Dale Farm travellers vow to resist eviction
Barricades and walls are being built to block out bailiffs
Travellers at Dale Farm in Essex have vowed to resist eviction by locking themselves to property on the site.
Resident Kathleen McCarthy, a spokesman for the community, said: "We are living on a hope that they will realise we are not animals - we are humans."
It was no longer about greenbelt land but hatred and prejudice, she said.
Basildon Council is preparing to begin clearing the site from 08:00 BST on Monday after a decade-long row over unauthorised plots.
Earlier, the council said about 12 families had already left the unauthorised site at Crays Hill.
Residents said among them were the very young, the vulnerable and the elderly.
Ms McCarthy insisted though, the remaining adults would lock themselves to their properties for "as long as it takes".
She would not say how many planned to take part, but it is understood as many as 400 people were thought to have been living on the 51 plots, making it the UK's largest unauthorised travellers' site.
She appealed to Prime Minister David Cameron to stop bailiffs from making them homeless.
'Calling the shots'Throughout Sunday, supporters and travellers made last-minute preparations, reinforcing barricades and building a wall to block the bailiffs' entry point.
A last-minute meeting between residents and the council was cancelled after representatives were apparently told by protesters they were no longer welcome.
Illegal pitches, to the left of the red line, are at the centre of the dispute over Dale Farm
Cllr Tony Ball, leader of the council, said he was "very concerned" by reports that "so-called supporters appear to be calling the shots".
"We wanted to do everything possible to keep residents updated about the operation and to listen to any concerns and address any final requirements," he said.
"It would appear that we now have no line of communication to the Dale Farm residents.
"We are very concerned that tension has increased and it may now make our job of clearing the site in a safe and orderly manner even more difficult."
Sunday, 18 September 2011
BBC News - Dale Farm travellers vow to resist eviction
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Tomorrow is eviction day for the folks on Dale Farm?
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Dale Farm travellers barricade themselves in ahead of tomorrow's eviction | Mail Online
Countdown to D-Day: Travellers barricade themselves into Dale Farm ahead of tomorrow's eviction
Last updated at 5:04 PM on 18th September 2011
Travellers facing eviction from the UK’s largest illegal site have started building a brick wall and barbed-wire barricades in an effort to keep the bailiffs at bay.
With less than 24 hours before bailiffs are due to begin the eviction of about 80 families living on Dale Farm, Essex, residents voiced a final plea for an alternative site as they endure a last-minute struggle to find somewhere to go.
The eviction follows a decade-long row over 51 unauthorised plots. Half of the site, which has planning consent, will remain.
Enlarge
Supporters opposed to the eviction of travellers from Dale Farm in Essex have started building a wall in front of an entrance hours before bailiffs are due to clear the illegal site
As a wall goes up at Dale Farm, some residents, who say they have nowhere to go if they are evicted, fear their homes will be destroyed
Basildon Council leader Tony Ball has insisted the majority of the public support the operation.
He said: 'I have received thousands of emails and letters and the vast majority say we are doing the right thing in enforcing the law.
'We will continue to work with the Dale Farm residents to find them suitable accommodation but we have been left with no option but to go ahead.”
Many residents have temporarily moved caravans on to the neighbouring legal site. Kathryn Flynn, a mother of three and a resident at Dale Farm for 10 years, said: 'I’m moving on to my uncle’s yard on the other side for tonight because I don’t want my children to go through this.
'I’m scared of what the bailiffs will do. They smash up our trailers - our homes. I don’t want my children to be in danger, so we’re moving them.
'But we’ve got nowhere to go after Monday. We don’t know what’s going to happen to us.
'Our children went to school for the last day on Friday. I don’t know what to tell them about tomorrow.'
A caravan leaves Dale Farm today, ahead of the expected arrival of bailiffs acting on behalf of Basildon Council, and right, A young girl gestures as emotions run high
An elevated view shows how the caravans have positioned themselves illegally on the land at Dale Farm
Supporters have gathered on the site and promise peaceful resistance. One, who gave her name as Marina, said there had been an influx in recent days.
She added: 'We are spending the day making sure everyone is organised and knows their role and that everybody knows their legal rights.'
John McCarthy, who has also lived on the site for 10 years, said: 'We’re treated worse than any other community. They think it’s OK to break up a whole community and to throw us all on the roadside.'
There was a low-profile police presence outside the site today as bailiffs continued preparations on a field next door.
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Jeannie Herer - Treatment of Crohn's disease with cannabis: ... [Isr Med Assoc J. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI
Isr Med Assoc J. 2011 Aug;13(8):455-8.Treatment of Crohn's disease with cannabis: an observational study.
Source
Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba affiliated with Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel. naftali@post.tau.ac.il
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
The marijuana plant cannabis is known to have therapeutic effects, including improvement of inflammatory processes. However, no report of patients using cannabis for Crohn's disease (CD) was ever published.
OBJECTIVES:
To describe the effects of cannabis use in patients suffering from CD.
METHODS:
In this retrospective observational study we examined disease activity, use of medication, need for surgery, and hospitalization before and after cannabis use in 30 patients (26 males) with CD. Disease activity was assessed by the Harvey Bradshaw index for Crohn's disease.
RESULTS:
Of the 30 patients 21 improved significantly after treatment with cannabis. The average Harvey Bradshaw index improved from 14 +/- 6.7 to 7 +/- 4.7 (P < 0.001). The need for other medication was significantly reduced. Fifteen of the patients had 19 surgeries during an average period of 9 years before cannabis use, but only 2 required surgery during an average period of 3 years of cannabis use.
CONCLUSIONS:
This is the first report of cannabis use in Crohn's disease in humans. The results indicate that cannabis may have a positive effect on disease activity, as reflected by reduction in disease activity index and in the need for other drugs and surgery. Prospective placebo-controlled studies are warranted to fully evaluate the efficacy and side effects of cannabis in CD.
Free full text
- PMID:
- 21910367
- [PubMed - in process]
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