The Protest Fall 2011 Issue

FALL 2011

INSIDE OCCUPY CHICAGO pg.12

GREEK CRITIQUE

TAR SANDS

EYEWITNESS

pg. 03

pg. 20

pg. 22

how the system perpetuates segregation

pollution in Alberta, Canada

making a difference in Bihar, India

THE PROTEST FALL 2011

www.the-protest.com

nuprotest@gmail.com

CAMPUS 03 greek critique 04 nu graduate collective 06 sodexo exposed 08 intervarsity promotes social justice 10 nu sounds the horn for east africa COMMUNITY 12 inside occupy chicago 14 don’t call them gypsies 16 the need for immigration reform 17 the language of rape NATION & WORLD 18 the problem of the innocent man 19 review: the valley of the forgotten 20 tar sands 22 making a difference in bihar, india Cover photo by Anca Ulea.

STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Matthew Kovac FEATURE EDITOR Anca Ulea DESIGN EDITOR Jenna Fugate PHOTO EDITOR Kerri Pang WEB EDITOR Jack Foster WEB ASSISTANT EDITOR Lauren Manning WEB DESIGNERS Anca Ulea Stephanie Zucker SENIOR EDITORS Jack Foster Charles Rollet Becca Weinstein CONTRIBUTORS Arjun Chakraborty Susan Du Megan Hernbroth Alexandria Johnson Sharon Kim Yvonne Ashley Kouadjo Emma O’Connor Kathryn Prescott Leah Varjacques Corinne Zeman Published by Peace Project, an ASG-recognized and -funded organization.

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of Peace Project or all staff members.

GRSSK CRITIQUE

We can’t all be friends. With over 8,000 undergraduates, NU is too large. But seeing as college is a place to expand our minds rather than stay in our comfort zones, shouldn’t integration, rather than segregation, be promoted?

With various pre-professional majors, special interest clubs and the Greek system, as well as the separation of North and South campuses, NU students associate primarily with like-minded peers rather than those with different opinions, beliefs and backgrounds. The Greek system, especially, is a major player in this. It segregates NU’s social landscape such that people join houses for the explicit purpose of entering into a community of similar individuals.

This does make sense, though, since it is the first time many of us have lived away from home, and we want to find a familiar community within the larger NU one. Also, it is understandable that houses have remained mostly racially homogenous, since the Greek system used to be discriminatory, prejudiced and intolerant of other religions.

For example, in the 1950s, many organizations had discriminatory clauses in their constitutions. One was only open to Caucasian students who were “non-Semitic and believe in the principles of Christianity.”

The fact that houses have recently started popping up based on special interests makes sense in this context. There are now six African-American fraternities and sororities under the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC). There are also three Asian-interest organizations, three Latino-based chapters and one music fraternity established at NU. But it seems that special interest houses would have become less necessary, rather

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How the system reflects and promotes social segregation by becca weinstein

than more, in the society we perceive as totally tolerant. Why has it become more segregated, rather than less?

The basic desire to be around people of similar backgrounds seems to be playing the greatest role. Dallas Wright, senior and president of Kappa Alpha Psi, did not join an IFC house because “culturally it was kind of weird” to be only one of a few AfricanAmericans. Michael Belmonte, President of Omega Delta Phi, joined a house initially founded as a Latino organization because, he said, “I wanted to find a close community of people that I could rely on, a ‘school family,’ if you will. I found that in the Latino community on campus. These were the people that I identified with most, these were the people who welcomed me with open arms and showed me the ropes.”

However, if the goal of the Greek system is to challenge “students to achieve even greater heights intellectually, personally and socially,” as it says on NU’s website, it seems that having a diverse group of students within each chapter would accomplish this, rather than a smattering of houses segregated by interest. With the current Greek system, it is more difficult to meet people from different backgrounds — of varied class, race and opinion.

It seems that as integration has become more prevalent in this global society, the integration within the Greek system would drastically increase as well. However, today more than ever, narrow interests separate Greek houses. The Greek system should either be abolished or drastically changed, so that people can more effectively create social groups that promote a mingling of backgrounds and interests within NU.

MULTICULTURAL GREEK COUNCIL sororities

Kappa Phi Lambda Promotes Pan-Asian cultural awareness Lambda Theta Alpha Serves as a voice for the Latino community Sigma Lambda Gamma Focuses on multicultural sisterhood Sigma Psi Zeta Promotes awareness of Asian/Asian-American cultures fraternities

Omega Delta Phi Aims to provide a diverse fraternal experience Lambda Theta Alpha Serves as a voice for the Latino community Pi Delta Psi Emphasis on AsianAmerican cultural awareness

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nu graduate collective

CAMPUS by susan du

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When Northwestern graduate students have grievances about their work or quality of life, The Graduate School guarantees them resources like the Graduate Leadership Council and Graduate Student Association. These organizations are intended to express graduate student needs to the administration. However, some students feel more independent representation is needed and have formed another group in support of graduate student interests: Graduate Student Collective.

Unlike the other organizations, GSC is not sanctioned by The Graduate School. In fact, the group has remained largely underground for the nearly two-and-a-half years since it was formed. In addition to calling for reforms, organizers are seriously considering unionizing, which is currently illegal for graduate students enrolled at private universities, said GSC cofounder and fifth-year philosophy student Lee Goldsmith.

“The administration’s always interested in keeping this sort of radical behavior suppressed and so will take a sort of negative attitude,” Goldsmith said. “If you go to the administration . . . they can try to make sure that you don’t have any ability to make any change within the institution by finding ways to get rid of you or by sort of making it hard for you to have contact with others.”

During winter quarter 2011, GSC made a new push to mobilize in preparation for going public. Co-founder Jamie Merchant, a fifthyear sociology and rhetoric and public culture graduate student, said that although the group is loosely structured, its goals are clear.

“The group in its most basic purpose is to raise consciousness about the possibility of organizing graduate students here at the university in some form of collective organization that will be able to adequately represent the interests of all grad students, regardless of what department they’re in, to the administration,” Merchant said.

Currently, GSC tentatively advocates higher stipends, employee status for graduate students and changing administrative policies so students can hold other jobs unaffiliated with

the university in order to compensate for inadequate stipends.

Simon Greenwold, senior associate dean at The Graduate School, declined to comment on whether there is room for negotiation on possible employee status for graduate students.

“Students are students as far as I can tell, so they’re not staff,” he said. “The teaching or research they may do is part of their education. I haven’t heard any particular argument for [gaining employee status] in order to react to it in any official forum.”

However, GSC members said they do not need administrative recognition to proceed with their agenda.

Merchant said the group was organized in spring 2009 by a “central cadre” of four or five students who believed The Graduate School wasn’t doing enough to address sensitive issues relating to the graduate student experience, ranging from lab safety to sexual harassment.

“Really the catalyst was just seeing what a lot of grad students experience and hearing how they respond to these things, and how often the response is to chalk it up to the travails and trials of professionalization,” he said. “[The general perception was that] the difficulties we encounter in grad school, no matter what form they take, are always just sort of the norm. It’s just demonstrably false that that’s the case. So part of our project is also to correct that perception.”

