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Making monsters out of our shadows
Prejudices against the Traveller community.
I arrived at a Traveller's halting site in Donegal on a damp, dreary winter's evening. I had arranged to meet and interview Bridget O'Reilly and her family.
I turned off the main road into the halting site, which is located in a disused quarry. As I stopped my car, I was suddenly gripped with some kind of fear and reluctance to go any further. What made me even more anxious was that two black dogs sat next to the trailer home. I somehow imagined them attacking me.
I sat in the car for a few moments until a face came to the door and gestured me inside. Taking a few deep breaths I got and walked towards the door. The dogs never even barked! I was welcomed inside and sat down on a comfortable couch.
As I sat there drinking my first cup of tea with a Traveller family my face went red. It went bright red when I realised about all the prejudices I had brought with me. I imagined they would live in a small caravan, and that it would be dirty and smelly with unmannerly children running about. Why had I all these shadow thoughts in my head and how did they get there?
Bridget's children had just returned from school and sat watching Den TV while their dinner was being made. One of the boys happily announced that the school holidays were coming. Another young girl excitedly opened a present to find a pair of lovely suede boots.
As I sat watching the TV my mind went back to last February when I heard about ‘trouble' at the halting site. A residents association had been set up in the nearby local village. This group was mostly made up of local business people who wanted to get rid of the local traveller families and the halting site. A local Fianna Fáil Councillor also got involved. He met the group of (potential voters) and pledged his support.
Donegal burning
The following reads like something about the Klu Klux Klan and racial tensions in the Southern U.S. They began a campaign of intimidation to force the families out. One evening a ‘security man' drove into the site on a motorbike. He wore a helmet with a black visor and gave the frightened family 24 hours to leave the area.
They pleaded they couldn't leave as some of the older trailer homes would break if they were towed away. A few evenings later a local lorry from a nearby quarry dumped a pile of stones outside the halting site to warn the people inside they could be trapped.
Meanwhile the children were being called hurtful names such as ‘knackers' at the local village school. When some of the older boys got fed up hearing their younger sisters and brothers called by these names, they decided to fight back and trouble with the school followed.
Many local adults treated the families living on the halting site like lepers. Some locals did what they could to help. Modern Ireland…2005. It was a deeply stressful time for the families involved. One Traveller woman has since accepted a council house in nearby Donegal town for herself and her family.
And now, here I was sitting down taking tea with the family and sharing conversation as the children ate their evening dinner like any other family. Afterwards, one boy, Kieran showed me his selection of small toy horses. When Bridget finished helping with the dinner, the TV was turned off and she agreed to do a small interview about how life has been for them living on the halting site for the past 2 years.
By: Keith Corcoran
If you think you’re being discriminated against or are the victim of prejudice then contact the Equality Authority in Ireland or the Citizens Advice Bureau or Equality Commission in NI for advice.
This article is part of the SpunOut.ie true life stories section – a space for young people to share their experiences of tough times and encourage others to seek help. This story is just one person's experience and it may be different for you. Remember that no matter what you are going through, there is help and support available. See the Find help section for more information: http://www.spunout.ie/help/
