SpeakNews
In this issue: + Local Community Action + U of A students send delegation to tar sands + Head coverings and neckties
No. 6 | Winter/Spring 2010
Quarterly | Always Free
W r i t e s f o r R i g h t s
+ Editor’s Message AJ Reitsma
+ Covering is Oppression Khalida Tanvir Syed
+ Community Action Jon Lai
+ With my own Eyes. Students Travel to Fort Mac. AJ Reitsma
+ Voices from the Lubicon Edited: AJ Reitsma
+ Questioning Muslimah Khalida Tanvir Syed
+ Reclaim
Ruby X
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In This Issue
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Welcome to the Winter/Spring 2010 issue of SpeakNews!
It was a long time coming but here it is!
I definitely learned a great deal in the publication of the last issue and this one!
Before she left, Jackie and I had discussed how we hope to transform Speaknews into
a more community-based and focused paper. This is not to say that we do not want to
focus on all sorts of issues; as always, our audience and our writers direct us.
However, in this issue, there is definitely a more local focus. Check out Jon’s article to
learn more about how a community can work together in the interests of human
rights. Learn much about the oil sands, which rest right in our ‘own backyard’ and are
the subject of so much debate.
SpeakNews comes to you four times a year, brought to you by dedicated journalists
from the University of Alberta campus, the Edmonton community, and around the
world. In each issue, we strive to bring you the most relevant under-reported news
and views at the local, national and international levels. Subscribe or volunteer by
emailing [email protected]. Then, spread the word to your fellow writers,
photographers, and activists - let's do this thing together.
Thanks for reading!
Your editor,
AJ Reitsma
Get In Touch 780.232.6744
http://speaknews.wordpress.com/
Care of Alberta Public Interest
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9111 112th St.
Edmonton, AB T6G 2C5
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Editor’s Message
2
As a women of Muslim origins and born in the
East, I am often dismayed by developments in
Canada and in many other Western nations concerning Muslim women‘s use and choice of
dress styles and head-coverings such as Hijabs,
Niqabs, and Burkas. These have become the
subject of significant controversy and debate. In
some countries, the coverings and the women who choose to wear them are deemed so dangerous
that legislation has been enacted to restrict or limit
the use of such coverings in schools, the
workplace, or other public settings.
When is Choosing to Cover Your Body Oppressive: Is the Tie a Symbol of Male Oppression in the West?
Khalida Tanvir Syed
In my circle, some think that all the controversy is
result of ordinary Joes or Joans ignorant of
Muslim practices and the reality of Muslim women‘s choices clamouring for legislation and
rallying against these ‗dangerous‘ and ‗oppressive‘
coverings. Often in the process forgetting that, it is
they who are limiting women‘s choices. In some
extreme cases, such as an incident in Australia, all
the clamour-leading gangs of men to chase down and corner women who choose to wear Hijabs so
that they can forcibly remove these ‗offensive‘
coverings from women‘s heads all in the name of
women‘s liberation and rights. 3
Women praying dhuhr (on jummah) at the Islamic Society of Akron & Kent. Beth Rankin (BohPhoto) from Kent, OH, USA.
Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
do some basic research and reflection. It is far easier to assume that what ‗we‘ do in the West is
always advanced and right and what ―they‖ do in
the East is always primitive and wrong or to simply
rely and accept without question common
stereotypes, misinformation, and misconceptions about other groups.
It is so ironic that in West there is so much
concern being expressed for Muslim women‘s
rights and yet many of these same people fail to
notice the continued sexism and oppression of women in Western societies. When I look around
me, I can‘t help wonder how they fail to note how
women are mistreated. I see women being
objectified and treated as sexual objects in the
media and in popular culture. Yet I hear and read
statements such as ―Eh well, Muslim Women are oppressed because they cannot choose their dress
code.‖
Equally problematic, is the notion that ―Show me
your face otherwise there will be no school or other public services for you‖. If we followed this logic
that one‘s face must be seen to have service, to
show identity, then we should shut down all
universities distance education programs, stop
using telephone radio services and internet
because you cannot see the face of the persons involved. If you want to see my face for security or
identification: Hire more females in workforce,
because a woman who chooses to cover her face in
public, will be happy to show her face to female
public servants, female teachers, female customer officers, female medical doctors and of course
female police officers but not to men. NO MORE!
Why is a piece of cloth so dangerous? Why do we
not pass legislation that outlaws the use of
balaclavas? I can guarantee you that balaclavas
are far more often used in crime and other illicit operations than are the Niqabs or Burkas. When
was the last time you heard of a bank being held
up by a woman in a Hijab, Niqab, or Burka?
The willingness of many politicians to jump on the campaign against Niqab/Hijab shows that they are
too willing to exploit any issue for power and do not
hesitate to waste taxpayers‘ money and their own
time and energy to limit Muslim women‘s rights to
choose how to dress. Do they really think that they can stop women wearing what women choose to?
Let them waste their time and energies, and our
money! But beware, sometimes these negative and
aggressive actions do more damage than good. 4
I too held this view for a while, but sadly soon discovered that such biased views are held by
many in all occupations, even those whose job it is
to prepare teachers to work with students from
diverse backgrounds. When does one person‘s
choice of clothing and coverings become controversial and oppressive because it conforms
to practices or the norms of a group one identifies
with and not another‘s? Let me explain what I
mean:
In the fall of 2007 I was sitting in a PhD Seminar in a Canadian University with eight white graduate
students and a white middle class professor all of
European origins. At one point in the class, the
professor directed his attention to me and to my
surprise asked: ―Do Muslim women feel oppressed
because they have to cover their bodies and heads to conform to their faith and cultural norms?‖ The
question and the way that it was posed angered
and shocked me. I was not expecting that lack of
sensitivity and knowledge from a professor who
was supposed to be an expert on diversity education and a member of the University‘s
diversity institute research team.
