The depiction of Travellers by Travellers in the Love/Hate RTÉ series generally has helped the image of the group, a leading Traveller representative has stated at the launch of a new report in Belfast.
Travellers also tended to get a more positive reception in Northern Ireland than in the Republic, added Mark Donahoe, secretary of the Traveller and Gypsy Network of Northern Ireland.
Mr Donahoe was speaking at the launch in Belfast City Hall of a new report, Traveller Voices for Change, which examines Traveller experiences in Northern Ireland in various areas such as jobs, education, health and in social settings.
Differing views
Mr Donahoe, a second cousin of John Connors, who had the lead Traveller role in Love/Hate, said that among Travellers there were differing views about the series. "Some Travellers say it was positive, some say it was negative, but I would see it as positive because it had Traveller actors playing Traveller roles," he said.
“If there is a storyline regarding Travellers, who better to play it than Travellers themselves,” he added.
Of the 40,000 Travellers living in Ireland, 4,000 are based in Northern Ireland.
The views of 151 Northern Ireland Travellers were canvassed for the report, carried out by the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities and the Traveller and Gypsy Network (NI).
More welcoming
Among the views expressed was that Northern Ireland was a more welcoming place for Travellers than the South.
Mr Donahoe said he agreed with this assessment. “I find people more accepting of Travellers up here than down South,” he said.
He speculated that one reason for this could be that in the North, Travellers are officially an ethnic group, while in the Republic they are still seeking to be so regarded.
“People tend to get away with racism more in the South. I always felt it was not as bad up here in the North as it is in the South. That may be to do with the ethnicity question,” added Mr Donahoe.
Of the respondents, 63 thought Northern Ireland was a welcoming place, 45 found it “partly welcoming” and 43 said it was “not welcoming”.
But there were some very negative experiences as well - 93 suffered verbal or physical abuse on the street; 47 experienced such abuse in the home; 57 suffered harassment or humiliation at work; and 72 reported racially motivated bullying of their child or children in school.
Incidents reported in comments by respondents included not getting served in pubs, or Travellers being followed around by staff when in shops.
On employment, the report found just over seven out of 10 respondents said they had not been able to secure work that gave them and their family sufficient money to live on and cover their expenses.
Discrimination experienced
Sixty-three of the respondents said they had experienced discrimination or less favourable treatment at work because they were perceived to be an ethnic minority while, more positively, 78 had no such negative experiences.
The report referred to Traveller frustration over securing work, with one respondent stating: “Travellers just don’t apply for jobs at all - as we know we won’t get them.”
The report found that Traveller views on income, housing and health care in Northern Ireland were “generally positive”, adding that this could be due to the “low expectations of many of the respondents given their experience of accessing and using services and having a decent, culturally appropriate place to live”.
It also found the “top priority” for Travellers was improved education. “The link between improved schooling and good jobs and improved living standards is clearly expressed,” the report states.
Mr Donahoe said the new report would be useful because it would “further cement our argument for a Travellers’ strategy to address our unique set of requirements” in areas such as housing, health, education, employment and social inclusion.
