"Resist 2010" Issue

NEWS (2-6)

FEATURES (7-14)

CAMH Wall Tours 3 2010 Olympics 7-9 How We Torched the Torch 4 Queers Doth Protest 11 Cowichan Design 4 Sri Lankan Sexual Violence 7 All Eyes on Us 6 Drop Fees 8

RESIST 2010

Fall 2009

COMMENTS (15-17)

ARTS & CULTURE (18)

Criticizing Israel 15 Alt. Remembrance Day 15 Fight For Vari Hall 17 York & Fair Trade 18

Anti-Olympic Art 18 Reeking Red Boots 18 Film Review 18 Environmental Racism 18

Your Alternative News Magazine at York

Volume 2, Issue 2

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FALL ISSUE 2 2009

Editorial Resist 2010 The YU Free Press is thrilled to present you with our second issue of the academic school year: Resist 2010! With the February 12-28, 2010 Olympics on the horizon, BC has been gearing up for the Winter Games. In light of this upcoming event, we at the YU Free Press would like to provide the space for thinking critically about what hosting the Olympics in Canada might mean. The Games are ideally meant to bring nations together in the spirit of a little healthy competition. Winning the bid to host the event is supposed to be an honour, as well as a boost for morale and patriotism. Beneath all the veneer, however, beyond all the promotion, preparation for the Olympics has already meant the unjust treatment and marginalization of many groups of people.

The Vancouver Olympics are bringing a major onslaught of neoliberal corporatization.

The people of Vancouver are already bearing the brunt, such as displacement of homeless people, insufficient shelter space, less funding to social services, as well as pressure and crack-down on activists, to name a few. And the games have not yet begun.

In this edition we have decided to feature articles that tackle questions of activism, resistance, Indigenous organizing, allybuilding, and solidarity in response to the Olympics.

We believe firmly in one of the central slogans of anti-Olympic resistance: No Olympics on Stolen Land. That is, the denial of Indigenous sovereignty is integral to the building of Olympic memorabilia, patriotism, infrastructure, facilities, and

accommodations. In doing so, we have printed several articles that focus on Indigenous issues that are intrinsically implicated in the unfolding of the Olympics.

In the News section, Joseph Jones discusses in ‘HBC Appropriates Cowichan Design for Olympic Sweater’ the way in which the Hudson’s Bay Company has stolen a Cowichan symbol to be re-printed and sold en masse to consumers, negating both the Cowichan communities’ request to make the sweaters and then taking the Cowichan’s idea for the clothing. In ‘How we Torched the Torch,’ Allan Antliff and Kim Croswell narrate their organizing success at preventing the Olympic Torch from being lit in Victoria, BC. Carmen Teeple Hopkins shares in ‘All Eyes on US: Capitalizing on the 2010 Olympics to Call International Attention to the 500+ Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’ a different perspective to the 2010 Olympics.

Based on an interview with longtime activist, Gladys Radek, it becomes clear that Indigenous women are taking advantage of the Olympics to garner increased support for their cause, a tactic of utilizing international institutions that has historical resonance with Indigenous women’s political movements.

Articles in Features provide a more thorough analysis of the 2010 Games. In her piece, ‘Olympics Resistance in Kanada,’ Harsha Walia highlights the importance of understanding Indigenous struggles when organizing against the 2010 Olympics. As well, she provides insight as to how non-Indigenous allies can effectively and responsibly work in solidarity with Indigenous resistance movements.

Raji Chowdury

Artist: Angela Sterritt Title: “Protect”

Sterritt received a BA in Visual Arts and Political Science in 2009, and exhibited her art work in numerous galleries, museums, and magazines prior to graduation. She has had exhibits in galleries across Canada and her work has been published across the globe. Her most recent work is featured in the Musée Huron-Wendat in Wendake, Québec. The work is part of an art exhibit tour on the Indian

In addition to the 2010-focussed articles, we have published other news items that are important to recognize. We would like to signal the public statement on the ‘Blackface’ incident that occurred on Halloween at the University of Toronto. The YU Free Press supports the work that students, community members, and academics are doing to demand a public apology from the University of Toronto administration in order to begin to acknowledge this form of racism. Despite claims of ‘multiculturalism,’ racism continues to permeate Canadian society at several levels, and Halloween costumes and actions are not exempt from racist behaviour.

As well, we would like to highlight Jen Rinaldi’s ‘Dr. Geoffrey Reaume’s Center of Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Wall Tours,’ as an excellent portrait of the marginalization of those deemed mad. In particular, she traces the economic exploitation of those placed in CAMH in order to build the wall that segregates those

institutionalized at CAMH from the rest of society.

This issue’s F e a t u r e s section includes Jessica Devi Chandrashekar’s ‘ S e x u a l Violence and Sri Lankan State S o v e r e i g n t y, ’ an in-depth analysis of the specific kinds of violences many Tamil women endure within a context of ongoing imperial conquest by the Sri Lankan state against Tamil people. Chandrashekar draws attention to this often missed issue as Tamil communities continually struggle for their right to be recognized and valued. Our Features section also focuses on activism that our York campus has seen over the term: see Michael Lyon’s ‘The Queers Doth Protest too much, Methinks’ for a look at organizing against some of the recent homophobic attacks on queer communities at York. See also ‘The Students, United…Have we been Defeated?’ by Ashley McEachern for an analysis of the November 5 Day of Action and the Drop Fees Campaign.

Our Comments section also ventures away from Olympic related insights and instead covers diverse entries, starting with Murray Dobbin’s ‘Criticizing Israel Isn’t Anti-Semitism: But a New Coalition of MPs Seems to Say the Two are One and the Same.’ In this thought-provoking

Angela Sterritt contribution, Dobbin problematizes the newly formed Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism (CPCCA), while attempting to come to terms with its potentially anti-democratic affect on Canadian free speech laws. In ‘Remembering the Day After,’ Harsha Walia encourages her readership to challenge the nationalistic, pro-war culture that is most commonly associated with mainstream Remembrance Day theatrics.

Once again, we are proud to center the stories that are often structurally excluded from mainstream media and public attention. We hope that you are as happy with this issue as we are to deliver it to you, and look forward to hearing your critical feedback and responses.

Thanks for reading the YU Free Press; alternative media never gets old!

YUFP Editorial Collective

Fourth Annual Fair Trade Fair at York

COVER IMAGE

Angela Sterritt is a visual artist and printmaker who belongs to the Gitxsan Nation of the Gitanmaax band and is also of Irish descent. Considered a visual-journalist, she chronicles the history, dreams, struggles, and realities of her people back home and in the city. She apprenticed Northwest Coast carving under Nisga’a master carver Henry McKay, and began making carving tools under Stölo Artist Dave Jack. She learned to bead, make drums, and produce other Indigenous crafts under Dene/Cree artist Chris Miller.

‘Why We Resist the 2010 Winter Olympics’ provides a backdrop of some of the most crucial reasons why the Winter Games should be challenged, including ecological destruction, enormous public debt, the rise of homelessness, criminalization of poor people in an effort to gentrify the province, as well as the fact that the Games are taking place on largely unsurrendered stolen Indigenous land. Furthermore, ‘2010 Police State: Fact Sheet’ highlights the violence and brutality--especially against protesters, poor people, and Indigenous individuals--that inevitably come hand-in-hand with increased police presence under the guise of ‘security’ in anticipation for the Olympic Games.

Act and is confirmed to also show at the Musée Amérindien de Mashteuiatsh with hopes of traveling to the Musée des Confluences in Lyon, France.

CORRECTIONS

Vol. 2, Issue 1 1. A contributor’s name was misspelled: it should have read Rashin Alizadeh, not Allzadeh.

2. The wrong photos were printed to accompany Nicole Sullivan’s photo essay. The YUFP regrets the error and has re-printed the photo essay in the Arts and Culture section.

The fourth annual Fair Trade Fair at York University was held on Thursday November 24, 2009.

Hosted by the Fair Trade Coalition, a student club that advocates for fair trade and sustainable purchasing practices, the fair had almost 20 vendors (one from outside of Ontario). Caitlin Gascon, President of the Fair Trade Coalition stated: “the vendors loved being here; they were interested by the students and their interests in sustainable practices”.

This is exemplary of the momentum that fair trade is gaining at York University. Vendors were offering products from clothes, to fruits, to jewellery. The event took place from Vari Hall to Central Square. The annual fair has been inviting fair trade vendors each year and Gascon says that “the goal of the fair is to raise awareness within York’s community about the principles of fair trade and about fair trade product availability and variety.”

The Fair Trade Coalition, a working group of both the Sustainable Purchasing Coalition (SPC) and

Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) at York, has higher goals than raising awareness via workshops and their annual fair.

The SPC previously lobbied the university to adopt a No-Sweat policy to ensure that York’s apparel be produced under just labour standards. The SPC lobbied for years, culminating in March of 2008 with a rally in Vari Hall and a 43-hour sit-in in front of President Shoukri’s office that won the policy.

Since then, the Fair Trade Coalition has been committed to another sustainable purchasing policy for the university: the implementation

of a fair trade policy. This policy would require university vendors who serve coffee to carry and serve at least one fair trade brand of coffee, if not more. This in turn would make fair trade coffee more widely available to students as an option.

The Fair Trade Coalition sees this as a starting point for the university. With rising student interest in fair trade and the continual success of the Annual Fair Trade Fair, the policy will add several possibilities for the university to purchase sustainably, and enhance sustainability as a whole.

For more information on fair trade or the fair trade policy, or to get involved with the Fair Trade Coalition, please contact spc_ft@yorku.ca. Currently, the Fair Trade purchasing policy is being reviewed in the Student Sub-Committee of the Sustainability Council. It is hoped that the policy will then be reviewed and approved by President Shoukri.

Yulia Korolitsky

For more information about the Sustainability Council, please see: http://www.yorku.ca/ susweb.

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FALL ISSUE 2 2009

News Dr. Geoffrey Reaume’s Center of Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Wall Tours Jennifer Rinaldi On October 3, 2009, the stories behind the wall built around the perimeter of the Center of Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), located at 1001 Queen St. W, came to life.

During Nuit Blanche’s all night showcasing of contemporary art throughout the city of Toronto, an art installation was held in the (soon to be demolished) Workman Theatre at Queen and Ossington, organized by Lisa Brown of Workman Arts and six artists who use services at CAMH. On the stage of the theatre there were artistic representations of the experiences of patients who use the services of CAMH. The artists responsible for this installation remounted their sculptures for the Rendezvous with Madness film festival (November 5-14, 2009), in their exhibit entitled ‘InSanity: The Story Behind the Wall.’ This art was based on the activist and academic work of York University professor Dr. Geoffrey Reaume, who has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about social justice issues in relation to mad persons.

CAMH has a long-standing history as it has served as an institution for people with psychiatric disabilities. In 1850, the building was first known as the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, and has housed people with disabilities for over 150 years since.

Until Reaume, historical accounts of the establishment have focused on physicians’ perspectives.

For the purpose of his doctoral thesis, Reaume applied under the Freedom of Information Act for access to patients’ records between 1870 and 1940, a period of time that saw the institution under various names, including the Toronto Hospital for the Insane. His purpose was to glean personal stories and pieces of conversations from the records that would help shape the everyday life for patients who lived there at the time.

His thesis was published as Remembrance of Patients Past: Patient Life at the Toronto Hospital for the Insane, 1870-1940 (2000), and it was republished in 2009. His work has inspired the artistic representations displayed at ‘InSanity,’ as well as other art in association with the history of madness.

A historian and associate professor in the Critical Disability Studies program at York, Reaume identifies as a person who has experienced madness, and openly discloses having been in a psychiatric hospital during his adolescence. He thus pursued his thesis topic on the grounds that historians have been dismissive of patients’ narratives and have instead focused on what Reaume would consider physicians’ stereotypical accounts of patients. Knowing full well that patients had important stories to tell, he dedicated his work to finding and telling these stories.

ADDRESS York University 4700 Keele Street Toronto, Canada EMAIL info@yufreepress.org WEBSITE http://www.yufreepress.org EDITORIAL COLLECTIVE Graeme Bacque For example, Josie B. (Reaume cannot disclose full or actual names but uses pseudonyms in the interest of confidentiality), who was institutionalized at the Toronto Hospital for the Insane from 1906 to 1915.

She died in the asylum at the age of 35. Josie B. worked in the laundry, and comments about her demanding to be paid for her work were documented in her clinical record on January 17, 1913, two years before her death.

Her physicians recorded that this demand was a symptom of her madness.

Also, after Mary A. left the asylum in 1911, she tabulated the exact dollar amount for the work she was owed after 17 years of toil doing laundry. She wrote to the hospital demanding financial compensation, but never received any.

Reaume has recounted these stories while holding tours at CAMH throughout the years, for he offers free, outdoor tours around the CAMH facilities to anyone interested.

Visitors from outside Toronto include Hamilton, Port Elgin, Guelph, Windsor, and even as far as Germany. This past year, he has given 22 tours, and has given 62 overall since 2000. The last tour of the season took place this past November 1, but tours will begin again in the spring. His audience has consisted of a mix of university students and community members, including psychiatric survivors and residents of CAMH who have felt comfortable sharing their own stories during the tours.

The centerpiece of his tours is the brick wall that stretches across the perimeter of the grounds of CAMH. This nineteenth century wall was built on the south side in 1860 and re-built on the east and west sides in 1888-89 by psychiatric patients who were hospitalized at this location. During the tour, Reaume tells patients’ stories at various points along the wall. He encourages tour participants to touch the wall, and feel how sturdy it is after well over 100 years. He

points to writing scribbled along the wall-letters that are inscribed in stone because letters to loved ones at home written by hospital patients were often never sent by hospital staff. He shares stories about escape attempts and generally what life was like within the confines of the brick enclosure.

The labour involved in constructing this barrier was entirely carried out by psychiatric patients, but just as Josie B. and Mary A. struggled to have their work acknowledged and compensated, no pay was ever allotted for this work. Therefore, the wall symbolizes how people with disabilities have been exploited throughout history. It is also an artifact paying heed to how mad persons have been historically marginalized, confined, and separated from society by stone and concrete.

However, the wall also represents something very positive for the mad community.

During his tours, Reaume claims that this structure is a testament to the hard work that mad people are capable of accomplishing, despite their longstanding history of being systemically excluded from employment and institutionalized on the grounds that they could not serve as contributing members of a society. The monument thus counters the underestimation of, and discrimination against, psychiatric patients and survivors.

It also stands for a history that mad persons can claim as their own, which Reaume has demonstrated is important insofar as mad people’s history has for so long been understood through the eyes of physicians and psychiatrists.

Reaume’s work extends beyond academia, and has reached into Toronto’s activist and artistic communities. Throughout his career, he has sought to raise awareness about the history of mad persons and to call attention to still-prevalent social injustice and discrimination that mad persons experience.

Public Statement from Faculty and Students Condemning U of T’s Administration’s Inappropriate Response to the ‘Blackface’ Incident On Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at public hearings before the Canadian Parliamentary Commission to Combat Anti-Semitism, Robert Steiner, Assistant Vice President of Strategic Communications for the University of Toronto, informed those present that the University of Toronto administration had taken the lead in working with concerned students to organize and facilitate a public town hall meeting on a recent incident of ’Blackface’ at the university. As the students and faculty who organised and spoke at that town hall, we are appalled, angered, and dismayed that Mr. Steiner has falsely represented the University’s role in the sequence of events that have ensued as a result of this ’Blackface’ incident.

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 at York University and wider community.

Contrary to what Mr. Steiner has claimed, the university played no part whatsoever in organising the town hall event. In fact, even as Mr. Steiner was issuing his public comments, students and faculty were trying to get the University administration to issue a public statement affirming its commitment to equity on campus. Despite repeated requests to issue a statement the University has failed to do so. In light of Mr. Steiner’s comments we feel it is absolutely imperative that the university community and the wider public be made aware of the University’s true role in this serious breach of equity and trust on its own campus.

students dressed up in ‘costume’ as the Hollywood version of the Jamaican bobsled team from the film Cool Runnings for a party hosted by three of the university’s colleges: St. Michael’s and Victoria. Four of the students wore Blackface as part of their ‘costumes;’ the fifth wore a white painted face.

When students on campus raised concerns, controversy arose concerning what was meant by the ‘costume.’ Many students and faculty (including several who are not Black) immediately recognized the ‘costumes’ as Blackface and voiced their collective dismay, given the long history of Blackface performance and minstrelsy in demeaning

On October 29, five University of Toronto

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Victoria Barnett Raji Choudhury Troy Dixon Zubaira Hussaini Nathan Nun Jen Rinaldi Shaunga Tagore Carmen Teeple Hopkins

COPY EDITORS Canova Kutuk Stefan Lazov Daniel Pillai Jamie M.A. Smith

CONTRIBUTORS Allan Antliff, Janine Bankcroft, Graeme Bacque, Raji Chowdury, Sean Cox, Kim Croswell, Kareem Dabbagh, Jessica Devi Chandrashekar, Troy Dixon, Murray Dobbin, Chelsea Flook, Zubaira Hussaini, Ben Jevons, Seongcheol Kim , Joseph Jones, Yulia Korolitsky, Amee Lê, Michael Lyons, Ashley McEachern, Nathan Nun, Billie Pierre, Gladys Radek, Jen Rinaldi, Nicole Sullivan, Angela Sterrit, Carmen Teeple Hopkins, Federico Vargas Mantilla, Harsha Walia, Jesse Zimmerman

PUBLISHER

The YU Free Press Collective The opinions expressed in the YU Free Press are not necessarily those of the editors or publishers. Individual editors are not responsible for the views and opinions expressed herein.

Images used by YUFP under various creative commons, shared, and open media licenses do not necessarily entail the endorsement of YUFP or the viewpoints expressed in its articles by the respective creators of such images.

Only current members of the Editorial Collective can represent the YU FreePress.

