Longing For

Light ... ·

JULY 15, 2009

carnnews@vcn.bc.ca www.camnews.org (373 hits peraayt) http://harvesters.sfu.ca/chodarr (INDEX

Longing For Light "Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?" a thoughtful person asked at a gathering of people telling Downtown Eastside stories. ( I) How many times have we asked ourselves that question, "Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?" Arc we getting anywhere with our work, or arc things just as bad as ever? Is gentrification c rushing the low income community of the Downtown Eastside in spite of all our efforts? Will Insite be destroyed by people who are unable to understand the extensive research on harm reduction? Is the light at the end of the tunnel really a train coming right at us? Sometimes we are overwhe lmed with sorrow, although we want jus tice to prevail.

We work to make our community a better place, not a perfect place, but a beucr place. If we look for immediate results in this work, we are in danger of falling into despair. Society doesn't change quickly, and our commitment is for the long haul. Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk, a peace activist, and a writer. A friend of his was fa lling into despair because he couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. Merton wrote to his friend, saying, "Do not depend on the hope of results ... you

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may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all... As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results, but on ... the rightness, the truth of the work itself.... in the end, it is the reality of personal relationships that saves everything."

A good example of a determined commitme nt to the ri ghtness of a cause, is the five hundred year o ld resistance move ment of First Nations people against injustice. This inspiring struggle will continue from one generation to another until justice is done. Leonard Peltier of the Anishinabe and Lakota Nations has been unjustly imprisoned for over thirty years, yet he docs not despair. He wrote in his book Prison Writings- My Life Is My Sun Dance, "Never cease in the fight for peace, justice and equality for all people," and "I know that without compassion and respect for all of Earth's inhabitants, none of us will survive- nor will we deserve to." Leonard Peltier has turned his life into a prayer, and he wrote, "No prison bars can s top a prayer." A wise Inuit poem recognizes our longing for light. The poem goes like thi s: "In the eternal darkness the crow unable to find food longed for light and the earth was illumined." This poem is te lling us that the light is not at the

end of the tunnel. The poem says that light arises out of our longing. It is within us, but we need sile nce and full attention in order to see it. When asked what he taught his children, the Lakota Chief Standing Bear replied, "They were taught... to look when there was apparently no thing to see, and to listen intently when all seemingly was quiet." (2) People who follow that path will see the light.

Sandy Cameron

( 1) Eastside Stories - The People, The Voices; sponsored by the Vancouver Moving Theatre, the Radha Yoga and Eatery, and the Carnegie Community Centre . (2) American Indian Prose and Poetry: An Anthology edited by Margot Astrov, Capricorn Books, 1962, page 39 .

Pain Scale

,._ ._ .._.... -- ....... _ .... _,_ ,~ .....

H=i l ! 1 l l l 1 ,l This is my story -I was born in North Ballleford on March 6, 1944. 1

am Cree, French, Irish and Scouish. My name is Marlene June Wuttunce. 1 broke my hip and was living in the Brandiz

Hotel. On October 26, 2007 I went to Pigeon Park to see my friends. I wasn't there long when the wagon came. There were two Caucasian policemen. They were arresting people. One of [those arrested) was my friend David De Kocher. I was in a wheelchair because of my hip and was

on my way back to my room. One cop said, "Where do you think you're going?"

I said, "Back to the Brandiz." He said, "You're not going anywhere." He picked

me up from the wheelchair and threw me on the ground. I was on my stomach. He grabbed my left arm, his black foot was on my back, and he twisted my arm violently. The pait~was excruciating pain. He didn' t say I was under arrest. He put me in the wagon. ln the morning I went home in the Safe Ride. I

went to St. Paul's and got Tylenol 3 for the pain. Went back got robbed. Second time to St.Paul's got Tylenol 3 wi th morphine. Went back got robbed. 3'd time went to General Hospital & operation. There' s a rod from my elbow to shoulder plate on shoulder 18 staples & scar on back. Bone completely crushed.

I went to Central City Lodge on November 9, 2007 and a care aid had to feed me for six months because my arm was in excruciating pain. Only then could I feed myself.

I am suing the V.P.D. for $25,000, naming Constable Steverding (#2387) and Constable Brown(# 1768) as the police present when I was auacked.

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Lost In Pain

Lost in pain, crying in unmarred pride Robbers stole your childhood away Stealers of babies - dying to make you pay

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They enshackled your culture and dis-spirited you away Invaders of your wee heart, them crazed other people tore you apart in their makeshift death camps.

I

Your lonely spirit cried in vain Pleading for mercy left on deaf ears But I myself can still hear your angels sing Songs for a new destiny's circle of life You knew well where you righteously belonged Yet in the hands of them denominations of cruelty They done you harm .. they done you wrong Fearful child, crying angelic eyes -taught to lie Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers - stay strong For mine lost soul will forever live in your faint hearts

-please don't cry I'm not endlessly lost in pain, i'll come again

Falling like raindrops dancing on mother earth Waiting for a new life - waiting for a new birth Mine ancestors told me where I belong I belonged in the longhouse singing my spirit song

Grizzly bear -grizzly bear- yes! My grizzly bear song Lost in pain? Lost in pain? No way My spirit will forever keep me strong.

All my relations, William Arnold Combes

ATTENTION: Keith Glover

This is notice of the next court date, Aug 12, 2009 at I :30 pm in Sechelt ,BC, in regards to your daughter Evlyn Olson. Please contact Amanda Amaral at the Ministry of Children and Family Development in Scchelt, BC at 604-740-8900 or Afterhours 1-800-663-9122 for more information.

News f rom the Library Have you checked out our Reference Self-Help

section yet? T hese are books which tend to go missing pretty

quickly from the regular library collection, and are now available to look at in the library. Latest add itions to the collection include: The Secret by Rhonda Byrne ( 158. 1), Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression, by James S. Gordon (6 16.85), and The Soulmate Secret: Manifest the Love of Your Life with the Law of Attraction ( 158.2).