Left speechless, I could only look at him in shock
and disbelief. There I stared a man who himself
willingly had covered himself from neck to toe in conformity with his culture‘s norms and
expectations, but who had the audacity to ask me
if I felt oppressed for willingly doing the very same
thing. After a few moments, I found myself
addressing him and managed to say,‖ If women willingly choosing to cover their bodies is sign of
oppression, then I think men like you in the West
are as equally oppressed as are these women.‖ It is
not logical to wonder why men who cover their
bodies to conform to their culture‘s norms of
‗appropriate business dress‘ are not considered oppressed, but women from the East who make
similar choices are? In his mind, why was I
oppressed but he was not, when we were both
exercising our right to choose our ‗dress‘? If I am
oppressed for choosing to conform to my faith and culture‘s dress code, is he not equally oppressed
for doing so? To my surprise, the professor did not
like my question and chose to move on to other
subjects.
This incident and others since have led me to
conclude that the problem with many in the West, well educated or not, including my former
professor, are unaware of their biases, lack
cultural knowledge and have limited cross-cultural competency. They lack either the time or the will to
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―There I stared a man who himself willingly had covered himself from neck to toe
in conformity with his culture‘s norms and expectations…‖
The Quran says, ―Ignore the fools!‖ Well, women
will keep wearing Niqab/ Hijab because we choose to do so. Many women will be encouraged to do so
as an act of defiance and resistance. As Martin
Luther King, one said, ―Injustice anywhere is a
threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an
inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly,
affects all indirectly. ―(Martin Luther King, Jr.,
1990)
On May 6, 2010, I attended a Public Teach-in Café:
What is a Hijab? Why Niqab? The promotional material for the event stated,
“Are you wondering about what Muslim women wear and why? Come to a Public Teach-in Café and listen to Muslim women tell their stories in their own words. Ask questions so we can understand each other in the spirit of an inclusive Canada.”
The event was organized by Islamic Social Services
Association (ISSA), and sponsored by several local
and national Muslim agencies such as CAIR-CAN and held at the Carol Shields Auditorium,
Millennium Library in Winnipeg. Almost 150 people
attended the majority of them non-Muslims. The
stories the Muslim women that were featured in
the panel were motivational and insightful and
Sister Shahina Siddiqui answered questions with wisdom and humor.
The stories that young and adult women shared
were so powerful and I was impressed that they
had the courage to speak out and speak loudly. Their message was clear and loud:
No more! Be quiet! We will not be dictated to by Muslim or Non-Muslim political leaders. Stop stereotyping Muslim women. Stop limiting our right to choose.
I was inspired by the sight of Muslim women
standing in solidarity against injustice. Although
none on the panel chose to wear a Niqab, they were
speaking up and speaking loudly in solidarity with those who choose to wear the Niqab. I applauded
their courage, and harmonious voices. I am
reminded of The Holy Quran, Verse, 135, Surah 4,
entitled, Al-Nisa- The women:
Oh ye who believe.◦ Stand out firmly. ◦ For Justice,
as witness. ◦To God, even if it may be against. ◦ Yourselves, or your parents Or your kin. ◦ (Chapter, Women, Quran).
Sitting in the audience, listening to their powerful
stories and but still wondering why these women
had to be there in the first place, why did they need
to defend their choice of dress? I could not help but feel a deep sense of sadness. Why do we in the
West defend the right of women to make dress
choices that allow them to uncover, expose
whatever body part they wish, they wish, pierce
belly buttons and other extremities, wear bikinis,
mini and micro-skirts, and yet fail to defend the right of women who make other choices?
My mind turned back to that day in that day in
Doctorial seminar when my choice of dress was
questioned, wondering why men who choose to conform to society‘s notion of ‗appropriate men‘s
business dress‘ were not being asked to defend
their decision to ‗cover-up.‘ I kept looking
throughout the night for one such man, covered,
tied, and buttoned-up from toe to head to stand up
in solidarity with these women. Why wasn‘t the media demand an explanation from these men as
to why they choose to conform and cover up?
Islamic Hijab Veil Headscarf.
Mohamed Ibrahim. http://www.clker.com/clipart-
23621.html
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Red and green Tie. Alfonso Pierantonio (kruder396 on flickr) Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons.
Why were they not being chased and having their ties and suit jackets torn off their bodies, their
shirts unbuttoned in the name of male liberation
and freedom from oppression? Why is it that when
women choose to uncover it never seems to be
questioned or cause such a furor? Why it is when men choose to cover never seems to be questioned
or cause such a furor? Why are their choices and
their dress codes not questioned in the media,
in legislatures, in parliaments and in public
meetings?
I refuse to let Muslim political leaders and others
dictate to me what to wear and how much to cover!
Similarly, I refuse to let non-Muslim political
leaders and others what to wear and how much
and what I uncover! From my perspective, both limit my rights and my freedom. I must have the
right to choose how to dress and to decide what
and when I choose to expose or not to expose.
Perhaps it is just me, but I wish that our political
leaders turn to and address much more important
issues bigger like poverty, health, education, social justice, and peace for all. We have heard enough!
Stop discussing women‘s dress codes, wardrobes,
and their choices in legislatures, parliaments and
in media.
I call for my sisters and brothers in the Muslim
community and fair-minded people of all
backgrounds to stand together and resist against
those who would limit women‘s choices. If Québec,
or France or any other jurisdiction or state is not
respectful of us, who we are and our culture, then let us take our human and financial
resources to the places, cities and countries where
we are welcomed and where no one is questioning
our dress codes or faith and dictating us how
much to cover or uncover.
