Diverse Frames of Reference: the reality of the matrix

I tend to think of my work as breaking down false perceptions…. Assumptions about another. All too many times in my life, I have been looked at in a certain way, without any conceptualization of who I am, what my experiences are, what my paradigm and frame of reference is.  I may not have a specific perception of some other’s experience. But that does not mean I haven’t had an experience which can make me relate.

I watched this crazy B line show tonight called ‘Abandoned’ with Brittany Murphy and Dean Cain.  At the end I was surprised to see that it was a film dedicated in the memory of Brittany Murphy. Don’t get me wrong, I know who she is but I don’t follow pop culture too closely.  I never knew Brittany Murphy was dead. The only things I ever remember of her were her few films as well as things you catch peripherally in the media. I don’t remember hearing very good things anyway.  You never do about young women in the media… not for too long any way a lot of times. Man… seems to exist in politics and the arts.  I can’t help but recall Mandy Siu talking about gender and politics and relating to the perceptions of women such as Belinda Stronach or Helena Guergis. Just as in politics, why can’t we see someone like Julia Roberts or Jennifer Aniston on the screen and just see them for the character they represent? Why do they have to be painted with a specific paintbrush that we can’t take them seriously? Wouldn’t that be brilliant in a way?

Anyway – we looked online quickly and saw that she died from acute pneumonia combined with anemia and the use of prescription drugs mostly it seems.  Oh… our drug ridden culture… too bad when we prescribe so many things to people that it ruins them… strips them. Didn’t Michael Jackson’s death have something to do with this? It speaks to the power of our medical system doesn’t it? Maybe we should start seeing what hands are guiding the medical system.  Wonder what this would uncover.  Sometimes I think some people feel that because this life is so short, I’m gonna bloody well enjoy it and not consider the consequences.  Who knows; if I don’t see it, I don’t know it.  Doesn’t mean I don’t care either though. What an interesting paradox with life… how if anyone’s frame of reference has any blind spots, it can still negatively affect the web of life.

So it makes me wonder about all those people out there we have these perceptions of.  What are we missing in our frame of reference?  How do we know what guides another?  Just like I find it difficult when people put me in a box as a so called white privileged girl (which I am), they may not see me as so many other things that I am and have experienced.  The colour of my skin does not say who I am.  Just like the colour of anyone’s skin is irrelevant to their right to dignity. All beings, all living things have the right to dignity.

Racing for Rights! Help!

I wanted to post a quick note as I have coerced Jordan and Allan (my daughter and my partner) to take part in the John Humphrey Centre’s Inaugural Race for Rights to raise funds for our programming to promote respect and advance human rights education.

The Centre does really cool stuff – from working with youth ages 5 and up to educate them on critical issues and deal with stuff like bullying, to running leadership programs to explore organizations and human rights issues and actions in Edmonton, to hosting the massive Global Youth Assembly which brings youth from around the world together to build strategies for change.

We do really valuable work – the stuff we don’t often see (like directly saving a cat or feeding someone) – we do the stuff to work to prevent social problems.  Our work supports democracy, justice and freedom – the things we all value and maybe sometimes take for granted. We work to build relationships and break down barriers of discrimination – building a culture of peace and respect! Because we do work though may not be so tangible as buying a goat, it is hard for us to raise funds like some other organizations but we are trying this year with this race!

The race is an amazing race style where 7-year-old Jordan and Allan will have to go through mental and physical challenges to win! My goal is to raise at least $400 to support the Centre for them to participate.  I’m sending this email in request to consider supporting us in this cause by making a donation no matter how big or how small.  Any is appreciated and because the Centre is a charity – you can get a tax receipt!  Please go to Canada Helps at the following link to donate online if you wish.  Otherwise, I’m always happy to take check or cash!  Please let me know if you can – your support is greatly appreciated!

http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s79036

Perpetuating Racism in the Media??

