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NEWSLETTER 401 Main Slrttt, V1ncounr V6A lT7 (604) 665-2289

and/or

addicted ...

Being

JUNE 1, 2006

www.carnnews.om carnnews@vcn.bc.ca

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These are not repulsive, disgusting crimes. BUT

Th~ sk9-lickinggreed of man9 people is.

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The United Nations agrees with us! Poverty violates our human rights!

A United Nations Committee has recognized that Canada is violating the human rights of its own citi­zens who live in poverty as well as Aboriginals, immigrants, especially immigrants from Africa, and women.

In an 11 page report released on May 19, the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights listed 22 "principle subjects of concern" about Canada's human rights record, and made 39 "suggestions and recommendations" to the Canadian government.

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The recommendations include: * Increasing minimum wage so workers and their

families can enjoy a decent standard of living; * Ensuring that government policies and practices

don't result in the extinguishment of inherent Abo­riginal rights and titles;

*Ensuring that people who are unemployed have access to unemployment insurance and improved benefits;

* Ending the exploitation of migrant domestic workers;

* Setting social assistance rates at levels which ensure the realization of an adequate standard of living for all;

* Addressing homelessness as a national emer­gency by reinstating and increasing social housing programs n' social assistance rates to realistic I"evels .

The Committee also wants Canada to make adequate social assistance benefits for people in need a legally enforceable right, and to stop the claw back of the Child Tax Benefit from single parents on welfare. BC was singled out by the UN for its drastic cuts to legal aid and for the increased poverty of mothers and children. The UN Committee reports on Canada's compliance with the UN Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights every five years, although at times it is late. Another recommendation of the Committee is for the Canadian government to distribute these recommendations "widely, among all levels of soci­ety, especially government and the judiciary." Since the Canadian government won't do this, the Carne­gie Community Action Project has copies of there­port in the office on the second floor if you would like to look at it or take one .

-Jean Swanson

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Dear Mr. Graham,

Thank you for your letter to the Carnegie Newsletter in response to Jean Swanson's article, "Stadium fans poor-bash on radio and internet". In it, you write, "I find it very ironic that the Carnegie community cen­tre wants to label all soccer fans as a bunch of ultra violent jerks ... " But ifyou had read all the way to the end of Swanson's article, you would have found the phrase, "Of course, not all soccer fans will be such disgusting poor bashers." It's like you just learned about irony last week! whereas I remember studying it in the 8th grade.

You proudly state that you braved Main and Hast­ings to come to a public meeting at Carnegie to dis­cuss the stadium proposal. I was at that meeting. What I remember is a room full oflocal people ex­pressing their feelings from the heart, and two sta­dium supporters who said their piece and then spent the rest of the meeting snickering to one another under their breath while my friends and neighbours spoke. How could you even tell that what they were saying was "unrelated and ... stupid"?

After exhibiting this behaviour right in our faces, along with that ever-present tone of contempt, you expected local parents to phone you and send their children to play soccer with your charity coaches? This is the very definition of poor-bashing: You made an offer that no-one with any pride could ac­cept, then impugned your targets' integrity when they rejected it. You then went on to use this to dis­credit those opposing your point of view.

When you berate Jean Swanson for incorrectly crediting a quote from southsiders.com, you clearly aren't taking into account that you are dealing with a 70-something, computer-challenged poet and pub­lished writer who is conversant with the practice of research but, in her current job, hasn't the budget to hire an assistant familiar with the ins and outs of the internet. Myself, l try to be forgiving when people over 50 have not prioritiz~d tech savvy as their re-

tirement project. Strip away the technology, and we are all human under the skin and can hopefully find ·1 common ground in that. ~ "

You might have heard that poverty is rampant in the Downtown Eastside. What this means for poor people is that very few of us find a way to keep up­to-date on technology, from which you seem to be dra~ing a fair amount of your authority to speak ag~m.st us. Many do not even have a telephone. Thts IS not their fault and it does not make their feel­ings and views any less valid. It is only natural to want ~o do something to help when you see human suffenng around you, but please believe me when 1 sa~ that "help" has a different meaning "down here". Thmk of the Downtown Eastside as a small pond. The proposed stadium is like a boulder dropped into 1t from 100 feet in the air. Your charity soccer idea i~ like releasing a tankful of goldfish. What looks hke. help from your perspective is, to us, a threat agamst a precarious balance.

There are people here in the Downtown Eastside who have put decades into the slow work of healing themselves and their community. Perhaps you should do a little more research to try and under­stand the differences that exist between yourself and t~e ~eople who will be most effected by your cha ptonmg the stadium proposal.

Gena Thompson

' . Lhtil1g Room .forum.

Part of the Living the Global City Series . . .

Monday, June 12, 1- 3pm Carnegie Theatre

Gentrification is one of the marks of global cities and it has consequences not only for living spaces but also for public spaces. This panel will consider the ways that community groups and residents in the Downtown Eastside have interacted in the past forty years with government and other actors to create inclusive public spaces. It will seek to answer the question: ."Can the inclusive public spaces that have :be.en shaped for and by an impoverished community be maintained in the face of the eastward movement of condominium development and increasing num-bers of homeowners?;' . ·

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Residents at risk again Residents of the Lucky Lodge at 134 Pow­

ell thought they had won a reprieve from having their building closed. But now the city' s legal department is again considering whether or not to close the building. At a business license hearing on May 25th a panel of three city councilors granted a license to George Metralws to run the building if two conditions were met. The owners of the building were prohibited from entering their own building, and if any of the conditions of a property management agreement with the city were breeched, the city would again

· consider revoking the license and closing the building. But four days later, the owners showed up on the premises and fired Metra­kos. So the hotel is now in limbo again.

The building owner was not present at the hearing. City lawyer lain Dixon and Metra­kos said the owners wanted the building for property speculation, but the owner thought he didn't need tenants in order to pay the mortgage.

Interesting facts about the finances of running a rooming house were revealed at the hearing. The Lucky Lodge takes in about $20,000 a month in rent. Mortgage payments are $10,000, and staffing costs $6200. On top of that are an undisclosed management fee, hydro, and repair bills. The owner has deposited $15,000 in a credit union·account for repairs, and, according to Metrakos, agreed to add more if the business license is approved. Metrakos intended to apply for a government funded grant to up­grade the building.

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The Astoria Hotel, with over 80 units, is also slated for a business ~ l~cense hearing: . Fifty-four hotels are being inspected by city, po­

hce, fire, and health officials as part of " Project Haven" and more could be closed. Pivot says almost 300 units have been closed al­ready this year, with only new units being considered here.

Nine tenants of the Lucky Lodge were represented at the May 25th hearing by David Eby of Pivot. The Pender Hotel and the Burns Block have already been closed by the city. Eby said some of their former residents are now homeless. He reminded council members that they did not have to close buildings that didn' t meet maintenance standards. "If the [property management deal] falls apart, section 23.9 of the Stan­dards of Maintenance Bylaw allows council to ~ake repairs and bill the owner."