Let us live and support those nations and places
where we will be recognized and respected as
women and citizens. Let us reject the objectification of women and their treatment as sex
objects, available to all and sundry. I call for
Muslim women, to ―Be Strong. Be Yourself.” This
universe is so big. When one door closes, ten will
open and if ten are closed, 100 will open. As Rumi
said:
I’m like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary. The day is coming when I fly off, But who is it now who hears my voice? Who says words with my mouth? There is a community of the spirit. Join it and feel the delight Of walking in the noisy street, and being the noise. (Rumi, pp. 2-3) We need to resist domination and dictation. We
need to stand up and say no. Women have a right
to dress, as they like/choose to do. This is our
right. It is a personal issue and a personal choice.
Acknowledgement
I would like to acknowledge the input and editing
of this article by Tony Tavares. Thank you very
much Tony for your encouragement and support!! Peace!
7
Two young Muslim women in the heart of Istanbul are having "an Apple" for lunch. This photo was taken on a sunny day in April 2007. Chris Schuepp, Public
Domain. Wikimedia Commons.
Community Action in Edmonton: Cell Phone Tower Dilemma
Jon Lai
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This past October, the Finnish government
declared broadband internet access to be a legal
right. Telecommunication companies in the
country are required to provide a connection speed that runs at least 1 megabit per second for
every citizen. And by 2015, the plan is to ensure
a speed of 100 megabits per second. As all forms
of media converge on the internet, such a
development is essential.
The internet, among other forms of electronic
media, has minimized the time it takes to transfer
information around the world. This electronic link
between people has made everyone more aware of other societies and this association is called the
global village. But consider how our connection
within the village is evolving. Mobility is becoming
an integral part of the relationship. It must be
possible for individuals to access information and other people wherever they are located. Wireless
access has become a necessity. The
communication infrastructure of the global village
will expand to meet these needs with the mandate
to do so left in the hands of telecommunication
companies.
Service providers are required by law to ensure a
certain level of connectivity to users and risk
losing their license if they do not meet that criteria. To support ever-growing wireless
networks, more cell towers must be erected. As
the networks grow and locations in commercial
and industrial zones become exhausted, it is
inevitable that tower placements within residential
zones will have to be considered.
There are health concerns with these towers as
they emit electromagnetic radiation (EMR). The
long term bodily effects caused by EMR are not
known, but there is belief that such exposure over long periods of time can have devastating effects
on a person. As well, the range of these
microwaves can affect people up to an estimated
450 meters away. This past January, my
community protested a planned tower site by Rogers Communications based on the potential
health risks associated with these structures. This
article is an account of my community‘s political
movement to prevent the construction of a cell
phone tower in our neighborhood.
The notice given by Rogers was a letter distributed to a few homes in the neighbourhood, which
outlined where the tower would be built, its
height, reason for its installment, and a date for
an open house with representatives of the company.
It is a strange regulation as a telecommunications
firms only have to inform households within 6 times the height of the tower about its proposed
construction (in this case, families within 180
meters were notified). The letter was dated
January 4th, with the public open house slated for
January 28th. This open house, a public
consultation, was one of the final steps before the construction could proceed. The weeks in between
would be something of a political scramble among
my neighbours and family. I had not spoken with
most of my neighbours beyond greetings, but now
a few of us were dropping by each other's house to discuss the situation. In the days that would
follow, several of us would put a great amount of
time and effort to rally the community. To get as
many people as possible to the open house was
crucial.
We were fortunate with the timing of the matter.
While we all joked that Rogers had timed this
great—a notice just after Christmas, a simple white
envelope delivered to just a few homes—in a
tactical sense, we held a few cards ourselves. With parliament prorogued, my MP Laurie Hawn
returned to the city to host a town hall meeting.
We were able to bring up our concerns about the
tower and inform the other people who attended.
My neighbour, who I shall call Jack here, came with my mother and I to the meeting. Jack had
already attended a meeting with the Westmount
Community League a couple days prior with this issue and got their backing to oppose the
construction of the tower. The mention of the
league‘s support showed that the community
would work to stop the tower‘s construction, and
Mr. Hawn committed to meeting with community
representatives before the open house. He had the ability to direct the community‘s concerns to the
Minister of Industry, Tony Clement, but first Mr.
Hawn wanted to see that the community would be
unified in protest before voicing on our behalf.
Using the internet, Jack found—would there be
any other way?—an established movement against
the construction of cell phone towers near
locations where people reside. The Canadian
Initiative to Stop Wireless, Electric, and Electromagnetic Pollution (WEEP) provides
contemporary perspectives on EMR and guidelines
for communities to stop a proposed tower. You
might have guessed that this involves meeting with
the neighbours at their doors.
Going door-to-door is always a nervous activity,
but after a few conversations you start picking up
in stride. Our supplies for this included:
photocopies of the Rogers letter, an email contact list of government officials along with a dedicated
email for the movement, a small summary of
collected quotes surrounding EMR concerns,
sketches of the planned tower (produced by Rogers
after Jack hounded them for it), and a petition.
There will be those who won't be interested, but polite enough to hear you speak—which far
outnumber those who shut the door in your face
for this matter. What makes it really worthwhile is
that people recognize that their neighbours, who
are not affiliated with any formalized political group, are trying to gather support and motivate
the community. I don't often receive praise for
what I spend my time doing and it‘s really
something that helps in January. Sometimes they
let you warm up inside their houses too. Another
surprising thing is the few people that offer to help door knocking when you show up at their homes.
Our community network expanded by just by
having a presence on the sidewalk. We met
teachers who were able to send newsletters home
at two elementaries and a junior high in the area. A man was also able to get a poster up for us in the
public message board at the nearby Safeway.
Awareness of this issue spread further than we
realized.
