about next week and what could happen I would ask you to remember what Gandhi said.” After the Mass, a CD featuring a folksy protest song recorded by one of the women was played to the group, reducing some of those present to tears. I chatted with the chalet’s owner, a middle-aged woman who did not want to be named, over a cup of tea. She said she had lived there for the best part of a decade, and that her grandchildren had been born there. Like a number of other Travellers on the site, she said she was seriously ill and on medication for depression, which she blamed on the stress of living under the threat of eviction for so long. Looking to Fr Mason, she said: “Why can’t they just leave us alone, Father? All we want to do is to be left alone to live our lives.” Fr Mason explained the reasons given by the council for the eviction: “They say you built homes here without planning permis- sion, and so they believe they have to take this action to enforce the law.” Looking back to me she said: “I’m fearful about the future. We are human beings – this is our home.” On our way to take Communion to another elderly Traveller on the other side of the camp- site, we passed a group of young people with matted hair and eco-friendly clothing who could not have looked further removed from the comparatively conservatively dressed Travellers around them.“They are the cam- paigners – a lot of them are students I think,” said Fr Mason. “The Travellers are just pleased to have some support.” The campaigners have been on the site for many weeks and, accord- ing to Fr Mason, were well organised, keeping watch and working around the site. They say they want Basildon Council to provide 62 plots for temporary housing for those made homeless while planning permission is sought for other Travellers’ sites.
A
s we drove back through the camp I was struck by how empty it was, even when taking into account the conspicuous lack of men. I learned some men had already moved their homes off of the site to avoid them being damaged or destroyed. Reports later said that up to half of the families facing eviction had left prior to the then Monday deadline. There were no barriers to stop the bulldozers, no fortifications other than the watchtower at the front entrance and another smaller one on the far side of the camp. It was almost as if the Travellers were resigned to their fate. Fr Mason said that many of the men were
away working at any one time, with some trav- elling as far afield as Holland and Spain looking for work. “Because of this, this ends up being a pretty matriarchal community,” he said. In one of the caravans, 75-year-old Anne Egan, who suffers from asthma, Parkinson’s disease and heart problems, sat surrounded by images of Mary. Mrs Egan’s eyes filled with tears as she pleaded with Fr Mason for answers. Her daughter, Margaret, said her family could not leave because they had “nowhere to go”. “All we can do is pray and try to keep the faith that we will be alright,” Margaret said.
However you’ve supported CAFOD in the past, a gift in your will means your faith and values will live on. You can supply clean drinking water, send children to school, provide healthcare to the sick and dying; and give training and tools to people struggling to feed their families. When future disasters strike, you could provide emergency aid and long-term support to families as they rebuild their homes and lives.
For a free copy of our will-making guide or to discuss the difference your gift could make call Maria on 020 7095 5367, email
legacy@cafod.org.uk or write to Maria Dyson, CAFOD, Romero House, 55 Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7JB. For more information visit:
www.cafod.org.uk/legacy
Registered charity no: 285776 Photography: Ataklti Mulu R28875
24 September 2011 | THE TABLET | 7
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