15/16 Edition: Outside-In: International Photojournal

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: For the past three years, the Outside-In: International Photojournal has provided a platform for UBC students and the community, to share their knowledge of the political, the social and the economic, within the context of internationalism. Using the medium of photography, the journal allows the community to interact with international issues in a unique, beautiful and accessible way.

This year has ultimately been a year of growth for Outside-In. As our collective has flourished, we have been able to enhance our reach across campus, and provide new outlets for international engagement vis-à- vis photojournalism. In addition to our print publication, Outside-In hosted a variety of events this year that focused on contemporary international issues – such as our “Inside Za’atari Photography Exhibit” featuring photographs taken by children living in the Za’atari Refugee Camp, and our first documentary film screening. Ending off the year, we hosted our annual photojournalism conference, “The World Within a Photo”, which provided an opportunity for the community to hear from industry professionals Cate Cameron and Christopher J. Carter.

We would like to thank all of those who made our events and print publication possible; including the Liu Institute for Global Issues, UBC’s International Relations department, the Simon K.Y. Lee Global Lounge, our team, and all those students who contributed to the journal. This year’s publication features a diverse range of articles, touching on issues ranging from urbanization in Palestine, to voluntourism in Peru. Through this years’ journal, we hope to foster a space that encourages international engagement in a way that diverges from traditional academic pedagogies.

Bridgitte Taylor Editor-in- Chief

TABLE OF CONTENTS ___________________________________________________

EL CONDOR PASA MARINA FAVARO P. 2 "DAMN THE BOAT THAT BROUGHT YOU HERE!" JESSICA MELLAGE P. 4 SIX PIECES OF ISRAEL AND PALESTINE JULIE SAGRAM & JASMEET KHOSA P. 6

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PEACE AND AN OLIVE BRANCH ALEXIA AGOURIDIS P.14

2015/16 OUTSIDE-IN TEAM: EDITOR IN CHIEF BRIDGITTE TAYLOR EDITORS NIC RYAN HAYLEY GENDRON CLAIRE PING HYUNSOO KANYAMUNA SHUPA BARUA

EXCHANGED EXPERIENCE: FRANCE IN A TIME OF EMERGENCY LUKE MENNIGKE P.12

EVENTS PLANNERS CLAIRE BUNTON HANNAH SHCHAEPSMEYER ORI NEVARES GRAPHIC DESIGNERS ROSANNA CHUNG HARKIRET RAI

PROMOTIONS OFFICER ORI NEVARES

COVER PHOTO BY JASMEET KHOSA & JULIE SAGRAM

THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE RACE FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST PHILIPPE ROBERGE P. 16 VANCOUVER'S DOWTOWN EASTSIDE NICOLE LUONGO P. 20 SELECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY ALBERTO

ZAMBON P. 22

EN ROUTE TO SCHOOL AARON FRIEDLAND P. 25 STEPPING OVER PLASTIC PATRICK GILLIN P. 26 SELECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY

SETH GILLIS P. 28

THE SEPARATION WALL AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE URBANIZATION OF THE WEST BANK YOUSEF SROUJI P. 30

EL CONDOR PASA MARINA FAVARO

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n 2015, as a recently declared International Relations major, I made the decision to take a year off from my academic pursuits to participate in Canada World Youth, an experiential learning initiative. The now-defunct program was federally funded and, since its inception in the first Trudeau era, has seen over 20,000 alumni over a history spanning upwards of 40 years. The program consists of volunteer time divided between a community in Canada and a community abroad. With the intention of cultivating global citizens, Canadian and international youth are immersed in one another’s culture over a six month period. All photos featured are from the three-month international segment of the exchange which I had spent in Huaracayo, a village in the Peruvian Andes.

In Huaracayo, we worked five days a week towards a development project based on a locally conducted census and an assessment of needs administered by local organizations. Our project consisted of building eco-kitchens from locally sourced materials.

The initiative was fundamentally concerned with food security in the region, although its effects were multifaceted. Women, largely responsible for managing household work, benefited from the newly installed eco-stoves that required less firewood and had 2

chimneys that released smoke from the confines of small kitchens.

The effects of wood-burning stoves are evident in my photo of our host mother’s kitchen, where a window in the ceiling lets in light but does not dissipate much smoke. In this regard, the project was of significance in an economic, health, and gendered sense.

During our time in Huaracayo we built nine eco-stoves and eight eco-fridges for socio-economically disadvantaged members of the community, who were primarily elderly women living alone. Additionally, we held weekly English lessons for adults and children, organized community clean-ups, and facilitated women’s safety audits. Living in Huaracayo between December and February meant that it was their summertime – or more accurately, their rainy season – so children were out of school. This meant almost everyone worked in the choclo (the local word for corn) fields during the day. Choclo appears often in the photos I took during my time there, which indicates its centrality to the diet and lifestyle of the community. We took measures to ensure that we demonstrated respect for the Peruvian culture and were taught how to relay our stories to reflect the experience that we had.

I have no hesitations in acknowledging the personal value of this experience. However, I have reservations about characterizing

my experience as it may appear thus far: a voluntourist experience. It would do a disservice to an invaluable program if I were to solely characterize it as a voluntourist organization, considering the strong ethical stance it took against tourism. A large aspect of the program was learning the history and culture of Peru, critically immersing oneself in the social justice issues at large. I do not feel that any of the work that I contributed to was misguided; I know for a fact that the beneficiary families for whom we built eco-stoves and fridges for in Huaracayo are grateful that their women and children are no longer asphyxiating themselves with the equivalent of one pack of cigarettes a day worth of cooking smoke. We worked with locally sourced materials, employed a local mason to teach us how to build the eco-kitchens, and our host families were generously compensated for housing and feeding us. While on the program I felt a lot of frustration, convinced that I was learning nothing about international relations. Frustration at communication disparities, the imposition of value systems, differing conceptions of time, of etiquette, and of gender roles among others. Yet in retrospect, I cannot think of a better way to learn about development and, more importantly, its many limitations. Going into this experience as a naive, recently-declared

International Relations major has made it challenging to return to my studies this year. A single perspective governs the majority of the academic literature, that being a suspiciously Western quest for universality. There is an eagerness to render relativity irrelevant and a crippling fear of plurality within the discipline. I am grateful for the experience that I had because it has helped me to look beyond the parochialism of International Relations as it is taught in a Western university context.

My participation in this program was invaluable and continues to inform my world perspective. Fundamentally, I have changed and learned a staggering amount – only a fraction of which is disclosed in this essay. Regardless, when asked what I did during my year off, I say that I lived in Peru, learned Spanish, ate delicious food, and did a great deal of hiking. Why? Because within academic circles, there are few subjects as stigmatized as voluntourism.

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"DAMN THE BOAT THAT BROUGHT YOU HERE!" JESSICA MELLAGE

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of the colors in her garden, at the anticipation of the time of blooming. She was nourishing and being nourished by it at the same time -- by the land she grew up in.

“It’s almost time to pick leaves from the small grape vine to make Warak de Wali. I need to set out more tables because the whole family adores this dish. I have to feed more than thirty mouths!”

In 1949 Evelyn came back from New Orleans and married Antonio, a Palestinian born in Honduras. His family, like many other Arabs in the region, were entrepreneurs and owned a fabric store. He travelled throughout Honduras by mule, sleeping in trees to stay away from the wolves. Over the years, the family has owned more than five different businesses.

“People were spreading the words ‘America, the land of opportunities!’ ” Evelyn said aloud desperately, trying to imitate what she thought the people of Lebanon must have felt like. Trying to mirror the people of a land she had never set foot on. A land she had never seen yet so naturally embodied through her values and traditions.

