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US student's traveller site visit

6:28pm Wednesday 6th June 2007

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AN AMERICAN student has come to stay with treavellers at Dale Farm.

Zachary Scott, 26, a masters degree student at George Town, Washington, has taken time out to live at the illegally-built site and help fight the eviction.

The trip was arranged by Washington based human rights group the Advocacy Project following a visit by its boss Iain Guest last year.

Mr Scott, who is funding the project himself, was chosen because of his previous international work with Romany gipsies.

He said: "It has cost around £1,000 to get here, but I have my own caravan on site. The community is very fearful of eviction. The first goal is to try to prevent one. Preparing for the meeting has been my first job."

He said his long-term goal is to end "prejudice and racism".

"We have to solve the root causes and forge links with other traveller and roma groups," he added.

ends.

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Your Say YourEcho

The Vicar, says...
6:40pm Wed 6 Jun 07

Perhaps we should send someone to New Orleans to help the black populace fight against the prejudice suffered against them by their own Washington-based Government.

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Mary, says...
7:08pm Wed 6 Jun 07

Zac can always invite them to go back home with him. Also, perhaps he could do something about the plight of the native americans while he is about it.

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evilc, essex says...
7:40pm Wed 6 Jun 07

perhaps he can get the yanks to bomb them and blame it on friendly fire mistake they are good at that.

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Bored, says...
8:01pm Wed 6 Jun 07

evilc wrote:
perhaps he can get the yanks to bomb them and blame it on friendly fire mistake they are good at that.
Evilc, you're obsessed with guns and bombs!!!

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tina, basildon says...
8:25pm Wed 6 Jun 07

evilc. what is this obsession that you have with bombing and shotting people all the time your really starting to worry me :)

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Lisa Jensen, says...
8:59pm Wed 6 Jun 07

Excellent, this is a fab thing for him to be doing and I know that he will get a lovely welcome. Will meet him later this week then. Cool. X

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Maree, says...
9:12pm Wed 6 Jun 07

Lisa, I can't help but comment! Sounds like a nice and caring guy. Just a few questions though as someone who lived in NYC and sister does and knows Georgetown in DC.

1. The costs of going to Georgetown are extensive. Very posh! Usually the students come from a very advantaged background. This mean that, as I did once, he sees the theory of the issue and not both sides.
2. Every city in the US is segregated on race lines and reinforced by the socioeconomic class system. I would be very interested in meeting him and asking him why such an interest in travellers and not US minorities, or immigrant discrimination? As he will know he only needs to travel 400 miles South-West of his home in Georgetown to see extreme poverty and discrimination.

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romany rye, essex says...
9:29pm Wed 6 Jun 07

i am a pure breed romany i have paid my taxes all my life i own my own property which has a yard for my relations to pull there trailers when they come to see me ,anyway what i wood like to say is these irish tinkers are not romany gypsy people they are nothing like us . but the trouble with people is they class us all the same

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tina, basildon says...
9:37pm Wed 6 Jun 07

what does my future hold for me romany rye, seriously your right, but as iv said before i think there is good and bad in everybody weather they are travellers gypsys or poor people or rich people, i cant help but see good in everyone (except for that nasty mr oakroader who was horrible to me earlier) :)

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romany rye, essex says...
9:46pm Wed 6 Jun 07

tina all i was saying was they are not real romany people like people keep thinking and yes there is good and bad in all people,and these people what keep leaving messages on here saying wicked thing about people is bad ,also the racist words people say on here is bad.