At the time, GSC distributed flyers and held a meeting for those who were interested. About 25 to 30 students showed up, Merchant said, in what was the group’s true beginning.

If GSC decides to seek union status, NU wouldn’t be the only local university with a graduate student union, he added.

“Grad student unions have been active at the University of Illinois at Chicago, at Urbana-Champaign,” Merchant said. “University of Chicago has an inchoate union that has over 400 grad students in it even though they are not formally recognized by the administration.”

Still, not all graduate students believe that there is a need for GSC. Theo Greene, a sixth-

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year sociology graduate student who was a fice set up for graduate students and the board member of the Graduate Leadership Council of directors shut it down. So they took up an last year, said he felt GSC should learn more issue that we thought was an important issue about other organizations with similar goals. and tried to make change, but their means to “Some of their grievances really dovetailed make change must go through the administrawith some of the initiatives we were also work- tion. It’s inefficient because the administration ing with,” Greene said. will never willingly do anything outside of its The Council has the opportunity to meet own interest.” with the administration once a quarter to exGreene said he brought GSC to the attention press student requests, said Greene, noting of the senior associate dean of The Graduate that it works with issues like “space for grad School last year. At the time, Dean Greenwold students to study and work, conflict resolution offered to meet with the organization, but that [and] quality of life issues like stipend rates.” meeting never took place. GSC members said Greene said that when GSC surfaced last they needed to clarify their strategy before winter, he attempted to reach out to members, seeking official recognition, Greene said. after which the organization appeared to dis“The problem with graduate student life is band as it actually went underground. that we’re so insulated in our individual depart“We really wanted an opments that we often fail to see portunity to sit down with the big picture,” Greene said.

In addition to them to see what their con“That’s kind of what my imprescalling for reforms, cerns were and to see if sion was when I met with them.” there were ways in which organizers are seriousGreenwold said although we could work together,” ly considering unionizsome of GSC’s goals are negoGreene said. “The organiza- ing, which is currently tiable, he wishes the organization at the time did not seem illegal for graduate stution would approach him directto have much of a goal other dents enrolled at prily to state their case. than just trying to start some vate universities.

“I heard about this group sort of on-campus revoluthrough our Graduate Student tion, which I guess is where Association, and the group was I took issue probably because . . . they didn’t concerned about the quality of life for graduseem to have much of a knowledge as far as ate students, which the Graduate Student Aswhat the role of The Graduate School was for sociation and the Graduate Leadership Council the graduate students versus their own depart- cares about and we at The Graduate School ments.” absolutely are concerned about,” Greenwold However, to some GSC members, it simply said. “So if they have concerns, I would love made more sense to stay discreet at the time. to hear them.”

Goldsmith said it’s important for graduate stuTo Merchant, however, GSC’s priority at the dents to be represented by an organization that moment is to survive and stay relevant so it can has no stake in administrative favor. eventually gain enough participants to cham“[The Graduate Leadership Council and pion students’ needs without fear of being shut Graduate Student Association] are administra- down by the administration. tive bodies,” Goldsmith said. “They were cre“If there’s sexual harassment going on, if ated by the administration, so they have no you’re being gerrymandered by the administrapower to make decisions that aren’t condoned tion on a certain point, if you have too high a

by TGS. So for example, after the GSA last course load, too high a TA workload — it’s not year discovered that . . . there were a bunch the case that that’s just how it has to be,” he of people who felt that they were . . . unhappy said. “That’s how it is, but ‘Does it have to rewith doing their jobs, they tried to get an of- main like that?’ is a different question.”

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CAMPUS

S XPOSED E ODEXO by alexandria johnson

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BEHIND THE FRENCH MULTINATIONAL’S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD Earlier this fall, Northwestern University Sodexo employees gained wage increases and free individual health care benefits as a part of recent contract negotiations. This recent development marks a common trend on college campuses of holding the company accountable for its global history of employee abuses.

“They just raised our money this year,” said Fanish Bekele, Allison dining hall cashier. “Everyone was very happy.”

NU’s Living Wage Campaign assisted workers in the recent contract negotiations by working with the union and building relationships with employees. This helped them gain an 80-cent wage increase and a wage floor of $10 per hour, plus an annual 50-cent raise in the future.

This new, nearly $6 million contract also grants workers at Norris University Center pensions like those enjoyed by other Sodexo employees. Free health care for employees and an $85 flat monthly rate for family health care are also new additions.

Additionally, as a safety measure, immigration protection language has been added.

“Generally, though, Sodexo negotiated in good faith,” said WCAS senior Kellyn Lewis, Living Wage Campaign (LWC) chairman.

The new contract negotiations combined two collective bargaining agreements into one to increase wages and benefits said Steve Mangan, nuCuisine district manager.

“In a dynamic relationship, there’s always issues that come up,” Mangan said. “The dining on campus is an ever-changing process. We look to work with our university liaisons up into the student affairs department and try to

engage the students as much as possible and make decisions in partnership with university relationships to get solutions.”

Currently the LWC is continuing its work for employees on campus and are discussing with Sodexo “Real Food” on campus, which provides healthy and green options, as the next priority.

“We really challenge the way people think about getting stuff done,” Lewis said. “We’ve been doing what we’re going to do. Having relationships with workers and fighting for dignity and respect on this campus, not just within Sodexo, but as a campus in general, building leaders, is what we’ve been doing and will continue to do.”

Sodexo employees around the world have cited poor wages and treatment, which is a recognized problem on campus. Lewis encourages other social justice groups to take active role in the food service industry on campus, not just recognize the problem academically.

“I would challenge the social justice groups to really engage in this with us, and engage with the workers who make the food, who then have to go home to places where there is not real food and don’t get the food from other sources,” Lewis said. “I would just try to engage with workers as leaders and to engage with this campaign, not as a campaign, but just as something that is literally creating a space where there can be a vision of something that we all actually really want.”

Beyond struggles with the living wage on individual campuses, the Sodexo corporation has been under scrutiny for its management practices.

“It’s a global company,” said Vicko Alvarez, domestic campaigns coordinator for United Students Against

the protest

photo courtesy/usas.org/campaigns/ko-sodexo/

Sweatshops. “You will find it anywhere from the U.S. to Morocco to the Dominican Republic, privatizing especially food service out to anything from universities to gold mines.”

Sodexo began in France in 1966 and expanded into the United States as the corporation developed.

“Our definition of what would constitute some basic worker abuses would be poverty wages and union busting, which is pretty rampant among Sodexo locations,” Alvarez said. “There’s definitely a laundry list of abuses that many workers have reported.”

Sodexo currently has been noted for providing food services to a Barrick gold mine in the Dominican Republic, cited for intimidating workers who were trying to organize for better work place conditions.

Sodexo also invests in private prisons abroad, and according to Alvarez, they invested in privatized prisons in the United States about

10 years ago.

“It was sort of this sick web of business ties that Sodexo had between universities and private prisons,” Alvarez said. “A ton of campuses campaigned to get Sodexo kicked off campus, basically meaning to cut contracts with Sodexo at the university to get them to stop running these prisons in the U.S.” Similar to NU, Ithaca College was one of the first universities to hold Sodexo accountable for paying its employees a living wage. In 2010, student groups hosted a variety of events such as flash mobs, silent demonstrations, downtown rallies and directly contacting the university president with a proposal for improving worker conditions.

