Living in Greenland

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1:10Hello, I'm James Reynolds. Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. In BBC OS Conversations, we bring people together to share their experiences. This time, we hear from people in Greenland. Home to just 57 ,000 people, the world's largest island has found itself at the centre of global attention. Donald Trump's demands to take over the self-governing Danish territory, potentially even by force, led to a diplomatic crisis, with the president threatening economic sanctions against European allies for opposing his plans. It's the United States alone that can protect this giant mass of land, this giant piece of ice, develop it and improve it and make it so that it's good for Europe and safe for Europe and good for us.

2:00After meeting the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutter, at the World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland, the president did strike a more conciliatory tone. He said there is now the framework of a future deal. With details of any plans still uncertain, we wanted to hear from the people caught in the middle. For our first conversation, recorded before the Davos meeting, my colleague Rahul Tandon brought together three young Greenlanders. 26-year-old Minnick lives in Greenland's second largest city, Sosimut. He sells ATVs, all-terrain vehicles. 23-year-old Julia, also in Sosimut, works in tourism.

2:36And 25-year-old Naya is in the capital Nuuk. She's a singer-songwriter. Julia and Naya began the conversation by discussing recent events. It's weird, actually. It's overwhelming and a melancholic feeling of the future. Yeah, and I think Donald Trump, in his previous term, he did a lot of talking and not as much action on his part. Of course, it was uncomfortable being talked about in that way. But now that he's actually made action of some of his words and his threats, it's really, really scary for us up here. because we're not that many people and it's not something that's in our history. You know, Greenland's never been at war before.

3:13But I think the conversation up here has really changed from being unrealistic to it actually being something that we have to worry about a little bit. But on the other hand, you know, even though the attention that Greenland's getting is overwhelming, I think it has a lot of potential as well. Because before, if you pointed to the big island on the map, people wouldn't know what it was. People know what Greenland is, especially working in the tourism industry. you know, this can actually be really good for us. The relationship between Denmark and Greenland has always been complicated. But this situation, even though it's bad, it's kind of like also healing in a way.

3:48The recent demonstration in Denmark with a lot of people wanting to demonstrate for Greenland, support Greenland. Yeah, I really agree with Naya on that, because there's been a lot of debate in the recent years with the relationship between Greenland and Denmark. but the conversations being had are actually very healing. Can I bring Minik into the conversation here? You're talking to your friends. How much does this feature in your conversations on a daily basis? We talk about it a lot. We have never experienced this kind of attention before in Greenland since we grew up. So we don't know what our future looks like.

4:25It has never been more excited. So the same as Julia said, we're getting a lot of attention. Some of it is good. and for the US side is stressful, kind of. You're stuck into the TV or on the news constantly trying to figure out what's going to happen next or something because you can't predict what Donald Trump's next move is. What is life like in Greenland? What would an average day be like for you? I've been working within tourism for many years. Even though I'm not that old, you know, even my mum, she used to go around with tourists when she was pregnant with me. So I'm 23 with 24 years of experience.

5:01But often so I do dog sledding and snowmobile tours and everything and walking around with tourists. So my day actually consists of speaking about our community or history and, of course, being outside. Because if you're in Greenland and you're not a nature person, it's not for you. And nature is important, isn't it? Because there is a lot of focus on Greenland because of the Arctic Circle melting a bit. More ships can come through. But are you seeing that, Naya, in your daily life? Tell me about the snowfall this year. It's weird. It's hot. It was hot in January. We had plus degrees, even though we usually had like minus 10 degrees.

5:42But it snowed yesterday and finally getting some snow so we can get outside and do some skiing, hopefully. And I can pitch in there because me and Minik were in Sisimut, which is further up north. And it's been the same here. They're not quite as hot as in Nuuk. After the 28th of December, we had two weeks where there was no snow because it started raining, which is unusual because in January in Sezimut, it's around minus 30 degrees Celsius. And does that worry you, Minik, the change in the climate when you're in the part of the world that you're in? Right now it is because we really want to take out and enjoy the snow instead of looking at the news currently.

