新年快乐！ Happy (Chinese) New Year! January 23^rd signified the beginning of the Year of the Dragon, a magnanimous and self-assured beast, proud, passionate and decisive. No bad thing in the right hands but Dragons can also be arrogant, dogmatic, intolerant and brash and won’t hesitate to violently breathe fire on those who oppose them in fits of tyranny. Legend has it that those born in the Year of the Dragon, along with monkeys and rats, will make the best leaders, albeit susceptible to megalomania, narcissism and inflexibility, and so whilst wise and noble on the one hand it seems Dragons can be formidable on the other, especially when faced by a perceived lack of respect or threat to governance. Sound familiar?

Dragons in LA Chinatown. Credit: SFDenverLV

The word ‘Dragon’ could quite easily be replaced by ‘China’ in that description, and so it’s no coincidence that the Dragon is one of the most loved of the Chinese zodiac animals inside and out of the country; the famous dragon dance interferes with almost all Chinese New Year celebrations, or miaohui, be it Year of the Dragon or not. So, with the dragon upon us what might it mean for the plight of China’s 55 ethnic minorities and/or indigenous peoples (the two aren’t mutually exclusive) in the coming year? At first sight it might not seem promising, but let’s delve further…

Chinese New Year occurs amidst chunjie or Spring Festival, a 15-day festival that, although perhaps through state control and manipulation, in many senses unites Chinese ethnic groups. It’s a time for feasting on dumpling suppers with family, exchanging hongbao or red envelopes filled with cash, adorning houses with red lanterns and terrorizing the streets with firecrackers (health and safety in China is not what it is in the West!). Outside of China, the festival is a time to embrace Chinese diaspora and culture with supermarkets promoting Chinese ready meals, the launch of a seasonal version of Angry Birds and next weekend Trafalgar Square will be buzzing with cultural stalls and live performances, probably including a dragon dance or ten.

Miaohui CNY celebrations in Beijing.

There are variations across China’s ethnic minorities; Zhuang people, China’s largest minority drink a special ginger concoction; the Tujia in Hunan province perform a hand-waving dance; Inner-Mongolians traditionally kowtow to their ancestors before drinking and dancing the night away; and the Miao of Guizhou province adorn traditional dress and enjoy flute performances in addition to celebrating their own New Year at a different time; but generally lots of red, lots of loudness and the exchanging of money denotes Chinese New Year throughout the country.

However, it is never quite the harmonious society that the Chinese government would want us to believe. The red, the loudness and the money are symbolic of the measures that Chinese people traditionally used to scare away the evil demon Nian, who would terrorize their villages. And to some minorities, China, the state, has turned into Nian to terrorize them. Xinjiang cities being adorned with red lanterns might be more evocative of increasing Han dominance in the region and forced unification than Uighur desire to celebrate as they do not celebrate Chinese New Year and often work throughout the festival, despite it being a national holiday. Instead they celebrate, along with other Muslim ethnicities, Noruz to mark the first day of Spring, yet they are not allotted holiday by the Han-led Chinese Communist Party.

Tibetan celebrations of New Year are also different, although the dates often coincide and there are stories of pressure to celebrate the Chinese way as opposed to the Tibetan way. Following the 2008 Tibet riots it was reported that the state forced Tibetans to celebrate New Year despite a desire to boycott celebrations in memory of those killed during the unrest.

Let’s also not forget the plight of the migrant workers in the cities, consisting of many different ethnicities but forming a social minority in their own right. State control of national holidays and lack of additional chances of vacation throughout the year force them to queue for hours at train stations for elusive tickets to make their way back to their hometowns. This year it has been reported that a new online train ticketing system was especially tough on migrant workers, particularly those with limited education and web knowledge.

But in a sense there is hope. Look at 2011, Year of the Rabbit, which unlike Dragons are supposedly gracious, kind, flexible and shy. Yet 2011 was marked by continued oppression of minorities with ethnic skirmishes in Xinjiang, self-immolations in Tibet and even a rare uprising in Inner Mongolia. The rabbit also brought a heavy crackdown on political dissidents, most prominently the artist Ai Weiwei.

