In June, thousands of unnamed graves at Canada's Aboriginal boarding schools shocked the world and uncovered the tip of the iceberg of Western colonists' "genocide."
In fact, the tragedy of Indigenous children is not limited to Canada.
In the 1950s, there were 22 Indigenous children in Greenland who were forced to separate from their parents and accept white culture in exchange for a lifetime of shadows.
Become a "Little Dane"?
Greenland, the least densely populated region on Earth, was a Danish colony until it gained autonomy.
88% of the local population is Inuit, an ethnic group that mostly lives north of the Arctic Circle and makes a living hunting and fishing, with a more traditional lifestyle.
Image source Pinterest
In the 1950s, when the tuberculosis epidemic was prevalent in Greenland, coupled with the low level of education of the population, only a small number of people spoke Danish, so the Danish government decided to adopt some policies to improve the living conditions in the colony.
Sending Inuit children to Denmark for "re-education" is one of them.
In May 1951, at the request of the colonial mother country of Denmark, the priests and principals of Greenland elected 22 "gifted And Aged 6 to 10" Inuit children to be sent to Denmark for education.
The Danish government hopes that these children will be able to learn danish, as well as the Danish way of life, and thus become "little Danes" in order to become a new model for colonial rule and consolidate the relations between Denmark and Greenland.
Initially, many parents did not want their children to leave their arms, but officials insisted that the learning trip was only 6 months long and that the children would have the opportunity to receive education when they returned, so they had to let go.
Helene Thiesen, a 77-year-old survivor, recalls that on a beautiful summer day, two men in suits showed up on her doorstep.
BBC Helena (bottom left) with her mother
They also brought an interpreter to ask their mother if they would like to send 7-year-old Helena to Denmark to study, and constantly stressed that this was a rare opportunity.
Helena's father died of tuberculosis, and her mother struggled to raise 3 children alone, and despite the initial rejection, her mother chose to compromise under constant persuasion.
In May 1951, 22 Inuit children (13 boys, 9 girls) embarked on a steamer bound for Denmark.
Image source BBC
Out of place for foreigners
When Inuit arrived in Denmark, instead of being sent to school or homestay immediately, instead of spending the summer on a farm called Fedgaarden.
The real purpose of this is to isolate the children, fearing that this group of indigenous children from Greenland will bring some contagious diseases.
The program was so well packaged by the Danish government that even the Queen of Denmark visited the camp and took photos with the children.
But a look at the historical photographs reveals that none of the Inuit children gathered around the Queen had a smile on their faces.
At night, they often cry silently in bed, and the loneliness of being in a foreign country makes them desperate to return to their parents.
Contrary to the original promise, the children then did not come to school to be educated, but were sent to foster homes across the country.
Helena contracted eczema when she first arrived in Denmark and was sent to a doctor's family.
She and the parents could not communicate and always responded to them with a nod or a shake of the head.
To treat eczema, Helena's elbows and heels were coated with black ointment and she was forbidden to enter the living room for fear of her vandalism.
This unwelcome condition did not improve until Helena's condition improved and she was sent to a loving second foster home.
BBC Helena in a second hope family
A year later, 16 of Inuit's children were able to return to Greenland, and the remaining 6 were adopted by Danish families through Save the Children, an international non-profit rental that approved the program.
In December 1951, the Danish weekly devoted two pages to the "success" of the program.
For example, it is mentioned that "these children are out of place at first, but their super adaptability makes them not have much antipathy to civilized society." ”
There is also "they have learned Danish, although emotionally speaking some Inuit." ”
Trauma that can't get out
Even if 16 children are sent back to their hometowns, it does not mean that they will eventually be reunited with their parents.
At that time, the Danish Red Cross set up an orphanage for the returning children, a "children's home", where the children were brought after a brief reunion with their parents.
Image source BBC Kids at a Children's Home
The official explanation is that these children, having enjoyed the affluence of a Danish family, should not remain in their original family in poor living conditions, which is not conducive to future development.
In children's homes, children are not encouraged to speak Inuit, only Danish, and are absolutely obedient to adults without questioning.
It may seem like a "re-education" of indigenous children, but the experience of separation, sending people to fences and suffering from high-pressure control ultimately traumatizes the hearts of these children and affects their relationships with their families.
Helena always remembers the day she returned to Greenland, and after reuniting with her mother at the port, she suddenly found that the mother and daughter could no longer communicate.
Mother still speaks Inuit, while she speaks Danish.
After being sent to a children's home, Helena's relationship with her mother never had the chance to be repaired.
She always resented her mother's decision to send her away, and although the two lived in the same town, they barely moved between each other.
Like Helena, many children never speak Inuit again.
Loss and lack of self-confidence, these feelings never disappeared in their hearts.
Some people have become tramps, some people have become insane, have lost the ability to speak their mother tongue, and are not accepted by mainstream society, and they have slowly become "marginal people".
The three historians who investigated the incident noted in their reports that addiction, mental illness, hospitalization, and suicide attempts were repeated by more than half of the children and their families.
One of the historians bluntly described the plan as a failed "social experiment" and that there is no written evidence that the Danish government had evaluated the results of the plan at the time.
If it had been evaluated, it would not have stopped a year later, and perhaps the Danish government, knowing that they had failed, chose to ignore this history.
Belated apology
Only six of those who witnessed it are now alive, and last year the Danish government, represented by Prime Minister Mete Fredrickson, formally apologized to the victims.
Image source The Associated Press
Far from apologizing, the survivors, who are in their 70s, are suing the Danish government in hopes of getting $38,000 in damages from one person.
Their lawyer said the Danish government had fulfilled its moral responsibility by apologizing and now needed to use compensation to bear the actual responsibility.
Acknowledging faults and compensating them is the best solace for these victims.
"I hope these elderly people can still enjoy their age when they get this money."
In the name of "good for the children", it is a practice that destroys the truth.
Being used as an experimental object without understanding, feeling the cold and warm of human feelings prematurely, and growing up, he could not return to the group and constantly doubted himself.
This is a naked violation of children's rights than the definition of assimilating indigenous people.
The 22 children seem to have the opportunity to educate, but the lack of the original family makes them need to heal their childhood for the rest of their lives.