401 Main Street Vancouver Canada V6A 2T7 Email: carnnews@shaw.ca
Website/Catalogue:
{604} 665-2289 carnegienewsletter.org
HDmen's MemDlaiiil Miil--ch ,rhUlasdiiY, Febl~iilay i4
Family and community members gather in remembrance at 10:30 am March starts at noon from Carnegie(Main&Hastings) Unceded xwmlJOkwlJYlJm (Musqueam), Sl!w,Jwu 7mesh (Squamish), and Selilwitulh (TsleilWaututh) territories.
The first women's memorial march was held in 1992 in response to the murder of a woman on PoweJl Street in Vancouver. Out of this sense of hopelessness and anger came an annual march on Valentine's Day to express compassion, community, and caring for all women in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside Unceded Coast Salish Territories. ' The women's memorial march continues to honour the lives of missing and murdered women and all women's lives lost in the Downtown Eastside. Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the DTES still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. Indigenous women disproportionately continue to go missing or be murdered with minimal " ~ono action to address these tragedies or the systemIC nature of gendered violence, poverty, racism, or colonialism. On Thursday Feb 14th 2019, we will gather at 10:30 am at the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main Street (corner Hastings, Vancouver) where family members speak in remembrance. Given space constraints, we ask the broader public to join us at noon, when the march takes to the streets and proceeds through the Downtown Eastside, with stops to commemorate where women were last seen or found; speeches by community activists at Main and Hastings; a healing circle at Oppenheimer Park around 2:30 pm; an@finally a community feast at the Japanese Language Hall. This event is organized and led by women in the DTES because women - especially Indigenous women - face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis. The February 14th Women's Memorial March is an opportunity to come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters, remember the women who are still missing, and to dedicate ourselves to justice. * SUPPORT THE WOMEN'S MEMORIAL MARCH There are many ways to support the Feb 14th Women's Memorial March:
1) ATTEND: Spread the word and join us (all genders welcome) to the Feb 14th march. We respectfully ask that you please do not bring your agency or group banners, flags, or leaflets as the Women's Memorial March carries five banners only to honour the women. Signs honouring women's lives are welcome. 2) KNOW THE PROTOCOL: In a good way, we want to inform everyone about the protocol for the march that has been in place for 28 years: At 10:30 am there will a family and community remembrance in the Carnegie Theatre. This is not open to media or the broader public. The media and broader public begins gathering at approximately 11:30 in front of Main and Hastings where territorial elders welcome us. At noon the elders and family members exit from the Carnegie Theatre and everyone is asked to make a circle at Main and Hastings for the prayer. The march proceeds at noon only when elders and family members have exited the Theatre and after the prayer circle. The March is organized and led by women. Women elders carrying medicines are at the front, followed by all women elders and family members and women drummers. The quilt made by loved ones in the DTES community is carried behind the family members and drummers. Everyone is invited to follow. . The march makes a number of stops along the way for ceremony to honour where women were last seen or found. There is no photography of the ceremonies. At approximately 2 pm we stop again at Main and Hastings for speeches by community activists, followed by a healing circle and drummers at Oppenheimer Park around 3 pm, and finally a community feast at the Japanese Language Hall. 3) VOLUNTEER: Please volunteer to support the march with setup, cleanup and more. We need approximately 55 volunteers. Volunteers can sign up here: http://sig]1Up.com/go/QowYYSf 5) DONATE: Please donate. The February 14th Women's Memorial March is made possible by organizations and individuals like you. Please make cheques payable to the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre and include Feb 14th Women's Memorial March on' the memo line. Mail cheques to the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, 302 Columbia St. Vancouver, BC V6A 4JI. All donations over $10 will be gratefully acknowledged with a tax deductible receipt. Thank you all for your support and commitment, Feb 14th Women's Memorial March Committee
Losses Losses that don't make sense can sometimes leave us wondering if evil is overtaking our life? overtaking our world? when actually sometimes this re-routing in life can lead to a more insightful road if we hang in there and work at retaining our joy; for seasonal change is all that we can be sure of in this world as all comes and goes but spiritually 'Love' is forever so I can always keep this close in my heart - in my expressions something never lost. ingag.
