March 1, 2006, carnegie newsletter

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ir?.istratioq's small · ·~ :21:tion spending. g obell government did hand out ..J -~~sty lollipops ,f or the business CIJ lf 11.Unity- although a rumoured ~ ! .ncial sales tax cut didn't make UJ ~ :>pearance.

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The biotech'-1nc:rustry saw allocated to life sciences research , with grants to Genome BC and the Michael Smith Foundation. British Columbia Chamber of Commerce

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president John Wn1ter was "deligh te with a promise for $90 million in tax , credits for companies offering skills training to their employees. Luxury car dealers across British Columbia

Dear 24Hours, On February 22, your cover proudly announced (with yet another scar~-mongering photo of a drug user) that Vancouver now enjoys a "zero tolerance policy" on outdoor drug use. Inside on page three, Matt Kieltyka's article quotes Insp. Bob Rolls saying "the problem is simply not going away," and informs us that "it will take many more arrests before police start driving drug users away." Away? Where is away?

Rolls then tells us that up to now, police have been treating drug addiction as a medical, not a criminal problem. This is news to me, a Downtown Eastside resident who has witnessed police brutality against drug addicts, and wonders why there are only 54 detox beds available in this neighbourhood.

Insite only opened two years ago. It is too early to assess it's usefulness and the ripple effect of its services in this tightly-knit neighbourhood. And it is much too early to write off health-focused attempts in the fight to save the lives of current and future drug users. Unless, ofcourse, one's priority is not . human health and lives, but protecting property and "reclaiming" this valuable real estate for the use of developers.

.I had to roll my eyes, then, when I turned to page stx and read the headline of your article on the situation in Afghanistan: "We have to be patient-- It took three decades for Afghanistan to reach tllis state of chaos, so don't expect it to be rebuilt overnight."

Replace the word "Afghanistan" with "Downtown Eastside," and you have a phrase I would love to he~ sp.o ken by the people responsible for enacting pohcy m my home community. ¡ Thank you, Gena Thompson

'1s it myfault heguessed the wrong hand?"

IN THE EYE OF THE STORM.

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WfRf RENOYAnNG EVE~YTHING!

First I would like to take this opportunity to thank our friends of the DTES who made it possible for five members from our community to visit Victoria, BC, and witness our provincial government at work in the Legislature. Without their generous donation, the trip would not have been possible. Our jountey was an adventure and an experience to say the least;.

I guess you could say a real eye opener.

The day was dark and windy and I believe it was raining also, but that didn' t dampen our spirit because we were pumped up and geared for an eventful day, preparing for possible interviews with the media (which never materialized, as we had hoped it would). We went to respond to Rich Coleman, Minister responsible for Housing, who said at a banquet for the Canadian Home Builders Association, " You want to see the worst experiment in social housing in British Columbia, go to the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. It' s a failed experiment because we forgot about the fact that people need to be integrated."

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In Victoria Jenny Kwan and stafl' met us at the depot. Photos were taken while walking to the Legislature. Inside Jenny's office we were briefed as to the process inside the parliament & Question Period.

But just prior to going inside the house, we were checked for security purposes and required to leave our personal belongings behind. Man' It made me feel like a criminal. Seated inside, introductions as Jenny shared our bios. Jenny's question to Minister Coleman's earlier statement made him to back track but not before attempting to skirt the issue. If that's ' any consolation at all to us, that was it. A small victory. Back in Jenny's office a quick briefing, what the next step is and being kept posted. We thanked her for the invitation and we left, feeling confident that we' ve played a role in the back track somehow for our community. .In closing, I find it frightening that we have people m government like Minister Coleman letting statements like 'failed experiments' or 'integration', spew from his mouth. Hell, what does he know?! .

This man-in-charge should be discharged. And other ministers like him as well. I think some of our elected representatives are in deep over their heads which is criminal The visitor shake down, you tell ' me who is the real criminal. Man, I wish I had a shovel. The crud* was really flying high and fast.

At the end of the day, I somehow felt like being left in the dark.

By Stephen Lytton Editor's rmte (*~ is a synonym for the word used to describe the product of a bull's bowel movement..)

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Like any GOD you t{mned the Earth from your own droppings Set your heart in the sky to burn with clarifying pain Dreamt us And woke with a wry smile Bill Easlie (tor Bill Reid)

What th~ provincial budget gave to people on welfare (Don't spend it all in one place) The provincial budget came out last week. Many of us worked to get the government to raise welfare rates but they didn't. Here's what they did do: *Double the sehool start up allowance for children on welfare to $84 for kids under 12 and $116 for kids over 12; *Increase the earnings exemption for people with disabilities starting March 1, to $500 per month (this has already been announced numerous times); *Extend the Community Volunteer Supplement to 2500 more people over the next 3 years. This is the program where the government gives you $100 a month if you volunteer in the community. About 1400 people are on the program now.

It looks like we have to keep pushing until we get a real increase.

--Jean Swanson

Pure Reason I know this Carnegie Hall, like my own stomping ground. I got into drugs when I was about II or 12 years old. I am 38 years old now. Just got off the

down for about a year now and on the methadone program for a year as well and works like a dream.

Anyways enough about me!!

I've got some talent that I'm using to give back to the community. I am on disability now. I am very grateful for what has been done for me and I am now giving back, such as using my empathetic listening skill -just lei.people tell me their stories of life, pain, joy, happiness, grief, frustrations, and so on. When they feel they have ventilated themselves, they all, and I mean every one, gives thanks and are very grateful. They say things .like, "Thanks for listening, man, I really feel much better."

Now this teJls me not enough people open up to their fellow Brothers and Sisters. With the drug problem we all have to help to infuse in addicts a sense of their own self esteem along with the fact of being souls and realizing their own divinity and unending Joy and Bliss they can tap into and it does not matter what religion they' re from . Love is pure reason.

By Mike Hughes

Rally calls for higher welfare rates BC could easily afford to increase welfare rates by 50 per cent. That's what Seth Klein of the Canadian Centre for Poli~y Alternatives told about 70 people at a demonstration demanding a rate increase. It would c?st $500 million, he said, while the budget surplus IS over $2 billion. The demonstration began at Victory Square on Feb. 22. Then all marched down Hastings and Burrard Streets to the Hyatt Regency Hotel where Premier Gordon Campbell was supposed to be speaking to the Board of Trade about his new budget.

Speakers at the Hyatt came from the Anti-Poverty Committee, the Kettle Friendship Society and Raise the Rates Campaign, Neighbourhood Helpers and the Asian Society for Intervention IDVIAIDs.' They all noted that welfare doesn't provide enough money to rent a safe, secure place to live or eat a nutritious diet. The demonstration was sponsored by the Save Low Income Housing Coalition.

Jean Swanson

PWD earnings exemption now $500 On April 20, 2005 (just before the last provincial election), Gordon Campbell promised to increase the earnings exemption for persons on the disability pension (PWD) from $400 to $500. This interested me greatly because I am one of the few PWDs who makes quite a bit more than $500 per month, so the more I could keep, the more disposable income I would have. (Please excuse the greed factor here; I will be explaining myself later in this article.)

When the BC Liberals were sworn in after winning the election, they didn' t enact the promise. The next chance for them to do so came in the September 2005 mini-budget, and it didn't happen then either.

There was a budget consultation process (for the 2006 provincial budget which will come about in March, 2006) taking place late in 2005, and I provided some input to that asking that the promise made in April finally be fulfilled. When I received

the document detailing budget recommendations made in the process, although my submission had been read, there was no indication that any action was going to be taken on it.

MLA Jenny Kwan was on the budget consultation committee and since I live in her riding, I e-mailed her asking if she knew if anything was going to take place regarding increasing the earnings exemption.

She replied that she didn't have access to any information that the BC Liberals had regarding their plans for the March 2006 budget, so she couldn' t answer my question.

