On Tuesday afternoon, 10 December, demonstrators in Greenland, Denmark, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway and Sápmi in Finland took to the streets to protest against the placement of Greenlandic children in Denmark.
In front of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, the protesters had gathered in a large circle with candles, Greenlandic flags, signs and banners in the middle.
“I shouldn't be protesting against stealing children” (It should not be necessary to demonstrate against stealing children, - ed.) was written on a homemade sign in the middle of the circle.
We will have to keep demonstrating until the politicians have found a solution. Either the parenting competence tests should be removed, or an emergency solution must be found to replace them so that they are adapted to the Greenlandic people, said Laila Berthelsen, who is the chairwoman of the board of MAPI Association, who led the demonstration in Copenhagen.
This is the third time in a month that the protesters have gathered. They are demanding that Danish municipalities stop the use of parenting competence tests (FKU) on Greenlandic families in Denmark.
The tests are not adapted to Greenlandic culture. Therefore, several associations and organizations, including the Danish Institute for Human Rights, warn that placements of Greenlandic children may be based on the wrong basis.
Today, five times as many children from Greenlandic families in Denmark are placed outside the home compared to children from Danish families. This is shown by a report from 2022 conducted by VIVE (The National Research and Analysis Center for Welfare in Denmark).
In 2023, a report from the knowledge center VIVE pointed out that caseworkers in Danish municipalities lack knowledge of Greenlandic culture and language, and that this can lead to misunderstandings and prejudices.
At the same time, there has also been criticism of the use of the so-called parental competence studies (FKU) in placement cases of Greenlandic children. This is because the tests are adapted to Western culture and norms.
In March 2023, the Danish government allocated 7.8 million kroner over three years for new parent tests and guidance in cases of possible placement of children from Greenlandic families in Denmark.
This happened after negotiations in which the Greenlandic parliamentarians, Aaja Chemnitz and Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam, demanded money for new tests.
Originally, the new tests were to be ready by the end of 2023.
The Danish government has instead initiated a feasibility study that will form the basis for the work of developing new tests. The feasibility study must be completed by the end of 2024.
In June, the Danish Institute for Human Rights called on five Danish municipalities to stop the use of FKU tests in placement cases of Greenlandic children.
The municipality of Copenhagen and the municipality of Esbjerg have chosen to follow the call. However, several Danish municipalities continue to use the tests in placement cases.
Most recently, a case in November this year in Thisted Municipality has caused people to demonstrate in both Nuuk and Copenhagen. The case is about a woman from Greenland who had her child forcibly removed after birth.
It is also a case that has caused a stir among Greenlandic politicians.
Therefore, the Greenland's Prime Minister, Múte B. Egede, and Minister for children and youth, Aqqaluaq B. Egede, have now jumped on a plane to Denmark. They are to meet with the Danish Minister of Social Affairs, Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, later about the case.
And the demonstrators have a clear desire for that meeting.
That they process it urgently, says Aviaq Petersen, who showed up to the demonstration in Copenhagen with a torch in hand.
It is very critical. There are other financial matters that are urgently decided in the Folketing. So why not this case? she asks.
Another of the protesters, Kuluk Helms, agrees.
It is a human right to be able to keep your children. I hope that they will drastically change the guidelines used to remove children from non-Danish families. I also hope that Denmark will realize that the volume of forced removals that are carried out in Denmark is not necessarily appropriate for people's well-being,
she says
If you ask Laila Berthelsen, who has been an advocate for several Greenlandic parents in placement cases in recent years, there is a need for action here and now.
We don't know what the politicians are negotiating. But it is encouraging that they are doing something about it and insisting that it is not correct to use these FKU on Greenlandic families, she says.
Recently, a case from Thisted Municipality has received a lot of attention in the country, where Greenlandic Keira Kronvold had her child, Zammi, forcibly removed after birth. Sermitsiaq has previously reported on the story.
Keira Kronvold also showed up at the demonstration with her now adult daughter, Zoe Kronvold, who herself has been placed in care.
The placement traumatized me. I was treated differently. And yes, it was not right, says Zoe Kronvold.
That is why Zoe Kronvold hopes that the demonstrations will make a difference for her little sister.
I hope that we will be allowed to get my little sister back before Christmas.
“Zammi,” her mother, Keira Kronvold, shouted into the megaphone so that it could be heard across the Palace Square.
“Zammi,” the protesters repeated in a resounding chorus.
Source: Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (in Greenlandic)
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