Vojakkala

Vojakkala Nedre Vojakkala
Lower Vojakkala
Vojakkala
Coordinates: 65°55′3″N 24°5′43″E / 65.9175°N 24.09528°E / 65.9175; 24.09528Coordinates: 65°55′3″N 24°5′43″E / 65.9175°N 24.09528°E / 65.9175; 24.09528
Country	Sweden
County	Norrbotten
Municipality	Haparanda
Area[1]
– Total	0.15 km2 (0.1 sq mi)
Population [1]
– Estimate (2005)	60

Vojakkala (officially Lower Vojakkala, Swedish: Nedre Vojakkala) is a minor community with about 60 inhabitants in Haparanda Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden, known for a long-standing feud between neighbors.

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.

Recently a renowned investigative journalist has implied that the family has been set up by anti-romani factions of the local community and that they have played a great part in the conflict. He speculates that the family may have been the victim of prejudices 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 an attempted murder in 2008.^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Statistics Sweden: Småorter; arealer, befolkning 2005. Updated 2008-05-31.
2. ^ En annan bild av Vojakkala, Dagens Nyheter 2009-05-18 (Swedish)
3. ^ HD prövar inte Vojakkala-fallet, Svenska Dagbladet 2009-06-23 (Swedish)