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News

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FALL ISSUE 2 2009

HBC Appropriates Cowichan Design for Olympic Sweater Joseph Jones The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), designer of official clothing for the 2010 Winter Games, unveiled its fashion line to the public on October 1, 2009.

Within a week, the Bay was denying that its sweater was ‘a rip-off of Cowichan design,’ and further trying to explain why “the wholesaler for the band that works with the Aboriginal community to produce Cowichan sweaters” had been passed over. (Cowichan communities are Indigenous communities on what is known as Vancouver island.)

While there was some hope that HBC might hire Cowichan knitters to make sweaters for the Olympics, HBC commented that they [the Cowichan knitters] were unable to meet Hudson’s Bay Company requirements … for consistent quality, speed to market and volume for delivery. […] The sweater is knit from 100% wool in colours

and with pattern complexity not traditional to Cowichan designs.

According to one initial report, HBC was seen by the Cowichan people as choosing to sell an ‘expensive knockoff’ for $350, when the Cowichan original could have retailed for $215. Officials of the Cowichan people also accused the retailer of “stealing their iconic sweater design after rejecting their proposal to produce Cowichan sweaters for HBC’s line of 2010 Olympic clothing”.

A few days later, the Cowichan people were considering legal action, organizing a sweaterwearing protest for the Olympic torch relay, and mounting online petitions both to boycott HBC and to make the Cowichan sweater the official Olympic uniform.

Chief Lydia Hwitsum stated: “choosing a knit sweater that is both similar in colour scheme and design to our traditional Cowichan Indian sweater disrespects the fact

our sweater is a unique piece of art recognized around the world and is a registered exclusive trademark of the Cowichan people”.

The whiff of possible protest brought on inquiry by an RCMP officer, afterward defended as “very informal,” to see if there would be “trouble” at the October 31 torch relay event in Duncan, on Vancouver Island. Reporting of this inquiry led Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Units (V2010-ISU) security forces to complain about “poor and biased” media coverage of the inquiry on their official web site, together with a disingenuous intimation that the V2010-ISU had nothing whatsoever to do with such inquiry. A Vancouver Sun editorial, otherwise quite hostile to protest activities, judged the RCMP action as displaying “bad judgment.”

On October 27, 2009, Cowichan representatives met with HBC. Two days later a report came about an agreement that included these

How We Torched the Torch Allan Antliff & Kim Croswell On October 30, 2009, in Victoria, BC, the Olympic Torch Relay was met with successful resistance from the local anti-Olympics collective, No2010 Victoria. No2010 Victoria took the day before Halloween and ran with it, creating a fun-filled, kid-friendly event that disrupted the relay as well!

There was plenty of educational organizing leading up to the day of action. In March, 2009, No2010 Victoria held a teach-in to alert people about the Olympics’ ‘legacy’ for Victoria: displacement of homeless people, cuts in health and government programs, increased sex trafficking, and an expanded policing and surveillance apparatus.

Further education took place at the annual Victoria Anarchist Bookfair (September 12-14 2009) which included anti-Olympics talks by Indigenous activists and a great deal of information to get a large crowd out for October 30.

For the Victoria Olympic Torch stop, 3,500 B.C. residents were scheduled to carry the torch through 266 locales, including 50 “First Nations Communities” (i.e., reserves). Premier Gordon Campbell extolled the Torch Relay as “an incredible opportunity to showcase the unique character of our nation and our communities”.

Unique indeed. The systemic deprivation of Indigenous peoples and the fact that British Columbia itself is one big colonial land grab certainly spoke to the outstanding ‘character’ of racism in this region.

So did the symbolic inclusion of reserves in the torch route, as if the provincial and federal government’s neglect of basic living standards in these communities is something to be proud of.

On that score, the hollowness of Campbell’s bombast mirrored ‘bottom-line’ financial priorities.

The Canadian government has assumed over two thirds of Olympics security costs to ensure a successful media extravaganza-so far that’s $647.5 million and counting. Compare that with the Fed’s ‘On-Reserve Infrastructure Investments’ for 2009-2011. The budget allocates $260 million for 2009-2010 and $255 million for 2010-2011 towards “critical community services,” “school construction” and “water and wastewater projects.” That’s a grand total of $515 million--over a million and a half less than the budget for Olympic security alone.

Policing costs aside, who is paying for the cross-Canada Fake-Populist, Hyper-Security Relay? The 2010 Olympics website provides a terse one-liner: “The 2010 Olympic Torch Relay is self-funded and revenue comes from sponsorships

and contributions.” A quick perusal of the corporate branding campaign reveals that Coca-Cola and the Royal Bank of Canada are the ones underwriting the event for promotional purposes. As for ‘contributors’, look no further than your tax return. Why so expensive? Billed as “the longest domestic Olympic torch relay route in Games history” (40,000 km), tax-payers, Coca-Cola and RBC are “carrying the flame in a

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points: Cowichan knitters would become licensed suppliers to the Olympics, individual knitters would produce what they chose, and the Bay would provide “expertise on pricing, marketing and creating a consistent production flow of sweaters into the market.”

While no details of the economics of the agreement were provided, Bramham reported: Most knitters earn about $70 for every sweater

Back home in Victoria, the Torch Relay was being coordinated by the Greater Victoria Spirit Committee, co-chaired by former Mayor Alan Lowe and Hugh MacDonald, executive director of SportHost Victoria. Details pertaining to community celebrations were delegated to an ‘Olympic Torch Relay Task Force’. There were hints at economic downturns and recessions. Originally, $1,433,500 was budgeted for the celebration, but by Oct. 8, 2008 the Spirit Committee had scaled the figure down to $765,000.

In March 2009, the budget was further reduced to $527,000, with $276,000 dedicated to the “Torch Relay Arrival Ceremony” on October 30, 2009.

Alan Antliff

On the other hand, in the midst of the world-wide recession, the federal government ear-marked $24.5 million for Torch Relay events alone.

Half of the $24.5

Two days later the Olympic torch relay came to Duncan, and “Cowichan sweaters…dotted the crowd who lined the run-up to the stage.”

Originally published in Spectacle Vancouver.

Cowichan Sweater

million goes towards ‘Celebration Communities’. The other $12 million plus is being spent on organizing the Relay, starting with the ‘Arrival Ceremony’ in Victoria. Not to be outdone, the BC government is also pitching in. After cutting provincial Arts Council Grants by 40% ($7.6 million) last February, Tourism, Culture and the Arts Minister Kevin Krueger dedicated “$3.5 million to help enhance local community celebrations across B.C. for the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay”. Who knows how much of these federal and provincial monies were spent on the Victoria ceremony? No

In the midst of the world-wide recession, the federal government ear-marked $24.5 million for Torch Relay events alone.

plane” to the tip of Elsmere Island in a bid to symbolically assert Canadian sovereignty over the farthest northern reaches…which isn’t much different from parading it through unceded Indigenous territories in B.C. It just costs more.

sold in a shop. [Input includes] cost of the wool…time spent carding, spinning and sorting the wool, and two days knitting. These figures suggest that the Bay will be paying Cowichan knitters less than $5 an hour.

final figure has been released. We do know that the Greater Victoria Spirit Committee requested and received a $150,000 grant from the City of Victoria, plus city services during the event.

Surrounding cities, including Oak Bay, North Saanich and Metchosin also poured money into the kickoff: Alan Lowe has requested $5,000 from each municipality.

About $300,000 was spent on Victoria’s one-day Torch Relay extravaganza. So what sort of ‘Arrival Ceremony Celebrations’ did we get? Speeches by a handful of representatives from local First Nations, Gord Campbell and Prime Minister Harper congratulating themselves, an evening of songand-dance with fireworks, official Games Mascots, Insignia, Corporate Sponsor Logos, Olympics Colours, and last but not least, two surveillance helicopters and hundreds and hundreds of police, some on horseback, others perched on top of roofs and still more swarming the streets.

Our strategy for October 30 was to stage a counter-corporate ‘Five Ring Circus and Zombie March’ to showcase Victoria’s activist talents. We began at 2:00pm at City Hall with a parade of antiOlympics mascots: a giant Ghost Salmon puppet to acknowledge on-going capitalist ecocide in B.C., Gord Campbell’s best friend the Rat Bastard, who likes to pick your pocket, and Bitey the Bed Bug, who loves the Olympics because public debt and budget cuts equals

HBC version more poverty, which means more bodies to bite!

Speeches by local anti-poverty activists, Indigenous activists, and members of No2010 Victoria were complimented by a round of satirical anti-Olympics games, including Queer Wrestling, a Homeless Binners’ Race and a Five Ring Circus Hula-Hoop Competition.

A marching band was on hand to periodically rouse the crowd with satirical ‘Let the Games Begin!’ anthems until 4:30 pm rolled around and it was time for the Zombie (Snake) March. About 400 people, many dressed ghoulishly in the spirit of Halloween, took to the streets chanting anti-Olympic slogans. The spontaneous spurof-the-moment route included stops for speeches in front of local Olympics sponsors such as the Royal Bank and the Bay. Police didn’t know where the march was going and ultimately the march ended up on a collision course with the Torch Relay itself.

As the marchers approached, ten runners for the Olympics were packed into a van and driven to a ‘safe’ location for a perfunctory Olympic Torch hand-off. Then the flame was bussed to the official evening festivities, which at that point were being rained out.

Not to be outdone, the Zombie March followed as well.Adwindling crowd of Olympics enthusiasts was witness to an invasion of about 400 Zombies, puppets, stilt-walkers and marching band chanting slogans and otherwise disrupting the ceremonies.

In the end, not one Festival or Zombie March participant was arrested. Why? Part of the reason was likely fear of bad publicity.

Heavily-armed police attacking a fun-filled satirical festival of clowns, ghouls, puppets, hulahoopers, raging grannies, people in wheel chairs, small children, local Indigenous activists, university professors, mothers, and so on would not have made for a positive Olympic Torch Relay opening.

As well, we played the ‘free speech’ card, insisting on our right to free speech under the Charter and challenging Olympics organizers

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

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News

FALL ISSUE 2 2009

All Eyes on Us! Capitalizing on the 2010 Olympics to Call International

Attention to the 500+ Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Carmen Teeple Hopkins The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) has confirmed that there are over 500 Indigenous women who are missing or who have been murdered in Canada over the past 30 to 40 years. The disappearances and deaths of Indigenous women have received very little attention compared to their white counterparts, as well as inaction from the police, media, public, and government. This has led to considerable impunity of the state and perpetrators.

In particular, Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES) is an area that is known for an extremely high number of Indigenous women who have experienced violence.

It is also one of Canada’s most impoverished neighbourhoods.

Vancouver has been at the forefront of organizing annual memorial marches every February 14 to honour women who are missing or have been murdered from the DTES. Although the Vancouver march is meant to acknowledge all women, Indigenous women are overrepresented in the DTES, and as a group that experiences violence.

Beginning in 1991,

she is personally affected by this violence.

Her niece, Tamara Chipman, has been missing from what has been nicknamed, the Highway of Tears (a 700 km long part of Highway 16 between Prince Rupert and Prince George, BC known for a high number of disappearances of Indigenous women) since September 2005.

Radek outlines that the goal of the February 14, 2010 Vancouver memorial march will be to honour the missing/murdered women “with the eyes of the world on us”. She estimates that the world is going to be amazed to learn that Canada has been able to hide the extremely high number of disappearances and murders, a phenomenon that has often been referred to as a national shame or Canada’s “dirty little secret”. Radek sees the role of the media as one that “gets the word out” about these women, many of whom are Indigenous.

There has been a growing antiOlympics movement in Vancouver and other parts of British Columbia.

One central aspect to this momentum is: “No Olympics on Stolen Land”, a slogan that refers to the illegal state and corporate use of land in Vancouver and outside of Vancouver to build facilities for the Olympics, when The use of shaming Canada’s Indigenous title to the territory has international reputation as a never been ceded. ‘peacekeeping’ country has Many groups have been very important to some of begun to organize the Indigenous women’s activism around decrease of lowover the past decades income housing over the past February 14, 2010 will mark the couple of years, while Vancouver nineteenth annual Vancouver prepares for the Olympics, a memorial march. February 14, city that has seen an increasing 2010 will also highlight day three of homeless population and one that the 2010 Olympic winter games. the police will likely displace as In September 2009, the organizers the Olympics near. of Vancouver’s February 14 memorial march were asked to While Radek states that the postpone the march until after the organizing committee of the Olympics. Since then, however, Vancouver memorial march “is very organizers have refused to be strong in building allies”, she also sidestepped by the Olympics and mentions that the memorial march have made it clear that the march will likely not fall under the typical will take place. anti-Olympic organizing that will be occurring simultaneously Gladys Radek is a long-time activist in Vancouver.

She comments around Indigenous women’s issues, that the march has always been one of the organizers of Vancouver’s and will continue to be about the memorial march, as well as co- women. The march doesn’t accept organizer of the Walk4justice. agency banners or flags, but rather, Like many Indigenous women, focuses on the women and families

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most affected by this violence.

While anti-Olympic activists and supporters are welcome to participate in the march, they are asked to respect the principles and history of the march: remembering and honouring the women.

Entering its nineteenth year of existence, the 2010 memorial march in Vancouver is not being organized as a direct response to the Olympics, but will instead use the Olympics to further its cause, one that many Indigenous women have been fighting for over decades.

Organizers of anti-Olympic resistance have noted that women will be particularly vulnerable to increased violence in Vancouver’s DTES as a result of the massive influx of tourists. Furthermore, it has been predicted that women and children in Vancouver will experience a 10% to 36% rise in violence during the Olympic games. Alarmingly, gender-based anti-violence organizations and support services in Vancouver have been told that they will not receive additional funding amidst the possible increase in numbers. With this in mind, it becomes especially important to support the February 14 organizing being done across the country in 2010.

Groups across Canada have been working for many years to end violence against Indigenous women. Vancouver’s February 14 march has inspired solidarity marches in other cities, including Toronto, London, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Regina and Winnipeg. The year 2010 will mark Toronto’s fifth annual rally, organized by local group, No More Silence.

Radek has encouraged support and solidarity to take place outside of Vancouver. She wants to see February 14 actions across the country and ensure that they are being held in all major hubs and cities.

Emphasizing the importance of family members of missing/ murdered Indigenous women being involved in this work, she believes it is important for family members to know that they are not alone and to become familiar with the organizations that are already involved in this activism. Radek also encourages groups outside of Vancouver to find ways to send family members and other supporters to Vancouver for the February 14, 2010 March.

Gladys Radek

The use of shaming Canada’s international reputation as a ‘peacekeeping’ country has been very important to some of Indigenous women’s activism over the past decades. For instance, sexism within the Indian Act which meant that Indigenous women would lose status upon marriage to non-status men (which did not operate vice versa for men with status upon marriage to non-status women) took

Gladys Radek many years of struggle to change, but the accumulated organizing climaxed when Sandra Lovelace took her case to the United Nations toward the end of the 1970s. The international embarrassment to Canada was a major factor in a 1985 change to the Indian Act that attempted to remedy the sexism.

Such changes to the Indian Act exemplify how Indigenous women have strategically used international institutions and opportunities to their advantage. The 2010 Vancouver Olympics offers another possibility for international shame that Indigenous women are capitalizing on through political organizing.

There is certainly credence and a history of resistance by Indigenous women that gives weight to the utilization of the world’s gaze on Canada that Vancouver will see within the months to come. For those outside Vancouver, let’s join them in solidarity on February 14, 2010 to send a message to the international community that this violence cannot continue.

The Toronto NMS rally and march will take place on Sunday February 14, 2010 at 12pm noon at the Toronto Police Headquarters at Bay and College. A feast will follow the event at the Centre for Women and Trans People (University of Toronto) at 563 Spadina Ave. For more information please contact: nomoresilence@riseup.net or learn about NMS on Facebook.

No More Silence (NMS) is a group based out of Toronto that has existed for almost six years. NMS consists of Indigenous women and allies who create inter/national networks to end violence against Indigenous women. NMS situates this violence within an understanding that Canada is a white settler colony state and colonialism continues to operate in many different ways today.

NMS believes that all people have a responsibility to work toward decolonization, and to support struggles for Indigenous sovereignty.

Carmen Teeple Hopkins is a member of No More Silence.

YU Free Press is accepting submissions for our Women’s Issue The YU Free Press is now accepting submissions for our “Women’s Issue,” the third instalment this school year.

Our aim for this issue is to highlight some key themes related to women’s experiences, in a way that does not reproduce gender as one that is normatively white. We are particularly interested in discussing the lived experiences of women of colour, Indigenous women, women with disabilities, queer women, and intersections with race and class, etc. Embedded in these stories are dynamics of oppression and violence that are institutional and systemic, and the state apparatus as often inherently patriarchal, racist, and capitalist. Oppression against women can take form in a myriad number of ways, from the subtle discriminatory hiring practices of companies, to the brutally real instances of violent acts of sexual assault towards women, and sexist discrimination in the Indian Act. Of course, understanding oppression and exploitation is just the beginning. We also want to showcase stories of resistance, and the role of women in social movements around the world.

These are just some of the themes we would like to cover for this issue, but we welcome submissions on a variety of topics concerned with women’s experiences, or any other social justice matter. The submission deadline will be 22 January 2010. In addition to written submissions, we also invite you to send in photos, artwork, and poetry as well. We would also like to thank our readers, writers, and volunteers for helping the YU Free Press be where it is today. Thank you, and we look forward to receiving your submissions!

YU Free Press Editorial Collective

News

6 Mumblings from your Latest Former Chief Steward Unit 3 Chelsea Flook This article goes out to all the CUPE 3903 people out there picking through campus print wondering what’s up with the union.

Now that i’ve got your attention, i’m sorry but i can’t quite offer a simple answer.

In no way could I, or anyone I know in the union possibly put forward a coherent summary or analysis of ‘what happened’ [pre-strike, strike, post-strike], Surely not one that I could completely invest all of my own perspective and doubt in.

