An open society

On the website of Al Jazeera I found this photo. Dedicated police who also
show vulnerability. A sign of an open society. Photo: Noella Johansson/EPA 

Yesterday afternoon a beer truck ploughed into a department store in central Stockholm. An event similar to terror attacks in Nice and Berlin (to mention two cities in Europe). It has happened in many cities around the world but in Sweden this was the first time. (A suicide bomber tried to cause damage in 2010).

It did not come as a surprise. Sweden is part of the world and what takes place elsewhere can also happen here. Obviously!

The reaction from our Prime Minister, Stefan Lövfen, represents the sentiments of many. In a press conference yesterday evening he told media that an investigation will find out if this was a terror attack. If so, he said, it is clear that the objective of terrorism is to undermine democracy. The message from the Swedish state is: you will never, ever win!

It reminds me of the message former Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in Norway conveyed after the massacre on Utøya, near Oslo in 2011:

Our response is more democracy, more openness, and more humanity.

This is also what I hope for in Sweden. And I believe that it is possible. After the attack yesterday a hashtag started

#openstockholm

This has become a signal that the right response is more openness. As an example people in Stockholm opened their homes to those, who could not leave the city, since all train traffic had been stopped.

As we now enter the Holy Week this is also what I wish. The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, not as a warrior, but in humbleness. This is the right approach.