THIS IS FREE PRESS When thinking of the media, it is useful to think in terms of a dialogue. One thing that becomes instantly apparent is that the conversation is awfully one-sided. No matter the number of media outlets, there is the overwhelming presence of a singular voice, but variety gives the illusion of dialogue. This is an attempt at the creation of a new voice. More accurately, this is the articulation of a number of voices, some long in existence, that have rarely or never had the ability to be heard. In the process of producing this, we quickly realized the immense difficulties in simply adding a small, but independent voice. This voice, although made up of a number of different and differing elements, is driven by a common need. Those who find themselves underrepresented by the dominant voice (or are missing completely) need to represent themselves or
find space where they are represented.
Yet something happens in this attempt. The issue of bias emerges — when a voice, no matter how small, how quiet and how independent, emerges, it is seen as "biased." Because a voice is prevalent, accepted, and already exists, it does not mean that it itself is unbiased. On the contrary, every voice comes from a certain place, a perspective, and each perspective is a held bias or set of biases. We hope that this small independent voice will resonate with its readers and that future work and contributions will only allow this to grow, louder and clearer — not to drown out the others, but to make the contrast with the dominant voice obvious — making the issue of this lack unavoidable in everyday encounters with the media.
NEWS ‘Left’ Out of Elections By JUSTIN PODUR It's too bad that liberals don't look to leftists for advice. Every once in a while in this blog I come up with brilliant ideas for what Canada's Liberal party should do. The following is another instalment in that long and futile tradition. Two months and a few hundred million dollars later, Canadians have - a Conservative minority, same as they've had for the past two years. The Liberals lost a few seats to the Cons and a few to the NDP. The Greens, after running a good campaign, got almost 7% of the popular vote, getting out 250,000 more votes than in the previous election. Turnout was low, with every party except the Greens getting fewer actual
votes than in the 2006 election. It is often instructive to look at numbers of votes rather than just percentages and seats. The Cons, who ended up with 143 seats, had 5.20 million (38%), the Libs 3.62 million (26%) and 76 seats, the Bloc 1.38 million (10%) and 50 seats, the NDP 2.52 million (18%) and 37 seats, and the Greens 0.9 million (7%) and no seats. It has been said before, but the differences between the popular vote and seats won show a system crying out for proportional representation. The NDP, with 13 fewer seats and 1.1 million votes more than their nearest rival, and the Greens, with 0.9 million votes and no
coverimage
seat in Parliament to show for them, must feel this strongest. But the real question is how the Liberals will react. Canada's electoral system is designed as a two-party system. "First past the post" is not unfair if the electorate is fully represented by two options. The pretense of a two-party system has been dispensed with. The electorate does not behave as if there is a two-party system. But the system itself has not been changed to reflect this. The thing about a two-party system is that it needs *two parties* to hold it up. In Canada, these have been
Stephen Harper gives the thumb up as he holds on to his role as Canadian Prime Minister
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This issue’s cover is an original photograph taken by a former York student. The photo shoot took place three years ago in the Fine Arts Building at York University. It was inspired by the struggle being waged against the silencing of students by the York Administration. Several students volunteered to be photographed, with tape across their mouths to sumbolize the oppressive climate on campus. This image is one from a larger series.
York Student Loses Job After Attending Rally
The YU Free Press is a free alternative monthly newspaper at York University. Our principal objectives are to challenge the mainstream corporate media model and provide a fundamental space for critical analysis and commentary to the York community.
By ali mustafa
YUFREEPRESS ADDRESS York University Student Centre Rm. 307 4700 Keele Street Toronto, Canada TELEPHONE (416) 710-2963 EMAIL yufreepress@gmail.com
Left Out CONTINUED
the Conservatives and the Liberals. They agreed to the system partly because of tradition but mainly because they benefited. If you have a good chance of being the winner, why not play in a winner-takesall game? The Bloc Quebecois also benefits from the lack of proportional representation, but their progressive and sovereigntist platform is popular in Quebec and they would probably do fine in a representative system anyway, especially one that was properly designed. Towards the end of the election campaign, the Liberals started to blame 'vote-splitting' for the possibility of a Conservative victory. The notion was that everyone to the left of the Conservatives ought to unite behind the Liberals. The NDP replied, correctly, that the Liberals had governed much as the Conservatives had, with privatization, social cuts, and militarism. Beyond governing that way, the Liberals had supported most of the Conservative legislation in Parliament, as they will in the coming years. Besides vote-splitting, Liberals are blaming Stephane Dion, their leader, who will likely step down. They claim that if he had been more dynamic, like Michael Ignatieff or Bob Rae, the Liberals might have won. I am not convinced of this counterfactual. I may be blinded by my disgust at the sight of these
two men falling over each other to endorse Israel's massacres and war crimes in Lebanon in 2006, or apologize for their accidental and very brief flirtation with stating the obvious. But Dion got to the leadership not because he looks slick or polished but because is more progressive than either Ignatieff or Rae on environmental, economic, and probably foreign policy questions. If the Liberals had Ignatieff/Rae, they would have even less opportunity to claim 'votesplitting', except perhaps in the 8 ridings the Liberals lost to the NDP because of 'vote-splitting' between the Liberals and Conservatives. A better frame for Canadian electoral politics over the past decade would be to think of it, rather than as an unstable series of Liberal and then Conservative minority governments, as a stable Liberal-Conservative coalition with growing challenges from a much more progressive electorate trying to break into the system. The Liberal-Conservative coalition has an expansive basis of unity, based on economic, political, and foreign policy subordination to the US. Because their electoral ambition is merely senior partnership in this coalition, the Liberals can't really label voter rejection of them for more progressive options as 'vote-splitting'. It is true that the Conservatives are more destructive and less democratic: they don't play by the same rules - they want to transform society in reactionary ways. But they will accept, as they have accepted, the Liberals as a junior partner as they work towards this.
FINALTALLY
conservatives liberals NDP bloq greens others
38% 26% 18% 10% 27% 21%
An astounding result was the voter turnout in the most recent Federal Election. Just 58% of eligible voters went out to vote across the country, to record the lowest turnour in Canadian history. The province with the highest turnout was Prince Edward Island, with 69%. Newfoundlanders decided largely to stay away from the polls, record ing the national low.
The Liberals have two options. They could make a decision to quit the coalition with the Conservatives, abandon their twoparty system ambitions, campaign for proportional representation and make Canadian politics much more interesting. They would be reduced to a party that gets 1/3 of the electorate, but so would the Conservatives, and occupying the centre of a complex political spectrum would give them extra influence. Instead, at least partly for lack of imagination, they are likely to accept junior partnership, dump Dion, and watch for an opportunity to make a bid for senior partnership down the road. Meanwhile, Canadians will have lost precious opportunities to stabilize the atmosphere, to quit occupying other people's countries, and take care of one another.