6:23like we were out sailing yesterday and as a greenlander you the nature is the best healing you can ever do it for yourself dog sledding snowmobiling sailing it's a part of our daily living you won't survive in greenland if you don't love these as they said so yeah yeah especially and it's getting worried because of the climate changes and the temperatures it's minus 14 celsius degrees here in Sisimut today and tomorrow afternoon it will get to like zero degrees and then we will have sun and then we'll it will stay on plus the next couple of days so it's really strange to not get that winter and icy and cold temperatures as we used to.

7:07Where do you guys see your future and has that changed now because of the debate about Greenland? Our family business is here in Sisimut, the same as Julian. And we are kind of the next generation from our parents. So, yeah, we see our future here in Sisimut. And I think with this attention that has been, I think we have a really good opportunity in tourism like they do in Iceland. So we maybe can take some next level steps. But it all depends on how the situation will involve. I'm not in tourism. I'm in the cultural events, like a singer-songwriter in concert and stuff like that. If there's an opportunity for me to live full-time as a musician, I would take that opportunity.

7:53And if it's not in Geraslid Nunat, I will, of course, try and live in another country for those years. I'm having my career, but I will always come back here and I will die here. Well, we hope that's not for some time. Yeah, a long life ahead of you. You're all a lot younger. You're all a lot younger than me. It's very dark. You know, we have had so much talk about Greenland and we see these sort of images. When you guys look out of your windows, just describe what you see because it strikes me that you live in one of the most stunningly beautiful places on this planet. Well, I wish you could see.

8:35I'm looking down at our little fjord we have in the city, and I'm looking over to the mountain called the Breeze Mountain, I guess, and where I can see the sun is hitting the mountains, kind of, so it's colorful, beautiful weather. I'm actually looking at the same bay as Minink, just from a different part of town, and looking at the same mountain down at our harbor with all the boats. I'm looking at the view from our new apartment, I'm looking at the ocean from Durban Nuitz, an address in Nook. It's a bit wavy and I can see some ravens and seagulls flying around and a lot of snow and it's sunny.

9:22I wish I had a target that I could go out sailing whenever I want. Yeah, maybe in the future. You guys are young. You are young Greenlanders. You are the future. What is that future, do you think, as you look ahead? I hope to see Greenland shine. And in shining, I mean that the indigenous Inuit Kailashit will start seeing how important we are in this world and having more self-respect towards our own culture so we can stand together as people and show our beauty to the whole beautiful world we live in. The most beautiful country, I would say. That's what I hope. And me personally, I hope for independence.

10:15Julia? Minik? Okay, I can take it. Yeah, I also hope for independence, as Nea mentioned. And I hope that we will be treated with more respect from now on. We will see how that goes. but I'm going to live the rest of my life here. We hope that attention that we just got will be in a good and positive way. So yeah, I'm just hoping the best for my country because I'm going to stay here and I hope they will respect our culture and identity. I can pick up on that. We talk about independence. I think pretty much everyone in Greenland is for some kind of independence. I think a country like ours to be realistic We have to have some kind of collaboration within a different country.

11:04And I think we've already started, you know, trying to heal the relationship with Denmark. So I think and because of everyone's mixed heritage and the many connections there are between the two countries, that would be probably the best way to go. But the most important for me is that we evolve into a country that can take better care of our elders and our children and that we can continue to make our school system better and our health care system. So that's what's pretty much what's most important to me. And of course, there's a lot of our culture and identity that's having to be maintained and to be respected.

11:40But I think, you know, taking care of our children and our elders, I think that's probably the primary wish for the country for me. what does being a Greenlander mean to you we're getting a sense of it in the conversation but but let's expand on that outline what it exactly it means for you it means everything to me I'm very proud of being able to be born here in Sissimut or in Greenland so when I talk with everyone when I'm out traveling or something I feel very lucky to be able to be born in here and raised here? I mean, being kalalik in English in a Greenlander, for me it means being able to understand each other in silence without having an awkward moment like other cultures might be experiencing when they have an awkward silence.

12:36But silence here is like safety or like understanding each other in silence. and being a galalik also means being connected to nature. I agree so much with Naya. Up here, the two big, like almost building stones in Greenlandic culture and it's community and nature. Being one with nature and being a community where everyone takes care of each other and wants the best and we're all working towards the same and taking care of each other. I think that's pretty much the main thing in Greenland. We're very community-oriented and very family-oriented and very nature-oriented. Juliet, Naya and Minnick in Greenland.