“I want what the workers want, and I want what’s best for them,” said Alyssa Figuerosa, Ithaca senior and co-coordinator of the Labor Initiative in Promoting Solidarity. “I personally would hope they would all realize that the union would be

the best way to get fair wages.”

With campus support at Ithaca, Sodexo employees achieved a living wage, and student organizations are currently monitoring Sodexo to ensure that it maintains its accountability for employee payment.

“At first we were met with a wall by the administration,” said Ithaca College junior Taylor Long, L.I.P.S media representative. “They didn’t really want to talk with us about it.

After that, they caved and met our demands. They have been supportive since that time, and we have gotten really great feedback from faculty who are proud of us for taking a stance against the Sodexo corporation.”

For NU, the contract negotiations are just the start for assisting employees in the pursuit of desirable work place conditions.

“There’s a long way to go but a contract for six million definitely helps,” Lewis said.

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CAMPUS

nu intervarsity promotes social justice a closer look into the organization’s events this year

by sharon kim

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/ USA has been a center for college students to cultivate their spirituality since its founding in November 1941.

This year, however, the students of Northwestern University’s InterVarsity are expanding beyond religious selfdevelopment and are attempting to bridge the gap between Christianity and social justice.

“I think that in an ideal world, all Christians should be very concerned about social justice issues, and not just Christians; I think people in general,” said John Lee, president of NU’s Asian American InterVarsity. “I think as Christians, it’s important to not only say that we do but also to apply it.”

InterVarsity, found on college campuses nationwide, consists of hundreds of different chapters. The ministries collectively aim to “establish and advance at colleges and universities witnessing communities of students and faculty who follow Jesus as Savior and Lord,” according to the northwestern’s asian-american intervarsity chapter explores the question ‘if god is just, why is there

____?” through engaging the cam-

pus in thought and intentional contemplation.

photos/Kerri Pang

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organization’s website. NU is home to several independent InterVarsity chapters, such as Arts Fellowship and Asian American InterVarsity, as well as the general InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

This year, the chapters on campus have collectively encouraged their members, through discussion, to explore the link between Christianity and social justice. InterVarsity hosts a weekly inter-chapter worship session called Connect Large Group. The chapters also hold individual services, prayer meetings and Bible study sessions where InterVarsity members, or people interested in Christianity, can further engage in debates about social justice and learn how to integrate it into their personal lives.

Each ministry has crafted its own independent agenda on promoting social justice at both the individual and campus level. The Asian American InterVarsity has decided to actively engage the student body in their discussions on social justice. AAIV has embarked on a yearlong exploration of the question “If God is just, why is there ______,” and the ministry is searching for the answers in collaboration with the rest of campus.

The chapter frequently sets up booths called “Proxe Stations” where they place boards that ask a series of questions, such as “What injustices do you see in the world?” and “How has this affected you?” Anybody is free to an-

swer these inquiries on sticky notes and exchange their opinions with any AAIV members.

House on the Rock, an InterVarsity geared toward NU’s black community, is attempting to incorporate racial understanding with social justice. Members of HotR, in an effort to understand their own racial and ethnic identities, have planned quarterly service days to promote interaction with people of different cultural backgrounds and mentalities. The ministry plans to volunteer with the American Indian Center this quarter and the Asian Youth Services during winter quarter.

Despite this, some students have expressed concerns about national detachment of community outreach and faith.

“American theology separates justice from the gospel itself,” said Esther Wang, a member of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. “It’s very natural in other countries. You can’t really love God if you don’t love people.”

William Weber, a Small Group Bible study leader for IVCF, has a similar perspective on Christians’ responsibilities to promote social justice.

“I feel like the perceptions of Christians are that we’re politically jaded or focused on economics or bashing gays,” Weber said. “But God’s telling us to love each other and love people, so I’m wrestling with that and how to challenge people to do that.”

This summer, InterVarsity gave both Wang and Weber the opportunity to help the underprivileged through the Chicago Urban Program during the summer. The two volunteered with the Lawndale Christian Church and helped teach an academic enrichment program at lower-income schools.

InterVarsity has been actively promoting campus participation in community outreach, but, according to some students, it ultimately matters what you are passionate about. John Lee believes that individuals who are unable to connect with the often toobroad themes, such as poverty and homelessness, should not be viewed as indifferent or heartless.

“For example, if the issue of homelessness was presented, if you’re not on board with it, if you don’t resonate with it, or if you don’t feel a passion for that issue, it’s almost as if you’re not being a good Christian,” he said. “So one thing I’ve been trying try to tell people is that even though your heart might not be for homelessness, that doesn’t mean you don’t have a heart for social justice.”

Through its embracing, yet vigorous approach, InterVarsity has helped individuals find social justice issues they care passionately about now, and will continue to do so.

“It’s going to be part of my future,” Weber said. “It doesn’t look the same for everyone. For me, it comes down to just loving people.”

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CAMPUS

nu sounds the

horn for east africa by anca ulea

In an October 7 press release from the United Nations’ Emergency Relief Coordinators, it was stated that “The famine in the Horn of Africa remains the biggest crisis in the world today, but people and governments have proved that when needed, they can as of novemcome together to save lives and end ber 1, nearly half a suffering.” million children in This is precisely somalia are acutely what NU’s African malnourished and Student Association the u.n. says tens of aims to do with its thousands of somanew campaign, NU Sounds the Horn lis have already died for Africa, which in southern somalia, was started October according to a report 17. Working in conby the associated junction with other press. student groups on campus, ASA hopes to create awareness and collect monetary aid to help those affected by the famine in southern Somalia.

Nicole Magabo, a Medill junior and president of ASA, says that this campaign is an effort to engage NU stu-

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dents in the global world.

“I think it’s extremely important that we do not confine ourselves to either the Evanston bubble, or the Illinois bubble or the U.S. bubble,” Magabo says. “So to me it’s really important that we get the message across, that ‘Okay, there’s something happening somewhere. I should know about this.’”

The campaign is expected to continue throughout the quarter, with a final culminating event in the winter, according to Becca Abara, ASA’s philanthropy chair. Fall quarter the campaign has focused mostly on collecting funds at booths set up in Norris.

The first week the group collected about $500 from booths, Abara says.

The final event will consist of a panel of experts on the famine in Somalia.

“We are thinking of inviting a bunch of different people who are connected to Somalia in some way or form to come and talk about what’s really going on,” Abara says. “We want them to talk about the politics behind it, why it’s necessary that we continue to help with aid and continue to think about other people in other places.”

ASA has chosen UNICEF as the beneficiary for NU Sounds the Horn, because the drought in Somalia specifically targets children, who are weaker and more defenseless, according to the campaign’s website. As of November 1, nearly half a million children in Somalia are acutely malnourished and the U.N. says tens of thousands of Somalis have already died in southern Somalia, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The famine in Somalia was recognized by the United Nations on June 20 as a result of a severe drought that

the protest

hit the Horn of Africa. Many consider the resulting famine to be man-made, because the militant groups in Somalia prevent a large portion of the population from receiving food aid.