Over list-serves and in splashes of print I have come across a variety of explanations that seem to want to pack the final punch on who failed at what and what ought to be done.

Rarely is there a collective ‘we’ used in any of this so i will take up my own correction here on in.

Rarely do i come across content that suggests what we did right [without a slice of righteousness], and what our critical voices can do to help the union fulfill prescription-heavy ‘oughts’ into ‘iszes,’ So this is a call for 3903 membership solidarity.

Because quite frankly a mon avis i don’t have reason to believe that the Nationally appointed administrator is well-suited to solving our local’s political climate crises when: Harassment, intimidation, bullying, silencing, particular-voice-privileging, downplaying, denying, crumb-fighting, in-fighting, domineering, chiding, ‘just joking,’ interrupting, ‘frankly speaking,’ words colliding Is how i felt in my own encounters with national reps since the start of my own short term here as far as my experiences went. i tried to call this out a few times only to find myself back in the loop of the above dynamics.

We are told we must read their National equality statement at meetings by the same National that forgets to start meetings off with their own document at their own meeting sessions.

We are a union with Deaf and hard-of-hearing members yet i have yet to hear plans of ASL and microphones.

We are a union with blind and low-vision members; we are a union with people with mobility disabilities but so long as the people over the phone say meeting spaces are accessible it’s good enough for our administrator and never mind the logistics of actually getting there.

So, for the simple fact that it was our own political climate that was cited as one of the three main reasons to go under administration i just expect that those who are sent in to do the repairs fix up their own act to begin with if they really expect this membership to take their healing powers seriously. i believe that we are much more capable of addressing our own culture from below through anti-oppression sessions, negotiations, and self-confessions than to have a new one imposed and hand-picked from above.

Chelsea is the former Chief Steward Unit 3, CUPE 3903 MA Student, Critical Disability Studies

Torching Torch CONTINUED FROM P. 4

to honour it. When asked if we had a permit for our events we responded that “free speech needs no permit”. To hammer the point home we created an official Five Ring Circus T-shirt in anarchist Red and Black with the slogan “Free Speech Zone” and handcuffs forming the Olympics Rings.

Staging an anti-Olympics event?

There are several ways to do it.

But we are happy to exclaim that torching the torch can happen in the most unlikely places: ones that are kid-friendly, open, festive, and disruptive!

Allan Antliff and Kim Croswell are organizers with No2010 Victoria.

Blackface

CONTINUED FROM P. 3 meaning Black people and systematically caricaturing Black cultures.

Members of the Black Students Association (BSA) approached those students and colleges involved to request a public apology. They also took the initiative to make the incident a ‘teachable’ moment, bringing diverse constituencies together to learn about the historical and contemporary hurt and pain caused by enacting Blackface. On November 10 the BSA, supported by the University of Toronto Student Union (UTSU), organized a town hall meeting that was attended by more than 300 people. After the meeting and in online discussions

FALL ISSUE 2 2009

News in Brief Carmen Teeple Hopkins & Nathan Nun York’s CUPE 3903 Under National Administration Since October 27, 2009, CUPE 3903 has been under the control of the national CUPE administration.

Lynn McDougall is now singlehandedly running CUPE 3903, a local that is generally known for being membership-driven but whose members currently have no control over the operating of the union. In response to CUPE national’s intrusion, a group of CUPE 3903 members quickly created the 3903 Ad-hoc Committee Against Administration, to inform the membership about the current situation. Two reasons have been given to justify the take-over: financial (CUPE 3903 owes CUPE national 1.2 million dollars as a result of the 2008-09 strike) and harassment within the union. Prior to McDougall’s arrival, CUPE 3903 was taking steps to address and appropriately deal with both of these issues.

For more information, please see: http://3903againstadministratio n.wordpress.com/ or email the Ad-hoc Committee: 3903adhoc@ gmail.com McMaster Strike a Defeat On Monday November 9, 2009, CUPE 3906 (teaching and research assistants) at McMaster University voted 58% to accept the employer’s offer. At this point, CUPE 3906 had been on-strike for just over one week and Unit 1 accepted an offer that the bargaining team and executive had rejected. Striking over issues around pay, health, childcare and class size, many see the end of the strike as a defeat.

For instance, the contract includes a decrease in the vision benefit to $200 (down from $250) for 500 members and the sizes of classes were not included. of media coverage of the event, both local and national, the BSA and its president have been victims of a disturbing backlash that has the cumulative effect of questioning the right of some students to claim full membership of the university community.

The university has failed to use its normal communicative channels to stand in support of the students who organized the town hall and who have faced intimidation following the event. The university’s dereliction of duty sent a message that black voices in our midst do not matter, or matter less than those of other groups who raise similarly serious concerns.

A meeting took place on November 19 in the office of the Vice-Provost, Students. Following a seemingly positive discussion, BSA and UTSU student representatives, as well as concerned faculty, expected that the university would distribute a public statement to address the issues raised in the meeting. To our surprise when an official response did arrive it was sent in the form of a private communication to the two students leaders and four faculty who had met with administrators.

The letter’s recipients were asked to distribute the statement themselves to the wider university community. After a query as to whether this constituted the extent of the University’s response, we received an e-mail yesterday (November

VANOC Blamed for Pressure Forcing Striking BC Paramedics Back to Work On Saturday November 7, 2009, BC’s 3,500 paramedics were forced back to work under a new contract through Bill 21.

CUPE 873 paramedics had been on strike since April; however, since they are considered an essential service, they were still on the job.

The current contract includes a 3% wage increase and only lasts one year (retroactive until April 1, 2010). The union has suggested that Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) placed pressure on the provincial government to end the strike with the Olympics close in sight.

Waves of Student Actions Challenge California University Administration Students at the University of California (UC) system have been challenging attacks on higher education through a series of occupations, rallies, and strikes.

The actions are in response to some $1.5 billion in cuts for 2008-2010, university layoffs, undergraduate subsidization of administration and research, cutting of faculty and courses, and increases in fees. After an earlier fee increase of 9.3% an additional 32% fee increase was passed on November 19, 2009, bringing the annual cost of student fees over $10,000. The most recent occupations were part of a UC system-wide strike. Many students in California are not simply 24) informing us that the letter had been posted on the Equity web site and that of the Vice-Provost, Students--where it would likely never be accessed by the wider university community.

This piecemeal approach on the part of University Administrators is a serious failure of public leadership. As was made evident at the earlier town hall meeting and in subsequent meetings with senior administrators, the Blackface incident is representative of much deeper issues and fissures on campus.

Typically, on matters of importance to the U of T community, senior administrators draw on a range of communicative strategies to reach the widest audience possible. The actions, or lack thereof, of the senior administration of the university suggest that Black students are not equally valued members of the university community and that concerns about the alienation of other nonwhite students can be ignored and sidestepped. We refuse to accept such a position. We call on the senior administration to publicly affirm that our community is a safe place for producing knowledge, discussing ideas, and building a multicultural and cosmopolitan community that becomes a genuinely global model of intercultural learning and academic excellence.

We publicly commend University College for thus far being the only

Billie Pierre

fighting fee hikes, but fighting the acceptance that students and workers should bear the brunt of capitalist crisis, fighting university links to the economic system as a whole, and are making links with unions and faculty on campus in doing so.

Poll Suggests Dissatisfaction with Capitalism According to a BBC poll there is mass dissatisfaction with capitalism and support for more equal wealth distribution. Only 11% or respondents in 27 countries felt that the capitalist system is working well. While a majority held the opinion that regulation and reforms were necessary, 23% felt that capitalism is “fatally flawed.”

The same poll found that most people in Western Europe consider the fall of the Soviet Union a good thing, while the people of Russia and Ukraine typically considered it “mainly a bad thing.”

administrative unit in the university to issue a full public apology, and call on the administration and student councils of Victoria and St. Michael’s College to do the same.

The University of Toronto belongs to us all, and that commitment--to value us equally in our diversity-needs to be publicly demonstrated and reiterated.

In light of this history Mr. Steiner’s comments represent the exploitation by the university of the pain of students who have felt targeted as a result of this ‘Blackface’ incident and the hard work of courageous student organizers. It also represents a breach of trust with members of its own faculty who spoke at the event, none of whom was contacted by the university prior to the town hall of November 10. We demand a full public apology from Mr. Steiner and senior university administration for having exploited us all in this manner.

Daniella Kyei, University of Toronto Students’ Union, Vice-President Equity Dawn Samuel, President of the Black Students’ Association Sean Hawkins, Associate Professor of History Melanie Newton, Associate Professor of History Alissa Trotz, Associate Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies Rinaldo Walcott, Associate Professor of Social Justice and Cultural Studies Sincerely, The Undersigned

2010

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Features

Olympics Resistance in Kanada

Rob Baxter ‘flickr’

Harsha Walia

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he Olympic Games are less about sports than--as stated by historian George Monbiot--“a legacy of a transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich…

Everywhere they go, the games become an excuse for eviction and displacement; they have become a license for land grabs.” In 2003, Vancouver/Whistler won the bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Since then, the devastating impacts of the Games have become clear: the expansion of sport tourism and resource extraction on Indigenous lands; increasing homelessness and gentrification of poor neighbourhoods; i n c r e a s i n g privatization of public services; exploitative working conditions especially for migrant labour; the fortification of the national security apparatus with the largest military deployment in Canadian history; ballooning public debt as corporate Olympic sponsors get bailed out; and the destruction of the environment despite promises of a ‘green’ Games.

While there is an understanding that Indigenous people are not solely impacted by the Games, coming under the banner of “No Olympics on Stolen Native Land” has fostered an array of meaningful, community-rooted, transformative, and potentially revolutionary alliances. The anti-Olympics

that we may have many differences in analysis and tactics and such disagreements are healthy. However such debates should remain internal and we should refrain from publicly denouncing or marginalizing one another--especially as ‘violent’-to mainstream media and law enforcement.”

There has also been much debate about whether certain actions endanger vulnerable communities.

The anti-Olympics movement, with Indigenous people, poor people, elders, women, and people of colour at the forefront, is a stark reminder that the politics of confrontation have always ‘Othered’ these groups as primarily white, middle-class activists make declarations about whether certain tactics are in the best interest of marginalized people or not. We have forgotten that oppressed communities, including women, Elders, and youth, have fought state power and invented ‘direct action’ tactics through centuries of struggle against imperialism, racism, and colonialism. Ensuring the leadership of such communities has meant an easing of the White Man’s Burden about how best to take responsibility for these ‘Others’ and to transcend oneself into the realm of an active and grounded practice of solidarity.

“Rather than being treated as a single issue within a laundry list of demands, the recognition of Indigenous self-determination has become the rallying call and the foundation for anti-Olympics organizing.”

Given the range of social injustices perpetrated by the Games, the anti-Olympics movement in British Columbia has created an opportunity for all anti-capitalist, Indigenous, anti-poverty, labour, migrant justice, anti-privatization, housing rights, environmental justice, civil libertarian, antiglobalization, and anti-colonial activists to join forces. While building open and broad-based structures to facilitate this, the movement has also focused on critical and formative questions regarding leadership and solidarity in particular with Indigenous defenders of the land against the onslaught of the Olympics.

Rather than being treated as a single issue within a laundry list of demands, the recognition of Indigenous self-determination has become the rallying call and the foundation for anti-Olympics organizing. This has largely been due to the strength of Indigenous communities even before the Games were brought to British Columbia: in 2002, members of the St’at’imc and Secwepemc Nations filed a submission with the International Olympic Committee to oppose the bid. Since then, as Indigenous peoples are being impacted by the pillage and theft of their lands, disproportionately experiencing poverty and homelessness in urban areas, and are the primary targets of repressive policing and surveillance, there has been a groundswell of Indigenous resistance through, for example, Native 2010 Resistance, Native Youth Movement, Warrior Publications, Sutikalh camp,

movement forces a contestation of the idea that the “anti-globalization movement died after 9/11” by giving voice to Indigenous communities, poor communities, and people of colour who have lived and fought the ravages of globalization prior to Seattle and even after 9/11. It has brought into sharp focus the adage that corporate globalization is simply a new name for the 500 year reality of colonization.

The anti-Olympics movement has engaged in a diversity of tactics, including the following: effective disruptions, such as the shutdown of the Olympic Spirit Train across the country and the taking of the Olympic flag from Vancouver City Hall by the Native Warrior Society; and insurrectionary attacks on corporate sponsors such as McDonalds, Coca Cola, Royal Bank of Canada; as well as popular education, creative resistance efforts, and media messaging.

Rather than building a coalition based on the united front strategy of lowest common denominator politics, the Olympic Resistance Network is based on the strengths of each of its members, who bring an increasingly powerful and politicized message to the people.

It is critical to deconstruct the false distinction between broadbased mobilizations becoming synonymous with reformist politics and militant actions relegated to a fringe minority.

Building effective multi-sectoral networks and coalitions requires strategic alliance-building, open and respectful communication, and ensuring that tactical debates are prioritized rather than presumed.

With growing state attempts to infiltrate, monitor, and divide the movement, a Solidarity and Unity statement includes mainstream groups who agree that “We realize

Taking leadership involves humbling ourselves to honour these voices and resistances, and to offer tangible solidarity as requested.

Organizing in accordance with the principles of Indigenous leadership, for example, does not mean that the movement has to become stagnant in its search for (often tokenized) Native leaders.

There have to be attempts made to construct possibilities, to decentre oneself and take responsibility for learning, and to theorize and discuss these issues.

While resisting the Olympics industry poses a formidable challenge, the possibilities to strengthen anti-colonial, antiracist, and anti-capitalist resistance are endless. Based on the call by the Indigenous Peoples Gathering in Sonora, Mexico to boycott the Games, the Olympics Resistance Network has called for a global anti-colonial and anti-capitalist convergence February 10-15, 2010. While working toward this, participants have been encouraged to think of human interconnectedness rather than social isolation while building alliances.

This has not translated into total

Graffiti resistance on newspaper clipping posted near Olympic Athlete’s Village, Vancouver 2009.

unity across our differences; rather, it has created a radical terrain of struggle where our common anticapitalist vision does not erase our different racialized and colonized social locations. Similarly, differing identities do not prevent us from creating a relevant, inclusive, and disruptive movement well beyond

2010. The 2010 convergence will be successful not only depending on the level of disruption during the Games, but the strength that the disruption provides to social movements afterward.

What will you do now?

www.freeimages.co.uk

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Downtown Eastside Indigenous Elders Council, Skwekwek’welt Protection Centre, and the Native Warrior Society.

...read, write, help out Freepress!

2010

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Why We Resist the 2010 Olympics no 2010

T

he Olympics are not about the human spirit, and have little to do with athletic excellence. They are a multi-billion dollar industry backed by powerful elites, real estate, construction, hotel, tourism and television corporations, all working hand in hand with their partners in crime: government officials and members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

10 Reasons to Resist 2010 1. Colonialism and Fascism: The modern Olympics have a long history of racism, from its early founding members (i.e., Pierre de Coubertin, a French Baron who advocated sports as a means of strengthening colonialism) to recent IOC presidents. The 1936 Berlin Olympics empowered Hitler’s Nazi regime. Both the 1988 Seoul and 2008 Beijing Summer Games helped legitimize authoritarian regimes in Asia.

The 1968 Mexico City Olympics (where over 300 student protesters were massacred by soldiers, days before the Olympics began) also helped legitimize state terror.

IOC President Avery Brundage, an infamous U.S. racist and Nazi sympathizer, did not even acknowledge the massacre. But when two Black U.S. athletes raised their fists in a Black power salute on the medal podium, he had them immediately stripped of their medals and ejected from the Games! Another well-known fascist IOC president was Juan Antonio Samaranch (IOC president from 1980-2001), a former government official in Franco’s fascist regime in Spain.

2. No Olympics on Stolen Land: BC remains largely unceded and non-surrendered Indigenous territories. According to Canadian law, BC has neither the legal nor the moral right to exist, let alone claim land and govern over Native peoples. Despite this, and a fraudulent treaty process now underway, the government continues to sell, lease, and ‘develop’ Native land for the

benefit of corporations, including mining, logging, oil and gas, and ski resorts. Meanwhile, Indigenous peoples suffer the highest rates of poverty, unemployment, imprisonment, police violence, disease, suicides, etc.

3.

Ecological Destruction: Despite claims to be the ‘greenest Olympics’ ever, and public relations statements about ‘sustainability,’ the 2010 Olympics will be among the most environmentally destructive in history, with tens of thousands of trees cut down and mountainsides blasted for Olympic venues in the Callaghan Valley (near Whistler) and the Sea-to-Sky Highway expansion. In the summer of 2007, a record number of black bears were hit on the Sea-to-Sky Highway, with at least 11 dying (attributed to loss of habitat). Massive amounts of concrete used in construction have also c a u s e d millions of salmon to die in the Fraser River, where tons of gravel are being mined to make concrete.

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and ‘Olympic legacies!’

5. Criminalization of the Poor: Olympic host cities routinely begin a campaign to criminalize poor people. In Vancouver, the city has launched Project Civil City and new by-laws to criminalize begging for money, sleeping outdoors, etc. It has also included hundreds of thousands of dollars for increased private security (i.e., the Downtown Ambassadors). New garbage canisters on streets make it

in the sex trade. In 2007, the trial of William Pickton occurred for six of these murders, and he is to be tried for an additional 20 more. In northern BC, over 30 young women, mostly Native, are missing and/or murdered along Highway 16. The 2010 Olympics and its invasion of tourists and corporations will only increase this violence against women.

7. Police State: Some 12,500 police, military, and security personnel are to be deployed for 2010, including E m e r g e n c y R e s p o n s e Teams, riot cops, helicopters, armoured vehicles, etc. The RCMP plan on erecting 40 km of crowd-control fencing along with CCTV video surveillance cameras.