None of these events are in-keeping with the placid rabbit and so perhaps this will set precedent for the coming year to work against superstition and tradition. So far things aren’t looking promising as already there have been widespread reports of unrest and Tibetans being shot by Chinese paramilitaries for refusing to celebrate Chinese New Year in protest against Beijing control. We can only hope that the dragon’ fire will be extinguished and its more positive attributes used to establish sensitivity toward, greater recognition of autonomy for and less oppression of minorities and indigenous peoples.

In a landmark decision in February 2010, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights declared the expulsion of Endorois from their ancestral lands illegal and found that the Kenyan government had violated certain fundamental rights of the indigenous community, protected under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Since the adoption of the decision, representatives of the Endorois community have attended African Commission sessions to pressure for the implementation of the ruling. At the 50^th session in October 2011 five Endorois representatives, four women and one man, travelled to Banjul, The Gambia.

For the women it was a journey of firsts. The first time they had ever had a passport, boarded a plane, travelled outside of Kenya and left their families behind. Sarah, Elizabeth, Christine Chebii and Christine Kandie, in traditional Endorois costume and jewellery, were embarking on a brand new adventure.

Christine Kandie and Sarah

The women gave out an incredible energy. Excited to be outside of Kenya for the first time, they expressed how proud they were to represent their community and how thankful they were to have obtained passports. They were eager to take pictures to take back to the community and spoke about the need to provide the same kind of opportunities for other women in the community.

Interestingly they pushed MRG to search for funds for a gender project, about education, FGM and early marriage, which would allow them to become more independent. If the project is for the whole community, then men will always be prioritized, they said candidly. For example, one of the women was told that if women travel they are sexually assaulted, so men travel to protect women.

During the session, Fatuma Zullo, from the Kenya National Commission for Human Rights, addressed the African Commission specifically mentioning the need for implementing the Endorois decision. During the break, where the real advocacy work takes place, the women thanked Commissioner Zullo for her intervention on the Endorois case. Zullo, who has been working closely with the community, was happily surprised to see that the Endorois representatives were women.

Christina Kandie delivering the Endorois statement

On 25 October, Christine Kandie delivered the Endorois statement to the Commission. Kandie addressed the Commission about efforts made by the community to negotiate with the Government of Kenya on the implementation of the decision but stressed that the community did not want the case to be passed to the African Court, but wanted instead to give the Government more time. The Chair replied directly to Kandie (a rare sight in itself) that the Endorois case is a priority for the Commission and that they will work to see implementation.

This work was carried out under an MRG’s project funded by the Baring Foundation, which aims to build the capacity of the Endorois community and implement the decision of the African Commission.

Zulema Cadenas, MRG’s Street Theatre Project Officer, reports on a correlation between a popular Kenyan recipe and the rich ethnic diversity of the country.

There is a very popular nourishing dish throughout Kenya called githeri. The combination of beans and corn cooked together make it a simple but complete meal.

During my week in Mombasa working with SAFE Pwani (Sponsored Arts For Education) I will get to better understand the challenges faced by different ethnic groups in the coastal region of Kenya. Fifteen actors, who are part of this organization aiming to address social issues through street theatre, gathered for one week to research ethnic-related issues in the region and start putting together the play that will be part of MRG’s Street Theatre Project.

Zulema (front row second from left) and the cast

During the community research process prior to the performance SAFE found that racist attitudes and negative stereotyping between the Pwani (mainly Mijikenda people originally from the coast) and the Wabaara (people from inland who migrated to the coast) communities were common. Both groups are seen to be undermining each other and there is a palpable lack of trust, cohesion and integration between the communities. Suspicions and rumours about negative behaviours are common and have exploded into violence on previous occasions, especially during the post-election violence in 2007-2008. The two communities both express disillusionment that they blame on failed leadership, as well as a lack of mutual respect.

