Opinions: Shazia Majid comments: Wave of violence in Oslo: – Can they be stopped?

Oslo is not exactly a sleepy and conflict-free city. It never has been.

But what is happening now appears to be a reversal, for the much worse.

Juvenile crime is increasing dramatically. Last year there was a 37 per cent increase in violent offenses committed by young people under the age of 18. The increase is greatest in Oslo. Children who commit offenses are getting younger and younger.

The violence also appears rougher. Have certain young men and environments become more hardened?

Has the threshold for stabbing or shooting become lower? It may appear so. And it is serious. Code red serious. Like a downward spiral – which speeds up towards something far scarier, also known as “Swedish conditions”.

It sounds serious, but what else is one to think, when the news on Monday this week reads as follows:

“An 18-year-old man was shot in the upper body at Holmlia in Oslo on Monday evening.”

And:

“17-year-old stabbed in a taxi on Oslo S – three charged in the case, all three are minors.”

At the weekend there was first a stabbing in Vålerenga (Friday), the next day there was a stabbing in Greenland. Here, one person was seriously injured, two suspects were arrested and the police referred to it as a confrontation between two factions.

Last Monday, a teenager was found shot in a hairdressing salon in Bryn. Two have been remanded in custody in the case.

It is possible that what we are now seeing is a random wave of violence and retaliation in limited environments. But that is poor consolation. For us Oslo citizens, the violence appears extensive, unpredictable and unmanageable.

The crime scenes are, for example, no longer reserved for places such as Stovner, Holmlia and parts of the city centre. Is it only a matter of time before a random passerby is hit? This is not an internal matter for police and crooks. This affects the whole city.

The boy who was found stabbed at Vålerenga caused anxiety among the residents. People are afraid to send their children to school.

In Greenland, the situation is “highly worrying”, according to the police. There, criminals are allowed to run rampant because victims are too afraid to report it.

What is it really like to live in Greenland?

Greenland, the center and east of Oslo are much more used to this type of extreme violence. Because there it happens at regular intervals.

But, we can’t have it that way. Not anywhere, but especially not in residential areas.

No one should have to get used to young people shooting at each other or stabbing each other in the street.

The only bright spot in the series of stabbings and shootings is that the police are in control. At least afterwards. There are suspects or accused in almost all the cases. At the same time, there will be a police effort in Greenland, where 38 men and women will be visible local police.

But Oslo lacks money for the venture. They have to get police officers from other places and place them in Greenland. The government will have to open its wallet and set aside funds adapted to the new Oslo. Perhaps we can then prevent a further deterioration.

Of course, this is not just about the police and the public prosecutor’s office. Equally important is the prevention of violence.

We all have a responsibility there. Through a form of joint service. With parents, neighbours, teachers, sports managers, volunteers, zealots and everyone who in some way comes into contact with the young people.

Because there are many steps from a small boy becoming a dangerous youth. The spiral of violence can is stopped in its infancy.

And the most important impact must be put into the home.

I am calling for the fathers.

Many of the boys who commit shootings and stabbings are apparently minority youth. Many of the repeat offenders in youth crime are sons of single mothers with a minority background.

Mothers who are often low on resources themselves, poor, out of work, with large groups of children and limited knowledge of Norwegian.

The fathers are the key. Some try, but lose control of their youngsters.

Most of them work so much that they have left the nurturing role to their mothers. Others are inept as fathers, either because they choose not to be present, or because they both embrace and cultivate the macho man and the clan and honor culture.

It is a tragedy for these boys – and for the town.

Minority fathers must ask for, and accept, help when and if they need it. And they have to monitor their sons much more closely. At the same time, they must contribute to helping and strengthening the mothers and women and their own neighbourhoods.

The violence would probably have been worse if all good forces had not made the efforts they are already making in a diverse and complex city like Oslo.

But fathers and others must do more if we are to avoid waking up to the kind of Monday we have had this week.