Please support the call for a Global Arms Trade Treaty

The countdown to the final United Nations Arms Trade Treaty negotiations in July, 2012 have begun. Every day the cost of an unregulated arms trade mounts, in both dollars and human lives.

Over a 22 year time period (1989-2010), between 886,414 and 1,253,463 people lost their lives directly in battle-related deaths in a total of 523 state and non-state armed conflicts. That’s an average of 56,975 deaths a year. It is estimated that a further 200,000 people per years die from the indirect effects of conflict.

In a 10 year study, Amnesty international found that at least 60% of human rights violations they documented involved the use of small arms and light weapons. The countries involved were  Algeria, Brazil, the Russian Federation (Chechnya), Colombia, DRC, East Timor, Egypt, France, Jamaica and Nepal.

In 2010 – a single year – the total value of actual international transfers (deliveries) of conventional arms worldwide, as recorded in national statistics, was approximately US$59.2 billion. This value does not include deliveries by a number of significant arms exporting countries, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Canada, Poland, Greece, Serbia, due to the lack of data made available on their actual arms deliveries in 2009 and 2010.

Irresponsible transfers of conventional arms across the world contribute to the destruction of millions of lives and livelihoods.

The solution is simple – if there is a substantial risk that arms exported to another country will contribute to serious human rights abuses, those arms supplies must be stopped.

Please add your voice to Amnesty International’s call for a bulletprood Arms Trade Treaty by signing the online petition at the following link.   At this link you will also find other resources and you can download a paper copy of the petition to collect signatures in your community.

http://www.amnesty.ca/iwriteforjustice/take_action.php?actionid=856&type=Internal

‘The brook would lose its song if we removed the rocks’ ~ Wallace Stegner

This is a photo I took a couple of years ago when we visited Cypress Hills Park, in Saskatchewan.   More recently I came across this Wallace Stegner quote and thought of connecting the two.

Wallace Stegner was born on February 18, 1909 in Lake Mills, Iowa. Over a 60 year career he wrote 30 books. Among the novels are, The Big Rock Candy Mountain, 1943; Joe Hill, 1950; All The Little Live Things, 1967 (Commonwealth Club Gold Medal); Angle of Repose, 1972 (Pulitzer Prize); The Spectator Bird, (National Book Award), 1977; Recapitulation, 1979; Collected Stories, 1990, and Crossing to Safety, 1987. The nonfiction includes Beyond the Hundredth Meridian, 1954; Wolf Willow, (A History, A Story, and a Memory of the Last Plains Frontier), 1962; The Sound of Mountain Water, 1969; Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs: Living and Writing in the West, 1992, a collection of essays that earned him a nomination for the National Book Critics Circle award.

Wallace Stegner wrote about the need to preserve the West, and he also fought for it. He became involved with the conservation movement in the 1950′s while fighting the construction of dam on the Green River at Dinosaur National Monument. In 1960 he wrote his famous Wilderness Letter on the importance of federal protection of wild places. This letter was used to introduce the bill that established the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1964. Wallace Stegner also founded the Committee for the Green Foothills in Santa Clara County, California and was involved with The Sierra Club and Wilderness Society.

Wallace Stegner lived in Eastend, Saskatchewan (near the Cypress Hills) from age 7 to 12, in 1990, the house he lived in was restored by the Eastend Arts Council and established as a Residence for Artists.

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. – April 4, 1967: Beyond Vietnam: A Time To Break Silence

April 4th, 1967: what can only be described as an historic and now memorable speech by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.: that raised for everyone at the time and all of us since then.. the fundamental question:  When do we break our silence?

The question Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr raised on April 4th, 1967 is still with us today.

One year later to the day after this historic speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.  Recalling this history is not a reason for remaining silent,  this is a time however for remembering a remarkable advocate for peace, social justice and human rights.

Rather than begin to try to repeat or recast the eloquence, the relevance and the robustness of this historic speech, may I simply  encourage everyone to take the time to listen to this.. and think about what you will do next….

March 24: Remembering Oscar Romero

March 24: Remembering Oscar Romero

On March 24, 1980, Archbishop Romero was killed in El Salvador while celebrating mass.   This was at a time when brutal forces prevailed and thousands of people were disappeared, tortured, and murdered.  On this anniversary we need to reflect again on what happened in El Salvador and support the continuing calls for justice.. and we also need to renew our determination that the human rights work we undertake as Amnesty International members and supporters, as citizens of the world will be even stronger…

We need to do this now for the people of El Salvador and in the memory of the people who were murdered – and also in solidarity with other people – in Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Cambodia, Burma, China, Congo, Kenya, Syria, Sudan, Somolia, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel and Palestine – and in Canada … First Nations Peoples and Refugees .. all the people … men, women and children, who have not had their fundamental human rights respected…

What happened in El Salvador in 1980 was one of those defining moments for me in terms of my personal involvement in Amnesty International… it was not the only one… I read the Amnesty International Urgent Actions with a kind of rage, sadness and confusion…. how could people possibly be so incredibly brutal in their treatment of other people???

