Contents
- A New Day
- Dear Friends,
- To Change or Not (Just When We Figured Out the Other Question)
- "Miss me but let me go"
- Honouring Mel Lehan
- Carnegie Pool Room: 9-Ball League
- HOARDERS ANONYMOUS
- All Members of SFU’s Thursday Writing Class -with Elee and Eljean
- Twas the nite before the election
- Recommendations for changes to the (CCCA) By-Laws
- Capilano University Partnership Award Goes to Carnegie!
- Pivot calls for private security ban
- If you are fed up with a government that:
- The Learning Centre -Happy Holidays!
- LOVE UNDER THE REPUBLICANS*(OR DEMOCRATS)
- UNDERMINE
- Guilt Of Denial
- Drug Addiction Awareness Week
- HUM 101 Documentaries - December
- The Canoe Launch
- 23rd Annual North American NATIVE ART & CRAFT FAIR
- PICKTON FARM RALLY FOR HOPE
- Humanities 101 series: 'What is 'gentrification'?'
- December at Rhizome
- the creation of opportunities for the artist in everyone
- Bruce: The Musical - A Community Play
- For Sandy Cameron
- Hello people
- Downtown Eastside Writers' Jamboree
- Perspective
- Perspective or The Eyes of a Child
- 'It was an ID ten T error.'
- MEMORIAL FOR OUR MURDERED WOMEN
- To Mayor Robertson and members of Council 12/1
- Dockside squatters move inside – success?
- Bank pulls funding on DTES luxury condos
- Goodbye
- BC has highest poverty rate in Canada for 5th straight year.
- Upscale Bistro poor-bashes residents outside the 44
- Mapping brings out community spirit
- Get ready for the 2nd Annual Poverty Olympics
A New Day
Vancouver, a new day has dawned
better must come to our way
of housing
We have sent the old school and his crew packing
With their “Civil City – disobedience”
A legacy of 4 months of stinking rubbish
on the streets
Now a fresh wind is blowing with a sign of relief
Kim-berly Campari can now fully own
a Gucci Shoe franchise
Vancouver you have spoken by the ballot
A new page has turned at City Hall
Sam – we will miss you.
You underestimated the spirit of the dead
you underestimated the power and daring spirit
of the homeless. hungry and angry
who died on the streets of Vancouver
in the alleys, near sea shores
at the valley of the bones.
Ayisha
Dear Friends,
You elected a progressive majority to Vancouver City Council, Park and School Board on Saturday Nov. 15 ! Thank you for electing me to Council.
The COPE/Vision majority will work hard to immediately to house the homeless, create more affordable housing, lobby for more buses, address Climate Change and build safe, diverse, strong neighbourhoods to name a few. The people of Vancouver have spoken out for change. I will continue to be in touch with you through weekly emails and through my website (www.ellenwoodsworth.ca ). Please check www.vancouver.ca for Council meetings and the agendas so that you can attend meetings and speak out on issues that concern you and the city of Vancouver. Our first Council meeting will be Dec.16.
We are only as strong as the people with whom we work. Together we can create a Vancouver for everyone.
Join us at City Hall for our swearing in ceremonies on Dec. 8, at 2:00 in the Council Chambers.
Again thank you very much for your support
Ellen Woodsworth
To Change or Not (Just When We Figured Out the Other Question)
A different question this time out
A few of us by various means
Chose not to change
For better or for verse (worse?)
(couldn’t resist that one, folks)
The psychologists call it coping…
Mechanisms
Denial of objective data
Any “belief” system apart from one’s own
Any real understanding of the human condition
And of course it’s CONDITIONAL
In short lacka honesty may be unrealizable.
Coz self-realisation would be
That OLE LYNCH PIN
That OLE CRITICAL card on which the
Whole house depends
Ensuing the flattening of th’ole infrastructure
Ya’ll know chillens I only be half knowin
what I be talkin ‘bout
You go figure Pilgrim, it’s nae me job.
Wilhelmina
"Miss me but let me go""Miss me but let me go"
When I come to the end of the road
And the sun has set for me,
I want no rites in a gloom-filled room
Why cry for a soul set free?
Miss me a little - but not too long
And not with your head bowed low;
Remember the love that we once shared
Miss me - but let me go
For this is a journey that we all must take
And each must go alone
It's all a part of the Master's Plan
A step on the road home
When you are only sad and sick at heart
Go to the friends we know
Miss me - but let me go
Chris is not gone, he has just gone on ahead.
And some day we will all catch up
See ya Chris, Colleen
Honouring Mel Lehan
At St.James Hall in Kitsilano an evening was set aside for a special reason and a most deserving, exceptional person. Mel Lehan has been, is now and will continue to be a pillar in the fight for social justice.
For all of you out there who are not exactly familiar with Mel’s work, he has been a strident, tireless and selfless community activist and relentless organiser concerned with local, regional and global causes and crusades. I have simply lost track of the number of times he’s run for elected office at City Hall or School Board or Park Board; unfortunately for the “fat cats”. I’ve told him to keep at it, to stay in the hunt, because Harry Rankin ran exactly ten times before securing a seat at the municipal table – then getting re-elected consistently over the years.
On this particular evening Mel was being recognized for his conception of the leasing of St.James Hall for concerts and a plethora of other exciting events. Foremost in the minds of Downtown Eastsiders attending was Mel’s remounting of “Condemned, the Carnegie Community Centre Opera. It was totally Mel’s idea to place this seminal production in this Hall; he organized, sold tickets, stacked chairs… you name it, Mel did it (and I might add happily!).
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention two of his sterling achievements: the protection of the Point Grey area and the founding of the Kitsilano Farmers’ Market.
This entire evening of honouring Mel transformed into a special event including a silent auction, premiere musical talent for entertainment with 50% of all money raised going to the Citywide Housing Coalition. The other 50% went to St.James City Square to help pay for renovations / improvements. to this historic structure. Mel Lehan was the focal point for this fund-raising and it was his string of achievements over the decades that brought success
Always warm and hmble, Mel was completely overwhelmed as the evening unfolded. I can’t think of a more deserving man than Mel to be honoured for his tireless work for the poor and getting places for people to be safe and securely work in.
Congratulations Mel to you and yours, now and in the future, from all your friends and supporters in the Downtown Eastside and beyond.
By ROBYN LIVINGSTONE
Carnegie Pool Room: 9-Ball LeagueCarnegie Pool Room: 9-Ball League
Before showing the standings, members of the 9-Ball League would like to thank Peter G. for his generous contribution for prizes for the League. His support is greatly appreciated.
9-Ball League Top 5 + Ties [26/11/08]
1. Joe S. 57
2. Rocky B. 40
3. Mo B. 39
4. Peter G. 37
5. Norman M. 36
5. Soloman S. 35
HOARDERS ANONYMOUS
Meeting Sunday, December 7, 6pm
Carnegie’s Classroom II, 3rd Fl.
‘Hoarding’ is keeping lots and lots of things, money or animals. People who hoard have difficulty making decisions about the things they keep.
Everyone is welcome! All Members of SFU’s Thursday Writing Class -with Elee and Eljean
All Members of SFU’s Thursday Writing Class
with Elee and Eljean
* We are planning our chapbook!\
Email your 2 submissions: eleekg@telus.net
include a 2-3 sentence biography beginning
“[Your name] is …”
* final deadline is December 15
* Meeting to check the layout of your work will
be Friday, January 9 at 2:30
* The chapbook will be launched in January ‘09 Twas the nite before the election
Twas the nite before the election
and all through the city
The voting boxes were fixed
Oh what a pity
The liberals were giggling
NDP were aghast
Green party was worried
Again they'd be last
The mayor grumbled
Then farted in his chair
Yelled cope with this
I am everywhere
The room then exploded
To council's delight
So for you happy voting
Kiss your future good nite
mr mcbinner
Recommendations for changes to the (CCCA) By-LawsRecommendations for changes to the Carnegie Community Centre Association (CCCA) By-Laws November 27, 2008
The By Law Committee, a working committee of the CCCA board, was set up earlier this year to examine inconsistencies in the By-Laws of the CCCA. A copy of these by-laws can be found in the Association Office in the binder marked CCCA policies.
These suggested changes are intended to improve the By-Laws and address the inconsistencies.
ARTICLE VI - Proceedings of Directors: Section 26 - Quorum At Meetings
(Quorum at Board Meetings)
Currently Reads:
1. Eight directors shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Board unless a lesser number, greater than two, is required to transact business.