Special security zones will be established to control entry near Olympic venues. For three weeks, will Angela Sterritt Vancouver be an occupied Police State!

And once the Olympics are over, there is no guarantee many of these security measures will not remain (i.e., CCTV). more difficult for the poor to gather Repression also involves attacks recyclables, and new benches make on anti-Olympic groups and it impossible to lie down. These individuals, including arrests measures fit with government of protesters, raids of offices, plans to remove poor downtown surveillance, media smear residents to mental institutions, campaigns, cuts to funding ‘detox centers’ on former military programs, all in an effort to bases, and the ‘fly-back’ scheme by undermine anti-2010 resistance. police to return persons wanted on This repression has already been warrants in other provinces. This used in Vancouver against antiis nothing less than a process of poverty and housing groups, social cleansing! environmentalists and Natives.

“BC remains largely unceded and nonsurrendered Indigenous territories.

According to Canadian law, BC has neither the legal nor the moral right to exist, let alone claim land and govern over Native”

4. Homelessness: Since winning the 2010 Winter Games bid in 2003, Vancouver has lost over 850 units of low-income housing; during the same period, homelessness has increased from 1,000 to over 2,500.

It is estimated by 2010, the number of homeless persons may be as high as 6,000. Since the 1980s, Olympic Games have caused the displacement of over 2 million people (Fair Play for Housing Rights report, 2007). In Seoul 1988, some 750,000 poor were displaced, in Atlanta 1996, over 30,000, and for Beijing in 2008, an estimated 1.5 million have been displaced. Yet still today Olympic officials talk about ‘sustainability’

6. Impact on Women: Events such as the Olympics draw hundreds of thousands of spectators and cause large increases in prostitution and trafficking of women. In Vancouver, over 68 women are missing and/or murdered. Many were Native, and many were reportedly involved

Clara Thalmann went to Spain in 1936 to participate in the People’s Olympics, an international sporting event for working peoples in opposition to the Nazi Olympics. The games never occured, interrupted by the fascist-conservative war against the Republic. Many athletes like Thalmann stayed in Spain and fought in the militias against the fascists.

8. Public Debt: VANOC and government officials claim the 2010 Games will cost some $2 billion. However, this amount includes neither the Sea-to-Sky Highway expansion, the Canada Line Skytrain to the airport, the Vancouver Convention Centre,

nor the lower mainland Gateway Project. Including these costs, since they were necessary to win the bid and had to be completed by 2010, makes the true cost of the Games some $6 billion, which must be paid for through public debt, money that could’ve been spent on social services, housing, drug treatment, healthcare, etc.

9. Olympic Corruption: The modern Olympics are well known for their corruption, including both top IOC officials involved in bribery scandals (i.e., Salt Lake City 2002) or athletes found to be using performance-enhancing drugs (such as steroids). Yet the IOC still claims the youth need an inspiration and a ‘model’ of good sportsmanship! Despite published reports of bribery scandals involving IOC members and host cities (i.e., The New Lords of the Rings, by Andrew Jennings), the Olympics continue to be seen as an honourable and noble enterprise, thanks to the corporate media.

10.

Corporate Invasion: Governments and businesses use the Olympics as a means to attract corporate investment.

In BC, the Liberal government has ‘streamlined’ application processes, cut taxes, and offered other incentives to increase certain industries such as mining, oil and gas drilling, and ski resorts. There will also be large increases in transport systems, including new ports, bridges, expanded highways and rail-lines. This is all part of their Investment to 2010 Strategy.

The results have been dramatic, record-breaking increases in these industries, resulting in greater environmental destruction and more corporate power and influence over our daily lives.

Many of the main corporate sponsors of the Olympics are themselves responsible for massive ecological destruction and human rights violations, including McDonalds, Coca-Cola, PetroCanada, TransCanada, Dow, Teck Cominco, etc., while others are major arms manufacturers (General Electric & General Motors).

Josef Jindřich Šechtl, ‘wikimedia’

Rundvald, ‘wikimedia’ Statue of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Coubertin was a committed social Darwinist and colonialist, advocate for the regeneration of the European nations and the ‘white race,’ and an opponent of the struggles of oppressed classes, races, and genders.

As illustrated in his various writings, for de Coubertin, sport was a means by which to colonize the ‘lower races’ and a “powerful instrument for discipline.” (de Coubertin, “Les Sports at la Colonisation”).

The flame for the Olympics in Berlin, 1936, weeks after the militarization of the Rhineland and days after commiting troops against Republican Spain.

The Olympics were a propaganda victory for promoting the ‘New Germany,’ its nationalism, and ‘Aryan’ ideals. The regimes ‘Olympic cleanup’ removed anti-Jewish signs and newspapers from the streets and moved gypsies into special camps. The Olympic Torch Relay was first concieved at these games; the first torch was made by the weapon manufacturer, Krupp.

2010

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2010 Police State no2010

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or the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, some 12,500 cops and soldiers are to be deployed, in both Vancouver and Whistler, in what is described as the largest security operation in Canadian history. It is expected that the bulk of the security forces will be located in Vancouver, although they must also secure Whistler and the 129 km long Sea-to-Sky Highway.

RCMP VISU: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are in charge of overall security and have established the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit (VISU) to coordinate the efforts of other municipal police, military, coast guard, border control, intelligence, and emergency services. According to Jeff Lee and Miro Cernetig, the RCMP strategy is to “Reduce the external focus on security measures so that Vanoc (Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympics) and the governments of Canada and BC may have more opportunity to highlight and promote their initiatives and plans.”

Military JTFG: The Canadian Forces have established Joint Task Force Games (JTFG) to oversee its own operations, including antiterrorist units such as Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2) and the Canadian Special Operations Regiment.

The North American Air Defense (NORAD) command, which is comprised of both Canadian and US forces, will be responsible for air security.

Olympic Police States Key Points: Prior experiences with Olympics and police repression, for example in Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008, show the following patterns, which can be compared with ongoing preparations for 2010: Expansion of Police State: Large amounts of resources are directed

toward both police and military forces, including money, personnel, and equipment. This includes new weapons, vehicles, tools, & surveillance technology.

• The estimated security budget for 2010 was $1 billion as of October 2008 • Vancouver police will be adding over 100 new officers in preparation for 2010; provincially it will be nearly 1,000 new cops. Vancouver police are also seeking to purchase two armoured vehicles at a cost of nearly $200,000 apiece.

• The RCMP have requested hundreds of new Closed-Circuit TV cameras (CCTV) to conduct surveillance in and around Olympic venues. These cameras are to have facial-recognition technology and other biometric features. They are also seeking 40 buses with radio, video, and DVD capabilities to transport ‘tactical troops’ during 2010.

• The RCMP will use 2 luxury cruise ships to house officers during the 2010 Games at a cost of more than $37 million.

• TransLink will spend some $23 million to increase security on transit, including CCTV cameras and surveillance technology, anti-terrorist training for transit officers, and random screening of passengers.

• BC Ferries has already received $3.9 million from the federal government for security and is requesting an additional $20 million.

• New CCTV and surveillance systems have been set up at port facilities.

• In January 2008, a military CP140 Aurora conducted low-level flights over Vancouver carrying out aerial mapping of the city.

• The Canadian Forces plans on establishing up to ten camps in Pemberton and at other points along

the Sea-to-Sky Highway (which links Vancouver to Whistler, site of skiing events) to base 1,800 troops at a cost of $40 million.

Security Zones: Areas around Olympic venues are designated as special security zones, with access limited to holders of special ID passes (i.e., residents, Olympic officials, athletes, etc.).

• The RCMP have requested 40 km of hi-tech security fencing with CCTV and motion detectors to set up security zones around Olympic venues.

Repression and Criminalization: Anti-Olympic or oppositional groups are subjected to intensified surveillance and harassment by police and intelligence agencies.

Corporate media are used to justify the large deployment of security forces and measures taken (i.e., threats of ‘terrorist’ attacks, social disorder, etc.). Anti-Olympic protests are subjected to heavy police controls including use of riot police, violent attacks on demonstrations, and enforcement of ‘no-protest’ zones around Olympic venues.

• Anti-2010 protests since 2007 have seen large deployments of police, inc. crowd control units and Emergency Response Teams. Over 40 arrests have occurred as a result.

Protesters have been subject to searches at rallies and police raids (i.e., the DERA office in March 2007). One Native elder, Harriet Nahanee, died as a result of her two week imprisonment for blockading construction on the Sea-to-Sky Highway.

• The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) issued ‘threat assessment’ reports highlighting the potential for violent protests and targeting in particular Indigenous and antipoverty groups. These reports reveal that ‘intelligence probes’ are being conducted.

• RCMP, Vancouver police, and CSIS agents have approached

members of the anti-Olympic movement seeking information and potential informants.

• Project Civil City and new bylaws criminalize poor and homeless persons by restricting their ability to survive (i.e., panhandle, sleep outdoors, collect recyclables, etc.).

Private Security: In addition to police and military, large numbers of private security guards are employed.

• In Vancouver, government and business associations have spent millions expanding private security forces in the downtown area as part of the criminalization of the poor (i.e., Project Civil City). It is expected that by 2010 there will be thousands of private security guards employed to assist police and military. Along with police, they also play an important role in the harassment of poor persons in a process of ‘social cleansing’ and gentrification.

Case Studies Beijing Olympic Police State: The Beijing 2008 Summer Games were

Segregated stands of a sports arena in Bloemfontein, South Africa, 1969. African nations threatend a boycott of the Olympics in 1972 and 1976 to force a ban on aparteid South Africa.

Olympic Games were boycotted by various nations for a number of political reasons such as the repression in Hungary, colonialism in the Middle East, and intervention in Afghanistan.

SJSU Public Affairs, ‘wikimedia’ A statue on the San Jose State University campus of Tommie Smith and John Carlos. The pair gave the black power salute on the podium at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City in solidarity with those in poverty outside the stadium and as part of the Olympic Project for Human Rights, an organization oppossed to racial segregation and racism in sports. The demonstration of power and pride had the medalists expelled from the games.

Ten days before the 1968 Olympics began, military forces slaughtered several hundred students and workers in Tlatelolco, Mexico City.

UN Photo/H Vassal longtrekhome, ‘wikimedia’ The start of the international Human Rights Torch Relay August 9, 2007.

State repression and violation of human rights increased with the coming of the Olympic Games to Beijing in 2008. The case of Beijing is not unique.

Despite human right violations no nations supported the calls to boycott the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

to usher in a new era of ‘freedom and democracy’ for China, according to the International Olympic Committee and corporate backers.

Instead, security preparations for the Games vastly strengthened the government’s control. Some 100,000 police and soldiers were deployed, along with 300,000 CCTV cameras and some 400,000 informants: “When the last gold medal has been awarded and the athletes have left, this network of informers--along with an estimated 300,000 surveillance cameras and a strengthened security apparatus-will remain as perhaps the biggest legacy of the historic Beijing Olympics”.

So far, it seems clear that the Beijing Olympics have led to a deterioration of human rights and freedom in China. “It has reversed the clock,” says Nicholas Bequelin, a China researcher for Human Rights Watch. “Overall, the Games are having a negative impact on human rights. It has [obstructed] the growth of civil society and civil organizations.” During the Games, scores were arrested for protesting China’s violent occupation of Tibet, and over 50 human rights activists were expelled from the country.

Thousands more were forced to leave the city. Over 30 websites critical of the government were closed down. Although ‘protest zones’ were set up, the government rejected virtually all applications made to hold rallies. Journalists were restricted in their activities and some were assaulted.

Australia 2000 Summer Games: During the lead-up to the 2000 Sydney Summer Games, the Australian government passed new laws strengthening police powers of search and arrest, limiting civil liberties, and establishing nogo zones for protesters around Olympic venues. Those most affected were Aboriginal and poor people. It also authorized the use of the military in domestic security operations. As the Games neared, anti-Olympic protest groups were subjected to violent attacks by riot police and increased surveillance.

The corporate media collaborated with government, corporate, and police agencies to smear antiOlympics protesters as ‘unpatriotic’ hooligans.

Originally published online at no2010.com

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FEATURES

FALL ISSUE 2 2009

The Students, United....

Have we been Defeated?

Ashley McEachern

M

y name is Ashley. I am 23 years old. I am five months from completing my Masters degree at York University. I am $32,265 in debt.

I marched, shouted, cheered, and froze at the November 5 Drop Fees Rally in Toronto for the sixth year in a row. Even though I have been a consistent supporter of accessible post-secondary education, this is the only active involvement I have had in the student movement as of now.

My sister dragged me to my first Drop Fees Rally in Ottawa when I began my undergrad. As a fresh face to the university, I did not sympathize with her constant complaining about how student loans were ruining her life. Now, six years of post-secondary education and debt induced stress later, the thought of entering my ‘repayment’ stage of life makes me quiver.

Back in 2003, I believed that in pursuing post-secondary education I would be able to escape the burdens of my social class. I certainly did not think that all of my high school colleagues who decided against going to university would be putting down payments on houses and buying cars, while I spent six years studying and working full time just to ‘get by.’

My story is not unique. This is the story of thousands of Canadian students, who were tricked into believing that access to education meant access to another reality.

Little did we know that ‘reality’ was ten years of repayment and confinement to our social class.

Background Ontario has the highest tuition fees in all of Canada. While the Canadian Federation of Students

(CFS) was successful in pressuring tuition freezes in British Columbia, Newfoundland, Manitoba, and Quebec, we in Ontario are faced with rising fees and decreasing scholarships and grants, while rumors about cutting minimum funding requirements for graduate students seem to be the most recent attack on access to education.

in Ontario and we have since seen a reframing of the student movement. On November 5, the students called on the McGuinty government not only to reduce tuition fees, but also to consider increasing the minimum wage, to providing affordable childcare and social investment, and to creating a poverty-free Ontario.

Here in Ontario, access to both post-secondary education and the 70% of jobs that now require

However, the numbers at this year’s demonstration remained low and, sadly, for the sixth year in a row,

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During this years march, I overheard a young economics student telling a friend that although he came to the event, he felt it was futile: “yeah, I come to these protests, but this is not going to change anything.” I asked him to expand, and he did: “Do you really think students are poor? I mean seriously, you have an apartment right? And you have a bus pass? And I am sure you have enough food to eat? So there, are you really poor?

Students take out money to invest in their future.

Like any other investment, you suffer for a while but it will pay off…we all know that this will pay off.”

“Whether or not students are ‘poor’, in my opinion, is less important than the simple fact that high fees do one thing and one thing only – they keep the rich rich, with access to loans, while convincing the poor education is an opportunity, and then trapping them in a lifetime of debt.”

higher education thereafter is becoming easier for the wealthy and harder for the rest of us, who typically fall under categories as women, visible minorities, and disabled people. Studies from the University of California demonstrate that as tuition fees increase, minority and low-income students are the first to drop their dreams of higher education. We low-income family kids are just half as likely to attend university

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shut up. Why is it that so many students choose not to participate in the student movement?

I only managed to drag one friend out with me, although I know most of my colleagues are engulfed in debt loads greater than my own.

As I chanted “we don’t want no Mac n’ Cheese, yo Dalton, DROP THEM FEES,” I wondered to myself, where are my friends, why aren’t they here today, taking to the streets, calling for change the only way I believe it can happen? Why do so many indebted students avoid getting involved in the student movement?

M a y b e , just maybe, if more students got involved in these events, McGuinty would have no choice but to publicly respond to our demands

“Why is it that so many students choose not to participate in the student movement?”

as our socially connected, middle class colleagues. I don’t know if this is so much a question about poverty as it is equality.

Tackling Poverty?

If so many students are drowning in debt and are unhappy about it, why has nothing really changed here in Ontario since the first Drop Rally protest I attended years ago?

CFS caught on quickly to the ineffectiveness of the movement

In mobilization, numbers are important. If people want change, they need to present a collective front. A couple hundred students walking down back roads in a police escorted protest unfortunately does not scream for media attention; rather, it is just the students hitting the streets again for a few hours, after which they will go home and

Another friend told me that although she is over $30,000 in debt, she is certainly not poor: “I would not consider myself poor until I have to make the choice between food or shelter…I do not think I am poor because I have access to credit still.” This past student, although now working for just $12 an hour, believes that “the CFS is doing itself a disservice to make their argument by framing it in terms of poverty.” She argues that “most students are not poor.” Although I do not have a family to back me up, I suppose I cannot argue that I am poor either. At least not yet… not for another five months.

I recall seeing people at the Drop Fees march carrying designer handbags and sunglasses. They certainly weren’t poor. Is this why McGuinty is not responding to our demands: because firstly, there are not enough students involved in the movement to pose a threat; secondly, many of those who are involved in this feat to create a ‘poverty-free Ontario’ are not

The York Federation of Students help energize students in Vari Hall before heading downtown for the November 5th Day of Action

actually poor? Has the student movement been defeated?

Perhaps for many of us, including this white boy studying economics, framing a movement around poverty when its advocates are not particularly poor is not the best route to take. However, isn’t the drop fees campaign, or rather, the student movement, about making education more accessible to those who cannot afford it or even afford to take out loans that they will probably never be able to pay off: minorities, single parents, disabled students, women, people from families living under the poverty line? Isn’t it about helping those who really will not be able to survive off that $12 an hour when they graduate, perhaps because of medical expenses or family responsibilities? Whether or not students are ‘poor,’ in my opinion, is less important than the simple fact that high fees do one thing and one thing only: they keep rich people rich, with access to loans, while convincing poor people that education is an opportunity, and then trapping them in a lifetime of debt.

I think ultimately the next step in the movement demands another strategy shift. We need something more radical, something more than well organized marches. We need one that is grassroots in the truest sense of the words. At the end of the day, I went to the November 5 Day of Action Rally because I won’t give up, for I have hope that the student movement can persevere and should not shy away from taking part in critical selfreflective dialogue.

