A Romani gypsy has opened up about the abuse her family has suffered and how it led to her having to pull her children out of three separate schools.
Charmaine Abdul-Karim is embarking on a mission to fight back against racism targeting her community, with the disgusting attacks affecting the education of her children, reports Stoke-on-TrentLive.
Another shocking incident sees Charmaine claim that when she was in labour, a midwife once said to her that "your kind of people just want to come in, push other people out and steal everything".
The mum-of-two is launching a new grassroots organisation, Pride of Romani, to educate and challenge racist stereotypes.
She hopes her organisation will promote pride in the gypsy and traveller community while also challenging the views held by many of the residents in the area.
Speaking of the abuse, the 43-year-old said: "My birth experience left me with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after a midwife said to me during a difficult labour where my son's cord was wrapped around his neck 'your kind of people just want to come in, push other people out and steal everything'.
"I was working at a very large wedding venue near Nantwich and colleagues would go to my manager saying I was a gypsy and I was not to be trusted as 'gypsies are thieves'. I had to leave after feeling extremely unwelcome."
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She continued: "My children have had to leave three schools as a result of racist bullying, one headteacher even did a social services evaluation without my knowledge which was very distressing.
"Another situation where an ambulance had to be called, the school staff were more interested in telling paramedics that my family were 'travellers' rather than helping.
"Not a lot is known about the gypsy and travelling communities. I hope it will help to better things for the next generation – my children and grandchildren. Things have got to improve."
Charmaine also said that the jokes Jimmy Carr made at a stand-up gig about gypsies had "mortified" the community.
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