The statue of a Danish-Norwegian coloniser and priest was vandalised in Greenland on Sunday as advocates known as for its removing, contending that it exacerbated the trauma of the island’s colonial previous.
Activists poured crimson paint on the statue of Hans Egede and wrote “Decolonize” on it – considerably on the eve of Greenland’s Nationwide Day, in line with police in Greenland’s capital Nuuk.
The act follows a world anti-statue marketing campaign arising from the Black Lives Matter motion that targets monuments to slave merchants and colonisers. The marketing campaign stemmed from outrage over the dying of African-American man George Floyd and the racial injustice his killing uncovered.
Inuit eyesEgede grew to become referred to as the person who colonised Greenland from 1721, working to Christianise the inhabitants and going by the nickname ‘the Apostle of Greenland’, in line with danmarkshistorien.dk of Aarhus College.
The identities of the vandals are unknown, however fellow activists have supported their transfer, saying it was time to “cease paying tribute to colonisers” and as a substitute acknowledge the trauma of Greenland’s indigenous Inuit individuals.
“Many view Hans Egede as a rescuer of me and my individuals, however that isn’t the case. He was a horrible man. He didn’t see my individuals as individuals however as sources. We have to begin telling the story from our eyes: from the eyes of the Inuit,” activist Aqqalu Berthelsen advised TV2.
Contested legacyEgede’s legacy is controversial with some historians crediting him for stopping Greenland from being a British colony, whereas Inuit activists say his statue represents the silencing of indigenous individuals throughout generations.
There’s one other statue of Egede in entrance of Marmorkirken in Copenhagen that activists need eliminated.