{"id":6212,"date":"2015-02-16T07:38:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-16T06:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?p=6212\/"},"modified":"2017-01-20T22:21:21","modified_gmt":"2017-01-20T22:21:21","slug":"comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Comment: After the terror, Copenhagen is a different city"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Mum, don\u2019t worry. Copenhagen is the safest city in the world”.<\/p>\n

This is how I reassured my nerves-prone mother before boarding a flight from Sydney to Copenhagen two days ago. I still remember laughing at the idea that anything untoward could happen in the Danish capital. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve lived in Copenhagen for two years, and ‘safe’, ‘neat’ and ‘ordered’ are the words I most use to describe the place. My friend and I used to laugh at Danish crime shows trying to depict the city as dramatic and dangerous.<\/p>\n

“Yeah, right.” we\u2019d joke. <\/p>\n

“I guess they can\u2019t make a TV show about cops doling out fines for cycling without lights.” <\/p>\n

The place where things like this don’t happen<\/h2>\n

Unlike Sydney with its sprawling urban areas, traffic-ridden streets and occasional creepy lone figures on late-night public transport, Copenhagen feels like a (big) small town. You get a sense of tight-knit community, and I bet people aren\u2019t too worried about locking their doors at night. Conscientious Danes turn in wallets that they find on the train, and I cycle freely in the middle of the night without fearing harassment.<\/p>\n

Basically, it\u2019s the last place you\u2019d expect a shooting attack. <\/p>\n

Like me, Copenhageners were horrified when they woke up this morning to learn the city had been subject to a second deadly shooting attack. Maybe some of them were out in the inner city late Saturday night. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s when a gunman shot a guard outside the Synagogue, hours after an attack on a free speech debate in an upmarket caf\u00e9 which saw a civilian killed and several police wounded.<\/p>\n

“Feeling safe?” a concerned Australian friend asked me on facebook, already abreast of the news while Copenhageners like me had slept. <\/p>\n

When jet lag woke me up at the crack of dawn and I read that the city had been in lock-down, I didn\u2019t feel safe at all.<\/p>\n

Blame the sleep-deprivation, but I downright overreacted, wondering whether I\u2019d have to cancel my plans and hide in my apartment all day. ‘I can\u2019t believe I just flew to the safest city in the world.’ I thought, ‘only to feel so unsafe.’ <\/p>\n

It struck me that it\u2019s the first time I\u2019d ever felt this way in Copenhagen. If this had happened in another city, I\u2019d have taken it differently. But this was Copenhagen. The safe city, the place where things like this just don\u2019t happen. <\/p>\n

Newfound insecurity<\/h2>\n

This disbelief is mirrored by the international residents around me. <\/p>\n

“It is surreal that this is happening in my city\u201d wrote one on Facebook. “I\u2019ve never thought of Copenhagen as violent.” said another.<\/p>\n

Copenhagen has a reputation for safety. It was recently selected as one of six safe cities in the world by the Wall Street Cheat Sheet.<\/a> In an op-ed for the Huffington Post, one visitor to Copenhagen wrote that she felt she \u201cwas cocooned in a bubble of friendliness, sparkles, and hugs\u201d in the city.<\/p>\n

So what will the latest terror attack mean? It means Copenhagen, like many major cities in recent months, is not immune from deadly terror attacks. It means if a car-exhaust backfires like it did outside my window this morning, we might be a little on edge. It means that we aren\u2019t taking our safety for granted anymore. It might mean we swallow hard when we cycle past the city-centre Synagogue, where a guard had been protecting a Bar Mitzvah party inside when he became the weekend\u2019s second fatal victim. It might stop us from attending a free speech seminar. <\/p>\n

Fear can make humans respond in curious ways. For the first time, we\u2019re about to see how Copenhageners respond to this newfound feeling of insecurity.<\/p>\n

‘I’ll ride with you’<\/h2>\n

I arrived in Sydney days after the Sydney Siege last December, where a Muslim man had held a city-centre caf\u00e9 hostage. It inspired fear in the Australian city, hithero untouched by direct terror. <\/p>\n

It also inspired a fear in many Muslim-Australians that they would be subject to a wave of Islamophobia. It wouldn\u2019t be the first time. That day, Sydneysider Rachael Jacobs spotted a woman nervously unwrapping her hijab to hide her religious affiliation before stepping on the train. Rachael stopped her and said, \u201cPut it back on. I\u2019ll ride with you.\u201d <\/p>\n

Suddenly, Sydneysiders all over the city were invoking the hashtag #illridewithyou in a wave of support for anyone affected by religious harassment, offering to accompany them on public transport. <\/p>\n

The hashtag became a symbol of a city determined to fight the intolerance which often accompanies fear and threat. <\/p>\n

As Twitter, a breeding ground for thoughtless, off-the-cuff commentary, fires up with hateful statements, I can only hope this doesn\u2019t reflect the attitudes of most Copenhageners.<\/p>\n