In the end, we were able to bring about 150 people to the meeting. The Inglewood gymnasium was
packed at the designated start time for 5:30 pm. It was laid out like an open house; there were Rogers
representatives scattered at the booths to take questions with posters outlining the process of a
tower's construction and how it will benefit the
community. It was the photoshopped image of the
tower in July that irked the most people. Jack
had set up an opposition table outside the front
door with loads of information about EMR concerns along with petitions for those against the
tower. Since Rogers had rented the space, they
did not have to share with any independent
vendors. What Rogers offered as a public
consultation dissolved within the first 15 minutes I was there. A frustrated woman stood on a chair
and shouted, "this isn't working. Who here wants
a Q & A session?!" Everyone raised their hand—
and forced Rogers to engage in something they
sought avoid. The demand was met and, as she
descended from the podium, another man took her place.
A representative from Certus Strategies was
present to moderate the session. It was a grueling
couple of hours as the crowd kept the fervor in their protest. Citing every concern was exhausting,
but yielded results. We poked holes in the
procedure Rogers had taken to have the tower
built. A city planning and development officer took
quite a tongue lashing as he fielded some questions. The buzz attracted both Ward 4
councilors Jane Batty and Ben Henderson. Ms.
Batty would address the crowd and urged everyone
to send out letter to the city and Rogers. There
was no guarantee from the councilors that the
tower would not be built but they left saying they would double their efforts to push for a movement
of non-concurrence.
Political activity has halted in the neighbourhood since the meeting. There has been no further
communication between Rogers and my
community even though we have stressed more
dialogue with them in the future. Both Mr. Hawn
and my MLA, Heather Klimchuk, have insisted to
the Ministry of Industry and Rogers that they cannot support the construction of the tower at
this location. The Ministry of Industry though,
does have the final say on the go-ahead for
construction. Although with this amount of
support, I feel confident that the tower will not be constructed.
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―What makes it really worthwhile is that people recognize that their neighbours,
who are not affiliated with any formalized political group,
are trying to gather support and motivate the community.‖ 10
A cell phone cite on a self support tower in Oregon. Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons.
To see it with our own eyes. A group of University of Alberta students visit the oil sands.
AJ Reitsma
I was born in Edmonton and have lived here all
my life. Yet, despite Alberta having one of the
largest known oil sands deposits – about 140,000
square kilometres of it, which is estimated to be able to produce 175 billion barrels of recoverable
oil – I must admit to having had a terrible
ignorance about them and the surrounding issues.
Certainly, I was aware of some of the issues- of the
environmental and social destruction of the area, of
the difficulties in finding solutions... Although I had something of an interest in these issues,
especially when one of my good friends became an
Amnesty International field worker, I had never truly actively sought to research or engage with
them. Somehow, my full attention was always
diverted elsewhere.
In January, I was invited to join the inaugural
University of Alberta (U of A) Oil Sands Student
Delegation and their U of A Oil Sands Education
Trip 2010. Seeing this as an opportunity to improve my knowledge and to visit the oil sands, I
readily confirmed my attendance. It was on this
trip that I was able to witness first-hand the true
mind-boggling difficulty in unravelling all the
issues, ideas, perspectives inextricably woven into
the ‗oil sands‘ as a topic of discussion. Despite a wish to write this article to attempt in some way to
draw thoughtful attention to the oil sands and its
galaxy of issues, I found it excruciatingly difficult
to mould all the ideas and discussions which took
place in one busy weekend into any semblance of
coherence. Here I have attempted to report on the event and offer some of my own personal
impressions.
The oil sands are known by many names—most
commonly either oil or tar sands. This ‗name game‘ is one of political power struggles that forms but a
singular small part of the oil sands discussion.
During our stay in Fort McMurray, the ‗correct‘
terminology and its undeniable correctness were
pointed out to us, especially during presentations
given by Suncor officials and the presenter at the provincially run Discovery Centre. In the oil sands
(a term that is rather misleading) oil is not
extracted in the same fashion as the oil most
people think of—conventional oil, that black fluid
substance, with which many of us are familiar. Instead, oil is extracted through a number of
energy-intensive processes from the oil sands, a
mixture of water, sand, and a heavy hydrocarbon,
bitumen. It is this bitumen that may be converted
into oil. The extraction and conversion processes are documented to be damaging both to the
environment as well as the social and cultural
conditions of the inhabitants of the area. Many
may be familiar with some of the health issues in
Fort Chipewyan, in which there are documented higher-than-average rates of cancers and health
conditions.
The delegation and trip was arranged by a team of
individuals who are associated with a number of
different organizations including Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Council of Canadians.
The stated purpose of the trip was to have
―Student leaders...take a proactive stance on major
issues regarding tar sands development...the Fort
McMurray trip [is] to foster open-minded and critical discussion that serves to strengthen our
own understanding of oil sands issues so we can
begin the process of consensus building and
solution development.‖ Talking to a couple of the
organizers, the goal of the trip was two-fold: one, to
gain knowledge about the oil sands and, two, to create and foster connections between various
student leaders and their associated groups.
Before the trip itself there were a few orientation
and information meetings. In addition to presenting some information on the oil sands,
these meetings served as the initial contact
between the students attending. During the
session, each attendee introduced themselves and
their own reasons for participating. At the session I
attended, for many the main reason was the same: to see the oil sands with one‘s own eyes.
The trip was very ambitious. Tours, discussions,
presentations, a film viewing were all to be tucked
within two days –not to mention the travel time between Edmonton and Fort McMurray and back.
Gathering in the early hours of Saturday, January
30th to board a yellow bus, the group was full of
excitement and energy. This only increased as we
played a sort of musical chairs in order to get to
know other delegation participants. The diversity of the groups was truly amazing and their various
goals all reflected singular facets of the larger ‗oil
sands discussion.‘
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Touring the oil sands. AJ Reitsma. Speaknews.
13
The first activity after swiftly checking in to our hotel, was to tour the oil sands. This was not an
official tour. From my understanding, Suncor, the
main company with whom we interacted while
there, had been unwilling to allow us one. I
surmise that this may have been both due to the size of the group and, quite possibly, a lack of
trust. We were ferried by our bus between various
points of interest. En-route, students huddled
around windows, trying to make out the oil sands
landscape through perpetually frosting windows.