The performance

As in the githeri recipe, diversity is a key part of the richness of Kenyan society. Tribalism and corrupted politics, unfair distribution of resources and stereotypes are a big threat to this national treasure. The street performances that will take place at the beginning of next year in the coastal region will confront these issues in an effort to promote understanding and cooperation amongst the different communities.

“Maharague na mahindi, yapikwe chunsu kiimoja” (Beans and corn should be cooked in the same pot) recites Mwikali, one of the actors, at the end of our workshop on stereotypes and discrimination.

MRG Communications intern Claudia Santoro gets hot under the collar about the violent consequences of stereotyping of Italy’s Roma.

In my previous blog posts I have argued that hate speech in the media and politics is both unfair and exposes the weakness of many democracies. It should also be seen however as an alarm bell; a spark that can trigger a dangerous cycle of violence. Even so, I was shocked to learn that, following a 16 year old girl’s declaration that she was raped by two Roma men(an accusation which subsequently turned out to be false) a group of hooded men set fire to a Traveller camp near Turin.

According to reports, after the girl’s claim hundreds of residents of the suburb near Turin where she lives took to the streets to take part in an “anti-Roma demonstration”. A group of the demonstrators later split from the main protest and marched towards a nearby Traveller camp. After driving away the only resident who was in the camp at the time, they destroyed houses, cars, and caravans. Only when the girl admitted she had in fact not been raped but had had sexual relations with a friend and wished to hide it from her family, were the police and her brother able to stop the violence.

This tragic story not only illustrates the dangers of stereotyping certain members of society, but also exposes the harsh conditions faced by Roma communities in Italy and highlights the fact that policy for the integration of minorities has not been effective in the country.

Furthermore, it shows how biased rhetoric about Roma has a deep effect on the public perception of this maligned community. This unacceptable event is the result of discriminatory policies, expressed earlier this year by a series of evictions, and a widespread anti-Roma discourse in Italy, often multiplied in its effect by the media.

Even if just a small group of people are responsible for this attack, it clearly confirms that the Roma minority is seen as a danger by a certain part of the population.

Maybe if both government and local authorities made more responsible and effective decisions rather than just evicting Roma from their camps, people would be less worried about so-called outsiders. And perhaps if the media stopped blaming minorities for the economic crisis and for the lack of security there would also be fewer incidents. What is sure is that racism should never be allowed to raise its head in such an ugly way.

Sofia Nazalya, MRG’s communications intern, looks at the revolution in Libya and its effects on the indigenous Berbers and questions if more should be done to ensure that this long oppressed group are not left behind.

Many of the rebels who fought in Libya’s Nafusa Mountains against the Gaddafi regime were not only fighting for democracy and fundamental freedoms, but also for their rights as indigenous Berbers, or “Amazigh” (a literal translation would be “Free Man”), as they prefer to be called. The united front held by the Nafusa rebels, many of them Amazigh, against the armed forces secured the area surrounding the Tunisian border, which led the way to the advance on the eventual victory in Tripoli. However these significant contributions made by the Amazigh forces in the revolution seemed to be quickly forgotten, evidenced by  the lack of representation of the Amazigh in the interim government recently announced by the Transitional National Council.

Amazigh woman who were forced to flee to Tunisia during the fighting. Credit: Magharebia

However, since the downfall of the Gaddafi regime indigenous Berber have begun to experience a greater amount of freedom in their cultural practice, a cultural revival of sorts – the teaching of Tamazight, the Amazigh language, previously banned, is now embraced in newly available language courses, whilst the airing of radio broadcasts and other cultural initiatives such as the restoration of old Amazigh houses has begun in a bid to preserve their way of life.