I have to say I was a bit disappointed to pick up my Edmonton Journal this morning to see the headline in massive size “Day care owner charged with sex assault” with a beautiful smiling picture of Ali Mohamed Abdi right below. At that instant, I couldn’t help but wonder what a lot of people I know who aren’t tuned into understanding the complexities of racism in our community would be thinking.  I could hear them – coupled with the media around the murder of young Canadians of Somali heritage over the past years – a media article like this doesn’t reinforce a positive image of the Somali community and I’m betting that most people didn’t even get to page A2 (or let alone read the subtext of the title or any of the article itself) where doubts are highlighted about the charges.

An article like this can be severely destructive and I really wish that those at the Journal would realize that when they publish an article.  Sometimes we need to step back and really look at something to understand it and think about what message it conveys– perhaps there wasn’t an effort to step back and really look at this article before it was printed and the message it sends.  Here is a man who hasn’t had the chance to a fair trial or judgment before really facing now public trial.  I see this so often in articles and it saddens me when we see the impacts of racism in the community.  If he is innocent, it is too late… he’s now already going to suffer in his source of livelihood and dignity in the public.

Additional thoughts later:

I feel like I may need to explain myself a bit more. The article, the written aspect of it, isn’t racist at all. We have to be sensitive however in the visual aspects of media which speak loud. There are a lot of stereotypes and prejudices with Canadian Somalis are confronted with right now and the visual aspects of this article are what is frustrating.   The community is struggling right now and there needs to be sensitivity to quick visual images.  People who carry these judgments would have an immediate quick reaction to the front page – and not good ones. 

A lot of people have a fear and anger towards immigrants. I just recently received a forward email from the community which was ill informed and angry about MP Dhalla’s current Bill on pensions for immigrants. There is  anger and fear out there – to ensure we are supporting understanding and acceptance – we have to be sensitive is what I am saying.  Not everyone is conscious of prejudice and the dynamics of racism. Seeing crime and Somali front page right now doesn’t help that  community. It reinforces misdirected judgments that paint this community as  something problematic in Canada and that they are severing our so-called safety. 

The timing of this front page was really unfortunate. I’m not against the article  – but perhaps in a different visual context may have been more appropriate.

Addressing Hate Crime – A Serious Issue

This past Monday I had the honour of being a panelist in celebration of Hate Crime Awareness Day here in Edmonton.  Thanks to Stephen Camp, Kris Wells and Angela Renwick in their efforts to put this together and to bring the community to a place where we could have a public discussion on the impacts of hate in our community and to try and develop solutions towards change.  Thank you to Ken Smith, Tim Tamaguchi and Ian Mathieson for being part of that panel with me.

Special thanks go to Ted Kerr and all those in the Community Response Project for coming to challenge and ask the critical questions for the night and a special thank you to Ted for noticing and supporting my cry on facebook weeks ago upon learning about the assault on an 18 year old First Nations youth in Edmonton that is not just horrendous but absolutely unacceptable in our community.

Special and utmost thanks to Bernadette Iahtail for sharing this story with me and letting me reach out to try and see if we could get a reaction. Thank you Bernadette as well for coming on Monday to raise the questions on this important case. I would have wished to see many more from the Aboriginal community there so we could hear their voice. I also would have wished to see more people from the Somali and Sudanese communities who need to be heard as well.   Thank you to Jacqueline Fayant for pointing out that it is precisely the voice of Aboriginal people that has been appropriated historically as well. We have to trust that whoever there are the right people and the momentum is starting…

Below are my notes from my talk which I have no regrets over.  I am just hoping the discussions can continue and that we all continue to talk and move on this.  Thank you for paying attention.

I was nervous to talk tonight because I toe two lines… I know these men up here are trying to do their job the best they can with the tools they have at their disposal. I also know people in the community who are impacted and affected by hate crime and other acts of discrimination.  This is real… we are all part of this and there are shortcomings on all sides. But progress is being made and we have to be cognizant of that and participate in that.

One of the critical aspects around reporting hate crime however is a general lack of trust in law enforcement to respond effectively to a crime, that things will not be addressed or changed, and for some communities, it may involve a fear of backlash if there is a reporting on hate crime.  There is a general lack of trust of law enforcement in the community.