Finally, on February 2 on the BC government' s website, there was an announcement stating that the \ earnings exemption for PWDs wouJd be raised from $400 to $500 per month starting in March 2006.

I think this came about as a result of the policy review that MLA Claude Richmond's ministry - the Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance (.MEIA) - is currently undergoing. Specifically, as a proactive action to head off complaints about nothing being done to raise welfare rates, the MEIA is raising the earnings exemption for PWD so as to be able to say that they have done something after all.

Robin Loxton of the BC Coalition for People With Disabilities provided figures indicating that of the 60,000 PWDs, about 7,700 declare earnings each month. Lefs say that 5,000 don't qualify for the increased earnings exemption (because they don' t make enough money). That leaves about 2,700 who do qualify - less than five percent of the total cases receiving the disability pension. In other words, very few people benefit from this increase.

What is actually needed is that the earnings exemption be applied to everybody receiving any type of income assistance. As Richmond stated in the press release, " Increasing the earnings exemption encourages multi-barriered clients who want to work to participate more fully in the workplace as best they can." I think this should apply to all clients. I also think that in addition to this, the welfare rates should be raised.

The Carnegie Community Action Project, under ~ong-time anti-poverty activist Jean Swanson, is trymg to get the govermnent to raise the welfare rates.

Contact her or the Project at the Carnegie Centre if you want to help.

By Rolf Auer

s [Following is the written back-and-forth in the Legislative Assembly. Missing are the cat-calls, ignorant gestures, Insults and almost complete disrespect coming from Uberals. It could be funny in cartoons, but here - ifs just dlsg~sting.]

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J.Kwan Today I have the pleasure of introducing five very special citizens from my community. They inctotie Muggs

Sigurgeirson, a strong, strong advoca le for equality and social justice, a tireless volunteer in all sorts of sectors in our conununity. Along with her is Stephen Lytton, who is a member of the Lytton Aboriginal Band. He is on tl1e Carnegie board, on the aboriginal homelessness ring committee and th~ B.C. Aboriginal Network on Disabilities. He is also an actor. Gena 'l110mpson lives in the Lore Krill co-op on Georgia Street and is alsq_ on the Carnegie board, and a student at Langara. Harold Asham is a computer tutor volunteer at the Carnegie learning centre and writes for the Carnegie Newsletter Last but not least is L~ a musician and community activist CONDITION OF HOUSING IN DOWNTOWN EAST SIDE = J. Kwan: "You want to see the worst experiment of social housing in British Columbia, go to the downtown east side of •

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Vancouver. It's a failed experiment because we forgot" about the fact that people need to beintegrated." Those were the words of the Minister of Housing. Visiting us today are individuals who are active volunteers in the community who live in award-winning social housing pr~jects in the downtown east side. Can the minister explain how these people arc failed experiments in their community?

Hon. R Coleman: Through to the member, there is a variety of very successful social housing projects in British Columbia, and tl1ere is a variety of projects that need to be enhanced for services for their clientele. There are also a nwnber • of people who are slipping through the cracks, who don't get the assistance they need when they have multiple barriers and addictions that tlley need to be helped with in various forms of housing. I don't see any reason why we shouldn't look at a continuum of housing from homelessness through to social housing and other options to help everybody that could possibly be helped for the maximUlll ability we can do it.

J. Kwan: Interestingly, that's not what the minister said- not once, but twice. Let me quote: "Major cities all across North America today are bulldozing their housing projects, and they're doing it so that they can redevelop their communities and integrate people into society." Words of the Minister of Housing once again The Premier himself negotiated an agreement with tile fonner mayor of Vancouver, Larry Campbell, to fund 200 units of social housing in the Woodwards project in tile downtown east side as part of the Olympic legacy. If the downtown e~st side was such a failure, then is the Premier wrong in signing that agreement?

Bon. R Coleman: The member knows well what's happening at Woodwards. Woodwards is actually an integrated project Yes, there are 200 units of social housing that are going to be funded by the provincial government, but tllere is also . market housing integrated into the same project.

D. Routley: The Tellier Tower. The Pendera. Four Sisters Housing Coop. Bruce Erikson Place. Laurie Krill Co-op. Hon. Speaker, if the downtown east side is such a failed social experiment, why do the minister's own officials repeatedly bring international guests to the downtown east side to tour tllese very same award-winning housing projects? Why do they tour what the minister has caJled "a failed social housing experiment"?

Hon. R Coleman: You know, it is very interesting to listen to this. I had debates last fall with the member opposite during estimates debate also about housing, and there was this big concern that somebody might go out and do a program and expand something like SAFER to help seniors to stay in tlleir rental apartments in British Columbia when we helped 7,700 more people. There was a big concern that we might be doing or even looking at rent supplements in housing in British Colwnbia, but when we becaJne government there were already thousands of rent supplements put in place by the previous government You actually talked about integration of housing in your own programs and debates when I was in opposition. Let's get real, hon. member. What we need to do is we need to have housing strategy that goes from _tlle continuwn of homelessness right through to home ownership, and that's what tlris government is intending to do. We're going to help as many people as possible with tlle maximwn dollars that we can put into place.

D. Routley: The big concern of this member and tlle big concern of the residents of social housing in B. C. is a minister who seems prepared to turn his back on all of that and apply simplistic, one-sided black-and-white solutions. My question, though, is to the Minister of Finance. The Minister of Finance was an advocate of social housing when she was a councillor in the city of Vancouver. Will the Minister of Finance step in and ensure that these award-winning projects are not abandoned and commit today the needed funding for a comprehensive social housing plan that includes new developments of social housing for the residents of British Columbia?

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hal Luka FIGHTIN FOR JUSTICE

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Yesterday at 9 AM, a small group of warriors set out on a quest to bring a message to the ministers. The message "We are integrated into our society." I shouldn't say the message was for our ministers, it was for the Liberal MLA' s and one of their leaders, Rich Coleman, who had stated in a recent article " You want to see the worst experiment of social housing in British Columbia, go to the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver--- it' s a failed experiment because we forgot about the fact that people need to be integrated." Among the group were Muggs, Steve and Gena of the Carnegie Board of Directors. Steve and Gena live in social housing in the DTES. Also there was Luka, another person who has lived in social housing in the DTES. And of course I was there, having lived in social housing for 3 years.

Before that I lived in Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels in the DTES. I was brought into the DTES to manage one of those SROs. You may have heard of the Walton Hotel. 1 was manager there for almost 2 years before I succumbed to the pressure of running a rooming house in this area. I was lucky to have had a great boss who cared about his tenants.

We were continually told that we had one of the best places to live in the area. We still had all the problems that come with running an SRO. You know what I'm talking about. Cockroaches, drug paraphernalia or drug users in the washrooms, rooms that are too hot or too cold, haven' t any kind of view, no stoves for cooking and all the other little things that degrade the lives of ordinary people trying to exist

Muggs

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on below poverty level income. Our rooms were available for $325 per month, which is the Ministry • maxtmum.

Now I hear hotels are charging more than that and this extra charge has to come out of the few measly dollars you get for food or other necessities because the maximum is still $325 and there isn' t any way the government will pay more. They want to get rid of social housing.

Quote ''Major cities all across North America today are bulldozing their (housing) projects and they're doing it so they can redevelop their communities and integrate people into society" and "the day for lowrent government-owned housing has passed" Rich Coleman said the govenunent wants to shift from owning housing projects, which stigmatize and ghetto-ize low-income people, to providing rent subsidies toward privately owned units. I guess those subsidies would really be fot the landlords who could raise rents whenever they wanted to just so they could use up the subsidy and still rent the same old crappy place where there is no privacy or dignity for anyone. Perhaps we could ask the Honorable Minister to come live in an SRO for a month and see what its like to live down here. Then we could let him live for a month in one of the housing projects that one of us warriors lives in and he could see the difference up close and personal.

