Oct. 29–Nov. 11, 2013
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT MUST FIGHT INSURANCE COMPANIES AND CANCER P.4 KIDNAPPED IN SYRIA: JOURNALIST SUSAN DABBOUS P.8 DRAGON BOAT CLUB IN SEARCH OF WOMEN PADDLERS P.5
The
Issue In a country as peaceful as ours, it’s often hard to understand the true toll of conflict. In this issue, we bring you stories that connect conflict to our Canadian perspective.
INFOGRAPHIC The number of people that ride through Union Station today is equivalent to the total number killed in the Syrian war
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GBC Student Newspaper • Founded 1982
NEWS
October 29 –November 11, 2013
GBC graduate remembers friend Rameez Khalid, murdered at Nuit Blanche TINA TODARO STAFF REPORTER
Toronto’s annual night of fun and extravagant art, Nuit Blanche, took an ugly turn this year when Rameez Khalid, 19, was stabbed to death. The incident took place on Oct. 6 around 2 a.m. at Richmond St. E and York St. in Toronto. It was one of the sites of this year’s Nuit Blanche, a 12-hour event showcasing contemporary art to a large audience. An altercation between two groups, one of which Khalid was associated with, took place south of Queen St. At the time, the area which was host to a pop-up rave of 300 people. Khalid left the scene with a friend after some time and walked towards Richmond St. where they met the suspect group again and another violent altercation took place. When police arrived on the scene, Kha-
lid was found lying in the northern side of Richmond street near the sidewalk with multiple stab wounds. He was taken to St. Michael’s hospital via emergency run but was pronounced dead. Emanuel Lozada, 22, faces a charge for second-degree murder in this case and is wanted by police, along with two other persons of interest identified by their street names “Yoda” and “Munchies”. Khalid’s long-time friend Malcolm Wyllie, 20, said, “People have to know what a great person he was and keep his legacy going. He was the kind of person who would give you his last dollar if you needed it more than he did.” Wyllie has completed two dual courses at GBC, and hopes to return this coming summer for the culinary program. Dancing, drama, parkour and photography were just a few of the activities enjoyed by Khalid.
THE DIALOG IS... Managing Editor Mick Sweetman News Editor Preeteesh Peetabh Singh Art Director/Illustrator Samantha Bullis Multimedia Reporter Danilo Barba Staff Reporters Alena Khabibullina Karen Nickel Tina Todaro Follow us on Social Media! Facebook.com/thedialogonline Twitter: @thedialogonline
Occasionally, some advertisers, products and services do not reflect the policies of the Student Association. Opinions expressed in The Dialog are not necessarily those of The Dialog Collective, the Student Association of George Brown College, or its editorial staff. The Dialog will not publish any material that attempts to incite violence or hatred against individuals or groups, particularly based on race, national origin, ethnicity, colour, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability. Contributions to T he Dialog are always welcome. We request that articles be submitted as digital copies in plain-text (TXT) or richtext (RTF) format. Letters to the editor can be sent in an email message to dialog@georgebrown.ca. Images should be in EPS format as vector images or TIF format (Mac or PC).
Drop by or contact The Dialog at: Room E122 - Casa Loma 142 Kendal Avenue Toronto, ON M5R 1M3 www.dialog.studentassociation.ca Tel: 416-415-5000 ext. 2764 Fax: 416-415-2491 dialog@georgebrown.ca The Dialog newspaper is published by The Dialog Collective under the auspices of the Student Association of George Brown College. The collective is responsible for the overall vision and direction of The Dialog newspaper, as it coincides with the larger vision of mission of the Student Association. The cost of producing a monthly newspaper is in part defrayed by advertising revenue and largely subsidized by the Student Association.
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The Dialog is published by the Student Association of George Brown College
The Dialog is a member of CUP, the Canadian University Press
Before his passing, Khalid had also participated in a program called Krumping Out Crime, an after-school programme designed to keep young kids away from criminal activity. Funded by Toronto Police through the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), Khalid opened up a positive door for teens. “If kids are going to the afterschool program, they won’t have time to commit crimes,” said Wyllie. Not only did Khalid spark Wyllie’s motivation, he enabled teens to look at the world in a more positive light. An inspiration to many and a great dancer to boot, Khalid had taken Krumping classes at a local dance studio and brought Wyllie along. No matter what Khalid put his mind to, Wyllie describes Khalid as “an over-achiever”, excelling at everything he did. Wyllie, after the loss of his friend, now looks to continue on in his inspirational footsteps.