Few Aboriginal people in Alberta seek help to address any forms of discrimination beyond the support of family and friends.  Even at the Human Rights Commission level, they do not report because they don’t have faith in the system, or they aren’t aware of how it works.  Their past experiences are not always good in these systems and so there is a real belief that there is no support there.  In a recent report by the Aboriginal Commission on Human Rights and Justice, individuals who had sought help in the past felt that there was no support or action to address abuses and felt no changes would occur if they did lodge a complaint.  History is what they know… both in the longer term historical context of indigenous marginalization but also in terms of their experience with this system when they try to have their rights addressed.  In this report, Aboriginal communities remark that interactions with the police are among the highest areas where they experience discrimination – so if this is the case, there are severe problems and barriers in front of reporting becoming an accepted outlet and practise.

One of the questions that law enforcement needs to consider is what message do we send out to the community if here is a perception of lack of response?  I say perception because there are often things happening… but the public only responds to what is publicly known.

There is an intricate balance for police in enforcing the law to support individual rights, but maintaining social order to support our collective rights. As  a community, we need to understand that there are sensitivities around hate crime investigation.  We need to be aware of how the investigation processes work and what avenues exist – such as the current liaison committees. We have a right to know this information and while there is a responsibility of law enforcement to raise awareness of this, we as the public have a responsibility to engage constructively with this as well.  We have the right to ask the questions but we also have to be willing to work in collaboration and trust.

It is critical for the communities to be working to constructively engage and support the police to ensure investigations take place effectively as well as to hold police accountable.  We have a role in this.  Trust is an underlying issue however – longer term historical tensions and challenges confront us.  We have an Aboriginal community that continues to face the legacy of colonialism.  We have immigrant communities coming from countries where the police are not a trust authority. This is a complex issue.

We can’t necessarily dismantle a whole system to start anew however… we have to address the systemic issues of racism and other isms around race, religion, sexuality, ability etc while addressing these specific crimes. It is a journey. Law is not necessarily final and complete or perfect. It is evolving… hate crime is still a relatively new area.  We can be critics but we have to be constructive critics. We have to ask the right questions and we have to ask for accountability.

It leads to the underlying questions of why hate crime is a problem in our communities. The culture of violence that exists has fundamental underlying social norms that have embedded themselves – from racism to sexism… you name it.  But this all doesn’t get addressed through law enforcement.  That is a reaction to crime.

We need to fundamentally support those programs that prevent crime and prevent the normalization and acceptance of disrespect and intolerance.  Bullying in schools is a paramount issue and we need those programs such as with the Centre for Race and Culture, Safe and Caring Schools and the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights that work to engage youth and children in understanding the value of diversity and respect for human dignity.  Organizations like ours should NOT be undervalued and we often are because those preventative approaches aren’t necessarily immediately tangible… we are working for longer term change; for a change in social norms.

Hate crime is about deeply embedded intolerance – on the side of fanaticism.  It underlines a belief system that some humans are worth more than others. In my mind, this is one of the worst crimes – to have claimed direct overt privilege and entitlement over another and for what reasons? Because of one’s own security and fear? This is a direct conscious violation of human rights – or in essence, human dignity.  It is one of the gravest violations of human dignity  AND collective rights. This is the unique issue around hate crime.

This is why events like this are critical – this public discussion is just that… public. It has to be open to the broader community to know that we all as a community do not support hate crime. It is not acceptable but we need to figure out HOW we work together to address it.

These people sitting here on this panel today are here for the right reasons. They are here because they care sincerely about this issue and want to ensure that hate crimes are addressed. We are all here for that reason. My challenge to everyone is to consider what each of our role is in creating a community that says NO to hate crime and that supports each other in preventing it, but also addressing it when it occurs.  There needs to be support to the police to investigate but also to the communities affected by the crime.

Police walk a fine line in addressing crime motivated by hate.  They need community support. They don’t necessarily have this because of a culture of distrust which has historical roots.  They are often trying to balance the sensitivity of the case and the need for the space to conduct investigations effectively.  But the public needs to hear about these issues as well.  There is a fine line here to balance. Hate crimes bring intense media scrutiny but often the public and media are also not privy to the critical information that can not be released.  Hate crime involves a complicated investigation process and getting to the truth is no easy process because of the internal and external barriers.

