CN — Linda Lyberth Kristiansen is among the youngsters who helped MIO, an advocacy center for children's rights in Greenland, compile advice for the government’s new national suicide prevention strategy.
“Sadly, suicide is a huge part of our everyday lives, and it should never be normalized. It is a big societal issue, and we need better tools to help each other,” she said.
Greenland’s government Naalakkersuisut launched the strategy in September. It sets out new initiatives, to be implemented through 2028, to help citizens when they have suicidal thoughts, show suicidal behavior or try to take their own lives. There are 40 to 60 suicides each year in Greenland, an Arctic nation with a population of 56,000 people.
Linda Kristiansen said it is imperative to acknowledge that psychological aid is as important as physical aid; ordinary citizens need more tools on how to approach, support and talk with people who are in a difficult place, she said.
The new strategy “Qamani” includes citizen courses and creates local contact points where professionals and volunteers can collaborate on preventing suicide in their neighborhood.
According to MIO, help has traditionally been offered when it was too late. Young people battling dark and depressing thoughts haven’t had easy access to communal places where they could talk with psychologists, therapists or trained civilians.
In video by MIO, young people shared stories to break the taboo and silent normalization of suicide in their society. One speaker in the video recalled the pain of a close relative committing suicide when the speaker was 16 years old.
“Back then, I did not know what to feel. Who should I approach? Who should I talk with?" she said. "I kept all my pains close to the body without ever putting them into words.”
To successfully curb suicide, Greenland needs an all-around civilian effort to improve mental health, said Erni Kristiansen, project leader in Kalaallit Røde Korsiat, Greenland’s Red Cross youth department. He is happy with the new national strategy.
”In Greenland, we really need qualified courses on psychological first aid. Everyone needs to know how to spot friends who are struggling, initiate the first conversation and listen actively,” Erni Kristiansen said.
He is working on a project funded by Nordea-fonden to teach young volunteers how to provide psychological first aid in the different regions in Greenland.
Erni Kristiansen himself lost a former partner to suicide 8 years ago. There was no note or goodbye letter to provide closure, which is often the case, he noted.
He now works to train people in psychological first aid to prevent suicide in cities and more rural regions; a big challenge is that Greenland has so many isolated villages, where a few representatives must manage all the municipal affairs at once. In such situations, it can be hard to provide adequate mental support for vulnerable citizens, he said.
When asked why Greenland has an issue with suicide, he pointed to two factors.
”People who live in the small settlements often do not have anyone qualified to talk to. It takes hours to get there by plane, and even the internet connection isn’t that good for calling or writing. Especially when it is bad weather, you are somewhat stuck inside with your family,” he said.
In the sparsely populated areas in particular, it can be difficult to find someone to share with openly about issues that carry social stigma, like alcohol addiction or abuse in families.
The second factor, Erni Kristiansen said, is that youngsters from settlements move far away from home early to attend schools in bigger cities such as Nuuk, Upernavik, Uummannaq, Tasiilaq or Aasiaat, often at the age of 14 or 15, where they feel very much on their own, unable to receive care from loved ones.
Greenland has around 17 cities and 55 settlements, which are small villages with 500 or fewer inhabitants. It is situated far north between the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans and is formerly a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, even though it has its own Parliament and is largely politically autonomous.
The nation has a troubled colonialization past with Denmark, and according to Linda Kristiansen, the many years of suppression created intergenerational trauma that is still present in Greenland today.
“When your identity is taken away from you," she said, "it takes time to get it back.”
However, Linda Kristiansen also sees a collective strength. Children, teenagers and adults are resilient, she said, and the young generation has the capacity to create a new history and break with the issues that have caused high suicide rates for decades.
“Greenland’s youth culture is characterized by a feeling of freedom and wildness. We fight for our identity, our close relationship with nature and culture, to show the world who we really are. Our strength comes from deep within,” she said.
If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). Visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.
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