Anders Heger, the head of Norwegian PEN, describes the atmosphere in Norway after the tragedy with one word: “dignity”.
In a letter sent to the Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg on 23 July 2011, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, left, expressed his sadness and shock on learning of the tragedy that has befallen Norway with a bomb blast in the centre of Oslo as well as the shooting incident at the youth camp, resulting in the loss of so many lives.
He expressed his condolences and sense of solidarity with the people of Norway with whom the Tibetans have a special and close connection. However, His Holiness stated that the people of Norway are resilient and therefore was confident that they would slowly overcome this tragedy and look forward.
Condolence letters from Rafto laureates
Rafto Prize laureates Sidi Mohammed Daddach from Western Sahara, Malahat Nasibova from Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Azerbaijan, Bulambo Lembelembe Josué from DR Congo and Gennady Grushevoy from Belarus also sent their condolences to the families of victims of the terror acts.
Malahat Nasibova, the 2009 Rafto Prize laureate and director of Democracy and NGO development Resource Center in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Azerbaijan, writes in her letter of 25 July:
“We are sure that this terror act will not have any effect to the democratic traditions of Norway state and its people. We strongly condemn this terror act and express our support to Norway.”
Sidi Mohammed Daddach, the 2002 Rafto Prize laureate and Sahr awi human rights defender, writes in his letter of 24 July that he learnt with great pain of the news of the terrorist attacks in Norway; a very tolerant, generous and pacific country.
2008 Rafto Prize laureate, Bulambo Lembelembe Josué, right, from DR Congo, writes:
“We condemn in the strongest terms all these vile acts, joining ourselves to the government and the Norwegian people to express our sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims. We regret the fact that Norway, which since the Second World War was a country where there was complete peace, may be victim of the deadly attacks of this kind.”
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) has been touched by all the messages it has received from its friends all over Europe, expressing shock and sympathy with the Norwegian people. The organization says it is committed to the very values that have been targeted: Freedom of expression, tolerance and the inviolabilitily of the individual.
“The attacks are a reminder that our values cannot be taken for granted, they need to be protected every day, by all of us,” says the NHC press release.
Impressions from the epicenter
Anders Heger, the head of Norwegian PEN, in his open letter writes 
that his office is almost just opposite the government buildings which were the epi-center of the explosion but at that moment he wasn’t there, he was in his car.
“It was Friday afternoon, like lots of Oslo citizens we were planning to go out of the city for the weekend. When we [Heger and his daughter] were about 100 meters away, the explosion hit. It was like a giant hand took the car from underneath, shaking it. It took a fraction of a second, and my home town was changed into something looking like a war zone. Broken glass everywhere. A huge cloud of dust came towards us, following the shock wave like a jinn”.
He tells that his oldest daughter Helene had been two seconds late for the corner and she was alive. “The deli on the corner where Helene was supposed to stand was completely wrecked, like something out of a disaster film. All over the place bleeding people were lying, hit by the glass from broken windows.”
“And then. Came the second wave. The news from the island.”
Heger, right, hopes these tragic events will only make Norwegians stronger and will turn the atmosphere in the country in a positive, not negative, direction.
“I really wish you could have seen my city these days. So much is different, we are closer to each other, I am searching for a word to describe the atmosphere, and I can’t find anything better than "dignity". Like when the mayor, the king and the prime minister all gave the same message: We are going to meet this the only way we can: With more openness, more democracy, more trust. Or the young survivor who summed it up, still standing shivering with a blanket around her: When one man can have so much a hate, imagine how much love we all can create.”
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