Introduction:
The Travellers of Ireland have a long
history indeed various general hypotheses about their origin have been put
forward but they are all speculative as the Travellers have no folklore on
this subject themselves. Although these theories are most interesting
for the purpose of this study only the recent history of the Travellers will
be examined in relation to employment, housing, health care and
education.
The problem of itinerancy is comparatively new and there can be little
doubt that it is indeed a social
problem.
Itinerants are probably the most abused, most poverty-stricken group
in Ireland indeed the Travelling community constitute the lowest rung of
the class and status ladder in Irish society.
Hypothesis:
"Peace and freedom from threat or violence;
Social justice and equal opportunities for all; adequate food; safe water
and sanitation; decent housing; basic education and employment in order to
ensure that everyone has a valued and rewarding role in society" (World Health
Organisation (European Region)
1985).
It
could be argued that all attempts to implement the above prerequisites for
health as laid down by the W.H.O. a decade ago in relation to the Travellers
have been made and the fact that the vast majority of the Travellers to-day
are still living in poverty has more to do with the Travellers themselves
than the settled
community. There are some members of the settled community who consider
the Travellers to be parasites or a plague on
society. They see the Travellers as lazy, filthy people who scrounge
money from "our" society and then squander it on
drink. Perhaps this opinion, undiluted as it may be, is correct.
Or perhaps it is it is
not.
In order to draw a conclusion on this matter it is necessary to look
at the history of the Travellers (as mentioned above) or to be more precise
it is necessary to look at the services which they have provided and continue
to provide for society as a whole.
Employment:
Metal working is one of the oldest skills
of the Travellers, it is from the sound of the hammer striking metal that
the name "tinker" is
derived.
The metal workers date back to pre-Christian
time's.
Chimney sweeping was also a favoured occupation of the Travellers,
as it was a very well paid occupation the sweeps made much more money than
Tinsmiths but it was also a highly respected occupation, as the chimney sweeps
were noted for their honesty many of them held "contracts" for the "big houses"
and dishonesty would have cost them much in the long run. Horses
were the third area of employment at which the Travellers
excelled.
They were expert horsemen so much so that they were often hired by
farmers and dealers to buy animals on their behalf at the
fairs.
The common name "knackers" by which the Travellers are often known
has its origins in this particular field of employment as the Travellers
used many methods to trick unsuspecting farmers into buying horses that were
ready for the slaughter
house.
Women Travellers contributed to the family income through fortune
telling, selling charms, clothes pegs, needles and thread, lace, their husband's
tin-ware and also
begging.
The arrival of mass-produced tinware,
plastics and enamelware in the 1930's and 40's practically ended the need
for tinsmiths, as these items were now cheap and
replaceable.
Mechanisation eliminated the need for the horse dealers (and farm
labouring) and the chimney sweeps were made unnecessary by the arrival of
electric and gas
heating.
Thus the vast majority of services supplied by the Travellers to the
settled community have become all but
extinct.
Today this once economically independent people have become dependant
on the state for their basic
income.
Many of the characteristics of regular employment do not in any way
resemble the traditional economic activities pursued by the
Travellers.
These characteristics include:
-
A clear separation of "home" and
workplace.
-
Isolation from family and fellow
Travellers.
-
Set hours of employment.
-
Opportunities to avail of other economic
activities severely limited.
-
Formal boss/worker relationship with traveller
as subordinates.
-
Working for non-Travellers and alongside
non-Travellers rather than working with their own kin.
Prejudice on behalf of employers who have
a stereotyped image of Travellers as being both lazy and irresponsible also
presents a problem for Travellers who actively seek employment. Because of
a high incidence of illiteracy employment in the unskilled sector would generally
be the only employment available to the
Travellers.
In an extensive study carried out by Cathal Butler on behalf of the
World Development Group (which concentrated on the Derry and Tyrone areas)
it was discovered that "a few Travellers in the area have in the past taken
regular employment but this is seen to have been in cases where the Travellers
had a general desire to assimilate with the settled community and where they
have been helped by employers sympathetic towards
Travellers."
