Visitor reports Greenlanders reject Trump’s idea to buy the island

Reporting for Independent.co, a photographer who has spent years living and working across Greenland says residents did not support President Trump’s suggestion that the United States should buy the island and that many dismiss his recent claim of seeing “Russian and Chinese ships all over the place” as “talking nonsense again.” He describes stark everyday conditions in settlements: running water is rare outside larger towns, people use “water houses” or melt icebergs for drinking water, bags are used as toilets, and waste is often removed by ship that may call only once a year.

Medical services are limited — there are no nurses in many settlements and emergencies can require a helicopter, weather permitting. Since April 2023 he has worked in seven fish factories, living mostly in settlements of tens to hundreds where most of the fish produced is sent to Denmark.

He also records community practices such as kaffemik gatherings, hunting with sled dogs, and the arrival of internet in places like Savissivik around 2007. The writer notes a recent social-media moment when Katie Miller posted an image of Greenland draped in an American flag with the single word “SOON,” prompting Greenlanders to post images of their own flag.

Key Topics

World, Greenland, Donald Trump, Katie Miller, Pituffik Space Base, Denmark