Fokus ROMI.HR

Ponekad dječji pisci mijenjaju svijet, a Katarina Taikon svakako je bila jedna od njih. Gdje god se u Švedskoj pojavi tema nacionalnih manjina, obično se spominje Katarinino ime. To je zbog toga što rijetko tko u zemlji ima takav utjecaj i na stavove o Romima, a i na cjelokupnu romsku situaciju dugoročno.

Katarina je rođena u obitelji koja je bila dosta daleko od srednje klase. O prvim godinama njezinog života mogla bi se ispričati priča nalik Pepeljugi. Katarinin otac Johan bio je nomadski violinist. Johanov život odvijao se u vrijeme velike seobe. Neki kažu da je bio “švedski Rom”, ali bio je “ruski Rom”. Bio je čak i oženjen Ruskinjom.

Katarinin otac vrlo je mlad stigao u Švedsku, 1900. godine. Njegova prva supruga doselila se u Švedsku iz Rusije nakon 1917. Johan je bio violinist, a u svakom novom gradu u blizini kojeg je podigao šator tražio je posao u restoranima. I u Gothenburgu je našao takav posao. Dok je on svirao violinu, lijepa Šveđanka Agda Karlsson brisala je stolove i posluživala kavu u dvorani.

Johan i Agda rodili su četvero djece: sina Paula i tri kćeri, Rosu, Paulinu i Katharinu. Katarina je bila najmlađe dijete. Nažalost, kada je imala devet mjeseci, njezina majka Agda umrla je od tuberkuloze. Dogodilo se to u loše vrijeme romske povijesti - proljeće 1933. U Švedskoj je već od 1914. na snazi ​​niz zakona protiv Roma, s ciljem postupnog istiskivanja Roma iz zemlje. U isto vrijeme, 1914. godine, granice su zatvorene i za Rome.

Katarinin otac je shvatio da je obrazovanje jako važno za budućnost djece. U više je navrata stariju djecu pokušavao upisati u školu. No rečeno mu je da romska djeca neće biti primljena. Mala Katarina sve je to gledala. Teško je bilo gledati kako ti roditelje iznova i iznova ponižavaju. To je poznati mnogoj romskoj djeci diljem svijeta.

U dobi od pet godina predana je na skrb švedskom paru bez djece. Katarina je teoretski kroz udomiteljsku obitelj imala priliku odrasti. Ali s njezinim izgledom bilo je nemoguće ne suočiti se s diskriminacijom i ne suočiti se s nevoljama s kojima se i drugi Romi suočavaju.

Život s ovom obitelji bilo je Katarinino prvo iskustvo života na jednom mjestu duže od tri tjedna. Toliko je tada švedski zakon Romima dopuštao boravak u jednom gradu. Dvije godine koje je provela sa svojim udomiteljima bile su svojevrstan rekord. Katarinino djetinjstvo bilo je puno tragičnih događaja: izgubila je majku kada je imala 9 mjeseci, biološku obitelj kada je imala 5 godina, a udomiteljsku kada je imala 7. Sa 7 godina smještena je u sirotište. Međutim, njezin ju je otac odveo iz sirotišta. Morala se ponovno privikavati na trotjedne rasporede. U međuvremenu je izbio Drugi svjetski rat.

U to je vrijeme Katarinu u biološkoj obitelji čekala njezina pomajka. Čak ni prva žena njezina oca - do tada se oženio treći put, sada sa Šveđankom po imenu Siv. Ona nije voljela Johanovu djecu, a s djevojčicama je posebno loše postupala. Uglavnom, Siv nije razumjela zašto prva žena, i djevojčice koje je imao sa drugom ženom, i dalje žive u njihovom šatoru.

Godine 1945., u dobi od 13 godina, život Katharine Taikon drastično se promijenio. Prvi put u životu primljena je u školu. Baš kao i sva ostala djeca. Nažalost, druga djeca nisu uopće smatrala da je Katarina poput njih. Ispostavilo se da joj je sada teško i kod kuće i u školi. Život joj je postao nepodnošljiv i Katarina je odlučila napustiti obitelj tako što će se udati. To se dogodilo nakon manje od godinu dana u školi.