Law enforcement’s response to hate crime can be pivotal to determining the psychological stress of victims. Being responsive and effective in addressing hate crime brings that necessary trust we need.  If we don’t respond to cases brought forward as hate crimes by investigating, this gives he perception of a reinforcement of the structure of privilege. Fine lines are at play here.

So what does this mean? There has to be real efforts of local police to build real relationships with communities. Our local liaison committees in Edmonton are essential but people need to know about this and these committees need to have the support and resources to build this awareness and to connect with the community. I think of the example in and around Hobbema and Wetaskiwin called Citizens for Healthy Communities who have stood up as stakeholders throughout the area as a community to say enough is enough and law enforcement, education, members of the public and more are taking action on groups such as the Hobbema Haters.

In communities,  there is also a need for trained advocates to support their communities.  This can link to the liaison committees but to build trust, they need to be seen as separate from law enforcement. 

Enough is enough. We have to do something about crime and hate. We have to do it together.

Take Tobin to the end!

The Tobin Tax gains traction… let’s get it to the finish line!!

 Every so often, a proposal comes along that could transform everything. Every so often, activists and people in power end up on the same side of an issue. Every so often, the solution isn’t complicated … just brilliant.

Every so often, we get the chance to be part of something huge.

We have that chance right now, and it’s called the Robin Hood Tax. A tiny fee paid on the financial transactions – paid by banks, not by people – would raise billions of dollars for fighting poverty and climate change at home and around the world. Britain, France and Germany all support it. It is time Canada did too.http://robinhoodtax.ca/

 This is an opportunity for the world.  Not only does it have the power to promote a realization of human potential within those in poverty, but also for those that will have to be at the forefront of this process.  The big question for the world is going to be how to manage these funds.  The opportunity to provide the regulation of fictitious capital, which we have seen in recent years devastate families in our own communities with the recession, is needed. It is time to step up to promote this initiative but while at the same time, call on the question.  This will spur us to find that ability to work together at a higher level – higher than our state.

Buying in to Freedom of Speech – where have we gone?

I am fascinated with the concept of collective consciousness… a consciousness that serves to perpetuate an environment of either oppression or liberation. When I look around the world and see the depth of marginalization, oppression and lack of connection, I feel a bit confused and lost.  The world is as we are… the world is as healthy as we are…

The depth of inner turmoil or peace is thus reflected on the world I believe. Every day my interactions with people who are filled with hate, anger, insecurity or more makes me understand the depth of challenge that faces the world.  Until individuals in this world can move beyond their ego, I wonder how much peace we can achieve.  I myself struggle every day with knowing how I interact with turmoil… oftentimes it’s hard to maintain peace in the face of outright anger or hate.

Some may claim that in the West and as democracies, we have peace and stability… but I can’t help reflecting on the depth of things that happen every day that challenge this assumption – it’s an assumption that peace is solely the absence of war or outright violence perhaps.  Or perhaps peace is the absence of oppression… in each country and society around the world, we are dealing with our own levels of oppression…  and I am going to bring this back to human rights in the sense that each place in this world has a diverse projection of human rights that are either met or not.  Oppression is a violation of rights – whether its discrimination, lack of housing, lack of creative thought or religion… you name it.  A person has the capacity to be whole when they are able to enjoy their rights – and they are all interconnected.  Being oppressed by discrimination affects your other human rights – but most importantly it affects your own inner capacity to maintain or find peace and security in just being.