As of August 2001, Aramco World states that Honduras is home to one of the largest Arab populations in Latin America with most of its economic leaders being of Arab descent. Arab migration into Honduras began in 1910 with a total of 200 immigrants who entered the country. Record shows that in 1920, exactly 1,066 arab immigrants entered the country; more than five times the amount that entered in 1910. At this point, turmoils had increased in the Mediterranean with the breakup of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and religious persecutions of non-Muslims. Those that emigrated were for the most part, Christian. Between 1860 and 1900, sixty thousand people were recorded to have emigrated from Lebanon and Palestine. Evelyn recounts, “Damn the boat that brought you here!” was a common insult that emerged from this time period amongst the Arab immigrants.

But why, out of all the countries, why Honduras? At that time, Honduras was under strong influence of the United States primarily through the United Fruit Company. Honduras had become responsible for 30% of total banana world exports giving it the nickname of the “banana republic.” The Honduran Economy was thriving, and there were plans to build an inter-oceanic railroad (though, it did not make it all the way to the Pacific coast due to a series of conflicts over corrupt contractors).

Nevertheless, maritime traffic made Honduras accessible, and new legislation, such as the elimination of taxes for international companies, encouraged foreign investment. Further, immigrants were increasingly given access to lands.

Evelyn mentioned that upon her parents arrival to La Ceiba, they set their luggage with all their belongings to one side while they attended to some other matter to another side. At one point they noticed that the locals were taking their luggage. But her parents thought the people were helping them carry their belongings as they were new to the land. Their first impression of the people in this strange, new land quickly changed from one of appraisal to disappointment. They were left with nothing. _________________

velyn was sitting by the morning light, massaging her worn out legs filled with little dark veins, she moaned from the pain.

Her hands affected by arthritis, delicate and weak. Dressed in black as she mourned her husband and son who had died over a year ago now. Even with the pain, her face remained light and peaceful; beside her, a book of prayers and a list of to-do’s. “Swollen again. You see! Touch it, touch it! My grandmother, my mother, and my daughters all have had this!” She then started searching in her cabinet filled with Catholic ornaments, her grandchildren’s pictures, books of poetry by Khalil Gibran, and history books of the Mediterranean and Honduras.

Her mother was sixteen and her father was twenty-one when they left Lebanon and began their migration to the land of opportunities in 1929. The United States was where they wanted to go at first, but a sickness infested the boat and no one was allowed to board it. So the boat continued its route to Honduras. She looked out the window, took a deep sigh and said: “My mother…when we had the banana plantation, she had grown roses outside my sister Helena’s and my window. We would wake up every morning and stare at their lush pink color.”

Around the room, the walls were surrounded by oil paintings of flowers, crosses, a painting of a woman collecting water from a river, everything carefully decorated in some matching way with a golden color. The phone rang. She answered with a “Hello” that anyone inside the two floor house could hear. It was her driver, he had just reserved the church for Evelyn’s husband’s eleventh month anniversary since his death. She then slowly and shakily, stood up and made her way through the hallway. One wall filled of old and new pictures; her parents, her family, her husband, her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren -- her legacy.

I wondered what it was like before this house, before her marriage, cook and a driver? Who are those light hearted eyes? Who are those shaking, soft hands?

“And who is this?” I asked. “Look how beautiful I was! Seventeen years old in New Orleans taking an English course for a whole year. I had admirers. My friend Norma encouraged me to apply for a job as a secretary. But I couldn’t possibly believe I would get it with my English! But I got it!”

Her best friend was daughter of a German refugee who came to Honduras. He raised cattle and made butter. “Oh that butter!

Amazing! I loved that family very much. They were the ones who convinced me to go to New Orleans.” Evelyn then went into her room, put a big straw hat with indigenous ornaments around it and guided me outside. “Turks! They would call us. People were jealous that Arabs came and were more successful than they.” , she said. Evelyn’s grandmother had a small store, her mother sewed clothing and took care of the deceased, her father managed the plantation.

Arab history is noted for its early diversified trade. In Outside in her garden I asked, “do you consider yourself Honcontrast, Honduras had only ust seen the growth of a varied duran?” She raised her shoulders and hands and looked around. economy and a modern merchant market. Adel, Evelyn’s moth“It wasn’t hard for me to adjust and blend in.” She then picked out er, quickly put her skills to work as a seamstress, fixing and a pomegranate and shared it with me. She brightened at the sight

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making clothes. They were able to start a small merchant store.

But Carlos, Evelyn’s father, saw his focus quickly change when word of the success of the banana plantations was spreading. He was able to acquire a small piece of land and start up a crop of bananas. Because of this, Evelyn and her two sisters were able to go to high school in a boarding school in Tegucigalpa, Honduras’s capital city.

Job opportunities on the Northern Coast were also growing during this time, with the increased establishment of banana plantations. This attracted more people into the cities, subsequently creating a greater demand for resources. Meanwhile, Arab migration to Honduras persisted, and Arab businesses continued to open, focusing on textiles and apparels and mercantile commerce. Antonio’s father, Elias, for instance, also saw his business grow. He eventually appointed different sections of the store to his different children; eventually opening a handful of independent stores. With one family’s success, word went back to Palestine and more family members migrated to take over parts of the businesses. By 1935, Arab businesses in the North consisted of 43% of the country’s total tax assessment. In the mid 1900s, the growing economic power of Arab-led business, challenged the dominance of the United Fruit Company and some even took part in labour unions. Today, Antonio’s grandchildren are replicating the innovation of the family’s businesses, which has provided jobs for many Hondurans throughout the country.

Hence, much of the Arab community was able to disperse with the resources and opportunities they found the country had to offer. Antonio, a second generation Arab immigrant, and Evelyn’s husband, became known for his successful merchant skills. Evelyn and Antonio had successfully integrated and adapted to Honduran society. Neither of them spoke Arabic; Antonio’s given name had even been Toufique, but he had even changed it to something more common to Honduras, based on being born on the day of St. Anthony. Yet still, their last names marked them as distinct within the culture they called home. Civic tension between various different ethnic, political and business groups in the country, has even resulted in Arab communities having been deemed and “enemies of the nation”. Moreover, various demonstrations and public graffiti pieces have transmitted messages demanding Arab immigrants to leave the country. _________________ When lunch time came around, Evelyn’s granddaughter, Tesla, quietly slipped into the house. She was tall, with long, thick red hair and dark brown eyes. Her mother was Evelyn’s daughter, but her father was German. Tesla’s parents were thus a very different couple within the Honduran-Arab diaspora, one which some families would not tolerate. The acceptance that this marriage embodies is one that illustrates the growing integration and diversification by the second and third Arab generations; and the growing openness to different values and traditions which has allowed assimilation to occur. In a brief conversation with Tesla’s father, a business owner partnered with an Arab descendant, he claims, “In the recent generations there have been more interracial marriages, investment sharing with non-Arab partners, new non-traditional business start-ups by young Arab descendants that have incorporated non-Arab Hondurans into high company positions. Today’s ‘social media’ society has dramatically increased social integration.” Although discrimination has been a cause for 6

THE JEWISH STATE

inequity between Arabs and Hondurans, it’s evident that the progression of globalization and technology within today’s younger generations is helping the to create a space of acceptance and community.

Tesla served herself rice, beans and avocado mashing them together with her fork. Evelyn laughed “you’ll never forget that huh?” Antonio, Tesla’s grandfather, had shown this to her as a habit he had acquired from a family living in the rural outskirts of Honduras. Evelyn again told the story of one of Antonio’s business travels by mule. He was looking for a place to sleep one night and a family, who lived in a small wooden house with a dirt floor happily took him in and fed him with rice and beans with avocado, mashing them all together. “It seemed as if every time he did this, he did it in memory of them, remembering their generosity having so little themselves,” said Evelyn. As Tesla was leaving, Evelyn gave her granddaughter a tupperware filled with fresh tamales, kissed her vehemently on the cheek and said “take care habibi.”

