Why is it OK
to persecute this ethnic minority?
by Kent Barker
There was an unusual email circulated recently around parish councils.
One paragraph read: “They have been very
polite… children are delightful… two little ones have been going to the Elm
Tree [pub], alone in their pyjamas to use the toilets after bedtime.”
“They” referred to a group of travellers who had pitched up at Elm
Tree Fields in Paddock Wood. And promptly had eviction proceedings started
against them.
Now, as a precursor to what I am about
to argue, let me say that I understand the concerns of people, secure in their
homes, who regard travellers as a threat and a nuisance and feel they must
forever be ‘moved on’. I understand it
but I do not share their sentiment.
I’ll quote another paragraph of the
email: “there is a sadness I feel that we
have this conflict and misunderstanding between cultures and way of life… I was
reminded symbolically of the plight of American Indians.”
Shortly thereafter another email
appeared, this time from the Community
Safety Manager for Tunbridge Wells Borough Council:
“Paddock Wood Town Council today were granted a summons requesting the Travellers
appear at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court tomorrow… we expect the court to approve
the removal of vehicles from the playing fields – hopefully within 24 hours of
the court appearance. The Travellers insist that they are in the borough for the
Horsmonden Horse Fair.
We fully expect the Travellers to depart before any vehicles or property
are seized, but where they land next we do not know. And when they will leave
is also not known.
So, once again, can I ask
that all landowners ensure that their land is made as secure as possible
against vehicle incursion.”
I’ve put the last paragraph in
bold because it was this that particularly incensed me.
Let’s look at some facts. Statutory
responsibility for councils to provide sites for Travellers was removed in 1994
leading, unsurprisingly, to an increase in unauthorised encampments. So, in
2012, the Government said provision of Gypsy and Traveller sites must be met by
local authorities in their development plans.
A study published later by the Traveller Law
Reform Project found that just four out of 115 surveyed authorities have
implemented the policies. (TWBC was not one). Sites tend to be situated in environmentally
deprived areas—on wasteland, floodplains or under motorway flyovers. This has a
negative effect on physical and mental health that’s compounded by a lack of
access to services geared to Traveller needs.
In August this year, the Government brought in
new legislation clearly designed to make it more
difficult for Gypsies and Travellers to obtain planning permission for sites in
the Green Belt and open countryside. This, and other parts of the legislation,
are likely to be challenged as discriminatory and a breach of Article 8 of the
European Convention on Human Rights.
The Government’s own studies say “Gypsies and Travellers are believed to
experience the worst health and education status of any disadvantaged group in
England. Research has consistently confirmed the link between the lack of good
quality sites… and poor health and
education. The provision of more authorised sites will help contribute to
better health and education outcomes in the area”.
What we are talking about is an indigenous minority ethnic
group that’s been part of Irish and British society for centuries, with a
distinctive way of life, values, culture and traditions. And yet, as a society, we seem to be doing our
utmost to wipe them out.
Let’s return to Paddock Wood where the evicted Travellers
were apparently assembling for the Horsmonden Horse Fair—a 400 year-old Kentish
tradition. (This year’s was a shadow of its former self, swamped with police
and officials, and having been banned altogether in 2000.)
Could the town council not have waited a few days until
after the Horse Fair before evicting them from Elm Tree Fields? Could not our
borough council live up to its responsibility and provide sufficient good
quality official sites? Could not every
parish council—including mine—seek out some land where Travellers could stay
for a period as the pass through? Could not the Government provide peripatetic
teachers and health workers to help with illiteracy and deprivation? Could we
not celebrate this ethnic and cultural group as an important part of Britain’s
heritage?
Instead we have the council’s own Community Safety Officer
perpetuating stereotypes and demonising an entire minority group and their way
of life by warning landowners to secure their property against “vehicle
intrusion”.
And who was the author of the enlightened email saying how
polite had been the Traveller children and how she was reminded of American
Indians ? Why it was the chair of
Paddock Wood Town Council. The very body that evicted them from the field in
the first place. Oh dear.
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