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tina, basildon says...
9:49pm Wed 6 Jun 07

oh im really sorry romany rye i wasnt haveing a go i was agreeing with you i would really love to meet a true romany person, i was told that i had true gypys blood in me please dont think i was being nasty to you coz i wasnt :)

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romany rye, essex says...
10:06pm Wed 6 Jun 07

tina i did not think you was having a go sorry myself if i came across like that.anyway tina most real romany people live in houses now or yards but there is still people who hate us, you cant win with them type of people, i feel sorry for the irish tinkers but they do bring a lot of it on them selfs

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tina, basildon says...
10:19pm Wed 6 Jun 07

well i dont hate you i think true romanys are fantastic and really interesting, all the places they must have visited, and i do agree with what you are saying, i wish you all the luck and love in the world,x x:)

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Basildon Billy, says...
11:19pm Wed 6 Jun 07

How naive of Zachary, I bet he thinks he's helping a load of mis-understood travellers just desperately wanting to be accepted by the local community, I wonder if he will ever see the abuse they give to locals, the crimes the commit, the violence they impose on anybody they dont like the look of, the old people they trick into handing over money for driveways or roof work they never come back to do, I wonder if he will wonder how they afford 4x4's, BMW's, all those expensive caravans while all on the dole and never doing a hard days work in their lives

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Doug, Wakering says...
8:37am Thu 7 Jun 07

Here we go again. "Traveller" in the headline, Jon Austin in the byline, and out come all the "anti" brigade with the same old posts.

More threats, more lies, more racist comments... and they're exactly the same threats, lies and racist comments as are posted on all the other "traveller" articles. And, by and large, by the same people.

Shouldn't you lot be burning down the Reichstag or something?

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Stacie, Essex says...
7:10pm Thu 7 Jun 07

At least he has the courage of his convictions and is putting his wallet and his summer work where his mouth is. I wonder just how many of us can say the same thing about themselves?

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Ana, says...
7:19pm Thu 7 Jun 07

If those in positions of privilege did a fraction of the good Zach is trying to do, the world would be a better place. Shouldn't those who CAN help do so? What do all of US do with OUR time? Sit here and type!!!

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budgie, pitsea says...
6:19pm Fri 8 Jun 07

I agree with Maree. I currently live just outside of the DC stateline (Rockville). Minorities here are in the sh&t. Coming from Georgetown to a travellers site is like someone coming from Eton to live in Anacostia (DC black suburb). To me its just publicity. You all know my view on these Dale farm lot. I think it stinks how they can build their land on greenbelt illegally, make residents life hell, the violence associated with them, the tax dodging and benefit fraud. Those lot over there are millionaires I hope Zac (the spac) can see that.

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Lisa Jensen, says...
9:48pm Fri 8 Jun 07

Hi all,
I met Zach today, allbeit for a short amount of time. He is staying in a very small and very old van on the site and he was part of a baby head wetting process last night in the local pub, baptism of fire me thinks. Oh and I have never seen a bmw on the site, tell a lie, I have and it was a really old one. Don't who the fool slagging Tina off is, but whatever.

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Paul, says...
8:25am Sat 9 Jun 07

I think Zac wants to sort out the injustices in America before he comes over here. Go to the reservations where the native americans (Indians, in case you don't know who native americans are)live in slums. They do not have the money that these travellers have with their expensive cars etc etc. and if you go down Hovefield Avenue you will see plenty of BMWs, Mercedes,Range Rovers etc. But then you have been down Hovefield Avenue, haven't you Lisa?? It's a wonder you did not see them, they are alway driving up and down in them.

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Lisa Jensen, says...
10:12pm Sat 9 Jun 07

Paul wrote:
I think Zac wants to sort out the injustices in America before he comes over here. Go to the reservations where the native americans (Indians, in case you don't know who native americans are)live in slums. They do not have the money that these travellers have with their expensive cars etc etc. and if you go down Hovefield Avenue you will see plenty of BMWs, Mercedes,Range Rovers etc. But then you have been down Hovefield Avenue, haven't you Lisa?? It's a wonder you did not see them, they are alway driving up and down in them.
I have been down there yes, didnt notice any ne cars though or bmws but then I wasnt actually looking for them.

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Bill, says...
8:19pm Mon 11 Jun 07

You would be lucky not to be run down by one.

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