He could follow one or all of us around and see if we are integrated into our commlllity to a level that he understands. Speaking of integration we were

Pathways Information Centre, 380 Main Street 7

guests of Jenny Kwan for Question Period in the Legislature. It felt good to be recognized and introduced to the House. .

As I was saying speaking of integration I noticed that questions are asked of Ministers by other representatives and they have to be directed to the Speaker who then asks the appropriate minister to respond. The Minister never seems to answer the question that is asked but he manages to toss some kind of wisecrack in to belittle the question asked.

Integration would seem to me to be to have respect for the question and the questioner. I noticed that this hardly ever happens.

We had a little lunch before heading back to the mainland and the conversation was about the total lack of respect the government has for their critics. I and the rest of our little band were thoroughly dis. gusted. We could see why nothing seems to get done in the house. Question Period is a farce. To paraphrase one of the NDP critics "I like to hear you answer a question because of your great prose in answering questions even if it isn't the answer to the question which is being asked." I would like to close by saying if you get a chance to go see our govern- ; ment in action, go and you'll be disgusted in person.

Have a nice week.

-hal

Road to Employment We held our employment expo in January and, based on the feedback, it was a great success.

This one was kind of a gamble for two reasons.

The frrst gamble was the concept behind the expo. approached We called it "Road to Employmenf'and .. pre-employment service providers. These included health, addiction, and shelter and more traditional employment folks including employ~rs, training, and support. Our second gamble: we needed more room.

We held the expo in two locations; both here and across the road at Carnegie. We encouraged people to walk across the road in the rain and see the second site. They did!

One encouragement to make that trek was the great door prizes, many of which were supplied by businesses. We learned quickly to ask for donations(!) * two day fork lift training from Hunter Industries . *prizes from LogoTex and Cook's Studio · * two pairs of work boots; personal care products.

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Mr. Ben Swanke~ "How a Green Kid from the Prairies became a Social Activist in BC- for 70 years!"

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The frrst ·was Bart, who is an intern from VCN [Vancouver Community Net]. He worked with us to update and redesign webpages for Pathways and Tradeworks [our mother ship]. He learned lots. We learned lots. He'll be teaching computer courses in our lab, so our members will be learning lots.

Creative minds have always been known to survive any kind of bad training.

-Anna Freud

Humanities 101 Free Public Lecture Series •

It was a satisfying month for two other reasons. Two people came to work here with satisfying results.

Mr. Swankey, a remarkable 92 year old gentleman, will speak about his 70 years of experiences in social activism, political struggle and trade unionism in BC and beyond.

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http://www.tradeworks.bc.ca/pathways/index.php http://www.tradeworks.bc.ca The second of our twins was Bill. He is a volunteer who offered to help us update the downtown eastside website [ www.dtes.ca] and ies 170 agencies.

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED You could make his life easier. Go to the website. Find your organization. If there are changes, make a note of the label where the information needs to be changed [hours, description, contact etc.] and send the changes only to Bill at pic 1@tradeworks.be.ca IT'S AMAZING

Facilitator: Paul Taylor

Friday March 17th, 7pm Carnegie Centre

Don't compromise yourself.

You are all that you 've got.

- Janis Joplin

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March 8 is International Women's Day. Join us in the Carnegie Theatre from 4pm to 8pm to celebrate women with activities, music, poetry, entertainment, open mike, refreshments and a book giveaway. It's a women-only gathering to share good times with each other.

2006 is the 25th anniversary of Canada's ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The law guarantees women and men equal rights, opportunities and responsibilities in all aspects of Canadian life. Women's rights are now protected by legislation such as the Canadian Human Rights Act, pay and e~ployment equity laws, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and maternity and parental benefits.

But a gap still exists between laws and the reality of women's lives. Issues such as violence and poverty have not been resolved. Today, as 'Yomen join the labour force in record numbers, raise families and participate in their communities, barriers remain.

'I_'h~e barriers keep women, whether they are Abo-

ngmal women, women with disabilities lesbians single women, single parents or women'living in' poverty, from realizing their full potential. The Iega1 removal of barriers is not enough. We need to close the gap between the sexes in our daily lives. The 25 year wait for equality is over.

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International Women's Day is March 8 This yearly event was started to commemorate the dangerous working conditions most women endure after a fire in a Manhattan factory claimed 146 vic-' tims in 191 1, mostly women and girls. The fire escape door had been locked to keep workers at their machines. Owners were found not guilty of manslaughter when it couldn't be proven that they had ordered the doors locked. A civil suit found them negligent and they paid $75 to each family who had · lost a woman in the fire.

During the last fifteen years, Vancouver's The organizations of Wish Drop-In Centre, PEERS £:} Downtown Eastside and the and PACE, groups that provide counselling services city of Juarez, Mexico, have been two of for current and exiting sex-trade workers are hostmany locations in the world ing the celebration, art and performances ~th broad to experience disappearances and brutal community supportMfrom women in BC's Labour ovement. . ~urde~ of women.

1 This IWD event is supported by the B.C. Federation of Th1s event IS organiZed to honour our sis- Labour, Women's Committee; CUPE BC; CUPE Local ters and to strengthen solidarity among 389, City of North Vancouver; Federation of Postwomen from all walks of life.

Secon~ Educators; BC~EU; CUPE Metro District The . . .

Counctl; and Megan Eilts.& Company. COPE491 orgaruzauons PACE, PEERS and WISH invite . all women and men to an Open House

REMEMBERING OUR SISTERS

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Downtown Eastside and Juarez, Mexi'co Wednesday, March 8, 2006 International Women's Day 4:00-7:00 pm 119 West Pender Street, Vancouver, 3rd floor Program starts at 5: 15: Greetings, Song, Dance, Theatre, Spoken Word

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Remembering our Sisters, poetry and music will be featured at an event taking place at 119 West Pender Street on March 8 -International Women's Day. A · special guest, poet and Guatemalan woman's activist Sandra Moran will perform and bring greetings from the women of a country also devastated by hundreds of cases of missing and murdered women.. ' Rem£mhering Our Sisters uses this Day to both commemorate the more than sixty-five women who have disappeared from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and to celebrate the art and political activism of those who continue the struggle for equality and survival among some ofVancouver's most marginalized women.

One Flaw in Women Women have strengths that amaze men They bear hardships and they carry burdens but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream They sing when they want to cry They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are neryous They fight for what they believe in They stand up to injustice .

They don't take "no" for an answer when they believe that there is a better solution.

They go without so their family can have They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy to hear about a birth or a wedding Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They grieve at the loss of a family member, yet they're strong when it seems there's none left.

They know a bug and a kiss can heal a broken heart Women come in all shapes & sizes, They'll walk, run or ride far just to be with you; That is how much they care about you.

The hearts of women keep the world turning They bring joy, hope and love.

They have compassion and ideas They give moral support to their family & friends.

Women have vital things to say and everything to give However, if there is one flaw in Women It is that they forget their worth.

Pass this along to your Women .friends and relatives to remind them just how amazing they are.

As we come marching, marching, in the beauty of the day, A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill lofts gray, Are touched with all the radiance that a sudden sun discloses, For the people hear us singing, "Bread and roses! Bread and roses!"

As we come marching, marching, we battle too for men, Our brothers in the struggle, and together we will win.

Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes; Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses!

As we come marching, march.ing, unnumbered women dead Go crying through our singing their ancient cry for bread.

Small art and love and beauty their drudging spirits knew.

Yes, it is bread we fight for â&#x20AC;˘ but we fight for roses, too!

As we come marching, marching, we bring the greater days.

For the rising of the women raises up the human race.