:Ue Cam~gie Community Action Project has been meeting with ~tty counctl~rs .and urging them to use their power to repair build­mgs, buy bmldings and lobby strongly to get federal and provincial money to build new housing to replace SROs in crummy shape.

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EYES Everyone sits side by side, on couches Chairs, the floor fl 0 M ~ S I feel comfort lying down, my pillow an old li Stuffed bear, lying behind the backs of mom and aunties Tite house is full of family and assorted others Filling all the chairs and couch space as dog runs and hides from The kids under the bed growling, daring them to come near. My little hiding space wann and safe While your eyes search lurking Trying to find a glimmer "Time for supper!" someone yells suddenly everyone is up and moving washing hands, laughing and my eyes widen at the sight of so much food and apple pie which will have to wait! I tum Only to bump into your eyes quite by accident I turn away quickly lest anyone should see And run to catch up to my moms ann And turn to snap my eyes at you half hoping That someone could notice and help me somehow And hold my breath thinking this will make me invisible. But soon I catch up to everyone's happiness while All the while two eyes, sometimes three Stalk mine and mine own try to trip me up but I try to stay focused on mom, aunties and steaming food. "Can I go outside mommy?" "sure .. but don't go too far kay?" "Okay!!" I step out and stand on the old wooden porch My face is warm and a sudden gust causes me to Catch my breath and the fresh air outside so cool And crisp - refreshes. I glance upward and take as deep of a gulp as I can helping my soul to enjoy the sound of crickets and Cedar swaying in the wind not knowing yet that I have a soul. Something makes me run down the steps onto the dried grass toward the big tree With my arms outstretched · I dance round and round and round Offering my eyes up to the sky for safe-keeping While the faint outline of the moon reaches down with a smile I run up onto the big rock enjoying the freedom Forgetting for a little while Your eyes Flying along behind me Waiting to pull me back.

Kat Norris katnorris@hotmail.com

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Spirit Keepers Caravan August 14- September 30, 2006

Bringing the Children Home _More than 50,000 aboriginal children died in church-run residential schools across Canada be­tween 1890 and 1984. Few oftheir remains were ever brought home for a proper burial. Their killers were never brought to justice. And the truth of the Aboriginal Holocaust has remained buried. Until now. Clan Mothers and Elders have decided to launch a

Spirit Keepers Caravan that will visit the sites of former residential schools and help give voice to the spirits of the children who died there. The Caravan will rally survivors and ask the government of Can­ada and the Catholic, Anglican and United Churches to return the remains of the disappeared children to their homes so they may finally be laid to rest.

It is time for the full truth of their fate to be known ' and for those who have passed on to receive their

healing, too. The Spirit Keepers Caravan expects full disclosure and accountability by those responsible for the deaths of so many children. This is an invitation to your elders and all your

people to welcome and participate in our Caravan. We intend to travel across Turtle Island and bring our message to the world, so that all of the residen­tial school children may finally be brought home and have their story told.

The Caravan will be leaving Unceded Coast Salish territory ("Vancouver") on August 14, 2006, to be joined by others. Contact us now to plan a ceremo­nial event or public forum on your territory. For more information, contact our Elders at this emai I: spiritkeeperscaravan@yahoo.ca With thanks from The Elders of the Spirit Keepers Caravan:

Growing Rock, Anishinabe-Cree Nation M-artha Joseph, Getksan Nation Whispers Wind, Anishinabe Nation

CEDAR PROJECT Looking For All Cedar Project Participants

Hi everyone, please print and post this poster as we are searching for current participants that we haven't seen in some time. Currently, we are not accepting new applicants. f.y.i. this project is an Aboriginal Youth Health Project and we have 300 Aboriginal youth that are using non-injection and injection drugs here in Vancouver esp. in the DTES. Our partner project is in Prince George. ALSO!

If you or you know of anyone/organizations that might be able to donate foodstuffs, coffee, tea, espe­cially hot chocolate, snack food items, or dry foods mac n cheese, INSTANT NOODLES, OR clothing such as: socks, underclothing, guys and girls shoes, toiletries, feminine pads, -- we could use them here! Our youth drop-in hours are 12 noon-5:00 and we bring in snacks cookies, candies, juices. Call Kat or Laurel- (604) 685-6356 We're at 45 West Cordova- behind Army & Navy Office hours: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Mon-Thurs Kat 's hours: 11-5:00 Monday- Thurs

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Read and Hear the truth of Genocide in Canada, past and present, at this website: www.hiddenfromhistory.org ... ... and on this radio program: "Hidden from His­tory", every Monday from 1-2 pm (PST) on CFRO 102.7 FM (www.coopradio.org) (Vancouver)

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"When the desire for Truth and Virtue becomes the I only bias in our mind, only then can we know in ourselves what is right." Peter Annett, Humanist and dissident, 1769 Gailed and persecuted by the Church of England for his questioning of the Bible and the church)

Coca-Cola's Abuse of the Global Public Interest

In 200 I, a lawsuit was filed in the United States against Coca-Cola by the International Labor Rights Fund (www.laborrights.org) and the United Steel­workers union on behalf of SINAL TRAINAL (www.sinaltrainal.org)- the major union represent­ing Coca-Cola workers in Colombia - several of its members and the survivors of Isidro Gil, one qf its murdered officers.

The lawsuit charges that Coca-Cola's bottlers in Colombia "contracted with or otherwise directed paramilitary security forces that utilized extreme violence and murdered, tortured, unlawfully de­tained or otherwise silenced trade union leaders."

The seriousness of the situation is best summed up by a SINAL TRAINAL officer, who stated: "If we lose the fight against Coca-Cola, we will frrst lose our union, next our jobs and then our lives." Other crimes and abuses by Coke include:

. Overexploitation and pollution of Water Sources in India (www.indiaresource.org), Mexico (ciepac.org), Ghana and elsewhere

·~ (www.polarisinstitute.org) ·

. Benefiting from hazardous Child Labor in sugar cane fields in EI Salvador as documented by Human

+ Rights Watch (www.hrw.org)

Campaign to Stop .Killer Coke www. KillerCoke.org

StopKillerCoke@aol.com

. Aggressive marketi~g to children of nutritionally 7 worthless and damagmg products (commercial

/exploitation. org; www.schoolpouringrights. com/) .

. Anti-worker Policies in Turkey, Indonesia and worldwide (www. studentsagainstsweatshops. org)

. Giving executives hundreds of millions of dollars in stock options and bonuses while laying off thou­sands of employees

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. history of racial discrimination

. fraudulent business practices

. Tax avoidance and corporate welfare schemes

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Every Thursday is Aboriginal Day .

at Oppenheimer Park

11:00 am Pow Wow Drumming •

learn or teach drum songs together

t :30 pm Bannock Making make bannock to be shared with participants in the afternoon circle

2:30 pm Bannock Circle

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share bannock and woodland tea while we do talking circles, crafts and plan trips

Up Coming: We hope to go picking medicines and sage, and go to Pow Wows. Camoino and more

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The wheel goes 'round and 'round

On May 10, The Globe and Mail published an arti­cle titled "Tax would aid mental health system," stating that a Senate committee had completed a report 650 pages long, with nearly 120 recommenda­tions, about improving the lot of the mentally ill in Canada. Among other things, it noted that Canada was the only country 08 member to not have a na­tional mental health commission dedicated to help­ing the mentally ill.