13:21And you heard Naya mention a targa. As you might have guessed, that's a type of boat. I'm James Reynolds. You're listening to the documentary from the BBC World Service.

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15:12Greenland is the world's most sparsely populated territory. Some 80 % of it is covered in ice. As well as its strategic importance, there's also been increased interest in Greenland's natural resources, including rare earth minerals, which are becoming easier to access as ice recedes due to climate change. Today, though, Greenland's economy is largely dependent on fishing, and with a new international airport, a growing tourism industry. Small wonder when you look at just what a beautiful place it is. For our second conversation, also recorded earlier this week, we brought together Mike, a tour operator in the east of the island, Klaus, who owns a hotel and apartments in Nuuk, and Kasper, also in Nuuk, who runs fishing and hunting tours.

15:58And this conversation begins where the last one left off. What does it mean to be a Greenlander? Being Grandling is not necessarily about a specific ethnicity. I think it's about reciprocity. I think it's about togetherness and the acceptance of each individual because in Greenland we have this swing door culture, which basically means that if it's a birthday or a marriage or anything, you have these events where you just open your door and everybody's welcome. We have a culture that is so open-minded for people coming from other countries. So it's really easy to be a Greenlander. And I think as long as you want to volunteer, as long as you want to contribute to society, you're basically seen as a Greenlander.

16:36And I really, really love that part. It means everything. It is part of my heritage and my culture because also my father is Danish and my mother is actually from West Greenland. Came here in the 60s as a midwife. They settled here and we were born and raised in Tessilac. East Greenland is a very welcoming culture. Very open-minded and they accept people quite fast. They have a survival instinct here. It's rough, it's tough. you have severe weather, you have all kinds of, well, they haven't come and it's perseverance. And that's always something that you look up to and see how people are and how people get together, definitely for hard times and rough times.

17:27Because the culture in East Greenland, it's like the hub of culture in Greenland. So it's very important with connecting to the drum dancers and the storytelling. I mean, drum dance is traditional dances that is done here, family to family. It's not something taught in schools or whatever, but it is like a unifying event. It's both to entertain purposes as storytelling, and it's also for resolving disputes, actually. So that's very close and dear to me. And to give us a sense of life in Greenland, Casper, I know you organize fishing and hunting tours. Tell us what you do on these tours. What's a normal day?

18:12We are 50 to 6 ,000 people living on what's equivalent to one third of the United States square meter wise. Just imagine the amount of square meters we have per person up here. And I think that highlights perfectly what you experience at these tours. we go into probably one of the last untouched ecosystems on earth when we go in hunting for for reindeer for moss cox rock tomigan if you go fishing for this arctic salmon you go and fish into areas where there has basically never been set any feet in history and being able to go out and share these moments to go completely down in time step back just a little bit and just explore or something untouched.

18:57That's exactly what we do. And it's so integrated and embedded into the Greenlandic way of life. We usually don't go out and buy meat at the store. No, what we do is that we are basically one of the last hunter-gatherers in the Arctic. We go out and we catch our food ourselves. And that's the exact thing that we want to do with our guests. So when we go reindeer hunting, we don't go the UTVs, the ATVs with cars. No, we go by hiking. We bring our rifles. And then if we shoot the reindeer 10 kilometers in the land, we carry 10 kilometers back home on our necks and our backs. And that's what we want to show.

19:35We want to show the authentic part of Greenland. And I think that's exactly what we do throughout all our tours. And for us, it's really important that our guides are Greenlandic, because who are the very best in this world at showing off Greenland? It is us as locals. When you're on those tours yourself, Casper, what goes through your mind? I think it's one of these few moments in life where you kind of just reality kind of stops. You don't kind of think about a lot of things. You kind of observe. It's one of these moments where you use all your instincts, all your senses, and you kind of become one with nature.

20:13And being able to share this with our guests and exploring something so unique is what we have here. It just can't give you anything else but thrill and happiness. And we've seen President Trump in Davos saying he wants a piece of ice. I wonder, Klaus, Kasper and Mike, is that how you see Greenland a piece of ice? No, definitely not. This is our home. This is our country. This is 56 ,000 people living up here with hearts and souls. And we live and breathe for this country. So it's much more than just ice. It is our home. And there is, as Kasper says, a lot of land up here. There's a lot of experience to be done.

