Gypsies and Travellers - Wrexham County Borough Council

MakingLinksGypsy and TravellerMyth buster1

Wrexham Gypsy and Traveller Multi Agency ForumThe Wrexham Gypsy and Traveller Multi Agency Forum is a multi agency groupcommitted to sharing best practice and raising awareness of Gypsy andTraveller issues across public and voluntary and community organisations.This leaflet has been produced to by the Forum as a desk top exercise toprovide general answers to some commonly asked questions about Gypsiesand Travellers. It is purely a literature review of the existing information and assuch is not necessarily an accurate reflection of the needs, values or wishes oflocal Gypsies and Travellers.The need for this information was identified at a Gypsy and Travellerconference organised by the Multi Agency Forum in March 2007. Its productionis seen as a first step to providing better information for local practitioners whowork with this community. It will also help those who need support whenconsidering how their services could be made more accessible to Gypsies andTravellers.We recognise that this is not a solution to our information needs. It is ourintention to work with the community over the coming months to develop aninformation resource that articulates what the community itself wishes to say,particularly in relation to access to services. This will provide an authentic voicefor Gypsies and Travellers in Wrexham and will therefore support servicedevelopment and Equality Impact Assessments.Membership of the Wrexham Gypsy and Traveller Multi Agency Forumincludes:• North Wales Police• Wrexham Local Health Board• Wrexham Citizens Advice Bureau• WCBC - Traveller Education Service, Housing Strategy, CommunityCohesion, Estate Management, Planning, Adult Social Care,• St Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral• Tai Clwyd Housing Association• Job Centre Plus• AVOW• Equalities and Human Rights Commission• Youth Offending Service• Community Mental Health TeamContact the Wrexham Gypsy and Traveller Multi Agency Forum:Email: onewrexham@wrexham.gov.uk2

Contents pageWho are Gypsies and Travellers? Page 4Why do Gypsies and Travellers travel? Page 5Gypsy and Traveller languages, culture and traditions Page 5Languages Page 5Hygiene Page 5Religion Page 5Where do Gypsies and Travellers live? Page 6Rights and responsibilities Page 6Do Gypsies and Travellers work? Do they pay taxes? Page 7Prejudice Page 7How do Gypsies and Travellers contribute to society? Page 7Are there any particular difficulties faced by Gypsies andTravellers?Where can I find out more information about Gypsy andTraveller issues?Page 8Page 93

1. Who are Gypsies and Travellers?Gypsies and Irish Travellers are recognised in law as minority ethnic groupsand are protected under the Race Relations Amendment Act [2000].Discrimination against them, as with other racial groups is unlawful. The Counciland other public bodies have a duty to promote good race relations and developimpact assessments. The term ‘racial group’ refers to groups defined by race,colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origins.Although often referred to as such, Gypsies and Travellers are not a singleethnic group. The phrase includes amongst others Welsh and English Gypsies,Scottish and Irish Travellers.Gypsies are Romany ethnic groups believed to have migrated from India tomainland Europe in around AD1000, probably as craftsmen and entertainers.Romany Gypsies have been a part of British life since the early 16 th Century.Irish Travellers are a nomadic group with a distinctive way of life that has beenpart of Irish society for centuries.Each group will have its own distinctive characteristics and cultural traditions.The words Gypsy and Irish Traveller refer to distinct racial groups and aretherefore always written with a capital letter.There are also ‘New Travellers’ especially in parts of Pembrokeshire, Powysand rural North Wales. These are people from a settled background who haveadopted the travelling lifestyle more recently. These groups are not covered bythe requirements of the Race Relations [Amendment] Act 2000.Gypsies and Travellers in WrexhamRecent research suggest that there are about 2,000 – 3,000 Gypsies andTravellers in Wales, however anecdotal evidence suggests the figure may benearer 4,000.The figure in Wrexham can be more accurately calculated to 106 adults and 85children either on site or in housing.There is one authorised residential site in Wrexham County Borough ownedand managed by the Council, and no transit site or stopping areas.4

