Greenlandic families fight to get children back after parenting tests banned

But not all Greenlandic parents whose children were placed in care after completing FKU will have their cases reviewed.

Johan and Ulrik’s son was adopted in 2020 and the Danish government has said it will not review cases where children have been adopted.

Johanna, 43, was tested during her pregnancy in 2019.

Like Zammi, her son was also snatched away soon after birth.

But because he was born prematurely on Boxing Day and social workers were on holiday, she and her husband Ulrich had to keep him for 17 days.

“It was the happiest time of my life as a father,” says Ulrich, 57.

“Being with my son, holding him, changing his nappy, making sure Johanna gets her milk before she goes to bed in the evening.”

Then one day, two social workers and two police officers arrive at Johan and Ulrik’s home to take their son.

The couple say they begged them not to take him.

Johanna asked if she could breastfeed him one last time.

“As I was dressing my son to hand him off to his foster parents, who were on their way, I felt the most terrible heartbreak,” says Ulrich.

Johan was tested after the FKU test in 2010 after taking care of two children from another relationship, aged five and six.

His 2019 assessment described him as “narcissistic” and “mentally retarded” – a classification based on designations developed by WHO that were in use at the time.

She rejects both these descriptions.



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