Change to:
Quorum will be a number greater than 50% of current board members.
Rationale: Current language is ambiguous and needs to be clarified.
ARTICLE VI - Proceedings of Directors: Section 24 - Regular Meetings
(In Camera Meetings)
Currently reads:
1. All Board meetings shall be open to members and the public except those parts of each meeting where confidential matters, such as those pertaining to personnel, are to be discussed.
Change to:
All Board meetings shall be open to members and the public except those parts of each meeting where confidential matters, including but not limited to those pertaining to personnel or when the privacy of a member may be compromised, are to be considered.
Rationale: members as well as personnel deserve privacy when issues that affect them personally are being discussed. This change is not necessary but allows for more clarity.
ARTICLE IV - Proceedings At General Meetings: Section 14 - Voting at General Meetings
Add the following to section 14 as number 6.
Voting shall be done according to the voting procedures attached to the CCCA By-Laws as Appendix A.
ARTICLE VII - Committees of the Board: Section 30 - Standing Committees
(President and Director as Ex-Officio)
Currently Reads:
5. Except as otherwise provided, the President of the Society and the Centre Director are ex-officio members of all standing committees.
Change to:
Remove this clause.
Rationale: The Centre Director as already an ex- officio member( Article V Section 23 #3). The President should be part of quorum at all committee and board meetings and not considered ex- officio.
THE FOLLOWING CHANGES TO ARTICLE V MUST ALL BE VOTED ON AS A BLOCK
BECAUSE THEY ARE INTERDEPENDENT
ARTICLE V - Directors and Officers : Section 17 - Composition of the Board
(Number of Directors)
Currently reads:
1. The Board of Directors of the Society shall be composed of 15 members elected by the membership to serve a term of one year or until their successors are chosen, whichever is the later;
Change to:
The Board of Directors of the Society shall be composed of not less than 12 and not more than 15
members elected to serve a term of one year or until their successors are chosen, whichever is the later;
Rationale: This allows some flexibility in the event there are less than 15 members who present themselves for nomination. With a minimum of twelve members the required quorum will still be seven members.
ARTICLE V - Directors and Officers: Section 17 - Composition of the Board
Currently reads:
2. Of these 15 members, five shall be appointed by the Board to serve as officers of the society in the manner prescribed by these by-laws.
Change to:
Of these board members, five shall be appointed by the Board to serve as officers of the society in the manner prescribed by these by-laws.
Rationale: Reflects the change to 12 to 15 board members.
ARTICLE V - Directors and Officers: Section 18 – Election of Directors
Currently reads:
6. When a person ceases to be an elected director before the expiration of his/her term for any cause, the Board shall fill the vacancy by an election at the following regular Board meeting; the Board shall give notice 14 days prior to the election;
Change to:
Remove this article as it addressed by the change to Article 5 Section 18 below
ARTICLE V - Directors and Officers: Section 18 – Election of Directors
Currently reads:
7. If the Board fails to fill a vacancy as provided herein, the members of the Society may take such action as is deemed necessary to keep the Board membership to full strength.
Change to:
If the Board membership falls below twelve members the President of the Association is required to call a by-election at the following board meeting to fill the board requirement up to twelve board members.
Rationale: The current language is ambiguous and it is the President’s responsibility to call the meeting.
Capilano University Partnership Award Goes to Carnegie!
On November 15, 2008, Mathew Mathew, Rolf Auer and Gena Thompson from the Carnegie Association and Ethel Whitty from the Carnegie Centre came to accept a President's Service Award from Greg Lee, President of Capitano University. Carnegie was one of the forty organizations, corporations and individuals honoured for their partnership contributions to Capilano.
"I am pleased to let you know that the Carnegie Learning Centre was nominated for an award. The selection committee was truly inspired by this partnership that has become an outstanding model for providing educational opportunities to citizens in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside."
Capilano University is also celebrating 40 years of educational service since its founding in 1968. The university started as a community college in church basements and North Shore high schools. It has now expanded to three campuses in North Vancouver, Squamish and Sechelt. The programs are offered from as far north as Mount Currie to the Downtown Eastside.
Congratulations to everyone who has been part of this partnership: CCCA board members, city staff, our incredible receptionists and tutors, and our amazing learners!
By Lucy Alderson
Pivot calls for private security banPivot calls for private security ban
Pivot is calling for a ban on private security patrols in public space, and is asking the City of Vancouver to revoke public funding to Business Improvement Associations to pay for private security men.
The organization is calling for the $1.8 million spent annually by BIAs on private security to be redirected instead into outreach and support services for homeless people.
Pivot’s new report “Security before Justice” finds that the poorer you are, the more likely you are to be interrogated, harassed or experience violence at the hands of private security guards. The study, based on surveys and focus groups with over 160 residents of the Downtown Eastside, revealed that homeless people have more frequent and more problematic interactions with security guards than people who are housed. People on income assistance or disability are also much more likely to be targeted by private security.
“This is a clear case of discrimination against the homeless and people who appear to be poor,” says Laura Track, a lawyer with Pivot Legal Society. “Business Improvement Associations are hiring these guards to manage public streets and sidewalks as though they were private property. It amounts to a violation of people’s right to make equal use of public space.”
Downtown Eastside resident Gladys Radek agrees: “They say that private security guards are here to help, but in my case they just decided that looking poor made me suspicious and as a result I was subjected to harassment.”
The authors of the study are calling on the City of Vancouver to cancel funding for the Downtown Ambassador program, ban private security patrols on public property, and re-direct the approximately $1.8 million of tax dollars curently spent on private security into genuine homeless outreach services. Public funding for private security amounts to nearly $100 a month per homeless person, money that could be directed to rent supplements that help people secure affordable housing.
"I would like to see my business's tax dollars spent on a more proactive and helpful solution to homelessness than private police" says Swami Lalitananda, owner of Radha Yoga and Eatery on Main Street. "In a truly 'civil city', public money would be spent to support people to improve their lives, not to move them out of business areas."
[From PIVOT Newswire]
If you are fed up with a government that:If you are fed up with a government that:
*refuses to raise the minimum wage while giving top advisors huge pay hikes
*lets homelessness increase almost 400% while wasting $500 million on mismanaged pet projects
*allows health care wait lists to grow while spending tens of millions on self-congratul atory advertising
then get involved. www.bcndp.ca The Learning Centre -Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays!
November was another busy month in the Learning Centre. We have had lots of new tutors train this month and are happy to announce that we are now open on Saturday afternoons from noon to 4. Those of you who are not able to come in during the week can now make use of our resources on Saturdays.
On November 6 as a part of the Heart of the City Festival we had a showing of the digital stories that were created as a part of the Shire Project. The room was full and after each showing of a story the creator answered questions and comments from the audience. I was told that I did a great job emceeing this event and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it myself. If you are interested in creating your own story or just want to know more about Shire, just ask Lucy or Marlene how to get started. There are about 6 mentors in the program who are able to help people with scriptwriting and pictures. I am one of them along with Hal, Bob, Bao.
First Nations Journey classes have started up with Bonnie Kennedy as the new instructor. The classes are held every Wednesday and Friday from 1 to 3. I have heard that this is a very enjoyable and fun class to take to learn more about our aboriginal roots and customs. If you want to join up - come and see Bonnie.
The Writers Jamboree on November 14th and 15th was a smashing success with the Blue Pencil work- shop totally full up with aspiring writers having their work critiqued by professional writers. The evening discussion groups were also well attended.
The Tutor Training Workshop on November 20 was about the Community Adult Literacy Benchmarks, which is a way of assessing a learner's progress and how to use them with students in the Centre.
Writing for Fun is held every Tuesday afternoon and is facilitated by Diane and Phoenix - I've heard that this is a fun group to join. Bao teaches her Chinese computer classes Tuesdays and Thursdays mornings. This class is full and we have a waiting list. Bob C. teaches basic computers on Wednesdays from 2pm to 3:30pm and Claudio does the same on Thursday mornings from 9am to 1 lam.
Colin from Homeless Nation is in the Learning Centre every Thursday afternoon from 1:30 to 4:30.If you are interested in contributing to this website with blogs, videos or ideas. He also helps out with digital storytelling for Shire.
For those of you interested in learning American Sign Language, sign up with Videha any week day morning from 9- 1 2pm.
