Johnny Harris, a filmmaker who has worked in remote regions for more than a decade, presents five field reports from Greenland, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Finland, and Cyprus. Each report examines how a place's geography, history, or geopolitics shapes the people who live there. The reports preview a forthcoming documentary series, The Human Element.

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Greenland: Life on the Sea Ice

Reaching Saattut

Reaching the first location took three full days of travel. The route ran from a rural village to a small island in the Uummannaq Fjord system, deep within a frozen ocean. The journey included a small plane, a helicopter, and travel by snowmobile and dog sled over sea ice. The temperature reached -30 °C.

Saattut is a settlement of about 200 people. It sits on an island roughly three times smaller than Central Park. The island lies 450 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle.

For most of the year, boats bring supplies to Saattut. During the darkest months, the ice cuts the village off from outside shipments. The sea ice also provides new routes for travel and hunting.

Rules for Sled Dogs

Strict rules govern dogs in the region. Dogs from outside Greenland may not be brought to these settlements. Only native sled dogs that have lived in the area for generations are permitted. Harris reports that these dogs have long been essential to survival in winter communities.

Hunting Seals on the Ice

Harris accompanied Nikolaj, a local hunter, and his daughter on a hunt. Nikolaj's family provided insulated clothing for the -15 °C conditions. Nikolaj used net traps set around the edges of icebergs, where seals swim. He located seal holes by tapping the ice with a shovel and detecting layers of ice beneath the surface. The hunt produced two seals. Nikolaj's family used the seal skins for gloves and pants. Seal pants, Harris noted, are warm.

Nikolaj also hunted ptarmigan, an arctic bird that is a staple food during winter. The hunters did not catch any ptarmigan. They returned to the village before a blizzard arrived.

Ice Vocabulary

Nikolaj and his community distinguish dozens of ice types. Each type has its own name and behavior. Examples include:

• Thin sea ice and thick sea ice
• The ice around an iceberg
• Flat ice, newly formed ice, uneven ice, and old ice
• Inland ice, freshwater ice, and slushy ice
• The sharp, crusty ice that forms on top of snow
• The water that forms when snow melts on sea ice
• The edge where ice meets water
• The sound that ice makes when it moves and cracks
• Ice that has cracked and the cracks themselves, which have separate names
• The verb for moving a boat through a narrow passage of cracked sea ice

Nikolaj's community uses this vocabulary to navigate a landscape that changes daily. Harris noted that icebergs in the area differed from those of the previous season.

Food and Traditional Meals

Dinner at Nikolaj's home consisted of narwhal meat and ribs. The community also eats narwhal skin and blubber, cut into cubes and eaten raw, sometimes with soy sauce. The narwhal was caught by the family. Drinking water came from melted iceberg ice, which Harris described as glacier water from the Greenland ice sheet.

Harris concluded that the community hunts for more than survival. He stated that hunting and the connection to the ice form part of the community's identity and sense of meaning.

Changing Ice Conditions

Harris recorded local accounts of changing ice conditions. Fifteen to 20 years earlier, the sea froze from October to the end of June. In recent years, freezing begins around February. Nikolaj told Harris that the ice was once much thicker. Harris reported that he was lucky to travel over the ice, because a week earlier the ice would not have supported the trip.

Generational Choices

Nikolaj and his wife, Anna Sophia, have three daughters. The eldest, aged 19, intends to become a fisherman like her father. The youngest daughter plans to become a nurse and move to Nuuk, Greenland's capital.

Nuuk and Cultural Continuity

Nuuk has about 20,000 residents. It has modern infrastructure and continuous construction. Harris described large apartment blocks in Nuuk as physical symbols of colonial policy. According to local accounts, these blocks were built in the 1950s and 1960s, when authorities closed small villages and forced residents to move to towns.

Qupanuk, a mining engineer known for her Greenland content channel "Q's Greenland," showed Harris Nuuk's food culture. She bought fresh seal meat at a market and hunted ptarmigan near her home. She stated that she and her family speak only Greenlandic with their children to keep them fluent. She also said that her children learn hunting and fishing.

Harris observed that Greenlanders in Nuuk combine modern life with connection to the land, animals, and ice.

Colonial History and Its Effects

Harris described colonial history in Greenland. He stated that Danish colonizers arrived to exploit the land and modernize it. They brought prosperity, income, and industrialization. Harris said they also sought to eradicate Greenlandic culture. He cited forced closures of settlements, relocation of people to larger centers to work in fisheries and factories, and attempts to sterilize the culture and reduce the population.

