[Thor]

Thought this was a really nice feel good story. The government decided to take in 50 refugees from the Syria crisis, but locals got fed up with the right wing anger over even such a petty amount and responded with a call to our government to step up by showing how many are ready to help in any way that they can.

http://www.dw.com/en/pen-selling-syr...ded/a-18684811

Thousands of Icelanders have called on their government to take in more Syrian refugees – with many offering to accomodate them in their own homes and give them language lessons.

Iceland, which has a population of just over 300,000, has currently capped the number of refugees it accepts at 50.

Author and professor Bryndis Bjorgvinsdottir put out a call on Facebook on Sunday asking for Icelanders to speak out if they wanted the government to do more to help those fleeing Syria. More than 12,000 people have responded to her Facebook group “Syria is calling” to sign an open letter to their welfare minister, Eygló Harðar.

Speaking on Iceland’s RÚV television, Bjorgvinsdottir said her country’s attitude was being changed by the tragic news reports. “I think people have had enough of seeing news stories from the Mediterranean and refugee camps of dying people and they want something done now,” she said.

“Refugees are human resources, they have experience and skills,” the Icelandic letter reads.

“Refugees are our future spouses, best friends, or soulmates, the drummer for the band of our children, our next colleague, Miss Iceland in 2022, the carpenter who finally finished the bathroom, the cook in the cafeteria, the fireman, the computer genius, or the television host.”

Many of those posting on the group have said they would offer up their homes and skills to help refugees integrate. “I have clothing, kitchenware, bed and a room in Hvanneyri [western Iceland], which I am happy to share with Syrians,” one wrote. “I would like to work as a volunteer to help welcome people and assist them with adapting to Icelandic society.”

Also just recently a Icelandic twitter user noticed a man holding a sleeping girl on his shoulders in Lebanon trying to sell pens to get money for food, he started a campaign to raise money for him and find him and that story is all kinds of wonderful:

http://www.techinsider.io/photo-of-a...ll-pens-2015-9

A heartbreaking photo of a Syrian refugee selling blue ballpoint pens on the streets of Lebanon went viral — now over $160,000 has been raised on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo to help the man and his young daughter, pictured sleeping on the man's shoulder.

Here's the photo, tweeted by Gissur Simonarson (he told BuzzFeed he was not sure who took the original photo). He posted the photo on August 25.