Capturing the heartache caused by the 2011 massacre in Utøya, Norway, a photograph of a young survivor and her dogs reminds us not just of the lingering pain in the aftermath of a tragedy, but also of the moving power of hope -- and love.
"In the period after Utøya, I had a really hard time sleeping," said 15-year-old Iselin Rose Borch, according to the caption attached to the touching photo. "I was afraid of the dark and suffered from dreadful nightmares. My mom and I decided that getting a dog might help me, so I got Athene. Now she sleeps on top of my stomach every night.”
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Borch, with little Athene and her family's large mastiff. (Credit: Andrea Gjestvang/Moment/Sony World Photography Awards via AP Images)
Borch was on the island of Utøya when Anders Behring Breivik went on a killing spree there, murdering 69 people, most of them teenagers, in July 2011. She said she survived the massacre by hiding behind a rock. She was later rescued by tourists on a boat.
The photo of Borch, taken by 32-year-old Norweigian photographer Andrea Gjestvang, is one of a series of award-winning portraits of youths who survived the Utøya massacre. Earlier this week, Gjestvang clinched the title of "Photographer of the Year" at the Sony World Photography Awards for her poignant portrait series.
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