Jeg deltok i går på en konferanse om palestinske asylsøkere på Litteraturhuset. Fire organisasjoner dannet sammen et meget interessant arrangement hvor både viktige temaer som UNHCRs retningslinjer og regjeringens politikk og de radikale endringene i praksisen som fant sted i 2009 ble disktutert. Vi fikk også høre flere historier om asylsøkeres erfaringer, både grunnlaget for hvorfor de søkte asyl, og de vonde møtene med det offentlige Norge.

En seniorrådgiver fra UDI holdt et innlegg på konferansen. Rådgiveren kunne presentere tall over menneskeskjebner. Tall over hvor mange som var sendt tilbake til elendighet som følge av den norske asylpolitikken. Videre fortalte denne om begrunnelsen for hvorfor Norge totalt endret praksisen for asylsøkere fra de palestinske områdene i 2009. Etter først å ha snakket kort om rettsikkerhet og alle mekanismene som finnes i systemet, som visstnok skal gi asylsøkere en korrekt og rettferdig behandling, gikk representanten videre til å snakke om palestinske asylsøkere.

Som mange er kjent med, endret Norge totalt praksisen for palestinske asylsøkere i 2009. Tidligere fikk alle menneskene i denne kategorien opphold, men en praksisomlegging i 2009, initiert av UDI, resulterte i en stor nedgang i hvor mange som fikk opphold.

Hovedårsaken for praksisendringen, slik det fremkom fra UDI, var at Hamas vant valget og «med makt» klarte å ta posisjonen sommeren 2007, og de endringer som her fulgte. UDIs representant fortsatte: «Hamas klarer i stor grad å rydde opp i den lovløsheten og kaoset som var utspilt seg der,» og legger til at «kriminaliteten går sterkt ned. Og man sier at de metodene de brukte for å klare dette er selvfølgelig…bekymringsverdige, men de klarte å få en stabilitet som ikke man har sett her på mange år.»

Det UDI karakteriserer som «bekymringsverdig,» sier Human Rights Watch er tortur og krigsforbrytelser. Human Rights Watch anklaget både Fatah og Hamas for slike forbrytelser i etterkant av valget. HRW sier også at sikkerhetsstyrker fra Hamas skal ha både ha kidnappet mennesker og skutt på sine meningsmotstandere. Det å koke det ned til «bekymringsverdig» er en uskyldiggjøring og en eufemisme av dimensjoner—det er brudd på grunnleggende menneskerettigheter.

Den utsendte fra UDI kunne videre fortelle at UDI allerede høsten 2007 begynte «å sondere terrenget for en mulig praksisomlegging.» og resultatet var, i følge UDI selv, at fra at 100% fikk opphold før praksisomleggingen, så har kun 22% fått opphold frem til januar 2013. UDIs representant sa at denne ved gjennomgang av tallene «ble overrasket over hvor mange som ble avslått.»

En ren løgn kom UDI også med. Barnefamilier ble trukket frem som en gruppe som ofte fikk opphold på humanitært grunnlag. «Ingen barnefamilier fra Gaza har blitt avslått — hvor det er dokumentert en tilknytning til Gaza,» ble det sagt. Sommeren 2012 kunne en i avisene lese om en familie i Arendal, som hadde fått avslag på søknadene om opphold i Norge, både fra UDI og Utlendingsnemnda. Familien kom fra Gaza.

I den påfølgende pausen ble UDIs representant konfrontert med at grunnen til den nå lave kriminalitetsstatistikken skyldes at Hamas selv står bak mange av de kriminelle handlingene. «Jeg vet det,» skal representanten ha svart.

Det offentlige Norge serverer her en versjon for offentligheten. Vel vitende om at situasjonen kan være annerledes. Om enn ikke et glansbilde av en fin og flott politikk, så i hvert fall en unyansert og forenklet versjon hvor grunnleggende fakta holdes tilbake fra allmennheten, slik at våre medmennesker kan svøpes inn i illusjonen om at landets ledere og deres ansatte fører en rettferdig og fornuftig praksis ovenfor mennesker på flukt.

Konferanse om palestinske asylsøkere

Senere samme dag ble vi servert et annet eksempel på at det offentlige Norge har et annet ansikt når det ikke er fullt så offentlig. En representant fra Arbeiderpartiet deltok i en paneldebatt på konferansens siste punkt.

Men la meg først starte med å nevne dennes utfordring til de fremmøtte på konferansen. Representanten gjorde innledningsvis et poeng av at de partiene som virkelig ønsket en «liberal asylpolitikk», nå kun hadde 4–5% oppslutning i befolkningen. De fremmøtte ble utfordret til å gå ut og snakke med sine meningsmotstandere og påvirke de, dersom en ønsket en «mer liberal, eller en mer human, eller en mer individuell asylpolitikk.» Ansvaret for å føre en asylpolitikk i tråd med internasjonale konvensjoner og sunn fornuft skyves nærmest bort fra politikerne og over på privatpersoner.

Det som ikke ble nevnt, er at en spiller på samme bane, men med helt forskjellige midler. Det kunne nesten oppfattes som en misjonsbefaling av typen «gå ut og påvirke det store flertallet og dere skal få se at politikken snur.» Problemet er at jeg og mine medmennesker som ønsker en human asylpolitikk, ikke har 24 millioner kroner til å pøse inn i en valgkamp hvor det store flertallet i befolkningen skal overbevises om at den politikken som nå føres er både den rette og mest fornuftige politikken. Det har Arbeiderpartiet. Jeg og mine medmennesker har heller ikke et sted mellom 100–200 millioner kroner til å hyre inn profesjonelle PR–byråer som kan gjenta en løgn så mange ganger at det fremstår som en klar og universell sannhet. Det har den norske regjeringen.