EDITORIAL TEAM Victoria Barnett Nathan Cecckin Christina D’Amico Troy Dixon Shonna Eden Adonis El-Jamal Hammam Farah Roja Gharari Rebecca Granovsky-Larsen Ahmed Habib Carmen Teeple Hopkins Nazia Khurshid Gabriel Levine Rehaana Manek Anastasia Mandziuk Arshavez Mozafari Ali Mustafa Nathan Nun Preethy Sivakumar CONTRIBUTORS Vanessa Butterworth Rob Connell Troy Dixon Shonna Eden Adonis El-Jamal Rebecca Granovsky-Larsen Ahmed Habib Carmen Teeple Hopkins Zahir Koliya Nazia Khursid Gabriel Levine Ali Mustafa David Noble Jacob Pacey Lishai Peel Justin Podur Graham Potts Saad Sayeed Rekha Sharma Preethy Sivakumar Wynn Stanley PUBLISHER The YU Free Press Collective The opinions expressed in the YU Free Press are not necessarily those of the editors or publishers. ADVERTISING For rates and availability, please visit our webste: http://yufreepress.org
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By Rob Connell The Reparations Committee of the University of Toronto (U of T) is calling for the university to acknowledge and apologize for its role in apartheid South Africa and offer reparations to African students in the form of free tuition. Odion Osegyefo, president of the African Internationalist Student Organization (AISO), the founding organization of the Reparations Committee said, “We want the wealth [U of T] extracted from the [apartheid] regime to be redistributed back to African students in the form of free education.” According to Reparations Committee research, U of T had almost $19 million worth of shares in companies doing business with apartheid South Africa including Seagrams, Xerox, Monsanto, and Velcro Industries. After intense pressure from a student antiapartheid campaign, the university administration divested itself of the roughly $19 million in 1988 but has never issued an apology for its actions, nor has it acknowledged the breach this has caused with its black students. This behaviour has been contrasted with the actions of other universities such as Colombia, Michigan State, the University of Wisconsin, and McGill, which divested themselves completely of economic ties to apartheid South Africa with little hesitation. 'Apartheid' is the Afrikaans word for separateness and was the South African government’s policy of legal racial segregation from 1948 to 1990, although it was essentially a formalized expansion of racist practices that existed since the beginning of colonization in the 1600s. A central facet of the apartheid system was the classification of all people in the country into racial groups (black, white, coloured and Indian/Asian) – each under its own hierarchy of privileges or lack thereof. Blacks were stripped of their citizenship and relegated to plots of territory called Bantustans (i.e. homelands – which were in fact based on the model of the Canadian native reserve system). The Bantustans were small and located in economically unproductive parts of the country, thus pressuring many blacks to live in “white South Africa” where they faced segregated public services, education, and medical treatment – all designed to be of inferior quality so as to force blacks into the Bantustans. Violent, forced removal campaigns destroyed and displaced entire black communities. In apartheid South Africa, black people, compromising the vast majority of its population, had
Students and allies rally outside Simcoe Hall at U of T as part of reparations campaign. Photo: Carmelle W.
little hope of advancing beyond a labouring class serving the needs of whites. An international anti-apartheid movement sprang up in response to the situation in South Africa. Activities included a boycott campaign of South African goods and academic institutions, putting pressure on governments and the United Nations to enact economic sanctions, successfully barring South Africa from participating in the Olympics, and lobbying for the welfare and release of political prisoners, the most famous being Nelson Mandela, leader of the African National Congress (ANC), the largest South African black resistance movement. Apartheid started to crumble in 1990 when the government began negotiations with the ANC and the newly released Nelson Mandela. The legal apparatus of apartheid was abolished in the early 1990s culminating in the first free elections in 1994, bringing the ANC to power.
meet the rally. Osegyefo said the only response so far from the administration has been a letter from the president stating that the U of T Governing Council denounced apartheid in 1978 and they disagree with the premise that U of T is or was ever complicit in that regime. Osegyefo views the response as unsatisfactory because it in no way addresses why the administration continued to have financial dealings with the regime up until 1988. Speakers at the forum included M. P. Gyose, a veteran South African activist and fiery orator dedicated to ending racial oppression and economic exploitation; and Omali Yeshitela, leader of the African People’s Socialist Party (of which AISO is the student wing), member of the Uhuru Movement, and convener of the first International Tribunal on Reparations for African People, held in 1982. Yeshitela explained how African slavery and the colonization of Africa were instrumental in building European wealth and capitalist accumulation in the colonial era. The corresponding process to this wealth accumulation for Europeans was the economic disenfranchisement and massive loss of wealth for Africans, which continues to this day in the form of under-developed African nations and economically depressed black communities outside Africa. Yeshitela stressed the importance of pan-Africanism in bringing African people out of their economic, political, and social woes.
boundaries, and an individual consciousness that identifies oneself as belonging to the “global African community” rather than merely the citizen of one particular nationstate or another, can the struggle to alleviate the impoverishment and social fractures in the African community be successful. Gyoso described the importance of receiving reparations for slavery and colonialism from the governments, businesses and institutions that benefited from those crimes. Gyoso stated that “reparations are needed to build a new world and liberate the working class and peasants of Latin America, Africa, and Asia” and that in essence reparations are “...a gigantic catch-up process for the world oppressed.” The 1999 Reparations Conference claimed that $777 trillion are owed to Africans for the wealth extracted from their forced labour and resources plundered from African lands.
The Reparations Committee of U of T is thus a corollary of the “We want the wealth wider reparations movement. UofT extracted from the Their view is that since U of T gained economic benefits from the apartheid regime to be apartheid regime in South Africa redistributed back to and given the tenets of Pan-African African students in the philosophy, U of T must make amends to all students of African form of free education.” descent. Asked to clarify what The reparations campaign at U of specifically constitutes an African, T was kicked off with a speaker’s Osegyefo stated, “African is a black forum and peaceful rally on Sept. person, is someone indigenous 18. The rally walked from OISE to to the land of Africa. Diaspora… the Governing Council chambers on [it] means dispersed and African King’s College Circle. At its height The Pan-Africanist movement is people, or black people dispersed the rally had 60-80 people chanting, grounded in the philosophy that all throughout the world through playing drums, and denouncing people of African origin – whether slavery and colonization… this is the administration of U of T, living on the continent itself or the why we have different identities. inccluding president David Naylor descendents of slaves in the western But the reality is… we are all for failing to adequately address hemisphere – have common cause, Africans… our national homeland the concerns of the movement. history, unity, and destiny because is Africa. So to be an African, There was a police presence at the of the collective trauma of slavery objectively speaking, you have rally but there were no altercations and colonization. Pan-Africanism to be black. We know that we’re or arrests. No representatives of holds that only through collective Africans no matter where we are the administration came out to action that supersedes national around the world”.
