Swiss police block traveller convoy on motorway
Swiss police block traveller convoy on motorway
Around 50 caravans belonging to members of a travelling community attempting to enter canton Valais in southern Switzerland without prior warning were blocked by police.
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By "traveling community" and "travelers", does the article author actually mean Romani ("gypsies")?
I ask since the article may have lost something in translation. It also puts the police's actions in a different light if true.
"Travelers" does generally refer to the Romani and Sinti people who live a nomadic lifestyle.
The French version of the article uses the phrase "les gens du voyage", which according to the French Wikipedia page is often used to refer to the "Roma of France (including the Sinti and the Gitanos)".
So I think it's fairly safe to assume that that is what they mean with "travelers" in this article.
But they travel on what seem to be modern and perfectly white and clean caravans? These must not be the same kind of travellers we have where I live.
Most gypsies do in continental western Europe, nice cars too. I can also tell you where they were heading is a very luxurious area where mansion owners are maybe a bit more equal than a farmer who wants to rent out his field.
Honest question: How do you earn a living if you're never in the same place for too long? I cannot see how those folks manage unless they're so wealthy they can live off interest or they do remote work of some kind.
They have all kind of trades that allows them to move around : the ever present food trucks or amusements machines for fairs, the traditional chair seating and cushioning repairs (it costs a lot, and their unique abilities and traditions is sought for antiques).
They also do all kinds of odd jobs on the cheap. Redoing the whole masonry isn't something you would ask someone who isn't seriously settled but simply refreshing a paint job? Cleaning up a roof, a driveway? Trimming a few tall trees? Sure.
Are they clean about taxes? Probably not.
Are they all drug smugglers and thieves? I don't think more than the general population, really. Crimes tend to get higher when they are around but which part is them doing it and which part is people using the presence of a recurent scapegoat ?