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Final version of script - divided by person

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Final version of script - divided by person

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I have annotated the script and inserted some page breaks so that speeches are not across 2  pages. I have scripted repetitions of phrases. they increase towards the end but stop before Johnny Delaney. 

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I have annotated the script and inserted some page breaks so that speeches are not across 2  pages. I have scripted repetitions of phrases. they increase towards the end but stop before Johnny Delaney. 

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new article on the Guardian- good photos?

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new article on the Guardian- good photos?

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Five years ago the operation to oust Travellers from Dale Farm in Essex brought the families to national attention. Photographer Mary Turner has been documenting their lives since 2009, witnessing their struggle around the UK, constantly hawking for work, temporarily renting yards, and looking for places they might be able to stay.

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Travellers' tales: on the road with Dale Farm families - photo essay

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Five years ago the operation to oust Travellers from Dale Farm in Essex brought the families to national attention. Photographer Mary Turner has been documenting their lives since 2009, witnessing their struggle around the UK, constantly hawking for work, temporarily renting yards, and looking for places they might be able to stay.

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YEP report on the verdict in the case of Johnny Delaney 

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YEP report on the verdict in the case of Johnny Delaney 

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Daily Post Report of the summing up and verdict in  the case of Johnny's murder

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Daily Post Report of the summing up and verdict in  the case of Johnny's murder

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THE family of traveller Johnny Delaney have spoken of their anguish after seeing his killers jailed.

They hit out after 16-year-olds Lewis McVeigh and Ricky Kearney both received four-and-a-half years.

The defendants, from Ellesmere Port, can finally be publicly named after a ruling by the judge at their sentencing hearing on Friday.

They had both been convicted of manslaughter by a jury last month. They were both cleared of murder, which they had denied.

On Friday, the pair were smuggled out the back of Chester Crown Court under a blanket to start their sentences at a young offender's institute.

Speaking outside court, Johnny's father Patrick Delaney said: 'They kicked my son to death. I couldn't bury him for six months, and I've been to hell and back, I can assure you of that.'

Johnny died on May 28 this year after being attacked on a playing field in Lydden Road, Ellesmere Port. The 15-year-old, from Liverpool, had been in town visiting friends.

The judge, Mr Justice Richards, said the defendants had been crossing the field, sending text messages at the time. They met Johnny and his friends.

He added: 'Verbal aggression came from Johnny's group and it was them which first used violence. One of Johnny's friends swung at them with a plank. Johnny swung at McVeigh.

'Johnny's group then ran but Johnny tripped and fell to the ground. The defendants kicked him as he lay there, unable to defend himself, and he was rendered unconscious.' The judge said that, as part of the attack, McVeigh kicked Johnny to the head and stamped on his head, while Kearney kicked him in the face. He said Kearney played a 'secondary' role in this.

He told them: 'It isn't possible to say which of the blows inflicted by you caused the fatal brain damage.'

Mr Justice Richards also ruled out a racial motive for the attack, describing as 'unreliable' the evidence of one witness who claimed to have heard a racist remark made to Johnny.

He added that, as he was unsure who made a further racial comment at the end of the attack, neither defendant could be sentenced for any racist actions.

McVeigh has previous convictions from 2002 for possessing Ecstasy and having an air weapon in public, getting reparation orders for both.

Defending him, David Turner QC said: 'My client accepts he was responsible for causing the death of Johnny. But there was a lack of intent to cause him serious harm. These were impulsive actions. There was no racial element to the confrontation.'

Michael Scholes QC, for Kearney, said the incident was spontaneous and hadn't been pre-planned.

He added: 'When Kearney heard Johnny was dead, he said he felt sickened. He wants to apologise, possibly in a letter, to the Delaney family.'

Mr Justice Richards said: 'Johnny's death is a terrible thing for his family and the wider travelling community.'

He said he was lifting the Press reporting restrictions on the grounds of public interest and to act as a deterrent to others.

