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When they spoke to Amnesty, many of the residents recounted the uncertainty that ruled their lives before they moved to Dale Farm - being moved from car parks to common grounds and fields, for a few months at a time. It was only after they moved to Dale Farm that their children and grandchildren, had been able to attend one primary school continuously. For many families, this is the first generation that has completed primary school and is literate. Two sisters, in their 60s and 70s, told us how proud they were of their grandchildren having learned to read and write at school, something neither one of them had the opportunity to do.
Basildon Council are not merely undertaking a "site clearance", as commentators and politicians have tried to cast it, it is undoubtedly a forced eviction that will leave families homeless and vulnerable to further human rights violations. Dale Farm residents are fearful about the widespread prejudice and harassment they face, and whether they would be able to find somewhere safe to live and send their children to school. Given the outpouring of vitriol that has been directed at the Dale Farm community since the plight of the residents became the subject of media attention, their caution is hardly surprising.
What is being undertaken at Dale Farm in Essex, is the dismantling of a community of families, that much we know. We know it from the hastily erected signs which plead "where will we go?" and "we have no home" and "don't split us up". It is the we and the us which indicates the collective nature of the society of families. The number of families which is formally estimated as living at Dale Farm is around 80, but the residents classify themselves as just four large close-knit families, who make up one cohesive community.
Housing is a human right and cultural adequacy is one of its core components. While Basildon Council did offer some Dale Farm residents bricks and mortar housing many Gypsy and Traveller communities do not consider bricks and mortar housing would adequately enable them to maintain their way of life. If Traveller families at Dale Farm had been given planning permission, or provided with an alternative site where they could continue to live as a community their children could have continued with their schooling, the seriously ill and young children could get regular healthcare. The sad reality is that the Dale Farm families being evicted have been failed by the Council at every turn; in inadequate consultation, insufficient negotiation and in the woeful failure to offer culturally adequate alternative accommodation, to which they are entitled.
Not so long ago there was hope. Many of us believed that good sense would prevail and Basildon Council would negotiate a settlement with Dale Farm residents and avoid a forced eviction. Unfortunately, on the morning of 19 October Basildon Council initiated a forced eviction on an unprecedented scale. One can only wonder where the Dale families will go and how long it will be before they are evicted again.
Dale Farm eviction: live - Telegraph
Dale Farm evictions - live | UK news | guardian.co.uk
Dale Farm eviction: 'Battle of Basildon' to begin as bailiffs prepare to ...
Probe into new Dale Farm complaint - UK Politics, UK - The ...
Finally, since the current government is removing the statutory duty on local authorities to provide legal sites, perhaps someone (probably a representative from a voluntary organisation) could start visiting travellers and attempt to do a PR job on bricks and mortar accommodation. I suppose one of the perceived obstacles may be that travellers feel that if they're moved into bricks and mortar accommodation, they'll lose their sense of community. Perhaps if they were offered accommodation in the same neighbourhood or a single block of flats so they'd still be close to each other? Given that many are poorly educated, perhaps a voluntary organisation could get involved with helping them adapt to settled life, e.g. utility bills - not to mention guiding the adults (perhaps through college courses to skill them up) into the workplace, so they can learn to be self supporting. Dale Farm illustrates that the 'stick' approach alone to persuading them to change lifestyles isn't very helpful - they need to be shown 'carrots' (other than removal of uncertainty over their future) as well.
Secondly, the cause of the travellers is not exactly helped by media reports of them being agressive / bad tempered, committing criminal acts / being generally anti-social, and/or leaving a considerable mess behind when they leave. To what extent is this stereotype true? Presumably there are some that are courteous and leave behind little more than tyre tracks - how big / small is this apparent minority?
Thirdly, are there (m)any travellers who scout out more logical sites than a field in the middle of nowhere, submit a planning application and wait for approval before moving onto the site?
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When I got offered a place at university my grandmother was frightened and warned: 'Men don't like clever women.'
She had good reason to be concerned.
Violence against women is rife in Traveller communities. Girls are indoctrinated from birth and routinely removed from school before puberty, crippling their chances of social or economic freedom.
This makes them incredibly vulnerable if domestic violence occurs, as it does in up to 81% of cases according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Traveller women are afraid to speak out in case they are ostracised from their communities. They may assume that violence is normal, putting up with it for years rather than impairing their daughters' chances of getting married.
According to the 'Room to Roam' report, infant mortality among Traveller children is 12 times higher than average. There is also a higher rate of congenital malformation. While some people blame this on Travellers intermarrying, couldn't violence against pregnant women be a factor?
I don't have the answers, I wish I did. But unless people are brave enough to ask questions about this abuse, it isn't going to change. Racists don't care about the rights of Travellers, so it's orgnisations like Amnesty who should be helping, instead of simply glossing over it.
There are some wonderful aspects of Traveller culture. But not every aspect of this culture is worth celebrating.