No more the drudge and idler - ten that toil where one reposes, But a sharing oflife's glories: Bread and roses! Bread and roses!

These words were inspired by picket signs carried by strikers in the I 9 I 2 IWW Lawrence, Massachusells Mill Strike.

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NEWS FROM THE IAIBRARY In honour of International Women's Week (March 5-11 ), we would like to welcome all women into the

library.

We have lots of books on a variety of subjects that you can stop by and rea<L or take home with you (note: we don't charge overdue fines at Carnegie

Library!). Sometimes our system of organization can be puzzling though, so here's a guide to some of our favourite subjects, with the dewey number included: r Astronomy 520 Biography 921 Cooking 641 Dance 790 Drawing 740 Dreams 135 Folklore 398 Gardening 635 Health 613, 616 Humour 808, 827 Literature 800, 890 Mental health 616 Music 780

Painting (art) 750 Parenting 155, 306, 649 Pets 636 Photography 770 Poetry 821 Psychology 150 Pregnancy 618.24 Religion 200-290 Theatre 790 Travel910, 970 True crime 364 Yoga 181

We have lots more to offer! You may also be interested in: videos (popular movies and nonfiction), kids books & videos, First Nations books, Spanish books, Chinese books, magazines, newspapers novels: general, mystery, fantasy, Large Print, books on tape I audio cassettes, internet computer photocopier ( 15 cents per page) We're looking forward to seeing you, ladies! Oh, and please be sure to stop by Carnegie's International Women's Day celebration (March 8) in the threatre from 4pm-8pm. We will be giving away free books and would love to hear your feedback about the library - especially any suggestions you might have to make it better.

Also, look for us every Friday afternoon outside the Carnegie Centre on Hastings Street for our regular book giveaway at 2:30pm Beth, your librarian Emily, UBC Women's Studies student

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II When I see their faces, their photographs Sometimes I wonder if their souls are still trapped there Smiling photos of deceased people have always scared me haunted me If I turn away from these pictures, then turn back to see these stolen souls- will they no longer be smiling? Will they have aged? Will these women be crying?

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Maybe other people see this (though I doubt it) and save themselves by slapping degrading labels and tell themselves that it won't happen in their backyards C' s T' Mutch c2006

JOIN GRASSROOTS WOMEN FOR Building anti-imperialist solidarity: Towards a just and lasting peace.

Conference: Sun. March 5 I 0-4pm at the Russian Hall, 600 Campbell Street Lunch by donation. Space is limited so please confirm participation. Onsite childcare.

March & Rally: Wed. March 8 5:30pm, VPL Main Branch at Robson and Homer

MONUMENT TO CIUDAD JUAREZ: Claudia Bernal (Montreal) Mar~h

3 â&#x20AC;˘ April 2. 88 E.(;ordo..,a

Opening Reception: March 3, 7-lOpm Gallery Gachet presents a video installation and performance pie~by visiting Montreal artist Claudia Bernal in March.

Monument to Ciudad Juarez is inspired by what at frrst were considered isolated events but now are clearly the expression of an historical sacrifice, a holocaust against women: the violent assassinations since 1993 of more than 300 women in the city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

In abandoned cars and run-down motels, in wastelands, the outlying desert and the suburbs of this cursed city, the bodies of these women and girls were discovered murdered after having been kidnapped, tortured, mutilated, sexually brutalized and strangled according to some sort of fixed ritual. To these 300 must be added an unknown number of disappeared women whose bodies were never found "With the video installation, I pretend to 'raise and bury' in a symbolic way 300 murdered women in order to fix the facts (the murders) in the past and give these a certain a-temporality (through the burying)," says Bernal. "Thus, I bring to the forefront the real violence against women in general, and the brutality of the Ciudad Juarez murders in particular."

Located at the border with the United States, a "no one's and everyone's land," Ciudad Juarez is a city of transit where thousands of women survive dreaming of "paradise." Thi~ impressive artwork combines ceramics, wood, ropes, fabrics, stones, com tortillas, and a video projection where the desert, haunted by feminine silhouettes, is a metaphor of isolation, solitude, and uprooted identity.

It is no coincidence that Gallery Gachet is hosting this exhibition. Located in the Downtown Eastside, where the disappearance and death of more than 65 women went unheeded by authorities for years, Gallery Gachet has a mandate to support issues of mental illness, abuse, and trauma and to provide a focal point for artistic discourse around these issues.

For more information, visit the Gallery Gachet website at www.gachet.org or call604-687-2468. regular hours, Wed-Sun 12-6pm. .

HASTINGS Hastings Street is so much more than a continent: The smells are the smells of a town faraway, one like yours, like mine, like everyone's.

It stinks like the hatred of the goventment that administers its filth.

Hastings, I pass along her everyday, so as not to forget her face l measure my steps slowly along her garment ..

I want to see her always through the height and breadth of her body Curled up, with her mouth closed, waiting for them to speak to her or to shut their eyes She doesn't say anything, but she's alert.

I scream to her face, broken with marijuana and crack, Lost ~in dreams of coke and paradises of heroin that are not hers Ay! Hastings, evei)'One's scandal No one can say that they have nothing to do with what happens, They can say they haven't seen it, but they can't say that they do not know.

Hastings- why are you always the place of the forgotten ones?

Sanctuary of the condemned, people murdered by the rules, Laws and regulations that are given out at the food bank, Handouts from Welfare, a bus ticket, the philanthropists' lunch Spoils of the drug dealers and the functionaries who administer vice and misery.

Lives thrown away in needles into the gutter: Shock oozing pus, Smell of shit, of despair, of compassion, of losing it all, And somehow, never by accident, of tenderness.

(In Hastings statistics never drop by, they never visit this corner I was looking everywhere for my indigenous brothers (and sisters) of pain and blood And I came upon them on the sidewalk and they did not know me: Their struggle and their future tied up in making sure they have their next fix .

These ones, (my beloved), drag their rotten colours and faces and skin, It doesn't matter their sex, their age or how many years their bodies have birthed And they measure, without knowing it, the price of a bit of drugs, cheap and murderous.

Here dogs don't bark, but rather weep in pain for them.

For those who wonder why we don't give up, Hastings is, more than anything, a building up of fury, Memory that needs a fist made of dignity A path which speaks the future that I don't want Horizon against which I have armed my strength . .

Enough! If we're all going to die, no more lying down in silence, Let this wretched poverty rebel Because nothing is free and there will be overdoses in order to clean the streets As the Olympic year hovers over the business district.

Hastings is not hope's grave, It is so that we won't forget .

-- and why not say it - it is the colour of my fear and my shame.

Raul Gatica

OAXACA ACTIVIST ACCEPTED AS REFUGEE

IAN LI NDSAY/VANCOUVER SUN .

After surviving 13 bouts of imprisonment, endless beatings, and threats to his children, Oaxaca political refugee Raul Gatica has now come through the Canada refugee application process. On Feb. I 0, an Immigration Board ad-judicator in Vancouver ruled that Gatica can stay in Canada and will not be forced to return to Mexico to face possible torture or even death.

Gatica, a well-known nonviolent Mixteco activist and head of the Consejo Indigena Popular de Oaxaca - Ricardo Flores Magon, is not about to sit quietly. Since his arrival in Vancouver last July, he has vowed to continue the struggle for human rights, giving special attention to others who are trying to flee to Canada as political refugees.

"The [IRB] hearing was interesting," Gatica told the Straight through a translator. "They asked, 'If you received so many death threats

in Mexico, why did you stay so long? If they shot you, why did you stay there?' I said that if all of those of us who received threats ran at the first, there wouldn't be anyone to stand up for human rights in this world."

Harjap Grewal, an organizer with Vancouver refugee-advocacy group No One Is Illegal, told the Straight that he worked with Gatica on his case for asylum. "We did a lot of the support work and public awareness, and I think it's great that he was able to get processed at the IRB level," Grewal said. "I do know this outcome is significant, especially given the politicized nature of the campaign."