The report went on to comment on the fact that very few young Travellers
took up places on Government Training Centres and Community Workshops and
of those who did none completed the courses concerned.
It is necessary to point out that the
economic activities that the Travellers are engaged in at present (even in
cases where such activity does not contribute very much to their economic
situation) are very important to the self-image and self-respect of the
Travellers. The elite of the Travelling community are those who travel great
distances and deal on a large scale in carpets, furniture, farm machinery,
antiques and other goods. These Travellers spend much of their time in Britain
now, and spend very little time
here.
Smaller traders do reside here selling their merchandise (usually
carpets or household goods) in the local
markets.
Others carry out tarmacadaming, while still others are involved in
scrap
dealing.
Often the settled community regard the more successful Travellers
with suspicion believing them to be wealthy because of the numerous pick-up
trucks and vans which the own, little thought is given to the fact that these
assets are a necessity for the Travellers and also that they are likely to
have all their capital tied up in these
belongings.
Not only are the Travellers often treated with suspicion but the
collection of scrap metal also attracts criticisms because of the unsightly
manner in which it is
stored.
Little attention is paid to the fact that the recycling of scrap is
in fact providing a very important ecological service to the community.
Education:
Those who work with
the Travellers, and the Travellers themselves, believe that the provision
of decent education for Travelling children takes second place only to the
provision of serviced
sites.
Research shows that school attendance is much lower for traveller
children than settled
children.
Attendance tends to be irregular and sporadic for primary school children
and even more so for those in second level education. The common consensus
seems to be that the educational system is failing the Travelling children,
whether they are in "Segregated" or "Integrated"
schools.
Segregated schools work on a notion that traveller children require
remedial education and that they are incapable of achieving the same educational
standards and qualifications as settled
children.
These schools tend to be "slum" schools which reproduce racist stereotypes
about
Travellers.
Integrated schools, at best, tolerate traveller
children.
No attempt to instil within the other members of the student body
an appreciation of traveller culture or recognition of their ethnicity exists,
if anything the exact opposite is true. The debate over which form of education
is best suited to Travelling children continues and will probably do so for
some time to
come.
Conflicting views on this subject are also expressed by the Travellers
themselves, with some parents opting for a "Traveller Friendly Environment"
others believe that integration with the settled community is the only way
forward, while still others have despaired of this system completely, as
the following statement by a parent clearly
illustrates:
"The Irish are the most racist people
in the
world.
They are racist when they go to England or America.....I don't send
my children to school any more because every day they were being called "effing
knacker" and coming home saying they didn't want to go to school any more".
Regardless of the system of education
chosen (if any) the evidence presented by Dr. Robert McVeigh in his paper
for the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights clearly indicates that
at the end of the educational process, traveller children are still only
qualified to take up employment at the lower end of the job
market. Unqualified though I am to make comment on this matter
I do not think that this subject has been covered comprehensively in this
document.
I feel that due consideration has not been given to other explanations
as to why children from deprived areas or back-grounds (including settled
communities) do not do well
academically.
For example in the late 1960's a team led by Ken Coates and Richard
Silburn carried out an extensive study in an inner city slum in Nottingham.
Their study showed a strong correlation between a child's home background
and poor educational
achievement. They believed that the disadvantages of poverty are passed
from one generation to the next thus this "cycle of deprivation" tends to
transmit the life chances of parents to their
children.
Another sociologist who became convinced of the connection with the
home background was J.W.B.
Douglas.
Douglas carried out a large-scale study tracing the educational careers
of 5000 children from birth to the age of
16.