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THE family of traveller Johnny Delaney have spoken of their anguish after seeing his killers jailed. They hit out after 16-year-olds Lewis McVeigh and Ricky Kearney both received four-and-a-half years. The defendants, from Ellesmere Port, can finally be publicly named after a ruling by the judge at their sentencing hearing on Friday.

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I think we should nail down the question/s we want on our ballot?
what is hate Crime?
What is hate Speech?
Are they different?

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Local Paper Write up for the verdict in Johnny's case- includes quote from his Dad.

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here's that article Sara mentioned in last session.Weird how, altho their University was critical of them, it saw it purely as an "attack on working-class people", and didn't seem to realise "pikey" is anything to do with Gypsies or Travellers...

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Just for interest, here's a PDF of the GATE Snakes and Ladders board. The real thing is big enough for someone to stand in a square

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here's the notes

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Testimonies of hate crime and discrimation

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Testimonies of hate crime and discrimation

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Video at the bottom of the article might be useful for audio?

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Julie Morgan, Assembly Member for Cardiff North, spoke out about the experience of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities at a special Welsh government debate about hate crime - and ended with a question from 16 year old Tyrone Price from Pembrokeshire.

Tyrone, who is a member of the charity Travelling Ahead's Youth Advisory Group, believes that young Gypsies and Travellers should speak out about racism "with courage".

He had this to say to the Welsh Assembly:

"Have we actually improved tackling racism, or are people just pretending to accept this concept of equality?" He said.

"He put forward a question that I think is very thought provoking, and I think it's a very valid question," Julie Morgan told the Welsh government.

Julie Morgan used Tyrone's question to speak out about the experience of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities in Wales at the National Assembly for Wales debate to discuss progress in Wales' Tackling Hate Crime Action Plan.

Today, I wanted to particularly concentrate on the treatment of members of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community, who are very frequently the target of hate crimes and discrimination here in Wales," said Julie Morgan.

"This targeting of this community is nothing new; it has gone on for many, many years."

Julie Morgan then told the Welsh Assembly that police forces specifically monitor hate crimes against Welsh Gypsies and Travellers to help combat the belief by young Gypsies and Travellers that the police "don't listen to them" when they do make a complaint about racism and hate crime.

"I'd like to just finally, really, end with the thoughts of one of the young people from the Travelling Ahead group, Tyrone Price," she added.

"I think this is obviously what a young person feels very strongly, that a lot of the progress we have made towards equality, some of it is perhaps token, and we have to really make race equality an absolute reality, particularly for the young people who are suffering from prejudice and hate crime," she said.

Gypsy and Traveller campaigners in England welcomed the intervention of Julie Morgan.

"It's great to see politicians in Wales debating racism against Welsh Gypsies and Travellers," they said.

"Politicians in England should take note."
(Picture: Tyrone Price supports Watch this video by Travelling Ahead in which young Welsh Gypsy and Travellers talk about the racism they face and what should be done about it: OperationReportHate http://www.travellingahead.org.uk/projects/tackling-hate-crime/ © Travelling Ahead)
Travellers' Tales - The real lives of young Gypsies and Travellers from Gritty Realism Productions on Vimeo.

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Tyrone Price challenges Welsh government on racism

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Julie Morgan, Assembly Member for Cardiff North, spoke out about the experience of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities at a special Welsh government debate about hate crime - and ended with a question from 16 year old Tyrone Price from Pembrokeshire.

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From the Youtube video posted by Martha above

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Transcript cinema and nightclub stories from Leeds GATE video

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Transcript cinema and nightclub stories from Leeds GATE video

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here's the notes...

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Response from Dr Anthony Donnelly- Drummond

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Response from Dr Anthony Donnelly- Drummond

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Emailed Anthony and he was so helpful, sent a long email where he had picked out verbatim quotes that he'd used in this research pieces. I have attached them to this post.

