My fellow Faroese,
“It doesn’t matter if they are bigger and stronger than we are – we can still match them,”
said Turið Arge Samuelsen, a Faroese handballer, right after the national team had battled their way to a point against the Croatian stars.
“They are bigger and stronger – but we can still match them.”
Words of courage, will, and faith in one’s own abilities.
This year our handball players—women and men alike—have reminded us that we must never give up, no matter how formidable the opposition seems.
We must always fight for what truly matters.
***
And dear fellow Faroese - now, we must fight for our youth.
I am convinced that even though the world is both bigger and stronger than we are, we can still rise to the challenge.
To succeed, we must prioritise our youth and provide them with a good study environment and proper university housing. We must also secure housing for those who want to return home after studying abroad.
But I also want to make a plea: Dear members of the media—and all of us— we must be careful not to talk “Exit Faroe Islands” into existence. The truth is that fewer Faroese have left the islands this year than last year.
The challenge is that many of those who have left do not return.
We must therefore speak positively about the Faroe Islands. We must encourage those who leave to return home.
We must not repeat the claim that everything is better abroad. That it is more natural to leave than to stay – and to remain away rather than to return.
Nor should we portray the Faroe Islands as isolated. Because that is not true. The Faroe Islands were isolated - just a few decades ago. But today we are part of the world.
And we must be careful not to describe the Faroe Islands as outdated. The Faroes are not inherently this or that; they are shaped by the people who live here.
If we want our society to change, there is only one way: We must stay here and change it—or return home and change it.
It is far easier to be an agent of change in the Faroes than elsewhere. As one of 55,000, you can make a far greater impact than as one among millions.
If the national handball teams had waited for others to pave the way, the Faroe Islands would never have reached the European finals this year. It takes courage, will, and hard work to earn your place.
The same is true of politics, business, and societal affairs – and for young people.
And here is another appeal: Dear Faroese people abroad - return home, roll up your sleeves, and join us in shaping the Faroe Islands.
***
The past fifty years prove that change is possible. The transformation has been remarkable.
Take my upbringing as an example. As a child, my entire world was í Víkunum, a neighbourhood in Klaksvík, stretching from the hotel, Sjómansheimið, to the pub, Roykstovan. We never played anywhere else. Crossing into the communities across the bay was out of the question.
When we started school, our horizons broadened—but we still did not venture across the bay.
We were, more or less, all alike —we shared the same background and living conditions, had the same values, and knew the same things. The world was our local community; we inhabited the same reality.
It is also noteworthy that the only foreigner who played for KÍ, the local football team in Klaksvík, lived in Norðdepil, a village nearby.
Our world was peaceful and free. Though we grew up during the Cold War, we knew no fear.
Step by step, the world grew bigger. Only when we reached adulthood, did we meet what was foreign.
Our home was the Faroe Islands. The rest of the world was far away.
***
However, the world does not expand slowly for children growing up today. It lies wide open from the very first moment – right at their fingertips.
The screen is convenient but also poses tremendous risks.
Children are exposed to what is good but also to what is bad, to all that builds up and tears down, to the profound and the shallow, to what is true and to what is fake.
And then this perpetual unrest, which prevents peace of mind.
They see unfiltered, inappropriate images.
They live in the whole world rather than in their own world.
They are told who they should be rather than gradually discovering who they are.
We teach them to doubt everything they hear and see because it could be fake.
Nothing is right anymore. Nothing is true anymore.
This threatens the safe Faroese childhood, making children and young people anxious and fearful. In increasing numbers, they do not flourish but feel pressured and powerless.
We who remember a peaceful and safe childhood must fight to preserve these values. We must ensure that children continue to receive a measure of the same, that their world, too, can grow in steps along with their maturing minds.
We have called on all school boards to adopt phone policies, but I believe we must go further. We should ban phones in our schools and consider age limits for social media.
The digital world and the screen are both bigger and stronger than we and our children are. The challenge seems overwhelming.
But Turið Arge Samuelsen, whom I quoted earlier, also said: “If only a few believe in achieving great things—then you can indeed achieve great things.”
We adults must take responsibility. One thing is certain: If we do nothing, the children will suffer.
The Faroes are part of the world – and we must, of course, also be in the digital world. But it must be on our terms, and we dare not sacrifice our children’s mental health for it.
They will still meet the world, for as the Faroes have gone out into the world, the world has come to the Faroe Islands.
***
On a recent Saturday morning, I went to buy bread. The woman behind the counter was both pleasant and kind but did not speak a word of Faroese.
I wanted five “handverkarar” (“craftsman”—a type of bun) but soon found myself at a loss, for surely, “May I have five craftsmen, please?” would not do.
I had to smile, and with the help of gestures, we worked it out.
I guess many of you nod knowingly; you have experienced something similar. Throughout the islands, we meet people who do not understand Faroese.
They are welcome here. They bring us so much that is good. The world comes to the Faroes with their different cultures, foods and languages. With them, the population grows, and the societal wheels keep turning.
But we must insist they come on our terms and meet our requirements.
Large-scale immigration poses a significant challenge in many countries, and we are more vulnerable than most. If they become too many, we cannot keep pace.
Just as our youth can easily change our society, immigrants can also change the Faroe Islands and the Faroese values.
Therefore, we must remain vigilant and ensure we do not lose control. Our social cohesion must not be threatened. Our language, culture, and heritage must remain the foundation of our society.
***
Our culture and values must also guide our international engagement.
And today, we are far more engaged than ever before.
There are many examples of active international engagement that were unthinkable when I was a little boy in Klaksvík.
We have attended meetings at the Pentagon and been at ministerial gatherings in NATO. We were present when world leaders convened in Munich. And we expect to attain full membership in the Nordic Council of Ministers.
This year, astronaut Anders Mogensen and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited us - and we have sat at the dinner table with Zelenskyy.
We have become an active member of the global world. International tensions, therefore, also make their mark on us.
The world, unfortunately, appears uncertain. We do not know what will happen, neither with Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Palestine, Syria, nor in the Middle East at large. Or what changes the United States of America will make.
We face a new era after our part of the world has been safe and open for a long time.
Sometimes it feels like Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs writes in Marta, Marta:
“Just like that, she missed what she had grown up with: the peace, the distance from everything.”
But that distance is gone. We are part of the world, and the world is part of the Faroe Islands.
We must act and stand with the West and NATO, fighting for what we believe and hold to be true.
***
Dear fellow Faroese,
As 2024 draws to a close, I know that some of you are fighting:
Not for results, peace or what you hold to be true, but with illness, grief, or anxiety.
I send you my warmest thoughts tonight—thoughts of hope and better times.
May we all see and understand your fight and stand by you when willpower and self-reliance no longer suffice.
May you feel embraced with support and care so that no matter how fierce your fight is right now, you know that you hold an essential place, both among your loved ones and in our society.
***
Dear fellow Faroese,
Handball has shown us twice this year that the Faroe Islands have become a part the world.
On the other hand, the world has also become a part of the Faroe Islands. This was not a given, and it did not happen by itself.
It has happened because we—despite the others being bigger and stronger—believed we could rise to the challenge.
We do not know what awaits us in 2025, but I hope we will enter the new year with courage and determination.
Let us fight for what we believe in. If only a few believe in what lies ahead, we can come far indeed:
be it in the competition with Denmark for our youth, the competition with the screens for our children, or the fight for Faroese values and for peace and stability in the world.
Let us fight for what is true and good, for what unites rather than what divides.
A very Happy New Year to you all.
God bless the Faroe Islands.
Aksel V. Johannesen
Photo: Bjarni Árting Rubeksen, KVF