Zubaira Hussaini

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FEATURES

FALL ISSUE 2 2009

The Queers Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks Michael Lyons

O

n Thursday, November 5, the evangelical, interdenominational group Campus for Christ (C4C) was scheduled to hold a “Prayer for the Homosexual Community at York University.” The Tuesday before, the discovery of this event listing by a number of student groups on campus caused an immediate, heated backlash. Within the evening, the offensive description calling for “lives to be changed,” and for the homosexual community to “turn away from temptation” was removed from the website.

Within 24 hours, a formal petition to the Centre for Human Rights was issued by a number of student groups. Campus for Christ officially retracted the original description and apologized for those hurt by the event, claiming it was never their intention to imply homosexuality was wrong or a sin. The event was postponed until further notice, and the name was changed to “Prayer for the LGBTQA Community at York.”

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concern. Does this not reflect on the deeper beliefs of the Campus for Christ organization, and does an apology make up for those beliefs?

Upon some further research by a friend of mine, she discovered in Campus for Christ Canada’s “Evaluation Criteria for New Staff” that a “past established lifestyle of homosexuality disqualifies an applicant for staff.” This is listed under a section that describes the

With this in mind, at the mention of the word ‘protest,’ a number of people contacted me with concerns or with anger. ‘Protest’ I assume immediately conjured, for them, aggressive tactics of yelling, screaming, and sign waving. They assume all I wished to do was cause a commotion, pick a fight. I continued to explain that protesting can be done peacefully.

A number of people, including my boyfriend, seemed to believe that we should just accept the apology and move on.

I explained again and again that as an artist I believe that expressing feelings symbolically and creatively is a form of healing. If we were to simply accept the apology, that would mean for anyone who says or does something discriminatory or oppressive that a simple apology will fix the problem. That is not right. Does an apology for the Holocaust make it all okay? What about apologizing for black slavery, or for the oppression of Native people throughout North American history? If people didn’t continue to speak out about injustices against those who have been oppressed, history would repeat itself again and again. It’s like saying, “We’re sorry we’re angry at you for treating us that way, don’t worry about it. Nobody’s perfect.”

“If we were to simply accept the apology, that would mean for anyone who says or does something discriminatory or oppressive that a simple apology will fix the problem.

That is not right.”

From the moment I heard about the event I had been planning a protest in reaction, and I had decided by Tuesday evening that even if the event was canceled (and I was sure it would be) that I would go ahead with the protest plans anyway. On Thursday, with the ‘prayer’ postponed, and an official apology from C4C in mind, I and a number of students participated in a peaceful protest with the intention of showing the visibility, strength, and pride of the York queer community, and to voice our opinion that we don’t need to be prayed for. Later that night, my boyfriend and I broke up.

The event, the apology, the protest, the breakup. A number of questions could be asked about this series of events. Can hateful and bigoted actions be immediately excused if they are retracted and apologized for? Was a protest at all necessary with the apology from Campus for Christ? What does my boyfriend and me breaking up have to do with anything?

Language is a powerful tool, and an overwhelming responsibility.

Campus for Christ immediately retracted the description and claimed that the person who had written it had misunderstood the intent. What I found surprising though, is that this apology seemed like enough satisfaction for many people. I was horrified. Was I the only one who saw this as a problem? Damaging words had been said; they had gone unnoticed by the organization, and no one had objected until it became a public

“decaying of moral purity in our society” (Unfortunately, to my knowledge, these guidelines have since been removed from public access on the C4C organization website.) My friend also shared with me an interview process, the “Homosexual Experience Call,” for any applicants who have admitted to having homosexual experiences. This interview asks disturbingly personal questions such as: “How did the physical part of the relationship begin?

Who initiated the contact or was it a mutual thing?” (This interview continues to be available online, to my knowledge.) It finishes by encouraging the interviewer to state that it “doesn’t seem that this will affect your acceptance,” but if so, why is it necessary to ask applicants such deeply personal questions? In any other job application process, if questions like these were asked the employer could be punished.

Does this mean religion excuses Campus for Christ Canada from employment discrimination laws?

Of course I am not stating that these documents reflect the opinions of York University Campus for Christ members toward homosexuality, but it certainly informs their organization’s behavior toward the subject. This trickles down into the C4C York organization, to the person who was willing to write the description for the ‘prayer,’ and the people who allowed them to post it.

If language proved to be an issue for Campus for Christ, it certainly did in the protest as well. I readily admit my immediate reaction to the ’prayer’ was one of anger and hatred, and it was those emotions that led me to create the protest in its original concept: to disrupt, to overwhelm, to express my/our fury. With the damage control done

by Campus for Christ, and their change of strategies by saying they wished to educate their organization and build bridges, I also adapted my strategies. The protest became, ‘Queer Unity,’ a peaceful march.

My boyfriend disagreed with my going ahead with the protest so strongly that it led to a bigger argument, which in turn led to our break up. Although his response to the protest wasn’t the only negative one, it was certainly the most surprising.

He accused me of being “angry.” He spoke to me about my reactions to homophobia in this way: “[they’re] deeply troubling you to the point where I’m not sure what it will take to make you content.

Queer rights seems to fill up [every] part of your life, almost to the exclusion of other things. I don’t think it’s healthy for anybody to be so consumed by any topic or interest to

them.”

This opinion shocked me. My (now) ex-boyfriend had always been aware of my deep involvement for fighting for queer rights, and he had never expressed this concern until the evening after the protest.

Needless to say this made me feel like shit: a relationship went down the drain because of who I am, and because of everything I believe in.

However, what also makes this break up so significant, and why I choose to include it in this article alongside other acts of homophobia, is that it perfectly demonstrates something that I observe as a continual and everyday problem: the separation of the personal from the political, especially within the queer community.

With the advent of same-sex marriage in Canada, many gay people seem satisfied, and believe that the fight is over, when really it’s just the beginning. People seem to be ashamed of those who stand out and fight for justice. I tried to explain to my ex-boyfriend that just because we have certain rights, it doesn’t mean we are treated equally, or even necessarily tolerated. Rights do not mean anyone has equality. If my exboyfriend asked me what would make me content, I would say that I’d be happy when every single person everywhere can grow up

"in the army you get a medal for killing a man and charged for loving one" feeling like they are the equals of every other person in the world. I’ll be content the day no one feels they need to be fixed or changed simply because of who they are. Until that day, I will never be content, and I will continue fighting.

Maybe by going ahead with the protest I was just picking at wounds I won’t let heal, and maybe that’s what I’m doing by writing this article, but don’t we live in a democratic society? Campus for Christ has every right to say or believe whatever they want, just like I, along with everyone fighting for social justice and equality, have every right to show them that their actions violate human rights. In this vein, the support and the turnout for the protest was truly overwhelming.

For me, it was proof that the York queer community is truly strong and the definition of the word ’proud.’ These events have shown me that in the fight for equality and the battle against oppression, we will never be alone.

Ben Jevons Top: The queer community at York refuses to stay silent in the face of blatant homophobia.

Bottom: A peaceful protest advocating for queer rights leads the way through York’s halls.

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FALL ISSUE 2 2009

Sexual Violence and Sri Lankan State Sovereignty are the state, and the state, by its very construction, is simultaneously above the law and the upholder of the law. Thus, when a Tamil woman is gang-raped at a check point by the military, not only does she not have any legal avenues because she is not recognized as human by the law and the law serves only those whose humanity is recognized by the state, but the violation of her body is also legalized as a necessary act or performance by the state to re-assert and re-inscribe the division between citizen-human and non-citizen-non-human.

Jessica Devi Chandrashekar

W

hat has taken place in Sri Lanka this year marks a historical turning point. The liberation struggle against the Sri Lankan occupation of the homeland of the Tamil people is at a stand still and has suffered a debilitating blow.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a group formed to fight for the rights, recognition, and freedom of the Tamil people and homeland (Tamil Eelam), had previously controlled areas of the North and East of the island now under occupation of the Sri Lankan state. The Sri Lankan state has moved hundreds of thousands of troops into the region and continues to hold 250, 000 Tamil people in concentration camps. Tamil people are terrorized and humiliated by the government as it proceeds to build settlements on Tamil owned land and take over the homes and businesses of people who fled the fighting in what can only be described as the violent colonization of Eelam.

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Historically, the island that is now called Sri Lanka was comprised of three kingdoms. The Tamil kingdom was located in the North and East of the island and during Dutch and Portuguese colonialism, the three kingdom structure was maintained.

Only during British colonial rule were the three autonomous kingdoms amalgamated into a single state with a centralized government.

During the transition from colonial rule to ‘independence’ in 1948, state power was transferred to the majority Singhalese population.

Successive governments since 1948 have institutionalized policies which reify the power and rights of

the Singhalese. Here we see that the dominance of the Sri Lankan state over Tamil people is a move that continues colonial rule.

The current situation is the culmination of 500 years of colonialism and 61 years of institutionalized state racism.

Since 1948 the Sri Lankan state has systematically marginalized and dehumanized Tamil people, to the point where a national liberation struggle became necessary. It was clear that for a Tamil, being treated as human was not possible in the state of Sri Lanka.

The struggle for Eelam presents a fundamental questioning of the legitimacy of Sri Lanka’s borders, the sovereignty of the state, and essentially, challenges the historical ‘truth’ upon which Sri Lanka and

Ebrkut /flickr Tamils everywhere mobilize to protest the Sri Lankan government’s ongoing violation of the Tamil people and land of fleeing the war zone was documented by the Centre for War Victims and Human Rights, describes the flee: “It’s a miracle that we escaped from it all…we had to cross a lagoon with neck

because they had been raped and tortured are frequently abducted from hospitals by security forces.

A doctor who worked in a hospital in Vavuniya reported he had an entire ward full of Tamil women who had been raped by Sri Lankan forces as they fled the war zone.

“Sexual violence is one of the ways through which the Sri Lankan state makes the occupation of Eelam an embodied experience. It is a weapon of terror that reinforces the Sri Lankan state’s occupation of Tamil bodies and therefore the occupation of the historic homeland of the Tamil people.” the Sri Lankan national subject’s world is constructed.

In order to manage the anxieties precipitated by the resistance of Tamil people, the Sri Lankan state asserts and enforces its national sovereignty most violently on the bodies of Tamil women through sexual violence and torture. This is made explicit by the violence inflicted against Tamil women who fled the war zone earlier this year and the daily violence endured by women who are Internally Displaced P e r s o n s (IDP) and are currently being held in government r u n concentration camps.

As the LTTE controlled land was reduced to a narrow strip of beach, the people who were caught in the fighting, all Tamil, were forced to flee to government controlled land in hopes that they would be allowed to return home once the fighting ceased.

Gana Arumugam York students perform a play for the All Students Maveerar Naal about a school girl named Krishanthy Kumarasamy who was raped and murdered by Sri Lankan soldiers.

This, however, was not the case.

Thurka, an elderly Tamil woman whose experience

deep water, the lagoon was not such earlier, it’s because it has large craters in it due to the heavy bombing. As we passed the lagoon, Senthuran, my son, who can swim directed me to cross over and went again to get his wife and kid. I saw many people losing their ‘sarram,’ it was floating in the water…the owner to it probably drowned or hadn’t even realized they have lost it. The walking journey to the camp was devastating…I crossed so many dead bodies. I walked endlessly for hours, we even got lost. I am diabetic. I was so thirsty…didn’t have any clean water to drink. I didn’t think I will make it. At one point I had even got up and told Senthuran to walk away with his family but he did not let me go. Throughout our journey, the shelling and bombing never stopped, so it was a miracle we didn’t get hit…somehow God is punishing me to witness it all.”

Tamil women who fled the fighting were subjected to sexual violence prior to being forced into concentration camps. In one instance, 130 Tamil women fleeing the war zone were captured by the Sri Lankan army and raped.

In February, two young girls who had been raped by soldiers were forced into one of the concentration camps. Once they arrived, they killed themselves. A mother of a three month old child from the same camp was taken out of the camp by soldiers for ‘questioning.’ She has not returned and is presumed dead.

Earlier this year it was reported that 300 pregnant Tamil IDP women were forcibly given abortions and then sterilized.

Tamil women who are hospitalized

Women who are being held in female-only camps are at greater risk of being raped.

One woman who was held in such a camp reported that women were taken outside of the camp, one by one, to be questioned about their connections to the LTTE. During these interviews, the women are assaulted, humiliated and subjected to sexual violence.

In July an aid worker who works in one of the camps provided evidence that government officials were running a prostitution racket out of one of the concentration camps.

Last month, a 53 year old woman was taken into custody without a warrant. She was threatened, harassed and then forcibly stripped.

She was released without any charges ever being pressed.

Women held in the concentration camps have limited or no mobility at all. While everyone held in the camps is heavily guarded by the military personnel who patrol the camps, women are at added risk of being sexually assaulted. Bodily care becomes impossible. Women hardly bathe. Their options are to bathe in public spaces where they are visible to everyone in the camp or to bathe in a secluded area where they are harassed by military and put at risk of sexual violence.

That this violence is possible is indicative of the fabric of the Sri Lankan state and the narrative that has been institutionalized as its national history and identity. In this script, the Tamil people are nonhumans and their non-humanity is maintained by the construction of the Tamil woman’s body as inherently rapeable. The rapability of Tamil women is sanctioned by law through an internationally notorious system of impunity. The violators of Tamil women’s bodies

Rape has historically been used as a tool to strengthen ongoing colonialism by degrading the bodies of women, and is as such an essential act the Sri Lankan state must perform in order to maintain itself. The nationstate as an institution that has emerged through modernity, colonialism, imperialism, and anti-colonial nationalism is inherently heteropatriarchal. Rape functions as a performance of state sovereignty as it asserts its power by re-organizing itself through who belongs to the nation according to a heteropatriarchal hierarchy.

This heteropatriarchal hierarchy institutionalizes a channel through which national subjects are able to express their national belonging through various manifestations of power and violence. The systematic rape of Tamil women by chauvinistic agents of the Sri Lankan state is an example of this.

The use of rape is significant in that it collapses public and private spaces in a very particular way. We can revisit the example of women IDPs being unable to bathe. The threat of being raped creates an atmosphere of extreme fear where a Tamil woman literally has no space to feel and be safe. The state makes its power known by repossessing private or domestic spaces where some humanity might have otherwise been claimed.

Sexual violence is one of the ways through which the Sri Lankan state makes the occupation of Eelam an embodied experience. It is a weapon of terror that reinforces the Sri Lankan state’s occupation of Tamil bodies and therefore the occupation of the historic homeland of the Tamil people. Thus, sexual violence enables occupation through the body where land and history are seized, violently torn apart, and re-assembled into a Buddhist Singhalese heteropatriarchal state where national borders erase the existence of an entire people.

The systemic rape and threat of sexual violence against Tamil women in Sri Lanka is a technique of genocide employed by the state without having to immediately kill each Tamil body. The aim is to kill the Tamil people’s will to resist, desire for a recognized homeland and self-determination. Therefore, the violation of Tamil women’s bodies is a direct violation of the Tamil people’s land.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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FEATURES

FALL ISSUE 2 2009

Who’s Afraid of Richard Goldstone?

The Goldstone Report and the Struggle of Palestinian People Ronnie Kasrils

J

ustice Richard Goldstone is an internationally respected judge of integrity and credibility. Sober, reserved, prim, and proper, his reputation has been built on impeccable credentials.

This has included his investigations into the apartheid-era hitsquads and violence, as well as violations of international law in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Furthermore, he has accomplished work in connection with the UN Iraq Oil for Food Programme. He is also known for his outstanding service in South Africa’s Constitutional Court.

It was expected that the apartheid era security services and generals would be afraid of this man.

Ironically, however, in the aftermath of the release of the UN Report on Gaza, this lifelong friend of Israel, a professed Zionist himself, has been vilified

by Netenyahu and the Israeli Government, by the Chief Rabbi of South Africa, and by many fellow Jews. It seems that this unlikely candidate for ‘self-hating Jew’ made the top of their list. Without a doubt the Israeli Government and Defence Force as well as Zionist apologists worldwide have come to fear and loathe this quiet, genteel, undemonstrative man who strives to serve truth, justice, and the rule of law in the best way he can.

South Africa’s Chief Rabbi, Warren Goldstein, calls the Goldstone Report on Gaza “a political strategy for delegitimizing Israel,” alleging that it is “phrased in wild, undisciplined, and aggressive language.” He goes on to say that the report violates the audi alteram partem (right to be heard) rule, but he injudiciously ignores the fact that it was Israel that refused to participate and prevented the Justice Goldstone team from setting

foot in Israel and the West Bank.

Israel’s atrocities against the besieged Gaza Strip lasted 22 days--from December 27 last year until January 17 this year-resulting in up to 1,400 Palestinians killed (up to 74% civilians including some 200 children) whilst 13 Israelis died (3 of whom were civilians). Crucially, the Goldstone findings concluded that Israel’s onslaught on Gaza was not an operation of self-defence in response to rocket attacks but was “directed at the people of Gaza as a whole, in furtherance of an overall and continuing policy aimed at punishing the Gaza population.”

Punish them they did. Their planes, tanks, and artillery reduced schools, mosques, factories, water/ sanitation plants, electricity plants, and UN food depots to rubble.

Women and children carrying white flags were fired on. Civilians were used as human shields by Israeli soldiers. Obscene weapons such as white phosphorous bombs rained down indiscriminately from the skies. Those munitions are banned

by Geneva protocols even against military personnel, let alone against civilians and children. Many people were horribly mutilated and died in unspeakable agony. By way of ‘balance,’ the Goldstone Report found Hamas guilty of human rights violations and war crimes for firing rockets into Israel, thereby killing some ten civilians in as many years.