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Verbatim quotes from Devon council report on racism towards G/T

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Verbatim quotes from Devon council report on racism towards G/T

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Further research on how G/T are represented in Parliament 

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Further research on how G/T are represented in Parliament 

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Verbatim quotes pulled out from Devon council report

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Verbatim quotes pulled out from Devon council report

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and the list of material

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Here's the notes

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Here's an old site by Travellers' Education about history of Gypsies in England, including anti-Gypsy laws

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Here is an interview with a Gypsy couple in Salisbury about experiences of hate crime. Good quotes

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Home > Archive > Police deny dishing out "heavy-handed" treatment

MORE than a thousand gypsies and travellers marched through Appleby on Sunday in protest at the "heavy-handed" treatment they claim to have experienced at the hands of police at this year's horse fair.

The protest began with between 1,000 and 1,500 men from the gypsy and travelling community meeting near Fair Hill, Appleby, around 2pm. Led by traveller and gypsy leader Billy Welch they marched to the police station at The Sands.

Mr. Welch said: "It started in the early hours of Thursday with people trying to arrive and the police were being very aggressive and abrupt rather than helpful."

Mr. Welch said hundreds of people from the gypsy and travelling community had complained to him about their treatment by police at this year's fair, including reports of verbal abuse and unnecessary physical violence. He said many people had been arrested without real reason and routinely pushed to the floor and handcuffed.

He claimed police officers took walking sticks off old men saying they were offensive weapons and also took whips off horsemen.

Mr. Welch said matters came to a head on Saturday night, after he had already met with senior police officers and Eden District Council chief executive Kevin Douglas earlier in the week to air his concerns.

He personally confronted two police officers and took down their identification numbers after a member of his community claimed to be verbally abused.

Mr. Welch said he felt his concerns were being ignored and his people "abused and persecuted", prompting him to meet with other gypsy and travelling family leaders to arrange the protest.

Police confirmed they were aware of the planned protest and arranged for their head of professional standards department to meet Mr. Welch at Appleby.

However, he became stuck in traffic and protesters were left waiting around 30 minutes before it was agreed with Mr. Welch that the group would return to Fair Hill and police would meet him in his caravan later that afternoon.

Cumbria's Assistant Chief Constable, Jerry Graham, who led the police operation at the new fair, met Mr. Welch but it is believed there was little agreement as a result of the talks.

Mr. Welch now plans to lodge a written formal complaint against Cumbria Constabulary about the abuse he claims gypsy and travellers have faced from officers this year.

Mr. Graham said: "The police have a very difficult balance to meet the needs of the settled community and the gypsy traveller community. We have gone out of our way to try and make this an enjoyable event for everybody concerned.

"I have been at Appleby all weekend walking around the fields and the atmosphere all weekend has been extremely pleasant. There has been no intimidatory atmosphere."

He added that police on the ground had said relations between themselves and the gypsy traveller community had been "very cordial".

"I'm aware that a small group of gypsy travellers has a different view and Mr. Welch has suggested that the policing has been heavy-handed. My response to that would be that it just doesn't stack up when you look at the evidence.

"The number of arrests is well down there are nearly half as many on last year and the number of weapons we have seized is well down. The amount of violence is well down and the number of drunk and disorder issues is down. It's been a much safer and more pleasant fair for everyone. This view that the police are clamping down just doesn't bode with the evidence.

"I have offered to take robust action against any officers. I would be outraged at any officer who has been rude to the gypsy traveller community.

"We will look at the evidence and speak to officers if necessary. I'm all ears bring me the evidence. None of my officers should have been anything other then courteous and fair. If there's any evidence they have been otherwise I will take a very dim view."

Mr. Graham said he felt one underlying concern of the gypsy and traveller community was the lack of pubs open in Appleby during the fair and said the complaints were a reaction to that.

"In Billy Welch's frustration at not having had a great weekend he is thrashing out looking for someone to blame and blaming the police is misplaced," he said.

Mr. Graham said it had not been the decision of the police to close the pubs. That was down to licensing regulations set by the Multi-Agency Strategic Co-ordinating Group (MASCG) organising the fair and licensees' personal choices.

While voicing his concerns Mr. Welch also said he thought the police were acting badly towards his community to try and drive the fair out of Appleby.