While observing a fami ly group of elephants in the wild, Caitlin O'Connell , a young field scientist, noticed a matriarch elephant tum her head and lift her foot off the ground. As she did this, the other e lephants in the group followed suit, all facing the same direction. O'Connell soon discovered that these elephants were "listening through limbs", using the ir feet, toenails and trunks to listen to the earth and communicate with each o ther. Find out more about the fascinating world of the elephant in The Elephant's Secret Sense: The Hidden Life of the Wild Herds of Africa (599.67).

Humanities 101 & Writing 101

Intake sessions for Humanities 10 1 and Writing 101 have been arranged for August this year, please see the attached document to find out details of where and when. The details are also posted on our website: humanities I 0 l .arts.ubc.ca- fo llow the link on the homcpage to access the information. Please pass on the detai ls to anyone you think will be interested in taking either of the courses.

We hope to see you at steeri ng committee on Saturday August 8th from I - 3p.m in the third

On October 25, 1946, in a crowded room in Cambridge, England, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper came face-to-face for the fi rst and only time. The encounter lasted j ust ten minutes, and did not go well. Their loud and aggressive confronta­tion became the stuff of instant legend, with rumours that the two philosophers had come to blows, armed with red-hot pokers. In Wittgenstein's Poker ( 193), David Edmonds and John Eidinow use the legendary meeti ng as a j umping off point to explore the two phi losophers, modem philosophy, and the significance of language in solving our philosophical problems.

Music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion. lt can persuade us to buy something, or remind us of our fi rst date. It can lift us out of depression when nothing else can. ln Musicophilia (78 1.15), Oliver Sacks explores music- which occupies more areas of our brain than language docs- through the individual experiences of patients, musicians and everyday people. Through this book, we meet people with "amusia" who hear grati ng noise where others hear music, learn about a man whose memory spans only seven seconds for everyth ing but music, explore how music can give words to stroke patients, and discover how a catchy tune can subject us to hours of mental replay.

Beth, your librarian

: : noor classroom at the Carnegie Centre. Thank you to all who have been attending and contributing to the meetings in recent months. The purpose of steeri ng committee is to coordinate the activities of the Humanities I 0 I programme. As alumni of the programme your views and opinions are crucial to help guide the course, we encourage you to come along and offer your support.

Humanities 10 1 Community Programme Dr. Margot Leigh Butler, Academic Director Paul Woodhouse, Programme Assistant Alison Rajah, Programme Coordinator Katherine Coburn, Writi ng 10 1 Coordinator

Free University s

Humanities 101 Community Programme

Do you want to learn more about Writing, Critical Thinking, First Nations Studies, Literature, History & Politics, Art, Philosophy, Architecture, Music,

Sociology, Gender Studies, Religions, Popular Culture & more?

• Free university-level education for low income people with a passion for learning who live in & around the Downtown Eastside.

• There are 2 evening courses (on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays) : an 8 month course in the humanities and a 3 month Writing course.

• Students receive books, school supplies, student cards, transportation, meals, & child care if necessary.

• Your part is actively & regularly participating in class at UBC.

Information and applications at:

Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, 302 Columbia St Thursday August 6th 1:30 - 3:00p.m

Carnegie Centre, Main & Hastings- Thursday August 6th@ 4:00p.m

The Gathering Place, 609 Helmcken- Friday August 7th 1:30-3:30 p.m

Aboriginal Front Door, 384 Main St Saturday August 8th 10:30-12:30 p.m

Recovery Club, 261 East 12th- Sunday August 9th 11:30-1:30 p.m

Dr Peter Centre, 1110 Comox St- Monday August 1oth 10:00-11 :30 a. m

Crabtree Corner, 533 East Hastings St- Monday August 10th 1:30-3:30 p.m

For more information please call: 604.822.0028 Email: hum101 @interchange.ubc.ca website: http: //humanities1 01.arts.ubc.ca

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B.C. DAY INDIGENOUS GATHERING

BEFORE Colonization/Canada THURSDAY, .JULY 27 2009

5:00 p.m.-7:00pm Grandview Park Commercial Drive

Indigenous people and friends invite you to share the beauty and truth of

Indigenous history and culture before colonization. Sharing music, drumming,

singing, women's warrior song. We invite you to bring your drums, guitars

and spoken word pieces. We also will share with the homeless

people living in the area. Please bring food to share i.e., boxes of

fruit, sandwiches, frybread, flats of juice and

clean sox to hand out.

Discussion Topics: 1) Colonization, 2) Marginalization

3) Joseph Trutch. 4) Decolonizing

CARNEGIE VILLAGE PROJECT UPCOMING SUMMER INTENSIVE

We had our last spring gathering June 13 and will be pausing for a summer break throughout July. In our gatherings we have been learning songs from our different ethnic and fami ly roots: English, Goan, Japanese, and Ukrainian, as well as the Rolling Stones' song, "As Tears Go By", a rock ballad from the 60's. So far we have been singing in English, Japanese, Ukrainian and Goan in unison and 2 part harmony. We have listened to a variety of songs generously offered by several participating singers with First Nations, German, musical theatre, sea shanty, English folk and 60's rock classic roots. We will resume regular weekly meetings every monday from 1-3 pm. on September 14, mostly in the Carnegie Theatre. Check the poster for any change in location. 1n the fall sessions, we will also be learning a Chinese folksong, a German lullaby, a Japanese-Canadian song, a First Nations song, Afro-Canadian song and a labour song; as well as any new songs offered by Carnegie villagers. I have invited guest artists to teach and share their songs­Dalannah Bowen/Afro-Canadian song; Olivier Wong/Chinese folksong, and Matthew Sheena/First Nations.

In the summer, I will be offering 3 workshops on consecutive Mondays, August 17, 24 and 3151

••••1 from 1-3 pm in the Carnegie Theatre. In these wor kshops we will focus on building healthy voice production, in tune singing, deep listening a nd improvisationa l skills.