Will Reno, associate professor of political science, says that although the rains were not ideal this season, the famine is a consequence of the political situation in Somalia. Reno was last in northern Somalia, which is largely unaffected by the famine, in August conducting field research on organizational strategies and strategic choices of Somali rebel groups. He says that the political discord in Somalia is made obvious when compared with the reactions of governments in Kenya and Ethiopia, also affected by the drought. “[In Kenya and Ethiopia] it’s an eco-

nomic problem, but it’s not a humanitarian crisis because it’s being managed by competent governments,” Reno says. “On the Somali side of the border, there is no central government, and [Somali militants’] agenda is not about getting food to people, it’s about making sure that a particular political agenda and version of Islam is being practiced.”

Another problem Somali people face is that many NGOs are wary of giving aid because they do not want to be prosecuted for giving material aid to terrorist groups under the Patriot Act, Reno says. Al-Shabaab, the militant group that took control of central and southern Somalia in 2006, is listed as a terrorist group by the National Counter Terrorism Center. An organi-

zation attempting to give aid to Somali people could potentially be prosecuted under U.S. law for indirectly aiding Al-Shabaab.

Reno says it’s good that students are taking an interest in what’s going on in the Horn of Africa. Magabo and Abara both agree that creating awareness of the situation in East Africa is the main incentive of the NU Sounds the Horn for East Africa campaign.

“We’ve been trying to balance creating awareness with acquiring funds,” Abara says. “We don’t want to get so tied up in trying to get money that we forget to really help people understand what’s going on in the Horn of Africa and to have a greater, more expansive view of Africa than this sick and dying continent.”

through nu sounds the horn, members of african students association engage students and invite them to learn more about the famine and struggles of east africa.

photos/Leah Varjacques

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COMMUNITY

INSIDE OCCUPY CHICAGO by megan hernbroth

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A leaderless group moved onto the world’s finance capital – Wall Street, Manhattan – to protest the growing economic division between the nation’s richest one percent and the rest of its citizens on September 17. The Occupy movement has since spread to many American cities, and Chicago, which has the nation’s largest stock exchange outside of New York, has been far from immune.

“We are a democratic organization open to everyone, so we can share our skills and knowledge,” says Karen Looney, Press Committee member for the Occupy Chicago movement. “The government is helping the rich get richer and those who are actually working for their money are not getting any benefits.”

According to occupychi.org, the main goal of the movement is to change corporate influence within the government. To protesters, seeing only a minute portion of the nation flourish while watching the majority struggle to get by goes against the American dream.

“We are not looking to criminalize the rich,” says Looney. “We are looking for personal autonomy. These companies have unrestricted amounts of money that they can donate to politicians, compared to the vast majority of the people.”

Protesters have occupied the space outside of the Federal Reserve Bank for over a month, and do not plan on leaving any time soon.

“There are all types of people [protesting] out there,” says Looney. “There are a lot of students right now because they are paying huge amounts in student loans and cannot find a job in their field after graduation. A lot of these people are very well-educated but are underemployed.”

Their efforts, however, are challenged by a lack of food and monetary resources. The movement’s website, occupychi.org, continually asks supporters for any donation they can

afford.

“Food is a big one,” says Looney. “We need to keep everyone fed, especially with the winter coming up, we all need the calories to stay warm. Coffee is also really important because this is a 24-7 occupation, so our troopers there overnight need to have the energy to be there overnight.”

Limited resources are not the group’s only worries. Confusion over their overall organization and tactics has led the opposition to condemn many of the group’s efforts.

“One day, there was a man in his suit walking past us and he shoved himself in our faces, yelling ‘I want something for free!’” says Looney. “A lot of people just think we’re hippies looking for a handout.”

But angry businessmen are far from the group’s only worries. On Oct. 15, the Chicago Police Dept. arrested 175 protesters.

“We were in the park for one of our major occupation elections,” says Looney. “There were about 3,000 people there. We had set up a tent city in the park from donations and we had the provisions to be out there longer and engage with the public, but we were not allowed to have that space.”

Many supporters, however, did not feel inclined to give up the space they needed.

“Other cities had offered the Occupy supporters space, but Chicago has not been so kind. The police moved in and gave us reminders that the park closed at 11 p.m. Around 175 protesters chose to stay anyway because we believed that free speech should not stop at 11 p.m. on public property,” says Looney.

After spending three hours in a cramped holding cell, Looney and 174 other people were released on bond, greeted by fellow supporters on their exit from the jail.

“They did not anticipate our numbers,” says Looney. “We streamed the whole event live, so

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photos/Anca Ulea

we were in front of the whole world. The police seemed to support us; one said he did not know why the city was wasting its time arresting us because we’ve been peaceful.”

The cost of living is rising and little is being done to help out those most in need. The Occupy movements around the country have brought the majority’s plight center stage, and the protesters are refusing to let their cause fade away.

“The government really needs to help our citizens; the only ones benefiting are the profiteers because the government is geared towards profiteers,” says Looney. “That is what we are fighting against.”

The Occupy movement has been mostly confined to large cities; however, the movement is spreading to smaller cities and universities, including Northwestern.

On Oct. 28, students rallied in an Occupy movement when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) came to speak about income inequality at Kellogg. Police lined Tech Drive as Cantor was escorted into the building before his speech, not far from the picket line of protestors blocked off by police.

The protestors waved their signs but mostly kept to themselves, staying true to the peaceful premise of the movement. Cantor entered the building with no complications and delivered his speech.

But despite increasing student awareness of Occupy Chicago, the core Occupy movement remains where the “one percent” is: downtown.

The Windy City has a reputation for being one of America’s “Most American” metropolises.

Perhaps the fact that Occupy Chicago is still standing firm, despite cold weather, lack of food, and constant harassment from police, is a testament to the uniquely American values it promotes: fairness, and a chance for everyone to make it.

TWITTER @ OccupyThisHeart OccupyThisHeart

Hey @OccupyWallSt you have almost 500,000 dollars, are you going to support occupations nationally who need resources? #occupychi #ows 6 Nov

@ OccupyChicago Occupy Chicago

CPD continue to harass #OccupyChi when our numbers are low at Fed. They have taken ALL of our food carts bc we could not keep them “mobile” 9 Nov

@ foxchicago FOX Chicago News

UChicago cancels event with Condoleeza Rice that #OccupyChi was planning to protest 14 Nov

@ Trib_ed_board Tribune Ed Board

The relationship between politicians and protesters has turned into a delicate balancing act #ows #occupychi 14 Nov

@ OccupyChicago Occupy Chicago

Sweet success. Rice & Paulson buckle to people power! #occupychi MT @OCPress: Celebrate!! The power of #communityaction 14 Nov

@ redeyechicago Redeye Chicago

What does the “winter occupation” look like for #occupychi? Brrrrrr.

14 Nov

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COMMUNITY

DON’T CALL THEM

the history of the roma by kathryn prescott Don’t call them gypsies. The term, considered pejorative, is generally used to describe the Roma, an ethnic group that has earned both a mystical reputation and considerable amount of discrimination.

