Lessons from Dunsink Traveller Protest

cork | crime and justice | opinion/analysis Monday October 11, 2004 02:38 by David McCarthy - Traveller Visibility Group tvgdave at hotmail dot com 11 Comeragh Park, The Glen, Cork. 021 4503786

Mainstream media reaction to the Traveller protest at Dunsink has been interesting, writes Dave McCarthy of the Traveller Visibility Group in Cork. The action has given the darlings of the right wing media the time of their lives this week, as they got their first excuse in years to peddle their hatred of Ireland’s only ethnic minority. But are we all losing out because of this?

And they’re off! Watch as the “analysts” and wannabe darlings of the right race to condemn the actions of the Travellers at Dunsink. How many of the worthies of the mainstream press have written anything objective about the issue this week? How many readers, who want to know the truth about this issue, have been denied access to facts, and instead been offered “analysis” of the situation which is nothing more than bile and curry wrapped in newsprint?
Travellers and the rest of the Irish people deserve better than this. It is bad enough to know that millions of Euro of our money is wasted every year on pointless evictions, barricades, bollards, and earthen embankments to stop Travellers from finding a place to live. Now we see a right of way closed off, secretly and illegally, without planning, by the planning authority itself. The hypocrisy is almost funny.
What is worse is that the mainstream media is complicit in the affair. Perhaps a more alert, less intellectually lazy, and a really truth-oriented mainstream media might have stirred itself to ask some questions, rather than take the high moral ground of condemning those who protested peacefully for the last few days. Instead, we saw a lie. We saw news reports which focussed on the dangerous and illegal actions of a minority of younger Travellers. The reports were heavy with implication that these louts were representative of the large group of responsible Travellers present. They were not. If anything, the actions by the mindless few who got so much media attention reveal a truth. Travellers are not used to protesting in this way. Experienced organisers of direct action think of how to marshal those who might want to take advantage of a situation in this way.
The preferred Traveller method of bringing about change is through consultation. The irony is that the Travellers who protested at Dunsink included some who are vastly experienced in the arts of community development, negotiation, and policy formation, the very people with whom Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council failed to engage to plan how to avoid this disaster.
But the failure of the mainstream media did not end there. The condemnation of the Traveller protest carries with it the suggestion that Travellers are not really supposed to protest on the streets. We are not supposed to tolerate Travellers agitating for change. Yes, we see them marching. We read their press statements. We are aware that Traveller representative organisations are constantly complaining about something or other. But obstructing traffic is something else. This is simply not on! It is alright that Gardaí stay away from work with an attack of the Blue Flu. Farmers who disrupt the business of government by carrying sheep in to see the minister’s office are excused. Yet there is something different about Travellers protesting in this way. The underlying message in the mainstream media is that if you are a Traveller, you may not engage in peaceful protest to highlight the responsibilities of the state. Deep down, no matter how easily a person falls for media stereotyping of Travellers, the majority settled community will feel some embarrassment and unease at this.