Guest blogger, Matt Cary is policy and campaign worker at Roma Support Group, he tells us about how GRT History Month was celebrated this year.
Each year in June we celebrate Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) History Month. GRT History Month started in the London Borough of Brent in 2001, was endorsed by Parliament in 2007 and has been celebrated nationally since 2008. Since 2018, the GLA has partnered with GRT organisations to hold an annual GRT History Month event in June.
There are estimated to be between 100,000 to 300,000 Gypsy and Traveller people and approximately 200,000 Roma people living in the UK. GRT people are linked by their Romani ethnicity or nomadic lifestyle, but ‘GRT’ is a broad term that incorporates a diverse range of groups and not all people who come under this term have Romani heritage or live nomadic lives. There are several distinct groups of Travelling and nomadic peoples in the UK including Romany Gypsies, Irish Travellers, English Travellers, Scottish Travellers, Welsh Travellers, Showmen, Bargees and New Travellers
History
GRT people have a long history in the British Isles. Roma originated in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent. They began a westward migration in 500 CE, reached Europe by the 12th century and first came to the British Isles at the beginning of the sixteenth century. They were persecuted by acts of Parliament during the Tudor period and shipped to the Americas as slaves in the seventeenth century. The surviving Roma population in the British Isles became known as Romanichal, today often identifying as Romany Gypsies, English Travellers, Scottish Travellers and Welsh Travellers. Irish Travellers do not have Romani heritage but are a nomadic indigenous ethnic group who separated from the settled Irish population in the sixteenth century at the time of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Roma people in the UK today do not lead nomadic lives. The majority migrated to the UK from central and eastern European countries in the late 1990s and early 2000s and also after EU expansion in 2004.
Despite this long and diverse history in the British Isles, the history of GRT people is scarcely covered in the UK school curriculum. Between 220,000 and 500,000 Roma and Sinti people were killed by the Nazis and their collaborators during the Second World, but it remains a largely forgotten Holocaust. A pattern in attitudes towards GRT history can be seen across Europe. Roma slavery in Romania lasted over 500 years beginning in the 14th century, but today in Romania, Roma slavery is not part of the school curriculum.
Currently
2021 has marked some important moments in the history of GRT people. In March 2021, a Roma ethnicity tick-box was included on the UK national census for the first time. On 8 April, International Romani Day, GRT organisations across the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first World Romani Congress. At the first congress, GRT representatives from across Europe came together in Orpington near London. Here they established the Romani Flag and the Romani anthem, ‘Gelem, Gelem.’ To find out more about the history of the congress and to view the anniversary events, visit the Romanistan website and YouTube page.
2021 has also reflected the ongoing difficulties that GRT people face in navigating a hostile environment and an exacerbation of inequalities. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill threatens the nomadic way of life of many Gypsies and Travellers and has the potential to tear families apart. In response to this, a large portion of this year’s event will involve a panel discussion on the Bill. This year’s event also falls at a significant time for many Roma people in the UK. The EU Settlement Scheme deadline is fast approaching on 30 June and many Roma risk not securing their immigration status due to a range of barriers. The COVID-19 pandemic has been shown to affect GRT people disproportionately and contributes to inequalities in health, education and access to services.
The histories of GRT people have shaped their present experiences and GRT History Month is both a celebration of GRT history and culture whilst simultaneously addressing the present needs of the communities. To find out more about GRT communities in the UK, please look at the work of our partners who include; London Gypsies and Travellers, Traveller Movement, Roma Support Group, Showmens Guild, Traveller Pride, ACERT and Southwark Travellers Action Group.
Travellers Times is comprehensive news database of GRT current affairs and Friends Families and Travellers provide advice and support and contribute to research and policy making. Please also see the National Fairground and Circus Archive and Circus 250 to learn about the history of Fairgrounds and the Circus.
You can also watch a recent short film, Our Romano Drom, a History of the 1971 London World Romani Congress.
The film is a documentary history about the lead up to the 1971 London World Romani Congress.
Using archive footage and photographs, Grattan takes us through the 60's in Ireland where he became involved in Traveller issues, to the UK early campaigns against evictions, the setting up of the Gypsy Council and the lead up to the 1971 Congress in London. The film was written and narrated by Grattan Puxon, Romani activist and general-secretary of the 1971 Congress. Produced and edited by Ioana Constantinescu for the 8 April 2021 Jubilee celebrations organised by the Jubilee London Committee.
Grattan Puxon has an archive at Bishopsgate Institute.
You can also watch the full interviews/conversations with all the contributors in the film.