This week the media was swarmed with the controversy of Ann Coulter coming to Canada and her shallow-sightedness and disrespect, which really at the heart of it is centred around ego and economics… She has found a lucrative space to enrich herself and people are supporting the lining of pockets. It saddened me greatly to see the opportunity was taken in Calgary to increase profit by changing the venue and the dearth of people that showed up to support Coulter.  Is this not a sign of our collective consciousness in Canada?  Is this not sad?  Why do we have to pay attention to someone who is disrespectful?  Why do we have to financially support this and reinforce this idea of economic benefit more?  Let me say this – the picture I see of Coulter in the Calgary airport to me spoke volumes as to what values may be held by this individual – and while I may be assuming based on my experiences and perceptions – I do feel that the discussion about economics and our value systems are critical here because every day if we are not challenging our beliefs and values, we cease to grow.

There was Coulter in the airport donning her sunglasses. And let me just say, if she was wearing these for medical reasons fine, but the use of sunglasses coming OFF a dim plane and then into an airport is not normally for the brightness, but for style and image… and image is where it seems to be at for Coulter…. she’s using her voice to cry for attention to for a reinforcement of her image – an image that we have encouraged her to have.  She was making a pose for the camera, making very clear her slim body and slightly exposed waistline…  all part of our cultural buy in to this idea of beauty.  Coulter is brilliant really – she has found a niche to be noticed, to be looked up to, to make money, and to have people LOOK at her… I mean who could want more?

All I can say is I want more… If gaining attention means to disrespect someone by telling them to ride a ‘magic carpet’ in jest… I don’t think I could go to bed at night believing that I am a positive force or energy in this world and it saddens me greatly that as Canadians, we have bought into a consciousness that supports someone who lives the values of money and image and not the value of human dignity. She’s got a smart business sense – she is an entrepreneur… but we have choices in which entrepreneurs we support in this world.  Let’s wake up people – she may have freedom of speech – but we don’t have to buy in to listen.

Reflecting on the Hurt Locker

I was curious of the recent win of the Hurt Locker at the Oscar’s… I’m never an avid movie watcher and had never heard of it, but of course had experienced Avatar and wondered what this film brought to the table that Avatar did not.  I felt Avatar was a brilliant reflection on the parasitic nature of the human species and that whenever the human species comes in contact with another living species, it always seems to be to the detriment of the other.  Reflecting on the fundamental paradox and disconnection between the indigenous reflections on Mother Earth and our indivisibility and interconnection with the world versus the reality of the predominant economic, political and social system, Avatar was a great attempt to make people think… to question the way the human species pursues neverending conquests at the cost of our earth… at the cost of our very survival.

So I had to have a view of Hurt Locker… and boy did it knock my socks off.  I have to say as I watched it, I had visions of Allan playing these games on the Xbox such as Call of Duty.  It was almost exact replication in a sense – some of the scenes from Hurt Locker.  The movie made me so extremely sad… the more sophisticated our ‘hunt for evil’ becomes, the more sophisticated those that are trying to fight back have to become as well – and thus the more civilian lives that are at stake.  What does or will it take to have international forces leave places like Iraq?  A few deaths like what happened in Somalia?  Will the more deaths of American soldiers call the international community to question why we are there? War is a drug… it is an addiction… for both American soldiers and likely those on the other side of the fence.  We just have different ways of recruiting on each side of the fight and I get sick to my stomach thinking of the 12 year old voices I hear on Xbox Live when Allan is on there who seem to have a sense of the world that is extremely biased and prejudiced. 

Allan claims that we all have the free will to make a choice to play games such as Call of Duty – but there is definitely a fine line.  I am absolutely shocked and astounded at the lack of consciousness that people seem to have about children’s exposure to violence.  I remember being dragged to Tranformers II this past year and at the 10 pm show seeing that in my row and the row ahead of me, there were 5 boys around the ages of 6-8.  This is alarming to me… do we have any wonder why there will be children who don’t even second guess smacking another child?  I’m astounded… It’s not even that I am astounded about the naivety of people, but our absolute denial of our role in this insanely violent world.  A world where we are so focused on our immediate and our seeming amnesty from any negative impacts on ourselves, our loved ones, or the broader local or global community.