Gypsy stereotypes abound in mainstream culture. There’s the image of the band of barefooted, longhaired outsiders travelling around aimlessly, telling fortunes and stealing from the settled folk to make their living. Communication freshman Katherine Ardeleanu, whose family comes from Romania, a country remarkable for its Roma population, says that “they were viewed as thieves, lazy, dirty, irrational [because they were generally very passionate], not trustworthy, traitors.” Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame drives the gypsy stereotype home for many young Americans with the character of Esmeralda, a dark, beautiful, freespirited dancer who fiercely defends the rights

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photo courtesy/dancecircus.com

of her people.

The Roma is an ethnic group now predominantly found in Europe, though it originally comes from northern India and has nomadic roots. The word “gypsy” originates in the mistaken belief that the Roma come from Egypt.

Today, Roma live around the world and most have adopted a semi- or fully-settled lifestyle to practice their professions and keep up with society at large. Those that stay true to their nomadic roots often travel in trailers, trucks and cars. Roma that live on the fringes of settled society are blamed for an array of evils, and despite attempts at assimilation by local authorities, have faced systematic exile in countries across Europe. Encyclopedia Britannica notes that because of their migratory nature and exclusion from censuses, the world Roma population is somewhere between two and five million.

Many Roma have chosen to immigrate to the United States, and many here continue to keep their Romani origins under wraps, opting instead to identify themselves to others by their individual European countries of origin. Time ran a story last year by Kayla Webley which estimated the U.S. Roma population to be about one million. According to Time, the biggest influx of Roma in the U.S. came after the 1864 abolition of Roma slavery in the Balkans, with more recent waves following the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989. Many choose to live in large U.S. cities, where it is easy to disappear among the masses. The Roma live here quietly, coming together for celebrations and many running successful business like any other ethnic group in the country. According

photo courtesy/ournewoffice.com

the protest

to Time, many incoming Roma today struggle with a complicated legal system governing immigration, and unless they can claim political asylum from racism in their home country, may be deported.

The modern Roma in the U.S. and Europe engage in professions that suit their lifestyles.

Livestock trade and tinkering have been replaced by auto repair and sale and running small businesses — and sometimes travelling circuses. As for the accuracy of the stereotypes she has heard, Ardeleanu notes that the Roma “were probably forced to steal more than others because they didn’t have access to adequate supplies. They also lived in extreme poverty and would resort to stealing in order to survive. As far as being dirty, they weren’t a particularly dirty people. They simply earned that reputation because they had to live in extreme poverty.” Some continue the fortune-telling tradition, but have no more magical abilities than any street corner “psychic.” Integration into settled culture has led many Roma to pursue other, more conventional jobs as well.

Throughout history, discrimination has gone hand-in-hand with Romani life on the fringes of mainstream society.

“Up until the 1850s, the gypsies in Romania were enslaved,” Ardeleanu says. “After they were freed, they received some rights, but they were never considered equals with the native/local Romanians. . . . They were virtually ignored.”

Nowadays, the discrimination continues, albeit on a smaller scale. European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) has documented at

photo courtesy/scrapetv.com

least 48 violent attacks against Roma in Hungary, at least 19 attacks in the Czech Republic and at least 10 attacks in Slovakia, resulting in a combined total of at least 11 deaths since 2008. Cases of coercive sterilization of Romani women have been reported in many European countries, as recently as 2008, though most of these women have yet to receive compensation or even recognition for these injustices. Segregation of Romani children in schools across Europe also persists despite rulings to change that. Even in the U.S., laws have been passed restricting the rights of Roma. The last one was repealed in 1997 in New Jersey, which allowed local governments to pass civil ordinances limited where Roma could live and sell goods.

Discrimination is painfully evident in a Romanian children’s song Ardeleanu mentions, which has a rhyme similar to “Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe.” Translated from Romanian, the lyrics are, “A glass of cold water; to drown all the gypsies in. Save just one [gypsy], to make him burn to dust.” Additionally, Ardeleanu says, “When a Romanian mother would want her child to behave, she would warn the child: ‘Beware, if you don’t behave, they gypsies will come steal you and then eat you!’

Thankfully, the Roma have some proponents working to protect their rights and keep their culture alive. The Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015, an international initiative to improve the welfare of Roma, marks the first multinational effort toward helping improve the lives of Roma socially and economically.

To help end the discrimination, just remember that they are Roma — not gypsies.

15

opinion

COMMUNITY THE NEED FOR

immigration reform by leah varjacques

The fence on the US-Mexico bor- record and eliminates worksite raids, der remains highly debated – and very but more than half of the deported so expensive. In 2006, George W. Bush far have been non-criminals. decided that building a barrier along In sum, current policies are not efparts of the Mexico-U.S. border was fective, and the ones proposed by the the best way to suppress illegal immi- current presidential candidates do not gration. Illegal crossings from Mexico seem very promising. The Republiare declining according to recent stud- can candidates have focused on the ies, but this is more due to the reces- fence largely for its symbolic value and sion and exorbitant prices smugglers have publicized their stance in overare charging than the actual fence. simplified terms; the immigration issue The fence has also failed to concretely is much broader and complex than a suppress drug trafficking and transna- 20-foot wall. Instead of being multiditional gang activity, which are the prin- mensional, policies have served only cipal ‘national security’ issues caused as weak and largely temporary Bandby illegal immigration.

Aid solutions.

Michelle Bachmann pledges to covPolicy makers have not given er “every mile, every yard, every foot, enough consideration to the roots of every inch” of the southern border; the problem. When one delves into Herman Cain jokes about building a how the immigration issue came about, 20-foot tall electrical fence; Mitt Rom- it appears that the U.S. is not a victim ney proposes to strengthen border of mass Hispanic invasion (as some security and would have it) there is no gain in deporteliminate all and has acing an illegal mexican mother of social benefit tually been incentives for three american toddlers or in denying fomenting its illegals; and education for children brought into own probRick Perry, lem for quite ironically the the country by their undocumented some time. most pro- parents.

People imgressive of migrate out of the candidates in his proposed poli- necessity: lack or loss of jobs in their cy, calls for more boots than fencing. home countries, exploitation and huThe Republican candidates all accuse man rights abuses, lack of opportuniObama of providing amnesty to ille- ties for socio-economic mobility, and gals, although more than one million violence. immigrants have been deported since Under free trade agreements, subhe took office. sistence farmer families cannot comSixty-seven percent of Hispanics pete with U.S.-subsidized crops. voted for Obama in 2008 and their Many have moved to cities in search vote is key to his reelection. However, of a new source of income and work in he has not passed comprehensive im- maquiladoras where living and workmigration reform and the DREAM Act ing conditions are atrocious. Others failed to pass through Congress this have been evicted from their land by year. His policy prioritizes the deporta- foreign mining, oil, water and agricultion of illegal immigrants with a criminal tural companies that exploit laborers

16

and natural resources, creating huge environmental and health issues for impoverished communities. Moreover, high demand for illicit drugs in the U.S. directly influences the proliferation of criminal organizations and drug cartels. And our main response has been to provide more funding to the notoriously corrupt and violent Mexican military and police authorities.

To be sure, the countries’ governments and other internal factors are also to blame in this issue, but the U.S. can only fix itself. The United States is a major cause of its immigration problem and must take long-term action.