The Amazigh, who make up 9% of the Libyan population, have a long history of oppression dating back from the time of the Romans. In Gaddafi’sLibya, Amazigh texts, names and symbols were prohibited, suppressing the indigenous community’s identity and way of life. Arbitrary arrests, detentions and torture of Amazigh activists were part of Gaddafi’s vision of a pan-Arabic, ultra-nationalistic Libya. He even went so far as to state in several occasions that Amazigh identity was nothing more than a colonial invention and that all North Africans were Arab and nothing more.

Fortunately, this extreme form of oppression will not feature in the new Libya. However, what has the Arab Spring really brought to the table for the Amazigh? Can they expect nothing more than the ability to speak and learn their language and open cultural centres without fear of persecution and not much else? Is it a realistic notion to envision a Libya where adequate political representation and indigenous rights are constitutionally protected? The National Amazigh Libyan Conference (NALC) certainly seems to think that constitutionally protected rights is more than just an aspiration, seeing that their publicity campaign centres around this pertinent issue.

With the overthrow of Gaddafi and the establishment of indigenous advocacy groups such as the NALC and other Amazigh cultural groups, the future for the Amazigh seems more optimistic than it has ever been in Libya. A future of continued marginalization seems inconsistent with the spirit of democracy and freedom the Arab Spring took flight from. However as so many revolutions in history, the story hardly ever ends there, and often it is the rights of minorities that seem to be sacrificed or forgotten. A new hyper-nationalist Libya would put Amazigh rights at risk and put the Arab Spring several steps backwards. Only time will tell, though rigorous monitoring, international attention and ongoing advocacy will help ensure that the Amazigh are not forgotten.

Arun Storrs is the consultant for MRG’s Street Theatre Project who recently travelled to Botswana to monitor and develop the programme. Arun runs a non-profit organization called The Kumari Project, which provides support services to orphans from the orphanage where she was adopted in Nepal. She is also currently acting in film and theatre and directs, choreographs and performs her original work.

We gather, the actors, Mpho, the Director, Vanessa, the Project Officer and I, in the parking lot outside our hotel bungalows. The actors are changing into their costumes – bright colored shirts and black slacks, snacking on take-out from nearby fast food joints, and taking turns dancing and singing along with the music blaring from a portable speaker while they load up the car with props – a giant trash can, metal poles, a black curtain that hides the backstage, and tins of colored paint.

We pile into a large white van and another car for the spillover. We arrive at Molepolole Community Hall, a church about 45 minutes outside of the capital Gaborone, as the service is ending. The actors start to load the set and props as the church band clears its instruments from the narrow stage.

The stage is set; a black curtain with all the names of all the individual tribes in Botswana covers the background. The protagonist, a young woman named Induana, squats downstage center by a large trashcan. The rest of the cast enters singing and dancing to pull down the names of each of the tribes and throw them into the trashcan. They leave only the names of the eight indigenous tribes that are recognised by the government.

The play then flashes to a village celebrating a birth. It is Induana. She is a child. The play’s action stops, and Mpho enters the stage to ask what advice the audience would give to Induana to be successful in life. Audience members raise their hands, men and women, although more men than women usually, and advise her to work hard, study hard, and do well in school.

The play continues, and as Induana is playing jump rope with two friends, she makes a mistake and trips on the rope. Her friends immediately begin to yell racial slurs at her. At this point, Mpho returns to the stage and engages the audience members who spoke before to ask further advice on what Induana should do in this situation. In doing this, he exposes the assumptions people made earlier about Induana (that she was a majority member and would not have to deal with racism growing up) and asks the audience to step into her shoes and face the ugliness of prejudice.

He not only engages the audience members one-on-one, but also opens it up to a show of hands, asking, ‘Who has experienced or witnessed something like this before’” About two-thirds of the audience raises their hands. And following up with, ‘If you saw something like this happen in the future, would you intervene?’ Almost the entire congregation raises their hands.

