I've been thinking about finding the right words to express what I feel and think about this unbelievable act of violence. And everytime I thought I knew what to say, the numbers of dead people rose and made it obsolete again. This is not some natural disaster, this is what one human did to other humans for -- as far as one can tell -- the lowest of all reasons: Hate.
Hate is what poisons our modern societies. Hate and fear of the strange, the foreign.
While most people still think, that islamic fundamentalists are the biggest terrorist threat, I've been saying for years that Al-Quaida and the likes are no imminent threat anymore -- for various reasons.
What I feared and what this act of terror in Norway seems to prove, is that we have to be more afraid of people from our midst. People who live in fear and hate, who's number grows throughout the western world, fertilized by rightwing parties and their populism, which are getting stronger all over Europe -- but especially in Scandinavia, it seems.
It's these "hate crimes", which are the new face of terrorism and which we have to be afraid of. You cannot get rid of them with stronger border controls or body scanners at airports. The terrorists of today and tomorrow aren't being trained in Afghanistan. They're living among us and you cannot recognize them by their long beards. They are in our blind spot and ironically they partially seem to be a result of our irrational fear of islamists.
I'm afraid the fear of terror from the muslim world resulted in creating our own radical groups and people, who are ready to commit acts of terrorism themselves. You can only get rid of them by counteracting intolerance, racism and hate with tolerance, openness, friendship and of course information and education.
As I said: I'm not good with words, when it comes to express my feelings but for what it's worth, I can say that I am deeply shocked and can only offer my honest sympathy and condolences for what happened in Norway. I honestly hope, that the Norwegians will soon get over this traumatic experience and that it won't change their nature.
It's also my hope, though, that this is a wakeup call for all those, who sympathize with radical rightwing parties, their views and thoughts and who believe, that we must protect ourselves from strangers and their influence. Because if we don't abandon such thoughts and beliefs now and counteract them, we will have to endure more of such "hate crimes" in the future -- of that I am absolutely sure.