It is said History is written by the winners. Committees from both the House of Commons and the Greater London Assembly Committees have held hearings into the Olympics. Apparently subjects are chosen on the basis of who makes the most noise. Amongst the topics discussed by the relevant House of Commons Select Committee has been the relocation of communities, be they residents, allotment holders, businesses or users, from the Olympic Park. The rule of subject choice also seems to apply when it comes to dishing out invitations to give ‘evidence’. Most people are left out of the magic circle and are unaware the opportunity might even exist. Not so those who run these programmes. They get to give their version of events as they either they get asked along or are warned the committee will be meeting and ask to go. It doesn’t seem to have occurred to either set of committees to track down those who were actually moved to ask them how they felt about their eviction and how it was handled.

Prokopis Nikolau"Uprooted" recounts the experiences of a group of Roma or "Gypsy" families whose homes are demolished in order to make room for a parking lot for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Their struggle to find housing, to extract the subsidies that they were promised from the local municipality, and to rebuild their lives represents a humble battle against racism and poverty.

There is a credibility gap between what people in local voluntary bodies have been told by professionals in the Olympic industry and what local volunteers' experiences of outcomes has been. This has happened most to those local voluntary bodies which have been affected by relocations from sites within the boundaries of the Olympic Park.

Last weekend I decided to pay a short visit to Clays Lane to see what was happening to the old homestead in Crabtree Courtyard as the Travellers have reported that demolition has started on the housing. From the roadway outside the estate looked untouched apart from some windows being knocked in. The Travellers have been complaining about dust and noise from the site and the flow of heavy vehicles along the service road.

Photos by: Sam Strickland

The Olympic Games have displaced more than two million people in the last 20 years, disproportionately affecting minorities such as the homeless, the poor, Roma and African-Americans, according to a new report,

LONDON
DEVELOPMENT
AGENCY

A. BACKGROUND

Who is the London Development Agency (LDA)?

The LDA is the Mayor of London's agency for sustainable economic growth and is working to build a thriving economy for London's communities and businesses.