Survivors of Norway massacre return to Utoya island
Over 750 people – survivors and their families – made the painful journey back to Utoya for the first time since the atrocity, when right wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 69 young activists at a political summer camp.
But despite the horrors of that day, many of the survivors said that it was cathartic to be back on the island. "It was incredibly painful to be there, but it was good to be back," said Eskild Pedersen, 27, the leader of Norway's Workers' Youth League. "Not all the survivors wanted to come back, and there are some who will never come back. We grieve in different ways, and we respect that. "I think about it every day, and I cry sometimes. But to me it felt right to go back," he told Aftenposten newspaper.
Per Anders Langerod, 26, the former deputy leader of Oslo Labour Youth, agreed. "It's much better to be back than I had imagined," he said. "I have so many images running through my head from that day, so in a way it was nice to get other impressions."
Mr Langerod was inside the main house on the island when Breivik began shooting. He crept down to the lake shore, and hid on a rocky ledge before slipping into the chilly waters to conceal himself. On Saturday he returned to that rocky ledge, and also saw the spot from where Breivik stood shooting. "It was especially important for me to see the spot where my friends died," Mr Langerod said. "Here we lit candles and laid flowers.
"Of course there was grief. We comforted each other. For some it is terrible to get back on the island, with all the memories. But there is also a cheerful mood in that we came back and saw that it was not dangerous anymore."
With the group gathered in front of the main house, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg delivered a rousing speech, promising that he would stay on the island for next year's summer camp. The applause was so loud that it could be heard from the farm on the other side of Tyrifjord lake. "Obviously it's very hard for people to return, but it's also an important part of the grieving process – to process all the impressions you remember, and to sit back and take stock," said Martin Henriksen, a former youth leader, who had been at another camp and was heading back to Utoya when the shooting began.
"I was on the other side of the strait, paralysed by shock and concern over those who were on the island," he recalled. "After the shooting there was a double reaction – relief over meeting people there, and then sorrow over those who never came back. "Returning is different for each person, and we all had different expectations about what the experience would be.
"But I think it's an important part of coming to terms with what happened. Although it is heavy, people say that it is good to have been there."Norway will on Sunday hold a national day of remembrance with a concert by the country's top performers, which will be attended by the royal family, heads of government of other Nordic countries as well as survivors and their families.
Saturday's emotional visit followed a trip on Friday for the families of those who died on the island. Per Brekke, logistics chief of the operation, said planning the visits had been a big challenge. Police had sealed off the island since the massacre, mapping out Breivik's murderous path and then cleaning up what had become a grim crime scene. The Norwegian government also marshalled a large team of psychiatrists, helpers and volunteers to guide the survivors and their families as they returned to the site. Police on the scene wore a different uniform to the fake one that Breivik donned in order to lull his victims into a false sense of security. Adrian Pracon, 21, came face-to-face with the killer several times, and at one point lay still on the ground, pretending to be already dead.
"I was shaking terribly, I was also breathing very fast but it all stopped at that moment because the body understands that it must be still," he said. "Suddenly I could hear him place his boots right in front of my face. I could feel the warmth of the gun barrel he was pointing at me. I thought: 'Now it is over. Now he's got me'." The killer aimed at Mr Pracon's head and fired a shot, but somehow missed and the bullet entered the left shoulder.
Mr Pracon added, who spent a week in hospital, added of yesterday's trip: "We sang 'we are all members of AUF (the Workers' Youth League)'. People were crying and hugging each other. It was beautiful.
"I feel an unbreakable bond towards my friends. We have been through hell together. We have pushed ourselves to survive." He said he planned to return for next year's summer camp, and that people were already talking about preparations for it. "After all this pain and misery, it was also good to see joy. Now I have a hope for the future. It will get better."
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But despite the horrors of that day, many of the survivors said that it was cathartic to be back on the island. "It was incredibly painful to be there, but it was good to be back," said Eskild Pedersen, 27, the leader of Norway's Workers' Youth League. "Not all the survivors wanted to come back, and there are some who will never come back. We grieve in different ways, and we respect that. "I think about it every day, and I cry sometimes. But to me it felt right to go back," he told Aftenposten newspaper.