IMAGE: MALCOLM WYLLIE VIA FACEBOOK
Above GBC student Malcolm Wyllie fondly remembers his friend Rameez Khalid, pictured, as “an over-achiever”.
October 29 –November 11, 2013
DAILY CHECK UP
OCTOBER 29–NOVEMBER 15, 2013 MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
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4 Modern Man Men’s fashion show Nov. 4–10 Evergreen Brick Works 550 Bayview More info at modernman.ca
The Paranormal Show 11 a.m. Kings Lounge, St. James
GBC Varsity Day Activities 11 a.m. Kings Lounge, St. James
Community Action Centre Open House 2–6 p.m. Room 165B, St. James
Women’s volleyball 6 p.m. Men’s volleyball 8 p.m. Alex Barbier Gym, St. James
5 Reel Asian Film Festival Nov. 5–16 Various cinemas $10–20 reelasian.com
6 Women’s volleyball 6 p.m. Men’s volleyball 8 p.m. Both at Alex Barbier Gym, St. James
FRIDAY 1
Halloween Jam 7 p.m. Kings Lounge, St. James, $5 for GBC Students, $10 for guest (limit 1 guest) Best dressed costume will win a trip for 4 to the MTL trip taking place Feb 27, 2014 – Mar 2, 2014
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GBC Varsity Day Activities 11 a.m. Kings Lounge, St. James Men’s basketball 8 p.m. Alex Barbier Gym, St. James
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Dark Comedy Festival Nov. 5–16 Various venues $20–60 darkcomedyfest.com
Desi Night 7 p.m.–12 a.m. Kings Lounge, St. James, $5 for GBC Students, $10 for guest (limit 1 guest) Best dressed costume will win a trip for 4 to the MTL trip in February
11 SA Fall Byelections voting week See studentassociation.ca for details GBC’s Got Talent Auditions 10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Quiet Lounge, St. James
12 GBC’s Got Talent Auditions 10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Boardroom, Casa Loma
13 GBC Fear Factor 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Student Centre, Casa Loma Women’s basketball 6 p.m. Men’s basketball 8 p.m. Both at Alex Barbier Gym, St. James
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GBC’s Got Talent Auditions 10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Kings Lounge Events Office, St. James
Friday Night Live @ ROM 7–11 p.m. Royal Ontario Museum 100 Queen’s Park, $10 for students rom.on.ca/fnl
GBC Fear Factor 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Kings Lounge, St. James
HOW CAN I ENTER? Write us a letter to the editor or post a quality comment about one of our stories on our website to enter to win! Full details are available on our website at dialog.studentassociation.ca. Follow our social media accounts for more chances to win and to track future contests and promotions.
FOLLOW @thedialogonline LIKE facebook.com/thedialogonline CLICK dialog.studentassociation.ca
To the game on Friday, November 1 (vs. Montreal)
EMAIL dialog@georgebrown.ca The Dialog • dialog.studentassociation.ca
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NEWS
October 29 –November 11, 2013
International student must fight insurance companies and cancer KAREN NICKEL STAFF REPORTER
Aparna Gill is a recent graduate of George Brown College’s (GBC) financial planning program. Everything was fine, until she got sick. “It began in July with her (Aparna) feeling feverish and weak for a few days, so we went to a doctor just to consult. The doctor when touching Gill’s neck, found lumps, swollen glands,” explained her husband and GBC alumni Rohit Dua. An ultrasound was performed and a mass was discovered. The next diagnostic step was to have a biopsy done. This is when problems with the insurance company began. GBC’s insurance carrier at the time was RSA Canada (Royal & Sun Alliance) and its claims administrator company was Global Excel Management (GEM). This means that although premiums are paid to RSA Canada, you don’t deal with them directly at all. GEM is the entity that approves or denies claims based on RSA’s policies. When Gill submitted the medical information and requested the first biopsy, GEM approved it. She was then informed by the specialist that it was cancer and that a second biopsy was required. She submitted the request again to GEM. This time she was denied. Not only was it denied, but the only option left open for her as far as GEM was concerned was repatriation back to India for further tests and treatment. Gill said, “I was given 24 hours to decide if I was going back to India. If I refused, my policy would be automatically cancelled. I had scheduled the second biopsy and also had my exams the following week.” Her husband added, “After paying all that money for her