Luckily, it doesn\u2019t seem to have done so far. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m sitting in a caf\u00e9 reflecting on the weekend. Copenhageners pour in, giggling, reading Sunday morning papers. They seem aware, like I, that despite the tragic events of last night, we\u2019re still tremendously privileged to live in a city where these abhorrent attacks are a shock, a cause of disbelief, and a tragedy, but not a new norm.<\/p>\n

universitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n

Like us on Facebook <\/a> for features, guides and tips on upcoming events. Follow us on Twitter<\/a> for links to other Copenhagen academia news stories. Sign up for the University Post weekly newsletter here<\/a>, and then follow the University Post on Instagram here. <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Copenhagen is not the safe city we thought it was, but it is how we respond to the fear that will define us, writes Lena of the University Post<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":6213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nComment: After the terror, Copenhagen is a different city<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Comment: After the terror, Copenhagen is a different city\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Copenhagen is not the safe city we thought it was, but it is how we respond to the fear that will define us, writes Lena of the University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-20T22:21:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2592\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1936\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606\"},\"headline\":\"Comment: After the terror, Copenhagen is a different city\",\"datePublished\":\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-20T22:21:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":930,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/02\\\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\\\/\",\"name\":\"Comment: After the terror, Copenhagen is a different city\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/02\\\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-20T22:21:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/02\\\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/02\\\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle.jpg\",\"width\":2592,\"height\":1936,\"caption\":\"Scene of the first shooting in the Copenhagen attacks\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Comment: After the terror, Copenhagen is a different city\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/\",\"name\":\"University Post\",\"description\":\"Independent of management\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606\",\"name\":\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/author\\\/migrated_articles\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Comment: After the terror, Copenhagen is a different city","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Comment: After the terror, Copenhagen is a different city","og_description":"Copenhagen is not the safe city we thought it was, but it is how we respond to the fear that will define us, writes Lena of the University Post","og_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/","og_site_name":"University Post","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis","article_published_time":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-01-20T22:21:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2592,"height":1936,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Uniavisen","twitter_site":"@Uniavisen","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/"},"author":{"name":"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606"},"headline":"Comment: After the terror, Copenhagen is a different city","datePublished":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-20T22:21:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/"},"wordCount":930,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle.jpg","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/","name":"Comment: After the terror, Copenhagen is a different city","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle.jpg","datePublished":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-20T22:21:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle.jpg","width":2592,"height":1936,"caption":"Scene of the first shooting in the Copenhagen attacks"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Comment: After the terror, Copenhagen is a different city"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/","name":"University Post","description":"Independent of management","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606","name":"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE"},"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/author\/migrated_articles\/"}]}},"advancedCustomFields":{"layout_group":[{"acf_fc_layout":"Headline","use_post_title":true,"headline":"","style":"default","highlighted_words":"","text_size":"medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Image","image":{"ID":6213,"id":6213,"title":"copenhagen_shooting_michelle","filename":"copenhagen_shooting_michelle.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/comment-after-the-terror-copenhagen-is-a-different-city\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle\/","alt":"","author":"0","description":"Scene of the first shooting in the Copenhagen attacks","caption":"Scene of the first shooting in the Copenhagen attacks","name":"copenhagen_shooting_michelle","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":6212,"date":"2017-01-19 05:57:23","modified":"2017-01-19 05:57:25","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2592,"height":1936,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle-480x359.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":359,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle-768x574.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":574,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle-1280x956.jpg","large-width":1280,"large-height":956,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1147,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1530,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle-290x217.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":217,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle-700x523.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":523,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle-990x739.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":739}},"style":"screen","text_placement":"metadata-below","image_link_url":"","image_link_title":"","caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":false,"alternative_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"","text":"Copenhagen is not the safe city we thought it was, but it is how we respond to the fear that will define us, writes Lena of the University Post","use_post_excerpt":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":false,"contributors":[{"use_registered_user":false,"user":false,"contributor_name":"Lena Rutkowski","contributor_title":" ","contributor_image":false}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>“Mum, don\u2019t worry. Copenhagen is the safest city in the world”.