By now virtually everyone knows the reason why the Israeli Government and its supporters are so hot under the collar over Justice Goldstone, who they believe, in their crude racism, should have behaved like a ‘loyal’ Jew. Certainly it is because his Report finds Israel “guilty of crimes against humanity” and many violations of international law, and

Sri Lankan Violence CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

Furthermore, when a nation is imagined through gendered concepts such as mother tongue and mother land, the torture of Tamil women through sexual violence works to not only destroy the imagined nation by reducing Tamil women into ‘incapacitated’ bodies, it also functions to destroy the particular cultural memory and history that is passed on from generation to generation by women.

Essentially, sexual violence forces the Tamil people in Sri Lanka to bear witness to the destruction of their world and their humanity. The mass rapes that occurred as Tamils fled the war zone, the continual threat of sexual violence against women in the concentration camps, and the militarized daily life of Tamil women whose land is occupied by a fascist state all constitute acts of genocide.

Although the Sri Lankan state continually asserts such horrific violences against Tamil lives

as if they were non-humans, I want to finish with a quote by writer Toni Morrison that more accurately speaks to the humanity and resilience of Tamil women: “You know, they straightened out the Mississippi River in places to make room for houses and livable acreage. Occasionally the river floods these places. ‘Floods’ is the word they use, but in fact it is not flooding; it is remembering.

Remembering where it used to be.

All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was.”

Likewise, the Sri Lankan state will never be successful in erasing the memory of the Tamil people or their will to ‘get back to where they were.’ The separation of the Tamil people from their land is not possible. No amount of sexual violence will break the will of Tamil women to fight for their right to walk on their land with dignity and pride.

carried the stamp of Goldstone’s respectability.

Compared to numerous other reports on the Gaza atrocity the findings are moderate, but they are certainly reinforced by those reports of Israeli, Palestinian, and international NGOs as well as testament by Israeli soldiers of conscience. All these reports found that Hamas scrupulously observed the terms of last year’s ceasefire and that it was Israel that broke this on November 4, 2008 when it carried out an incursion into Gaza, killing six Hamas activists. This led to a cycle of violent retaliation by both sides, culminating in Israel’s overwhelming punitive onslaught that commenced on December 27, 2008. Such facts challenge Israel’s claim of having reacted in defence of its security and to protect its people. The idea that this can be better done by diplomatic means has always been anathema to those in Tel Aviv who prefer a militaristic solution.

petrified of the consequences. The Goldstone Report has called on the UN Security Council to require Israel to launch “appropriate investigations” into the violations that have been detailed. If no investigation is launched within six months, the Security Council is requested to pass the case to the International Criminal Court at The Hague. This has caused huge alarm--hence the backlash and the reason why the Goldstone Report must be undermined by the likes of Rabbi Goldstein--the propagandist bent on sanctifying Israel’s inhumanity. Israel has long depended on America to do the job of sabotaging action by the United Nations. The U.S. is likely to quash the report by exercising its veto in the Security Council, but by doing this President Obama risks undermining efforts to restore America’s standing in the world, especially in the Middle East.

The reason for opposition against Justice Goldstone’s Report goes far deeper than the findings. Justice Goldstone is a self-professed Zionist, of liberal persuasion; some like him believe that Israel can and should live up to its founding ideals and commitment to justice, equality, and the rule of law, and act as an inspirational “light unto the nations.” He clearly and sincerely hopes that Israel will reform its ways.

Those good people interested in resolving this problem in the best interests of all those living in the region need to take into account three points:

Unfortunately, this commonly held view of the past 60 years hides the reality of the expropriation by force of an Indigenous people’s land, and their dispersal in a bloody process of ethnic cleansing from 1948 to present times. In their place a colonial, racist state has been installed, which has become more militaristic, morally bankrupt, and grotesque with time. Quite naturally, those who have been dispossessed will fight for their land and rights as has happened in all other such cases of dispossession and injustice, including South Africa. Liberal Zionists like Justice Goldstone, and many governments and people particularly in the West, succumbed to the confidence trick that projects the establishment of an ethnic home for the Jews in another people’s land as a righteous act of national liberation and independence. It is like saying that an untamed South Africa was liberated by the white settlers.

The Gaza atrocity of 2009 marks a turning point in the history of Israel’s persecution of the Palestinians. World opinion has been aroused against Israel as never before. In fact, things can never be the same again, and that is why Zionists like Goldstein are so vicious and intolerant of Zionists like Justice Goldstone who take a principled stand in the face of such unquestionable criminal actions. What Israel’s merciless aggression has opened up at last is a worldwide process whereby the questioning of the legitimacy of the Zionist project has been unleashed.

Israel is losing the moral and media struggle--the battle for hearts and minds everywhere.

Israel and its supporters are

1. There are unfortunate divisions and weakness amongst the Palestinians, and it is essential to encourage unity. This will be helped by the growing strength and influence of the Palestinian civil rights movement within the occupied territories and inside Israel itself. Victory is only possible on the basis of national unity.

2. The pattern of Israel’s wars of aggression against Palestinians and Arab states since 1948 demonstrates that Israel is not interested in genuine peace. The Zionist objective is for a Greater Israel, “from the river to the sea,” with bantustan enclaves for the remaining Palestinians side-by-side

with weak Arab and Islamic states.

Unity between progressive Israelis-no matter how few at present (although they grow in numbers as did progressive whites in South Africa)--and the Palestinians is an important way to help secure peace and equality as well as isolate the scourge of Israeli militarism.

3. The western countries have supported Israel as allies in the strategic oil-rich Middle East and as buffers against the national liberation movements of the Arab people for genuine independence. Their populations must pressure those governments to support justice and freedom for the Palestinians in the way that international solidarity played a role in South African apartheid.

It is important that we in South Africa condemn Israel’s aggression and occupation of Palestinian territories, support the Goldstone Report, and have it adopted by the UN, demand that Israel be brought before the International Criminal Court to face charges of crimes against humanity, and mobilize our people in united action behind the international Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.

I started by asking the question: who’s afraid of Justice Richard Goldstone? It is perfectly clear that Israel and its Zionist supporters are petrified of his findings. However, if we are to change things and make a difference, we must work to strengthen the BDS campaign.

Israel and its apologists fear BDS even more than they fear Judge Richard Goldstone.

Address by Ronnie Kasrils to NADEL (National Association of Democratic Lawyers of South Africa).

Franco Folina, ‘flickr’ Some liberal Zionists, like Goldstone, believe that Israel should live up to its own ideals of justice and equality and reform. Other progressive Jews see the problem going much deeper than not living up to ideals.

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FEATURES

FALL ISSUE 2 2009

By Seongcheol Kim

T

he year 2009 will go down as a year of unmitigated electoral disasters for European social democrats. On first sight, this trend appears surprising, given the ongoing crisis in capitalism that has forced neo-liberalism into the defensive in most quarters. Yet the crisis in social democracy is the logical result of over a decade of misdirection, which has seemingly no end in sight. Perhaps the sorry state of the social democrats could be summarized by two defining moments of the past year: one in the lead-up to the June 2009 European Parliament election and one immediately following it.

In June 2009, the Party of European Socialists (PES)--the social democratic group in the European Parliament-responded to its worst European Parliament election result ever by reforming itself as the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (PASD).

Part of the reform package was the expansion of the group to include the Democratic Party of Italy, an ill-defined medley of Prodian social democrats, liberal reformists, and left-leaning Christian democrats(!).

The PES’s logic seems to be that widening the tent--and nudging it ever more to the right--will somehow make up for the losses it incurred in the election.

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The ongoing crisis in social democracy becomes easier to understand when one drops the assumption--Schulz’s assumption-that social democrats have always been social democrats, and that the conservatives are the ones betraying their vaunted ideals. The awful truth is that Europe’s ‘social democrats’ are the progenitors of neo-liberal policy. For over a decade--indeed, starting with the earliest days of Tony Blair’s meteoric rise to the Premiership-social democrats everywhere have presided over massive public spending cuts, dismantling of the welfare state (Sozialabbau as it is called in Germany), privatizations of key sectors, and deregulation of the finance markets. In short, it is they, the social democrats, whose treacherous embracing of neo-liberalism has triggered the ongoing economic crisis and

the German welfare state, capped by tax gifts for the rich and big business, privatization of the postal service, and--perhaps most appallingly--plans to privatize the railways, scrapped at the last minute due to the ongoing economic crisis. To make matters worse, the SPD has accounted for this treacherous rightward shift by flagrantly accusing the conservatives of converging toward them. Perhaps Mr. Schulz could explain how the Christian Democrats’ plans to reward fat cats with tax cuts and introduce flat payments for healthcare entail a social-democratization of the conservatives.

Clearly, the SPD and the cadre of disingenuous neo-liberals running the party have illusory visions. In the German parliamentary election campaign last September, the SPD’s lead candidate, F r a n k - Wa l t e r Steinmeier, promised four million new jobs.

Voters, however, looked at the SPD’s record rather than its rhetoric, and handed the SPD its worst election debacle (23.0%) in the history of the Federal Republic.

In yet another show of myopia, Steinmeier subsequently warned his party against a leftward shift, and vowed to maintain the status quo inherited from Gerhard Schröder, the father of the Sozialabbau. In the meantime, the Left Party--the party of democratic socialists and disenchanted ex-SPD supporters-had made astonishing gains

“In short, it is they, the social democrats, whose treacherous embracing of neo-liberalism has triggered the ongoing economic crisis and the crisis in public confidence that has accompanied it.”

As pathetic as such a move seems, it does not compare to the incongruity of the following scene. During the election campaign, PES leader Martin Schulz--a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)--had spoken of the “socialdemocratization” of European conservative governments.

European conservatives, the theory went, were increasingly appropriating social democratic principles. “If you listen to Frau Merkel, Monsieur Sarkozy, or even Signor Berlusconi, they sound like Karl Marx in exile,” Schulz had asserted. He then wishfully added, “Once in the polling booth, citizens will understand quickly that it has to be better to vote for the original, rather than for a pale copy.”

As is clear from Schulz’s distorted observations, a critical problem of perception lies at the heart of the crisis in European social democracy. What Schulz is sadly missing is the neo-liberalization of his own social democrats, rather than the social-democratization of the conservatives. How else could one explain his own SPD’s long-standing support for slashes in public spending, reductions in retirement benefits, and the German combat mission in Afghanistan?

the crisis in public confidence that has accompanied it. It is no wonder, then, that social democrats throughout Europe are paying the price politically.

Schulz’s own SPD has come to embody the plague that has gripped European social democrats. During the past decade in government, the SPD has presided over an unprecedented overhauling of

High Contrast ‘Wikimedia’

The Crisis in Social Democracy, 2009 Edition

Martin Schulz, Party of European Socialists leader and German Social Democrat, gives a speech at Political Ash Wednesday in Bavaria. During the German elections, Schulz described the ‘social-democratization’ of conservative governments. However, it appears like the social democrats are betraying their values.

(11.9%) in the same election thanks to its consistent championing of social justice, workers’ rights, and public services. It’s too bad that Steinmeier somehow missed it.

The SPD has sharply distanced itself from the Left Party, routinely demonizing it as a party of East German nostalgics on the extremist fringe and rejecting all proposals for a coalition with the Left on the national level. During the election campaign, Steinmeier had instead called for a coalition with the Free Democrats (FDP)--the party of

free-market fundamentalists who do not even want a coalition--with the SPD. It’s quite revealing that the SPD would have preferred a coalition with a party that calls for dismantling the healthcare fund and opposes a legal minimum wage (the FDP) rather than with a party that wants to introduce a single-payer healthcare system and a legal minimum wage of €8 an hour (the Left). Recently, the SPD in the state of Thuringia chose to form a governing coalition with the Christian Democrats rather than with the Left, to the dismay of many grassroots organizers within the SPD. Even after the catastrophe in the September federal election, the SPD appears content to push ahead with its neo-liberal agenda and appeal to the conservatives and market liberals as the preferred coalition partners.

It comes as little surprise, then, that social democrats across Europe are in freefall amid the current crisis in capitalism. The social democrats are mired in a crisis of their own, having ruined their credibility with a decade of neo-liberal duplicity and persistently refusing both to critically reflect on past failures and to make a much-needed shift in direction. Year after year, the SPD puts forth an ambitious new manifesto laden with social democratic language, and then fails to live up to it in government, on the federal and state levels. By now, voters are no longer fooled by such hollow lip-servicing. The year 2009 will go down as a sad year for social democracy, but it’s now up to the social democrats to make something out of this crisis. It’s up to the SPD to constructively use its time in the Opposition to contribute to building an honest, coherent, and forceful left-of-center alternative to counteract the rise of the right.

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FALL ISSUE 2 2009

COMMENTS Criticizing Israel Isn’t Anti-Semitism: But New Coalition of MPs Disagree Murray Dobbin Ever since the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip last December, the global debate surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has intensified with both sides upping the ante, while the stakes of framing the battle is increasing almost daily. One of the most recent--but almost totally unreported--developments in Canada is in relation to something called the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism (CPCCA). It is not an official parliamentary body but is a multi-party, voluntary association consisting of 13 Members of Parliament (MPs). The CPCCA is currently holding an inquiry into anti-Semitism because, its affiliates say, “The extent and severity of anti-Semitism is widely regarded as at its worst level since the end of the Second World War.” In fact, anti-Semitic attitudes in the U.S. are at an all-time low according to Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, whose mandate is to monitor and expose anti-Semitism. Statistics Canada reports that the number of hate crimes against Jews has been drop-

credibility than Israel’s supporters had ever anticipated. So is the international Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. These are very serious threats to Israel’s credibility as ‘the only democratic state in the Middle East’--one of its most powerful claims.

‘Rebranding’ Israel after the Gaza Massacre Last December’s brutal assault on Gaza by the Israeli army and air force--and the deliberate targeting of civilians (as publicly confessed by the soldiers who did it)--was a tipping point for many who had preferred to sit on the fence or decline to form a hard opinion. Those hard opinions are forming everywhere right now and the current government of Israel, led by the hard-line Benjamin Netanyahu, is only making things worse.

There have been two responses. The newest is what the Israeli government has referred to as ‘re-branding,’ and in part it involves ‘soft’ stories about Israel--like one I saw on the CBC shot from a beach in Israel where bathers claimed they saw a mermaid. The most promi-

This brings us back to the CPCCA. The 13-member group is co-chaired by Liberals Scott Reid and Mario Silva. It boasts Winnipeg NDP MPs Pat Martin and Judy Wasylycia-Leis as well as Conservatives Jason Kenney and Peter Kent. Additionally, Liberals Bob Rae and Ken Dryden are members and the Bloc is also represented.

In all, the body is run by Kenney and the other ex-officio member, Liberal Irwin Cotler. Both Kenney and Cotler were in London, U.K. last February for the first meeting of European parliamentarians that led to the London Declaration of which the CPCCA is the follow-up initiative.

The core message of the coalition is that criticism of Israel itself is now a new form of anti-Semitism.

The group’s web site asks, “What is the ‘new anti-Semitism’?” and answers: “Anti-Semitism is an age-old phenomenon, yet it is always re-invented and manifested in different ways. For example, while accusations of blood libel are still being made against the Jewish people, instead they are being directed against the State of Israel, such that anti-Zionism is being used as a cover for anti-Semitism.”

There is No Evidence or Links to Any Evidence to Support the Body’s Claims

Ryerson Free Press

In its FAQ section, the coalition answers the question of whether or not its inquiry is “really about limiting legitimate criticism of the State of Israel?” No, says the web site: “dissent and opposition to individual actions of the Israeli government are both permitted and encouraged in and outside of Israel.”

Jason Kenney, Conservative MP and coalition member. But not, apparently, inside the inquiry. The coalition formally nent example was the celebration invited written submissions and ping since 2001-2002. of Tel Aviv’s centennial by the stated that “Based on these subBut of course, it all depends on Toronto Film Festival. Scores of missions, the committee will invite how you define anti-Semitism. prominent Jews (and thousands of witnesses to testify at a series of public hearings.” There was virtuJewish organizations from the Ca- others) protested. ally no general publicity about the nadian Jewish Congress and Hillel The other response is conventioninquiry, but when word did get out, to B’nai Brith have all been vigorously redefining this scourge to al. It is the simple rule of all pro- numerous submissions were made capture many more alleged perpe- Israeli organizations and activists: arguing against the Coalition’s contrators in its net of enemies. One of either declare outright or hint at cept of a “new anti-Semitism.” Yet their targets is the handful of Cana- the possibility that any individual not a single organization or indidian universities where pro-Pales- criticizing Israel is anti-Semitic. vidual known for criticism of Israel Critics of Israel who are Jewish- has been scheduled, as of writing tinian activity has been intense.

-whose numbers are increasing this article, to make a presentation But it goes far beyond just the uni- dramatically--are branded as ‘Jew- to the inquiry (it is holding eight versities. For the first time in de- hating Jews.’ The strategy has been meetings on Parliament Hill from cades, the unquestioned dominance extremely effective at intimidating November 2 to December 8). of Israel’s public relations machine potential critics into silence.

It seems the fix is in and the conand lobbying juggernaut is being seriously challenged. The char- Who’s on the Canadian Parlia- clusion of the inquiry has been acterization of Israel as an apart- mentary Coalition to Combat pre-ordained. If you are a critic of Israel, you are already, by definiheid state is gaining much more Anti-Semitism (CPCCA)?

Ryerson Free Press George Galloway has, on more than one occasion, been irresponsibly labeled as anti-Semitic by the Canadian Conservative government just for criticizing the colonialist policies of Israel tion, anti-Semitic and obviously not welcome.

Are Restrictive Speech Laws in the Works?

The CPCCA’s inquiry begs a lot of questions, not the least of which is where do they get their funding? The coalition says it does not receive any funding from the gov-

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ister of immigration he personally blocked British MP George Galloway from speaking in Canada.