education we couldn’t just stop it all and leave.” Gill and Dua have only been married since March. It was his suggestion to her to go to GBC. Dua is a permanent resident in Canada and has started the process of sponsoring Gill who is here on an international student visa. She isn’t eligible for OHIP coverage yet. They were able to negotiate with GEM to get an extension to accommodate her final exams and decided to have the second biopsy done. Meanwhile, they appealed against the decision of the insurance claim company to repatriate her instead of staying here for treatment. At the second biopsy there was good news and bad news. Cancer cells had not spread to her lymph nodes, but TB cells were present. Tuberculosis is one of the conditions that the province will treat for people without OHIP. Luckily, hers was not the communicable type as that would h ave r a i s e d m o r e problems. Nevertheless, a TB diagnosis will not allow her to come back to Canada if she was to be repatriated back to India. Gill was worried. She approached the International Student Centre (ISC) for assistance. John Porter, director of international admissions and student services, said, “The ISC and more particularly, the executive director of the Student Association -- advocated on Gill’s behalf and intervened with the insurance company ombudsperson.” With advice from the ISC and the Student Association’s (SA) resident lawyer Bill Reid, Gill drafted a letter to the insurance company describing the hardship a ruling of repatriation would have on her and her husband. Gill wrote, “We had recently recently been
The only option left open for her as far as Global Excel was concerned was repatriation back to India for further tests and treatment.
Aparna Gill with her husband Rohit Dua. PHOTO: KAREN NICKEL/THE DIALOG
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married. My husband would have had to leave everything he had accomplished here and wrap things up, to come back to India with me. He would lose so much.” The insurance company rejected her appeal. The SA’s executive director, Antoinette Davis, then got involved. “We had exchanged a number of emails with the insurance company and then they stopped responding. We escalated the case by complaining to the insurance company ombudsperson. After a review by the ombudsperson it was decided that she would be reimbursed for all costs until the end of August,” said Davis. Dua points out how international students are really at a disadvantage, “International students are charged three times what domestic students pay, but there are not as much support as domestic student health wise. We don’t get OHIP coverage until three months of work and we can’t get our work permit until we have graduated and our grades and credentials are submitted. What happens if you get ill during the waiting period?” “She has applied for jobs and has a letter
of acceptance for a job at a bank, but she can’t take it until she gets her work permit and she doesn’t get that until after she finishes school and then she has to wait until she has worked for three months for OHIP,” said Dua. “So that means she can’t have surgery to remove the cancer until January the earliest. So what is she to do? She has applied for the work permit but now is waiting.” After all of this, Gill and Dua laugh when speaking about it, “What can you do? Being upset won’t make things go quicker, so why not laugh?” said Gill. Gill just got her reimbursement cheque from her insurance for the second biopsy and doctor’s visits. The international student centre is working on getting a rebate on her May to August fees from international to domestic fees due to her marriage while being a student. She is still waiting to receive her work permit, to begin work, and eventually to get OHIP and have the surgery. Globel Excel did not respond to phone calls and emails. RSA said that due to privacy issues they could not talk about the case.
October 29 –November 11, 2013
SPORTS Sports Score Updates
Baseball OCAA Championships: St. Clair 20 George Brown 2 Durham 9 George Brown 3 MacKenzie Smikle and Jamie Lennox named OCAA All-Stars, Dane Gordon named OCAA Championship Tournament All-Star.
Left Rachelle Alcide Dionne is challenged by lots of hard work at training, expecting it to pay off at the major paddling competitions this academic year.