Hurt Locker was fascinating – not only in terms of the reflection of the conflicts that our armed forces are involved in, but the human psyche behind these conflicts at a very individual level.  I loved how the film in the background of these American soldiers going out to seek bombs, was a society in motion – from a man loading rocks which I’m sure were of a huge importance to his life and survival, to people trading in the markets and interacting just as they would any where in the world.  At what level do we truly believe that our intervention is for the greater good?  When the intervention is tied to either economic self interest or a belief in what is ‘right’ than we have some reconsidering to do. These young men fighting – and the one that was focused upon (James I think) – is someone so disconnected from reality and his roots.  The further from your roots you get, the harder it is to come back and the more you need that drug.  Wow… we have some work to do.

Random thoughts – Love and Wisdom

If I have to prove myself in order to defend myself…. Yet you will not hear me… or you will not have the conversation… what is this? How does this bring about justice or peace?

There is no one grand master in the world… Any sort of oppression is bigger than one individual… but it’s often not perceived as oppression… but as defense (or perception of defense).  The world is like a terrain covered in little forest fires… with groups of people individually making choices every day of their life about what is important to them. A man is influenced and pulled in so many ways by the number of relationships he has around him… to life, to money , other people, to anything that he may choose to idolize.  To be isolated in your idolization however, is perhaps fanatical… … what causes one to be so absolutely focused on one thing… or one truth.

We defend so strongly what we love.  It’s whether the love we have is a belief is where it can become dangerous… on a belief of knowing something external to oneself… because there can be no claim to know or be the grand master, if you don’t take the wisdom of others into your being… you can not have love or wisdom.  These two are fundamentally intertwined…

Those fires around the world are never-ending battles… but they are never-ending battles within the human… the global landscape of fires is a reflection of the human… the circle of life is a reflection of humanity… we are mortal. We are not God. We cannot claim to be or know the true essence of God. For our wisdom and our love is finite. Or is it???  Ah… the mysteries of the universe

Join the Crazed… Skydive for Africa 2010 launches!

Ready for the Time of Your Life?!  Announcing Skydive for Africa 2010

Calling all brave souls – are you ready to jump out of an airplane?!  Now is the time – you can skydive for a good cause!!

The Ainembabazi Children’s Project and the Eden North Parachute School are hosting the fourth annual Skydive for Africa, a fundraiser in support of the needs of orphans and vulnerable children affected by the AIDS crisis in Southern Uganda. 

This fundraising event allows individuals to register, begin to collect pledges and skydive on one of three optional dates. Proceeds from the pledges of the skydivers will support the health, education and poverty alleviation for children in the communities of Kinoni and Kyabugimbi in Uganda.

Our three dive dates this summer are June 19^th or August 21^st or 22^nd, 2010. If you are outside of Edmonton and still want to dive – please be in touch!!

RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY! Register online at or visit our website www.ainembabazi.org for more information!   

Background:

One of the long-lasting and heart-breaking impacts of the AIDS virus in Uganda has been the orphaning of thousands of children, leaving them helpless in the face of economic austerity.  They confront challenges in attaining education, gaining access to economic resources and income, and being confronted with stigmatization and exploitation within their communities.  The overall result is that these orphans, while not necessarily infected with AIDS themselves, suffer a terrible and uncertain fate. 

The Ainembabazi Children’s Project is both a registered non-governmental organization in Mbarara, Uganda and a registered charity in Edmonton, Alberta. The project aims to address the challenges of these orphans and vulnerable children primarily through improving the capacity of the community to respond to children’s needs. ACP is currently working within the capacity of micro loans, livestock programs, educational improvement such as libraries, enhancing primary health care and more.

Contact Information:

Email: skydive@ainembabazi.org

Phone: 780.975.1116

Hello world!

I am finally joining the world of social media albeit reluctantly… I am new to this and I know there is etiquette and rules to follow online but I am making the choice to not worry about these and just be as much myself as possible and use this space as a place for reflection and hopefully a space of conversation with people I can learn from

I am not one to describe all that I have accomplished but to explain who I am by my roots. I am a farm girl from Wildwood Alberta who grew up relishing in the beauty of the natural world, but struggling with a number of issues (we all have our struggles).  Curiousity and a search for justice has formulated my life’s journey. I’m excited to see where the the journey’s take me!