The Stour and Avon magazine
provided a classic example, last week, of the way the local press are willing
to keep negative stereotypes alive.
After Travellers had spent nine days in the West Parley area, the
reporter refers their presence as an “invasion”, and manages to imply that they
left a lot of clearing up for others to do after their stay.
First let me tackle the issue of an invasion. People of a nomadic lifestyle would be happy to encamp on open
land in a way that did not impact on the public use of that land, if it were
available to them, or to stop on reputable sites for temporary encampments if
any were available to them. The fact is
that it is extremely difficult if not impossible to get agreement for the
creation of legal sites and most open spaces in Dorset are now surrounded by
bunds (earth banks) and/or large rocks and/or barriers with a limited height restriction,
precisely to prevent encampments. It seems to me illogical to deprive people of
anywhere to stop, so that people can get water, eat and sleep, and then to
complain if they make an entry onto the nearest available land they can access.
Everyone has to be somewhere.
Then let’s think about biased reporting. None of these “invasion” stories ever gives
any space to the Traveller point of view, and there is never any evidence of
the reporter having contacted the group concerned to seek their side of the
story. But I personally have visited
both traditional Romany and so-called “New Age” Travellers who take great pains
to leave a camping site immaculately clean and tidy. I am amazed that, in a county with an immense
fly-tipping problem, nobody ever seems to wonder whether rubbish has arrived on
site after the departure of the Travellers.
Let’s also think about local authority duties and
powers. The duties of local authorities
extend to everyone in their area, not just to those permanently resident
there. Yet Dorset
has always adamantly refused to provide water or rubbish collection services to
people in temporary encampments. I wonder
how easy local residents would find it to keep their environment clean and tidy
if rubbish collections ceased altogether?
The evidence from refuse collectors’ strikes suggests that it would
quickly become impossible.
Finally, what about institutional racism? The parish chairman talks about putting in
place a “warning system” for the future.
I wonder did it never occur to him that a welcoming system might be more
fruitful? Like saying, “Welcome to our
village, here is some information about local services.”
If lines of dialogue could be opened up, perhaps the next
time they came that way, Travellers might be willing to find somewhere more
convenient to stop!
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