We would have never thought that visits to the Old City of Jerusalem would become so casual and routine during our time in the beautiful city. The Old City is a curious, intriguing, magnificent and troubling place all at once. Muslims, Christians and Jews walk the narrow streets together, despite the designation of separate quarters for each religious group. However, one does not feel that there is mutual acceptance and recognition of the rights of each group to inhabit such a space. One can feel the tension in the air, the uneasiness, fear and suspicion. Israeli police patrol in and around the Old City with a felt presence.

This photograph was captured on the path exiting the Old City through Damascus Gate. We soaked in the atmosphere by looking in all directions around us, until our eyes became fixed on what we saw above. This shot represents everything that, as we have learned, matters most to Israel and Israelis.

SECURITY

The threats faced by the Jewish state demand a strong and resilient force of protection. While this photograph depicts police patrolling to protect the safety of visitors in the Old City, security in the wider sense includes even the perceived necessity of safeguarding the wellbeing of the Jewish homeland in the hostile Middle East.

SIX PIECES OF ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

CULTURE AND RELIGION

JULIE SAGRAM & JASMEET KHOSA

The miracles of the past are very much remembered to commemorate the strength of the Jewish people in overcoming a long history of adversities and obstacles.

Indeed, one can perhaps relate the miracle of the success of the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire with other miracles of survival throughout Jewish history, including the survival of the Jewish nation after the Holocaust and the subsequent birth of the state of Israel as a state-based manifestation of the phrase, am Yisrael Chai (Hebrew for ‘the People of Israel live’).

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sraelis and Palestinians have been entangled in conflict since 1948. The enduring struggle for sovereignty over The Holy Land has been complicated by deeply embedded narratives, and these narratives (based on history, politics and religion) have exacerbated the identity-land conflict. In war, truth is the first casualty – and in such a long-lasting conflict, the truth only becomes more elusive. And so, as International Relations students, we challenged ourselves to research the most impenetrable conflict in the world, and discovered its complexities and multiple dimensions by observing and listening to different sides of the story.

We asked ourselves and others that we encountered: “Will there ever be peace?” We heard myriad perspectives and our preconceptions were challenged, but despite disillusionment, our optimism was upheld by constant exposure to the human dimension.

Both Israelis and Palestinians hold their nationalist and religious beliefs close to their hearts. The mutual exclusiveness of such narratives will continue to perpetuate the conflict unless a third similarity is recognized: we are all human. The historic conflict can seem impossible to reconcile – but there is a solution, and it derives from understanding and compassion. Humanizing the other is the only true path towards peace.

NATIONALISM

The establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 created a home for Jews around the world. After thousands of years apart, Jews around the globe had very little in common other than their shared Jewish heritage. Thus, Israeli nationalism, embodied in the flag and the national anthem, Hatikvah (Hebrew for ‘The Hope’) was to be the unifying force that placed

emphasis on the common Jewish identity of the millions that came to make their home in their ancestral land.

We snap back to reality as we realize that we are holding up the rush of people who are making their way to al-Aqsa mosque for evening prayers. As we made our way back out of the confines of the walled city, we reflected on the moment. How curious it was for us to know that even while acknowledging and understanding the vitality of each of the three symbols depicted in the photograph, we still felt a deep sense of pain and discomfort in remembering that

as much as security, religion, culture, and nationalism have been used as a unifying force, much destruction and devastation has also been wrought by the same name.

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what conduct is permitted at the site. We became aware of an organization of Jewish women named Nashot HaKotel (Hebrew for ‘Women of the Wall’) and ventured out on an early Friday morning to the Old City to witness their protest for ourselves.

We had learned that these women strive to achieve the right to wear prayer shawls, pray and read from the Torah collectively and out loud at the Kotel, all practices that are currently restricted by the governing authorities of the Wall. The women had organized a prayer to mark Rosh Chodesh Av, the beginning of the Hebrew month of Av, which opens the nine days of mourning for the destruction of the Temple. According to the organizers, this Rosh Chodesh (Hebrew for ‘beginning of the month’) was especially special, as they noted that the very sin’at chinam (Hebrew for ‘groundless hatred’) that is mentioned in the Talmud (Yoma 9b) as having destroyed the Second Temple is still the same hatred that representatives of the Jewish state incite against other Jews, namely women who come to pray at the holy place.

What unfolded in the plaza as the women led their prayer brought forth the

PALESTINIAN GIRL

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Palestinian children inherit a strong sense of identity because the Palestinians believe that the future generations must be able to keep the hope of Palestine alive.

Palestinian children living in the refugee camps of the occupied West Bank don’t have to go far to see the markers of injustice and discrimination of the occupation.

A child in a refugee camp grows up knowing the symbols and face of the oppressor.

We spent quite a bit of time in Aida, a camp located 2 kilometers north of Bethlehem and walled off from Jerusalem by the separation barrier. Indeed, even if one were to come in completely unknowledgeable about the entire situation, it would not be so difficult to observe and understand the dynamics of power between those that control and those that are controlled. The separation barrier between the West Bank and Israel dons a series of Israeli flags that can be seen clearly from the rooftops of the camp homes. Walking closely to the barrier itself, one can feel the omnipresence of the Israeli soldier even when he or she is not directly in sight since, the presence of watchtowers along the wall alludes to the

idea that one is constantly being watched.

Growing up in such an atmosphere undoubtedly reinforces the strength and unwavering resistance of the Palestinian identity as a force in itself. To never forget your roots and to never forget that your roots were forcibly dug out – this means everything for parents who wish to teach their children of the tragedy of 1948, or nakba in Arabic. Despite the fact that such children have known no other home other than the camp, they continue to view themselves as refugees, inheriting the status from the previous generation since a solution to their plight has still not come to fruition. A child learns to say “I am a Palestinian” with an air of pride and patriotism, believing that uttering such a phrase is an act of resistance in itself.

Indeed, these children are taught to believe that the very survival of their nation depends on their ability to remember their history and stay true to their origins. That is why wrapping yourself in your nation’s flag and proudly saying “Ana dammi Falastini’ (Arabic for ‘my blood is Palestinian’) is such a profound gesture.

cracks within the Jewish nation that we had been wholly oblivious to up until this point. Men from among the Orthodox community hurled insults from the plaza as the women continued in their prayer.

Many women who disagreed with the views of the group also voiced their opposition, with some even getting physically aggressive and to prevent the members from leading prayer. Witnessing such an event brought into light a series of conflicts that were previously unknown to us. Israel is beautiful in a multitude of ways, but as is true with any other country, there are a myriad of internal social problems that plague the cohesiveness of the nation.

THE MOSQUE (NEXT PAGE)

When we arrived at Aida Refugee Camp, it was no ordinary time of the year – it was the holy month of Ramadan, during which the dedication of Palestinians towards their faith is highlighted. Everyone fasts from dawn to sunset, refraining from food and water until iftar: the highly anticipated evening meal. While we struggled to maintain the fast, lasting about one and a half days, our homestay family and the rest of the camp (including many children) did it every day for 30 days with great resolve.

Devotion, however, is not a special occasion: the religion is embedded in dayto- day life at Aida. Its importance in the culture cannot be mistaken both from afar (where one might note the prominence of the mosque on the skyline) and on the ground, wherein the mosque is central and what it represents is inextricably linked to all aspects of life.