Mine medmenneskene har heller ikke en hel milliard i året til å bruke på kommunikasjonsrådgivere, som daglig jobber intenst for at regjeringens politikk skal fremstå som et sosialdemokratisk.

Underveis i debatten som fulgte, sa ordstyreren «Who among the panel thinks this is an acceptable Norwegian asylum policy, please raise your hand.» Noe nølende tittet debattanten fra Arbeiderpartiet opp ut ut mot forsamlingen. Skannet frem og tilbake gjennom ansiktene i salen, tydelig på leting etter noen. Høyt begynte representanten å resonere at Dagsavisens representant hadde dratt, og spurte tydelig «Is there any other media here? No, but I really need to ask you this. Because… Ok. None of you are gonna refer this in it’s exact words…»

Media. Ofte en av politikernes største hverdagslige problemer, og andre ganger et solid redskap for å påvirke meningen i befolkningen. Men i går, helt tydelig et uønsket element i salen.

Men jeg vil gjøre nettopp det. Sitere debattanten fra Arbeiderpartiet ordrett, og derfor på engelsk, da det var språket for debatten: «A year ago, the labour party would never have sent a person like me, to a debate like this. Because there was an uprising in the district meetings, and now we are having our annual meeting in april. The congress of the labour party. And there is a discussion. And just the fact that I am here, is a signal. And I spoke with Pål Lønseth on the phone this morning, and I said to him: You know what I think on these issues? –Yes. And he said: You know what the government policy is. And I said: Yes. Okay, goodbye. So, I just have to tell you that things are not black and white, and things are not written in stone. And I do not believe that there will be a revolution at the labour party congress in april on these issues.»

Det skal selvfølgelig ikke legges skjul på at det store flertallet av deltakerne på konferansen er uenige i regjeringens asylpolitikk. De som synes dagens situasjon er helt grei, bruker sjelden en hel dag på en konferanse hvor det de anser som helt greit belyses fra ulike vinkler og som diskuteres som et alvorlig problem.

Og nettopp derfor skulle en tolke det at en person som ikke var enig i regjeringens politikk likevel fikk komme fra Arbeiderpartiet og debattere på denne konferansen som et signal. Et resultat av uenigheter i distriktene.

Men hva er et «signal»? Det er ikke handling. Det er ikke praksisendring. Det er ikke klar tale, eller på noen måte tydelig. Kanskje var intensjonen å stagge litt av motstanden regjeringen har. Gi folk et håp om at det kanskje ville komme endringer, bare de ventet enda litt til. Ikke ulikt håpet mange asylsøkere får når de kommer til Norge. Med masse venting, før en til sist bare ser negative utfall.

Konferansen berørte mange viktige temaer om norsk asylpolitikk og situasjonen for palestinske asylsøkere. Men det at den tvetydige kommunikasjonen kommer så tydelig frem i lyset har også vært ganske viktig. UDI er overrasket over statistikken for sitt eget fagfelt, og erkjenner noen sannheter så lenge det ikke skjer fra en talerstol. Arbeiderpartiet prøver å formidle «signaler» i mediefrie rom.

Det er en form for dobbeltkommunikasjon som jeg oppfatter som særdeles uheldig. Mennesker som har en oppgave, på vegne av folket som samlet utgjør skipet Norge, som folkevalgte eller ansatte i det offentlige, som sier en ting når det er såkalt «offentlig» men en annen versjon av saken når det er lettere å tilbakevise hva som er sagt.

Som nevnt bruker regjeringen nærmere 1,2 milliarder på kommunikasjonsrådgivere og PR–byråer. Disse har som oppgave å formidle regjeringens politikk, påvirke folk til å svelge det de får servert av politiske«signaler» — helst uten å tenke selv, og gjennom dette luller befolkningen inn i et tåkete slør om at de gjør hva som er best for folk flest. At det er et nødvendig onde at unge asylsøkere skal vokse opp i usikkerhet. At en bare må akseptere at barnefamilier tvangsutsendes. At barn som er født og oppvokst i Norge, snakker norsk og går på norsk skole må sendes til et land de kun kjenner gjennom foreldrenes fortellinger, fordi vi ikke kan ha dem her. At det er viktig å begrense «tilstrømningen» av asylsøkere. Bare fordi sånn er det. At en asylsøker er en byrde og kostnad for det norske statsbudsjettet. At alle blir behandlet individuelt og får en grundig og rettferdig behandling. At aldri er noen sendt tilbake til forfølgelse eller tortur— selv om slike hendelser erdokumentert.

Alt dette nører opp om regjeringens mantra. Løgnen som er gjentatt i det uendelige. At regjeringen fører en asylpolitikk som er rettferdig. Streng, men rettferdig.

Eskil Hadland
Medmenneske og aktivitst.

Publisert 13. februar  på Dagsavisen — Nye Meninger.no

Want to see how far the rainbow hole goes?

According to rumors, there are no cow levels in Diablo 3. But I heard rumors about another lovely place called Whimsyshire, filled with rainbows, chubby unicorns, fluffy clouds and cuddly bears. Mmmmm unicorn slaughter!

After some multiplayer slaughter and mayhem, a party member asked me if I wanted to come see the secret level. I was thrilled! After some simple instructions to leave the current game session, I got an invitation and teleported to the inviting player.

Before us stood a bovine creature, named the Cow King, which told us he was udderly pleased and invited us into the level of sparkling happiness and rainbows.

If you want to see how deep the rainbow hole goes, continue reading!

Clop clop clop! Time to slay some unicorns and loot some happy clouds! But first you have to go through several steps in order to gain access. This guide shows you the fastest way to getting the Staff of Herding – the key to enter the magical secret level in Diablo 3.