HUM101 JULY DOCUMENTARIES

CARNEGIE THEATRE 6:00PM

JULY 18 Uncovered: The Whole Truth About The Iraq War.

& Outfoxed

Rupert Murdoch 's War on Journalism JULY 25 WE BLUE UP TH E WTC No plane hi t the pentagon, Hello!

& Sick, Wounded, Go Home And Die

& William Pepper Hasta lA Victoria Simpre

Please pre-register at the noor office. I look fonvard to the opportunity to present our

Carnegie Vi llage songs, stories and poetry as a work in progress during the Heart of the City Festival in October or November. Our final performance wi ll be either later this year or earl y in 2010.

Thank you to all Carnegie Villagers who have come to share, learn, listen and sing together. I look fonvard to a continu ing relationship.

Beverly Dobrinsky Carnegie Artist in Residence Carnegievillage@gmail.com I" Floor Info.Desk or 604-665-2220/msgs carnegievillage.blogspot.com

Downtown Ambassadors will face B.C. Human Rights Tribunal --------~~--~

Pivot Legal Society and the Vancouver Area \ s+ooa Network of Drug Users 0' ~'!) have. . c~s\~~ ... successfully opposed an apphcallon to dts~tss human rights complaint made last July agamst the Downtown Ambassador program. Pivot and V ANDU brought the complaint to

high light discriminatory practices and policies on the part of the Downtown Ambassador program. The Downtown Ambassador program is run by the private security company Genesis, and is funded by the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association and the City of Vancouver.

The PivotN ANDU complaint alleged systemic discrimination against homeless people by the Ambassadors, who remove homeless people and panhandlers from public streets and sidewalks by harassing them until they move along. The City of Vancouver and the Downto~n.

Vancouver Business Improvement AssoCiallon argued that the complaint ought to be dismissed without a hearing, arguing that there was no prospect that the complaint could succeed and therefore no benefit to allowing it to proceed. The BIA also alleged that the complaint was filed for an improper purpose and brought in bad faith. These arguments were rejected by the Tribunal. "This is an important case, and we are glad that the

Tribunal has decided to allow it to go to a full hearing," says Laura Track, Pivot' s housing . campaign lawyer. "Everyone has a right use pubhc space, and private interests shouldn't be allowed,~o hire security guards to take control of that space ..

Of particular note in the j udgment was the fi~d · ~g by Tribunal Member Tonie Beharr~llt~al, wh1le 1t is not a human rights violation to d1scnmmate against homeless people, Pivot could establi sh di scrimination has occurred if it can show that homeless people are disproportionately Aboriginal, mentally ill, physically disabled or addicted. In fact, according to a 2005 City of Vancouver report, 34% of homeless people are Aboriginal, compared to 2% of the general population. That report shows that homeless people also suffer extremely high rates of mental illness, physical disability, and addiction.

Laura Track, Housing Campaign Lawyer,

Homeless deprived by HEAT shelter closing By Rolf Auer

One of two City Homelcssness Emergency Action Team's (HEAT) homeless shelters closed on Wednesday, July 8 due to complaints from residents in the False Creek North area about that shelter under the Granville Street bridge. ("Sleeping outside shelter's door," Ian Austin, The Province, July 9, 2009)

The other shelter in the vicinity is a lso under similar pressure to close, and is on "probation" until the end o f July. ("Finding space for homeless remains a challenge," CTVBC.ca, July 8, 2009)

Some of the homeless who were taking refuge in the closed shelter were moved to other she lters in the Downtown Eastside (DTES). Others refused to move, instead setting up camp in an alley behind the closed shelter.

According to Wendy Pedersen, coordinator of the Carnegie Community Action Project, the 30 or so people camping are from neighbourhoods other than the DTES. 15 would move to shellers in the DTES as a last resort. The rest wouldn't move here for any number of reasons, including that the area (for them) acts as a trigger for their addiction problems, or being afraid of being beaten up, or havi ng been barred from the area.

That some of the former shelter occupants have taken to camping in the area wasn't what Terry Kellog and other nearby residents "expected when they furiously lobbied the city to shut down the Granville Street shelte r."

" T m obviously quite upset about it,' said Kellog, 55. ' It's really, really frustrating. This is a story that's being written about us being rich and them being poor. I'm just a construction worker who

happened to keep his nose to the grindstone."' (Province article) .

Kellog's attitude is typical of poor-bashmg. He- relatively well-off compared to the poor­assumes poor people are lazy and just as capable as he is of finding and keeping work, and attaining his middle-class sLandard of living. There's a famous quote by author Hcnnan Melville which exactly applies to thi s:

"Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well -housed, well-warmed, and well-fed."

Observations (Province article) by Mayor Gregor Robertson confinn Wendy Pedersen's infonnation: " ... some o f the homeless aren' t willing to move to shelte rs in the DTES. 'Many of them have been Ji ving in thi s neighbourhood for years-they'd rather live outside downtown than move into a shelter or housing on the DTES. The only solution here is housing, and that [is] my focus, working with the provincia l government to create more spaces in more neighbourhoods. Until then, we 're Ji ving with a visible crisis on our streets."'

Wendy Pedersen further said that more social housing is n eeded in all parts of the city. Cenain~y enough housing should be built for the homeless 10

the DTES, but more housing is also required elsewhere for those who are homeless outside the DTES.

EViL DEWHR

224 affordable housing un Why ?

We all know that there is an affordable housing/ homelessness crisis in Vancouver. However some­thing could be done very quickly to provide housing for about 700 people.

Vancouverites must have noticed the 224 apart­ments boarded up around 36th and Main Street, an area called Little Mountain. Yes, about 700 people could Jive there. To renovate them would only costs about $10,000 per unit to make them fully usable said the former director of the City of Vancouver Housing Department Cameron Gray. A bui lder has also confirmed this estimate. The Federal govern­ment has said that they have infrastructure money speci fically targeted for the refurbishing of social housing and have been waiting to hear from the BC Housing Corporation as to how much they would need. Why is the Minister of Housing not fixing up the Little Mountain Housing Project?

