Devastating news. I spent a wild summer in 2006 resisting the Karahnjukar Dam with Haukur. He was truly one of a kind. I remember he had such a wild spirit and would talk about spending days wandering off on the land. I’ll always remember the little furry bird foot he kept around his neck (a grouse?). He loved that land and he loved Iceland in a deep way that was infectious.
Perhaps more than any other Icelander I met that summer, three years younger than, he left a lasting impression upon me. I saw him a year or so later at the G8 in Rostock and I think that was the last time. I think of that summer in the highlands a lot – the wonder and magic of it, the pain and madness too. It will stay with me forever and Haukur is a part of that picture, forever in my mind as a grinning mischievous elf with so much energy, passion, good humour, stories to tell, and an open and welcoming heart.
In the years since I doubt he changed very much. In a way it comes as no surprise at all to hear where he ended up, fighting with the Kurds. He always had a sense of being more mature than his years. I imagine he must have grown into a highly capable man and he obviously never lost his zeal, only hardened it. Haukur mate, I’m so sorry. You burned bright though, and you never stopped being the person you knew you could be, doing the things that you knew needed to be done by someone, even if they probably terrified you at times. While the world talked, you just got on and made things happen. I’ll always remember you, you crazy wonderful legend!
