Speech at Labour Youth League Meeting

Dear Labour Youth League representatives,
Dear friends, 

It’s good to be here again.
And painful at the same time.

It’s good to feel the magic of Utøya again.
The magic created by more than 50 years of excitement and laughter – of committed young people coming together in a common cause.
It’s good to come home.

This makes the memory of the atrocities last year even more painful.

All those who were killed so brutally and mercilessly.
All those who were maimed for life.
All those who were chased around the island.

This will always be Utøya’s double legacy.

The island’s beauty will always be marred by the horror of those terrible hours.

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Even now, after a year has passed, it is impossible to fully comprehend the extent of the fear and suffering on Utøya on 22 July last year.

This makes all that has happened since then even more impressive.

The Labour Youth League got back on its feet.
Young people all over the country joined.
They refused to accept that anyone should die because of their commitment. 
And became engaged in the service of democracy.

In the course of the year, thousands have responded to violence by participating.
Not just in the Labour Youth League.
But also in the Young Conservatives, Nature and Youth and Norwegian People’s Aid.

They are the 22 July generation.
The country’s future.
Our hope.

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These young people have already taught us an important lesson.
We must never again allow ourselves to become indifferent.

Our open democratic society also leaves room for extremism.
The internet is teeming with threats.

We have ignored hateful comments for far too long.

We cannot, and we will not, close our eyes to this any longer.
For indifference can easily be perceived as tacit acceptance.
We know this from history.

The future will judge us harshly –and rightly so – if we fail to speak out.
If we sit back passively and allow hate to breed violence.

We will therefore, in the spirit of the 22 July generation, see those who are persecuted.

Counter blind hatred with knowledge and arguments.
Show that democracy is stronger than the most lethal threat.

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The 22^nd of July will always be associated with those who lost their lives.
Nothing will bring our loved ones back.
But we will remember them with gratitude.

We will share our memories of warmth and solidarity again and again.
Remember their dreams.
Tell their stories with pleasure.

We will learn to remember the lives they lived as more than the moment of death.

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We will be there for those of you who bear both visible and invisible wounds.

We will see those of you who are having difficulty coping with everyday life, both in our immediate circle and beyond.
Who are unable to concentrate on your studies.
We are struggling.

We will be there for you when the cold and darkness set in.
Together we will seek to regain our sense of joy and hope.

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Our encounter with the loss of so many young lives has taught us how precious life is.

No one is guaranteed a tomorrow.
Even a young heart could suddenly stop beating.

Therefore, we must live our lives here and now.
We must savour the fragrance of summer.
Enjoy the sounds of the city.
See the greatness in a pesky little sister.

And we must tell each other happy stories from Utøya.
No one can take the warm memories away from us.
They are ours forever.

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Let us honour the dead by celebrating life.