Category Archives: Sweden

Sweden and Discrimination

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In his play “Tschandala”, the Swedish Roma actor Lindy Larsson talks about decades of discrimination against Roma in Sweden – and about his own depressing and touching family history.

It’s hard to bear what the man, standing at the edge of the stage in a pale cone of light, is saying. His father was taken from the family as a child and placed in a government home. There he was beaten, raped, tied up for days, imprisoned. Again and again. He almost succeeded in attempting suicide when he was eleven. Later, as a teenager, he was almost sterilized. And he almost spent his whole life in prison and never met his future wife.

Stockholm Conference on Roma Genocide

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On October 20th and 21st, an international conference on the Genocide of the Roma and on Combatting Antigypsyism was held in Stockholm. The conference was both in person as well as online with over 100 participants online and ca. 50 in person. There were Roma representatives from Sweden, but also other Roma from Romania, Serbia, France, and other countries as well as researchers International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) members, as well as Swedish representatives.

The conference was held under the auspices of the Swedish presidency of the IHRA for 2022.

There was a very strong consensus among Roma who were present on the terminology: They clearly preferred the name of Roma Holocaust over the one of Genocide, having the feeling that using the latter belittles their sufferings during the period. An interesting intervention by Andrej Kotljarchuk from the Uppsala University explained that “Holocaust” has a subjective value while “Genocide” is extremely well defined. So maybe we should speak about the Roma Genocide during the Holocaust.

Fred Taikon

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Fred Taikon has devoted his entire life to improving the situation of the Roma in Sweden and the world. For his work he has received a medal from the government and has now been nominated for the Raoul Wallenberg Prize.

Adopted

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The fate of a Slovak Rom adopted at the age of one and a half in Sweden. Interview and a proof of what the environment can do …

– Narodil sa v osade, adoptovali si ho Švédi: Vo Švédsku sa k migrantom správajú asi ako Slováci k Rómom. In: Dennik. 28.12.2018. https://dennikn.sk/1335595/narodil-sa-v-osade-adoptovali-si-ho-svedi-vo-svedsku-sa-k-migrantom-spravaju-asi-ako-slovaci-k-romom/

Begging Ban

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A top Swedish court has given the green light to a controversial begging ban in the town of Vellinge. The original ban had been lifted by court order, but the highest administrative court has re-instated it.
Begging bans are known to be ineffective in most places they were introduced.

– Mixed Reactions as Swedish Court Green-Lights ‘Anti-Gypsy’ Begging Ban. In: Sputnik News. 19.12.2018. https://sputniknews.com/europe/201812191070825722-sweden-begging-ban/

Sweden and Racism

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In the middle of the election campaign where the extreme nationalist right is making deep inroads, a Rom is killed, and no one speaks about it.
The truth about the increase racism and attacks against Roma in the country.

– Wenn Kinder einen Roma töten und keiner hinsieht. In: Frankfurter Rundschau. 04.09.2018. http://www.fr.de/politik/rassismus-in-schweden-wenn-kinder-einen-roma-toeten-und-keiner-hinsieht-a-1575826?GEPC=s2

Resignation Syndrome

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The story of children of refugees in Sweden who fall in total lethargy when their asylum demand is rejected. This so-called resignation syndrome has touched more than 400 children, with some of them remaining in this state for more than 2 years.
It affects many Roma.

– Suède: Qu’est ce que le «syndrome de résignation», cette maladie qui ne touche que les jeunes réfugiés? In: 20 Minutes (FR). 24.05.2018. https://www.20minutes.fr/monde/2277303-20180524-suede-syndrome-resignation-maladie-touche-jeunes-refugies

Malmö: Continuing Protests over the Camp Closure

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Protests against the closure and evacuation of roughly 100 people from a camp in Malmö are continuing. Clearly, as in France, the eviction took place, but no solution to the problem were provided …

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