norway

ph: fishywishy25

I visit this page every week to read about love across oceans, love that has been lost, love that lasts a lifetime and love that never will be forgotten. Today I want to share a different kind of love with you – the love of my country in hard times. *

I have always considered my country the safest in the world. This was my little country where we didn’t need police in the streets, where we could play in the streets with no parents watching us, where we didn’t have to lock our doors and where we are so few people that every person is a brother and a friend. This all changed a few days ago.

Norway is changed forever. We will never get back the Norway we had before July the 22nd - this because we will never forget. We will never forget the day a man got onto the scout camp and killed over 60 young adults. We will never forget the children’s screams. We will never forget the tears of the parents. We will never forget the stories the victims have told us. We will never forget the ocean of flowers outside the church. We will never forget our crying king.

No one is left untouched. We all feel so much pain. We are all crying for our children. We are all in shock. We are all watching the lists of names in the newspaper; names of children that was taken away from us in such a tragic way. It is so easy to hate the murderer. Somehow, it makes the sorrow easier to hate the man that caused all this. However, in the middle of all this, our prime minister, our king, our children and the children that survived the attack tell us not to hate.

All this darkness has taught us the value of love. Muslims are arranging concerts where over 200 000 people gather together in their hopelessness. Professional singers publish songs that they give out for free to show their support. Tour the France has a minute of silence in respect of the lost lives. Candles are lid in every window. Strangers cry on strangers’ shoulders.

This is my safe, little country and one person is not going to change that. When one person shows this much hate, we are going to show him how much love we are able to show together. I don’t think there is any better way to punish this murderer in than having his actions bringing us closer together.

Norway will never be the same again. The pain will never go away, and the tears will not be wiped away. They will be there and remind us of what we have sacrificed. It will remind that love is the only reasons to hate. The terrorist have taken a few of our roses, but can never stop spring from coming.

I could not have been more proud to call myself a Norwegian, hence the circumstances.
Thank you for all the support coming from all over the world!

*reader submission