In order to craft the Staff of Herding, you will need 5 items, the crafting plan and a little gold. You will need to gather a Black Mushroom, Leoric‘s Shinbone, a vial of Liquid Rainbow, Wirt‘s Bell and a Gibbering Gemstone. After that, you will need to get the Plan: Staff of Herding. The plan is a random drop from Izual in Act IV.

1. Get a Black Mushroom
2. Get Leoric’s Shinbone
3. Get a Liquid Rainbow
4. Get a Gibbering Gemstone
5. Get the Plan: Staff of Herding
6. Go to Ghost of the Cow King
7. Profit from slaying unicorns and cuddly bears!

Updates

• Yes, you can go to Whimsyshire over and over again, as long as you have the staff in your inventory. (DO NOT MISTAKE IT FOR TRASH!).
• Once upgraded to Nightmarish Staff of Herding, you can still use it to obtain access to Normal mode
• A full run with no modifying armor (+Gold find/+Magic find) in Nightmare mode yielded 12K gold after magic items were sold to vendors, and 5 rare items + the regular potions, gems et cetera.

Black Mushrom

The Black Mushroom can be found in the Cathedral in Act I. It is a random spawn, and you will most likely have to reset a few times in order to get it. If it has spawned, it will be in a special looking room, on the floor, just like a clickable corpse.

For the quicked way to get to the  Black Mushroom, select normal difficulty Act I: 2. The Legacy of Cain – Explore Cellar. Select the waypoing named The Old Ruins and run up right. Run through the cellar and continue up to the front door of the Cathedral and jump down to Level 1. This will save you at a checkpoint here and will be a timesaver when you reset later on.

Mushroom room

Many of the map layouts in Diablo 3 are dynamically generated from a set of rooms, not every kind of room and entrances are generated every layout. This is why you might have to reset the game a few times to find these items.

The mushroom will always be in a room with two columns supporting the NW wall, and bricks falling out of the wall between the columns. See following pictures for what room you are looking for. If you find the mushroom: Success! Move along to the next item!

Mushroom room with columns

Black Mushroom

If you have explored the whole map of Level 1 with no mushroom room, do not enter Level 2 (it does not matter if you go close to the entrance and get saved to that point, you will just have to use that as point of origin the next attempt). Press Escape, then Leave Game, and then Resume Game to get a new generated level and go mushroom hunting again.

Leoric’s Shinbone

This item is a lot easier to find, since you will not have to wander around in random generated labyrinths in order to find it. Once inside, you only have to check a single fireplace for this item.

Select Act 1: The Imprisoned Angel – Begin Quest, and use the waypoint to Leoric’s Manor. Run inside and check the room on the right of the king’s throne. If there is no item in the fireplace, leave game, and resume. Rinse & repeat until you find the shinbone in the fireplace.

Leoric's Manor

Burnt Logs and Leoric's Shinbone

Liquid Rainbow

Another tasty item for you to find, this time in the Dahlgur Oasis in Act 2. In one of 2 locations in the Oasis, Zaven the Alchemist can spawn. He is a rare spawn, so again in most cases you will have to reset a few times to get to him.

Map of Zaven's location

Select Act II: 7. Blood and Sand – Begin Quest, and take the waypoint portal to Path to the Oasis. Run east, check south on first location. If he is not there – save time by resetting the game. Alternatively you can do this by selecting the waypoint Dahlgur Oasis, but it will spawn in random locations, so the route south can be different every time. Once you see Zaven, fight off the creatures around and he will open the cave for you. Inside the cave, you must look for a Mysterious Chest containg the vial of Liquid Rainbow. If it’s not inside the cave, reset the game and try again.

Zaven the Alchemist

Mysterious Chest with Liquid Rainbow

Gibbering Gemstone

Obtaining the Gibbering Gemstone can take a couple of hours. It’s a drop from a rare spawn named Chiltara, which can only spawn in Cavern’s of Frost in the Fields of Slaughter in Act III. There can be 2 caves in the Field of Slaughter, either Icefall Caves or Caverns of Frost. If you find the Icefall Caves, reset the game.

Caverns of Frost spawnpoints (from diablowiki.net)

So, head to Act III: 5. Machines of War – Destroy Ballistae. Select the waypoint The Bridge of Korsikk and start looking for a cave entrance. If you find the Icefall Caves, reset and try again. Once inside the Caverns of Frost, look for an elite mob named Chiltara. She is a rare spawn, and you will stumble across many other yellow mobs inside the caves before you find Chiltara. Be sure to explore both levels of the Caverns of Frost completely. Rembember that even if there is another yellow mob, she can still spawn. If you reach the portal stone after exploring all of Level 2, reset the game and try again.

Caverns of Frost

Caverns of Frost

Wirt’s Bell

Needs more cowbell? This is the easiest item to obtain. It is a bit pricey though, a mere 100.000 gold. But once you have obtained the four other items, you should have more than enough gold to buy the bell. Head to Act II: 1. Shadows in the Desert – Iron Wolf Jarulf, and enter the Caldeum Bazaar. There you will find Squirt the Peddler, which sells this expensive bell from the deceased Wirt.

Map of Squirt's location

Ok, got all the five items now? Head over to Act IV – it’s time to slay Tyrael’s former friend, Izual the Fallen, over and over again, until the plan for the staff fall out from his mauled corpse.

Squirt the Peddler

Plan: Staff of Herding

The plan is a random drop from Izual the Fallen. Some have killed him over 30 times before the plan has dropped of his dead corpse. Head over to Act IV: 4. Prime Evil – Begin Quest. Select the waypoint The Crystal Colonnade. Take the gateway to The Silver Spire, cross the Great Span, ignore Leah. Enter The Silver Spire Level 1. Ignore Mira and continue running until you find the portal to The Great Span.

