“In remembrance of the death of cartoonist satire magazine Charlie Hebdo staff 7 January 2015 I publish again the tiny piece I wrote the week after the terrorist attack.”

After the storm Egon, when a tin piece on the roof followed the wind heading for the sky and then abruptly stopped by a nail and therefore bent like bangs on a newly awaken, when the telephone line and net communication are dead then you wonder if a cyber attack in the middle of a storm might be the easiest way to deal with it. To do a Charlie Hebdo, or why did I end up on the terrorist’s side? In the debates after the terror attack against the satire magazine Charlie Hebdo, press freedom and human rights are held high in deep sadness of what had just occurred, for quickly there are thoughts of what it all means in practice. One human beings freedom becomes so easily the others oppression and the opposite. And what are they doing in newspapers, in the newsrooms any way? Are they as free as they would like to be? To physically harm or kill could never be defensible. And now you should condemn the horrible terror acts and feel oh so very morally normal and then it falls apart. F-k, even to have one undisputable point of view on harming or killing falls in…..because the hunting down of the terrorist’s in Paris and in the world in general is relentless and everything else but immortal. Everything depends on who you are and what circumstances and not the least social status. Which country you live in, religion, colour of your skin, philosophy of life, experiences, and if decisions are made under pressure. Press yea, press freedom for whom? Everybody? And now we have to turn the tables again, for we are all publicists in the new world order, all free not only to think and print but also to put pressure with for instance satire. The horrible thing is that if we want Charlie Hebdo to “pressure” freely one has to listen to terrorists too, but with the same ability to sift and to condone – take away the violence and see what they say. Now I have a big f-g problem with this, for we are so many who do not have the same ideas as they. Or?

To complicate the scenario we could add what is used to combat terrorism and therefore against us all, intelligence operations as information gathering in form of surveillance that tells security organisations what we do, what we think, what we are capable of, whom we love. That’s right none of us are excluded in this, we are all potential terrorists, and not only that, we are all terrorists in other peoples eyes when we think something different that seem threatening and scary and people fear violence is possible. The discussions are vivid, the table is round and yet we often change places depending on what subject we talk about, what we wish to achieve, absolutely must have. And then we enter the time and space, where people show how far they will go to achieve what they want. Very far, I can say. Charlie Hebdo, the terrorists and the rest of the world.

The digital technical environment in which we are all surrounded of is so allowing that one person alone at home is not secure from terrorism. You might think of hacker attacks, but I think of something else. At this very moment one person’s private life is taken with the help of surveillance technique, what she says and what she does, to get published certainly without her permission and earlier definitely without her knowledge. How this all come about is a h-k of a long story, full of different analyses as we all now know, and still, it happens here and now. That information is prepared and used by different types of media. In some cases some things are used pretty close to there original as a ”small theft” of the homes private but yet “useful(?!)” and indeed “newsworthy(?!)” information, by the press of course, or they make a set up mocking story to entertain the public in a very doubtful form of satire which in the beginning looks like it’s veiled but to my horror very thinly veiled when I have noticed how many that really understand where the finger points. A Charlie Hebdo, but real news. In your home you are wired in a constitutional right for publicists to have source protection as a guardian to fetch and/or use whatever they want where ever they want and for how long they want. But they do not want to climb over the line to get arrested. My name and the actual facts are not revealed in there writing, but I’m not sure this isn’t being done elsewhere, on the internet. Now you don’t just look at things happening in your home and don’t do anything, I ”pressure” and try desperately make things stop or just get help, and what do we find there a turning table and you have become a kick-start on a ”hacker attack”, a ”murder” or in the worst case a terror attack. Why? Because it is difficult for let us say responsible persons to put it mildly that I protest on what is going on. I am in my home and express my very shameful situation – a freedom of expression and hope for human rights and I get the newsstand punched in my face and the headlines like missiles right in my stomach. Freedom of expression and freedom of press were much more paradox nuanced after the horrible terror act in Paris against the satire magazine Charlie Hebdo, but I am afraid that’s only the beginning of the ”turning tables”, ”if I can take yours it’s mine” in a world that have no integrity protection what so ever and because of that freedom of expression or oppression, freedom of press or freedom to pressure lands at your breakfast table, in your living room or surprisingly enough in your bed. Of which the three mentioned places at home, unfortunately one of them, are the most interesting.

But the difference between a satirist and a terrorist must be almost not comparable, you may think. Well I think so too, but there are others in this world with no boundaries that have one foot in each, with blood and death, and we take for granted that we are not there.

We immediately end up at the turning table again, for the hunting on subjects for satire and victims of satire is as elegant as net trolling – KILL YOURSELF YOU BASTARD! YOU ARE SO DAMN UGLY! – is a human rights expression but damn it works. You do not even have to do the actual killing, you just need to push the person further and further out on the plank. No crimes committed, just words against words, where one part is more skilful to write, make satire, elegant phrase, be on top and above all gather the people on one suggestion that you should go kill yourself. A modern mob, a modern media lynch. And total lack of responsibility.

Who may and who may not that is the question?

And now when I really should say something very wise and simple this is how you should do for f-k sake, it’s not going to happen, for there are no easy answers. Either you brush your teeth carefully with thorough chosen toothpaste and out comes what? A diplomatic freedom text that will never be practised, but smooth a little and woo a little so that we all survive a little and probably do not have any idea what’s really going on or you use your dragon breath in Charlie Hebdo suit or a fire inspiring dragon in terrorist uniform. I do not take full responsibility for what I’ve written here, I do not want to invoke freedom of expression and freedom of press it could be lethal.

I would like to remind us that there are wars and upheaval in many countries to even come close to something that could call a beginning of democracy where there legitimate rights time after time are not always defended, and the wars after 11 September 2001 where violence are used to prevent terrorism. People are hurt, they flee, get killed and the blood flows a lot. And I as almost everybody else just want to have peace. For f-k sake!

By the pencil a red-green-blue-pink-yellow-white-and every other colour including black!
Ulrika Barkström
And…Je suis Charlie, what else!

Je suis Anybody’s Name that need public support in a difficult situation by the way!

I am totally sure that bits and pieces, washed and elegant interpreted parts of this already is out and about – and I haven’t yet got my internet back to normal after the storm!

Love you all brave cartoonists who with your skill can with one simple drawing tell things about this world that no other can express!

Love you Edward Snowden and all the other whistleblowers, f-k you are brave!

Love to all brave journalists that really dare telling the truth like others don’t want out there. And all the technicians who right now tries to solve how the net should work for everybody – private integrity, professional integrity and a ”slight” (think satire – Charlie Hebdo!) integrity for governments and alike.