Invisible Lives - The Gypsies and Travellers of Britain - A PhD Thesis by Colin Robert Clark (2001).pdf

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'INVISIBLE LIVES':
THE
GYPSIES AND TRAVELLERS OF BRITAIN
COLIN ROBERT CLARK
Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Faculty of Social Sciences
University of Edinburgh
Word Count: 98,780
February
2001
(Revised October
2001)
2
ABSTRACT
This
thesis examines the lives and experiences of relatively 'unknown' minority ethnic
communities in Britain.
As
a group, they have been known by many names since their arrival in
the
15th
Century, although the most common one - and the one that has stuck - has been
'Gypsies'. This label, as the thesis demonstrates, is both historically and etymologically inaccurate,
as well as being offensive to some of the people who are called a 'Gypsy. Despite this, it is still
the
main
label that features in the commentaries and literature that discuss this population. It is
the
aim
of this thesis to get behind the headlines and sensationalism that surrounds 'Gypsy
invasions', 'Gypsy scams' and 'Gypsy curses'. I
aim
to give a more factual and critical sociological
and social policy account of who those persons known as 'Gypsies' are and how 'settled' Britain
regards them
This
account produces five distinct parts to the thesis:
Part 1
offers a critical overview of the context for the study and outlines the theoretical,
conceptual and methodological approach that is taken during the course of the thesis (especially
in relation to questions of ethnicity, ethnic identity, nomadism and the history of Gypsy
stereotypes).
This
analysis is done by reviewing how Gypsies and other Travellers have been
regarded in terms of 'race relations' and how they have been rendered, I argue, 'invisible' by the
ethnic and racial studies academic community as well as by policy-makers.
Part
2 provides a comprehensive account of who the
main
groups of Gypsies and
Travellers are in Britain today.
As
is shown, they are not just one homogeneous group but several
different groups who each have their own languages, lifestyles, cultures and ways of expressing
their unique identities. To be sure, it is unhelpful and lazy to merely lump them together and
speak of 'one' British Gypsy/Traveller population.
Part
3 is specifically concerned with looking at how Gypsies and Travellers in England
have been dealt with in terms of social! public policy and state services. The two
main
areas of
investigation are sites (accommodation) and social security. However, these are not examined in
isolation from the other social services as health, education and relationships with the Police are
also critically assessed.
Part 4
broadens the questions and issues out by taking into consideration the European
context. Increasingly, what happens at a European Union
(EU)
level regarding Gypsies and
Travellers has a direct bearing on how Britain chooses to view and treat Gypsies and Travellers. I
examine the social, legal and 'racial' context of Europe and the
main
institutions in the EU and
their stance on Gypsies and 'nomad populations'. I briefly offer a critical view on why it is that the
EU only appears to be interested in Gypsies when discussing education issues.
Part
5 is a general conclusion to the thesis and offers some final thoughts on the future
for Gypsies and Travellers
in
Britain.
It
examines recent moves to try and steady the shah.-y legal
ground that most Gypsies and Travellers currently occupy.
This
is most notably occuring through
a revival of
Romani
lobbying and moves to bring about legal change.
This
section also
summarises the
main
theoretical and policy implications of the thesis as a whole.
The picture that emerges from the research is of a variety of Gypsy and Traveller families in
Britain who are misunderstood, unheard and subject to a type of discrimination and prejudice that
could be termed, specifically, 'anti-Gypsyism'. Such
guq~
(non-Gypsies) who are largely part of
this
problem include those who work for local authorities, district councils, social security offices,
health and education authorities, police forces, national/local newspapers and other such
institutions and service providers. The 'problem', we shall see, is not so much Gypsies and
Travellers themselves; it is the discrimination they face from settled society that is the real
problem Though only a small ethnic/ nomadic minority group, and despite a degree of legal
protection from the Race Relations Act of
1976,
it is found that many barriers and hurdles are
faced by groups known or perceived as 'Gypsies' and 'Travellers' when they attempt to gain
access to the kinds of goods and services to which the majority of the settled
guqo
population take
for granted. In
this
sense, I argue that they constitute one of the least 'visible' and understood
ethnic minority groupings in Britain today.
3
CONTENTS
Abstract
2
Contents
Acknowledgements
Author's Declaration
3
6
9
10
11
Opre Ramal (Arise Gypsies!)
A Personal Preface
PART ONE:
A GENERAL INTRODUCTION
17
Chapter 1:
Chapter 2:
An Introduction to the Study and Methods
Gypsies, Travellers and 'Race Relations ':
Stereotypes, History, Theory and Practice
18
64
PART TWO:
THE DIFFERENT GYPSY/TRAVELLER
GROUPS IN BRITAIN
107
Chapter 3:
Chapter 4:
Chapter 5:
Chapter 6:
Overview: The Gypsies and Travellers of Britain
Gypsies and Travellers in Wales
Gypsies and Travellers in Scotland
N'ew (Age) Travellers in Britain
108
145
160
184
4
PART THREE:
SOCIAL POLICY AND GYPSIES/
TRAVELLERS IN ENGLAND: THE
EXAMPLES OF SITES, SOCIAL
SECURITY AND OTHER SOCIAL
SERVICES
213
Chapter 7:
Chapter 8:
Chapter 9:
Chapter 10:
The Struggle for Caravan Sites
Private Sites
Social Security
Discrimination, Health and Education
215
267
292
324
PART FOUR:
ON THE EUROPEAN STAGE
353
Chapter 11:
Civil Rights and European Action
354
PART FIVE:
THE ROAD AHEAD?
383
Chapter 12:
Conclusion
384

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