The report recommended establishing such a commission, and also building more housing for people with mental disabilities, and funding these activities by creating a new tax amounting to five cents more charged per drink on all types of alcohol sold in the country. This would raise approximately $500 million per year, which would pay for all new endeavours helping people with mental disabilities.

Sounds like a good idea in principle, doesn't it? After all , we have national lotteries dedicated to helping charitable organizations; why not a tax on alcohol dedicated to helping the mentally disabled?

You'd think so, unti I you read the editorials pub­lished a day or so later. In The Globe and Mail, on May 11, titled "Good report; ignore tax," the edito­rial claims the tax wouldn't work because such a tax would cause "huge complications." In The Prov­ince, on May 12, the editorial titled "Help for men­tally ill is the responsibility of all," asks" ... why should one segment of society be stigmatized in the cause of removing a stigma from another?"

Needless to say, the smaller-government, less­taxes, corporate-driven media are against the idea of a new tax, even for a cause as good as this one. Why would they be for it, anyway? For years, they have called for less taxes to be levied by govern­ments.

But ~hy, then, would they recommend that the needed help come out of general government reve-

. nues, if that were the case? I mean, you can't have it

both ways: call for decreasing taxes (thus diminish- 1 ing government revenues), and then recommend that out of the shrinking pot. of government revenues, new money be allocated towards helping the men­tally disabled.

I guess the short answer is that they just want the problem to go away, unsolved.

I find it strange that the P.apers conveniently ig­nored the famous" l% solution." This was a strat­egy developed by the Toronto Disaster Relief Com­mittee (www.tdrc.net) in 1998 to deal with housing shortages which cause homelessness (of which a housing shortage for the mentally disabled is a part). The strategy called for governments at all levels to spend one percent of their revenues on building af­fordable housing-in other words, to restore spend­ing to what it used to be in the mid-1990s, before massive (and in some cases, unnecessary) cost cut­ting measures were introduced in the name of bal­ancing budgets.

Restated, this means that what the papers are call-ing for as a solution for homelessness has already been proposed, about eight years ago. So, there's nothing new here. It just underlines the papers' sen­timent that the problem just go away, unsolved. l

How has the idea of a new tax become so abhor-rent (supposedly) in the pubJic's mind, anyway? In the May issue of The Monitor, the Canadian Centre !.

for Policy Alternative's monthly publication, an arti­cle titled "Even tiny transaction tax would raise bil­lions to fight poverty," states that the Government of France has legislated an airline ticket levy which could raise up to $1 billion a year, to be used to fight poverty in all its forms, including homelessness.

Consider the Senate committee's proposed tax: on a $5 drink, five cents amounts to one percent. Ab­horrent? Not unless you're a direct descendent of Ebenezer Scrooge.

And an airline tax of between $1.20 to $48 de­pending on the length of the flight and the class of the ticket is certainly less than one percent of the total cost of the ticket. Would we stigmatize airline travellers by levying such a tax?

A transaction tax of 0.005 percent levied on for-eign currency transactions (by far, the most travelled road of capital in the world today) would raise about $40 billion. What is the antithesis of greed? Is it sharing? Is the idea of sharing so abhorrent (in the media's eyes) that a tax of 0.005 percent is uncon-

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scionable? Does the public really agree with this? I think not.

An added note: on May 10, The Globe and Mail ran an editorial titled "What CEOs are paid," which questioned the bloated salaries that heads of corpora­tions draw. So maybe there's hope yet, if a newspa­per as conservative as The Globe and Mail can wrap its mind around an issue as contentious as that.

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To the People of Carnegie

By Rolf Auer

I want to thank all my friends at Carnegie for the friendships I've made and the kindness I felt over the years. You know I've been in the downtown area for 25 years, off and on. .

I want to thank the people in the Learnmg Centre: Betsy, Lucy, Colleen, Cindy, Brian & Chad for the support you have given me. Thanks Je~emy, John and Kim for standing with me when things got a little crazy, and thanks to the other Security staff who have helped me out.

I am going to miss everyone. But I must move on . .to a better life .. This community centre is a big benefit to this

community. This Community reaches out to the poor the uneducated, and to the down-n-outers. Som~days you watch the volunteers working with someone who really wants to learn to read or even to better their life.

Right now I am getting a little e,motional. I ~m go­ing to miss everybody here and I ll be back hke the bug. I am!

God take care of you, all my friends.

Eleanor Woodhall

The Mother Of All Marmots 1 .

We were in an alpine valley 7000 feet high in the mountains near Keremeos, B.C. "Something moved out there," Jean said. Her eyes were so good she could spot a ripe blackberry at 50 paces.

"Where?" I asked. "Down the valley, maybe 200 yards. Looks like a

sheep," Jean said. I got out the binoculars. Something was out there,

alright, but we couldn't see it clearly because of the rocks. Grey fur on the front part of it, and brown fur on the back. "Maybe it's a grey bear," I said .

Just then a whistler, or hoary marmot, popped out of a burrow close by. Hoary marmots are rodents, and they are the largest members of the squirrel fam­ily. They weigh from 10 to 20 pounds, the females are generally larger than the males, and they warn of danger with a piercing whistle. That's why they're called whistlers, and Whistler Mountain is named after them.

The shape and colour of the whistler, and the shape and colour of the creature we could partially see down the valley, were the same. "It's not possible," Jean said. " If that creature is a whistler, it must weigh over 50 pounds."

"Let's check it out," I said. "Wolverines are about that size."

"Wolverines have darker coloured fur," Jean said. Slowly and quietly we walked down the grassy

alpine valley which was free of trees but strewn with boulders. Then we saw the creature nibbling grass with its prominent rodent teeth. It was a hoary mar­mot for sure - a 50 pound marmot! It didn't whistle when we approached within 30 feet of it. It didn't run for the nearest burrow, but what kind of underground lodge ·would hold a marmot as big as a sheep? "The mother of all marmots," Jean said with awe. I moved a step closer, and the animal, still munching grass, looked at me out of the corner of its eye. Then it ambled off, and disappeared in the trees at the edge of the meadow.

We told a forest ranger about this experience. "We know about her," he said. "She has no enemies in that valley, and she must be very old. Some hikers swear they've seen a bear or a wolverine."

"Tell us about it," we said.

By Sandy Cameron •

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s11JUtE YOUR

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JUNE 2ND

WITH D.J.MIX 7-IOPM

IN THE CARNEGIE THEATRE

KARAOKE with Steve Frjday. June •• ~006

7pm - IOpm Ca Whea-tre

Karaoke is a form of singing available for everyone. It is a golden chance for people to discover the joy of singing in an encouraging environment. Come and sing along and have some fun with Steve, our maestro! EVERY WELCOME!