By GRAHAM POTTS
By WYNN STANLEY
CUPE CONTINUED FROM P5
funders, and given the conservative government and general tenor of Canada’s ruling class and leading foundations, it is no accident that political and social activity at York has become highly regimented. At the same time, the president of York is making nearly half a million dollars this year, in addition to an interest-free loan and a variety of perks that most public servants couldn’t even imagine! Stick with the Union So where are we now? Our employer is still refusing to address a variety of very important issues, both in terms of wages and in terms of job security, and many points in between. There is a chance that this may freak a lot of people out, but CUPE 3903 may be forced to go on strike. Such a drastic step may be necessary to prove our point that this institution simply cannot function smoothly without the collective labour of CUPE 3903 TAs, GAs, RAs and contract faculty. With that being said, nothing has been written in stone yet. We would all rather be in a situation in which the employer sees the light, so to speak. Much of this depends, however, on the mobilization of our rank and file, and solidarity from undergraduate students. A mobilized student body and academic community on behalf of social justice can have a ripple effect on the broad array of social and political movements at York. We are depending on our allies.
STRIKE U P D AT E
Between October 14th and 17th a strike mandate vote was held at York by CUPE 3903. In one the largest turnout in the union's history, members voted overwhelmingly (85.9%) authorizing the union to go on strike to secure an improved collective agreement. In the General Membership Meeting that followed the vote, a strike deadline of Nov. 6 was given as the date for York to make a final offer agreeable to the membership.
The Walk4justice
Making Indigenous Women a Priority!
By carmen teeple hopkins The disappearances and deaths of hundreds of Indigenous women have received very little attention and action from the police, media, or government. On Sept 15, several hundred people gathered on the steps of Parliament Hill to greet the Walk4justice’s completion of a 4,700 km trek, which left Vancouver June 21 and arrived in Ottawa Sept 12. The goal of the Walk4justice was to demand a public inquiry into the deaths and disappearances from the federal government. The Walk4justice included a core group of 14 walkers aged two to 73. There were other walkers who joined for shorter periods of time at various points of the journey. The Walk4justice booked Parliament Hill from 9 am to 4 pm on Sept 15 where there were speakers, dancers and a petition and demand for a public inquiry was given to Francois Pardis, a representative of Stephen Harper. Pardis told the crowd to “rest assured” that the inquiry would make it to Prime Minister Harper. Two of the organizers of the Walk4justice were Bernie Williams, a front-line worker in Vancouver’s downtown eastside (an area that is known for an extremely high number of Indigenous women who are missing or have been killed) and Gladys Radek, an advocate for the Highway of Tears (Highway 16 in northern B.C. that is known for the deaths and disappearances of at least 18 girls and women in the past 30 years). During a press conference on Sept 15, Radek spoke about why she wanted to do the walk, “I’m the visionary for the Walk4justice. And this was a walk that was envisioned by me to honour all the murdered and missing women across Canada. It started out with the demise of my niece, Tamara Lynn Chipman, who went missing on September 21, 2005. She’s still missing to this day. She left behind a 3 and a half year old boy. I think it’s time that the women of this country started getting justice, closure, equality and accountability. It was my dream to get a public inquiry into the deaths of the far too many women who have been killed through acts of violence right across the nation. I think it’s time that we women start being respected,
because it’s the life-givers of our society. Our women matter. They’re At the same time, representatives of valued and they’re loved.” the federal government are prevented from taking a more critical position Bernie Williams talked about toward the government. the reality of violence that many Indigenous women experience: This is especially important because “This is what we see every day. We the Canadian government has a long say shame on Canada.” history (and current relationship) of violence toward Indigenous When asked what message she communities that has taken many wanted to send to the public, she forms, such as residential schools, said she wanted the public to come the foster care system, undrinkable out in support, to stand-up and start water in many communities, the being accountable. overrepresentation of Indigenous women and men in the prison system, She mentioned the group had and military and police repression received racist harassment during the of communities that reassert their trek at gas stations on the highways. authority over their territories. The line-up of speakers was quite diverse, including several family Yet violence against Indigenous members of women who are missing women is a less known reality that is or who have been killed. gaining visibility because Indigenous women are coming together and Beverley Jacobs, the president of organizing. the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC), reminded These issues are affecting Indigenous the public that in the wake of the women all over the continent, not Oct 14 elections, “every politician just in B.C. Based out of Toronto, should address safety for our young No More Silence (NMS) is a group women.” of Indigenous women and allies that creates networks (nationally Paul Moist, the national president of and internationally) amongst CUPE stated that there are “540,000 Indigenous women doing work to CUPE voices and members with the end the violence against Indigenous Walk4justice.” Moist also reinforced women. the point that “Canada refuses to sign the UN Declaration for Indigenous NMS places the violence against People” and that despite having Indigenous women in a historical a surplus that runs in the billions, context, because there is a pattern of funding to women’s groups were violence against Indigenous women cut. by white males since the arrival of European settlers. In addition to representatives of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), At the same time, there are many such as a member of the Youth Indigenous women who die Council, Lacey Whiteduck, there from violence within their own were also critics of the band council communities. These cycles of system. violence are on-going legacies of colonialism. One example of the Elder Stuart Myiow stated, “the band Canadian government’s policies that council system is a cancer” […] “We maintain relationships of domination have to create justice in our system, and dependency with Indigenous we’re not gonna get it from them people is the Indian Act, the piece [the federal government]. of legislation that governs First Nations territories (known by the The speakers were politically divided federal government as reserves, this between those who are critical of the also includes the band system). Canadian government’s historical and current inaction, from those who NMS organizes annual rallies on work with the band system (a system February 14 outside the Toronto that politically governs First Nations police headquarters (Bay and communities that was created by the College) to remember and honour federal government, often through the women who are missing or have violence). been killed. The range of speakers is at least a sign that people are making violence against Indigenous women a priority.
If you are interested in getting involved with No More Silence, please email: nomoresilence@riseup.net
FEATURES By rebecca granovsky - larsen
lines, they were key organizers that were identified to the police as being 'radicals' by the York administration. We found out later that York security had actually been monitoring our YorkU email accounts and following who the organizers were. In the following years I was also involved in Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) and with the Grassroots Anti-Imperialist Network (GRAIN). One of the main demonstrations in my time involved was on the anniversary of Rachel Corrie's death when we set up a mock checkpoint in Vari Hall to draw attention to the oppressive Israeli checkpoint military system. This demonstration was attacked by a large group of pro-Israel supporters to the point where women from SPHR were being kicked and spat on. This is the demonstration that they say we used 'unauthorized sound amplification devices,' but never once did campus security or the administration condemn the harassment and violence of the Zionist counter-demonstrators. Why do you think Vari Hall continues to be a site of contention? Issam: I always looked at Vari Hall as the main gate to York. And who ever controls the gate may control the agenda.
