O pesadelo da Dinamarca
Li um texto impressionante de Niels Ivar Larsen, um jornalista dinamarquês que participava no debate sobre a liberdade de expressão, em Copenhaga, planeado pelo cartoonista Lars Vilks, onde ocorreu mais um tiroteio ao 'estilo' do ocorrido em França, em Janeiro. Achei que o devia partilhar convosco. Li este artigo no The Guardian, embora o texto seja originalmente do jornal dinamarquês Information, do qual Larsen é editor. Um texto tão bem escrito, momentos tão agoniantes muito bem descritos. Um texto estruturado e sentido. Emocionante.
"Here I sit in my wretched hiding place behind a black curtain, clenching on to a round coffee table – a makeshift shield made of plastic that’s hard, but surely not hard enough. This is not the death I would wish for. Is this really how it ends?
(...)
The fight for freedom of speech has always been the most important thing for me. But was it really meant to be that I would die for it? Martyrdom is for fanatics, not democrats. Imagine dying for an ugly drawing of a Swedish dog with a prophet’s face. What an absurd reason to die. What an absurd reason to kill.
Like a fool I hold my coffee table shield in front of me, knowing it will not provide any protection whatsoever if the perpetrator – or could there be more than one? – forces himself into the hall and starts shooting, as he has done outside. Then it will surely be over. Like Charlie Hebdo’s editorial staff, we are all helpless victims in this room. We are sitting ducks. How painful is it to be riddled with bullets? How long does it take to die? What will become of my girlfriend? What will become of my son?
(...)
Many head towards the back entrance, others find cover behind chairs and desks, but where is shelter? Where are the hiding places? Nowhere. Here, there is no safety, absolutely none at all.
(...)
It was not a bad dream, not a stupid film. Terror has hit, it has hit Copenhagen, it has hit us all right in the heart. The question is, how long will this nightmare last?"