1989 - A Think Tank Over FIDO Net
Back in 1989, a few of us Greenlanders were doing something quite radical for the time - we had a kind of “think tank” running through the FIDO net, the early internet / BBS system. It wasn’t fancy, but it connected us, let us discuss real issues, and dream together. And we had an idea - what if the future could be designed by the kids?
So we pushed the concept - let students in Greenlandic schools brainstorm what people could build or create using only the local infrastructure and goods purchasable from Europe. The kids came up with wonderful, clever ideas. Realistic ones. Community-focused ones.
Blocked by the Bank - And the System
But then reality hit hard. We discovered what many already suspected - the only bank in Greenland at the time was working against local development. If you weren’t a Danish entrepreneur or part of a government infrastructure project, your ideas weren’t just unwelcome - they were actively shut down. We quickly learned - in Greenland, if you weren’t backed by Denmark, you weren’t getting anywhere.
Worse, even when ideas were solid and based in real data - like a proposal we explored about building small wind turbines on rock-solid northern and southern ridges - it didn’t matter. We showed how just 10 of these windmills could cut electricity prices in half. We had year-long wind statistics and external data showing feasibility. But the government had already made deals - oil and gas contracts were locked in to power the city’s expensive turbine systems 24/7. Our local solutions were ignored, dismissed, or buried.
Nothing for Locals - Everything for The Machine
The banks were only allowed to support Danish initiatives - not locals. We weren’t just shut down, we were silenced. Then came the shrimp trawler loans - a whole other scandal I won’t dive into here - but let’s just say the terms were suspicious, the outcomes predictable, and again, locals weren’t truly included.
We couldn’t even start small businesses like electrical repair shops - not because we lacked skill or motivation, but because our own government blocked it. And when we asked about building schools to promote our own language, the official answer in 2006 was - “not necessary.”
Now in 2025, none of the tools in electronics are available in Greenlandic - not even basic software terms. AI tries, poorly, to fill that gap, and now officials pretend they did the work. They didn’t.
A Shadow Government - And a Colonial Hand
Greenland’s government is a shadow - a puppet of the Danish department. The same people who once ordered mass birth control operations on Greenlandic women to reduce our population to zero - an act many now acknowledge for what it was: genocide.
This same machinery ensured that the banks would reject any local initiatives - always with the same excuse: “the government is handling it.” And those in the Naalakkersuisut live off bloated salaries while feeding empty promises to the districts. They can say what they want - because there are no consequences.
The Coding Program They Killed
In 1984, I tried to start a coding class for local youth - to teach them programming. Kids showed up. They were eager. But by the end of the year, we were told there would be no funding - not even permission to use school buildings - all blocked from the top.
Divide and Distract - The Danish Method
Then came the cultural split. The Danish department began separating Greenlanders with potential - musicians, thinkers, builders - making sure we wouldn’t end up in the same schools in Denmark. They didn’t want cultural forces to grow strong together. And those who did make it abroad often came back with new habits - cannabis, alcohol, worse - absorbed during their two years with no guidance and no guardrails.
Airports - Not for Tourists, But for Control
Why are huge airports being built now? For tourism? No. It’s about centralization - slowly killing off small settlements by making city life the only option. And yes, they even tax artists like criminals.
The Final Warning
Denmark never intended for us to grow strong, self-reliant, or sovereign. Don’t believe the statements from either Denmark or the local government - because they’ll sell us out the moment the right buyer shows up. Yes, they say no now to U.S. military involvement - but when the time comes, they’ll find a way to let it happen.
Greenland’s future is being traded behind closed doors. And too many of our own leaders are just cashing in their silence.
We Tried
I say this not out of bitterness, but because it needs to be said - and remembered. We tried to build something better. They made sure we couldn’t.