Palestinian solidarity, anti-war, and the challenging of corporate interest gain any support or momentum. In my opinion, the repression of our activism at York and the banning of Vari Hall was not about the technicalities of using that space as much as it was about the issues that we were raising while using that space. What is your most memorable 'Vari Hall moment' and why? Ahmed: In 2005, during my time in the YFS, I was adamant at utilizing the student union, and its resources, to fight back the regressive takeover of student space by the administration and its corporate allies. We launched a campaign called, "This is Student Space," where we took over central public areas that were marked off limit by the university. One of our events that year was a circus theatre presentation by the world renowned Bread and Puppet Theatre Company. In it, twenty foot stilts, full brass bands, and hundreds of students made a loud and clear statement: Vari Hall is student space. David: Without question, it was the mass rally to protest the police beatings of students who had demonstrated in Vari Hall against George Bush's inauguration in early 2005. The intervention of the police, at the request of the York administration, was disgraceful and their treatment of the students was violently repressive. To have over 1,000 people take over Vari Hall in protest was exhilarating. It sent a signal that collaboration between the administration and the police to clamp down on student rights would not be tolerated. It was my privilege to be invited to speak at that rally.
Imran: I find that the contention is based upon the very different ideas of what being a university entails. The administration has largely seen it as a business which is based on maximizing profits, while providing the service of education through lectures and seminars. Many students view the university as a means to critically assess our currently held beliefs, and thereby also be educated outside of the Issam: The most memorable 'Vari classroom by the diversity within Hall moment' was on the last week the York community. of April 1993. I was passing through and I saw two people whom I never Liisa: Because the university see met before standing at a table in the that when people have a public middle of Vari Hall(I later found that space to debate and protest issues, they were a visting professor and that these campaigns grow and that, a French researcher at the Refugee god-forbid, sometimes we win. Study Centre). When I approached The administration of York, and the table, one of them asked me if I especially their corporate sponsors, wanted to sign a petition in support are terrified to see the issues of of a York Student’s 'freedom of
association'. To my surprise, the petition was directed to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and titled “ Stop the deportation of Issam Al yamani, a student at York”. I signed the petition, thanked them, but did not tell them that I was the subject of this petition. Around 4000 students signed the petition and it was sent to the Minister. I still have a copy of the petition.
youth in the Jane-Finch community. Then when York security attempted to enter Vari Hall on that day, the crowd booed and shamed them so much that they turned around and left in a total frenzy. This to me felt like the way it should always be – police should not be allowed on campuses and in communities to be a repressive apparatus and we should see their presence as a provocation.
Ali: I would have to say March 27th of last year when SAIA @ York held a demonstration in order to commemorate 60 years of Nakba, call for an end to the siege of Gaza, and demand from the York administration an endorsement for a debate on the academic boycott of Israel. The demonstration attracted over 300 people and was a resounding success overall – despite attempts by a small Zionist contingent to disrupt it. The sight of so many people chanting in solidarity with us and our goals was very inspiring; however, were the event held in any other venue, I don't think the effect would have been the same. Vari Hall is a empowering space and one of the very few on campus whose use remains largely dictated by us – the students.
Do you have anything else that you would like to say? Ahmed: Students must be alarmed at the fact that they are not allowed to even put up a poster on most of this sprawling campus. The university is so obsessed with creating a pristine image of York, which they can market aggressively, that they reject any forms of dissent or sub culture. More and more, this institution is becoming successful in implementing a strict corporate model that sees students as in-andout clients and not members of a thriving and healthy community. David: My final comment would be that students have much more power than they realize. Students have played absolutely critical roles in so many of the great struggles of the last half century. Indeed, forty years ago, in 1968, they were at the forefront of huge mass upheavals in countries like France, Pakistan and Mexico. With the right combination of persistence, determination, and imagination, they can play that role again – maybe sooner than many people realize.
Imran: My most memorable moment was more of a series of moments that happened within a three week span between March 6th-27th 2008. There were three rallies held by three different organizations, which saw huge crowds and were successful in some or all of their demands. Up to that point, I did not believe that response like that from the student body was possible. Issam: Activism pays off. Studends movements are a major force of Liisa: Following the January 20th, change. 2005 demonstration at Vari Hall where students were attacked by Ali: There is no change without York Police and arrested, there were struggle; there never has been and, a series of demonstrations to protest I dare to say, never will be. Every the presence of police on campus single social advance that is today and against the repression of campus taken for granted as a given – whether activism. At one point there were in the form of labour rights, female thousands of students in Vari Hall suffrage, racial integration, and so watching the footage of the January on – was first a battleground. Today 20th demonstration and how the is no different. It is important that as police attacked the activists – people students we continue to build upon, were outraged and people talked with the same sense of urgency, the about how this same Toronto Police foundation of resistance laid down Division is used against racialized before us.
The since banned smoking area of Falafel Hut was buzzing with the heat of revolution. I was falling asleep on the yellow sticky walls of a cold winter day. My chair was making a horrible noise and eating its own tires every time I moved. Yesterday, me and two hundred of my fellow students and community members camped out at the Fine Arts Building after a neatly negotiated nighttime takeover of campus. It was March 5th, 2003. Three months ago, students from around the world declared that on that day there would be an internationally coordinated protest and action against the impending war on Iraq. We decided to join. Student Solidarity We have been up all night. We painted banners, students performed to the beats of drums, and strategy was on our minds and in our tongues. At 6am, we carried large roadblocks to each entrance into Keele Campus at York University, and set up carstopping pickets. For five minutes, each and every car was safely locked in between makeshift gates and given information about the threat to Iraqis, and how Canadian support would have been immoral
and very costly. To their credit and convenience, bus drivers didn't try to break through the barricades, and dropped off their students on Keele Street and Finch Avenue. The level of organizing had been intense that year. There was snow sitting deeply in the roads and falling heavily on our heads. Cold wind tested the limit of our flags. But the support shown by students to our campaign of disrupting 'business-as-usual' set the early morning on a fiery path. People knew that the war meant death and displacement, and that desperate measures would be needed to stop the bloodshed. They were right. However, in a society like Canada, the advancement of capitalism along with the disgraceful history of the ethnic cleansing of its own indigenous population means there will be ample space for violent greedy racists to thrive and come out on that day. Repression at York University The changing nature of campuses has meant an influx of this hatred behind its walls as well. Miriam, an active supporter of Apartheid Israel, yelled at student activists, and
declared her support for "American bombs killing Iraqi mothers so they can't give birth to terrorists like you." The links between Zionism and York are deep and frightening. The university had warned us repetitively that they strongly opposed and didn't recognize the legality of the student strike, but we didn't care. During a year where we were attacked, lied to, and forced to be dehumanized by Toronto Police during our protests of Daniel Pipes' speaking event, we had no trust and respect for our university's administration. Nothing has changed in that regard. My chair would no longer move. My tire was completely flat, and my hands were frozen. Students carried me back to our regular hangout in the malls of academia. It was nearing the sixth hour of the strike, and afternoon traffic was snarling deep into the arteries of northern Toronto. Police presence was heavy when I left. Cruisers, good-copbad-cop, and winter-esque SUVs had made their way into our faces. Mina's voice declaring the arrest of students shot through my drowsiness and forced my determination to tackle my chair and move. I had been falling asleep indoors. Within minutes, I was
carried, again, this time out to the frontline by students equally eager to eat away at the red and yellow tape choking our souls. Five students had been cuffed and thrown into patty wagons, and taken to the local police precinct. Almost a hundred students were pushed onto the sidewalks, into the bushes, and out of the way. A violent clampdown was underway on campus. Our day of action had ended, and it was time to celebrate and move forward. But fifteen days later, America unleashed its terrorism on the people of Iraq. Our worlds were crushed, but our resolve was stronger. Five years later, Iraqi coffins decorate the empty promises of democracy, Canada falls deeper in love with its xenophobia, racism, and violence, and our campus is no longer ours. The need to organize is greater now than ever, and the road barriers used then are still somewhere in this concrete colony called York. More than one million Iraqis have been killed, and five million others have had to flee their homes since the American led war and occupation launched March 20, 2003.
