'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Soon, two-week-old Vivien Slattery and more than 200 others will be evicted from their settlement east of London, the losers in a decade-long battle between local officials and their community of Irish Travelers that has drawn attention around the world and concern from the United Nations.
"There have always been conflicts between nomadic and settled communities," said Jake Bowers, a Gypsy writer and editor of the publication Travelers' Times. "I think it is made worse in this country. The British have a great deal of enthusiasm for their homes being their castles, and there is a perception that Gypsies bring down property prices."
