Fiction: THE LOST CHILDREN OF GREENLAND

Written by Charles Kinney, Jr.

Wednesday, 01 July 2009 00:00

Charles Kinney, Jr.

The Lost Children of Greenland

(The author spent two years living and traveling throughout Greenland. Portions transcribed and permission granted from Denmark's Politiken, May 30, 2009)
When you've seen the world, there's always Greenland. The old traveler's saying about one of the world's last wild places illustrates that many know little about the island. There's another secret about Greenland: its lost children. Even with a GDP per person of 20,000 USD, half of which is provided by Denmark, Greenland's children face grinding poverty and bleak futures. A self-ruled dependent territory of Denmark, Greenland has 840,000 sq miles/2175590 sq km, but only 57,000 people, 14,000 of them under the age of 14.

The realities of Greenland reads like a Dickensian litany of horrors. Independence at any cost, and the eradication of the Danish system, has produced a situation where the feasibility of Greenlanders running a functional state in the near future seems wishful thinking. There are simply not enough educated bodies to make it all work.

Alcohol is and will be the downfall of Greenland. The harsh conditions and isolation breed alcoholism. Alcohol is a major component of many Greenlander's lives. In some areas of Greenland, children not only contend with alcoholism at home, but witness its destructive nature throughout their village or settlement and even at school.

The Copenhagen Post stated that nearly 40% of Greenlandic children live in poverty, and 30% of the girls and 10% of the boys have experienced a “traumatic experience” (Copenhagen Post, February 9, 2008). Sexual and physical abuse, to varying degrees, is evident in schools, including incest and young children simulating sexual habits. Adolescents and teenagers exhibit inappropriate behavior and suggestive comments toward adults. In one settlement (Atammik), nearly every male child had been molested by a foreigner, undisturbed, for over twenty-five years. Outright manifestations of physical abuse have included bruising, hair loss and chronic depression. Many parents have nearly abandoned their children. The suicide rate for under-25 males is proportionally higher than almost anywhere on Earth.

Substantial teacher attrition and turnover has created instability and incongruity in most schools. Conversely, in some areas, teaching provides some of the few if any jobs. Many teachers are untrained and function as glorified babysitters. Pedagogy has given way to survival. Morale is low. DVD-watching substitutes as class time. Expensive satellite Internet time is spent playing violent games. In some schools, the situation is at or near anarchy. It isn't uncommon to see children jumping from roofs or climbing in and out of windows. It's not uncommon for adolescents and teenagers to walk the streets late at night in sub-zero temperatures. Student academic levels are some of the lowest in the world. Few students go on to higher education after the tenth-grade level. It's generally suggested that 40%-70% of Greenland's students drop out before reaching higher education. Children don't see education as a way out but something to get through before being relegated to menial, if any, work.

Greenland will have a “lost generation” and in a country of only 57,000, even a few lost children will help push Greenland's dreams of independence to an even remoter date.

Charles Kinney, Jr.

Bio:

Charles Kinney, Jr. http://www.charleskinney.blogspot.com/ is currently based in Norway, and has written for publications in Greenland, Denmark, the United States and the United Kingdom. He has taught and lectured at universities and educational institutions around the world. He's frequently appeared on Greenlandic TV http://charleskinney.blogspot.com/2009/03/singing-with-puppets-on-greenlandic-tv.html and recently completed a two-year posting as the US State Department's English Language Fellow to Greenland.

Last Updated ( Saturday, 20 March 2010 12:46 )