By justin podur
chronology of a country May
The elite hold autonomy plebiscites
August
28th Evo Morales announces constitutional referendum
September
2nd Electoral court announces opposition to referendum 5th Opposition demonstrators sieze airport in Cobija 8th Seizure of a gas plant in Villamontes 10th Attack on pipeline to Brazil 11th Conict in Cobija leaves 11 dead 12th Attack on pro-government rally kills 30 13th Morales declares state of emergency in Pardo
December
7th Secheduled date of referendum
ARMY OFF CAMPUS
CONTINUED FROM p7
that none of his tuition would be covered by the military. He was then threatened with a court martial after he left the Forces. PRIORITIZING WAR SPENDING OVER EDUCATION Melanson says the shift in spending priorities towards militarism and away from investments in post-secondary education is economically puzzling as Canada is on the brink of a recession. Education can sustain a knowledge based economy. Ultimately the goal of the movement, as Penner says, is to grind military recruitment to a halt and end the war in Afghanistan. This needs to be done because successive governments have not listened to consistent polls which reveal the majority of Canadians oppose the war in Afghanistan. Penner says that Harper’s announcement that Canada will withdraw its Forces in 2011 is not fooling people, as they made similar promises in 2007 and 2009 and later asked for extensions on the deployment each time.
dis /orientation Taking Back Our Campus
Last year, politically inspired student groups at York revived the spirit of campus activism and the urgency to challenge power structures. Many of these groups, fifteen in total, came together in collaboration with the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG-York) to organize this year’s Dis/orientation. From September 15th to the 19th this alternative BY adonis el jamal orientation was created for students, new and old, to discuss issues of social justice, anti oppression, anti-colonialism, gender, racism, sexuality and accessibility. Dis/orientaion is a multidisciplinary, politically progressive alternative to frosh week, which allows students to gain insight and perspective that they may not normally be exposed to while meeting with campus groups that organize around these issues. “Dis/orientation, as a concept, is really amazing because it offers students a week long program that speaks to very alternative, forward-thinking, inclusive and anti-oppressive ideas. Organizers get an opportunity to really engage with other groups on campus whose work intersects with their own. Overall dis/orientation is a community building initiative...” says organizer from the Toronto Women’s Centre, Cristina Murano. One of the event’s aims is to build a greater sense of community and openness at York, a historically repressive institution towards student organizers and activists. Some of this year’s highlights included a radical walking tour, which exposed the hidden history of York's contested campus space; an anti-oppression training workshop, which addressed themes of equity, oppression, race, gender, and class, to name just a few. Further, many constructive discussions from former student activists and organizers at York aimed to inspire incoming first-year students to challenge existing power structures. The 'Grad Activist' workshop attempted to mobilize graduate students on Wednesday afternoon, while the 'Women's Boxing' workshop from the Toronto Newsgirls taught women the art of self-defense on Thursday morning. Later that day, Off the Grid’s Rock for Renewables concerts at Central Square and Vari Hall lit up the hallways and York security’s senses. Though attendance was sparse, many panels and workshops attracted an “enthusiastic and engaging audience” said OPIRG York’s volunteer coordinator, Amardeep. Panel topics were as diverse as they were provocative, ranging from Canada's ongoing role in imperialist ventures abroad, to a forum about sex, self-image, and individual and community health. Occupation 101, a film about the history of the Israeli cccupation of Palestine was screened in the Nat Taylor Cinema (despite attempts by discontents to misdirect film-goers to Bethune College, all the way on the other side of campus!) Other films screend included: 'Kanehsetake: 270 Years of Resistance,' a film about indigenous struggles here in Canada (aka Turtle Island); and 'The Aggressives,' about queer culture in the Black community.
A york student enjoys a midday rock concert right in the heart of campus. Photo: Touve Stubbings
BY
carmen teeple hopkins
During the Dis/orientation session, “What’s in a name?”, possibilities for queer activism at York were discussed. The idea of a 'Queer Column' in the new alternative monthly newspaper at York, the YU Free Press, was suggested. This would be a space in the YU Free Press that would be available to students wanting to discuss issues that pertain to sexuality that is not heterosexual, and genders that are not easily defined as female/male, as well as related intersections of identity, such as race, class, and ability. During the workshop, some students expressed a desire to make visibility a focus for those interested in queer activism: there are students at York who are not straight and we want to make this known! We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it! The need for greater queer/trans visibility was brought home to me
After this years ambitious showing, Dis/orientation promises to grow in popularity next year and many years to come. This year’s radical orientation set a tone for what seems to be a promising year for those in the mood for action.
during a performance by the musician Rae Spoon who performed at the Tranzac in Toronto on Saturday September 20, 2008. This performance was part of Ladyfest, a feminist, trans-positive series of workshops and performances (which is organized in several cities across the world). In Spoons’ song, ‘Off the Grid’, he describes the ways in which queers often live a hidden, difficult existence in smaller towns. I’ve included the lyrics to the side. Although Toronto may not be the small town that Spoon describes, the invisibility that much of the LGBT community experiences is still a problem globally, including major “cosmopolitan” cities like Toronto or Montreal. For instance, harassment and assault to those who fall under the LGBT acronym is still a reality. Providing a space to discuss these and related subjects is necessary to open the door for others to share their experiences, stories, analyses, and insights. Perhaps the launch of a ‘Queer Column’ will play a role in finally bringing these issues onto the grid.