20:56And you also have the towns and you have the East Coast, the West Coast. It's so different. There's so many things to experience up here and there's so much life. So for us, it's much more than just ice. And it's very important for us to say, and I think I speak for all of us, that Trump and the administration is one thing. They've gone rogue. They've gone bananas. They are crazy. but we still really love having American tourists up here and tourists from Europe and tourists from Asia. One thing is the administration in the U.S. But of course, what they are doing is extremely offensive and that's not okay.

21:32But then again, we can see through that and we really would like to welcome Americans so they can come and see for themselves the life that's going on up here. And it's not just a chunk of ice. I want to back up Klaus here and saying that everybody's welcome as long as they respect our norms, our values, our culture. That is the most important part. And as long as you do that, we will be a welcoming people. When I see Greenlanders, we are a diplomatic people. We are in for democracy. And I really have my doubts that any of us wants to bring out the swords and go for the fight. And again, it's extremely offensive.

22:08And of course, it's creating a lot of concerns and we're worried about the future of Greenland. We're worried about our businesses. We're worried about our families, our future. It also reaches a point where it's not only a benefit for our businesses, but it also becomes like this double-edged sword because on one side we see a huge interest. A lot of people wanted to go to Greenland, but now Trump has been going so rogue that people are hesitant to actually go here. That's just a step too far and It was already a step too far last year, but this time, again, it has to stop. We really wanted to get down to our normal ways of life.

22:43I want to end by asking very briefly, if there was one place that you would recommend anyone to see in Greenland, what would that place be? And do each of you reply in turn? Let's begin with Klaus. So which place you should see? Well, I'm from the capital. I would, of course, like people to go here, spend a couple of days. And the thing is, Greenland is really, really big. So I think it's important that you say to yourself that you can come and see the capital. You can see the smallest capital in the world. We are only 20 ,000 people. But either way, we still have cafes. We still have the busing life of the capital.

23:20And then I think you should go to see the rest of Greenland. And maybe it's not just one vacation. You should take actually one or two vacations up here. It would be like saying that you go to Scandinavia in Europe and then you have seen Europe. Well, you haven't. But for me, of course, I would like people to come here and which is my hotel. But I think going at a tour with Casper would be great as well. One place, Greenland. No, again, there are so many nice things to explore here. And that's why we offer our travel packages, because when people come here, one destination is not enough. But if I could choose one place, we have this place called Camp Isra, which is a three and a half hour boat ride away from Nuuk.

24:04It's in the middle of nowhere. It's a nomadic experience with a tent camp where you can go fly fishing, hunting, hikes. I would say it's probably one of the most adventurous places on earth. And it's definitely the thing I look the most forward to when we come to the summer of 2026. And Mike? And sorry, before Mikey asked something, I would actually say I would love to go and visit Mike because I've been on the East Coast, but I never visited the Zilagen. It's an incredible area over there, but Mike, go ahead. Sorry about that. Greenland has very variations of destinations, which is good. But flying to Kulesuk, East Greenland, just flying in, you can see the peaks of mountains.

24:44And all the local people, when you fly with local people in a plane, they will take pictures and they will say, wow. And when you land, you just wow. And that's the expression of East Greenland. And when you come and you can do certain trips, but you are already in the beginning coming in. Just the local people will do it. I do it. I take pictures outside the flight window and say, this is just amazing. With the peaks and the wonderful scenery of East Greenland. And this, obviously, the tours. And you have all this. But you have the culture. And you have the young people doing traditional dances.

25:23And you have so much history and so much culture. People shouldn't be scared of coming to Greenland. Coming to these places, you are supporting the economy, you're supporting the local people, you're supporting just a life in East Greenland. Don't be scared. Mike, Klaus and Kasper, keen for us all to visit. Our thanks to them and to our other guests for giving us an insight into what it's like to live in Greenland. I'm James Reynolds. You've been listening to the documentary from the BBC World Service.

26:23happen in the long run if the US continues to cede the floor to China on clean energy. Listen to The Global Story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.