Katarina Taikon

Katarina Taikon-Langhammer (29 July 1932, in Almby, Örebro – 30 December 1995, in Ytterhogdal, Hälsingland, Sweden) was a Swedish Romany activist, leader in the civil rights movement, writer and actor, from the Kalderash caste. She was the sister of Rosa Taikon. During Taikon's childhood Romani still lived in camps in Sweden, and had to move often, which made it hard for the children to get any school education. Katarina Taikon didn't learn how to read and write until she was in her teens. Katarina Taikon dedicated her life to improve conditions for Romani people in Sweden and the world. Through her tireless work, debating, writing and talking to Swedish authorities, the Romani were granted the same right to housing and education as all other Swedes. In 1953 the 1914 ban on Romani immigration ended. This lead to other Romani seeking refuge in Sweden, and the population, at first less than a thousand people, grew. Katarina Taikon tried to convince Swedish authorities that these people were in fact political refugees, since they were oppressed in their countries. After fruitless efforts to help a group of 47 French Romani gain asylum in Sweden, she decided to change strategy. The only way to end the prejudices against her people was to address the young, she realized, and started to write her popular series of children's books about her own childhood, Katitzi (in 1979 a TV-series based on the books was produced).

Katarina Taikon died of brain damage after falling into a 13 year long coma, following a cardiac arrest. She has been called the Martin Luther King of Sweden.[1]

Filmography

References

  1. ↑ Sourse: Taikon, 2015 documentary by Gellert Tamas and Lawen Mohtadi.

External links


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