“I’m from the north-west of England, a little town called Morecambe Bay, not far from the Lake District. My family are Showmen Travellers. My mam, she grew up around the Bolton area and her family all had fairgrounds and travelled around the whole of the UK. My dad, he actually came originally from a circus and fairground background. They met and hit it off – not initially, but they got there. And then they decided to have an amusement arcade, so they settled.”
I’m chatting with Xenna Kaser, a counsellor who can be a part of the GRT (Gypsy, Roma, Traveller) group. GRT is an umbrella time period for individuals who belong to minority ethnic teams akin to Irish and Scottish Travellers, and Romany individuals, in addition to New Travellers, Showpeople, and Boaters. It’s estimated that there are round 300,000 Travellers within the UK, and people within the GRT group share a definite, various, and wealthy heritage.
“We all went through school still going to those fairgrounds, the big ones in particular, throughout the year to meet friends and socialise,” Xenna continues. “Neither I nor my two brothers have gone into the field. We’ve all gone on to do different things, but are still very much in touch with our background.”
Xenna’s vocation as a counsellor working with the GRT group is an extremely precious one. Alongside the on a regular basis pleasure that comes with household and community, Travellers are some of the persecuted and marginalised teams in our society. In reality, it was solely in 2021 that ‘Roma’ was included as an ethnic group, and ‘Showman’ as an occupation and ethnicity, within the England and Wales Census. And whereas there’s a extreme lack of authorized websites for Travellers, in 2022, the controversial Unauthorised Encampments: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act made residing with a car on land with out permission a legal – moderately than a civil – offence, giving police the ability to grab autos and, consequently, individuals’s properties and lifestyle. With all that in thoughts, it goes with out saying that dwelling on this setting can take its toll.
The suicide fee for Travellers is six instances the final inhabitants
That’s in accordance with a examine by All-Ireland Traveller Health, and the determine rises to seven instances the final inhabitants for males. Another survey discovered that 82% of the Travellers surveyed had been personally affected by suicide.
“I’ve known people who have taken their own lives, and it’s really devastating,” Xenna says. “I think there are a number of factors behind it. One, is that it’s a relatively closed community and it is very misunderstood – so I think people who are having problems, if they were to go to a doctor or a therapist who hasn’t been briefed on the community and how the community works, they could feel quite misunderstood and, therefore, that leads to a lot of shame.”
Xenna’s perception rings true. In January 2019, the Government printed its first-ever cross-government suicide prevention work plan. The new nationwide plan felt like a watershed second for psychological well being work, however evaluation from the Friends Families and Travellers group (FFT) discovered that of the 79 native suicide prevention plans, which characterize 113 native areas, solely 5 plans talked about GRT communities, and solely two plans recognized actions to handle suicide inequalities in GRT communities.
“Showmen Travellers, and other Traveller communities, are still brushed under that carpet and, actually, we need to bring it out of its shell and let it be known,” Xenna provides.
Racism below the radar
Despite the truth that Travellers have been a part of British society since at the very least the 1500s, racism, discrimination, harassment, and marginalisation proceed. My personal Romany household might be traced again to the 1700s, once they first arrived in Hampshire and, equally to Xenna, coming from a now-settled household, I typically bear witness to all the pieces from anti-traveller rhetoric, as much as racism and discrimination directed at others – as if it’s ‘us against them’.
“I’ve been in situations where people will say, ‘This p**** did this’, or whatever – I just stand there, completely silent,” Xenna shares. “When I was at school, I probably had more racist comments said to me then. It doesn’t really happen now, because I went in on myself about it, and only really told people about my background when I felt like they hadn’t already made their pre-judgement.”
In findings from the ‘Hate: As Regular As Rain’ pilot examine at Buckinghamshire New University, a big proportion of help employees surveyed mentioned that greater than 90% of their Traveller purchasers who had accomplished or tried suicide had beforehand skilled hate incidents. But racism and prejudice in opposition to Travellers proceed. The likelihood is, you might have witnessed it your self – notably on social media, which the FFT highlighted as an pressing space of concern throughout National Hate Crime Awareness Week 2020, when it referred to as for higher responses from social media firms and stronger help from the police.
The phrase ‘gypsy’ can completely be used as a racial slur to belittle, acceptable, or dismiss ethnic communities. However, many Romany teams throughout Europe use the phrase to explain themselves with pleasure, and you will see it’s generally utilized by people and community-led motion, advocacy, and charitable teams right here within the UK. Generally, the time period ‘traveller’ is mostly used, however should you’re in any doubt about how you can check with a person, the very best factor to do is observe their lead, or to ask them about it.
Bringing it to the forefront
It’s vital to recognise the large quantity of labor that the Traveller group is doing to achieve these prone to suicide and poor psychological well being, lots of that are talked about all through this text. Xenna performs a key function on this herself; she’s concerned with the Showmen’s Mental Health Awareness charity, which provides funding for personal counselling by way of self-referals, in addition to engaged on training and consciousness.
In 2019, siblings Mark and Caroline arrange One Call Away, a confidential cellphone line to help these from the group experiencing melancholy, suicidal ideas, panic assaults, self-harm, and nervousness. And the Gypsy and Traveller League (GTL) – a brand new charity set as much as sort out psychological well being – launched in April 2022, kicking off its marketing campaign with a seven-aside soccer and pool competitors. That’s simply a few components in what’s now a significant motion.
But these not within the Traveller group can assist, too. Becoming conscious of the problem is step one, the following is motion. Whether that be reporting racism, harassment, or discrimination if you see it on social media, difficult pals or household (a easy ‘that’s not OK’ is all it takes), taking time to study extra about Traveller historical past, and rising your consciousness of laws that will hurt the group – if you would like it to, change can begin now.