Izual the Fallen

Enter the Great Span. Kill Izual. Slay Izual. Once slain, your progress will be saved to a new checkpoint, so if you were not lucky with the loot, you will have to select Act IV: 4. Prime Evil – Begin Quest one again in order for you to kill him.

Plan: Staff of Herding

Crafting the Staff

When you got the plan and all the five items needed for crafting the staff, you must head back to Haedrig Eamon, your blacksmith friend. Right click him, and then right click the plan teach him how to craft the staff. If you do this without the blacksmith window open, you will just get an error message.

Once learened, you will find it listed under Forge Weapons -> Staff. Did you think 100.000 gold was enough for getting the staff which will take you to fairyland? Guess again. Haedrig Eamon wants 50.000 for crafting it, but after all this farming for the required items, you should have plenty of gold.

Blacksmith Haedrig Eamon crafting the Staff of Herding

Going to the shire

Map to Whimsyshire

After all this work is over, you can finally head to Whimsyhire and have a joyful time slaugthering Cuddle Bears, Chubby Pink Unicorns, Twinkleroots and loot Happy Clouds. For getting to the level of sparkling happiness and rainbows, Select Act I: 2. The Legacy of Cain, go outside the gates, head north and find the cow skeleton. The Ghost of the Cow King will appear in front of you, and show you how far the rainbow hole goes.

Once inside, remember to clear the whole map (dynamically generated). Elites can spawn, and they can drop legendary items.

The udderly pleased Cow King

Upgraded versions of the staff

Plan: Nightmarish Staff of Herding

Once you have reached Act IV: 4. Prime Evil (but not yet completed) on Nightmare mode, you can buy Plan: Nightmarish Staff of Herding from Gorell the Quartermaster in the Bastions Keep Stronghold. It will only set you back 1 gold, but Haedrig Eamon wants another 200.000 gold to craft the staff.

A dynamically generated map of Whimsyshire

Putting the laughter into sLAUGHTER

Tracklog and elevation, day 1

I decided to get away from the city for some days. Two-three or perhaps even more. Away from Oslo. Away from population, cars, public transport, noise, asphalt and everything. My backpack was stuffed with the most essential gear and then some more. A sleeping bag, my newly bought Hammock, a camping mattress, some clothes for colder evenings, food, cameras and a towel. Never leave home without your towel! It is Friday, the 29th of July. It is a quite hot day. Sunny and no mentions of rain for several days on the weather forecast.

I give the cats an additional large bowl of cat food, and a big bowl of fresh water. Make sure that someone will check on them while I am gone. I lock the door and go down to the subway station. The subway to Østerås is only 2 minutes away. Perfect! At Røa I notice it is thirty minutes to the next bus to Sørkedalen. No worries. The bench is occupied by an elderly woman, and I choose down on the pavement. The bright sun is irritating my eyes a bit. I find my sunglasses and some sunscreen. As I sit there on the ground, listening to Hoven Droven, a friend calls. I told her about my plans, and she says ” I hope you’ve got a tent.” I should not need a tent. My newly bought hammock should be more than sufficient – I hope. The hammock is a Hennesy Hammock Expedition Asym Zip, with both a snakeskin and a rainfly, which I got at Nomaden for a 20% discount! (Thank you!) And most of the stuff in the backpack is either waterproof or put inside waterproof stuff sacks.

Strange bug

I fear no rain. What I fear though, is that I will meet someone in the forest who has spent more than a week in the forest away from people and radio, who still are unaware of the tragic events that changed the whole nation. Should I meet such a person, it would be impolite not to mention the events, but the magnitude are so enormous that it is really hard to believe. Hopefully I will not meet such a person during my trip.

As I sit there, I try to figure out for how long I can stay in the forest. I have food for at least 5-6 days. I have walked the same route from Sørkedalen to Hønefoss in 20 hours, including sleep before, so I have no worries. This time though, I am going at a much slower pace. At 16:12 the bus arrives. The ride to Sandbråten is 16 minutes. As I sit on the bus, I notice something crawling on my hand. I see a small strange bug. After taking a few photos of it, I gently put it down on the seat next to me.

Sign

Mmmm! Raspberries!

The bus arrives at Sandbråtan. I get out and start walking. There is a sign which tells me it is 4 kilometres to Lysedammen and 11 to Oppkuven. I walk past the bridge at Heggelielva. On gravel roads surrounded by lovely grain fields. Lovely golden fields. Soon I get away from the farms and to the edge of the forest. I stop to eat raspberries. A lovely snack and energy boost. I see a woman picking berries and speaking on the phone. Picking a few more berries before I continue north.

After a while, I find a few chantarelles. I put them into my backpack rain cover – it will be a good snack later.

Grain field in Sørkedalen

Further into the forest I notice it is wet. Very wet. At one place, there is what seem to be a rather new stream. About three metres wide, 40-50 centimetres deep, and at the bottom I see fresh green grass. To deep for my boots. I change to my sandals, pull up my pants, and wade across. It probably saved me for a lot of time and from having to walk with soaked boots.

I walk past fields of blueberries. Tempting. Got to stop. Soon my hands are purple. Same with my tongue and mouth. It takes so much longer to walk in the forest when there are blueberries everywhere.

Nedre Lysedammen

Close to Nedre Lysedammen I see a cottage with an open window shutter. The window is smashed. The cottage seems abandoned and unused though. Minutes after I met a biker. He nodded and said “Hi”. This is the last person I see this day. Continuing down a cart road to Nedre Lysdammen to log a geocache. Hopefully. The hint says “The small baby spruce hide me”. I check all the spruces, small and large ones, but fail to find the cache. Under stones, inside a heap of dead trees laying on the ground. Give up for a few minutes, and takes some photos instead. The forces of the water pushing the metal plates at the dam are impressive. Check the last logs for this cache, notice someone saying that the hint is now cut down and is leaned towards the dam. That might be something. I see a small withered spruce laying on the south side of the dam. Check the cracks in the dam for smaller loose rocks. And there it is! A nice challenge.