Grewal said he is especiall y pleased that Gatica expressed himself so fearlessly. "It's great to see, because I think he identifies the fact that most refugees are fearful, right from the moment they arrive at the border, and this is precisely the trouble with the immigration system. The system scares the heck out of most people."

The IRB's Charles Hawkins told the Straight that Mexicans filed 3,541 refugee claims in 2005, and 697 were accepted; 19% of Mexican claims were approved last year one of the lowest rates since 1995.

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-Matthew Burrows Reprinted from The Georgia Straight

The Editor.

Now that the notorious denier of the Jewish Holocaust, David Irving, has been jailed, I am waiting with baited breath for the western world to be consistent in its supposed moral values and start arresting every academic or writer who has publicly denied the deliberate mass murder of tens of millions of aboriginal people here in North America. Or are some Holocausts more worthy of our denunciation than others?

Rev. Kevin Annett www. hiddenfromhistory. org

CARRALL StREEt GREENWAY· SUSTAINABIUTY IDEAS FORUM

Centre A gallery (SW comer of Carrall and Hastings) Tuesday, March 7th, 5:00PM to 8:00PM

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RSVP to john@verdanlca by March 2nd, 2006

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The City of Vancouver is developing a multipurpose greenway along Carrall Street to better connect Chi· natown, [the Downtown Eastside] and Gastown neighbourhoods, link the False Creek seawall to the future Burrard Inlet seawall, and to create new opportunities for community revitalization. With Council approval granted in 2005, construction is expected to start later this year.

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Why? The Carrall Street Greenway represents a great opportunity for the community renewal an neighbourhood building. The forum will provide a venue for residents, business owners, community groups, property owners and others to explore and discuss new opportunities for social enterprises, small businesses, public art, community events and environmental features along the greenway. With facilitated small group discussion tables and presentations on some related initiatives in the area, some of the questions the forum will explore include: *How can the greenway support new and emerging social enterprises? *How can existing businesses along the greenway better support one another? *What kinds·of public art should be included along · the greenway and where? *What kind of exciting and innovative community uses and events could the street support? *How could you, your organization or your business contribute to making the CaiTall Street Green· ·' way a model for sustainability and dynamic community revitalization?

Please·come and help us imagine how we can make the Carrall Street Greenway one of the city's. truly special gathering places and a centre for economic activity and recreation.

Who? Sponsored by the Carrall Street Greenway Ste ardship Group and the City of Vancouver.

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Do you want a new soccer stadium next to the Downtown Eastside?

The Vancouver Whitecaps plan to build a 15 to 30,000-seat stadium over the railroad .tracks just north of Gastown.

What would a new stadium mean for traffic, views, shadows, CRAB Park, noise, rents, and jobs? Will a new stadium put more pressure 'on homeless residents and people who have to panhandle for their.livelihood?

Come to a public meeting. Learn about the stadium plan. Have your say -, When: Thursday, March 9th, 2 to 4 pm\ Where: Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main St. ·

itecaps aterfront roposed Stadium: pen ouses The Whitecaps organization is proposing to construct a new soccer stadium on a site over the rail yard between Granville Square and the foot of Cambie Street.

The Whitecaps propose a facility with 15,000 seats initially, expandable to 30,000 at a later date. The facility would be the venue for Whitecaps Soccer men's and women's games, as well as other sports events and concerts.

Further information on the proposal and on the City's review process can be found at vancouver.ca/whitecaps 路 The City of Vancouver is hosting several open houses to seek public opinion on the proposal. The open houses are scheduled for:

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Monday, March 6, 2 - 8 pm W Room at Woodward's (ground floor) 101 West Hastings Street Tuesday, March 7, 3 - 8 pm Storyeum Lobby 142 Water Street

Proposed Stadium Site

Wednesday, March 8, 2 - 8 pm Harbour Centre Lobby 555 West Hastings Street Saturday, March 11, 10 am - 4 pm Vancouver Public Library Library Square, Promenade 350 West Georgia Street

City staff and consultants will be on hand to answer questions anc~ collect comments. Public feedback will be incorporated into a report to City Council in May 2006 when Council will decide whether to approve further planning for the project. .

FOR MORE INFORMA110N: Kevin McNaney, Planner 604.871.6851

E-mail: kevin.mcnaney@vancouver.ca

Graham Winterbottom, Planning Assistant 604.871.6419 E-mail: graham. winterbottom@vancouver.ca Website: vancouver.ca/whitecaps

City of Vancouver Print Ad

To CEDAR PARTICIPANTS

cedar project is moving We are unable to book interviews until March 1.

Visit our new space at 45 W.Cordova, (across from Army & Navy) 604-685-6356 or Toll Free: 1-888-685-6356

Inner Strength

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If you can start the day without caffeine or pep pills, If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains, If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles, If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it, If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time, If you can overlook when people take thjngs out on you when, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong, .If you can take criticism and blame without resentment, If you can face the world without lies and deceit, If you can conquer tension without medical h~lp, If you can relax without liquor, If you can sleep without the aid of drugs, If you can do all these things, Then you are probably the family dog. submitted by Diane

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·Battle in Seanle) -

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Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones.

- Charlotte Bronte The soul and the spirit have resources that are astonishing. Like wolves and other creatures, the soul and spirit are able to thrive on very little, and sometimes for a long time on nothing. To me, it is the miracle of miracles that this is so.

- Clarissa Pinko/a Estes

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- George Eliot

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"This is my youngest. When he goes, I'm turning this place into a leather bar."

We all live in suspense, from day to day, from hour to hour; in other words, we are the hero of our own story.

-Mary McCarthy

SHAKEDOWN The latest initiative by the Vancouver police department to address the problem, and it is a problem, of rampant drug activity in the downtown east side just leaves me shaking my head in wonderment.

Even more incredulous is police chief Graham's epiphany, which precipitated this latest half-ass band-aid measure: the drug deal that took place right under his nose whilst giving an interview to the media. Let us examine motive more closely, using common sense and the facts as they exist.

First the facts. Upon seeing this crime take place, the crime of trafficking in narcotics and misery, the grand pubah of public protectors decided to arrest not the purveyor of this blight on our community but instead consciously chose to let the real crook go and further marginalize an already extremely marginalized citizen of our community. Whatever petty crime or vending of the soul that addict (victim of society) had to commit to afford the misery sold by the real criminal, who was given a free pass by the chief, was just going to be repeated again.

Do they really allow epsilon semi-morons to rise to the post of chief of police in a major metropolitan center? We already know what the addict is going to do to get better, no matter what needs to be done.

How about the dealer? Well I would bet every donut in the police station to dollars that he will laugh at the spineless puta that let him go and continue to sell his/her slow death. At a handsome profit no doubt.

Hmmmm. Also, is it not aberrant that the chief let the addict go but now insists that all such offenders of his sensibility must be jacked then punished? And how about the front line officers? How are they motivated to conduct what they know is a futile endeavor. Are they told to go out there and kick a little . ass, further marginalizing citizens of this great city?

More disturbingly is the apparent surrender that the police, crown prosecutors and most surprisingly Larry Campbell have conceded to the cadre of dope peddlers that have continued to operate unabated for what seems like forever down here in the void.