The omnipresent nature of Islam can also be demonstrated by the Arabic language. We only learned a few

WESTERN WALL (NEXT PAGE)

For two non-Jewish visitors, the Western Wall, or Kotel in Hebrew, was an intriguing site. The WesternWall is considered holy due to its connection to the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism and theplace to which Jews turn during prayer. Orthodox Jews pray alongside Israeli soldiers who pray alongside Birthright participants who pray alongside intrigued visitors such as ourselves. Pilgrims and locals alike rock back and forth to the rhythm of their prayer as they touch the ancient stones, some even weep. The iconic centerpiece of the Jewish world is familiar to many on the outside, but what lies beneath the surface are cracks and fragmentations that we had the chance to witness firsthand.

For any new visitor to the Kotel, one of the most noticeable and curious observations of the ordering of the plaza is the segregation of genders. Since members from among the Orthodox community govern the Kotel, rules such as the separation of men and women and the forbiddance of women to lead prayer services are a part of the overarching regulations on

phrases during our two-week stay, but notably, many of them evoked the role of Allah. For example, when responding to the question of “How are you?”, you say alhamdulillāh, meaning “Praise be to God”– God is the reason for your happiness. The famous phrase inshallah, used liberally to denote hope and uncertainty, similarly expresses one’s submission to God’s will.

We will also never forget the daily calls to prayer that would resonate from the loudspeakers of the mosque and sweep over the camp. We loved the sound of these prayers – they were so soothing, and for Muslims, it is a constant reminder of what matters.

Religion had always been portrayed to us as a source of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The struggle over Temple Mount, which most importantly encompasses Al-Aqsa mosque, seems to represent a relentless antagonism between Judaism and Islam. Religion may serve as a source of division – a way to further distance “the other” based on differences, but its effects can also be undeniably positive. It creates a bond within Palestinian society, acts as a source of dignity, and gives people a place to turn when it feels like all hope is lost.

LAUGHING SOLDIERS

(NEXT PAGE) Long before we arrived in Israel, Israeli soldiers had already left a strong impression in our minds – history textbooks, journal articles and the media portrayed the military as a force not to be reckoned with. This simplification was reinforced by our two weeks at the refugee camp in Bethlehem, wherein we came to sympathize with the fear embedded in the Palestinian psyche. To the Palestinian people, the Israeli military was the cause of all suffering, an obstacle to freedom, and even a perpetrator of genocide. The official term Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) is not even used among Palestinians – after all, Israel is seen to be the offender of Palestinian rights and freedom. Not only are Palestinians third generation refugees in their own land, but they continue to bear witness to extrajudicial killings, sudden night raids, arbitrary arrests, and entry denials at border crossings simply by virtue of being Palestinian. Theaccumulation of such memories naturally leads one to resent the mere mentioning of “IDF”.

It is all too easy to get caught up in 10

this narrative and forget there is a human being behind the bullet- proof vest – often a young person that has been given a gun and massive responsibility at the early age of 18. With few exceptions, enlistment is mandatory for all Israeli citizens upon reaching adulthood. A military culture has thus emerged, which can be seen in the normalization of military presence.

However, it was eventually revealed to us after meeting many Israeli soldiers and ex-soldiers that a militarized culture does not necessarily translate into a hardened personality.

They may seem intimidating at first, with their big guns and uniforms and a reputation for brutality – but in the Old City, they are omnipresent and they are the best people to turn to when you get lost. One day, as we wandered down a long alleyway paved with endless stairs, we decided to ask a group of soldiers where the road was leading us. We quickly realized they were approximately our age.

They leaned casually against the walls and smiled as we approached. After a friendly exchange and being informed that the road leads “nowhere”, we turned around to

start back up the stairs – but as we walked away, we had a lingering sense of intrigue.

We wondered - would they let us take a picture? We raced back down the steps to ask our second question, which was met with a “yes” and quick little adjustments to pose and appearance. The photo captures a moment in between the question and the answer, in which two of the soldiers were overcome with laughter and some embarrassment.

Within hours of having arrived to the camp, we had probably visited a dozen homes! Enthusiastic children grabbed our hands and pulled us in different directions, all wanting to take us to their homes for some tea and an introduction to their families. We spoke very little Arabic and they spoke very little English, but indeed we came to realize that this sort of love does not require any spoken language. We had heard a little something about ‘Arab hospitality’ before arriving in Aida, but never had we expected such genuine and caring affection. Houses were usually very small, but that never meant there wasn’t enough space for guests. Children quickly cleared the tables and rearranged chairs as families greeted us and coordinated amongst each other who was going to make and bring out the tea (a cup of tea is always served to a guest in Palestinian homes).

We could not help but think that just as these individuals had invited us to share with them their small, intimate space, Palestinians in general were equally as happy to invite us into their, what seems, continuously shrinking land space. One could not go very far without hearing an

SISTERS (NEXT PAGE)

The love shown in this photo, between sisters, is the same type of care, attention and affection shown to us – strangers from a land faraway. Indeed, family is an important part of many cultures across the globe, but there are some Palestinian cultural norms that evade and surpass conventional Western understandings of family.

Our stay in Aida refugee camp allowed us to experience the Palestinian conceptof hospitality in its fullest and most genuine form: in Palestinian culture, the love one has for one’s ownfamily extends to any guest or newcomer to their home.

enthusiastic, Ahlan wa sahlan, which is Arabic for ‘welcome’, but the phrase itself comes from an old saying that intends to show hospitality to strangers. Ahlan means ‘family’, as in ‘you’ve come to stay with family’, and sahlan here means a plain where grass and food is abundant and to be shared with visitors. Indeed, even the

very vocabulary of the Arabic language reflects this deep-rooted obligation in extending the sentiment of family beyond one’s own blood relations, and making even strangers feel as if they have a home.

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ity of the airport populace agreed. Those who had just arrived, lingered briefly before making their way outside, and those who had scheduled departures or awaited incoming planes chatted in subdued tones that further added to the atmosphere of unease.

My university campus, north of Paris, was one of many to immediately tighten and amplify security measures. This included bag searches, guest sign-ins, and student card inspection upon arrival. Campus events and major meetings were cancelled for the week and the week’s classes were almost entirely devoted to the discussion and the sharing of perspectives between professors and students. This was something that relieved, as well as impressed me. Given the proximity of the university, many students had either been in Paris at the time or knew others who had and the space created for discussion and the airing of concerns provided an important platform for relieving stress and informing understanding.

Living with a French family who had adopted me for my stay was itself enlightening for it gave a more personal perspective from which to view the attacks outside of the intense discourse at university. In the week following the attacks we would watch the news on France 2, a national television channel, during dinner as follow-ups and investigations into the acts of terror replaced normal conversation at the table. News networks streamed a constant coverage of vigils in memory of the victims, police raids, gun battles with members of ISIS in the neighborhood of Saint Denis, and the foreign policy response of airstrikes that were launched and intensified by President François Holland a mere day after the attacks.

It was a profound feeling to observe the general public's collective mourning for the victims and the acute need for some form of action that was expected as retaliation for what had happened While some questioned the usefulness of the almost knee-jerk response of Holland’s call to increase bombing as a substantive means of combatting ISIS, there was no doubt that the swift show of strength that this response entailed was a way of reassuring the citizens of France that something was being done to avenge the countless lives lost. This was something that public outcry demanded. Any decision not to retaliate immediately with force, could have been criticized as weakness or fear and a response that would have played into the hands of what ISIS wants – a cessation of air strikes against its forces in Syria and Iraq.

EXCHANGED EXPERIENCE: FRANCE IN A TIME OF EMERGENCY LUKE MENNIGKE

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rance in 2015 was an amazing space to be in. But it was to make its mark on me not only through its vibrant culture, freshly baked baguettes, delicious cheese, and the wine and champagne it is so renowned for. The experience awoke in me a level of international consciousness I had not experienced before and gave me a novel viewpoint with which to gaze into the political arena of one of the European Union’s giant economies, and one of ‘The West’s’ exclusive member states.