A Greenlandic therapist named Pauline, whom Harris met in the south, described the effects. She said that trauma from these events passed through generations. She described the children of forced relocation as experiencing suicide and alcohol problems. Harris stated that Greenland has the highest suicide rate of any place on earth and that alcoholism is a major problem.

Harris reported that Greenlanders have since regained self-governance. Their political system has moved away from Denmark's, and Greenlandic culture is returning after decades of forced assimilation.

Winter Swimming in the South

In a village in southern Greenland, Harris joined a group of women who swim in cold water.

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Switzerland: Bunkers and Neutrality

Background

Harris visited Switzerland to locate bunkers hidden in its mountains and villages. He stated that Switzerland has nearly 10,000 bunkers and fortifications throughout the country. He also reported hundreds of thousands of bunkers beneath private homes.

Switzerland's defense strategy drew on its existing engineering skill. By the 1800s, the Swiss had built tunnels, cable cars, and railways through mountains. In the 1940s, Switzerland was surrounded by Axis powers, with Italy and Germany on either side. To remain neutral, the government began digging fortifications.

Redoubt Strategy

Switzerland transformed its Alpine region into a large fortified network, which historians have called the largest fortress in Europe. Military planners described the concept as a redoubt, a fortified position dug into the ground.

The strategy focused on mountain passes. These passes had served trade for centuries. In 1942, they became liabilities because they offered invading armies access to the country. Bunkers at the passes were designed to fire on any force advancing through a choke point. Harris stated that the bunkers primarily aimed to deter invasion. Most Swiss citizens lived on flat plateaus, not in the mountains. The strategy signaled to Hitler and Mussolini that connecting their empires through the Alps would be costly and nearly impossible.

Harris reported that the Nazis had planned an invasion of Switzerland but never carried it out. He stated that the bunkers were one factor. Switzerland also allowed the Nazis to store money and stolen assets in its banks and traded with them.

Specific Installations

• Eric's bunker: Harris described it as the largest bunker in Switzerland. It covers 30,000 square meters (300,000 square feet). Its owner, Eric, showed Harris its sleeping quarters, hospital, cannons, and generators. The showers sit beneath 85 meters of rock. The entrance has two meters of concrete. The system contains eight kilometers of walkways. The doors are quadruple fortified with concrete slabs.
• Barn bunkers: A barn in a village held a gun with a range of 21 kilometers. Four barn bunkers in the village connect through tunnels. The bunkers include 10.5-centimeter grenades.
• Mountain facades: Some fortifications concealed their purpose. Windows on a house were painted on. Gun ports sat behind rock-shaped covers. A fortified house contained a tunnel network.
• Cliff bunkers: Harris located bunkers along cliff faces, including one at the base of a cliff visible only from above.
• Hotel bunker: Harris stayed at a hotel built inside a bunker. He reported a tunnel of 3.5 kilometers near the top of a mountain.

Decommissioning and Modern Uses

After the war, the Swiss government judged that paying to maintain bunkers designed for a Nazi threat was no longer justified. It decommissioned many of them. Private buyers, museums, and military organizations now own many sites. Some owners grow mushrooms or ferment cheese in the bunkers.

Cold War Civil Defense

After World War II, Switzerland shifted from mountain fortifications to civil defense in cities. Robin, a Swiss journalist, showed Harris a typical basement bunker. Swiss homes often have a thick door and a special filtered window. Harris reported that Switzerland required bunkers for every household.

Harris stated that the government decreed bunkers a right in the 1960s and specified their construction. Builders had to add bunkers to new buildings or retrofit existing ones. The government covered about 70% of the cost. Robin said that Switzerland has more underground nuclear shelters than people. He stated that the country had 11 million shelters for a population of fewer than that. He also said that Germany has none.

Harris visited a factory that produces bunker components, including beds, dry toilets, air ventilation systems, and large blast doors. The bunker industry declined after the Cold War. The building code no longer requires bunkers in new houses.

Ukraine and Renewed Interest

Interest in bunkers rose after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Harris reported that the government inspected bunkers to confirm they were adequate. Robin said he received daily calls and emails after the war began, mostly from Germans seeking shelter.

Neutrality Debate

Russia's invasion also reignited debate over Swiss neutrality. The Swiss government adopted the EU sanctions package against Russia. Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said, "Extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures." Critics argued that joining sanctions violated the neutrality that had kept Switzerland peaceful for roughly 200 years, a figure cited by Harris. Harris also stated that Switzerland had remained neutral for 150 years.

