Rfyzd a drinc, scepgǒtd bî MPz: Jipsi, Roma n Travlr lîf in Britn z onli gtñ hardr
Transcription of a Guardian article of 3 August 2023
Yt anɖr p’liticl līflit z undr fîr fr tarġtñ ɖz grūps. Ẃt wl it tec fr s t si ɖs resizm fr ẃt it z?
Ʈrzde, 3 Ōġst
Ẃn I arîvd at ɖ norʈ Lundn pub 20 minits lêt, mî frend wz midwe ʈru hr lêtist r’mantic drama. Ś wz hvñ rleśnśp-trublz wɖ hr (liv-in!) bôfrend v tū wīcs, n wɖ evri twist n trn in ɖ stori ǎr nôzi histrionics incrist. Acrs fṛm s, a grūp v abt 30 ppl sat spred acrs sevṛl teblz, qaytli injoyñ a Twixtṃs drinc. Aftr an abortiv atmt t s’kr a drinc ʈru ɖ ap, I wnt t ɖ bar.
Az I arîvd, tū v ɖ ppl fṛm ɖ teblz acrs fṛm s wr olso ɖr, atmtñ t d ɖ sem. Ɖ stāf bhnd ɖ bar rfyzd t srv ɖm n ẃn ɖe argyd bac, ɖ hol bar wz śut. Az I rtrnd t ɖ tebl, mî frend wz stl in fl flo. Ovr hr śoldr, I sw ɖ omiṇs hî-viz jacits v tū Metṛpolitn p’līs ofisrz entr ɖ pub n tōc t ɖ barstāf bfr aproćñ ɖ grūp nxt t s. Bfr loñ anɖr duzn or so arîvd, dmandñ ɖt ɖe līv. Ɖer crîm? Biyñ Travlrz in a pub.
W pṛtstd ovr ɖer ivix́n n endd p in a confṛnteśn wɖ ɖ ofisrz, bfr līvñ wɖ ɖ grūp. Ǎtsd, śecn p n anoid, w ćatd t sm v ɖoz hu’d bn ijctd. “D’nt boɖr yrslvz abt it,” ɖe tld m. “It hapnz ol ɖ tîm.”
Fr ppl īvn tanjnṣ́li cnctd or awer v ɖ Jipsi, Roma n Travlr cḿṇtiz (JRT), ɖs insidnt z nt ptiklrli s’prîzñ. Nr z ɖs wīc’s nyz ɖt ɖ Wlś secṛtri n Monṃʈ MP, Devid TĆ Devis, hd dstribytd a līflit incuṛjñ ppl t er ɖer vyz on ɖ “istabliśmnt v a numbr v Jipsi Travlr saits in ɖ cǎnti”.
Ɖ līflits hv cm undr śarp criṭsizm – sm hv sd ɖe “bordr on resizm” (fr ẃt it’s wrʈ, I’d se ɖ’r ovrtli resist), ẃl uɖrz hv rîtli argyd ɖe r embḷmatic v ɖ cntinyd crieśn v a hostîl invîrnmnt fr JRT ppl. Ɖ riaḷti z ɖz līflits wns agn xpoz a complex sistm v opreśn n prṣkśn ɖt emz t iradcet JRT ppl n culćr. Ɖs cuntri hz a loñ hisṭri v proṗgetñ ɖs cnd v resizm, n it hz onli incrist in ɖ past fy yirz.
A 2017 BBC invstgeśn faund ɖt les ɖn a ʈrd v pićz nīdd bî ɖz cḿṇtiz hd bn bilt, wɖ mni locl oʈoṛtiz līvñ unspent fundz aḷcetd fr ɖ crieśn v sć rzorsz. In its 2019 ilex́nmaṇfesto, ɖ Cnsrṿtiv parti promist t “crac dǎn on unoʈ̇rîzd incampmnts” n dd so wɖ ɖ pasñ v ɖ public-ordr lejsleśn ɖt crimiṇlîzd tresṗs.
It z sd ɖt anti-JRT sntimnt z ɖ last axptbl form v bigtri. I nǒ ɖt f y asc eni v mî blac, Mŭzlim, or trnzjndr frendz, fr xampl, ɖe wd qt rîtli pś bac on ɖs, bt it dz spīc t a bigr truʈ. Eni tîm I mnśn mî Roṃni heṛtij onlîn, īvn in pasñ, mî mnśnz imīɉtli fil p wɖ slrz. In ɖ riyl wrld, I hv lost cǎnt v ɖ numbr v tîmz ppl, īvn ɖoz hu wd cnsidr ɖmslvz nomiṇli “v ɖ left” hv slipt in a slr or a trǒp intu caźl convseśn (bfr imīɉtli rowñ bac ẃn I pl ɖm p on it).
Ɖ mīdia r olso nt wɖt blem. Fṛm insnjri coḷmz t bungld “invstgeśnz” intu “travlrcrîm”, ɖ c’lectiv impact v ɖ snć̣riz-old onslōt on JRT ppl z t cntiny t pozit ɖm az subhymn. Az nt wrɖi v sefti, s’kṛti or hapinis. JRT ppl hv sm v ɖ wrst hlʈ ǎtcumz acrs eni grūp. Ɖ aṿrij lîf-xpctnsi fr JRT men n wimin z 50. Ɖr z poṿti, depṛveśn n vast mntl-hlʈ iśuz. Ɖ c’lectiv atac on cḿṇtiz dz nʈñ t dīl wɖ ɖz probḷmz – ʈru îṣleśn n preɉdis it xaṣbets ɖm, ẃl crimiṇlîzñ grūps v ppl best on ɖer eʈniṣti.
Ɖs līflitrǎ hz fōḷn in ɖ sem wīc az Roma n Sinti Jeṇsîd Rmembṛnsde. It śd act az a rmîndr ɖt w mst lrn fṛm ɖ past n rples ɖ campen v hetrid n deṇgreśn wɖ a recgniśn v JRT ppl az hymn biyñz dzrvñ v invstmnt, v oṗtyṇti n v hop.
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Ben Smoc z a cmiśnñ editr at Huc