Being sheltered under the towering megastructure of the Eiffel Tower on a rain-spitting cloudy day in September was one of my first vivid impressions of Paris. Several military teams of three to four soldiers - one of the results of the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks - milled about cautiously, taking care to look for any signs of unease from the throngs that populated the historic monument. My Parisian friend, and de facto tour guide this day, shook his head and lamented the need for the military presence around Paris. Sadly only two months later, on November 13, one of the most devastating terrorist attacks on European soil was to further stain the streets of Paris red, and escalate the need for the 12

military presence during France’s state of emergency.

Reactions to the November 13 attacks were a highly charged mix of immediate fear, profound shock, and incredible outrage and anger. My Facebook roared to life with both messages of reassurance from people inside Paris that they were unharmed, and people outside the country anxious to receive news from their loved ones. Having flown out of Paris on the morning of November 13 from Beauvais airport, I was immediately struck on my return, several days later, by the tense atmosphere that had enveloped Paris and this particular point of entry. Law enforcement officers watched us disembark from the airplane as we shuffled into a hastily but firmly erected passport checkpoint.

The inspection officers’ faces bore the strain of the previous day's state of emergency stress. Military teams of three to five soldiers constantly patrolled the airport on full alert, automatic rifles held in a position that betrayed no signs of fatigue. Outside, police vans and patrols with dogs walked the extent of the airports outer perimeter. My friend and I did not know if we felt more safe, or more at risk in such a charged setting – and it seemed the major

Where the attacks succeeded in some measure was in the reaction by many in France’s capital of further marginalization and instances of xenophobic attitudes towards Muslim communities, something already keenly felt by these communities in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks. This is despite Muslim community leaders and organizations wholly condemning the violence perpetrated by the radical Islamist group. The effects of marginalization are extremely important, for lack of identification with France and anger at anti-Muslim rhetoric only makes the teachings of groups like ISIS all the more attractive for their appeal to the marginalized individuals and their offer of a fight against those who do not hold their world view. Whatever the continued foreign policy approaches by France, as well as the wider international community, attempts to disempower the terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS need look hard to approaches that do not further marginalize communities, or stoke ethnic conflict and incorrect ignorant links between Islam and radical islamist jihadist ideology. Any policy or political rhetoric that does this, bolsters support for a group with already frightening momentum.

The resilience and spirit of the people of Paris and France at large was remarkable. What struck me most was not the trending hashtag of #prayforparis, the large international body of support, nor even the strong surge in support for the far right political party - the Front National (FN) of Marine Le Pen; but rather, it was the coming together of the people of France, and the quiet resilience and defiance shown through the simple acts of returning to daily life, ignoring police orders to not gather in large groups, and refusing to be cowed by a brutal act of terror meant to intimidate and incite fear.

Being in France during the state of emergency following the attacks heightened my awareness of real world politics and terrorism in particular, as events that hit closer to home often do. Seeing people’s responses, being involved in discussions surrounding these acts and participating in the discourse that it gave rise to, was unlike anything I had experienced before and put international relations as a field of study into a completely new perspective. Looking at these pictures, serves as a frame of reference. Of the importance of being able to understand an event from a local, cultural, and then global perspective, and of finding that which allows one to identify and empathize with a situation and place it into the broader context of world politics and international affairs.

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PEACE AND AN OLIVE BRANCH ALEXIA AGOURIDIS

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reece has faced a crippling financial crisis, one whose influence I had witnessed firsthand throughout my travels in the Mediterranean country this past summer. Citizens were going hungry, worrying about the wellbeing of their children, and questioning how they would be able to survive on the meager €60 daily cash withdrawal limits instated by the nation’s banks. Greek debt has risen far over €300 billion1 and the country has defaulted on several loan payments to the International Monetary Fund. A combination of factors have led to Greece’s floundering economy and debt, including accusations of tax evasion, corruption, and most importantly, massive spending. No political union was formed despite the creation of an economic coalition, triggering radical differences in the way income was managed within each member state.

The 2008 recession shook the world, yielding devastating effects on the Greek economy. Countries such as Canada and the United States were able to mitigate the effects of the financial crisis by printing either more or less currency. Greece, however, was not afforded the luxury of inflating or deflating its currency as all currency within the Eurozone is controlled by the European Central Bank. Without an independent monetary policy, Greece was unable to offset the mistakes of its monetary authority. A drastic blunder was to understate Greek deficit figures for years, leading the country to excessive borrowing from financial markets and to accept bailouts under debilitating

circumstances. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), there has been a 25% fall in the country’s GDP since 2010 and the total Greek unemployment rate currently hovers around 26%2.

It is crucial to understand how economic travesty has impacted Greek society. Streets previously void of homelessness are now lined with beggars and those who have recently lost everything.

There now appears to be a dark cloud looming over the nation.

Buildings and mansions, once standing elegantly and unmarred, are now deserted and left to the grace of Mother Nature. The strong, proud Greeks have their heads bowed low, clawing at hope and a foreseeable end to their tribulations. For many, the Greek Orthodox faith is their only solace, extending support to those who have lost the most.

Austerity conditions have been imposed on Greece in conjunction with monetary bailouts that will affect the nation’s future generations. It is unfortunate that Greek citizens are paying for the mistakes of a government who chose to recklessly understate deficits and overspend income for years. In the hope that Greece’s debt can be restructured and austerity conditions lessened, the nation will flourish once more in due time. The Greeks will, once again, be able to appreciate the beauty that surrounds them.

underpaid and their living arrangements are questionable. To a greater extent, this growth would not have been possible without the large amounts of resource extraction, most notably that of oil.

The global economy runs on oil, ensuring a constant demand for the commodity, and consequently a steady flow of income. Being a fossil fuel, the extraction, production and consumption of oil results in negative environmental impacts. Each of these processes creates greenhouse gases as byproducts. These gases accelerate and amplify the effects climate change.

In order to protect and preserve the unique habitats around the globe, it crucial that humans start shifting away from fossil fuels as a primary energy source, and start moving towards renewable technologies. In order to maximize renewable energy generation, each country must play their cards to their advantage. For example, Iceland, while it may not receive comparatively large amounts of sunlight, uses its unique geological activity to achieve 100% renewable energy production through geothermal electricity generation. Canada uses its abundance of rivers and water to obtain more than half of its energy from renewable technologies.

The UAE, while still heavily dependent upon oil and natural gas, has initiated the process of the transformation from fossil fuel based energy to renewable energy production. The Shams 1 is a 100 Megawatt Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant that is al-

THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE RACE FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST PHILIPPE ROBERGE

I

grew up in the Middle East, specifically, in Abu Dhabi. From a young age, I was alwaysfascinated by the environment: the sweeping sand Dunes, the majestic Mangrove forests and the rocky Wadis. When I moved to Canada in order to pursue my studies, I learned about the environment from a more Westernized perspective. My studies have enabled me to find parallels between different habitats, connections that apply to all.

More specifically, I look at how different populations interact with their surrounding environments, and what we can learn from them. Often times these parallels are related to climate change and the globalization of nations around the world.

Whereas change is usually thought of in a gradual sense, this has not been the case in terms of global climate. This has also not been the case in terms of development for many Arabian Gulf nations. The abundance of oil has enabled economies to effectively 16

explode into the 21 st century and become the pinnacle of modern economic prosperity, all in a very short span of time. Where 50 years ago there was mostly sand, saltwater, and various nomadic Bedouin tribes, now stand the sprawling skyscraper filled metropolises that are Abu Dhabi and Dubai. While this growth is nothing short of incredible, it also poses questions to the issues that arise with extremely quick development.