A different discourse amongst the candidates and within the government would be more effective. There is no gain in deporting an illegal Mexican mother of three American toddlers or in denying education for children brought into the country by their undocumented parents. Foreign policies toward Latin America that bolster efforts in these countries to provide better education, protect human rights, and offer better economic opportunities can create a higher incentive to stay.

Such relations could include encouraging and helping the country invest in education reform and infrastructure; endorsing and participating in efforts against impunity; encouraging more just representation in government and policies; setting an ethical standard for labor conditions; and creating provisions within trade agreements to promote and protect developing nations’ sovereignty over their territory and growth of grassroots entrepreneurial endeavors.

Tackling the roots of the issue is the only way to provide a long-term solution to the U.S. immigration problem.

the protest

by corinne zeman

she

the

a

he guilty stop sex assault

LANGUAGE

of RAPE

the cultural desensitization to ‘rape’

In 1995, the National Center for Victims of Crime conducted a survey of eighth and ninth graders. The results were, in a word, horrifying. Eleven percent of boys agreed that if a girl said “no” to sex, she actually meant “yes”; 27 percent believed that if a girl became intoxicated, she deserved any fallout; and, finally, 46 percent felt that rape is, more often than not, the victim’s fault. How is it that twentieth-century children were ignorant of rape’s gravity? And how is it that these boys—who, at thirteen or fourteen, had merely toed the waters of sexuality—were entering adolescence as rape apologists?

Fifteen years ago, the issue stemmed from a lack of awareness.

But educational programs have snowballed in recent years, while statistics have remained unaltered. The issue, then, is more complex. Americans are not saddled by a failure to discuss rape, but, rather, by a failure to discuss rape in appropriate terms. We fail to recognize that rape is an extraordinary event. It is “extraordinary” in that it should not be normalized or condoned, regarded as an inevitable circumstance of urban or collegiate life.

But, unfortunately, that’s exactly what is happening. As they travel Northwestern’s campus, students lament that they’ve been “raped” by an exam, a sizable bill, or unexpected criticism. “Rape,” in common parlance, has been re-appropriated. It is casually inserted into conversations about trivial offenses. And its meaning—its connection to the terrors of sexual assault—has been distorted.

In part, this semantic shift is due to the pervasiveness of rape imagery. Incidents of sexual violence have become ever-present on television and the silver screen. According to a 2006 study by the New York City Women and Media Committee, of the R and NC-17 films that were released between 1996 and 2006, 21 percent featured rape, while 35 percent contained sexually violent behaviors.

These scenes are gratuitously—and, sometimes, creatively—graphic. But what’s interesting is that their aftermath is sterile. Plotlines follow an unchanging trajectory. The initial assault is succeeded by emotional and physical trauma; disillusionment with life or the culpable gender; and, ultimately, vindication within a courtroom. Cen-

tral to this discussion is Law & Order: SVU, whose images of violence are corralled into 60-minute segments.

Their resonance is dulled by the inset of advertising, and their conclusion is marked by the sounding of a now-famous tone. This uniformity— or, more exactly, the suggestion that a rape may be neatly packaged—is misinformed. And, for audiences, it is misleading.

In truth, the aftermath of a rape can be more distressing than the rape itself. Physically, of course, there is a risk of unwanted pregnancy and STDs. But, psychologically, victims grapple with far worse: anxiety and PTSD, social stigma, a tendency to shoulder guilt, emotional distance and inorgasmia during sexual intercourse, and so on. There is no time constraint on these repercussions.

But, amazingly, Americans tend to overlook them. As we stare at images of blood and mangled faces, or read articles that describe “fluids” and “DNA evidence,” we acknowledge that the victim suffered—suffered, but does not suffer. We imagine that a rape can be washed away, that the reverberations of these crimes are tidied and settled.

This blinkered understanding has anesthetized Americans. It has taught a cohort of teenaged boys that “no” means “yes.” And it is critical, therefore, that we restore the definition of rape. Difficult as it may be, we must acknowledge the full horror of an undoubtedly horrible word.

17

NATION & WORLD

THE PROBLEM OF

THE INNOCENT MAN by matthew kovac

On September 21, Troy Davis was murdered by the Georgia Department of Corrections. Convicted of killing a police officer in 1989, Davis was almost certainly innocent. No physical evidence linked him to the crime.

Seven of the nine witnesses who testified against him have since recanted, citing police coercion. Two of them named another witness as the killer.

The execution has sparked the latest round in the death penalty debate.

But the most serious question raised

by Davis’ 20-year imprisonment and murder has been virtually ignored. It is a question that cuts to the heart of the Davis case and all others like it. How much of one’s life is one obligated to surrender to the state while the wheels of injustice turn?

It is an all-or-nothing question.

There is no logical reason why the wrongfully imprisoned should be obligated to give up five years but not ten, or ten but not twenty. Either they are obligated to give the state everything it demands, up to and including their very lives – as it demanded of Davis

timeline AUG. 23, 1989 At 20 years old, Troy Davis is arrested as a suspect in the murder of an off-duty policeman.

APRIL 1990 information Davis pleads not guilty at a prelimifrom the Telegraph nary hearing.

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– or they are not obligated to give it anything at all.

If it is everything, then the imprisonment of innocent people is inviolable except through legal channels. Such prisoners must wait quietly in their cells, for decades if necessary, until they are officially exonerated. If exoneration never comes, they must passively accept their fate, even if it is life imprisonment or execution.

If they owe the state nothing, then their imprisonment is legalized kidnapping. The state has no justification to hold them against their will for even a moment. An innocent prisoner might cooperate with the state on tactical grounds, hoping to win freedom by legal means and avoid further persecution. But if the appeals fail – or if at any time the prisoner tires of captivity – the prisoner is justified in resisting the uniformed kidnappers and escaping.

There is no middle ground. Certainly the state does not recognize any. If one is sentenced to prison, one is to remain in prison until released. If one is sentenced to death, one is to meekly

AUG. 1991 The trial begins.

Prosecutors seek the death penalty, and Davis is found guilty.

DEC. 2001 Davis files an appeal. Almost five years later the 11th Circuit Court will uphold a retrial refusal.

MARCH 1992 A first request for a retrial is refused. A year later Georgia’s Supreme Court upholds the sentence.

JUNE 2007 Davis’ execution is set for July 17, 2007. On July 16 Davis is granted a 90day stay.

submit to execution once the final appeal has been exhausted. To resist is to break the law. There are no exceptions for people found guilty in court but innocent in fact.

And there cannot be exceptions.

State power and individual conscience are irreconcilable. Milton Mayer highlighted this point in his On Liberty: Man v. the State. There he juxtaposed two quotations: one from Martin Luther King, Jr., on the necessity of resisting unjust laws, the other from an American Bar Association president who noted that the rule of law could not exist if people were free to determine for themselves which laws were just or unjust.

In the perpetual conflict between law and conscience, to recognize the supremacy of one is to invalidate the other. To choose what is right over what is legal is to destroy the very foundations of the state, because the state cannot recognize such distinctions. It can only demand obedience – from the police station to the prison cell, all the way to the execution chamber.

SEPT. 23, 2008 The US Supreme Court issues a lastminute emergency stay dangerously close to his set execution time.