Hmmm. â&#x20AC;˘

Now I don't have any kind of justice or police education, although I have known many students and instructors in the field, but I can state with certainty that I could come up with a plan of attack to remedy this situation in a heartbeat. Many other residents of the area could say the same. We all see the reality of the situation each and every day. Instead we get a half-ass scheme by a half-witted police chief who seems more interested in making a good media/ public image than truly trying to better the conditions that exist on his front lawn. Maybe he has aspirations for the mayor's chair? Don't be surprised, because that is the only thing that will be gained from this futile e~ercise - a public image. It is up to us, however, to determine what that public image is to be. Visionary or moron. : More disturbing yet is that it is the most marginal.ized of the already marginalized that will truly suffer under the jackboots of chief Graham and his cohorts. ¡ It is hard enough to be an addict to a substance the :government deems morally reprehensible not to mention illegal while a police officer, even a high ¡ ranking one, can be addicted to government ap. proved mind-altering chemicals (how's the drinking and driving coming along chief? ) Addi~tion to the chemicals these dealers with the free pass distribute entails plenty of associated social ills from welfare and health care to the enormous burden placed on the justice system. Yet the chiefs vast wisdom dictates that we target the symptoms and not the cause.

To be an addict is one thing but to be an irresponsible public servant is entirely another. The approach he has taken is like trying to chase the flies away from the piles of horse shit I see deposited on the streets by none other than police equine services.

Get rid of the f' ing dealers. Simple. And when they get to court drop the hammer on them.

So to summarize, we have a weak-kneed chief worried about public image and sensibilities targeting the weakest and most disadvantaged of the weak and disadvantaged for what can only be ulterior motives because any schmoe can see that absolutely nothing positive will come out of this latest debacle of law enforcement on the lower east side.

Does anyone else have a problem with this?

Sincerely Rabble Rouser

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Humanities 1OJ Community Program ~~~

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UBC's educational outreach in the Downtown Eastside

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Community Reading & Study Groups: Humanities 101 organises small groups that meet at the Carnegie once or twice a month. These are like reading groups or book clubs: a small group of 6 - 15 people get together in the third classroom with one of our UBC student facilitators in a friendly learning environment to talk about a reading or topic (a story, poem, essay, film, etc). These are free & open to everyone in the community, but they are not informal drop-ins. Students must make a commitment to attend, read the material and participate. Please call us at 604.822.0028 if you are interested, or speak to the tutor when you arrive.

I'J.. Literature Reading Group Next meeting:

Saturday March 11th Saturday April 1st

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Saturday March 4th Saturday March 18th Saturday April 1st

Next meetings:

Saturday March 4th Saturday March 18th Saturday April 1st

2pm 2pm 2pm

Sunday March 5th Sunday April 2nd

12 noon 12 noon

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i1' Existentialist Reading Group

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i1' Study Group in Economics, Politics & Community Next meetings:

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Main Street Spit Lady judged me when I was startled By the bus that spat and farted As if started from a stop on Main.

Lady, would it be such a strain To judge both noises or none?

Did you have to pick only one?

She picked only my startled scream Why not, with conscience clean, Mention to the driver when you get on That the bus spits loud and strong Whenever the light turns green, .

A senselessly LOUD machine?

Too many fearful drivers anyway Who feel like sitting ducks of prey

This is your warning, girl RUN! Run as fast as you can Away from him. Don't Stop cause you think he's pretty Or that you can handle him.

He's an old snake in the grass Old cause he has practise on eating up little girls like you.

FLEE! He's just like your daddy And I'm still hurtin from him LISTEN TO YOUR GUT, YOUR INTUITION And leave this one be.

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In their job among the human masses

Angst creeping up on them like molasses Lets return to muscular, strong drivers Who won't fear late arrivers Or other passengers with difficulties diverse They deserve to be here in my verse These drivers Don't Need Power Steering Or other noisy plagues appearing As though promoted as beneficial To all of us by some official.

Men and women both, they drove the school busses And more they made grunts than fusses When around some tight curve they'd be turning A giant wheel, if gloves forgotten, their hands burning Hydrauli~ brakes spit like a curse

I'll bet they even do it in reverse I know they do it at other times ·But lacking the consistency of rhymes!

Only when not at the expense Of some of us, whose ouch is intense From the butt side of monolith machinery Are modernisms good for humaruty.

Francis Sommer

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C's T'Mutch c2006

I o: Karen "K. J." We are physically apart, And I miss you teuibly, But even this is not truly a separation You are ever with me And I with you. · Nothing can separate us.

Everywhere I turn, I see you, , Every song I hear reminds me of you.

I pray often, and you are always in my prayers.

When I read my Bible, I think of you.

I long to see you again, .

To feel your hand on my face.

To hear your words of love, To rest~really rest-in your arms.

However, I shall not be sad, How can I be unhappy When I have you in my heart?

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prison time. . . And. though we are told drug offenders are dangerous, in Canadian prisons we see nonviolent women and men like ourselves. The same can be said for people in prison around the world.

Around the world, non-violent people are arrested and convicted for drug offences. Many are imprisoned far away from their family and their children, serving long prison sentences--up to life, and some are executed. Most remain nameless and forgotten.

Most often it is poor and racialized people filling up our prisons. Around the world the war-on-drugs is playing out in the following ways: *Drug arrests continue to rise. *Illegal drug use continues. *Police budgets and powers continue to increase. *We see the destruction of farm land and water, and ~ risk to people through fumigation, arial spraying of / .marijuana, coca, and poppy plants. *Displacement of impoverished farmers who have traditionally grown these plants. *We see increased militarization of strategic areas . such as Colombia, especially those coca fields close · to coveted oil reserves. (And we might want to ask ourselves what our Canadian soldiers are doing trying to eradicate poppy plants in Afghanistan?)

1 *We see the suppression of plants and drugs, for l cultural, spiritual, religious, and recreational use. *We see a huge unregulated, untaxed illegal drug market. *We see violent turf wars. *We see police & military corruption; and state complicity in the drug trade, especially when it suits . their political needs. *We see the criminalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs; and the infringement of civil · liberties. *We see the global prison industrial complex and lots of bodies to fill it (The U.S. are leaders in this area, imprisoning a larger percentage of its population than any other nation in the world.) *We see U.S. economic pressure and sanctions to align nations with the U.S. led war on drugs and terrorism and threats to sovereignty. *We see Drug Enforcement Agents (DEA) taking up residence in cities outside of the U.S, For example we have 2 stationed on the lower mainland; and U.S. threats regarding progressive drug policy and extradition. of Canadians and drug war refugees. . *We see politicians like Prime Minister Steven

Harper pushing forward a law-and-order agenda and harsher drug laws rather than harm reduction · *We see the spread of diseases such as Hep C, HIVIAIDs; and over dose deaths due to an unregu• lated markets where quantity and quality of illegal drugs are always uncertain. *We see, criminal records for millions that hinder employment and travel and ~in some states the right to vote, housing, and financial benefits are denied. *We see race and class profiling by law enforcement, and more recently gender specific regulation of women suspected of maternal drug use and an ! increase of female drug offenders in prisons around the world (including Canada).

We see billions of dollars throughout the world going to criminal justice and the military rather than to social and economic supports such as housing, health, and education. For example, in Canada, 90 percent of all drug funding goes to law enforcement. *We see punitive drug treatment regimes that often . collude with criminal justice; and a scarcity of drug treatment services. . *We see propaganda rather than drug education or 1 . harm reduction.

• *And finally, we see a costly war, one that contributes to families being broken apart through child apprehension, imprisonment of parents, and death.

I could go on and on about the negative effects·of prohibition, but I think you get my point.

We need to look more closely how local, national, and international drug prohibition impacts people and neighbourhoods. Capitalism, cut-backs, economic restructuring, the global prison industrial complex, poverty, and the war on drugs are interlinked. These factors shape the lives of people in the · DTES and in the rest of Canada in concrete ways that are destructive and harmful.

We should always keep in mind that drug laws are not static. No law is static. They never have been.

Otherwise witches would still be burnt at the stake.

Drug reform is possible.

The term "war on drugs" can deflect our attention away from the fact that it is a war on people. The drug user may be yourself or possibly the person standing to the left or right of you. We all consume drugs in one way or another. So let's end prohibition now and attend to our more pressing needs like housing, food, and social supports.

