Human Rights Champion Award

On December 11, I was honoured to receive a Human Rights Champion Award from the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights. I was described in the awards brochure as "a pioneering media artist in Edmonton and a community organizer." Many of my colleagues from the Edmonton Coalition Against War and Racism, the Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action, and the Moving Forward with Reconciliation working group, as well as many of my general activist friends, were there to support me.

Here's my acceptance speech, in writing and video:

When I showed up at my first peace march in September of 2005, camera in hand, I had no idea that 11 years later I would be standing here receiving an award like this. 

I firmly believe that we all have a role to play when it comes to peace and human rights, and that every contribution has significance. Our voices count, whether it is helping organize events, connecting communities, or simply showing up to support an equitable society, to say no to racism, and to say yes to peace and an anti-war government.

I also hope that my example will help influence others to get involved with the peace movement and human rights. We need your voices and talents. 

Thank you to the John Humphrey Centre for holding these awards and for bestowing this honour upon me. And to all of my friends and supporters over the years: peace, shalom, thank you.

Bill C-51 and Women's (and Everyone's) Rights

On March 8, International Women's Day, I spoke on behalf of the Edmonton Coalition Against War and Racism (ECAWAR) during the IWD Forum here in Edmonton. Much of my short speech focused on Bill C-51, the "Anti-Terrorism Bill," which, if passed, would potentially limit our freedoms as activists to assemble, to criticize the government, or even comment on global issues. The text of my speech is below, as well as a video (the introduction at which I blush).

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International Women’s Day came into being after the Second International Conference of Socialist Women in 1910 in Copenhagen, Denmark, passed a resolution to establish International Women’s Day as a day to agitate for the rights of women to take part in the political affairs of their countries and their rights as workers. It was inspired by the growing struggles of women for their political and economic rights, including the establishment in the U.S. of Women’s National Day in 1909 in honour of the women garment workers’ strikes in 1908. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women's rights and world peace.

At that first conference and since, the demand for peace has been a prominent theme of IWD, along with anti-discrimination, equality, anti-sexism, and anti-violence against women. In the year 2000, the official UN theme was Women United for Peace. The following year, it was Women and Peace: Women Managing Conflicts.

As Canadian women in the peace movement, we still have many things to be concerned about.

We have a federal government which is engaged in war and aggression, trying to impose puppet regimes and so-called “Canadian values” on non-Western countries, often under the guise of supporting the rights of women and girls in those countries, instead of respecting those countries’ rights to self-determination. We say: Not in our Name!

U.S.-NATO wars and intervention have led to literally millions of deaths in the Middle East and elsewhere, including hundreds and thousands of children. They have destabilized countries, led to failed states such as Libya, and contributed to the arming and proliferation of ISIS. The standard definition of insanity is to believe that doing the same thing will have different results. We call for troops out of Iraq and no attack on Syria, for the peaceful resolution of disputes, not war. Canada Needs an Anti-War Government!

Now, we face a serious threat within our own country as activists. Workers’ strike struggles, the fight of First Nations for their rights, minorities, and in particular Muslims are targeted by the impending legislation of Bill C-51 (also known as the “Anti-Terrorism Bill”), which is the Harper government’s response to Canadians’ desire for change.

Bill C-51 makes promotion of terrorism a criminal offence. What does that mean? Consider that the Harper government claims that the Palestinian resistance in the Middle East is terrorism and wants to criminalize any “promotion” of their resistance. Yet thousands upon thousands of Canadians feel duty bound to defend the Palestinians’ right to be and to express their own right to conscience.

Bill C-51 gives sweeping powers to CSIS, which many people say will permit it to operate as a police state without oversight. By claiming not to include strike struggles and political dissent while adding the word “lawful,” C-51 allows all manner of activities to be called “terrorist” - including illegal strikes, marches without a police permit, and acts of civil disobedience. Our march today without a police permit could be included.

Bill C-51 is also a direct assault on the rights of First Nations to defend their lands and it must not be allowed to pass!

We cannot permit such an assault. Let every one of us take an action - participate in a picket or rally; talk to your co-workers, families, other women; call and write your member of Parliament. Join the work to defeat Harper in 2015!

Speaking Out Again on the Middle East

On Tuesday evening, July 8, I spoke at an emergency rally concerning the situation in Israel and Palestine, on behalf of the Edmonton Coalition Against War and Racism and Independent Jewish Voices. The rally was a call for peace and a protest against the collective punishment of Gaza in retribution for the tragic deaths of three Israeli teenagers last week. Below is the text of my speech, as well as a video of me speaking.

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The Edmonton Coalition Against War and Racism condemns the collective punishment and violence against the Palestinian people by the government of Israel. We believe in the right to self-determination for all people without imperialistic interference, and this includes Palestine. We call on everyone to work for an anti-war government in Canada. There can be no solution without recognizing the rights of the Palestinian people.

I am also the Alberta representative on the National Steering Committee of Independent Jewish Voices (IJV). Independent Jewish Voices is a national human rights organization whose mandate is to promote a just resolution to the dispute in Israel and Palestine through the application of international law and respect for the human rights of all parties.