<\/p>\n<p>This is how I reassured my nerves-prone mother before boarding a flight from Sydney to Copenhagen two days ago. I still remember laughing at the idea that anything untoward could happen in the Danish capital. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve lived in Copenhagen for two years, and ‘safe’, ‘neat’ and ‘ordered’ are the words I most use to describe the place. My friend and I used to laugh at Danish crime shows trying to depict the city as dramatic and dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>“Yeah, right.” we\u2019d joke. <\/p>\n<p>“I guess they can\u2019t make a TV show about cops doling out fines for cycling without lights.” <\/p>\n<h2>The place where things like this don’t happen<\/h2>\n<p>Unlike Sydney with its sprawling urban areas, traffic-ridden streets and occasional creepy lone figures on late-night public transport, Copenhagen feels like a (big) small town. You get a sense of tight-knit community, and I bet people aren\u2019t too worried about locking their doors at night. Conscientious Danes turn in wallets that they find on the train, and I cycle freely in the middle of the night without fearing harassment.<\/p>\n<p>Basically, it\u2019s the last place you\u2019d expect a shooting attack. <\/p>\n<p>Like me, Copenhageners were horrified when they woke up this morning to learn the city had been subject to a second deadly shooting attack. Maybe some of them were out in the inner city late Saturday night. <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s when a gunman shot a guard outside the Synagogue, hours after an attack on a free speech debate in an upmarket caf\u00e9 which saw a civilian killed and several police wounded.<\/p>\n<p>“Feeling safe?” a concerned Australian friend asked me on facebook, already abreast of the news while Copenhageners like me had slept. <\/p>\n<p>When jet lag woke me up at the crack of dawn and I read that the city had been in lock-down, I didn\u2019t feel safe at all.<\/p>\n<p>Blame the sleep-deprivation, but I downright overreacted, wondering whether I\u2019d have to cancel my plans and hide in my apartment all day. ‘I can\u2019t believe I just flew to the safest city in the world.’ I thought, ‘only to feel so unsafe.’ <\/p>\n<p>It struck me that it\u2019s the first time I\u2019d ever felt this way in Copenhagen. If this had happened in another city, I\u2019d have taken it differently. But this was Copenhagen. The safe city, the place where things like this just don\u2019t happen. <\/p>\n<h2>Newfound insecurity<\/h2>\n<p>This disbelief is mirrored by the international residents around me. <\/p>\n<p>“It is surreal that this is happening in my city\u201d wrote one on Facebook. “I\u2019ve never thought of Copenhagen as violent.” said another.<\/p>\n<p>Copenhagen has a reputation for safety. It was recently selected as one of six safe cities in the world by the <a href=\"http:\/\/wallstcheatsheet.com\/life\/6-of-the-safest-cities-in-the-world-to-visit.html\/?a=viewall#ixzz3Da3pi8ll\" target=\"_blank\">Wall Street Cheat Sheet.<\/a> In an op-ed for the Huffington Post, one visitor to Copenhagen wrote that she felt she \u201cwas cocooned in a bubble of friendliness, sparkles, and hugs\u201d in the city.<\/p>\n<p>So what will the latest terror attack mean? It means Copenhagen, like many major cities in recent months, is not immune from deadly terror attacks. It means if a car-exhaust backfires like it did outside my window this morning, we might be a little on edge. It means that we aren\u2019t taking our safety for granted anymore. It might mean we swallow hard when we cycle past the city-centre Synagogue, where a guard had been protecting a Bar Mitzvah party inside when he became the weekend\u2019s second fatal victim. It might stop us from attending a free speech seminar. <\/p>\n<p>Fear can make humans respond in curious ways. For the first time, we\u2019re about to see how Copenhageners respond to this newfound feeling of insecurity.<\/p>\n<h2>‘I’ll ride with you’<\/h2>\n<p>I arrived in Sydney days after the Sydney Siege last December, where a Muslim man had held a city-centre caf\u00e9 hostage. It inspired fear in the Australian city, hithero untouched by direct terror. <\/p>\n<p>It also inspired a fear in many Muslim-Australians that they would be subject to a wave of Islamophobia. It wouldn\u2019t be the first time. That day, Sydneysider Rachael Jacobs spotted a woman nervously unwrapping her hijab to hide her religious affiliation before stepping on the train. Rachael stopped her and said, \u201cPut it back on. I\u2019ll ride with you.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Suddenly, Sydneysiders all over the city were invoking the hashtag #illridewithyou in a wave of support for anyone affected by religious harassment, offering to accompany them on public transport. <\/p>\n<p>The hashtag became a symbol of a city determined to fight the intolerance which often accompanies fear and threat. <\/p>\n<p>As Twitter, a breeding ground for thoughtless, off-the-cuff commentary, fires up with hateful statements, I can only hope this doesn\u2019t reflect the attitudes of most Copenhageners.<\/p>\n<p>Luckily, it doesn\u2019t seem to have done so far. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m sitting in a caf\u00e9 reflecting on the weekend. Copenhageners pour in, giggling, reading Sunday morning papers. They seem aware, like I, that despite the tragic events of last night, we\u2019re still tremendously privileged to live in a city where these abhorrent attacks are a shock, a cause of disbelief, and a tragedy, but not a new norm.<\/p>\n<p>universitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n<p><em>Like us on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UniversityPost\" target=\"_blank\"> Facebook <\/a> for features, guides and tips on upcoming events. Follow us on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UniversityPost\" target=\"_blank\"> Twitter<\/a> for links to other Copenhagen academia news stories. <a href=\"http:\/\/universitypost.dk\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up for the University Post weekly newsletter here<\/a>, and then <a href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/universitypost\" target=\"_blank\">follow the University Post on Instagram here. <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":48,"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":48,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1036,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":15,"name":"News Article","slug":"news_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":11492,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/copenhagen_shooting_michelle-1280x956.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6212"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32607,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6212\/revisions\/32607"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}