Dragon boat club short of female paddlers ALENA KHABIBULLINA STAFF REPORTER
“Competitive, exhausting, thrilling and rewarding” were the most common descriptions mentioned by George Brown (GBC) students who are part of a new dragon boat club. This highly dynamic and synchronized sport has already attracted about 20 members, five of whom are women. Most are students of the fitness and health promotion program. Lisa Tai, having five years experience as a dragon boat club associate supervisor for the Ryerson team, pushed the efforts to start a new club at GBC. “I know couple of my classmates were interested in joining. So I thought ‘Hey! Why not to form a club and share love of the dragon boat,” she said. “I had the resources available. So we approached athletics department and here we are in the pool, practicing and getting ready to the competitions in the summer.” Paying attention to the fitness test scores and paddling technique, the club’s management would like to set the team of well-trained paddlers for three main races this academic year: Milton dragon boat race festival, St. Catharines dragon boat festival and the biggest one of the entire season, Toronto international dragon boat race festival. Already practicing at the Ryerson pool, the newly created club is short by at least three female paddlers which could become a reason for the team’s ineligibility to perform in the competitions. However, Tai stays optimistic, “If we have more than 20 participants, then we will have to pick and choose. They all are aware that this situation
may happen, because as a coach I want the best for the team.” Intimidated by the intensity of the sport, most women are trying to find excuses not to participate on a dragon boat, fresh-new female paddler Rachelle Alcide Dionne said. “It is challenging, and it’s a lot of hard work, but the feeling afterwards is so rewarding. I love it!” In addition to intense training at the pool, three to four work-out sessions will be conducted in the gym which will involve a cardio component, jogging, and a rowing machine. Working on muscular strength and power that are especially needed for 500 meter race piece, the students have also an opportunity to meet other sport-obsessed people. “My goals are to train almost every day, to become stronger for myself and the dragon boat team; make new friends and when we do start racing, to win all of them and go to the finals,” said Nick Panos, who is new to the sport and a former rugby and football player. Turning a group of young GBC men and women into strong paddlers, the club educates new dragon boat community members whose goal is to present the college on the winning pedestal in upcoming competitions. “Being the captain is a lot of responsibility. Starting out as a new paddler, it can be hard to grasp the movements and it can be discouraging,” said Vincent Romeo. “My goal, and I think I can speak for everyone when I say this, is to be one of the top teams in future competitions. It will be a lot of hard work but if everyone is committed and dedicated there is a good chance we can win,” said Romeo.
Women’s Soccer Rana Abdel Aziz and Elena Arevalo are named OCAA All-Stars Men’s Soccer Justin Bettencourt and Artsiom Biba are named OCAA All-Stars Women’s Volleyball Sheridan invitational Tournament (Exhibition) Mohawk 3 George Brown 2 Redeemer 3 George Brown 2 George Brown 3 Loyalist 1 George Brown 3 Cambrian 1 George Brown finishes in fifth place. Regular season games George Brown 3 Fleming 0 Trent 3 George Brown 0 Men’s Volleyball Fleming 3 George Brown 0 George Brown 3 Trent 2 Women’s Basketball Georgian Exhibition Tournament George Brown 63 Cambrian 51 Niagara 50 George Brown 43 George Brown 54 Lambton 48 George Brown finishes in third place Regular Season games Algonquin 62 George Brown 37 Men’s Basketball Durham Exhibition Tournament St. Clair 80 George Brown 76 George Brown 80 Loyalist 60 Fanshawe 82 George Brown 65 Vadim Halimov Selected Tournament All-Star Regular Season games Algonquin 89 George Brown 60 George Brown 73 La Cite 66
The Dialog • dialog.studentassociation.ca
PHOTOS: ALENA KHABIBULLINA/THE DIALOG
Above GBC and Ryerson students train together at the pool for future competitions.
Cross Country OCAA Provincials: Women’s Individual 5 kilometre 5. Joanita Lowu 23:02 23. Shannon Dyer 24:06 53. Molly Morse 26:54 73. Safia Dhanji 29:57 81. Hannah Turnbull 31:56 Men’s Individual 8 kilometre 3. Sean Sweeney 29:00 38. Edgar Malchic 33:07 57. Alex Brown 34:54 59. Mitchell Visser 35:12 65. Wesley Correa 35:39
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In a country as peaceful as ours, it’s often hard to wrap one’s head around the realities of conflict. Therefore, we’ve put together this infographic to help put the facts and figures in a less abstract and more uniquely Torontonian context.
CANADIAN MILITARY SERVICE
650,000 Number of Canadians that served in World War I
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516 47,000 Canadians killed in World War II. That’s roughly the capacity of the Rogers Centre.
68,800 Canadians killed in World War I. That’s 3.5 times the capacity of the Air Canada Centre.
Canadians killed in the Korean War. That’s greater than the capacity of the 360 Restaurant at the top of the CN Tower.
