Aleqa HAMMOND –Member of parliament

Nuuk - Latitude 64° 10’ N – Longitude 051° 44’ W

18,000 inhabitants

Interviewed in September 2010

We are no longer a colony, but our thinking is influenced by our colonial period .In front of changes, our women have more self-confidence than men. In Greenland, women are more educated than men and represent 80% of graduates. It is easier to cope with new situations and to take risks when you are educated. To cope with the modern Greenland, our men need more attention and education.It is very expensive to support small villages. The government studies the possibility of closing them and of moving the villagers towards the city. I think these people should have the choice either to stay or leave their village. Force them to go into town is not a solution, their quality of life could be much worse. We should not be afraid to make changes, good changes. Hunters do not sell anymore the skins of seals. The European Union is no longer interested. However, we need to give hunters the opportunity to continue their lifestyle. We must adapt our society, because society will not adapt to us. For example, we could introduce a Hunting Trophy. This would allow hunters to choose between hunting for them or accompany someone who will hunt for him. The hunter would gain more money, because again, he could recover the meat; not affecting the number of bears, seals, etc.. It is difficult to maintain a traditional life style while adapting to external requests. The problem to be solved is to find a transition to increase the income of the hunter, while respecting their hunting quota. Subsistence hunting should be respected.