Takvi su brakovi rijetko uspješni, tako da se Katarina vrlo brzo vratila svom ocu. No budući da ni kod kuće više nije bila dobrodošla, Katarina je otkrila gdje u gradu postoji poseban azil u koji može otići tinejdžerica koja ima problema. Tako se vratila u neku vrstu udomiteljstva, samo ovaj put dobrovoljno. Kasnije je čak dobila i vlastiti stan, pa je njezin život u skloništu završio. No njezinim problemima zato što je Romkinja nije došao kraj. Sve kao i prije. Sumnjičavost prema njoj, uvrede na ulicama, nedostatak obrazovanja, sve to spriječilo je Katarinu da se u Švedskoj osjeća dobro u poslijeratnim godinama.

Katarina je postala filmska glumica. Sa svojim živahnim izgledom i glatkim crtama lica, često su ju pozivali da glumi u filmovima. Naravno, jednom je glumila i Romkinju. U dobi od 31 godine, 1963. godine, kada je hipi pokret i interes za orijentalnu kulturu zavladao svijetom, Katarina je napisala knjigu Ciganka. Knjiga je objavljenja i doživjela je uspjeh. Knjiga Ciganka uvela je Katarinu u književnost i javni prostor. Jedno je otkrila: kad piše o nepravdi, ljudi je čuju. Ali ne slažu se svi koji je čuju da je to nepravda. Otkrila je da ima glas da govori.

Kasnije je objavljena njezina prva knjiga za djecu, 1969. godine. Ona je također bila hit. Knjiga o životu male Romkinje Katitce, odnosno same Katarine Taikon, odjednom je postala toliko popularna među djecom da su urednici odlučili izdati nastavak. Taikonove knjige bile su prozor u svijet kakav su djeca (pa i odrasli) teško mogli zamisliti. Život Roma bio je pun ograničenja kroz koja su se morali boriti samo da bi živjeli kao ljudska bića.

Ukupno je objavljeno 13 knjiga. Katarina je broj 13 smatrala svojim sretnim brojem. Te su knjige toliko puta išle ponovno u tisak jer su generacije švedske djece bile fascinirane avanturama i nezgodama male Romkinje Katice. Naravno, nisu svi Šveđani čitali Katarinine knjige. Uostalom, nisu svi roditelji bili spremni kupiti knjige o Romima. Ali oni koji su odrasli uz ove knjige također su odrasli s uvjerenjem da je diskriminacija na temelju nacionalnosti, rase i jezika sramotna. Da svatko ima pravo imati krov nad glavom i pravo na obrazovanje.

Ljudi koji su odrasli na ovim knjigama na mnogo su načina stvorili modernu Švedsku. Mnogi od njih će vjerojatno reći da im je knjiga o Katici promijenila način razmišljanja, a možda i cijeli život.

Sometimes children's writers change the world, and Katarina Taikon was certainly one of them. Wherever the topic of national minorities comes up in Sweden, Katarina's name is usually brought up. That is because hardly anyone else in that country has had such an impact both on attitudes to Roma and on Roma situation in the long run.

Katarina was born into a family quite far from the middle class. The beginning of her life seems ideally suited to stories like Cinderella. Katarina's father, Johan, was a nomadic violinist. Johan's life took place during a time of great migration. Some say he was a “Swedish Roma”, but before that he was a “Russian Roma”. He was even married to a Russian woman.

Katarina’s father arrived in Sweden in 1900, very young. His first wife moved in Sweden from Russia after 1917. Johan was a violinist, and in every new town near which he pitched his tent, he looked for work in restaurants. In Gothenburg he found such work as well. While he was playing the violin, a pretty Swedish woman, Agda Karlsson, was wiping tables and serving coffee in the hall.

