Currently, no one person or group has taken responsibility for these horrific actions in Norway today, but it seems obvious that the bombing was a terrorist attack.
Although all of my family and friends are safe and unharmed, this still feels personal to me. Norway has always been a safe country, where a terrorist attack like this has been the furthest thing from anyone's mind. Yet, today, the unthinkable happened. The news travelled quickly around the globe, and messages of support and condolences keep ticking in from all corners of the world. I live about half an hour from the city, but I can hear - and see - the rescue helicopters flying over the house. This feels completely unreal, and I know I am not the only Norwegian today to feel as though this is personal; an injustice done to me by someone I do not know.
Our prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, has urged us all to not cave in to fear. And as I listen to news feeds from BBC and CNN, they all seem to mention how the people are not in an uproar. But that the general mood in Oslo tonight is quiet. As if we are all unanimously grieving for people injured and killed, even if we didn't know them. Clearly, this bombing and the shooting shortly thereafter has made a mark on the Norwegian people. Made us feel less safe in our own home, and it is because of that feeling that there is no public uproar in the streets. It is instead a quiet resolution to not give whoever did this the satisfaction of seeing a country whipped up in a frenzied fear; we are determined to stand strong in the face of fear, stand united to show them that we are not ones to be messed with. We, as a people, will not stand for this injustice and we will not show you fear because we will not be broken.
 |
| Candles lit in memory of those who have been killed |
No comments:
Post a Comment