Lysegrana

Hornet

The second cache I pick up is at Midre Lysedammen – a rather easy to spot cache hanging on a branch. The third and last cache for today is Lysegrana. One would have to be blind not to spot this spruce. It is nothing but massive, and it supposedly the one of the largest trees in all of Krokskogen.

I log the cache and walk back. Lysegrana was a 200 meter detour from my planned route. I walk past the cottage Smedmyrkoia, a cottage owned by the Norwegian Trekking Association. Shortly after I leave the boundary of Oslo county and enter Buskerud county. The GPS tells me there is another cache nearby, at Hornet. Actually on top of Hornet. Temping, but I am not going to try to get up there tonight. I will save it for some other time.

I continue further. Notice a flock of sheeps somewhere on the road. The elevation for the next three kilometres brings me about 200 metres further up. A sign in the middle of the forest tells me I am now entering Oppkuven-Smeddalen nature reserve.

Cloudberry

At a bog I notice some cloudberries. Nature’s finest luxury, small yellow ripe tasty berries. I eat quite a few as I walk over the bog, trying not to get wet.  The forest is soaked today. It is getting noticeably darker. I manage to fumble and step into a wet spot. My right shoe quickly gets filled with bog water. And as I quickly try to reposition myself, my left shoe gets soaked too. Oh well. I am about 180 metres from Store Oppkuvvannn. With wet shoes and being this close to what might be a good camp site, I turn on the light on one of my mobile phones instead of getting the headlight from the backpack. I navigate in the dark while hold the phone in my mouth.

Cooking in the forest

I go off-trial the last metres to the water edge. In front of me what appears to be a perfect camp site appears. Dry terrain, benches and a small fireplace, next to the lake. I put up the hammock, throw in the camping mattress and sleeping back. Then boil some water and eat a late dinner called Rice in basil, and some dried apricots. At 23:55 I turn on the radio on my cell phone. Listen to the news at 24. Notice the hammock is somewhat unlevelled. Not the most ideal, but I am to tired to adjust it by now. I quickly fall asleep.

Yet that was nothing compared to the roaring explosion and tremble on Friday the 22nd of July. Earlier that day, I had been at an office, discussing plans for an Asylum March, a cooperative project between a group of Iranian and Ethiopian refugees which originated from Refugees Without Protection. There was lots of last minute preparations to be done, and the march was scheduled to start from the Parliament at 11 AM the following day.

PolarCamp 2011

After the meeting there, I went to another office to finish the making of a large flag. Me and friends from Polar Interesseorganisasjon had planned to go to a cabin this weekend, and we were in need of a flag, to continue our yearly tradition of making a new flag. Earlier I had sewn a large blue flag and painted it with a United Nation look-a-like emblem, where the Earth in the centre  was replaced by a logo resembling the planet Saturn. This day I just had to iron the whole thing to make the paint permanent. After finishing up the flag, I went to the city centre to check a couple of stores. While I was in the first store, I suddenly noticed that it was getting noticeably darker outside, it looked like stormy weather was incoming. Finishing up my business in the first store, I quickly headed to Stormberg‘s outlet, where I bought a yellow southwester. The last store on my list was the state owned liquor store at the central station. Three bottles of wine and I was finished there. According to the receipt, I left that store at 14:27. I had planned to use one of those city bikes to get home, but due to the weather I chose to get home quickly by subway.

Few minutes later, I was home, and started packing for a weekend trip. I had to add some cord to the flag and sew one more seam. As I was sitting at my living room table, sewing the last seam on the flag, I heard a roaring explosion and could feel a strange tremble. I jumped up from the sofa and ran towards the window, but I could not see anything from my viewpoint. It was all followed by a uncomfortable silence. I turned on the TV and started refreshing the front pages of the newspapers to check for updates. A minute later a friend called. She was in a building in the city centre, which we later learned was about 200 metres from the explosion. The state owned TV station was still airing some German crime show, but the online newspapers reported that there had been a large explosion in the area where the Norwegian Government have their offices. At that time I hoped that it was some sort of accident, e.g. a gas explosion of some sort.

Photo from TV2

Photos soon followed, and I remember one of them showing a governmental building totally destroyed. The building was still standing, but it looked like every single window was shattered, large parts of the building structure destroyed and debris everywhere. I then realised that this was most likely not some accident. I called a few friends and told them to get away from the city centre, and avoid the subway at any costs. One friend was out of town, and when I told her that there had been an explosion and the government quarter in Oslo was totally destroyed, her response was “What are you saying?” – I think I had to repeat it a couple of times before she understood what I was saying, and even then she did not seem to realize until she went online to check the photos.

I was thinking it was a good thing that I was going out of town anyway that day. A friend called and said we should try to get away quickly, in case of heavy traffic and road blocks. I had cup cakes in the oven. I still had to pack some gear. In case of another explosion, I quickly put up large strips of duct tape on all the windows, to (hopefully) add some inertia if the window was shattered. I continued alternating between browsing online news, phone calls, packing my backpack, checking on the cup cakes and just trying to focus. A series of questions rushed through my head: “Has this really happened?” “Who did this?” “Will there be more explosions?”

After I had finished packing, I was picked up by friends, and we started driving towards Vestfold. While driving, we listened to the radio, and heard about the attacks on Utøya. It all seemed like a bad joke.