IJV is made up of Jewish people (and non-Jewish supporters) from across the country. We come from different walks of life, levels of religious observance, professions, and ages, but the one thing we have in common is that we believe that the occupation of Palestine is wrong and must stop. Politically, we provide an alternative to organizations such as B'nai B'rith and the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee which claim to speak on behalf of all Canadian Jews. They don't.

In light of the recent tragedies we are hearing more Jewish voices calling out for an end to the occupation, even within Israel itself. To quote Gideon Levy, who is a Jewish writer for the major Israeli newspaper Ha'Aretz: “In the Jewish state, there is no remnant of the biblical injunction to treat the minority or the stranger with justice. There are no more Jews left who marched with Martin Luther King or who sat in jail with Nelson Mandela. The Jewish state, which Israel insists the Palestinians recognize, must first recognize itself. At the end of the day, at the end of a terrible week, it seems that a Jewish state means a racist, nationalistic state, meant for Jews only.”

My heart breaks at the recent, senseless, tragic murders of the three Israeli teenagers. It also breaks at the Palestinians who have been murdered by Israel in retribution, including a 16 year old who was burned while he was still alive. IJV takes the stand that all of these heinous crimes are the inevitable result of Israel’s brutal and illegal occupation of Palestine.

In a press release that IJV issued last week, our spokesperson Tyler Levitan did not mince words. “Make no mistake, the burden of responsibility rests with the occupying power – Israel. The blood of these youth is also on Canada’s hands, as Canada’s government unconditionally supports Israel’s violent military occupation of the West Bank and siege of Gaza, which repeatedly fuels more violence,” he said.

The bottom line is that the occupation is not only illegal and immoral, but bad for the futures of both Israelis and Palestinians. It is causing misery and death for both peoples, and they deserve better. It is time for Canada's government to stop supporting the policies of the Israeli government and to take a stand against the brutal occupation of the Palestinians. It is time for the Jewish community as a whole to open its eyes and accept that just because we have been oppressed does not give us the right to become or to support the oppression. We must stand up for the rights of all, including the Palestinians. Our religion and our history demands it.

Finally, Canadians must put an end to the lawlessness of the Harper dictatorship which claims to stand for law and order but acts in defiance of international law - giving its support and even directly participating in illegal occupations, war crimes, collective punishment, use of banned weapons, and many other heinous crimes against the Palestinian people and humanity.

Shalom.

A Decade of Memories - Peace Activism with ECAWAR

On December 1, the Edmonton Coalition Against War and Racism (ECAWAR) celebrated a decade of peace activism in the city. The organization got together in December of 2002 when a number of people who were already involved in anti-war activities in Edmonton decided to join forces to plan protests about the war in Iraq - particularly urging the Canadian government not to get involved. As a result, the two largest peace protests in Edmonton's history took place in February and March of 2003, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets.

Ten years later, ECAWAR is still marching for peace, organizing rallies, hosting teach-ins, and teaming up with other organizations for emergency actions. Our anniversary event was filled with memories, reflections, and plans for the future.

I became involved with ECAWAR in September of 2005 when I showed up at a peace rally with a camera and started taking pictures. A slideshow of my photos ran continually projected on a large screen. It took me an entire afternoon to cull the collection down to around 200 photos.

A couple of years after I became involved with ECAWAR, I began writing and performing political protest songs. I played a set of three of my best-known songs at the anniversary - it was great to play them inside on a stage; a real change from usually performing them outside in all weather!

One of my favourite parts of the event was when people were invited to share their memories of ECAWAR. The event was already running over and I felt I spent enough time on the stage, so I decided against getting up there and sharing a memory or two. My first one is, of course, my first peace rally. I showed up with my camera and then asked one of the organizers if I could take pictures. I was happy that Peggy Morton said yes. We have since worked together to organize many peace events that I have captured on film.

Perhaps my favourite memory is from the peace march on March 17, 2007. Before we headed down Whyte Avenue from Corbett Hall, we decided to join in a movement taking place around that time of forming a human peace sign. Andrew Fraser, another avid photographer and ECAWAR member who now lives in Toronto, and I were the assigned photographers. In order to get the photo, we had to climb up seven flights of stairs to the top of the parkade. Then, we had to lean over the concrete wall and angle our cameras down to ensure the entire peace symbol got into the picture. I was totally winded from running up seven flights of stairs, and in addition, I am terrified of heights. So, needless to say, this was not an easy task. Plus, we had to try to steer everyone from up there, without megaphones.

After the mission was accomplished, we raced down the stairs to join the march, which had started without us. I had asked Peggy to please not have everyone start marching until we were down, but I guess you can't stop a couple hundred enthusiastic peaceniks. So, winded again from running down the stairs, I had to take my position alongside the group and start running to keep up, as I often have to do when I am photographing and filming.

"How do you feel?" I was asked shortly after I descended, by someone who knows just how queasy heights make me.

"I'm only slightly nauseous!" I yelled, loud enough for everyone around me to hear - and share in a laugh.

Okay, so maybe you had to be there. But take a look at the photo at the top of this post. The ends certainly justified the scary means.

I am totally looking forward to more peace activities with ECAWAR in the coming future.