Again the play resumes, and Induana is surrounded by the company of actors, who continue to assault her with racial slurs and then begin to cover her with paint. She is left by herself on the stage, trembling and crying. The members of the company re-enter, asking forgiveness, having seen the error of their ways, and bathe her, washing away the hate they have inflicted upon her. The play concludes as the cast parades Induana around the stage, as she declares her pride in herself and her ethnicity, the audience singing and dancing in their seats along with the actors.

At the end of the performance, the head of the church thanks the actors for coming. He explains his reluctance when he was first approached because the church had never hosted an event like this, but he expresses his joy that the entire congregation stayed and that even the kids from Sunday school got to watch this play; for, the play’s message is fitting for the setting. God does not discriminate.

Mohamed Matovu, from MRG’s Africa Office in Kampala, Uganda, reflects on an historic decision to end statelessness for some of Kenya’s most vulnerable children.

The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in an historic decision, has found the Kenya government in violation of the rights of Nubian children when it denied them citizenship.

This decision is ground-breaking on a number of fronts; it’s the very first decision by the Committee and it’s also a first in Kenya with regard to minority children’s’ rights.

The Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) and Open Society Institute, who lodged the case on behalf of Nubian children in Kenya, should be applauded for this landmark achievement.

Even when the facts of this case seemed all too crystal clear to warrant any third-party intervention, the Kenya government was not willing to negotiate with the Nubian community.

Credit: UNHCR/Greg Constantine

Picture this. A community is forcibly relocated from their ancestral land, against their own volition, to a foreign land, and settles in the new land for decades to come. But when they want to make legal their stay in their new-found ‘home’ they are asked questions about their ‘origin’ or are referred to as ‘foreigners’. What can best describe such action if not utter discrimination?

The very first Nubians are said to have arrived in Kenya, from the Nuba Mountains in Sudan, in the 19^th Century after forced evictions by the British colonial administrators. In fact, some Nubians participated in the anti-colonial struggles that eventually saw Kenya attain independence.

Since then, subsequent Nubian generations have been born and bred in Kenya and know not of any other place as home. But the government, for reasons best known to them, has denied Nubians their right to nationality and has failed to protect them against statelessness.

As a result of this blatant government action, an estimated 13 per cent of Nubian adults are still stateless in Kenya, according to Open Society Institute, with average household income at a paltry US$4 per day and unemployment at about 70 per cent.

The world is not short of national, regional and international legal frameworks protecting the right to nationality, and yet we continue to see governments abusing or selectively applying it for political reasons.

From using the right to nationality to purge political opponents, as has often been the case in several southern African countries, including Zambia and Botswana, to disenfranchising communities, as is the case of Nubians in Kenya, over 12 million people around the world continue to have their movement restricted due to lack of identification, whilst others may suffer detention without trial.

The situation becomes worse for minority and indigenous groups who, on top of missing out on all the basic indicators of human development, like access to health and education, also suffer social exclusion and exploitation.

Minority Rights Group International, through its internationally acclaimed global ranking, Peoples Under Threat, has identified Nubians as amongst the minority groups facing a real threat of internal displacement. They are also likely to suffer discrimination based on religious lines as the majority of Nubians are Muslims – who constitute a religious minority in Kenya.

The decision may have been handed down but it is early days to celebrate as governments that perpetuate these rights violations are not always in any hurry to implement decisions from other legal entities, be they regional or international.

Over a year ago, the African Commission of Human and Peoples Rights found the Kenyan government in violation of the rights of Endorois community, a semi-nomadic indigenous group, when it evicted them from their ancestral land around Lake Bogoria, Rift Valley province. To date, the government is reluctant to implement the decision.

The African Union should devise mechanisms to ensure that states respect their decisions and fully implement them to the letter, otherwise it will be very difficult for it to shed the accusation that it’s a ‘toothless pet dog’.

Read the Committee’s decision: http://www.ihrda.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/002-09-Nubian-children-v-Kenya-Eng.pdf.

Read more about Nubian people in MRG’s report Kenya: Minorities, Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Diversity.

Discrimination against Batwa people in Rwanda runs deep.