Per Anders Langerod, 26, the former deputy leader of Oslo Labour Youth, agreed. "It's much better to be back than I had imagined," he said. "I have so many images running through my head from that day, so in a way it was nice to get other impressions."
Mr Langerod was inside the main house on the island when Breivik began shooting. He crept down to the lake shore, and hid on a rocky ledge before slipping into the chilly waters to conceal himself. On Saturday he returned to that rocky ledge, and also saw the spot from where Breivik stood shooting. "It was especially important for me to see the spot where my friends died," Mr Langerod said. "Here we lit candles and laid flowers.
"Of course there was grief. We comforted each other. For some it is terrible to get back on the island, with all the memories. But there is also a cheerful mood in that we came back and saw that it was not dangerous anymore."
With the group gathered in front of the main house, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg delivered a rousing speech, promising that he would stay on the island for next year's summer camp. The applause was so loud that it could be heard from the farm on the other side of Tyrifjord lake. "Obviously it's very hard for people to return, but it's also an important part of the grieving process – to process all the impressions you remember, and to sit back and take stock," said Martin Henriksen, a former youth leader, who had been at another camp and was heading back to Utoya when the shooting began.
"I was on the other side of the strait, paralysed by shock and concern over those who were on the island," he recalled. "After the shooting there was a double reaction – relief over meeting people there, and then sorrow over those who never came back. "Returning is different for each person, and we all had different expectations about what the experience would be.
"But I think it's an important part of coming to terms with what happened. Although it is heavy, people say that it is good to have been there."Norway will on Sunday hold a national day of remembrance with a concert by the country's top performers, which will be attended by the royal family, heads of government of other Nordic countries as well as survivors and their families.
Saturday's emotional visit followed a trip on Friday for the families of those who died on the island. Per Brekke, logistics chief of the operation, said planning the visits had been a big challenge. Police had sealed off the island since the massacre, mapping out Breivik's murderous path and then cleaning up what had become a grim crime scene. The Norwegian government also marshalled a large team of psychiatrists, helpers and volunteers to guide the survivors and their families as they returned to the site. Police on the scene wore a different uniform to the fake one that Breivik donned in order to lull his victims into a false sense of security. Adrian Pracon, 21, came face-to-face with the killer several times, and at one point lay still on the ground, pretending to be already dead.
"I was shaking terribly, I was also breathing very fast but it all stopped at that moment because the body understands that it must be still," he said. "Suddenly I could hear him place his boots right in front of my face. I could feel the warmth of the gun barrel he was pointing at me. I thought: 'Now it is over. Now he's got me'." The killer aimed at Mr Pracon's head and fired a shot, but somehow missed and the bullet entered the left shoulder.
Mr Pracon added, who spent a week in hospital, added of yesterday's trip: "We sang 'we are all members of AUF (the Workers' Youth League)'. People were crying and hugging each other. It was beautiful.
"I feel an unbreakable bond towards my friends. We have been through hell together. We have pushed ourselves to survive." He said he planned to return for next year's summer camp, and that people were already talking about preparations for it. "After all this pain and misery, it was also good to see joy. Now I have a hope for the future. It will get better."
Island detention centre operator blasted by union
THE private company that runs the Christmas Island detention centre should be stripped of its contract, and control of the network returned to the Commonwealth, says the union representing the centre's workers.
The head of the Christmas Island union, Kaye Bernard, warned privatisation of the detention centres - which have been stricken by riots, overcrowding and suicide attempts this year - had failed and ''compromised'' employee safety.
She has accused SERCO, the British company reaping millions of dollars from its five-year contract with the federal government to run the detention centres, of misleading a parliamentary inquiry on the extent of the training it provides to workers.
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She said the company, which does not provide access to its records to Immigration Department staff within the centres, is guilty of significant under-reporting. Politicians, including opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, will travel to Christmas Island tomorrow for inquiry hearings. In her submission to the inquiry, Ms Bernard has called for an independent audit of the SERCO contract by the Commonwealth Auditor-General, and for SERCO logs to be tabled.