"According to six or seven police officers they said they would be worse next year, but when they're gone we'll still be here. They will never drive us out," said Mr. Welch.

Mr. Graham responded to these claims by saying that Cumbria Constabulary put much time and effort into arranging the fair for everyone's enjoyment.

"Mr. Welch has a view as do his colleagues that the whole authorities want to shut Appleby fair. I've spent nine months planning for Appleby fair with the MASCG to try and make this as successful as possible. There's no intent on my or anyone else's part to shut the fair. The police position is that nothing could be further from the truth."

Mr. Welch says he intends to talk to human rights lawyers with the intention of having them present at next year's fair so that the gypsy traveller community is "treated like human beings not animals".

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Police deny dishing out "heavy-handed" treatment

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Home > Archive > Police deny dishing out "heavy-handed" treatment MORE than a thousand gypsies and travellers marched through Appleby on Sunday in protest at the "heavy-handed" treatment they claim to have experienced at the hands of police at this year's horse fair.

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Appleby Horse Fair Institutional Prejudice 

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Appleby Horse Fair Institutional Prejudice 

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Few UK police forces record their officers' interactions with Gypsies and Travellers, and widespread discrimination against the groups may be "hidden from view", according to a newly published report.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that 39 out of the UK's 48 police forces do not include Gypsies and Travellers in their ethnic monitoring systems, the research by the Traveller Movement charity found.

In their responses, two forces indicated that they did not even consider Gypsies and Travellers to be ethnic groups, even though both are officially recognised as such under UK law. As the groups are protected by equality legislation, discriminating against them is illegal.

Met Police faces racism probe after secret Facebook page

The Traveller Movement said it had made the data requests after "increasing reports" from members of both groups that their communities were being unfairly targeted by police. "We found we were unable to verify these claims because most police systems did not have the relevant data," said Yvonne MacNamara, the charity's chief executive. "Recording the ethnicity of Gypsies and Travellers is essential. If [they] are not counted along with everyone else, then discriminatory policing towards them will remain hidden from view and cannot be challenged."

The Metropolitan Police is reviewing how it deals with the communities in the wake of allegations that officers used a "secret" Facebook group to air racist views about them. The force's official inquiry into the claims ended without any officers being formally disciplined or charged.

Many of the forces that responded to the data requests said they did not include Gypsies and Travellers in their ethnic monitoring systems because they were not required to do so by the Home Office. Some forces do so voluntarily and the Traveller Movement believes the standard system should be increased from 16 ethnic classifications to 18, so that the two extra groups are included by default.

The Home Office said forces were required to use ethnicity codes from the 2001 census; codes for Gypsies and Travellers were not added until 2011 and it is up to individual forces whether to use them.

The Cleveland force said it would "class [Gypsy/Traveller] more as an occupation than an ethnicity", while West Yorkshire said it would record members of the communities as "White - Other".

The Equality and Human Rights Commission said it was speaking to forces about the issue, adding: "The failure of some services to record how they are dealing with Gypsies and Travellers makes it very difficult to assess if they are being dealt with fairly."

Jim Davies, who chairs the Gypsy Roma Traveller Police Association, said accurate recording of ethnicity "needs to happen" to ensure that all groups are treated fairly by the criminal justice system. "It's important to understand that when we talk about 'ethnic monitoring' it's not us who are being looked at - it is the police themselves who are being monitored," he added.

Prejudice: What the officers said

"Racism towards GRT (Gypsy, Roma, Traveller) people during my time in the police has been frequent, offensive and unchallenged. After eight years of silence I decided to join another constabulary and be proactive in promoting my heritage."

"I am very proud to be a police officer as are my family. What I'm not proud of is the discrimination towards Gypsies and Travellers. I'm even less proud of the fact I've done little in the past to challenge this, neither has the profession itself. It has looked on with a degree of disdain that would cause public outrage were it any other ethnic group."

