Today, Sweden grieves

[misscam]

And I grieve with it. This morning, Sweden's foreign minister Anna Lindh died on the operating table after being stabbed several times by an unknown attacker. She leaves behind two children and a husband and my heart goes out to them and all of Sweden. I know Norway and Sweden make cheap jokes about each other, but your grief is our grief. We are of one heart and today that heart grieves.

Making this even more tragic is the echo of the past. In 1986 then Sweden's Prime Minister Olof Palme was killed, and his murderer is still at large. No one wants a repeat.

It is perhaps doubly shocking to us in Scandinavia because we are so... sheltered, in a sense. Our politicians don't have bodyguards. Norwegian police is not even armed ordinarily. We are sheltered, and when something like this happens, we are reminded that our shelter is fragile. I complain sometimes that Norway is dull and boring - but I want it that way. When this happens, I feel like a bloody idiot for ever complaining about Norway's dullness. Please, let it be dull forever. Please.

And of course, it's September 11th and the Israel-Palestine conflict seems to be heading head first into another abyss. Not a very good day, all in all.

I feel ill.

ETA: Read about the attack here

Comments

[veuki.livejournal.com]

*hugs very gently*

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

Never fun when you realise just how unsafe the world is, even in the little cocoon of stability and peace that is Scandinavia. You think things like this would not happen, and when it does... Hits you right in the stomach and knocks the wind out of you. So I appriciate the thought.

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, Camilla. It seems grossly unfair. **hugs**

[arabel.livejournal.com]

*sighs and offers hugs*

I'm continually dismayed with the state of things - especially things like this - and the pain that keeps showing up the world over.

:(

[darksylvia.livejournal.com]

Oh, god. That's horrible. Hit me right in the stomach.

[irian.livejournal.com]

That is so sad... It must have shocked a lot of the Swedish people because assasination attempts arent't very commonplace there. Where I live, it's become so common (especially around election time) we hardly blink anymore everytime we hear about this mayorial or governadorial candidate who got killed while out campaigning.

[missjean.livejournal.com]

Today (yesterday) wasn't a good day for the world, it seems. They'll never see this, but my condolences to the family of Anna Lindh.

*sigh*

I wish my country were boring. 'Twould be a nice feeling for once... In fact, I wish the world was a boring place. That'd be an even better feeling.

[norwegianne.livejournal.com]

My swedish professor was nearly in tears. She just kept comparing it to the Palme case, which most of us were too young to remember...

It's horrible when we begin to have American standards in the nordic countries....

It doesn't matter if it's Sweden, Denmark or Norway. If it happens one place it's likely to happen in the other countries...

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Here's to hoping it doesn't happen again anywhere for a long time (I'd wish for forever, but that's so unlikely I'd be wasting my breath)

And yeah, if it can happen in Sweden, it can happen in Norway. Scandinavia is essentially one people, just in three flavours.

Fellow Norwegian, I see :) Lovely icon.

[maureenlycaon.livejournal.com]

(Offers a hug of her own)

I just don't know what to say. I hope and pray the murderer is caught, and that this isn't a repeat of the Olaf Palme assassination.