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Part 6: Scandinavia - Trouble in paradise

September 3, 2013

Lapland, a region as large as Denmark in the far north of Europe, is home to only a few thousand people.

https://p.dw.com/p/19ajM
Environmental activists gather near the site of a proposed iron ore mine in Jokkmokk, Sweden, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013. Police removed some 50 screaming and singing activists who were blocking a road in northern Sweden in a protest against a British mining company's plans to build an iron ore mine in the area. (AP Photo/David MacDougall)
Image: picture-alliance/AP

But ever since half the world set its sights on Sweden's reserves of iron ore, the face of the north has been changing. A British mining company wants to build a mine west of Jokkmokk and recklessly promised its investors it was on unpopulated land. That has infuriated indigenous people such as the Sami. They fear the destruction of their forests, clean drinking water and grazing grounds for their half-tame reindeer. But the mining company wouldn't be the first that got its way at the Sami's expense.

09.2013 DW European Journal Sommerserie Europe on the edge Sweden Jokkmokk