Well it's that time of year again. Ho, ho, ho and all that jazz. The Learning Centre is having its Annual Christmas Party on December 16th from 11am to 1pm. We will be honouring our learners and tutors and there will be music and refreshments. Videha will soon be decking our halls with his wonderful and creative decorations. That's it for now… and don't forget to drop by the Learning Centre to up-date your resume or find out how we can help you out with all your educational needs.
Submitted by Adrienne -
Learning Centre Columnist and Santa's Helper
LOVE UNDER THE REPUBLICANS
(OR DEMOCRATS)
Come live with me and be my love
And we will all the pleasures prove .
Of a marriage conducted with economy
In the Twentieth Century Anno Donomy.
We'll live in a dear little walk-up flat
With practically room to swing a cat
And a potted cactus to give it hauteur'
And a bathtub equipped with dark brown water. We'll eat, without undue discouragement
Foods low in cost but high in nouragement
And quaff with pleasure, while chatting wittily,
The peculiar wine of Little Italy.
We'll remind each other it's smart to be thrifty
And buy our clothes for something~fifty.
We'll stand in line on holidays
For seats at unpopular matinees,
And every Sunday we'll have a lark
And take a walk in Central Park.
And one of these days not too remote
I'll probably.up and cut your throat.
Ogden Nash
UNDERMINE
“I am not amused,” said god who has just bveen indicted into some Hall of Fame. God heard – god came – god saw & god left his gift which was his shame, the remainder of your time is mine alone to give, who has been naughty & who fricken cares, deep down below this rock refrigerator temperatures do not compare so don’t take your compassion out on us! The false confidence that works for you gets paid in spades or at least the 2 of Clubs [the lowest card in the deck :(] –how fair is that?
Like finding a wallet with ID & money just before the crime scene people get theirs to share, twinkle twinkle little star who the hell I mean Hello! it’s only the world that can’t stand who we are, like running a marathon backwards by mistake & then it hits you like a speeding car now with some dope in your 24/7 life you could have become the new definition of how far is far and more importantly be our very own FrankenChrist Superstar.
Damn you to Hell, oh that’s right, you’re not very far away anyway so for the very last time: “Someone’s won a Brand NEW CAR –the other things you won can be redeemed at Adolf Hitler’s Bazaar (where else could you get a reindeer head to mount on your new Tough Guy car); like getting a pellet gun for Xmas and ‘Golly Gee! What’s next, getting a real gun?!” & ammo for porch lights to gun fights at the Kindergarten Corral…
Don’t try undermining let alone understanding why this is entertainment like fighting a battle over who goes to war but please be reminded maybe even blinded but all in good fun. There is one thing I will never know: when people begin running for their lives did they lend it, lose it or do they know exactly where they are – so9 many things not to understand my clock says Get out & learn you functionally illiterate – the last of my kind now would you kindly erase me & rewind and bum what’s left
For a full transcription send your soul to “GODS R US” to receive a picture of dying children & the golf course we’re building adjacent to our banquet hall: your credit card # please; if you die we will handle everything, prayfully yours, one of the God/Satan Ice Cream family helpers wishing you Good (no such thing) Luck.
By ROBERT McGILLIVRAY Guilt Of Denial
Guilt Of Denial
Like laptop dancers kicking inside my head, I didn’t see the movie but Rosebud was the sled; the next celebrity twin birth will be one body & two heads, as if they needed credibility think of what can be denied right after it’s been said. When the world begins making you smaller stand up on your cigarette soapbox stand so you can holler & be taller
When that card game gets of wallet have a look around for the sucker because if you don’t see ‘em THEY’ll all be looking at you man, like asking for directions & being given the obituaries does every word entering your brain knock another out? Kind of like betting on horses to cope in alphabetical order when you were boprn were you incubated in some sort of diabolical disorder recorder? There is no pleasure in this sentence – I can fully assure you of that, for what is worth the fall of this Earth will be sure & swift SAINT MINUS where the hell in Hell are you.. somewhere between nothing & everything; I entered and was given my ticket stub of approval, then I let my dollar store vision lead the way.. is that why I must be present for my removal
Now I’d be lying if I said life is just to suffer, more filler, right now in Africa a band is playing they call themselves Death*Hunger*Disease & Young. I take it we’re staying it should be a killer, the gig that is, not the people of the Land; one day you will do whatever you want but only after dirtying your hands with the guilt of tomorrow’s ghostly haunts – here it comes the never-ending barrel of denial plus more of tomorrow’s guilt, like trying a recourse meal: the top layer is silt.
You will not win but this is no contest but contempt for close-minded people we must go through the insanity routine anything but & the idiocy begins as the abolition is now final, there is now no such form of face as a smile NO sir, No dice, no exit & never think twice, this is no game show no cars being won like finding the set list of what the band played on the Titanic with tears in their eyes – what was their encore? Probably something called Where the Hell is the Shore!? but with no hope in the mind’s eye, BUT with no help in sight history is being made we will take time later to find bodies floating in GOD’s bay, for every lost soul that night how many began it with the words Have a great day! & then we pray. Good day?
By ROBERT McGILLIVRAY
“Now and then there is born a person so unlucky that he runs into accidents which started out to happen to somebody else.” - Don Marquis
Drug Addiction Awareness Week
Drug Addiction Awareness Week
In 2001 the then Mayor of the city of Vancouver proclaimed the third Monday of November to be Drug Addiction Awareness Week. Very little activity regarding advertising and promotion of the awareness was visible nationwide since the proclamation of this special national week.
Illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin and marijuana have been contaminated with many chemical substances, which make them harmful. Coca leaves are harmless if used in small portions. It gives people energy to be able to climb mountains and stays their hunger. Opium in its raw form also gives energy and relieves pain. Marijuana in its pure form relieves pain, nausea and other ailments. Concentrated forms of opium and heroin are much easier to move and hide than the raw product. These products can be trafficked in many forms such as "mules" who have ingested condoms filled with heroin which are hard for security agents to detect. Heroin and cocaine are diluted with mixing agents which make the product more addictive. The impure product generates more money for the seller.
Originally the concentrated, illicit drugs were promoted by the colonial governments as a monopoly trade and source of generating money, gold and silver from foreign people.
In order to avoid the problems with the concentrated drugs we should allow the use of the pure coca leaves; opium poppies have been, used for thousands of years for medicine in many countries such as Arabia, India, China. Even the Greeks and the Romans used these substances to cure different ailments and as an anesthetic in surgery. Marijuana has been used as medicinal plant in India and China for more than four thousand years.
Morphine (opium in concentrated form) can be twice as potent in pain relief. A few years ago there was decision by foreign governments to eradicate all the poppy fields. This was counterproductive because we need the opium for modem medicine. It is much better than laboratory produced synthetics promoted by pharmaceutical companies.
Alcohol, although it is legal, is another drug form. People should use it with care. Moderate social drinking is beneficial but driving after drinking is hazardous.
LSD and Methamphetamine are laced with chemicals so people should avoid them. Abuse of these drugs alters the brain circuitry which affects human behavior. These drugs lead to violence, compulsiveness and psychosis.
Politicians worldwide should legalize the personal consumption of coca leaves, poppy pods and marijuana plants in their natural form for medicinal purposes. CEOs of pharmaceutical companies should not intervene. People should have the right to choose the form of medicine they want as long as they are aware that high doses and prolonged use can be harmful, addictive and deadly.
James Chi Ming Pau Ph.D
Retired Nurse and Practitioner of
Traditional Chinese Medicine
HUM 101 Documentaries - December
Saturdays, Carnegie Theatre, 6:00pm
Dec: 13 GLOBAL WARMING OR GLOBAL GOVERNANCE Man caused global warming is a fraud. The global warming agenda is being funded as a mechanism to create global governance. Carbon taxes are a global tax for global government. See how global governance puts global institutions unaccountable to the people in control of every aspect of our economy. 81 minutes
LETS GET EMPIRICAL - David Griffins Debunking 9/11/2001 shows how arguments do not
stand up to empirical analysis. 116 minutes.
Dec: 20 HIDDEN WARS OF DESERT STORM Explained the mysterious Gulf War Syndrome.
64 minutes.
EMERGING VIRUSES AND VACCINATIONS - Dr. Horowitz- Could contaminated vaccines be spreading those germs and killing or injuring more people than they are saving? Watch this & decide.
