When a group that looks in a certain way, behaves in a certain way, spreads, and a society loses control over it, that is when we need to find suitable ways to map this particular group of people. This is where the Institute for Racial Biology enters and pleads for sterilization in order to prevent an “infection of the society”.

Maija Runcis, PhD historian, Stockholm University;

 The “little man” has won a lawsuit over his state! That was huge! It was big. It was one of the major events in Sweden’s history.
(commenting the court ruling: Swedish state found guilty of ethnic registration of the Roma)

Fred Taikon, Founder of E Romani Glinda and activist, Stockholm;

 The mistrust of authorities, mistrust of police, and the like, it is something most have lived in their daily lives, both based on their own experiences, but also from their parents’ or grandparents’ ways to act or think.

Rosario Ali Taikon, Political Scientist and activist, Stockholm;

To develop democracy, one must believe in it. We must believe that society is not an evil power. I always say that the state is not somewhere else, there… No! The state is us!

Anna Skarhed, Chancellor of Justice, Stockholm;

 The government went out saying that we must help integrate the Roma into our society, and that is why we have given them the national minority status, to enter the community. But the question that I had was: do the majority population want to integrate with us?

Fred Taikon, Founder of E Romani Glinda and activist, Stockholm;

During the 60’s and 70’s there was very much assimilation policy in Sweden. We supposed to be “rehabilitated” to become “good citizens”. We were given access to school and education. But also, during this process, so much disappeared from the history, language, culture and tradition. Now we found ourselves in the situation that some groups in Sweden have been under assimilation policies for so long that they no longer know what they supposed to revitalize.

Angelina Dimiter Taikon, activist and teacher, Stockholm;

 Although the Roma have lived in Sweden for at least 500 years, most Swedes do not even know about the existence of the Roma. (…) There is nothing (about the Roma) in our history books, there is nothing in our school books. My children go to school and learn about Indians in Alaska. But they do not learn about Roma in Sweden.

Erland Kaldaras, Chairman of the Roma Youth Organisation, Malmö;

 It is very important to recognize each other’s culture, and history, what has happened. This has to be done between the Roma groups. (…) But I do not think that the Roma know about it. I do not think that the Roma know so much about how other Roma have or use to have it in other countries.

Stefano Kuzhicov, Roma Inclusion at the Labour Market Administration; Helsingborg;

 Prejudice are such: you hear what you want to hear, you see what you think you see, based on your values and opinions. And it has been missed in the school, that one does not teach about the Roma and other groups in the country, that are considered “different”.

Hans Caldaras, Singer, composer, author and acivist, Stockholm;

 Many believe that diversity began after World War II with immigration. The historical diversity, it is still made invisible.

Christina Rodell Olgac, Professor at the School of Culture and Education, Södertörn University, Stockholm;