Manchester Traveller rights rally – ‘We want answers’

10 December 2024
Manchester Rally

We came from Devon to Dublin to Manchester - hundreds of Romany Gypsy, Traveller, Pavee and Roma campaigners rally for Traveller rights in Manchester

Hundreds of Gypsies and Travellers and supporters turned out for the Traveller rights rally last Saturday to protest against the racist policing on the 23rd November that saw Traveller children and teenagers “herded around like animals” and assaulted by Manchester Police.

Videos of police indiscriminately barring Traveller young people from shopping centres and forcing them back onto trains at mainline Manchester stations spread rapidly on social media from Saturday afternoon onwards.

Paddy
Paddy Doherty arrives at the rally in St Peter's Square

The Travellers’ Times has seen one video that showed a Traveller mum and her daughters “herded like animals” around Manchester Victoria train station on the 23rd November, before being ordered back onto trains taking them away.

In another video, a young Traveller man remonstrates with police outside the Manchester Arndale Centre, demanding to know why they were not letting him go in when any “disturbances were nothing to do with him.” The young man was then brutally thrown to the ground by the police before being bundled into a police van.

Paddy Doherty, Tommy Joyce and John Reilly speak at St Peter's Square
Paddy Doherty, Tommy Joyce and John Reilly speak at St Peter's Square

One parent of a Traveller youngster told the Manchester Evening News how her daughter was left crying and 'hysterical' after police forced her and other young people from the Traveller community onto trains heading out of Manchester without knowing the destination. The “hysterical” child ended up in Grimsby – 100 miles away from her mother.

The Gypsy and Traveller communities were rocked to the core and the event sparked a number of protests. The Gypsy Traveller League called for a protest in Manchester itself, and the call was soon endorsed by Manchester/Rochdale Traveller Tommy Joyce and TV star Paddy Doherty.

Manchester Rally
Mizzy, Sharon and Mackensie - 'growing up you get called names'

Sharon Joyce, Mizzy Pearson and Mackensie McGuigan were three “young travelling girls” from Manchester who turned up to the rally in Manchester last Saturday to show support. Young they may have been, but racism was already a sad fact of their everyday lives, they told the Travellers' Times.

“Growing up you get called names,” said Sharon Joyce, adding that they knew cousins who had been directly affected by the use of a racist police dispersal order on the 23rd November.

“If you cut us all open now, every single one of us, the police, us, the white people, the coloured people, anything, cut us all open and what colour are we going to bleed - it's the same colour red,” added Sharon.  So, we're just here today to show we're not different.” 

Manchester rally
Lizzie and Kayleigh and family - “If we don't  do something now, they're not going to have a life, are they?” 

Lizzie and Kaylie and family – all Travellers from Manchester – had turned up to make change.
They explained that all three generations of their family had suffered from racism all their lives  - and they didn’t want it to keep on going through future generations.

“If we don't  do something now, they're not going to have a life, are they?” 

“When it comes to Travellers, people don't care.” 

Manchester rally
Manchester rally

Lizzie told the Travellers’ Times that they had family that had been directly affected by the actions of the police on the 23rd November.

“Obviously they are a bit shaken up, but they're used to it - it's normal for us,” added Lizzie. 
“The only reason that it’s been shown this time is because everyone has phones, and it gets out on social media.”

 “It happens every time though. They always get thrown out of the Arndale Centre - every single time, no matter what – it’s not just at Christmas.”

Tommy Turner
Tommy Turner - 'We want answers'

Campaigner and music event organiser Tommy Turner had come from Devon to show his support.
“We want to be heard in this country,” said Tommy Turner. 

We've had enough. We are targeted by the police, by Inland Revenue and Customs wherever we go,” he added.


“We're not getting into restaurants, our kids are not getting into shopping centres to buy Christmas presents, and we just need to speak up - which is what we are doing.”

Manchester rally
Manchester rally
Manchester rally

“Little girls, little children, being thrown onto trains and crying their eyes out, saying, ‘where are we going?’” said Tommy Turner.  

“This is not 1940. We're in 2024. This is not 1940. This is not tolerable, and this is not acceptable in any community.” 

“I'm here today to stand up and make a noise. We want answers. Why did that happen? Why? Someone's had to give that order to use that sort of abusive violence towards children. There needs to be a public inquiry.” 

Manchester rally
John Hamer Connor brought his vardo and horse from Bury to take part

The event passed peacefully with the police taking a low profile, keeping a watchful presence from afar while a couple of Police liaison officers in blue tabs followed the march itself. 

After the rally and the speeches had ended in St Peter’s Square, and a mock-up of a coffin symbolising racism against Travellers had been ceremonially smashed up, the rally then took to the streets of central Manchester led by a horse drawn vardo and with a marching drum band from Rhythms of Resistance band and hundreds of supporters in tow. 

Manchester rally
A coffin of discrimination is ceremonially smashed

Human Rights organisation RAPAR, Unite the Union, Stand up to Racism and Roma charity KaskoSan all joined in. But at the core of the march where Travellers.

Manchester rally
Manchester rally
Manchester rally

The rally eventually ended up at the Manchester Arndale Centre where, just under two weeks ago, Police used a dispersal order to bar all Gypsy and Traveller children and teenagers from entering, brutally arresting one young man who tried to remonstrate with them.

Manchester rally
Manchester rally
Outside the Arndale Centre

“We want those officers responsible for that,” said Tommy Joyce.

“Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham - we've asked you this,” added Tommy Joyce.

“Why don't you step forward and answer the questions? You will not come out because you're ashamed of the Traveling community in this town. Let me tell you, Mr. Burnham - we will never go away.”

“This is our home, this is our country, and we're staying in it. Regardless, if you like us or if you don't - we're going nowhere.”

Manchester rally
Manchester rally

“The police say that children were on the trains causing issues and causing problems, yet by half six that morning they're already at the shopping mall. They had an operation called ‘Sticky’ - that's the operation.”

“The police told the security to stand down and said, ‘we will deal with the gypsies,’” continued John Reilly, adding that he had the evidence for this.

Manchester Rally
Martin Collins from Pavee Point in Dublin
Manchester Rally
Romani campaigner Lo Lo Jones

Martin Collins, who works for the Traveller/Pavee charity Pavee Point came all the way from Dublin to show his support.

“We're sending out a very clear message that what happened on the 23rd of November to those young Gypsy and Traveller boys and girls was horrible, was despicable, was horrendous and quite frankly it was racist,” said Martin Collins.

“Some are physically injured, not to mention the mental and the emotional trauma that those young Gypsy and Traveller boys and girls will experience for months and years to come,” he added. 

Manchester rally
Manchester rally
Manchester Rally
Manchester rally

“So there has to be accountability,” said Martin Collins.

“What happened on the 23rd of November bears the hallmarks of a deeply embedded, institutionalized racism within the Greater Manchester Police.”

“And finally, can I just say, and this is really important to all Gypsies, Roma, Travellers, Pavee, Minceirs:  Die on your feet, don't live on your knees.”

At the time of going to print, the Manchester Police have still not delivered a promised report to the Deputy Mayor of Manchester Kate Green.

In the meantime, the Traveller Movement has engaged a top law firm who are willing to take pro bono (no win no fee) civil action against the police on behalf of children and teenagers directly affected by the police use of the dispersal order. Details are on the Traveller Movement's Facebook page and on their website: Manchester 2024 | The Traveller Movement

TT News

(Photographs by Eszter Halasi for the Travellers’ Times. Video, interviews and write-up by Mike Doherty for the Travellers’ Times)


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