What’s in a name? LGBTTI2SAQQ … XYZ Activism, Identity and (In)Visibility
Off the grid
L Lesbian G Gay B Bisexual T Transgendered: An umbrella term to describe individuals who were assigned one sex at birth but who identify as a different gender. There are diverse identities under the transgender umbrella, including but not limited to transsexual, genderqueer, bigendered and drag kings and queens. T Transsexual: Someone who has had surgery to change body parts and identifies with a different sex Off the grid, underthan the sex that s/he was born with ground I Intersex: Someone who has ambiguous genitalia Too far north to be 2 Two-Spirit: a term for those who are LGBT etc but found. are of Indigenous ancestry. A longer explanation of Off the grid, underthis will appear in the next issue of YU Free Press. ground Find your love and then A Asexual: someone who does not experience sexual attraction hunt it down. A Ally Q Queer: an umbrella term reclaimed by queer communities and refers to lesbian/gay/bisexuals/ Run, Run, Run back to transgender/gender variant/questioning or those who the land have an otherwise alternative sexuality or gender This town will chase identity. you with a gun in it’s Q Questioning: for the curious! Off the grid, underground That’s where the queers went in my town. Off the grid, underground, All of the best songs are never found.
hand.
By ADONIS EL JAMAL
Impressed by Feminism at York carmen teeple hopkins
BY
During York’s Dis-Orientation week, I went to the final event on Sept. 19: 'Feminism is My Girlfriend in More Ways Than One!' Dis-Orientation is a radical alternative to frosh week, that hosts events throughout the week that challenge forms of oppression, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, colonialism, classism and ableism. This event was a great way of tackling most of these subjects: it was engaging, creative, political, and artistically driven. The event, held at Concord Café was a fundraiser for Food 4 Thought, the only on-campus food bank at York University.
The event was impressive because it covered many aspects of feminism. It could not be critiqued for being too white, middle class, or heterosexual. For instance, three of the four films dealt with queer and trans issues. Of all the performances, white women were a minority on the stage.
As well, Erickson takes up larger social issues within the film, such as the lack of funding and homophobia in the health care system. These problems have led her to form a “Care Collective” – a group that helps her meet needs, such as bathing, cooking, and getting in and out of bed.
The evening was hosted by Kemba King, and started with a series of short films. Diann Chea’s, 'During the Day I’m an Art Student, But At Night I Turn Into a Small Frog', comically touches on personal issues of inspiration, as well as the judgments and difficulties found with creating feminist art. The second film, 'Dear Selection Committee', by Suzanne Carson, was featured in Toronto’s LGBT’s Inside Out film festival as part of the Queer Youth Digital Video Project. Her film is a funny series of clips, centred on the application process for the Video Arts project awkwardly answers questions posed during her candidacy interview.
Erickson also comments on how buildings and spaces and transit are constructed without thinking about those with disabilities. The effectiveness of Erickson’s film is the juxtaposition of images: her getting help in and out of her chair, and then her fucking her partner.. Most of all, Erickson challenges mainstream able-bodied assumptions that people with disabilities have no sex life. She is successful in getting her message across: erotic scenes combined with a political message is sexy - and Erickson’s sure got it down right.
Loree Erickson’s 'Want,' the third film, stood out. Erickson describes her want to be the object of desire, the girl everyone wants and the girl everyone wants to fuck! As a woman who uses a wheelchair, she describes how her body is often not considered sexy. Erickson explodes many stereotypes about those who are differently-abled, as the sex scenes in the film are well-directed: hot, with different positions, and filmed from different angles. On top of all this, it’s also filming queer sex and sex that’s “safe” (the other person in Erickson’s film is wearing plastic gloves).
The series of shorts ended with Krys McGuire’s, 'How to Build a Man', a visual representation of quick clips of anatomy to fast dance music. McGuire includes images of mainly male body parts, from chests to penises, with the corresponding word. The point is sent home when words and phrases appear in bold on the screen such as 'REPETITION,' 'CONSTRUCTION,' and 'WHAT IS ANATOMY?' We see how ideas about what is female and male are constantly thrown in our faces, drilled into our brains, but are in fact changeable. McGuire uses his own body as an example of how bodies can be manipulated and reprinted with a different gender.
The live performances started with Drag King Chase, who performed three very well-choreographed dances throughout the evening. Two of the three songs were performed with a female partner in crime, Kristen. Fabulously in-sync, Chase and Kristen made for a great pair of hip hop artists doing drag. There were also poetry readings by Cristina Murano who talked queer sexuality and finding a sense of home. Another poet, spoken word artist Truth Is, performed incredibly crafted poems commenting on women leaving violent situations and creating a sense of community. There was also a female MC, Masia One, who performed with another woman on stage and guest DJ Sarasa. The three of them put together beats and lyrics about women coming together doing hip hop, cementing relationships, and promoting anti-capitalism. The event was organized by the Centre for Women and Trans People @ York with funding from other groups at York (including OPIRG, the GSA, YFS, CUPE 1281, CUPE 3903, and Sexuality Studies). This was the second annual Dis-Orientation but the first time that the Centre for Women and Trans People had organized an event like this. The evening ended with music by DJs Vashti and Kalmplex, during which I asked Kisha Munroe, one of the organizers of the event and staff of the Centre for Women and Trans People, what she thought about the event. Munroe responded with a huge smile: “I’m elated.” I couldn’t agree more.
CAMPUS WAKES UP CONTINUED FROM P15 “They called the cops,” the organizer told us. “It’ll take them 20 minutes to get here, so play one more song.” Resolve was not shaken. “We’ll play two more….Good thing the police don’t use tazers in Ontario,” joked The New Kings’ front man.. The show was shut down, but it was inevitable. I overheard a security guard saying he was fining the organizers due to it being an “unsanctioned event.” Clearly he did not get the purpose of the event. The purpose was to draw attention to nuclear energy and the government’s strong intent to exploit it at whatever environmental and human cost. I don't know if the day’s activities have resulted in students writing letters to their MP’s or joining anti-nuclear coalitions, but what it did show is that strategic, sober decision making can lead to joyfully intoxicating resistance.
The Bag Ladies rock for renewables as part of Alternative Frosh activities in Vari Hall. Photo: Touve Stubbings
By Brent Erickson & Dave Oswald Mitchell A special feature reprinted from Briarpatch Magazine
COMMENTS The Time Has Come
Speak, Un-speak A POEM By Rekha Sharma
By TROY DIXON To start, since this section is filled with ‘opinions’ / it is partly my job to convince you to write future submissions / for our upcoming editions / however, before that can happen I realize that you will first require several justifications / for why you should take time out of your busy day to write your oppositions / positive positions / or general questions / about everything and anything that you think necessitates critical reflections. Therefore, since this is the inaugural issue / and in understanding that we are new / I think that it is best to begin this process by telling you / about how we formed and the goals that we intend to pursue / a task that can be accomplished through this poetic avenue. After much frustration / deliberation / preparation and empowering dedication / from students at the undergraduate and graduate levels of education / comes the formulation / of an attempt to voice contestation / at York University unabated by obtrusive regulation / a struggle that has officially led to the establishment of the YU Free Press, a student-based grassroots monthly publication / are you warming up to these lines of persuasion? We are firmly opposed / to legitimizing and justifying a neo-colonial hold / on knowledge production and how history as well as current socio-economic conditions are told / where all too often profit incentives and misplaced PR intentions determine what curriculums, magazine and newspaper stories are sold / while at the same time alternative narratives are constantly ignored / due to restrictions on freedom of expression, an all too familiar reality at York that needs to be transformed. At the same time / governmental, administrative and corporatist cultures combine / through multiple dominant outlets that are created to maintain a bottom line / to suppress dissention on campus and label student activism a crime / an unfortunate reality that is being contested in this very rhyme. Lastly / in no way does the YUFP claim a sense ‘objectivity’ / because this concept is drawn upon mistakenly / by private and campus media outlets that are constantly misrepresenting reality / while lacking any commentary / driven analytically or historically/ thus with this new opportunity / that is contributing to the democratization of the greater university / and outer community / most crucially / I will leave by reminding everyone to fruitfully / send opinion pieces to my co-editor Roja and yours truly / so that you can enter with us in this empowering journey.