However, the blanket of snow on the ground made it difficult to see exactly what the area looked like.
All the while, we were followed by trucks, driven by
individuals in clothes branded with Suncor. Where
ever we stopped, so too did they.
One place we stopped was a sort of mini outdoor
museum where a few of the machines used in the
mining process in the past rest to be observed.
Hopping off the bus, gargantuan machinery
towered above us while on the horizon, a factory emitted a dark swirling mass from its chimneys. I
cannot begin to describe the immensity of the
machines. Certainly I have seen them in film and
would see them so again in that weekend, but I
was unprepared for the great monstrosities they
were; perhaps they are best described as being almost sublime. Their size and the destruction they
are capable of is admittedly impressive— if in a
heart-wrenchingly terrifying way. And what was
more scary was that these machines were now
largely obsolete.
Many students took to exploring the area like a
band of tourists, moving around excitedly, having
their pictures taken with the equipment or with the
towering grey mass of smoke hanging behind them.
A few, I think, were more harshly struck by what the machines represented, by their destructive
power. One member of the delegation was
physically moved. She stood in the snow, gazing at
the landscape of shades of grey and eventually
retired to the bus.
Suncor was the only company willing to engage
with us; thus is it was that they were the only
representatives of industry with whom we
interacted. Throughout the weekend, Suncor
presented itself as being very ‗progressive,‘ constantly pushing the limits of what a company
can do for a community, reclamation efforts, etc.
The fact that they were willing to engage with us
could be considered a sign of this. If I were to take
a more pessimistic view, I might argue that they are simply being very smart ‗politically.‘
We eventually made our way to a Suncor building
in order to have a discussion with Suncor representatives. Entering the building, a few
adjectives, which immediately came to mind were:
slick, modern...sterile? Greeted by a young woman,
we were made to remove our shoes and/or wear
little booties.
While the Suncor representatives were preparing,
we sat in a cafeteria area to discuss and write
down what sorts of questions we would like to ask.
Even in this activity there was some tension
already present. The questions reflected the varied interests of the members of the delegation. There
was also a certain tension among members who
possessed strong views and feelings about the oil
sands issues. Indeed, for one individual, it was
even described as "entering the house of the
enemy."
When at last we were invited into a sort of
conference room, we were greeted with doughnuts,
muffins, beverages. I think, for some, whether or
not to accept this food was seen as a certain symbolic gesture about how one felt about the oil
sands development. We were then made to hear
three presentations with Suncor employees, who as
we were to continue to hear through the weekend,
emphasized how innovative and progressive Suncor
was, especially in its reclaimation projects with such efforts as including plants that are of
importance to the Aborigianl peoples of the area
and their investment in alternative energy such as
wind power. At the same time, they expressed their
goals to increase their production.
When they were done their presentations, we were
permitted to question them. When asked about
dangers of leaking from tailings ponds, etc the
Suncor members denied such claims. Additionally,
they claimed ignorance of many reports and were quite well versed at avoiding answering questions
regarding the health, environmental and social
issues of oil sands development.
Leaving Suncor late in the evening, we made our
way to the home of an individual who lives and works in Fort McMurray. Their family had kindly agreed to feed us and allow us to view H2Oil. Like
any other film, any group, any individual, this film
had a very particular agenda. At the same time,
though, it certainly raises questions about the
effects the oil sands are having on people.
The next day was just as packed as the last. We
first headed for the Discovery Centre. Here a
presenter, who seemed, although well-meaning,
not well informed of much beyond what she was to
present. During the presentation, we were regaled
by the history of the oil sands. All of it was
presented in a very positivist manner, sharing in
the trials and tribulations of the earlier attempts made to separate the oil from the sands and the
triumphs of recent technologies.
After the presentation, we wandered the Centre.
Everywhere were signs proclaiming that it was sponsored by the government of Alberta. According
to the Centre's website it is "a provincial facility,
operated and maintained by the Alberta
government, Department of Culture and
Community Spirit, Historic Sites and Museums
Branch." The Centre seems to market itself as an educational area. Certainly, it is informative about
the scientific and technological processes and
innovations involved in obtaining oil from the oil
sands. However, there is little attention paid to
educating people on the environmental, social or health impacts of the oil sands development.
The final event in Fort McMurray before returning
to Edmonton was perhaps the most intense,
involved and incredibly worthwhile discussions of
the whole trip. We arrived at the Salvation Army, where we had lunch. Before our panel presented, a
Salvation Army representative gave us a brief
history both of the organization generally and the
Fort McMurray one specifically. Within her
presentation it became very clear just how pervasive the industry is in Fort McMurray. The
Salvation Army receives almost all of its support
form the industry there and, as the representative
told us, most initiatives are work-based.
The panel was composed of a few Aboriginal representatives from the area, each of whom had a
unique perspective to offer, and Martin Kelly, a
Suncor representative. The interactions between
the panel members themselves and with the U of A
Oil Sands delegation members were very involved and, in some instances, quite emotional. I cannot
begin to give a full synopsis of the speeches and
question periods nor of all the issues raised.
Instead I will try to give a brief overview of some of
the prevalent issues brought forward by each
individual.
We first had Alice Martin present to us. A woman
possessing a remarkable sense of humour, she
personally believes in traditional Aboriginal
peaceful ways. Yet, she expressed a lack of understanding and coherence both within the
Aboriginal community and between the Aboriginal
community and the non-Aboriginal community.
Within the Aboriginal community, she seemed to
feel that there were those, like herself, who wanted
to have discussion and use a traditional peaceful
approach and those who were angry or who were
trying to use non-Aboriginal systems, such as the
courts. Until communication takes place that is
conducive to both members, Martin could see little hope of solutions being found.
