Dale Farm Call Out – Eviction Wednesday pls forward
We are expecting an eviction at #dalefarm tomorrow (Wednesday), and residents are asking for support.
Please come down tonight if you can and spread the word! Briefing at DF
9pm, and another one tomorrow 8 am.Please pass this on, tweet it, txt it, call your friends! Arrange to come down together.
Only significant numbers can stop the eviction from going ahead.
http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/contact for directions.The Court of Appeal has rejected the residents’ right to a judicial review, which means that Basildon Council will be able to come on to conduct an eviction from now onwards.
We need people to come willing to engage in civil disobedience as well as support residents and activists in resisting the eviction through non-arrestable roles. It may seem like a scary thing to do, but coming down to Dale Farm is one of the most important things we can do for the community here, and to protest the injustice that even the United Nations and Amnesty International have unreservedly condemned.
This is a historic moment of resistance- let’s do something.
The residents have nowhere to go. They are united in resisting the eviction, and we have been working with them to develop plans and strategies.
Travellers in the UK are at the receiving end of state violence. The way the Dale Farm community is being treated is a form of ethnic cleansing which criminalizes a people and a culture, and it is vital that we come together in solidarity to resist it. We are ready to resist the eviction, and we need more people to join us and the residents as soon as you can come down.
Bring a sleeping bag, food and resistance paraphernalia. (For a full list of things to bring, how to get here – only 30 min from London- and other important info, see http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/activity/ or call
07583621312).In addition to getting supporters down to Dale Farm, we still need a lot of funds to cover the work we have been doing so far. Please donate at:
http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/donate/
Posted in Uncategorized Leave a commentDale Farm residents walk out of “sham meeting” with Council
Statement from Kathleen McCarthy after meeting with Basildon Council
“Basildon Council have demanded that we leave, but we have nowhere else to go and our travelling way of life has been made illegal. We’ve asked them to accept the offer of free land and resources from the Homes and Communities Agency [1], since they’re driving us off our own land, but they refused. I can’t believe that they are going to tear apart our community like this, putting us and our kids out on the road. Justice Stuart Edwards said that any eviction should be humane, but they won’t even tell us when the bulldozers will come in. An elderly resident was taken to hospital last night following Basildon’s announcement that they’re going ahead with the eviction — this clearance is not safe and it’s not humane.”
When it became clear that the meeting was not genuine, Mrs McCarthy led a walkout of the meeting, with residents extremely upset. “It was a public relations stunt rather than a meaningful attempt at engagement,” she said.
Amnesty International have issued an urgent action update on Dale Farm, condemning the forced eviction.
[1] http://dalefarm.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/110831-richard-howitt-mep-3.pdf
Posted in Uncategorized Leave a commentAs bailiffs amass at Dale Farm, residents fear brutal eviction
Following the rejection of a final bid to avoid a forced eviction through legal process, Dale Farm is set for clearance within the next week. Bailiffs and police are gathering at the compound adjacent to Dale Farm as preparations for eviction progress.
Dale Farm residents have expressed ‘severe concern’ over the conduct of Constant & Co., the bailiff company with a £2.2million [1] contract to evict the residents.
Mr Justice Stuart Edwards, who presided over one of the two legal cases brought by the Dale Farm residents, has repeatedly urged that any eviction should be ‘humane’ and treat those concerned with ‘dignity’. However, Basildon Council have contracted a bailiff company whose conduct has previously been condemned as ‘unacceptable’ and harmful by a High Court judge.
In 2008, Mr Justice Andrew Collins stated of a previous Constant & Co. eviction that, “Their conduct was unacceptable and the evictions were carried out in a fashion that inevitably would have led to harm to those affected. I have no doubt that the [Basildon] council must reconsider the use of the firm in question and ensure that any eviction is carried out in as humane a fashion as possible.” [2]
Many children and elderly residents remain on the site as they have nowhere else to go. Residents are calling upon the Council to disclose an eviction date. Following the rejection of the appeal in court on Monday, an elderly Dale Farm resident was taken to hospital by ambulance after suffering a severe asthma attack.
Dale Farm resident, Mary Flynn, said, “We’re petrified of the eviction, and we’d leave if we had someplace else to go, but we don’t – the Travelling life is pretty much illegal now. Basildon Council doesn’t care about this community, during or after an eviction – they just want to put us out on the road. They’re even saying the eviction date will be a surprise.”
Constant & Co. have also been criticised for using the term ‘pikey’ in their search tags to attract potential customers online. [3]
Dale Farm supporter, Lily Hayes, said, ‘It is sadly no surprise that this prejudiced eviction will be implemented by a company which uses a racist term to describe Travellers. This company is making 83 families homeless, dragging them out of the only homes they have- it’s just wrong.”