When I speak my mind is it confinedto the spaces and places – where my kind, are tagged, re-fined- and moved like parts off the assembly line?
When are you freeto think as you please, if 24/7 your thoughts are on leaseto Corporate control, where your role is sole-ly defined by immigration polls? Are we pleased as refugees of economiesselling our soul for the company keys? In nations where Power is exercised, institutionalized and manifested no longer through big brother’s eyes but squarely ties- in with holders of company shares, marketed/sold as – “This Company Cares!” But for who? UltimatelyFree speech is quite distant to those on their knees. It’s held with a grip, by the ones with the keys. Living above the unclassified masseswith Passes, to enjoy the view – through the white picket lens, selling wage labor where dollars make sense. If I speak my mindAm I committing a crime? As the screams turn dissident echoes reverberated and rendered, voiceless…
Philosophia kicks off a new academic year with a big male bang By LISHAI PEEL
Philosophy – one of the oldest disciplines in the world. Also one of the most gendered disciplines in the world. As VP of York’s undergraduate philosophy student association, Philosophia, I sit in a room surrounded by male philosophy students and think to myself “where are all my sisters at?” The all-male turn out to Philosphia’s first general meeting is of no surprise, but should not go unacknowledged or unquestioned. Feminist philosophy tries to counter exactly this lack of adequate representation in the spheres of philosophy, bringing voices to a discipline that has historically OMAR KHADR CONTINUED FROM P17 the youth by those who have held him in legal limbo for the past six years is surely much longer. Justice for Omar Khadr requires not just a free and fair legal process in which the now-21-year-old can defend himself against the serious charges he faces. Justice also requires that those who have manipulated and
been mute to the perspectives and philosophical insight of women. And yet, feminist philosophy, regardless of its great contribution to the postmodern turn and to contemporary philosophical dialogues, is assigned to a place on the peripheral of this disciple, to a place of “otherness,” as part of a more all-encompassing brand of “women’s studies.” Feminist philosophers are not necessarily marginalized from mainstream philosophy; their work is understood and appreciated in light of its difference, its “otherness.” What’s wrong with feminist philosophy being celebrated abused him for their own political ends also be held to account. If prosecuting war crimes is our intention, then let’s not limit ourselves to the war crimes of children and foot soldiers. Perhaps fearing precisely such an outbreak of judicial zeal, the Bush Administration saw to it that the same Military Commissions Act of 2006 that stripped Guantanamo detainees of their habeas corpus
and accepted in the domain of philosophy as a “different” narrative? By categorizing the works of feminist philosophers as works of “the other,” we are accepting dominant modes of thought that exclude that which is different from the cannon. In short, we’re accepting an unequal distribution of power and a phallocentric narrative that is assumed to be both “general” and normative. So, what am I to do with all of this – these racing thoughts of underrepresentation and exclusivity – while trying to conduct our first meeting of the year, no less? Should I keep these thought silent
and just get on with things, so to speak, or should I rock the boat and voice what isn’t being voiced? I put these questions to you, the reader, and ask you to think about these issues and the implications of underrepresentation for knowledge sharing and institutionalized learning. Philosophy, after all, is for those who are lovers of wisdom. The more we remain open to the voices and perspectives of those who have historically been excluded, the richer our knowledge base and the more meaningful our pursuit of wisdom. For more information about Philosophia please direct inquires to philclub@yorku.ca
rights and ruled coerced testimony to be admissible against them also gutted the War Crimes Act of 1996 in order to protect U.S. policymakers (from Bush and Cheney on down) from prosecution for war crimes.
person,” and asking the Canadian people to “give me a chance in life and don’t believe what you’ve heard, and believe what you see with your own eyes.”
In June of this year, Khadr responded to questions sent to him by CBC News in a handwritten letter, saying “I’m a peaceful
Brent Erickson is an artist, activist and independent journalist based in Winnipeg. Dave Oswald Mitchell is the editor of Briarpatch Magazine.
Student Centre, a no-funny-business, question-free hang out space (just because it’s organized doesn’t mean that it’s not cool).
My Frosh experience begins living out of cardboard boxes in a cardboard-walled Village cubicle with little more than – you guessed it – cardboard to eat. Dead tired in the midst of non-frosh, hetero-natured male housemates, I could make little use of a kitchen with bubba kegs and other unmentionables as substitute for traditional appliances such as refrigerators and stoves. Under reign of York’s beloved ‘dry frosh’ policy, I threw myself into club meetings and alternative Orientation options. Little did I know that my former dismay for organized social activities was completely unfounded. Queer campus life is just as bustling and full of options as the hallways are full of students resembling schools of fish on the first day of classes. The first event that I hit was the TBLGAY meet and greet. TBLGAY tousled my interest with an array of people as diverse as can only be achieved by a mostly GTA crew (viva Toronto!). And I’m not just saying that because they had free food. TBLGAY’s open, safe-space policies and fun-loving members made for an experience that I am thrilled to revisit on a regular basis. My method of keeping terms with the club? Daily drop-ins to room 449A in the
Disorientation events such as, 'What’s In A Name? LGBTTI2SAQQ… XYZ Activism, Identity and (In)Visibility' were a celebration of community-minded openness. This particular event acted as a discussion forum for all of the above letter types: inviting queer and straight folk alike out for a chance to talk with no boundaries: the kind of freedom that is difficult to find and guaranteed to bring up some interesting topics. For those willing to venture off campus, there was an event called 'Feminism is my Girlfriend' held at the Concord Café on Bloor Street. Not only was this event a celebration of feminism and art, but it was also a fundraiser for Food 4 Thought, York’s only on-campus food bank located in room 447 in the Student Centre. Goodbye cardboard, hello can-obeans! Other events such as a workshop called 'Queercrips: We Do Exist, We Do have Sex, and We Can Be Really Hot” laced the kickoff to school. Seeing the incredible diversity of events at York, and the gaining vibrancy of new, young, queer Torontonians, it struck me that the active “call-out” to the queer community was rather subdued. Where were the microphones? Where were the freedom fighters dancing on the top of Vari Hall with bright banners declaring, “CHECK OUT WHAT WE JUST DID”? Where was the free, alternative press dedicated to recording the doings of the free, alternative people? Oh, wait, here it is. Welcome to the YU Free Press Queer Column.