Currently living World War I Veterans
1,000,000 Number of Canadians that served in World War II
91,400 Currently living World War II Veterans
26,791 Number of Canadians that served in the Korean War
138 Number of Canadians killed in action in Afghanistan as of the end of 2012. That’s the capacity of two full streetcars.
Number of Iraqis that are currently internally displaced or the have left Iraq. That’s roughly equivalent to the entire population of Toronto.
9,900 Currently living Korean War Veterans
110,000 Total death toll in Syria to present. That’s equivalent to the number of passenger trips taken daily to and from Union Station.
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INFOGRAPHIC: SAMANTHA BULLIS/THE DIALOG DATA FROM:VETERANS AFFAIRS CANADA, FORCES.CA, COSTS OF WAR PROJECT, & SYRIAN OBSERVATORY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. FIGURES ABOVE ARE ROUNDED.
October 29 –November 11, 2013
WAR & CONFLICT FEATURE
Right Protesters against Line 9 march downtown on Oct. 19, led by First Nations representatives. Inset Hân Hanna Lê, an activist from GBC’s Environmental Justice Collective, protests against the actions of police during the New Brunswick blockade by the Elsipogtog First Nation.
PHOTOS: ALENA KHABIBULLINA/THE DIALOG
Line 9 hearings cancelled due to protests
ALENA KHABIBULLINA Staff Reporter
Canada is one of the world’s five largest energy producers and the principal source of the US energy imports. Canada is growing its petroleum production through unconventional resources like synthetic crude oil and oil sands, also referred to the tar sands, according to a report of The U.S. Energy Information Administration in September 2012. Canada’s tar sands are not crude oil, it is a hydrocarbon mixture of a heavy petroleum product, bitumen, with sand which became the biggest energy project in the world. A proposed reversal of the flow of Enbridge’s 38-year old Line 9 pipeline running under every major river in Southern Ontario will deliver highly-pressurized oil from Alberta to Montreal. The National Energy Board (NEB) hearings on Line 9, saw anti-pipeline protesters escorted out of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Friday, Oct. 18. Saturday morning’s scheduled final public hearings were also cancelled due to security concerns a bit before No Line 9 rally started. “Aamjiwnaang wants to be a leader for other communities to move forward and assert their lives to lands and better health. We are working hard and I really hope that this Saturday rally will help us get come together and will be very positive.” said Aamjiwnaang First Nations activist Vanessa Grey at the “Pipelines and the Petrostate” event
at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto the Thursday before the rally. Driven by tar sands issue, members of George Brown’s Environmental Justice Collective (EJC) joined the Saturday rally, protesting with other hundreds in the rain, chanting “People – not profit! Water – not oil!” opposite the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. “The rally was specifically planned to protest Line 9,” EJC member Chris Bourque said. “The emergency call to action to support the Mi’kmaq in NB the day before at the NEB scared the board. They did not want any more publicity around the growing support against the pipeline, as well as the human rights violations these developments are committing. The NEB passes 99 per cent of the proposals that come before it. A lot of people would say the NEB is a sham, and wish to expose it as such.” On Oct. 17, an early morning raid by heavily-armed Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) who intended to dismantle a blockade in New Brunswick by the Elsipogtog First Nation to of SWN Resources’ seismic testing trucks, turned violent. SWN Resources wants to extract natural gas using a controversial technique known as “hydraulic fracking” where vast quantities of highly-pressurized water are pumped into the ground to widen cracks and release natural gas. A confrontation with tear gas and rubber bullets ended with the arrest of Elsipogtog Chief Arren Sock and other council members, the arson of six police cars, and solidarity demonstrations across Canada. “Protests like in NB have been happening for decades,” echoed EJC activist, and Student Association Aboriginal Constituency Rep. Coty Zachariah. “Instead of being portrayed
as environmental heroes some media still makes them out to be terrorists on their own land. It’s time the media covered the real stories. Not just angry protesters.” Speaking at the panel on Thursday, Oct. 17 Grey said she experienced friends and relatives dying from cancer and other health issues, common in Aamjiwnaang: asthma, unbalanced gender and birth ratio, and miscarriages. She began create awareness of such issues, caused by the fracking companies’ activity, across the country. “I grew up going to lots of funerals and I had a black dress,” said Grey. “Knowing about cancer for a long time, I didn’t think it’s a big deal, when I was a kid.” Michelle Barlond-Smith of Michigan, who experienced Enbridge’s 2010 Kalamazoo River tar sands spill, joining the conversation via Skype said, “People don’t understand that tar sand oil is not crude oil. Importing to other countries they call it tar sand oil for tax purposes, but if there is a spill they call it crude oil.” Barlond-Smith first uploaded the photos of the accident to the CNN ireport, before the media knew about the spill. In 2012 the NEB did an safety audit of Enbridge, identifying all of the problems that emerged in Kalamazoo, said guest speaker and award-winning journalist, Andrew Nikiforuk. “This company was not taking care of the safety and integrity of its pipelines and its audit was not public. And it’s not into recently, in the last year when the NEB took a billion dollar spill for the board to become more transparent and to release these documents. As of June this year the board did not even have a mechanism for finding companies that were breaking the law. That is Canada!”
