Utøya Survivor Speaks Out - Q&A

SeeArrJayDee: What was your first indication that something was amiss? Did somebody tell you, or did you see him? Stay strong!

-Well, we had just had a meeting in the main building about what had happened in Oslo when we heard the first shots. And when suddenly people started running up from the pier and was screaming/yelling "run, hide" etc, you understand something is wrong. But I did not understand the gravity of what was going on until right before I was transported away from the island and could really see everything.

alphanovember: At what point did you realize that Anders wasn't a real cop?

-When I saw him kill a person.

jkgator11: You say you saw him twice and heard him once. What was he saying/yelling? Did you witness any acts of heroism, such as people helping others escape? Or was it basically a giant free-for-all (everybody running to escape wherever they could?) My sincerest condolences for everything you've experienced.

-He was yelling at one point telling everyone to come out from where they were hiding, (sorry for grammar mistakes), and that he was a police officer her to help us, I did not come forward. This was near the pump house, if you have heard about it, 15 people or so was murdered there. Where i was laying, there was a girl who was shot four times, she survived because of everyone around her was trying to help her, she was laying on top of one person so she would not get cold and there where two or three persons who where compressing her wounds.

suicidemachine: Are you still in touch with the rest of the survivors? How are they doing now? The Breivik case has just started, and apparently you will all have to tell everything in front of the court again. Will you handle it?

-We are all coping as good as possible and try to keep in touch. I do not have to witness, since the line is drawn to those hit by projectile

audun0905: A friend of mine passed away that day, probably the most kind person i've ever met. Even though I know what happened, curiosity leads me to this question: Did you know Emil? (Nord Trønderlag). If so, how was he like? Did you see him before he passed away?

-I never got the chance to get to know Emil, but I am from Nord Trøndelag, I did not see much of him during everything but I am aware of that he was murdered not far from me. After all I have heard about him I have come to the conclusion that when he died, Norway and the nation lost a great man. My condolences.

sortofheathery: This may be a bit personal, but if you had the opportunity to confront Breivik is there anything you wish you could tell him? Also, thank you to you and your fellow Norwegians for the civil way everyone has responded. It's an attitude I wish more people in my country would emulate.

-That I get why he did it, but I that I think that going after children, I consider myself still a child, is way beyond every other choice he could have chosen to prove his point.

IonZero: Was there a time that you thought he would find you and/or got near your hiding spot?

-As i posted, he was 20 meters away from me when i was hiding. So yes, but he didn't.

iamjacksprofile: Did you think you were gonna die? What was your emotional state during all this?

-I never thought I was going to die. I had a defense mechanism saying it was all just a game. Hide and seek, more or less.

clburton24: How has this changed your life? How do you feel about Breivik and how they are choosing to punish him? Do they have capital punishment in Norway? What has helped you move on?

-It has made me realize how precious life is. I think Breivik is a man that lives by what we Norwegians call the precautionary principle, and that there will never be any way of justify his actions, nor give him a punishment that will be good enough because one does not exist. And death would be to easy. We do not have capital punishment in Norway, a life sentence here is 21 years, after that there will be a new trial, which determines whether someone released again. He on the other hand will not be released because he will always be a threat to the kingdom. I have coped with it all by going to a psychologist and "talked it over."

antiliberal: I know it must be uncomfortable for you to recall but at any point during the ordeal did you actually see Breivik? Also, do you think there needs to be a revision of Norwegian law to allow for stricter penalties for crimes as awful as those of Anders Behring Breivik?

-Well, firstly i saw him twice and heard him once. I do not believe that the penalty for his crime should be any other than for a "normal" murderer, if he got a stricter penalty for what he has done, he would have won. It would mean that he did change Norway, and that is the hole point about the trial, everyone knows he did it, there is enough evidence to get him sentenced immediately, but Norway is a democracy where everyone has the right to a fair trial.

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