Damien, a Swiss political commentator, described a split in parties. Some called for greater flexibility. Others argued that neutrality means not joining any side. Adoption of the EU sanctions, he said, made Switzerland a party to the war, a position he opposed.

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Saudi Arabia: Neom and the Bedouin

Overview of the Project

Harris reported on Neom, a planned futuristic city project in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government is funding the project from oil revenue. The initial budget was $500 billion. The estimated cost has since risen to$1.5 trillion.

Neom includes several components:

• The Line: A linear city planned to stretch 170 kilometers, powered by renewable energy and artificial intelligence. The plan calls for 10 million residents.
• Oxagon: An industrial city with a port, high-technology manufacturing, research, and logistics facilities.
• Sindalah: A luxury resort island with parking for yachts. A worker Harris met said the island was about 99% complete.
• Magna: A coastal project in which the government relocated thousands of people. Harris reported that the kingdom plans 12 luxury coastal resorts and communities on the sites of former villages. One concept includes an underground digital community inside a mountain.
• Trojena: A mountain resort with an artificial lake, mountain biking, and skiing. Snow falls in the area but is insufficient for skiing, so the project includes artificial snow and ski slopes.

Desert Camping and Bedouin Life

Harris camped in the desert and traveled with Solom, a guide born in a tent in the region. Solom showed Harris Bedouin life and took him to meet members of his tribe. The Bedouin are nomadic and descend from the peninsula's earliest inhabitants. Harris met families who graze camels and goats and move with the seasons. He noted that these families saw few westerners, usually only oil workers.

During meals, Harris ate hashi, the meat of a young camel, with rice. He drank Saudi coffee, which is unroasted, green, and infused with cardamom, followed by tea.

Members of the family said they value the peace and simplicity of desert life and find that cities cannot offer it. Solom said he works in the city but wants his people to keep the Bedouin way of life.

Oil and Modernization

Harris stated that oil transformed the peninsula. An archival narration described commercial production averaging about 200,000 barrels per day and a required workforce of more than 15,000 Arabs. The kingdom modernized rapidly while maintaining Islamic law and Bedouin norms. Hundreds of thousands of people still live a nomadic lifestyle.

Economic Pressure

The International Energy Agency predicts that global oil demand will peak in 2030 and then decline. Other estimates place the peak later, but Harris stated that most agree the future will not depend on oil. Aramco, the state-owned oil company, reported a second-quarter profit that fell by more than a third from record highs the previous year.

Harris argued that Saudi Arabia must invest oil revenue in new industries to retain its economic standing. Neom is part of that plan. The kingdom also seeks tourism, which it has opened to visitors for the first time. The strategy is modeled on Dubai's approach. Saudi Arabia also plans to use its solar and wind resources to produce hydrogen for export.

Harris noted that much of the project depends on foreign investors and residents. He quoted a Neom-employed resident who described the project as the basis of her business. Harris described the project as a startup-style pitch to the world.

Displacement and Human Costs

Harris reported that people were forced from their homes to make way for construction. Some residents signed a petition against the eviction. One man posted his objection on social media. Harris stated that he was later killed in a shootout with security forces. Officials handed his body to his tribe. His family denies the official account that he was a terrorist. At least 47 other villagers were detained on terrorism-related charges. Five of them are on death row.

Harris described the Saudi government's compensation for affected residents. He said that some residents were given money to rebuild elsewhere. He also noted that criticism of the kingdom is not openly permitted.

Current Status

Harris stated that the projects have largely fallen apart because of physical constraints, the scale of the ambitions, and budget limits. The Wall Street Journal reported on the collapse. Sindalah was nearly complete, and Trojena was almost finished. The Line had full foundations dug and construction had started. Harris described these remaining sites as ghost projects.

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Finland: Arctic Warfare and Preparedness

Arctic Forge

Harris traveled to a Finnish army base in the far north, where NATO troops train in Arctic warfare. The base sits next to a border with Russia that is more than 1,000 kilometers long. Russia has 26 times Finland's population. Finland also borders the Baltic Sea, where NATO has confronted Russia's shadow fleet of ships.

Harris joined Arctic Forge, a large-scale military exercise in the high north. The exercise involved the militaries of the United States, Canada, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. More than 1,000 troops took part, and the exercise covered a 40-square-kilometer area of snowy forest. The U.S. Army's 11th Airborne Division flew in from Alaska. The scenario depicted Finland under attack and NATO forces coming to its aid.

