On Friday held a memorial service to honor the victims of the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia in 2004.
On hand was the prime minister, the archbishop and parts of the royal family.
– Your lives extinguished but the memory of your love shines in the darkness, said Stefan Löfven in a speech during the service.
1800 people had been invited to the memorial service in Uppsala Cathedral on Friday afternoon. Present were, among other things, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, health minister Gabriel Wikstrom, strategy Minister Kristina Persson, Liberal Party leader Jan Björklund, archbishop Antje Jackelén, King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel.
The Prime Minister gave a speech
Stefan Löfven was “hard to find the right words” when he spoke during the service. He urged the survivors to dare to show emotion after the disaster.
– What can people do after the loss of someone we love. We can carry with us the memories of love. There can never be taken away from us. We can love life, in all its fragility. We can see those who are close to us today, keep them and show what we feel for them. We gather today to honor all those who lost their lives in the tsunami disaster in December 2004. Your lives extinguished but the memory of your love shines in the darkness, he said.
Aftonbladet met him outside Uppsala Cathedral before the memorial ceremony.
– It is incredibly important that we show our support for those who lost their lives but also for those who lost their loved ones. It was a day where it became increasingly clear what a terrible disaster it was. We knew not what at first but after news reports, it appeared like an increasingly terrible incident, he said.
“We have better preparedness”
Sweden has a significantly better emergency preparedness today , the Prime Minister said.
– All ministries in the government building has an emergency organization. It’s better organization within government offices but also between the government and authorities so that it will be quicker to find out if anything happens. We are better prepared and more resources. But we should also respect the fact that it can always happen the unexpected and unpredictable.
543 Swedes lost their lives in the disaster. Even more were injured and lost their relatives. According to a yet unpublished study, younger affected by the disaster fared worse than the adults who were injured or lost their relatives. According to the study, based on interviews with young people between 10 and 15 years, suffered more from post-traumatic stress after the disaster.
– There must obviously be help with counseling and other support based on individual needs. Obviously, we need to be there both as fellow human beings but also the professional conversation assistance needed, we will be able to help with school and other means, said Stefan Löfven.
“New meaning can emerge”
He described how he “shared grief” with all survivors.
– We understand that it is their sorrow but we share it and we in the rest of the country is there for support.
While the archbishop Antje Jackelén spoke during the memorial service. She described how people become increasingly powerless in the face of repeated natural disasters, a consequence of how we treated our planet.
– We can build an Internet that encircles the world. We can reach to Mars and right into a comet nucleus. While we fly like a leaf when the forces of nature is unleashed, she said.
At the same time, she wanted to give hope to the survivors.
– Love is greater than all our missed opportunities to show care. New meaning can emerge from that which lacks meaning.
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