''Given the extent of breaches of the contract that has compromised the safety of workers, we have little or no confidence in SERCO continuing in the contract. We are asking for the public service to do away with privatisation. Clearly, privatisation has not worked,'' she said. The Christmas Island union represents the army of private guards, administration staff, drivers, cleaners and other workers who keep the massive North West Point and Phosphate Hill detention centres in operation.
The CPSU, which represents the public servants working for the Department of Immigration, supported the call for detention centres to come back under government control. In its own submission to the inquiry, the CPSU has detailed complaints that SERCO guards are not adequately trained, are giving incorrect information to asylum seekers, do not keep sufficient records, are overworked, and that workplaces are unsafe.
''SERCO should employ and roster sufficient guards,'' the CPSU said. Immigration staff reported becoming angry, and being embarrassed, over SERCO behaviour towards asylum seekers. There are 75 Immigration Department staff on Christmas Island, and 338 working in detention centres across the network. SERCO has refused to disclose its staffing levels.
Nine in 10 departmental staff at detention centres reported being stressed. One said: ''Christmas Island - I've seen things go wrong badly and the staff just don't know what to do.''
The public service union has called for all staff to be equipped with duress alarms, and has complained officers were having to conduct interviews with detainees in stairwells and kitchens at some centres because there were no offices. Offices and even lunch rooms had been reclaimed as accommodation as the centres became crowded with too many asylum seekers.
SERCO sent a legal team to Christmas Island last week to prepare its records in advance of the inquiry. In its submission, SERCO says it is performing its role in ''extremely difficult'' conditions due to the increased number of asylum seekers last year, and overcrowding. There are 4427 boat arrivals in detention on the mainland, and 811 on Christmas Island.
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The head of the Christmas Island union, Kaye Bernard, warned privatisation of the detention centres - which have been stricken by riots, overcrowding and suicide attempts this year - had failed and ''compromised'' employee safety.
She has accused SERCO, the British company reaping millions of dollars from its five-year contract with the federal government to run the detention centres, of misleading a parliamentary inquiry on the extent of the training it provides to workers.
Advertisement: Story continues below
She said the company, which does not provide access to its records to Immigration Department staff within the centres, is guilty of significant under-reporting. Politicians, including opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, will travel to Christmas Island tomorrow for inquiry hearings. In her submission to the inquiry, Ms Bernard has called for an independent audit of the SERCO contract by the Commonwealth Auditor-General, and for SERCO logs to be tabled.
''Given the extent of breaches of the contract that has compromised the safety of workers, we have little or no confidence in SERCO continuing in the contract. We are asking for the public service to do away with privatisation. Clearly, privatisation has not worked,'' she said. The Christmas Island union represents the army of private guards, administration staff, drivers, cleaners and other workers who keep the massive North West Point and Phosphate Hill detention centres in operation.
The CPSU, which represents the public servants working for the Department of Immigration, supported the call for detention centres to come back under government control. In its own submission to the inquiry, the CPSU has detailed complaints that SERCO guards are not adequately trained, are giving incorrect information to asylum seekers, do not keep sufficient records, are overworked, and that workplaces are unsafe.
''SERCO should employ and roster sufficient guards,'' the CPSU said. Immigration staff reported becoming angry, and being embarrassed, over SERCO behaviour towards asylum seekers. There are 75 Immigration Department staff on Christmas Island, and 338 working in detention centres across the network. SERCO has refused to disclose its staffing levels.
Nine in 10 departmental staff at detention centres reported being stressed. One said: ''Christmas Island - I've seen things go wrong badly and the staff just don't know what to do.''
The public service union has called for all staff to be equipped with duress alarms, and has complained officers were having to conduct interviews with detainees in stairwells and kitchens at some centres because there were no offices. Offices and even lunch rooms had been reclaimed as accommodation as the centres became crowded with too many asylum seekers.
SERCO sent a legal team to Christmas Island last week to prepare its records in advance of the inquiry. In its submission, SERCO says it is performing its role in ''extremely difficult'' conditions due to the increased number of asylum seekers last year, and overcrowding. There are 4427 boat arrivals in detention on the mainland, and 811 on Christmas Island.