Dec: 27 MONOPOLY MEN exposes the almost inconceivable stories of deceit, conspiracy, sanctioned piracy and scientific knowledge hidden from the world for too long. 45 minutes.
THE WAR ON TERRORISM why it is needed; who gains power; following the money and seeing who profits.
See you at the documentaries. Thanks, Colleen
The Canoe Launch
By Tracy Teeple
Three years ago, a major windstorm in Vancouver felled many trees in Stanley Park. There was much public debate about what to do with the timber. One idea was for young First Nations people to learn how to carve a canoe.
Thankfully, this idea became a reality.
I am a water worshipper – I love to swim and paddle, and Britannia is my local pool. Several months ago, after my swim, I just happened to see the ending of the official Blessing of the Cedar Tree from Stanley Park that Mervyn Child, a Kwakiutl master carver, would help First Nations youth from the Britannia community carve into a dugout canoe.
It was a very rainy Saturday morning, but around noon the rain lessened. The MC at the Canoe Launch began the ceremony:
“Thank you for being here. Our ancestors are here – we are blessed. The sky is clearing, and there is a gentle breeze. All of you have been called to witness this celebration. And as we are here, we also remember the women – our sisters, daughters, mothers, aunties, who have died such sad deaths in this area. We also remember all the warriors who have lost their lives, as we prepare to remember them more formally in a few days.”
The MC informed us that the ceremony would follow the tradition of the ancestors, and the first step was for four Witnesses to be called, and to speak of this importance of this event. Rick Lavalle, police liason, and Chiefs from the Musqueam, Squamish, and Kwakuitl Nations bore witness. [Editor’s note: Ms Teeple asked for this to explain she hadn’t made note of the Chiefs’ names, not knowing then she would want to write about and share the experience.]
The witnesses spoke of how important it is for the young to learn from the elders, and especially to learn the significance of the canoe. The canoe will take one places on one’s path. One has to listen to it on the journey, and listen to those with whom one paddles.
Blessing of the Canoe and Her Transition
The MC said, “The canoe is named ... [he paused, and I, as a WASP, was thinking it might be a Native word with lots of consonants and apostrophes, difficult to pronounce] ...
PERFECT STORM
We named her that, because, although the storm felled many more of our ancestors, it brought us this one, to teach our young how to carve, and to have the opportunity to receive this ability, and the teachings of our ancestors.”
As the carvers, given cedar branches from the North Shore, circled the canoe four times to assist and bless her transition into the Water, the elders sang and drummed a beautiful and powerful song that had once helped a Squamish Chief’s wife, who was previously lame, get up and dance!
The canoe was also given water from the Capilano River, and earth from the same region, to assist her transition.
A Sister from the Carrier Nation spoke about the tragic loss of her sisters in this area. At the end of her brief, heartfelt speech, she looked at a police officer – “Yes, we notice you’re here.”
The Kwakuitl Chief’s family was introduced. The family came to Vancouver from Tsakis (Fort Rupert Village, in northern Vancouver Island), for the Canoe Launch. One of the Chief’s Sons gave thanks to Mervyn, who is from Tsakis, for helping Perfect Storm come into being. The Chief’s son spoke about how important Mervyn’s work was for all First Nations people, as well as the young whom he taught.
The Chief’s family performed a powerful song for auspicious occasions.
And, in due course, came the Launch – the paddlers held high their paddles, on which were painted beautiful motifs from their heritage. The paddlers lifted Perfect Storm into the water, climbed into her, and they were off! All of us on shore cheered!
Among everyone, I was blessed to witness the launch of Perfect Storm, a vessel which will aid her paddlers in their journey into unknown territory. Adventure!
We are all Paddlers on the Primal Source of Life WATER
23rd Annual North American
NATIVE ART & CRAFT FAIR
Saturday & Sunday, December 13-14
11:00 pm-6:00 pm both days!
VAN. ABORIGINAL FRIENDSHIP CENTRE
1607 EAST HASTINGS, VANCOUVER
More than 50 exhibitors from: B.C., Alberta and Montana showcasing: Hand-crafted gold & silver carved jewelry, beadwork, basketry, wood and stone carvings, clothing, native remedies, creams, home décor, fine art, drums, Cowichan Indian sweaters, toques; pottery, plaques, pow wow
outfits, music, dreamcatchers, stain glass.
Works in all textiles at one of B.C.'s largest Aboriginal craft show and exhibit.
Smoked and baked salmon, chili, Indian Ice Cream, Indian Tacos, Salmon or clam chowder, fry bread, baked goods, homemade jams & much more
· Suzette Solomon Fashion Show!
Traditional Mothers and Grandmothers
Admission by donation! Door Prizes include Native artwork and prints.
Info: (604) 682-3269 Extension: 7718 nativeartfestival@yahoo.com
PICKTON FARM RALLY FOR HOPE
On November 22 at 11 am, representatives from Vancouver's largest ethnic and faith communities gathered at the Pickton Farm, 953 Dominion Ave, Port Coquitlam to call on the Provincial and Municipal governments to designate this property for public use and benefit rather than government profit.
The current government plans a profit in the neighbourhood of ten million dollars from the seized Pickton property. The Partners In Care Alliance and other community, city and ethnic representatives rallied to propose designating the 14 acres of this notorious site as a not-for-profit public cemetery and a commemorative garden of remembrance for the 69 murdered and missing women of Vancouver and those of the northern Highway of Tears.
Vancouver's present public cemetery space is nearly non-existent. This proposal would create a legacy for our community and a permanent, public acknowledgement of the tragic deaths of the women in our neighbourhoods and our lives.
With gardens and a permanent Wall of Remembrance inscribed with the names of the murdered and missing women, this site can become a place of healing, of hope and of honour, rather than an example of government profit based on the sacrifices of the community.
Please join your community to support the designation of the Pickton Farm as a desperately needed public cemetery: a Garden of Remembrance, Garden of Hope. This proposal will benefit the loved ones of all ethnicities, beliefs and faiths into the future, as well as recognize and commemorate the tragic deaths of those women already gone. The alliance hopes to achieve agreement by March 2nd 2009, the tenth anniversary of the press conference which announced the news of a serial killer on the downtown east side of Vancouver.
Speakers included family and friends of victims, Metis poet Joanne Arnott who read her new tribute to the fallen victims; Pastor Darrell Peregrym; Aziz Khaki, President of the Muslim Association of
Canada; Art Cowie, former MLA and four time chair of Vancouver Park Board; Trevor Carolan, University of Fraser Valley; and Michael Marwick, Simon Fraser Uhiversity.
"It is important to preserve the memory of those who died so tragically here and to provide a space of meditation and prayer."
~ Most Reverend Raymond Roussin,
Archbishop of Vancouver
Gwendolynn Gawlick
604-716-8243
gg@prdiva.com
Partners in Care Alliance: 604-992-8738
www.PartnersInCareAlliance.org
Donations to the PICA missing women's fund can be made online, or by mail.
Humanities 101 series:
'What is 'gentrification'?'
All are welcome to come to the first set of workshops in this series, starting on the evening of Wednesday, December 3 at Carnegie Centre. Long-time Humanities 101 teacher and architect Arthur Allen will teach participants how to read and make architectural drawings, and how to design the cottage of their dreams. Please call 604-822-0028 or email hum101@interchange.ubc.ca if you would like to attend this set of workshops.
December at Rhizome
December at Rhizome
Café * Arts Venue * Community Space
317 East Broadway
I Could’ve Been a Spelling Bee Champ: Rnd 4
Thursday, December 4, register 7:30, Bee at 8:00
Towards Aboriginal Health and Healing presents this fun (and educational!) event to raise money for their program for marginalized Aboriginal peoples with HIV. Come spell your way to the top—or cheer on from the audience. Local writers are the judges.
$5-$20 sliding scale, but no one broke turned away
Readings: Harold Hoefle, Ivan Coyote, Gregory Scofield and Richard Van Camp
Friday, December 5, 7:00pm
Join as to celebrate the launch of Harold Hoefle’s new novel, The Mountain Clinic. He will be joined by fellow writers Ivan Coyote, Gregory Scofield, and Richard Van Camp. All of these writers explore themes of solidarity and mentorship, friendship and family, and the emotional fireworks and rollercoastering that happen in relationships.
