Norway Shooting 2011: Mother and Daughter Text Through Tragedy!
Sometimes, it seems like cellphones are turning the modern world into a storm of faceless, disconnected text message obsessed loners and you find yourself wishing they just didn’t exist. But then you read a story like this, and you realize how amazing it is that we can reach out and connect to our loved ones when we need them most.
This past Friday, sixteen year old Julie Bremnes was stuck on the tiny island of Utoya, surrounded by freezing cold water, being stalked by a mad man. The teenager hid in the rocks on the beach for nearly two hours, listening to her friends and fellow camp goers being shot at. Terrified that at any second she and her friends would be found and killed.
And, thanks to her cellphone, she was able to be in constant contact with her mother the entire time. Marianne Bremnes, 800 miles away from her daughter, could do nothing but sit by the phone and try to stay calm and keep her child calm via text message. The AP transcribed their exchanges, and translated them into English:
Julie: Mum, tell the police to hurry. People are dying here!
Marianne: I am working on it, Julie. The police are on their way. Do you Dare give me a call?
Julie: No.
Julie: Tell the police that a madman is running around shooting people.
Julie: They have to hurry!
Marianne: The police know about it and they have received many messages. It is going to be fine, Julie. The police are calling us now. Give us a sign of life every fifth minute, please?
“I had to be calm for her,” Marianne told the AP. “She also remained calm so it was easier for me to remain calm.
“I heard from her every five minutes — she did what I told her to do,” Marianne said. “The whole time I knew how she was and where she was. It helped me and I guess it helped her.”
I’ll say. No one should have to go through what this little girl went through, but I can’t think of a better salve for a terrifying situation than having your mother’s calming words tucked into your pocket in cell phone form.