When we got to our destination, everyone was watching TV, trying to get updates on the situation. Media reported of at least 10 people shot and killed on Utøya, though footage showed different. What was planned to be a happy weekend trip to a cottage had turned into something very serious. Several of us knew people present at Utøya. It was hard to sleep that night. Somewhat after 4 AM I woke up, hearing someone saying to another person that the  death toll was now over 80. Unbelievable. Was this something I heard in a dream? I immediately fetched my phone and checked the news. The numbers were there.

Ethiopian dinner

On Sunday, after I got home, I was invited to eat at an Ethiopian restaurant. The food was lovely. Rye pancakes, some mashed beans and a really hot salad. I am so grateful for getting this invitation. We spoke about the attacks, about the future and everything. Later I took a walk in the city centre. Several blocks were sealed off and guarded by The King’s Guard. Soldiers in the streets of Oslo, wearing full army outfit, with assault rifles and everything. Many of them seemed anxious. Many had a finger resting a centimetre away from the trigger. What had become of the town I live in? It was a scary sight.

Soldiers outside McDonalds

Soldiers from The King’s Guard

Soldiers from The King’s Guard

Soldiers from The King’s Guard

But armed soldiers was not the only newly introduced thing to the cityscape. There were flowers scattered around the city, and in front of the Oslo Cathedral there was a huge sea of floral tributes to the victims. And by huge, I mean really huge. Thousands of flowers and candles.

Love

Pressure bandage wrapping

In the Krist Park at Hammersborg I saw the wrapping of a pressure bandage laying on the ground. A silent testimonial of one human helping another.

Already late on Friday evening King Harald addressed the people. It was a clearly perplexed and affected king who spoke to the people. The following day King Harald and the royal family, along with Prime minister Stoltenberg and his wife Ingrid visited survivors and their next of kin at Sundvollen. The visit was followed by a speech from King Harald, where he addressed the whole nation. I general terms I dislike royalism, yet in times like these, it seems very nice to have an open-minded, loving and caring King to aid the nation through difficult times. I have been moved to tears several times. The same can be said for the Prime minister. The last days, he has shown true leadership.

The Prime minister Jens Stoltenberg addressed the nation late Friday evening: “No one shall bomb us to silence. No one shall shoot us to silence. No one shall ever scare us from being Norway.” “We must never give up our values. To show that our open society will pass this trial. That the answer to violence is even more democracy. Even more humanity.”

In my opinion this is the only appropriate answer. If we answer this tragic event with hatred, lynch law and vindictiveness, we will already have lost. Not only to the terrorist, but to humanity as well. On Facebook people have made groups. Victims of the attacks have gotten support groups. Thousands of people have addressed a mother and a family who no longer will have the same view of their son and brother, to show their support. Even the lawyer whose job is to defend the terrorist has been shown massive support. The Royal Family, the government, people all over the country, everyone is taking part in the mourning process and rebuilding of hope. What people now are showing is a sign of a healthy, well-established democratic society.

OsLove

And more even more humanity and compassion have been the result so far. On Monday the 25th, there was planned a “rose march” from the City Hall to Youngstorvet, but due to the amount of people attending, it was impossible to march in the streets. Over 200 000 people attended in this memorial event. It has been the largest gathering in Norway since WW2. Two hundred thousand people raised their hands. Not with their hands clenched to a fist, but rather gently presenting flowers. A symbol of unity, dignity and solidarity – in respect of the victims and ourselves.

Similar events took place in all over the country. Shopping centres and stores closed early. Stores were emptied of flowers. Several hundred thousand, perhaps millions gathered in the streets at the same time.

The last few days there has been so many lovely things being done and said. One woman said: “If one man can could show so much hate, imagine how much love we can show together.”

After the event on Monday, the city was full of flowers. The sea of flowers at Oslo Cathedral was huge on Sunday, but after Monday, it was several times larger – and it is still growing. NRK has sent a live stream 24/7, and people have laid down flowers at all times. But there was a request presented at the memorial Monday evening: “Speak with each other and put the flowers everywhere, so we will colour Oslo with goodness and love.” And the people did. Police cars, ambulances, manhole covers, trams, fountains, French fences – the whole city is currently full of flowers.

Cheburashka

Rose in a rain gutter

A girl putting down roses

Yesterday media came up with a new word, which can be translated to “rose-locked“. A tram was stuck close to Oslo Cathedral, as the streets were full of people and flowers. The tram conductor changed the sign to “not in service” and stepped out. It is nice to finally see one of these new “media-words” which is not distasteful.

Despite the tragic events last week, life continues. An event like this will naturally have consequences for the whole nation. But the nation’s response has not been fear, hatred and vindictiveness. To the contrary, the nation has refused to let the attacks ruin the openness and the humbleness in society, and rather responded with love. Life continues, but strangers are now hugging each other in the streets.

I hope this change will be permanent. I hope the people of Norway, and all visitors, foreign state officials, tourists and everyone will continue to decorate the cities with flowers. Everywhere. I hope people will be even more humble and care even more for each other. I hope we, in respect of the fallen, the survivors, their relatives and ourselves, can move towards an even more tolerant, warmer and including society.

I believe this is possible.

Oversiktsvideo over fakkeltoget 25. juli 2011 – tatt fra toppen av Tønsberg rådhus

Magnus Eliassen og Kråkesølv «Til dem du e glad i»

Kriss K – Tusen Tårer (Akustisk Versjon) Minnesang for Norge

Further reading:
‘Tonight the streets are filled with love’: Royal family and prime minister lead the nation in mourning as crowd of 150,000 gather in Oslo for ‘rose march’ tribute to Norway’s dead
Norway’s lost innocence

After some rest and a little food, we started searching for a ramp to get back on the highway. We followed the friendly voice of Nora, but we ended up in a construction area, where the road to the highway was temporarily closed. Ignoring the GPS for a little while, we drove through rural landscapes, and finally found an entry point to the highway. We decided get a little more gasoline, so we pulled over at a gas station. Some 22 liters later, and 120 zloty less on the budget, and 25 euro cents more for a visit to the toilet, we continued our journey towards Wroclaw.