The travellers built on land without planning permission. Then they appear to have taken the line that the side which is more stubborn and bloody minded is the winner.
The council offered them council housing, which was rejected. The council offered them good compensation for the land, which was rejected. The council bent over backwards, only to have their good and thoughtful behaviour chucked back in their face.
There is discrimination against travellers, but Dale Farm is not an example of this.
In particular, I'd like to know how bricks and mortar would not be compatible with their culture, when a static caravan is.
Travellers lost credibility with
◙ the local council, when they failed to get planning approval for new sites on the legal section;
◙ the local people, when the police avoided Dale Farm residents during routine investigations.
◙ the courts, when they repeatedly violated rules and then filed appeals;
◙ the people, when they decided to actively fight police charged with enforcing a valid judgment.
No one wants neighbors who pick and choose the law they wish to obey and yell 'discrimination' when caught: We want neighbors with whom we can live peaceably, providing a stable environment for raising the next generation. This is the basis of Justice, Law and Government. Human rights evolved from weighing each side's 'rights' against each other, and balancing each to see which one benefited the community and society in general.
Effective advocacy isn't passionate, it's logical. A quality attorney doesn't just learn his own side's strengths; He repeatedly argues the case (when driving the car, in the shower, anywhere), changing sides and doing it again, until he can win on either side. That gives him a striking advantage; he knows both sides' strengths and weaknesses, and can defend his own side's weaknesses.
Ms. Allen fails doesn't acknowledge any wrongdoings, but settles for an emotional argument. Emotion doesn't outweigh law or create human rights; and articles which are this one-sided rarely bring either comments or donations, which is after all the point of putting them online. HP readers are intuitive, educated and experienced, and deserve a more compelling argument than this. (A version of this was filed last night when there were no posted comments.)
What we are actually seeing been played out here is a way of life that has been in steady retreat in this country since the 18th Century. These families represent the final vestiges of a culture that has no real place left in modern Britain. It is a kind of sadness to see something become extinct. But I'm afraid an inevitable consequence of decisions taken long ago that these families are finally having to confront the reality of.
Everyone chooses their own lifestyle, that's fine, but they cannot expect every one to agree with it, especially if they impose a negative impact wherever they go. If I moved into a new block of flats and had parties and played loud music till late every night, I'd get a lot of complaints. My lifestyle would have a negative impact for which eventually I'd have to change..... or move myself where there was no one around for miles so no one would not be affected by my lifestyle.
Now, if these people chose (as part of their lifestyle) to be self-sufficient, self-educating, self-providing and respectful of their environment, good for them. Unfortunately for those affected in the area, they're not. If they would like the use of free services offered by the council (school, healthcare etc.) then you've gotta play ball just like the rest of us.
In addition, 'free' social services are by definition there for everyone. you can't have social care systems and then pick and choose who gets them. That's why we don't refuse NHS care to morbidly obese people, for example.
Why should these people have to choose their way of life, or having services? A vagrant might live an unusual existence, moving about from town to town with no fixed abode or regular job- do we deny them social services? If I don't work for 2 years because I can't find a job, and don't pay tax, but have children, do we deny me social services?
Maybe you should get elected to Govt. so you can bring in these caveats you seem so keen on.
Any time Amnesty depicts situations such as this as a human rights travesty, Amnesty diminishes public support for itself and for human rights overall. And that's the only real failure here.
We have a scheme in Basildon where local company's sponsor and landscape roundabouts. The landscapers work by day landscaping, and the "Travellers" by night, De landscaping, Ask a local cab driver to take you onto the site, If you do I hope you like walking because the closest you'll get is the pub about half a mile away. Ask the local pubs which ones will let them in, ask local shop keepers their opinion.
And as for the comment about children going to school. Ask the local primary school how many attend, or even easier just ask one of the children to write their name.
No there won't be many tears shed in Basildon for "The Travellers" tonight, It'll be more a case of a few celebratory glasses being raised.
And my hope for their future? That they pitch up near to where all their supporters live, and enhance their lives the way they did ours..
Not a scientific poll by any mean -- but the results:
In favour: 92%
Against: 8%
I'm sure that quite a few people outside Basildon raised a few celebratory glasses.
I must agree with commenters who say this is damaging to Amnesty being associated with the cause of a group who have voluntarily broken a law that the vast majority of the population do not break. I've been a longtime supporter of Amnesty but I question this.
And I personally think the "activists" who throw bricks at police who are carrying out the will of the courts are not helping anyone's cause. But I'm open to any logical argument to the contrary
I am sorry but they choose to live this way. You can't say in the same sentence that the families of Dale Farm want a stable life for their children but don't want to live in brick and mortar housing. I believe whole-heartedly that people deserve to live as they choose and should not be subjected to prejudice and discrimination and am a supporter of Amnesty for that reason. However, we all must live within the law. It cannot be overlooked simply because Dale Farm residents are a minority community and this seems to be what is happening.