What are they waiting for?? About 12 uni ts are still occupied and the last resi­

dents are being bullied to get out. Yesterday I was at Little Mountain and a middle-aged woman came running across the lawn in deep distress saying that BCHC subcontractors had tom out her washing machine and the mai lbox. Then 1 saw men remov­ing stoves and fridges in excellent conditi~n from an empty unit. 1 tried to block the move wtth my bicycle and was informed that they had the right to take out the appliances. The day before they took a chain saw to a unit next to a unit in which an elder women was recuperating from an operation.

Too many people need housing (over 15,000 people are on the BCHC wait list) but can't afford the rents even in the SRO's because income assist­ance only pays $375 for shelter. Today's report on the City of Vancouver shelters are that they are all full and there arc over a thousand people still

homeless and thousands more at risk of homeless­ness. The Salvation Army has just released a report saying that 113 of the men in their shel ters are working.

Little Mountain is a project that has housing ready to be used in short order. The developer Holbum, has no immediate plans to develop the site and even if he did it wou ldn't be built for many years. This week BC Housing Corporation was accepting applications from companies who want the contract to demolish this Project yet they do not yet have a City of Vancouver permit to demolish.

The Minister of Housings has millions to spend on homelcssncss, so he can surely find some money to

renovate all the Lillie ntain units and provide immediate housing for 700 people in desperate need of a roof above their heads.

Ellen Woodsworth Vancouver City Councillor

Open Letter to BC Housing To Shane Ramsey, CEO of BC Housing

BC Housing has started demolishing the homes at Little Mountain, with no demolition permit. There are no plans or dates for new construction, no dates for re-zoning consultations, no plans or dates for community consultations and it does not look as if the deal with the developer is even still on. It is

very clear that no new construction will happen for years to come. This week, demolition crews came 1 in without warning, right next door to where ten-ants are still li ving, took chainsaws to the interiors of the vacant units, ripped out appliances, fixtures and pipes.

Pe rfectly habitable homes are being destroyed. We, the tenants who are still at Little Mountain,

remain here for compelling personal, fami ly, economic and social needs, not because we are being difficult tenants. We require the following immediate measures: Reinstate security on the site; repair outside lights;

and secure uninhabited buildings. Relocate all tenants within close proximity in the

South-East area of the site. Stop the destruction and dismantling of those units

outside of the fenced area. And further, stop any and all illegal demolition of homes. The actions that BC Housing has taken thi s week

are tantamount to eviction by fear and intimidation. In the letter addressed to Little Mountain tenants on June I , 2009, BC Housing stated, "The application for these permits wi ll not affect your tenancy at this Lime[.] you wi ll notice that there will be increased activity on the site in the coming weeks, once the appropriate permits are issued." We submit that there has never been a good reason

to displace the tenants during the redevelopment. A phased project would have accommodated all who wanted to remain in the community and on the site. We recognize that your continued pressure on us to move has now escalated to harassment and intimidation. Since this site is onl y the first of many to be redeveloped, we fear that the actions of BC Housing may set a precedent for the treatment of many o ther tenants. Displacement and intimidation of tenants must not be repeated here or in any future development.

Sincerely, The remaining tenants of Little Mountain

CC: Rich Coleman, Minister of Housing Dale McMann, Regional Director of BC Housing Vancouver Mayor and Council Shane Simpson, Housing Critic Don Davies, MP Vancouver Kingsway Mable E lmore, MLA Vancouver Kensington Libby Davies, MP Vancouver East

Help Transform a Neighbourhood

with a Social Enterprise at Woodward's

Non-profit organizations a re invited to respond to

a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a social enterprise

business opportunity in the exciting new Woodward's

development at Hastings and Abbott Street.

The RFP is open to any Vancouver-based non-profit

organization with a social, cultural or artistic mandate

that wishes to operate a social enterprise in a retail

space. A social enterprise business is a non-profit

organization which sells goods or provides services

to provide both a financial and social return on

investments. The final selection is subject to approval

by Vancouver City Council. Details are available in the

RFP package which must be picked up in person at

300-515 West 1Oth Avenue, Vancouver, BC. Deadline

for RFP submissions is Friday, July 31 , 2009 at 4 pm.

INFORMATION: 604.873.7438 or vancouver.ca/bps/realestate

W2 forced to leap through another hurdle By Nate Medd

W2 Media Arts Centre--an initiative bringing together a mix of arts and Downtown Eastside service organizations under one roof for training, collaborations, events--has a new hoop to jump through. Before it moves in to the space that it was awarded

in 2006 by the Woodward's Community Advisory Commillee and Vancouver city council, it has to compete a second time for a ground-level section of its floorplan. W2 is expected to move in

A cafe at Woodward's that W2 created and designed is now being offered up in a public request for proposals (RFP) by the City of Vancouver as a social-enterprise opportunity.

At City Hall , concern arose over W2's limited formal business experience toward managing its enti re space, a community amenity from the project's developer, Westbank.

As designed, the cafe represents W2's front porch, a public entrance connecting its approved basement and second floor spaces.

Over the past 14 months, the W2 Cafe was designed with the support of the City of Vancouver's real estate services department. The cafe would serve as a social enterprise,

employing a minimum of 12 Downtown Eastside residents, and bringing local people into W2's interior spaces. The Cafe and the adjacent community lounge are important spaces that W2 has protected as public gathering space for Downtown Eastside residents. Importantly, the cafe would also generate revenues to subsidize W2's public programs and operating costs. In initiating an innovative, shared hub for some of

the neighbourhood's important nonprofit organizations, W2 has demonstrated its pcrseverence and ability to learn on the job throughout the development process.