He also eliminated the half million dollars in funding the Canadian Arab Federation used for settlement programs for new immigrants (and not just Muslims). He refused to provide any evidence justifying the move. Kenney told a Toronto audience to “be wary of the rise

For the first time in decades, the unquestioned dominance of Israel’s public relations machine and lobbying juggernaut is being seriously challenged.

ernment, NGOs or Jewish community organizations. Their budget is considerable, judging by the fact that eight of the 20-odd witnesses so far scheduled to appear at the inquiry are being flown in from the U.K., the U.S., Germany, and Israel. While the web site promises to reveal funding sources, none are so far listed.

More to the point, just what do the coalition’s members hope will result from their proceedings? The CPCCA will make a report to the government and “anticipates that the Government will respond to it by the spring of 2010.” That seems pretty specific, especially for a government that is not known for responding readily to outside groups.

Has the government already agreed to respond to the report? Will its recommendations find their way into the criminal code?

There is good reason to fear such an eventuality. Jason Kenney--the powerful Conservative ex-officio member of the coalition--is the point man for Stephen Harper on issues involving Israel and as min-

of a new form of anti-Semitism cloaked in debates about Israel’s actions in the Middle East.”

It remains to be seen what the recommendations of the coalition will be, but its conclusions regarding a sweeping redefinition of antiSemitism have already been drawn and incorporated into their inquiry process--mortally damaging its credibility. The likelihood that the Harper government is working in lock-step with the coalition is high and the CPCCA’s purpose may well be to prepare the ground for criminalizing criticism of Israel.

The remaining question is whether Jack Layton, Michael Ignatieff, and Giles Duceppe will allow such an abomination to be reflected in any new legislation.

Murray Dobbin’s State of the Nation column appears every other Thursday in The Tyee and rabble.ca and he now publishes a blog. View full article and comments: http:// thetyee.ca/Opinion/2009/11/19/ Antisemitism

COMMENTS

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FALL ISSUE 2 2009

Remembering the Day After Harsha Walia Reprinted November 13, 2009 Vancouver Sun Community of Interest When we launched life / on the river of grief / how vital were our arms, how ruby our blood / With a few strokes, it seemed, / we would cross all pain, / we would soon disembark. / That didn’t happen. / In the stillness of each wave we found invisible currents. / The boatmen, too, were unskilled, / their oars untested. / Investigate the matter as you will, / blame whomever, as much as you want, / but the river hasn’t changed, / the raft is still the same. / Now you suggest what’s to be done, / you tell us how to come ashore. - Faiz Ahmed Faiz (Translation by Agha Shahid Ali) This is not about Remembrance Day; this is about the day after, and the days after. A journal of sorts, this is about all the remaining days of the year. This is an invocation to memorialize all those who have suffered and died due to human and corporate greed, military wars and occupations, man-made poverty, and environmental devastation.

This is a remembrance of the horrors of the world, if you will, to jar us from our collective amnesia that seems to set in on certain days.

poppies.”

‘Never Again’ seems to have been rebranded into an affirmation of death, rather than life. Ironically, a day where--according to Veterans Affairs itself--we are to remember “our responsibility to work for peace,” we are bombarded with messages of militaristic glory. In the words of US combat veteran and renowned historian Howard Zinn, “Instead of an occasion for denouncing war, it has become an occasion for bringing out the flags, the uniforms, the martial music, the patriotic speeches...Those who name holidays, playing on our genuine feeling for veterans, have turned a day that celebrated the end of a horror into a day to honor militarism.” Indeed, should Remembrance Day stories not emphasize those soldiers who oppose wars, whether as conscientious objectors or war resisters? While many would like to cast them as cowards, refusing to blindly and obediently act on unjust, illegal, or immoral military orders are acts of heroism.

whether she will feel obliged to express her sympathy for dead CaBut again, this is not about Re- nadian soldiers. Joya is a women’s membrance Day. Today, I am rights and anti-war activist--dubbed haunted by the faces of those who the bravest woman in Afghanistan are being slaughtered and mur- by the BBC--who has repeatedly dered by ‘our boys’ in Afghanistan. offered her condolences to mothers The day after Remembrance Day, in NATO countries who have lost after we underscore the seemingly children due to their government’s eight-year occupa...the institutions that most vehemently uphold the sym- tion of her land. How it feel to always bolism of Remembrance Day are the ones that are most must validate the grief of eager to create a steady flow of the dead to remember. an occupying country for its losses, while those responsible find I am reminded of scholars such unique sacrifice of veterans and seas Reinhart Koselleck and Gilbert lectively grieve for them, where is greater fervour--and find applause Achcar, who describe war com- the indignation and sorrow for the amongst many of us--in perpetuatmemorations as sites of politi- daily dead of Afghanistan? Where ing policies of death, violence, and cal and national mobilization that is our recognition--let alone re- destruction? conceptualize past memories of membrance--of the soaring number warfare and the fallen as powerful of deaths in a country where, just I ponder the future, February 2010 political tools directed primarily in the past six months alone, over to be exact, and whether Vancoutoward building support for cur- 2,000 people have been killed? Ac- verites will awaken to the reality rent and future military operations. cording to figures by the UN As- of state-sanctioned repression by These sites reveal that the institu- sistance Mission to Afghanistan, over 16,500 military, police, and tions that most vehemently uphold civilian death in Afghanistan have security personnel in the largest the symbolism of Remembrance soared by 24% during the first half security operation in Canadian hisDay are the ones that are most ea- of 2009 compared with same pe- tory. Vancouver will be occupied by more Canadian Armed Forces ger to create a steady flow of the riod last year. troops than Afghanistan has been; dead to remember. Mark Steel sardonically writes, “Maybe this is I am curious whether former Af- bringing $1 billion of closed cirwhy the Government is so keen on ghani MP Malalai Joya will be cuit TV cameras, electronic fencthe current war--it is convenient to wearing a red poppy during her ing and monitoring, armoured vehave another one in a place full of book launch in Vancouver, and hicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and now LRAD sonic guns, to our

streets. ‘Operation Podium,’ with regular and reserve forces, JTF2 commandos, and NORAD fighter planes, will become the priority mission in 2010. How will we respond to these extraordinarily high levels of surveillance and, unless we are naïve, undoubtedly violence? We only have to look at recent episodes, such as Gustafsen Lake or Oka, where Indigenous people bore the force of the Canadian military and police--including surviving over 77,000 rounds of ammunition in the 1995 standoff in BC’s interior--for defense of their land and people.

Have we become so engrossed in our own narcissistic narrative of self-righteous freedom-lovers and democracy-promoters that we take offense to those who wear the white poppy--as if the values of peace and justice are any more politically biased than the glorification of war? To find out whether WWII was indeed a Good War that safeguarded us from fascism, ask a Japanese-Canadian who was declared an enemy alien, stripped of all their property, and forcibly interned.

Why do we find it improper when it is pointed out that we are in fact

residing in a state and society that continues to marginalize dissent as unpatriotic, that illegally expropriates Indigenous lands and resources, that subjugates and stigmatizes those who are poor, that prioritizes bailing out and protecting the biggest thieves of public money, that excludes and expels thousands of immigrants and refugees, and that perpetuates its racist civilizing presumptions to advance wars and occupations?

Why is it inappropriate to suggest-on any day of the year--that freedom for the world’s majority is still an aspiration, though in reality nothing more than magnetic poetry and the shallow rhetoric of politicians?

This, then, is an invocation not just for Remembrance Day, but one to ritualize grief in response to all the violence in and around our daily lives. As Noam Chomsky writes, “silence is often more eloquent than loud clamor, so let us attend to what is unspoken.” In contrast to the tyranny of complicity, desensitization, and historical amnesia, with remembrance comes responsibility, so let us act accordingly.

Dealing Properly with Student Privilege: A Qualitative Look at Fair Trade Beverage Consumption at York Troy Dixon A couple months ago, after entering nearby Treats and seeing a sign stating the availability of Fair Trade coffee, I immediately proceeded to order. Much to my surprise, however, I was told that Fair Trade coffee was temporarily unavailable at this location due to a lack of overall demand. At every edifice of our York University campus, from peripheral colleges, to intermediary buildings, to centralized spaces, there are numerous opportunities to buy fair trade coffee or tea.

Yet why, after students have spent countless years diligently advocating for more Fair Trade options on campus, could we find ourselves in a precarious situation whereby an establishment actually had to temporarily stop its availability of Fair Trade goods? That is to say, why do we still find longer line-ups at the all too familiar non-Fair Trade campus outlets, while others, most noticeably a particular establishment that often goes by the name of ‘Timmies’, is continually inundated with eager customers despite the fact that this very same place has made it unequivocally clear that they have no intentions of re-

forming the exploitative productive chains that give rise to their ‘cherished’ coffee beans?

Before grappling with these overriding questions, I must admit, when it comes to discussing the politics of Fair Trade coffee consumptionism at York University, it is difficult to determine how much attention or energy this topic should receive from conscientious media and student communities alike. When compared to such pressing themes as violence against women, global warming, corporate crime, and Native rights to name a few, coffee consumption can seem rather peripheral. Even though Fair Trade consumption is partly a response against all of the former issues of concern, a coffee purchase represents but one minute decision and action within an individual’s hectic daily life. Not only that, coffee purchasing is abstracted by multiple levels of farming, transporting, marketing, and selling, all of which is taking place along a multilayered as well as a multidimensional exploitative production chain reaching far across continental plains.

Coffee consumption is also difficult to introduce, since to even take part in an exploitative exchange in the first place, customers have to be in a financial position which allows them to afford daily purchases of the product in question. Not only that, some readers may argue that Fair Trade coffee analyses should acknowledge a second layer of privilege involving those who can afford the additional increments in price which Fair Trade prices often, but not necessarily always, reflect. From my point of view, even though there is an infinite number of class distinctions that can be made when it comes to addressing who can buy which daily products, in the case of Fair Trade coffee, I would argue that one class distinction should suffice. If a person who is currently in a class category that allows them to consistently indulge in non-Fir Trade coffee, cappuccino, wine, beer, liquor, sports drinks, or specialized fruit drinks, which are all options of privilege… then this same class of student citizenry should also be able to make room in their financial priority list for Fair Trade beverages.

Moreover, as one last caveat to

ponder before examining why particular demographics of the York body (those who have access to funds beyond providing for one’s basic necessities) do not commit Fair Trade purchasing, it is important to note that this discussion is also difficult because--seeing as I can afford to structure my life in a way that enables for Fair Trade choices--this very article is taking space away from bottom-up voices who cannot afford spontaneous social expenditures. With these considerations in mind, I will now tackle my topic.

As perpetually fatigued and seeking revitalization in order to meet impending deadlines, students may find that deciding where to eat and drink can often be a dreaded ordeal, especially within campus boundaries. The last thing that most students want to do is allot more time and mental energy to deciding between the same familiar eateries on campus. As a result, from my experiences at least, most students tend to cling to whichever place is mentioned first by their friends or if alone, a ‘convenient’ setting is chosen so as to negate the likelihood of having to dwell

on the matter beyond one’s initial inclinations.

In a similar fashion, at first glance, when taking into account the ramifications of rising tuition fees, higher student debt rates, and longer occupational work hours, with the stresses that come with these brewing realities there is certainly more impetus for students to connect coffee to their veins through the most convenient avenues as possible.

Thus as we enter the precipice of winter, with its darker days, colder nights, and lurking end of semester assignments, are we to assume that privileged students will be less likely to walk an extra two minutes or pay a few additional cents to ensure that that their purchases do not further enslave an entire region of the world? Unfortunately, from one perceptive, students may very well be increasingly tempted to consume coffee irrespective of the insidiously neo-colonialist trade and labour relations lurking behind non-Fair Trade coffee’s artificially depreciated price, ever-so smooth taste, and almost ubiquitous availability on campus.

FALL ISSUE 2 2009 CONTINUED FROM P. 16 More often than not, Tim Horton’s is usually the destination that most readily pops into people’s minds when discerning where to purchase coffee both on and off campus.

Through its ‘clever’ advertising campaigns, Tim Hortons has been able to spin the consumption of

through Central Square, the TEL Building, or the William Small Centre and observe people who are willing to wait in line for upwards of 15 minutes at an overcrowded Tim Horton’s, when at least ten Fair Trade options are immediately available only seconds away. For many of these people, going to Tim Horton’s is an automatic response

...walk through Central Square, the TEL Building, or the William Small Centre and observe people who are willing to wait in line for upwards of 15 minutes at an overcrowded Tim Horton’s, when at least ten Fair Trade options are immediately available only seconds away. their product as being synonymous with Canadian nationalism itself.

Thanks to indoctrination through commercials, Tim Horton’s coffee is now a nationalistic icon on par with hockey, beavers, moose, and the Royal Canadian Mountain Police.

Case in point, feel free to walk

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COMMENTS

to dealing with fatigue and stress.

The fact that this very same place heads potentially one of the most egregious production chains in the entire corporate world has no bearing on their conscience. To be critical of Tim Horton’s is to tarnish a superficial depiction of what it means to be Canadian, and on this elevated nationalistic level, there is no room for Las Nubes, or the equitable choices that come from the Grad Lounge.

Nevertheless, before going further in outright denouncing such individualistic thinking, I must admit that I am in no way perfect when it comes to my own Fair Trade purchasing track record. Every so often I find myself in line at an establishment that I know does not offer Fair Trade coffee or tea; however, for me at least, this purchase does not come easy. Every time I wait, whether unbeknownst to my friends or not, I go through an excruciating sense of internal tension, for I am constantly second-guess-

ing myself and threatening to leave the line up until the very point of ordering. Nevertheless, when the order goes through, with my cup in hand, the current as well as next generation of impoverished coffee farmers--including child labourers, enslaved women, and particular demographics of men, mostly the most dark skinned--could care a less if from my point of western privilege, I ‘felt bad’ about legitimizing their unjust working conditions. As well, my privileged apologies do little to improve the lives of prospective labourers in Costa Rica, who could gain life altering jobs working in enlarged Fair Trade communes if only global demand creates more equitable opportunities for employment to soar within their communities.

At the same time, as I come to terms with my own western-centric tendencies and how they affect my purchasing habits while at York, I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by a plethora of inspirational friends who have found the strength to continually reject tainted products in their daily lives.

I will never forget on March 7, 2009, during the culmination of the infamous ‘No Sweatshop’ 45 hour sit-in, when York University President Mamdouh Shoukri officially succumbed to media pressure by agreeing to implement a more just set of standards for goods sold on campus. When Shoukri walked through the ninth floor elevator doors to finally speak after almost two days of avoidance, he immediately proposed the idea of us all dialoguing over cups of coffee.

Given the heated environment that we found ourselves in, surely the President meant well in proposing the idea. However, after suggesting a location on campus that did

not offer Fair Trade Coffee Options on Campus Fair Trade coffee, several mem- 1. Central Square Cafeteria bers of the 2. Complex 1 Cafeteria (McLaughlin/Winters) Sustainable 3. Complex 2 Cafeteria (Stong/Bethune) Purchasing 4. Fine Arts Cafeteria (Fine Arts) C o a l i t i o n 5. The Grad Lounge (South Ross) sternly de- 6. Las Nubes Café (Computer Science and Engineering) clined the 7. Osgoode Cafeteria (Osgoode Law School, Currently offer on be- Under Construction) half of the 8. Technology Enhanced Learning Cafeteria (TEL) group in 9. Timothy’s (Schulich Building) view of the 10. The Underground Restaurant (Student Centre) contradicblock of sorts, when on campus for tory statement that this acceptance the rest of this academic year I can, would engender. Having non-Fair and now will, promise to only purTrade coffee at a meeting which chase Fair Trade options, no matwas meant to discuss the potential ter what inexcusable excuses come of implementing a no-sweat shop into my mind. For all of those peopolicy on campus would have been ple who read this and can relate, I quite paradoxical, and I will never encourage you to take on your own forget the feelings of unwavering goals along similar lines. resolve, strength, and empowerment that filled my consciousness Buying Fair Trade coffee on camafter experiencing this encounter. pus will not, in and of itself, solve the problems of the world. Still, Still, those students continued to since coffee is so addictive and enshow discipline when faced with grained in students’ daily routines, the decision to buy Fair Trade cof- if people can build discipline in this fee and I have been inconsistent in minor respect then perhaps they my own decision-making process- can carry such skill sets into other es. I realize that tokenistic purchas- areas of their lives. This way, we es here and there are insufficient to might reduce each and every way say the least. Consistently buying that our daily decisions contribute Fair Trade coffee needs to be a way to the prolonged colonization of of life, and what better way to build the Global South. discipline than to walk up to one of the ten vendors on campus, ask for Some Fair Trade Coffee Options in Toronto Fair Trade coffee, and repeat.

1. Coffee and All that Jazz (72 Howard Park Ave.) 2. Karma Co-Op (739 Palmerston Ave.) I am not say- 3. Java Mama (1075 Bathurst St.) ing that by writ- 4. Trinity Square Café (10 Trinity Square) ing this article, I 5. Frest and Wild (69 Spadina Ave.) hereby pledge to 6. Ten Thousand Villages (709 Queen Street W.) never having non- 7. Magnolia Fine Foods (548 College St.) Fair Trade coffee 8. Essence of Life Organics (50 Kensington Ave.) again. However, *There are many many more... as a building

Behind The Vari Hall Face-Lift: Fighting for Student Space Jesse Zimmerman Recently students may have heard reports concerning administrative plans to ‘revamp’ Vari Hall. As of now, three proposed models have been created, each one focusing on drastically changing the interior dynamics of the building. The newly formed Task Force on Student Life, Learning, and Community initially made the proposal that has since been reviewed by President Mamdouh Shoukri. The administrative public relations machine has officially announced that the purpose of this alteration is to create a more ‘student-friendly’ space.

However, when considering the history of Vari Hall and when taking into account the far reaching implications that come with the implementation of the suggested designs, it becomes quite clear that the intention behind this proposed revamp may not be to improve student space. Rather, these plans to revamp Vari Hall negatively hinder and dramatically disassemble one

of the few true student-friendly spaces at York University.