‘As historically marginalized communities, sometimes we feel loneliness and as if we are isolated somehow from the rest of the population, we feel there is no future, other community members do not even accept to interact with us.’

The Street Theatre project aimed to tackle these problems head on. In the aftermath of the performances, the indisputable impact of the project can be felt by both the actors from the majority communities and the Batwa communities. For the actors from the majority communities, it gave a deeper understanding of some of the issues faced by the Batwa, and for the Batwa actors themselves, the impact of the project is clear.

‘This project, when it came, we were quite reluctant, but we said, ‘OK, let’s just go there.’

This spontaneous decision has, in the end, left the actors feeling ‘lucky somehow, we see that people are reaching out to us. And myself, personally, I feel that I am valued somehow, and I feel also that I am ready to contribute to the social wellbeing of other people.’

With a diverse group of actors ranging from famous Rwandan actors to members of the Batwa community, working together was a real novelty.

‘We were also suspicious about the others [actors] in the beginning, but in time saw them – they were very open, really friendly.’

Following the project the actors “really feel free to interact with people” and feel the project has given them “a step forward” as well as useful skills for the future.

‘I have even gained enough self-confidence to feel I can be a good actor.’

The message from the performances is hoped ‘to bring about change in the way people think about our people. Our worries, our preoccupations have been heard and they are somehow given a room for expression.’ The projects are ‘channelling our voice,’ and ‘speaking on our behalf in such a way that even the authorities will come to handle some of the issues that we have. [We feel] that our problems have been pointed out this time.’

Hate speech used in the mayor of Milan’s electoral campaign was back in the news last week when the Council of Europe published Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg’s report about his visit to Italy.

He expressed his concern about ‘anti-Roma political discourse’, which ‘perpetuates anti-Gypsyism’ and recognised the need for political parties to establish a system of self-regulation to avoid racist behaviour. Among the interesting observations contained in the report, I strongly agree with the need to disseminate unbiased information about Roma, both to be used by journalists as background information for reporting on these issues and also to balance inaccurate coverage about Roma and Travellers, which enhances stereotypes and blocks integration with mainstream society.

Credit: Justice Directorate General of the European Commission

Unfortunately in many EU countries where an anti-Roma/Sinti discourse is present in both the media and political arenas, discrimination follows. In his report Commissioner Hammarberg recalls examples of authorities using hate speech towards minorities in Hungary, Czech Republic, Denmark and France and warns that it ‘should not be underestimated’. It can encourage violence; in the Czech Republic for instance, following the Nový Bydžov Mayor’s public statements on Roma, extremist groups attacked a demonstration of Roma communities.

In the UK, the recent events at Dale Farm, led Janet Burden, the Rabbi of the West Central Liberal Synagogue & Ealing Liberal Synagogue, to compare the current persecution of Roma, Gypsies and Irish Travellers with the discrimination ‘Jews faced in the first half of the 20th century’ and, as reported in a recent Guardian article, she also drew attention to the fact that  the language used about Roma ‘clearly echoes rhetoric of anti-Semitism’.

As Commissioner Hammarberg stated in his speech delivered at the Summit of Mayors on Roma, both media professionals and politicians ‘should avoid using stigmatising speech against the Roma and should not feed the age-old prejudices against this minority. Sweeping generalisations about Roma and Travellers, in particular concerning their involvement in crime, feed the false stereotypes’.

I think that the need to involve Roma representatives in mainstream societies’ public activities is the most powerful way to actively promote a conscientious approach towards this minority. Surely this must also include the recruitment of journalists with Roma and other ethnic backgrounds in order to contribute to a more diverse, higher standard of journalism?

Credit: Decade of Roma Inclusion

The Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–2015, aims to improve Roma’s social inclusion through targeted projects such as the Roma Education Fund, which will develop educational opportunities for Roma communities. The guide ‘Beyond Rhetoric’ includes recommendations to the European Commission based on the experience of the Open Society Foundations as well as country-specific recommendations from independent experts.

