Gypsies and travellers

[Frozendaquiri]

It seems a lot of people think these 2 groups are the same, they are not. I find it offensive that people lump us together.

Gypsies are not Irish

Irish travellers are not gypsies

My family has been settled for a many generations but I always believed we descended from the Irish. I got my DNA tested last year and it appears I have no Irish blood but lots of Roma. My family comes from Scotland where I understand the divisions are not as clear cut but it was still quite a surprise.

Sorry this doesn't make any sense to me

Ok. It confirms that there are ‘gypsy travellers’, it’s a piece discussing a language/dialect spoken by them.

Then I'm surprised you don't realise 'traveller' is used for more than Irish travellers. As a PP pointed out, there are also differences in how the terms are used in Scotland.

And not all travellers are Irish.

What’s the difference? I’m genuinely interested to know. I’m well aware that travellers are probably the most marginalised and persecuted group in the UK, who it is widely acceptable to openly denigrate, slur and discriminate against. Sadly people in the UK don’t reflect on this when pointing fingers at the human rights abuses of ‘lesser nations’.

i always thought traveller community as being Irish and gypsy community being Roma based and the term traveller more widely used nowadays as gypsy can be used as a derogatory term

I'm not sure why people are getting arsey with the OP. If it was any other ethnic group explaining that they weren't the same as another ethnic group they were frequently mistaken for, people would be falling over each other to agree and validate.

People are missing the point, I'm talking about here in England where gypsies such as myself and Irish travellers are always assumed to be the same thing. We don't even originate from the same country

I'm all too aware of this sadly

As you ask, I’ve always wondered what the appeal of living in a caravan is? I couldn’t imagine living in such a confined space when a house is on offer. Genuine question.

For most, it's all they've ever known. Appeals can be being able to move easily, living amongst others and being able to socialize

I live in a static caravan

I'm an English gypsy. My father has harped on how we originate from India originally. He calls us Romani Gypsies
My mums a gorja though and divorced so I didn't grow up culturally his way apart from frequenting appleby every year

I'd say 'Africans' getvthe worst deal with labels....African? Yeah coz all 54 countries are the same right. Eqygpt, Gambia and South Africa are sooooo similar!

@JudgeRudy that does my head in too. Some people literally seem to think that Africa is one country.

People are missing the point, I'm talking about here in England where gypsies such as myself and Irish travellers are always assumed to be the same thing. We don't even originate from the same country

I'm not sure people do think theyre the same. Most people recognise the two different ethnicities....shorter stouter round faces, fair skin, freckles, sandy or red hair is Irish, darker swarthy/olive skin, dark hair is Romany/Roma

I think older people would have called them all groups gypsies/gypos back in the 70s80s. By 90s they'd use the P word. Then the term traveller became a bit more main stream and Gypsie was considered political incorrect. Roman have now re claimed like some blacks did eith the N word but many people are cautious and don't know what to use.
Traveller seems an odd word to use for a mostly now settled Irish community. I can't actually recall (knowingly) having met any Roma but my sense is that they are more likely to be living a true travelling lifestyle.

I listened to a very good podcast recently about how social services (known as The Cruelty) would take children from Scottish Travellers.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0czw33q?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

I have a Romani gypsy heritage - I have olive skin and blonde hair though so you wouldn’t think it to look at me. It ended with my grandparents really, my parents never “travelled” and had traditional careers.

It did amuse me when a guy in a pub came up to me a few years back and said - hey, you’re a gypsy right? - nobody ever noticed it before apart from him, who turned out to be a fellow gypsy!

But yes - I’ve met a few Irish travellers over the years and they are very different!

I think it is a bit like the term BAME eg black and minority ethnic. People often use that term as if it means one specific group or culture, when actually it covers loads of groups and cultures. Gypsy and Travellers is way more broad than just Roma and Irish travellers. E.g. definition also includes bargees/boat dwellers.

But I do know what you mean about people lumping some very different cultures together.