The Dialog • dialog.studentassociation.ca
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WAR & CONFLICT FEATURE
October 29 –November 11, 2013
Kidnapped in Syria: Journalist talks about her terrifying ordeal Alena Khabibullina Staff Reporter
The Italian feature film The Border was one of the most talked about movies at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). To recreate the frightening reality of a country where civil war is continuing at full strength, director Alessio Cremonini involved non-professional actors and refugees. After working for more than one year on Syria at that time, Italo-Syrian journalist Susan Dabbous was invited on the board as a co-writer and a specialist in real refugee stories. The movie’s plot developed over the risky journey of two deeply religious sisters, Fatima and Aya, who flee towards the Turkish border after Fatima’s husband decides to defect to the Syrian Free Army, was familiar to Dabbous. “What is important to me as a journalist, this movie is very realistic. Even if it’s not a true story, I was connecting different ones that I have heard from real refugees. So I knew how it works. If you defect, then you have to protect your family. Your family becomes a refugee because you have a pretty big problem with security. For women it’s even worse because you can be targeted for other abuses,” said Dabbous. “It is one of the few movies about Syria during the revolution or during the war.” The cinema conflict, starting on the territory of Latakia Province, became very fateful for Dabbous. Three years
later, on April 4, 2013, she and three Italian male journalists were kidnapped in the same area by an Islamic group Jabhat al-Nusra, affiliated with al-Qaeda. “It was just a coincidence. Our life is strange, really strange,” said Dabbous. After 10 –15 minutes of arriving in Ghassaniya to film a desecrated church, under the guidance of a local priest Father Francois Murad, who was living in the village with three other
At that time she thought the land where she was born could be the land where she was going to die. people as other Christians fled due to safety reasons, Dabbous and her colleagues from Italy’s Rai TV’s were kidnapped. Accused by Jabhat al-Nusra of being spies, the journalists were kept in captivity until April 13, 2013 while the Italian government was making all the efforts to release them with the support of a mediator.
“In my case they were quite convinced that I was a spy. So this was very dangerous,” she said. “Thanks God the Italian government did well. When they were in touch with the group, they said four of them are Italians and Susan is also Italian even if she has a Syrian origin. The problem at that time during negotiations was they wanted to free just the guys and to keep me there.” Dabbous’s mixed background (born in Syria, grown up in Italy, and based in Lebanon) was working against her. Even being originally Syrian, at that time she thought “the land where she was born could be the land where she was going to die”. “They were very confused by my character. They don’t accept that a woman works and works in a war zone, travelling while she is not accompanied by any family member,” she said. “The problem was also that my father is Muslim and my mom is Christian. I was a very targeted mix for them.” Being the only woman in the village, Dabbous was following all the rules and Muslim traditions to get the respect of the rebel group: she didn’t talk without their permission, and she was learning Koran along with cooking. “I found if they wouldn’t respect me, they may abuse me, and that was the most terrible thing because there were tons of them, 50-70 fighters. If you start thinking about it for one second, you become crazy. So I said ok, I am originally Muslim, I can be Muslim, and I want them to respect me,” said Dabbous. After being released, Dabbous was going through a physiologically unstable condition and never went back to Syria. Later this year Dabbous found out that Father Fransua had been shot in June. “I was not very surprised because it was quite evident that they hated him and they had beaten him. He was not afraid to answer them. He was dealing with people with weapons, knowing they have very terrible terroristic ideology. He was dealing with them defending his place and his church. He was trying to keep sort of dignity but that time I was terrified and I was doing exactly what they wanted,” said Dabbous. According to a press freedom barometer published by Reporters Without Borders 25 journalists have been killed, 33 imprisoned, 17 citizen journalists and netizens imprisoned and 80 killed since March 2011. According to Dabbous, about two journalists are being killed every week carrying out their work in Middle East and this number is constantly growing. “It has got a lot more difficult for journalists to safely report inside Syria. The situation is very chaotic and out of control. There are lots of different armed groups. Some of them are attached to al-Qaeda and are keen to make money by kidnapping foreigners. Some still have connections to the Syrian government who wants to capture foreign journalists. There are lots of threats. It is very dangerous to cover Syria and it is also very hard to cover it properly. It is very hard to get around the country safely and it’s difficult to be free to talk to whoever you want,” said Dabbous. “But I think it is still important work because there are still terrible things happening to the Syrian people every day and it has become a hidden war. Outside Syria we don’t hear or see many of the things that are happening on the ground.” Left Italian-Syrian journalist Susan Dabbous’ expertise on conflict stems from both journalistic experience and terrifying personal ordeals.