Refreshments served to the brave souls.

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Seedling .Giveasvay · . Do you wan:t to grow plants in pots on your win-

. dow sill or inyour room? Orjrithe rooftop garden ·pn.your b.u~!?,~~g? The11 come,Jo the s~e,dJpg give-, . (!Way on the Qarnegie Patio <·;· · · ·· . · • _ .: •. ·

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· Wednesday, June 7, from 1-3 pm Free seedlings in pots. Lots of good advice on grow­ing. Brought to you by the Environmental· Youth

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CCD Chamber Ensemble Concert Friday, June 16th, 7:30pm

Carnegie Theatre Featuring: Rita Radzikowski - soprano, Elliott Dai­

now -piano, and Colleen Muriel -flute

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Criminal Justice Trials:Questions & Answers with

Frances Gordon from Office of the Crown Counsel

Friday, June 2"d, 1:00 P.M. Classroom II, 3rct Floor

Carnegie Community Centre ~!!i-------

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NEW CONCESSION HOURS . . . .

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Activism, mental health and suicide is the starting point for the World Mad Pride arts festival! See. The Women of AI Rashad: Photographs of Rita Leistner, from Baghdad, hang in Gallery Gachet I I

Nlln S!fiT DISTURBERS -

World Mad Pride Schedule June 2 -July 2, 2006 World Mad Pride festival features visual arts, film screenings, spoken word, and panel discussions in Vancouver venues, including Simon Fraser U the Carnegie Community Centre, and Gallery Ga~het. In the gallery, throughout the month, view artwork from Peru, Iraq, Guinea, and from across Canada. Local and international artists, both emerging and professional, were invited to contribute work ad­dressing mental health issues, art and healing, and human rights and psychiatry.

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In June Vancouver welcomes the world to the World Peace Forum 2006 (June 23-28), U.N. World Urban Forum lli (June 19-23), Towards a Just and Last­ing Peace Conference (June 16-19), and World Mad Pride! madpride@gachet.org 604.687.2468

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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS H ealth_y Mind, f:>od_y, Flanet Cross-Canada Tour

Monday, June 5, 7pm, By donation. Simon Fraser

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University, Harbour Centre, Room 1900, 515 W . Hastings. Presenters: Angela Bischoff, Greenspiration! and Kelly Reinhardt, Boiling Frog Healthy Mind, Body, Planet is a cross-Canada multi­media tour, tabloid and documentary celebrating the most current information, analysis and inspiration related to mental, physical and planetary health. We ~lllook at the reasons for the recent rise in depres­~ton, and at the myriad of treatments available in-

' eluding pharmaceutical and holistic, within the con-text of Big-Pharma and corporate culture. The Tour honours the late social/environmental ac­tivist Tooker Gomberg by concentrating on the role that mental illness and associated treatments played in his tragic death, and provides comprehensive in­formation on sustainable activism, as well as com­plementary and alternative treatments to sound men­tal health.

This presentation is a multi-media kaleidoscope of images, sounds, and stories critiquing our current state and offering direction for positive change. Par­ticipants will walk away motivated to influence their world with greater awareness and tools.

www .greenspiration. org www. boilingfrog. ca

F rescription Suicide

Friday, June 9, 7 :30pm, Gallery Gachet, By donation A documentary film by Robert Manciero, Rich Sam­uels and David Garland (co-producer). Preceded by Mad Pride video shorts!

The documentary Prescription: Suicide takes an in­timate look at the personal impact of anti-depressant drugs on children and teenagers. The filmmakers have woven together six distinct stories of real peo­ple and real experiences. They have captured a sense of the arguments in an ongoing controversy that af­fects millions of Americans in a documentary that ultimately asks the question: ' Can these so-called revolutionary medications be used safely.' Some people call them " miracle" drugs. But can they be safely administered? Can physicians - can the drug manufacturers themselves - adequately understand the risks these newly developed drugs pose to their patients? This program lets families directly impacted take the

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center stage. They are sharing their stories, speaking from their hearts. Through their experiences an un­derstanding is being gained that is essential, even critical, when making a decision about the use of these medications. www.prescriptionsuicide.com

Living 5e!jond Chemistr!j: Fa intbrushes, F a rks,

o r Frozac?

Sunday, June 18. 2-4pm, Gallery Gachet Panel discussion: Hester Parr (University of Dundee, Scotland) Coast Foundation' s ' Coast Gardens ', MOBY (My Own Back Yard), Gallery Gachet Collective

Gallery Gachet hosts a day of exploration around alternatives to medical model, pharmaceutical-based treatment of mental illness Dr. Hester Parr of the University of Dundee will give a talk on her recent research into the use of na­ture spaces and art to assist in mental health recov­ery. We will view highlights of her documentary film, Recovering Lives: Mental Health, Gardening, and the Arts. This film, soon to be shown on the UK's Sky Community Channel and recently shown in a national arts and mental health event in Glas­gow, covers how horticultural and arts activities for mental health assist in individual recovery. It is also about social recovery, whereby other communities' members re-evaluate people with mental health problems as valuable citizens and not simply nox­ious "others."

Also present. will be local green advocates and community garden builders to discuss our discon­nection from nature and community, and its effect on our colJective and individual mental health. Could reconnecting with our natural environment constitute a cutting edge prescription for intelligent health care? What is occurring in the collective psy­che of a species that systematically destroys its own habitat? Members of Gallery Gachet will be on hand to speak about the role art can play in recovering from mental health crisies, trauma, and maintaining health. Coast Foundation' s social enterprise landscaping company, Coast Gardens, will also present the experiences of their gardeners.

Crisis Call

Thursday, June 22, 7pm, Carnegie Theatre, 401 . Main at Hastings. Free (with post-film discussion) Director: Laura Sky, 90 mins.

What happens when the boundaries between polic­ing and mental health care disappear .. .. when the police become our new fr<>ntline health care work­ers? Crisis Call addresses a critical issue affecting the police, psychiatric survivors, legal experts, men­tal health workers and the public. The starting point for this unique documentary is the story of Edmond Yu, a psychiatric survivor in crisis who was shot and killed by Toronto police after a 1997 altercation on a city transit bus.

Award-winning producer-director Laura Sky asks, is there any way to prevent a mental health crisis from escalating into violence? For answers she looks to the police, psychiatric survivors, and to many oth­ers involved in crisis interventions. Crisis Call docu­ments their candid, often compelling stories as they challenge the current system and search for solu­tions.