March 24 is just one of many days for remembering and resolving again… to continue our human rights work.   If you have not watched this video previously I encourage you to take the time to do so.. and then when it is over… reflect on how you can contribute to strengthening our global human rights movement by becoming involved with Amnesty International.

www.amnesty.ca

“Laneway Housing” – an attractive option for Regina

Recently I saw an interesting program where David Suzuki explored the development of Laneway Housing in Vancouver.

This is a very intriguing option that Regina and some other Saskatchewan cities could initiate.

Laneway houses are detached dwellings located in the typical garage area of a single-family lot, facing the laneway and maintaining backyard open space.

Housing affordability is a serious concern in Regina and in many other Saskatchewan cities.   New developments, realistically are not meeting the need for affordable housing.   The increased costs related to new infrastructure and the related expense of servicing new neighbourhoods create pressure to increase the municipal taxes paid by everyone.

There are a quite a number of advantages to Laneway Housing:

• - new development in existing neighborhoods can be accomplished without the same level of infrastructure costs
• - increased density can actually add to more support for local business and serve to counter the negative impact of big box retail developments
• - community safety can be enhanced with more people living in the area
• - individual housing units are typically smaller, more affordable and less demanding on the environment
• - the increased number of people living in existing neighborhoods would serve to support the existing public services including schools, libraries and recreation facilities
• - the additional housing could serve to help with the costs of upgrading an existing older home

This alternative kind of housing does have its opponents – typically the “Not in my backyard” or “Not in my neighbours backyard” type of arguments however with good community leadership and information I believe there would be support for this option.

I’d encourage people who are concerned about the direction our cities (including Regina) are going to learn more about this interesting idea.  There is quite a bit of information available on the web  (both for and against) including the City of Vancouver’s policies on Laneway Housing at the following link:

http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/lanewayhousing/

With the pending civic election in Regina we need to begin a respectful and creative community dialogue about many public policy issues and I’d like to suggest housing options should be right at the top of the list.

After you have done some exploring of this idea yourself – let me know what you think …

Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies and Aid

On Thursday, February 9, 2012, Dr. Samantha Nutt, spoke at the University of Regina – her presentation is perhaps best described as unforgettable. The event was just one highlight of the several organized by the Saskatchewan Council for International Cooperation (SCIC) – for International Development Week.
Any discussion about children and war and child soldiers is guaranteed to be a tough topic and Dr. Samantha Nutt spares no opportunity to close the circle of responsibility. Dr. Samantha Nutt is the Founder/Executive Director of War Child Canada. She is also a medical doctor at Women’s College Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. For fifteen years, she has been at the frontline of many of the world’s major crises – from Iraq to Afghanistan, Somalia to the Congo and Sierra Leone to Darfur.
If you have the opportunity to hear Dr. Samantha Nutt speak at any time I would certainly recommend you do. And while you are waiting, you could read her book: “Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies and Aid.”   This book is written from the perspective of a woman, a doctor, who has seen the terrible consequence of the international arms trade, and the ruthless and seemingly casual, yet deliberate horror that is inflicted on the victims – typically women by child soldiers.
Prior to hearing Dr. Samantha Nutt (or reading her book) we might dismiss these unspeakable acts: the mass and repeated rape of women and girls, the seemingly out of control brutality of gangs of young boys (who are as young as 8 years old) as something that happens in countries far removed from ‘our world’ and therefore something we have no role in. Read her book: “Damned Nations” or hear Dr. Samantha Nutt speak, and your perhaps comfortable conclusions will be changed as her stories of the consequence of our own complicity will be guaranteed to keep you awake at night.
We are invested in the atrocities. As Dr. Samantha Nutt points out: the Canada Pension Plan (and others) are invested in and we profit from the global arms trade. And we all are using a relatively unknown mineral (Coltran) in our electronic devices – and the instability we fuel and support in the Congo supports the continuing grave human rights violations that happen with impunity.