2. Why do Gypsies and Travellers travel?The courts have recognised that travelling and living in a caravan is a reflectionof Gypsy and Traveller culture and traditions. It is not simply a lifestyle choice.While not all Gypsies and Travellers travel on a regular basis the ability to travelremains a very important part of Gypsy and Traveller culture. Travelling is oftenlinked to important family events such as weddings and funerals and it may becyclical in line with seasonal employment such as fruit picking and fairs.Travellers have a fondness for the traditional way of life, being outdoors andopen country side.3. Gypsy and Traveller languages, culture and traditionsGypsies and Traveller communities have their own languages, culture andtraditions. It is important that these strongly held values are passed on from onegeneration to the next.4. LanguagesThe Romany language is spoken by Romany Gypsies in different formsthroughout the world. Irish Travellers have their own language called Cant orGammon. Keeping these languages alive is an important part of maintaining theGypsy and Traveller culture and traditions.Most Gypsies and Travellers also speak English.5. HygieneThere are many important customs relating to cleanliness which also functionas principles for living. They include all activities from handling the dishes,cutlery and food to washing clothes and the relationship between differentgenerations. For example, food, dishes and cutlery are never placed anywherewhere people sit, stand or walk. The table rag will not be used to wipe the chairsor the floor. There are different rags for that purpose. The dishcloths, kitchentowels and tablecloths are never washed with other items. Many families washunderwear and clothes separately.6. ReligionMany Gypsies and Irish Travellers have traditionally adopted the religion of theircountry of residence and express a belief in Christianity. More recently manyhave joined the Born Again Christian Church (Gypsies) Irish Travellers aretraditionally Roman Catholic.5

7. Where do Gypsies and Travellers live?Authorised sitesThese are areas of land designed for Gypsies and Traveller caravans. It hasplanning permission. They are residential sites and are intended for long-termor permanent occupation.Gypsies and Travellers have very strong family values and the extended familyis more usual than the nuclear family. This is one of the reasons why manyGypsies and Travellers prefer to live on shared sites.Gypsies and Travellers who stay at an authorised site must pay a licence fee tocover the cost of rent and amenities e.g. water rates, electricity and refusecollection.Transit sites are intended for short term use while in transit.Unauthorised encampmentsThis is land where Gypsies or Travellers reside without permission.Unauthorised encampments can occur in a variety of locations e.g. roadside,lay-bys, car parks. There are usually local agreements in place about howunauthorised encampments will be managed. They take into account suchthings as location and planned length of stay.HousesSome Gypsies and Travellers live in houses. In these cases they will beresponsible for all their household bills including rent or mortgage.8. Rights and responsibilitiesGypsies and Travellers have the same rights and responsibilities as any othermembers of the community under national and international law. They areentitled to protection as a minority ethnic group under the Race Relations[Amendment] Act 2000.Planning law applies equally to Gypsies and Travellers as it does to the settledcommunity6

9. Do Gypsies and Travellers work? Do they pay taxes?Traditionally Gypsies and Irish Travellers lived a nomadic lifestyle that waslinked to employment. They would work as licensed peddlers and basketmakers travelling the country to sell their wares. Others would travel followingthe seasons to take work as agricultural labourers. Today much of the fruit,flowers and vegetables available in our supermarkets are picked by travellingpeople.Nowadays Gypsies and Irish Travellers often find work as landscape gardeners,tarmacers, motor trade workers and tree fellers. Many are employed asteachers and health workers and in the sports, leisure and entertainmentindustries.All Gypsies and Travellers living on a local authority or privately owned sitespay council tax, rent, gas, electricity, and all other charges measured in thesame way as other households. Gypsies and Travellers must pay tax, insuranceand fuel duty for the vehicles they use.10. PrejudiceThe Commission for Racial Equality report ‘Common Ground’ 2006 identifiedwidespread evidence of public hostility in Britain towards Gypsy and IrishTravellers. Examples included:• Illegal ‘No Travellers’ signs in shops and pubs;• Gypsy and Irish Travellers experiencing great difficulty in gettingplanning permission for private sites;• Gypsy and Irish Traveller children being bullied and harassed atschools by other pupils; and• Growing numbers of reports of racist graffiti and attacks.11. How do Gypsies and Travellers contribute to society?Gypsies and Travellers have served as councillors and stood for election toParliament. Members of the Gypsy and Traveller community are working withministers in the Westminster government to find ways of resolving difficultiesand developing good relations.Many Gypsies served the British Army in both World Wars and two wereawarded with the Victoria Cross for bravery. Today Gypsies and Travellers areactive members of churches and undertake a wide range of voluntary work withservices like education, police and health to provide exhibitions, training events,videos and publications.There have been many famous Gypsies who have made significantcontributions to society, although their Gypsy status is not always known:Sir Charles Chaplin, Sir Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins, Eric Cantona, and DavidEssex. Mother Therese who won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979 was part ofan Albanian Gypsy family from Kosovo. [Romanestan 2006, Famous Gypsies]7

