Press Release April 2006
International Roma Day: Pavee Point
April 6th 2006Mr Éamon Ó Cuív, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs will formally launch Pavee Point's report "Assimilation Policies and Outcomes: Travellers' Experience" to mark International Roma Day in Pavee Point Travellers' Centre April 6th 10.30-13.00. The report by independent research consultants Mairin Kenny and Eileen McNeela illustrates the dichotomy between official policy and actual practice and illustrates the difficulties that Travellers encounter in trying to integrate into Irish society.
"It illustrates some of the strategies Travellers have used in managing their identity and attempting to improve conditions for themselves and their children in Ireland over the past 40 years". It becomes clear "that it is not Travellers' nomadism that fuels anti-Traveller racism; it is their group identity. They are ostracised whether they 'settle' or not," states the report.
In addition to launching the Report, Pavee Point and the Roma Support Group will explore the current situation of Roma in Ireland and celebrate with Roma & Traveller music and food to celebrate the occasion. International Roma Day is celebrated in more than 60 countries, marking the first World Romani Congress and the adoption of the Roma Flag and Anthem in London in 1971. The day also provides the opportunity to highlight the discrimination experienced by the Roma community globally (At a global level Roma includes Traveller, Gypsy and Sinti) and to call for the human rights of all Roma to be respected and observed.
The Report is available for download:
For further information contact Terry Battles 01 8780255 Ext 103
Issued by:
Pavee Point Travellers' Centre, 46 North Great Charles St., Dublin 1.