"While out on patrol, control room call up: people refusing to leave a pub, staff want assistance, any unit free to deal? Silence. Control room asks again: they are local Gypsies, any unit free to deal? All of a sudden two units will attend and eject them. No one asks what they have done."

Source: anonymous submissions to the Gypsy Roma Traveller Police Association

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Failure to record dealings with Gypsies 'hides police discrimination'

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Few UK police forces record their officers' interactions with Gypsies and Travellers, and widespread discrimination against the groups may be "hidden from view", according to a newly published report. Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that 39 out of the UK's 48 police forces do not include Gypsies and Travellers in their ethnic monitoring systems, the research by the Traveller Movement charity found.

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1968 Interview with Gypsy Travellers concerning eviction from Council site

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1968 Interview with Gypsy Travellers concerning eviction from Council site

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http://www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/215513

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Here is the video from today's meeting (19/10) with the poster from a pub 'No travellers allowed' at 0:28

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Excerpt from the "Pavee Céilidh" DVD produced by the Traveller Movement (2009). Personal insights, memories and stories are recounted by Travellers. (Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund).

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http://0-www.tandfonline.com.wam.leeds.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1080/09627250208553449?needAccess=true
Can access through Leeds library :)

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Devon equality council report on racism towards G/T people

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Devon equality council report on racism towards G/T people

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Similar to policy report, but with a couple of more individual testimonies.

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Inequalities experienced by G/T communities: policy report

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Inequalities experienced by G/T communities: policy report

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might be a bit too policy/academic based but does reveal some interesting elements, particularly Chapter 7.

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Rough-cut of an audio interview I did this week with a GATE member.

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Addison, Joseph. The works of the late Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq; In four volumes. ... Vol. Volume 3

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Addison, Joseph. The works of the late Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq; In four volumes. ... Vol. Volume 3

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Early Modern Proclamations against 'Vagabonds' and 'Vagrants'

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Early Modern Proclamations against 'Vagabonds' and 'Vagrants'

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Although none of these refer to Gypsies or Travellers, I thought this might be interesting to look at due to the ways in which as early as the Tudor era, prejudice and discrimination was developing towards those of no fixed abode. These are just some choice quotations, but the accusations levelled against the 'vagabonds' and 'vagrants', and the ways in which they are characterised can perhaps be linked to some of the modern day prejudice towards Gypsy and Traveller communities.

I also thought it was interesting that one of the accusations levelled against itinerant workers and 'vagrants' was the spread of disease and plague.

1553 Proclamation

Under Edward VI, so sickly king, fear of Mary as his heir who was Catholic, Edward often seen as dominated by his nobles as so young.

‘vagabonds, tellers of news, sowers of seditious rumours…’ Emphasis is on King as a representative of God but the vagabonds are undermining him. Responsible for ‘vicious livings and corrupt conversations’, spreading malicious rumours about the King and his court around the country.

1594

Those who claim to have served in war.

‘Idle vagabonds’

Fear of the Irish who have rebelled against the crown and who, now in England, intended to ‘endanger her majesties noble person’.

1597

Erection of Houses of Correction

Fear of beggars and ‘wandering persons’ who are ‘refusing to work for such reasonable wages as is taxed’.

1598

‘persons able in body but loitering’ as well as scholars, sailors, players, wizards etc.

1638

‘spreading and dispersing of the contagious infection of the plague over the whole kingdom’

Idea of those who are idle but should be working.

Also soldiers, mariners, pedlars, tinkers etc.

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Here, another murder of a Gypsy that the law didn't see as racially motivated.

Interesting that prosecutor Rosemary Thompson said she had been unable to find a successful prosecution for hate crime perpetrated against a Gypsy or Traveller.

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There's an interesting idea that what distinguishes a hate crime is that it's a "message crime".