Twenty-five to thirty percent of the prison popula­tion suffers from a major mental illness .. . Jail is the only place that's open to the homeless mentally ill person 24 hours a day. Crisis Call visits the Mont­real Detention Centre, revealing the disturbing con- i ditions inside its psychiatric unit. Sergeant Alan McKenzie, Thunder Bay Emergency Task Unit (ETU), who states 11

• • • we've now learned through a hard lesson that people who are psychiatric survivors in crisis are in fact, in crisis, not criminals. 11 Viewers meet Sergeant McKenzie during a tense and vivid ETU training exercise that ends with a successfully negotiated surrender. But the question remains: Are survivors traumatized by encounters with military-like ETU's, or do these units represent de-escalation of force by offering a range of response options for police? Crisis Call presents many first-hand experiences Andria Cowan- one of three Toronto police officers involved in the '97 shooting of Edmond Yu. Cowan, who has never before spoken publicly about that tragic event, offers her personal response to the shooting and its aftermath. Stella Montour - who talks about the multi-layered prejudice she's experi­enced as a woman, as an Aboriginal person and as a psychiatric survivor. She also describes how she was

assaulted in a psychiatric facility, and how police ignored her crisis. Shaun Davis - a young man, who in a full-blown psychotic state triggered by a medi­cation overdose, forced a bus off the highway near Thunder Bay in 2000, resulting in the death of one of the passengers. In an exclusive interview, Davis tells how he could not find help for his impending crisis in a small, northern Ontario town The Women of AI R.ashad:

Fhotographs of R.ita Leistner Sunday, June 25, 2pm, Gallery Gachet and Recep­tion with Ms Leistner follows; 3:15-3:45.

Join us for complimentary beverages and food

Direct from Brooklyn, NY, and born in Toronto, Rita Leistner speaks about her experiences in Bagh­dad, Iraq, with the women at AI Rashad psychiatric hospital. World Mad Pride presents her photographic portraits of women residents at the al-Rashad Psychiatric Hospital in Baghdad. Other recent projects include a profile of an American Cavalry Unit during a three­month embed in the spring and summer of 2003 ;, and a feature on the gravediggers at the cemetery of Najaf during the August-September siege of2004. Her photographs and stories from Iraq pave been published in TheW alms, Newsweek, Time, Colors, Rolling Stone and Macleans, among other publica­tions. She is co-author, with Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Kael Alford, and Thome Anderson, ofUnembedded: Four Independent Photojournalists on the War in Iraq, which was published by Chelsea Green Press in October 2005.

Rita is a graduate of the International Center for

Photography in New York, and has an MA in Com­parative Literature from the University ofToronto. She focuses on in-depth, long-term projects, and often writes the text that accompanies her photo­graphs. Between April ' 03 and September '04 she spent ten months covering the war in Iraq, and is now working on stories in Canada and Cambodia.

Rita' s work has received awards from The Best of Photojournalism and the Canadian National Maga--zine Awards. In addition, she has won bursaries from The Rory Peck Trust and The Canada Council for the Arts, as well as a fellowship from The Inter­national Center for Photography.

We would like to acknowledge Rita Leistner for coming to Vancouver to share this important work. www.ritaleistner.com Madness and 9/1 I : Zahra R.asul Sunday, June 25, 3:45-5pm, Gallery Gachet, Free Post 9/11, Canadian Muslims have become the tar-

gets of discrimination and violence, sensational and inflammatory media coverage, and prejudicial and draconian legislation in the form of the Anti­Terrorism Act of2001. In the "War on Terror," moral panic has been incited by the state in an effort to delineate " us" and " them," the " terrorist" and the "Westerner," the " familiar" and the " stranger."

In this new geo-political climate, how are Canadians are educated about " insiders" and "outsiders" to the nation? What are the processes by which "outsiders" are relegated to Othered "official space" that falls outside the ideological and sometimes, physical, borders of the nation? In this racialized and gen­dered space, violence and injustice are naturalized. This talk will, using Foucault' s conception of mad­ness, explore the construction of Muslim men as "crazed terrorists," " suicidal," and "homicidal. '' His­torical and contemporary examples will be used to show that the representation of Muslim men as " mad" provides a vehicle for the contemporary neo­colonial exclusionary nation-building. Zahra Rasul is an aspiring academic and feminist activ1st, who currently works with teen moms from the downtown east side and Musqueam reserve in an alternative education program. She has just com­pleted her MAin Educational Studies at UBC and will begin her PhD at the Ontario Institute for Stud­ies in Education at the University of Toronto in a collaborative program in Equity Studies in Educa­tion and Women's Studies. Her research interests involve anti-colonial, anti-racist feminist work, es­pecially post 9/ll ; she is particularly interested in t

the ways in which contemporary Canadian nation­building is facilitated in the post 9/ll world through discriminatory legislation and exclusionary policy.

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w e don't live unde r NORMAL CONDITIONS Sunday, June 25 . 5-6:30, Gallery Gachet, By dona­tion Feature film screening This day will wrap up with a screening at Gallery Gachet of this enlightening and empowering docu­mentary film directed by Rhonda Collins, described by The Oakland Tribune as "an extraordinary piece of filmmaking."

There is a tendency afoot today to blame the epi­demic sweep of depression in the US on bad genes or screwy brain chemistry. But what if the causes do not emanate from the individual? This artful docu­mentary brings six people together for three days of emotional, and sometimes heated, discussion about the sources of their despair. Intermixed are hard-to-

find facts which challenge the psychiatric industry' s claims that depression is a biological disorder. Fun­damentally about empowerment and the resistance of the human spirit, this surprisingly inspirational film will change the way you think about ' normal. '

Mad F ride Cabaret •

Friday, June 30, 7pm, Gallery Gachet, By donation Live music, comedy, readings and performance with Stand Up For Mental Health (comedy), Sara Griffin (Toronto graphic novelist show ' n tell), lrit Shimrat (music video from this movement veteran), Ron Carten (reading from his new book), Jan Derbyshire (Blue Head solo performance), Cherise Clarke (stage reading), AI Mader (Vancouver slam poet), and Bar­bara Phillips (Kamloops' performance poet). Stand Up For Mental Health was founded by coun­sellor and stand-up comic David Granirer. The troupe teaches stand up comedy to people with men­tal illness as a way of building confidence and fight­ing public stigma. Their acts look at the lighter side of surviving the mental health system. www. standupformentalhealth.com

As9lum S9uad Workshop Sunday, July 2, 12-4pm, G,allery Gachet Direct from Toronto, Sarah Griffin, creator of Asy­lum Squad comics with a hands-on workshop to ex­press yourself ' n produce your own cartoon or zine! ----World Mad Pride Ob_jectives: • Challenge stigmas of people living with mental health issues. • Build awareness of the connection between war, human rights, and health. • Create links to the rights of individuals for health and security worldwide. .. • Connect artists ' work that addresses the social de­terminants of mental health, including the impact of militarism, conflict, economic, and social insecurity. • Provide a forum to discuss and educate on these • tssues. • Profile the work of the United Nations and the World Health Organization on mental health and human rights www.who.int/mental_health • Contribute to dialogue on mental health human rights through the sharing and showcasing of artistic expression on these themes.

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On Monday, June 19, let's tell the World Urban Forum:

nforce the Ri ht to Housin Now! On June 19, more than 8,000 delegates from around the planet will gather in

Vancouver's Convention Centre for the United Nation's World Urban Forum. Despite strong global standards for a Right to Housing, governments, multinational corpora­tions and investors have too often ignored them. Homelessness, speculation and mas­sive forced evictions for "slum clearance" are on the rise, from Harare (Zimbabwe) to New Orleans, from Mombai and Manila to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Join tenants, homeless people, and housing rights activists from around the world for a Rally for the Right to Housing Now! Help make people's voices heard at the World Urban Forum!

