Travellers

Something unusual happened on yesterday's walk as Tony and I plodded across Carr Bridge Playing Fields. We had already spotted a small group of caravans (American: trailers), some with associated cars and we had both speculated that they might belong to travellers or gypsies. They were parked up near the shuttered pavilion.

One of the caravans caught my eye and I photographed it from fifty yards away with a mature weeping willow tree and terraced houses behind it. There were no people in the shot and besides taking that picture was entirely legal. Ironically, the travellers' encampment on a public  recreation ground was wholly illegal.

Just then I heard a voice from the children's playground and a woman started to walk towards me. I guessed she was protesting about me taking the photograph.

Turns out she was not a woman after all but a teenage girl of around fifteen and she approached with an assorted gang of small children mostly aged between four and ten.

The girl challenged me about my camera work and rather than getting on my high horse and putting her in her place, I decided to play it cool. After all, there might well have been gypsy parents in the caravans and before you knew it I could have been in the middle of an unsavoury scene.

Our voices were not raised and I had no problem with deleting the picture I had just taken.  All the children had unwashed, freckled faces. The smaller kids touched my pockets and appeared very interested in my watch. The lead girl was wearing shorts and a "Barbie" T-shirt with the name "Barbie" repeated in red and white.

After the situation had been diffused, I had a ten minute conversation with Rose and her twelve year old sidekick - Anna. The small urchin-like children had drifted back to the playground area. Both girls spoke in  Irish accents though it is very possible that they have never set foot on the island of Ireland.

ROSE: We've got lots of enemies you know. We have to be careful.
ME: Oh I know that. It's a bit like black and Asian people. They meet lots of prejudice.
ROSE: We get blamed for everything. Any time something is stolen, travellers get the blame.
ANNA: It's not fair.
ME: I understand where you are coming from. Being a member of the travelling community cannot be easy.
ROSE: You are right there. We have got lots of enemies.

Travellers refer to those who dwell in settled host communities as "gorjas"  or "gorgers" for we are not a part of Romany culture. Over centuries there has been regular tension and sometimes conflict between gorjas and travellers.

When I was a boy, I remember a gypsy troop travelling through our village twice a year with horse-pulled wooden caravans. Nowadays, the descendants of those traditional picture book gypsies have modern caravans and nice vehicles to pull them. Superficially, things may have changed but fundamentally travelling communities stay the same.

I would guess that Rose and Anna have rarely if ever had a pleasant conversation with a gorja man. After all, they are probably told from an early age that you should never trust a gorja...

ANNA: Are you famous?
ME: (laughing) No. I am not famous. Are you famous?
ANNA: I'll never be famous.
ME: But I see that you are famous. You have got your name all over yout T-shirt. Barbie!
ROSE: I'm not Barbie! My name is Rose.
ME: But it says Barbie! Where's Ken? 
ROSE: (laughing) I'm still waiting for Ken to come along.
ME: And you must be Chelsea! Isn't she Barbie's best friend?
ANNA: No. She's her sister. My name is Anna.

And that's how the meeting continued. A possible confrontation had turned to pleasant banter in the middle of a sports field. I shook hands with both of the girls and Rose apologised for challenging me about the photograph.

I said, "No don't apologise Rose! You challenged me in a polite manner and I think you were quite brave to do that. You didn't shout or swear and I appreciate that. You are a good person, a nice person and I wish you all the very best. I can understand where you were coming from with your challenge. There are some right weirdos around. You have to be careful."

Irish Travellers  ©Joseph-Philippe Bevillard

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