Vojakkala (officially Lower Vojakkala, sv, Nedre Vojakkala) is a smaller locality with about 62 inhabitants in

Haparanda Municipality Haparanda Municipality (), () is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Haparanda (). In 1967 the "City of Haparanda" was merged with the rural municipalities Karl Gustav and Nedertorneå. Since 1971 Hapar ...

Norrbotten County Norrbotten County ( sv, Norrbottens län; se, Norrbottena leatna, fi, Norrbottenin lääni) is the northernmost county or '' län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares border ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, 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 Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

descent and several neighbors since 1984. The feud has resulted in several hundred

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

report A report is a document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are almost always in the form of written documents. Usage In ...

s and two convictions for

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

, the latest of which occurred in 2008. The events have been documented by popular

TV show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

s ''Insider'' and ''

Uppdrag granskning ''Uppdrag granskning'' (English name: ''Mission: Investigate'') is a Swedish television program focusing on investigative journalism. The program is produced by and aired on SVT and has become known for the use of concealed cameras and microphone ...

'' 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 A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

. 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 Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...

and

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

. However, in 2009, the

Supreme Court of Sweden The Supreme Court of Sweden ( sv, Högsta domstolen, abbreviated ''HD'') is the supreme court and the third and final instance in all civil and criminal cases in Sweden. Before a case can be decided by the Supreme Court, leave to appeal mu ...

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.).

References

{{authority control Populated places in Haparanda Municipality Norrbotten