The children taken from home for a social experiment
In the
1950s, a group of Inuit children were taken from their families in
Greenland to be re-educated as model Danish citizens. More than 60 years
later, they want the Danish government to apologise for an experiment
that did enormous damage.
"It was a lovely summery day, when two
grand Danish gentlemen showed up at our house," says Helene Thiesen. It
was 1951 and she lived with her family in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.
"They had an interpreter with them and my older sister and I thought:
What are they doing here? We were very curious. We were told to go
outside while mum spoke to them.
"They asked my mum if she would
be willing to send me to Denmark. I would learn to speak Danish and get a
good education - they said it was a great chance for me.
"My mum
said, 'No,' to them twice. But they kept pushing her and said we think
you should send Helene to Denmark, it's only for six months. And she'll
get the chance of a bright future - so we think you should let her go."