The blue team, made up of Finnish troops with American and Canadian allies, defended territory. The red team, composed of a few hundred Finnish soldiers, played the invaders. Tanks, artillery, surveillance drones with thermal cameras, and fighter jets all took part. Weapons used wood-tipped blanks that mimic the sound and recoil of live rounds. Each weapon linked to a system that calculated damage and impact points, allowing planners to assess each team's performance.

The Jaeger Brigade, the northernmost unit in the Finnish Defence Forces, directed the exercise.

Clothing, Training, and Survival

Temperatures in northern Finland can fall below -40 °C. Harris stated that the cold can be as lethal as artillery. Soldiers layer clothing in a specific sequence. Harris received a mesh shirt, socks, thermal layers, snow camouflage, body armor, and a rucksack weighing 30 to 40 pounds.

Felix, a captain in the Finnish Army with a master's degree in Arctic warfare, guided Harris through the training. The training included:

• Running through a fire wearing full gear and a gas mask, to simulate napalm or incendiary weapons
• Shooting on skis
• Skiing into a river on purpose and climbing out while remaining calm
• Starting a fire with a bow drill and birch bark
• Building a snow shelter, which requires packing snow and cutting it into blocks

Finland has nearly 200,000 lakes. Falling through ice or into water is a serious risk in Arctic operations.

Harris stated that Finnish tents are heated with firewood and stoves, while U.S. Army tents typically use gasoline, diesel, or propane heaters.

Conscription and Society

Finland has about 5 million people, a population similar to that of the U.S. state of Oregon. Its military relies on conscription. Most men serve, and many hold wartime duties. Conscripts serve up to one year. Finland is one of the few European countries that still requires military service. The conscription system, Harris stated, is embedded in Finnish society.

Night Operations and Exercise Outcome

During the exercise, Harris's unit deployed on skis and by BV, an all-terrain carrier vehicle. The unit captured a hill, and Harris's group captured American troops in a firefight. American soldiers praised Finnish skiing and field craft. One U.S. soldier said Finnish techniques were valuable. Another said the Finns had mastered the terrain.

Harris spent a night in a snow shelter. Soldiers camped in the snow to avoid detection by infrared sensors on drones. The shelter required cutting down branches and covering it with a tarp, snow, and branches to match the surroundings.

The unit was later hit by a simulated F-18 Hornet strike while its BV was stuck in the open. Nearly the entire unit was declared dead, including the platoon leader. The exercise ended for the unit.

Finland's History

Harris described Finland's history as a basis for its security outlook. Sweden ruled Finland for centuries. The Russian Empire annexed it in the early 1800s and tried to suppress Finnish culture. Finland declared independence after the 1917 Russian Revolution, following a civil war.

In 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Finland under a secret agreement with Nazi Germany, which had divided spheres of influence. Harris described the Winter War as a battle in which a smaller Finnish army resisted a much larger Soviet force using skis, camouflage, and knowledge of the terrain. Finland lost territory, including about 10% of its land, but kept its independence.

During World War II, Finland accepted supplies and troops from Nazi Germany to regain lost territory. Harris stated that this alignment put Finland in a compromising position. After the Soviets and their allies won the war, Finland had to pay reparations, accept responsibility for the war, and remove German troops, which it did through a short conflict in Lapland.

Sisu

Harris introduced the Finnish concept of sisu, which he described as endurance drawn from the deepest part of one's mental resources. He said Finnish soldiers consider it a national value.

Cold War Balancing and NATO Accession

After World War II, Finland stayed non-aligned. It promised not to join either alliance and built a capable military based on conscription, resilience, and discipline. Harris reported that President Urho Kekkonen invited Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to a sauna, where they discussed geopolitics. Many believe this helped Finland avoid conflict with the Soviet Union.

Most European countries reduced their militaries after the Soviet Union collapsed. Finland kept conscription.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine changed Finnish attitudes. Support for NATO rose from 53% in the first weeks to 76%, and later to more than 80%. Finland and Sweden joined NATO in April 2023. Harris stated that Finns described feeling safer and less anxious about war.

Border and Migration Pressure

In autumn 2023, Russia began directing migrants toward Finland's northern border, according to Harris's account. He described this as one of several hybrid tactics Russia has used against the West. Before the escalation in Ukraine, the border handled about 9.5 million crossings each year, according to a border official. The border is now closed. Border guards told Harris that they still patrol the line.

