We know the holidays are never a guarantee that bad events won’t happen – you only have to go back ten years to when the tsunami washed away more than 250,000 people, including a handful of Danes.
No more silent nights
War and – even worse – civil war will not stop for an armistice like it did 100 years ago in the trenches when soldiers from both sides crossed no man’s land to sing ‘Silent Night’ in French, English and German.
And maybe even Danish, as more than 40,000 from southern Jutland – then part of Germany – were enlisted in the German army. Some 5,000 of them never came back.
An uncertain future
Denmark is still engaged militarily via UN and NATO, but more as a facilitator than a fighting force as we urge those in conflict to meet each other across the negotiating table.
We can only hope that 2015 will bring more people to their senses. The level of ferocity many of us have witnessed on social media was unthinkable in hardcore action films just 12 months ago, and there now lies a very real risk we will see an increase in the number of terrorists, hostage-takers and holy warriors taking their own lives, and those with them, on their shortcut to Paradise.
Impossible to predict
Enhedslisten, the most left wing of all the Danish parties, has recommended we sit down and talk these people into peace instead of fighting them. But it seems unlikely this will succeed when the Shias and Sunnis, after 1,500 years, still hate each other. And to think nobody knew anything about them in Denmark until the first bombs went off in the markets squares in Iraq ten years ago.
No, as we learnt when the people in the Balkans went berserk after the lid was lifted, there’s only one sensible policy in these arenas: expect the unexpected.
Challenges and change
At The Post, we have had a busy year. The Copenhagen Post’s weekly edition changed its format to A4 and name to the Weekly Post.
The Daily Post has emerged as a daily 7/7 service. Over 2,000 recipients receive it, and many more read it at the hotels. Sign up if you haven’t (via cphpost.dk), please – it is free.
Our web service continues to improve – this year most notably through the addition of a cultural events calendar. As things stand, we welcome 300,000 unique users per month – many of whom are foreign media outlets. One of our stories, about the enuthanisation of the lions that ate Marius the giraffe at Copenhagen Zoo, was cited in 462 international stories.
Next year promises more changes. From February, our website will be revamped, and like an online department store it will provide our clients and readers with everything they might need. We invite businesses, schools and readers to become our partners in creating the best possible service platform. So not only will the Danish news in English be at your fingertips, but also all the other information you need to live a fulfilled life here.
Thank you for continuing to read us – see you next year. (ES)
