In a café in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, Lene Linghe looks fondly at her four children as they drink hot chocolate, oblivious to the turmoil unfolding on their island. Since Donald Trump's return to the White House last year and his renewed ambitions to acquire Greenland, international politics has begun to seep into the homes of the island's polar residents. Due to statements containing implicit threats from the US president, the situation is concerning for some residents here, but everyone is trying to reassure their children. The 42-year-old lawyer Linghe says, "There is a lot of turmoil in the world... but with our love for our country, we have higher values that enable us to sleep in peace without fear." On January 27, 2025, exactly one week after Donald Trump's inauguration, Greenland's authorities published a guide titled "How to Talk to Children in Times of Uncertainty?" Tina Dam, head of programs for UNICEF in the Danish territory, stated, "When someone says they are coming to take over our country or bomb us or something similar, it is natural for children to feel a great deal of fear because they cannot understand what is going on amidst this news flow." This guide, which UNICEF helped create, advises parents to remain calm, be open, listen to their children, acknowledge their feelings, and limit their news consumption. As in many parts of the world, social media, especially TikTok, has become the primary source of information for young people. Dam added, "Today, children have access to a massive amount of information unsuitable for them... which is certainly not age-appropriate." She continued, "Therefore, as adults, we must be aware of this, strive to protect our children, and be able to talk to them about what they are hearing, because the discourse is very aggressive." However, reassuring children is difficult when we do not have answers to many of their questions. Arnakulok Jo Kleist, a 41-year-old special advisor, said she talks a lot with her 13-year-old daughter, Manumina. She added that her daughter is also occupied with TikTok videos, but "fortunately, she does not seem as tense as we are." She explained, "Sometimes she asks questions—what if such and such happens—I don't have answers because no one has answers to such questions." Kleist also noted that Inuit culture in the Arctic has also helped her. She said, "We have a history and circumstances in our country where things sometimes happen, and we are used to being in situations beyond our control... we try to adapt and ask ourselves: what can I do in this situation?" Some children and teenagers in Greenland are using social media to get their message out to the world. Seven-year-old Marley and his 14-year-old sister Mila appeared in a widely shared video that garnered over two million views on Instagram, 35 times Greenland's population. The boy addresses the US president seriously but with a playful tone, saying, "Dear Donald Trump, I have a message for you: you are scaring the children of Greenland." With sharp glances, Marley and his sister tell Trump, "Greenland is not for sale." The children's mother, Bannnguaq Heilman Sigurdsen, commented on the video to AFP: "It's a way of coping."
