Greenland’s homeless struggle as modernisation leaves them behind in Arctic cold

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Construction cranes are seen behind a couple walking in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 6, 2025. Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory coveted by US President Trump and which votes on March 11, 2025 in legislative elections, is home to around 500 homeless people, or almost one percent of its population, according to a 2022 tally. — AFP pic

NUUK, (Denmark), March 11 — A flimsy tent rises up behind a snowdrift, home for nearly two years to one of the many homeless left behind by a wave of modernisation in Greenland, living rough in the harsh Arctic cold.

To keep warm in a region where the temperature can drop to -20°Celsius at night in winter, Anders Maqe insulates his tent with cardboard boxes, heats it “with one or two candles” and slips into a sleeping bag.

Originally from Tasiilaq, a small village in eastern Greenland, this 57-year-old with a bushy beard has been homeless since he lost his job as treasurer for the town council several years ago — and the housing that came with the position.

A year and nine months ago, he pitched his tent behind the Salvation Army building in Nuuk, the capital of the vast island.

He dreams of living in an apartment.

“I need it, I need it very much,” he told AFP.

Rough sleeper Anders Maqe is seen next his tent surrounded by snow in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 6, 2025. — AFP pic

“It hurts inside. Not in my brain but inside,” he said, pointing to his heart.

Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump and which votes Tuesday in legislative elections, is home to around 500 homeless people, or almost one per cent of its population, according to a 2022 tally.

The island’s rapid modernisation and urbanisation over the past few decades is to blame.

Since 1980 the population in Nuuk has doubled to 19,000 inhabitants, and the town aims to grow to 30,000 by 2030.

Peppered with construction cranes, it now has a golf course, and as of last autumn, an international airport.

It also has 150 homeless people.

Aage, a 54-year-old homeless man, looks out from the window of his temporary home in a container shelter in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 7, 2025. — AFP pic

“Throughout the Arctic, you usually see more what we call indirect or invisible homelessness,” explained Steven Arnfjord, a social sciences researcher at the University of Greenland.

It can manifest itself as “overcrowding in normal residences, multi-generational families living together,” he told AFP.

Containers

Those who are not able to rely on others for help tend to live in places that can at least provide some warmth, such as stairwells, in shelters, or, in rare cases, in tents like Anders Maqe’s.

In its blue wooden building, the Salvation Army says it serves meals to between 50 and 110 people a day.

“Becoming homeless is not just a financial issue, it’s a social issue too,” stressed Nathanael Munch, the head of the organisation’s local branch.

Residents share a cigarette next to a mural on a social housing estate in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 6, 2025. — AFP pic

“When there’s a problem, when a couple separates, when you lose children, sometimes there are cases of incest, there are conflicts. So yes, there are people who come with mental illnesses or difficult baggage,” he said.

While major construction is going on all around town, the new homes being built are too expensive for the less well-off.

“That’s maybe one of the biggest differences between the situation for homeless people here compared to many countries in Europe,” Munch said.

“A large share of the homeless here have a job or work sometimes and would probably be categorised as poor labourers in other countries,” he said.

The town council has grown increasingly aware of the problem and has begun to provide housing solutions for the most disadvantaged.

Residents are seen outside their temporary home in a container shelter in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 7, 2025. — AFP pic

A few kilometres outside town, barracks made out of containers that were used during construction at the airport now house some of them.

One of them, Aage, is shovelling snow outside his new place.

The small one-room apartment, measuring just 10-15 square metres and with its own bathroom, is a gift from heaven for the 54-year-old who hails originally from the south-western village of Paamiut.

He used to live in a shelter.

“I had to share a bedroom with five other guys where there were bunk beds, so if one or the other was snoring, I had to try to get some sleep,” he recalled.

“Maybe I had work the next day. I would take a rest in the afternoon if I was tired, I would lay down but somebody was (always) making noise, playing guitar or something,” he said.

“You don’t have this kind of privacy when you live in a shelter,” he said, proudly showing off his new home. — AFP