Notes to the editor:
[1] Telegraph, 2 October, The £22 million cost of evicting the Dale Farm Travellers.[2] See; http://www.bailii.org/ew/[3] See;,
Posted in Uncategorized Leave a commentCourt fails Dale Farm- Eviction expected soon
COME DOWN TO DALE FARM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
The Court of Appeal has just rejected the residents’ right to a judicial review, which means that Basildon Council will be able to come on to conduct an eviction from now onwards.
We need supporters to come down as soon as possible to help resist this eviction. We need people to come willing to engage in civil disobedience as well as support residents and activists in resisting the eviction through non-arrestable roles. It may seem like a scary thing to do, but coming down to Dale Farm is one of the most important things we can do for the community here, and to protest the injustice that even the United Nations and Amnesty International have unreservedly condemned. This is a historic moment of resistance- let’s do something.
The residents have nowhere to go. They are united in resisting the eviction, and we have been working with them to develop plans and strategies. Travellers in the UK are at the receiving end of state violence. The way the Dale Farm community is being treated is a form of ethnic cleansing which criminalizes a people and a culture, and it is vital that we come together in solidarity to resist it. We are ready to resist the eviction, and we need more people to join us and the residents as soon as you can come down. Bring a sleeping bag, food and resistance paraphernalia. (For a full list of things to bring, how to get here – only 30 min from London- and other important info, see http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/activity/ or call 07583621312).
In addition to getting supporters down to Dale Farm, we still need a lot of funds to cover the work we have been doing so far. Please donate at: http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/donate/
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Dale Farm, dale farm solidarity, eviction resistance, forced eviction, travellers 1 CommentDale Farm prepares to resist
Dale Farm residents and supporters have gone into “lockdown” in anticipation of an eviction.
Today the Dale Farm community were rejected the right to appeal the decision made last week which gave Basildon Council the go-ahead to evict. Mr Justice Ouseley, the judge responsible for making the decision last week, was responsible for the eviction of Hovefields Traveller site, also in Basildon in 2010.
In response to this news, residents of Dale Farm and their supporters reinforced the perimeter of the fifty plots which house 83 families, and placed the entire site into lockdown in order to resist eviction.
Dale Farm resident Kathleen McCarthy said, “We’ve been left with no choice – we really have nowhere else to go, do you think we’d put ourselves through this if we did? The law is prejudiced against Travellers – we were told 15 years ago to get off the road and buy our own land, but now they are forcing us and our kids out onto the road again. The barricades are all that stand between us and homelessness now.”
Lily Hayes, a Dale Farm supporter, said:
“The law, planning regulations and the judicial system all discriminate against Travellers. Engaging in civil disobedience is the reasonable response to this senseless eviction which is making 86 families homeless. We will stand side by side with the residents to resist this eviction.”Residents have expressed concern that Basildon Council has failed to give an indication of when the eviction will begin. Basildon Council only provided a date for the attempted eviction on the 19th September in response to significant pressure. Legal advisors have strongly urged Basildon Council to re-issue the 28 day notices due to the significant period of time that has elapsed since the latest set were issued.
Even before the court judgement was delivered, the Council sent in a helicopter to fly low over Dale Farm homes and bailiffs into the woods surrounding the land. Residents were intimidated and panicking, worried that an eviction would be launched with no prior warning.
Dale Farm appeal to be heard in court today
Today residents at Dale Farm will find out whether their appeal to apply for a judicial review will be heard. The Court of Appeal has agreed to grant a hearing, and residents are hopeful that Lord Justice Sullivan will grant permission for an appeal of last Wednesday’s ruling. If granted, a hearing reviewing the legality of the eviction of Dale Farm will take place. [1]
Residents of Dale Farm lodged their appeal last Friday in light of concerns that had been raised about the impartiality of Mr. Justice Ouseley, who rejected the residents’ application for a judicial review last Wednesday 12 October. Last year, Mr. Justice Ouseley was responsible for the decision to reject a judicial review on the eviction of Hovefields Traveller site (September 2010), also in Basildon. Following a forced eviction by bailiffs Constant & Co and police, Hovefields has since become a rubbish dump. [2]
Dale Farm resident, Kathleen McCarthy, said, “We are caught between a rock and a hard place- the government has made it impossible for us to travel, but just as impossible for us to settle down. They are making us into criminals just for trying to live our lives, without hurting anyone.”
Dale Farm supporter, Ali Saunders, said, “Basildon Council has refused to rule out carrying out a surprise eviction on Monday or shortly thereafter, without notifying residents of the date, and while children are still in school. They may even start the eviction while residents are at the Court of Appeal, having their case heard.”