“Damned Nations” won’t only keep you awake at night – it will also equip you with the strategies to contribute to the call for meaningful and urgently needed change – this book is and eloquent call to action at a time when we seem to lack the capacity to act with determination and with a vision. We are reminded of what is possible with quality leadership – for example Canada’s role in the international movement to ban land mines, and given the toolkit and power to campaign for justice, in parts of our world where this very concept seems remote.
At a time when the international community is beginning the challenging discussions around the development of an effective arms trade treaty Dr. Samantha Nutt’s message urgently needs to be heard and her very accessible book is recommended reading.

http://samanthanutt.com/?page_id=542

The beauty of the Snowy Owl

A few weeks ago I was very fortunate to get these photos of a snowy owl near Regina.   There are more snowy owls around our area this year and its seems many people are reporting the same thing where they live.   I was quite lucky to get these photos as typically the snowy owl will fly away from you – and not come back for another look.   Recently I have been thinking of naming this one Hedwig.   Harry Potter fans will know Hedwig was given to him as an eleventh birthday present in ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.’    I am a bit older than Harry Potter was when he got Hedwig and I don’t really ‘have’ this snowy owl – except for the memories…

“Cross country skiing is great if you live in a small country.” ~Steven Wright

To dispel the myth that ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ I have taken up cross country skiing and I am loving it!!!   I have lots of learning to do, but hey if you live on the prairies there is no better place to do this – plus I had very bad experiences with down hill skiing years ago.

We are very lucky, in Regina, to have some great trails maintained incredibly well by the Regina Ski Club.   (I will be sending in my membership and trail grooming donation this weekend).   The trails are in Wascana Centre, at Douglas Park and west of the Science Centre, as well as A.E. Wilson Park and Les Sherman Park.   East of Regina there are the White Butte Trails.   I haven’t got to other trails, farther away from Regina, however this is on my ‘to do’ list.

If you check out the Regina Ski Club website at www.reginaskiclub.ca you will see there is a regular update to the information about trail conditions!!!

 

Do we say: “None is too many” or do we agree to respond to the international humanitarian refugee crisis?

I recall the early 1970′s when the “boat people” arrived from Vietnam, children, women and men who risked their lives to flee a terrible war.   I was at the time very proud that Canadians welcomed so many of the “boat people” – there seemed to be a generous spirit and this extended across Canada.   As people fled from Vietnam (also Cambodia and Laos) there was an incredible humanitarian crisis as thousands of people faced a terrible crisis.   There were untold miseries, rapes and murders on the South China Sea.   At the time the UNHCR, under the auspices of the United Nations, set up refugee camps in neighbouring countries to process the “boat people”.   They received the 1981 Nobel Peace Prize for this.

In contrast we now are witnessing “boat people” fleeing from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries.   They try to make it to Australia, Canada and other destinations.   Incredibly our Canadian government is determined to label everyone who makes this trip as “illegal” rather than maintain and encourage a generous stance.   The government has introduced Bill C-49 that will punish legitimate refugees.   Amnesty International, the Canadian Council of Refugees, the Canadian Bar Association and the Canadian Conference of Bishops have all expressed concerns about this bill.   I encourage you to find out more and then contact your Member of Parliament to indicate your opposition to Bill C-49.

In another disgraceful time in Canadian history the Canadian government did less than other Western countries to help Jewish refugees between 1933 and 1948.   According to official statistics, only 5,000 Jewish refugees entered Canada during this period, the lowest record of any Western country.  In early 1945, an unidentified immigration agent was asked how many Jews would be allowed in Canada after the war. He replied “None is too many”.

My personal feeling is that Canadians are generally speaking, generous people who are more than prepared to welcome people who are refugees, be they arrive in crisis – by boat or by some other process.   I hope you agree.

 

 

Never concede to those who inflict torture and perpetuate Human Rights abuses: Write for Rights on December 10th

Friday, December 10th is International Human Rights Day.   Amnesty International encourages everyone to participate in our “Write for Rights” event.   You can join thousands of other people who care enough to take a moment to send an appeal letter.   I have often been asked if the appeal regarding human rights abuses make any difference.    My answer is simple:  we can never give in to those who inflict torture, who are responsible for grave human rights abuses, it truly is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.

I have written many appeal letters over the years I have been involved in Amnesty International.   I have not received very many replies.   I am aware however that in a good number of the cases I have worked on the letters have made a difference.   This is good enough for me.  I hope you will agree.   Where ever you live you can be a part of the world’s biggest letter-writing event with participants in over 50 countries writing to help prisoners of conscience, human rights defenders under threat, and vulnerable communities facing ongoing abuse of their human rights.

You can find out more at www.amnesty.ca