With the ash tumbling all over Europe and destroying holiday plans and business trips alike, it is easy to forget the plight of the farmers living directly underneath Iceland's erupting volcano. The effects of Eyjafalla's grumbling is being felt all over the world - holiday-makers are stranded, medical treatment is being postponed, food deliveries are being halted and school children are stuck on perpetual school field trips.
This is, of course, very inconvenient. My heart does go out to all the people that are stuck in far off places and hemorrhaging money trying to pay all their extra hotel costs. As a temporary resident in Iceland however, it does seem to me that no one is really paying any attention to the farmers here who are brushing ash off of their sheep's backs whilst wondering if their crops can even survive under the ever-increasing layers of Eyjafalla's offerings.
The Icelandic people were punched hard in the face and then kicked to the ground by the recent economic down turn. The farmers were especially hard hit, and have only really been keeping their heads above murky financial waters for the last two years. Living through such fiscal uncertainty, to then be told in the middle of the night that they have to throw as much hay as they possibly can to feed their livestock and then flee their home, must be gut-wrenching.
So again - I am truly sorry for the people stranded abroad. To all those people that are missing weddings, birthdays, office meetings, dentist appointments and sales calls I say this: I am truly sorry for your troubles. But please, when you are shouting at haggard airport workers about how unfair everything is, try and be grateful that you are not digging out your home and your livelihood from piles of poisonous ash.
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