Title: Ukradené dětství
Description: Summer Child is the story of a young girl, Katia, who was born in Prague in1964. When she is four yearsold, her country is occupied by Soviet forces. Her father works in opposition to the new regime, soon becoming an enemy of Communism. The family is persecuted and forced to leave the country in 1973. Leaving is a painful experience. Katia finds it difficult to leave a loving grandmother, the neighbourhood butcher, her entire familiar life ... Their escape goes via a snow-covered Czechoslovakia. After a while, they come to Sweden. She knows that they can never return, but it takes time for this insight to sink in. Getting used to the new country is anything but easy. The family arrives in Sweden of the 1970s, a generous country when it comes to the social services, less welcoming at the middle school that Katia begins attending. She finds it a struggle to create a new identity. Adults can be frightening at times, but the children are even more hostile ... When Katia is offered a place with a Swedish family as a 'summer child', her parents gratefully accept. Katia is given the chance to really learn "how to be Swedish". Here is Katia's opportunity to get to know the country from the inside. But adapting to Sweden is not always easy.
Subjects: Political refugees, Biography, Fiction, Children and politics, Emigration and immigration
Places: Czechoslovakia, Sweden
People: Kateřina Janouchová