Martin Kelly is in Stakeholder Relations for Suncor
and works in the area of Fort Chipewyan. He was
somewhat of a refreshing difference from the representatives of the previous day. Martin started
his career working for NGOs in Southeast Asia.
Although he, like the previous representatives
touted examples of Suncor‘s progressive nature, he
seemed more readily willing to engage with the all
present. He expressed a genuine wish to have relations improve between the Aboriginal groups
and Suncor. From what he said, he seemed to hope
that there might be a way to change companies
from within. However, in his statements and his
replies to the questions of those present, it appears that his role is rather ineffectual in regards to
Suncor‘s activities.
A couple difficulties, which Kelly brought forward,
were that different Aboriginal groups or leaders
often had conflicting wishes. Additionally, Kelly pointed a finger at the government. The
government is required to consult with Aboriginals
before any sort of development takes place on their
land. As Kelly describes it, the government has
outsourced their duty to consult to the companies. Additionally, the land is sold to the companies
before the Aboriginal people within whose treaty
lands it falls are fully consulted. He believed the
government is also the point from which change
must be initiated since companies are meant to
make money and compete with one another. Even if a company wants to do things in a more
environmentally friendly fashion, it may mean a
decrease in profits compared to their competitors if
the government is not enforcing particular
regulations or providing funding.
Following Kelly, we were addressed by Simon
Reece, a member of the Keepers of the Athabasca.
He presented an emotionally moving presentation,
which drew our attention to the very real everyday
difficulties facing many of the people who live in the area. As he noted, many who come to Fort
McMurray are only there temporarily to make some
money before returning home. The people who live
in the area of the oil sands are often in a
particularly difficult bind. Their traditional ways of living are being affected by pollution and the
disruption of wildlife, yet they are often unable to
raise their voices as the only way for them to make
a living is to work for these companies.
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Additionally, like Martin, he noted that there is a
lack of recognition of Aboriginal tradition. He noted
that the councils and chiefs were colonial inventions.
Finishing off the discussion was an individual who
is both a representative for Greenpeace and an
Aboriginal from the area. She was able to provide
us with some facts about the amount of energy being used in the creation of oil and some of the
truly devastating statistics. Additionally, she
allowed us to view a film to show us what we could
not see of the land beneath the snow. Surface
mining operations go up to about 100 metres; this obviously causes great disruptions in the
environment. So do the tailings ponds, which as
she pointed out, really are ―lakes,‖ not ponds. Like
Reece, she also mentioned some of the social and
cultural issues of the area. Even when the land is
not being completely ravaged by surface mining, the in situ extraction processes which involve
using great amounts of steam underground to
bring bitumen to the surface, still disrupt the
wildlife making trapping and hunting far more
difficult. As well, she noted that despite the great revenue made by oil companies, families, such as
her own continue to lack running water.
Reece had admonished us to do our own research.
And, leaving Fort McMurray, this was at forefront
of my mind. I was restless to return to Edmonton and begin to find more about these issues.
A month or so later, I met with one of the
organizers, Keerit Jutla.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks many of the delegation members found during the weekend
trip, which was brought up multiple times by
members and presenters, was how to go about
finding viable solutions to these issues. Just as there is such a lack of unity and innate trust
between industry and the various aboriginal
groups involved, so too is there between many
student groups and industry (and government.)
One might even observe this in my article.
Given the sheer immensity of the issues in regards
to the oil sands, the pervasiveness of industry in
the area and the lack of coherent voice in
attempting to find solutions, I found myself with a
sense of impending disaster. I had seen the barren landscape and Reece‘s description of the area as
being ―death, complete death.‖ Both Martin and
Kelly when asked whether there were any major
victories in the voices of the stakeholders being
heard both admitted there were not.
Many of the student delegations members admitted
to a concern about how we would maintain our
newfound energy and connections and how we
would function as a group. The participants
represented so many different organizations with so many different foci that developing any sort of
mandate or specific goal in future trips would
prove incredibly difficult. I think Keerit put it well
when he said he hopes that the groups might take
what they learn and do what is within their power
and within their mandates to do. I think this might be a good way to utilize knowledge gained and
connections formed within the delegation. I only
hope that it will be enough to enact some sort of
change for the better.
Touring the oil sands. AJ Reitsma. Speaknews.
Voices of the Lubicon. Lubicon Cree Students go to the UN. Essay excerpts originally published by Amnesty International.
http://www.amnesty.ca/lubicon/?p=11#more-11
At the end of March, I was invited to attend the
send-off of a group of three students from Little Buffalo School who were going to New York to
attend a meeting of the United Nations. They won
their trip through essay submissions on human
rights. Please find excerpts from the admissions
below.
AJ Reitsma
What Does Human Rights Mean to You?
Daphne Ominayak, age 16
If you were asked, ―what are human rights?‖ you
would get all kind‘s of answers. Human Rights are
the rights to which everyone is entitled, no matter who they are or where they come from. But simply
because they are alive.
What I will be talking about is why we should have
the rights to running water and health aids in my
home town known as Little Buffalo. I will also be talking about how us people cope with these
issues.
The school, health centre, band office and very few
houses are the only places that actually do have the running water supply, and those places still
have a limited supply which has to be trucked into
the community. Like the school for example is
based on if there is enough supply, and if there
isn‘t school is usually shut down for the following
day. This issue is pretty big but it‘s not un-bearable. The people have been trying to fix the
problem for a while now but the goal of it has not
yet been achieved…
This issue of no running water can be hard to deal with, no doubt but I just hope that the with the
people that keep fighting for their rights, eventually
this problem of no running water will be solved.
The people no matter who it is, they just need to
stay confident and stand out if they believe that
running water and health aid is what we need. People who are fighting are what will make them
recognized not only in this situation. People like
this are who should and hopefully will be
recognized. Even if it means doing things alone you
can definitely still be recognized. So here I am trying to recognize my home town,
though I am not a very recognized person through
out my home town. Being confident and not so shy
is something I am working on. I‘m standing up for
what I believe in. This is place that I come from.