By Saad Sayeed
By Kajananth Thirunavukkarasu
By NAZIA KHURZID
The Politics of Fashion Minion Hipsters and the Appropriation of the Kufiya
“...the traditional use of the kufiya in Palestine emerged as a national symbol of resistance against brutal colonial relations, occupation and the denial of self-determination. “ By ZAHIR KOLIA Walking through York University I gaze upon an oscillating student body; zig-zagging across my field of vision is a particular type of scarf which readily catches my attention. I am talking about the recent popularity of the kufiya, enthusiastically plucked from storefronts and used as a fashion accessory. I am talking about dominant upper middle class hipster countercultures that narcissistically privilege themselves to appropriate, subvert and alter important resistive symbols. I gaze upon technicolor kufiya’s carefully adorned around the necks of minion hipsters loyal to the gluttonous dictates of capitalist consumer culture. As I walk, I gaze, I think: how can a single object be iconisized as resistance, hyperpoliticized as “terror,” and epitomize fashion? In order to gain some clarity upon these questions, one must reflect upon the intersections between dress and identity as well as their connections to the politics of representation within larger systems of domination. Indeed, there is more to the kufiya than a mere scarf, more than a mere fashion accessory that can be picked up at Urban Outfitters to go with your skinny jeans, skate boards you do not know how to use, and tragic renditions of the mohawk haircut. What I wish to examine is how historical meanings of the kufiya, rooted in anti-colonial resistance, become appropriated within the commodified realm of cosmopolitan chic fashion. History of Resistance: The kufiya must be understood in the context of the Palestinian struggle against settler colonialism, against a particular form of apartheid. Further, it must be situated as being a feature for an imagined future of self-determination and justice (the prerequisites for peace). Hence, the kufiya in this instance reveals how dress is a powerful non-verbal form of ideological communication. Historically, the kufiya acted as a signifier of class used by the rural peasantry in opposition to elitist tarbush-garbed ‘Ottoman’ Turks. It was used as a headdress and reserved for the use of men as well
as used to illustrate class-based distinctions connected to gender, regional, and sectarian differences. The 1936 Palestinian uprising against the British ushered in a new meaning for the kufiya – to represent a nationalist sentiment and to reject the colonial sympathizers adorning the tarbush. This uprising is a very important moment in altering the meaning of the kufiya and for forging Palestinian identity. The kufiya was then used as a national Palestinian symbol; thereby eroding internal differences previously demarcated by its usage. Variable colour combinations emerged throughout the Middle East as a cultural headdress. However, politically, the black and white checkered pattern – and sometimes red and white variants – was deployed as a symbol of Palestinian resistance. Black and white is more generally associated with Palestinian nationalism, while red and white reflect the color scheme of the communist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. It is also important to note at this point that the usage changed from solely being used as a headscarf by men to also being adorned as a shoulder scarf by men and women alike. The kufiya, used as a national symbol, would be renewed at particular historical moments: after Al-Nakbah (the Catastrophe) of 1948 – in which over 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed and over 500 towns and villages were destroyed – and during the first and second intifada (uprising). In this way, we can illustrate how the kufiya has become encoded with Palestinian narratives of resistance. Indeed, the deployment of the kufiya – both in and outside of Palestine – has in the past and continues to represent an important signifier of anti-colonial resistance and solidarity. Unfortunately, the kufiya’s recent inauguration as a fashion accessory among minion hipsters has the effect of subverting the brutal colonial relations in which the kufiya emerged. I am not suggesting that meanings of the kufiya as a signifier of anti-colonial resistance are wholly erased, but rather that
they are severely disrupted by its appropriation into dominant zones of commercialization and mass consumption.
scarf. The kufiya also has been rebranded as an “Anti-War Woven Scarf” by the self-defined ‘urbanchic’ outlet, Urban Outfitters. The production of the kufiya under the The Allure of the Kufiya: emblem of “anti-war” trivializes its specific historical connections to The popularization of the kufiya is Palestine. also closely linked to wider geopolitical issues. The first and second This process of renaming and intifada, protests against the Gulf mass producing different colours War, invasions of Afghanistan, and patterns co-opts the kufiya Iraq and Lebanon after 9/11 have into trendy “left-leaning,” “peace definitively marked an increased loving,” “war resisting” and appearance of the political usage “intellectually enlightened” hipster of the kufiya as resistance. Some subcultural circles. Kufiya-wearing suggest that its popularization as hipsters in this case are able to fashion loosely follow a similar distance themselves from the specific pattern. However, there is a histories of resistance threaded significant difference between its through the kufiya, while retaining transnational usage as reflecting a bankrupt dangerous rebel identity collective forms of solidarity and maintained in the style of the scarf. resistance, on the one hand, and fashion-based performances of a The kufiya then becomes the bogus desire for “Otherness” on the mysterious product of an Orientalist other hand. fantasy: exotic, primitive and dangerous. The kufiya is then held Therefore, the traditional use of the subservient, held in bondage to kufiya in Palestine emerged as a minion hipster capitalist desire national symbol of resistance against in order to perform “Otherness.” brutal colonial relations, occupation Minion hipsters then attempt to and the denial of self-determination. embody a counterfeit rebel identity The movement of the kufiya outside while having no idea of the kufiya’s of Palestine demonstrates the histories of determination – of not power of the kufiya as a marker forging solidarities rooted in a critical of transnational resistance and is analysis of settler colonialism. Take a testament to the longevity of for instance, Daniel Hernandez social memory. In other words, the (2006) writing for the LA Times, he kufiya is threaded with sentiments reproduces popularized meanings of anti-colonialism. However, the of the kufiya as product of “rebel transnational journey of the kufiya fear fashion”. Hernandez’s closing and its weavings of anti-colonial remarks speak to his personal consciousness have become ruptured experience with the kufiya: through its commodification as a fashion ornament. I took it [a kufiya] home and wrapped it around my neck and, Through this process of standing before my mirror, my appropriation for fashion interests, own countenance startled me stiff. the kufiya becomes invested with I looked pretty damn Arab all of a new meanings; consequently, it now sudden. No wonder my older siblings comes in a vast array of colours and in San Ysidro, half-jokingly—I patterns: turquoise, mustard, green, hope—call me "terrorista" when I purple, yellow, multicolour, heart approach. patterns and so on. Every colour and pattern combination is available to As I walk, I gaze, I think: perhaps coordinate your outfit – don’t forget minion hipsters should consider the the retro kicks and double shot skinny implications of turning an important latte! Since black and red versions symbol of anti-colonial resistance of the kufiya have historically into a fashion appendage of exotic been coded with particular racial desire…of sacrificing the kufiya’s and political meanings, producing anti-colonial history upon the altar alternate patterns and colours of grotesque commodity culture. produces a new language of the
By Gabriel Levine
By Anastasia Mandziuk