I
I J I
I "...crowded into• thatched huts singing, "Two times two is four. Three times two is six. La la la la la." My family had been denied the things his family had taken for granted. I had a natural talent for selling to people, but without knowledge and resources, where was that going to get met People always lecture the poor: "Take responsibility for yourself Make something of yourselfl" But with what raw materials are the poor to make something of themselves? People love to say, "Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime." What they don't say is, "And it would be nice if you gave him a fishing rod." That's the part of the analogy that's missing. Working with Andrew was the first time in my life I realized you need someone from the privileged world to come to you and say, "Okay, here's what you need, and here's how it works. Talent alone would have gotten me nowhere without Andrew giving. me the CD writer. People say, "Oh, that's a handout." No. I still have to work to profit by it. But I don't stand a chance without it. Trevor Noah
The Listening Post Located at 382 Main St, this dynamic organization has served the DTES for almost 20 years. And it has been done by dedicated volunteers! The Listening Post started in 2000 in Bruce Erickson Place, beside our good neighbours The Aboriginal Front Door. It was the vision of Sister Louraine (now deceased) and Kathi Bental. The place is run with their beautiful and simple vision - a spirit of respect for all, respect for quiet, a place for listening within, a place to be listened to, and a place to get some energy healing. We are open from 12 - 4/5 and we sit in silence at 1 and 3pm. When we can, we open for 5 days a week. It's one of the reasons that I am writing this piece because we need some new volunteers. It is a great community to volunteer with and, when you come forward, we can open the place on Thursdays again. We hold regular potIucks to which a" are invited, we have a Blue Christmas, celebrate birthdays and have memorials for dear friends. We offer 3 retreats a year at Bowen Island in the beautiful Rivendell retreat. I hope the community will drop by and experience our beautiful space. Lots of artists, writers, musicians and many other community leaders have found the Listening Post to be a good place to visit and have a cup of tea. Look for the sandwich board outside that says Drop In For A Cup of tea. By Karen Thorpe to Justin Trudeau and rachel notley
don't do pipeline extension! . you both want more $$$$ to hell with environmental consequences don't you even care about coastline and creatures on west coast??? guess just not enough votes to be gained from lowly b.c. but long-term history will damn you both, for being unbelievably callous & short-sighted; how many more species must become extinct before our over-rated human ratrace follows into oblivion? do wake up you two, before it is too late and learn to have some compassion, in some sunlit form. John alan douglas
rrom the LibrarY This month is Black History Month - a month to celebrate and honour the legacy of Black people both in Canada and around the world. VPL has a ton of great items to borrow - here's a few that we have here on the shelves at Carnegie branch. I think it's only appropriate to start by featuring a local author. Cecily Nicholson's From The Poplars can be found in our poetry collection. It is a poetic exploration into Poplar Island, and uninhabited island in the Fraser River, near New Westminster, that is the traditional territory of the Qayqayt people. Nicholson uses poetry and archival texts to examine the history of colonization as told by this small parcel of land. George Elliott Clarke is a novelist and poet, originally from Nova Scotia. His novel The Motorcyclist is the story of a bohemian railway worker and motorcyclist with wanderlust, in late 1950s Halifax. Moving beyond Canada, and beyond print media, we have I am not Your Negro on DVD. An Academy Award nominee in 2016 for Best Documentary, it envisions James Baldwin's final, uncompleted, book Remember this House as a history of the civil rights movement from the era Baldwin was active, up to Black Lives Matter. The Rough Guide to South African Jazz is a great CD compilation of the history of Jazz in this nation where the civil rights struggle played out just as dramatically as it did in the United States, and where Jazz played just as important a role. We'll also be screening a film for Black History Month. On February 27th, at 6:30, join us in the Theatre for Mighty Jerome, a documentary about Harry Jerome, Canada's greatest Track and Field athlete (and a North Vancouverite), and his comeback from a potentially career ending injury. As well, on February 11th at 6PM, we'll be showing Finding Dawn in the Theatre, during Cultural Sharing. A documentary about the human tragedy of missing Indigenous women, we'll be showing this in honour of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, ahead of the Women's Memorial March on the 14th. Enjoy! Randy
2nd Annual DTES ARTIST RESOURCE FAIR Carnegie Centre and Vancouver Foundation are thrilled to host an informal, friendly, social event for DTES artists to connect with community resource providers. You do not need to prepare or provide anything to attend the event, it's an opportunity for you to find out what's available.
Saturday February 23
2:30pm-4:30pm
Everyone Welcome! Carnegie Community Centre, in the Theatre 401 Main Street (@ the corner of Hastings and Main) Artists can find out more about: Project funding Creation support Rehearsal space Exhibition space Classes Workshops
Panel Discussion I The State of Practice: Art making in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside today Admission: Free - Space is limited (This venue is wheelchair accessible) Date: Saturday Feb.23 2019 1:00pm-2:30pm Location: Carnegie Community Centre, Theatre 401 Main Street (@ the corner of Hastings and Main) Program Description: This moderated panel will explore the state of the practice of artmaking in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES) from 1990 - Present Day. Moderator: Terry Hunter (Executive Director, Heart of the City Festival Panelists: Jay Hirabayashi - KW Studios, Kokoro, Vancouver International Dance Festival Kathy Shimizu - WePress, Powell Street Festival Haisla Coli ins - Raven's Eye, IWA (Indigenous
....