Staten Island Yankees take aim at NY-Penn title
It seems every time the Staten Island Yankees win the McNamara Division of the New York-Penn League, the Brooklyn Cyclones are waiting for them in the playoffs — and vice versa.
The local rivals were feeling each other out Saturday night at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark in a meaningless contest — an 11-4 Brooklyn victory, for the record — and will essentially scrimmage again Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn as they finish off the regular-season schedule.
Then, come Tuesday, it’s for all the marbles. The Yankees will have the home-field advantage throughout the playoffs by virtue of the league’s best record, and that means the semifinal opener will be at MCU Park Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The second game will be in St. George Wednesday. Game 3, if necessary, would be Thursday at the RCBB. The teams face each other 14 times during the regular season — Brooklyn leads the season series 8-5 heading into today’s finale — and Yankee manager Tom Slater knows that the team that executes will claim the three-game series.
“There will be no surprises in this series,” Slater explained. “The Cyclones are a class team and I have all the respect in the world for Rich (Donnelly, the Brooklyn manager). All the games between the teams this year have been good ones and I don’t see anything changing in the playoff games.”
Slater has already set his pitching for the series, going with Bryan Mitchell in Tuesday’s opener. The right-hander got off to a slow start this season but came on strong in the second half. Matt Tracy will start game No. 2. The southpaw was another late bloomer and averaged just over a strikeout per inning.
Game 3 will go to William Oliver, a right-hander who led the Yanks in innings pitched, strikeouts, and was tied for wins with five.
“Our bullpen has been solid from opening day, but the starters progressed nicely throughout the year,” Slater explained. “Plus, the more experience they got, the more confidence they gained. I have faith in all three of them.
“Another plus is having Nick (McCoy) behind the plate. He has a terrific relationship with the pitching staff and he knows each guy’s strengths.”
The Yankee lineup has been solid all season with a nice mixture of power and speed, and Slater does not expect to do much tinkering with a successful formula.
“This group has worked hard all year and they deserve to be in this position,” the manager added. “It’s simply a terrific collection of young men, and I can say that without a baseball, glove or bat even being involved.”
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The local rivals were feeling each other out Saturday night at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark in a meaningless contest — an 11-4 Brooklyn victory, for the record — and will essentially scrimmage again Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn as they finish off the regular-season schedule.
Then, come Tuesday, it’s for all the marbles. The Yankees will have the home-field advantage throughout the playoffs by virtue of the league’s best record, and that means the semifinal opener will be at MCU Park Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The second game will be in St. George Wednesday. Game 3, if necessary, would be Thursday at the RCBB. The teams face each other 14 times during the regular season — Brooklyn leads the season series 8-5 heading into today’s finale — and Yankee manager Tom Slater knows that the team that executes will claim the three-game series.
“There will be no surprises in this series,” Slater explained. “The Cyclones are a class team and I have all the respect in the world for Rich (Donnelly, the Brooklyn manager). All the games between the teams this year have been good ones and I don’t see anything changing in the playoff games.”
Slater has already set his pitching for the series, going with Bryan Mitchell in Tuesday’s opener. The right-hander got off to a slow start this season but came on strong in the second half. Matt Tracy will start game No. 2. The southpaw was another late bloomer and averaged just over a strikeout per inning.
Game 3 will go to William Oliver, a right-hander who led the Yanks in innings pitched, strikeouts, and was tied for wins with five.
“Our bullpen has been solid from opening day, but the starters progressed nicely throughout the year,” Slater explained. “Plus, the more experience they got, the more confidence they gained. I have faith in all three of them.
“Another plus is having Nick (McCoy) behind the plate. He has a terrific relationship with the pitching staff and he knows each guy’s strengths.”
The Yankee lineup has been solid all season with a nice mixture of power and speed, and Slater does not expect to do much tinkering with a successful formula.
“This group has worked hard all year and they deserve to be in this position,” the manager added. “It’s simply a terrific collection of young men, and I can say that without a baseball, glove or bat even being involved.”
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