Notes to Editors
[1] The hearing will take place in Court 69 at the Court of Appeal at 12 noon on Monday 17 October. For information about the 12 October ruling see http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/justice-system-fails-dale-farm-community/
[2] Sky, “Dale Farm ‘will never been green belt’”, September 24 2010, http://news.sky.com/home/video/16076175.
Have your bag ready to come down to Dale Farm on Monday
On Monday we find out whether the Dale Farm community will be granted an appeal or face imminent eviction.
If the judgement goes against the Dale Farm community, residents will not be allowed to appeal the rejection of a judicial review that a notoriously anti-Traveller judge passed down last week. This would mean that there are no longer any legal obstacles to Basildon Council’s eviction, and we will need all supporters to come down to Dale Farm as soon a physically possible. Because Basildon Council have refused to reveal a possible date of the eviction, the residents are even more anxious and stressed than would already be the case. They draw a lot of strength from seeing people coming down to support them, so please make an effort to come down as soon as you are able.
We will know the result of the hearing for an appeal at some point in the early afternoon. If the Judge rules that the residents do have a right to appeal, then there will be another hearing scheduled in the very near future.
The residents have nowhere to go. They are united in resisting the eviction, and we have been working with them to develop plans and strategies. Travellers in the UK are at the receiving end of state violence. The way the Dale Farm community is being treated is a form of ethnic cleansing which criminalizes a people and a culture, and it is vital that we come together in solidarity to resist it. We are ready to resist the eviction, and we need more people to join us and the residents as soon as you can come down. Bring a sleeping bag, food and resistance paraphernalia. (For a full list of things to bring, how to get here- only 30 min from London- and other important info, see http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/activity/ or call 07583621312).
Posted in Uncategorized Leave a commentWhat’s the deal with Dale Farm, and the appeal?
On Friday solicitors for residents at Dale Farm were granted a hearing on Monday at the High Court to apply for permission to appeal. Residents are appealing against the decision of Mr Justice Ouseley on Wednesday 11 October which gave permission for Basildon Council to evict Dale Farm. The appeal will be heard before Lord Justice Sullivan in Court 69 at 12am on Monday.
Residents don’t yet know when the eviction will occur, adding to the stress and anxiety that they are dealing with. We know that Basildon Council will have to regroup, and recall the police and bailiffs, so we don’t expect a Monday evic
tion, especially given the appeal hearing. However, as always, residents are asking supporters to be ready to come up quickly just in case. Please be ready to get here at short notice, and monitor twitter , text alerts, and email. At the moment, residents are extremely stressed given the uncertainty they face. If you can, come up to support Dale Farm – residents draw a lot of strength from people who are here.
Jon Davies, a charity worker from South London, shows how easy it is.
If you are definitely unable to come to Dale Farm, or would like to help in other ways, think about holding a fundraiser, handing out leaflets in your local area (get in contact for resources), making a donation or participating in the Dale Farm Solidarity photo campaign (see left). Or just get the word out about Dale Farm through social networking sites and
email lists.
As Kathleen MacCarthy of Dale Farm said;
“It’s illegal for us to live by the roadside and it’s illegal for us to live in our homes at Dale Farm. The government and the council are leaving us no legal means of continuing our way of life. We are tired of being made criminals by an unjust system that discriminates against us.”
Posted in Uncategorized Leave a commentDale Farm residents granted appeal application at the High Court
Today solicitors for residents at Dale Farm were granted a hearing at the High Court on Monday to apply for permission to appeal. Residents are appealing against the decision of Mr Justice Ouseley on Wednesday 11 October which gave permission for Basildon Council to evict Dale Farm. The appeal will be heard before Lord Justice Sullivan in Court 69 at 11am on Monday.
Kathleen MacCarthy of Dale Farm said:
“It’s illegal for us to live by the roadside and it’s illegal for us to live in our homes at Dale Farm. The government and the council are leaving us no legal means of continuing our way of life. We are tired of being made criminals by an unjust system that discriminates against us.”Ali Saunders of Dale Farm Solidarity said:
“As the legal avenues for stopping this senseless eviction become exhausted, it becomes more and more important for people to show their support for the residents by coming to Dale Farm.”Residents don’t yet know when the eviction will occur, adding to the stress and anxiety that they are dealing with. We know that Basildon Council will have to regroup, and recall the police and bailiffs, so we don’t expect a Monday eviction, especially given the appeal hearing. However, as always, residents are asking supporters to be ready to come up quickly just in case. Please be ready to get here at short notice, and monitor twitter (@letdalefarmlive, txt alerts (sign up https://smsalerts.tachanka.org/dalefarm), and email. At the moment, residents are extremely stressed given the uncertainty they face. If you can, come up to support Dale Farm- residents draw a lot of strength from people coming who are here.
