery.
"Because they had lost everything, all their children, it was as if no one wanted to touch them with red-hot tongs. The grief was somehow too great. The feeling was a bit like they had just been returned and that they didn't matter. Of course, they mattered, but that was the feeling," Dagbjört says.
She gives another example. "Everyone who lived in Súðavík was invited to live in summer cottages that had been set up in a safe area inside the village. I don't know how it was with others who went south, but I know that Hafsteinn and Linda (Berglind) never received this invitation. Whether they would have gone back is impossible to say, but it should have been their decision."
In the weeks after the avalanche, clean-up work was carried out in the town. People's belongings and belongings were piled up in piles many meters high.
"There was a lot of emphasis on cleaning the streets right afterwards so that the children could come back. Or so they said, that the children needed to be brought back as soon as possible," Dagbjört says.
Rummaging through the pile for personal belongings
"I remember when the cleanup was going on. Then, in a daze, I watched one of the diggers pick up a beautiful dresser from my sister and then saw it fall out of the pit and break. All kinds of stuff, photo albums, books, and other things came out. Then it was all shoveled out to Langeyri, which is an industrial area near Súðavík," Dagbjört says .
"There the stuff was piled up like a kind of iceberg. There were clothes, furniture and other things mixed in with the walls of houses and snow. I went up there regularly to scan the pile and try to find something personal as it melted from the pile. So when Easter approaches, Hafsteinn and Linda come to visit. I hadn't been inside for a few days, but the sun was shining and more was coming out.
Then we found Hrefna's Christmas dress that she had worn the previous Christmas. Linda also found a box and in it were the children's Christening clothes. As she and Hafsteinn stood there, exhausted and emotional, a bus full of tourists drove by. The bus was there for a while and the tourists looked at them and then drove away. They found it difficult and humiliating. They spoke to the village manager and demanded that a sign be put up stating that unauthorized access was prohibited. This was refused and they were a little upset."
At Langeyri there was a pile of personal belongings mixed with debris from the avalanche. mbl.is/Úlfar Ágústsson
Some photo albums were found, but most of the personal belongings were lost. "Everything that was found was incredibly valuable," Dagbjört says.
However, according to Dagbjört, not everything is bad, and when an avalanche hit Flateyri nine months later, different methods were used. People's belongings were collected as they were found.
“Talk about the avalanche”
Hafsteinn and Berglind divorced in 2013.
Dagbjört says her sister is not bitter about how things were handled after the avalanche. She has held on to her sense of humor and the sisters “talk about the avalanche” about what happened and have never been shy about doing so. Berglind has always maintained contact with the village.
She wants to point out that the apathy that the couple experienced is not the fault of any individual, but the system failed. She hopes that lessons can be learned from the story. Then we must not forget the individuals who showed invaluable support.
Dagbjört especially wants to express her thanks to Pastor Karl V. Matthíasson. “He took care of all the people in the south and went far beyond what can be expected of any man. He has always done his best to take care of the people from Súðavík,” she concludes.