All growth comes at a cost, be it environmental, socioeconomic, or a mixture of the two. Through out the Industrial Revolution, the factories of England ran on coal, creating heavy air pollution and negatively impacting the health of the population. In the Middle East, the construction boom would not have been possible without the massive labor force that was imported from Southeast Asia. While it is true that the workers make more money in the United Arab Emirates, they are still grossly

ready fully operational, and the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is a 1 Gigawatt photovoltaic (PV) plant that is currently under construction. Capitalizing on the high amounts of solar irradiation present in the UAE throughout most the year would definitely be a move in the right direction.

The value that the environment holds cannot truly be calculated, at least not in a fiscal or monetary sense. It is an intrinsic value, and while it may not be directly accountable to a market value, the wellbeing of the environment impacts the livelihood of every single being on the planet, directly or indirectly. It is for this reason that we must all make an effort to reduce our negative impacts and promote restoration and regeneration. Whether it is turning off the lights when you leave a room, or investing in the development of new technologies, we all have a role to play. While we understand that growth is finite, our actions demonstrate the contrary. In order to ensure a sustainable future for generations to come, we must make changes in our daily lives now. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that I don’t want to be explaining to my kids what happened to the beautiful planet we live on now.

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PHILIPPE ROBERGE

Gentrification is a product and mechanism of globalization – it is symptomatic of middle- and upper- class entitlement to lowincome spaces and the broader Canadian fable of arriving and settling on “terra nullus,” or empty land5. More than ever before, capitalist interests have been incorporated into public policy: tax exemptions, zoning policies, and development permits all enable business owners to steadily and strategically encroach upon the existing community.4 A consequence of gentrification then is displacement, which is the forced expulsion of one social group for another, one that is more economically and socially advantaged. In Vancouver, we see displacement reflected in a lack of social housing and the criminalization of poverty. Globally, displacement looks like western capitalist expansion and imperialist wars over natural resources: when foreign governments (on all levels) are unable to protect their citizens through social, political, or economic means, citizens must often flee for protection (for instance, see today’s Syrian refugee crisis).

GENTRIFICATION AS VIOLENCE Gentrification may also be considered a form of structural violence. In sociological terms, structural violence is a process through which inequalities in access to power and resources are institutionally legitimated so that disadvantaged social groups are not able to meet their needs.6 Structures are innately non-violent, but they may become violent through social processes such as gentrification that institutionalize and naturalize the marginalization of certain identities. This marginalization may be explicit, such as with early colonial policies that have contributed to the ongoing isolation, poverty, and high rates of HIV and other infectious diseases among some Aboriginal women on Vancouver’s Downtown eastside.7 On an individual level, the mechanism of gentrification may also constitute a form of symbolic violence, insofar as symbolic violence refers to the “violence which is exercised upon a social agent with his or her complicity.”9 In other words, symbolic violence is a pervasive form of oppression that constitutes a (negative) re-imagining of the self as seen through the eyes of the dominant group. This occurs primarily at the micro-level, through various legitimized “conditions of domination” that operate day-to-day in people’s lives but are rarely confronted.10 In this context, symbolic violence manifests itself when underprivileged unstably housed members of the community internalize the stereotypes and prejudices about themselves, which are held and demonstrated by relatively privileged members of society.

In Vancouver, we tend to ignore the structural and symbolic violence associated with gentrification in favor of a superficial tolerance for diversity: we may acknowledge ethnic holidays under the guise of multiculturalism and promote ou_rselves as a “global city” but when it comes to demonstrating true solidarity with resistance struggles, particularly Indigenous struggles, our political leaders have their heads in the sand. Thus, we must question whether Vancouver is truly “livable,” and for whom, while critically analyzing the ways in which violent social processes, such as gentrification, contribute to rising inequalities in both local and global contexts.

VANCOUVER’S DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE A GENTRIFICATION TALE FROM THE GLOBAL VILLAGE. NICOLE LUONGO

Vancouver recently ranked fifth in a global “Quality of Living” survey, an annual questionnaire that considers factors such

as air quality, crime rates, political stability, and personal freedom before determining thedegree to which a city is “livable.”1 With “livability” often comes further inequalities, however, as a complex combination of social, political, racial, and economic tensions contribute to soaring real estate prices and an egregious lack of social housing. In Vancouver and elsewhere, demand for housing far exceeds supply: it begs the question, for who is the city is actually livable, and what social processes may decide this.

THE DISCOURSE OF URBAN RENEWAL A consequence of social stratification – society’s hierarchical categorization of people based on factors such as income and educational attainment - in Vancouver is that the city’s low-income population has grown in size and become more vocal about their living conditions. Nowhere is this more apparent than on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, an impoverished yet lively neighborhood that has been significantly affected by City Council’s ambitious urban revitalization program.

The Downtown Eastside has long been considered a “problematic” community due its open-air drug market and poverty.

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Developers and politicians frame its upheaval as an opportunity to facilitate “social mix” between economic classes while mitigating the city’s housing shortage.2 Within this discourse, “progress” is seen as both natural and inevitable: through the development of new technologies, the neighborhood will be, according to those involved, catapulted into a new era of prosperity and ingenuity.

THE MECHANISMS OF GENTRIFICATION Social theorist Herbert Marcuse explains that within advanced industrial capitalism, the government “can maintain and secure itself only when it succeeds in mobilizing, organizing, and exploiting the technical, scientific, and mechanical productivity available.”3 While today’s neighborhood revitalization efforts are arguably a reflection of neoliberal urbanism4 we still see the government - in collusion with developers, business owners, and investors - employing “rational” decisions to incorporate technological and other advances into society. Thus, the violence of displacement is collectively normalized and framed instead as social improvement. In this context, “urban revitalization” is synonymous with gentrification, a global practice through which residential and commercial developers alter the social and economic culture of a neighborhood by replacing older housing and services with new ones.5

1. Mercer. (2015). Quality of Living Survey. Retreived from: https://www. imercer.com/content/quality-of-living.aspx 2. Pell S. (2013). Mobilizing urban publics, imagining democratic possibilities. Cultural Studies 28, 29-48.

3. Marcuse, Herbert. One-Dimensional Man. Boston: Beacon Press Books, 1964. Print.

4. Smith N. (2002). “New Globalism, New Urbanism: Gentrification as Global Urban Strategy.” Antipode 34, 427 – 50.

5. Dewert D. & Walia H. (2012). “Moving On Up: Gentrification on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.” Rabble News.

6. Taylor S. (2013). Structural Violence, Oppression, and the Place-Based Marginality of Homelessness. Canadian Social Work Review, 30, 255-273.

7. Shannon K., Kerr T., Allinott S., Chettiar J., Shoveller J. & Tyndall (2008).

Social and structural violence and power relations in mitigating HIV risk of drug-using women in survival sex work. Social Science and Medicine, 66, 911-921.

8. Werb D., Wood E., Small W., Strathdee S., Li K., Montaner J. & Kerr T. (2008). International Journal of Drug Policy, 19, 332-38.

9. Bourdieu P. & Wacquant L. (1992). An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology.

Cambridge: Polity Press.

10. Cooper C. (2011). Imagining ‘radical’ youth work possibilities – challenging the ‘symbolic violence’ within the mainstream tradition in contemporary state-led youth work practice in England. Journal of Youth Studies,15, 53-71.

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ALBERTO ZAMBON

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WHEN YOU UNEXPECTEDLY SEE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS IN THE ICEFIELDS PARKWAY, NOBODY AROUND YOU DARES TO SPEAK; THE BREATHTAKING SHOW MAKES YOU THINK ABOUT THE ENDLESS UNIVERSE IN WHICH WE ARE DANCING.