Rally: Monday, June 19, 2006 .12:30-2:00 pm Plaza at entrance of Vancouver Convention Centre

Peoples Tribunal for Housing Rights: 1:00- 2:00pm

Housing is a Right, Not a Privil~Jiiii. Stop Forced Evictions!

Restore Social Housing! The Earth is OUR Home!

Save Our Homes!

Register now for· the World Urban . Forum online at www .wuf3.ca. Reg­

istr·ation is FREE and allows you to attend the events staged June 19-23

at the Vancouver Convention Centl·e.

Sponsored by: Habitat International Coalition (HIC)

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now ACORN-Canada

Federation of Metro Tenants' A.uociation (Toronto)

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Tenants' Rights Action Coalition (Vancoul'er) National Housing & Homelessness Network (Canada)

National Alliance of HUD Tenants (USA) fpartiallistj

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Karen Bostock found out the hard way she was married.

Three years ago, the provincial government declared that because Ms. Bostock lived under the same roof as her male roommate, she was one half of a couple. Under the so-called "spouse-in-the-house" rule, she

was deemed to be not entitled to the higher welfare and disability payments of a single person, was cut off social assistance and was told to repay $9,000 in benefits.

Ms. Bostock's legal odyssey to regain her benefits grew into a constitutional challenge to the rules and, this week, the province is expected to sign into law changes that will kill the spouse-in-the-house principle in British Columbia.

Under the soon-to-be-changed Employment and Assistance Act, anyone receiving social assistance who lived with another person and shared what the Ministry of Employment and income Assistance (MEIA) called "necessities of life" was declared part of a couple for benefit purposes. A couple received smaller payments -about $200 a month less than two individuals combined-- because it was believed couples share most of their expenses and have a lower cost of living than singles.

Under the new law, however, the onus will now be on the ministry to prove that two people who receive social assistance and who share a home are a couple. "It's not up to them to prove they are not -- it's up to us to prove they are," Claude Richmond, the Minister of Employment and Income Assistance, said in an interview.

A couple, including those of the same gender, will be deemed to be in a dependent relationship under two circumstances: If they say they are a couple, or if they have been living together for a certain time and a ministry investigation finds "a marriage-like relationship," Mr. Richmond said. Such a relation­ship could, for example, include the sharing of bank accounts or credit cards, he said. "Karen was presumed guilty," said Sarah Khan, a lawyer with the B.C. Public Interest Advocacy Cen­tre, who took up Ms. Bostock's case. The spouse-in­the-house policy assumed women have a dependent relationship with the men they live with, Ms. Khan said. "The reality is that it's most often applied to -women."

Ms. Khan fil ed a Charter challenge to the law in

June of 2003 and, by April of 2004, the government had changed some of its policies, including promis­ing to inform social-assistance recipients about deci­sions via letters, rather than in sudden meetings. .It is not clear how many of the roughly 4,000 cou­

ples on the province's social-assistance rolls will be affected by the change, said Robin Loxton of the B.C. Coalition of People with Disabilities. But it will mean that the 76,000 single men and women receiv­ing benefits can pool their resources to some extent without fearing a penalty. B.C. welfare rolls As of March of 2006, the province had a total of I 03,398 welfare cases: *Single men and women: 76,296 *Couples: 4,174 *Single-parent families: 15,663 *Two-parent families: 2,539 *Children in relative's home: 4,726

SampHng of monthly benefits: *Single person: $510 *Single person, disabled: $856 *A couple: $827 combined *A couple, one person disabled: $1 ,220 combined *A couple, both disabled: $1,470 combined

Source: MEIA

Old Age Every morning early pain wakes me Pushing me out of bed, warm and

heavy with dreams These old bones do not rest

in the deep peaceful sleep of former years.

Comfort only a negotiation, Won with pills and freaking moderation Yearning to do all those things well nigh impossible

Grandmother- I dreamed of you Your hair a warm brown And make-up like a suntan on your

proud face. Wilhelmina

Dancing Your Edge is a workshop designed to al­low participants to release old patterns that may be causing them distress. Your edge is how far you are willing and able to go. To music of the world, we dance ourselves free. There will be one more session at Carnegie gym, on June 11, 2006 from 1 .. 3 before the Edge moves outside in summer mode. We will be back in the fall. .

How I used to wish you dead

My long time love, unworthy opponent in our daily struggle,

How I used to wish you dead.

Watching you sleeping peacefully after some fresh assault or torture You, smarter, bigger, without need for my love to keep you fearful of abandonment

You, a decent man turned devil at times a malevolent genie from the powerful potion pulsing through your brain -Twp persons. I am in love with one; shackled to the other. Only your peaceful death would ease my heart.

Wilhelmina

News from the Library All events run from 7:30 to 9:30 PM and are in the Alice MacKay Room, Central Branch of the Van- . couver Public Library (350 West Georgia). Admi sion is Free. Info: http://www.necessaryvoices.org

June 7- - The Tao of Activism and Leadership Stephen Legault

This fascinating and useful book is a modern-day interpretation of Lao Tzu's Tao te Ching for those concerned with social issues and activist movements in Western civil society. It's a thoughtful examina­tion of how the Tao, and Taoist thought, might be applied to the challenges, conflicts, and obstacles that activists and concerned citizens face as they deal with such issues as poverty, workers' rights, environmentalism, freedom of expression, gender and sexual equality, and social justice. The book also includes a verse-by-verse interpretation of the Tao te Ching, one of the most important historical works of Chinese philosophy and the basis of Tao­ism (or Daoism). June 9-- War Law: Understanding International Law and Armed Conflict Michael Byers "Michael Byers has come home to Canada. His re­markable insights into the impact of international law in conflict resolution are timely, clear-headed and compellingly written. This is an important book by an important Canadian expert. "-Mel Hurtig In this unique and highly readable book, written for

the intelligent layperson, one of the world's leading experts in international law uses historical case stud­ies to examine the basis on which war is waged and how the global legal environment shapes current events. June 12 - - What's Wrong with Islam Today

_Irshad Manji lrshad Manji is a journalist, lecturer and human

rights advocate. She has engaged audiences world­wide about supporting the liberal reformation of Islam. The Trouble with Islam Today, an interna­tional best-seller, is a wake-up call -- an open letter to concerned citizens worldwide.

Described as Osama Bin Laden's worst nightmare and winner of the first Oprah's Chutzpah Award, Irshad is a Visiting Fellow with the International Security Studies program at Yale University, and produced a feature film about Islam and the West.

A GRAND FAREWELL

A spectacular tea party Truly a gala to remember Surrounded by an ocean of friends, flowers, laughter, balloons, The years of cherished memories gathered A role model, a sister and a warrior in the "neighborhood" You've paved the path for those who will follow Life's journey is like a bouquet of flowers Its beauty always changes Laurie, u will sincerely be missed Good luck in your future endeavors

In friendship, Stephen Lytton,

PS: Be careful of "London Bridges" falling down, falling down ...