Finally, Colorful but Colorblind is a project aimed at remedying anti-Roma stereotyping through the creative use of multimedia in European Union new member states in Central and Eastern Europe. It represents one of the many significant projects necessary to generate change which benefits culture and knowledge.

These initiatives turn words into actions: the creation of opportunities rather than discriminatory rhetoric is a path to create a conscious society. Skilled young Roma can help to eradicate stereotypes, but also mainstream society has to play a role in this integration process. Are we ready to end discrimination?

Marcin Derkacz, MRG Legal Cases intern, paid a visit to Dale Farm in Essex, UK, to show support and see for himself how Irish Traveller residents were bearing up under the threat of imminent eviction from their homes

It seems to be a never-ending story. A real, fascinating, gripping rollercoaster of a ride. However, for its main actors – the residents of Dale Farm – this story is a nightmare. Living under constant threat of being cut off from their water and electricity supplies, watching bailiffs getting their heavy machinery ready in preparation for an eviction, being harassed by the local Council and last but not least, living in the media spotlight, has been the everyday life of these residents who, in spite of all adversities, decided to stay at Dale Farm – a place they have called home for many years. 

I had a chance to visit Dale Farm a few weeks ago – just before lawyers for the Travellers obtained a High Court injunction preventing bailiffs moving in while the courts were asked to rule on several areas of contention. The Traveller site reminded me of a village under siege in a war zone: a helicopter hanging over the site, massive, reinforced gates at the entrance, an army of bailiffs stationed just next to the farm, TV crews waiting for sensational developments. A sense of apprehension and anxiety could be felt in the air.

After being held at the gate for over an hour by a bunch of kids, I was permitted to enter the site. The camp looked deserted at first; however I was told that many of the residents had moved their best caravans to Stockwood Park, a large public park on the outskirts of the nearby town of Basildon.

All the people I spoke to declared they would fight for Dale Farm, however, their morale was obviously shaken. “We are people stripped of our basic rights; we are deprived of land which we legally occupy. We want to stay but we don’t know what tomorrow will bring” a red-haired woman in a green raincoat told me. “But God is with us – he sent rain to put off the bailiffs from taking any action”. Indeed, it was in fact raining, although I suspect the bailiffs were probably put off by unresolved legal issues rather than the rain.

The residents of the former scrap-yard were preparing for the worst. There were at least three barricades blocking the main roads to the site, erected by activists who had come to Dale Farm a few days before in order to support the Travellers and try to prevent the eviction. Their role should not be overlooked or underestimated – they spent their own time and money in order to support Dale Farm and give its residents hope for a better tomorrow.

Children face upheavals in schooling and access to health services if evicted. Credit: Marcin Derkacz

Despite the evictions and uncertainty, Dale Farm looked surprisingly well-organized. I met a few women sweeping their porches and pottering around their caravans. “We want to live like human beings and the world should see that we are not animals” said one, “We eat, we sleep and we have fun here. It is our place to live so we take care of it,” she continued.

It was hard to disagree. A small investment in Dale Farm could make this place even better and certainly the alleged £18 million which the Council plan to spend on the forced eviction seems to me to be preposterous and absurd. If the worst came to the worst and the Travellers have to leave, this money could be better used to fund developments that would allow the residents at risk to move voluntarily and peacefully to culturally adequate new locations. This solution is dictated by logic and simple good will; however it seems that both are the Achilles’ heel of Basildon Council and its leader Tony Ball.

I left the site in a gloomy mood. Irrespective of the final result there will be no winners at Dale Farm. Traveller life has already been disrupted and it is never going to be the same. Despite the economic crisis, millions of pounds are going to be wasted and the Council is going to lose its credibility and be stigmatised as a heartless violator of human rights. It seems that something went wrong at the initial stage of the negotiation process and every further decision worsens the situation. Unreasonable stubbornness, lack of good will and an inability to reach a compromise have been the main culprits of the conflict. And everyone is a victim here.