A one-sided article from the Daily Mail (2013) reports on the eviction of a Rroma settlement in Meriden, Warwickshire. The settlement, referred by the authors as being illegal, was subject to disputes between Rroma and local residents who formed a local movement against the settlement and have been active in court for the last three years. The competent court issued a ruling in favour of the residents and to the misfortune of the local Rroma. According to the article they had legally purchased the land for £ 100,000 from a businessman. Why the settlement is referred to by the journalists as illegal remains unclear. It is, however, explained that the planning applications submitted were rejected for fixed caravans. The residents organized blockades to make it impossible for the Rroma to enter the settlement or at least to hinder them. Many of the now displaced Rroma had to resign from their employment because they have nowhere to live. Some of them set a caravan on fire as a protest before leaving the place. In the appendix of the article there is a series of comments about the outcome of the process, a large majority of which can be considered to be racist.

The head of the family – Noah Burton – will try to sell the land again (BBC 2013). Capelo (2013) suggests, in contrast to the other articles, that the land was an agricultural parcel and not one for settlements.

Sources:

• BBC (2013) Last Gypsy family leaves illegal Meriden site. In: BBC News vom 21.4.2013.
• Capello, Esh (2013) Meriden gypsies start fires at illegal camp before departing. In: Birmingham Post vom 19.4.2013.
• Daily Mail (2013) Gypsies move out of illegal camp after THREE YEAR battle with villagers… but not before they started a few fires and burned a caravan. In: Daily Mail (UK) vom 20.4.2013. 

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