We had no problems getting around in Wraclow, and the engine was still running. Wraclow looked like an amazing city. Under most of the bridges, there are beautiful graffiti pieces, and they have changed the looks of the old concrete buildings into something really nice. We drove to Harald’s friend in Wroclaw and drank some beer on his balcony. His friends lives in a charming old building from 1932, with a lovely backyards with plum trees. A really quiet and lovely place.

After this visit, we went to another friend of Harald, a few minute’s walk away. There we drank some tequila flavoured Polish beer on the roof terrace. The view was amazing. Old architecture, quiet gardens, and the terrace was full of all kinds of green plants. I would not mind living in a place like that. Too bad there is no access to the roof where I live in Oslo.

A bit later, another friend of Harald came and picked us up. We drove to some place in Wraclow, where there was some art project outside. It was literary a rusty old locomotive and railways emerging from the ground and aiming straight for the sky. The project was completely finished, but it was still an amazing view. We then went to find a parking place, and went into the back yard of a synagogue. There was a restaurant there – not the most quiet one, and a little too many tourists for my taste, but it was OK. There was a ceremony in the synagogue, and one of the side doors were open, so the whole backyard was filled with music and song from the synagogue.

When we left the back yard of the synagogue, I noticed that the walls were black. I was told that it was due to Germans putting the whole place on fire and the ash on the walls had been left there.

After a beer and a little car trip in Wraclow, we were back at the first of Harald’s friends. He made us a lovely dinner with potatoes, beans and some scrambled eggs with tomatoes. So much more healthy than yesterday’s late night dinner in Berlin.

This is my first day in Poland, and I do not understand anything of the language. Yet it seems to be quite OK and I am really looking forward for tomorrow’s journey to Auschwitz and Krakow.
]]> http://www.virvelvind.net/2010/08/wroclaw-poland/feed/ 0 51.110204364379 17.10047721862851.11020436437917.100477218628 http://www.virvelvind.net/2010/08/solutions-are-incoming/ http://www.virvelvind.net/2010/08/solutions-are-incoming/#comments Sun, 15 Aug 2010 07:03:14 +0000 eskil http://virvelvind.net/?p=53 Harald just called and said he now have 10 liters of gasoline. He was some 30 kilometers away from me, and that it was a bit hard to get a ride from the gas station but he will keep on trying. Not sure if he is in front or me or behind me. With this Autobahn thing, I do not think it is safe to cross it at any circumstances, so I hope he solve it in a safe manner. About 75 minutes since we stopped. Faster than expected, and I guess I will still be able to see Wroclaw in daylight.

A thought just occurred in my mind. We are driving an ambulance. I wonder how many people who have already died in this vehicle. Probably a few, yet the car is in good condition. What were the causes? What were their stories? Did they live a happy life before the trauma? I guess we will never find out.

Today I woke up at five minutes to six. After a quick session of filming in Moabit, we aimed for Wroclaw, Poland. Exiting Berlin went smooth and easy – Harald seems to have become friends with Nora already, and no longer need my help for map reading and directions. When we drove on to the Autobahn, we noticed that there was very little traffic. Not a big surprise, being an early Sunday morning.
According to our friendly GPS, we were to arrive at Wroclaw at fifteen minutes past ten unless we had any stops for breakfast and refilling of gasoline. Harald also said he should buy a jerry can to have some spare gasoline stored in the car, just in case. A very light rain shower, quiet morning and everything seemed all right..

…until…. Just a couple of minutes after Harald mentioned the plans of buying a spare can of gasoline, things went wrong. Mentioning that seemed to jinx our smooth ride out of Germany today. Suddenly the engine stopped, and we were out of gasoline. The gasoline meter on the car is non-functional, but according to Harald’s measures, it should last a little further. But it did not. So we managed to pull safely over to the side of the Autobahn and put on the emergency lights.
Harald put the emergency marker behind the car, and we started checking the GPS. Nearest gas station is 8 kilometers away from here. That is some good 90 minutes of walking in a fast phase, and that’s only one way. Harald raised his thumb – the lovely international symbol for hitch hikers – and got a ride in just over two minutes. The drivers was working today, so he kindly refused to drive all the 8 kilometers to the gas station, but agreed to take him to the nearest exit from the Autobahn, so Harald could continue waving his thumb from there. I added the spot of the vehicle as a favorite on the GPS, and gave the GPS to Harald so he could navigate back.

Sitting in a vehicle on the Autobahn, with not much to see and not much to do, I started eating breakfast. Some lovely rye bread and cream cheese, and slightly luke warm milk. Sitting in a stranded vehicle on the Autobahn is a bit scary, I can feel the car shaking due to air pressure as every car passes by. But the car is parked on a leveled surface, visible from a long distance, so I do not expect more trouble yet.

Yesterday at Cafe-Cox, we spoke a bit about how the problems with the heating system was solved in such awesome manners yesterday, with the Serbian Romas. Harald said he thought we were just gonna cruise in to Poland with no more trouble, but mentioned Moore’s law – if it can go wrong, it will. I thought that more problems could be interesting since you never know how you will solve them before you find the solution. Though I would have wished we had something slightly less of a challenge than ending up with no gasoline on the Autobahn 8 kilometers away from the nearest gas station.

Still, I find this trip quite pleasant. Always keeping in mind the gently words written on the front cover of The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy: DON’T PANIC!