JAN. 2011 Davis files a new appeal. The appeal is rejected in March.

SEPT. 7, 2011 Davis’ new execution date is set for Sept.

21, 2011.

SEPT. 21, 2011 Troy Davis is pronounced dead after lethal injection.

SEPT. 21, 2011 The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denies Davis’ final request for clemency and a request to allow Davis to take a lie detector test to show his innocence.

review

documentary

the protest

valley of the forgotten by yvonne ashley kouadjo Charred trees scatter the lands of Mato Grosso, Brazil’s third largest state, where locals burn the Amazon rainforest in retaliation against rival land owners.

The people are left to defend their property because while the Amazon rainforest burns, the Brazilian government remains absent in defusing the conflict. They have simply forgotten.

Such is the title of the documentary Valley of the Forgotten, directed by Maria Raduan, which focuses on the conflict in Mato photo courtesy/valedosesquecidos.com Grosso. The film made its Ameritelling each group’s perspectives, can debut at the Chicago International Film Festival on October 15. Raduan does not distinguish the vilIt paints a portrait of Mato Grosso lains from the victims. Valley of the inhabitants, who refuse to compro- Forgotten does not necessarily famise their land. Although El Dorado vor the Xavante, squatters or other is not hidden within Mato Grosso, factions, but allows their voices to the people there feel that the region be heard beyond Brazil.

The documentary is tedious at is their one and only home, such times, with long takes of men in that no other area can replace it. chairs and children washing themThis seems to motivate everyone to selves.

Raduan shows that the daily endure a fight that cannot end well. lives of Brazilians were reminiscent The native Xavante people, ranchof the videos American elementary ers, squatters, land grabbers and school teachers would show their outside influences are all players in classes in lessons about different Raduan’s telling of how Mato Groscultures.

My attention span has imso became an arena of conflict. proved since the days of recess, but The film opens with a forest fire, as women picked up sticks outside visually illustrating how flames have become a weapon in Mato Grosso. their homes at a slow pace, I only By setting the Amazon on fire, it wished I could pick up a remote and forces the current landowners to hit fast forward.

The tragedy of Valley of the Forevacuate and allow perpetrators to gotten is that the problems terrorizmove in. The fires are so commoning Mato Grosso will not be resolved place that they can burn for months soon.

Raduan captures the fiery without any intervention until the last passion behind each groups desire spark dies. Blame circulates faster to remain in the region, but those than the fires, each group’s disdain flames are destroying another forfor the other flaring deeper than the gotten entity: the Amazon. vibrant flames.

With the difficult task of honestly

additional reviews

chicagoano.com

Every once in a while something comes along and reminds you that despite Brazil’s newfound standing as a global power, a good chunk of the country is still very much a wild frontier.” –Sergio Barreto hot docs: the canadian international documentary festival

“Maria Raduan’s penetrating documentary puts the Brazilian rainforest back on the list of regions to watch.” –Merrie Whitmore

uol cinema

“The story of the long and bloody dispute over land in the territory formerly occupied by the farm-Suiá Missu (MT).”

19

NATION & WORLD

TAR SANDS

pollution in alberta, canada

part 1 of a 2-part series by emma o’connor

20

In the north of Canada’s Alberta province, a handful of aboriginal First Nation communities grapple with a precarious balancing act. While the First Nations reap staggering economic benefits through collaboration with the nearby oil sands extraction industry, local doctors, environmentalists and citizens say the oil projects have dramatically harmed native health and lifestyle. This ongoing dilemma is perhaps most potent for the Fort McKay First Nation community, which winds its way through the oil sands and sits less than 40 kilometers north of some of Alberta’s largest excavation sites.

As part of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Fort McKay is situated on the western banks of the Athabasca River, which stretches for a total of about 1,231 kilometers and flows north from the industrial boom city of Fort McMurray and through oil sands sites. The Fort McKay River, or Red River, feeds into the Athabasca River, which drains into Lake Athabasca just north of the Fort McKay community.

As a First Nation, Fort McKay has been recognized by the federal and provincial governments as an indigenous reserve through treaties in the late 19th century. Most of the approximately 700 people who make up the Fort McKay First Nation trace their roots to the Chipewyan Prairie, Athabasca Chipewyan and Mikisew Cree First Nations, according to the Fort McKay website.

The oil sands, or tar sands, are large deposits of crude bitumen, silica sand, clay minerals and water.

The heavy bitumen can be processed into synthetic crude oil for valuable petroleum products after excavation. To extract usable bitumen, developers either inject steam into the ground to liquefy the bitumen so that it can be pumped to the surface, or they employ open-pit mining to dig up the oil sands and separate the bitumen with hot water. Because not all the bitumen can be recovered, oil sands extraction—especially via open-pit mining—produces large, toxic tailings ponds out of the residual material, says Dr. Tom Etsell, a principal investigator at the University of Alberta’s Center for Oil Sands In-

novation, or COSI. Canada’s oil deposits are second only to Saudi Arabia’s in size, and the Government of Alberta says the province alone can produce 169.9 billion barrels of bitumen and 1.4 billion barrels of conventional oil. In Alberta, the oil sands underlie 140,200 square kilometers of land. As of June 2010, Alberta boasted 91 active oil sands projects, disturbing 602 square kilometers of land, according to the provincial government’s figures.

Since industry development began in the 1960s, Fort McKay’s native elders say they have witnessed the depletion of wild animal populations, the reduction of trap lands, and the pollution of air and waterways. Many oil sands development companies, including Suncor Energy and Syncrude Canada, have settled on lands close to the river that were once precious to natives, says Fort McKay Chief Jim Boucher. Alberta’s aboriginals have historically relied on fishing, hunting, trapping and gathering for sustenance, but the environmental changes have forced them to abandon such practices, Boucher says.

“People were quite content maintaining a traditional lifestyle that was passed on from generation to generation, and we were quite knowledgeable about the land, the animals and the patterns,” Boucher says. “But all of that changed since the oil sands companies started coming in here, taking valuable pieces of land and destroying the hunting areas of our communities. After the projects began, we lost an important area for families to go and do their cultural activities.”

Wilfred Grandjambe, a Fort McKay elder, says the contamination of the local watershed has dramatically altered native customs.

“Around here, we don’t feel right about the oil companies polluting the rivers,” says Grandjambe, 74. “They polluted the lakes where we used to get ducks and a lot of the rivers where we used to get fish.”

Though he relied on tap water and rainwater when he was young, Grandjambe says he switched

the protest

photos/Emma O’Connor

to bottled water when he noticed more pollution in the waterways downstream from industry.

“If I use tap water in my teapot now, you can see the stuff that’s in there,” Grandjambe says. “You can see that the top is oily and you can taste the chemicals that they put in the water. A lot of people around here complain that the water is no good.”

Some Fort McKay natives insist that contaminated water has caused stomach problems and other health issues, Grandjambe says. Boucher notes that Fort McKay residents even avoid swimming in Lake Athabasca — where he used to play as a child — because of pollution concerns.

Industry outputs have also proved deleterious to local wildlife, Grandjambe says, because the animals drink the river water and eat along the riverbanks.