~
Oppenheimer Wednesday.
"'.""
,.~~.
..
()
"""
...0.... '
'
..'
Park, 4BB Powell Street
February 6 &
Tbursdav, February 7 10 am-4 pm
2~6Bg "'ll2~7BamU1g J:!f10Bili'"f!f4Bf
FEATURING GREAT FOOD! Early morning breakfast.: 7:30 am Second breakfast.:
10 am
Lunch: 12 noon Free coffee Bc hot drInks all day!
Connect wlth the following service providers:
• Canadian ReVenlR Agency & get YOJ rtaxes dore
• Canadian P.e'WnueA~ncy 8. ~t your tax5 do~
• Quest Food (;Xchange memb!H'5hlp card
• Massages • HM!'s fOr Humanity
• City of VanoolM!'r Board Of Part's Ea ~creatlon L~1sure P"sse-s
• I:Jownt.own Eastsl~ EYe ClinIC
• Hearing tests
• Hearlng nlsts
• Gt.'!!'away'S
• SPCA- ~t supplJe.5&lnformatl:>n
• Haircuts • C le-ar¥ Contacts +or fJI;;e reacry-macJe.rea~r5 &.SJJngla5~
• GrearerVanoolM!'r Food Bank 8.slgn-uPfortl'e '000 bank
• PedalSfOrth!! People-fOr bile repair • YanooJY'Ef Coastal Health 0I/1!!r00~ Team & get a narcan klt Plus on both _I: 10 am - 4 pm • Craft W'OrkStiops
• Gt.'!!'aways • Haircuts • 8ner~lr • Cle-artyCort.a.c:tsfOr free l!e-ady-maoe ~~rs ard sunglas~ • VancolM!'r coastat Health O\'!!'rd03:!-ream 8. ~t a narean kit
• MusICalperfOnnances
The 11 th annual HomeGround Festival, hosted by Camegie Community Centre, Homelessness Services and Oppenheimer Park, is taking place at Oppenheimer Park on Wednesday February 6th and Thursday February 7th from 10 am - 4 pm! Interested in volunteering at the festival? Sign up at Camegie Centre and Oppenheimer Park on Monday February 4thand Tuesday February 5th between 10 am and 3 pm, or on site during the festival.
Sign on the door: "You see, i don't believe libraries should be drab places where people sit in silence, and that's been the main reason for our policy of
ÂŤ employing wild animals as librarians." -Monty Python
take back space 1 was talking last week with libby davies, member of parliament for the downtown eastside of vancouver, and libby told of a star trek episode she'd seen - a futuristic situation in san francisco - an enonnous wall had been constructed dividing poor people from everyone else .. and outside this wall in super consumerist upscale society there was almost no awareness of who was struggli ng to survive on the other side of the wall nor how wretched their living conditions were and libby said "that1ifs not our future it's happening right.now" north america's anti-panhandling bylaws and other prohibitions against the presence of certain people in what was formerly public space is a central objective in the global and local writ against the poor to put this situation in perspective I'd like to quote from an excellent book "geographies of exclusion" by david siblcy; he says "power is expressed in the monopolization of space and the relegation of weaker groups in society to less desirable environments .. the-boundaries between the consumi ng and nonconsuming public arc strengthening
i'
er with nonconsumption being construed I as a form of deviance at the same time as spaces of consumption eliminate public spaces in city centres, processes of control are manifested in the exclusion of those who are judged to be deviant imperfect or marginal - who is felt to belong and not belong contributes in an important way to the shaping of social space . it is often the case that this hostility to others is articulated as a concern about property values the urge to make separations between clean and dirtv ordered and disordered us and them that is to expel the abject is encouraged in western cultures creating anxieties because such separations can never finallv be achieved this anxiety is reinforced by the culture of'consumption in western societies . the success of capitalism depends on it and a necessary feature of the geographies of exclusion the literal mappings of power relations and rejection is the collapse of categories like public and private and 10 be diseased or disabled is a mark of imperfection the fear of infection leads to erection of the barricades 10 resist the spread of diseased polluted others there is a history of imaginary gcographies which cast minorities .. imperfect people .. and a list of others who are seen to pose a threat to the dominant group in society as polluting bodies or folk devils who.are then located elsewhere this elsewhere might be nowhere as when genocide or moral transformation of a minority like prostitutes are advocated the imagery of defilement which locales people on the margins or in residual spaces is now more likely to be appJied to the mentally disabled the homeless prostitutes and some racialized minorities" the downtown eastside of vancouver, where .I live, is by any statistical measurement of poverty and disease a third world area besieged by upscale developmental greed of truly genocidal proportions the highest rates and numbers of hiv/aids ..suicide .. hepatitis c ..syphulis and tuberculosis in the western world and close to the lowest life expectancy and the single question I am asked more than any oUier by media and concerned citizens
is "where will they go?" where will the people go when they are driven from this area by gentrification/displacement? referring to sibley, I must conclude that . the municipal provincial and federal governments must have some imaginary geography in mind because there is nowhere for the people to go and in the downtown eastside the public space that has been available for drug addicts, mentally disabled, homeless, prostitutes is being seized from them shutters and grates cover doorways and stairwells where human beings who have nowhere else to go at least could stand for awhile awnings arc removed from buildings so that cold rain pouts down on very ill people large private security forces in gastown and chinatown business districts enforce to the limits of their capability anti-panhandling bylaws and harass poor and vulnerable people out of their areas ..away from tourists and businesses there is serious talk of establishing what is being called the carroll street corridor - a kind of demilitarized zone between gastown and chinatown so that tourists do not have to walk through the defiled downtown eastside
I
the sophistication of the system wc are opposing is such that the presence of panhandlers in business areas of vancouver has been greatly reduced without the police having to change a single person yet thus the system is able to avoid a public legal challenge and public space continues to be seized to put this in a theological perspective I'llbriefly quote from a book entitled "money and power" written by jacques ellul, who fought in the resistance in france during the second world war and engaged in many social justice struggles throughout the remainder of his life. ellul says "ultimately the rich seek 10 kill the poor this happens because fine rich are exasperated . by constantly being called into question by god ~hrough the poor - and this is the real reason for . the amazing problem that in all societies the rich have detested the poor and why when precisely the rich are the powerful the superior the strong do they set themselves against the poor? we can find of course all the psychological and r sociological reasons we could want ." ~ but none of these reasons is definitive g" • none really explains hut they all relate to the fact that the poo: ar~ a temporal reflection of god"
~~c,. and in the midst of the downtown eastside ll:;z;:: to resist today is to take back space but when the police have established a red zone we are few in numbers and have no money or political for prisoners released from jail, meaning you could power, what do we do? be arrested simply [or being found on a certain block '~~ h the question I finally asked myself is not which cause, and vancouver city council has recently invested time which new assault on the poor should I take on? ~ anti-panhandling bylaws? the health care system? and money in an attempt to circumvent housing? the legal system'! racism? unemployment? the charter of rights.and freedoms naming the downtown eastside specifically as the target the theft of children from poor women? welfare? of this action to loosen even more but who are the defiled? the ones who don't belong? the search and seizure regulations ~ the human beings who are relentlessly dehumanized? there are no-go zones in new westminster those who arc victimized by this social cleansing? several block areas where you can be charged
if you are deemed an undesirable just for being there and that is basically in response to drug addicts driven from the downtown eastside to new west by police but there is resistance. [know there is here in victoria and in vancouvcr not long ago ~ctivists ~rotesting the anti-panhandling bylaw Invaded CIty hall and occupied city council chambers
in the downtown eastside as well as throughout the province of british columbia it is the drug addicts who are homeless. diseased who are excluded, marginalized, pushed out, vilified abandoned arid destroyed arid it is tine impoverished dining addict on whom the entire system bear's down every institution of law education business health and religion
the degraded situation nd circumstances of drug addicts is one issue that affects or will affect everyone in b.c. and is the only opening, the only breach IOnthe system I have yet seen during my activism in the downtown eastside thehorrendous condition of drug addicts has forced government, the system, to yield resources it never would have otherwise I believe that in the downtown eastside the entire community of poor people the best way to do it is to defend and stand with and fat those who are most defiled and excluded the drug addicts 10 defend
a year ago several downtown eastside activists involved with the drug situation held a protest we blocked the corner of main and hastings and distributed a pamphlet describing the horrendous situation of overdose deaths and disease we planted 1200 crosses in oppenheimer park to commemorate the number of people who have died as a result of drug overdoses in the past 4 years and then as a member of the vancouver/richmond health board representing the downtown eastside ;I introduced a motion which passed declaring the hiv/aids infection rate among injection drug users vancouver's first public health emergency '\!
these events brought international media attention to the predicament in the downtown eastside and since drug addiction and its consequences affects all areas of our Jive including massive health care costs the m~ia ~as the story. from one perspective or another ever Since, III such a WIdespread and ongoing manner that Iibby davies said she has never ' in all her years of activism seen anything like it
at approximately the same time as these events ann livingston and myself held meetings with drug addicts in the downtown eastside hundreds of addicts and listened to them sav over and over that what they most needed was a place to go a place, some space to be safe and rest and have the use of a telephone and a shower and a restroom common amenities denied them for even the community centre in the area is off limits from these meetings a campaign developed for a 24-hour resource centre for drug users and that coincided with the federal government the liberals conning forth with a million dollars to deal with tire public health emergency and it's been decided that the federal government will initially fund this resource centre for addicts a commitment which would have seemed impossible unthinkable and absurd a year ago there's currently a battle over where this facility will be and there are those insisting it be located anywhere elsewhere nowhere but it will be in the downtown eastside; and it is space taken back because if anything can be said to be an anti-gentrification project, it is this one and the health board in cooperation (of all things) with other ministries and b.c housing put together money not marked for any other housing venture and purchased 2 hotels in the dark heart of the emergency - the block where the red zone is located the block most people in business wish ' ••.. as gentrified and the addicts expelled as soon as possible and these 2 hotels will house mentally disabled drug addicts, many ofwbom are infected with hiv/aids this initiative is an important signal that a commitment has been made to house "undesirables" in the downtown eastside and most dramatically of any project so far is a drug users' organization also funded by the vancouver/richmond health board it's called vandu -vancouver area network of drug users sibley says in his book "there is always the hope that through political action the humanity of tbe rejected will be recognized and the images of defilement discarded" and that is what vandu has most powerfully begun to accomplish the de-marginalization of those most marginalized
.~." :.---
00 ll'l .
.
08
,,[1
the most powerless and voiceless are finding their voices and speaking forth at meetings and conferences and on committees where they had never been seen or heard before it occurs to me regarding activism in the downtown castsidc that out of all advocacy efforts and all the meetings and demonstrations around housing, while important as acts of resistance, they have not yielded one square inch of space taken back but the drug emergency has been truly hopeful
a petition campaign was begun by vandu members for safe injection rooms in the downtown eastside more space for the lowest the least and the last and because of the horrendous number of overdose deaths, this has become a possibility the 24-hour resource centre committee unanimously supported this petition and safe injection sites and this committee includes a gastown business leader and an inspector of the vancouver police department and the chief medical officer of be, JOM millar, in a report on the public health emergency, urges the government to yield resources with housing mentioned prominently to help save lives of drug users out of this suffering out of this exclusion, out of the enormous out of the monstrous against first nations consequences of'lthe
of drug addicts and their families out of this genocide, health care costs now and later market of international drug trade people out of the wild fire prohibition of illicit drugs
out of the disease, out of the Iives of the most execrated most written-off and hated human beings in our society has come an opening .. a possibility for something new for change for taking back space
.
and the emergency is not going to.go away problems associated with drug use will only increase and worsen if real changes are not made for social activists this is an opportunity that may not ever come again you can take on the whole system from the side of a drug addict this crisis is in victoria, it is in the comox valley it is on reserves throughout the province it is across the world and so Iurge political activists to organize with drug addicts - they are in the biggest mess there is their lives are the biggest messes and the closer you are to them the more of a mess you get into but this solidarity is the only hope 1 see for actual concrete change )he downtown eastside is being crushed :f'there are a million battles to fight Ihave never before realized the width and breadth and power of the system as Ihave in this advocacy because here is a real threat to the system, trying to save the lives of those others would rather see die I'll close with another quotation from the best book 1 know on this whole debacle it's called "the corner" the corner being tJle drug corner, the drug scene. the authors david simon and edward burn say "the corner is everywhere and we have swallowed some disastrous pretensions allowing ourselves a naive sincerity that even now assumes the battle can be restricted to heroin and cocaine limited to a self-contained cadre of lawbreakers when all along the conflict was ripe to become a war against tire underclass itself we can commit to the people of the corner.to the notion that they are our own, that their future is our future or we can throw the problem back on them empathy demands that we recognize ourselves in their faces, that we acknowledge the addictive impulse is something more than simple lawlessness that we begin to see the corner. as the last refuge of the truly disowned and connectedness admits that between their world and ours the distance in human terms at least is never as great as we make it seem" Bud Osborn
Humanities 101 - Community Program Update January 30 marks the beginning of a new installment of the Women's Writing series. Note the change in start time to 2p.m. Gilles Cyrenne's grammar series begins afresh on January 29- bus tickets and a meal card are available for those making the trip out to UBC. In Elevenses, book two of Lord of the Rings is coming to a close in the next couple of weeks. The third book, Return of the King will begin on Sunday February 10. This would be a great time to join the group. Remember, these groups require no registration, so you can drop in anytime. "Science Technology and Society" When: Wednesdays from 6:00-8:00 PM. Where: Vancouver Public Library, n;)ca?mat et Strathcona Branch, 730 East Hastings St. Nellie Yip Quong Room (2nd floor). Facilitator: Mathew Arthur Most people think that science is about finding out what makes up the natural and social world and how it all works. We will read texts that consider, instead, what it means to do science and technology as situated practices that are always making or transforming the world around us-rather than thinking of science and technology as specialized disciplines that discover something about the way reality already is. "Elevenses: Eating and Reading Tolkien" When: Sundays, 11:00 AM-12:30 PM. Where: Vancouver Public Library, n;)ca?mat ct Strathcona Branch, 730 East Hastings si, Nellie Yip Quong Room (2nd floor). Facilitator: Reuben Jentink We will meet weekly on Sunday mornings at 11:00, to read together, aloud, from JRR Tolkien;s masterwork Lord a/the Rings. Attendees are encouraged to volunteer, if comfortable, to read for the group. Heeding Tom Bombadil's wise assertion that "long tales are thirsty. And long listening's hungry work," before settling in, we'll begin each meeting with some baked treats. Copies of part two, The Two Towers, will be available for participants. "Documentaries for Thinkers" When: Second and third Saturday of the month, starting at 6:00 PM. Where: Carnegie Centre Theatre, 401 Main St. Curator: Terence Lui
Twice monthly, on the 2nd and 3rd Saturday of the months, the Carnegie Theatre is filled with eager viewers looking to catch the latest scintillating documentaries from some of the best filmmakers across the globe. These films cover politics, nature, art, society, philosophy, science and more. "A Taste of The Middle East" When: Mondays from 6:00-7:30 PM. Where: The Gathering Place. 609 Helmcken st. Facilitator: Shahla Masoumnejad Middle Eastern countries have a rich culture, and although they are frequently identified as one region, each country represents a distinguished culture that is rooted in ancient traditions. In this study group, we enjoy the beauty of these cultures and explore the differences that make each country unique. "Grammar with Hum" When: Tuesdays from 5:00-6:00 PM. Starts Tuesday January 29. Where: UBC, Buchanan D room 204. Facilitator: Gilles Cyrenne In this introduction to grammar mini-series, Hum alumnus Gilles Cyrenne will teach the nuts and bolts of English grammar. Whether you are learning English as a second 'language, or want a refresher, this structured course will work through the fundamentals of English grammar. "Wednesday Women's Writing Workshop" (Women only) When: Wednesdays, 2:00-3:30 PM: January 30; February 6, 13; March 6, 13; April 3, 10. Where: Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, Wellness Room, 302 Columbia St. Facilitator: Maureen Phillips In this series of90-minute writing workshops, we will explore some of the different genres of writingjournaling, memoir, personal essays, fiction and poetry. Each week you will be given a writing prompt to help you get started. After each period of writing, you will have an opportunity to read aloud and share your work with the others, if you like. These weekly sessions will give you an idea of what kind of writing you would like to do, how to go about it, and how to keep up a good practice of writing.
EiALLERY 6ACHET 9 W Hastings. Open Tues - Sat: 12 - 6pm Intrusive Thoughts: Self-Portraits by Riisa Gundesen https://wv/w.riisagllndesen.comi Exhibition runs: January 25th to March 16th, 2019 Stay tuned for the Spring Capilano Review launch featuring work by Riisa Gundesen at Gallery Gachet in March 2019! Intrusive Thoughts is a solo exhibition featuring selfportraits by Riisa Gundesen. This exhibition explores feminine representation, the abject, and mental health. In the context of Riisa's work, the abject denies the viewer the anticipated pleasure of looking at the feminine body by showing mental and bodily functions that are often hidden or repressed. Riisa illustrates compulsive scratching, picking, and over-grooming in her self -portraits through the use of texture, paint, and ambiguous figures. At the same time, she uses rich and energetic paint colours to draw the audience into her paintings and evoke feelings of intrigue, alarm, and empathy. Together, Intrusive Thoughts investigates the possibilities of the abject as a metaphor for lived experience with anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and depression .
•
Riisa Gundesen is a visual artist based in Edmonton. She recieved her BFA from the University of Lethbridge in 2012, and her MFA from the University of Saskatchewan in 2017. In the context of contemporary figurative painting, her work deals with femininity, mental illness, and the abject. Gundesen currently teaches visual art at the University of Alberta and the City of Edmonton.
Jenny Kwan MP Vancouver Immigration,
East NDP Refugee
and Citizenship Critic 2572 E Hastings St Vancouver,
BC V5K IZ3
T: 604-775-5800 F: 604-775-5811 Jenny.Kwan@parl.gc.ca
IT'S A CONSPIRACY ...
this last is not believed by the core leadership, it is still used to give the appearance of belief so people won't question their own righteousness in being part of all "They" "them" "those blanks" and a litany of colourthis. ful adjectives, usually sexually (or at least physically) Okay, this is not a book report. What struck me as derogatory, follows. It's a conspiracy! ... and people being close to home was the pains taken by the author generally stop listening or just nod. to show that conspiracy theories - about the evil govI've been reading this book called Harvest of Rage. It ernment, the economic screws being turned on the talks about all the stuff that's been going on in the US righteous rural farmers and other people, the global over the past decade and more that has alienated hunplan to make everyone slaves through international dreds of thousands of people in the rural communities. trade agreements, banking and financial means to take Almost everything comes to the loss of Family farms the democratic rights of citizens away and place them t?rough foreclosures. People work for years, generaunder the power of the corporate elite, the passage or nons, and all they do is get deeper in debt as large destruction of various laws - can be made or created to companies get monopolies on fertilizer, seed, equipincorporate any event into 'more of the same" or "what ment, transportation and insurance, and are there waitthey are doing now." The close to home stuff is that ing as often the sole buyer, processor and market for people take their perception of events and the unmisany and all farm products. The banks are ann-in-arm takable facts of power and money displayed by corpowith the corporations, charging exorbitant interest to rate giants, governments and stuff like the Free Trade force closure and then helping a corporation buy the Agreement (FTA), the North American Free Trade whole thing, land and all, at rates below what the Agreement (NAFT A), the General Agreement on Tarfanner was being squeezed for. The conclusion is twoiffs and Trade (GATT), the World Trade Organisation fold: inward-directed violence makinz suicide the (WTO), the United StateslMexico/Canada Agreement leading cause of death - five times higher than acci(USMCA), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)the dents, the 2nd leading cause - and outward-directed United Nations and NA TO, the World Bank and the violence, as evidenced by pipe bombs, executions of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and drugs and bankers, government agents and corporate executives, land and wealth and the CIA and the Jews and climate and bombings. change denial a~d nuclear weapons and the Antichrist The research and investigation of the author shows and the tribulation and Armageddon and something that the Oklahoma City bombing, where a federal called the rapture and wind it and twist it and set it building was blown up and 168 people were killed, is spinning like a top. just one incident of retaliation of militant antiThe close to home stuff is that there is a grain of government people. It links the KKK, the Christian truth behind all of this, a truth that people with narrow Identity/fundamentalist and the 400 active militia or selfish interests can exploit to their own ends. It can groups in the country to things like the inalienable rights of gun owners, supremacy of the white race, the ma~e you part of this conspiracy theory 'craziness', "God-given" doe nent known as the Constitution and seeing government and evil everywhere with every the righteousness that these people feel when commit- news story just more evidence; but it only works if yo~ ignore other stuff. If you throw up your hands and ting robberies, murders and anything else they feel 'called upon by God' to do that will result in the estab- quietly bury your head in sand, getting stoned or drunk or just walled off, you're a fool. It can also wake lishment of a Christian Nation. ?,ou up to the unmistakable fact that something is go~he linking of all this to religion is essential, in the mg on. The corporate agenda is a fact, to roll back all minds of the perpetrators, to justify everything with gains made in the social contract over the past century. quot~tions from the Christian Bible to legitimize gayThis is not the ranting of a conspiracy addict - it's statbashl~g and the torture/murder of homosexuals, killing e? and plain to anyone looking at the manoeuvrings of abortion doctors and bombing clinics, labeling nonwhites as subhuman, refusing to pay taxes by declaring big business and financial institutions - but think of opposing forces. the government illegal and evil, and seeing the entire In the Downtown Eastside it's part of the growing world through xenophobic eyes that put the bogeyman awareness that various interests have different ideas antichrist as the ultimate horror behind everything. If on the present and future of this community. The snotnosed yups and holier-than-thou types declaring 95%
j
