Vojakkala

Vojakkala (officially Lower Vojakkala, Swedish: Nedre Vojakkala) is a smaller locality with about 62 inhabitants in Haparanda Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden,[1] known for a long-standing feud between neighbors.

This article is about the Swedish locality. For the village of Loppi, Finland, see Vojakkala (Loppi).
Vojakkala

Nedre Vojakkala
Smaller locality
Lower Vojakkala
Vojakkala
Vojakkala
Coordinates: 65°55′3″N 24°5′43″E
CountrySweden
CountyNorrbotten
MunicipalityHaparanda
Area
 • Total0.16 km2 (0.06 sq mi)
Population
 (2010)[1]
 • Total62
Time zoneUTC+1
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2

Local feud

The community has gained attention from an infamous, long-lasting neighbor feud between a family of Romani descent and several neighbors since 1984. The feud has resulted in several hundred police reports and two convictions for attempted murder, the latest of which occurred in 2008.

The events have been documented by popular TV shows Insider and Uppdrag granskning in April 2007 and September 3, 2008, respectively. Earlier events have been documented by local and national newspapers and TV channels since mid-late 1980 and Swedish government have made efforts to solve the feud. The media focus has been on the Romani family as the main perpetrators.

In 2009, a renowned investigative journalist has implied that the situation has been aggravated by the grave anti-Romani sentiments of the local community and that they have played a great part in the conflict. He speculates that the family, to a greater extent than initiating harassment against the local community, has been the victim of prejudice and racism.[2] However, in 2009, the Supreme Court of Sweden did not see any reason to overturn the ruling of the Appeals Court, which sentenced six persons to prison in connection with the attempted murder in 2008, which involved grave battery to the head of a neighbor using an axe. (The victim was later shot to death in 2012, in an unrelated incident.).[3][4]

References
  1. "Småorter 2010 (Smaller localities 2010)" (PDF). Statistics Sweden (in Swedish). 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  2. En annan bild av Vojakkala, Dagens Nyheter 2009-05-18 (in Swedish)
  3. HD prövar inte Vojakkala-fallet, Svenska Dagbladet 2009-06-23 (in Swedish)
  4. http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article15789007.ab
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