My People, My Community and Me: How Our
Human Rights Are Repeatedly Being Violated
and Ignored
Leticia Gladue, age 15
Human Rights mean different things to different
people, but the question here is what does Human Rights mean to me and how does this affect me, my
family and also my community? I have to consider
how my rights and my people‘s rights have been
violated over hundreds of years. As a fifteen year
old teenager taking grade ten in a little reserve
called Little Buffalo I see our rights constantly violated. Little Buffalo has no recreation nor any
indoor plumbing, no gas station, or grocery store,
not even a health facility! The people of Lubicon
have to travel about an hour and a half just to get
to the nearest hospital and grocery stores. This is what really grinds my gears and disappoints me.
Why can‘t my people and I just have a nice clean
healthy little happy community?
At the end of the day, we the Lubicon people and
myself are affected because here in our community
we don‘t have indoor plumbing and the water we use we haul it by trucks from a central water plant
to our homes. We don‘t have grocery stores; we
don‘t have a recreation centre; we don‘t have a
health facility not to mention 90% of the people
here are forced to get income through welfare because there are no jobs here. Even families here
don‘t have enough room for their children because
the houses are so small. This affects me and my
community by not having the right to be safe and
the right to have and live a healthy life.
So here some kids run to drugs and alcohol for they feel that there is nothing here for them. Even
my friends say this repeatedly that why can‘t our
community have something here for us to be
interested in to keep us out of trouble? Not to
mention the health. Here we don‘t have paved roads for we have dirt roads and in the summer we
get this type of mixed oil that just reeks but is used
to keep the dirt down but yet this still causes
respiratory problems for our elders and kids and
other people period….
This is our land, we the people have more than rights to make a difference and we will. We don‘t
have much but we will fight for what we want and
need for our little community …. So I hope that by
writing this essay about our human rights we will
be respected so we can finally have the life we want and deserve!
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This exploitation has really affected my life
because this is just inhumane and unnecessary
living conditions such as no indoor facilities, unhealthy lifestyles, families depending on
welfare, traveling one to two hour distances just
to hunt and trap, and most importantly, not
being able to develop our own community. I‘m
appalled by this violation because I believe that
every individual should have their rights fully respected and honored!
Living in the Third World? Nobody Should be
Living Like This!
Dawn Seeseequon, age 17
This is our land, not the governments! They come
in here and take our resources which include oil
and gas which gets them an abundance of money. We, as owners of this land, only get informed of the
violation and either receive very little out of it or
nothing at all. How would you, the people of the
government, like it if other governments went onto
your land and took away what you valued most
without your permission and denying your rights to the land?…
My grandmother and mother have a trap line of
their own on which they go hunting and snaring
but it is rare that they will bring any rabbits, moose, deer, prairie chickens, or even bears back
home…With all these roads, semis, loud
machinery, and cutting down of the forests, wildlife
has been scared. This has affected our way of life,
the Aboriginal peoples of Lubicon Lake Nation.
Simply because our tradition is to hunt and bring home moose meat, chicken, and rabbit for the
family to feast on and to make moose and squirrel
hide to sell and get money in exchange. But by not
having the right to change this intrusion, it is rare
that this will happen and our tradition will eventually fade away…
We, Lubicon Lake Nation members have the right
to control our land, live our way of life without it
being destroyed in anyway, develop our
community, use our territories without any exploitation from the government, and live healthy
lives. My family, myself, as well as the other
families in the community deserve better.
Especially the elders, this is their home and has
been for decades, this is their settlement Little Buffalo. They have been fighting and continue to
fight for the benefit and healthier lifestyle for the
families and upcoming generations.
A distant elder family member who died by the
disease called tuberculosis in 2003 was due to the governments exploiting our land and also causing
other respiratory problems, such as asthma, to the
people of Little Buffalo. Now this is something I do
not want other family members to go through,
suffering and having their lives shortened, causing grief and mourning to the community. The
government should really think of the health
problems and damages they are creating for the
people of Lubicon Lake Nation.
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Touring the oil sands. AJ Reitsma. Speaknews.
Questioning Muslimah. Women’s Rights and Men’s Responsibilities in the West/East?
Khalida Tanvir Syed Tour Diary originally published on website maintained by her supporters: http://yvonneridley.org/yvonne-ridley/articles/justice-for-aafia-us-tour-diary-final-day.html
International Women‘s Day and the United
Nations Day for Women‘s Rights and International Peace. Monday March 8t.h Celebrated by citizens
across the globe, should serve as a reminder of the
contributions and struggles of women throughout
history and presently.
In the past few decades, Western Media as well as Western Political Leaders, are so much concerned
about Muslim Women rights in the Muslim World,
Like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, to name
a few. But my question is what kind of facilities,
support and opportunities they offer to Muslim
women in Canada, France, United States of America, United Kingdom, etc? Are Muslim Women
allowed to wear what ever they like to wear and
cover how much they like to cover? If Taliban can
not tell how much to cover then do you think it is
appropriate for Western political leaders to tell Muslim Women how much they should uncover?
What is the difference in both Muslim and non
Muslim males in powerful positions give dictations
to Muslim women? Is it possible that both Muslim
Political leaders and Western Political leaders give
Muslim women to Right to chose?
In the West/Europe they can not play soccer or
hockey because they cover. They can not sit in
French classes or take public positions because
they cover. They can not teach in school if they do
not show their faces. Is it possible to have women police to check identity of women instead of Men
looking at the faces? Is it possible women can
teach women? Is it a way to accommodate the need
of those they want to cover and respect their rights
to play, to educate and protect their self to be
treated as object.