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Publications Committee Report, 2006

Carnegie volunteers continued to produce the Car­negie Newsletter this year, full of the expressive art, poetry, humour and opinion we have come to expect from Diane Wood, Paul Taylor and all the other con­tibutors from Carnegie arid the Downtown Eastside. Always a citadel of critical thought, the Newsletter ?rappled ~it~ matters of local, national and global tmport, brmgmg the big picture to those working at the grassroots level, and vice versa. Gentrification and the Woodwards development, the waterfront stadium debacle, a certain pair of $600 shoes, the rise of right-wing governments Canada-wide and !he ongoing struggle against racism, poverty ~nd tgnorance are only some of the subjects taken on by local contributors in its pages. This year also saw the return of the Carnegie Com­

munity Action Project's brightly coloured inserts with Jean Swanson's reports on the Raise the R~tes campaign and other projects of the CCAP. The popular booklet Help in the Downtown Eastside saw its 34th issue in April, thanks to Paul's hard work.

The committee wishes to thank all the volunteers who make the newsletter possible. Volunteers write draw, research, collate, staple and fold each and every copy by hand - a fun job when ~ou work to­gether with friends! This is Paul's 2"o' year as edi­tor, and Diane remains dauntless as cover artist, lay­out expert and talent scout. Thanks to you all for being a conduit for the voice of the Downtown East­side community!

Gena Thompson, Chairperson

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v ... Need A Chance To Prove You're Ready, Willing & Able To Work?

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Get the you deserve!

Find out what your next step needs to be. Call to attend the Job Shop Info session. 604-253-9355

Program funded by HRDC

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DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE YOUTH ACTIVITIES SOCIETY 49 W .Cordova 604-251-3310

FREE - OonaUona accepted.

DEY AS Needle Exchange Van Schedule Telephone (604) 6S7-6S61 AM Van 7:00am- S:OOpm (on the road 8am-4pm) PM Van 4:00pm- 2:00am (on the road .Spm-1 am) 7 Days/Week .

2006 DONATIONS Libby D.-$100 Rolf A.-$50 Barry for Dave McC-$100 Christopher R.-$30 Margaret D.-$40 Bruce J.-$15 The Edge-$200 Mary C-10$ Penny G.-$50 MP/Jelly Bean -$20 RayCam-30 Janice P.-$30 Wes K.-$ 30 Paddy -$60 Glen B.-$25 John S.-$60 Leslie S.-$20 Wm.B -$20 Michael C.-$80 HumanitieslOl-$100 Gram -$20 Sheila B.-$20 Ben C.-$20 Brian $2 CEEDS -$50 Joanne H.-$20 Wilhelmina M.-$5 Saman -$20 NEWSLETTER

THIS NEWSL.ElTER IS A PUBLICATION OF TilE CARNEOIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION

Articlol rqwaent the vicwa of indivicklal conlribu1on lnd not of the Auociation.

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Editor: PauiR Taylor; cover+ layout, Diane W

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Submissioq (kadlin~ fnr n,.d i•••~~'!

Monday, June 12 - -- --____ ______ ... ___ _ 1 We acknowledge that Carnegie CommunJty Centre, and this L N~e'!!r,!re -ha~!"'!. o~h!. S,.~s!!_ N!.tio!'s _ten_itOI"Y·I

Contributors are not permitted to malign or attack or relegate any person or group or class, including drug users and poor

people, to a level referred to or implying ' less than hwnan '.

Contact Jenny Wal Ching (wan

MLA

Working for You 1070-1641 Commercial Dr V5L JYJ

Phone: 775-0790 Fax: 775-0881 Downtown Eastside Residents Association

12 E. Hastings St, or call 682-0931

Annual General Meeting of the

Carnegie Community Centre Association

Thursday, June 1, 5:30pm in the Theatre

Agenda includes Reports and election of a new Board. To vote, you must have been a member for at least 14 days (before May 18). To run for the Board, you must have been a member for at least 60 days (before April 1 ).

This is a public meeting. Come

DO YOU HAVE A LEGAL PROBLEM? Come to our Free Clinic on Carnegie' s 3rd floor UBC Law Students Legal Advice Program

TUESDAYS, 't - 9PM

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A Patient's Rights Many women do not know that they

• have rights with in the health care system. As a patient, you have legal rights that are based on Canadian laws and court decisions.

As a patient you have the right to: • have a friend or family member with you during your appointment

and examinations • be treated with dignity and respect • ask questions about your health • receive good explanations that you can understand • disagree with your health care provider • get a second opinion • say no to, or refuse, treatment • have access to your medical records and read them • enjoy confidentiality and privacy • decide the future of your health care • change doctors

Your Doctor Should: • listen to you • pay attention to what is happening in your life • touch you in a gentle and professional manner during a physical exam • ask you if what they are doing is uncomfortable or hurts • explain what they are doing • ask if you'd like a female nurse present in the room, if the doctor is male • accept your lifestyle • not make assumptions about your life • accept your use of complementary or traditional treatment • keep what you tell them private and confidential • return phone calls in a reasonable amount of time

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'Robin Hood' Gang Rob Gourmet Stores in Bid to Feed Hamburg's Poor

by Tony Paterson

They dress up in pink catsuits, have names like "Spider Mum" and feel a social obligation to plunder the most expensive restaurants and gourmet delica­tessens in town; part of a campaign to help the poor. Last week the well-heeled citizens of Hamburg's

Altona district got a taste of their antics when 30 of them marched into the city's luxury "Fresh Paradise Goedeken" supermarket and walked out five minutes later with €15,000 (£ 1 0,000) worth of stolen goods. The gang's booty included magnums of Champagne at €99 a bottle, filets of Japanese Kobe beef at €1 08 a kilogram, legs of venison, a salmon and several boxes of Val rhona chocolate. Before leaving, gang members thrust a bouquet of

flowers into the hands of a shop assistant. Attached was a handwritten note which proclaimed: "Survival in the city of millionaires would be impossible with­out us!" It was signed by "Spider Mum", "Santa Guevara" and "Multiflex". Another note later released by the gang insisted

that the haul had been distributed to Hamburg's needy, to the "social workers, cleaning ladies and minimum-wage earners". It added: "The places of wealth in this town are as numerous as the opportu­nities to take it." "It was a well-planned robbery," Carsten Sievers,

the store's manager, said on Friday last week. - "Somebody had obviously been in the shop before

he main contingent arrived and had already filled up

several shopping trolleys." Fourteen squad cars and a police helicopter scoured

the Altona district for more than an hour after the robbery, but failed to find the perpetrators. "The gang covered its tracks completely. They act like professionals," Bodo Franz, the head of a Ham­burg police unit investigating the robbery, said. As they left the scene of the robbery, the gang, clad in masks, catsuits, dark glasses and rubber masks, posed for a group photo outside the supermarket and brandished their booty in front of the camera. The incident was the latest attack perpetrated by

this Robin Hood-style gang of so-called "Spontis", whose activities have alarmed and baffledthe Ham­burg police and the city's well-to-do. Yet the gang, which refers to itself as "Hamburg for Free", does not strike often. Its last attack took place almost ex­actly a year ago, when 40 masked men and women stormed the Siillberg restaurant in the city's wealthy Blankenese district overlooking the river Elbe.