It is intended by the perpetrator to have the additional effect, over and above the immediate impact of the criminal act itself, of sending a message to those who belong to the same group as the victim.
See Paul Iganski, Hate Crime and the City, 2008

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This chap is a senior lecturer at Leeds Beckett, and has written *loads* on hate crime and G/T people. I only know of him via soc media - does anyone know him personally? Either way I think we should contact him. He's on A.Drummond@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
Some interesting stuff he wrote is here
and some downloadable stuff here

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Although things like Jonny Delaney's murder are important and should be remembered, the literature on hate crime points out that such extreme violence is rare. Far more common as a manifestation of hate is the constant, low-level stuff, experienced every day from ordinary people.

This is why I think it might be interesting in this project to explore how people define "hate crime". I have a sense that those who don't experience it, tend to want to restrict the definition to the big, horrific violent crimes; and those who do experience it are more likely to see it as structural, and to  include the everyday, low-level hatreds.

What do you think?

From the #OperationReportHate campaign

We use the term ‘hate crime’ to describe anything that happens to you because someone dislikes your ethnicity (Gypsy, Traveller and Roma are ethnicities); religion or belief; sexual orientation; gender identity; disability (including learning disability and mental health).

A hate crime could be:

Bullying

Being shouted at in the street

Being turned away from a pub

Graffiti

Damage to your property (including vans and cars)

Hitting or punching

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News reports about the murder of Johnny Delaney,
Guardian and BBC

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A Gypsy and Traveller campaign charity has reacted with fury and called an investigation by the Metropolitan Police into a secret Facebook group for serving and retired police officers a "whitewash" after their complaint about the page - which included the use of the derogatory term 'pikey' - was dismissed by the force and no action taken.

The complaint by the Traveller Movement was lodged after screen-shots of three threads on the Facebook group 'I've met the Met' - which is open to invite only to serving and retired Metropolitan police officers - came to light in June last year.

The threads received widespread publicity, after the story was broken by the Independent Newspaper, because of the racist and shocking nature of the comments.

In the three separate threads - one of which discusses Ofcom's dismissal of a Traveller Movement complaint about the use of 'pikey' on the TV show 'Top Gear' - the group members discuss their hatred of "f*****g pikeys" and "low life gypsies".

One comment reads: "I never knew a pikey could be offended, I thought they were devoid of all normal feelings and thoughts ... just my opinion based on many years of dealing with these despicable people."

Another said: "There is not a small minority of criminals from the GT [Gypsy and Traveller] community - to all intents and purposes they all depend on crime."

The complaint was initially investigated internally by the Metropolitan Police, but was closed after the investigators decided to take no formal action and instead told the Traveller Movement that they were unable to access the Facebook group, could only identify two serving police officers from the screen-shots provided by the Traveller Movement and that these officers had been "spoken to".

The Traveller Movement say that the investigation was a 'whitewash' and in an appeal to the Independent Police Complaints Commission - seen by the Travellers Times - say that they "are left with many unanswered questions and no confidence in the Metropolitan Polices relationship with the Gypsy and Traveller communities."

The Traveller Movement appeal papers go on to say:

"We believe the investigating officer and his superiors have failed to grasp the gravity of our complaint. We believe they have failed to acknowledge and appreciate Gypsies and Travellers are recognised ethnic minority group and fall within the protected characteristics of the Equalities Act 2010. The investigation has not received the due care; attention and necessary skill set required to undertake a complaint of this nature.

"We also believe that all serving police officers that liked or viewed the offending face book page posts are equally liable and should have been part of the investigation. We do not accept the reasons stated in the report why this aspect of the investigation was not possible."

Yvonne MacNamara, CEO of the Traveller Movement said:

"We are very disappointed with the outcome of our complaint; it's been a complete whitewash."

"We accept there may not be much that can be done about racist comments from retired Metropolitan police officers, but we expect serving officers to be held accountable."

"We are also astounded that the investigation did not even bother to access the Facebook page and was therefore unable to ascertain the identity of the numerous members who 'liked' some of the most offensive and racist comments."

"We have therefore appealed to the IPCC and are confident that our appeal will be successful. "

The Metropolitan Police have responded to The Independent Newspaper, saying that they are planning a "review" into how the force treats Gypsy and Traveller people.