If you are definitely unable to come to Dale Farm, or would like to help in other ways, think about holding a fundraiser, handing out leaflets in your local area (get in contact for resources), making a donation http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/donate/ and participating in the Dale Farm Solidarity photo campaign: http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/dale-farm-solidarity-photo-campaign-.... Or just get the word out about Dale Farm through social networking sites and email lists.
Posted in Uncategorized 4 CommentsJudicial review rejected…sadly now preparing again for an eviction
13 October 2011 – Dale Farm Solidarity – Call 07583621312 for info about coming down
Calling out to all activists and legal observers – we need you to come to Dale Farm to support the families facing homelessness
Please forward to groups and supporters
After weeks of wrangling in the High Court over various rulings on the legality of the eviction operation, today the residents of Dale Farm were refused the right to a judicial review of the eviction. This means that Basildon Council is able to legally evict the community. There is no longer an injunction to stop the eviction, but Basildon Council have said in court that they will not evict until Monday at the earliest.
The residents plan to lodge an appeal on Friday, and will find out on that day whether their request for an appeal is granted. If the appeal is not granted, Basildon Council could begin the eviction. If the appeal is granted, then legal proceedings could continue for anything from a day to several. If the appeal is heard on Monday, but rejected, the eviction can begin at any point from then.
Of course we are hoping that the appeal will be heard and decided in the Dale Farm community’s favour- but experience shows that judges, the legal system and planning regulations are weighed against Travellers. This is why the Dale Farm community are asking you to come down to Dale Farm this weekend to be ready to resist an eviction on Monday. (If you can, come down before the weekend, as there is loads to be done on site, and the more people are here, the safer the residents feel.)
We know that this isn’t this first call out you have read from Dale Farm. We have had a lot of close calls, and the fact that the eviction hasn’t started yet is a testament to the power of protest. However, we are genuinely heading towards the end of the legal process, and it is really important that people are prepared to come down to resist the eviction and stand with the Dale Farm community at a time when they are at the receiving end of state violence and need our solidarity on a personal and political level.
If you can’t make it you can support in another way, we are in desperate need of funds. Please donate- http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/donate/!
Activists are supporting the Travellers in defending their homes and community. There’s many different ways of getting involved – we need medics, legal observers, site defenders, cooks, etc.. More people are needed on all fronts.
Please sign up for txt alerts (https://smsalerts.tachanka.org/dalefarm/) in case urgent information needs to get relayed or follow us on twitter (@letdalefarmlive) for updates. You can send information to the legal hotline 07928669515**Getting to the site**
Dale Farm is about 30-40 minutes from London by train, you can find directions here. (http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/contact/) From Wickford Station (30 minutes journey from London), it’s a 15 minute cycle/45 minute walk from the station. To arrange a lift call the site phone: 07583621312
Please see map (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/26043573/DALE%20FARM%20MAP.png) for more info on access to the site. As of Thursday 13th October, there are no restrictions on entering Dale Farm.**Be Prepared**
Things to bring:
-warm clothes
-food
-water bottle
-sleeping bag and roll mat
-notepads, pencils
-torches
-cameras for taking photo evidence
-clean phone
-D-locksThings not to bring:
-offensive weapons
-Things you would not like the police to take off youFood
A vegan kitchen is running. We will be asking for donations to cover our costs, but it may be an early target of the Bailiffs, so please bring extra food.Sleeping arrangements
Sleeping space is available in caravans and residents’ homes but we encourage you to bring a tent, and you are welcome to sleep over anytime. Please bring a sleeping bag if you can, and a roll mat is highly recommended especially since most of the tent space is on hard ground.Legal info
Write on your arm before you get here:
Dale Farm Legal Hotline: 07928 669 515
Birds Solicitors: 07966 234 994
Hodge Jones and Allen Solicitors: 07659 111 192Other info
Camp Constant site phone: 07583621312
The welcome pack is available here http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/get-involved/. The welcome packs contain information on Dale Farm and the political context of the current eviction, Camp Constant and what to bring, Traveller history, and legal advice for activists.People coming organised as affinity groups are very welcome.
Please promote our facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/groups/124229427082/) through social networking sites, and call up friends and groups to get a minibus down to Dale Farm.
See you here!
Camp Constant
Tuesday 18 October 2011
Dale Farm Solidarity | For friends and supporters of Dale Farm Eviction on Wednesday 19th - Dale Farm Call out - Please get to Dale Farm ASAP
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