Frederik Rüegger: „I Am a Stranger in This Country“

The Irish and English Travellers have lived for centuries as nomadic people in the British Isles. Because of their lifestyle, they are constantly excluded and discriminated against. Rüegger’s expressive pictures of this traditional community offer insight into a life defined by deprivation, fear and worry, but also by solidarity and cohesion.

When Tyson Fury became boxing world champion in 2014 it represented more than a title. “The Gypsy King” had achieved something that many in his community only dream of: he was no longer an outsider. For a brief moment, Fury’s global fame drew this discriminated minority into the limelight, as the heavyweight world champion had grown up in a family of Irish Travellers. Boxing, as well as bare knuckle fighting, has a long tradition within this community of nomadic people, who live in poverty and at the edges of society. With around 31,000 members, they are, since 2017, the largest, officially recognised minority in Ireland; in Great Britain they number around 15,000. The love and trading of horses is one of the important pillars of their culture. In earlier times they moved around in covered wagons; today they travel in caravans, settling in parks, camp sites or areas designated by the authorities. 

It was because of Tyson Fury that Rüegger’s attention was first drawn to the Travellers. The photographer has been actively involved in combat sports for many years, and boxing has great significance for him. So he began his research, which resulted in two years travelling time and again to Great Britain and Ireland, visiting the few locations and fairs, the last traditional retreats, where the Traveller community can still keep traditions and customs alive. He visited the Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria in northern England, got to know Traveller families, gained their trust and was able to photograph them.

Prejudice and exclusion are the order of the day for these people. It is often said that they steal, cheat and live at the expense of others, which means they find little acceptance within broader society. “Travellers are often stigmatised, and referred to as aggressive, closed or unfriendly. I didn’t experience any of that. On the contrary, I was welcomed and accepted,” Rüegger remembers and adds, “I firmly believe that if you approach people with respect, consideration, honesty and good intentions, the same comes back to you. It wasn’t more difficult nor easier than any other encounter I’ve had with strangers. It simply takes a lot of time to create trust.” His expressive and deeply respectful images are a testimony to his considered way of working. Rüegger’s documentary photographs are direct, dynamic and have a calm feeling of proximity. They reveal without interpreting, they show without lecturing. They bear witness to a life that takes place primarily in the shadows of society; a life that is unconventional but also free; a life full of hardship and worries. It is also full of tension and poverty, full of the smouldering fear of homelessness, unemployment and discrimination. However, it is also a life in the midst of a close-knit community, characterised by solidarity and cohesion.

Rüegger’s series was submitted by Mustafah Abdulaziz, who is one of this year’s group of international LOBA nominators.