12. Are there any particular difficulties faced by Gypsies andTravellers?Education• A lack of positive experiences in school by the parents of Travellingchildren has in some instances led to a lack of understanding, and fear ofthe Educational system.• Despite improvements in recent years many Gypsy and Travellerlearners and their parents, have low levels of basic skills. This can causesome problems for Traveller children in terms of written communicationbetween school and home, and the completion of homework.• Family occasions such as funerals, weddings and christenings areextremely important to the Traveller community, and are often givenpriority over attending school.• Culturally Gypsy and Traveller boys are expected to follow their fathers’trade and will go to work with him. Girls are expected to learnhomemaking and childcare from their mothers. As a result manyTraveller parents and pupils find the curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4irrelevant to their lifestyle and future. Evidence has shown thatsuccessful education during these Key Stages involves an alternativetimetable incorporating varied experiences such as college courses andwork experience.• Due to strong religious beliefs Sex Education is seen to be inappropriatefor many Traveller children. The Traveller family’s protectiveness andhigh moral values over their children are one of the main reasons citedfor not sending them to school.• Traveller children regularly face prejudice. It is important that schoolsaddress this issue to ensure that Gypsy and Traveller pupils are able tomake the most of the educational opportunities.HealthGypsies and Irish Travellers have the poorest life chances of any ethnic grouptoday:; Gypsy and Irish Traveller mothers are 20 times more likely than mothersin the rest of the population to have experienced the death of a child.[Commission for Racial Equality report ‘Common Ground’ 2006]It is believed that the health status of Gypsies and Travellers is significantlyworse than the settled population (Linthwaite 1993) and this group has beendescribed as one of the most unhealthy populations in Britain (Bunce 1996).The life expectancy of Gypsies and Travellers has been reported to be ten totwelve years shorter than the settled population (Barry 1987).Research was carried out by the Welsh Assembly Government Inequalities inHealth Funded project (2002 -2008) Coronary Heart Disease and Gypsies andTravellers; Redressing the balance found;• The Coronary and Mental Health status of Gypsies and Travellers inWrexham was compared to the general populations of Wales,England and the UK and found;• A higher prevalence of smoking in the Gypsy and Travellercommunity.8

• Men and Women smoked up to 3 times more cigarettes.• 76% reported starting smoking under the age of 16 years.• Women were 7 times more likely to report eating no fruit andvegetables.• Men have a slightly higher prevalence of binge drinking• Less self-reported physical activity was undertaken.• The young are under weight, the over 55 age group are over weight.• Women have a much higher rate of low HDL- cholesterol.• Raised blood pressure was found to be nearly 2 times above theexpected level in the 45 – 54 age range.• Self-reported mental illness is higher.• Mean HADS anxiety and depression scale score was higher.14. Where can I find out more information about Gypsy and Travellerissues?Contact:Traveller Education Service – 01978 297556The Gypsy and Irish Traveller Multi Agency Forumonewrexham@wrexham.gov.ukThe Gypsy Council on www.thegypsycouncil.org.ukThe Gypsy and Traveller Law Reform Coalition on www.travellerslaw.org.ukThe Equality and Human Rights Commission www.equalityhumanrights.comThe Welsh Assembly Government on www.wales.gov.ukGypsy Traveller www.gypsy-traveller.orgRokker Radio – BBC3 Counties Radio www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties9