Grapeshot Magazine

Issue 7 | Vol. 6 | October 2014

CAMPUS NEWS & LIFE | ARTS & CULTURE | STYLE & SUSTAINABILITY | REVIEWS | AND MORE

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06 MUPRA Goes to Court 07 The War Against IS 08 Screening For Down Syndrome 08 Abbott’s Paid Parental Scheme 09 Scotland’s Choice 10 Epping/Chatswood Rail Line to Close 11 Jana Jones Interview 12 Tackling Stigma in Spot

36 Photography: Surfaces of Sydney 38 Poetry: Melancholy

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14 Student Voice: Lockout Laws 16 Travel With Your Heart 16 Romania Beyond Dracula 17 The Silk Routes 17 Polishing Over Rape 18 Talkin’ Shit with Manisha 18 Street Style on Campus

20 The South African Queen 22 Antartica 24 Buried in Bhutan 26 Moscow Never Sleeps 28 Lost in Juárez 30 In the Shadow of the Football Stadium 32 The Syrian Situation

40 Smiling Chef: Marinades 42 The Stew: Worldly Bites 44 Reviews 46 Puzzles & Horoscopes

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EDITOR’S LETTER

W

elcome back to the second half of Semester Two, after a long recovery from Conception Day celebrations. In light of numerous global issues in the media over the mid-semester break, we thought it would be appropriate to dedicate a Grapeshot issue to providing students with a trip ‘Around the World in 48 Pages’.

As a university publication, we can often be focused on national issues that affect us as students, however, we want to encourage you to not only be good Australian citizens, but also become great global citizens. The United States of America’s 28th President Woodrow Wilson reminded us that “we are citizens of the world. The tragedy of our times is that we do not know this.” I hope that by page 48 we have come a little step closer to achieving that.

During the mid-semester break we asked our contributors to write about issues in numerous countries ranging from Antarctica (pg. 22) through to Russia (pg.

26), where they discovered some facts about the world’s most dangerous cities (pg.

28) and the world’s happiest nation (pg.

24). News will cover controversial topics surrounding Australia’s part to be played in the Islamic State (pg. 7), the possibility of the legalisation of medical marijuana in NSW (pg. 10) and Tony’s paid parental scheme (pg. 8). Regulars has given us an insight into a student’s exchange experience in Romania, and reminds us that

exchange is about encountering numerous cultures and “sharing life stories with as many people as possible” (pg. 16) – and occasionally it can also be about studying.

With impending assessments burying students over the next few weeks, I hope this Issue becomes a short and enjoyable escape. Lastly, I would like to thank our new Editor-in-Chief, Sarah Basford, for her seamless transition into the role, and her terrific leadership of the Grapeshot team.

This dynamic and fresh Issue is a testament to her efforts.

Macquarie University Student Publication EDITORIAL & CREATIVE PRODUCTION Editor in Chief Deputy Editor Features Editor News Editor Regulars Editor Copy Editor Creative Director Illustrator

Sarah Basford Kristina Cavanna Regina Featherstone Emma Vlatko Alessandro Guarrera Claire Catacouzinos Artistic Collaborations James Rotanson

MARKETING TEAM Advertising Manager Varun Fernando Marketing Manager Manisha Josephraja Social Media Manager Raelee Lancaster SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS Amelia van der Rijt, David Yao, Alicia Scott, Jack Cameron Stanton, Ben Nour, Nicholas Wasiliev, Rowan Taylor, Vanessa Capito, Rabbit, Toby Hemmings, Alex Slade, Anna Elizabeth Glen, Rabeah Zafrullah, Brendon D’Souza, Sukriti Gautam, Fergus Halliday, Mia Kwok, Nicholas Rider, Cassandra Teo, Marie Claire Selim and Kira Henderson.

EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD Sarah Cameron, Kristofer Gilmour, Emma Grimley, Nigel Khine, Jack Morgan, Natalie Morton, Gemma Quinn, Melroy Rodrigues

KRISTINA CAVA NNA Deputy Editor

PUBLISHER Craig Oliver The publication team acknowledges the Darug Aboriginal people as the traditional custodians of the land on which Macquarie University is situated.

TEDx Wrap Up WORDS | Mia Kwok On 27 September 2014 Macquarie University hosted the annual TEDx event under the theme ‘Breaking New Ground’. The sold-out conference was curated by Director Lucas Berullier and Co-Curator Vikki Campion who both found a stellar line up of speakers and performers. ‘TED’ stands for “Technology, Entertainment and Design.” It’s parent brand ‘TED Talks’ has seen an array of key thinkers spreading ideas and starting thought-provoking conversations with people.

TEDxMacquarieUniversity has certainly lived up to the formidable TED reputation. Coming from a range of diverse backgrounds, every single one of this year’s TED speakers was phenomenal. Athlete and burn survivor Turia Pitt received a standing ovation for her inspiring talk on survival and the importance of valuing more than just our physical appearance. Her emotionally-charged story was page 4 | grapeshot magazine

beautiful to hear. Other stand out orators include PhD student in Gender Selection Tereza Hendl, magician and entrepreneur Vinh Giang and comedian Alice Fraser. It was truly interesting to hear from Vice Chancellor Bruce Dowton, whose ideas on leadership were infused with moving and meaningful stories from his time as a paediatrician. Each session was interspersed with performers to get you laughing and having fun before you even begin to get fidgety. The lunch was (the best thing I’ve ever eaten and) designed by nutritionist Joanna McMillan and cooked by Crunch Catering’s chefs. The TED team truly thought of everything to create an event that’s almost too good to be true. To read more about the speakers, head to Grapeshot Online. grapeshotmq.com.au

THE WAR AGAINST IS SCREENING FOR DOWN SYNDROME ABBOTT’S PAID PARENTAL SCHEME WORLD CONGRESS COMES TO AUS SCOTLAND’S CHOICE JACK THE RIPPER: CASE CLOSED? NSW IN GREEN HEAVEN EPPING/CHATSWOOD RAIL LINE TO CLOSE REIMAGINING THE MUMMIFICATION PROCESS TACKLING STIGMA IN SPORT

NEWS

MUPRA GOES TO COURT

MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY TAKES MUPRA TO COURT WORDS | Emma Vlatko

Macquarie University has taken seven of its postgraduate students to the Supreme Court.

NEWS

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The university claims that the students, who are all representatives for the Macquarie University Postgraduate Representative Association (MUPRA), have been misusing funds.

Craig Oliver, Director of Campus Life, said in a statement to Grapeshot, the organisation had not been fulfilling its duties to the Macquarie postgraduate students. “In recent years, MUPRA has provided limited postgraduate services and has in fact, sought, and obtained funds from the university in order to do so,” he said.

The university is asking the Court to wind up the organisation and appoint a liquidator to distribute their net assets.

However, MUPRA argued that the funds (obtained prior to 2007) were being held as a safeguard against a potentially diminished future support from the university. Meghan Hopper, President of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) claimed that this was a completely legitimate use of the funds.

“It recognised when voluntary student unionism came in that it would need money, so it saved money and invested and got interest. They put it aside for a rainy day, and then that day came,” Ms Hopper said in an interview with Crikey.

She also said that the actions by the university are nothing more than a “blatant grab at money,” and an attempt to silence independent student advocacy.

“We are gravely concerned about the potential implications that this case will have, not just for our friends at MUPRA, but for independent student unions at campuses across Australia, and indeed, the concept of independent unionism itself” The CAPA President also expressed concerns at the university’s attempt to replace MUPRA with the current Student Advisory Board.

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“If a Court accepts that it is appropriate for a university to simply replace a union with an ‘advisory body’ chaired by a person hand-picked by the university, and directly responsible to the Chancellor, that will be a tragic step in the history of student unionism in Australia, and will send a very dangerous message about independent representation and advocacy.”

Ms Hopper’s argument has also attracted federal interest, with Greens Senator, Lee Rhiannon voicing her support for the ‘Macquarie 7’. “It is important for those of us who support independent, vibrant, democratic student organisations to stand up against attacks like this, otherwise they may start becoming a common occurrence,” she said.

In late August the Senator tabled a motion calling Macquarie University to drop its legal action, describing their actions as “unprecedented.”

Mr Oliver rejects these claims completely, arguing that Macquarie’s new Student Advisory Board ensures all student constituencies are represented.

“Macquarie University makes no apology for striving to provide better student services and support,” he says. “Even if that means providing the services itself rather than handing over cash to student-run organisations to do so.”

And while he expressed regret over the need for legal action, he said the university has taken these actions solely because of the specific matters at hand, “not because of an ideological position on student organisations or representation.”

“The university and its council have repeatedly tried, with numerous MUPRA Executives, to find an amicable resolution that would ensure the continuation and independence of the organisation,” Mr Oliver said. “Unfortunately, those attempts, including personal intervention by the Vice-Chancellor, have not been successful.”

Two of the MUPRA representatives being charged are international students.

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THE WAR AGAINST

IS

WORDS | Rowan Taylor Tony Abbott has committed Australia to war. On 14 September, our Prime Minister announced that 600 military and air force personnel would be sent over to the Middle East to fight the Islamic State, a militant group he denounced as a “death cult.”

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Recent conflicts in the Middle East have been unfortunately common. Past and ongoing conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza, Libya, Egypt, and Syria have meant that images of the war-torn region are rarely absent from our screens. Likewise, Australia’s involvement in these conflicts is not unheard of.

Australian troops only withdrew from Iraq in 2009, and finished withdrawing from Afghanistan at the beginning of this year.

The Prime Minister’s announcement means our military will be back overseas by the end of September.

IS (formerly the Islamic State for Iraq and Syria) is a militant Sunni Jihadist group with similar ideologies and assets to AlQaeda. It’s stated aim is to create ‘an Islamic Caliphate’ which encapsulates all Muslims. Since June, heavily armed IS troops have successfully captured large parts of Iraq and Syria. While other militant groups in Iraq have generally favoured guerilla warfare, IS has opted for a strategy of military conquest. This has resulted in what BBC correspondent Paul Adams has described as a ‘Whirlwind Jihad’.

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The success of their brutally violent methods has worried many. A United Nations Commission found that regular public executions are take place in IS strongholds in Iraq and Syria of both soldiers and civilians. Some of these, including the most recent beheading of British Aid worker, David Haines, have even made our television screens.

However, particular concerns are currently for the Kurdish and Christian populations in Iraq. Many members of various minorities have fled before the advance of IS, fearing for their safety. The ensuing humanitarian crisis has been a driving factor behind calls for UN intervention.

US Secretary of State, John Kerry called upon countries around the world to “stop the spread of evil.” Already, he has persuaded 40 countries, including Australia, to provide assist in fighting IS. Upon farewelling the 600 defence members on 18 September, the Prime Minister or Opposition, Leader Bill Shorten both gave their full support of the mission. “In this mission you will have the full support of both the government and the opposition. In this mission, we will give you all the support you need,” the PM said.

However, support for Australia’s renewed involvement in Iraq is far from universal.

Greens Leader, Christine Milne has condemned the decision, asking the Senate to pass a Bill requiring Parliamentary debate and approval before more troops can be deployed. The Senator has also raised concerns about the open ended time frame for Australian military commitment. “If we’re going to start, where are we going to end,” she said. “It’s important that the Prime Minister tells us...what we’re going to commit to.”

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Concerns have also been raised internationally about the newly established Coalition of Nations. Speaking to the Associated Press in Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi announced that his country neither wanted, nor needed ground troops in his country. “Not only is it unnecessary. We don’t want them. We won’t allow them. Full stop.” grapeshot magazine | page 7

THE GAMMY EFFECT: SCREENING FOR DOWN SYNDROME WORDS | Amelia van der Rijt We all remember the story of baby Gammy, born with Down syndrome to a surrogate mother and then allegedly abandoned by his Australian parents.

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Down syndrome is a genetic condition occurring when a child is born with an extra chromosome. It almost always occurs randomly and to all kinds of people across the globe. Prenatal screening for Down syndrome is currently offered to most expectant mothers. According to Down syndrome Australia, there are currently over 13,000 people living with Down syndrome in the country.

Whilst those with the disability can lead a mostly normal life, it is often associated with a number of other health issues, including overweight tendencies, lowered immunity, and shorter life expectancy. Furthermore, supporting those with Down syndrome comes at a cost, and not every parent has the financial resources or ability to care for a child with a disability.

Over 90 per cent of expectant parents currently choose to terminate a pregnancy likely to result in a child having Down syndrome. But is this decision justified?

According to Richard Dawkins, famous for his claim that some

rapes are ‘worse’ than others, Down syndrome is definitely a valid reason to terminate a pregnancy. Dawkins goes as far to say that it would be immoral not to abort in this circumstance.

But not everyone agrees.

“All people have faults,” says Annabelle, “choosing to terminate pregnancy because your child may have a more obvious disability is appalling. I think prenatal screening is appropriate to an extent. It could benefit parents, so they’re more prepared and aware that they may have to raise a child with this disability. But for screening tests to be the deciding factor for abortion is different.”

“I think parents should be allowed to test for Down syndrome.

We have the technology and even though it may be the reason mothers have an abortion, I think the testing remains okay,” explained Johanna.

“You have to consider the position you’re in, though,” added Brittany. “Some people may not have the money, or the ability, or the time to look after a child with Down syndrome.”

However, ultimately the decision is a personal one and until we are actually faced with the situation, we cannot know what we would actually do.

CAPTAIN’S CALL: TONY ABBOTT’S PAID PARENTAL LEAVE SCHEME WAVES WORDS | Anna Glen Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s controversial over five billion Paid Parental Leave Scheme (PPLS) has been put on the backburner, with the legislation unlikely to reach Parliament until next year.

Some have welcomed this news, however, the scheme attracted criticism from all sides of politics since it announcement in 2012, including some from the Prime Minister’s own party.

LNP Senator, Ian Macdonald said the scheme appeared to “militate against women in country areas where wages are not as high.” And fellow Liberal Senators Dean Smith and Cory Bernardi have also publicly expressed their doubts about the plan. While the Greens have indicated they are willing to negotiate, Clive Palmer declared the policy is “dead in the water”.

defiant, maintaining the policy will go ahead with the “full support of cabinet.” He said the scheme has only been deferred to ensure budget measures go through first, telling the ABC that “all our other priorities will then be taken through the parliament in an orderly fashion.’’

The treasurer Joe Hockey has also said the draft legislation is “not too far away.”

The current scheme allocates 26 weeks of paid parental leave to mothers at their actual wage, or the national minimum wage ($640.90 per week), depending on which is greater. It will be funded by a 1.5 per cent levy on companies with taxable incomes greater than five million dollars. Payments are capped at $50,000, lowered from the original cap of $75,000.

It would take only five coalition senators to vote against the scheme for it to fail in the Senate, and the probability of this is likely to have prompted the push back to 2015.

Labor has criticised the ‘Rolls-Royce’ scheme for being inequitable, arguing that it gives well-off mothers significantly more money than those who are on the minimum wage payment.

Although, government frontbencher, Scott Morrison remains

The fate of the controversial policy remains to be seen.

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TO AUSTRALIA WORDS | Kira Henderson

The World Congress of Families conference offers their 400 guests sessions that has the nation divided.

Topics include: •

The Impact on Children of Legalising Same Sex Marriage

•

Economic and Social Costs of Abortion

•

Work of the Home: A True Profession

Meeting on 30 August, 2014 in Hallam, near Melbourne, the event described itself as a “time of intense teaching, learning, networking and exchange,” for those “who seek to strengthen and promote the natural family.”

Among the many controversial speakers listed for the event was Dr. Angela Lanfranchi, presenting on the controversial link between abortion and breast cancer. The Australian Medical Association has outright rejected this link but Lanfranchi was undeterred, “I don’t know why it’s stirred up discontent,” she said. “It’s a risk factor like any other.”

However, not all listed speakers made it to the event. Social Services Minister, Kevin Andrews and Victorian Attorney General, Robert Clark were meant to deliver speeches at the event but cancelled at the last minute. This was due to the evangelical Christian group, Catch the Fire Ministries, hosting the event, after previous locations pulled out.

The political arm of Catch the Fire Ministries is the Rise Up Australia party, a political party publically against multiculturalism. Outside, the Congress was surrounded by many protesters, heckling attendees as they tried to enter the centre with calls of ‘shame’. Protestors argue that the conference should not have been allowed in Australia, labelling it as ‘hate speech’. However, the Congress congratulated the attendees, calling their actions brave and heroic.

CHOICE

WORDS | Marie Claire Selim Scotland may be the country that pioneered the telephone, television, and Sir Sean Connery, but are they ready for independence? This was the question that almost evenly split the Scots on Thursday 18 September when they took to the polls for a ‘once in a lifetime’ referendum.

And according to 55.3 per cent of the Scottish voters, “no” was the answer.

Since the Middle Ages, the union between Scotland and England has been created, broken and reinforced on many occasions. The Union means that Scotland’s economy, international connections, and military are under the overall control of the United Kingdom.

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OF FAMILIES COMES

SCOTLAND’S

So was Thursday’s outcome in the best interests for Scotland?

With independence, Scotland would finally have had the self-determination and democracy it has yearned for. An Independent Scotland will have the opportunity to become a member of the UN and the EU, and most importantly, Scotland would finally be able to participate and make decisions with an autonomous voice. However, Scotland’s ties with the UK run deeper than the monarchy (which it would maintain either way) and without the UK, Scotland would become both small and resource poor. It is difficult to predict how an independent Scotland would be received internationally, and how it would sustain itself without the support of the Union.

Nonetheless, this result will likely bring about more change than anticipated. This referendum has started a conversation about where the power lies in the UK and the strength of the Scots in attempting to change this. Thus, if UK Prime Minister, David Cameron fails to bring about the much promised change, the desire for autonomous voice will reveal itself again, and the outcome will, undoubtedly, be very different.

NEWS

WORLD CONGRESS

JACK THE RIPPER: CASE CLOSED? In its 126 year investigation, over 500 people have been suspected, but if Russell Edwards is to be believed, the case of Jack the Ripper is now closed. Based on DNA findings from the Ripper’s fourth victim, Catherine Eddowes’ shawl, Edwards claims that 23 year-old, Aaron Kosminski is the Ripper’s true identity.

Kosminski, a Polish immigrant and suspected paranoid schizophrenic, had been one of the key suspects at the time of the original investigation. He worked as a hairdresser in the notorious Whitechapel district and was committed to an

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insane asylum shortly after the final murder.

To ‘solve’ the case, forensic geneticist, Dr Jari Louhelainen matched the DNA found on Eddowes’ shawl to a descendent of Kosminksi. Yet despite being a 100 per cent DNA match, many are still unconvinced. Ted Scheimann from Slate Magazine argues that the age of the shawl, and potential for contamination, means it is unreliable evidence. It seems that consensus on the issue is still a long way off and the faceless figure of Jack the Ripper will continue to inspire (and scare) many for years to come.

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NSW IN GREEN HEAVEN WORDS | Emma Vlatko

NSW looks to be one step closer to legalising medical marijuana. The government announced on 16 September that they will begin clinical trials of the medicinal drug, and establish a working group to address issues of supply and distribution.

Under the plan, only those on a register of terminally-ill patients will be able to legally access the drug. Until the changes go through parliament, the government is also formalising new guidelines for police so that those on the list, in possession of small amounts of cannabis, will not be charged.

The Premier, Mike Baird, has called on all parties to get behind the change, stating, “the country has waited too long, this state has waited too long.”

Premier Baird’s sudden support for the change comes after the touching story of terminally ill cancer patient, Daniel Haslam was aired by Alan Jones, an influential 2GB talk back host. Daniel’s mother, Lucy Haslam, who has been illegally acquiring marijuana for her son, says she has been touched by the change in the Premier’s position.

NEWS

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“I think he probably knows, as any parent, the horrible feeling of watching your child suffer and feeling powerless.

He can empathise with that I think.”

Support has also come on a Federal level with the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott stating, “I have no problem with the medical use of cannabis, just as I have no problem with the medical use of opiates.”

He also stated that, “if a drug is needed for a valid medicinal purpose though, and is being administered safely, there should be no question of its legality.”

Nationals MP, Kevin Anderson, who had been drafting a private members bill to legalise medicinal marijuana, says he believes that now, with the Premier’s support, change should come more quickly.

“I think that here we are six months on from when we first started to talk about this, and we now have a rock solid government position.”

EPPING/CHATSWOOD RAIL LINE TO CLOSE WORDS | Raelee Lancaster Opened in 2009, the Epping/Chatswood rail line has for six years been a convenient mode of transportation for many Sydney commuters, and none more so than Macquarie University students.

However, the Baird government wants the northern rail line upgraded and expanded to include suburbs, like Rouse Hill.

Project Director of the North-West Rail Link, Rodd Staples, told the Sydney Morning Herald that “the type of work that needed to be done on the Epping/Chatswood line included the installation of screen doors on platforms, as well as a new signaling system to allow for automatic trains.” page 10 | grapeshot magazine

To complete this upgrade, the rail line will be shut down temporarily, with some reports indicating it could be months until Macquarie commuters have access to their train line again. Speaking at a press conference, NSW Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian refused to confirm the duration of the line’s closure, stating that “once those negotiations are final and the contract is signed, I will be more than happy…to share all the information we have.”

While the line’s closure will undoubtedly cause disruptions for Macquarie University train commuters, there are fears it will also have flown on effects to the road, resulting in traffic build up and delays. Students are being advised to allow extra travel time to get to and from the university during the closure period. grapeshotmq.com.au

REIMAGINING THE MUMMIFICATION PROCESS WORDS | Ben Nour

Ben: What have you and your colleagues discovered about the origins of mummification?

Jana: Well the [previously] accepted date for the beginning of mummification is about 2500BC. Artificial mummification entailed taking out the organs, except the heart, and then wrapping them. The body was then dissected in natron, a naturally occurring substance that desiccates [removes the moisture of] the body. After forty days the body was packed with aromatic substances, and then the embalming mixtures were applied, which stops bacteria and preserves the body, before finally the body is wrapped.

That’s artificial mummification, which is not supposed to have begun until 2500BC. What I’ve found is they were doing this 1500 years before that.

B: Could you tell me about the science behind this discovery?

J: Biochemical analysis my colleagues and I conducted identified the components of embalming substances on 6000 year-old funerary textiles from Late Neolithic Egypt. The substances were complex, processed ‘recipes’, that consist of a plant oil or animal fat ‘base’, with smaller amounts of a pine resin, an aromatic plant extract, a plant gum/sugar, and a natural petroleum source.

The same natural products, in similar proportions, were used by the ancient embalmers in pharaonic mummification when it was at its zenith in the New Kingdom, some 2500 to 3000 years later.

B: How come it’s only taken until now for this scientific evidence to turn up? And how did this research come about?

J: Because nobody had thought of it!

I first put forward this theory in 2001, and then published in 2002, but without any scientific evidence.

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Grapeshot spoke to Dr. Jones about her findings and what they reveal about Ancient Egyptian mummification.

J: Well that’s the question! Ancient Egyptians were very conservative, but at the same time we know there were experiments and changes in the process of mummification.

That’s what my research focus is going to be on, whether there were any changes in these 3000 years.

I had been working at various sites in Egypt looking at funerary textiles and I found that there was resin in the wrappings from around 3000BC at a prehistoric site. I then went to a site older than, about 3400 BC, and there were three bodies that had the neck wrapped and the jaw and the hands, and the hands were clasped together and very tightly wrapped, and with my microscope I could see there was resin in there. So we were looking at 3000BC and then going back to 3400BC, and so I questioned why couldn’t it have started earlier.

B: Will your discovery have impacts on other areas of Egyptology?

J: Yes, I think so. It alters our thinking about these prehistoric people, because this happened thousands of years before writing.

There are no written records and we tend to think of them as, I won’t use the primate, but not as sophisticated as they were later in the pharaonic period.

For more information, search for ‘Jana Jones mummification’ on the PLOS One website.

NEWS

In what has been considered by scholars worldwide as ground breaking work, Dr. Jones, a Macquarie University Research Fellow, and her colleagues from the University of York and Oxford, have uncovered evidence proving previously held knowledge of the origins of the mummification process is wrong.

B: Why was there no change to the embalming recipe over this huge time period?

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TACKLING STIGMA IN SPORT WORDS | Raelee Lancaster Before the Waratahs played the Highlanders at Allianz Stadium on 6 July, Macquarie University took on (and lost to) the Sydney Convicts. The game marked the first time a gay rugby team featured at a professional sporting event.

Created in 2004, the Sydney Convicts are Australia’s first gay rugby union club, and aside from winning games, the club’s on a mission to tackle homophobia in sport head on.

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Former Macquarie University student, Jason Fowler, talked to Grapeshot about the inspirational club.

“The Convicts help fight the stigma that ‘gays can’t play sport’ by doing exactly that, and we are competitive at it as well,” Fowler says. “The Convicts are committed to playing good, hard rugby as well as fostering inclusiveness for all.”

This year the club hosted and won the 7th bi-annual Bingham Cup Tournament, a three-day rugby union competition hosting over 60 teams from around the world. Like the club, the tournament promotes rugby as all-inclusive and non-discriminatory.

“We have gotten progressively larger and more skilled as a club since its conception. Currently, we can field four teams in our Division 4 competition, and we are only getting larger.”

While studying a Bachelor of Psychology, Fowler played rugby union for Macquarie University. After graduating in 2013, however, he moved to the Sydney Convicts.

“I had moved to the Inner West and was no longer at Macquarie, so it was a long way for me to go to training,” Fowler admits. “I was also friends with a couple of the Sydney Convicts and they convinced me to come down to training and see if I liked it.”

The move shocked Fowler’s former Macquarie University teammates who, until a game against the Convicts, had no idea about his sexuality.

“In hindsight I made too big of a deal out of it, my old mates from Macquarie University Rugby have been very supportive.”

But Jason confessed that a large reason for not telling his former teammates was the homophobic culture in Australian sport.

“There is a large proportion of society that still believes homosexuality is morally wrong,” he says. “Day by day we are challenging these biased preconceptions, but people need time to adjust.”

Jason urges younger boys who are struggling to reconcile their sport and their sexuality to be open and honest.

“Things are changing, chances are your teammates will support and respect you for coming out to them.” page 12 | grapeshot magazine

NEW LOOK LOGO FOR MQ At a launch event on campus on 16 September, Macquarie University unveiled their new logo. The new design sees a return to the lighthouse symbol, a metaphor for future aspirations.

“The lighthouse serves as a strong metaphor for the university’s ambitions,” the launch pamphlet read. “It is a symbol of support, encouragement and reassurance.”

The redesign is just one part of the larger ‘Shared Identity project’. A project that has cost the university hundreds of thousands of dollars. The university says that once completed, “no rework will be required for many years.” However, Macquarie’s current design was only introduced in 2009 as part of the ‘One Voice, One Image’ project.

The new logo will not be formally used until 15 January next year and staff have been encouraged to allow old logo stock to run out before updating their materials.

MACQUARIE’S MEDICAL TEAM KEEPS ON GROWING Yet another addition to Macquarie University’s new medical research team, and you guessed it, this one also comes from UNSW. From November this year, Professor H Patrick McNeil will take up the post as Executive Dean for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Professor McNeil has an academic expertise in cellular immunology, rheumatology, and arthritis, and brings with him decades of experience.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bruce Dowton called his appointment a defining moment in Macquarie University history. “In our 50th year it is extremely exciting to announce the formation of a new medical faculty and to appoint its first Executive Dean, particularly someone as eminent as Patrick McNeil.”

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REGULARS Student Voice 14 | 15 Travel With Your Heart 16 The Silk Routes 17 Talkin’ Shit with Manisha 18 Street Style on Campus 18

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grapeshot magazine | page 13

Disclaimer: Some of the interviewees are members of the Macquarie University Labor Club.

INTERVIEWS

Alessandro Guarrera

STUD VO

EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE BARRY O’FARRELL NSW STATE GOVERNMENT DECIDED TO ENACT ALCOHOL-RELATED LEGISLATION THROUGH THE CITY, WHICH ENFORCES A POLICY OF BOTTLESHOP CLOSURES AT 10:00PM, LOCKOUTS AFTER 1:30AM, AND NO SERVICE OF ALCOHOL AFTER 3:00AM. INTERESTINGLY, STAR CITY IS CURRENTLY (AND BANGAROO WILL BE) EXCLUDED FROM THIS. GIVEN THEIR APPARENT SUCCESS, THE NSW POLICE HAS BEEN IN TALKS OF SPREADING THE POLICY ACROSS NSW. IN AN EFFORT TO MAINTAIN SOME SENSE OF STUDENT DEMOCRACY, WE BRAVED A VERITABLE GREEK CHORUS OF OPINIONS TO BRING YOU AN INCOMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNT OF YOUR OPINIONS. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE CURRENT LOCK OUT LAWS?

IN YOUR OPINION, HOW HAS CURRENT LEGISLATION IMPACTED THE CITY?

Alice didn’t like that bottleshops closed at ten, saying that people living in quieter areas were unable to do anything after time. She also said that these laws did “nothing to tackle the real problem, drugs.”

Mitchell supposed that “people are probably drinking less,” while Rhys offered the opinion that people would “have to make last minute dashes.” Certainly, the bartender’s now customary call for last drinks at 1:30am seems to be an attempt at inspiring last minute dashes. Do you think these laws are necessary?

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE PROPOSED STATE IMPLEMENTATION? They all agreed it was a blanket approach to violence, and that the impact in small towns to their businesses would be damaging.

They also doubted the laws could really curb violence. Pre-drinking or drinking outside of pubs and clubs would happen instead, and people often enter into these clubs desiring a fight.

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“They’re not tackling the problem,” said Alice, “believing if these laws had a clearer aim, we could see how they prevent violence, and who the perpetrators are.” While Mitchell stated that “the logical connection is not there.”

Rhys Zorro

How necessary is this law? While the police have reported dramatic drops in violence, the spate of ‘one-punch’ attacks that fueled the legislation occurred prior to midnight.

Is it these laws, or increased police presence, that has reduced reported violence? Or are the violent party-goers now taking the fight from the streets to their homes, and bringing trouble to other suburbs? grapeshotmq.com.au

DENT OICE

Mitchell Wright

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Alice Melton

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TRAVEL WITH YOUR W HEART

“The Self is the rider, and the body the chariot; that the intellect is the character, and the mind the reins. The senses, say the wise, are the horses; the roads they travel are the mazes of desire...”

– Katha Upanishad 1.3.3-6 hen we travel to new places we are very aware of what we see, hear, or do there. This awareness puts us in touch with ourselves. In trying to understand something strange and new, we begin to understand ourself.

WORDS | Sukriti Gautam

To gain complete satisfaction from travelling we should first, and foremost

feel from the heart; and through the heart comes inspiration. Love opens the most impossible gates; it is the gate to all the secrets of the universe. One should expand one’s heart and hopes to be just as diverse as the world. Deep as the ocean, broad as the infinite skies. This is the sort of heart one should posses when we trek to a new destination, or in everyday life.

Many times in life we come to a cross road of which path to undertake, just like Robert Frost mentions in his poem, The Road Not Taken. Should one chose a path that is less travelled, and can be dangerous, or the commercial and safe one?

The poem is often cited as a theory for the non-conservatives. However, is it really an invitation to go off the beaten track?

Since the title of the poem is, The Road Not Taken and it starts with remorse, the poet is upset that he was unable to travel concurrently on two roads. It’s about the choices one makes in life’s journey, and their inexorable consequences. The choices may lead to unhappiness and remorse, or happiness and love.

Real life all depends on one’s perspective to life. We can either bemoan our choices, or enjoy where we are.

I believe we are exactly where we’re supposed to be. So enjoy every moment and breath of your life.

ROMANIA: BEYOND DRACULA WORDS | James Rotanson There’s a saying in Macquarie University – If you haven’t gone for an exchange abroad, you really haven’t done university right. James Rotanson, a third year Bachelor of Arts-Media student seems to know what he’s doing.

children, but here, it’s not the case.”

He interned at the national memorial museum in Brasov, Romania, an experience which honed his photography, social media, and graphic design skills to the next level.

Last July, James went for a short-term seven week exchange abroad in Romania with AIESEC. Together with Macquarie’s PACE program and his MAS350 media internship, James fast-tracked his studies by combining three projects at once.

“Everyone’s busy and has very little time to make a real impact nowadays. But this program allows so much flexibility and relevance, so I am really killing three birds with one stone,” said James.

At times, he also helped the museum organise medieval music concerts, gave art exhibition tours in English (and broken Romanian), and designed a new website prototype for the museum. “It sounds really intense, but it is definitely what every student should experience to be a champion of themselves.”

He explained that his volunteering opportunity was like no other. “There’s a common misconception that all volunteering programs are limited to having surface level interaction with page 16 | grapeshot magazine

Is it all just work? Not really. The key to enjoying an exchange is sharing life stories with as many people as possible.

For James, living with 30 different interns from 11 different countries and four different continents seemed like countless nights of deep and meaningful conversations. “I got to travel to seven

cities across Romania, cook the local dishes, learn a fifth language (Romanian of course), visit four different castles (including the infamous Dracula’s castle) and most importantly, I had an experience of a lifetime that counts.”

AIESEC Macquarie invites students from all backgrounds to check out available exchange opportunities at aiesecmq.com grapeshotmq.com.au

THE SILK ROUTES: CULTURAL EXCHANGES HISTORY IN REVIEW

WORDS | Claire Catacouzinos

C

ommonly known as the Silk Roads, these famous routes linked east Afro-Eurasia with the Mediterranean world. They connected merchants, traders, pilgrims, monks, nomads, soldiers, and urban dwellers throughout history. It all started thanks to the ancient dynasties of China, when they welcomed trade from foreign cultures. From this came the magic of cultural exchanges and the development of our multicultural world. Lifeways such as basic pastoralism, methods of bronze work, livestock, agricultural produce, irrigation, urban manufactures, and crops spread around because of the empires and nomads occupying the edges of the steppes and desert lands that the Silk Routes passed.

These people began to operate by exchanging goods, ideas, languages, technologies, genes, diseases, and religions from India to Siberia, from China to the Mediterranean.

One famous trade good and why the routes were labelled, was China’s silk. If you’re working on a uni assignment right now, that paper you’re scribbling on was invented by China, and without the Silk Routes, we wouldn’t have this technology. And I know you’re probably thinking, “screw this damn assignment!” – well my friend, gunpowder would be a nifty thing to blow it up with, and I bet you know who invented that as well?

Traders and merchants were the main transmitters of cultures and ideas in this world system. So being a tourist yourself, when you travel during uni breaks, it makes you a contemporary transmitter.

Even religions spread like gushing rivers. And if you one day decide to travel the Silk Routes, make sure you visit the Chinese Magao caves with her richly decorated walls of paintings depicting Buddhism.

For more information, visit the website of the National Museum Australia: www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions

POLISHING OVER RAPE WORDS | Raelee Jordan Lancaster

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ecently, the internet has blown up with news of a new rape-prevention product.

A nail polish which changes colour when date-rape drugs are detected. All you have to do is dip your finger in your drink and instantly you’ll know if you’ve been slipped a roofie. While there are benefits to the nail polish, there are also a few things about this product which need addressing.

Never forget, in this modern world we are indirect products of the abundant synergy, spawned by colossal ancient exchanges.

responsible for the actions of another person.

Secondly, how can we get men to wear it? Yes, men are victims of rape as well. Also, by wearing nail polish, they go against the stereotype that nail polish is a feminine product and they may be viewed as ‘weak’. This is another example of victim blaming, as people may see their ‘weakness’ as the reason they were raped.

Lastly, there has been too much emphasis on social media about the fact that male scientists developed this product.

What these people may not realise is that we

need men in order to prevent rape. Boys need role-models like these men to realise that rape is wrong, it should not happen, and that women are human beings, not sexual objects specifically designed for their pleasure.

Rape is wrong and it should be a wildly spoken issue; not swept under the rug and left in the hands of the victims to deal with. While this product may ignite fear in sexual predators that they might be caught, women and men alike should be able to walk into a club without the fear of being date raped.

The nail polish may encourage victim blaming. Women are always told ‘what not to do’ when it comes to rape-prevention: don’t wear revealing clothes, don’t act f lirtatious as it encourages men, and don’t drink too much. Now we can add another one: don’t forget to wear your nail polish! Rape victims should never be held grapeshotmq.com.au

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TALKIN’ SHIT

PHOTOS | Natasha Michels April Kuipers

Bachelor of Speech & Hearing Sciences JACKET from an op-shop SHIRT Cotton On SKIRT … an op-shop, they’re so good! SHOES Platypus Shoes BAG I bought it awhile ago from general pants.

Favourite travel destination: Scotland

WORDS | Manisha Josephraja While Manisha is currently studying a Business & Psychology degree, talking shit is her passion. If there was a degree in talking shit, she’d definitely be awarded first class honours.

HOW CAN I MAKE THE FIRST OVERSEAS TRIP WITH MY GIRLFRIEND AS DRAMA FREE AS POSSIBLE? Travelling with your significant other for the first time can be a really exciting step in your relationship.

It says that I’m willing to spend an extended amount of time with you in a foreign land. I may want to put a ring on it, but I’m not sure yet, and I’m almost entirely sure that you won’t annoy the crap out of me for a few weeks.

Aden Heymans

Bachelor of Art, major in Development Studies JACKET It’s Henleys, from Ozsale SHIRT from my dad PANTS from my brother SHOES ASOS BACKPACK Target Favourite travel destination: India

ST ST REE YL T IN

Maybe it’s love, or maybe you just want to go on a holiday and you figured it might be cheaper going with Ca someone else. Whatever your reasoning may be, it’s a big late ught but wonderful step. However, there are some things to Fo st in in the r keep in mind to ensure this trip isn’t a catalyst for your eve mor stude act … n newly single status. to ts a e fash nt st che M y MQ acq nd gi ion-r le on ck ou on uari veaw elate cam t the Spending so much time together can sometimes Fac e hi ays d n pu s e ebo t up co breed irritability. Especially when you’re in a different m ws . ok . ASO ing , environment, away from your usual routine. So Sa t remember, you don’t have to spend ALL your time together. If one of you is a meticulous planner, and the other is as spontaneous as they come, you’re undoubtedly going to come across some disagreement. Try and be as flexible as you can (I don’t mean this sexually, but you’re on holiday so no one will judge). Going on holiday together is a great way to suss out these tendencies early on, and if you can deal with them…it might be lurrrrrveeeee.

Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood Studies) JACKET Suzannes SHIRT Country Road JEANS they’re also from Country Road BAG Oroton.

Favourite travel destination: Definitely Europe, probably Greece

However, the most important tip is to have fun! No matter what little bumps you come across, if any, they’ll all be stored away as memories later. And last, but not least, don’t get toooooo drunk (unless it’s on love). Now get out of here you gross cutie pies.

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Clarissa Lam

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THE SOUTH AFRI CAN QUEEN

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WORDS | Regina Featherstone

Drag is not usually the first thing that comes to mind when South Africa is mentioned. Regina Featherstone found out that the country is a melting pot of culture. She spoke to her friend, an openly gay, 23-year-old South African Muslim, about his experiences in the country’s buzzing drag scene.

W

hen I first moved into my dorm I was greeted by an empty flat.

The only telltale signs that I indeed had housemates were the shoes left outside of rooms, and labelled shelves in the kitchen. As different housemates returned from holidays, different shoes and shelves were reunited with their owners. By the end of January, there remained just one room and one pair of shoes still unfilled. I was curious. Outside room 408 sat size 10, black heels with chunky gold chain detailing. I concluded I was living with a tall, party girl, but it just didn’t fit with the Ramadan diet plan attached to shelf 408. Okay, so then I decided I was living with a tall (or just big footed), party-loving, but strict Muslim girl. Finally, at the end of January, I overheard a new voice in the kitchen.

I opened the door to be greeted by two perfectly tweezed eyebrows, dark olive skin, and stubble. “Hey girl, my name’s Ameer.” It was then that I realised that there was more to room 408 than I could have ever imagined.

Ameer is an openly gay, 23-year-old South African Muslim who also goes by his drag queen alias, Tatiana Laurent.

I wondered how it was possible to be a drag queen in Africa, let alone gay.

Homosexuality is currently still illegal in 38 African countries with punishments ranging from one year prison sentences to death. Earlier this year, Uganda’s leader, President Yoweri Museveni passed stricter laws that not only ban homosexuality, but make it a criminal offence to not expose known gay Ugandans. These witch hunts for gay citizens are common in other parts of Africa, including Nigeria and Senegal. South Africa is the opposite with constitutional recognition to protect the gay community.

“South Africa is like its own island in terms of gay rights. We’re in a bubble.

We’re different to the rest of Africa.”

Ameer is speaking of the more urban areas of his home, Cape Town where he feels safe and free to do drag, but admits

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that rural areas are still quite homophobic.

These would be areas that account for the 2013 Pew Research Center survey that reveals 60 per cent of South Africans don’t think homosexuality should be accepted. He describes South Africa as a “melting pot of cultures, and races with intercultural clashes, but I think many people forget that South Africa was the second country in the world to legalise same sex marriage after the Netherlands.”

Tatiana Laurent made her first public appearance in Norway. Padded, wigged, and tucked, she got on the metro to the city and was stared at by everyone, not quite knowing who or what she was. For Ameer, this was completely liberating.

It was this environment, away from his family, friends, and studying in a new place, that he was able to finally express himself, and explore gender in a way that he was unable to growing up in a Muslim house.

Having discovered RuPaul (the Queen of all drag queens) Ameer became more interested in the drag scene. He met his drag mother, Edna Monroe online, who taught him to beat his mug (apply make up) which was another step to perfecting his look. When he returned home to South Africa for the holidays, he met with another drag queen, Manilla Von Teez who introduced him to the South African drag community. From there he continued to expand his network, becoming completely comfortable in the Pink Strip of Cape Town.

A typical day getting ready for a drag performance is exhausting. It takes hours to get your face ready, wigs prepared, lip syncs perfected and to get into costume.

“You have to change yourself for the night and change your entire persona.”

The fundamental aesthetic is the illusion of a woman, but most importantly, drag is a creative art that uses the body as a canvas. Tatiana is an outlet for Ameer to challenge heteronormative ideas of gender and culture, which he does by

mixing looks, for example combining chest hair and drag, or foregoing padding at different times. Tatiana can be blonde with dark skin or pale with dark hair.

Similarly to the Eurovision 2014 winner, Conchita Wurst, the ideas of feminine and masculine can be blurred by juxtaposing the symbolic norms of gender.

The most challenging thing for a drag queen is to be completely comfortable and “exude absolute confidence and pride in whatever you are doing.” The purpose of drag is often confused as an obsession with women, and men who want to be women. Rather, it is loosely based on the female form where an exaggerated character can be created. To clarify, Ameer says he is very happy being male.

“I love being me, but I love dressing up and playing different characters. Drag can be associated with clowning, it’s entertainment.” Drag is so many different things to different people. Ameer and his drag sister, Kitty De Lorenza both acknowledge how lucky they are to be in a country that allows you to embrace freedom of expression.

Ameer describes Tatiana as a fiesty, comedic queen, while Kitty is more fishy (an extremely feminine drag queen).

Both queens perform regularly in clubs, with Kitty saying you can make up to $6000 AUS a night for a private corporate performance. Tatiana’s advice for serving face (having a great drag face of makeup) is thick foundation that can cover stubble because, “Covergirl don’t cover boy.”

These two queens represent just a fraction of the many drag subcultures, not only in South Africa, but around the world. The drag scene is huge globally, and we are lucky in Australia that we accept such expression. After living with Ameer, I now understand drag much better. I understand that people are more than they seem, and South Africa is more than just leopard prints and diamonds...well sort of.

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LONDON, NEW YORK, TOKYO...

WORDS | Amelia van der Rijt

AN

The wonderful world of Antarctica is waiting for you. Amelia investigates its wonderful natural features, and talks to Tess, who toured the continent, and talks about her experience. natural features, and talks to Tess, who toured the continent, and talks about her experience.

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ntarctica. A freezing desert almost twice the size of Australia, and larger than the European continent.

It is covered in ice sheets and mountains, and it lays claim to the lowest recorded temperature on Earth. There are also no indigenous human inhabitants. Yet, despite the chilling temperatures, today there is a near-permanent human population. In winter, the population dwindles to fewer than one thousand people, but in summer, more than fifty thousand people choose to explore the continent. Tourists and scientists alike are fascinated by Antarctica, and it isn’t hard to see why.

As Andrew Denton evocatively wrote, “If Antarctica was music it would be Mozart. Art, and it would be Michelangelo.

Literature, and it would be Shakespeare.

And yet it is something even greater; the only place on earth that is still as it should be. May we never tame it.”

With an ice sheet that covers all but two per cent of the continent, and a landscape that has remained largely unchanged

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by humans, Antarctica offers scientists exciting opportunities to discover more about our earth. Antarctic ice contains a percentage of ancient air, and by drilling into the ice we can discover much about Earth’s history. In some areas, drilling extends over three kilometres deep, and at that depth the snow dates back more than fifteen thousand and eight hundred years. “The ice of Antarctica is a calendar of climate change,” explains Lee Hotz in a TED Talk entitled ‘Inside an Antarctic Time Machine’.

In this way, Antarctica can tell us a great deal about the Earth’s history, and the changes in climate that have occurred since before the last Ice Age. There are also research opportunities in other areas, from marine biology to geology, earth sciences, and geophysics. As one of the best places on Earth to view stars, Antarctica offers many opportunities to those studying astronomy and astrophysics. It is also one of the best places in the world to find meteorites.

If you are interested in getting involved,

the Australian Antarctic Division (run by the Australian government) has a variety of up-to-date information about working in Antarctica. They are not just after scientists; other personnel, like medical specialists, cooks, carpenters, electricians, and mechanics are essential support staff needed at research stations.

If science isn’t really your forte, or you’re not too keen about living on the windiest continent on earth, you should still consider visiting as a tourist. The wildlife alone is a huge attraction, and photo opportunities will abound. Eight species of penguins call the continent home, along with a variety of whales, seals, sea lions, and flying birds, such as albatrosses and petrels. The opportunity to see these magnificent creatures in the natural world is not one you should pass up.

Tess is a 27-year-old lawyer who visited Antarctica in 2008 and said that the wildlife was one of the main reasons she chose to go. From the ship, she saw an orca teaching its calf to hunt a whale calf, while

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NTARCTICA the whale’s mother looked on, unable to help. “We also saw a seal eat a penguin and it had to actually turn the penguin inside out to get the meat, and whack it against an iceberg.”

The land itself is constantly changing as glaciers move from the interior to form ice shelves on the coastline. As they move, deep crevasses are created, scarring the landscape. There’s also a mountain range that is thought to be a continuation of the Andes in South America. Antarctica even has volcanic activity. The continent is thought to lie on the ‘Ring of Fire’, which is located where earth’s tectonic plates collide, creating areas of intense seismic activity.

And at least two volcanoes are thought to be active on Antarctica.

Antarctica is one of the best places on earth to see the stars, and one of the only places on earth where you can experience the ‘midnight sun’. Due to the tilt of Earth’s axis in summer, the sun is visible for 24 hours a day. In the Southern Hemisphere, the phenomenon only occurs within the

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Antarctic circle. The Aurora Australis are another fantastic opportunity. They only occur above the earth’s magnetic poles, so again, Antarctica is one of the only places you’ll have the opportunity to see these magnificent natural light displays.

Summer is definitely the best time to go. The midnight sun is visible, you can witness the courting rituals of penguins and other sea birds, and the winter ice is breaking up, allowing further exploration of the land. The summer weather probably isn’t as cold as you would imagine. Tess said that her entire group had stripped down to t-shirts after climbing up a hill. “The temperature is about equal to skiing in Australia,” she explained.

Tess said one of the best things about her trip to Antarctica was the freedom. tourists have to stay on ships, and every day you need to catch a Zodiac – an inflatable boat – to the land. “We were taken to the place we were exploring that day and told, ‘The last Zodiac goes back in three hours, don’t go to this area, and respect the wildlife.’

After that we got to explore on our own”.

Tess had a few tips for anyone thinking of visiting Antarctica. First, “Try to remember the size of the boat (you will be staying on). Try for a smaller ship. It means less people on land at once; less people to disturb the animals, and more time spent on the land.” She emphasises the importance of packing smartly as she packed too much. “Thermals are a must!

Definitely make sure you’re prepared for seasickness – especially across the Drake passage, which is slow going. The more you know, the more you’ll appreciate.”

Why visit Antarctica? It is nature at its best, untouched by humans. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And, as Jon Krakauer, an American mountain climber and writer once said in an interview, “Antarctica has this mythic weight. … it makes this huge impact, just like outer space. It’s like going to the moon.” So why visit Antarctica? Why not visit Antarctica?

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BURIED IN BHUTAN WORDS | Cassandra Teo

Cassandra uncovers secrets of a country untouched by Western civilisation. Bhutan is nestled in the Himalayas and is now considered to be one of the world’s happiest nations; Cassandra finds out why. page 24 | grapeshot magazine

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n the United Nation’s World Happiness Report of 2013, it listed ‘happiness’ as an aspiration of every human being.

The happiest countries in the world in 2013 were Denmark, followed by Norway and Switzerland. They were given the titles considering earnings, living standard, employment, mental health, and family stability. However, there is another new idea of measuring happiness based on, well...happiness. It’s called ‘Gross National Happiness’ and it was started in a little country called Bhutan. It is there in Bhutan that the culture, based on Buddhist spiritual values are believed to be happier than those of Denmark or Norway. If you haven’t heard of Bhutan, that’s quite normal, it’s only recently started to invite

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and are happier for it. This makes Western accounts of experiences in Bhutan quite rare.

Prior to 1961, the country didn’t use a monetary, market-based economy, but rather ran off a trade and barter system.

Different to Western ideas of economy and success, the Bhutanese were able to enjoy every moment as they were not plagued by the day-to-day rush. In the Land of the Thunder Dragons, time was near irrelevant.

However, over the last 60 years the country has moved towards modernisation out of necessity, but still maintains its values.

US born author, Linda Leaming, shares her experience from a holiday, to work, and then to a life and family in this hidden kingdom in her book Married to Bhutan.

Always feeling out of place while growing up, Leaming found her place in Bhutan.

She compares her current life to her former life constantly, describing the US as having a “frenetic level of energy,” while Bhutan moves at its own pace.

“For the Bhutanese, time is less about quantity than quality. Having stated that they are masters of living in the moment.

What they lack in physical energy (don’t take this the wrong way – they are stronger than most due to daily physical labour) they make up for in increased mental energy.” This has been attributed to the level of awareness that comes from paying attention, from having less stuff around and having less on our (their) calendars.

While the rest of the world has been developing and touting ‘individuality’, Bhutan emphasises community. Leaming describes it as a “groupthink” where they are always looking out for one another.

Wealth in Bhutan is not measured by monetary worth as much as it is by the more intangible aspects in life – family, friendship, and happiness. tourists and make a mark on the world map.

It is a little kingdom nestled in the Himalayas between India and Tibet, and is one of the last countries in Asia to be brought into awareness of the world. The steep and high mountains of the land have allowed it to be hidden. Due to its isolation, Bhutan missed the industrial Revolution, slept through the two World Wars, and unlike Tibet, it remains untouched by the Chinese.

Bhutan is unique; it was never colonised.

It has, however, maintained a strong relationship with the British since the late 1920s, and then with India. They have kept to themselves, closed off from the world,

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Many visitors have found that the history of Bhutan is peppered with magic – such as flying lamas. It is so full of magical accounts that the line separating fact and fiction is blurred. Leaming found that to the Bhutanese, the distinction isn’t very important, or necessary, or real.

Why, or even how this laid back lifestyle came to be such a distinguishing feature of this country is based on their whole history and way of life. For modern times, Bhutan has their fourth king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck to thank. In the 1970s, he observed that the rich are not always happy while the happy, generally considered themselves rich. This brought the decree that Gross National Happiness (GNH) was more important than the

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that is so prevalent in Western societies. Every single government policy goes through Bhutan’s GNH Commission, who then evaluates its effectiveness in helping the country and people culturally. It also considers the environment while providing good governance and economic benefits. To achieve GNH, all four criteria have to be met. This decision to pursue happiness helps instill in Bhutan’s people an immense sense of wellbeing and permeates all facets of life.

Former Macquarie University lecturer, Bunty Avieson, also had the chance to visit Bhutan when her partner, a film producer, was invited to work on Travelers & Magicians. Released in 2003, it was Bhutan’s first feature film. Avieson describes the kindness and welcoming nature of the Bhutanese family she stayed with, despite being a stranger and landing on their doorstep in the middle of the night. While her partner had to film instantly, Avieson was left to settle in and joked that “their English was slightly better than my Dzongka.”

Avieson began to write to her friends about her daily experiences. With help from the family, these chatty letters were then transformed into a book, Baby in a Backpack to Bhutan. Avieson was present when the first Dzongka dictionary was finalised. The important men of Bhutan gathered in the living room of her host family to work on the dictionary. She compared it to “witnessing something akin to our forefathers writing the Australian constitution.”

While Bhutan is opening up to the world, it is doing its best to sustain its traditions and to avoid being corrupted by external influences. One measure is a strict policy that ensures that its visitors always have a guide when traveling throughout the country. This is covered by the $200-$250 per night tourist fee.

They are also taking great pains to blend age-old customs with more modern influences. One of these adaptations is seen throughout their use of two separate calendars, the Gregorian calendar and their own lunar calendar, which acknowledges holidays, such as the ‘Blessed Rainy Day’ and ‘The Meeting of Nine Evils’.

Their traditional lifestyle makes life seem more simple and sincere, not bogged down by the routine and demands of Western ideals. While Australia ranks tenth happiest in the world, perhaps there is something to learn from a tiny, resilient kingdom hidden by mountains in-between India and China.

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MOSCOW

NEVER SLEEPS WORDS | David Yao Having attracted large media coverage over the last few months, David Yao takes a look at the situation in Russia and the Ukraine and questions Western intervention – should we get involved?

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astern Ukraine has certainly seen better days. With the large amount of coverage on the crisis and the recent Malaysian Airlines tragedy, it is easy to switch off and ignore the situation.

When Russian President, Vladimir Putin, appears on Australian television screens, he is often mocked from a far away distance at his outrageous policies and actions. This is easy for us to do. For the people of Eastern Ukraine, their reaction is much different.

The Donbass Region in the Ukraine has been caught in a violent uprising as large waves of ethnic Russian rebels living in the region have taken up arms to fight for independence. Over 2000 civilians have died in the conflict since April, while 155,800 people are internally displaced.

The rebels, backed by Russia, have drawn international attention for shooting down Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in July this year, killing all 298 people on board. The separatists have not openly admitted responsibility for the attack, which occurred above rebelheld territory, but their commander Alexander Khodakovsky has confessed in an interview that they were in possession of the same missile system that brought down the airline.

There is no doubt the separatists aspire to govern the region with a strong emphasis on ethnic Russians, such as official recognition of the Russian language. However, tanks and weapons flooding in from the Russian Federation bolster the rebels while Russian artillery units fire at Ukrainian soldiers from across the border.

We have already seen pro-Russian forces take over the Crimean Peninsula and declare a ‘referendum’ in which 96.77 per cent of the population voted in favour of joining Russia. Alarmingly, similar to the Russian offensive in Georgia in

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2008, which led to the expansion of two Russian spheres of influence (in the name of freeing Abkhazia and South Ossetia), Moscow’s current goal is to exert its dominance into former Socialist Republics as a counterbalance against Western attempts to form alliances with them.

Since the Cold War, the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) have successfully used soft power to build alliances with former Soviet nations, recruiting into their ranks Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, and the Baltic states. Conceived as a military alliance led by the United States to counter the rise and expansion of the Soviet Union, NATO’s primary objective remains containing a resurgent Russia in the 21st century. The escalation of conflict in the Ukraine will definitely prompt Western powers to consider accelerating the construction of a Missile Defence System in Europe, that will have the capability to intercept missiles from Russia.

In the meantime, Ukraine is losing territory, and thousands of civilians have already died. And the army is trying to prevent the loss of key regions of the country, just like Russia’s onslaught against Georgia when it sought a greater alliance with the West, President Putin is now punishing Ukraine for trying to attempt the same. There are now only two options on the table for Ukraine: either surrender to Russian superiority and allow Moscow free reign, or reach out to the international community and seek help to end this conflict.

The downing of MH17 was not a unique instance of a civilian aircraft being shot down during conflicts. Korean Airlines Flight 007 was blasted from the sky by a Soviet fighter jet in 1983, resulting in the deaths of 269 people. Iran Air Flight 655 was shot down over Iranian airspace by the United States Navy Ship USS Vincennes in 1988, killing all 290 people on board. Neither event was an impetus for greater military action.

This boils down to the ultimate question: should we take action to defend Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty?

Australia could take up supporting roles in an intervention led by NATO to restore Ukraine’s borders, and force out proRussian separatists. However, putting Australian boots on the ground will have far greater implications than any previous conflict in which we have fought.

Unlike the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Vietnam, the opponent in this conflict possesses over 1500 strategic nuclear warheads, each capable of wiping out a

major city in the world. Russia’s nuclear arsenal could potentially end civilisation as we know it.

Sitting by idly while the butcher’s knife swings across Eastern Europe gives Russia an enormous confidence boost.

Putin will be pleased to know that all future military action will be ignored by the West. International efforts to punish Moscow by suspending it from the G8 and imposing trade sanctions have yielded no results – Russia has responded with its own sanctions against the US, the EU and Australia. It is evident that strongman Vladimir Putin does not flinch from pinpricks to his body.

Some manner of Western intervention in Ukraine would demonstrate that the international community stands ready to defend a democratic and sovereign nation from neo-expansionism.

Even then, it is difficult to see Australia making even a sizable contribution to a NATO-led campaign.

The United States, the United Kingdom, and France are equipped with much better technology and manpower to lead any military campaign.

The jury is still out on whether we should intervene, so for the moment, we as Australians need to observe the situation closely, and be prepared for anything.

After all, Edmund Burke wisely warned that, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.

As history has proven, a policy of appeasement has failed to satiate the hunger of expanding superpowers. Hitler did not stop in his tracks after British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain offered part of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany. Hitler unleashed a catastrophic world war which resulted in over 20 million deaths.

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grapeshot magazine | page 27

WORDS | Ben Nour

They are found in desert gullies, vacant lots or unmarked shallow graves, and they number in the hundreds, and their bodies are often too mutilated to be successfully identified. They are victims of a failed justice system as much as they are victims of their killers. They are the murdered women of Ciudad Juárez, whose voices still go unheard.

While the exact number of murdered women is uncertain, it is clear that the victims have similar characteristics. The majority of women targeted are young (aged between 15 and 25), slender with dark hair, and almost all come from impoverished backgrounds. While some victims were students, the majority were factory workers.

The two North American cities of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, are not unlike each other, either in size or history. Both form part of a metropolitan area that is home to over one million people. They were founded on the banks of the Rio Grande, a 3000 km river that flows from South Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico, forming part of the Mexican-United States border.

The motives and identities of the victim’s killers remain unclear, which has partly been attributed to the failure of the Mexican justice system in investigating and documenting the murders.. In their 2003 report on the high female murder rates in Juárez, Amnesty International noted that the Mexican government, “have been unwilling to recognise the extent of the pattern of violence against women and to implement effective policies for dealing with it.” At the time, the government was reluctant to provide information on the murders, and the information that was provided was inconsistent. Amnesty International explains that, “A common practice has been to equate the number of victims with the number of case files, when in fact, a file sometimes contains more than one victim.”

While El Paso, Texas, has for the last twenty years been consistently ranked as one of the safest cities in the USA, Ciudad Juárez (usually referred to as simply Juárez) has been consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous in the world. Poverty, government corruption, and drug cartel activity has plagued Juárez for years, but perhaps most shockingly, the city has a staggering number of women that have been violently murdered.

Since 1993 there have been over 300 murders of women, and a further 400 women reported missing. This does not include the women who have been forgotten or go unreported. To put this in perspective, for every one-hundred thousand citizens in Juárez there are thirty-seven homicides; for El Paso, there are three. These cities are geographically very close but have such varying differences in murder rates. Simply put, why is Juárez such a dangerous city for women?

Despite multiple investigations by various media organisations, government departments, and NGOs over the past two decades, it is still unclear exactly how many women have been murdered in the Juárez region. In 2003, Amnesty International released a report that stated that since 1993, 370 young women and girls have been murdered, while the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reported in 2002 that at least 268 women had been killed since 1993. Many of the victims have been reported as showing signs of sexual abuse. page 28 | grapeshot magazine

N TI OS LLO

Ben reveals the disturbing statistics of a troubled city in North America. The staggering number of women that have been violently murdered over the years is astonishing.

NGOs, scholars and activist groups have identified key contributing factors to the murders, including the rise of the maquiladora industry, the corruption of the Mexican justice system, and widespread national discrimination and abuse against women.

Maquiladoras are factories where materials are imported for assembly and then re-exported tax-free, and are often owned by multinational companies drawn by the prospect of cheap labour and economic benefits. The economic blood of Juárez is largely made up of more than 300 maquiladoras located in and around the city. A high percentage of these workers are female migrants from rural parts of Mexico.

By all accounts, the conditions are exploitive and abusive, with female workers reportedly subject to sexual harassment and invasive procedures.

These include: frequent pregnancy tests, and in some extreme cases, supervisors have been known to inspect the menstrual pads of workers. Furthermore, despite the economic success of these factories, grapeshotmq.com.au

th a or ic N er Am workers are forced to live in poorly developed areas, often on the outskirts of the city, without water or reliable electricity.

More significantly, women in this industry are considered temporary workers, thus justifying cheap pay and a huge turnover rate. The maquiladora industry and the transnational corporations behind it are invested in this gender-based division of work, directly profiting from the construction of women as cheap labour.

EZZ ÁRRE Á JU

Traditionally, a Mexican woman should be at home with her family and engaged in domestic duties. It has been suggested that part of the victimisation of these women is due to harsh economic conditions where male unemployment is high. Being the primary source of income for a family is considered a component of manhood, and the maquiladoras factories’ employment of women directly undermines and challenges men as workers. The implications of the industry’s devaluing of female work cannot be overstated. As one academic put it, “The construction of working women as ‘cheap labour’ and disposable within the system makes it possible, and perhaps acceptable, to kill them with impunity.”

Ultimately, it has been theorised that the killing of these women is representative of a much bigger problem in Mexican society – the widespread discrimination, abuse, and violence towards women.

Studies have found that approximately onethird to one-half of Mexican women living as part of a couple, suffer abuse at the hands of their partner. For example, in a 2012 report, the United Nations published data that showed up to 46 per cent of Mexican women had suffered from intimate partner violence.

The maquiladora industry’s reliance on ‘disposable’ female labour helps fuel this discrimination. Adding to this is the inadequacy and corruption of the criminal justice system in documenting and investigating these crimes. The Mexican government refuses to address the ingrained prejudice and abuse towards women, which perpetuates the violence.

If there is any hope for justice for the more than 370 women murdered over the last twenty years, serious institutional and societal change is desperately needed – not just for those already killed, but for all the women of Mexico.

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grapeshot magazine | page 29

IN THE SHADOW OF THE FOOTBALL STADIUM THE FOOTBALL SHADOW OF IN THE WORDS | Nicholas Wasiliev

Even though the FIFA World Cup has come to an end in Brazil, issues are still circulating about the country’s poverty and environmental degradation.

Nicholas questions Brazil’s suitability to host the Olympic Games due to expenses being misused.

page 30 | grapeshot magazine

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h ut ica So er Am

T

he 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is over. The world has new FIFA champions (Germany) and Brazil has new stadiums, infrastructure, and has to prepare for an Olympics in two years.

You would think, in a football-mad country like Brazil, that they would have been euphoric to showcase their country and ability on a world stage. However, leading up to the World Cup, the country had full scale riots, protesting at the overspending of Brazil’s budget. Now, just over a month after the last football fans have left, Brazil is back in preparation mode for the 2016 Olympics, while concurrently holding presidential elections in October. The country’s political, economic, and social balance is out of sync, which leaves everybody wondering how beneficial the World Cup really was.

I’m not detracting from Brazil’s hosting of the Cup. It was impressive, and the price tag that came with it certainly shows it. According to ESPN, Brazil spent close to fourteen billion on the World Cup (comparatively, Germany spent six billion in 2006). Brazil built new stadiums, improved infrastructure such as roads, rail lines and airports, and spent billions on improved security. This may leave you wondering, can a country that has such high levels of poverty and issues regarding environmental degradation afford such an expensive event, let alone two?

Before the World Cup, Brazil had been an economically strong prospect. Despite its ‘developing country’ status, the CIA lists Brazil’s GDP as beings the eighth largest in the world in 2013 due to its abundance of resources. This wealth has not been translated into better infrastructure with slums and poverty still prominent in the country, that fourteen billion was definitely needed elsewhere. Instead, it paid for a huge sporting event, and although it upgraded its infrastructure, it was of no assistance to healthcare or education, and displaced many people from their homes.

Additionally, Brazil isn’t set to make any serious profit from the World Cup because it is governed by FIFA. So when all events concluded, FIFA takes a significant chunk of all profits. To top things off, Brazil has recently fallen into recession with -0.2 per cent growth following the World Cup.

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While economic issues aren’t pretty, you’d think the people of Brazil, a footballmad country, would have loved the World Cup being played in their backyard.

Surprisingly, a Pew Research Survey conducted in 2013 revealed 61 per cent of Brazilians believed hosting a World Cup would have negative socio-economic impacts, and 72 per cent were dissatisfied with “the way things were going” in terms of the World Cup preparation and its preference over schools, healthcare, and public services.

Despite high GDP growth, Brazil has one of the highest rates of people living below the poverty line, 21.4 per cent of the population (and over 4.2 per cent living in ‘extreme poverty’ in 2011). This disapproval for the World Cup manifested into riots that began in June 2013 and are still continuing. This spread to over 18 Brazilian cities, protesting everything from World Cup construction costs in the midst of poverty, to serious concerns over infrastructure.

Social media showcased these problems. Buzzfeed published images of graffiti strewn across all World Cup cities, showing Brazilian footballers kicking bags of money to greedy executives, pictures of shiny colourful stadiums contrasted against slums across the road, or a now infamous graffiti painting of a starving Brazilian child being presented with a football instead of food. These images showcase a need for support for the underclass, not new stadiums.

Brazil’s issues touch on a broader theme. Every time there are huge global sporting events, other more important issues regarding people’s wellbeing get pushed to the side. Remember the London Olympic Games in 2012? Less than a year before, riots and racial tensions gripped the country. This was reported worldwide.

However, the whole view was that because the Olympics was around the corner, it would damage the United Kingdom’s reputation to try and combat the problem.

Instead of trying to break down barriers and encourage racial tolerance, the British just ‘forgot’ about these events.

I was in London during the Olympics, and memories of riots were the last thing on my mind. I was there to watch Sally

Pearson win gold in the hurdling and Andy Murray at Wimbledon. It’s easy to get caught up in the Olympics and forget the bigger picture. This happened in Sydney too, according to Gordon Waitt from the University of Wollongong. During the ‘Friendly’ Olympic Games, there was no mention of forced movement of homeless people out of Sydney’s areas planned for Olympic development, or the rapid, city-wide increase in rent. The emphasis on Sydney’s Olympics swept other social problems aside, and in some ways, we’re still dealing with those problems now.

Huge global events like World Cups and the Olympics are pure escapism for bigger problems. It’s unfair to judge Brazil for putting sport over social problems, because even ‘developed’ countries are guilty of the same thing. Brazilian law student and resident, Tainá Garcia Maia said, “I do not think these issues reflect a unique and particular situation in Brazil. I believe it shows a ‘state crisis’ that is present worldwide. People are distrusting of the State machinery and structure, and look to finding a new path to follow.”

With expenses related to the Games already hovering around $2.3 billion two years out, and the country entering a recession, will these games be worth it for the Brazilian people?

One can only hope that the voice of everyday Brazilians can be heard, so the next time the eyes of the world are on Brazil, the social and economic issues that exist can be part of the image that Brazil tries to project. Tainá says that after the World Cup, tensions have alleviated a lot.

“Even during the World Cup, the situation was less tense than in the preparation for the event. I am seeing good results, there were gains to the Brazilian population that went far beyond the ‘World Cup party’.

I believe it will be much easier to hold the Olympics here than it was to hold the World Cup.” The fact already that there is now dialogue about these issues is a good sign.

Only time will tell, but for now, Brazil’s social and economic problems seem to be cast under the shadow of football stadiums, election campaigns, and grand plans.

grapeshot magazine | page 31

THE SYRIAN SITUATION WORDS | Alicia Scott

S

yria has been in a relentless civil war for more than three-and-a-half years now, causing further devastation for a country with a deep history of conflict and struggles. The conflict first began in March 2011, when peaceful protests of over one-hundred thousand civilians broke out against Bashar Al-Assad’s oppressive regime. Despite the civilians’ powerful demand for basic human rights and freedoms, the Syrian Government forcefully retaliated through unscrupulous punishment of activists. The list of atrocities and human rights violations is extensive, but it seems in Australia at least, this issue is forgotten and ignored.

Refugees, António Guterres, stated that it was the worst catastrophe since the end of the Cold War.

means nearly half of all Syrians have been forced to flee their homes in a devastating aftermath of civil war.

Late last August, official numbers of registered Syrian refugees surpassed a record of three million people since the conflict began. However, this number does not include hundreds of thousands of Syrians who are yet to be registered.

In addition to the refugees, a further 6.5 million people have been displaced within Syria due to the constant fighting between armed rebel groups and government forces. With a population of 23 million, this

Across Syria’s borders, neighbouring countries have exceeded all reasonable expectations by taking in the vast majority of Syrian refugees. Lebanon has been hit with the biggest strain, hosting 1.18 million refugees.

Since the outbreak of war, fighting and violence between government forces and rebel groups has intensified. There have been major towns flattened from bombings, surges of rebel groups taking up arms, and over one-hundred thousand lives lost during the conflict.

It is estimated that just as many Syrians have died of chronic diseases due to their inability to access medicine and treatment, amid the country’s impoverished health system.

Connor Stead from Macquarie University’s Amnesty International Society, outlined Amnesty International’s recent involvement in Syria.

“Amnesty has urged the Syrian Government to allow humanitarian access to rebel held areas, where civilians are suffering from starvation, limited access to water and shelter, and are exposed to devastating military activities.”

The staggering number of human rights violations is alarming. It is reported that the Syrian Government has systematically tortured and/or executed more than ten-thousand innocent civilians.

Connor stressed, “[The] value of humanitarian freedom and protection may deteriorate if the international community stands by and watches gruesome atrocities take place.”

Notwithstanding these horrific war atrocities, the sheer number of refugees has been the most crippling outcome of the war. Syria’s refugee crisis has been described by the United Nations as, “the worst humanitarian crisis of our time.”

United Nations High Commissioner for page 32 | grapeshot magazine

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e dl id st M Ea

Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, and even Iraq are also bearing the brunt of the Syrian refugee crisis. Initially, host nations welcomed the influx of refugees, however, it seems the sheer magnitude and duration of Syria’s civil war was grossly underestimated.

In a region already hosting millions of Palestinian and Iraqi refugees, the Syrian crisis is putting enormous additional pressure on the resources and capacities of neighbouring countries. On average 3,300 refugees have arrived every day this year in host nations, creating further regional instability. These nations already lack adequate healthcare, water, and electricity, and the overall infrastructure cannot cope with an indefinite number of refugees. Consequently, tensions are high in host communities, as citizens and Syrian refugees often have to compete for limited healthcare, jobs, and placements in school.

After three-and-a-half years of conflict, Syria’s neighbouring countries and international humanitarian organisations are struggling to deal with the protracted strains of the refugee crisis. In September 2013, the UNHCR made a desperate request to the international community to help out Syria’s neighbours. However, a year has passed and the overall response has been lacklustre. Here in Australia, the government agreed to take a mere 500, a tiny 0.02 per cent, of Syria’s most vulnerable refugees.

Connor stated, “Australia’s reaction to the United Nations call for refugee assistance in my opinion has been shameful…it is morally and ethically necessary to provide security and opportunities for self development to those who find themselves victims of oppression and the perils of war. As a leader on the world stage, we should be striving to play a much larger role in the relief work and

condemnation of human rights abuses.”

The lack of mainstream media coverage of the Syrian Civil War in Australia is also a major concern, with the potential of hindering Australians’ awareness of the devastating humanitarian crisis.

Dr. Susie Khamis of Macquarie University has conducted research in marketing media and representations of Australian identities, with her expertise covering how mainstream media represents global issues. Susie explains, “All [media] representations are partial, edited, and contrived snapshots of what’s happened in reality. It is highly unlikely that the 6:00pm bulletin will feature war reportage that shows us bloody bodies, beheaded journalists, or anything that is too confronting because it coincides with dinner-time.”

Susie addressed how the contentious notion of Islamophobia often holds certain influence over the mainstream media’s coverage of Middle-Eastern issues.

“Within Australia at least, even though we have seen it in other Western nations, coverage of a lot of Middle-Eastern issues is now filtered through a prism or framework of Islamophobia, which most people attribute to a post 9/11 context… it is really unfortunate because we end up indicting a complete region unfairly.”

The Syrian Civil War continues to ravage Syria but also plays a role in a much broader context of Middle-Eastern conflicts. The stark reality of the refugee crisis, the experience of displacement, and the long-term economic and political solutions are likely to redraw the region’s political map. A more accommodating response from developed countries remains critical, as Syria’s neighbouring countries begin to make difficult, unavoidable arrangements in order to try and cope with the disaster.

While it is easy to switch channels or keep scrolling on, the reality is that the biggest humanitarian disaster of our time is right before our eyes, and there would be many people who can.

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grapeshot magazine | page 33

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CREATIVE Surfaces of Sydney Melancholy grapeshotmq.com.au

grapeshot magazine | page 35

NICHOLAS RIDER “There is no one Sydney, just many surfaces reflecting different lives, different images, and different lenses.”

– Sophie Watson and Peter Murphy.

For many, an urban space, such as Circular Quay, may be foreign and exciting. Either as groups or individuals, they are eager to explore and travel, and to learn about their surroundings and its culture. They are distinguishable by the large bags they carry, the clothes they wear, the places they shop and visit, and the way they document their visit with photographs. For others – local residents, business workers, homeless people, wildlife – this urban space is ‘home’. Some may feel content with their surroundings, while others may dream to find something new.

page 36 | grapeshot magazine

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grapeshot magazine | page 37

ELANCHOLY * MELANCHOLY

WORDS | Jack Cameron Stanton

The street sweeper lumbers down the avenue.

To me, it looks like a colossal sleepwalker in the moonlight, swallowing broken glass, cigarette ash, and the swell of greyness.

A beautiful couple embraces, still etherised by the night, swaying alongside autumn leaves.

As the bristles cleanse the gutter, they paint the greyness with white, every trace,

every memory,

vanishes, like the beer perched on my lips.

And as I sit, somnolent from all the head rush, I think – only briefly – of the street sweeper.

I crack another beer, then wonder what would happen if I wrenched open my skull and emptied my half-boiled dreams and rotten romances and memories soon to vanish onto the street – I wonder if it would swallow my melancholy, too.

MELANCHOLY * MELANCHOLY

* MELANCHOLY *

*MELANCHOLY * M

page 38 | grapeshot magazine

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COOKING WITH TH

GET YOUR M

You can have a meal ready in minutes RECIPES & PHOTOS | Brendon D’Souza

W

hen you come home after a busy day, do you wish you could have a meal ready in minutes, so that you can relax and enjoy the sunshine while dinner is baking in the oven, or cooking on the stovetop? Making a marinade may be just the solution for you. I love making marinades.

They are simple to prepare and can turn regular old meat and veg into a flavourful meal that’s ready in no time. This month I’ll share with you a collection of my favourite marinades and spice rubs which you can whip up in about 5 minutes. Simply marinade the protein or vegetable of your choice for 20 minutes, or overnight if you have the time. Cook following my handy cooking guide below, then just before dinnertime you could quickly cook some rice, pasta, or make a salad, and dinner is served.

For more great recipes check out my website: brendonthesmilingchef.wordpress.com Brendon D’Souza a.k.a. The Smiling Chef :) Website: brendonthesmilingchef.wordpress.com

Like: Brendon The Smiling Chef Tweet: @bthesmilingchef

HERB AND GARLIC PORTUGUESE PIRI MARINADE PIRI MARINADE Prep Time 5 mins Marinating Time 20mins – 24 hrs Use with Chicken, Fish, Lamb & Root Vegetables

Prep Time 5 mins Marinating Time 20mins – 24 hrs Use with Chicken, Fish, Tofu & Root Vegetables

In a large, lidded ceramic or glass bowl combine 2 tbsp chopped parsley, 2 tbsp thyme leaves, 2 tbsp chopped rosemary leaves, 2 crushed garlic cloves, and ¼ cup olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add 400g of the protein or vegetable of your choice, and marinade for at least 20 minutes. Cook according to the cooking guide below. Serve with pasta, rice, steamed vegetables, or a salad.

In a large, lidded ceramic or glass bowl combine ¼ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup olive oil, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 2 tbsp hot chilli sauce, and 2tbsp chopped oregano. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add 400g of the protein, or vegetable of your choice, and marinade for at least 20 minutes. Cook according to the cooking guide below. Serve with chips, rice, steamed vegetables, or a salad.

page 40 | grapeshot magazine

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HE SMILING CHEF:

MARINADE ON! with these simple and tasty marinades

MOROCCAN FRUIT AND SPICE RUB Prep Time 5 mins Marinating Time 20mins – 24 hrs Use with Chicken, Fish, Pork, Lamb and Vegetables In a large, lidded ceramic or glass bowl combine 1 tbsp chilli powder, 1 tbsp ground cinnamon, 2 tbsp ground cumin, 2 tbsp chopped thyme leaves, 2 tbsp chopped rosemary leaves, and ¼ cup dried cranberries. Add 400g of the protein or vegetable of your choice, along with ¼ cup olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste, and marinade for at least 20 minutes. Cook according to the cooking guide below.

Serve with cous cous, polenta, rice, or steamed vegetables.

HONEY SOY MARINADE Prep Time 5 mins Marinating Time 20mins – 24 hrs Use with Chicken, Fish, Tofu, Beef, Pork & Vegetables In a large, lidded ceramic or glass bowl combine ¼ cup soy sauce, 2 tbsp honey, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tsp ginger paste, 1 small sliced chilli, and ¼ cup chopped coriander. Add 400g of the protein or vegetable of your choice and marinade for at least 20 minutes. Cook according to the cooking guide below. Serve with rice, noodles, or steamed vegetables. grapeshotmq.com.au

Handy Cooking Guide: Here’s my guide to cooking the following types of meat. Just remember that this guide is based on diced meat, and chopped or cubed vegetables, and cooking times will vary according to your appliances and the size of the pieces.

Chicken – Stir-fry diced chicken over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through, and juices run clear. Bake at 180ºC for 15 minutes, or until cooked through and juices run clear.

Pork – Stir-fry diced pork over a medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until cooked through, and juices run clear. Bake at 180ºC for 15 minutes, or until cooked through and juices run clear.

Lamb – Stir-fry diced lamb over a medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until cooked through. Bake at 180ºC for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Beef – Stir-fry diced beef over a medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until cooked through. Bake at 180ºC for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Fish – Stir-fry pieces of fish over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes until opaque and starting to flake. Bake at 180ºC for 15 minutes or until opaque.

Tofu – Since tofu is already cooked, you really only need to heat it up over a high heat for 5-10 minutes in the frying pan and it’s ready.

Vegetables – It’s best to cook veggies nice and quickly over a high heat for 2-3 minutes and they’re ready.

grapeshot magazine | page 41

NA ZDROWIE Polish might not be the first cuisine that comes to mind when your friends suggest going out for dinner; but this folksy looking restaurant has all the goods. The one thing you can’t skip on the menu is the pierogi, Poland’s take on the dumpling. Thankfully, the menu boasts four different kinds, served boiled or fried. My pick is the fried potato and cheese filled, topped with sour cream and onion. As for dessert, you can’t go past the baked cheesecake with fresh berries.

WORL BIT

THE STEW WORDS | Vanessa Capito With so many types of food available, we’re spoiled for choice. This month, we’ve narrowed down the choices to make your whereto-eat complex a little less complicated.

THE SULTANS TABLE This unpretentious Turkish restaurant is a gem and certainly won’t leave you disappointed. The dip plate is a popular choice here, and it’s not hard to see why. It has eight different dips and a basket full of Turkish bread, which makes it the ultimate happy diner pick.