Free
Crafts for a Cause: A Craft Fair to Support Social Justice Struggles
Saturday, December 6, 6:00-10:00pm
Come shop for holiday gifts while supporting migrant rights, youth empowerment, Indigenous autonomy and more! Peruse socially conscious crafts by local artists and items created by local organizations to support their social justice work. Participating groups and individual artists include Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance, Urban Native Youth Association, No One is Illegal, Leave out Violence, Café Ramona and products made by Zapatista Mayan women, Wishing Well Organic Farms, Sam Bradd, Open to Chance, Tania Willard, Fierce Green Creations, and more! There will be live musical performances, and yummy food and drink available for purchase throughout the evening.
$2 suggested donation at the door; no one broke turned away
The Writers’ Studio Reads
Thursday, December 11, 7:30
Members of the SFU Writers’ Studio will share their craft and their most recent literary creations.
Free
Board Games are Sooooo Gay
Friday, December 12, 7:00
We’re back with another round of queer-friendly board games! Bring your favourite games or use ours. DJ Julie will keep the tunes coming!
Free
Rites for Humanity: An Evening of Solidarity for Human Rights and Dignity
Saturday, December 13, 7:00
The BC Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines presents a cultural evening of solidarity to celebrate and continue the spirit of International Human Rights Day. The evening will include performances by jazz soloist Cherlyn Cortez, spoken word artist Hari Alluri, vocalist Mutya Macatumpag, and more.
$5-$20 sliding scale
Lantern-Making Workshop for All Ages
Sunday, December 14, 4:30-7:00
Flexible Theatre presents a hands-on lantern-making workshop for kids and adults to enjoy together. Come make a lantern that you can take home to illuminate and decorate during the dark winter months. All ages are welcome!
$10 per lantern includes materials and instruction
the creation of opportunities for the artist in everyone
You’re invited!!!!!
On December 14, The Downtown Eastside Centre For The Arts will host a Christmas Carol sing-along with special guests..The Solidarity Note Choir.
Come join us for “Songs of Christmas”, sweets, hot chocolate, and good feelings.
Sunday, December 14, 2-4:00 p.m
Interurban Gallery 1 East Hastings St.
We will be announcing our new year programming in the next issue!! Bruce: The Musical - A Community Play
Bruce: The Musical - A Community Play
Robyn Livingstone got it right in his excellent review of Bruce: The Musical, by Bob Sarti, in the November 15th issue of the Carnegie Newsletter. Robyn saw the play as a celebration of the history of the Downtown Eastside, and Bruce Eriksen as a person who helped to transform "the derogatory 'skid road' to the real entity 'Downtown Eastside', and all that implied in terms of people and community." Jo Ledingham also saw the importance of this community play, and wrote in The Vancouver Courier (Nov. 12, 2008), "...you could feel community pride in the air. ...Bruce: The Musical is a love story; Libby and Bruce; Eriksen and DERA; the Downtown Eastside residents and their community." In 1983, Mayor Harcourt of Vancouver presented a civic award to the Downtown Eastside Residents' Association (DERA) which declared that this citizens' organization had helped to change the perception of that part of Vancouver, formerly known as skid road, to the Downtown Eastside.
Unfortunately, Peter Birnie, a journalist who writes reviews for The Vancouver Sun, couldn't see Bruce: The Musical as a fine example of community art. He liked the musicians, the songs, and the actors, but he didn't like the play. He called it "pure propaganda", and it reminded him of theatre in the former Soviet Union! (Musical about firebrand struggles to ignite, Vancouver Sun, Nov. 15, 2008) Such a statement is so biased and unfair that it needs to be challenged. Bruce: The Musical is not a drama in the sense of classical Greek or Shakespearian theatre. It's a play that was shaped in the Downtown Eastside for over three years. Many individuals and groups contributed to the ongoing production. One version of it was a radio production. At one time it was called The Tipping Point. Bob Sarti, with a great deal of work and commitment, sifted through all the community material, and in collaboration with Jay Hamburger of Theatre In The Raw, he crafted the play which eventually became Bruce: The Musical. Jay Hamburger of Theatre In The Raw, and Terry Hunter and Savannah Walling of Vancouver Moving Theatre, deserve credit for using a community art process which involved many people in the community
Peter Birnie called the play "pure propaganda" because his definition of the Downtown Eastside was not the same as the definition given in the play. People who follow the powerful tend to dismiss the insights of the poor and marginalized as pure propaganda. From his upper middle-class perch, Birnie couldn't see himself in the play, and he couldn't see Bruce: the Musical as an inspiring story about low income citizens fighting for human rights. The play is history, not propaganda, and many people who saw it felt a strong bond with the struggle for recognition and respect. "The people who live here, they call it the Downtown Eastside," Bruce Eriksen said. The enthusiastic applause by the audience at the end of each performance was proof that Bob had successfully articulated the caring, enduring and feisty spirit of the community.
Birnie also said that the play reminded him of theatre in the Soviet Union. Maybe he was referring to theatre that glorified the communist revolution. Such a misleading remark would have infuriated Bruce Eriksen. He was accused of being a communist a few times because he fought for the human rights of poor people, but Eriksen hated any totalitarian system. Maybe Birnie was referring to the class struggle of the poor in conflict with the powerful. Class is a huge issue in a democracy, especially in these dark times when the gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider. Today the Downtown Eastside faces the threat of gentrification, and that word implies class conflict. Bruce: The Musical is not a Russian play. It is a Canadian play that values the lives of low income citizens , and celebrates their struggle for dignity and human rights in the beloved community of the Downtown Eastside.
Bruce: The Musical is community art. It was born in our community. It celebrates our community. In his book, The Globalization of Addiction, Bruce Alexander describes the alienation that grips people who live in a highly individual, competitive society. He says that one way people build a sense of belonging to a caring community, and therefore overcome alienation and addiction, is through community art. We in the Downtown Eastside are proud of the story this play tells. It expands our memory. It strengthens our sense of who we are. It inspires us to work together to save our community from those who see our city as just a machine for making money.
Thank you, Bob Sarti. The heartfelt applause, night after night, said it all. Thank you Bill Sample and Earle Peach for the music. Thank you to all the actors, and thank you to Jay Hamburger, the Director of the play. Lastly, thank you to all the people who contributed to the play over the years, and to those who saw it and loved it, and came away refreshed and ready for the ongoing struggle, remembering that Bruce Eriksen never, ever, gave up.
By Sandy Cameron
For Sandy Cameron For Sandy Cameron
By Rolf Auer
Yesterday (November 8), I attended an event intended both as a tribute to, and a celebration of, Sandy Cameron’s enormous amount of social justice work.
(I have to add here that one can hardly think of Sandy without also thinking of his partner, Jean Swanson, who is also a long-time champion of social justice. They are perfectly matched.)
The event was hosted by the familiar Downtown Eastsider Diane Wood: artist, poet, and social justice activist. I wasn’t chosen to speak to the packed audience at the two-hour long event, but I got the impression talking to Diane later that lots of people were left off the list of speakers because there just wasn’t enough time for all who she would have liked to have chosen who could have spoken. So this article is meant to convey some of what I would have said had I had the chance to speak.
I have been reading Sandy’s beautiful poetry and politically pertinent articles for a long time now. It is indeed accurate to say that he is one of my major inspirations in my work.
I’ve been reviewing my small collection of Sandy’s and Jean’s books. I want to share with you some of the inscriptions Sandy has written for me in his books that I have.
From Fighting for Community: Stories from The Carnegie Centre and the Downtown Eastside, (1996; reprinted in 2008 for The Heart of the City Festival): “Keep up your writing. You help the community.”
From Sparks from the Fire, (2000): “For Rolf, friend and fighter for justice.”
From Being True to Ourselves, (2004): “For Rolf; who has walked on the path of justice for a long time. Keep writing! We enjoy your articles in the Carnegie Newsletter.”
(I have other books with Sandy’s works in them, but I am only referring here to ones he has written entirely.)
Sandy has sometimes said to me that I should select some of my columns and compile a book from them. Well, Sandy, you are a far better writer than me, and I just want to say that YOU SHOULD DO THAT! (too)
But as Sandy (always eloquent) says: “It’s not about ‘me,’ it’s about ‘we’”. So maybe we should not hold our breaths waiting for such a book from him (as desirable as it would be).
(I’d just like to add a plug here for Jean’s Poor-bashing: The Politics of Exclusion; still current and still available. I’ve been to meetings where Jean has called down some hoity-toit with the epithet, “That’s poor-bashing!” much to that person’s chagrin. (Former short term NDP Minister of Social Services Dennis Streifel comes to mind here. So does former Province reporter Kathy Tait.))