“The pollution has affected the animals,” Grandjambe says. “We’ve always eaten beaver meat here, but when my late brother and I were out in the river here not too long ago, we killed a beaver, and when we skinned him and opened him up, there were bubbles on the stomach and on the guts. We’d

never seen that before.”

Indeed, several studies in the last few years point to tangible environmental impacts linked to oil sands development. Alberta ecologist and statistician Dr. Kevin Timoney released a study in November 2007 revealing unhealthy levels of carcinogens and other toxins in fish, water and sediment downstream from the oil sands. Dr. David Schindler, an ecology professor at the University of Alberta, collaborated with other independent scientists to produce a study in October 2009 that showed that the oil sands have contributed toxic compounds to the Athabasca River. Both researchers say that while industry and its governmental supporters have dismissed their reports, they think their findings warrant more serious attention from industry and the provincial and federal governments.

“That area will never again support the same wildlife that the native people have relied on,” Schindler says. “There are more and more studies that indicate that industry is promoting its expansion on unsubstantiated propaganda, not on scientifically defensible facts.”

21

NATION & WORLD

making a difference a lesson from halfway across the world

by arjun chakraborty I intermittently checked my watch as I waited for the driver who would take me to the clinic where I would volunteer. I did not know what to expect from the coming days of volunteering at the A.B. Eye Institute in Kadam Kuan, Patna, the capital of Bihar. I would be working with the Sinhas, a family of charitable doctors who dedicate their lives to alleviating the ailments of the poor in the state of Bihar. After an hour of speculating in the hotel lobby, the driver arrived and drove me to the clinic.

I met the clinic staff. A young optometrist gave me a brief tour of the clinic—I was taken to the operation theater, wards for the patients, a room for angiography, and the doctors’ offices, and, eventually, directed to the vision room. Here, I conducted preliminary checkups every morning, taking patients’ vitals and complaints.

Over the next few weeks, as I attended to patients from around the state, I evidenced the health disparities between the rich and poor in Bihar. Amidst an 11 percent growth rate, Bihar is the story of the romantic rise of the wealthy and the forgotten plight of the downtrodden.

In the state of Bihar, the poor live on $5.50-$6.50 per month, less than a fortieth of the earnings of the wealthy, according to a 2008 article published in The Times of India. The affluent hide in their conclave of security, attend lavish weddings in their spare time and return to their palaces every night. In stark contrast to the wealthy, the poor struggle to make ends meet and put food on their tables. Their meager liv-

22

ing conditions make them vulnerable to disease. Additionally, many of the poor live in villages where only primary level care is available. In order to get advanced care, they must often make an overnight journey to Patna.

In Bihar, the impoverished are affected by eye conditions to a greater extent than the wealthy. Whereas most affluent patients at the A.B. Eye Institute came to get glasses to rectify a simple refractive error, impoverished patients came with a plethora of issues, including viral conjunctivitis. The impoverished are more susceptible to cataracts. The poorest of them often have mature cataracts, because they wait longer before dedicating their finances toward a cataract surgery. The cost of the surgery itself is a burden on low-income families.

The cost of cataract surgery ranges from $10 to $600, depending on the severity of the condition, according to a 2008 article published in Current Opinion in Ophthalmology. This amount is accumulated in two years by a poor family, excluding any addi-

tional expenses paid by the family. Patients who cannot afford the surgery must wait helplessly as their eyesight slowly diminishes and eventually leaves them.

India has the world’s largest cataract backlog, with approximately seven million individuals in need of surgery, according to a 2004 study conducted by the Directorate General of Health Services in India.

Even simple conditions, such as refractive errors, have dire consequences for the poor.

Many impoverished individuals work as tailors and need to see fine details of the cloth they work with.

Developing a refractive error makes this next to impossible, rendering the individual unfit for work. Eye conditions affect the younger generation as well. Poor children lag in their education, because they cannot view writing on the blackboard and their families cannot afford glasses.

At first sight, the infrastructure in Bihar makes one wonder why there is a health crisis. There are 200 hospitals across the state, both private and government-run. Three large governmentfunded hospitals provide all forms of care, with state-of-the-art technology and complimentary medicines.

But the healthcare system in Bihar is designed to shut out the poor. The 200 hospitals in Patna are too few and far-between to cover the state’s population of 83 million. The poor are often driven to cheaper hospitals where the doctors are not as experienced. Additionally, government hospitals have long waitlists and getting care in a timely fashion is rare. I observed this

the protest overcrowding at the Patna Medical College Hospital, a government-funded hospital with a maximum capacity of 1,700 patients. Only a small proportion of the individuals on the wait list were admitted to the hospital. Furthermore, corruption within the health sector is rampant in the bureaucracy of such facilities. Medicines procured by these hospitals are sold rather than handed out to the needy.

The A.B. Eye Institute is run by a family of doctors called the Sinhas. Dr. Pooja Sinha specializes in the anterior segment of the eye, and Dr. Satyajit Sinha, her husband, specializes in the posterior segment. Together, the family aims to eradicate preventable blindness.

In the evening, I accompanied the Sinhas to charity clinics located in impoverished areas of Patna or in villages surrounding the city. Throngs of poor patients expectantly lined up outside these health centers. Their faces revealed their eagerness to see the doctor, a privilege for them. Patients were given a pre-checkup, where they registered complaints and were checked

for typical eye conditions. Dr. Ajit Sinha and Dr. Satyajit Sinha then examined the patients and administered simple treatments like prescription eyeglasses. My job was to distribute glasses collected from Lions Clubs in the United States each evening to patients for whom they were prescribed. The patients’ faces filled with joy and they gasped with rejuvenated hope as they realized they were able to easily read words they could not discern without glasses. For many tailors and other professionals, new glasses meant returning to work and providing for their families. Medications were also prescribed at such places and could be purchased at a pharmacy adjacent to the clinic. For surgeries, patients were referred to the A.B. Eye Institute.

Cataract surgeries are provided at the A.B. Eye Institute to any patient, free of charge. These operations are funded by donations from the United States and paying patients. As many as 15 patients line up every Thursday to undergo single incision cataract surgery. Some patients, intimidated by the surgery, are not cooperative with

their eye movements during the operation, but the doctors and clinic staff do their best to calm them. They breathe a sigh of relief as the cloudy world they see is taken away and replaced by an immaculate picture.

The Sinhas epitomize the power of courage and strength of dedication.

Their education and standing promises them a comfortable and wealthy life anywhere in the world. But shunning all that, they use their skills to bring hope to the needy in their community. Their efforts are going far in preventing treatable blindness in Bihar. Every day, hundreds of patients are treated at the A.B. Eye Institute at a nominal cost. Patients with cataracts are bestowed the gift of eyesight as Dr. Sinha performs surgeries in the afternoon. However, despite the Sinhas’ accomplishments, much remains to be done. There is still a backlog of 16,000 cataract cases in Bihar. Refractive errors and eye diseases like viral conjunctivitis remain a burden for impoverished families.

Only a collaborative global effort can improve conditions in Bihar.

photos/Arjun Chakraborty

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FALL 2011

www.the-protest.com nuprotest@gmail.com designers, writers and photographers wanted

THE PROTEST