Diners were appalled as the gang snatched titbits from the plates in front of them and started stuffing the stolen food into their mouths. Other gang mem­bers brandished a huge knife and fork made out of silver foil and cardboard above the diners' heads. A placard declaring "The fat years are over" was strung between pillars in the restaurant. Mr Franz, who has been trying to track down the

"Hamburg for Free" gang since the incident a year ago, said that investigators had merely established that the group was probably made up of a mixture of students and anarchists.

"We don't know much about them. They are very political yet one of their main motives is fun," he said. "The problem is that they strike so rarely and so professionally that they are a major job to catch."

Micaela Dastidas: The legacy of a woman.

Two hundred and twenty five years ago (May 1781 ), one of the most horrendous crimes against humanity was perpetrated in Cuzco, Peru. A beautiful woman in her late thirties was cowardly murdered by the Spaniard Army, but first she was forced by the in­vaders to witness the killing of her children. Then her husband Tupac Amaru -in chains- saw the in­vader army kiiJing her wife Micaela in the most bru­tal and cruel way. The murder has been described along the years, also kept silent by the controlled media, and even when it is indescribable -for respect to the readers- it is important to remember the reason why they killed her body, but her voice has been made immortal.

Her quest was clear: fighting the invaders, blocking the usurpation of a land that belonged to the natives -The Inca Nation among them; to promote the native languages and to keep alive the tradition and history of the Incas and the South continent's people. Also,

her work included fighting the imposition of reli­gious beliefs which were completely foreign. It is known that she constantly told her husband "the Spanish soldiers and their priests only want to alien­ate our traditions; they want to void our legitimate right of our social organization, they want to destroy our political rights; they want to demolish the way we practice trade and commerce, and ultimately, they will destroy our forests and Mother Nature her­self will be killed. They will find the most sophisti­cated ways for the systematic violation of our fun­damental rights." A truly amazing point of view, considering it was even before the French revolution. Close to her murder, she shouted to the invaders:

"You may even try to wipe us from the face of this land, but you will not be able to conquer our minds, , our souls and our spirituality." Perpetual words, from an immortal woman. Micalea Bastidas gave us a legacy: the recovery of

the collective memory -the memory of a community -is a heavy duty, but a duty that must be carried on­wards each and every day. We are not giving up. From the group of brave women who stopped the train to get an overpass for the children of our neighborhood; to the missing women of our com-: munity -and beyond of all boundaries and latitudes. Last week women of B.C. were arrested and taken to jail just because they are trying to defend the planet from ecodestruction (the Eagleridge Bluffs). Michaela's voice has been with us on and on: Har­

riet Stowe, Rosa Luxemburg, Frida Khalo, Anna Frank, Rosa Parks, Cindy Sheehan, Mel ida Anaya, Febe Elizabeth Ramirez, Rigoberta ... the list gets bigger every day. The establishment will never be able to stop the women's quest for the humane cause. On June 2nd rallies to remember Micaela Bastidas will be held in many countries, including cities as Lima, Buenos Aires, Montreal, Toronto, Tokyo, Mexico City to honor and to keep alive the legacy of women along the years, including those whose names we do not know or we do not remember.

By Jorge Esco 1 an-Suay Acknowledgments: For all the brave women of my neighborhood, of the world and our collective mem· ory. For Colocha and Sosy.

'VOLUNTEERS OF THE MONTH' (May 2006) ( ... chosen by your peers at the Volunteer Commit­tee) Denise Barera Denise has been serving Carnegie for almost 25 years in a variety of ways. Imagine that! That is a very long time for anyone to do any­thing in my books. For the past numbers of years Denise has been giving generously of her time on the Lane Levi as Receptionist. We always enjoy our little pixy! Marcel Deziel Marcel, our very own Quebequois Computer Lab Monitor. Marcel, alone with your strong work ethic, your compassion, kindness and patience with which you treat others, makes you an example oftrue community spirit. Tres Bien, Merci Beaucoup Marcel.

Volunteer Committee Meeting Wednesday, June 14th, 2pm in Classroom 11 ALL VOLUNTEERS WELCOME! Your voice is needed and appreciated.

Volunteer Dinner Wednesday, June 21, 4:30pm in the THEATRE You must have a minimum of 12 hours this month to pick up your dinner ticket in the Volunteer Program office ahead of time.

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New Playg.-ound The new playground at Crab Park (Ports ide) is now

completed. It certainly is bright and colorful. How good the equipment is can only be judged by the children who go down to Crab Park and try it. Due to potential threat from discarded needles, the

former tot,s play area will now be a tile mosaic de­signed by local artist Tora. Leah, Allen and David -under the co-sponsorship of Ray-Cam, Crab Society and the Park Board - did the actual mosaic tile work. There will be a dedication on Saturday, July 1 at

lPM at the annual Crab Festival. There will be three live bands and free food at the park that day.

Don Larson

CUL TUS LAKE June 12 - 16 Cultus Lake trip ... our annual spring kick-off for Vol­unteers and Seniors who are active members in good standing of Carnegie Centre. The Participant List is posted on the Volunteer Program Office door, Marlene's window and the bulletin board by pt floor elevator.

With Spring just around the comer spend not one more minute worrying abo~t how you are going to commemorate the many fresh new blooms and cool breezes while: hiking, fishing, canoeing, rowing, water sliding. When you need a break: crib, bingo, talent night, hair cuts (extreme make-overs), camp fire singing and roasted marshmallows, along with spontaneous outbreaks of side-splitting hilarity.

Staff attending: Marlene, Colleen, Ian the cook and John D. Security (tJ'lis is John's third trip so let's ini­tiate him in the way we do best... wink wink)

***If you can't make it and are signed up, it is critical that you let Colleen know in advance so that someone else can join us in your place. Thank you. . MEET AT THE INFO DESK

MONDAY JUNE 12, 9:00am SHARP! Compassion is killed by disgust Mixed with fear it turns into Contempt which can rationalize Spite which leads to oppression

We repudiate the things that trouble us about ourselves and our actions creative with excuses our tender hearts react with indignant dismay at the very idea that we may ourselves harbour any wickedness even as we collaborate with our oppression and flout our ideas as if they were original we fail to see how we are connected hardening our hearts against what we have fastidiously rejected believing that makes us superior so that our anger is Delanye justified wherever we place it

there is a thin wall between our experience we must place our rage against the system and not each other

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THED

THEY'RE BACK

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THIS SATURDAY

JUNE 3RD

AT7 PM

AT THE CARNEGIE

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401 MAIJV STREET flY THE THEATRE

FREE ADMISSION FREE COFFEE

AND OPEN MIKE