How to Make a Terrorist Lose – Norway’s Response to the Violent July 22 Attacks
“If one man can show so much hate, just think how much love we all together can create.” – Helle Grannestad quoted by Norway Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg on Jan 24
It’s very difficult to understand what happened in Norway, a prosperous and peaceful country that ranks number 4 globally in per capita GDP and averages less than 30 murders annually. Many around the world heard about and were deeply saddened by the terror attack in Oslo on July 22, 2011. But to Norwegian citizens, residents, and families around the world, that day is likely to be as much of a point of delineation as 9/11 has been for Americans.
At the time both U.S. and international media covered the terrorist attacks as well as a plethora of theories surmising which group(s) might possibly be behind the attacks, the motives of the killer, and a host of questions about a Norwegian system of justice caught off guard and seemingly unprepared to deal with such a horrific event in the country that is a symbol of peace. Despite the wall-to-wall coverage of the violence, shock and dispair, the U.S. media gave little exposure to the beautiful responses of the Norwegian people – people of all backgrounds: Muslims, Islamists, Hindus, and ex-pats and international citizens living and working in Norway – as they struggled to understand and grieve this once unimaginable event.
The purpose of this site is to share a perspective on what we as global citizens, who are no strangers to violence, might learn from the way in which Norwegians responded to the only peacetime act of public violence in the country’s history.
The following to be a ‘side bar’ on home page?
I’ll start with a few facts that my non-Norwegian colleagues and friends would likely consider to be anything but ‘top of mind.’
• At the request of Alfred Nobel, Norway awards the annual Nobel Peace Prize.
• Violence is not part of Norwegian society, culture, or experience. The number of murders per year in this country of 4.9 million people averaged just 33 per year for the past 5 years prior to July 22, 2011. In the U.S., with a population of just over 307 million people, the average murder rate per year for the same period was 15,241. If the US rate were the same as Norway, that average would be cut to just 2,059 murders per year.
• Norway is a culture of equality and openness in which the police do not carry guns; very few government officials ever have body guards and may even ride the train or take the bus to work. Many residents of Oslo and surrounding communities use the walkway leading up to and through the park of the Royal Palace daily as a walking and/or commute path.
• Norway remains fourth in global GDP per capita, behind Qatar, Luxemburg and Singapore s due in large part to the highly effective way in which the Norwegian government manages the funds received from North Sea Oil Reserves. To secure sustainable development and standard of living for future generations, the country’s Budgetary Rule stipulates that only 4% of the funds can be used per year, with the remainder invested at a high rate of return in research in the petroleum industry and other areas of social responsibility.
• Norwegian people are amazingly humble, a direct reflection of their belief in equality and by the very humble nature of Norwegian culture. (While such an unpretentious nature has been labeled as cold, standoffish or even arrogant, it has been my experience for more than 22 years that, when you get to know Norwegians, they are some of the most deeply caring, loyal, and well-balanced people in the world.)
Knowing this to be the Norwegian mindset, consider the mental impact of a native Norwegian terrorist, or crusader as he referred to himself, setting a bomb off in the center of Oslo, with the intention of destroying the Prime Ministers’ office and government buildings. This was first bomb in Oslo since WWII and the most violent peacetime act in Norway’s history.
The terrorist next traveled dressed as a policeman to Utoya Island approximately 24 miles from Oslo, where more than 200 youth, aged 12 to 24 years were attending Utoya Youth Camp, the Norwegian Labor Party’s youth camp. His intention was to again detonate bombs, but due to an alert island gatekeeper and security guard, his original plan was thwarted. Despite their efforts, he managed to kill both the gatekeeper and security guard who, as it was later learned, was the Princess of Norway’s stepbrother. The terrorist then went on to use both a rifle and handgun to kill, chase down, and terrorize the young campers.
In the end, the death toll stood at 77 dead, including 55 teenagers, and more than 100 individuals, 66 of whom were youth, who suffered physical injury. To grasp the magnitude of this deadly attack, consider that the population of Oslo is roughly 569,000 people and the entire country has a population of 4.9 million. That means the terrorist killed approximately 0.01% of the population of Oslo, and 0.002% of the population of Norway. While these figures may seem insignificant, they are actually a much higher per capita death toll than that of the U.S. 9/11 terrorist attack.
As news of the initial bomb downtown and the story of the killings on Utoya reached the US, I contacted many of my Norwegian loved ones and business colleagues, asking, “are you alright” or “were you or anyone you know a victim of this horrible event?” Their immediate response was simply, “I’m alive but will never be the same” or “my family was not injured but we are forever changed.” All understandably subdued responses delivered amid the shock and horror of knowing that it was a native Norwegian who acted out in such a cold and calculated manner against an otherwise peaceful country.
Heading or page change around Impact of the Event on and to Norwegian society:
As I continued to talk with them across the weekend, I learned that many of the “I’m okay” responses were of greater consequence. Acknowledgements of a “direct emotional impact” and recounts of “close calls” became uncomfortably commonplace. Among those who unknowingly were spared was a colleague’s brother, who walked by the targeted government building only minutes before the blast. Another colleague’s niece, who worked in the destroyed building, was called away to a meeting elsewhere just minutes before the explosion. And there were many more close calls.
Even more difficult to bear was hearing the number of friends and clients who had indeed lost a godchild or their best friend or neighbor who lost children (while they were at summer camp). In this small, tight-knit society it seemed that no one had escaped the killer’s impact and moving forward, would forever have a changed perspective on life.
At this point I need to stop and ask each of you reading this several questions:
• What might your reaction have been?
• Would it be similar to the reactions of the U.S. citizens to 9/11?
• Would it be hatred toward and a desire to fight or kill the perpetrator?
• Would you have provided support for the killer’s cause, even unintentionally, by turning against the people and principals that he was against?
I won’t postulate your answers to these questions but I will ask you to put aside your initial responses and reconsider the questions using a typical Norwegian mindset, one of equality, humbleness, and peace. Might your responses be different? As you ponder your answer, I’d like to share with you actual responses of the Norwegian people.
How can these and the pics best be displayed?
Speech by Crown Prince Haakon prior to the Rose Parade in Oslo on July 25.
http://www.kongehuset.no/c27224/tale/vis.html?tid=93133&strukt_tid=27224
News reporter with Oslo Mayor Stang
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVcv0Ff79dc&feature=share
A video created by my friend Lasse Ingeberg (who’s best friend lost his daughter) of the Oslo Rose Parade attended by over 200,000 people
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOv18n3PCO4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
While I’ve not been to Oslo since the horrific events of July 22, my Norwegian friends, coworkers, and colleagues have spoken to me about an open spirit of community, unity, love, and respect for and among the people of Norway that has been sweeping over the country in recent weeks. Friends and colleagues greeting one another with hugs or similar acts of kindness is no longer unusual and increasingly commonplace. An extra moment is taken to reach out and touch or offer a hand to others, total strangers among them.
What can we as global citizens learn from this?
Simply put, there are many ways that a nation and its people can respond to hatred and violence without creating more violence and hatred. (Experience has shown us that fighting violence with violence only escalates the appeal of extremism.) Norwegians, by avoiding emotional outcries for vigilantism, knee-jerk political reactions, and strong-arm justice, are setting a rare example of how to make violent extremism a losing proposition for both known and would-be terrorists.
To be certain, ensuring that the terrorists lose their self-declared war on innocent people is the only truly meaningful way in which to honor Norway’s and the world’s victims and their families. But rather than through violent means, perhaps a Norwegian assault of peace, love, and understanding will show us all a better way to defend ourselves.