Thank you.

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SYSTEMIC VIOI ..ENCE: THE SOCIAL DI:MENSIONS OF PROHIBITION A thought-provoking presentation of Susan Boyd, as part of Creative Resistance ~¡ -

In many ways the prohibition of some drugs is an old story. History teaches us that our government today is not the first one to prohibit the use of certain plants and drugs. The witch hunts of old were accompanied by the suppression of plants used for healing and easing childbirth, but like today, it was not only the plants that were condemned. The people l suspected of using them were criminalized; they were called witches and punished and executed by religious and government authorities. A similar story 0 is unfolding today.

Today, we are living under a regime of drug prohibition. One that is strangely reminiscent of past t.

1 .. times. Today, we associate and confuse the impact of poverty, racism, violence, lack of housing and private space, and mental health problems, with the ~ effects of illegal drugs.

Since the mid 1800s, the Canadian state has been in the business of drug control. First, they criminalized â&#x20AC;˘ "status Indians" from buying and possessing alcohol.

White Canadians could still drink. This law did not stop First Nations people from drinking, what it did do was this: It forced them to drink illegally, dangerously, and as quickly as possible to avoid arrest.

And it also created a black market. Further, thousands of people were arrested and jailed as a result of the law. The law was a convenient tool of social control used by Indian agents and the police against Aboriginal people in Canada.

You would have thought that we would learn from this experience the first time around, but we didn't and by the early 1900s, the Canadian state criminalired a host of other drugs, including marijuana.

There was no evidence that these drugs were dangerous. Right from the beginning our drug laws emerged out of race, class, and gender concerns and they were specific to regulating certain groups in society: the poor, visible users; racialized people and what was perceived as foreign "Others." (anyone who wasn 't white, middle class, and Protestant.).

1 Yet, the classification of drugs-- illegal and legal-is political and it has nothing to do with dangerousness. Because we know that alcohol and tobacco are

two of our most dangerous drugs, and they are legal.

Yet, each decade since our drug laws were enacted, a new demon drug is thought to be more dangerous than the last. And police, and some government oflicials, with the help of the media call for more laws and police powers to fight it. Little is said about the failure and the cost of law-and-order initiatives.

Little is said about the ever expanding global pharmaceutical industry that creates new drugs and markets everyday, advertising drugs to manage newly created diseases. Pharmacologically there is little difference between our legal and illegal drugs, and many legal drugs are sold on the illegal market.

However, the pharmaceutical industry and its CEOs are not viewed as drug traffickers, nor those in the tobacco industry. Rather, "drug traffickers" deal in "illegal drugs" and they are seen as more deserving of punishment.

Little attention has been given to problematizing these stories, because if we look at who is arrested for drug offences in Canada and world wide we see ' ¡ another picture. Although law enforcement and politicians claim that they are intent on arresting people who use "hard" drugs and people who traffick and import drugs, the cannabis user is most at risk for arrest in Canada. And visible, street-level dealers are most often arrested rather than the imagined cartel like trafficker. This is not to say that heroin and crack-cocaine users are not arrested and harassed ' we can see that they are, and here in Vancouver and in the Downtown Eastside drug users are one of the most regulated populations outside of prison. But we are blinded by stories about traffickers and importers, and fail to see what is really going on.

In Canada, more than 60 percent of all drug charges ~e for possession. Since 1981 drug offence rates have steadily increased. However, increases are not just related to drug use, rather they are also shaped by law enforcement efforts and police profiling.

And users in the DTES will be even more at risk for arrest after February 17th. The police have given notification that they will begin to arrest anyone engaged in open drug use, whether buying or using.

In Canada drug arrests can lead to imprisonment.

Our maximum penalties for drug offences are quite harsh, up to life for importing heroin and cocaine.

Although judges rarely impose maximum sentences, sentencing patterns do vary widely in Canada and a series of minor offenses can snowball into a long '

Drug War Crimes my mother had been in the U.S. army and while hospitalized on base in a locked ward after her frrst pyschic breakdown was gang-raped by american soldiers and lived mentally ill from then, became a drug addict and at 64 years old dying from cancer was arrested and locked in a freezing blind-cell because of a handful of marijuana my son is banned from Canada he' s in and out ofjail in the States for possession of pot and disqualified from minimum wage jobs for failed urine tests and has 2 small children to support so he began cooking crystal meth once on my way to visit him I was in an area where hitchhiking was legal going from L.A. to San Francisco when two Paso Robles police cruisers pulled up and the frrst cop said, " Empty your pockets!"

I reached inside my coat for a book and both pulled and aimed their guns right at me and one said they could take me into the desert shoot me and no one would ever know instead they tore my notebook of poems into pieces ripped my few cigarettes into shreds and scattered my clothes while continuing to ask where the drugs were I told them I didn't have any drugs "But what if I find some anyway?" the cop said and I knew they could magically 11:1aterialize a kilo of crack in my pocket if they wanted to . '

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then I was told to get .in .a cruiser because "We're gonna have to strip you bare-ass naked!" they wedged me between them they banged my head against the steering wheel they hauled my pants down and a slender metal flashlight

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was shoved so far .up my ass it felt like it was tearing my soul )

the front seat rocked with their laughter until they threw me onto the highway traffic slowing to see me humiliated empty blue sky overhead and the cop said "Don't ever come back to Paso Robles!" years later I was in one more courtroom for possession ¡ and the judge before sentencing me said "You're of no use to society!" and I took his remark as a compliment .

I've never wanted to be 'of use' to a human rights--erasing family-shattering community-destroying genocide-generating . prison-profiting war on the poorest of addicts who are trying to relieve the pain of a society gone insane I know a woman named Carolyn who had a decision sent from hell to make

she'd once been a teenager turning tricks as a cover for running heroin from Ohio to Kansas City and Buffalo and was finally busted but after doing the time made a change in her life a hard-won degree helping brutally beaten and addicted women discover they were somebody somebody infmitely important

where the persecution of prohibition , ended for him all over the walls I pray for Lance everyday and have always believed in a horrific way he gave his life for mine with forgiveness and in protest against prohibition

and I pray for Carolyn who nearly died dwing emergency surgery twice when her intestines twisted inside her from the tension of trying to .save me whose addiction and prohibition twisted me like U.S. imperialism into a self-centred cold-hearted dangerous human being -

Carolyn knew both myself and my street partner Lance Smith young dopefiends but already barely able to steal and score with lives lost in childhood and broken more everyday by prohibition's terrorism and tight as we were Lance and I each wanted Carolyn to be our personal samaritan and take us home to her 3-room slum apartment and 4 kids

I had frozen Lance out of Carolyn and my lives erased him out of the lives of his only friends I was possessed

by cruel needless jealousy and a dope-driven need for every penny which the absence of prohibition would likely have never forced out of me

the anguish was that Carolyn loved both of us and knew neither Lance nor I would survive without' her for very long not in the bloody alleys and bunted-out storefronts where our junkie acquaintances were beaten, poisoned, and frozen to death · but Lance was not the one chosen by a choice Carolyn should never have had to make so Lance tried once again to return to his very wealthy home of "tough love" and was begrudged only a single night of relief from the street Lance rebelled all alone late in the night and loaded his father' s shotgun in one of the family bathrooms

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so this poem is· my accusation · and my confession and my realization that one day I will celebrate even if in spirit alone that one day I will rejoice with others as damaged as myself that one day we will all live a beautiful freedom and the amazing possibilities for which we have been born human beings when truth suffering sacrifice and a powerful global communal movement defeats the deadliest bunk drug of an prohibition Bud Osborn

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Jayce Salloum, 38:00, 2005 nSyilxcen Nation ~Okanagan) Monday March 6t , 2006

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This year' s Freedom to Read Week runs from Feb· mary 26 to March 4. It' s a week when librarians, publishers, booksellers, readers and everyone who loves books gets together to celebrate reading and act against censorship. Whether it's Canada Customs blocking books headed for Vancouver ' s Little Sister ' s Bookstore, or Google agreeing to block web sites on its search engine in China, censorship is all around us.