He argues that the most important factor accounting for educational
attainment is the degree of parental interest in a child's education, Douglas
maintains that because of this factor, middle-class children have a decided
advantage over those from a lower class. Lastly, Basil Bernsteins' theory
on restricted (i.e. shorthand speech patterns, often employed by the lower
class) and elaborated codes (i.e. more descriptive and detailed, more often
used by the middle class) of speech, could offer a very logical explanation
as to why Travelling children do not do well in the educational
system.
I would not argue with the fact that racism must be eradicated but
it is possible that this is not the only problem that needs to be
addressed.
Housing:
Accommodation and site provision is a
very important issue for the Travelling
community.
In 1991 only 30% of Northern Ireland's traveller population was being
accommodated on serviced sites. (this figure was given in a Parliamentary
answer by Mr Richard Needham to a question from Mr Kevin
McNamera).
Dr. McVeigh argues that the "absence of legal, serviced, sites for
most Travellers goes beyond a simple failure to provide
accommodation.
In the current situation the very existence of the majority of Travellers
is in effect criminalised in Northern
Ireland."
He goes on to state that many Travellers, who wish to settle, are
prevented from doing so because of the racism, which they experience from
the settled
community.
The most common viewpoint taken by members of the settled community
who see themselves as being sympathetic to the Travellers cause is that
"provision should be made but such provision should keep the Travellers well
away from settled
areas."
It seems that, although very few settled people disagree with the
fact that Travellers should be provided with serviced sites which would give
the Travellers better living accommodation, water, sanitation and electricity,
they would rather if these services were provided in an isolated
location.
This seems to be the ideal solution as it frees the "concerned" members
of the settled community from guilt and provides them with a sense of
"Christianity".
The fact is that Travellers do not wish to live on isolated sites
as experience in both England and Ireland has illustrated is given no
consideration.
They want to be near the facilities that a town has to offer such
as shops, entertainment, Social Services, Health Services, schools etc. many
of their economic activities are also dependant on living near to populated
areas.
The answer to Travellers' needs lies in flexibility according to Dr
McVeigh.
He believes that a variety of accommodation is necessary in order
to cater for the different needs of the Travellers (i.e. a combination of
service sites, group housing and transit sites), and if this is not done
then anti-traveller racism cannot be properly
addressed. The problem of overcrowding on existing serviced sites
was taken into account in a report published in 1993 by the EHSSB (Eastern
Health & Social Services
Board).
The research for this report was carried out at the time when a site
was under construction to house Travellers who were then living on the side
of the Glen
Road.
As one traveller who had campaigned for the provision of sites for
many years put it:
"Twenty families are being put in half
an acre of ground. Travelling people can't live on top of each other....I
told the council but they wouldn't listen....there will be no privacy, the
doors of the chalets face each other, when I open my door there's another
one facing me."
The problem of privacy is only one aspect
of these cramped living
conditions.
It must also be considered that this lack of space also directly effects
the Travellers ability to carry out their economic activities such as the
collection of
scrap.
Many Travellers, in this particular report stated that although there
were many faults with the site (such as overcrowding, small rooms etc.),
the attitude of officials seemed to be that because money had been spent
on them at all, a feeling of "thankfulness" should prevail.
Health Care:
The EHSSB report was primarily concerned
with the health of the Travellers and their experience of health
services.
In the past the false stereotype that Travellers are naturally healthy
and well adapted to outdoor life allowed people to ignore the miserable
conditions most families lived under. In reality, Travellers are as susceptible
to illness as anyone else (perhaps even more so given the cramped conditions
in which they
live).
In this area also, (i.e. health care services) the experience of the
Travellers is very different to that of the majority of the settled
community.
The report holds many harrowing stories of insensitivity and even
professional incompetence being shown towards Travellers by individuals in
all levels of the services so it is not surprising that many Travellers only
make use of Health Care provisions when it is absolutely
necessary. Only in cases of sudden illness in children are the usual
complementary systems of healing bypassed in favour of taking the child directly
to the A&E
department.
The use of folk medicine has been an aspect of the Travellers lives
for a long time, indeed many of these cures have been passed on for
generations.
