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.
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 ?
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 ?