Last month in Manchester saw the latest incident highlighting the discrimination that Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers (GRT) have faced for centuries in the UK.
While traveling to a Christmas market on November 30th, Greater Manchester Police forced children from these communities—some aged as young as ten—onto trains carrying them far from the city center. Some claim they ended up 100 miles away in Grimsby. According to reports in The Travellers’ Times and national press, children were assaulted in the process.
The police have been criticized for “racial profiling,” violating children’s physical safety, and undermining their dignity and human rights. Despite public outcry after videos of the train deportation and other flare-ups between police and the GRT communities surfaced on social media, no justification has been provided, and the officers involved remain in their posts.
By many metrics the most marginalized communities in the UK, the incident has been framed by GRT people as part of a broader, ingrained targeting of them by authorities, society, and the media—some of whom took the extra step of organizing a protest in London this past weekend.
“Seeing the police brutality—the boy held down, with pressure on his neck—was horrifying,” said Laura Collins, a GRT activist who organized the demonstration in Parliament Square last Saturday, November 30. “For any mother, regardless of being a Traveller, you should be outraged.” Her words resonated with the small but impassioned crowd in front of Westminster.
Stephanie McDonagh, a prominent advocate for GRT rights, stated, “What happened in Manchester is not just a one-off. It’s part of a long history of mistreatment and prejudice against our people.”
Research by The Traveller Movement reveals that Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers are more likely to face racial assaults than any other ethnic group in the UK. In 2023 alone, 62 percent of Gypsies and Travellers, and 47 percent of Roma people, reported experiencing a racial assault. Yet, less than 15 percent of these hate crimes are ever reported, reflecting a deep mistrust of law enforcement.
This mistrust is not unwarranted. “There have been other cases where members of our community were brutally treated by those in authority, even losing their lives, and yet the CPS won’t act,” Collins said. In the case of the Manchester incident, the failure to suspend or investigate the officers involved only reinforces perceptions of impunity.
Mary K. Foy—the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gypsies, Travellers, and Roma—has written to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper MP, calling for a full investigation. Yet, as of now, the police officers involved have not been held to account.
In fact, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham defended GMP’s actions during a BBC Radio Manchester phone-in, citing intelligence on potential anti-social behavior. “Everyone has got a place in our city-region as long as people are coming to abide by the law,” he said, denying accusations of racism. However, community members argue his justification ignores the discriminatory targeting of a specific group based on stereotypes rather than evidence.
Historically, GRT people have been pushed to the fringes of society, denied basic rights, and subjected to violent persecution. They have often been framed as a “problem” in media that must be “managed,” further entrenching prejudices.
One protester, ‘JR,’ founder of the Gypsy Traveller League, reflected on this issue: “[The TV show] Big Fat Gypsy Weddings destroyed us. It was a big downfall. These types of programs are not helping—they’re just looking for money.” Such portrayals distort public perception, reinforcing prejudice and fueling discrimination.
JR’s own children shared his experiences. His young daughter said, “It makes me feel sad because it’s not really nice for us… not serving people who’s having family-time stuff because they hear our voices and what we sound like.”
Despite these challenges, grassroots movements are fighting back. The #StopTravellerHate campaign, launched by The Traveller Movement, is calling for an end to the online hate speech that disproportionately targets GRT communities. Online hate speech against GRT people accounts for 15 percent of all racist or discriminatory slurs in the UK, and this figure is growing. Activists are working tirelessly to challenge these hate-filled narratives and demand greater protections for GRT individuals both online and offline.
Advocates are pushing for stronger hate crime reporting mechanisms, as GRT people often avoid the police out of distrust. Bias is pervasive; an ex-pub chain employee at the protest revealed, “They’ve got a code word for us. They call us ‘Jelly Babies.’” As JR put it, “We’re constantly fighting against these stereotypes that have been put on us, and it’s exhausting. But we keep fighting, because that’s all we can do.”
For many, the Manchester incident was a painful reminder of the past. “Seven security attacked Michael McDonagh because he was an Irish Traveller,” recalled Stephanie McDonagh, speaking powerfully about her father’s own experiences with police brutality. “He was targeted. They held him to the ground and put a restraint on his neck. Over 150 witnesses came forward. Many said they heard Dad call out that he couldn’t breathe, but they didn’t lift the restraint from his neck.” Despite the overwhelming evidence, no one has been charged or prosecuted for his death at Parkdean holiday resort in Camber Sands in 2022.
McDonagh claims that when she and her siblings tried to hand out leaflets asking for witnesses to come forward, staff at the resort tried to prevent them from doing so. (A spokesman for the resort said they “do not recognize” these allegations.) This suppression of evidence and refusal to hold those responsible to account underscores the systemic nature of anti-Traveller oppression in the UK. “If this happened to anyone else, it would be all over the media. But when it’s Travellers, it’s ignored,” she added.
These personal accounts highlight the deep emotional and psychological toll that racial discrimination takes on individuals within the GRT community. The trauma of being constantly targeted, dehumanized, and denied basic rights is an inescapable part of their lived reality.
As protest organizers and community leaders have argued, it isn’t enough to acknowledge the discrimination facing the GRT community. “There’s an embedded institutional prejudice that’s not being addressed at the root,” Collins said. “We need people from our community in leadership roles—not as tokens but as actual contributors—to teach, reform, and add to the policies that impact us.” Another protester summed up the urgency: “We need society to listen to our people, to imprint our voices in policies and laws. We need to be trained and supported to access leadership roles, to be in the rooms where decisions are made.”
For the GRT community, the fight is ongoing, the struggle far from over. “We need more people to stand with us, to speak out, and not just when it’s convenient. This fight is for everyone, not just for us. We’re all in this together,” one protester urged.
In the words of grandmother and protester, Noreen Ward, “We are all human. We come into this world the same way, and we leave it the same way. We all need to respect one another.”
The events in Manchester, and the painful stories shared by members of the GRT community, highlight the urgent need for real change to come. Until it does, the voices of the GRT community will continue to demand justice, respect, and equality.
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The post Manchester’s Train Deportation of Gypsy Children Sparks Protest in London appeared first on VICE.
The post Manchester’s Train Deportation of Gypsy Children Sparks Protest in London appeared first on VICE.