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”—Edmund Burke, (British Statesman and Philosopher, 1729-1797)
Sandy Cameron is the antithesis of that quote. Please keep writing, Sandy, your words of justice are rain on parched earth.
I’d like to end this article with the closing lines of a poem of Sandy’s which he mentioned yesterday, and which happens to be one of my favourites. It’s from Being True to Ourselves and it’s titled “One Hundred Years of Struggle”:
When men of great power
deny the humanity of human beings
and the history of a community,
they tend to think
that they can destroy
both the people
and the place
without moral qualms.
The Downtown Eastside has
A long history, however,
and a rugged identity.
It is not expendable,
And it is not just skid road.
We are strong
when we stand in solidarity
with those who have fought
for human rights
for over one hundred years.
Memory is the mother of community.
Hello people
Well I’m in the hospital and it seems - as usual. I went to my dialysis last Monday and they decided to keep me because my foot was acting up. I t seems like that foot acts up whenever it wants to. They said they would keep me for a few days and then they said a week or so and now its gonna be another 10 days or so. I decided I’d stay as long as it takes to get my foot back to where it doesn’t hurt. Either that or they can cut the damn thing off. I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. I miss my normal everyday life all though being in the hospital does have some advantages. Like pretty nurses who give me their undivided attention when I talk to them. They keep asking me if I need anything but as usual I don’t need anything. I sure am getting my fill of medical personnel. And there are so many of them that I can’t keep track of who’s who. I get about 4 or 5 different people every shift and then there are student nurses, different doctors and other personnel. It seems to be the norm to have as many different people as possible. I guess its some kinda teaching hospital. Lot of new faces but it gives me a chance to talk to a lot of new friends and find out about stuff I know nothing about. Like this morning – I met a new nurse who put a sorta plastic cast on my foot. I say sorta because its not a cast, its just plastic wrap that they hook a machine up to that sucks out all the air and somehow this promotes healing in my foot. I got a chance to look at it this morning because 2 doctors put on the original one on Friday and it seemed like they didn’t know what they were doing all though the wound looked really good this morning. After it heals they are gonna place a graft over it and I shouldn’t have any more trouble with that foot until the next time I buy a pair of shoes. I’m not looking forward to getting a graft taken out of my thigh. I hear it hurts like heck.
Tuesday – well i got a shock this morning. A doctor came in and started lecturing me on some of the offensive things that I’ve said to the personnel. It seems that I am a Lecherous old fool and am propositioning the women personnel. I can’t remember propositioning or doing anything out of hand but I guess whatever they say is gospel so they had to talk to me and warn me not to go around insulting persons who’re doing their job. I don’t know if its insulting people or teasing them but I guess its wrong to try to make people feel easier about the job that they’re doing. Well i should know better than to try and make people’s job easier especially when I hardly know what they’re doing. I mean I just try to make their job a little easier by talking to them and it helps me to relax when some one is poking at my body but I think I know where the line is and I don’t cross it. If I don’t like someone I don’t talk to them and the ones I do like I make sure that they feel comfortable working with me. I guess there are some people who just can’t be reached by joking around. I mean I laugh or am pleasant most of the time but they really hurt me this morning and I am actually thinking about signing myself out of this little bit of hell. I don’t know of anyone who likes being in the hospital and especially not me but ya gotta do what ya gotta do and being here now is the best thing for me. The worst that can happen is that I lose my foot. And that’ll probably happen in the future anyway, so I just lose my foot a lit bit sooner. Sometimes writing helps me sort things out so I hope this allows me to stay in the hospital. I’d hate to sign myself out because someone doesn’t like me and is just in a bitchy mood. There are 2 of the nicer nurses working with me this morning but after that doctor came and talked to me I quit talking to them. They may or may not be the ones who complained about me but I have no way of being sure of anyone now so I guess I just have to relax and keep to myself and hopefully my foot will heal sooner rather than later.
Weds. – I felt a lot better after writing down my feelings and now I don’t know if I should send it in to the Newsletter or not. I guess I will as it did make me feel a lot better. I went back to my room and apologized to the student nurse for ignoring her before I left. She took it in stride and carried on with her job just like a professional would. I salute her. Well i have to get this sent and I snuck away from the ward to do it. They tracked me down and made me drink a juice because my sugar level is to low. They changed my foot dressing this morning and it sure is looking good. I’m really feeling good about this treatment although I’m gonna have to stay here at least one more week. This computer or keyboard sure is lousy. I keep having to go back and fix mistakes. So I guess I’ll leave and come back later for a different machine. Have a good week. –hal
Downtown Eastside Writers' Jamboree
Downtown Eastside Writers' Jamboree
The DTES Writers' jamboree, holding court on the third floor of Carnegie recently, was an extremely informative and exceptionally well-attended success. With near overflow crowds and waiting lists for the Blue pencil Café (thirty minute consultations with an intriguing selection of authors, many published).
The Soul of Vancouver volume of poetry, edited by Diane Wood, culled from a wealth of written words from the stalwart stable of writers that occupy various areas of our vibrant, artistically inclined Downtown Eastside neighbourhood. The Blue Pencil sessions were especially intriguing personally ‘cause I actually got to present certain pieces I had written for the Carnegie Newsletter over the years and receive an immediate critique, feedback, advice, and a profound discussion with noted poet Betsy Warland; I instantly came to admire her. This was the 1st frame – 1-3pm.
The second frame took place in classroom 2 on the third floor from 3 til 5. This session wasappropriately titled “Roundtables for anyone who wishes to attend; Latecomers most welcome.” The first half consisted of “The business of taking care of yourself as a writer” with four varied and interesting writers, Karen Goh, Dianne Wood, Joanne Arnott and Laura McElhinney. Each of them, as they spoke, was very inspiring, profound and thought-provoking. Everyone seemed to be feverishly and copiously scribbling out what seemed to us to be extremely important and necessary notations in shorthand in the margins of handouts or on any stray piece of loose paper.
The second phase of this two-hour session had the heading, “Tips on Editing,” facilitated, as the earlier session, by Vancouver Public Library’s incomparable Caroline Alderson, also doing double duty in the Blue Pencil Cafe. During this enlightening hour, we had an extensive conversation with the editors of the popular magazines Room, the Tyee, Subterrain, and the groundbreaking Geist. All of the editors who spoke were concise and went directly to the point, the ultimate end purpose, of the editing form and their traditional responsibilities.
The last event was titled “Reading and Conversation’ with authors Karen Tulchinsky and Ryan Knighton. This session was facilitated by our librarian, Beth Davies.
Day Two – Friday unfolded just like Thursday had, with the Blue pencil Cafe, one on one sessions with authors Brad Cran, Rachel Rose, Betsy Warland and Ian Parker. Two hours, from 1 to 3, was discussion about “Tips on Publishing,” consisting of valuable input from reps of cutting edge publications, literally wielding a sharp knife directly at the eyes of the powers that be and the morally and ethically corrupt captains of industry that reign oppressively over us. Important, positively pontificating publications such as the community minded, character building Mega-phone, Adbusters, Room, and Commodore Books, talked extensively of what exactly they are looking for in their particular layouts and formats. For example, the locally produced Megaphone accepts freelance contributions from any writers, artists and photographers who are interested. And, I might add, one hundred percent of the purchase “price,” which is by donation, go directly to the street vendor.
The second half of Friday's roundtables was the always hot topic, “getting yourself out there,” with guests Evelyn Lau (Runaway), Bakir Junaideen of The Three Day Novel contest, as well as Fiona Scott and others. They contributed to a myriad of useful and thought-provoking tips, blogging for particular computer writers, or by simply long hand if that’s you. They also mentioned where the best locations and most optimum ways to both perform and promote your original work are.
This event was coordinated and facilitated by John Mavin. He helped keep everyone involved totally immersed in the spirit of this 2-day event. Kudos must also go to the many others who kept things organised and who helped create the event – and to me the most deserving is our beautiful and talented Beth, exceptional Carnegie Librarian & the amazing Rika Uto, Education Programmer and the epitome of calm and rationality(!?!) I’d also like to thank those responsible for the haute cuisine of cookies and the reeling feeling of caffeine in excess. Just kidding …
After all we are all writers at heart, aren’t we? This is our collective wont, our nature… isn’t it?!
