Film director, activist and newly made author – yes, Greenland Aka Hansen can attribute many titles. She is part of the decolonization and independence movement, a movement that has ended up in international limelight after the last weeks’ play from Donald Trump.
– The truth is that this fight started before I was born, that’s what my parents and my parents’ parents fought for.
When SVT Sápmi meets her at a cafe in Nuuk, she shows movies and texts from her Instagram account that she has shared in recent weeks. Her texts about independence and the view of Greenlanders have been published in large international media.
– I want to offer an alternative to the image of my people, the Inuit, which you often see in the media and on film.
“It’s about rights”
Greenland has since 1979 has its own government within the Rigsfælsskabet, but several responsibilities still belong to the Danish People’s. According to the 2009 self -governance law, it is up to the Greenlandic people, to decide when they want to become independent.
– From my perspective it is about rights, the rights we should have but do not have. Denmark talks to us, but they do not know how we live or what our values are. I think that is very strange.
“We have to be grateful”
In November, aka Hansen released his book “Manifesti”, a mix between longer texts, poems, pictures and social media posts, which reflects her struggle for the people in the Arctic.
– Manifesti contains my dreams about the future and thoughts on decolonization. It is anger, shame and despair.
Hansen points out that many around her have had to re -evaluate who they are and what they have learned about themselves, something she thinks is an effect of the decolonization process.
– We have grown up in a world where we have been told that we must be grateful that we have been saved through colonization.
She continues.
– When I wrote the book, I often thought of all the women who grew up in Greenland without rights. If I could, I would dedicate the book to all them.