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Greenlandic families battle to reunite with children taken by Danish authorities
When Keira's daughter Zammi was born last November in Denmark, she was granted just two hours before social services took the infant into care. "Right when she came out, I started counting the minutes," recalls Keira, 39, describing the moment as "a part of my soul dying." Now, she is among dozens of Greenlandic parents on the Danish mainland fighting to reverse removals tied to controversial parental competency tests-known as FKUs-which Denmark banned for Greenlandic families in May 2025 after decades of criticism.
Controversial assessments under scrutiny
The FKU tests, spanning months of interviews, cognitive exercises, and personality evaluations, were designed to assess parenting fitness in high-risk cases. Tasks included recalling number sequences backward, general knowledge quizzes (e.g., "Who is Mother Teresa?"), and doll-play observations. Defenders argue they provide objective metrics, but critics-including psychologists like former tester Isak Nellemann-call them "scientifically invalid" for predicting parenting ability. Nellemann claims 90% of parents with poor test results lose custody.
Greenlanders, Danish citizens drawn to the mainland for jobs or education, face disproportionate removals: they are 5.6 times more likely than Danish parents to lose children to care, per the Danish Centre for Social Research. Cultural biases compound the issue. Tests conducted in Danish-not Kalaallisut, Greenland's dominant language-risk misinterpretation. Johanne, 43, recalls her 2019 assessment labeling her "narcissistic" and having "mental retardation" (based on outdated WHO terms) after she described a seal-gutting scene in a Rorschach test, a reference to Greenlandic hunting traditions. She alleges the psychologist called her a "barbarian."
"They made me play with a doll and criticized me for not making enough eye contact. When I asked why, they said, 'To see if you're civilized enough, if you can act like a human being.'"
Keira, 39, whose daughter Zammi was removed in 2024
Government review stalls as families wait
In May 2025, Denmark pledged to review 300 cases involving Greenlandic children, including those assessed via FKUs. Yet by October, only 10 cases had been examined-none resulting in reunifications. Social Affairs Minister Sophie Hæstorp Andersen acknowledged the pace "sounds slow" but insisted reviews are "getting started." Adoption cases, like that of Johanne and Ulrik's son (taken in 2020), remain closed; Andersen cited the children's "loving and caring" adoptive families as justification.
Local authorities retain broad discretion. Turi Frederiksen, a senior psychologist administering FKUs, defends their use as "valuable" tools, dismissing cultural bias claims. Meanwhile, Tordis Jacobsen, a social worker in Aalborg, emphasizes removals follow "thorough" processes involving schools, hospitals, and judicial oversight. Yet families describe traumatic separations: Ulrik, 57, recalls 17 days with his premature son before officers arrived. "It was the happiest time of my life," he says. "Then we dressed him to hand over. The heartbreak was horrific."
Rare reunions amid systemic fears
Pilinguaq, 39, is a rare exception. After her daughter-taken at age one in 2021-was returned this year, she learned her other two children (now 6 and 9) will reunite in December. "I cried and laughed simultaneously," she says. Yet the separation left scars: her daughter panics if Pilinguaq closes a bathroom door, fearing abandonment. "They can take her in one hour," Pilinguaq warns. "They can do it again."
Keira, still fighting for Zammi, prepares for the baby's first birthday in foster care. She handcrafts a traditional Greenlandic sleigh with a polar bear design, keeps a cot ready, and frames photos of Zammi. Weekly visits-limited to one hour-include Greenlandic foods like chicken heart soup. "I bring flowers, a piece of her culture," Keira says. Her lawyer explores avenues like the European Court of Human Rights, but Denmark's stance remains firm: adoptions are final.
"I will not stop fighting. If I don't finish this fight, it will be my children's fight in the future."
Keira, whose two older children were also removed in 2014
Key figures and next steps
- 5.6x: Greenlandic parents' higher likelihood of child removal vs. Danish parents (Danish Centre for Social Research).
- 300 cases: Government's target for review; only 10 examined as of October 2025.
- 0 reunifications: No Greenlandic children returned via the review process to date.
- December 2025: Pilinguaq expects her two older children to return, per local authority decision.
The Danish government insists reviews will address FKU administration flaws but rules out revisiting adoptions. For families like Johanne-who christened her son to create a "paper trail" for future contact-the wait continues, shadowed by the fear of permanent loss.