If we agree that W2 was awarded its place at Woodward's fairly in the first place, and that the cafe forms a vital part of its business and programming plan, let's hope this new competition conrirms it as the most-deserving tenant. The development, the DTES, and the participating organizations will all be better for it.

"A Changin"'

A changin' - It is a time for change In a world that's riddled with lies -a world deranged Mentored by twisted religious beliefs that have brought destructive gods, false heavens - even thieves

Troubled hearts whither in pain and fade away In a dim light losin' - losin' power of life Struggles blindly unshackle lost souls Of those who idolize money, power and fame

Ensnared dis-ease plagues the unconscious minds Whose conscious/subconscious psyche is material-ized Their spirits wander ad disappear into a void Where revolutionary cycles search for imminent change

Vanishing Baseball Diamond

In the nineteen eighties; I remember

playing baseball at Oppenheimer almost every day

Kids, teens, old folks even hitting, catching, throwing, running

Fans filled the stands with laughter Families gathered and picnicked after

But then, in the nineties; needles were found in left field

Crack stench invaded the diamond

Knives, police, blood Children couldn't be there

The gate to the stands was locked Sti ll we hoped for games again one day

City planners developed plans presented them in "public consultations"

Downtown Eastsiders said "No. That's not what we war Planners proceeded with their plans

Dismantled dugouts took out the stands

Cherry trees appeared in right field Weeds sprouted on the infield

Another hope vanished

Leith Harris

A changin' -it's time to move on - rearrange Too many from our earth mother have become estrang. Neglected and tom up in pieces -the land's spirit cries Elders have warned - they speak scenarios of demise

Stolen lives of children taken from their own truths Must corroborate 'n reacquire innocence lost in youth When laws of Nature guided carefully in this universe Find some delicate balance to stop the evil curse

Uncover lost realities of the past to make amends Heal the mind/body in pain which seems not to end In this day of urgency let knowledge awaken Ancient wisdom unforgotten for all life's worth

-now rearrange All our relations,

William Arnold Combes and May K.

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LITTERA TURE Canada Post mo rtem. Mediabortion. Dotcompost. You ninCOMpoops. Afghanicide effect. Booze­acidc neglect. Suislidc- Playlands newest ride. Chemical plantatio n. Inanimate castration. Waiting for Parts 4 & 5 fro m Playstation. Knock knock who's therc?-Empty people plenty scared. Silting Prelly Silting Bully. All star apart. Love will tear us apartheid . Yi lilied. Hands all Lied . They promised you a ride (didn 't they) Democracy is both mocked & Crazy. Crazy Horse. South star means way off course. The New Vancouver Times on sale wherever Dotcomland is or is not in service was ... Half mast apologies. Up Up off those bent knees. Fasten your drinking belt. Bible belt with real welts. Domino infection. In fact no directions. up. down down is up one needs support either hose or a cup. Stockade market & their digital people countdown .. it came & went without a sound. Deceit keep all receipts: Back to your cell-u-lar; lockdown before dawn. Countdown till I'm gone. Deathbed confession. Deathcoll recession. Aowerlire ahead they grow them up there ! Dripping with blindness. Beware tho e random axe of kindness. Again the square root of evil laughs at your despair. Practitioner of despair disappears into thick air. (thin ai r rides for free) "and it' s time for the Humil iation Jublice!!" like brushing death 's hair, it's time that Time gets what it deserves. This is no Bang Bang You Are Dead child's game so 1"11 be running along faster than I can ever dream Well Well well here comes oflicer down he looks up to his enemies & down to his friends - he also heads the Jubilee. HOORAY for you, coflins for us Shaped like atrocious glillering buses with several seats thanking you; tried looking out the back window just bedbugs, rent-a-thugs, chicks with mugs ... of beer. This Mugs hot is for you. The sellish the blemished doesn't every child hate cops, busdrivers & dentists? I didn ' t in vent this Hell you helped it along just so you'd have leverage - if the sun goes down it's my tum to drown. My future just passed before my eyes so it is time for goodbye.

B y ROBERT McGILLIVRAY

I ~1

The documentary (july 2"d at Yancity theatre) was a disappointment for me as I had anticipated returning for a panel discussion that would have more anal ysis. !left at the beginning when a heterosexual woman was interviewed and stereotypically portrayed as a victim of childhood rape. This is not always why women turn to prosti ­tution. We know that there arc race and class differences amongst women and that lack of mo ney limits people's choices. We know that these differences (not to mention competition) often contribute to a sadly lacking solidarity.

Many of the hookers in this documentary of 25 years ago were transsexual. The theme of "hookers" seemed to present us with a fa lse sense o f an allied community in solidarity. A fraudulent image of hookers in solidarity is an image which panellist Jamie-Lee Hamilto n likes to portray. I think that Jamie-Lec likes to overplay the race and transsexual victim of discrimination card . The presence of Ellen Woods worth and Libby Davies was noted. For me, however, the ir notoriety cannot erase the hypocrisy of Jamic-Lee Hamilton. Thank you to the Georgia Straight, June 18-25,

for printing the article by Joyce Arthur (cofounder of FIRST) entitled "20 I 0 sex trafficking a myth" which had a critical analysis beyond the staging of self-interested drama [a Ia Hamilton].

