What next in the every day story of travellers?

9:54am Tuesday 6th May 2008

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With every edition of the Echo we get another episode of the Everyday Story of Travelling Folk.

Each episode bringing another unbelievable story, and some new revelation.

The story in the latest episode is the County using taxpayers' money to pay for a travellers community centre, at their illegal site at Dale Farm.

This, of course, is also built on green belt land, without it having planning permission. It is financially aided by an unelected, and therefore undemocratic organisation, namely the Essex Racial Equality Council.

Given that these statictravellers are not a race, and that equality should mean that travellers are treated in the same way as everybody else, and have to abide by the same laws as the rest of us, and certainly not expect special treatment, what gives this organisation the right to get involved in a matter which is so clearly outside its remit?

There is no way this can be racial, as the travellers are not a race. Nor can it be ethnic cleansing as was so ridiculously alleged in a previous episode of this soap.

I cannot help wondering what the next episode of The Everyday Story of travelling Folk will bring us.

We have had stories of multiple homes, and of them owning mansions in Ireland, the importation from Poland of furniture including highly inflammable three piece suites, and of course all the sob stories about their old folk being ill and needing care and to be near doctors, and their kids needing to go to school to get an education No different from the rest of us then. We read all about the appeals to the various courts up to and including the Court of Human Rights, and the long awaited judgment from the judicial review as to whether or not they should not be evicted from their illegal site.

There was also the recent episode about the unfortunate down and outs, and dossers, some travellers use as slaves and servants.

I wait with bated breath for the next episode of this soap. Perhaps the Echo should devote one page every day to this soap opera, but on second thoughts it does most days anyway.

Clive Benson
Coppens Green
Wickford