Text: Irish Traveller Charlie Doherty at CARJ anniversary

Charlie Doherty Image ICN/JS

Irish Traveller Charlie Doherty gave the following talk at the CARJ anniversary conference in Amigo Hall, Southwark on 25 May.

My name is Charlie Doherty and in case my accent isn't a dead giveaway, I should tell you that I'm an Irish Traveller. I left school when I was 11 years old, to work with my father which is normal for most Travellers. When I was younger my plan for life was to work in groundworks like my father and his father before him - despite never having enjoyed it. I was just doing what was expected of me, completely unaware that there were other opportunities available to me.

I continued working with my father even when I had started part-time Maths and English course at the age of 16.

When I was 18, I had a rough winter, having caught Covid two or three times. This put me out of work for months, Because of this I decided that I added a career change, but I was unsure where to start.

I was now worried, because for the first time in my life I had no plan. I had no idea what I wanted to do because I'd never given any other path in life much thought. I decided that I just wanted something, anything, where I didn't have to depend on my body, as this would allow me to work even if I was sick.

The only previous work experience I had was swinging around a shovel, so I had to gain experience in an office environment, and I had to do it fast. As I didn't have anyone else to ask, I asked my mother if she knew anyone who would be able to help me with this. Sh told me she would have to have a rethink about who she knew and get back to me.

After a few days my mother told me to ask Father Dan if he knew of any volunteer positions in the Church or at a charity where I could gain some work experience in an office. My mother had first met him when we were on pilgrimage in Rome in 2015. It was for when Pope Francis called for a special Audience at the Vatican with Gypsy Roma and Traveller people from all over the world. We were with a group led by a nun named Sister Bernadette and Father Dan was leading another group. My mother didn't get much of a chance to talk to him but she met him again in 2016 at Youth 2000 in Walsingham.

So I gave Fr Dan a call . And he told me that he knew of an organisation called the Traveller Movement, who work with Irish Travellers, Romany Gypsies and Roman people in the UK and they were looking for interns. He put me in touch with the organisation and even gave me a reference when I applied for the role. After a few weeks of back and forth with the Traveller Movement I was offered the position of intern.

I was in a unique position in the Traveller Movement, because I was both an employee and a service user at the same time, as I come from of of the communities that they work with. Because of this, it was in their interest to help me develop my skills both in the context of my role and also outside of my role. Through my conversations with the staff who worked for the organisation I learned more about education and how it increased their career prospects.

Fast forward a year, and I completed my internship and my business course. I wanted to go to university but decided to take a gap year to get a proper job, because funnily enough I liked the idea of being able to afford food! But also, I wanted to gain more work experience and further develop my skills. I was getting ready to leave the Traveller Movement and look for a job, but before this could happen , they offered me the role of the Youth Engagement and Development Officer.

I gladly accepted the role and have been carrying it out since. I've been involved with multiple projects since I began, but am now currently involved in delivering a campaign called Operation Traveller Vote. Inspired by its namesake Operation Black Vote, it aims to increase political education and political participation amongst the Traveller community and will be launched online on June 18th.

The messaging this time around will have more of an emphasis on how showing political unity and voting as a Traveller can directly affect your life, as opposed to saying you should vote because the right to do so and because its good.

There is a lack of influence on the way we're perceived by the general public, since we don't have enough of a voice in public discourse, instead giving those who wish to profit from the scapegoating of our communities, politicians specifically, the power to manipulate public perception, increasing discrimination and therefore making life harder for community members. Our argument is that voting and showing political unity would give us a voice in public discourse, allowing us to combat the messaging from politicians and other public figures, that is doing so much harm to the communities .

Some of the ways that a negative public perception affects the lives of Travellers is that it can make it harder for sites to be developed or private land to be passed for planning permission to live on. It increases the chances of being denied entry or refused service at various establishments, something that has happened to me on a number of occasions. And it can decrease the the likelihood of finding work. All these instances of discrimination can be tied back to negative public perception, because many people are afraid of Travellers, and think that we're going to cause trouble., our to the stories they've hewers rather than their own personal experiences.

I'm excited for this campaign, and perhaps I'm being over optimistic, but I do truly believe that a difference can be made by ensuring that people are politically aware. However, I'll soon be leaving the Traveller Movement to attend university.

I pray that everything goes well with the campaign and I pray that everything goes well with the Traveller Movement. It's going to be hard to leave it has to be done. I feel like a mama bird watching its chicks jump from the nest and learn to fly.

The university I've chosen to attend is St Mary's, where I'll be styling Philosophy and Theology.

Its quite uncommon for a Traveller man like myself to be attending university and its not at all what I thought I'd be doing a few years ago. But I'm not in the position I'm in now because I'm smarter than anyone else, its just through the grace of God that I met and spoke to the right people at the right time.

Moments that seemed insignificant at the time I know, in retrospect and understand the effect they had on me, completely changing the trajectory of my life. The conversation I had with Father Dan on the phone, asking if he knew of any opportunities to develop work experience changed my life. The conversations I had with co-workers in the office about education and politics changed my life. The conversations I had with my boss about the importance of networking changed my life.

Its these individual experiences that change a person's attitude and help build momentum for change - and if these experiences can positively affect my life, then the same can happen for every other Traveller in this country.