<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/14/us-invasion-threat-greenland-trump-denmark>
"When she was living in Denmark, the seemingly unshakeable safety of Greenland
was a comforting source of reassurance for Najannguaq Hegelund. Whenever there
was any instability in the world, she would joke with her family: “Well we will
just go to Greenland, nothing ever happens in Greenland.”
But in the past two weeks – during which Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened
military action on the largely autonomous Arctic territory the US president
claims he “needs” for national security purposes, despite it being part of the
Danish kingdom – Hegelund, 37, has realised this is suddenly no longer true.
“Look where we are today,” she says, laughing incredulously. “It’s just so
crazy.”
Like many of Greenland’s 57,000-strong population, Hegelund has found herself
worrying about evacuation plans in case of US invasion, whether or not to flee
to Denmark beforehand and fielding questions from her children about becoming
American.
Others said they have been watchful of the skies and seas around Greenland,
tracking US planes on flight trackers and even discussing plans on how best to
respond if they were captured. Many said they were suffering from anxiety and
struggling to sleep.
Greenland, Hegelund says in a coffee shop in the snow-covered capital, Nuuk,
has never experienced anything like it. “How do you deal with it when you
haven’t experienced anything like that, at all, at any point in history?” she
asks.
Almost exactly a year ago, Trump talked about the US needing to acquire
Greenland – by military force if necessary. Back then, the mood in Nuuk was
more lighthearted, verbally combative and sceptical. Today, many are openly
alarmed, trying to prepare themselves and their families for what could happen
and wanting practical advice from the authorities. The big difference now, says
Hegelund, who works monitoring Inuit legal rights for the NGO Sila360, is that
there is now the precedent of Venezuela."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
