I am not a Traveller. I don’t have the blood, or the name, but I have been fortunate enough to experience fragments of the rich Romani culture.
But this culture, identity and way of life is being subtly eroded through tightening regulations, controls and through the normalised racism experienced by the Traveller community.
The 2021 Appleby Horse Fair is one prime example.
To the thousands of Travellers that flock to Appleby every year, the fair is more than a simple gathering of people.
It is the bedrock of Traveller culture and identity, having been compared to the annual Islamic pilgrimage to the sacred city of Mecca.
It offers a chance for the community to gather with friends and family, settle disputes and to make deals to earn a living – all essential aspects of the Traveller identity and way of life.
However, traditions associated with the fair, and the continuation of a Traveller identity and sense of self are being threatened by increasing restrictions and regulations whose true impacts are often concealed.
In the few years that I have been going to the fair, each year the posts erected by the police creep further and further up the roadsides, with travellers only able to stop in temporary stopping places organised in advance.
‘Designated sites undermines Traveller community’
But the very creation of designated sites undermines the nomadic nature of the Traveller community, and fails to recognise the sporadic needs of horses.
Those who arrive later may find themselves with limited or even no grass available on which to graze their animals, and if they fail to stay on these areas then they face being criminalised and evicted.
Traditional stopping places have also been closed off, and in 2021 a usual stopping place was sprayed with cow manure, which caused clashes between local residents and Travellers.
This can force Travellers to stop in dangerous locations, such as close to main roads where not only risk their own safety, and that of their animals, but also the chance of road accidents which threaten the wider community.
This threat to nomadic lifestyles is also being crippled by the Police, Crime and Sentencing bill which gives police the power to confiscate the wagons – the homes – of travellers who stop on unapproved sites, although the number of ‘approved’ sites is vastly dwindling.
This criminalises the very way of life of the Traveller community.
Changes have also crept into towns such as Kirkby Lonsdale – where horses were traditionally driven into the town so that Travellers could meet, socialise and make deals in pubs or grab a bite to eat.
But now if you pass through, the railings are covered in boards – whose true intent to deny Travellers the ability to stop in the town has been concealed with children’s paintings.
This façade of welcome and sense of community contrasts the subvert denial of the Traveller community to express their culture and identity and justifies the exclusion of Travellers from the town.
For centuries, the Traveller community has, and continues to be, the victims of casual racism which is barely recognised, and even less frequently challenged.
Locals likening Travellers to ‘uncivilised invaders’ who ‘overrun’ their town construct a stereotype of Travellers as violent and dirty.
But it doesn’t stop there. The community is also subject to more overt forms of racism, such as being denied access to pubs or restaurants on the basis of their identity.
‘if it was any other ethnic minority there would be an outcry’
I myself have experienced this first-hand when we walked into a pub in the hope of a drink and some warm food, but were bluntly informed “locals only”, even after the barman had started to prepare the first drink.
If this was any other ethnic minority, there would be a public outcry and severe consequences, but the Traveller community has become accustomed to this abuse.
The fair also leads to heightened tensions between the police and Traveller community.
The police aim to create a safe environment, but their failure to engage with and understand the Traveller way of life contributes to the erosion of traditions and cultures associated with the fair.
Each year sees additional officers and tighter road restrictions with escalating costs – Cumbria Constabulary spent £115,000 on the 2019 fair.
Recent fairs have seen horses being prevented from driving through the town or being tethered in certain locations.
I experienced this disconnection between the police and the Traveller community when I was asked to dismount my horse and lead it through the village.
What the police failed to realise what that if I did so, it would not only be more dangerous for me, who would have to walk amongst people and horses with my own animal to care for, but would increase the risk of other people and animals getting hurt.
‘Appleby Fair isn’t perfect – but no event is’
This isn’t to say that the fair is perfect. But no gathering or event is.
Accidents are bound to happen, but when a horse falls at the grand national this is seen as normal and an unfortunate tragedy, but if a horse slips or is injured at the fair, the Traveller community is often accused of committing a horrific animal rights violation.
Litter is left, but the media fuels the creation of a ‘dirty’ stereotype by only choosing to capture the initial mess, and not the large-scale clean up operation organised by the community after the fair, and the criticism faced by the Traveller community fails to reach the same crescendo when events such as Glastonbury result in discarded tents, clothing, water bottles and countless other items.
Fights and disputes do happen, but this can occur anywhere, and we cannot homogenise a whole society based on the actions of a few.
It is unacceptable to use phrases such as ‘all women’ in our society, so why is it acceptable to say that ‘all Travellers’ are violent troublemakers based on the actions of a small percentage of the community?
I am not trying to claim that the Traveller community is without fault, but the systematic acts of racism, and subtle acts of cultural and identity destruction against the community are unacceptable.
The diverse and rich culture of the Traveller community should be celebrated and preserved, not chipped away in the hopes that the foundations, and the community itself will crumble.
