Greenland: between personal experience and geopolitics

Peroni: I started the Red House more than 30 years ago with the idea of creating jobs and new opportunities for people in Tasiilaq, because the local culture was really in a difficult situation. The traditional nomadic way of life — based on hunting marine mammals like seals, whales, and polar bears, and also fishing — was losing its foundations. That was partly because of animal- and environmental-protection campaigns, trade boycotts, and increasingly also because of climate change.

When I first came there, tourism didn’t really exist at all. Today, the Red House provides work for around 65 local Inuit, and it has become a place where visitors from the West and Greenlanders can meet, exchange ideas, and get to know each other.

Peroni: Sixty years ago, the people in East Greenland were still living in conditions that were, in many ways, comparable to the Stone Age. Their lives were based on hunting seals and polar bears. They lived in turf huts, hunted with spears, and used bone knives as tools. Their clothing was made from the skins of the animals they hunted — seals and polar bears.

What fascinated me most was the relationship between people and nature. I quickly made friends with Greenlanders and met people who think very differently from us in the Western world. For me, it was incredibly interesting to encounter a society that is almost the opposite of ours. In many ways, what we see as positive in the West can be viewed negatively there — and vice versa.

Peroni: Greenland was colonized by Denmark starting in 1733, and a lot of damage was done during that time. There were very difficult chapters in this history — including the removal of children from their families and forced sterilizations, which still happened in the decades after the Second World War. One of the biggest problems today is alcohol. Alcohol was originally unknown to the Greenlanders before it was introduced from outside. At the same time, Greenlanders have to deal with enormous global changes. Their traditional identity as a hunting culture is increasingly being questioned. When people can no longer live from hunting or contribute to their family in the traditional way, it creates a deep crisis of identity.

In the past, a hunter who could no longer provide for his family sometimes felt he had no place in the community anymore. That sense of worthlessness can still exist today, and it is one of the reasons why the suicide rate in Greenland remains very high.

Peroni: Over the years, the Red House has grown into a small hotel with about 20 beds, because more and more tourists have started coming to Greenland. Through that, I’m able to provide jobs for some local people and help them reintegrate into society.

When the first visitors came to East Greenland, there were maybe 12 tourists in total, and they were welcomed almost like close friends. But as time went on, more and more visitors arrived, and at some point it could feel like too much for the Greenlanders. One person once said to me, “Too many of your friends are coming.”

Today we’ve found a good balance. I try to promote a form of sustainable tourism that respects both the land and the local people. I involve Greenlanders as well as guests, and the income we generate is reinvested in social projects — for example, programs that support people struggling with alcohol.

Peroni: Greenland received extensive autonomy from Denmark in 1979. After Denmark joined the European Community in 1973, a special status was meant to protect Greenlanders’ fishing revenues from the European single market. In 1985, Greenland even left the EU territory and has since been classified as an Overseas Country and Territory in its relationship with the EU.

In 2008, about 76% of Greenlanders voted for further expanding their autonomy. Many political leaders see independence from Denmark as a possible long-term goal, but not something that will happen immediately.

What is very clear, however, is that the people of Greenland value their freedom and self-determination very highly. Recent territorial ambitions expressed by U.S. President Donald Trump have only strengthened that feeling.

Instead of geopolitical pressure or threats, what Greenland really needs is international cooperation. The Arctic island is strategically very important, but the priority should be helping the Inuit adapt to global warming in a dignified way and ensuring that Greenland’s natural resources — its minerals, as well as gas and oil reserves — are developed responsibly.