I'm an Irish Traveller: Children Are Dying Due to Society's Ignorance

As an Irish Traveller, I have always been told to hide who I am—to hide a part of my life that people could, and would, judge me for. From a young age, my parents told my siblings and me that friends would treat us differently if they found out about our heritage. But why?When you’re 6 years old, you really don’t understand racism until it happens to you. As a white person, I’ve been protected my whole life by the color of my skin. Initially, when people meet me, they don’t harass me with racial abuse. It’s only when they learn of my heritage that their opinions begin to sway. I was heartbroken to read about two young Traveller boys who died after committing suicide due to racial bullying in Ireland this month. They were aged 9 and 13. Data from the Traveller Movement shows that Traveller individuals experienced a 6.6 times higher suicide rate when compared with non-Travellers. That statistic should worry anyone, but it is especially worrying to me, a Traveller.

The Decision About Whether to Hide Our Identity Is Painful

Despite being somewhat protected from direct racial discrimination, I know that my friends, colleagues and anyone I meet in life could judge me for my blood. Of course, I didn’t decide to be born into the family or world I was, yet I have to face the consequences of it. As individuals of a minority group, we have the challenge of understanding and protecting who we are. In our society, we should not have to fear that our identity will put ourselves or our children at risk. Until very recently, I hadn’t even considered if or how I would explain my heritage to my future children. That was, until I fell pregnant with my first child in December. They’re due to arrive in August, and I still have no idea how to approach the issue. I’ve been very fearful my whole pregnancy. With global increases in crime and an ongoing war crisis in Ukraine, it’s hard not to question the kind of world you’re bringing a baby into.On top of that, I know that my future children could potentially live under the same fear about who they are. How am I to raise them? Should I really be encouraging children to hide their identity in 2022? If I don’t, how do I keep them safe? Travellers and racial minority groups have a whole layer of questions to address purely because of bigoted, racist opinions.Again, I’d like to stress that I’m well aware of the rising and very public racial injustices all minority groups have felt in the past two years. But I can’t help but to highlight the difference when it comes to us Traveller and Romani people.

Until very recently, I hadn’t even considered if or how I would explain my heritage to my future children.

Travellers and Romani Are Vulnerable Minorities

I was probably around the age of 9 or 10 years old when I decided to tell my closest friend that I was a Traveller. That was the first time I ever felt different. I’m not sure whether it was because my parents had warned me about telling people for so long but it felt like this huge secret that no one knew about. Well, my parents had shielded me for a reason. From that moment onward, our friendship was never the same. She was distant. That hasn’t changed even as a 25-year-old adult. People are often shocked when I tell them that I’m a Traveller. Probably because I live in a house and don't have a big, fat wedding every month.In 2020, we saw public outcry across the globe as George Floyd was murdered while being detained by police. From that point, the Black Lives Matter movement saw a lot of support and coverage. The whole world seemed desperate for some kind of justice—and rightly so. Not just for Floyd’s murder but for the years and years of dehumanizing racism people of color have faced worldwide. Fast-forward to 2021. The British comedian Jimmy Carr released his newest comedy material on Netflix called Jimmy Carr: His Dark Material. Within the special, he makes a joke about finding the positives in the Holocaust. Don’t worry, though, his joke wasn’t attacking the Jews. No, he was only targeting the Gypsy, Traveller and Sinti community, which received laughs from the audience. I can only imagine how different the response would have been had he said the positive part of the Holocaust was the millions upon millions of Jewish victims who were slaughtered.Instead, he joked that it was brilliant news that over 500,000 Roma and Sinti victims were brutally murdered. Of course, there was total uproar from the community and external supporters. But our community received nothing. No apology or justice. In fact, we Travellers just had to face yet another round of racist comments online. I don’t believe any individuals are more or less deserving of support or assault based on their demographics alone. But society does. I can’t help but think, and know, that had Carr’s joke disregarded another minority group, he would have been called out. The show may have been canceled. He may have had to apologize. It would have been taken more seriously.

People are often shocked when I tell them that I’m a Traveller. Probably because I live in a house and don't have a big, fat wedding every month.

We Cannot Turn Our Backs on Anti-Traveller Racism

As Travellers, we should not fear for our children’s lives. We should not have to worry that they may be killed or harm themselves because of their race, heritage and identity. And as a society, we cannot be ignorant of the severity of racism that Travellers and Roma individuals face daily. You should be outraged when you hear discriminatory remarks made toward people of color, disabled individuals or LGBTQ+ people. But you should also feel the same anger when those remarks are made to a Traveller. You cannot accept racism toward some groups and not others. Racism is an issue that has been going on for far longer than we can imagine, and I don’t have all the answers. I cannot find the solution alone, unfortunately, to a very well-integrated part of our society. All I know is that I’m tired. I’m so tired of fighting for any kind of space in this world. We should not have to fight to be who we are—nobody should. Black lives matter. Asian lives matter. Queer lives matter. We all matter.