- Friendship is based on respect, not acquisition

Dear Donald Trump None

I am writing to tell you how I feel the latest announcements about the relationship between our countries. You have for a long time expressed desire to acquire our land – our home and our sanctuary.

Dear Donald Trump None

I am writing to tell you how I feel the latest announcements about the relationship between our countries. You have for a long time expressed desire to acquire our land – our home and our sanctuary.

We are one proud people who have survived in the harsh nature for generations because our ancestors knew exactly how to behave in the Arctic. Many others people have not been able to survive here, and those that survived often did so only because they got help from our ancestors.

We are relatively few people in a huge country, centrally located in the geopolitical game. We know well that we cannot defend our country alone, but it is not in our nature to wage war either. We are a peaceful public transport. The idea that others from outside will "take over" us is felt wrong. It creates fear and frustration when great powers fight over our land, as if we ourselves do not have a voice.

For me and my family, however, the United States is much more than politics. I have grown up with your culture - from listening to Johnny Cash, Metallica and Linkin Park to follow sports. My older brother was an exchange student in Boston in 2001, and since he came home with merchandise from there, I have and mine siblings have been faithful fans of the Boston Celtics. We follow them together and that's it part of our everyday life.

But the strongest memory I have of the United States is from 2001, then the terrorists attacked. I remember clearly how I found my mother crying out of concern for his son, who was in the middle of it all in Boston. In that moment we were not just two countries on a map; we shared the same fears and they same human bond. We have always been allies and friends of the United States, and that I sincerely hope that we can continue to be. But friendship is built on respect, not on acquisition.

As for the future this year, my greatest hope is that the United States and Greenland can find an even closer cooperation that builds on equality. I hope you will see us as independent partners you talk to, and not as a commodity that is talked about.

My biggest fear, however, is that we will end up as a small piece in one cynical great power play. I fear that our voices are being overheard and that our nature and culture are being drummed down by military interests that we do not itself has control over.

I hope you will read this as an expression of concern from a friend who wants the best for both our countries.

Sincerely,

Ernst Bo Frederiksen, Nuuk, Greenland