A CURIOUS ELK, AN UNTOUCHED FOREST, A PRISTINE LAKE, ALL COVERED BY A PURE WHITE SNOW COVER. THE PEACEFULNESS OF MALIGNE LAKE SEEMS TO BE ONE OF THE LAST PLACES ONE CAN FIND SUCH UNDEFILED NATURE.

AFTER A TERRIBLE STORM IN CAMPBELL RIVER, I STARTED SMILING AS I NOTICED THAT A MAN WAS ALREADY OUTSIDE – IN THE DEEP BLUE – READY TO SURF. THEN, THERE WERE THREE SMILES: MY OWN, THE ONE OF THE SURFER, AND THE ONE OF THE SKY.

THE RISING MOON, A MOUNTAIN HUT, BACKCOUNTRY SKIING AND FRIENDS: THAT’S MAGIC! AND A SHOOTING STAR UPON US MAKES IT EVEN MORE PERFECT.

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EN ROUTE TO SCHOOL AARON FRIEDLAND

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ran to school with a group of students in rural Mbale, Uganda. These students attend a remarkable elementary school—the Yonatan Netanyahu Memorial School—which is comprised of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish students whose families have put faith-based differences aside in pursuit of higher education. The scholars travel up to 8 kilometers to and from school with but one goal in mind: to access education.

I spoke with Enosh and Obiquwa the day before about joining them for their journey. I met them in the morning, just under 1.2 kilometers from the school. I waited at the fork in the road, watching children from all over, journeying to school in a myriad of ways. Some took the bus, others traveled by bicycle. Most walked, jogged, or ran.

WHEN YOU WALK ALONG THE ICEFIELDS PARKWAY IN THE EARLY MORNING AND THE WARM RISING SUN TEASES YOU, THE SOFT CLOUDS SIT LIKE CROWNS ON THE SLENDER HEADS OF PINES. THE WHOLE LANDSCAPE IS SO ELEGANT AND SO SILENT THAT EVERY HUMAN BEING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LANDSCAPE SEEMS TO BE A FOREIGN VISITOR.

The experience was surreal. While waiting for the boys, I found myself questioning whether or not they would come. I thought back to my childhood, my view of education, and the values that my family and I had placed on attendance. I had the audacity to conflate my own values, or lack thereof, with those of these inspirational students. I was unsure that they would show up because of the little importance I had placed on attendance and academic timeliness growing up. Enosh, Obiquwa and the rest of the group understood the importance of education as a prerequisite to escaping cyclic poverty, information I was only taught later in my university studies. A few minutes later, the boys were jogging towards me with long, excited steps. As they approached they slowed their pace, invited me to join, and we all jogged together. Enosh and Obiqwa were the eldest and quickly established the lead position in front of the group. For most of the trip, I jogged in the middle of the group at a pace that I was comfortable with. Once we entered the final 200-meter stretch, I heard Seth, Obiqwa’s younger brother, exhale loudly and begin to overtake me. He was 7 years old. For the most part, he had kept up with his older friends and siblings and showed a determination en route to school and within the classroom that was admirable.

GARIBALDI PARK, B.C. - A SYMBOL OF ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I DISCOVERED HERE IN CANADA: LIVING A GENUINE, SUSTAINABLE, AND RESPONSIBLE OUTDOOR LIFE IS POSSIBLE!

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The above photo was taken as Seth overtook me. To me it depicts a determination, and a youthful desperation. Seth made me stop and look critically at my own life. I frequently revisit it for the memory and inspiration.

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STEPPING OVER PLASTIC PATRICK GILLIN

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strong stream of warm water jets out of the green-yellow tetrapak as I step on it. In this minefield of marine detritus it is surprising that it took so long to step on something. The water dirties the hem of my pants and soaks through the thin fabric of my shoes onto my socks. This is suddenly a visceral encounter with marine litter. The anger starts to well up, from an emotional, animal part of the brain. This part of the brain isn’t usually engaged by topics like marine pollution, or the Pacific Trash Gyre, or smog, or global warming, or overuse of petrochemicals; yet on a small beach on Lantau Island, Hong Kong, standing on top of this now-flattened vita-tea box it is.

The beach is the dirtiest I have ever stood on. It looks like some enormous plastic whale has beached itself and then been eviscerated, spewing a huge variety of garbage across the sand. On all sides there is plastic, Styrofoam, rubber, even electronics, a vast sampling of the detritus of the Pearl River delta and the Cantonese coast. Without all this it would be an incredibly beautiful place, with golden yellow sand and smooth khaki colored rocks meeting the brilliant teal of the South China Sea. What happened? Simply, Lantau is in the middle of the massive industrial megalopolis between Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Guangdong.

A large percentage of the world’s manufactured goods, especially plastics and electronics, come from here. Some of them have ended up on this beach, some in the South China Sea, and still others in the Pacific, in the infamous trash vortex. Despite recent efforts by the Chinese government to curb the use of coal for power, and efforts internationally to improve the recycling of plastics, if one stands on most any beach in the Delta during winter it will be between a smoggy sky and a dirty sea.

Standing there, watching my friend try to keep his dog (a rescue from a beach like this) from eating too much, I ask him what he thinks about it. He just shrugs. “The Chinese government is already trying to go from coal to nuclear power because of smog. I think they want to do a lot, but it’s difficult.” I’ll see more pollution during my time in Hong Kong. Some of it, like the smog, comes from the Mainland. Some, are purely local. The marine litter is harder to trace.

Beside a small stream in the hills over Mui Wo I will see more plastic, and find a bottle marked poison dropped between two rocks on the banks. Later, at a restaurant by the ferry pier in Mui Wo, we will listen to an American businessman loudly denying the existence of climate change under a smog filled sky and only feet from the polluted sea. I don’t understand how anyone could be so blind as to speak like that there.

So where does all this plastic come from? It may be the immense demand for plastic that makes it profitable to produce, the lack of clean power and recycling in the production of plastics, or the widespread flouting of the laws regarding emissions, recycling, and marine dumping. The extent of the effects is even less obvious. The smog and litter can travel across the pacific on winds and currents. As the plastics break down their chemicals can poison and kill marine life, or worse, bio accumulate until we consume them. Jose Martí said that “the vain villager believes the whole world is his village”. As part of the “global village” (and as consumers) we are intrinsically linked with the pollution occurring in the Pearl River Delta and Guangdong province. However, it is far enough from our own “village” to be generally out of sight.

SETH GILLIS

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“GEAR CHECK”

“A DANCE AMONG THE BIRDS”

SQUAMISH, BC. OCTOBER 2015. JOSH AND CONNOR ARE SHADOWED BY THE TANTALUS RANGE AS THEY PREP FOR A LENGTHY REPEL. IMMERSING OURSELVES IN THESE LANDSCAPES IS SOMETHING WE AIM FOR WHENEVER POSSIBLE. IT’S PART OF WHAT MAKES OUR TIME AT UBC SO INCREDIBLYSATISFYING, AND ITS SOMETHING WE UNDOUBTEDLY TAKE WITH US BACK TO THE CLASSROOM.

VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC. NOVEMBER 2015. A LONE SURFER IS SURROUNDED BY SEAGULLS AS HE MAKES HIS WAY OUT TO THE LINEUP. THIS MORNING WAS BOTH INSANELY COLD AND FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH AMAZING SURF. WHILE TRAVELING THROUGH SOUTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND, SIGNS OF THE LOGGING INDUSTRY ARE INESCAPABLE. MILL YARDS, CLEAR CUTS, AND NEVER-ENDING LOGGING ROADS TRAVERSE THE LANDSCAPE. ITS EASY TO BECOME DESENSITIZED AND LOSE TOUCH WITH THE BALANCE OF A NATURAL AREA.

