It's already been two days since the attack but it still feels just as awful and heartbreaking. I was no way near the area at the time so I'm safe and sound, but it's very scary that such an event could take place in what I perceived to be a peaceful, safe country. I didn't know anyone involved and have heard back from my friends in Oslo, but I'm still sad and depressed.
Listening to music makes me feel a bit better though.

Morten, how are you doing?

Dear Karenpat,

I deeply regret the tragic events in Oslo and Utoya; there are now plenty of families shattered by the madness of a man.

I'm glad you're well and hope that Jaroussky's voice give you comfort.

Mercè [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Thanks for the concern, Karenpat!! I'm OK but utterly shaken! What a nightmare! I have to tell you I was i fact 4 blocks away from where the bomb exploded here in Oslo. I heard the sound of a massive explosion, shattering of glass and even felt a wave of "air-pressure". Extremely horrifying! Then came the news of shooting at the summer-camp and all went crazy. People running like mad through the streets and rumours of another bomb. The worst though, was awakening on Saturday morning, to the news of eighty people, a great deal of children, dead on Utøya (the island...). I couldn't believe it! - Really? - Here in peaceful Norway! All done by a calculating single man! And now the deathtoll is standing at at recordful of 86 + 7 and maybe still growing!! I feel quite desperate and don't know what to do. It's a hopeless situation, but life must go on. - It has to! I've watched through the mass in the cathedral and my eyes were wet a lot of times and my stomach feels terrible...

Music is good medicine, but it also releases a lots of feelings. When they sang Nordahl Grieg's: "Til ungdommen(To the youth)" (famous norwegian poet from the age of the 2. world war) I was shattered! Let's hope for a better future! Morten.

Karenpat
I thought you were in Norway but I wasn’t sure. So you are. I am very glad to hear that you and your friends are all safe.

Morten
I remember the terrorist attacks in London back in 2005 (I’m based in the UK). I felt my head had gone completely blank. I couldn’t think of anything. As you say, I was desperately trying to make sense but couldn’t. It was just completely senseless.

It doesn’t make a tragedy like this any better or worse but when it is children and young people who were killed, it makes us feel so much more hopeless.

I send my deepest sympathy to people of Norway.

P.S. Tonight’s BBC Prom was Verdi’s Requiem. The presenter wished that the work might give some consolation to people of Norway. I hope it does.

Even in hitherto peaceful Holland there have been two politically inspired murders this last decade. One on the politician Pim Fortuyn, and then, a few years later, Theo Van Gogh, a critically acclaimed writer and filmmaker was shot and stabbed outside his home. Other people have received deadthreats. Some went into hiding and later have left the country. Others decided to keep their mouths shut of fear of becoming a target. That is of course the primary goal of any terrorist attack: to stir fear in a peaceful society.

It makes you realize that it only takes one idiot, and anyone could potentially be one or become one without anyone noticing it before it was too late. It makes you feel very unsafe.

A few months ago, it did happen again, just a few weeks before the Oslo disaster. Some crazy guy opened fire on innocent bystanders in a shopping mall. He was psychotic, there was no political motive.

The funny thing is: you get used to it. I think people who live in terrorist ridden countries already have adjusted. The irish, the basques, the israelis. You have to, in order to be able to live your life in a normal way. And that is the message I want to give you: do not let this tragedy change your life. Mourn, and then go on. Don't let the idiots win. Don't give in to terrorism.

How are things now in Norway?

There are still news stories about Utøya almost every day - a few days ago the press were allowed to visit the island and take photos and it's like a ghost town. Surviving teens come forward with their stories. I suppose we're still dealing with the aftermath but for most people who were not directly affected I think life is back to normal. I was very nervous about walking around in Oslo by myself for a few weeks but after I started Uni again things are back to normal. There was a scare at Uni for a few days though when they found a gun in a locker in a building with one of the biggest study halls on campus (and where I used to study almost every day last year). However the police couldn't make a connection between the gun and any plans of a criminal act on campus. I would say that personally I feel stronger than ever now but as a nation of course we will never forget.