A report from the Guardian series “Rights and freedom” which aims to focus attention on human rights around the world
Jokkmokk, a small town north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden: reindeer herders gather the reindeer for the spring migration through hundreds of miles of snow-covered forests, to their calving area close to the Norwegian border. It is a centuries-old tradition, but today the reindeer will travel in the back of a big lorry, as moving them by foot is now impossible here due to a habitat diminished by development. It is also almost impossible to feed them from nature only. In Sweden’s Arctic north, the Sami (or Sámi), one of Europe’s most distinct Indigenous communities, are facing the loss of their culture, livelihood and identity due to a failure to respect their rights.
Read this wonderful and interesting article in full on the Guardian