The main categories are home remedies of a herbalist nature, cures
or charms and spiritual cures. Such "cures" are often employed simply because
doctors are reluctant to visit the sites. The report also drew attention
to the fact that although during the research (for the report) the Travellers
had some very cogent criticisms of the health service it was noted that no
formal complaints were known to have been made, this was apparently due to
fear of retribution. I do not wish to imply that all Health Care employees
are insensitive to the needs and feelings of the Travellers but this report
does highlight the negative experiences of the
interviewees.
Perhaps the intention behind the EHSSB report is to improve the services,
in relation to the Travelling community.
Methodology Discussed
and Evaluated:
During the course of my research for this
study I found more difficulty than I expected in finding relevant literature
on the
subject.
Everything, without exception available from the campus Library was
either outdated, unavailable (due to factors such as theft) or they simply
never arrived form the requested campus. Most of the material was kindly
provided by Mrs. Margaret Boyle, Project Co-ordinator with The Derry Support
Group, and Mr. John Mc Gee, Director of St. Fiachra's Training Centre in
Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, both of whom I am most grateful
to.
An extensive interview was conducted with Mrs. Boyle which provided
the most up to date information available (see Up-Date, section 8) and also
provided insights into the every-day problems which the Travelling community
experience in relation to the four topics under
investigation.
As all the sources available were pro-traveller, it must be stated
that this study is not as critical a report as the researcher would have
liked.
Up-Date:
In relation to the problems encountered in the
field of education it is accepted by those who work with the Travellers that
this is inevitable as the Travelling children have to put up with the most
appalling abuse from their fellow
students.
This abuse can take the form of name calling, spitting and stone
throwing.
The teachers offer little sympathy but are rather more likely to accept
the testimonies of the settled children believing the Travellers to be
troublemakers by
nature.
The teachers do complain about the high rates of absenteeism among
Travelling children but they never ask why! Young Travellers who are attempting
to further their education through YTP (Youth Training Programme) and other
such shames still encounter harassment and
bullying.
One particular problem is that the Travellers do not have the same
perspective of time as the settled
community.
This is part of their identity or culture, but within the realms of
educational institutions, this is often perceived as deviant
behaviour.
Another problem encountered is that when these young people complete
their training nobody will place them and so it is a waste of time and a
vicious circle.
On a more positive note the Derry Travellers
Group have applied for Lotto funds of £350,000 which will enable them
to rent premises to house all their activities (at present they are very
widely spread out), employ staff on a more secure basis, run in-house courses
(given the bad experiences of children at school, these are a
necessity).
If they are granted this money it will also be more likely that they
will receive funding from other bodies
also.
Focusing on the area of housing provided
for Travellers some very political issues came to
light. For example in the case of one local area the council
have provided a permanent serviced site, despite the fact that the Travellers
would have preferred to have been accommodated in group
houses.
This was rejected because the Housing Executive argued that they do
not provide houses exclusively for any minority or group in the community,
which as anyone who lives in Northern Ireland knows is complete and utter
nonsense. The chalets provided are small and cramped, they do not contain
bedrooms for the simple reason that they would then achieve "housing" status,
rather than that which was approved in the Caravan Act of
1968.
Those who reside in the serviced site have "Designated Status" which
effectively excludes other Travellers from entering the Council controlled
site.
At this point in time it is quite legal for the Travellers in Northern
Ireland to be discriminated against but this situation should change with
the introduction of the Race Relations Legislation in 1996.
Conclusion:
It must be concluded that (even while
taking bias into account) when the evidence contained in this study is considered
collectively the original hypothesis which stated: "that all attempts to
implement the prerequisites for health as laid down by the W.H.O. a decade
ago in relation to the Travellers have been made and the fact that the vast
majority of the Travellers to-day are still living in poverty has more to
do with the Travellers themselves than the settled community" has been shown
to be unjustified.
|