By ROBYN LIVINGSTONE
PerspectivePerspective
Most of us understand that the world revolves around us. It’s true that your world revolves around you and my world revolves around me. In fact, the one thing I am sure that everyone I know has in common is that I know them all. In fact, if I did not know them they would not even be in my world.
That makes me sound kind of important, don’t ou think?
But be careful: It can be easy to get carried away about these things. And people often do. They can feel entitled to things when, in fact, nobody is entitled to anything. Our very existence is in fact a blessing.
People can get quite upset when others are in their way, when other’s agendas mess up theirs, when others don’t understand that they are trespassing in our world. Yes, people can be blind to the fact that they, too, are trespassing on the territory of other people.
Yes, you are the centre of your world, but each of our worlds overlaps with every other world we
touch. Let us not lose sight of this truth.
Videha
Perspective or The Eyes of a Child
The father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 'How was the trip?'
“I see that we have one dog and they have four.
“We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
“We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
“Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
“We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
“We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.'
The father was speechless.
His son added, 'Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.'
Submitted by Colleen G.
'It was an ID ten T error.'I was having trouble with my computer. So I called Richard, the 11 year old next door whose bedroom looks like Mission Control, and asked him to come over.
Richard clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem.
As he was walking away, I called after him, 'So, what was wrong?
He replied, 'It was an ID ten T error.'
I didn't want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, 'An, ID ten T error? What's that? In case I need to fix it again.'
Richard grinned. 'Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T error before?''
No,' I replied.
‘Write it down,' he said, 'and I think you'll figure it out.'
So I wrote down: I D 1 0 T
I used to like the little shit
MEMORIAL FOR OUR MURDERED WOMENMEMORIAL FOR OUR MURDERED WOMEN
Honoured to be on Coast Salish Territory.
In Commemoration for the one year conviction acknowledging the disappearance of our sisters, we would like to hold a memorial for the departed on
DECEMBER 9, 2008 at CRAB PARK, 1 – 3PM.
Everyone is invited to this historic event.
Please bring your drums and regalia.
All my Relations
To Mayor Robertson and members of Council 12/1/2008
Help in the Downtown Eastside is described in the longer letter attached. The salient points for you include it now being integral to
*the functioning of City Housing and the work of Judy Graves;
*the work of City Sanitation and its mandatory presence when City Police are trashing homeless people’s belongings;
*the training programs of Vancouver City Police, specifically the training supervised by Linda Malcolm, Neighbourhood Police and Sex Liaison Constable;
*the functioning of the Social Work Departments of at least 3 major hospitals (UBC, VGH & St.Paul’s);
*the daily work of service and referral of virtually all which/who are listed therein.
When COPE formed the municipal government, a letter went to City Council. It gave some of this history [see attached] and included the story of when I had been in City Hall for some innocent (…) reason and went into the office of the then-director of Social Planning, giving her copies of the just printed edition of Help (#7 or 8). As I turned to go she exclaimed that I had just saved her $10,000! She told me that she’d just budgeted that amount to produce exactly what I’d handed her, and mine was already in 3 languages! Calculations in Council’s hands showed that, over the intervening years, given the cost of union labour, printing, updating and revising by staff, I’ve saved the City of Vancouver around $100,000 by fundraising and doing all the work as a volunteer.
In 2005 the City began annual funding with $6500. In ’06 & ’07 it was $7000 and $7200. Then, at the end of 2007 with no reason or explanation given, the City of Vancouver simply ceased funding this essential service.
Both editions in 2008 (printing & mailing) were paid for by the Carnegie Community Centre Association – by default. What is abominable is that all these government departments, agencies and services utilize Help in the Downtown Eastside as simply the best that is available, yet the body holding the purse-strings refused to pay so much as a dime. I have attributed this stupidity to the NPA, but perhaps it was a lapse insisted upon by the gentrifying developers in the Downtown Eastside who are hell bent on deconstructing the community here. The Help booklets are the epitome of the organization and caring in our ‘hood; eliminating this example of cohesion contributes to not
recognizing anything here but land to be pioneered and the inconvenience of the low-life running through the streets.
This request is that 1) the funding for 2008 be remitted to the Carnegie Association and 2) that the annual funding of Help in the Downtown Eastside be restored and continued.
Respectfully submitted,
PaulR Taylor, editor.
Ph: 604-665-2289 Fax: 604-606-2736 email: carnnews@vcn.bc.ca Website: www.carnnews.org
Dockside squatters move inside – success?
In October/November, 10 men and 2 women made a temporary home out of the Dockside welfare office patio. Word got out to CCAP that the squatters would be removed because the Ministry’s head office wanted the patio barred off.
Muriel, Diane, Phoenix, Lewam, Ann checked it out after a CCAP action meeting last week. We found squatters in a dandy spot: it was dry, clean and had under the radar support of office and security workers. With a 24 hour bathroom across the street, meals arranged at the 44, the potential to sleep around the clock under the protective eye of security and some collective rules and solidarity, personal health conditions of the squatters was improving. With the pressure to move out, they found themselves in a good position to negotiate the next steps – getting inside.
"I want to move on from here and go to school. Indian Affairs will help me with that. But I need a place. You don't have a life when you live in a shelter. I need to cook when I need a meal and I need a shower when I need a shower. I can't find a place to live. I'm not getting anywhere here," says Kaleb Zentner, a homeless squatter at the site.
Albert John Ouimette, the lead organizer at the squatter site said: "If the janitors want to wash the floor we leave because we want to make it easy for them. We keep the place tidy. We don't cause problems here because we need to stay. The workers know who we are. They know we got respect. But I need my own space, my own key, if I'm going to work everyday."
But unfortunately, what unfolded at Dockside sounds like a broken record. Here’s the pattern similar to Oppenheimer and Glen Ave squats:
o Pressure to close the squat site,
o outreach workers called into relocate squatters,
o outreach workers can’t find rooms for squatters,
o squatters and supporters ramp up pressure,
o media gets involved,
o the Province gets involved and moves everyone at once to a provincially owned hotel, and
o the outdoor sites are barricaded or policed so squatters can’t come back.
Nearly all the Dockside squatters were relocated into the Gastown Hotel. Last time I talked to them, I heard various versions of “maybe it’s better outside.” Outside they had to deal with the weather and lack of privacy. In the hotel, they are stuck with filth, bugs and a short supply of support.
Once the weather changes, they may end up back outside, if not before. Are we creating a revolving door right back out to the street?
What’s the next step? Well, I heard DERA is helping Gastown Hotel tenants with a petition to BC Housing to improve living conditions there. Maybe CCAP will help draw attention to the problems there too. Stay tuned for more.
Rumors are flying that the province has bought more hotels, but we don't know for sure. Maybe another broken record? It seems that when we make some noise, we get substandard results. We need permanent 400 square foot homes – not crummy hotel rooms forever. As Muriel from CCAP says, we’re tired of being a country song. Ask her to show you what she means as she does a great “improv.” ~wp
Bank pulls funding on DTES luxury condos
Yipee! Yaletown is not moving east as quickly as we thought.
The infamous V6A condo project who’s giant hole graces Union Street between Main and Gore, has stalled thanks to the global market crash.
According to an article dated Sunday November 16, 2008 in the Province Newspaper, this condo project had its funding pulled by a bank.
We can’t get too excited. This is only one stalled condo project. At a rate of 3 condos to every 1 social housing unit under development between 2005-2010, our neighbourhood may soon be overwhelmed. New condos and the new stores that come along with them, mean rents will continue to spiral upwards. Say hello to more poor bashing and more “NIMBY’s” (people who don’t want to live near people with “problems.”) We need more safe, secure homes like the 5000 social housing homes we have already where people can nurture themselves, their friends and family and put down roots and contribute to the community. ~wp
Goodbye
Goodbye
Say goodbye 2 th DTES as we know it
The yuppies buyin condos don’t wanna see us
Don’t wanna know about sandwich & souplines
When they shop at Nestors
Don’t care what a great paira shoes U scored at the 1st United
While they’re buyin a leather jacket 4 their dog
Won’t B looking 4 a dollar bag at Sunrise, or in any dumpsters
Don’t wanna know where 2 get a free haircut when they’re shoppin 4 a wig And they flinch when they see us
Th people who made this community what it is
Doin what we do
In broad daylight.
