*Reflection on VE Day and the BWI Global Young Workers’ Forum, 25–28 April 2026

By M. Husain Maulana

That morning (28/4), the orange silhouette of the sun slowly emerged between the hills surrounding Utøya. Birds chirped loudly among the birch trees. The air, once cold, gradually warmed. I stood on a cliff gazing over the sea: bright, clear, and deeply refreshing. This nearly perfect landscape brought back memories of how democracy on this small island had once been nearly destroyed, yet managed to rise again, perhaps even stronger than before.

I am certain that no one could have imagined that 15 years ago, on 22 July 2011, such a dark tragedy would unfold. A man carrying out a plan that resembled something from a crime thriller launched his attack. He detonated a bomb near a government office complex in Oslo and then opened fire on young people attending a summer camp at Utøya. In total, 77 people were killed, and hundreds more were injured. The man responsible, Anders Behring Breivik, was sentenced to 21 years in prison, a sentence that can continue to be extended as long as he is considered a danger to society.

Yet at the same time, I am equally certain that no one could have imagined that Utøya, the working class, and the people of Norway would be able to rise again, rebuilding the spirit of democracy that, throughout the country’s long history, has endured and resisted waves of hatred, fascism, and the terror of fear.

I imagine that the day Utøya reopened in 2016 must have felt surreal. After the boat docked, perhaps some people stepped onto the island with trembling feet. A massacre had once taken place there. But perhaps they soon realised that the greatest enemy was not bullets, rifles, or even the ruins of tragedy itself, but the fear within human beings. As one parent of a victim and an activist who survived the tragedy said during the second day of the seminar: “We do not seek revenge. We know that the way to rise again is to continue remembering them and to continue fighting for democracy in the best way possible.”

From the cliff, I walked down toward the rocks by the shoreline. I remembered the words of Henrik Ibsen, the renowned Norwegian dramatist: “It is the very mark of the spirit of rebellion to crave for happiness in this life.” I closed my eyes and stood in silence for a moment. We hope that we will always remember those who are gone and continue fighting for those who are still living in the best way we can.

And today, 8 May, is the day the world commemorates the defeat of Nazism. It is Victory in Europe Day: the day Nazi Germany and Italian Fascism fell, the day democracy fought back, rising like the morning sun that gives life to the earth. We will not forget the resistance fighters who sacrificed themselves, nor our comrades who fell at Utøya, the workers who lost their lives, the fighters in Palestine, and all those who continue struggling against imperialist, fascist, neo-colonialist, authoritarian, and far-right aggression in different parts of the world.

I remember my final day in Oslo. My train to the airport was about to depart. I looked at the giant hammer monument in the square outside the northeastern front of Oslo Central Station, in the Jernbanetorget area. Inscribed there were the words of Asbjørn Sunde: “It was worth fighting for freedom, for all countries, for all classes, for all people.”

I stood there in silence for quite some time. Because perhaps, even today, that struggle is not truly over. And therefore, it must continue, through all of us.

Yogyakarta, 08 May 2026
*General Secretary of SERBUK Indonesia Federation and Vice-Chair of the BWI Asia-Pacific Youth Committee