By Maggie Maud

No matter how vicious the System is

the War on Terror War on Drugs War on the Poor are afflictions and affliction means causing pain and suffering and I am a human being like so many who have known affliction in my family in my nerves in my thoughts in my heart and in the community of the poor indeed this global economy turns its hand against me again and again all day long and it has besieged and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship with isolation and self-destruction and self-centredness this global economy has made me live in powerlessness like those long dead it has walled me in so that I cannot escape it it has weighed my heart down with chains and with thoughts it has inflicted into me so that I become this system of oppression

I make scapegoats 01 otners I hate and I resent and I fear and I am greedy and even when I have called out or cried for help my voice and my wounds are managed by the system this system of development and theft has blocked my life with meetings and techniques of exclusion and control it has made all my paths hopeless and like a rapist hiding in the shadows like a serial killer offering a hand and a smile this system drags me from the path of real life and mangles me and leaves me without help for my heart for my life for my soul this system of tourism and globalization this system of war against 'terror' and the poor bearing down where I live makes me a target for business for governments and shadow governments for news media for free trade and economic warfare the system has pierced my heart with lies and my voice and my anguish and my loneliness become as nothing I become a laughingstock to this system

{~. ?o};fl . ."fi c '( 5

it mocks me in entertainment all day long it mocks me in newspapers magazines television movies and advertising it has filled me with self-contempt and stuffed me with resentment it has broken my teeth with indifference and crushed me into fantasies and I have no idea what true relationship is the system reduces me reduces my imagination my hopes my dreams reduces me to the size of a disappearing welfare cheque reduces me to a consumer of death but I remember my affliction I remember with bitterness and fear I well remember and my soul is knifed within me yet I also bring something else to mind and therefore I have hope because of our deep and hidden and oppressed love for one another deeper than any economics of greed and madness no we are not completely dehumanized or entirely turned against each other for true compassion never fails compassion is new every morning compassion means suffering with the one who is different than us the one who is most like us and from compassion comes hope and life is good if we seek to be compassionate if we seek to understand the other person and life is good if we seek to help each other without conditions and life is good no matter how vicious the system is if we use our own suffering to understand others who are in pain and life is good if we live to defend others who are weaker and more powerless and more afflicted than ourselves and compassion suffers together not in isolation as this system would make us believe and life is good if we become for others the brother or sister we may never have had and life is good if we realize that our lives are not all right if the lives of others whom we fear

are distressed or degraded and life is good if we can see beyond the reach of the system that our lives depend on the lives of others so perhaps it is not the worst thing that this system strips us of everything except what we have in our hearts for we are not to be without

qA-.c.Nl=fF<"' what our hearts most deeply desire love and care and though we now live grief-stricken and terrorized so powerful is compassion that it will overcome this global system this system denying us our full lives we will overcome because we live differently than the system intends for us we lie in cooperation and compassion and we have arisen and we have come alive and we are resisting

BudOsbom ·Signs of the Times Anvil Press, 2005

Dear Mayor and Council:

It was my honour to appear before your worship and the Council on behalf of CFR and a long li st of others on June I. After our presentation there is a growing interest in seeing New Westminster taking a constructive response to our invitation to a process of reconciliation. Apart from out of town docu-mentary teams interviewing me and others within last two weeks, more have expressed interest in BC's and New Westminster 's history with respect to the C hinese. The Premier also wrote on June 22 regarding our proposals with respect "to ackno wledging the history of the C hinese community in our Province- and specifically the City of New Westminster". Locally a class in NWSS has taken on the subject but the ensuing discussion, while e nlighten ing to some, also upset others who felt the historical truth had been withheld from them. The Roya l City Record also did a poll on June 13 asking "Do you think the C ity sho~ld make amends with the Chinese community for 1ts past treatment of Chinese citi zens?". I was informed by the paper the results were 69% for and 3 1% against the suggestion.

With three white persons beating up a coloured person in Courtney while mutter ing racial s lurs a week ago, we are reminded of racism today, of the likelihood that many si milar incidents did not get caught on tape, and the big need for British Columbians to do all we can to exorcise the evil within our communities. As me ntioned before we did not target New Westminster, any more tha~ the one taping the above incident targeted Courtney. O ur attempt to reveal the historical truth is s impl y to set New Westminster and BC free via a process o f reconci liation. Despite a few voices in denial

undoubted ly from the 3 1% in your community, we hope you working with the Prov ince will provide the leadership for all cities in BC, as rac ism against Chinese and others was endemic all over BC fo r a century. For the sake of all, that history of racism has to be publicly acknowledged and detested so that last week's incident in Courtney will not be repeated again.

We appreciate New Westminster has contributed partly towards the publishing of the book "Yi Fu". However the book has limited readership and contains no official expression of remorse. We als appreciate New Westminster, like other BC cities, for taking a cultural and financ ial interest in Chim However unless the C ity equates inviting C irque c Solei I as reconciling with Quebec, it should not view inviting Chinese cultural performers in its parade as acknowledgement o f the City's dark history towards Chinese. The same can be said o f the City's effort to get millions of dollars from C hinese foreign students' tuitions, establishing friendship city with city in C hina, etc ... Those are financial decisions and have nothing to do with remorse or public historical acknowledgement. Without expressing remorse and public histo rical acknowledgeme nt, those latter actions merely suggest the C ity acted terribly towards Chinese when C hina was poor, but became suddenly friendl y to Chinese when China is rich. Is that the image you wish New Westminster to be reme mbered by the world and the 2010 Olympic visitors?

On behalf of CFR, seven other Chinese Canadi. organisations and 84 individuals who endorsed c letter to your worship and Counci l on May 21, I would appreciate learn ing the resolutions made I Council to our request indicated via our letter an presentation before council. As mentioned befor there is still a bit of time to do something really good and transformative for New Westminster a this Province. The choice is still yours.

Yours tru ly, Bill Chu C hair & Founder, Canadians For Reconciliatior

Bee: Premier's office, MLA Ben Stewart, MLA Margaret MacDiarmid, MLA Dawn Black, Ml Jenny Kwan, community leaders, media, board

n Jl

y I

Hi Paul, what is the newsletter's circulation size these days - how many people and organizations is it distributed to? And how big is its circulation range? Thanks

Hi Savannah,

The current print run is 1200 copies, 23 times a year on the I " & 15'h (no paper on January I ). Distribution in the Downtown Eastside is done via leaving copies at places frequented by local people: I " Church, V ANDU, Native Health, the Neigh­bourhood House, Sheway, the Skills Centre on Cordova across from Oppenheimer, Living Room, the Powell Street Clinic, the Lookout, Evelyne Saller centre, the welfare o ffices at Powell and Main, the Listening Post, Pathways, lnsite, Co-op Radio, Pigeon Park Savings, DERA, the Women 's Centre, the Dugout and even the Fire Station.