Diane Wood
BC has highest poverty rate in Canada for 5th straight year.BC has highest poverty rate in Canada for 5th straight year.
It’s too bad reports on how bad poverty is won’t end poverty. If they would, 2 reports that came out last month would help quite a bit. As it is, if you need any word ammunition to fight against poverty, the latest 2008 Child Poverty Report Card and recommendations from the United Nations Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) should help.
The 2008 Child Poverty Report Card says that BC has the highest poverty rate (16.1%) and child poverty rate (21.9%) of all the provinces for the 5th year in a row. Over half of the poor children in the province live in families where at least one person is working full time, so wages are dismally low. Over half of all single parent mother led families are poor. A couple with 2 children living on welfare is almost $21,000 a year BELOW the poverty line. The poverty line (about $39,000 a year for a family of 4) would be untold riches to a family on welfare.
Some other interesting stats from the report: Over 245,000 BC workers earn less than $10 an hour. The average total income for the richest one tenth of one percent of families grew by almost a million dollars between 1982 and 2004 to about $2.5 million a year. Meanwhile the average income for the poorest 10% of taxfilers in 2004 was $6000. The income of the richest 10% grew while the income of the poorest and second poorest 10% fell. You can find the report at http://www.campaign2000.ca/rc/rc08/BC_ReportCard08-colour.pdf
The Report Card says governments should increase minimum wage to almost $11 an hour, end the $6 an hour training wage, raise welfare to about $1300 a month for a single person, restore welfare earnings exemptions and stop clawing back child support payments, among other things.
The UN report says that the CEDAW committee is concerned that there is no federal accountability to ensure that there are minimum standards for social assistance funding. It calls on the Canadian government to establish those standards. To find this report, check out http://www.fafia-afai.org/en/research/cedaw
~Jean Swanson
Upscale Bistro poor-bashes residents outside the 44
When was the last time you had “cured carpaccio and poke-style tuna with crisp wontons for scooping, and the szechaun prawns with chili salt and chili wok mayo” or paid $44 a plate for dinner?
I know we eat really well at the Carnegie too, but is it just me, or does this new restaurant across from the Evelyn Saller Centre (the 44) seem a little – exclusive?
I work really hard not to let anger get to me, but last Sunday my kids and I walked up Alexander to go to the Japanese Language Hall and saw something that we have not yet seen east of Main. It was brunch time at Two Chefs and the diamond reflection of the martini glass affair in there blinded our eyes as we walked passed. Most horrifying was how everyone inside seemed so oblivious to where they were. But after reading the reviews on this restaurant’s website, it appears that they know exactly where they are as you can see from these blatant poor bashing, neighbourhood erasing comments from the Globe and Mail, Courier etc:
“Two Chefs brings breath of fresh air to gritty neighbourhood”; “takes over its from a dingy, defunct coffee shop”; “Ambience and flavour in the Downtown Eastside at a reasonable price. The show outside is free”; This new restaurant in Railtown may not appeal to those with a weak appetite for the grim realities of the Downtown Eastside. But I'm sure it's a welcome respite for the local loft owners, artists, architects and multimedia cubicle dwellers that are gentrifying the neighbourhood about as fast as you can score a hit of crack cocaine. I wouldn't call it a destination restaurant. But it bodes well for the neighbourhood. And as far ambience goes, it sure beats the Ovaltine.”
Maybe this would be a great location for a tent city. In the south, they used to have sit- ins to protest segregation. Maybe we should start by writing a letter asking them to take the poor-bashing off their website! ~wp
Mapping brings out community spirit
CCAP is working on a new phase of visioning for a low-income “friendly” neighbourhood. It is called “mental mapping.” We learned about this from a Professor at UBC named Pilar Riano-Alcala. She is originally from Columbia and travels there regularly to map with people there. The purpose is to help people advocate for their communities. The maps Pilar makes show more than just physical buildings. These maps can show the attachments people have to places in their neighbourhood. They show which places contribute to a community atmosphere. CCAP’s Mapping Process
So far, we’ve had 7 mapping sessions. Each session had around 10 people. We met with the Carnegie Association board, 2 different groups of CCAP volunteers, women from Lifeskills in a program called DAMS, tenants of the Gastown Hotel and we had 2 practice sessions with members of LILAHC, the DTES land use coalition who helping out with this visioning. We refined our format after the 6th session and now we’re ready to take it out to the community and do mappings all over the area.
The first thing we do is put 4 flip chart papers taped together on the table to make a very large empty square. With coloured felt pens on the table, we ask if someone can draw a meaningful place on the map. Then we ask why it’s meaningful and write
down what the person says word for word, if we can. When we asked the CCAP volunteers to draw a meaningful place, there was a hesitation and we all looked at each other. Then Clyde, from VANDU, who was standing behind everyone said, “I’ll do it.” He reached over and grabbed a pen. Someone said, “what are you drawing Clyde?” He said “Carnegie” and he drew a big blue heart in the middle of the giant paper. We asked him why it is meaningful and then went on to the next person who drew another meaningful place. Pretty soon we had many significant places on the map and rich stories to go with them. Then people put stickers on 3 places each to show which 3 places were the most meaningful places to them.
Next people drew the best housing in the area, the best places to eat or get food and the most uncomfortable, unsafe areas (or “places that piss you off” as Jean would say to make everyone laugh). Different colour stickers were used for each.
What people said
Here are the top meaningful places people mentioned: Carnegie, Oppenheimer Park, Crab Park, Vandu, Vancouver Native Health, DTES Neighbourhood House, Lifeskills, MacLean Park, First United Church, Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, Insite, Health Contact Centre, YWCA Crabtree Corner.
The women at DAMS told us the whole area was meaningful not just one place. When I asked them why, they said “because of the missing women.” I asked them to draw that and they drew little hearts of the boundaries and then drew a big circle around the whole area. One woman then wrote on the map: “we’ve been here for 20 years, longer than anyone else. It is our neighbourhood.” Another woman said, “we aren’t asking for Granville or any of those things, we’re just asking for this little part…if I won the lottery, I would buy the whole place…the area where a lot of women went missing.”
The best housing so far is Four Sisters and Lore Krill Co-ops, Mavis McMullen Housing, Native Housing on Pender and the Bruce Eriksen Building. Nobody mentioned condos! Lore Krill was called the “best living dwellings I have seen down here” by one person. She said “It’s a lot better than mine which is falling down. It’s a place you could be proud of to live in.” When the Four Sisters was mentioned, someone said “[It] has lots of kids. I’ve applied there many times and never got in. I would like to be an aunty there. I like the wine and cheese, the BBQ’s there, the green space in the middle, the roof gardens. One person said: “when I was homeless, I didn’t think I’d ever get stable again. People don’t feel they deserve a nice home. Getting a nice home changes your way of thinking.”
Here are the best places to eat or get food so far: Sunrise, Carnegie, Save on Meats, Butcher at Oppenheimer, St James for ensure, Uncle Henry’s, the Women’s Center and more.
The worst places: jailhouse, condo sites, abandoned places, boarded up, upscaling places, bar hopping crowds, the drug selling crowd in front of Carnegie and the bottle depot.
You can read more about what people said in future newsletters and in our final report.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to participate in these workshops. If you want to be part of a mapping workshop, just let us know. ~wp
Get ready for the 2nd Annual Poverty Olympics
Mark your calendar for Sunday, Feb. 8th at 1 pm, the Japanese Language School at 487 Alexander St. This will be THE place to hang out with the Poverty Olympic Mascots, Creepy the Cockroach, Itchy the Bedbug, and Chewy the Rat. The event will include fun, food, song and Downtown Eastside satire with a message.
People think of Canada as a rich and beautiful country. But we want the world to know that our neighborhood has the same HIV rate as Botswana. Our province has the highest child poverty rate in Canada (21%), and thousands of homeless people have to search through garbage for food and things to sell.
We also want them to know that all of this poverty and homelessness is completely unnecessary. Our province had a surplus of $2.9 billion last year, and the federal government had a surplus of $9.6 billion.
This year we’re thinking of events like Skating around Poverty and Curling with homelessness (where the “rock” of homelessness is swept under a big rug labeled “Olympics”). It will be hard to top last years Broad-jump over a Bedbug Infested Mattress.
If you want to get involved in helping to organize the event, call Jean (729-2380) or Wendy (839-0379) at CCAP. For more information on last year’s Poverty Olympics, check out povertyolympics.ca. ~Jean Swanson