PHOTO: GIANNI CIPRIANO
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The Dialog • dialog.studentassociation.ca
October 29 –November 11, 2013
WAR & CONFLICT FEATURE
Canada caught spying on mining companies in Brazil Danilo Barba & Karen Nickel MULTIMEDIA REPORTER & Staff Reporter
The mining sector in Brazil is estimated to bring in over $1.5 billion for Canadian mining companies per year according to the Canadian International Development Platform, which tracks Canadian investments by commodity and country. This might be one good reason the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) office would keep its ‘ear’ on Brazil’s Mining and Resources Ministry, but no one is saying that. On Oct.6, Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald reported on the Brazilian television station Globo that Canada spied on the Brazilian mining and resource ministry under a program called Olympia. Olympia entailed the collection of metadata around calls, faxes and emails originating from or going to Brazil’s mining ministry. When questioned about spying, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was quoted saying he was “very, very concerned about the story.” Pushed to answer further by a CBC reporter, he said that he couldn’t comment on national security operations. Meanwhile, John Foster, director of CSEC, claims that spying isn’t illegal under Canadian law. “Due to the confidential nature of our work, I am sure you will understand I can not say much,” he said during a tech conference in Ottawa. “I can tell you that we have not targeted Canadians, at home or elsewhere in our intelligence activities abroad, or anyone in Canada. Indeed, it is prohibited by law. Protecting the privacy of Canadians is our most important principle,” he said. A bizarre explanation came from Ray Boisvert, ex deputy director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Services (CSIS), who told the Globe & Mail that he believed what Snowden released was a ’war game’ exercise, saying, “I had a funny feeling, that is all Snowden has; is just that exploratory war game piece, saying, ’Ok, What would we do here, boys and girls, if we had to do this?” Greenwald claims this isn’t a one time thing, telling reporters, “There is very substantial evidence that the spying Canada was doing for economic reasons aimed at Brazil is far from an aberration,” Greenwald said he will be publishing further documents on CSEC’s spying soon.
President Dilma Rousseff, who recently damned the NSA for allegedly monitoring Brazilian online activities, announced via Twitter that Brazil will host an international summit of government, industry, civil society and academia in April 2014. “Without the right of privacy, there is no real freedom of speech or freedom of opinion, and so there is no actual democracy,” she said. “Without respect for [a nation’s] sovereignty, there is no basis for proper relations among nations. Those who want a strate-
gic partnership cannot possibly allow recurring and illegal action to go on as if they were an ordinary practice.” This situation is already affecting Canadians. The system that lets Canadians request data about their government institutions is also failing, warns information commissioner Suzanne Legault. She delivered an indictment to parliament addressing the question as “quite dramatic” and claiming that delaying the current status of Canada’s access to information system is putting “the health of our Canadian democracy at risk.”