We started to more and more love Miss Nora, the lovely Norwegian voice on the Garmin nüvi GPS. After our detour, she guided us back on to the Autobahn. And due to some FM traffic system, Nora also sent us on a detour off the highway, to avoid some heavy traffic.

We arrived Berlin without any problems, and tried to locate Cafe-Cox. a bit trouble finding it, since Harald had written down the wrong address. But after he walked around a bit randomly, he managed to find the place. We parked our car and Harald went for some beer. I tried locating a food store, and after some staggerish communication with Germans, I managed to find a local store. Bread, cheese, milk, orange juice, chocolate and deodorant, and I was ready for the next morning. A beer at Cafe-Cox. Lovely beer. I think it was a blonde Flensburger.

We then went to eat at a random place. We found a halal fast food restaurant called Ris A Chicken. Potato wedgies, bread and pepsi. Not the best meal, but when you are traveling and are hungry, every kind of food is good food.
Back for another beer at Cafe-Cox – dark beer this time, and some recharging of the laptop battery, and talked a bit the plans for Sunday. Still amazed how we were saved by the Serbian Romas. It really made our day.

Tomorrow we will be headed for Wroclaw in Poland. The GPS tells us it is about 325 kilometers away from our location in Berlin, and I am really looking forward for tomorrows adventures.

Today has been a really interesting journey – Mr. Medbøe is not your average travel parter. Full of interesting stories, views on life and the big issues, but also paying attention to small details. I think the next few days will be just as interesting.

Adding more water to the cooling system

Leaky cooling system...

Harald made another attempt to fill the cooling water system to the minimum level, but it leaked a lot. After filling up 3-4 bottles, we were still far away from the minimum level. A quick phone call with my father helped a bit. We got a few advises on how to find a solution and an overview over the severity of the problem. From under the car we saw a small stream of water pouring down.

As soon as the trailer in front of us was towed out, we took a chance and exited the ferry. At least the car was moving forward. Outside, some guy started running in front of us and waving. It turned out we were driving on the wrong exit. We saw some customs exit, and drove through. There was a customs officer there, but she just smiled and turned her back against us. We stopped at the first available car repair shop. They looked on the leak, and sent us further towards some WV repair shop in Hamburger Chausse. There we got a more thorough look at the problem, but they sent us even further. With a printed map from Google Maps and an address, it was time to fire up the Garmin GPS. Being a bit uncertain whether or not there was power in the cigarette lighter outlet, I hesitated a tiny bit when plugging in the power adapter. But the LCD of the GPS suddenly lit up. The friendly message on the display asked what language to use, and a few clicks later, it was up and running.

We drove to the next WV repair shop, where they offered coffee, and tried to locate a spare part for us. They did not have any spare parts, but again, we got a new map from Google Maps, for PV Auto, some 10-12 minutes away. I entered the address into the GPS, and we started driving.

We ended up at PV Auto, some spare part store. The staff there was not the most friendly. He came out, looked at the car – we explained that we needed a T-joint, with 20mm diameter on all ends, but he promptly replied that he did not have the part. I asked kindly if we could get some more water, and we got about a liter and a half. And off we went again.

Ended up at a random gas station, and met a young lad who looked like a mechanic, carrying a sixpack of beer. He told us to drive behind the building next to gas station, and we went inside. Again, we were offered coffee, but the the coffee machine did not have any free coffee. We were told to wait for Der Meister – apparently this is the name they use for the chief mechanics. Der Meister arrived, and he said they only fix trucks, but he sent us to another auto repair shop a few minutes away.

Mathias repairing the cooling system

After getting a bit lost on the way, we finally managed to locate Auto-Service Hennschen. It seemed to be closed, but outside we met two Serbian Romas (gypsies). They advised us to call Der Meister for this place, and helped us with the phone call, since none of us are fluent in German. The people told us a bit about their life, what they thought about Norway, after spending a few years in Kristiansand, Arendal and Farsund, and life in general. They said they loved the Norwegian landscapes and nature. A few minutes later, Der Meister arrived, and looked at the car. He said he would fix it for sure. So we said goodbye to the Serbs and went to the gas station to buy some breakfast.

A simple breakfast

Travelling on a low budget, I was somewhat afraid of what to expect, but I ended up paying only 3.29 euros for a crossaint with nougat, another piece of bread and a Sinalco Cola. And I even got 25 cents back for the bottle!

We went back to Auto-Service Hennschen, and the mechanic was still working on the car. He told us that his name was Mathias, and he owned the store. He showed us pieces of the old T-joint, which was completly broken. A few minutes more, he was finished, and we started the engine for a test. Success!

After Harald paid him 35 euroes for the repair, we were headed for Berlin on the Autobahn. After visiting 4-5 different places without meeting anyone who could solve our problem, we were both a bit frustrated. But if you never give up, and keep on trying, eventually you will meet the right people – always. And it was some sort of a strange coincidence that the people who helped us today, were Romas – considering Harald is on a trip towards Romania, to meet local Romas there.

Harald Medbøe on the ferry to Kiel.

During my stay in Moroeni, Romania, I was asked by Harald Medbøe to join him on a trip to Poland. He is going to meet up with Alex Rosen and a TV team in Auschwitz on Monday the 16th, and travel further to meet with Roma people in Romania. I agreed to join on the trip, and have been asked to do a bit of filming on our trip to Berlin and further.

Harald is driving an old ambulance, which he is going to get fully decorated in Romania. After some short session of filming as he entered the ferry yesterday, I went onboard.

We had a joyful evening on the ferry, and Harald met people he had not seen for 25-30 years. Free beer and crackers for breakfast/lunch/dinner!

ETA in Kiel, Germany was 10:00 Saturday morning.