Four children were born from Johan and Agda: a son Paul and three daughters, Rosa, Paulina and Katharina. Katharina was the youngest child. Unfortunately, when she was nine months old, her mother Agda died of tuberculosis. It happened at a bad time in Roma history - the spring of 1933. In Sweden, a series of anti-Roma laws had already been in place since 1914, with the aim of gradually pushing Roma out of the country. At the same time, in 1914, the borders were also closed to Roma.

Katarina's father realized that education is very important for children’s future. He repeatedly tried to enroll his older children in schools. But he was told that the Roma children would not be accepted. Little Katarina was watching this. It is a vivid feeling to see your parents humiliated over and over again. It is familiar to many of the world's young Roma.

At the age of five, she was placed in the care of a childless Swedish couple. In theory, Katarina had a chance to grow up through foster care. But with her appearance it was impossible not to face discrimination and not to know the Roma's troubles.

Life with this family was Katarina's first experience of living in one place for longer than three weeks. That is how long Swedish law allowed Roma to stay in one town at the time. The two years she spent with her foster parents were a record of sorts. Thus, Katharina's childhood was full of tragic events: she lost her mother at 9 months, her birth family at 5 and a foster family when she was 7. At that age she was placed in an orphanage. However, her father took 7-year-old Katarina out of the orphanage. She reverted to the 'three weeks here and three weeks there' schedule. In the meantime, World War II broke out on the planet.

At that time, Katarina had a non-native mother waiting for her in her birth family. And not even her father's first wife - by this time he had married a third time, now to a Swedish woman called Siv. She did not like Johan's children, and the girls were treated especially badly. Basically, Siv didn't understand why the first wife and the girls from the second wife were still living in their tent.

In 1945, at the age of 13, Katharina Taikon's life changed drastically. She was admitted to school for the first time in her life. Just like the other children. Unfortunately, the other children didn't think Katarina was like them at all. As it turned out, she was now having a hard time both at home and at school. Her life became unbearable and Katarina decided to leave the family by getting married. This happened after less than a year at school.

Such marriages are rarely happy, so Katharina soon returned to her father. But since she was no longer welcomed at home either, Katarina discovered where in the city was a special asylum where a teenage girl in difficulty could go. So she went back to a some sort of a foster home, only this time voluntarily. Later she even got her own apartment, so her life in the shelter was over. But her problems as a Roma woman were not over. There was nothing new. The suspiciousness of others, the insults on the streets, the lack of education, all prevented Katarina from feeling positive in Sweden in the post-war era.

At this point, Katarina became a film actress. With her vibrant appearance and smooth facial features, she was often being invited in movie episodes. Of course, one of her roles was as a Roma girl.

At the age of 31, in 1963, when the hippy movement and interest in the Oriental culture was taking hold worldwide, Katharina wrote the book “Ciganka”. It was a simple autobiographical novel that recorded the blows some national (ethnic) minorities receive regularly just by the fact of their birth. The book managed to get published and it made a splash. The book "Ciganka" introduced Katharina to literature and to the public space. She discovered one thing: when she writes about injustice, people hear her. But not all of those who hear her agree that it is injustice. She discovered that she has a voice to speak.

Later, her first book for children was released in 1969. It was also a hit. The book about the life of the little Roma girl Katitca - that is, Katarina Taikon herself - suddenly became so popular among children that editors decided to publish a sequel. Taikon's books were a window into a world that children (and even adults) found difficult to imagine. Roma life, was full of restrictions through which they had to wrestle just to live as human beings.

A total of 13 books were published. Katarina considered the number 13 her lucky number. These books then survived several reprints because generation after generation of Swedish children has been fascinated by the adventures and even misadventures of the little Roma girl Katica. Of course, not all Swedes read Taikon's books. After all, not all parents were ready to buy books about Roma. But those who have grown with these books have also grown up with the conviction that discrimination on the basis of nationality, race and language is shameful. That everyone has the right to sleep under a roof over their head and to be educated.

The people who have grown up on these books have in many ways created modern Sweden. Many of them can probably say that one day a book about Katitca changed their minds a little, and maybe their whole lives, as well.