ILLUSTRATION: SAMANTHA BULLIS/THE DIALOG
Bill Reid’s legal services provide GBC students with a sense of security TINA TODARO Staff Reporter
With 43 years of legal service under his belt and a passion for helping students, Bill Reid provides George Brown Students (GBC) a sense of security extending further than the school. Having been called to the bar as a full-fledged lawyer, Reid has helped students through the Student Association (SA) for 17 years as a part-time lawyer. Reid not only provides services for legal matters involving the school, he extends his services to the families of students as well as with criminal and provincial matters. Starting his academic future with an undergraduate
business degree, Reid never thought he’d become a lawyer. “I did an undergraduate business degree, aspiring to be an accountant but never thinking about being a lawyer,” said Reid, continuing on to say that his plans didn’t exactly go the way of accounting. Reid had been considering an MBA, but after realizing that students were capable of combining an MBA with a law degree, he decided that law was the way to go. “I could do the MBA in one year [with advanced standing because of my undergrad business degree] and would only be 22 when I was done, therefore, I decided to go on and do a law degree; and the rest is history,” said Reid. Reid can be found in the LifeWorks office at three GBC campus locations: Casa Loma, St. James, and Wa-
terfront. Students are also able to make appointments. Not only GBC students get Reid’s legal aid. So do students from Ryerson, Durham College, University of Ontario IT, Sheridan College and Mohawk College. Simply by paying activity fees during program registration, students are eligible to receive legal advice and help throughout the school year. Whether it pertains to civil matters, human rights, or tenant/landlord matters, Reid is capable of providing students with all of the required and necessary information. If students have any questions pertaining to legal matters or basic legal advice, Reid is there to help and can be reached via email at wreid@georgebrown.ca. He will respond to all your legal questions in timely manner.
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ARTS & LIFE
October 29 –November 11, 2013
David Bowie Is, was and will be at the AGO ALENA KHABIBULLINA Staff Reporter
A never-ending crowd of admiring but confused faces are and will be leaving the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) this fall, experiencing David Bowie’s cataclysmic talent that’s hard to explain. David Bowie Is is an eclectic exhibit of music, fashion, theatre and art inspired by the multi-faceted British born performer and a cult pop-star David Robert Jones, who changed his name in the 1960s, to avoid confusion with The Monkees’ same-named singer. “From the beginning he was creating personas. He was not the first person who did that, as musical entertainers and artists have been changing their names for years like Ringo Starr. But what was different here: this is just the beginning of a cycle of self-transformations and that really came to define him,” said Jim Shedden who is a project manager for publications and special projects of the AGO. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England became a starting point for the international exhibition which has already proved itself as extremely popular and attendance-record-breaking retrospective. More than 300 objects of the original music and cos-
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tume installations, hand-written lyrics, photography, and films have become a cultural heritage and have a current touring plan within the regions of North America, Latin America and Europe. The show begins from the first three rooms in chronological order and then becomes thematic. Each decade portrays him in a different way, saying “David Bowie is not David Jones,” “David Bowie is someone else,” “David Bowie is moving like a tiger on vaseline,” “David Bowie is all around you”. It characterizes him as an artist with many personas whose uncertain image turned into his brand. “It is blurring lines between what’s considered male or female,” the exhibition visitor and photographer Joanna Helli said. “Questioning why one has to be one or the other as society then and today still does.” A constant search for extravagancy, chic and glam is showcased in Bowie’s artistic experiments with surrealism, German expressionism, pantomime and Japanese Kabuki. “It posed a lot of questions to me. Can the past be treated like an unfinished piece of work and is it the job of an artist to travel back in time to complete it and re-share it in their own way with the public?” AGO visitor and artist Rachel Beau asked. Moving images, artifacts and sound systems create an overall immersive interactive multimedia experience which
is different to everyone, as the integrated audio is triggered by what you are looking at. “Bowie said and he is not telling the truth exactly ‘I am not interested in fashion and I’m interested in making my music look the way it sounds.’ His point was that the music is driving the decisions about these visual and larger cultural collaborations that are going on,” said Shedden. The culturally educated show ends with the big music hall installation where stage costumes, videos and sounds of the inspiring and critically-acclaimed album Heroes are presented. There is no way to stay indifferent to this violent craziness. “Characters like that must be really important, characters that don’t have any boundaries. They know what they want to do and they feel free to collaborate, to explore, to take chances,” said Shedden.
PHOTO: © THE DAVID BOWIE ARCHIVE COURTESY OF THE ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO
Images of some of Bowie’s past performances on display.
October 29 –November 11, 2013
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