of the local residents unacceptable and our homes, activities, and rights things to be done away withis almost laughable. Is it a conspiracy when constant whining about an image in a mural. the use of a building, the presence of 'unsightly' people on a tourist-only area, and any projects/services/ideas that keep or even draw low-income individuals to the neighbourhood drives people at shirty hall to join in with the criminalisation of survival techniques born out of poverty (panhandling, squeegeeing, selling your stuff), and the concerted effort to clean up (bulldoze) the Downtown Eastside? Is it a conspiracy when the very identification of this area as the Downtown Eastside is still a hot topic .. when civic propaganda has a ward system "overwhelmingly rejected again and again" when in fact the majority of voters approve it each time it comes up .. when democracy dies and the press stops as the one-party rules unblemished and the greedy elite seek to carve up and gentrify the neighbourhood wholesale in the never-ending pursuit of profit? "We demand a moratorium on non-market housing and services"??! The dictionary defines Conspiracy: -1. An agreement to perform together an illegal, treacherous, or evil act. 2. A combining or acting together, as ifby evil design. Conspiracy refers to such a plan by a group usually intent on a bold purpose, like overthrowing a government. Any act or idea. can be woven into a conspiracy theory. Use your intuition: subjective approach with objective adjustment. Keep the faith that what you do does make a difference. ByPAULR TAYLOR
Letter to the Editor: Effective immediately: All house prices and all rents are to be reduced by fifty percent; all mortgages are to be halved. No future increases for any real estate dealing may exceed the rate of inflation. Human greed, not human need, accounts for the misery of the housing crisis and small business space. We are neighbour ripping off neighbour. A free market which is not free of human greed is not a free market. Greedy and impoverished human beings are not free. Canadian banks are able to afford the losses (having amassed huge profits). News reports say through good management they have avoided the bank misconduct apparent in the USA. No other remedies have proven effective except to give more money to poorly managed, in-debt governments. When I reached 65, I was on welfare's $660/month. Suddenly with CPP, OAS, GIS I had $1320/month, and for the first time in my life had my own apartment, the BC Housing grant keeping my rent under $500; after food, phone, hydro I had $300-$400 in discretionary income per month. My spirits soared. I felt like a human being ought to feel. We need to begin again. By halving house prices, mortgages, house and small business rents, and by limiting increases to the inflation rate, each and all of us shall greatly benefit financially, emotionally, psychologically. Peter R. Wheeler East Vancouver
Stories that Could be True 6 Week Storytelling Course This six-week course is for everybody interested in developing their storytelling skills. Bring personal stories about things that happened in your life, or traditional stories that you would like to share with others. The group will meet every Monday at 12:30 pm from January 21 - February 25, in Carnegie Centre's 3rd Floor Classroom Jim Sands is an East Vancouver based storyteller, actor, songwriter, musician and occasional clown who has performed both as a solo artist and with a variety of musical groups. He has appeared in plays and special events organized by Vancouver Moving Theatre, Community Arts Workshop, Hollywood Kidz, and has performed in over 15 Fringe festivals across Canada. This course is offered in partnership with the Carnegie Learning Centre.
CRUNCHA.I
dtes
C(JNG HOYFATCHOY.'
't\~y, It1AfSJN E ,F
1N£I\£ WAS 1 M£.
YEAR. of 111£ 1'R.£E?
fkoeALY GET L.OS~ IN -rUt!
fOf\£sr!
'"
'PEARLS
We acknowledge that Carnegie Community Centre, and this Newsletter, are occurring on Coast Salish Territory.
THIS NEWSLETTER IS A PUBLICATION OF THE CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION Articles represent the views of individual contributors and not of the Association. WANTED Artwork for the Carnegie Newsletter -Small illustrations to accompany articles and poetry. -Cover art - Max size: 17cm(6 %")wide x 15cm(6")high. -Subject matter pertaining to issues relevant to the Downtown Eastside, but all work considered. -Black & White printing only. -Size restrictions apply (i.e. if your piece is too large, it will be reduced and/or cropped to fit). -All artists will receive credit for their work. -Originals will be returned to the artist after being copied for publication. -Remuneration: Carnegie Volunteer Tickets Please make submissions to Paul Taylor, Editor. The editor can edit for clarity, format & brevity, but not at the expense of the writer's message.
401 Main Street, Vancouver V6A 2T7 604·665·2289 Website carnegienewsletter.org Catalogue carnnews@vcn.bc.ca email
LSLAP (Law Students Legal Advice Program) DROP-IN Call 604-665-2220
Next issue:
SUBMISSION
for time
DEADLINE
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY
12
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
•
AIDS
•
POVERTY
•
HOMELESSNESS
•
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
•
TOTALITARIAN CAPITALISM
•
IGNORANCE and SUSTAINED FEAR
carnnews@shaw.ca
DONATIONS 2019 Craig H.-$500 Barry M.-$250 Laurie R.-$100 In memory of those who pased in 2018 -$10 Elaine V.-$100 Glenn B.-$250
Vancouver's non-commercial, listener-supported community station.