Ice age for migrant fishermen in Iceland

"There are no jobs here," Isleifur Gunnursdottir, an 18-year-old fisherman from eastern Iceland, told the Daily Telegraph. "I'm going to Norway." Almost 1,200 years after Viking Ingolfur Arnarson left Norway and founded the town of Reykjavik, the crisis facing Iceland is forcing his descendants to return home. The Atlantic island of 320,000, which is experiencing the worst financial crisis in its history, now expects its biggest exodus in a century.

Iceland's economy may shrink by about 10 percent next year, according to the International Monetary Fund. Reykjavik newspaper Morgunbladid said that about half of Icelanders aged between 18 and 24 are considering leaving the country. "Tens of thousands" will depart, said Jesper Christensen of Danske Bank A/S. Iceland's banking system collapsed in October, and inflation jumped to 17.1 percent in November.