If students were to travel to other university campuses in Toronto or elsewhere, they would be hardpressed to find a thriving space like Vari Hall. The building was designed in the late 1980s when York University wanted to change its appearance from a perceivably sprawling suburban campus into a more urbanized identity. By the early 1990s, the concrete ramp leading from the Commons Area to the Ross Building was demolished and Vari Hall was constructed.

Vari’s rotunda became an informal meeting, organizing, and rallying place for students to freely congregate, interact with their fellow students, and exert their freedom of speech. It is believed that the designer, Raymond Moriyama, actually had this dynamic in mind when designing the architecture of the hall.

Many noteworthy events have taken place over the years in Vari Hall,

but only recently has the administration started to actively clamp down on demonstrations. In 2005, former President Lorna Marsden called in the police to stop a supposedly rowdy anti-war demonstration, and various accounts explain what happened next. Police claimed they were assaulted by students, yet there [is] little evidence for this [claim]..

Students claimed they were attacked unprovoked by police officers, and video footage available on YouTube seems to confirm this. One student was hospitalized and five were arrested.

Kareem Dabbagh

In 2009, SAIA (Student’s Against Israeli Apartheid), the Tamil Students Association, and two Zionist groups were fined under the administration’s Student Code of Conduct for demonstrating in Vari Hall. Exercising democratic rights in Vari Hall, has become more or less a crimi-

nalized offence.

To fully understand the destructive nature of these revamping plans, I urge students to take a look at the suggested designs. For example, one proposed design shows a central information kiosk with curvy benches dispersed all along the side areas, making a central rallying point impossible. Students may table in this environment, but they are cut off from one another. The information kiosk, in and of itself, symbolizes a corporatized campus where our space no longer belongs to students, but to the administration.

There is one concern that can be considered legitimate: the building does contain a number of classrooms and as a result, demonstrations have disturbed classes in the past. Yet think about the many shortfalls that would come with a non-student run Vari Hall. This is a direct attempt to limit freedom of speech and the right to organize.

Many of the rallies over the years have been critical of policies and decisions made by the campus administration, and the administration has responded by attempting to curtail student mobilization. The project is due to be started in 2010, so let us raise our voices against this coercive plan now before it is too late.

Will we sit idly by and allow our only remaining space for exercising collective free expression [to] be ‘revamped’ into an administrative stronghold? Students will be asked over the next few months which design they like best. I encourage all those who have the same concerns that I do about student space being repressed to select ‘none of the above.’ Let us make the right choice to keep our space as it is and continue to express ourselves as we freely see fit.

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FALL ISSUE 2 2009

Arts & Culture Environmental Racism: Photo Essay of Aamjiwnaang First Nation Nicole Sullivan These photos are inspired by a situation that was documented in a 2007 report issued by Ecojustice, previously Sierra Legal.

The report outlines the high amount of air pollution in “Canada’s Chemical Valley” (Sarnia, Ontario) as a result of several neighbouring industrial buildings. According to the news release on the Ecojustice report, “there are 62 large industrial facilities within 25 kilometres of the City of Sarnia and adjacent Aamjiwnaang First Nation reserve. In 2005, these facilities released more than 131,000 tonnes of air pollution – a toxic load of more than 1,800 kilograms per Sarnia and Aamjiwnaang resident”.

The Ecojustice report indicates that health of Aamjiwnaang residents are suffering health problems from the industrial chemical toxins.

Anti-Olympic Images Art by Sean Cox

Star Trek Politics Amee Le I finally saw Star Trek (2009) when it came out on DVD. In strict movie terms, as in the technicalities of filmmaking, it was not a small achievement. The blockbuster has it all: convincing special effects, a logical and well-paced storyline, as well as entertaining dramatic and humorous elements.

But, regarding its content, I could hardly stand its Americancentricism. The film glorifies extreme individualism, as embodied in the young Captain Kirk: smartass, rebellious, unconventional ladies’ man, and leader type. The ‘multicultural’ crew also includes ethnic stereotypes: the Russian genius with a strong, yet charming, accent (an ironic point since the rest of the cast shares one, homogenous accent), the African hottie, and the Asian martial arts expert. This is definitely picture-perfect diversity from an American perspective.

While the male characters manage

to be quite diverse, the other two wallpaper female characters include the mother (Spock’s) and the temptress (Uhura’s roommate, whose green skin is, one must note, quite ‘exotic’).

Worst of all is the underlying colonial project thinly disguised under the peace-keeping mandate of the United Federation of Planets. If one is sensitive to the past Vietnam war, and what is still going on in present-day Afghanistan (to name a few well-known conflicts), one knows that U.S. peace-keeping tends to involve the consolidation of power, combating communism, and the plundering of another people’s natural resources.

There are, however, two revealing moments for me that are not emphasized in the film. The first is when we learn the origin of the red matter, a super weapon which can create a black hole that destroys any planet, or any celestial phenomenon within which it is planted. This weapon of mass destruction, which later falls into the hands of the terrorist Nero, was originally created by the Federation--with good intentions, of course. Does this sound familiar?

The second moment is when Kirk insincerely offers the terrorist compassion and Spock sincerely, vindictively, and yet easily convinces him otherwise.

Although it was presented as a comical emotions-triumph-overlogic moment, what it illustrated to me is the simple philosophy that everyone, including our heroes, is capable of committing evils. If anything is learnt, it is that power should never be in the hands of a few.

One might ask: so what if Star Trek is American-centric? It is after all a Hollywood--that is, American-movie. The problem lies not only in the promotion of Americanism that has no regard for other cultures but also in a distribution system that enables a movie like Star Trek to be available to everyone all over the globe, and hence subject to its underlying propaganda.

Star Trek is a good movie, but is it innocent?

I find it is more urgent than ever for film critics to raise consciousness about such underlying (whether intentional or not) propaganda in seemingly apolitical blockbusters.

The Reeking Red Boots Federico Vargas Mantilla His night ends: the opaque long night.

He floats home and off they come, swiftly, And there in crescendos they lie in mid light.

When the sun comes up, the same swift story, They wish he knew, they wish they could cry out loud.

All they witness, so ignorant you could be so proud, His only way to be during his endless hours of labour, Covered with dead hope and brute sweat from the harbor: His old red boots.

The red boots seen it all: his exhausted and disturbed worker, The dream of today and the ruin of tomorrow, The thought of the day, the never-ending sorrow.

Forgotten unkept promises and the growing innocence As consumed idealists declare nonsense.

Children learn to point and demand, And learn about supremacy, obedience, and our sacred sand.

But at the end of it all, the brute shift, Nothing ever changes, he is forever cultureless.

He forever drifts learning more and less And his boots to watch, to cry, and to fall.

Who will hear to the old pain?

After all, they´re just another reeking pair.

But as the boots continue to walk and toil, they glimpse the honest chap, They shred apart in a bang; the world absolves itself and slaps!

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FALL ISSUE 2 2009

EVENTS DECEMBER GAZA: Strength Under Siege WHEN: December 4, 7:00pm-10:00pm WHERE: Student Centre, Thomas Lounge @ Ryerson University, 55 Gould Street, Toronto, ON. CONTACT: call Sandra @ 416-716-4010 or go to http:// www.gazafreedommarch.ca/tickets COST: General - $40, Students - $20 DETAILS: Join us for a fun evening of middle-eastern food, entertainment, and fundraising for the people of Gaza and the GAZA FREEDOM MARCH! The Program includes: Delicious, Authentic Middle-Eastern Food. Live Musical performances by renowned musicians George Sawa, Maryem Tollar, Roula Said and many more. Displays of Palestinian clothing, art, etc. All proceeds will be used to provide scholarships for students and low-income persons, as well as to provide much needed aid for Gaza.

Profile This! A Night of Art and Activism by and for Muslim Young Women WHEN: December 4, 6:00pm-8:00pm WHERE: Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West CONTACT: metrac.org/programs/safe/thrive.htm COST: FREE! DETAILS: Hosted by Our Collective Dreams and other community partners. Launch of the second issue of AQSAzine and the Making Noise! Video project, hosted by the AGO Youth Council. This event will showcase videos, visual art, readings, and musical performances by Muslim young women.

Community Sharing Potluck for Temporary Workers, Domestic Workers, Caregivers, and Allies WHEN: December 5, 11:00am-2:00pm WHERE: Throncliffe Neighbourhood Youth Centre 45 Overlea Boulevard CONTACT: metrac.org/programs/safe/thrive.htm COST: Display table sponsorships are available for this event at $15 per table. Contact us for information.

DETAILS: Featuring Maru Maesa, Migrante Ontario; Pinky Paglingayen, Gabriela Organizing Committee; Ambreen Akbar, Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office; and Zahra Dhanani, METRAC. A fun, informative potluck gathering.

Bring your friends and family to play games, eat great food, be entertained, and access great new information for temporary workers, domestic workers, and caregivers.

Craftzilla 09 WHEN: December 5, 1:00pm-6:00pm WHERE: Kathedral, 651 Queen Street West CONTACT: stonesoupcollective@hotmail.com DETAILS: An afternoon of craft mayhem brought to you by the stone soup collective. Invite your friends and enemies for one stop x-mass shopping at our 1st annual punk rock indie craft show. Please come and show your support and get your photo taken with zombie Santa. Canned food donations welcome, they will be dropped off at the local food bank.

Men Allies Challenging Violence Against Women Panel WHEN: December 8, 3:30pm-5:00pm WHERE:OISE, University of Toronto, 252 Bloor Street West, Room 5230 CONTACT: metrac.org/programs/safe/thrive.htm COST: FREE! DETAILS: This panel features men addressing the issue of being allies with respect to racism and gender-based violence. How can racialized women and men better work together to challenge violence against women?

Refreshments will be provided.

Single Parents Holiday Party at the Underground WHEN: December 9, 6:00pm-9:00pm WHERE: The Underground, York Student Centre, York University CONTACT: Sag Rajan at srajan@yorku.ca COST: Donations can be made in the form of cash, new (unused) toys, care packages, gift certificates, new clothes for children ages newborn to 11 years and children’s books DETAILS: The single parents holiday party is meant as a celebration for single parents and their families who are part of York and the surrounding community. It is designed to assist parents and children in need, during what could be a trying time of the year. The event will include a free dinner, a Christmas movie, a magic show, a visit from Santa, family care packages, and gifts for the kids.

Anti-Oppression Here and Now Action Session WHEN: December 9, 1:30pm-5:00pm WHERE: University of Toronto, 252 Bloor Street West, Room 5180 CONTACT: metrac.org/programs/safe/thrive.htm COST: FREE! DETAILS: Featuring speaker Notisha Massaquoi, Women’s Health in Women’s Hands; and facilitator Clarissa Chandler.

A panel and group discussion on defining anti-oppression here and now, as well as current trends in anti-oppression frameworks. Issues that arise from this event will be built upon in the future to articulate a collective understanding of what anti-oppression means to us. Refreshments will be provided. ASL is available.

Comedy Show: EcoBunk (TEA) WHEN: December 9, 7:00pm-10:00pm WHERE: Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. West CONTACT: To Reserve your seat(s) call TEA at 416-596-0660 or buy tickets directly from http:// torontoenvironment.org/ecobunk2009 COST: $40 DETAILS: Toronto Envrionmental Alliance’s annual fundraiser comedy show pokes fun at the most outrageous corporate green advertising of 2009. Sometimes we even point the finger at ourselves. We present nominated ads under different categories and reveal the winner. Come celebrate with us! Ecobunk is a popular and favourite event among the environmentally-minded in Toronto, Hamilton, Waterloo and points beyond.

UMOJA

Remembering Bhopal - 25 Years Without Justice

WHEN: December 5, 10:00am-6:00pm WHERE: 246 Sackville Street, Toronto DETAILS: On Saturday December 5, 2009 at Regent Park 246 Sackville Street, Toronto ON, the Black Youth Coalition against Violence (BYCAV) will be hosting UMOJA, a summit bringing together hundreds of community activists, elders, and student groups from all across the city of Toronto to discuss unity and its influence within the African Canadian community.

When: Thursday, December 10, 11am - 8pm Where: 1992 Yonge St. 3rd Floor (1 1/2 blocks north of Davisville) Contact: sfbtoronto@hotmail.com Cost: Free!

Details: Bhopal Action at the Amnesty International Writea-Thon. Come over any time between 11am and 8pm.

A short talk on Bhopal at 7pm. You don’t need to be an Amnesty member to do this!

Act and Demand: Tools for Comunity Mobilization and Resource Building

Doing Theory: Marxism, Feminism, Critical Race Theory Symposium

WHEN: December 7, 5:30pm-7:30pm WHERE: City of Toronto Archives, 255 Spadina Road CONTACT: metrac.org/programs/safe/thrive.htm COST: FREE! DETAILS: A panel of learning and action for service providers and community organizers. Learn about strategies to mobilize people for action and develop skills to access funding. Refreshments will be provided.

WHEN: December 11, 10:00am-8:00pm WHERE: 5th Floor York Research Tower CONTACT: Email cfr@yorku.ca for dinner tickets or to register. Dinner & Poetry readings by Himani Bannerji: $20 Details: Join Jasodhara Bagchi, Sunera Thobani, Dorothy Smith, Sherene Razack and others for a celebration of Himani Bannerji’s work in relation to feminism, anti-racism and Marxism.

CUPE 3903 Townhall

Film Screening & Discussion: “Money as a Tool of Control”

WHEN: December 7, 5:00pm WHERE: GSA Lounge, York University DETAILS: On December 17, the CUPE National Executive Board will be meeting in Ottawa and the question of the administration of our local will be on the agenda. Join us to strategize around building a collective response to this.

WHEN: December 12, 4:00pm-6:00pm WHERE: Sonic Cafe 60 Cecil St. 1 Block South of College & Spadina, Toronto, Ontario CONTACT: www.exposingempire.com DEATILS: The issuance of currency is a government’s most

sacred responsibility. Why would the Government of Canada allow private banks, who have no accountability to the people, the power to issue currency to the Government itself, at interest? This is the greatest fraud within organized society; and potentially one of the most damaging. It is a system that dooms the public to ever increasing debt and empowers private interests at the expense of democracy and personal liberty. This screening of Candian documentary films Money as debt and Crime of the Canadian Banking System will expose the fraud that is the monetary system and answer the question ‘what is money?’. A discussion will follow the screenings.

New Life Prenatal Classes Toronto WHEN: December 12-19, 10:00am-3:00pm WHERE: The Scarborough Hospital, 3050 Lawrence Avenue East, Toronto, Ontario CONTACT: Effie Pallotta - newlifeprenatal@gmail.com tel:416-752-2977 COST: FREE! DETAILS: Are you expecting a baby? Prepare for your birth experience and the first weeks of parenthood with pregnancy, childbirth, postnatal recovery, baby care and breastfeeding education. Empower yourself with knowledge to make informed decisions. Share ideas, fears, joy and concerns with other expectant parents. Instill confidence in your ability to birth and care for your baby Both group and private classes covering a variety of topics are available throughout the year. Private classes are held in the convenience of your own home.

Block the Olympic Torch!

WHEN: December 17, 4:00pm-7:00pm WHERE: Yonge and Dundas CONTACT: http://torontotorch.blogspot.com DETAILS: WELCOME the OLYMPIC TORCH in STYLE. The Olympics Torch is about colonial theft of indigenous land; corporate profit grabbing; ecological destruction, militarization and migrant exploitation. We say: NO OLYMPICS ON STOLEN NATIVE LAND! Take up the fight for Indigenous Sovereignty! Migrant Justice! Climate Justice!

Income Equality!

JANUARY Ben Todd: The Role of the Arts in Driving Sustainable Lifestyles WHEN: January 14, 3:00pm-5:00pm WHERE: Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan Theatre, Accolade East Building, York University CONTACT: Brigitte Kleer bkleer@yorku.ca DETAILS: “While scientists tell us that we already have the technologies required to avert catastrophic climate change, policy makers and businesses continue to seek new technological ‘solutions’. Meanwhile, global consumption and emissions continue unsustainably, with minimal abatement.I believe that to change the lifestyles of entire populations, a cultural shift is required, and thus it is cultural agents which must take the lead. The past three years of work at Arcola Theatre provide examples and lessons.” - Ben Todd

Tallgrass Prairie: One of Canada’s Most Threatened Native Habitats WHEN: January 20, 7:30pm-9:30pm WHERE: Toronto Botancal Garden, Garden Hall , 777 Lawrence Ave. COST: $8 CONTACT: Harold Smith at harbersmith@sympatico.ca DETAILS: One of Canada’s Most Threatened Native Habitats --the Alderville Savannah. The site is on the Rice Lakes Plains, with the largest remnant of Tallgrass Prairie in Eastern Ontario. Janine explores the use of prescribed burns and illustrates the spectacular results of this aggressive and effective process to restore nature back to its former glory and promise for a balanced and expanding ecological marvel.

Evening of Queer Expressions Poetry / Spoken Word Night WHEN: January 24, 8:00pm WHERE: The Press Club, 850 Dundas St. W. CONTACT: Philip at moonlake@gosonic.ca DETAILS: Eight performers will take part in the Queer West Arts Collective fundraiser PWYC. Kirk DeMatas, Yehuda Fisher, Jay Stewart, David Bateman and Duncan Armstrong are confirmed for the spoken word event. Host Toronto poet and actor Philip Cairns.

Compiled by Stefan Lazov SEND YOUR EVENTS TO: info@yufreepress.org

Get Involved!

OPIRG York is dedicated to education, activism and social justice.

We believe in mobilization, consciousness-raising and anti-oppression.

Come by and get involved! * a resource centre with alternative and academic publications * working groups * radical film screenings * speaker series * media democracy * weekly radio show Propirgandha on CHRY 105.5FM * advocating for the right to organize on campus and in the community Contact: Rm. C449 Student Centre, 416-736-5724 oprig@yorku.ca www.opirgyork.ca