Western/European Political leaders should stop
using Internet, listening to Radio and all other
activities where the other can not see the face of
the other. Is it possible? If covering is oppression
then my argument is women are oppressed in the east and Men are oppressed in the Wes/Europe as
Men in the West/Europe are covered from neck to
toe usually wearing three piece suits with a tie.
What do you think? Do you know how Muslim
Women are treated? Here I would like to share
story of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui written by a U.K journalist Yvonne Ridley.
Speaknews Editor‘s Note:
Yvonne Ridley is a British journalist who converted
to Islam 30 months after being captured by the
Taleban. She is well-known for defending Islam
and trying to fight prejudices and misconceptions
about Islam, especially ideas about Islam‘s view of women.
Justice for Aafia US Tour Diary: Final day
Written by Yvonne Ridley
Saturday, 24 October 2009
I have never met Dr Aafia Siddiqui but I feel as though I know more about her now having
embarked on a six-state tour of the USA to
promote awareness about the injustices of her
case. Last night marked the final event and for me
it was probably the most significant because of the
people who turned out in their hundreds. I learned so much more about the personal side of Aafia last
night than I have since I began investigating her
kidnap and disappearance from her home city of
Karachi way back in March 2003. You see many of
those who turned up for the final leg of my tour with the Muslim Legal Fund of America simply
wanted to show their support and solidarity for the
mother-of-three because they know Aafia so well.
She moved into their community in Texas in 1990
to be near her brother, and after spending a year
at the University of Houston, transferred to MIT in Boston. But throughout her time in the USA she
was a frequent visitor to her brother's family home
where she was hugely respected and admired by
the neighbours. One took to the stage of the Taj
Hall near Savoy Drive, Houston last night to share his memories of Aafia Siddiqui and the rest of her
family he had gleaned over 25 years. He said it was
as likely that she was a member of al-Qaida as his
own mother who, he added with a smile, was a
good Roman Catholic lady. He examined in
forensic detail all the media speculation, planted stories and rumours killing each one off with his
own personal facts and observations giving us an
insight into the woman many of you only know as
the Grey Lady of Bagram, Prisoner 650. We also
learned about Aafia's favourite uncle in Islamabad - a man with a gift for spinning the most mundane stories into extravagant, amusing vignettes.
18
According to the uncle, Aafia visited him during a
period when she had disappeared and he told gullible journalists how she had appeared to him
wearing a full face veil. At one stage she let her veil
slip to reveal a new look as a result of extensive
cosmetic surgery performed to change her facial
appearance. Enjoying the attention from the media, he embellished his story in details as each
journalist arrived at his home. Of course this does
not explain how Aafia looks today. Did she really go
to the bother of cosmetic surgery only to have the
surgeons undo and reverse all of their work? No
one doubts the uncle did have a female visitor to his home posing as Aafia but it is quite clear to all
now that she was working for the intelligence
agencies to try and muddy the water over Aafia's
whereabouts when she was in the hands of the US.
In fact a lot of people have gone to a great deal of trouble to cover up her disappearance and I believe
this is for many different reasons ... not least of all
two of her three children are US citizens who have
rights under US law and it appears those rights
have indeed been violated by - US lawmakers of all
people. The time has come for transparency and the clock is now ticking against all of those
involved in the kidnapping, rendition and shooting
of Aafia. An entire community in Houston knows
the case against her is a tissue of lies. The majority
of Pakistani people have also seen through the
picture of Aafia Siddiqui from her wanted poster at the
FBI Website http://www.fbi.gov/terrorinfo/siddiqui.htm
Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons.
the deceit and now the Muslim world is beginning to peer closely into the case with growing shock
and disbelief. Only the US Ambassador in
Islamabad Anne W. Patterson - a relic of the Bush
Administration - is in complete denial about Aafia's
case ... time to give it up Anne you are beginning to
look increasingly ridiculous by claiming she was never held in Bagram. We have the evidence.
You've already had to retract statements about
women in Bagram and your credibility really is on
the line. When the US Embassy in Islamabad sent
a series of letters to the local Pakistan newspapers to try and refute my story about Prisoner 650, the
Grey Lady of Bagram I knew there was a sense of
panic. The steps taken by the US Ambassador and
her staff was without precedent. But the folk I feel
more pity for are the lawyers on the prosecution
team who have to peddle the lies and misinformation given to them by the FBI. They've
already asked for two trial adjournments - well you
can't fire a gun when you've no ammunition, can
you?
Or, as my great Uncle Vern from Minnesota once
observed: "You can't soar with eagles when you work with turkeys." And this trial is not a secret
military tribunal in Guantanamo hidden away from
the world's media. Aafia's case will receive global
attention when it opens next January and while
the New York judge appears to be doing his best to be fair and even handed, the prosecution is flailing
around with a pig in a poke. At the end of the day,
it doesn't matter how much lipstick the FBI uses
on this pig it will still be a pig when the trial opens.
And it doesn't matter how many threats or
intimidation are used in an attempt to stop me or others like me from revealing the truth, we will
continue to demand justice and continue to fight
for justice for as long as it takes. The US
authorities can end this charade now by showing
compassion and returning Aafia to her family immediately. Surely the time has come for damage
limitation - retrieving just a little dignity has to be
better than continuing with deceit and acts of
desperation.
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Reclaim. Claim again. To take back from wrong or improper conduct to demand the return of nature, what you stole and now want to give back in kind to take again for your profit colonization, the third round of conquest of all that's been lost that we haven't even noticed has gone missing highway of tears families our men to make a killing to raise their little families of a generation that won't know a forest instead lines of trees waiting for the last conquest you've taken everything now.
21
this is not yours. this is not yours to sell to hold to take to lease to cede too much. How did you take them from under our feet from the peoples who were here before you how did you take the air out of our lungs and claim it as yours to offset your emission of lies? How is it that they have taken everything from us and we refuse to believe what's in our hearts? what is left in our hearts?
RECLAIM
Ruby X
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