There are lots of books in the library that you will disagree with. There are probably some books that offend you. These are the books making it hardest to believe in the freedom to read. N oam Chomsky once said, " If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don' t believe in it at all."

7 PM in the Carnegie theatre

This videotape focuses on fragments of histories, of pre- Come down to the library and see our Freedom to Read Week display, and read something dangerous! contact, contact, and settlement of the Kelowna area though the accounts of several nSyilxcen speakers. It traces connections and correlations between the periods of extermination/disintegration, assimilation, and. marginalization to their present day and context of being IF WEY CAN WARN US ABOUT First Nations.

This videotape was originally commissioned by the City ROADSI WHY tJoT MEN? • of Kelowna as part of their 2005 Centennial celebrations.

After viewing the tape, City officials deemed the historical and contemporary First Nations' accounts "not celebratory enough" and subsequently decommissioned the tape and cancelled the premiere screenings.

The filmmaker will be in attendance to talk about the • DEAD work Presented by the Community Arts Network and END

Carnegie Cultural Sharing All Welcome

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'VOLUNTEERS OF THE MONTH' (February 2006) )

(. .. chosen by your peers at the Volunteer Committee)

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Duane Davidson and Mike Wicks on. both Kitchen volunteers, who have been contributing substantially to the smooth operation of our Kitchen. Between the two of them they have accrued an astounding mass of volunteer hours. We want to express our gratitude to you both. Thank you! ! !

Colleen Volunteer Committee Meeting Wednesday, March 15fh, 2pm in the Gallery on the 3rd Floor. ALL VOLUNTEERS WELCOME! Your voice is needed and appreciated.

KARAOKE with Steve Friday, March 1Oth, 2006 7pm -10pm Carnegie Theatre Kara~ke is a form of singing available for everyone. It ts a golden chance for people to discover the joy of being in an encouraging and accepting environment.

Come and sing along and have some fun with Steve ' our maestro!

EVERY WELCOME! Refreshments served to the brave souls.

DJ MIX- MOVE TO THE GROOVE Friday March 17th, 2006 ( ..please note it is the 3rd Friday this month) 7pm - 1Opm Carnegie Theatre Cody's dances are the place to be when it comes to kicking up your heels and do a dance or two or three. Please come; it's good to see you relax and enjoy Refreshments served ....

Volunteer Dinner Wednesday, March 22, 4 :30pm SHARP! THEATRE You must have a minimum of 12 hours this month to qualify. Please pick up your dinner ticket in the Volunteer Program office ahead of time.

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Words .from Colleen: Watch your thoughts, they become words Watch your wordc;, they become actions Watch your actions, they become habits Watch your habits, they become character Watch your character, for it becomes you

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NEEDLE EXCHANGE VAN- 3 Routes: 604-685-6561 City- 5:45pm- II :45pm Ovemieht- I 2:30am- 8:30am Downtown Eastside- 5:30pm - I :lOam

EASTSIDE YOUTH

ACTIVITIES SOCIETY . 49 W.Cordova

2006 DONATIONS Libby D.-$100 Rolf A.-$50 Barry for Dave McC-$100 Christopher R.-$30 Margaret D.-$40 Bruce J.-$15Gram -$200 Mary C-10$ Penny G.-$50 MP/Jelly Bean -$20 RayCam-30 Janice P.-$30 Wes K.-$ 30 Paddy -$10 Glen B.-$25 John S.-$60 Leslie S.-$20 Wm.B -$20 Michael C.-$30 HumanitieslOl-$100 The Edge-$200 Anonymous -$5 Po~/

604-251-3310 FREE - Donation• accepted.

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NEWSLETTER

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THIS NEWSLETTER IS A PUBLICATION OF THE CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION Articles represent the views ofindividual contributors and not of the Association.

Editor: PaulR Taylor; cover+ layou~ Diane Wood.

Submission Deadline fnr nPrl

Carnegie Community Centre

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C({J)"'((J)JF JRS.AID)1I(Q) =z=:;

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The assets and debts of Canadians: an overview of the results of the survey of financial security Minister of Industry, 2001. Catalogue N. 13-595-XIE.

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Friday, Marcb 10

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We ildmowW1e that Cal"l'tep Community Celltre, and thb L NnnletUr, are lulppmfna on the Sq....,. Nation'• ~rrttory.

Contributors are not peamitted 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'. '

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poores /o second I 0 % third fourth fifth

sixth seventh eighth ninth tenth

0% of wealth

Oagain 1% 2% 3% 5% 8% 11% 17% 53%

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14,300 35,500 64,700 101 ,500 152,600 220,800 338,100 703,500

For Earle Peach, on reading "/ Cannot Draw Near."

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Contact

Jenny Wai Ching Kwan MLA

Working for You 1070-1641 Commercial Dr VSL JYJ Phone:77S-0790 Fas:77S-0881 Dowiltown Eastside Residents Association 12 E. Hastings St, or call682-093l

You who greets each one of us with a smile and a kind word, and helps us turn our anguish into song, you are already in the community of saints, don't you know.

Where else would a prophet live?

Sandy Cameron

Just wh~n you thought it was safe to think inside the box agam, here comes .. .

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SUREALIST JAMBOREE "

It's a free, all-ages weekend.

There will be a lot happening all three days, and here's the program so far:

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It's a weeke~d of music, performance, spoken word, fil~n, art openmgs and politics at Carnegie Centre Fnday March 3 to Sunday March 5. ' <:Jet.ready for visiting mind-blowers like the Surrea~hst Jazz band Thread, from Courtenay; the subverSive DJ Fools' Paradise Sound System from Denman Island.; and the young aboriginal women Hiphoppers The We te'!m, from right down Hastings. ~nd what better gmdes to the unknown terrain outSide the box than the perennial Carnegie favourites the Downtown Eastside Poets and Theatre In the ,

Friday, March 3 7-10 pm Sound Insurrections w/ Thread and friends (experimental, improvisational jazz), and Fools' Paradise Sound System (politics with a beat).

Saturday, March 4 Noon - 2 pm Surrealist films : Sci-fi movie trailers etc., plus "Les Vampires" (feature film).

2-4 pm - Workshops (How to start a pirate radio station; The Olympics: threat or menace?, moderated

by Insurrectionary Anarchists).

4-5 pm - Slides (Anarchy in Art), by Alan Antliff.

5-7 pm - Surrealist dinner party (Food, Surrealist games with Don LaCoss and mystery guests, and art opening) 7-8 pm - Women's Empowerment Team (Young aboriginal women hip-hoppers) .

8-10 pm - Downtown Eastside Poets Sunday, March 5 Noon- 2 pm - Surrealist films: Jan Svankmeyer festival: "Darkness Light Darkness" (short) and " Little Otik (feature).

2-4 pm - Workshops (Prison Barred, moderated by Joint Effort; and The Police - Why do they do those things?, moderated by Insurrectionary Anarchists.)

4-5 pm - Theatre In The Raw performance (Live reading of the radio play "The Rat").

You know, people keep asking, what the heck is anarchism, anyway? And Surrealism? And why a Jamboree? Well, hopefully it will all become clear this weekend. But meantime, chew on this: Anarchism: No Bosses, No Leaders.

Surrealism: Convulsive Beauty Jamboree: A Noisy Revel And if you want to launder your mind some more, check out the website at surreal.dtescai.com.

Raw?

Bob Sarti

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DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE POETS & OPEN MIKE FREE ADMISSION '