This place is perfect for a quick feed before or after a gig at Enmore Theatre, conveniently just down the road, or if you’re just after a tasty meal without the hefty price tag. I give two-thumbs up to The Sultans Table.

page 42 | grapeshot magazine

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THE STEW #DiscoverSydney

ICHIBAN BOSHI

LDLY TES

A central meeting ground for some of the city’s best ramen, Ichiban Boshi, tucked in next to the iconic Kinokuniya bookstore in The Galleries, serves up some of the cheapest and best ramen you can get your chopsticks into. The hot and spicy tantan-men ramen is a favourite here, though there are non-spicy options for those of you who don’t like the heat. The pan-fried gyoza, Ramen’s best friend, is impressive too. But get in quick, there’s usually a wait for a table around lunchtime.

#DiscoverSydney Got a fun place, activity, or experience in Sydney to share? Tweet us your discoveries or Instagram photos, both @grapeshotmq to us with #DiscoverSydney and #grapeshot for a chance to win special prizes!

Visit online for more details.

PASTICCERIA PAPA Papa’s is one of Sydney’s most well known patisseries, serving up Italian classics just the way your Nonna makes them. Inside hosts expansive counters with endless biscotti, cakes and breads, all freshly baked. A personal favourite is the ricotta cannoli, which comes in chocolate and vanilla. Last, but by no means least, is the ricotta cake, it would be sacrilegious to leave without having tried it, and you absolutely can’t go wrong. You know what they say, Papa knows best! grapeshotmq.com.au

grapeshot magazine | page 43

MUSIC

GAMES

METRO REDUX

VELOCIRAPTOR | VELOCIRAPTOR

If you didn’t experience the originals, then Metro Redux is the perfect excuse to see Moscow’s terrifyingly grim underworld. Metro has a dark and miserable setting, but packs fun and excitement into a narrative driven first person shooter, where you decide how to play; stealth or all out carnage? It’s in your hands. It’s not often you’ll play a challenging single player FPS, but here you’ll find two.

Both have updated graphics and a buttery-smooth frame rate. The old brown post-apocalytic setting may inspire déjà vu, but no fear; you’ll find more colourful survivors in Metro than most wastelands.

It’s incredible that a dev team with such poor working conditions and barely half the budget of a triple A title could make something so good. As a friend of mine would say – I guess they must have really been Putin in the hours.

The long-awaited self-titled release from these Brisbane party rockers, Velociraptor benefits from its group’s formation. With 10-12 members interchanging roles within the group at any one time including the guys from DZ Deathrays, it allows for slight diversity within these tight garage punk tunes. “Ramona” is a tune that is ready for radio and deserves the airplay. And despite the different vocalists has tight quick tunes that are under four minutes. This can lead to a sense of repetition with some of the later songs, but benefits the songs that are slower, or take a different tone like “Leeches” or “I Don’t Know Why (It’s You)”. But listening to the album is not enough; listening to the guys perform live in a pub without restraints would be something else entirely. However, for a garage traditional punk experience, Velociraptor ticks all the boxes.

Rabbit

Toby Hemmings

BANOFFEE EP | BANOFFEE

Super Time Force Ultra is the definitive version of an indie gem that passed a lot of people by earlier in the year. The writing is often hilarious and sees you embark on such noble endeavours as selling The Holy Grail on eBay, and saving the dinosaurs from extinction by fighting off the asteroid that wipes them out. It’s got a charming look and great old-school feel to it, and is well worth picking up and spending sometime with.

Continuing kick-ass female synth pop is Melbourne’s Martha Brown under the moniker Banoffee. Her debut EP is confident, mixing together luscious R&B and throwback synth pop with assured vocals. Each track has its own identity that it presents to its audience with aplomb, from the raging bass of “Got It” to the summertime vibe of “Let’s Go To The Beach”. When Brown sings “I’m a fucking ninja now, I won’t let you bring me down”, she isn’t messing about.

Fergus Halliday

Sarah Basford

SUPER TIME FORCE ULTRA

DESTINY

Maybe it was the hype; but Destiny is far from the experience I hoped for. After hearing about the scope budget of the game, I was disappointed to realise there’s limited exploration and repetitive escort missions, taking you from A to B while you kill things with up to two friends. The PvP aspects add some spice, and even thoughwhile it doesn’t offer anything truly unique, it brings in classes and weapons tailored to your skillset, and dynamic powers which shake up any match.

Alex Slade

page 44 | grapeshot magazine

ROYAL BLOOD | ROYAL BLOOD

Whoever said rock is dead clearly hasn’t heard Royal Blood. The two-piece band from the UK burst onto the scene in 2013 with their first single, the fast and furious garage rock tune, “Out of the Black”. The release of their self-titled debut album has proven the hype was well justified; with its tracks featuring infectious riffs and heavy drumming sure to please any fan of rock ‘n’ roll.

Toby Hemmings grapeshotmq.com.au

FILMS

BOOKS

NIGHT MOVES (2013) In Kelly Reichardt’s Night Moves, environmentalists Josh (Jesse Eisenberg), Dena (Dakota Fanning) and Harmon (Peter Sarsgaard) decide to blow up a dam. Our three champions take it into their hands to overcome the complacency of the environmentalist community. My issue is that they execute their ‘radical’ plan to blow up the dam with the same dispassion and indifference they sought to oppose. Josh and Dena are predictable and angst-ridden, as we would expect from philosophically acute post-adolescences.

Cliché aside, Jesse’s performance was noticeably dry; lacking his type casted wit and sensibilities. Harmon operates for about a quarter of the film and then disappears, becoming nothing more than a voice over the phone. The environmentalist world, however vacuous, poses little threat or cause for discontent – which makes the character’s psychology so difficult to decipher, even Freud would crumble in defeat. Even though Night Moves promises to disembowel our moral consciousness and peck at our heartstrings, I cannot help but relinquish a blasé yawn as the minutes turn to hours, and the emptiness lingers.

Jack Cameron Stanton

I WISH I WAS HERE (2014)

I Wish I Was Here follows Aiden, a struggling actor dealing with a chaotic family life in the midst of his own mid-life crisis. The film contains some poignant moments, however, Zac Braff fails to hit the mark of his first Indie success Garden State. Funded by a Kickstarter campaign, I Wish I Was Here is self-indulgent and lacks discipline, attempting to cover a myriad of themes in a profound way, only to end up being shallow, predictable, and clichéd.

Anna Elizabeth Glenn

THE SECRET PLACE | TANA FRENCH In an all-girls high school, a photo of a dead boy shows up with the caption, ‘I know who killed him’. Immediately, a year old case is re-opened, and dark secrets are forced into the light. Part of the Dublin Murder Squad series, Tana French’s The Secret Place is an amazing story that can be read alone, although its brilliance will make you want the entire set. The book switches between the ongoing investigation, and the series of events that led up to Chris Harper’s death, giving the reader the upper hand and twisting the plot masterfully. Eight teenage girls are all possible suspects for the brutal murder, and all of them have something to hide. With constantly rising tension, encounters with the supernatural, and a glance into the secret life within a stately boarding school, this book is not one that you want to put down in a hurry.

Rabeah Zafrullah

A FINE BALANCE | ROHINTON MISTRY Rohinton Mistry’s masterpiece, A Fine Balance, tells the story of four people caught in the epicentre of political unrest in mid1970s India. The fates of Dina, an embittered and lonely widow, Ishvar and Omprakash, slum-dwelling tailors, and Makesh, a young wealthy student, slowly converge, forcing the unwilling companions to exist under one roof. Mistry’s portrait of the ongoing suffering and despair in modern India is softened by his capacity to find beauty and enchantment where hope has vanished.

Vivid, commanding, and written with an evocative homesickness – I’m calling it early – this will be the best book I read all year.

Jack Cameron Stanton

SECONDS | BRYAN LEE O’MALLEY

SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR (2014) Following on from the 2006 release was always going to be a challenge, though not championing a great storyline. Sin City was a pioneer in terms of its visual translation to the big screen. A Dame to Kill For follows in this respect but dabbles in more of the same.

Gone are the memorable characters like Kevin and that ‘Yellow Bastard’ we love to hate. If you have a spare two hours to kill, this will be a pretty mediocre use of it.

Sarah Basford grapeshotmq.com.au

After wrapping up his hugely popular Scott Pilgrim series, graphic novelist Bryan Lee O’Malley took a well-deserved break, but now he’s back with Seconds. This (slightly-large) graphic novel follows a young ambitious chef, Katie, who accidentally finds herself in a world of cosmic spirits and mystical mushrooms that lets her go backin-time and undo her mistakes. O’Malley’s art style and humour are just as charming as ever, and the book has a nice self-contained structure to it with plenty of Easter eggs for fans of his earlier work.

Fergus Halliday

grapeshot magazine | page 45

 

CROSSWORD

HOROSCOPES

WORDS | Rabeah Zafrullah

WORDS | Mia Kwok LIBRA: Have you been thinking, should I stay or should I go? Whether it’s a person or a place, all signs point to movin’ on.

v

SCORPIO: You, feisty Scorpio, you. You’ve really got yourself into trouble this time.

It’s too late to apologise, not that you would anyway.

SAGITTARIUS: Your boy toy Troy decided to move here and now he wants to meet your parents. Eeep.

CAPRICORN: Get ready to come clean, my capricious Capricorn. You’ve definitely got something weighing on your mind, time to shake it off.

AQUARIUS: There are teardrops on the dance floor. Try not to slip, and stop making a mess for everyone else.

ACROSS

1: Multi-armed candle holder (10) 6: Oily freshwater fish (4) 10: Clay sedimentary rock (5) 11: The number of turns within which a golfer should complete a hole (3) 12: Characterized by departure from tradition, was used as slang in 80s (7) 13: Japanese demons (3) 14: A place for lodgers, usually provides food as well (3) 15: Modern prefix for referring to someone as small (3) 16: A coconut flavoured biscuit sprinkled with sugar (4) 17: The last name of a person, often asked in Eminem raps to stand up (5) 18: Prefix associated with eight (4) 20: Number of times you repeat an action during exercise (4) 21: Vegetable with green or purple leaves; actor Misha Collins is obsessed with them (4) 23: High respect (6) 26: Heated or angry discussion (8) 28: Most populated city in the UK (6) 29: Small pointed missile that can be thrown (4) 31: The blue dragon in the Eragon series (7) 32: Female saviour of great courage and bravery (7) page 46 | grapeshot magazine

DOWN

1: He and Abbott were comedians (8) 2: Three flavours of ice cream in one tub (10) 3: Period of time at the end of the day (7) 4: Greed (7) 5: Emily Rodda wrote a children’s fantasy series about this place (5) 7: Increase the volume (7) 8: Having delusions of persecution or unwarranted jealousy (8) 9: A kind of backpack (8) 17: Bigfoot (9) 19: A short journey to complete a task for someone (6) 22: Not on time (4) 23: The main detective in Arthur Conan Doyle’s books (6) 24: A classic Pokémon that resembles a blue bulb plant (6) 25: A structure carrying a road or path above rivers or other obstacles (6) 27: A pleasant-smelling colourless volatile anesthetic that is highly flammable (5) 30: Music awards ceremony in America (3)

PISCES: Pack your bags, Pisces. It looks like there are big travel plans in your immediate future. I can already smell the wine and cheap perfume.

ARIES: You know that guy who is always on about his amazing internship? Don’t kill him (yet) as he’ll be handy one day soon.

TAURUS: You keep butting heads with the people around you, and, as usual, everyone else is in the wrong. Why can’t they see your point of view?

GEMINI: Sorry Gemini, you’ve got some tough times ahead. That assessment that you were going to leave until the last minute? Get it started now or you’ll find yourself seriously under pressure.

CANCER: You’re almost there.

LEO: The next month sees you living on easy street. Don’t waste this opportunity, but instead attack it with both hands.

VIRGO: What on earth were you thinking? Go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Await further instructions. grapeshotmq.com.au

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