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“THE FISH, EVEN IN THE FISHERMAN'S NET, STILL CARRIES THE SMELL OF THE SEA." - MOURID BARGHOUTI

impossible to reach, and forcing the cities to restructure. In the words of Salem Thawaba:

“BUILT-UP AREAS AND RURAL LANDS WERE SEPARATED ISLANDS IN THE MINDS OF ISRAELI PLANNERS.”6 This restructuring led the urban areas to forcefully increase in density. There are many other problems that have arisen from the construction of the wall. Since the natural form of urban growth, based on the outward growth of cities and the concentric zone model – a model that provides an explanation for the distribution of urban land usage in concentric circles - cannot be implemented in these cities, it is very difficult for the municipality to plan out where to house the ever-increasing population. This has led to the Wconstruction of new levels on pre-existing buildings. This is not only aesthetically unpleasant, but can be illegal. Since the British Mandate, there has been a limit on the amount of floors allowed to be built in this region in order to keep it rural and small. Not until the construction of the wall were they forced to start building apartment buildings. This led to the emergence of an entirely new set of rules and regulations that must be considered, amended, and accepted by the Israeli authorities in order to sustain the growth and urbanization of the population in a limited space. The Wall’s relationship to urban density, has also influenced economic disparities, such as pollution and trade barriers. Since everything entering or exiting the border is controlled by Israel, free trade opportunities are not available and Palestinians are forced survive on domestic products. In the West Bank, public services in urban and rural areas have not been functioning reliably, thus causing a build up of pollution. These services include things such as sewage systems and water distribution. Such problems continue to exist today due to the lack of human and financial resources necessary to improve the systems 7.

PANORAMA IMAGE SHOWING THE TOWN OF BEIT JALA PRIOR TO THE WALL.

THE SEPARATION WALL AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE URBANIZATION OF THE WEST BANK YOUSEF SROUJI

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alestinians, even while trapped inside the separation wall, still grasp onto the essence of who they are and where they come from. In the history of man and society, segregation and control has taken shape through various forms. Looking back at this history, there is almost-universal agreement that this is not only inhumane, but also ultimately unsuccessful. Unfortunately, history has a tendency to repeat itself, and thus, Palestinians and Israelis find themselves in a frustrating situation.

The “fishermen’s net” picture was taken during one of my trips home to Beit Jala, a small town neighboring Bethlehem, in the West Bank. Since my mother is an architect, and my father a civil engineer, they both knew how important the construction of the wall would be to the urbanization of the area, especially as society attempts to develop and grow in population. Therefore my family and I have a small archive of pictures similar to this, which portrays how the wall has impacted the infrastructure, and the society it has enclosed upon.

The “fishermen’s net” is truly one containing thousands of words. A quick overview of the area’s governmental history is crucial in understanding the effects the wall has had on urbanization.

Up until 1948, the design and development of the urban and rural areas of Palestine were governed by the laws of the British Mandate. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the birth of the State of Israel, the West Bank became under the control of Jordanian 30

law. This was until the 6-day war in 1967, which lead to an Israeli occupation of the West Bank and its’ cities1. While technically the urban centers came under direct Palestinian rule and the fringes remained under Israeli control, it is arguably still the case that these areas continue to be under Israeli occupation2.

After the implementation of the Palestinian Authority in 1993, most of the cities in the West Bank did not witness any real urban change, as the proposed plans could not be implemented.

This was due to the fact that in 2000, a second Intifada broke out, which further hindered the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to rebuild. The Second Intifada refers to an uprising that was sparked by then Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon’s, controversial visit to the Temple Mount. Clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police subsequently followed. This lead to a period of intensified Israeli-Palestinian violence in the form of suicide bombers and gunfire by the Palestinian, tanks, gunfire, and air attacks by the Israelis. Given the situation, Palestinian urban development subsequently halted. Only a couple years later, the construction of the separation wall began, heightening political pressures and social unrest in the region. 3 Under the laws of the British Mandate, the West Bank was subject to building restrictions, as it was solely viewed as a rural area that was to be used for agricultural purposes. Today, 65% of Palestinians live in urban areas4. While the Palestinian Authority

NEWLY BUILT APARTMENT BUILDINGS THAT EXCEED THE ALLOWED FLOOR LEVELS SHOWING THE NEED FOR MORE HOUSING.

currently have greater control over urban planning, their plans must still be accepted by Israel beforebeing legally able to implement them. These decisions go through the Central Planning Department, whose head is a resident of a Jewish settlement. It thus becomes a long and costly process with a low chance of success5.

As previously mentioned, Beit Jala is a town neighboring Bethlehem. But in reality, if you were to look at the area from a birds eye perspective, these two towns, along with a third – Beit Sahour - have practically merged together creating somewhat of a tritown metropolis within the walls perimeters. Recall that the area was viewed as rural in the original plans of the British Mandate.

These towns’ municipalities have now been faced with the dreadful challenge of joining the three infrastructures together without any prior planning. This has lead to a decrease in public space, parks, farmlands and overall vacant land. After the construction of the wall, many roads were cut off, leaving some areas merely

THE GATE, OR ENTRANCE, TO BETHLEHEM. AN IMAGE OF THE CLOSED GATE AND THE ROAD LEADING UP TO IT.

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THIS IMAGE IS TAKEN FROM INSIDE THE WALL, AND PORTRAYS THE PROXIMITY OF THE WALL TO THE HOUSES.

It is important to note that the urbanization of a city also has a major impact on the society. In my experience, there exist many different perspectives from people living in such circumstances, though the most prominent perspective is that of optimism. Much of the younger population there, is making the best of what they have; opening restaurants, clubs, and bars anytime they have the opportunity. Many people and artists from around the world have come into the West Bank to show their sympathy to the Palestinian people by drawing graffiti on the walls. Banksy, a famous graffiti artist, used the wall in the West Bank as a canvas for many of his outstanding works. Some of the artists speak a thousand words through their drawings.

Since the creation of the separation wall, the Palestinian population has been significantly limited and controlled with regards to its capacity for urbanization. In many ways, the West Bank is like a gated community; resources entering and exiting the region are controlled, land space is limited, surrounded by a wall, and the only way to get in or out is through a gate. Could this type of gated community be used as a means to eradicate a population from within? The evidence seems to show that the West Bank is heading towards an urban disaster that could lead to its end as an area that can sustain normal human life. Yet, while the situation in the West Bank may seem dire and hopeless, the people living 32

inside are, dare I say it, living. For what is living other than making the best of what you have?

1. Coon, Anthony. “Al-Haq, “Urban Planning in the West Bank Under Military Occupation: Summary Report”” Journal of Palestine Studies 21, no. 1 (1991): 163-65.

2. Thawaba, Salem A. “Urban Growth of a City Under Siege: Tulkarm, Palestine Over the Past Century.” Journal of Planning History 8, no. 1 (2008): 27-46.

3. Thawaba, “Urban Growth of a City Under Siege…”.

4. Abu Sada, Jumana, and Salem Thawaba. “Multi Criteria Analysis for Locating Sustainable Suburban Centres: A Case Study from Ramallah Governorate, Palestine.” Cities 28, no. 5, 381-93.

5. Coon, “Urban Planning in the West Bank…”, 161.

6. Thawaba, “Urban Growth of a City Under Siege…”, 39.

7. Al-Sa’ed, Rashed. “Obstacles and Chances to Cut Pollution Load Discharges from Urban Palestine.” Water International 30, no. 4 (2005): 538-44.