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Investigation into police secret Facebook 'pikey' group a 'whitewash' says Traveller Movement

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A Gypsy and Traveller campaign charity has reacted with fury and called an investigation by the Metropolitan Police into a secret Facebook group for serving and retired police officers a "whitewash" after their complaint about the page - which included the use of the derogatory term 'pikey' - was dismissed by the force and no action taken.

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Hello! I think it works

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Gypsies and Travellers are in the news again, and for all the wrong reasons. After last year's revelations about a secret Facebook group where serving and retired Metropolitan police officers swapped insults about "fucking pikeys", allegations have surfaced of holiday camp operators having "Traveller blacklists". So now seems like a good time to take stock of what is often called "the last acceptable racism".

The facts and figures are stark. Nine out of 10 Gypsy and Traveller children have suffered racial abuse, and two-thirds of children from Traveller groups have also been bullied or physically attacked.

A 2004 report from Stonewall listed some common prejudices: "It was argued that these groups did not conform to the system by paying taxes, they had a reputation for unreliable business practices and they did not respect private property. They were also criticised... for not belonging to a community and allegedly having a negative impact on the environment: for example, they are unsightly, dirty or unhygienic."

The racism can have horrific consequences. Johnny Delaney, a 15-year-old Traveller, was kicked to death by a gang of racists shouting "Fucking gyppos!" Sentencing his attackers, the judge refused to recognise the killing as racially aggravated, despite the recommendations of the police.

One of the few defences against the drip-drip-drip of discrimination is humour

But behind such tragedies lie many banal and absurd acts of racism, the stuff that grinds you down on a daily basis. The incidents that prompted a grown Traveller man to tell me: "I have had enough. I have suffered from it all my life, I don't want my children and grandchildren to suffer from it as well." This man had just fallen foul of the local postman's decision to stop delivering to those he deemed to be Irish Travellers on a mixed mobile home site.

I've heard too many stories like that as editor of the Travellers' Times. Like the Oxbridge-educated Romany Gypsy man who was invited on to a radio show about unauthorised camps, only for the presenter to ask him: "But you don't pay your taxes, you don't educate your children, you won't integrate, so how can you expect your rights?"

If you must know, the vast majority of Gypsies and Travellers live on legal sites - mostly private, not public - or in houses, and pay taxes and rent just like everybody else. As the rest are effectively homeless, you could hardly expect them to pay for local services. They aren't offered any - not even the most basic waste disposal.

At the Travellers' Times office we have become used to people who have lost their dog phoning to ask if we can "put something out in case any of the community have... er... found it".

Then there's the Irish Traveller mother who is followed by a store detective whenever she goes shopping with her daughters at the local supermarket. "It's like he's decided that I am playing with him," she told me. "They look at me when they can't find anything stolen in my bags - like, 'You got away with it this time.' It's humiliating. I have never stolen anything in my life."

One of the few defences against this drip-drip-drip of discrimination is humour. Another Gypsy woman, asked, "What do Gypsies do at Christmas?", told her workmate: "We stuff and eat all the babies we stole in the summer. Those of us that are not doubling up as elves, that is."

Remarkably, this treatment hasn't left the Traveller and Gypsy community bitter or apathetic. The stories you won't read in the mainstream press include the 90-strong Gypsy Traveller Catholic men's group that collects thousands of pounds to help the homeless. The sponsored pilgrimages for charity. The Gypsy man who took on the Daily Mail in a libel claim and won an apology and settlement. The successful discrimination cases against pub chains. The young female Gypsy boxer who's a contender for the next Olympics. The Gypsy copper who started an association for Traveller police officers. There's good and bad in everyone. Isn't it about time the rest of society recognised it?
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It's time to end 'the last acceptable racism' - against Gypsies and Travellers | Mike Doherty

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Gypsies and Travellers are in the news again, and for all the wrong reasons. After last year's revelations about a secret Facebook group where serving and retired Metropolitan police officers swapped insults about "fucking pikeys", allegations have surfaced of holiday camp operators having "Traveller blacklists".