Civil Defense and Bunkers

Harris visited a shelter about 20 meters below Helsinki. Finland has about 5,500 independent shelters in Helsinki, with space for more than 900,000 people. Helsinki has about 680,000 residents. Shelters serve dual purposes. Businesses rent some spaces and maintain them. The shelter includes a pool that can be drained quickly, a parking garage, and a playground.

Shelter design includes a pressure wall, which the operator described as theoretically nuclear-proof, and a chemical door, which keeps toxic substances out. The operator also stated the human survival limits: three minutes without air, three days without water, and up to three weeks without food.

The operator said that Finland has kept shelter requirements in legislation since World War II. He stated that the country never abandoned civil defense after the Cold War, unlike many other European nations.

Harris concluded that Finland's preparedness extends beyond the military. Civilians take emergency preparedness courses, and workplaces and offices plan for emergencies.

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Cyprus: A Divided Island

Division

Harris stated that Cyprus appears as a single country on maps and is recognized as one country by most states. In practice, the island is divided into four parts.

• Republic of Cyprus: An EU member that controls about 60% of the island. Its population is mainly Greek.
• British sovereign base areas: A small share of the island used mainly for military purposes.
• UN buffer zone: A strip established in the 1960s and 1970s to stop fighting between the two communities.
• Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus: A self-declared state controlling almost half of the island. The UN and most other countries do not recognize it. It has a government, infrastructure, political parties, and elections.

Harris visited Nicosia airport, which lies within the buffer zone and has been empty since the conflict.

Historical Background

Harris described Cyprus as strategically located in the Mediterranean, which made it a prize for successive empires, including the Persians, Alexander the Great, the Romans, and the Venetians. The Ottoman Empire took control about 500 years ago.

Over the centuries, Greek Christians and Turkish Muslims lived side by side in villages and towns. The British took control of Cyprus in the late 1800s. The Suez Canal had cut the travel time from Britain to India by about half, and Cyprus lay near the canal, making it strategically valuable. The British created maps and demographic categories that separated people by religion and identity.

By the 1950s, Cypriots had risen against British rule. The Greek Cypriot movement, called Enosis, sought union with Greece. Turkish Cypriots opposed union and wanted a partition into two independent states.

London Agreement and Independence

In 1955, Sir John Harding, the British governor and commander-in-chief, tried to reconcile Greek and Turkish positions. Violence continued. The British then convened a conference in London. Greece and Turkey took part. The result was a constitution for an independent Cyprus with power-sharing rules. The president had to be Greek and the vice president Turkish, with set proportions in government. Britain kept military bases, and Greece and Turkey retained the right to intervene.

Cyprus became independent in 1960. Archbishop Makarios became the first president.

Harris stated that the constitution failed to hold. Violence against Turkish Cypriots, who were the minority, pushed them into enclaves. Harris said Turkish Cypriots declared that living in harmony with Greek Cypriots was no longer possible.

1974 Invasion

In 1974, the military government in Greece moved to take control of Cyprus and unite it with Greece. Turkey responded by invading the north, citing its right to restore order under the agreement. The invasion involved bombs, tanks, and troops landing on beaches. Greek Cypriots, who were outnumbered, could offer little resistance.

Harris described two accounts of the events. Greek Cypriots described the invasion as theft of their property and a forced expulsion from land rightfully theirs. Turkish Cypriots described it as the "peace operation," which protected them from years of violence. Tens of thousands of residents on both sides were displaced. The UN established buffer lines that cut through Nicosia. Turkey's forces seized much of the north, and Turkish Cypriots declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Harris stated that Turkey supports the territory, and that the United Nations does not recognize it.

Famagusta

Famagusta was a major tourist city and port in Greek Cyprus. Its residents fled in 1974 and have not returned. Harris said the city has been empty for 47 years.

Harris visited Famagusta with Mr. Takis, a Greek Cypriot who was 33 when he fled with his two children. He had owned hotels and worked in tourism. He returned for the first time to visit his old home. Mr. Takis said he could not connect to memories of the city as it was. He described the experience as painful and said his wife refused to make the trip. When the group reached his former home, he said he had not seen it in 47 years.

Harris said the Turkish military controls access and limits movement inside the sealed zone.

Harris's Assessment

Harris stated that the conflict is a human issue rooted in great-power decisions, and that the division of Cyprus was imposed by outside powers. He said he had studied the Cyprus conflict as a graduate student and wanted to document the experiences of people on both sides.

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Closing Remarks

Harris said the five reports will be part of The Human Element, a documentary series scheduled for release in several weeks. He described the series as his most ambitious field project.