Robyn Livingstone has his own distribution route that includes places on Commercial Drive, Vancouver Community College, ARA Mental Health, Simon Fraser, UBC profs and places he's discovered during Hum I 0 I, the Rhizome cafe and :>ther places. Bundles go to the Gathering Place, the Round­

neuse and a steady supply to Humanities 10 I, UBC It gets mailed to Libby and her consti tuency office (same wi th Jenny) and copies go to the mayor and council, Central and Social Planning departments, the VPLibrary, CEEDS farms, Bob & Muggs and cohorts on Hornby and to the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison - they have an archive of all 'street' and 'alternative' papers in North America. It was going to some high schools for the poetry

and "a window on the Downtown Eastside" and the book The Heart of the Community: The Best of the Carnegie Newsletter has been involved in the curricula of courses at UBC, SFU, Langara and Kwantlen ... that I know of. It has gone to England, Austria, South Africa and

the Philippines and has been seen in the airport in Beijing. The websi te at www.carnnews.org gets visited 373 times a day but that number came up in conversation the day before I learned how to find out the number of 'hits' so it' s kind of dubious.

What's really cool is that the head of a company called The History Group called here in 2005 and

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said her people wanted to do some volunteer work in the dtes. The lirst take on that is usually a thought on whether ' they' are dilettantes or altruistic or maybe sincere. I didn ' t know (or ask) why here but l get information calls about Carnegie in general. Anyway, her business is to do research and develop timelines and paper trails about companies, neighbourhoods, organisations, etc. And the only thing I could think of was ''I'd really like to get an index done of the Carnegie Newsletter, so people could lind stuff and get their work from whenever in a bundle and students could do research online. She astounded me by saying ''That sounds good; we can do that!"

The work was to index 20 years of the Newsleuer, every article, poem, graphic, etc. We met and she brought li ve staff, each of whom have a degree in lields of Computer Science, Sociology, Political Science, Urban Geography, Social Work, Business Administration ... and live volunteers, each of whom was either a senior or graduate student at UBC/SFU in the same or related fields as the paid people. Each took a year or two of my archived papers and committed to entering stuff in a database designed by their computer guy. It was identiealto the ones standard in university libraries worldwide, to e nable access by any competent inquirer with fields to overlap like newsletter articles do in regards to subjects covered in s ingle articles. (It 's part-and-parce l to talk about homclessness with poverty with housing with politics with neoliberalism with classism with sexism with drug issues and mental health and artistic expressions in all of 'em and more.) .... anyway, it got done and is hosted on Simon Fraser Library's mainframe under an umbrella acronym of C HODARR. The link is:

http://harvestcrs.sfu.ca/chodarr The whole last paragraph was to kind of answer

the question of 'how big is its circu lation range?' With the vi rtual reality o f cyberspace, I have no idea how many or from where readers are. One point is that the paper began on August 15, 1986 with 12 pages in 60 copies made on an o ld photocopier upstairs. On its 23'd birthday- August 15,2009- it' ll be 20-28 pages in 1200 copies and read by thousands/hundreds of thousands/milli.. maybe!!!

PauiR Taylor, editor s ince December 15. 1 QRn

GET CLEAN! Shower up at the L~rd's Rain

There is a shower facili ty at Gospel Mission, 327 CarraU Street (just off Pigeon Park). There a re towels, soap, shampoo - the works! & Coffee

Modayn: lOam - Jpm; Tuesday: 7 - 8:30am;

-"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead

We acknowledge that Carnegie Community Centre, and this Newsletter, are occurring on Coast Salish Territory.

Wednesday (Ladies' Day): lOam - Noon Friday: lOam - Jpm; Saturday: 7 - lOam CFRO 102. 7 FM CO-OP RADIO

401 Main SITed. V6A. 2T7

THIS NEWSLETrER IS A..PUBUCATION OF THE C4.RNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTltE ASSOCIATION

Articles rq>ramtlhe 'fio:ws or 18dirichoal Caatribotors aad DOt oldoe ~

Editor: PauiR Taylor ; Layout assistance, Lisa David Collation & distribution crew: Bill, Liu Lin, Harold, Mary Ann, Miriam, Kelly, Videha, Ro lf, Priscillia, Robyn, Nick, J ackie, Ma tthew, Ida, Nicole, Lisa.

TIM STEVENSON CITY COUNCILLOR SERVING THE COMMUNITY

WITH PRIDE City Hall, 453 W 121

h Ave, V5Y 1V4 Phone: 604-873-7247

Jenny Wai Ching Kwan MLA Working for You

1070 - 1641 Commercia l Dr, VSL 3Y3 Phone:604-77~0790

Law Students' Legal Assistance Program LSLAP: Carnegie hours

Tuesdays: 2pm-5pm and 6pm - 8pm Wed-Fri: 10am-12pm and 1pm-4 pm

Next issue is July 31 51 . . -

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

Tuesday, July 28

CHANGE OF ADDRESS!!! Menta l Health

Action Research Advocacy As of Monday, July 6, our new address will be

163 West Pender Street (it's a storefront at the sidewalk !)

Phone# 604-689-7938 remains the same.

WANTED Artworlt for the Ozmep News~ttu

• Small il1ustralions to aa:ompany articles and poetry

• Cover art -Maximum size: 17cm(6-314") wile X 15cm(6") ligh.

• SUbjed ma11er relevant to issues pertaining to the Downtown Eastside preferred, but al work will be cmsidered;

• Black & White pMting only • Size res1rictions must be considered ft.e. I

your piece is too large, it wiD be reduced and/or aopped to lit;

• AI artists wil receive aedil for their work; • Originals wit be returned to the artist after

being copied for pubficatioo; • Remuneration: Carnegie volunteer tickets.

