Departures: Equality

"If a married lesbian couple saves 40 teens from the Norway massacre and no-one writes about it, did it really happen?" Talk About Equality asked on 1 August. And rightly so. The almost rhetorical questions illuminated by Talk About Equality's article are poised on the tip of the tongue: why has this story of incredibly fearless and selfless heroism gone largely unreported? And what does that suggest about our mainstream media's position on informing the public debate about equality?

"By this point, most of you have heard about the tragedy in Norway a few weeks ago when a Christian Fundamentalist murdered 77 people and injured another 96. The story has been well-covered by international media and the mainstream press.

What you probably have not heard about is the married lesbian couple who rescued 40 teenagers during and after the bloody event. Several blogs and gay and lesbian publications are now picking up the story, but the heavy hitters who usually kill for hero stories like this, have remained silent.

The Finnish capital city’s largest daily newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, published this account (translated from Finnish):

Hege Dalen and her spouse, Toril Hansen were near Utöyan having dinner on the opposite shore across from the ill-fated campsite, when they began to hear gunfire and screaming on the island. “We were eating. Then shooting and then the awful screaming. We saw how the young people ran in panic into the lake,” says Dale to HS in an interview.

The couple immediately took action and pushed the boat into Lake Tyrifjorden. Dalen and Hansen drove the boat to the island, picked up from the water victims in shock in, the young and wounded, and transported them to the opposite shore to the mainland. Between runs they saw that the bullets had hit the right side of the boat. Since there were so many and not all fit at once aboard, they returned to the island four times. They were able to rescue 40 young people from the clutches of the killer.

“We did not sleep last night at all. Today, we have been together and talked about the events,” Dalen said.

There is also an interesting follow-up article.

Pictured: Hege Dalen and Toril Hansen. Photo: Maija Tammi. Image courtesy Talk About Equality.