• Please make submissions to:

Paul Taylor, Editor.

200g DONATIONS: Barry M.-$150, Libby D.-$70, Rolf A.-$50, Margaret D.-$40, Jenny K.-$25, Sue K.-$30, Michael C.-$50, Jay a B.-$100, Christopher R.-$180, Mel L.-$25, Greta P.-$25, Leslie S.-$25, Harvey B.-$25, Sheila B.-$20, The Edae ·$200, Wilhelmina M.-$30, Anonymous $1500 Anne P.-$50

I

Festival Weekend

HIGHLIGHTS Singing and drumming col­

laborat ion between Sawagi

Taiko and Fi rst Nations

performance group Tiqilap

* Contemporary chamber

music by Tiresias * Martia l arts demonst ra­

t ions * Screening of Empty Orchestra: video collabora­

t ions between ka raoke

singers and new media

a rtists * Perfo rmances by

Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre, dance r Aretha

Aoki (BCJUSA), Kokoro Dance (Vancouver). Per-

formance duo Elfin Saddle

(Montreal), and contempo­

rary taiko perfo rmer Kenny

Endo (USA) * Documenta­ri es by Tadashi Nakamura

* Lite rary readin gs by Asian

Canadia n wri ters * Historical Walking Tours

POWELL STREET FESTIVAL 11 :30- 7:00, Saturday & Sunday, August 1 & 2

33rd Annual Powell St reet Festival All events are FREE to the public!

For info or to volunteer, please call 604.739.9388

The Powell Street Fest1val IS the largest Japanese Canadian fest•val and

the longest running commumty celebrat ion 1n Vancouver ! Enjoy

traditional and contemporary Japanese Canad1an performances.

includ ng taiko drumm1ng, sumo wrestling, marUa arts demos, fo'k and

modern dance. alternat1ve pop/rock/urban mus•c. v1sual ar ts, f•lm/video,

as well as a fantast•c array o f Japanese food. crafts & displays.

Little boy entranced by Chibi Taiko's performance at the 2008 fest ival.

FOR 2009 OriLY, NEW LOCATION: WOODLAND PARK

Frances St

0 c ~ -' u L

0 '0 c "'

E Pender St

Frances St

u E Georgia St

£ TRACES: PROJECTING NEIGHBOU RHOOD STO RIES Woodland Park (700 Woodland Drive, Vancouver)

Adanac St

-:-''----Saturday, August 1, 9:1 5pm, Free night-time screening

Traces: Projecting Neighbourhood Stories is a l iving history project

Strathcona and Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighbourhoods. Fusing video, anima­

tion and shadow puppetry, youth and arti sts collaborated in creating multi-media

artworks based on conversations wi th long-time neighbourhood res idents. As dusk

sets in at 9:15pm on Saturday, Augusl ·1st, Shout!WhiteDragon warms up the stage

w ith b luegrass tunes before the screenings at 9:45pm. Pre-festiva l screenings also

held on july 24 and 25, 9:00pm, corner of Hastings and jackson Streets

\(V )

ART AGAINST BRUTALITY A rt Against Brutality was introduced into our community as a day-long multimedia celebration of the triumph of art against the brutal conditions we are forced to accommodate in the course of our dai ly lives as poor people moving through and excluded from one of the richest places in the world. T he event took place in Oppenheimer Park in September of 2005 and again in the next year. There was music and food and a huge labyrinth of oppression where people were free to display their artistic statements around the various themes. Community groups had their own displays; there were games and prizes and a tree hung with poems. The organisers were told, when 2007 rolled around, that the park was going to be closed for renovations and so would not be available that year. This was not a tragedy, as the idea had been picked up by such unlikely groups as the A nti-Poverty Committ­ee, who have held several wonderful art auctions and unleashed a whole wave of creativity in their membership. M ost communi ty groups have some sort of arts and crafts programs. There is even a push on to have a permanent dtes art market at the weekly M ain Street [at Terminal] farmers market. This is good, mostly, as long as we remember that

using art as a tactic of social control pre-dates even advertising. Propaganda, false assurances and Oust as likely) false hysteria are disseminated by the media on a regular basis, along with an assuredly spu_rious and morbid interest in the personalities, antiCS, and banal (and often brutal) gossip about movie, sports and music persona. Art can be used to seduce and distract those who might be disturbed by what the images we are offered conceal, and those who might question what is really happening in our vicinity and around the world. In our neighbourhood, the fence around

Oppenheimer Park has been up for weeks now. A meeting to discuss the situation with Park staff on T hursday, July 9, was poorly announced but sti ll managed to attract a number of concerned people Park programs are continuing on Dunlevy and at a few other venues, but what is sorely missed is the green space. J so want to trust park staff when they cla1m they share our feel ings that the complete closure of the park is unacceptable. T hey are vowing now to push back from the comer they were pushed into by the park board's inflexible schedule and to con front them with the concerns that have been brought up.

Seeing that the park board has already expressed i ts disdain for our community process, even to the extent of threatening to cancel the project i f it was not carried out as they decreed, I'm not at al l confident that we will be able to reach any kind of compromise. I 'm certainly wondering who else was involved in these decisions. The fact that permits were issued for the digging up of the park and the erection of the perimeter fence and this work carried out BEFORE the building permits had been approved is one more blot on the credibility of this project. It could be a while before the permits are in place. In fact, there is no good reason why the work needed to start now or that the park should be closed, other than the reasons of social control; to ~in ~mize po~sible sites where homeless people and d1sstdents mtght gather before the O lympics. Art Againast Brutality is happening again, now,

with a clear focus, and the fence is huge. Here's your chance to express your opinion about the gentrification of our community and the imposition of the Olympics. I f enough of us art out, maybe we' ll be listened to.

B y DELANYE AZRAEL

I